WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 766: Episode 33: The Ball (5)

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My heart pounded.

Ma Hyeonseong, the protagonist of 『The Infinite Prison Warden』.

「That Ma Hyeonseong had appeared in the fifth Scenario of the 41st round.」

Apparently, he had even fought Yu Junghyeok.

It sounded like a battle to determine the strongest protagonist, but the situation wasn't that simple.

―Are you certain it was Ma Hyeonseong?

―I'm certain.

Logically speaking, it was impossible for Ma Hyeonseong to appear as a Calamity in the 41st round. Setting aside the distortion of the worldline, several conditions had to be met to become a Calamity in the fifth Scenario.

They had to be a beast species raised in Paradise, like Lesser Dragon Ignir. Or, like Myeong Ilsang, the Catastrophe of Questions, they had to make a contract with the Administration Bureau after committing a grave violation of Plausibility. Or, like the Catastrophe of Floods, they had to offer their very existence to a Scenario for a specific purpose.

Ma Hyeonseong didn't seem like the first or second case.

Then it had to be the third.

Was there any reason for Ma Hyeonseong to submit himself to the Administration Bureau? Unless his world had been destroyed...

As I thought that far, a quiet groan escaped me.

Ah.

A few settings came back to me belatedly. They had grown a little faint with time, but information about 『The Infinite Prison Warden』 still remained in my head.

「Ma Hyeonseong's world was destroyed.」

The story had never progressed that far, but in a broad sense, it was right to say that Ma Hyeonseong's world had come to an end. That was true both within the story and outside it.

What did that mean?

「The Infinite Prison Warden was a novel I stopped serializing.」

If the act of stopping a serial contributed to the end of a world, then his world had come to a halt in chronological terms.

Because of none other than me.

Still, I felt a little wronged. It was a strange thing to say, but 『The Infinite Prison Warden』 was a story that could only be concluded by discontinuing it.

In any case.

―There is no way Junghyeok could have killed Ma Hyeonseong.

I didn't know what kind of Calamity Ma Hyeonseong had appeared as. However, the Ma Hyeonseong I remembered was an absolute powerhouse in the world of 『The Infinite Prison Warden』.

That meant he had been the strongest person in that world right up until the serial was discontinued.

―But Junghyeok killed him. I saw it myself.

―Do you know what kind of Calamity Ma Hyeonseong appeared as?

―The Catastrophe of Memories.

The Catastrophe of Memories?

As far as I knew, no such Calamity existed.

Still, the <Star Stream> came up with those names on its own.

―It was a Calamity that never appeared in the main story. Honestly, I had no idea how to deal with it, but Junghyeok ran out and fought him anyway.

―And then?

―In less than five minutes, Ma Hyeonseong conceded defeat. He muttered something to himself... I don't know exactly what, but he looked relieved.

Relieved?

[This world is suspicious of your actions.]

Crackle.

Sparks flew.

It seemed our private conversation had to end here.

It was about time to move.

"Have you seen where that bastard Junghyeok went?"

* * *

[You have acquired 1 point.]

[You have acquired a total of 150 points so far.]

I had only picked up trash, yet I had already earned 150 points.

The final goal was 500 points, so we were making good progress at this rate.

"Dokja, could you go bring Junghyeok back? It looks like we should wrap up the volunteer work soon."

"Sure, but where did he go?"

"Well, I saw him heading that way earlier..."

I walked in the direction Teacher Yang pointed.

First floor, second floor, third floor... I climbed the stairs, calling Junghyeok's name.

It was a strange feeling, going to school. Junghyeok probably felt the same way. According to his settings, he had never properly attended school.

Once I thought about that, I had an idea where Junghyeok might be.

He was on the rooftop.

Thinking about it, it was only natural.

He wasn't used to school, and he wouldn't have smooth relationships with his classmates. There was only one place someone like him would go.

The unfortunate thing was that even the rooftop probably wasn't a place he liked.

Because the sky was too visible from there.

As always, Junghyeok was looking up at the sky.

It looked as if he were searching for his Patron. Or remembering a distant memory. Perhaps he was glaring at the stars in the night sky, or staring at the landscape of a world that had already been destroyed.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but Junghyeok looked blurry.

Which round was he living through now?

The 0th round? The 1st round? Or some round I didn't know about? In some forgotten round that everyone else had forgotten, was he walking alone through memories of a ruined world?

Suddenly, I remembered the large footprints someone had left in the Snowfield.

"Junghyeok."

Junghyeok slowly turned around.

He was taking puffs from a cigarette.

Was he blurry because of the cigarette smoke?

Judging by the way he struggled to suppress a small cough, Junghyeok didn't seem used to smoking.

"What are you glaring at so intensely?"

"You're glaring at me too."

"I'm just squinting."

My face had clearly changed to Kim Dokja's, yet these damn squinting eyes still hadn't changed.

"Didn't you hear Teacher Yang tell you not to smoke?"

"I told you this isn't a cigarette."

We stood side by side before the rooftop railing.

Come to think of it, I had never had a sincere conversation with the 41st round's Junghyeok. Every conversation we had ever shared was tangled up in lies told for survival.

But what about now?

Did he still see me as a villain he had to kill the moment something went wrong?

"If you throw that away, we'll just have to pick it up again..."

Despite my warning, Junghyeok flicked his cigarette butt down below. Chae Seongwoo, who was beneath us, quickly caught it with a dustpan and seemed to mutter something.

"1 point acquired."

That was probably what he said.

Junghyeok and I stood side by side, looking at our companions picking up trash on the school grounds, Teacher Yang's white wings fluttering, and the thick forest beyond them.

「Demon Forest.」

Phileia Hunter Academy had been built to deal with demons crossing through that forest. Many students had lost their lives fighting demons there, becoming nourishment for the forest.

Despite its terrible history, the forest looked beautiful from afar.

A forest where golden leaves, blossomed from the stories of humans and demons whose blood it had drunk, rippled in the wind.

For some reason, I thought the forest resembled the <Star Stream>.

"It is a magnificent sight."

"You seem to think tragedy is beautiful."

I was secretly impressed. No matter the round, Junghyeok was Junghyeok.

This had to be Junghyeok's first visit to this world. Yet at first glance, he had understood what kind of place that forest was.

"Tragedy viewed from afar is a comedy, isn't it?"

"That sounds like something foolish Constellations would say."

"Humans are no different. There are things you can only see when you squint."

Enduring tragedy wholly as tragedy was surely a meaningful way to live.

However, not everyone could be like Junghyeok.

"More importantly, let me have one too."

"Buy your own and smoke it."

"Sell me one."

Junghyeok glared at me for a moment before handing me a cigarette.

I looked down at it for a while.

I had an idea why Junghyeok smoked Mana Cigarettes.

Its defining feature was 「Recovery Acceleration.」

An item that increased the recovery rate of Constitution, mental energy, and Mana at the cost of burdening the user's soul.

Junghyeok must have been smoking this tobacco constantly to prepare for the next Scenario.

I slowly inhaled the smoke, then exhaled a long breath toward Junghyeok.

[Exclusive Skill Smoke Human Lv. 3 has activated.]

Smoke Human.

It was the ability of Kim Gyeongsik, the reader who had been absorbed into me.

The smoke rose in coils according to my will, then covered Junghyeok's entire head like a cloud.

"It suits you."

A powerful Mana reaction came from Junghyeok's body beneath the smoke.

He looked ready to activate [hundred-step godly fists] and punch a hole through my stomach.

However, I trusted Junghyeok not to do that.

Because within that barrier of smoke,

―Junghyeok. Have you regained your memories?

He would have checked the written sentence that only he could see.

[This world is paying attention to your actions.]

I had overused [Group Chat] before, so this world had begun to suspect my ability to communicate.

That was why I had come up with this temporary measure.

Using the [Smoke Human] skill to convey my intentions to Junghyeok.

"You don't have to try so hard all the time. Sometimes, you need to fill your head with hazy smoke. Stay like that for a while."

At least from the outside, it would look as though close friends were simply fooling around.

I hoped so.

[This world has withdrawn its suspicions about your actions.]

About 30 seconds later, I heard Junghyeok's Telepathy.

―I've regained some of them.

As expected, Junghyeok seemed to have recovered a considerable amount of his memories.

It probably meant he was beginning to escape the side effects of Fable Engraving.

―Yet you aren't asking anything. There must be plenty you want to know.

―I don't think you would answer honestly.

―You never know. Go ahead and ask whatever you want. Aren't we companions now?

Junghyeok didn't answer my use of the word companions.

Then, after a moment, he replied.

―I know that you aren't Inho Cheon.

―You're quite perceptive.

―Is Kim Dokja your real name?

―That isn't something you need to know. But I don't mind if you call me that.

Junghyeok's face was hidden by smoke, so I couldn't tell what expression he was making.

After a brief silence, Junghyeok asked,

―Where did Inho Cheon go?

Apparently, the 41st round's Junghyeok didn't know where the real owner of my body had gone either.

―I don't know either. Inho Cheon was gone when I possessed this body.

―He couldn't have given up his body so willingly. He must have had a purpose.

―Do you know Inho Cheon well?

It was a question I had always wondered about.

What relationship had the 40th round's Junghyeok and Inho Cheon shared?

In Anna Croft's memories, the two had been enemies. They had aimed blades at one another and gone for each other's throats, irreconcilable foes.

―Not well.

―You seem to have made some kind of promise, though.

I remembered the day I first met Junghyeok.

Oksu Station.

When I was still pretending to be Inho Cheon, Junghyeok had spoken the moment he saw me.

―You said it then. "Don't come looking for me until you've taken care of the task I gave you."

When we first met, Junghyeok had thought I was Inho Cheon and ordered me to carry out a task he had assigned.

―What contract did you make with Inho Cheon in the previous round?

The contract between the 40th round's Junghyeok and Inho Cheon. I felt that I had to learn its contents to uncover the secret of this round.

―Junghyeok?

As expected, Junghyeok didn't answer this time either.

That was understandable. His memories had not fully returned yet. And perhaps some memories had disappeared forever.

―I don't remember the exact terms of the contract with Inho Cheon.

As I thought.

I nodded, trying to hide my disappointment.

Then,

―But I remember what I told Inho Cheon to do first.

Junghyeok spoke from within the shapeless cloud of smoke.

―I ordered him to reform the villains of the <Star Stream>, including the Ten Evils... to turn them into people who could help in the Scenarios.

I stared blankly, my mouth open, before asking,

―Really?

―Yes.

Come to think of it, Inho Cheon of the 40th round had been one of the Ten Evils, and he was someone capable of having villains like that as companions. From Junghyeok's perspective, it wasn't strange to give such an order.

He had probably wanted Inho Cheon to persuade people on the level of the Ten Evils and make this round proceed smoothly.

I let out a small sigh.

―Then that is unfortunate. Sadly, I...

―You kept your promise.

―Pardon?

I paused before asking,

―What do you mean?

Junghyeok's expression was still hidden by smoke, but I could vaguely tell where he was looking.

He was looking down toward the school grounds.

Toward my companions.

Footnotes:

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