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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
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Do you really think Han Cheon-seong approached with pure intentions?
***
The two people exited the cafe.
Before they knew it, they were saying their goodbyes.
"Han Cheon-seong. We can meet again on Saturday... right?"
Karite turned and asked cautiously, and Cheon-seong offered a faint smile.
"We promised. Of course, we can meet."
Karite felt reassured by Cheon-seong's reply.
The fact that today wasn't the end, that they could meet again like this on Saturday, meant a great deal to Karite.
"Okay. Well, today... thank you so much."
"No, thank *you*. I'll get going then. Karite, be careful on your way back."
Finally, Karite nodded silently, and the two naturally headed their separate ways.
Even as the sun slowly set, Han Cheon-seong headed towards the training ground, while Karite walked towards her dormitory.
She was unconsciously heading to her dorm with the thought of needing sleep, but in truth, Karite's mind had been adrift for a long time.
Throughout her conversation with Han Cheon-seong, she had experienced too many emotional shifts, and they hadn't yet been properly sorted out.
Tap.
Soon after, Karite stopped in her tracks.
The auditory hallucinations, which hadn't been audible moments ago, seemed to echo in her ears once more.
-Do you really think Han Cheon-seong approached with pure intentions?
-It's obvious he's after your body.
-He probably approached you because you seemed easier than other girls.
A hollow laugh escaped her as the malevolent hallucinations filled her mind.
The emptiness left by Han Cheon-seong, and the voices that were even more malicious than usual, made her heart waver once more.
'Are these really hallucinations I'm experiencing due to a mental issue...?'
Was she truly considering even such a worst-case scenario? She couldn't even trust herself.
Throughout their conversation just now, she hadn't sensed any ulterior motives from Han Cheon-seong. He had seemed genuinely concerned for her. The warm goodwill and kindness she felt for the first time in a long while... she simply liked it.
There was still someone who reached out to her.
And the fact that there was someone who cared for her like this... she was simply grateful.
As for the meaning behind Han Cheon-seong's approach... she hadn't really doubted it.
Because she wanted to believe.
The fact that someone like Han Cheon-seong could exist in this world. As she struggled through each day, barely surviving.
She had wished for someone who would understand her, someone she could lean on, to appear.
And now. Such a person had truly appeared.
But.
"...Could there really have been no ulterior motive?"
Now, after parting ways with him, with anxiety nesting in her heart, a small doubt began to bloom within her.
-He approached you because of the Esildern family, didn't he?
-Or maybe he approached you because of your body.
-What good is there in you for him to approach you like that now?
-Even your family turned their backs on you, so do you really think a man you just met today has no ill intentions?
-How much more hurt do you intend to get by trusting so easily?
The hallucinations ringing in her ears grew even more intense.
...
Amidst the malevolent hallucinations, she... couldn't bring herself to deny those words.
Tap.
As she walked again, her heart, which had felt a little lighter, once again sank, heavy and subdued.
And doubt settled over it, like a layer being added.
'Why on earth did Han Cheon-seong approach me?'
There was no reason for him to care so much about her, someone he had just met today.
If he had seen her like any other student and passed by, or tried to avoid her, that would have been... just normal.
Or perhaps... he had approached her out of temporary emotions like pity or sympathy.
"...Don't think about it."
She bit her lip hard and shook her head vigorously.
Her mind continued to be enveloped in anxiety. But she didn't want that.
At least for today, she didn't want to give in like this.
"I... want to believe."
Even if believing this meant she would be hurt more deeply in the future, it didn't matter. Even if... Han Cheon-seong had approached her with other intentions, it was fine.
Because just for today, the day Han Cheon-seong approached her, she wanted to believe that. She wanted to believe that his words to her came from the heart, that he had truly said them for her sake.
He had repeatedly told her, in a voice that was both light and serious.
That she could do it, that she could move forward, and that she shouldn't give up. He had told her with a voice full of conviction.
Even if all of that... couldn't be said to be without purpose.
For now, she wanted to believe.
...
Biting her lip until she felt pain, she steadied her heart.
...
Even as she felt anxiety and unease, Karite repeatedly recalled Han Cheon-seong's words.
ㅡDon't give up.
ㅡKarite, you're more than capable.
Then, Karite. Without even realizing it herself, little by little.
Very slowly... her deeply sinking heart began to change.
***
The next day, Thursday morning.
Cheon-seong was getting ready for the academy as usual.
He showered and changed into his student uniform.
A more diligent student might go out early and eat breakfast at the student cafeteria. But tempted by sleep and the thought of saving money, Cheon-seong was skipping breakfast.
"...Haaah."
A yawn escaped him amidst his hazy consciousness.
Sometimes, he couldn't quite feel how the day passed.
Like today.
Days passed where he'd close his eyes, open them, and it would already be the next day, always putting on his student uniform to head to the academy as usual.
Why did time pass so quickly? Such a thought even crossed his mind.
"...Is it because I'm training too much?"
Then, such a thought slipped out idly.
After talking with Karite, I was engulfed in various thoughts.
As it was a matter of someone's life, I couldn't help but think more deeply about it.
Were there no other ways to help her? Was I perhaps missing something? I thought about it several times, but what I could do for her still wasn't much.
Just meeting her like yesterday when she wanted, and making her feel at ease so she wouldn't be anxious.
Eventually, I focused on my training and pushed those thoughts aside.
Because for now, just focusing on what I *could* do was overwhelming enough.
Thump.
The weight of the iron cage on my back gave me a strange sense of stability.
"I've really become a true lancer."
Even as I chuckled, this version of myself felt natural now.
Click.
As I opened the door and left the dormitory, I saw several students exiting at the same time.
'David usually comes out around this time, I think.'
And soon enough, I found David.
His messy orange hair, and his face still heavy with sleep as he yawned.
Then, as our eyes met, he chuckled.
"What's up, Han Cheon-seong? Are you coming out at this time now?"
As David strode closer, I naturally matched his pace.
"Yeah. It's better to wake up early."
"Good thinking."
"If you wake up early, you can focus on Instructor Kali's lecture, right?"
"...Truly, top students think differently, don't they?"
"Me, a top student? Don't be ridiculous..."
As we exchanged idle banter, David suddenly looked at me strangely.
Just as I thought his gaze was strange.
"Han Cheon-seong. I heard you caused trouble again yesterday?"
"What are you suddenly talking about?"
"No, I just dropped by the cafe last night, and students were talking about you again?"
I blinked blankly at David's untimely remark.
No matter how spectacular my daily life was, I didn't think I'd done anything yesterday.
'I just...'
I talked with Karite at the cafe, trained at the training ground, and came back to the dorm to sleep.
My day could be summarized in a single simple sentence.
"Anyway, Han Cheon-seong, I've known you since the entrance ceremony."
"Known me? What are you suddenly talking about?"
"That you're a womanizer."
As David chuckled and spoke, I finally realized he was talking about Karite.
For a moment, I was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh escaped me.
"David. It seems you're misunderstanding again, but that's not it at all."
"It's not that?"
"Yeah. You're talking about Karite, right?"
When I spoke, preempting him, David looked at me with curiosity.
"Look how naturally you're calling her by name. Han Cheon-seong, tell me honestly. You broke your promise to help me with my training yesterday, so is it really not what I'm thinking?"
As David asked slyly, I immediately shook my head.
"It's really not like that. I genuinely approached Karite and simply talked to her for a bit, that's all."
"Genuinely approached, huh... Hmm. To me, it just looks like you're making a move again."
I chuckled at his repeated teasing.
It's true that I like women.
To begin with, this world was overflowing with beauties rarely seen in reality, and they were right before my eyes. It was an environment where I couldn't *not* be interested.
But at least I knew how to distinguish the right time.
When I could have such feelings and when I couldn't.
And Karite was clearly a woman who belonged to the 'couldn't' category.
Regardless of whether she was pretty or charming, when it came to her, I had no personal intentions whatsoever.
"Haa. David, I wish I *were* trying to make a move on Karite, like you said."
"Huh?"
"No, it's just... something like that. Anyway, it's not what you're thinking."
As I mumbled, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
'Truly...'
If I had approached Karite with such a lighthearted intention, it would have been so much better.
I had to prepare for a crisis coming next week, one I couldn't even tell anyone about.
If it truly weren't a matter of Karite's life... I wouldn't have had to dedicate my time during such a crucial period, but I was now planning to give almost all of my training time to Karite.
"Well, I don't know what happened, but looking at your expression now, it seems you weren't trying to make a move after all."
"I told you it's really not like that."
"...No, it's just that there's too much talk about you among the other students."
Then, at David's next words, I paused.
"What exactly... are they saying about me?"
"Oh, just that... you're trying to make a move on every girl you meet, that you're trying to flirt with them? Luna's situation was cleared up as a misunderstanding, but besides that, there's Glessia, and it seems like there's always a girl involved whenever you get into something."
At David's words, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.
Rumors spreading among the students like this... I could put up with that.
Because I could just dismiss them as groundless rumors and move on.
But.
Gulp. Even as I swallowed, Kali came to mind without me realizing it.
Now, having finally resolved the misunderstanding with Glessia and successfully improved my relationship with Kali.
'If I keep getting involved with women day after day...'
Would she really see me in a good light? My head throbbed involuntarily.
How cold a gaze Kali, whom I would face again today, would give me.
I was already worried.