Chapter 20 - Choi Jiwon Is Rude (3)

Instead of a cute Pallas's cat, Choi Jiwon appeared before my eyes.

“Uh... um...”

Her treasured sword rested quietly in its sheath, but I knew it could come out at any moment.

I had considered the possibility that Choi Jiwon might come looking for me instead. With this many people returning to the clearing, even an idiot would notice something strange and naturally wonder who was behind it.

But I hadn't expected her to act this quickly.

“...”

Let's think carefully.

If I played dumb and asked, “What brings you here...?” this bitch Choi Jiwon would probably decide, “He's hiding something. Time to knock him out,” and smack me in the back of the neck.

First, let's consider how she'd found me.

Choi Jiwon must have gotten my description and location from a survivor who'd reached the clearing, then tracked me back here. Otherwise, she couldn't have found me so quickly.

That meant she already knew I'd sent them. What I needed to figure out was why she wasn't swinging her sword at me right now.

“... Hello?”

In other words, there was no need for me to bring anything up first. Answering her questions instead of spouting unnecessary nonsense gave me a better chance of avoiding regression.

“Your reason.”

“Pardon?”

“Why did you send people to the clearing?”

True to form, Choi Jiwon charged straight to the point without a second thought.

If I tried playing hard to get here, my head would end up competing against her fist.

“Weren't you protecting the clearing?”

I needed to be shameless here, too.

“What?”

Her face twisted. But I couldn't let her scare me. All the more reason to act confident.

“I could tell the moment I first woke up in the clearing. You were the strongest person there.”

“...”

Even Choi Jiwon wouldn't be able to argue with that much. After all, she must have sensed somehow that I could hold my own, too.

I'd felt quite a stare boring into the back of my head while cutting grass in the clearing. It was painfully obvious whose eyes those were.

“Why would someone so powerful stay in the clearing doing nothing but practicing swordsmanship... unless you meant to protect the people there? All I did was help the weak reach safety.”

“...”

“I may be stronger than most, but I don't have the strength to protect everyone. That's why I sent them to the clearing, where you were... Is there a problem?”

Choi Jiwon couldn't readily answer.

The bitch had probably imagined I had some sinister motive, only to discover I was just a good citizen.

She must be terribly flustered right now. She'd intended to settle this with one quick slash, but now she couldn't.

“... Food.”

“Pardon?”

“How did you know I was planning to hand out food?”

“...”

Shit.

I'd left the clearing a full day after waking up there. In other words, on the morning of day two.

Choi Jiwon's first food distribution had been at lunchtime on day two. That was information I shouldn't have known.

Don't panic. Answer naturally.

“... Since you'd decided to protect those people, I assumed you'd naturally provide food as well.”

“Hmm.”

My answer left Choi Jiwon deep in thought.

So far, the conversation was going well. It hadn't abruptly ended in a “slash,” and Choi Jiwon was still choosing the topics.

All I had to do was put on the “good person” mask I'd worn to get her to teach me swordsmanship.

The testimony of the people I'd saved would breathe life into that mask. I'd saved far more than just one or two people. Honestly, if you looked at this run alone, I really was a good person.

“All right. I understand your intentions.”

After some thought, Choi Jiwon gave a small nod. The sway of her ponytail as she moved caught my eye.

“But you need to take responsibility.”

“... Pardon?”

Take responsibility? Me?

I mean... Choi Jiwon was pretty and had a great figure, but her personality was weird, and...

“There are too many people in the clearing now. I can't supply all their food on my own. I need your help.”

Aha.

She wanted me to take responsibility for the people I'd brought to the clearing, not for her future.

“You must have food stored away. Take me to it.”

Choi Jiwon looked at me with her arms crossed.

“... Of course. This way.”

The food dropped by the mutant goblins I'd killed was far more than I could eat in a day or two, so I'd gathered every last scrap and buried it beneath a large tree.

Whether through her trait or simple deduction, this woman seemed to have figured that out.

I was about to lose all the food I'd worked so hard to collect in one fell swoop, but that was fine.

“May I ask your name? Oh, mine is Kim Junho.”

“... Choi Jiwon.”

Whatever the means, I'd essentially been recruited as Choi Jiwon's helper.

This run, I would get close to her. And I would strip her of every last piece of information, right down to her panties.

Just you wait, Choi Jiwon. I can't wait for the day you turn into the heroine of one of those regret-and-obsession romances, you bitch.

“... You're allergic to grass?”

“Yeah. My skin swells up if it touches any.”

“... Then we'll use the path you made.”

I'd casually dropped the formalities, but Choi Jiwon barely reacted.

Until now, I'd spoken politely because we were strangers in every run, and because I considered her my benefactor for teaching me swordsmanship.

But it was time to move beyond that and become equals. Speaking casually would be the first step.

Choi Jiwon and I walked toward the clearing with loads of food on our backs.

At times like this, I could really feel how leveling up had improved my physical abilities. Come to think of it, my arms seemed to have gained some muscle definition, too.

“...”

Of course, I was nothing compared to Choi Jiwon beside me.

Her arms had visible muscle definition, and her palms were studded with calluses... but even accounting for that, she was far too strong.

Muscles literally packed for combat efficiency. In a place like the tower, you couldn't judge people by their appearance. Who knew how ridiculously overpowered their traits might be?

“... We're here,” Choi Jiwon murmured.

As she'd said, the inside of the clearing was coming into view...

“... Wow.”

I immediately understood why she'd come looking for me.

Back when I'd spent entire days hanging around the clearing, there had been about ten people here.

Now there were around thirty.

There was no way not to notice the difference. And every one of them was a little baby bird that had fled cold, harsh reality.

Three times the food consumed, three times the shit produced, and three times the space needed to sleep... Oh, shit.

“Let's hand out the food first.”

“Shall we?”

Choi Jiwon and I hurried around the clearing, distributing food here and there.

It had certainly looked like a lot while we were carrying it, but once we'd divided it up, each person only got enough for two meals.

Once we were done, Choi Jiwon picked up her sword again, apparently tireless.

I plopped down beside her.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Watching closely, I noticed that she swung from exactly the same stance, along exactly the same path, every time. She was also moving much more slowly than usual.

Was she deliberately repeating the same sword path at a slow pace? I'd have to try copying that the next time I practiced.

“Um... Jiwon?”

“Call me Choi Jiwon.”

At least she was answering me this time.

Apparently, the equation was: good-person buff + helping her work = she'll answer, even if she's still cold!

“All right, Choi Jiwon. Why are you feeding everyone in this clearing?”

From the perspective of whoever had created the tower, people living in the clearing like this was clearly abnormal.

Food was hard to come by here. The goblins in the undergrowth dropped nothing but garbage. It was safe, but the dense vegetation made coming and going incredibly difficult.

It was literally just a starting point.

Normally, even people too frightened to move would eventually be forced out of the clearing by hunger and thirst. But because Choi Jiwon was supplying food, it had become a complete safe zone.

“With your strength... finding a golden orb couldn't have been difficult.”

Even I'd gotten an orb from killing a single mutant. Choi Jiwon could surely wipe out every mutant she came across.

I wanted to know why she stayed beside the weak like this instead of simply moving on to the next stage.

“...”

Choi Jiwon kept swinging her sword in silence.

Just as I figured she'd ignored me as usual and was about to get some sleep, she spoke without stopping her swings.

“That's what I was taught.”

“That it's the duty of the strong. Even if you can't save everyone in a crisis, you should at least save the weak right in front of you.”

“...”

“... I'm just doing what I was taught.”

For some reason, her eyes looked sorrowful as she said it.

“... I see.”

Choi Jiwon seemed to have a story behind her. There was probably a story behind her beating people up at the slightest hint of suspicious behavior, too.

My heart was just beginning to soften with sympathy when a thought snapped me back to my senses.

'But how many times have I regressed because of that bitch?'

Everyone in the world had a story. Even I had one.

What judgment should Kim Junho, the coolheaded, rational regressor, make here?

Let's think this through again.

Those had been the eyes of someone remembering the past.

A family member? A fellow student she'd trained with? Her teacher?

I didn't know who it was, but one thing was certain. The person who'd told her that must have died, or become someone she couldn't see anymore for some reason.

And the mark they'd left was still embedded deep in Choi Jiwon's heart.

Someone who'd taught her something so warmhearted must have been incredibly kind.

“Hmm.”

Come to think of it, Choi Jiwon was noticeably less harsh whenever I put on my good-person mask. She'd taught me swordsmanship, and now she'd even told me why she was protecting the clearing.

“... Bingo.”

Choi Jiwon. When I pretend to be kind, you see someone else in me.

It felt as though the puzzle pieces were falling into place in my head.

Now I knew exactly what I needed to gain from this run.

The day I learned all about that mysterious person from Choi Jiwon's past...

Would be the day I had her on a leash.

A Word from the Author (Author's Note)

Choi Jiwon...

Keep acting up and you're dead...!