Chapter 139

Chapter 139

A Little Money and a Place to Live Tomorrow is Enough (1)

“Sister Seol-hwa... Why did she suddenly act like that?”

‘Sister Seol-hwa’. Han Jae-jung could sense from that expression that Joo Ah-yoon was still emotionally agitated.

After becoming a magical girl, she had consistently used the term ‘senior’.

Unlike their past when they lived like family, she changed the way she addressed him to maintain some distance and make rational judgments.

Language created by reason dissolves like water when emotions run high.

Even after she stopped crying, Joo Ah-yoon didn’t leave Han Jae-jung’s side. After the doctor came to examine him and left, she immediately clung to him like a butterfly and embraced him again.

Han Jae-jung’s hand now naturally and repeatedly patted her back like breathing, and feeling this intermittent vibration, Joo Ah-yoon leaned her face even deeper.

“...Was she lonely?”

Joo Ah-yoon recalled the past that now felt distant.

During their school days, the three were always together. Even when Han Jae-jung and Yoon Seol-hwa were dating, whenever they went out somewhere, Seol-hwa would always invite Ah-yoon first to join them.

Sometimes she declined, telling them to enjoy their date alone, but sometimes she accepted and joined them.

Though Ah-yoon was an outsider to their relationship, she never felt lonely. There was no sense of alienation during the time spent with them. She traced memories of joyful and warm times.

But after Han Jae-jung’s disappearance, all relationships changed. He was no longer someone to protect. He became someone who couldn’t be innocent. She always had to speak lies.

Being human who could transform into a villain, she couldn’t be carelessly honest.

The same became true for Joo Ah-yoon soon after. After she too gained the ability to transform into a villain, while her relationship with Han Jae-jung grew closer, her relationship with Yoon Seol-hwa became distant.

A clear outsider was created in what was once a relationship of three without exclusion.

While this was consideration, it was also cold silence.

The two people who always spent time together started excluding her and having more secrets between themselves. They had different workplaces, and being busy made it hard to meet every day. Physical distance grew while they grew closer.

What emotions must Yoon Seol-hwa have felt?

She must have been lonely. Joo Ah-yoon was certain of this. For her, loneliness was an easily relatable emotion. Because she had experienced being left out.

“That could be the case.”

Han Jae-jung didn’t deny it.

“...! I knew it...”

After hearing his affirmation, as someone who would know Seol-hwa better than herself, Joo Ah-yoon became even more confident in her emotional reasoning.

I went too far. After her sadness and resentment had evaporated, Joo Ah-yoon felt sorry. Well, she did act quite hatefully.

Hugging someone you like right in front of them. If she had seen something like that herself, she wouldn’t have been able to contain herself and would have gone berserk.

[The Guardian goes berserk even without seeing such things.]

‘Shut up.’

[And someone you like? Didn’t you used to make a fuss about not having anyone you liked?]

‘It’s hypothetical! Hypothetical! You crazy bird-brain always nitpicking...’

While briefly arguing with her mascot, Parrot, who was raising unnecessary objections, Joo Ah-yoon unconsciously tensed up and her arms tightened.

“Ah-yoon? Ah-yoon. My back hurts. Hey, nails, nails! Don’t dig in your nails! I’m a patient, you fool!”

“Ah, sorry...”

She came back to her senses at Han Jae-jung’s shout and relaxed her grip.

“Anyway, from now on we need to be nice to Sister Seol-hwa.”

“Specifically how?”

“Um... We can’t reveal our identities... Ah, right! Like giving her service at the cafe...”

“What service. Would Seol-hwa be happy with that... Actually, she would be happy.”

She’d probably be really happy. She’s unnecessarily kind and has good reactions to strange things. It was easy to imagine Seol-hwa’s eyes sparkling while eating service coffee and cake.

“Still, that seems a bit like showing off.”

“Then maybe brother could serve customers while doing cosplay.”

“Is our place really a cafe...?”

Han Jae-jung released his arms and looked at Joo Ah-yoon with drowsy eyes.

“...A judgment that we can’t make money without some objectification.”

Joo Ah-yoon avoided his gaze and answered in a cold, stiff tone.

“You pushed for a mood cafe and now you’re saying something else... Why don’t you do it then.”

“Who would want that kind of service from a body like this...?”

She’s short and doesn’t have a particularly glamorous figure. While she maintains herself well enough to not look bad, there’s nothing particularly good-looking either. Joo Ah-yoon coldly evaluated herself while looking over her body.

“I think brother has a bigger chest than me... Don’t you think brother’s body would be better to work with?”

“Ah-yoon, what vulgar way of speaking is that. And your body has plenty of charm. Don’t put yourself down like that.”

“...Really?”

Joo Ah-yoon ignored her reddening ears and slightly stretched the collar of her t-shirt. Come to think of it, she had heard there were some with minority tastes who get excited by small bodies like hers, could he have such tastes? Hearing words like that gave her confidence for no reason.

For now, Ah-yoon did say it would be okay to stay at the café temporarily... But he can’t keep imposing at her workplace.

He’ll have to try his best to find a place.

There probably won’t be another place as cheap as that house....

Even a hero needs food, clothing, and shelter. These ordinary civilian worries were what troubled him the most right now.

‘Just a little money and one pair of underwear for tomorrow would be enough....’

But there would be no shortage of people to scold him if he slept outside.

Most of his worries stemmed from others.

Several days passed like that, and he was discharged without finding any answers.

Ignoring Joo Ah-yoon’s offer to accompany him for discharge, he packed his belongings alone and left the hospital.

And not long after leaving the hospital, he went missing.

***

Ippotranslation

***

“It’s a gift.”

“Huh?”

Libra threw a pouch at the Archer, who was lying down absent-mindedly looking up at the night sky. The Archer, who watched the pouch hit his forehead and fall to his chest, suddenly sat up in surprise.

“W-what is this....”

There’s no doubt. It’s stardust. The special drug made by Libra. A top-tier drug imbued with starlight. He had heard that the supply was cut off, but...?

The Archer accepted the pouch respectfully with trembling hands.

“Thanks to you, I was able to obtain various data. That’s your gift. Work should be properly compensated. There’s no need to be afraid of accepting it.”

“I’m not afraid of a pig like you. Wow... This....”

The Archer, who was examining the drug pouch in a daze, soon burst into loud laughter.

“Wow kid, unexpectedly you’ve got some loyalty? That’s romantic. Huh? It’s romantic! Hahaha!”

“Hah, still vulgar as ever. I’ll be going now.”

Libra withdrew without any hesitation. The Archer didn’t spare a glance at his retreat and continued focusing on the drug.

Licking his lips, he suddenly pulled out a syringe. Though it was rusty and discolored, it was still adequate for injecting the drug.

“How long has it been....”

Though it hadn’t even been a month since he quit (forcibly), how he had missed it. The Archer immediately opened the pouch and was about to pour the drug powder into the syringe.

“...How long, has it been....”

Drop. He stopped like a child bored with a toy.

“Tch, feels like a waste.”

He closed the pouch and put the syringe away.

It would be a waste to use it all carelessly right now. Who knows when he’d get this again. It feels too empty to use it all up giving in to immediate desires. There’s no romance in that. Scarce resources should be used for special occasions.

“This, I’ll use it when I figure out my memories and goals~”

It felt like it would be more meaningful to use it as a reward for himself later. The Archer closed it again, saving it for that special moment.

Come to think of it, he can’t remember why he got addicted to this drug. They say that even though there’s starlight in the drug, it’s such a small amount that most villains can’t even feel the light.

But the Archer was obsessed with wanting to take in even this tiny bit of starlight to an unusual degree.

“I probably just liked it in the past or something.”

It was probably something he enjoyed before losing his memories. The Archer brushed it off like that and got up to look around. When bored, watching the world is the best thing. The movements of the world with its ten different colors of characteristics and stories always provide good entertainment.

Something interesting immediately caught his eye as he opened them wide.

“Huh? That’s....”

He remembers seeing it. When Libra was investigating the Argo family.

“Compass?”

The villain of the Compass constellation. The weakest among the high-ranked villains, a pathetic and foolish guy.

“Hooh....”

Why would that guy be here in Libra’s territory? The Archer, finding it interesting, began to move.

“This should be fun.”

Other people’s fights were always entertaining. What kind of trouble would he cause? Suppressing his excited heart, he quietly moved to a point to monitor him.

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/ippostranslations