Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

I headed to the intensive care unit. That’s right, Cha Song-jin was actually in the ICU.

As I looked at Cha Song-jin lying in bed connected to various machines, Han Seo-hyeon said to me:

“Don’t worry. There were no major injuries. You buried him so well, it felt like I was a grave robber digging up a tomb.”

“There are other metaphors, why a tomb, why?”

Is it because he’s a necromancer? His metaphor was quite off. Of course, when someone is buried underground, it’s usually a tomb, but… I definitely buried Cha Song-jin alive.

—Then isn’t that being buried alive?

Ignoring Ray’s interjection, I opened my mouth:

“At the time, I was only thinking about keeping him safe somehow.”

So I might have buried him a bit deeper! Anyway, everything was for Cha Song-jin’s safety. Thanks to that, he didn’t get a single scratch while I was being torn to shreds.

Nevertheless, the reason Cha Song-jin is staying in the ICU is because his internal injuries are serious. Thanks to taking on all the rebound from spatial movement himself, Cha Song-jin’s condition was very poor.

All the mana circuits laid in his body were injured, and the mana that overflowed due to that immediately attacked his body. Awakeners usually have resistance to mana floating around in their bodies, but even awakeners can’t prevent delicate organs from being damaged by rampaging mana.

This is the result.

The moment I saw Cha Song-jin connected to various machines, my breath caught.

Fortunately, the doctor told me, who had stiffened up, that Cha Song-jin’s condition wasn’t that serious.

[Then why did you make him look like an android?]

[In the case of mana-induced injuries, we don’t have much data, you see. Especially in a state where internal injuries are caused by mana like this, we don’t know what might happen…]

The doctor said that with an awkward face. Well, I heard that modern medicine faced a major turning point after the appearance of Gates. It’s because a ‘toxic substance’ called mana that didn’t exist before appeared.

As the doctor said, in most cases it’s difficult to perfectly treat mana-related injuries with modern medicine. Just look at the most common symptom of mana poisoning, or cases of internal injuries like this.

Though hunter specialist hospitals like this were established because there are few people with healing talents, modern medicine still can’t perfectly treat the injured.

[So you’re saying we can only watch for now?]

The doctor nodded at my question.

[For now, alleviating the mana poisoning symptoms and monitoring his condition is the best we can do. But we’ve stopped the internal bleeding, so you don’t need to worry.]

He said it would be better to keep Cha Song-jin in that machine for a few more days just in case, to monitor the situation.

‘Damn it.’

Since there’s no way to take that whole machine with us, we had no choice but to spend time in this hospital until Cha Song-jin wakes up.

After finishing visiting Cha Song-jin, we returned to the hospital room.

“For now Cha Song-jin is taken care of, but Jae-ho is the problem.”

I threw a glance at Han Seo-hyeon.

“You’re sure Jae-ho wasn’t in the container?”

“Yes.”

“Were there any traces left in the container?”

“Uh…”

This was a question that would normally have gotten an immediate answer, but Han Seo-hyeon rolled his eyes instead of answering my question.

“Hm?”

“I actually don’t know the details.”

Normally he would have used his senses to check the situation inside the container, but that day he only checked whether Kim Jae-ho was there or not. So he doesn’t know what happened inside the container.

It was handling of the situation unlike the thorough Han Seo-hyeon. The reason is obvious.

—How could he have had the mind to take care of Kim Jae-ho when you were like that after being attacked by him? It’s fortunate enough that he safely brought back Cha Song-jin.

It’s as Ray said. It’s thanks to that skeleton that looks like Han Jo-hee being by his side that it ended like this, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had lost his mind completely.

‘Well, there wasn’t even the usual nagging.’

Normally he would have pestered me saying ‘What were you thinking doing something like this’ or ‘Did you recklessly act without sparing your body again’.

“I-I’ll check now.”

Feeling Han Seo-hyeon hurriedly drawing up magic power, I muttered inwardly:

‘I guess he needs more training too. To be fine even with his side pierced twice.’

—Can that be done with training?

‘It’s enduring somehow with fighting spirit.’

—So that kind of thing with training… Never mind.

Because the boss keeps fainting, holes are appearing in our strategy.

If we had at least made action guidelines for what to do in cases like this, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.

‘I felt the need to supplement our forces in many ways.’

When we return to Korea, I need to immediately get artifacts to prepare for mental attacks and make plans for how to act when I’m not there.

The so-called Operation Team Yi-sin Without Yi-sin.

—I feel like the kids will go crazy the moment they hear that operation name.

‘Hmm, should we change the name?’

—Do you think it’ll work just by changing the wrapping paper?

‘Well… It’s still better than having no plan at all.’

While I was exchanging such words with Ray, Han Seo-hyeon’s investigation ended.

“Tell me, what did you see?”

Where on earth did he disappear to when he has nowhere to go? Maybe he left a note like I did. That’s why I taught him how to write after all.

But Han Seo-hyeon couldn’t easily speak at my question. By the time I started feeling anxious at that expression, Han Seo-hyeon’s mouth opened.

“…I think we’re in big trouble.”

At Han Seo-hyeon’s words, my heart started pounding.

What is it?

What on earth did Jae-ho do this time?

* * *

Kim Jae-ho woke up around the time Kang Yi-sin was heading to the Gate with Cha Song-jin in the car.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Kim Jae-ho kicked off the blanket and sat up abruptly.

The note left by the boss fluttered and fell in front of Kim Jae-ho.

“Jae-ho, wait just a little bit.

I’ll bring Seo-hyeon.

Don’t go anywhere alone, wait.”

After confirming that note, Kim Jae-ho got angry.

Because he was left alone again. But he endured it. Because it said he’d come if he waited just a little bit.

But how long exactly is ‘just a little bit’?

Kim Jae-ho, who sat down, thought about the meaning of ‘just a little bit’ that Kang Yi-sin had said.

What suddenly came to mind was Han Seo-hyeon’s ‘just a little bit’.

-The food’s ready so wait just a little bit!’

-What? You already ate it all? Wait just a little bit, I’ll make it again.

Perhaps because it was words he heard at least three times a day, it immediately came to mind. According to Han Seo-hyeon’s ‘just a little bit’, the boss’s ‘just a little bit’ would probably be between 5 to 15 minutes.

Yeah, let’s wait just a little bit.

15 minutes.

That’s exactly how long it took for Kim Jae-ho’s butt, which had been sitting quietly in place, to start wiggling.

‘I waited but you’re not coming!’

Kim Jae-ho let out heavy breaths at the feeling of betrayal. No matter how much he glared at the door, Kang Yi-sin didn’t open that door and come in. He felt like he was going crazy because he couldn’t see Han Seo-hyeon or Cha Song-jin either.

He was already in a bad mood from having a terrible dream, and he felt like he was going crazy because he couldn’t see the people who could improve his mood.

Kim Jae-ho clenched his fist as he recalled the voice of the woman in his dream who mocked him and kept talking about ‘friends’.

There are no dolls here that feel good to touch, and no snacks that Kim Jae-ho likes.

‘Where did everyone go?’

Kim Jae-ho bit his lip anxiously as he paced around inside the container.

Should I just go out and look for the boss? But how would I know where the boss is?

And the boss said. Don’t wander around alone.

Kim Jae-ho, who mulled over what the boss had said, sat in front of the container door waiting for his teammates who might not return.

It was after a full two days of Kim Jae-ho waiting for his Weltschmerz teammates that someone knocked on the container door.

Kim Jae-ho quickly opened the door at the knocking sound. But standing outside wasn’t the person Kim Jae-ho had been waiting for so desperately.

[Hello?]

Kim Jae-ho narrowed his eyes. Brown skin, golden eyes, red hair.

He wondered if they had changed masks, but the brightly shining golden eyes didn’t belong to anyone Kim Jae-ho knew.

“Who are you.”

[You’re from the Golden Day mercenary company too, right? So, I don’t know your name, but uh, did you rest because of an injury instead of entering the Gate?]

Kim Jae-ho’s first thought after hearing what the man said was, ‘What is he saying?’

At this time when his nerves were already on edge, the appearance of a man babbling words he couldn’t understand poked at Kim Jae-ho’s last bit of patience.

“Get lost.”

But despite Kim Jae-ho’s warning, the man in front of him didn’t budge an inch.

[Calm down. Aren’t you curious what happened to your friends too? So, friend! I mean friend. Comrade, mercenary group member, whatever.]

Flustered by Kim Jae-ho’s attitude of not understanding his words, the man listed words that even an elementary school student would know, but sadly, Kim Jae-ho had never attended elementary school.

“What are you saying.”

If you won’t leave, I’ll make you leave. Kim Jae-ho grabbed the dagger stuck in his thigh.

“I said get lost.”

[Whoa, calm down! I’m not your enemy. So friend! Mercenary group! Damn, you can’t understand even these words?]

Seeing the man still continuing to speak despite his warning, Kim Jae-ho thought:

Ah, this is a guy who won’t listen to words?

Seeing the dagger flying towards him, the man, Edward Sihelis, opened his mouth:

[Are you crazy!]

Eddie barely avoided the dagger flying at him. Where Eddie had been standing just a moment ago, five daggers that Kim Jae-ho had thrown were stuck in a vicious formation.

“I told you to leave.”

Kim Jae-ho didn’t intend to cause trouble. He just didn’t like the man loitering around saying incomprehensible things.

So this is a warning.

But if you ignore the warning…

It worked out well since I needed somewhere to vent my feelings.

Eddie looked at the dagger stuck by his feet.

[So you’re going to be like this, huh.]

Eddie’s pupils blazed red. At the same time, Kim Jae-ho’s daggers flew at Eddie. But the daggers flying towards Eddie lost their kinetic energy and fell to the ground.

Kim Jae-ho tilted his head at that sight. Kim Jae-ho tried to draw up magic power to retrieve the daggers, but that was blocked too.

Eddie, who had absorbed the kinetic energy imbued in Kim Jae-ho’s daggers, lunged his body at Kim Jae-ho.

[Whatever it is, it’s not manly to refuse a fight that’s come walking to you!]

Kim Jae-ho narrowed his eyes and immediately melted into Eddie’s shadow.

[Wh-what!]

Eddie’s fist sliced through empty air. Eddie let out an empty laugh looking at his own shadow.

[C-grade, my ass.]

At least A-grade, or even higher. An ability that can melt into shadows in an instant!

Eddie gritted his teeth seeing Kim Jae-ho’s fist springing out from his shadow. He barely managed to absorb the kinetic energy before the fist touched his cheek, but the force he couldn’t fully absorb was still carried in the fist and struck Eddie’s cheek.

[Kuk!]

His head turned and his brain rattled.

If he hadn’t absorbed the kinetic energy right before being hit, his jawbone would have been dislocated.

[Ptui.]

Eddie spat out saliva mixed with blood.

Before Eddie could counterattack, Kim Jae-ho’s body disappeared into the shadows again.

[Hey, this is unfair!]

But Eddie wasn’t just taking it either.

Once he realized shadows were the medium, it was easy. First, Eddie moved away from the container. It was to reduce the area where Kim Jae-ho could hide by widening the gap between the shadows near the container and his own shadow.

But that attempt ended as just an attempt. Because Kim Jae-ho who sprang out from outside the shadow grabbed Eddie’s collar and threw him into the container.

“Kuk!”

He had no time to react as his vision was blocked. Kim Jae-ho who threw Eddie hid his body between Eddie’s shadows once again.

Eddie gritted his teeth.

[Damn it.]