I Escaped the Exile Story Only To Find It Was a Regret Trope

29 – 5# Unexpected Reunion with Friends (4)

As a result, this incident was handled solely by Instructor Lee Young-seok.

From Yu-shin’s perspective, it was a very unsatisfactory conclusion. But there was no other way to find out more. Instructor Lee Young-seok was no longer in a sane state.

To put it bluntly, he had become a wreck.

Instructor Lee Young-seok, with his unstable mind, couldn’t answer questions properly. He just stared blankly into space, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Thanks to this, Instructor Lee Young-seok was dragged away like a child by other instructors who had rushed over from the academy. From what I heard, his prognosis wasn’t very good.

[They have a technology to extract memories directly from the brain.]

[What happens to the person if they use that?]

[They probably won’t be able to recover their mind for the rest of their life.]

It might be a cruel judgment, but it’s not incomprehensible.

This world is clearly at war with monsters. Even in fights between humans, traitors are often punished thoroughly.

Moreover, the enemy isn’t even human, but monsters.

But to betray humans and side with monsters, and even transform into a monster himself? He would no longer be treated as a human.

I don’t feel any sympathy.

I also know that a lot of dirty work is done this way.

The world doesn’t operate with clean methods alone.

Yu-shin, who had saved the world as a hero, knew this better than anyone. Besides, he had no good memories of Instructor Lee Young-seok, so he had no loyalty or obligation to save him.

And above all, Yu-shin had more urgent matters to attend to.

The definition of a monster is anything that comes through the gate from another dimension. Even if a life form that closely resembles a human appears here.

Everyone agreed to treat it as a monster.

According to that logic, Athena was also considered a monster. As a result, the instructors regarded Athena as a monster and immediately attempted to subdue her.

“The welcome is rougher than I expected.”

The problem was that Athena subdued them all in an instant. Athena had undoubtedly reached the realm of heroes. There are many opinions about the realm of heroes.

If there’s a common understanding, it’s the power to face an army alone, or having the means or methods to do so.

In fact, the term “realm of heroes” is grand, but it can’t be precisely defined. Everyone has different values and perceptions of power.

Anyway, thanks to Athena subduing all the instructors, they gained some time. Yu-shin didn’t miss the opportunity and immediately proposed a deal to Principal Ban Se-rin.

“Are you planning to raise a monster yourself?”

“It’s not a monster. To put it simply, it’s like a contracted summon.”

“Hmm? A summon? Then that thing is a servant?”

Fortunately, in this world, there were also heroes with the concept of summoners, known as servants. A servant was literally a monster controlled by a hero through a contract.

There were those who would stop at nothing to win the war against monsters. Among them, some created a system to control monsters through contracts.

Thus, the servant system was born. It was said that among the monsters, there were many that were either hostile to each other or friendly to humans.

The system involved contracting with them to fight other monsters. In short, it was like the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Of course, there were those who distrusted this system.

Frankly speaking, they were also monsters.

How could they trust and rely on them?

However, it was also taught in the last history class that they had already received too much help from the servant system to ignore or abolish it.

‘This is more useful than I thought.’

Just by focusing on the class, he could use the information so effectively. Thanks to this, Yushin was able to give a pretty good excuse to the principal who came to see him.

Moreover, Ban Serin had already firmly decided to support Yushin, so Athena was able to pass as Yushin’s servant without much trouble.

“Is it because of me that there’s a problem?”

“Well, yes, but it’s been resolved somehow.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”

“Then do better from now on.”

Athena looked quite embarrassed at Yushin’s scolding. Yushin was slightly surprised by her unexpectedly mild reaction, but he maintained a calm exterior.

He wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble. Especially since she was immortal and wouldn’t die. Even if sealed, she would eventually break free.

‘But I can’t abandon a comrade who suffered with me.’

No matter how much Yushin had changed, he still valued his comrades. Especially Athena, who had been with him from the beginning to the end.

He owed her a lot.

That was why Yushin couldn’t bring himself to abandon her.

No matter how much she annoyed him.

Without her, he wouldn’t have survived the trials and would have become a corpse. Even if that wasn’t the case, he couldn’t ignore a comrade stranded in a strange world.

Yushin wasn’t that rotten to the core.

But there was one thing he had to make clear. Why did she, an immortal, end up in this other world? Yushin sighed and said,

“Let’s talk. What is your purpose here?”

At first, Yushin hated her so much it made him sick. But as his emotions subsided and he regained his composure, a seed of curiosity began to sprout in his heart.

No matter how obsessed she was with dueling.

Would she really cross dimensions just for a single duel?

She was a guardian deity protecting the continent, after all.

Regaining his composure, Yushin soon realized that such an assumption was absurd. The Athena he knew was not a rogue who would abandon her mission.

There must be a plausible reason.

For example, the resurrection of the Demon King. Or perhaps the resurgence of those cultists. Could it be that she was seeking me, the hero, for such reasons? Such thoughts crossed his mind.

“Someone is looking for you.”

“For what reason? Is it some kind of dramatic story or something?”

“No, it’s for a very personal reason.”

Of course, from Athena’s perspective, she had no choice but to answer this way. Overcome with longing for the hero, unable to resist the desire to see him again, she had come all this way.

However, upon hearing that answer, Yushin thought,

‘Could she really have come all this way just for a duel?’

Not for a greater cause, but for a very personal reason.

No way, right?

* * *

“This is surprising. To think it would turn out as you said.”

His exaggerated gestures could not be hidden even by the thick darkness. He was a middle-aged man neatly dressed in a suit, wearing a fedora.

On the surface, he appeared to be an ordinary gentleman. Neatly combed hair, the scent of cologne emanating from his body, and above all, his excellent appearance.

But anyone who knew even a little about the man would either run away or try to take his life. The reason was simple.

He was not human.

The man smiled and took a sip of the liquid in the wine glass he was holding. The deep red liquid sparkled, looking like wine at first glance.

However, anyone with a keen eye, or familiar with the liquid, would recognize it as blood.

Just in time, the test subject had come rolling in on its own. Thanks to that, a good experiment could be conducted. The power of the newly formed alliance, and the potential enemy.

“However, it’s hard to believe. Is that Baek Yushin really a hero?”

[No doubt. While others might not know, I can tell.]

“How can you be so sure?”

[Because I was once his comrade.]

The figure was not visible. Only the voice echoed through the thick darkness. But the man nodded as if he understood.

“If you say so, then it must be true. How about a drink?”

[I’ll overlook the mockery. But if you mess up, then…]

“Don’t worry. Isn’t the wise man, who was once the hero’s companion, helping me?”

I’ve already heard the whole story from him, so I roughly know the situation. Another world, this place, and of course, a world different from the one they originally lived in.

Who would have known?

That the wise man, the hero’s companion, was actually the one behind controlling the demon king and the demons? He even considered the hero an obstacle and went as far as to banish him.

Everything seemed to be going according to his plan.

Until the hero, who had returned, bravely wielded his sword and beheaded him. Everyone must have thought he was dead. Even the hero himself.

But he survived, albeit imperfectly.

And once again, he seeks to achieve his goal.

His goal is singular, salvation.