Ch. 223 - End of Summer (4)

Chapter 223: End of Summer (4)

The monsoon season of the Waning Moon Plains, which continued for so long with no intention to stop, was finally nearing its end. 

Now, one could enjoy the warm sunlight every morning and hear the sounds of cicadas and sparrows chirping outside the window. 

The end of the monsoon season in Waning Moon Plains also signified the arrival of the end of summer, allowing merchants to finally breathe a sigh of relief and relax.

“… Wow.”

At the Lotus Inn, which was known as the heart of the plains, Baek Yu-Seol greeted the morning and stared in awe at the Waning Moon Plains outside the window. 

Even a single rainbow was beautiful and fascinating, but here, in the vast Waning Moon Plains, there were dozens of rainbows decorating the sky.

This was the world’s greatest spectacle. Something that could be found only in the Waning Moon Plains.

“So beautiful…”

The Waning Moon Plains were already beautiful enough on their own, but the sight of dozens of rainbows stretching across the sky was beyond what words could describe.

Knock! Knock!

While he was admiring the scenery in daze, he heard a knock.

“Yes. Come in.”

With a polite apology, the door opened, and waiters dressed in suits entered, pushing a high-end hotel cart. The kind you’d see in luxury hotels.

“We have prepared your breakfast.”

“Oh… Yes…”

Baek Yu-Seol felt quite burdened. He wasn’t someone deserving of such treatment. 

Whether they knew how he felt or not, they set the table with breakfast and quickly left.

Perhaps because it was morning, the breakfast wasn’t overly extravagant.

There was a soup, probably made with truffles or something. And soft and moist bread which appeared lighter than clouds along with sandwiches. 

Even though it looked simple, the food was undeniably high-class and tasted out of this world.

“… It’s delicious.”

As he slowly ate the soup, he recalled what had happened before. 

A week ago, when he was trapped ten years in the past, it was Jeliel who miraculously appeared and rescued him. 

He still didn’t know why she appeared, but the important point was that she saved him and hoped he would stay here for the rest of the vacation. 

She said that once the academy started, they wouldn’t see each other often.

Honestly, Baek Yu-Seol didn’t quite understand. 

Why did it matter if they didn’t see each other often? 

They weren’t particularly close. 

Well. He did save her father before, and she promised to compensate him fairly for that.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand. 

After finishing the meal, the waiters returned, asking if the food was good and if he had a comfortable meal. They even served him coffee directly. 

Afraid they might bow to the ground if he said no, Baek Yu-Seol simply replied that it was good.

“Sigh…”

After sending them away and finally having a moment to breathe, he checked the time. 

It was Saturday. Next Monday, Stella Academy would start. 

This meant it was time to go back. 

—

After returning to the present, he had stayed at the Lotus Inn for a week, having lunch and dinner with Jeliel every day. 

Unfortunately, due to her busy schedule, they could only share meals together. 

He didn’t know why, but he felt a bit disappointed.

“… Are you going back now?”

Jeliel always kept a stern, expressionless face. He didn’t know if it was just with him or with everyone, but her expression was always so grim that he sometimes wished she would smile.

“I can’t attend the academy from here.”

Baek Yu-Seol answered while cutting the meat, and Jeliel bit her lip slightly.

“I see…”

“Well. I can visit sometimes.”

He hated awkward silences. 

In their two-person meals, if both of them stayed silent, it would get very awkward, so he always talked non-stop. 

Every time, Jeliel would just smile faintly and listen.

Was she naturally quiet? Or did she dislike conversations? 

As he continued talking alone for a while, she finally spoke.

“Recently… I started a business.”

“A business?”

She handed him a file. The cover read [Sharing Love] in large letters.

“This is…?”

“I’m starting with small things.”

“Oh.”

Come to think of it, they had discussed something related to this before. 

He had also been thinking it would be good for the Starcloud Trading Company to push forward with welfare projects and was looking for an opportunity to bring it up. 

But before he could ask, Jeliel had already started.

But…

“Small things?”

It was anything but small. Even from a quick read, he could tell. 

They had a seven-layer audit system to prevent donations from being diverted, policies to support international disaster relief and volunteers, and so on. It was all very systematic and well-planned.

“I’ll start with hunger relief. Next, I’ll implement an emergency support system for disaster relief and families in crisis.”

“Oh… That’s… impressive.”

Even though that seemed impressive enough, she still seemed unsatisfied.

“There are more people in need of my help than I thought.”

Of course. One of the biggest issues causing their misfortune was financial.

“But… I still can’t fully understand who needs help and where.”

There were limits to information-gathering capabilities. 

In a world where information delivery was slower than on Earth and disasters were frequent, the problem was even more pronounced.

“For that…”

“I’ll establish a foundation.”

“Huh?”

"I will establish branches of the 'Humanity Sharing Foundation' worldwide, so that there will be no place where my eyes and hands cannot reach."

The scale of her plans seemed to be growing larger and larger. 

"It may seem small... But I have to start atoning in some way. Once I finish this task, I plan to run around personally."

Jeliel. She had truly come to feel the emotion of 'guilt' and wished to atone for it herself. 

That was... The most ideal conclusion Baek Yu-Seol could have imagined, so he couldn't help but smile. 

Jeliel, who could have driven all of humanity to ruin for her own benefit, now felt guilt. She was changing enough to establish a charitable foundation herself.

Of course, this wouldn’t completely erase the sins she had committed. But he decided to focus on the fact that she was starting to do good deeds from now on. 

If she performed as many good deeds as the evil ones she had done, or even more, the world would undoubtedly change because of her.

"That's admirable."

So, facing her, he could smile broadly without feeling any discomfort.

"Oh..."

When he smiled, she also smiled back. 

It wasn’t a forced smile for the sake of pretense but a genuine one. 

Seeing her smile so brightly, it made her, who was already like a protagonist-level beauty, look even prettier.

Baek Yu-Seol was genuinely glad that Jeliel had come to know emotions.

---

Baek Yu-Seol used a train to return to Stella Academy. 

Since he had been talking with Jeliel until late in the evening, he missed the direct airship to Stella. 

He had no choice but to take a train to a satellite city of the magic city Arcanium and then use a nearby departing airship.

Train travel. 

It wasn't bad. 

The Waning Moon Plains were already beautiful, and sometimes, he wanted to enjoy such leisure.

Looking back, ever since he fell into the Aether World, he realized he had been living a very busy life. 

He had been constantly chasing main episodes, the Twelve Divine Moons, and artifacts with specific goals, and because of that, he had gained many connections. 

But it wasn’t enough. 

He took out a white orb from his backpack. It was an item he received as a reward for completing the episode this time. 

[Crystal Orb of the 498 Witches]

If there was an item that greatly helped with growth, the greatest one would be the ‘Wheel of Dawn,’ but he had already used it up like a consumable, making it impossible to obtain again.

However, although the Wheel of Dawn was stable, it had the disadvantage which only allowed very gradual growth over a long period. 

Moreover, due to his Mana Leakage Delay, its efficiency was extremely low, so even when he played the game, he didn’t prefer it much. 

But this witch's crystal orb was a bit different.

Though it was dangerous, it allowed a significant leap in one go. 

This place was reality, and he only had one life, so he wouldn’t do anything extremely dangerous. However, he needed to grow a bit faster even if it meant taking some risks.

'While I’ve been running around, Ma Yu-Seong must have powered up another level...'

Of course, no matter how great Ma Yu-Seong was, he wouldn’t achieve something monstrous like Class 5 level in the first year.

But during the summer vacation, he would have gained 'experience.' 

According to the original game's story, Ma Yu-Seong in the first year was known to have strong power but lacked experience, making him roughly equal to Hae Won-Ryang.

If Ma Yu-Seong gained experience and developed a rivalry with Hae Won-Ryang, then a truly formidable monster would be born. 

While it was certainly good because Ma Yu-Seong could still be guided to the righteous side, the problem was that not only Ma Yu-Seong but the other protagonists would have achieved tremendous growth during the summer vacation.

And Baek Yu-Seol would be the only one with stagnant growth.

To play a significant role in the upcoming episodes, he needed to grow a bit faster.

'What was the episode right after the summer vacation again?'

He remembered that multiple episodes occurred simultaneously, and the player could choose just one of them. 

Among them, the most popular story was...

'Was it the ghost stories?'

He pondered for a moment. In the game, one could only choose and proceed with one episode, but was there such a convenient feature in reality? 

No way. 

In reality, all the possible episodes might unfold simultaneously. 

There, he would surely have to play a significant role, so he decided to use the witch's crystal orb...

Clang! Thud!

“Ugh?!”

While contemplating with the crystal in hand, the train suddenly jolted, causing his body to lurch forward. 

Thanks to his superhuman physique, he reacted quickly and avoided serious injury, but he dropped the witch's crystal on the floor. 

“Damn.”

As he struggled to lift his head and look outside the window, it was pitch dark. 

“What is this... a tunnel...?” 

- No.

It felt like a voice was hammering directly into his mind, a hallucination. 

Realizing it was telepathy, he quickly pulled out the Teripon and activated the sword, but it didn't emit light properly.

'Damn...!'

Baek Yu-Seol’s Teripon was damaged during the battle with Isaac Morph. 

Although he couldn’t generate a sword with another staff, he hurriedly grabbed a temporary staff and dashed into the train corridor.

There stood someone cloaked in black, staring at him. 

Even though their head was covered by the robe, the place where their face should have been was empty, void. 

As if their head had been intentionally severed.

- Who are you?

He, or she, asked Baek Yu-Seol.

“... Don’t you think I should be the one asking you that?”

‘Who is this?’

‘Why now?’

‘On a train?’

As Baek Yu-Seol thought about the identity of the person, his hand moved to grab the Sentient Spec, but he extended his hand toward him first.

- Stop.

“Ugh...!”

Baek Yu-Seol’s hand wouldn't budge.

Damn it! Without the specs, he couldn’t identify him.

- I'll ask again. Who’re you? Why do you have the witch's crystal?

“What...?” 

The witch's crystal might be an item, but once it appeared in reality, it became a tangible object. For example, the Sentient Spec he was using now. 

This means it naturally drew the attention of those aware of the existence of the ‘witch,’ which had disappeared from this world.

‘Damn it, you fool…’

‘Why didn't I think that far?’

Baek Yu-Seol was short-sighted. 

In the game, you could take out and put away items without such trivial events.

- ...You won't answer.

Seeing Baek Yu-Seoo deep in thought, he must have interpreted it as his unwillingness to respond, so the black-cloaked figure spread his arms.

- But, you don't have to answer.

“What do you mean...?”

- I am a witch hunter.

“...!”

His unexpected words made Baek Yu-Seol open his eyes wide. 

The  person with black cloak then summoned a giant black scythe with a staff and said.

- And you, who possess the crystal... must be a witch.

With that, he swung the black scythe, aiming precisely for Baek Yu-Seol’s neck.

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