SRS 118

“Now that I think about it, maybe I was too obsessed with that pot.”

“What? You’re still thinking about what happened at the cafeteria? Melek handled it perfectly. I told you not to worry about it.”

Suhyeok, who had been lying in a slightly messy bed after bringing daily necessities one by one, spoke in a slightly hoarse voice. Conversely, Yohan was lying on his tidy bed, he tightly hugged the pillow. He was filled with regret.

“It’s just… I think I was a bit reckless.”

Thanks to Melek speaking up for him, he even got an apology from Reynold, but the incident was haunting Yohan.

It troubled his mind even as he prepared for sleep. At the time, the accusation of special treatment had seemed absurd and unfair, but upon reflection, he’d come to the conclusion that it was indeed special treatment, and his conscience pricked him.

Regardless of the circumstances, it was true he had obtained access to the commercial district more easily than others. The professor had assigned him a task specifically to grant him that access for Yohan’s convenience.

The students hadn’t been swayed by Reynold’s agitation for no reason. They must have subconsciously felt he was receiving special treatment, which is why they reacted that way.

Yet, when Professor Will made his proposal, he hadn’t considered it unfair. The idea of receiving crafted items from the commercial district to obtain the pot also came to him as a matter of course.

He was unknowingly accustomed to favoritism, and had provided his friends with fuel for argument. Feeling heavy-hearted, wondering if he had led an unfair school life, Yohan finally rose from his seat.

“Everyone.”

When Yohan called out to the three lying in bed, they immediately sat up. It was typical of them to get up even though they could have just listened lying down. 

Yohan glanced at the sleepy-eyed students with an apologetic look before speaking seriously.

“Have I… been taking school life too easy?”

The three looked at him with wide-awake eyes, they wondered if he were crazy. Yohan hesitated when he saw the mix of surprise, confusion, shock, and fear in his friends’ gazes.

“I feel like I’m either too favored… or have more authority than the other students. I think I stand out too much.”

Yohan fidgeted with the blanket in his hands and awkwardly averted his gaze. Had it been so long since he died as High Priest Yohan Herse? It felt like he’d completely forgotten the mindset and frugality he’d had as a priest. When he admitted that he wasn’t living a very priest-like life, Suhyeok chuckled. 

“Wow. Scary. Even living like Yohan, you have to self-police and think you’re not living right. If my kid ever says they want to be a priest, I’d never let them.”

“Suhyeok.”

“I know. I know, Kylus. I just couldn’t help snarking because it was so ridiculous. That was just a joke, so don’t take it too hard, Yohan. Sorry for speaking out of turn.”

Suhyeok sighed and apologized, then looked Yohan in the eye and took a deep breath. “Right, Yohan. Even though you regularly get offered teaching assistant positions, drawing professors’ attention to protect other students from harm by tanking it with your whole body; when the headmaster says nonsense, you can’t stand by and volunteer as a one-day professor to help your friends; when professors ambush us, you take the hardest role to protect the dorm; and when dimensional monsters invade, you take the initiative to save everyone without being told, only to push yourself too hard and cough up blood. Whenever a slightly difficult assignment comes up, you help the students who come to you day and night without feeling annoyed. Whenever unexpected things happen in every lecture, you step forward first to clean up the mess. If you hear someone’s hurt, you’ll ride a griffin through the night to heal them, even if it’s the Sky Garden, and rescue the troublemakers. Now you’re even guarding the school once a week as part of the security squad. Maybe you’re just making school life too easy for yourself.”

He spoke without a pause.

“You also ended up taking on the responsibility of raising a divine beast against your will. Yet you handle that insane schedule of three majors and three general courses like it’s routine. But I suppose your life could feel comfortable.”

As he continued speaking, Kylus looked at Yohan with renewed surprise. While he was directly telling his friend, ‘Yohan, you’re being too stubborn,’ Yohan pondered Suhyeok’s words and sighed.

At first, listing everything felt overwhelming, could he really be doing all that? But going through each point, he realized he was indeed doing it all, and he had accomplished it.

“And you’re even keeping our promise in mind.”

Mikael, who had been quietly listening, perked up.

“A promise?”

Suhyeok gave him a curious look, but Mikael didn’t explain. Suhyeok let it go as he felt it was a secret between Yohan and Mikael.

“I don’t know what it is, but now I see you’re keeping your promise to Mikael too. We’ve only been at this academy for three months, and I’m genuinely amazed at how much you’re managing to do. How are you even alive? Are you actually a spirit? I really don’t understand, what kind of life did you live as a priest that makes this current life seem easy?”

Suhyeok, who had been pretending to understand, finally asked.

“Or maybe where you lived had some kind of system too, where you get titles for achieving things, and those titles make you stronger or something?”

“…Uh, it’s not like that.”

“Then what is it?! What’s so easy about it?! I! Really! Don’t get it! At this rate, you’ll probably end up saying something like, ‘Now my school life feels a bit difficult,’ only after you go and slay a dragon or something.”

Hmm…

It seemed Suhyeok was a bit sensitive before bedtime. Realizing he’d picked the wrong time to bring it up, Yohan apologized humbly to his friend, who was reacting more prickly than usual.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Special treatment? I guess you could see it that way. But look at what you’re doing, Yohan. If the academy didn’t give you some kind of special treatment for all that work, they’d be out of their minds. And even the things they call special treatment are all conditional or full of shady motives. I can’t tell if it’s Reynold who’s crazy for saying you get special treatment, or if you’re the one who’s lost your mind for actually taking that seriously.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t tell you to apologize. I’m saying you can’t see yourself objectively. No other first-year lives as hard as you do. When you suffer that much, the favors you get now aren’t really favors. It’s just a monster with a dark belly. So don’t worry about it.”

“…Yes.”

“Then sleep.”

The student flopped onto the bed with a weary gesture. Yohan checked the time. It was 12:32 AM, so it was indeed time to hurry to sleep.

“Suhyeok’s words were rough and long-winded, but they weren’t meaningless. They were more useful than your worries.”

Kylus sighed as he pointed out Yohan’s excessive worry. Yohan nodded once more and apologized.

The swordsman lay down on his back on the bed with dignified grace and tried to sleep again.

“They are right. Don’t doubt yourself. Just sleep soundly now, Yohan. I’ll handle Reynold.”

“Yes, sorry… Huh? Wait a minute.”

Wasn’t that last remark a bit odd?

Before a flustered Yohan could ask further, Mikael lay back down on the bed. With Suhyeok now asleep, Yohan, unable to make any more noise, was restless. He felt like he had unintentionally put Reynold in danger.

“Mikael. …Leave Reynold alone. It’s not his fault. “

He whispered softly, but Mikael didn’t answer. Unsure if his words had been heard, Yohan tilted his head, then sighed.

His friends’ intense reactions made it obvious he’d been worrying over something useless.

“Haa…”

Yohan lay down on his bed. He thought he should have just worried about it alone. Before calling the students over to talk, he’d planned to go to dawn prayer and ask to regain the kind and sincere heart he’d had when he first became a priest, feeling he’d somehow forgotten that attitude and mindset. But judging by their reaction, it seemed he wouldn’t need to do that.

Judging by today’s reaction, if he went so far as to pray, his three friends might just distance themselves from him.

“…It really has been quite a lot.”

Thanks to his friends, Yohan realized once more that even within a short period, just one thing happening to him could cause quite a stir, and these disturbances kept erupting just when he thought he could forget them. He rubbed his brow and closed his eyes. Seeing Suhyeok, of all people, speak like that, it seemed like the current discomfort was something he could set aside.

After forcing himself to shake off the mental anguish and fall asleep, Yohan woke up from a nightmare that night. He was fleeing from a task monster that was causing a ruckus, demanding, “Do I look easy to you? I’ll make your life unbearable!”

***

“Then… I’ll call them.”

After the task monster nightmare, Yohan finally realized that his life was still far from easy, and he had overcome his turmoil. He blew the whistle he’d received from Professor Will. Soon after, a guide wearing a black mask appeared.

He handed the guide the permission slip from Professor Will as instructed beforehand, and the guide read it and led the four students to the commercial district.

“Wow.”

“What? The scenery’s changed.”

“Does it change a little each month?”

“I see some new shops too.”

The commercial district they entered after nearly a month looked similar yet different. Yohan looked around with wonder at the changed district—from the season, to its unique atmosphere, to the layout of the shops—and checked the map drawn on the note Professor Will had given him.

“Sightseeing is nice, but let’s go meet the craftsman first.”

Following the sketch, the once-glitzy commercial street receded behind them, revealing a slightly darker, quieter residential area. Yohan passed the ornate houses and turned into an alley lined with shabby, small dwellings.

“What is this? Why is the atmosphere so… different here?”

“It’s like a slum.”

“Come here, Yohan.”

The moment they entered the alley, a pungent stench assaulted their noses, and they saw vagrants lying in every corner. Yohan flinched and trembled, but Mikael pulled him toward himself. Guarded by his friends, Yohan cautiously stepped forward until they reached the location marked on the map.

The house where the craftsman Professor Will had asked them to find lived was particularly small and in a poor condition, as if it might collapse at any moment.

Yohan looked at the door, and then knocked cautiously.

Knock knock.

……

Knock knock knock.

……

Knock.

“…….”

After the third knock yielded no response, Yohan looked at the note with a doubtful expression. If the craftsman didn’t come out after knocking, he was supposed to recite the designated line himself, and he really didn’t like that idea.

But what could he do? He’d come this far; he couldn’t just turn back without meeting the craftsman. Finally, Yohan closed his eyes and recited the line.

“Open the door! I am the master of the fantasy realm and the proxy of the Nameless One!”

His friends looked at him again as if he were crazy. Soon after, they heard a clatter from inside the house, and the door to the place that had been tightly closed, as if no one were there, opened.