Chapter 34: Leading Manager Kang Seol-yeon (5)

Levile.

As a hero, he left numerous footprints.
First, he subjugated the Demon Lord who had emerged as the greatest threat, and then he disposed of the Sage who had posed as a savior.

But even though he saved everyone, he himself was not saved.
When the hero was unjustly framed and exiled, very few people helped him.

To be precise, they couldn’t help.
Because he was exiled so suddenly one day.
Perhaps that was the stratagem aimed at by the Sage, the leader of the Saviors.

Indeed, Levile was practically our core.
The moment Levile disappeared, we collapsed like a disorganized mob.
And some of them even joined the Savior.

But at least Athena believed until the very end that Levile was innocent.
Because she was the one who fought alongside him until the very, very end on the battlefield.

Naturally, Athena’s existence was a huge obstacle to the Savior.
He had tried to absorb all of the hero’s achievements, but Athena, a huge mountain, blocked him.

[The Moon God is actually an evil god.]

[While we suffered on earth, what did she ever do for us?]

[Therefore, Athena, the child of the Moon God, is also an evil god.]

He spread such ridiculous rumors.
No matter how ridiculous a rumor is, if the majority believes it.
It becomes the truth.
Athena finally realized that fact.

But it was already too late.

Whether by pressure.
Or by incitement.
The majority of people had gone over to the Savior.
Thanks to that, Athena was cornered to the point of being sealed.

[Didn’t you say your conviction was to never give up until the end?]

However, at that moment.
At the moment just before being sealed, if Levile hadn’t appeared.
What would have become of her by now?
She didn’t even want to dare to imagine that sight.

Yes, it’s no exaggeration to say that my life exists thanks to Levile.

Thanks to him awakening me from my arrogance, I was able to grow into a true hero.
And because I barely received help at a moment of crisis, I was able to survive unscathed.

“You foolish boy, just because your appearance has changed.
Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you until the end?”

Why did the hero pretend not to know?
The reason was simple.
Because his appearance had completely changed, because he was weaker than before.
So he probably pretended not to know.

‘Because I’m too weak.’

He probably thought he could no longer be with me.

Yes, the hero she knew would surely have thought that.
However, to Athena, such things didn’t matter.
No matter what his appearance was, a hero was a hero.

My one and only hero, whom I love more than anyone else.

Yuri and Ha-young were frozen by Athena’s sudden action, but it didn’t last long.
The one who moved first was, surprisingly, the timid Ha-young.

“Get away from Yu-shin!”

Ha-young tried desperately to detach Athena, who was clinging to him like a sticky rice cake, but she wouldn’t budge.
Watching that, Yu-shin shook his head.

‘I have no answer either.’

Even Yu-shin himself was trying to push Athena away, but she wouldn’t budge at all.
Of course, Athena was a demigod and a war hero after all.

The difference between a hero-class and a hero-class is usually determined by whether they can deal with high-ranking demons.
Here, high-ranking demons easily overwhelm the intermediate demons explained before.

And they even possess the power to lightly deal with high-level demons that can destroy a city if a few gather.
Ogres are the benchmark for high-level demons.

Even if a few Ogres gathered, it was the hero-class who could deal with them without difficulty.
In other words, it could be said that Athena possessed such immense power.

Still, if it had been Yu-shin in his Levile days, it might have been different.
But now, as he struggled even with a single Ogre, there was no way he could push Athena away.

“Levile?
Who’s that?”

At that sight, Yuri felt a sense of crisis.
She didn’t know who Athena was mistaking him for.
Brother is my brother, Yu-shin, and no one else.

Yu-shin, bound by Athena’s immense power, barely regained consciousness at Yuri’s words.
Dangerous, if I drag this out here, I might be suspected.

To clear the main scenario, the help of the heroines is necessary.
But creating unnecessary suspicion in such a situation is not a good thing.

“Athena, get a grip.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Just play along with me for a bit.”

“Hmm, if that’s what you want.”

Athena was disappointed to be separated from Yu-shin right away, but still, she had finally met the hero she had been waiting for.
So she obediently listened to Yu-shin.

Thanks to that, Yu-shin got the chance to explain himself.
To protect the main scenario and return.
First, he needed to calm the burning public sentiment.

“So, this girl is mistaking me for someone else right now.”

“Mistaking you?”

“Yes, it seems there was a guy named Levile in the world she came from.”

“So she made a contract with Brother?”

“Well, something like that.”

That’s not right, didn’t she clearly say she was looking for someone else at first?

Yuri and Ha-young had doubtful expressions, but Yu-shin was brazenly assertive.
If he backed down here, it would all be for nothing.
He had to keep pushing.

“So, it’s that.
Hmm, should I say she momentarily mistook me for being similar?”

“No.
This person is Levile.”

“Now I see, this is a crazy btch.”

“She must have lost her mind, poor thing.”

Yuri wore an expression of utter contempt, and Ha-young’s words, though seemingly sympathetic.
Were laced with thorns.
Watching that, Yu-shin clicked his tongue.

At least, very fortunately.

Yuri and Ha-young seemed to have concluded that Athena was a crazy btch.
Thanks to that, Yu-shin was no longer suspected, but instead, he gained a burden on his mind.

“I’m sorry, it seems you’ve become a mental patient because of me.”

“It doesn’t particularly matter.
It’s not wrong.”

“What do you mean by that?”

At the incomprehensible words, Yu-shin tilted his head, and Athena smiled and gently tapped Yu-shin’s nose with her index finger.

“It means I’m crazy about you.”

With a single word filled with love.

There’s a saying that a thief feels his own heart prick.

Just like that, Hyunwoo was not in his right mind right now.
He had isolated Yu-shin, including the Sword Saint Squad, and tried to capture other heroines to steal the protagonist’s position.

But what the heck?
He couldn’t even pass the renowned Class S exam, and even worse than capturing heroines.
He even had them taken away.
This alone was enough to drive him crazy.

And now, Hyunwoo’s favorite character, Seol-yeon, had started investigating what happened to Yu-shin?
Naturally, since he had secretly done things to Yu-shin until now.

Hyunwoo felt like he would go crazy with worry that he might be found out.
He had proceeded while keeping it a secret so that others wouldn’t find out as much as possible.
But there wasn’t a complete lack of evidence.

‘In the first place, Kang Seol-yeon would find out somehow anyway.’

If it was the Seol-yeon Hyunwoo knew, she would reach the truth somehow.
That’s why Kang Seol-yeon became his favorite.
What should I do?
Should I just confess now?

But he had already come too far to confess.

In the first place, she would never forgive an act that led a person to suicide.
Seol-yeon was that kind of person.
No matter how close they were, she applied public and private matters most strictly.

‘She’ll be incredibly disappointed.
She’ll leave my side.
And she’ll go to his side.’

No.
I don’t care about the other heroines, but I don’t want to hand Seol-yeon over to that guy.
She’s my favorite, she’s mine alone.
I can never hand her over, I won’t!!

“Yes, if we fight again, I can win.”

Hyunwoo got up from his seat, clutching his aching head.
He had lost in the Class S promotion exam because he was too careless.
If he fought properly, he would win against anyone.

It wasn’t too late yet.

He could still steal the protagonist’s position now.
After all, the stronger guy is the protagonist.
Hyunwoo was already cornered to the point where he couldn’t think normally.

And there was only one place where Hyunwoo’s hatred was directed.

Baek Yu-shin.

The thief trying to steal everything from me.
Since he’s a thief trying to steal what’s mine, I’ll deal with him first.
This isn’t a crime, it’s self-defense.

It was nonsense that a normal person would be horrified to hear.

Surprisingly, there was one being quietly watching such a Hyunwoo.
From an empty alley, watching Hyunwoo stumbling somewhere.

[He might be more useful than I thought.]

A shadow hidden in the darkness moved stealthily.
He was a decent vessel.
But before that, should I test his skills?
It seems he’s about to fight the hero.

If he shows some decent results.
I might be able to give him another chance.

Anyway, both this guy and I want revenge.
The being hidden in the shadow swore.
To surely get revenge on the hero who took everything from him.

Vengeance, burning for different reasons, began to head towards the hero.