I Became a Disaster-Class Sorcery Genius

Outing (3)

Han Soyeon was determined to end this meeting for good this time.

'People would already find it weird for a man and woman to meet alone at midnight, as if for a sweet clandestine tryst...!'

At the point where they were having a conversation about how to kill someone, Han Soyeon thought this meeting had already far surpassed simple weirdness.

But then—

"To be honest, at first I thought about a five-shot crossbow. Crossbows are silent and, even from a distance, you can easily snipe and kill those guys."

"... Excuse me."

"But it seems that even if it could perform similarly to a pistol, you really need a certain level of proficiency to use it properly. The same goes for any multi-shot weapon."

"No, but—"

"So, after thinking about it a bit more, I realized poison would be better. If you could just put this in their school lunch or lunchboxes, you wouldn't have to learn anything and could take those guys out perfectly."

"...."

The situation was playing out similarly to before.

Starting with the way Han Soyeon had begun to attentively listen, dazed by Kim Dojun's machine-gun-like delivery.

"Um, but how would I put this in the school lunch?"

"That's for you to figure out from now on."

"What?"

"Listen, if I've done this much for you, isn't it only right that you think about the rest?"

"...."

"Oh."

"...?"

"If you end up putting it in the school lunch or the water tank, let me know, so I can make a note of it as well."

"... I don't think that's a matter that can be resolved by just 'making a note'...."

To the point where she started picking apart Kim Dojun's oddly sloppy plan.

'No, this can't go on.'

In the continuing conversation, Han Soyeon gripped her drifting mind tightly.

She realized that if she let herself get swept up in Kim Dojun's conversation again, she'd just end up repeating last week's situation.

"W-wait a moment."

First, she forced Kim Dojun to stop talking.

He, who had been speaking non-stop just before, shut his mouth and stared at Han Soyeon as if asking what was up.

'Now's my chance to talk!'

With that, Han Soyeon tried to open her mouth immediately, but—

"Oh."

Reaching this moment, Han Soyeon, like a fool, forgot everything she'd prepared to say before coming here...!

They say when someone's too tense, they can't speak properly.

"No, um...."

She felt things getting more tangled the more she tried, but Han Soyeon instinctively tried to organize her thoughts as quickly as she could.

As a result—

"The—"

"?"

"Just... why are you doing all this for me...?"

Instead of saying, 'I think it's best to stop here,' she spat out a jumbled sentence that was a mess of words scattered around her mind.

'Ah...! This wasn't how I wanted the conversation to go...!'

Recalling something she'd read online, that you're supposed to end conversations with a full stop and not a question, Han Soyeon felt dejected and tried to say something else, but—

"Because I don't want you to suffer."

"... Sorry?"

At his next words, she unconsciously had a blank expression.

"I told you, I can't stand watching you get bullied by those guys."

Kim Dojun spoke with a very serious expression.

Upon hearing this, Han Soyeon unconsciously felt her face flush as she hurriedly looked down.

Even words alone—she had almost never been on the receiving end of someone's concern.

But her expression gradually turned more gloomy.

Because, as she was now, hearing Kim Dojun's concern didn't particularly change anything.

"... But, even so, there's nothing I can do."

"Why?"

"Because I'm dangerous."

Having said that, Han Soyeon closed her mouth.

She couldn't explain her circumstances.

No, actually, she could, but Han Soyeon didn't want to explain.

Explaining why she silently endured all this bullying would mean spitting on her own face and having to drag out her trauma.

That's why she kept her mouth shut. But then—

"Is it because of your parents?"

"?!"

She was startled by Kim Dojun's following question.

"H-how did you know...?"

Han Soyeon stuttered unwittingly from shock, but whether she was surprised or not, it was only natural for Kim Dojun to know about it.

He'd seen her backstory by playing Sorcery Killing Technique.

Looking at Han Soyeon, who was staring up at him as if in shock, Kim Dojun finally realized what she was afraid of.

"Are you scared you'll lose it and kill those guys?"

"...!"

Han Soyeon stared at him with wide, startled eyes.

Seeing her reaction, Kim Dojun smiled brightly inwardly.

He was sure he'd hit the mark, based on her current reaction.

"So that's it. You're so kind that, if you ever use your power, you're afraid you'll lose control and kill them all, so you've never been able to get angry, right?"

"N-no, that's not..."

She shook her head, denying it, but Kim Dojun was already convinced and smiled as he continued.

"Don't worry. Even if you use your power, they won't die."

"What? That's not possible...! I—"

"You were just a kid back then, right? Now you can control it."

"C-control?"

"Yeah, you can control it now."

Truthfully, Kim Dojun had no idea if Han Soyeon could control Divine Descent, but he just tossed it out there for now.

"Think about how old you were back then and how old you are now. It's been over a decade, hasn't it?"

"That's true, but..."

"Sorry to keep bringing up your painful past, but back then, you lost it and couldn't control your Divine Descent, right?"

"...."

Han Soyeon said nothing.

She tried to say something, but Kim Dojun didn't give her the chance, continuing to speak.

"It's the same now. What if you keep bottling up all this bullying and then explode someday?"

"N-now that I'm older, I can handle it—"

"No, there's always a limit to human mental endurance, and in my view, you're already at yours."

This was actually only his fourth time meeting Han Soyeon in person.

"In short, you need to let it out before you explode. You don't have to kill them. I'm just saying, get some revenge."

Frankly, killing them was best, but telling Han Soyeon to go kill those guys now would be the worst choice.

Since the current Han Soyeon was traumatized by the act of killing.

That's why Kim Dojun was planning a gradual, step-by-step approach, a 'drizzle tactic'.

Just as people don't realize their clothes are getting wet in a drizzle, she could beat them up once and then maybe think, 'Huh? Maybe killing isn't that big a deal?'

"Just... revenge?"

"Yeah, just revenge."

"But what if I end up killing them...."

"You can control yourself, as long as you're not completely out of it, right?"

"Still..."

Han Soyeon hesitated.

Kim Dojun sensed he had to push firmly here and spoke forcefully.

"Listen closely, Han Soyeon. People don't die that easily."

"... Didn't you say before that they die easily...?"

"Think about it. If you shoot someone in the arm, would they die?"

"... No, probably not?"

"What if you shoot them in the leg?"

"I don't think so...."

"See? Even if you generously shoot someone in the stomach, they won't die right away. Humans are basically resilient. The same goes for a bat—unless you hit the head, people rarely die. Understand?"

"... If I avoid hitting the head, they... won't die...?"

"That's right. In short, even if you use your divine descent, as long as you don't hit their heads, you can just carry out appropriate revenge and call it done. And, on top of that—"

As if imparting something crucial, Kim Dojun whispered by her ear.

"—you can also make sure those guys won't bully you anymore."

"... They won't bully me anymore?"

"Guys like them are like jackals. Once you rough them up, they're too scared to mess with you again."

Saying that, Kim Dojun continued to talk for some time, repeating the somewhat contradictory message, 'People don't die as easily as you think,' which was slightly at odds with what he'd lectured about so far.

Han Soyeon waited for his tirade to end and then quietly spoke up.

"Um, but..."

"Why? Did you finally realize just how tough people are?"

"... No, that's not it..."

"Then what?"

"... You obviously know about, um, that incident I caused... Don't you feel anything about it?"

Han Soyeon looked at him with an uneasy gaze, but Kim Dojun replied without a second's hesitation.

"I actually think you did the right thing."

"... What?"

"Your mother abused you. What's wrong with snapping and doing something after parental abuse?"

Han Soyeon stared at him blankly, but Kim Dojun continued.

'If it had been me, I would've German suplexed them off Lotte Tower.'

With that thought, he looked at Han Soyeon with a brazenly confident expression and said,

"You did nothing wrong. The one at fault isn't you—it's your parents. If someone does something deserving of death, they deserve to die. I probably would've done the same."

"Ah."

Han Soyeon widened her eyes as if she were seeing something impossible.

But Kim Dojun didn't properly register her reaction, as he immediately returned to the original topic, 'People don't die as easily as you think,' and passionately resumed his lecture.

Thirty minutes later—

"I-I'll give it a try...!"

"Yeah, that's it. Just try and see...!"

Kim Dojun watched Han Soyeon's bright smile and realized he had finally achieved his first objective.

####

The next day.

Having finally succeeded, in his own way, at 'recruiting' Han Soyeon last night, Kim Dojun was in high spirits.

[Save me—! Kkyeeeek!]

He was beating up Tam on the walking trail.

Each time Kim Dojun swung his club, Tam rhythmically wailed in pain.

But Kim Dojun didn't stop, and after some time had passed—

[Kkii— kkiii—]

Watching Tam whimper and withdraw into Dan's shadow, Kim Dojun spoke.

"Satisfied with the performance?"

"... I am."

Dan, as if impressed, stroked his own head.

"Ever since you beat me like a dog, my mind's been clear."

"That's good to hear. Let's meet up again in four days."

"In four days?"

"Yeah. By then, things will probably get noisy again."

Dan nodded, as if understanding Kim Dojun's words.

Actually, ever since Kim Dojun had given Tam a beating a few days ago, Dan had enjoyed a fantastic daily life.

But then—

"Oh, and."

"?"

"Get me a ticket to the Divine Temple."

"... Divine Temple ticket?"

At the sudden request, Dan couldn't help but stiffen his face.

The Divine Temple.

That was a city for criminals—a place on some Pacific island, where sorcerers who'd committed crimes gathered.

Just going there was extremely dangerous. That's why Dan was so shocked, but Kim Dojun remained calm.

"You can manage it, right?"

"... It's possible, but."

"Then get me one. I've got someplace to be."

"...."

Dan couldn't help but be curious as to what business Kim Dojun had in that city of criminals, but he decided not to ask.

After all, as long as you'd entered Divine Temple even once, anyone could get a ticket.

"... I'll prepare it, but it'll take about a week."

Since it would take some time, Dan replied as such.

"That's not bad. Actually, that timing is perfect for me."

Kim Dojun instead welcomed Dan's answer, scheduled their next meeting for four days later, and returned to his dorm.

Then—

"Alright, with the Divine Temple ticket secured—"

Kim Dojun opened up his notebook, where he'd been jotting down the settings of Sorcery Killing Technique.

'Now, how am I going to make money? Gotta start planning for that week ahead.'

Muttering to himself, he started looking forward to the week to come.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Not being intelligent doesn't mean not being able to make plans.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】