The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Solo Heaven! Couple Hell! (2)

Go Donghyuk was a student who had risen to the position of president at Middle School 3.

It was said that very few students in the entire school could stand on equal footing with him.

Like Seongjin, it seemed he had taken control of the entire school through force.

Thanks to that, the number of followers around him had endlessly increased.

You could call it a student council, but... its form somehow looked a bit different.

"Solo Heaven!"

—Couple Hell!

"Solo Heaven!"

—Couple Hell!

"Solo Heaven!"

—Couple Hell!

Normally, you'd imagine a student council sitting around a round table in a large room, holding meetings.

But the student council now in front of them was, how should she put it...

"A new pillar has joined our student council!"

—Waaaah!!

Go Donghyuk, wearing flamboyant priest's garb, was giving a speech from the podium.

Below him, a multitude of students had gathered, cheering wildly at his words.

Sang-ah fell into deep thought as she watched the spectacle.

'Is it because his family runs a church?'

If that was the case, the priest's robe instead of a school uniform made some sense.

But this scene was impossible to truly understand, no matter how much she watched it.

It looked closer to a cult than a student council, and yet not sacred at all to be called a religion.

It was, how should I put it... like a mafia disguised as a religion you'd see on TV investigation programs.

The word "pseudo-religion" ruled Sang-ah's mind.

"Now, let me introduce these two new collaborators!"

—Waaaah!!

Go Donghyuk pointed to Ma Seongjin standing beside the podium.

At that, the believers... no, the students, cheered even louder upon seeing him.

News that he was the top student at Middle School 2 had already spread among them.

It was no wonder they were thrilled that someone like him was partnering with them. And then...

"Kwon Sang-ah, what are you doing? You need to come up too."

"Uh... huh?"

Kwon Sang-ah herself was included among those collaborators.

Looking bewildered, Sang-ah stood next to Ma Seongjin.

—Hey, isn't she the daughter of the Hwasan Guildmaster?

—She's super famous! Didn't she even beat up magic power teachers in elementary school?

—No way! That's amazing!

Recognizing her face, the believers (students) began to chatter noisily and fuss.

Sang-ah, who had good hearing, could make out every one of their words.

The barrage of excessive compliments and praise made her dizzy.

"With this, the ideals of our student council will spread far and wide!"

Clapclapclapclap—!

Cheers were followed by a round of applause. From start to finish, Sang-ah watched it all, clicking her tongue.

This whole school was definitely out of its mind. But there was a reason to accept their cooperation.

"As you know, lately Middle School 3 has been facing many mysterious threats. A group calling itself the Sura Guild suddenly appeared and started manipulating other students."

Apparently, delinquent students had begun gathering around a third-year named Emily. The root cause probably lay with Go Donghyuk himself.

"Not long ago, my family lost their home to an attack by them. Just because our bloodline isn't ordinary."

—No way...

—That's too much!

The students (believers) grew angry at the sad news.

The reason the Sura Guild had suddenly begun interfering at Middle School 3 was none other than Go Donghyuk.

Just as his family church was attacked last time, go Donghyuk—the pastor's child—had become a prime target.

"But thanks to the efforts of these people here, my family is safe now. Especially, the Hwasan Guild has promised to protect us."

—If it's the Hwasan Guild...

With those words, all the eyes of the students (believers) naturally turned to Kwon Sang-ah.

Sang-ah made a troubled face, as if pleading for them not to stare. Of course, it wasn't Sang-ah's influence that had motivated the guildmaster Kwon Yongha to help.

It was purely at Ma Seongjin's instigation.

"Thanks to them, I'm also under protection, and I am truly grateful to both of you!"

—Waaaah!

—Hwasan Guild is the best!

—Kwon Sang-ah is the best!

—Guildmaster is the best!

—Father-daughter duo, the best!

She was going crazy. She felt like she was about to lose her mind.

How could she be praised as a set with that damned father of hers?

Sang-ah put on a withered, dried-up face, her spirit battered and exhausted.

Please, just stop.

She was dying of embarrassment.

"But we can't just stand by and do nothing. My problem is only a temporary fix. There's no guarantee they won't target you next!"

"So we must protect our school with our own hands! We must protect ourselves! No matter how great the guild from China is, we mustn't be intimidated!"

After all, these people had tried to kill churchgoers; who knew what they might do next?

Moreover, this place was Hand, a hunter training academy.

There could be plenty of people associated with those guys here.

Thanks to the backing of the Hwasan Guild there was no risk of them being kidnapped like Michael's incident, but that didn't mean other forms of threat wouldn't come—they'd need to take preemptive action.

"The most important thing right now is to ascertain their whereabouts. Even though I don't know yet... I'd appreciate your support, everyone!"

—Of course we should!

—Long live the President!

The students (believers) let out renewed shouts at the completion of Go Donghyuk's speech.

"Though the enemy we face this time isn't a couple, we mustn't forget our mission! Solo Heaven!"

—Couple Hell!

"Solo Heaven!"

—Couple Hell!

Once again, a scene of frenzy unfolded. Whatever happened, couples would not be tolerated. That was this cult—no, student council's creed.

If any dating activity was discovered, go Donghyuk himself would interrogate the offenders and pluck out handfuls of armpit hair as torture.

'Just imagining it is horrifying.'

But it was also astonishing that so many students followed such a creed.

Kwon Sang-ah continued to watch the scene with a look of disbelief. Yet, there was an even bigger issue.

"What's wrong, Kwon Sang-ah? Why aren't you shouting?"

The point was, Seongjin was actively participating in all of this.

Sang-ah clicked her tongue at the way Seongjin seemed to go berserk at the mere sight of couples.

It was as if he was reflexively releasing pent-up resentment—a trauma from his time in that "Mewzealand" world, maybe.

What on earth had he gone through there to make him behave like this?

"Okay, solo Heaven!"

"Cou... Couple Hell!"

"Solo Heaven!"

"Couple... Hell!"

Having given in to Ma Seongjin, Sang-ah had no choice but to chant along. Her face was as if forced to eat something as unpleasant as mustard.

"Couples must disappear!"

Not only the students here, but Seongjin as well—none of them were in their right mind.

'Please, someone get me out of here...'

****

"Why are you all so useless?!"

Middle School 3—girls' dormitory.

In the largest room of all, a girl's frustrated scream rang out.

Emily Ruin, class 5, grade 3. She had blond hair and the appearance that could be called beautiful, as well as the mature looks expected of a third-year student.

But despite her fresh exterior, she was infamous throughout Middle School 3 for all the wrong reasons.

"Useless pieces of trash!"

She'd grown up receiving elite education in a wealthy household.

However, her education had lacked any moral foundation, so Emily had developed a twisted perspective from an early age.

Anyone from a less prestigious family than hers was treated with contempt, and to those not of the upper class, she barely considered them human.

"Michael... Michael...! Sob..."

Emily wept looking at a framed photo on her desk. In it was a picture of her with Michael Kang, who'd died recently.

"Why... why did you have to go like that...?"

She had tried everything to get Michael out of prison. Other people could go to hell—Michael was her one and only lover.

Emily loved him desperately.

When another student once mentioned something bad about him, she had gone berserk and put that student in hospital.

Love bordering on madness. Emily took that for granted.

'I don't need any other trash.' Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

Only Michael was important.

Michael, whom she had grown up with since childhood, was the only "person" in her eyes.

The rest might as well be beasts or livestock.

But he had died.

While in prison, he reportedly bashed his own head repeatedly against a pointed stone that jutted from the wall.

After numerous attempts, he finally died, bleeding from the head. The news had utterly crushed Emily.

'My Michael...'

How painful it must have been. How tormented, to make such a desperate choice.

She'd done everything she could to get him released, but it hadn't been easy.

Some prosecutor had actively obstructed the defense.

'Ma Jun-sang...'

That was definitely the name. Assistant Chief Prosecutor at the Republic of Korea Prosecution Service. His son's name was Ma Seongjin.

She thought it sounded familiar...

'He was the one hanging out with that wench Sung Chohyang.'

Back when Michael tore off Sung Chohyang's wings... Michael's goal had been to crush that Ma Seongjin guy.

That prosecutor, and Ma Seongjin, who had interfered. It all seemed chillingly suspicious.

'So I had three of my livestock approach them, but...'

She'd heard those three had recently been caught by security robots and hauled off to the principal's office.

But she couldn't let it end like this.

"Wait for me, Michael. I swear... I'll get revenge...!"

She would have her revenge. For that, she wouldn't hesitate to ally with Sura.

"Our love is forever."

****

Somewhere in the mountains of China.

At the center, where birds chirped and the gentle sound of a waterfall could be heard, stood a young girl.

Over her Chinese dress, she wore a pure white robe, and a white veil flowed from the crown on her head, covering her face.

The mysterious girl was sitting calmly inside the waterfall.

Swoooosh—

Mysteriously, despite standing under the waterfall, her clothes did not get wet.

The reason was the magic power encasing her entire body.

She was using her magic power to protect herself against any harm.

Maintaining such a barrier required considerable concentration, and training beneath the waterfall was perfect for cultivating it.

—Even when crushed by the waterfall's powerful pressure...

—Even when the falling water made it noisy...

—Even though the cold was hard to bear...

Ignoring all those distractions, she entered a state of deep focus. By doing just that...

Kyaaaaaa—!

She would be able to sense the movement of enemies even if they attacked without warning.

"...!!"

From above, a gigantic beast clawed down at her as it plummeted.

The girl detected it and sprang out from beneath the waterfall.

It wasn't an ordinary beast. It had the body and face of a lion, with bat's wings on its back. It was over 10 meters tall.

Clearly, it appeared to be a monster that had come through a gate.

But all four of its legs were made of metal, and its claws extended into razor-sharp blades.

"It's been engineered."

Someone had artificially modified and sent this monster here—to kill her during her training, or perhaps to test the creature itself.

"This works out nicely."

Confronted by the gigantic beast despite her small frame, the girl actually smiled.

—Kyaoooo!!

The monster roared and charged.

Even as it closed in with its sharp blades extended, the girl did not move.

When the monster finally slashed at her with those blades, a blow that could have easily split any chunk of steel in one swing and was aimed at her neck—

Crack—!

At that moment, the monster's face twisted. It was certain it had struck her neck, but instead, its blade—and its entire arm—had been destroyed.

Its metal limb was shattered, as if it had struck a rock and burst like an egg.

—Kyaaaak!

The monster screamed in agony at losing its arm. Meanwhile, a sword appeared in the girl's hand.

[Yodo First Form—Claw Extraction.]

With a soft chant, the girl drew the sword. The next instant, the struggling monster's face was split in half.

Decapitated, the monster spilled dark red blood and collapsed to the ground.

"Lady Sura, are you alright?"

At that moment, figures dressed in black masks appeared like shadows behind her.

The girl, seeing their worried faces, spoke kindly.

"I'm fine. Anyway, you would've jumped in if I was in real danger, right?"

"..."

The only reason they'd waited to intervene was to confirm her growth.

Carefully, she asked for their evaluation.

"How was I?"

"You've become much stronger than before. Lady Sura's rate of growth exceeds all expectations."

She was only in her mid-teens, and yet she'd taken down a monster that looked like a B-rank with one strike.

Given that kids of her age were terrified just to face C-ranks, it was nothing short of astonishing.

"But, can I ask you one thing?"

"Please do."

Joy at her achievement was brief—the girl's demeanor became serious.

"When will I be able to go to Korea?"

"If you mean Korea, you're scheduled to arrive during the 'Golden Gate' event to be held at Hand early next December."

"December..."

There was still a long way to go. The girl trailed off, sounding distinctly bitter.

"Is there some kind of problem..."

Had something happened to their revered Lady Sura? When they cautiously asked, she spoke wistfully.

"There's someone I absolutely have to meet."

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

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