Episode 42. The consistent kid (3)
“Huh?”
Did you hear my voice?
Berold, who was holding the crumpled door in one hand and had a proud expression on his face, turned his gaze towards me.
Berold’s eyes sparkled like stars as he discovered me.
“No, isn’t this Brother Dale?!”
Berold approaches me, shouting loudly.
“Hehehe. I’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about you lately… What’s going on?”
In Berald’s case, he was the only one who had a connection with me before the regression.
‘Well, even if we were connected, it wasn’t a good opportunity to meet.’
The first time I met Berold was during a supplementary class last year.
It was a time when both of them failed one of the required liberal arts subjects, ‘Principles and Understanding of Magic’.
They say that ugly people recognize each other.
He, who had the derogatory nickname of ‘the scoundrel of the Ryu family’, and I, who was a perennial last-minute candidate, naturally became close.
“Didn’t you blow Professor Lucas away with one punch, and make the next Holy Kingdom’s sword kneel with one wave of your hand…?”
Berold, who trails off as he speaks, seems at a loss for words.
“I even heard a rumor that during this recent demonic disturbance, you cut down dozens of demonic beasts with a single stroke of your sword… Is that all true?”
“Well, to some extent.”
“To what extent? So, does that mean it’s not a complete rumor?”
Berold opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
Yes, sir.
As someone who knew me before, I knew better than anyone how ridiculous that rumor was.
“Did you really pick up some elixir from the mountain behind the school?”
“That’s not it… .”
I hesitated for a moment about what I should say to convince Berald, but soon came to the conclusion that there was no need to think too hard about it.
“Should I call it enlightenment? Well, there was something like that.”
“Oh! Realization!”
Berold exclaimed with shining eyes.
Enlightenment.
When a hero who was blocked by the wall of the realm suddenly grows up, the expression ‘he attained enlightenment’ was often used.
‘Honestly, that’s a ridiculous excuse.’
Even if he had gained some enlightenment, is it possible that a candidate who had always ranked last in the overall rankings since entering school would suddenly grow to the point where he could beat up a professor?
but.
‘If it were Berald, he wouldn’t doubt my words.’
It wasn’t because he was stupid.
It wasn’t even because he was the type of person who didn’t know how to suspect others.
There was one reason why I thought he wouldn’t doubt what I said.
“Ugh! I really believed that you could do it, hyung!”
Berold clenched his fists and let out a loud snort.
“…okay?”
“Then! Didn’t you repeatedly say that you had a feeling of something when you first met me? You were the one who would become a greater hero than anyone else!”
also.
This guy has had this ridiculous belief in me since long ago.
‘I don’t really know what on earth made you trust me so much.’
Even in his previous life, when he graduated from school at the bottom of his class, Berold would not back down and would speak his mind stubbornly.
-Don’t worry! You will definitely become a great hero!
A pure belief without any basis or logic.
That’s why I thought Berald wouldn’t question my ridiculous excuse that I ‘got enlightened and became strong overnight.’
“Hahaha! This makes me feel so refreshed! You’ve really worked hard up until now, hyung!”
“Okay. Thanks, Inma.”
Berold tapped my shoulder with an excited expression as if I had just had an epiphany.
After patting my shoulder for a while, his gaze turned to me.
“By the way, who is that person next to you?”
“Ah, Juliet River. She’s my friend.”
“Oh, you’re my brother’s friend! Nice to meet you. My name is Berold Ryu!”
Berold smiled and held out his hand, the size of a pot lid.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s Juliet.”
“Hehehe. How do you know each other, hyung?”
“…that.”
Juliet’s expression hardened.
I turned on my Hero Watch with the corners of my lips raised.
“Let’s see… This guy has a rather unique hobby.”
“Eek! Ah, no!”
Juliet screams as if she’s having a seizure as soon as the Hero Watch screen turns on.
I looked back at Juliet, who was crying, and giggled.
“why?”
“Why, Rani! You, you promised to keep that a secret!”
“Huh? What kind of hobby is it that freaks you out so much?”
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“Oh, it’s nothing! Really!”
Juliet hastily changed the subject.
“By the way, you’re Berald Ryu… That’s right? You’re from the same ‘Ryu’ family as Principal Lionel.”
Brain God Lionel Ryu.
He is a hero who is ranked 3rd in the current Three Kingdoms Heroes Comprehensive Ranking and is also the principal of the Hero School.
“The Ryu… family.”
Berald’s face hardened for a moment.
But that was only for a moment.
Berold nodded with his characteristically cheerful smile.
“That’s right. However, although we are of the same family, I am from a branch family and have no special relationship with Grandfather Lionel.”
“Oh, really? But still, the Ryu family… That’s cool.”
Juliet looks at Berold with longing eyes.
Juliet’s family was a family that could stand tall within the Republic, but they could not dare to compare themselves to the Ryu family.
The Ryu family is a family that has produced outstanding magicians comparable to the Empire’s ‘Bastian’ family.
It was a prestigious family among prestigious families that had been proudly establishing its position since the time the people of the Republic came over from the world called ‘Korea’ 500 years ago.
“…exactly?”
Berold trailed off with a bitter smile.
Juliet didn’t seem to notice, but I, who had memories of my past life, could clearly see Berold’s feelings right now.
‘I guess you wouldn’t be too happy about your family’s praise.’
Berald grew up being utterly despised within his family for not being able to properly handle magic.
‘Because he came from a family with no tradition, and his magic skills were also poor.’
That’s how he got his nickname, ‘The Ryu Family’s Scoundrel’.
It was a derogatory term given to him who ignored the history and tradition of a family that had produced outstanding magicians for generations and was only interested in fighting.
‘There’s a reason we were so close in my past life.’
A lowly hero and a family scoundrel.
Isn’t it a truly fitting combination?
“By the way.”
This time, Berold changed the subject.
“Did you have lunch?”
“Yeah. You?”
“Haha. I just had a hearty meal.”
Berald pats his stomach with his thick hands.
“What did you eat?”
“Of course, stir-fried pork.”
“As expected, he’s a guy who knows a thing or two.”
“Hehehe. Did you eat the stir-fried pork too, hyung?”
I nodded cheerfully at Berold, who was looking at me with a smirk.
“If you’re from the Republic, you have to eat stir-fried pork.”
“Hahaha! As expected, I get along well with my brother!”
Berold burst into hearty laughter and put his arm around my shoulder.
Berold, shaking his body as if dancing with his arms around each other’s shoulders.
It wasn’t a very pleasant sensation, though, because the muscles were as hard as rocks.
‘This reminds me of the old days.’
A time when I wandered the continent with my colleagues to prevent the resurrection of the demon.
We used to gather in front of a campfire and drink alcohol with our arms around each other’s shoulders.
-Come on, drink up your glass, bro!
-Okay! Let’s drink today and just die!
-Hahaha! Even if you die, won’t you come back to life?
-You all know we have to wake up early tomorrow, right?
-Hey~ Don’t be so harsh. Brother Yuren, come here and have a drink with me!
– Berald, shut up, you’re disturbing my reading.
-Oh my. If you read books like this so late at night, won’t Sister Sophia’s height not grow?
-Do you want to fall behind?
-Hehehe. Everyone, drink moderately. Like Yuren said, we have to wake up early tomorrow.
-Hehehe. So, you won’t be going into your tent today either?
-Oh, that’s another story.
-Hahaha! Are you jealous of people who don’t have a lover?
Berold and I are drinking and chatting away.
Yuren, who approached quietly and scolded me, and Sophia, who was quietly reading a book in the corner.
Even Iris, who looked at us like that and smiled warmly.
A memory of a time when nothing special happened.
A page of memories that are so precious and fleeting that they are torn away.
“… Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue briefly at the memory that came to mind.
‘You can’t stay depressed forever.’
If the pages of memories are torn out.
Wouldn’t it just be like making something new?
‘Because I got the chance to do that.’
I looked at Berold, who was smiling brightly, and my eyes sparkled sharply.
If you see him laughing heartily, you might think he’s a guy who lives without a single worry in the world.
‘Only someone who doesn’t know Berald can say something like that.’
I know.
Only I know.
How much he suppresses himself while living beneath that hearty laugh.
“Haha. By the way, enlightenment… Then it looks like I won’t be taking supplementary lessons with you from now on.”
Berold continued speaking with a bitter smile.
“I’m embarrassed to tell you, hyung… but I think I’ll probably fail this time too.”
“It hasn’t even been that long since the semester started.”
“Haha. That’s right.”
A deep sigh escaped Berald’s lips.
“I’ve been learning magic for years now, and I can’t even make a single magic bullet properly… Hehe. Isn’t this quite a talent?”
A self-deprecating smile.
“Anyway, I’m glad that at least my brother has seen the light this time.”
“… … .”
I kept my mouth shut tightly as I looked at Berold, who was drooping his shoulders helplessly.
‘Come to think of it, at this time Berald had not yet properly begun to learn martial arts.’
I was going around throwing punches here and there though.
That was just him swinging his fists recklessly, based on his innate strength.
It wasn’t a proper martial art.
‘That’s a good thing.’
I was already planning to start meeting up with my colleagues, but I ended up meeting Berold at this exact time.
To borrow Iris’ expression, isn’t this exactly the situation where we are ‘guidance from the seven gods’?
‘If everything had gone as planned, I was going to slowly persuade Juliet to get enough gold to apply for a personal training camp.’
Something much more important than personal training camps has come up.
“Hey, do you have anything else planned after this?”
“Hmm? No, nothing really.”
“Really? Then….”
I raised the corners of my lips.
Suddenly.
A memory from a past life flashed through my mind again.
Memories of when I learned martial arts from Berald.
Because he was so skilled at teaching, he never once complained even when I taught him the same techniques over and over again.
Always with a cheerful smile on her face.
You guided me silently.
‘then.’
yet.
“Hey, would you like to learn martial arts from me?”
It was my turn to lead him.
