SSS-Class Revival Hunter-Chapter 209: Cheat (2)

Raviel wanted to sigh but stopped halfway to stroke my ear instead, not wanting to show me how sad she was. “You always force me to make difficult choices, my lover. I understand this is worth it. If I were you right now, I would also make the same decision. Still, my heart doesn’t allow me to say yes so easily.”

Of course, I would also be reluctant to agree if I were Raviel.

Raviel looked at Ja Su-Jeong, who had her back turned to us. “Are you prepared to persuade that child? All it takes is a glimpse to understand she is very stubborn. Actually, she’s the embodiment of willpower.”

To others, Raviel’s silver hair appeared as black, and Uburka’s green skin as the color of a peach because their appearances had been altered. However, Ja Su-Jeong was an exception. In her eyes, Raviel and Uburka looked like their usual selves.

“She didn’t even blink when she saw me and Uburka two days ago. That is the type of person she is. I don’t think she’ll just kill you just because you tell her to do it.”

I didn’t have the same opinion as Raviel. “Do I have your permission on this matter?”

“Yes, if only you die in front of me.”

I looked into her eyes.

“You have my permission if you die in front of me,” she repeated.

I nodded. “I will.”

***

Ja Su-Jeong walked over carrying a tray. “Everyone, please eat.”

Uburka carried the bowls. Today’s menu was cold chicken noodles. A roll of noodles was in each bowl, which was surrounded by blocks of ice.

“Thank you for the food.” I took one bite of the chicken and swallowed it along with some soup. The cool, tangy radish kimchi soup filled my mouth. “Wow, it’s delicious. Really good. You are a really good cook.”

“It’s hot today, so chogye noodles seemed like a good idea,” Ja Su-Jeong replied. “The gem that Raviel gave me was expensive, so I think the food on the table won’t be too bad for a while.”

Raviel chuckled. “I’m glad.”

Two days ago, Raviel had given Ja Su-Jeong an emerald for letting the three of us stay at her house. Even to me, someone who knew nothing about gems, it looked incredibly expensive.

At first, Ja Su-Jeong had turned her down, saying it was too much, but Raviel had told her “I’m the one who decides if it’s too much. Are you going to treat your guest as a beggar?” That was when Ja Su-Jeong had finally backed down.

Raviel was indeed the Duke of Ivansia, the head of the richest family in the empire. I also happened to be part of that family.

Hehehehehehehe.

“Daddy, you look too full of yourself. Would you stop laughing like a fool while eating? You are embarrassing me.”

I changed the subject. “What did you do with the gem? It wouldn’t be easy to exchange jewelry for money as a student.”

“I know a classmate by the name of Lee Mi-Ho. She’s the third heir to a company that deals with the subprime market and constructions. The CEO is also the local community leader, so I asked her to help.”

“What?”

Local community leader, subprime market, constructions...

This is gangster vocabulary!

She asked a classmate from a gangster family to sell the gem?

Seriously?

I looked at Ja Su-Jeong, who was peacefully eating her noodles. She looked impassive. I wasn’t sure what kind of person she was behind her emotionless attitude, but I could be sure she wasn’t ordinary.

Ja Su-Jeong tilted her head. “Is something wrong?”

“Uh. Oh, nothing. I just thought you have interesting friends... Actually, are you really okay with telling me all of this? I’m technically a stranger.”

Ja Su-Jeong simply answered, “Yes. You asked me, so I told you.”

Hmm.

“I just want to make things clear. You didn’t answer my question because I’m special to you. It’s just that you were asked a question, so you believe it’s only right to answer it.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I closed my mouth, remembering the impression she had given me two days ago.

She has no boundaries.

So far, she had been answering every question and complying with everything we asked of her. Not even once did she say no. Even when I had said I wanted to talk to her and when I had asked if it would be okay if Uburka and Raviel stayed at this hanok, Ja Su-Jeong had simply said yes without hesitating.

After dinner was over, I decided to test my theory. “Umm, Miss Su-Jeong. I’m sorry, but is it okay if I ask you a favor?”

“Yes, if I can help.”

“Please get up and sit on the table.”

Ja Su-Jeong’s head tilted slightly, her blonde hair draped to the side. “The table isn’t a place to sit, Mr. Gong-Ja.”

“Yes, I will take note of that, but please, just this once.”

Ja Su-Jeong slowly climbed onto the table and sat down. Raviel, who was watching this unfold, narrowed her eyebrows. Uburka’s eyes widened.

“Hmm.”

“Uger?”

I had a strong feeling that my theory was right. Once again, I asked, “Could you please put your hand on my head?”

“Yes.” Ja Su-Jeong did as she was told.

“I have a particular craving for tonight. I would like to eat chicken skewers as a late-night snack. Please cook that for me.”

“Mr. Gong-Ja, using me because I’m useful may have a negative impact on you in the future. And late-night snacks are harmful to your health. I believe you are not hungry at all. You’re just making these requests to understand my behavior.”

“Yes, that’s right, so please.”

Ja Su-Jeong nodded and went to get a shopping bag. She was really going to leave the house to get the ingredients for chicken skewers.

Raviel grabbed Ja Su-Jeong’s shoulder. She had to intervene. “Wait a moment. Miss Ja Su-Jeong, I highly doubt this to be the case, but are you going to help strangers on the street if they ask you to follow them?”

Ja Su-Jeong readily replied, “Yes, if I can help them.”

“This may be a very extreme example, but what if the stranger requests you to be imprisoned in a secluded facility for a year?”

“Yes, if that helps them.”

Raviel pursed her lips. After a while, she muttered, “I see. This... is dangerous.”

She and I made eye contact. I nodded to her.

“Yes, it’s dangerous, Raviel.”

“Because she’s smart, she can tell another person’s sincerity and true intentions. That’s how she understands other people’s intentions. Hence, she never refuses when someone makes a genuine request. No, it’s more accurate to say that she can’t say no at all.”

Raviel frowned. “The conversation just now convinced me of something. Like you said, she’s the Tower master, Gong-Ja. She isn’t a human who was born and raised in an ordinary way, at least.”

“Yes, her personality is closer to being written rather than developed.”

Like an AI that followed its script, she simply heeded people’s requests.

I got down on one knee in front of the little blonde child. Only then were our eyes on the same level. Ja Su-Jeong stared at me, the shopping bag still in her arms.

“Miss Ja Su-Jeong, I’m from another world. Raviel and Uburka are also travelers from other worlds.”

“I see.”

Even after hearing seemingly preposterous claims, Ja Su-Jeong’s face remained impassive. She simply nodded as if she had expected this to be the case.

I took out a golden card.

“Open the Skill Card.”

Returner's Clockwork

Class: EX

Effect: Activated automatically upon your death. You will return to twenty-four hours before your death. Your memory and abilities will be preserved even after your return.

※ You will receive a penalty after the Skill activation.

※ The higher your Class is, the stronger the penalty is.

※ The Skill has been copied from Hunter Yoo Soo-Ha.

I showed my trump card as evidence. “In my world, Skills exist. Using them, it’s possible to teleport and rewind time. As you can see, this Skill turns back time if I die. By showing you this Skill, I would like to ask you a favor. Please kill me.”

“Why?”

I looked straight into Ja Su-Jeong’s eyes. “I believe you’re the god who governs our worlds. Our god plants one terminal in each world. The person who has lived the most unhappy life in that world becomes a terminal candidate.”

“Are you saying I am that terminal?”

“Yes.”

I started telling her my stories. How I had come to the Tower. The story of the orphanage director and Kim Yul. What I had been through at the Tower. How I had met Teacher and Raviel. I used my life experiences as proof.

My story continued for over an hour and a half, but Ja Su-Jeong just looked into my eyes the entire time. When I was done, I waited for her response.

“According to your stories, there is a good possibility that I’m the Tower master’s terminal. The idea of ​​using a contradiction to bring out the Tower master and learn the truth also makes sense.”

Ja Su-Jeong stretched out her hand, her thin fingers carefully raking through my hair.

“You’re a hard-working person, Mr. Gong-Ja. Not long ago, Sunbae Kim Yul suddenly disappeared.”

I didn’t know what to say.

Ja Su-Jeong continued combing through my hair. “Not only him, but many others who bullied him disappeared. No one noticed the disappearances except me. I thought it was an unusual occurrence, but it makes sense considering your stories. If you meet the Tower master, I would be happy if you could give her a message from me.”

“What message do you want me to deliver?”

“That I’m happy,” Ja Su-Jeong said in a quiet voice.

That made me feel a bit numb.

“I love this city, the children living in this city, the cicadas that sing in the summer, and the sound of the radio leaking out from my next-door neighbor’s old window.”

And then I realized what I had been mistaken about. The child in front of me was by no means an AI. It wasn’t because she had no emotions that she was saying yes to everyone. It was just...

She sees all of us as her children.

She saw everyone as children she needed to look after, even the mysterious monsters sleeping in the warehouse. Despite the way I had been talking to her, I was still her child. She pointed out my wrongdoings and gently rebuked me, but didn’t say no to my last request. In short, she was like a mother.

“So tell the Tower master not to worry about me.”

I nodded. “Yes, I’ll tell her for sure.”

“Please give me a knife.”

I handed her the dagger at my waist. Ja Su-Jeong swung it a few times. It seemed like she soon got the hang of it. Eventually, she pointed the dagger at me.

Raviel was watching me silently.

“Mr. Gong-Ja, I’m weak, so I may not be able to kill you in one strike.”

“I’m ready. It’s not my first time any—”

“I apologize in advance if I make you suffer.”

Before I could finish my words, I felt cold metal slashing my throat.

Uh?

My vision split like a broken window. Pain spread through the cracks. I couldn’t help feeling annoyed.

What? Yeah, I asked her to kill me. Still, she’s a student. How can she cut my throat without hesitating at least a little bit...

I wobbled. If I wasn’t mistaken, Ja Su-Jeong swung the dagger once more.

Seriously?

As my vision tore down into pieces, I could see her still expressionless face.

Her lips moved. She said, “May luck be with you.”

I blacked out as the announcement of my death was made.

[You have died.]

[Your Hunter Class is B.]

...

[Recreating your killer's trauma.]

[Extracting the new required data from the original owner...]

...

[Failed.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

[Requesting the required data from Zrakua...]

[The request has been denied.]

[Failed.]

...

[Unable to recreate the trauma.]

[Requesting an approval from Zrakua.]

[Failed.]

[The request has been denied.]

[The issue isn’t Zrakua’s agenda.]

...

[Unable to respond.]

[The Master of All Life has appeared.]

Someone clearly not human grabbed my chin hard.

“Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe you.”

Her voice sounded like red silk that had been soaked in peach juice for days and had been squeezed as hard as possible, its sweet water splashing in all directions.

“It’s true I like to sow coincidences in spring and harvest them in the fall, but I really didn’t expect this.”

It also resembled the sound of a hundred vipers sticking out their thin, forked tongues into my ear canals.

“You dared to try peeking into my past.”

I opened my eyes. In the darkness, a girl was grinning at me. She looked exactly like Ja Su-Jeong, who had patted my head in the old hanok just moments ago, except something was off.

“At first, I let you persuade me by logic. Next, I feigned ignorance because of your flattery. The third time, I showed you a favor for your courage. It was a foolish choice.”

Her eyes...

“Today is the fourth time you have manipulated a loophole. This is my mistake too.”

The Master of All Life had purple eyes.

“Even so, that doesn’t make a curve straight, nor cheating an orthodox method. Death King, you did something very interesting.”

Purple was a dark color that couldn’t reflect light that well. Still, her purple eyes were clear even in the dark. They carried a brightness that illuminated a person’s heart, not their face.

“How should I teach you a lesson, you little daredevil?”

I didn’t reply.

“I don’t recommend keeping your mouth shut. Once you find out how much I can torment you, you’ll realize there is nothing more foolish than keeping your mouth shut. Why don’t you answer me?”

I smiled. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Tower Master.”

Finally, I saw the face of the being who had created this Tower.