I was bewildered.
Since it was an internet community where anonymity is guaranteed, I figured I'd get a ton of hate.
It wasn't exactly something I did for others, but knowing there were people happy because of my actions put me in a good mood.
I clicked on the post right below it: "Darknight_Shocking_Truth.jpg".
As the page loaded, an image appeared.
"Ha…."
A fan art of "Darknight" seemingly drawn by an SNS user.
It depicted Darknight standing behind Silvertail, softly biting his neck.
Silvertail was a pretty-boy style hero, and thanks to his cute appearance with wolf ears and a tail, he had many female fans.
Riding on that popularity, I'd heard he'd even started idol activities lately.
I scrolled through the post, and the comment section was burning up.
Endless praise for the original poster.
Since "Hero Korea" was a male-dominated community, they had no immunity to this kind of picture.
Me included.
I stopped surfing the internet and sipped my coffee while scanning the inside of the coffee shop.
I'd been drinking coffee at this cafe for the past month straight.
The reason was to forge a connection with the protagonist.
In the story, the protagonist works part-time at this cafe.
Born into a poor rural family, he'd come to Seoul with a feeling not unlike studying abroad to enroll in the Academy.
Naturally, he was strapped for living expenses and made ends meet by working part-time.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
For nearly a month, I'd been keeping a close eye on the part-timers, but I couldn't find him at all.
'No way….'
One unpleasant assumption came to mind.
What if.
What if, just what if.
The original protagonist doesn't exist, and the setting is that I have to take that position and defeat the Demon King?
That would be a disaster.
The thought of taking down the Demon King without the "Guardian of the Species" was one I didn't even want to entertain.
I couldn't even begin to guess if it would be possible even after reaching SSS-Rank.
"Sigh."
A sigh was all that came out.
Just then, a female part-timer wiping down a table with a rag came into view.
Pink hair and a youthful face.
A curvy figure.
She was a beautiful young girl with a promising future.
'Pink hair.'
Even though it was a game world, such flashy hair wasn't very common.
Since extras usually made do with brown or black hair.
My hair was originally brown, too.
Though it looked blonde now since I'd dyed it.
Anyway, that part-timer was supposedly quite an important character.
'A character I don't know? Impossible.'
I was someone whose playtime had reached nearly 6,000 hours before fully clearing "Hero Name: ZEUS".
Even the most worthless extras were vaguely familiar to me.
Now intrigued, I approached and asked her.
"Excuse me, when does your shift end? Would you like to get dinner together?"
"Huh?"
She jumped in surprise.
Fidgeting restlessly, she turned her head toward the counter.
The counter staff were busy dealing with customers.
"W-well, I'm a student…."
"How old are you? I'm a student too."
"I'm in my third year of middle school…."
"Huh? I'm in my third year of middle school too. We're the same age. Can I get your number? Consider it fate—I'll treat you."
I opened the number-dialing screen on my smartphone and handed it to her, and she reluctantly punched in her number.
Pressing "Add Contact" on the phone she handed back, I asked.
"Your name, if I may ask?"
"Bak Hayeon…."
"Aha. My name is Sin Noda."
Bak Hayeon seemed like it was her first time getting her number asked.
Well, it wasn't easy for a middle schooler to get her number asked out anyway.
"When does your shift end?"
"Seven…."
"I'll pick you up then. It's not too burdensome or anything, is it?"
"N-no…."
Bak Hayeon had lost her parents in an accident when she was young and grew up under her grandparents with her younger sibling.
After the accident, she realized a special ability had manifested within her.
Having admired the hero who saved her from the accident, she wanted to become a hero like him someday.
After awakening her ability, she trained day and night to become a hero.
Ability development.
Physical development.
Studying.
Through relentless effort, her overall rank rose from D-Rank to C-Rank, and no one in her age group could match her.
Bak Hayeon wasn't satisfied with that and hoped to go to the Academy in Seoul.
Because only by going there could she become a hero.
However, Bak Hayeon's grandparents weren't financially comfortable enough to support her move to Seoul.
Bak Hayeon persuaded her grandparents and barely received permission to go to Seoul, deciding to work part-time to cover her living expenses.
That was how she came to work part-time at the cafe.
While working hard today, she had suddenly gotten her number asked by some guy.
Blonde hair and sharp features.
Even piercings in his ears.
To someone like her who valued diligence above all, he gave a rather bad impression.
Still, since he said he'd buy her food, she'd given her number willingly enough.
They were the same age, too.
Thinking that he couldn't harm her anyway, since she was a C-Rank Awakened.
Bak Hayeon was strapped for cash lately because of living expenses.
Her balance had emptied out due to spending on Academy application fees and uniforms.
When her shift ended and she left the cafe, Sin Noda was leaning his back against the cafe wall.
With a handsome man waiting for her, Bak Hayeon was secretly moved at heart.
She followed him to some pasta place.
A luxurious restaurant.
Bak Hayeon gasped in surprise at the menu.
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Cream Pasta 2.2
Whole Shrimp Pasta 3.0
Tomato Steak Pasta 3.5
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