A letter from an unknown sender?
Maybe someone was playing a prank.
Come to think of it, children often played pranks on each other with letters.
Both in my previous life and in this one, I’d received a few myself.
‘What was it called, a lucky letter? This letter first began in England, blah blah blah… something like that.’
The contents differed depending on the letter, but the format was generally similar.
After reading the letter, if you didn’t write the same thing and send it to someone else within twenty-four hours, misfortune would befall you.
Was it when I was in the lower grades of elementary school?
The memory of reading one of those letters, getting scared stiff, and writing copies to pass on to other people came back vividly.
“Maybe this is one of those too. Whoever it is, they’re already in fifth grade and still playing pranks like this….”
“I don’t think that’s it…. People would pass that around as a note, not a letter. Who would go so far as to prepare an envelope just to play a prank? And on top of that, they even put h-heart stickers on it….”
“True, I guess you’re right.”
She had a point.
I nodded.
At the same time, I glanced sideways at Yeon Haneul.
‘Why has she been like that for a while now?’
Yeon Haneul was fidgeting restlessly.
Her rabbit ears kept flapping, and her gaze was fixed on my letter.
Even her voice sounded somewhat unnatural.
It seemed like she was trying not to show it in her own way, but even the dullest person would have noticed that something was strange about her.
‘She must be curious about what’s in the letter.’
To be honest, so was I.
In order to resolve the question of who had sent it and for what purpose, I decided to tear open the envelope.
At that moment, she looked startled.
“You’re going to open it here?”
“Then where should I open it?”
“Judging from the sticker, I think the person who wrote this letter to you probably wanted you to read it alone somewhere quiet….”
“I can just read it whenever I want. No, why should I be considerate toward someone I don’t even know?”
“But we’re in class right now?”
“I’m a sufficiently moral person, so I don’t need to listen to morals class.”
“Ah, okay….”
Peeling off the sticker wasn’t easy.
I tore the envelope open roughly.
The three heart stickers ripped apart.
“Ah….”
As if she herself had become the letter.
Yeon Haneul let out that sound.
I paid no mind to her reaction and took out the letter inside the envelope.
What was written in the letter was concise.
「After school, I will be waiting for you on the rooftop. There is something I absolutely must tell you.」
“….”
There was no sender written on it.
Only those two sentences.
Judging by the elegant handwriting and the polite contents of the letter, it didn’t seem to have been sent as a prank.
That aside.
‘…If she’s going to look, she could just look with me. Why is she trying to peek?’
Rabbit ears pricking up beside me.
Unable to withstand Yeon Haneul’s gaze, I handed her the letter.
“Here. If you’re curious, look for yourself.”
“Is it okay for me to look? Wouldn’t that be rude to the other person….”
Even as she said that, she was already reading the letter.
She read it with such concentration that the letter in her hands even became crumpled.
“As expected….”
Before long, Yeon Haneul moved her lips.
She seemed to have some idea of what it meant.
I asked her.
“What do you think? Why are they calling me to the rooftop?”
“…What do you think?”
“….”
I was the one who asked first.
Why was she answering a question with a question?
Puzzled, I sank into thought.
Just as Yeon Haneul seemed to have an idea, I had one too.
This letter was….
“It really is a challenge to a duel.”
“What?”
I had no choice but to think so.
If not, who would send me a letter?
Most of all….
“If they tell me to come up to the rooftop where people won’t see us, what else could it be besides asking for a fight?”
“….”
“Thinking about it that way… maybe the reason there’s no sender written on the letter is because it’s not just one person.”
“Uh, um, you know….”
“Haneul, what do you think?”
“Me?”
“You were thinking the same thing, weren’t you?”
“Ah, um… s-something similar. Just a little.”
Yeon Haneul agreed as well.
I became certain of my thoughts.
‘The timing is too perfect, too.’
Meanwhile, there was one more reason I’d come to that conclusion.
A few days ago, I had shown Blue Thunder in front of everyone from the family.
Because of that, I had ended up being branded as a competitor in their eyes.
Perhaps they had taken action to keep me in check.
‘They probably wouldn’t do anything cowardly just to keep one person like me in check, but you never know.’
There was a high chance the person waiting on the rooftop was someone influenced by the family.
If so, I had to prepare for the unexpected.
“Haneul, lend me your sword later.”
“Huh? Why the sword?”
“I might end up needing it. I gave it to you to use, but I’m sorry I’ll be using it first.”
“No, that’s fine, but… are you going to teach them a lesson with the sword?”
“If necessary.”
“…Can’t you just not go?”
“Aren’t you curious who put them up to it?”
“….”
If someone from the family was pulling tricks, I had to find out who was behind it.
So I needed to meet the people waiting on the rooftop.
It was then that Yeon Haneul spoke up.
“Um, you know.”
“Yeah.”
“Have you not considered that this letter might have been written with a different intention?”
“Is there any other intention besides this?”
“For example… maybe someone fell for you and sent it because they want to confess….”
“No way.”
“…Why?”
“I’m not exactly the type to be popular, am I?”
In the game, Do Gyeonu was portrayed as a slender young man befitting his image as a gentle, cowardly crybaby.
He wasn’t the type with burly muscles that naturally made you think he was manly.
Besides.
‘He gets scared and cries at the drop of a hat, and even his voice doesn’t sound confident.’
If I were a girl, I wouldn’t like a character like Do Gyeonu.
Of course, I shouldn’t consider myself, who had awakened to my previous life, completely identical to the Do Gyeonu from the game, but it hadn’t been long since I’d awakened to my previous life either.
Only about three months now.
That wasn’t enough time for the people at school to realize I had changed.
Most of them probably still recognized me as a coward.
So her assumption was meaningless.
“…You know, you’re more popular than you think.”
“Really? Thanks for saying that, at least.”
“I’m not lying….”
I was grateful that she was being considerate so my pride wouldn’t be hurt.
While half-listening to the morals class from the back of the classroom.
I fiddled with the rabbit ears of Yeon Haneul, whose face looked somehow complicated.
* * *
He was not the type to be popular.
That was what Do Gyeonu had said, but that was purely Do Gyeonu’s own opinion.
‘Is he only like that with me… Ah, no, maybe he doesn’t know because he isn’t very interested in school life?’
Yeon Haneul had no friends besides Gyeonu, but she still had ears.
She was not unaware of what the girls thought of Do Gyeonu.
—About Do Gyeonu, doesn’t it feel like he’s changed somehow? Was he always that mature?
—He is different from the boys in our class. Should I say he looks relaxed? It also feels like he’s full of confidence in a way you don’t really notice at first.
—I was in the same class as him last year, so I know, and he definitely has changed from before. As far as I know, he was never that composed.
Mature, relaxed-looking, confident, and composed.
Leaving aside what he had been like until last year, Do Gyeonu had been receiving such evaluations ever since becoming a fifth grader.
Compared to the boys who only played mean pranks to show they liked girls, Do Gyeonu, who was far more mature, was bound to look different.
—I think Gyeonu is pretty good too.
—You too, Suji!?
Even Kim Suji, who was popular in class, acknowledged him.
‘That’s definitely true. It’s not because he’s my friend, but he really is much better than the other boys. I’m the only one who knows this, but he’s considerate, and he quietly takes care of people too….’
Yeon Haneul acknowledged it as well.
Since she often stayed by his side, she knew more about him than the other girls did.
That gave rise to a strange sense of superiority.
At the same time, Gyeonu’s background was another factor in his popularity.
—And he’s a member of the Divine Sword Do Family. Doesn’t someone from a prestigious family seem different somehow just for that alone?
—I think I get what you mean. You’re saying he gives off an air of refinement even when he’s just standing still, right?
—Compared to him, the other boys are just childish…. How can they be so different when they’re the same age?
—I didn’t know before, but when I see him these days, it feels like he lives in a different world.
—I thought that too. When I saw him bringing a sword earlier, I thought, “Ah, he lives in a different world from us.” So somehow… he looked cool.
Most of them were children raised in ordinary households.
Because they were young and their range of activity was limited, things like hunters and monsters were regarded as extraordinary beings they only saw on TV.
And yet an extraordinary being was in the same class as them.
To those living ordinary daily lives, Do Gyeonu of the Divine Sword Do Family could only be an object of curiosity.
The mysterious feeling that he lived in a different world could easily turn into affection.
—…You know, you’re more popular than you think.
But for some reason, she didn’t like the way he underestimated himself.
So she had meant to keep it a secret, but ended up blurting it out.
—Really? Thanks for saying that, at least.
Do Gyeonu took it as empty words.
For her, it was a complicated feeling.
‘I kind of want him to keep not knowing he’s popular and only play with me… but I also want him to know just how popular he is….’
The desire for him to remain her own little Do Gyeonu.
And the desire for him to grow into everyone’s Do Gyeonu.
Yeon Haneul wavered in conflict.
Then, before she knew it, time had passed, and school was over.
“Haneul, you go ahead today. I have something else to do.”
“…You’re really going?”
“I have to. Then what else? I’ll give you back the sword tomorrow.”
Do Gyeonu packed his things and stood up.
Yeon Haneul looked at him with the sword slung over his shoulder and hesitated.
If she followed her heart, she wanted to persuade him not to go.
“See you tomorrow.”
“…Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
But trying to hold him back made her feel as if she would become a bad person.
Surely the other person had mustered their courage to call Do Gyeonu out.
If she held him back, she would end up hurting the heart of the person waiting for him.
In the end, she had no choice but to let him go with a sulky heart.
“….”
She had packed all her things.
And yet her feet would not readily move.
Yeon Haneul stared blankly at the bag on her desk and sank into thought.
One thought led to another.
‘They probably called him out to confess, right?’
‘Gyeonu seems to think there’s absolutely no way that’s the case, but….’
‘Then since Gyeonu isn’t thinking about that at all, he’ll reject them, right?’
‘But what if he accepts the confession?’
‘Will the two of them start dating?’
‘Then will I not be able to stay by Gyeonu’s side anymore?’
“….”
I hate that. I really do.
A shadow fell over Yeon Haneul’s face.
Her rabbit ears drooped.
Had her schoolbag always been this heavy?
She couldn’t straighten her shoulders.
At that moment, her thoughts veered in another direction.
‘But what if… just like Gyeonu said, it really is a challenge to a duel?’
‘You never know.’
‘What happens then?’
‘Will Gyeonu be okay….’
‘It’s Gyeonu, so he won’t get hurt, right?’
‘What if it isn’t just one person, but several?’
‘It’ll be hard for him alone.’
‘I should at least go and help him.’
‘It might be more dangerous than I think.’
‘If things go wrong, there should be someone who can call a teacher or report it to the police.’
‘To do that….’
She had to secretly follow him, just in case.
Her thoughts leapt to that conclusion.
‘I’m not going to peek.’
“I’m going because I’m worried about Gyeonu.”
Yes, that’s right.
As Do Gyeonu’s friend, wasn’t that much allowed?
Yeon Haneul immediately cheered up.
Had her schoolbag always been this light?
She hopped like a rabbit and headed toward the rooftop.
* * *
After school.
I went up to the rooftop.
When I opened the door, the wide-open sky over the fence surrounding the area came into view.
‘Has she not come yet?’
I stepped out beneath the open sky.
As I approached the fence, I could look down at the students leaving school.
Yeon Haneul was probably among that crowd.
Thinking that—
Whoosh.
I spread out my detection net.
Ripples of mana formed around me and spread across the entire rooftop.
Soon, presences were caught in the net.
‘Three of them.’
They were gathered in one place.
So I spoke to the guys hiding behind the water tank.
“Come out already. I know you’re there.”
Whether they heard me or not—
A sound came from the direction of the water tank.
“You go out first!”
“Why me, of all people!?”
“At times like this, the eldest brother should go!”
The sound of them bickering.
It felt as if I had heard it somewhere before.
Were they people I knew?
I would know once I checked their faces.
I warned them, showing no signs of coming out.
“If you don’t come out right now, I might just slice through the water tank and all.”
“W-wait! We’re coming out now!”
Only then was there a reaction.
The guys behind the water tank came rushing out in a panic.
They were faces I knew.
“Geum-Eun-Dong?”
“Th-that’s right! Gyeonu, it’s us! U Geumdong!”
“U Eundong!”
“U Dongdong!”
The triplets who had relentlessly tormented me.
Extra villains who, in the game, styled themselves with the alias Cerberus.
My brow furrowed when I saw them.
I grasped the situation at once.
So, in other words….
“Did Do Seungwoo put you up to harassing me again?”
“What?”
“Or was it some other cousin?”
“What are you talking about!?”
“Or were you so bitter about what happened that you came here to get revenge?”
“I think you’re misunderstanding something….”
“Perfect. That’s exactly what I wanted, too.”
To be honest, beating these guys down just once hadn’t been enough to satisfy me, either.
I was only grateful that they had gone and provided me with an excuse on their own.
I untied the cloth wrapped around my sword and walked toward them.
“Hey! Hey! Hey! Why do you have a sword!”
“What’s wrong with you!?”
“We weren’t planning anything like that!”
“Yeah, right.”
Judging by the look of things, unlike me, the triplets didn’t seem to have any weapons.
Had they thought that if the three of them ambushed me together, they could take me down even without weapons?
I decided to make them regret thinking so lightly of me.
‘It’s a shame I don’t have the Ultramarine Sword.’
They would have been perfect opponents to test the Ultramarine Sword’s reverse-blade mode on.
A pity, but there was nothing I could do.
I would have to be satisfied with beating them down using the back of the blade and the scabbard.
With that thought, I drew my sword, but….
“Gyeonu! Please, help us!”
“Help us!”
“We’re begging you like this!”
“…Huh?”
With lightning speed—
The triplets flattened themselves on the ground.
I could only be dumbfounded.
‘What kind of trick is this now?’
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss