My Students Regret It After I Retired - Chapter 90



89 – One Month Remaining

Leos quietly looked at Hemina. He wasn’t saying anything, which made Hemina, rather, seem flustered as she spoke.

“It’s understandable that you don’t believe me, but it’s not a lie. If you see this, you’ll know…”

Hemina held out her distance for him to see, and after looking at it for a moment, Leos finally asked,

“So it was you. The person who created and managed the gallery related to me.”

“If… If you’re upset, I apologize…”

Hemina, already frightened, tried to apologize, but Leos stood in front of her and bowed his head, with a look in his eyes that was different from his usual.

“Thank you. I gained a lot of strength from seeing the posts there, seeing people who believed in me and supported me. I also checked all the posts you uploaded. Ever since before, the photos you posted, the articles too.”

“…”

She’d expected to be called a stalker and cursed, but Leos’ reaction was so overwhelmingly friendly that Hemina was rather taken aback. But Leos expressed his gratitude once more.

“Thank you. For believing in me.”

“It’s not something to be thanked for… it’s only natural…”

“Why did *you* believe me? The whole world was fooled by Belin’s act and treated me like a criminal.”

“Because… I’ve seen you with my own eyes. I knew what kind of person you are.”

“Even my own colleagues, who had enough experience with me, left my side.”

“Then… it just means they didn’t value you as much as they should have. I’m different. I could throw my life away for you without a second thought. After all, on the day I was going to kill monsters to avenge my family, if it weren’t for you, I would have been dead.”

“…”

Leos was silent for a while. And then he smiled faintly, a look of slight relief on his face.

“I see… so it just means I wasn’t that precious to them after all.”

This time, it was Hemina who fell silent. Leos’ expression looked so incredibly sad. Hemina softly moved beside Leos, patting his back as she spoke.

“I know it must have been really hard. I believe in you, Leos. No matter what happens, I’ll be with you.”

Leos, who would normally have pushed Hemina away, didn’t because he knew her actions thus far.

Hemina was the one who had been supporting Leos from the beginning in the Leos gallery, the manager who had been informing many people of his innocence.

She didn’t want any reward from Leos, she simply liked him, she believed in him on her own initiative, and she was practically the only person who cheered him on.

Now that he knew the truth, his feelings for Hemina began to change greatly.

‘People are so fickle. Up until now, I’d only thought of her as someone who worked hard to survive, even when things were tough.’

Now it was different. It felt as though they’d known each other for a long time. That was probably because he’d always seen Hemina in the Leos gallery.

Leos suddenly felt curious and asked Hemina.

“Hey, Hemina, I’ve got a question, mind if I ask?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“So, the Interrunner’s store, how does it work? I get the whole buying and selling system, but how’s it actually possible to teleport items to the buyer’s location, like, in real time?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know that part either.”

Hemina added, pointing to her distance device,

“If you check my distance device, you’ll see the admin menu is active. I can handle most things just by touching these features. It’s not like I have some kind of power that makes it happen.”

“You didn’t create the site then?”

“No. I only took over management of the site. My parents were the ones who originally created it.”

“Ah, I see.”

Hemina’s parents, who had met a tragic end at the hands of monsters. Leo saw her expression darken sharply at the mention of her parents, and so he didn’t press any further. He had asked all he wanted to know anyway, and so Leo turned to leave.

Hemina grabbed Leo’s arm.

“Leo-nim, I’m sorry to ask this out of the blue, but I’ve got a question.”

“What is it?”

From noble mtl dot com

“Once all this is over…do you ever think about, like…dating?”

“No.”

“Why not…?”

“Because I’m someone who could die at any moment. I don’t have the confidence to connect with someone emotionally, to take on that kind of responsibility.”

“You’re already taking responsibility for the people around you.”

“Because they’re not lovers. My comrades are those who fight alongside me. Even if we’re afraid, even if we don’t know when we’ll die, we’re comrades who raise our swords to protect each other.”

“If… if a lover could be a comrade…?”

As Hemina gazed up at him with a yearning expression, Leos shook his head.

“I don’t have the luxury of wasting time on frivolous emotions like love.”

“But…”

“That’s just me. I have no reason to force my thoughts on you. You are free to date, build a family, live a normal life like that. I don’t intend to.”

Hemina grabbed Leos’s arm tightly and spoke quietly.

“Do you not know why I’m asking this…? Or are you pretending not to know?”

“I’ve never done anything to make you feel romantic interest in me. I’ve given you no opening.”

“You saved me. Not once, but twice. Once, you avenged my family, and once, you saved me from that trash who tried to kill me. You avenged my family and you saved my life.”

“So?”

“How… how can I not like you?”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“You said you were grateful. You said you were grateful to me…”

Leos looked at Hemina, bent down, and met her gaze, speaking seriously.

“Hemina, don’t mistake your feelings. Your gratitude towards me has grown so large that you’re confusing it with love. I am an unstable person. Around me, murder always happens, war and blood never cease. I lack consideration, I’m cold, and I don’t know how to be gentle or sugarcoat anything. If you have feelings for me, you’ll surely become miserable.”

“Even if I’m okay with that?”

“I’m not okay with that. I’ll pretend today’s words didn’t happen, so you should sort out your feelings too.”

“I’ll never bring it up again.”

“…?”

Hearing a sob, Leos looked at Hemina. Tears were streaming down her face as she spoke.

“I won’t say I like you again… just please don’t tell me to get over it.”

Leos tried to say something more, but decided against it.

“Suit yourself. But I’ll say one thing for sure. I’m a bad person. But you’re a good enough person, so meet a good person and live a normal life. You’ll be happier that way.”

Leaving Hemina behind, Leos walked outside.

“Hee-eek!”

Heresia, who had been eavesdropping, shrieked in surprise as soon as she saw Leos.

“What are you doing?”

“I… I didn’t hear anything.”

“Why are you here without taking a break?”

“I went to check if you were okay, Leos-nim, but Hemina-ssi was inside, so I was waiting outside.”

“As you can see, I’m fine, so go inside and rest.”

“Yes…”

Heresia hesitated for a moment, then added to Leos.

“Leos-nim, don’t you have any feelings for Hemina-ssi?”

“Why are you asking that? You said you didn’t hear anything.”

“I did overhear you, I’m sorry… But I was curious. Hemina-ssi is pretty and she even runs the community for you, and she’s given you so much help…”

“It wouldn’t have mattered if it were Hemina or anyone else, my answer would have been the same. Until I kill all those Cheonsanghoe b*stards, I won’t indulge in any luxurious emotions.”

“And after that?”

“I haven’t thought about it. There’s a higher chance I’ll die before then. To kill Cheonsanghoeju, I have to risk my own life. I can never win with a weak attitude of fighting while planning for the future.”

“I see…”

Herisia gazed at Leos with sorrowful eyes, whispering,

“Don’t die, Leos. Do whatever you need to, just please don’t die.”

“You shouldn’t die either.”

With those words, Leos brushed past Herisia.

Leos headed towards where Lacart was.

“Awake, Leos? You could’ve rested a little longer.”

“No, rest is over.”

Leos went right up to Lacart and spoke.

“I’m going to hunt down the remaining remnants of the Celestial Council. One month from now. Either they’ll all be dead or I’ll be dead, one way or another.”

“That’s too short of a time. You should take longer, stalk them…”

“The longer the time, the more the enemies will prepare, replenish their forces, and grow stronger.”

“…That’s true.”

Lacart drew his sword, a chilling smile playing on his lips.

“While you were unconscious, I pinpointed the locations of the remaining Royal Sword Order b*stards. We’re leaving now.”