The Spoon Villain Is Obsessed with the Hero Again Today - Chapter 67



The Man Who Doesn’t Believe in God (4)

My efforts to win Rashid’s heart continued. I had been following Rashid around for the past few days.

Wherever Rashid was, I was always nearby. During liberal arts classes, while eating, during personal training, even in the communal shower, I was there beside Rashid, lathering soap.

“….”

At first, Rashid didn’t even care whether I followed him or not. He thought that if he ignored me, I would eventually give up on my own.

“You. Stop. Following me.”

But when my persistence didn’t stop and continued, Rashid eventually raised the white flag. He stopped ignoring me and spoke directly.

“No matter. How much. You follow. I. Won’t do. The evaluation.”

“Why won’t you do it?”

“I. Am going. To drop out.”

“So why are you dropping out?”

Rashid announced that he would leave the school before the practical evaluation began. However, he did not reveal the detailed circumstances that led him to decide to drop out.

I was curious about the reason. Why did Rashid suddenly choose to drop out?

For reference, this is a scenario that I haven’t seen even in the game. So, it’s even more necessary to find out.

“If I. Tell you the reason. Will you. Stop following me?”

“…”

If he didn’t tell me here, this tiresome tug-of-war would continue. Wanting to avoid that, Rashid began to speak.

“I. Have to. Make a contract.”

“A contract?”

When I tilted my head in confusion, Rashid took out something like a piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to me.

“This is… a guild contract.”

It was a form I was quite familiar with. I remembered receiving one from the guild master of Yeonwol, Ryu Jung-min, last time.

Similarly, Rashid had received the same thing. Looking closely at the contract, the name Geumseonggak caught my eye.

For reference, Geumseonggak is one of the top five guilds representing South Korea.

In other words, it’s a major corporation.

“They offered you quite a high contract fee.”

“Yes.”

“The decision period is until next week?”

“Yes.”

There was a reason why he was in a hurry to drop out. It was because this contract had a validity period. If he didn’t make a decision by next week, all the conditions offered now would become null and void.

From Rashid’s perspective, he couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.

“Still, isn’t it too wasteful to sign the contract right now? Someone like you could take more time to increase your value.”

Rashid is still a first-year student. It means he has endless days of growth ahead. If Rashid didn’t leave school and continued to attend, he would surely become a more excellent awakener than he is now.

Moreover, his market value would naturally rise.

“I. Must. Make. The contract. Now.”

However, Rashid seemed unwilling to wait for that future. He still did not bend his will.

“I. Told. You. The reason. I’m leaving.”

Thud. Thud.

With those words, Rashid left. I did not chase after Rashid any further.

I just watched his back from afar.

“A guild…”

Sometimes it happens. Cases where someone makes a contract with a guild before even graduating.

There could be various reasons. Typically, it might be because they couldn’t adapt to school life, or they urgently needed a large sum of money.

Perhaps Rashid had a similar reason.

“….”

Anyway.

From earlier, my nape occasionally felt itchy. As if someone was gently scratching my head, it strangely bothered me.

It wasn’t because I had lice in my hair. It was because someone kept staring at me from behind.

Who could it be? I decided to turn my head quickly.

“Uh…”

Then, I confirmed that Arna was right behind me. When Arna met my eyes momentarily, she slightly flinched her shoulders.

“It was you.”

It was a bit unexpected. That Arna was watching me. I wondered why.

I decided to ask.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“Yes? No, that… uh…”

But Arna couldn’t give a straight answer. She kept stuttering. Not only that, but she also broke out in a cold sweat and rolled her eyes around.

It was an unusual sight for Arna, who was usually composed.

“If you don’t have anything particular to say, I’ll be going first.”

Even when asked, there was no answer. It seemed like nothing special. I decided to continue on my way.

“W-wait a moment…!”

As I was about to take a step, Arna quickly grabbed my collar.

In that state, Arna opened her mouth.

“Y-you seem very busy these days…?”

“Well, that’s true.”

“Did you… find a partner for the practical exam…?”

“No. I haven’t found one yet.”

“R-really…? That’s a big problem….”

With that, our conversation came to an end. Arna stopped talking after that.

“….”

It was Arna who started the conversation. So there must have been a purpose. But Arna just kept her mouth shut and scratched her cheek.

What kind of person is this?

“Did you hold me up just to talk about that?”

“T-that…”

“If you have no other business, I’ll be going. As I said earlier, I’m quite busy.”

“Ah…!”

I shook off Arna’s hand and turned my back.

I don’t have time to play with Arna right now.

The practical exam is next week. I need to find a partner as soon as possible. Otherwise, I might really have to retake the course.

Retaking a general education course, not even a major one. That must never happen.

“W-wait a minute…!”

Arna seemed to call me from behind, but I decided to ignore it.

Anyway, what’s important now is not Arna.

*

After regular classes ended, I left the school for a while and visited a certain neighborhood.

I arrived at a shantytown where dilapidated houses were gathered.

The first thing that caught my eye were the banners installed everywhere. They were all bright red, so they couldn’t be ignored.

[Forced eviction without relocation measures, guarantee the right to live!]

[Who is the redevelopment for? Are the residents supposed to die? Strongly oppose redevelopment!]

[We want to live here as we are!]

Even though the sun was still up, the atmosphere here was quite eerie. It wasn’t just the banners. There was trash scattered along the roadside, debris from collapsed buildings, and stray cats crying incessantly.

It was hard to find any sign of people. It wouldn’t be strange if a ghost popped out.

It was almost like a slum.

“Oh. The same clothes as my brother.”

But no matter how run-down the neighborhood was, it was still a place where people lived. A little girl approached me.

“Are you here to find your brother?”

She was a girl who hadn’t even started elementary school yet. Her dark skin and wild, curly hair were very striking.

Her name was Nelly Belkallem. Just by looking at her, I could tell she was Rashid’s younger sister.

Likewise, Nelly recognized that I was an acquaintance of Rashid. After all, I was wearing the uniform of Hanyul Academy.

“My brother hasn’t come back yet. Is something wrong?”

She didn’t show any signs of being wary of strangers, which was unusual for a child her age. Most kids her age are usually shy around strangers.

Moreover, Nelly spoke Korean very well. Her language skills were far superior to her brother’s.

“Did my brother do something wrong at school? Is he getting expelled?”

“There’s nothing to worry about. Rashid is doing well and staying out of trouble.”

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

Nelly sighed in relief. It was impressive that she was already worrying about her brother at such a young age.

When I was her age, I was busy throwing tantrums in front of my mom. I would complain about the food and throw fits every morning because I didn’t want to go to kindergarten.

Eventually, my dad slapped me.

Looking back, my childhood was chaotic enough to be featured on a parenting show.

Mom, Dad, I love you.

“By the way, the neighborhood is very quiet. Is there no one else around?”

I looked around. There wasn’t a single person passing by while I was talking to Nelly.

“Everyone left because of the redevelopment. Those banners are really old. Almost everyone is gone now.”

From noble mtl dot com

It seemed that the redevelopment project had already been approved. But since the buildings were still standing, it would probably be a while before construction started.

“Which way is Rashid’s house? Are his parents home?”

To be honest, I didn’t know much about Rashid.

When I created the character Rashid, I only set up a few basic details. I wasn’t sure if he had any other family besides his sister.

“Parents? Both of them passed away.”

“What?”

“Mom was secretly distributing alcohol in Saudi Arabia and got beaten to death by Muslims.”

“What. What.”

“Dad was selling khat in the Red Sea and got killed by Somali pirates.”

“What. What. What.”

“Oh, by the way, khat is a drug. You’ve never heard of it, right?”

“….”

There was nothing this kid, who wasn’t even in elementary school yet, couldn’t say. What on earth had Rashid been teaching his younger sibling?

Well, judging by the way they spoke, the younger sibling seemed a bit smarter than Rashid.

“But why about the parents?”

“It’s nothing….”

I was about to ask if Rashid had mentioned anything about dropping out. What kind of parents would stay silent when their child suddenly announced they were dropping out? I had come all the way to this neighborhood, hoping to exploit that point….

Unfortunately, it turned out to be in vain.

Grrr—

At that moment, a sudden hunger sound echoed.

For the record, it wasn’t coming from my stomach. It was coming from Nelly.

“Ugh. I haven’t had lunch yet….”

“You haven’t had lunch until this time?”

“They do serve food at the daycare…. But today, of all days, they served jjajangmyeon. But I can’t eat jjajangmyeon. If the sauce splashes on my face, it’s hard to tell apart.”

“….”

Now Nelly was even pulling off black (truly black) comedy. I couldn’t come up with a response to that.

I couldn’t laugh or feel sad recklessly.

Nelly Belkallem was a child with a knack for making people feel awkward in many ways.

“Then let’s at least go eat.”

I couldn’t just stand by and watch a child clutching their stomach in hunger. It was only right to open my wallet here.

If I played my cards right, I might even be able to win Rashid’s favor by buying Nelly a meal.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

“Samgyeopsal! I want to eat samgyeopsal!”

Nelly chose the menu without hesitation right on the spot.

Pork belly, huh. I tilted my head.

“Isn’t samgyeopsal haram food? From what I heard earlier, you seem to be from an Islamic background.”

“It’s okay!”

Nelly swallowed once and continued speaking.

“My brother and I don’t believe in any of that!”

*

If Rashid had to pick the most enjoyable moment of his daily routine, it would be when he returned home.

Although it was a shabby house with little furniture, it was like a hotel compared to where we used to live.

Back in my hometown in North Africa, we didn’t even have a house. The street was our bed.

Even when we fled from our hometown and arrived in France, it wasn’t much different. Surviving day by day by eating the scraps of bread people threw at us was all we could do.

Looking back now, I don’t know how we lived like that. Coming to South Korea was the right decision.

At least here, we had a house to stay in. The water ran properly, and we could turn on the heating on cold days.

Lastly, we could find a daycare center for my little sister.

“….”

From next year, Nelly will be an elementary school student. Probably, more money will be needed than now. She will need to go to an academy, and she will need pocket money. Moreover, she will need a room of her own.

For that, we had to move to a bigger house than now. It was a moment when a lot of money was needed.

But there’s no need to worry. I already have a job. Moreover, they even gave me an advance payment. With that amount, we could easily find a rental house.

It’s time to leave this old house now.

Creak─

Rashid grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. Soon, Nelly would come running out like a puppy.

Asking what was for dinner tonight.

“Oh. It’s brother.”

“….”

But contrary to Rashid’s expectation, his sister did not come out to the entrance. She just glanced briefly while sitting on the living room floor.

Nelly’s gaze turned back to the grill.

Sizzle─!

A barbecue party was in full swing in the living room. A burner and grill I had never seen before, and even the golden-brown grilled pork belly.

Things that could not be seen in this house were taking their place.

Where on earth did he get those?

“Don’t just stand there, come and sit down. I even prepared your share, Rashid.”

Yes. It was all brought by that guy.

The man leisurely grilling meat across from Nelly.

The man who had been relentlessly following Rashid recently.

It was Shin Yoon-seong.