I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 221: And the opening (4)

Yuki's gym.

As I saw the car parked in front, a small realization dawned on me.

"...Ah, right."

I didn’t need to bother Edel with my concerns. I could just ask Da-eun to come pick me up instead.

"Hmm...."

I shook my head.

The incident had occurred not far from Demonins. If we were being generous, it was in the nearby area.

Because of that, the area near Demonins was literally in chaos.

There were those who hadn’t left yet, people who happened to be nearby, reporters or spectators who came to see the commotion, and so on...

Just looking at it made me dizzy, and escaping from that crowd was even more dizzying.

A large crowd means heavy traffic, after all.

If I had asked Da-eun to pick me up, I couldn’t even guess how long it would’ve taken.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have another way to go, but forcing her to take on the trouble just for my convenience didn’t seem right.

Screech.

"I’m back."

"Kana!"

Boom!

As soon as I opened the gym door, Da-eun ran straight to me.

I could already feel her restless energy before the door opened, but I didn’t dodge Da-eun’s hug.

However, Da-eun’s actions didn’t stop there.

If I had been a normal kid, I probably would’ve suffocated.

Da-eun hugged me so tightly that I almost couldn’t breathe, then she pulled away, but instead of releasing me, she grabbed my cheeks.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I’m fine-"

"Are you sure? Your face looks like it’s been crushed!"

"Ouch."

"Did that hurt?!"

"No, I’m fine-"

Da-eun continued to hold my cheeks and looked at me with a worried expression, checking me over carefully.

Although it was a bit annoying, I didn’t have the heart to shake her off.

I just wished she would stop squishing my face so I could speak properly.

It wasn’t that I was hurt, but with her continuously squashing my cheeks, my words kept getting jumbled.

"Such a fool."

At that moment, Yuki, who had approached, scoffed with a hint of ridicule.

"You looked fine, but why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"Well, you never know. Even if she looks fine on the outside, she could have internal injuries from fighting..."

"Her face doesn’t look like someone who has internal injuries."

"That’s because you don’t know Kana well enough! Kana doesn’t show pain even when she’s hurt! I can feel it. Kana’s softness is just 0.01g less than usual... Ah!"

"...Stop right there."

Da-eun shook her head and let go of me with a frustrated sigh, clearly annoyed, but I didn’t have any intention of letting myself get caught up in her antics again.

My cheeks are not toys.

What does it even mean that I’m “less soft”?

While I was grumbling silently, I felt a light touch on top of my head.

Unlike earlier, Da-eun gently stroked my hair.

"I’m so glad you’re not hurt."

"...There’s no way I’d get hurt by those guys."

Although I wasn’t truly offended, I made a little playful complaint as I felt her soft touch near my eyes.

From Da-eun’s perspective, it might seem like I was being unreasonable, but she didn’t wipe away the smile that had filled her eyes.

While I half-closed my eyes, enjoying the touch, I suddenly remembered something Yuki had said and opened my eyes again.

"So, were you watching?"

"I wasn’t watching exactly. I saw the video once it was posted."

"Ah, I see."

Of course, it was posted already.

It wasn’t surprising, but it was faster than I expected.

If it hadn’t been, there wouldn’t have been such a crowd, right?

"Dimensional beasts... right?"

"Yeah."

"...Has it started?"

"Not yet."

Phew...

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Da-eun let out a sigh of relief.

I could tell that Da-eun, who was afraid of fighting, wasn’t exactly welcoming the war, so she had probably been on edge.

Though honestly, I doubt anyone would actually look forward to war.

Especially if you’re the one who has to go out and fight.

"Can you explain it?"

I nodded at her careful question.

"Yeah."

I was going to explain anyway.

Now, where should I start?

Since Da-eun and Yuki already had some background knowledge, I didn’t need to go into too much detail.

I gathered my thoughts and began to speak.

There wasn’t much to explain, really.

It had been quite a while since I left the gym, but not much had happened — I had only fought off the dimensional beasts and talked with Edel.

Considering the time spent waiting for the Manager to talk and the time wasted on the jammed roads, it wasn’t even much time.

So explaining what happened with the dimensional beasts and what we decided to do next didn’t take long.

"We decided to just leave it for now..."

"Yeah. Apparently, we don’t have the power to deal with it yet. And they said it’s like a vaccination before the real war starts."

"A vaccination that intense..."

"It’s actually pretty mild."

There had been casualties... no, I wondered if there had been any injuries.

Still, I tried to be cautious to minimize the damage, so even if someone got hurt, I thought it wouldn’t be too serious.

"Hmm, hmm... I see..."

"...?"

Even after I finished explaining, Da-eun still seemed a little distant.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no. It’s not that."

"Then why are you acting like this? You’re not a puppy holding in its poop."

"Hey! Girls shouldn’t use such dirty language!"

Is that considered dirty language?

As I tilted my head, Yuki, who had been standing quietly, stepped in.

"Why don’t you just say it?"

"Say what?"

She spoke as though she knew why Da-eun was being so fidgety.

At that, my eyes shifted to Yuki.

"Like Kana said, it would be better to just say it than to keep fidgeting like a puppy that needs to go."

"You too?!"

"Well, when you act like that, anyone would think that, right? Isn’t that right, Kana?"

"Yeah."

"Is that really how it is?"

I nodded firmly in response to Da-eun’s trembling eyes.

With a big sigh, Da-eun rubbed her face.

"I didn’t want to make you worry."

"It’s more worrying that you’re acting like this."

"Alright, alright. I’ll tell you. It’s fine to tell you, isn’t it?"

She then sighed again deeply.

I wondered if she might sink into the ground soon.

"...Do you remember what happened last time? When you took the picture and posted it?"

"Yeah."

It wasn’t long ago, so of course I remembered.

"Well, that’s become a hot topic again."

"...That? Wasn’t that over?"

"It was, but... after seeing Kana fight the dimensional beasts today, some people started thinking about ‘Kanaria’ from Celia Online. Because of that, the previous incident has resurfaced."

"..."

At that moment, it felt like thunder struck in my mind.

...Ah, I get it now.

I wasn’t alone in this.

Back in Celia, no matter what the outcome of my actions was, I just accepted it on my own.

But now...

I bit my lip.

"...So?"

"Hmm... So, there’s been a lot of activity on her fan cafe. People are asking whether she’s the same person, whether she knew about it, and if she has any information about this... stuff like that."

Da-eun chuckled.

"It’s fine. It’s just a rumor. If we deny it and say it’s untrue, Kana doesn’t have to worry."

"That’s not going to happen."

It was clear that Da-eun’s words weren’t realistic.

Sure, over time it could all calm down, but this kind of topic wouldn’t lose its heat so quickly.

"...So what do you want to do? Do you think it’s better to reveal the truth?"

"...My opinion? I don’t think my opinion matters much... Didn’t you say we were just leaving it for now?"

"It matters."

Eventually, everyone will find out, anyway.

And besides—

"I care more about you, Da-eun."

After all, I made the decision to come to Earth because of you.

I know it’s a responsibility, but as long as it doesn’t completely go against the big picture, I won’t just abandon that responsibility.

When Da-eun heard my words, she stayed silent for a while.

She seemed deep in thought, as though pondering something carefully.

Finally, after some time, her voice broke the long silence.

"...I’m going to."

A day had passed since the strange phenomenon appeared in the sky over Seoul, but the fire that had ignited in Journey’s fan cafe didn’t die down easily.

No, it wasn’t just dying down. It was actually growing.

And it made sense, because the location where the incident occurred was no ordinary place.

Although Korea’s population is smaller than other countries, something so bizarre happening in the capital couldn’t help but become a hot topic.

And in times like these, all kinds of rumors start flying around.

Of course, most of those rumors are debunked and quickly forgotten, but some remain persuasive enough to last longer.

The fire burning in Journey’s fan cafe was one of those.

At first, people thought it was ridiculous, but as they saw more, they started thinking, "Wait, this makes sense."

The only place where they could get answers was Journey’s fan cafe, so the fan cafe was in complete chaos.

So much so that even the staff running the cafe were exhausted and on the verge of collapse.

[So when is it? When is it? When is it?] [I'm dying, kekekekek] [This is ridiculous;]

The chatroom, struggling to keep up with the sudden surge in viewers.

They switched to subscriber-only mode before things calmed down a bit.

Those who had lost their speaking rights now stared at the blank screen, waiting for the light to return.

And finally, the time arrived.

[Journey has started the broadcast.]

[Big Announcement]

Journey’s broadcast began.

And with that, people rushed in, having been waiting for her broadcast to begin.

"Alright, let’s go!""Please explain.""This is all the work of the commies. We need to eradicate the pro-North forces right now!""Can I see Kana again? Can I breathe again??""LOL.""The lag is insane!!"

The chatroom exploded with comments from viewers.

Then, at last, the screen lit up, revealing a place that was very different from where Journey usually broadcasted from.

A soft floor and various gym equipment, a place that looked like a gym.

"?? Where is this?""A gym?""Big announcement... She’s going to start dieting today.""If that’s the case, we’ll have a real problem. Shouldn’t she stop broadcasting right away?"

Even for those who watched Journey’s broadcasts frequently, this was a strange sight. The chatroom began to murmur in confusion.

But the person who could explain the situation still hadn’t appeared.

Just when the chatroom was about to flare up again...

"Ah, ah."

A voice, a young, innocent-sounding voice, came through the microphone.

"??""?""Who is this?""Is this Journey?""How do you hear this and think it’s Journey’s voice?""Just some random person."

At that moment, a girl appeared on the screen.

The girl with the pink hair and striking eyes, a cute face.

She raised [N O V E L I G H T] her hand and greeted everyone with a calm smile.

"Hi."

And then, the chatroom exploded.

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