Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game - Chapter 131

Chapter 131

Reconciliation (2)

***

“……?”

I blinked my eyes reflexively.

Then I quietly shifted my gaze to look at my hand firmly gripping the man’s fist.

How did this happen?

I easily blocked what had been quite a threatening punch.

Of course, it wasn’t an exceptionally powerful attack, but it wasn’t something someone like me should have been able to block so easily.

Despite catching a fist imbued with magical power with my bare hand, there wasn’t a single wound on my palm.

The skin wasn’t torn, no blood flowed, and no bones were broken.

It felt like blocking a child’s punch.

The man’s fist felt so light.
Strangely so.

“Y-You’re not letting go?!”

“…….”

The man’s voice rang out angrily.

I slowly turned my head to stare at the man’s face, which was contorted with effort as he grunted.

His face was flushed red as he struggled to break free from my grip.

A puzzled feeling arose as I watched the man gritting his teeth and using all his strength.

What’s going on?
Why is that man acting like that?
I’m not even using much strength right now.

I’m just lightly holding the man’s hand, so why can’t he break free?

Even if he can’t use magic, I thought I was only using enough strength that a normal person could easily escape from.

Could it be that he can’t exert his full strength because he’s drunk?

If not, then……

“Let go of this!”

“…….”

“You son of a… Ah.”

I suddenly let go of his hand.

The man rubbed his hand that I had been gripping with a resentful expression.

Looking at it now, my fingerprints were deeply imprinted on the back of his hand. Why were there red marks on his skin when I hadn’t gripped it that tightly?

I shifted my gaze back to the man.

When our eyes suddenly met, I could see the man’s shoulders flinch.

He looked a bit tense, perhaps?

But he soon shook his head and glared at me even more fiercely.

It seemed his pride was hurt by his own momentary hesitation. Judging by his behavior, he appeared to be someone with a mix of pride and inferiority complex.

“Damn it, so you think you’re some kind of hero, is that it?”

The man raised both fists and concentrated his magical power.

A normal person would have backed down by now, but whether due to the alcohol or his pride, the man only showed an even more vicious demeanor.

“Then try blocking this too!”

He roughly thrust out his fist, drawing in magical power.

It was fiercer and more powerful than the punch he threw earlier.

I could tell a considerable amount of magical power was concentrated in it. If it hit me directly, it didn’t seem like it would end with just a little pain.

It was probably strong enough to even break through a concrete wall.

It seemed he really intended to go all out without holding back.

‘Ah.’

But why?

I don’t feel any sense of crisis.

I had no thoughts of using a magic-absorbing artifact, stepping back for a moment, or dodging the attack.

It was like an adult not foolishly tensing up when a child throws a punch.

I just quietly, very quietly, stared at the man.

“Die… you… bastard…!”

“Watch… out…!”

As I focused on the man’s fist, I had the illusion that everything in the world was slowing down.

An illusion?

No, this was no illusion.

The man’s angry voice, the woman’s worried voice, the fist flying towards me with all its might, the sound of the woman’s racing heartbeat, the musty smell of the back alley, the touch of the chilly winter wind on my skin.

All of those things were incredibly clear and slow to me right now.

As if watching a slow-motion video.

It felt like time itself was slowing down.

‘What is this?’

I was slightly surprised but kept my eyes fixed on the man’s fist.

The slowly extending fist.

The trajectory of the fist, the movement of muscles, the fluctuating magical power – all of it was so incredibly clear to my eyes.

Suddenly, I reached out my hand.

I’m not sure why, but I had a strange certainty.

A certainty that I could block this attack as well.

With my bare hands, no less.

“!”

Pung!

A sound of air being torn apart rang out.

The man’s fist only struck empty air.

That’s because I had reached out and deflected his fist.

……It really worked?

I had thought I could probably do it, but actually pulling it off left me feeling a bit dazed.

“W-With bare hands…? Are you looking down on me?”

The man’s face suddenly contorted.

It seems he hadn’t expected his attack to be deflected barehanded midway.

So he continued throwing punches at me one after another, even more indignantly.

But.

“Y-You, you bastard!”

“…….”

I deflected all of the man’s rapid punches with one hand.

Bang! Pang! Pa-ang!

Only the thunderous sounds of striking air rang out, but they didn’t land a single hit on me.

Looking at it now, the man’s movements weren’t particularly slow or terrible.

They just appeared slow and pathetic to me.

‘What in the world is going on?’

Even though I was deflecting magic-imbued punches with my bare hands, my hand was unscathed as I had somewhat expected.

It seemed my endurance, dynamic vision, reflexes, and so on had increased considerably.

Like a professional hero.

‘This doesn’t make sense. Why has my body suddenly become like this…?’

A change that was impossible when thinking logically.

Yet a miracle that made it possible.

In the world, they called miracles that defied reason and natural laws like this:

Superpowers.

‘Wait, really? Did I…?’

Did I awaken a superpower?

R-Really?

Just like that out of nowhere?

Could dying and coming back to life really have been one of the conditions for awakening?

The thought of awakening a superpower felt strange.

This feeling, this sensation, was so unfamiliar yet didn’t feel completely foreign.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

While I was lost in thought, unable to contain my surprise, I noticed the man was already panting heavily as if exhausted.

Seeing that, I unconsciously clenched my fist.

Alright, let’s deal with this man first and think about it later. I decided to swing my fist and strike the man’s abdomen, intending to end this soon.

Since I didn’t know exactly how much my physical abilities had increased, I had to hold back quite a bit.

If I had awakened something like Sunari’s level of physical enhancement ability, going all out could potentially kill him.

So with the thought that this much force shouldn’t cause serious injury, I struck the man’s abdomen.

But.

“Kuh, kuuh, uuuugh?!”

Huh? W-What?

The man’s waist folded in half like a folder.

He floated slightly in the air before falling to the dirty ground with a thud.

The man tried to get up immediately but coughed up yellowish stomach acid before dropping his head.

He had passed out.

“Ah.”

D-Did I misjudge my strength?

I hurriedly examined the man’s physical condition.

Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any major injuries. He just lost consciousness temporarily from the shock. Phew. That’s a relief. I could have become a criminal if I wasn’t careful.

……Well, I guess I could already be considered a criminal for beating up a drunk person, regardless of the reason.

“Huh?”

I tilted my head in confusion.

I realized that the vigor enveloping my body had also faded as the man collapsed.

Until just moments ago, my body had been strangely full of energy, but now it felt drained again.

The sensation of time slowing down had also returned to normal.

I tried flexing my hand just in case, but I couldn’t exert the same strength as before. What was that just now? And why did my power suddenly disappear?

Had I unconsciously awakened a physical enhancement ability, but it deactivated again when the tension eased after taking down the man?

Or it could be a completely different type of ability.

Ah, I’m so curious.

What could it be?

The ability I awakened.

“Um, thank you for saving me.”

“……Oh, it was nothing.”

While I was lost in thought, the woman who had been watching cautiously approached and expressed her gratitude.

I turned my gaze towards the woman.

I wanted to ponder more about whether I had really awakened a superpower or not, but it wasn’t feasible in this situation.

Regrettably, I’d have to postpone thinking about superpowers for a bit.

“You look so young, but to think you’re a hero. That’s amazing.”

“Ah, well.”

I’m far from a hero, just a trainee, but there’s no need to mention that.

“To think a hero would come all the way to a rural village like this, it’s quite surprising.”

“I had some business here.”

She seemed quite spirited for someone who had just been attacked by a drunk man. She must have a bold personality.

But how am I going to get back home?

I don’t even have any money.

“Oh, is that so? I also stopped by briefly to visit my parents’ house, but I ran into this strange person…”

The woman muttered while glancing at the collapsed man.

“I was about to head back home, but what bad luck, really.”

“Home?”

“Yes, I was planning to return to Seoul before it gets too dark.”

Wait, she lives in Seoul?

“Did you bring a vehicle by any chance?”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

I looked at the woman with hopeful eyes and made a request.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you give me a ride as well?”

“Ah.”

The woman hesitated for a moment.

She glanced at me furtively.

From her perspective, it could certainly be a burdensome request.

She had nearly been harassed by a strange man just moments ago, and now I was suddenly asking for a ride. It must be quite bewildering.

Moreover, since I had helped her, she probably felt she couldn’t easily refuse.

“Well, you see, I need to return to Seoul urgently, but since this is the countryside, there aren’t many intercity buses, so I was in a bit of a predicament.”

“Ah, I, I see.”

“Please, I’m begging you. I’ll definitely repay this favor.”

“F-Favor? No, there’s no need for that. You helped me after all, of course I’ll give you a ride.”

When I pleaded a bit more, the woman’s face flushed slightly as she nodded. Huh? Her face is red?

Could she be thinking I’m trying to make some strange advances?

Judging by her slightly flushed cheeks and seemingly embarrassed demeanor, it’s certainly possible? But I didn’t bother to explain myself. It could just make things awkward.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but could I borrow your phone for a bit?”

Suddenly, I thought of Soyeon.

I wanted to let her know I was alive as soon as possible.

And I also wanted to ease my anxious mind.

I was worried about how Soyeon was doing after my death.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

I took the phone.

From the woman’s phone calendar, I could see that about 5 months had passed since my death.

5 months, 5 months…

I hope Soyeon didn’t blame herself too much and was able to heal her wounds and live well.

With those thoughts, I called Soyeon.

-The phone is turned off. After the beep, you will be connected to voicemail and charged for the call.

But it seemed Soyeon’s phone was turned off.

A slightly uneasy feeling welled up.

Why would her phone be off?
That rarely happened.

“…….”

I thought about leaving a text message, but since I could return to Seoul soon anyway, I decided to call Yoo Seolhyun instead.

I was also a bit curious how she was doing, and I wanted to hear about Soyeon’s recent situation through Yoo Seolhyun if possible.

Fortunately, I had memorized Yoo Seolhyun’s phone number.

“Hello?”

Yoo Seolhyun answered the phone after a few rings.

Yoo Seolhyun’s voice that I hadn’t heard in a while.

Her slightly cold but charming voice befitting a villainous young lady caressed my ears, and I couldn’t help but smile.

She’ll be shocked when she finds out I’m alive, right?

“Hey, Yoo Seolhyun. Long time no see.”

“Who is this?”

“What, have you already forgotten my voice? That’s harsh.”

“…….”

Yoo Seolhyun was silent for a moment.

Is she surprised? Or maybe just dumbfounded.

Ah, did I speak too casually?

I was just trying to act friendly since I was glad to hear from her, but maybe that was a mistake.

“Yoo Seolhyun, actually, I managed to come back to life through an artifact…”

“Crazy bastards. Playing pranks again.”

-Click.

“……?”

Yoo Seolhyun swore uncharacteristically and hung up without even listening to what I was saying.

I was flustered and tried calling again, but she didn’t answer.

It seems she blocked the number completely.

“……What’s with her? Why is she reacting like this?”

Crazy bastards?

Playing pranks?

What happened after I died?

End of Chapter