I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 227: I hope we become friends (3)

"Yeah. I didn’t do anything dishonorable, right? I just wandered around here and there, that’s all."

"Uh-huh."

"And wanting to know about someone you like is a natural thing, right? Kana must have looked up my videos secretly because you like me."

"...Mm-hmm."

"So I’m not embarrassed."

"Uh-huh."

"...But I can’t forgive you!"

"...?!"

Da-eun, who had been muttering, suddenly lunged at me.

It was a well-timed strike, catching me off guard.

In a way that was uncharacteristically sharp for Da-eun, I was helplessly grabbed.

"You went and did something so bold behind my back. You’ve prepared yourself for the consequences, right?"

"Uuuugh..."

Why is it bold, though?

However, my cheeks were being mercilessly teased by Da-eun.

I couldn’t respond properly, so I had to swallow my words inwardly.

Rubbing.

Da-eun rubbing my cheeks was a common occurrence.

She would do it because she thought I looked cute, or if she thought I was being naughty, or if she thought I was being a little endearing, or even just without any reason at all.

It was so familiar that I had gotten used to it.

So, this time, it was a bit annoying, but not unpleasant.

Rubbing.

‘Something’s a bit... more intense than usual...’

...Isn’t this a bit more... intense?

Instead of ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) tilting my head, which I would normally do when my cheek was grabbed, I stared at Da-eun intently.

"Why?"

"..."

Da-eun, sensing my gaze, asked, but given that my cheek was being squashed like a rice cake, no proper answer was going to come out.

Da-eun, realizing this late, had a "oops" expression on her face.

Of course, if she wanted to, she could easily shake me off, but instead, she kept her hand where it was, deep in thought.

‘This is definitely not just my imagination.’

Having been teased so often, I could confidently say that.

Da-eun was pressing harder than usual.

It wasn’t painful, but still...

‘Wait, could this have something to do with what Da-eun said earlier?’

That comment about wanting people to feel either familiarity or closeness with me.

But I quickly pushed that thought aside.

‘Even so, that’s too much.’

Looking at Da-eun’s mischievous grin, I didn’t think there was any other intention behind it.

Like she said earlier, it was probably just embarrassment.

"Alright. This should be enough for you to reflect, right?"

After a while of rubbing, Da-eun seemed satisfied and finally let go.

I glanced at the screen in the broadcast, and my cheeks were flushed with a subtle warmth.

"If you’re that embarrassed, just delete them."

"Kana may not understand yet, but there are things in the world you have to do even if you don’t want to..."

"Hmm."

Honestly, I didn’t understand why Da-eun was acting like this.

The videos I found from her past were really nothing special.

When I say nothing special, I don’t mean they were boring or dull. I mean she hadn’t done anything to be ashamed of or embarrassed by.

The videos on Da-eun’s channel, from what I remembered, were about her traveling to different places, meeting local people, and just spending time there.

They were mostly calm, simple videos.

Lately, there had been more videos about the Celia world, but I didn’t pay any attention to those.

"Why are you embarrassed?"

So, I directly asked.

Why would showing me her past videos be embarrassing?

"...I was naive back then."

That was the answer, given after a short, but not too short, pause.

"I’m not sure how much you saw, Kana, but when I first started traveling, I was really inexperienced. I barely spoke the language, so I stuttered, got lost, and even messed up buying tickets. I made all kinds of silly mistakes."

Looking back now, I was an idiot.

Da-eun sighed at herself.

"Who would like to watch a video of someone messing up and stumbling around? That’s why I’m embarrassed. Don’t you have a memory like that?"

"Hmm..."

"You must have one! Come on, tell me quickly!"

"Even if you say it like that—"

Is this a question or an order?

Her words were so unclear that I frowned.

"...Ah."

"Did you think of something?"

"Yeah."

A plausible memory came to mind.

It wasn’t embarrassing, but it was from a time when I was inexperienced and made mistakes.

"Kana knowing my dark past is unfair, so you should share yours too!"

"Okay."

It wasn’t a big deal.

I nodded willingly.

"How old was I? I think it was when I was four."

"Mm-hmm."

"I was hungry but had no food, and no money to buy any."

"Mm-hmm... Wait?"

‘Something’s off.’

Da-eun’s face seemed to show confusion.

But she didn’t stop the story.

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"So, I thought maybe there was something thrown out, so I started looking through the trash. That’s when someone approached me, asking if I was hungry."

When I turned around, a man dressed in somewhat shabby clothes was standing there.

"I didn’t see people wearing clothes like that in the alley where I lived."

People in the alley dressed in rags that barely passed for clothing.

I was one of them.

So, the man wearing "somewhat shabby clothes" was proof that he wasn’t one of the alley dwellers.

"He said that priests from the Holy Kingdom were doing charity work nearby, giving bread to hungry people. He told me to go there."

"The Holy Kingdom did charity work like that...?"

"The Edel Church advocates compassion, so they do charity work regularly. But that’s not the important part."

"Wait... this isn’t over yet? I thought you were embarrassed about looking through the trash."

"It wasn’t just a one-time thing, so I wasn’t embarrassed about it. I wouldn’t even be talking about it if that was all."

"...Now I’m starting to get nervous."

"It’s my story, why would you be nervous?"

"Even if I’m just a bystander, you can’t calmly watch a bomb attached to the table, right?"

"...Is my story that extreme?"

"I’m not saying your story is a bomb, just that it feels that tense."

"Aha."

After a mild shock, I resumed the story, taking a small break.

"When I asked where it was, the man offered to guide me there."

At that time, I wasn’t used to life in the alley, and since I had spent several days starving without finding anything to eat, I couldn’t think clearly.

If I hadn’t been so hungry, I wouldn’t have followed that man.

"...Wait, you didn’t..."

"So I followed him, but there was no charity work. There was a slave trader."

Right. It might not have been so different from getting bread, if you look at it that way.

If I had gone into the cage with a collar on, I would have gotten food.

Da-eun’s throat bobbed.

"...So what happened?"

"What happened? I ran away immediately. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here talking."

To prevent escape, they might have broken my tendons, or I could have ended up as a toy with my limbs cut off.

In any case, there wasn’t a good future waiting for me.

Of course, the man tried to catch me, but I easily brushed him off, making him think I was still a man.

A cruel move that made me feel guilty, being someone who had once been a man...

‘That’s nonsense.’

If I had been caught, I would have seen all kinds of horrible things. Feeling guilty? Hardly.

It was the man’s fault for approaching a little girl without any caution.

"After that, I learned never to trust strangers, no matter how hungry I was."

"...Definitely a bomb story."

Da-eun muttered weakly.

"But I’m not embarrassed about it."

"...That’s not something to be embarrassed about, it’s something to feel sorry for."

"Hmm... that’s not what I meant."

There were many other mistakes I made.

Did I never make mistakes?

"Anyway, I learned not to trust others so easily."

I grew through my mistakes, didn’t I?

It might be a little awkward, but there’s no reason to feel so embarrassed about it.

When I said that, Da-eun looked at me with an unexpected expression.

"I didn’t know Kana would say something so human-affirming."

"...Human-affirming? That’s not it."

"See, everyone? Kana is such a warm person."

"It’s not like that."

But... "everyone?"

I paused for a moment at the unfamiliar word Da-eun used.

‘Oh, right. We’re still broadcasting.’

I had known this just ten minutes ago, but I had completely forgotten about it while talking to Da-eun.

Thankfully, I hadn’t said anything that would cause trouble.

-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-So sad...

-Our Kana will only walk the flower path from now on.

-Open the donation button, now!!!1!!!

-I’m going to be a good child to my mom from today...

"...?"

For some reason, the chat was filled with a flood of tears.

What’s going on?

I tilted my head, confused, and Da-eun energetically said,

"Since we’re already talking about it, how about I tell everyone what kind of person Kana is?"

Ah, this was what she mentioned before the broadcast.

But even so...

"...What should I say?"

It was a tricky subject to talk about.

I scratched my cheek, hiding my discomfort.

"This kind of thing is more reliable when it’s said by someone close to the person, not the person themselves. So, who’s Kana’s closest person? Obviously me, Journey, right?"

"I won’t deny that we’re close, but... doesn’t that mean Journey’s word has no credibility?"

"Heh, Kana just stays quiet. I’ll tell everyone exactly what kind of person Kana is."

Da-eun’s face was filled with a confident smile.

Looking at that smile, I felt a strange sense of unease, but...

‘...There’s no way anything bad will happen, right?’

I shook my head, trying to suppress the feeling of unease.

But, unfortunately, my bad feeling turned out to be right.

"Kana generally takes jokes without much care, but sometimes, when a mischievous prank is played on him, he pouts. When that happens, his cheeks puff up, and it’s obvious he’s sulking. But Kana says he’s not upset, even though he clearly is. Oh, I wish you all could see it."

"..."

"And when he shows that he’s upset, doesn’t speak properly, but then asks if he wants chocolate, he says ‘...yes’ in a tiny voice. Then when you give him the chocolate, he eats it happily, and his face lights up. That’s super cute!"

"That...!"

"Anyone who knows Kana knows he likes meat more than vegetables. Actually, he won’t even touch vegetables. But when I try to make him eat some, he tightly shuts his mouth and shakes his head. When I see him do that, I just feel bad and give up..."

"Enough..."

I didn’t need to be right about this.

I gave up trying to stop Da-eun and lowered my head.

Maybe the sudden cold weather had made me turn on the heater, but the warm air on my face was more uncomfortable than I expected.

‘...How did this all happen?’

She wasn’t supposed to say all of that...!