In Alice's memory, I was rescuing her from despair when she was captured by a demon.
As each person's perspective was added, the process of how the complete Utopia came to be was laid out.
Honestly, it sent chills down my spine.
'So this is how the party members view me...'
The Jin Yuha in the video was nothing less than a hero of this world.
Always striving, always at the forefront, utterly reliable, and never backing down in the face of danger.
But,
At the same time, the hero always looked precarious.
Teetering on the edge of life and death every day, diving in as if he had multiple lives to spare.
"Jin Yuha!!!!!!"
Each time, the party members' voices burst out with worry and concern.
'So this is how they were looking at me.'
A faint ache bloomed in my chest.
The moments when Lee Yoo-ri shouted my name, shield in hand, stepping in front of me.
Shin Se-hee anxiously biting her nails as she waited alone for news of my return.
Kang Do-hee sighing deeply as she looked at the broken training equipment.
Senior Ga-eul's sympathetic gaze as she watched me practice swordsmanship.
Sophia clasping my hands in prayer as she treated my wounds.
Ichika keeping her eyes on me even during moments of white-hot chaos in battle.
Alice swinging her sword until her hands bled, trying to match my skill. My mentor blaming herself for teaching me forbidden techniques.
Everything that no one ever said to me was vividly captured in the video.
Unconsciously, I raised my hand to press against my chest.
Thump—thump—
I could feel the weight of my heartbeat, far from light.
To make this video, everyone had laid bare their embarrassing memories without hesitation, staying up all night to create it.
Their devotion left me overwhelmed.
They revealed their true selves— all for the sake of comforting me, just me.
Even though this misunderstanding was born from a moment of absent-minded words, their sincerity was powerfully conveyed.
'...It was so obvious. How did I only realize it so late? Or maybe, I still haven't fully understood.' How much the party members thought about me.
How deeply they cared for me.
I had no sense of the weight of it all.
'I... am surrounded by such precious people.'
Even now, the party members' attention wasn't on the video but on me.
Lee Yoo-ri's anxious gaze,
Shin Se-hee's worried eyes,
Kang Do-hee's feigned indifference,
Senior Ga-eul's gentle touch,
Sophia's affectionate look,
Ichika's silent yet unwavering devotion, Alice's endless faith.
All their emotions sank deeply into my chest.
Throb.
Before I knew it, my eyes reddened.
I bit my lip, but my throat tightened regardless.
How could I possibly put these feelings into words? How could I convey this gratitude?
I had no idea how to respond.
These people were far too good for me.
As I wept for what felt like an eternity, the words I finally managed to utter were: "Ah... Couldn't you have warned me about something like this in advance...? I have no idea how I'm supposed to react to this..."
It was such an uncool line.
"Ah… I really wish you'd give me a heads-up before doing something like this… Seriously, I have no idea how to react to something like this."
As I uttered those words while crying, the party members paused momentarily before bursting into laughter, congratulating one another.
"Yes! We finally made Jin Yuha cry."
"I know, right? I didn't think this would actually work…"
"Phew, can I take off this ridiculous headband now?"
"J-Jin Yuha, c-could you cry in three acts next time, by any chance?"
"Sophia, you've been watching way too many shows…"
"Totally worth the effort."
"Wow… I've never seen a man cry like this before, but seeing the instructor cry…"
Amid their playful teasing, I forced a smile and replied.
"Thanks… really. When did you even plan all this?"
It was a gift that touched my heart more deeply than any other.
Lee Yoo-ri stepped forward, her usual confidence nowhere to be seen, her hands tightly clasped together.
"Hoo─ Jin Yuha…!"
She bit her lip as if choosing her words carefully before finally speaking.
"…It doesn't matter to us who you are. Just being Jin Yuha is enough. You've always been there, watching over us, guiding us… Because of you, we've made it this far. So… so…"
Her voice trembled.
"S-so! If you ever feel tired, i-it's okay to lean on me sometimes, okay?"
Lee Yoo-ri's stuttering confession and her bashful demeanor drew sharp looks from the other party members.
"…You already got the first spot in the video, and now this?"
"'Me,' not 'us,' huh? Using your vice-leader privileges to pull something like this?"
"Yoo-ri, saying something like that at this moment is kind of unfair, don't you think?" "Totally underhanded."
Lee Yoo-ri's face turned bright red.
Time passed.
The cake was finished, and the candles were blown out one by one. Yet our conversation seemed endless.
"…Honestly, at first, I thought Senior Ga-eul was such a mature person…" "Mature senior? Yoo-ri, are you saying I'm not like that now?" "…"
"Look me in the eyes and say that! Look into my eyes!"
Stories about clearing the first gate.
First impressions of one another.
The fear we felt when we first defeated a demon.
The mishaps at the swimsuit festival.
We had accumulated so many stories.
But it seemed everyone had exhausted themselves preparing for today. They began nodding off or closing their eyes.
"Savior…"
I carried Ichika, who was struggling to stay awake until the end, to her room, tucked her in, and returned.
Then, on the balcony of the party room, I noticed someone.
It was Shin Se-hee.
I stepped out onto the balcony, crossing my arms, and stared at her as if silently asking if she had something to say to me.
Se-hee, clearly feeling a bit guilty, gave me an awkward smile and avoided my gaze.
Although she knew all of my secrets, all she had told me was, "Try to get along with the party members, even if they seem a bit strange." She had said nothing about this event.
"Well…"
Scratching her cheek, she hesitated.
"At first, I just thought it would be nice if you didn't feel awkward with the other party members and could get along well…?" "Hmm?"
"But as it went on, I thought it might be fun to surprise Jin Yuha with a little event. I also wanted to see your reaction when you had no idea this was coming. Before I knew it, I started getting a bit more… sincere about it."
Poking at the ground with the tip of her shoe, she mumbled as if she were a child caught making excuses. Her adorable demeanor made me let out a faint laugh.
"Jin Yuha, today was dangerous, wasn't it?"
Realizing I wasn't angry, she shamelessly shifted the subject. And I, fully aware, played along.
"Yeah, I almost spilled everything."
I scratched my head and admitted it.
Those words—"It doesn't matter who you are to us. Just being Jin Yuha is enough."
Honestly, for a brief moment, I had been so overwhelmed by emotion that I nearly blurted out the truth about being a game transmigrant, someone not from this world, to the entire party.
"You did well holding back. If you had said something then, it would've made things awkward."
In reality, I hadn't held back. For a fleeting moment, I'd felt a strong conviction that it might be better to reveal everything right then and there.
However, there was one person not present tonight—someone who stopped me.
Baek Seol-hee.
In the video, there had been footage of me through my mentor's perspective. That meant she had been one of the people helping prepare this event the previous day.
But she wasn't here today.
"Where is my mentor?"
When I asked, Shin Se-hee tilted her head and replied.
"Not sure? I can't manage her schedule too. She was with us until the morning and then disappeared at some point." "…I see."
"Maybe she's busy with the Demon Slayer Squad…?"
I was relieved I hadn't slipped up, but at the same time, I felt a twinge of sadness.
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