Chapter 171. Hospitalized (2)
Munch munch.
"... So in the end, we ended up saving Nam Dahee."
Scarlett wracked her brain for an excuse.
She pieced together her experiences with the Iris Guild and what she'd heard to fabricate a nonexistent organization under Lee Hoyeon.
Since she hadn't heard Lee Hoyeon's reason for saving Nam Daeun, Scarlett could only make up something to avoid interfering with whatever plan he had.
"So in the end, you don't know the exact reason either, Ms. Scarlett."
Munch munch.
Nam Daeun gnawed on the chicken as she listened to the story Scarlett had just made up.
"Yes. We only followed Lee Hoyeon's orders... Uh, but, why are you crying...?"
As Nam Daeun's eyes welled up during the conversation, Scarlett, who was continuing her explanation, became flustered.
"Sorry. It's my first time eating chicken...."
Watching Nam Daeun sniffle while eating chicken, Scarlett wondered why all the girls around Lee Hoyeon were so weird.
"Unni... You couldn't even eat chicken because of me..."
"It's okay, Dahee. I love you."
"Hueeung...."
The sisters hugged and rubbed cheeks, while Liliana gnawed at the chicken beside them to keep it from being taken.
Scarlett, holding onto her fading focus, asked Nam Daeun,
"Where is Lee Hoyeon? If he got caught up in the terror too, it would've been easier to explain if he came with you...."
Scarlett, who had been waiting for Nam Daeun at the academy's central fountain, didn't know the full situation.
Since Nam Daeun arrived right after the terror ended, there was no time to investigate.
"... He's probably in the hospital. I'm not sure, but the hunters were really praising Cadet Lee Hoyeon's sacrifice."
Nam Daeun hadn't left the barrier from start to end during the terror attack.
Only after all the demons had been dealt with did she slip out of the party and come straight here.
So she didn't know the details either.
"...!"
"S-Scout! Quickly, find out what's going on."
Even Liliana, who had been focused on eating, couldn't ignore Lee Hoyeon's name.
"Yes. Understood."
Scarlett immediately contacted her informants.
News of the terror attack at the social party was just starting to spread.
Moreover, all Scarlett had was a rough story from Nam Daeun, so she wasn't sure where to gather information from.
But maybe the informants with a preexisting interest in those circles would know something.
And soon enough, replies started coming in one after another.
"What'd they say? Is he alive?"
Liliana grabbed Scarlett's arm and shook it.
"He's in a coma and hospitalized. The Saint and other high-level healers are focusing on treating him, so it wasn't disclosed to the public, and visits are prohibited."
"Please...."
Nam Daeun clasped her hands together like a prayer and tightly shut her eyes.
There was still so much she needed to ask.
Why had he saved her and Dahee, and what was she supposed to do now?
"Ah, damn. Got scared for nothing."
Liliana sighed in relief upon hearing Lee Hoyeon wasn't dead.
As long as he was alive, that was enough.
She was confident that tough bastard wouldn't die easily anyway, so she dove back into her chicken.
*
"Hmm...."
Even after Baek A-Young left, no good ideas came to mind despite all the pondering.
No matter how I look at it, saying something like 'Let's use protection' outright feels off.
Of course, it's the most straightforward solution.
But I'm afraid it'll lower the affection level I painstakingly built up to 100.
Since it's the first time I reached 100 affection, I'm unsure about everything and can't decide on a course of action.
She'll come again for nursing anyway.
I'll subtly test the waters then.
'Still got more girls to seduce... Getting someone pregnant now would be a problem.'
While strategizing Baek A-Young, I thought about how I could be less of a scumbag.
If I'm going to conquer all the heroines, situations like this will repeat.
At first, I even considered being honest about being in a game world and needing to conquer them, even the whole harem necessity thing... but obviously, that's bullshit.
If I were a girl, I'd never date a guy who said crap like that.
They wouldn't believe it anyway.
I mean, sure, there's a way to prove it.
The heroine status window.
I could read their thoughts instantly and use that as proof, but... from their point of view, that's seriously creepy.
Revealing that would just get in the way of the strategy.
There'd also be the emotional trauma of learning the world they lived in was fiction... Yeah, not worth it.
Having decided, I checked public opinion through my smartwatch.
Since it's been a day since I collapsed, all the news should be out if today is the day after the terror.
As expected, the trending posts on EveryDay were all about the social party.
"What a damn mess."
I mean, even I panicked during that sudden terror. Imagine how the public felt.
Since it wasn't in the original story, it was hard to react properly.
I clicked on what looked like a summary post and checked the contents.
---------------------------
[Summary of the social party hosted by the Association and the terror attack.]
There was a demon assault at today's social party.
A barrier suddenly appeared, covering the entire venue, and no one could escape.
I wasn't there personally, so I don't know for sure, but from the interviews, dozens of inner barriers split up the hunters too.
With hundreds of demons attacking at once, it must've been absolute chaos.
Yet despite that, the death toll stayed in the single digits.
There were even regular civilians present, which makes that number absurd.
The reason was Lee Hoyeon.
While three or four active A-rank hunters needed over 10 minutes to analyze and break the barrier, Lee Hoyeon soloed them in 30 seconds and saved most of the hunters.
He even refused help from other hunters, telling them to group up and survive....
After saving nearly all the hunters, he defeated dozens of demons alone, rescued the Saint, and fell into a coma.
One of those demons was said to be incredibly strong.
The one Lee Hoyeon took down is estimated to be at least A-rank, possibly S-rank.
Seriously insane;
Some people are saying it's exaggerated hype, but check the survivor interviews.
These aren't the kind of people who would lie.
They've got no reason to lie to promote the academy, lol.
[Video]
[Video]
[Video]
These are the interviews I referenced.
Likes: 1530 Dislikes: 89
----------------------------
[Does this even make sense...? Are those numbers something you explain away with 'genius mage'?]
[But based on interviews and survivor SNS posts, it seems true? They're basically worshipping Lee Hoyeon.]
[You need to be at that level to date the Saint....]
[Our Hoyeon oppa is the best ㅠ.ㅠ Love you!]
"Well, I guess that's how it looked."
In truth, I was looking for Baek A-Young, but she just wouldn't show, so I saved the hunters in the meantime.
I even dressed up my words to the ones chasing after me, telling them to go somewhere with more people instead of following me.
It was a misunderstanding created by journalists trying to make a story and hunters' misconceptions.
Still, being praised in the comments feels good.
It's always a plus to have a good image.
I checked other posts too.
It seemed like the interviews and reactions had increased significantly just in the past few hours.
-------------------------
[Big guild masters start mentioning Lee Hoyeon ㄷㄷ]
Looks like Cadet Lee Hoyeon really played a major role....
It's not just praise or 'well done for a cadet' level.
They're treating him like a lifesaving benefactor.
Is the Lee Hoyeon coin going to the moon?
-------------------------
[Fr. If you don't believe the media or this, what the hell do you believe?]
[To the moon, let's go~]
Public opinion definitely shifted after this terror attack.
Famous students in the academy's upper ranks who were saved by me mentioned it again, and other rescued people spoke up for me too.
--------------------------
[Breaking!! Team Leader of Taebaek Guild who was at the academy terror scene exposes the truth.]
[Video]
If this is real, shouldn't the Association investigate?
Is our country this corrupt?
How can even a team leader from Taebaek Guild not speak up?
--------------------------
"Now what's this."
I browsed through the posts and clicked on a video.
In the video, a man bowed his head with a sorrowful expression.
- Hello. I'm Jeon Youngsoo, Team Leader of Taebaek Guild Team 1. I was present at the Victoria Academy terror site. But I couldn't speak out due to pressure from another guild.
"Huh..."
He must've been threatened, maybe even with death, yet still chose to speak—pretty gutsy.
- I owe my life to someone, and I can't betray my benefactor. I'll reveal everything. I was threatened by the Shinyoung Guild. I'm sure many others were too.
I thought he looked familiar—he's got the face of a dumb but kind supporting role next to the protagonist.
"Why'd you have to act up. Tsk."
The Shinyoung Guild's going to be in big trouble now.
Maybe things will be quiet while they scramble to contain it.
If I wait, Dr. Kang Hyorin will bring intel on the Shinyoung Guild too, so I'll blow it up when I have time.
Besides this video, a ton of hunters volunteered to protect me.
All of this happened within just 10 minutes.
Even while I was checking public opinion, new events were unfolding in real time.
And then I spotted another eye-catching video.
A post with far more likes than the rest.
--------------------------
[Some of the party hall CCTV has been restored. Lee Hoyeon is insane….]
[Video]
Seriously… no wonder the Saint fell for him.
So fucking cool.
Ha... I'm speechless.
-------------------------