I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Sui**de

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I responded as calmly as possible.

“What are you curious about?”

“I just ran into two students in the basement. Han Si-hyun and Yu Hana.”

“………”

I hurriedly tried to recall my memories.

It wasn’t too hard to guess at which point this was, considering he mentioned the basement.

It was the moment when those two were trying to discern a single ability using Magi.

“I see. The basement isn’t a place ordinary students can go.”

“Are you playing dumb?”

“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

The Vice Principal glared at me with a lowered gaze.

“You knew that girl was trying to dig up information, didn’t you?”

His voice was filled with certainty, not simple suspicion.

Indeed, I knew that Si-hyun was investigating Hana’s information as he said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought it was just a random whim. I didn’t expect them to use Magi.”

“Hmm…”

Showing flustered reactions in this scenario would only lead to more questioning.

I had to respond confidently, pretending to be as nonchalant as possible.

“And in the end, isn’t it alright? That girl’s information is blocked by a top-tier security, so she wouldn’t be able to read it anyway.”

The Student Council President only has a secondary level of authority.

There’s absolutely no way to access Yu Hana’s information through normal methods.

“Do you know why I entrusted the management of the Messiah to you?”

“Because I control Longinus.”

“Right. It’s better to kill him than let the Board take him.”

That was truly a disgusting remark. As if Hana were just an object to be tossed around.

But I couldn’t show my emotions here.

I needed to maintain a calm demeanor and thicken my mask.

“So you need to be careful. If a third party figures out the Messiah’s identity, it could be quite troublesome.”

“I understand what you mean. I will manage it with even more caution from now on.”

“Good. Keep up the good work.”

Right before leaving, I perfectly realized from the Vice Principal’s icy gaze.

He’s on guard against me.

It’s not only because of this incident.

My lukewarm attitude until now must have compounded suspicions over time.

His trust in me might already have completely faded away.

But that’s okay.

After all, it would all be starting soon.

In the empty science lab, I finally managed to relax and leaned back in the chair.

I was quite exhausted.

Every direction around me was an enemy.

I could count on just one trustworthy ally, at most.

Moreover, Hana didn’t even remember me.

She couldn’t recall any of the memories we had built together.

I felt like a foreigner who had fallen into a completely different world.

Thinking that brought a dry laugh out of me.

Did Hana think the same way I did now?

Just hold on a bit longer.

Just a little longer.

*

Is fate flowing just as it was predetermined?

The day after the field trip.

Everyone at the academy was busy gossiping about the same topic.

The attack inside the gate.

The enemy was none other than a Demon Lord.

Fortunately, in comparison to that infamous reputation, there were almost no casualties.

Just one heavily injured student.

And one missing person.

Sophie ultimately betrayed the Black Goat and chose Hana.

She acted true to her heart.

Thanks to that, Hana survived safely.

She returned to the academy.

However, the girl’s heart was already broken and shattered.

People showed interest in the student caught up in that incident.

Counseling was arranged for her.

And by the time the counseling session ended, the counselor had already turned into a cold corpse.

For that reason, I was summoned by the Board.

On my way to their upper office, I ran into the Student Council President heading down.

She looked rather displeased.

I had a rough idea of what had been discussed.

As expected, she didn’t recognize me.

After all, I was just an ordinary first-year science teacher.

I stood before the old men in the dimly lit top floor.

“Did you hear the news?”

“Yes.”

“There was a Demon lurking within the academy. Like a rat.”

“Still, you managed to discover it.”

The counselor was also a Demon.

Of course, compared to the Vice Principal, their rank was embarrassingly low.

“What’s important right now isn’t that.”

“Right. The Black Goat has started to move. We almost lost the Messiah.”

“That’s indeed a big problem.”

I answered as naturally as possible.

“Of course, we have a contingency plan. We’ve prepared a counterfeit Messiah as well.”

“In the end, the important thing is not letting the Messiah fall into the hands of a Demon.”

What they said was identical to what the Vice Principal had said.

It was a disgusting narrative, the idea that it would be better to kill her than let the enemy take her.

“It’s time for you to move as well.”

“Activate Longinus. Prepare the spear that will kill her.”

I didn’t like it.

I wanted to smash both the Demon and the Board right now.

But that would ruin my plans entirely.

“…Understood.”

For now, I needed to bow my head.

That’s fine. I can bow my head hundreds of times if it’s for Hana.

After finishing my talk with the Board, I returned home.

The lights were on.

As usual, the girl was sitting at her desk.

“I’m back.”

“Mm.”

A response so short it was almost hollow.

After hearing it for a whole year, I had completely adapted to it.

Longinus was sitting in front of the desk, diligently reading a book as always.

Every single day, without fail, she looked at that book.

The pages of the book weren’t many.

In accordance with the thinness of the book, one could easily finish it in just three days of proper reading.

“How many times have you read that now?”

“I don’t know.”

The book was already worn out from her handling.

Longinus had read it over and over to the point that counting how many times felt impossible.

Once she finished, she would immediately return to the start and read again.

Normally, anyone else would be disgusted by just looking at it, but she showed no signs of such.

“When will you add more?”

“I’ll do it right after I wash up.”

That book is none other than my diary.

To be precise, it’s closer to a memoir recording past memories.

The reason I started writing it was to avoid forgetting memories for my plans.

At least by keeping it as a record, I could check it whenever I got confused.

Longinus had read the book chronicling my life multiple times.

Usually, she barely opens her mouth, but when curious, she would actively ask questions.

“Shin Woo.”

“Yeah?”

“What happens to the next Messiah?”

She pointed to the last page and asked.

Currently, the book was filled only with blank pages.

It’s only natural since I haven’t finished writing it yet.

“Just wait a bit. I’ll write it out for you.”

“Tell me. What happens?”

I sighed deeply.

At times like this, it really felt like taking care of a child.

In the end, I obediently told her the story as she wanted.

The content I was writing was nearing the ending.

“We returned to the temple. And Hana said she wanted to undergo the descent ceremony.”

“And?”

“Of course, everyone, including me, vehemently opposed, but Hana didn’t bend her will. I had no idea back then, but Hana already knew what she had to do.”

Shortly after, the summarized story continued for a while.

Up until the moment Hana completely died to become a god.

“………”

“That’s all for today. I’ll write the detailed content later, so check it out then.”

“I have a question.”

“What is it? If it will take long, I’ll tell you next time.”

Longinus stared at me intently before speaking.

“What’s going to happen to Shin Woo?”

“…Huh? Me? I’d just be watching over Hana until she closes her eyes…”

It seemed that wasn’t the answer she wanted as she shook her head vigorously.

“Not Kim Shin Woo, but Shin Woo.”

“………”

That was a rather bizarre expression, but I quickly understood.

In other words, she meant what the Kim Shin Woo science teacher, ten years later, was doing at the time Hana died.

“That… I don’t know either.”

I truly have no idea.

I can’t even begin to guess what happened to him.

The science teacher seemed to vanish from the stage just before Hana left the academy.

He hadn’t shown his face properly since then.

That enigmatic man knows that I am now.

Then, where would I be and what would I be doing in the future that lies ahead?

“………”

I didn’t really want to imagine, but various possibilities came to mind.

It was a sufficiently plausible prediction.

Perhaps.

I might have failed to achieve my goal and died.

If that really is the case.

Does that mean all these actions are futile struggles?

I kept my mouth shut for a long time, deep in thought.

Longinus waited quietly for me.

It was only after quite a while that I completely finished pondering.

And I looked straight at Longinus and said.

“I might disappear in a short while.”

“…Mm.”

“When that time comes, you should act according to what’s in this book. And.”

“Don’t tell anyone about this book’s story. Not to Hana or the past me.”