Chapter 106: It’s Yuri

I wasn’t particularly focusing on that boy for any specific reason.

It was just that…

“Hero detected.”

My hero sensor was ringing.

It was like finding a wild hero in the middle of nowhere.

“Huh? Wh-what?”

The one with the trembling pupils was Ajin.

“Big sis, is that boy really a hero too?”

“Hmm, the chances are high. At the very least, that child…”

Her whispering near my ear, trying hard not to make a fuss but asking with a shy curiosity, felt incredibly cute.

She didn’t seem happy to see him; instead, her expression was clearly flustered.

Well, that’s to be expected when you suddenly come across a hero.

When I first met you, Dayoung was the same way.

“He’s openly carrying that kind of curse, so he must be one.”

“Eek!”

This curse, denser and more hostile than anything Dayoung or Ajin had faced before, felt like it was cursing him with, ‘Let’s see how far you fall.’

It had been quite some time since I’d seen such a state in person.

I carefully observed him again.

These days, even zombies in movies run fast, but the way he walked so feebly was rather unusual.

People around him murmured and stepped aside, as if even mere contact with him would infect them with a zombie virus.

The ominous atmosphere he exuded was undeniable.

His greasy, unkempt hair, dark circles that seemed to dig into his face, and the filthy grime on his skin and clothes – even from a distance, he looked and smelled like pure disaster.

It was hard to believe such a figure could be a hero.

Normally, I’d throw something like a ball to capture the hero, but a sudden thought made me turn to Ajin instead.

“What do you want to do?”

“Huh?”

“Should we go talk to him? Or just leave?”

From Ajin’s perspective, leaving wouldn’t be a big issue.

She could move into my house, slowly lift her curse, and eventually enjoy a peaceful modern life, far from the hardships of being a hero.

Frankly, whether that boy succumbed to his curse or not wasn’t something we needed to care about.

And yet, I asked the question anyway.

Maybe, deep down, I was hoping for something.

When more heroes like him joined us, I hoped those already with us wouldn’t feel alienated.

When it was just Dayoung, recruiting Ajin wasn’t difficult.

I only had to explain things to Dayoung.

But the more heroes we take in, the more entangled and complicated relationships will become, like a spider’s web.

In the worst case, division among the heroes might lead to some of them leaving.

Thinking about that future, I wanted to hear Ajin’s thoughts clearly.

“Um, well…”

Her eyes rolled around as if I could hear her brain working furiously.

A cold spring breeze swept past, and despite the chill, beads of sweat formed on her forehead from how hard she was thinking.

Ajin was definitely using her brain at full capacity.

“Well, in my opinion… we should at least talk to him.”

“Really? What if he’s a hero? Should we save him?”

“Huh? Why ask that all of a sudden?”

I countered her trembling question with a soft smile.

“If more heroes keep joining, I might have less time for you, you know?”

“Eek!”

Her pupils quivered, her focus vanished, and her face turned pale… ‘Was this panic?’

“Ah, I mean… Well…”

As I stared at her, Ajin dropped her gaze, unable to meet my eyes.

She hesitated, her lips moving soundlessly.

My sudden question left her fumbling for an answer.

But this was a test for me as well.

‘What would I do if Ajin refused?’

‘What if Dayoung opposed it too?’

‘Would I leave Dayoung and Ajin to go their separate ways while recruiting other heroes?’

Though I kept a soft smile, my heart burned with tension.

It wasn’t a battle or a confrontation, but this kind of suspense felt strangely refreshing.

***

Just before the student disappeared from sight, she finally spoke.

“I… I still want you to save the heroes, big sis.”

“…!”

When she looked up, her eyes were reddened, though the reason was unclear.

Her expression carried a storm of emotions, as if it was hard to speak but something she couldn’t ignore.

Seeing her like that, I wasn’t sure how to respond.

So instead of rushing to agree, I simply held her gaze.

“If we’re heroes… Big sis, you’ve always been a hero in our hearts. That’s why… I want you to save them.”

“Are you sure? There might be more heroes than we can count. If they all need my help, I’ll end up helping them…”

“That means, Ajin, I won’t have as much time to spend with you.”

Unintentionally, my voice came out slightly sharper than I intended, enough to feel like I was pressuring her.

The emotions in my tone were so clear that anyone listening might think I sounded upset, and even I regretted it as soon as the words left my lips.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Because…”

But, despite my words, Ajin smiled kindly and nodded.

“When you saved me, big sis, I was so happy…”

Ajin wiped away the tears forming in her eyes, her emotions clearly heightened.

Then, she gave me a bright, radiant smile – one as beautiful as another star shining brightly under the dark night sky.

“I wouldn’t dislike you just for something like that.”

Ah, so that’s how you’ve been thinking of me.

It wasn’t just about the title of ‘hero’ or the hope of lifting the curse.

“Thank you, Ajin. Meeting you and Dayoung… has been my salvation.”

“Hehe.”

Clasping Ajin’s hand tightly, I spoke with determination.

“Shall we go? To save the hero.”

“Yeah!”

Ajin’s reply came alongside the sight of a new hero emerging before us.

At that moment, as I stepped forward with newfound resolve, there was no longer any hesitation.

***

“Ah, my stomach hurts.”

His grumbling stomach, now crying out in hunger so badly it brought physical pain, was relentless in its complaints.

‘But what could he do? He had no money left and no immediate prospects for work.’

In short, getting food was becoming impossible.

‘Should I resort to begging?’

Even as a hero – or perhaps because he was a hero – he couldn’t bring himself to do something as disgraceful as stealing.

‘A hero may be poor, but not without pride.’

At first, he pushed through with sheer willpower, but now, he had reached his limit.

Hunger… it truly was a brutal ordeal.

If he starved to death, would he be the first in history?

What a ridiculous story.

A hero starving to death.

No story could have a worse bad ending than this.

As he trudged aimlessly through the streets, he caught sight of his reflection in a glass door.

Ah, what a pitiful, shabby appearance.

‘Who would think I’m a hero, looking like this? They’d probably think I’m a beggar.’

But what hurt more than his appearance was something deeper.

“If only I could go back to my original form…”

What stared back at him was the reflection of a well-built young man, larger than most his age.

His body felt foreign, like it wasn’t truly his.

This dissonance was the culprit that shattered the days when he used to believe that what’s inside mattered more than outward appearances.

His muscular physique felt suffocating, as though someone had slapped sponges all over his body.

‘If only the strength of a hero remained, this wouldn’t be so hard.’

Without losing his original form, he wouldn’t have been driven to the brink of starvation.

Perhaps he could have contacted his family and returned to his normal life.

More than that, if he had the strong body of a hero, a few months of starvation wouldn’t have killed him.

Maybe that’s why…

When he saw his pathetic, shabby reflection in the glass, his heart sank.

Sitting on the roadside, he couldn’t hold back his tears.

“Uwaaaah!”

He cried out, but instead of a normal wail, it sounded more like a bear’s roar, only intensifying his misery.

Usually, crying like this would draw someone over to check if he was okay.

But his dirty, pathetic appearance, combined with sitting on the side of the road while wailing, must have scared people off.

No one approached, no one offered a hand or kind words.

‘It wasn’t like this before. I wasn’t like this.’

He had once been a confident, admirable hero.

“Mom! Dad! Uwaaah!”

As he roared like a bear, he suddenly sensed someone approaching from behind.

“Excuse me.”

The soft voice calling out to him…

“Huh? Wh-what? Y-yes?”

Turning around, his tear-filled eyes widened, momentarily forgetting his sadness.

And for good reason.

Even in this world, he had never seen a woman as beautiful as this.

Her golden hair shimmered like molten gold, her features exquisitely sculpted, and her sapphire-blue eyes sparkled like finely polished gems.

The voice that had just graced his ears belonged to this ethereal beauty.

Feeling utterly insignificant before her, he stammered.

“M-me? You’re talking to me?”

“Yes, what’s your name?”

The dazzling woman asked with a gentle smile, and there was no way he could ignore her.

Her aura was so compelling that anyone, regardless of gender, would naturally want to respond positively to her.

Even he, a hero, was captivated by her presence.

“My name is… Yuri.”

For a man standing 180 cm tall and packed with muscle, it was a surprisingly delicate name.