Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Protagonist [5]
Hans and Collin sat on the roof, watching the sun set over the horizon together.
It was a peaceful scene.
And beautiful too.
"Do you think things will be okay from now on, Hans?"
Collin spoke up.
Perhaps the boy was feeling a little nervous, and had started to think about the consequences after beating up those bullies.
But, contrary to Collin’s mood, the protagonist remained calm.
"Don’t worry, it’ll be fine."
Hans patted the boy’s head.
"Those guys are always bullying other kids, but they’re fine. And all you’re doing is copying what they did."
The protagonist smiled gently, showing off his teeth that were whiter than snow.
"But... what if they ask some thugs to take revenge?"
"Hahaha! What kind of thinking is that?"
Hans couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Sometimes, he really forgot that he was talking to a child, not an adult.
What a cute question.
"Those thugs don’t have the time to gang up on a kid."
The laughter stopped.
"Moreover, they wouldn’t dare do that, because that would be like committing a crime."
Accepting a crime just to punish a kid?
Only extremely stupid people, even more stupid than a cow, would do that.
"...Welp, I guess my work here is done."
Hans stood up.
"You have had enough strength to protect your family, so there’s no reason for me to stay here anymore."
It was time for him to continue his journey.
"Wait..."
"What’s wrong? Do you need anything else?"
The protagonist looked at Collin with a puzzled look.
"Will we meet again?"
"...Hmm."
Hans rubbed his chin.
"It might be difficult, don’t expect too much."
"...Is that so?"
The boy’s expression became gloomy.
Seeing this, the protagonist couldn’t help but pat the boy’s head once more.
"What’s there to be sad about? This world is like this. You should try to get used to parting with someone."
"...Yes."
Collin nodded, his expression still looking quite regretful.
"...Thank you, Hans."
"..."
Suddenly, the protagonist paused.
It was all because of that sudden thank you.
To be frank, he still wasn’t used to it.
How long has it been since Hans received such sincere thanks?
In his previous life, he only knew about training and killing Tower Creatures.
The protagonist almost always cleared the floors with strength, and never spent much time enjoying the Tower.
To the point that people often called him a tyrant.
"..."
But in this life, everything had changed.
It was all because Hans met Kael.
Kael had truly changed the protagonist’s fate, preventing him from making the same mistake again.
With a smile, Hans replied:
"It’s nothing. It’s just what should be done."
***
"...I want to die."
Standing on top of a church, preparing to jump down to end his life, was a man with a face haggard with fatigue.
"...Why is the world treating me like this?"
To put it bluntly, his life was nothing more than a pile of shit.
And perhaps instead of continuing to live in that hell, it would be best for him to just commit suicide.
The day he accepted the loan sharks, the end of his life was written.
"But why? I just want money to cure my mother’s illness."
Perhaps... accepting the loan from those guys was the stupidest choice in his life.
They were gangsters after all.
He had already paid back all the money he had borrowed with interest, but those gangsters had no intention of letting him go.
They forced him to give them more money every day by all means.
His mentality had completely collapsed.
"...Well, it’s time."
Whoosh!
Just then, a gust of wind blew by.
And following that wind was an unusually calm voice, as if nothing in the world could shake its owner:
"If you want to commit suicide, don’t do it here."
"...!"
"This is a church after all, a very sacred place."
"Who is it?!"
"You should have thought about the others before jumping."
The man immediately turned towards the source.
And there, he saw a young man with a face as stunning as a painting, and white hair fluttering in the wind.
That person looked so calm, not caring about the man’s life or death.
"...Who are you?"
"Hans Varun."
"...What are you doing here?"
"Why do I need to tell you that? You can come up here, but I can’t? Is this your house?"
"..."
The man was completely speechless.
He thought he was already the weirdest, but he didn’t expect that there would be someone even weirder than him in this world.
"You... don’t have anything to say?"
Hans raised his eyebrows.
"About what?"
"I’m about to jump off and end my life."
"Okay, what next?"
The protagonist shrugged, completely unconcerned.
But was that really the case?
"If you want to die, then just do it. But even if you die, will the world change?"
The answer was too simple.
"Of course not. Even without you, the world will still function normally. To put it bluntly, your death would be of no use."
Hans looked straight into the man’s eyes that were filled with nothing but despair.
"But, if you die, how do you think the people who care about you will feel? Like... your mother?"
"How do you know!?"
The protagonist just smiled meaningfully.
"You seem to have some troubles. How about it, want to share them with me?"
"..."
To be honest, the man really thought Hans was a strange person.
But, for some reason, his suicidal thoughts had disappeared.
"...You’re right."
Slowly, he sat down beside the protagonist.
And then, his story was told.
***
The moment the story of the man named Anderson ended, Hans was completely stunned.
So similar...
His life was no different from the protagonist’s previous life.
Both of them had relatives who were seriously ill.
And both of them were involved with loan sharks.
But, unlike Hans, Anderson did not receive the Ability [Sword Saint] or anything similar.
"...What should I do? Why is my fate so miserable?"
Frustrated, the man buried his face in his hands and began to cry.
"Don’t cry, my friend. You are a full-grown adult, after all."
The protagonist gently patted the man’s back, trying to soothe his emotions.
To be honest, it would be a lie if Hans said that he wasn’t moved.
He really sympathized with this man.
Perhaps the only difference between them was luck.
Losing a loved one was an extremely painful thing, because it was no different from losing everything.
The protagonist had experienced it, so he understood how it felt.
Thinking about what had happened to himself in his previous life, Hans’ remaining hand gently clenched.
He didn’t want anyone to go through that.
Therefore...
"Don’t worry, my friend, I’ll help you."