Chapter 123: Episode 24 – Things that Can Be Changed (3)

TL: The earlier chapters uploaded in December were from when I transferred older translated chapters here. The novel was only publicly released a few days ago, and the official schedule starts today. Official schedule will be 12 chapters a week.

「 Suzuki walked through the forest and thought, ‘I was truly fortunate.’

Suzuki trembled as he recalled the events. A girl who manipulated monsters and wielded the dagger with great skill. Suzuki couldn’t forget how Murakami died with a single blow.

‘South Korea is terrifying. A child is already at that level.’

She was just a child, so Suzuki couldn’t gauge the skill of the man beside him. The man wore a pure white coat and held a white sword. There was nothing special about him except for the color of his coat, but he was a lifesaver for Suzuki. “Thank you very much. I would have died if you hadn’t been here.”

“It was nothing.”

“I was truly impressed. I didn’t expect help from a Korean person.”

“It was natural to help.” The man in the white coat was modest.

Above all, Suzuki liked that the man spoke good Japanese. It was obviously a skill, but possessing the Japanese Interpreter skill was a sign that he appreciated Japanese culture.

Suzuki asked, “Ah, I don’t yet know your name. May I have it? I am Suzuki Tatsuya.”

“My name is Dokja. Kim Dokja.”

“Kimu Dojega?”

“…Kim Dokja.”

“Hoh.” Kim Dokja. Wasn’t it a fine name? Suzuki liked this Korean name. “By the way, did you see the child? She killed my colleague…”

“Unfortunately, I missed her.”

“Sigh… I see.”

Suzuki didn’t know if this was true or not. It couldn’t be helped even if it wasn’t. In any case, this person was South Korean. It wasn’t unusual for him to hide the child or pretend he didn’t see her.

Still, it was disappointing. Suzuki could have easily gotten revenge if he had caught the child. As part of the third group from Japan, he already knew about the ‘small person transformation’ hidden piece of the sixth scenario.

He stated, “You saved me, so you must have witnessed the small person transformation.”

“If you’re talking about how she became smaller, I naturally saw it.”

“Then the matter will be swift. We are from different countries, but we don’t have to fight each other in this scenario. Our enemies are the small people, not humans.”

“I know. That’s why I saved Suzuki.” Fortunately, the Korean man in front of him seemed to agree. Kim Dokja said, “By the way, the Japanese side knows many things.”

“Yes. We progressed quickly through our scenario, and there were similar cases among the previous players.”

“It was similar?”

“There were a few cases where a human turned into a small person.”

“What happened to them?”

“Most of them are dead. Only one person is still alive.”

Kim Dokja heard this and seemed to think of something. It was hard to know what the Korean was thinking. The slightly nervous Suzuki opened his mouth. “This is just a reminder, but I don’t hate South Korea.”

“…Why are you saying this all of a sudden?”

“Don’t Koreans think that Japan hates Korea?”

It was said by the prime minister, who was part of Japan’s first group. Of course, it was just a nickname, and he wasn’t the real prime minister.

-South Koreans have a strong nationalistic sentiment. They will dislike anyone who criticizes their country.

Suzuki disliked the prime minister but never suffered any harm from listening to his words.

“Kim-san. I also like Kim Ahyeon and Park Sungji.”

“…”

“Autumn Sonata is also very interesting. My mother liked it.”

Always mention Kim Ahyeon, Park Sungji, and Autumn Sonata when meeting a Korean. This was the prime minister’s advice.

“I love Japanese manga.”

“A-Ah. It is like this.” The prime minister was apparently correct. Suzuki asked excitedly, “What manga do you like?”

“It is hard for me to choose one. I don’t know if I can keep reading now.”

“…Certainly, it is a bit unfortunate. I waited for the manga every week, but I don’t even know if the mangaka is still alive.”

It was bitter to think of such things. Suzuki also liked these things. Manga was one of them.

“It is because everything has changed.” 」

-Ahjussi.

Shin Yoosung’s voice broke the immersion. I was in the process of using Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint stage 2, so I couldn’t answer Shin Yoosung immediately.

[The exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint stage 2 has ended.]

[Your understanding of the character ‘Suzuki Tatsuya’ has increased dramatically.]

Immersing myself in the character made it easier to understand him. It was smooth because he had a shallow personality. My focus wasn’t high because I was conscious, but it wasn’t difficult to read what Suzuki was thinking.

-Ahjussi?

-Sorry, I was busy practicing a skill.

The small Shin Yoosung was currently in my pocket. Shin Yoosung spoke to me through a direct connection because of our sponsor contract.

…It was a bit surprising. I could tell what she was asking without thinking.

I watched Suzuki Tatsuya, who was still telling his story. Suzuki appeared as a passing character in Ways of Survival. The world was described from his point of view for smooth storytelling, but he could only get a few pages in Ways of Survival. Still, most ordinary lives could be summed up in a few chapters.

-I don’t understand. Such an ordinary person, how can he do such cruel things…

Shin Yoosung couldn’t understand because of the foreign language, but she grasped the gist of the conversation. I couldn’t help noticing her agitation.

“I mean, Kim-san…”

The talking Suzuki seemed like an ordinary university student. He was an ordinary youth who took great joy in talking to others and could be found anywhere in the world. I told her.

-I saw it a lot in South Korea. An ordinary person killing the person next to him to survive.

-At the time, it couldn’t be helped because of the scenario.

-It is the same now. That person is doing it because of the scenario.

-It is just an excuse. He won’t die even if he fails…!

-Don’t think about it this way.

I asked her.

-If the dead small people were in our position right now, would the situation be different?

-I don’t think Suzuki is evil. However, I’m not saying he is good either.

-The original evil is ordinary. We are ordinary people, but we seem like the most terrible disaster.

-Then he isn’t a bad person?

-No, every human is a disaster for each other.

I deliberately exaggerated things. If I didn’t say this, Shin Yoosung might not be able to escape the guilt of killing a person. She asked, -Then will I become a disaster in the future?

-Don’t worry. I’ll stop it from happening.

There was a buzzing in my ears, and insects were flying around me. Suzuki was annoyed as he continued the story.

“The insects here are still the same size. Aren’t they disasters to the small people?”

“That’s right.”

There was no way. In this small world, insects couldn’t be the same size as on Earth.

-Yoosung. Do you understand what they are saying?

The species that could be tamed by Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were different, but it was possible to understand the language of other species through Diverse Communication. There was a reason why I placed Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung in different groups in the first place.

-Hyung… second team… met…

-Good. Then can you pass along my message?

I could feel Shin Yoosung nodding. The insects flying around soon disappeared into the forest. Suzuki saw the distant insects and asked, “Kim-san. Are you listening to me?”

“I’m listening. Weren’t you talking about creatures from another world?” I thought a person who could talk about manga even in this situation was very rare. I struggled to accept it. “I heard that this genre is popular in Japan.”

“Haha, yes. Creatures from another world are my favorite. It is similar to our situation now. However, it is hard to draw.”

The story contents in Japan just before the fall of this world would have been similar to South Korea.

Japan and South Korea’s novel sections were full of stories about going back in time. However, the Japanese side was probably a bit worse. The young Japanese people thought there was no hope when returning to the past.

I wondered, “Isn’t it fun when it is hard?”

“Huh?”

“This is what I like.”

“You’re having fun.”

Suzuki cut through the low bushes and suddenly thought of something. “That reminds me, we have a mangaka on our side. A person called Asuka Ren…”

Asuka Ren?

“…That person said something similar to Kim-san. A story isn’t fun if it’s too easy.”

“That person right now…”

“Oh, we have arrived.”

A small empty clearing appeared in the heart of the forest. The anticipation that could be felt everywhere tickled my skin. Perhaps this was the main base of the Japanese early arrivals. By the way, something was strange.

[You have entered someone’s ‘colony.’]

[Your physical condition meets the requirements of a ‘colonist.’]

[The colony effect reduces your overall stats.]

Suzuki’s expression towards me had changed. He asked, “You said it is better to solve hard problems?”

Dozens of armed Japanese people popped out of the bushes.

“Good. Then I will make it that way.”

I was a bit surprised by the unexpected betrayal. Was Suzuki originally this type of person?

[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]

+

[Character List Summary]

Name: Suzuki Tatsuya

Private Attribute: Double-Faced Person (Rare)

Sponsor: Silent Sword

+

I see. This was his attribute. I was still lacking.

In any case, Ways of Survival was a novel that could be never-ending. How many people weren’t summed up in a few pages?

By the way, the ‘colony’ effect was activated, so it seemed the king of this area wasn’t the ‘snake.’ He knew I was Korean and deliberately drove me to this side…

“You brought the Josenjing.” (TL: a Japanese slur for Korean people.)

A samurai who emerged from the bushes said, and Suzuki bowed his head. The samurai asked, “You are from the third group. Are you part of the prime minister’s group?”

“No…”

“Then is this a tribute?”

“That’s right.”

“What is your name?”

“Suzuki Tatsuya.”

“I see. Well done, Suzuki. From now on, you are in our group.”

Prime minister…

Things had become worse. As far as I knew, there was only one Japanese incarnation called ‘prime minister.’ He was one of the enemies I had to be most wary of, apart from the ‘snake’ I had to catch. It was because his ability exerted a nearly absolute influence on Koreans.

The samurai stepped forward and spoke. He wasn’t the prime minister. “The slave of the great Japanese Empire has walked into the colony.”

I grasped the handle of Unbroken Faith and declared, “If you attack me now, then the small person transformation will begin.”

“We don’t attack you. You will attack us.”

“Why should I?”

“Otherwise, your colleagues will die.”

What?

“Dokja-ssi… I’m sorry.”

I looked towards the voice and saw four small people standing side by side. To be precise, they were ‘transformed into small people.’

Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Lee Jihye… Finally, the smiling no. 406 grandmother.

The samurai placed his sword against Lee Hyunsung’s neck. “Do you understand the situation now?”

I couldn’t help laughing. Normally this would be a cancerous development, but I was rather pleased. As expected, my companions had angered the Japanese people and become small people.

Shin Yoosung asked,

-Ahjussi, what should we do?

What else?

[Hunt the ‘small people’ in 10 minutes. Otherwise, the Star Stream will determine that you have no intention to carry out the activities of a disaster…]

It was the wrong time to catch the snake. Then… well, the new target wasn’t much different.

“Come on, Josenjing.”

I looked up at the sky and sighed. Then the stars shone at me as if they had been waiting.

[All the constellations of the Korean Peninsula are looking at you.]

It couldn’t be helped. If they expressed such aversion…

[Every constellation of the Korean peninsula is angry at the atrocities of Japan!]

[Some of the constellations who have lived in a certain time are waiting for you to call.]

It was proper for me to punish the other party.