The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player Novel - Chapter 244
Chapter 244 – The Courage of Democracy
“Didn’t I tell John to lay low for a while, so there shouldn’t be any problem with Berber?”
When he found out that Berber was aiming for the sect leader position, John’s reaction was furious.
“I knew this was going to happen! What should we do, my lord? Should we bring that traitor here right now and skin him alive?”
“Don’t get worked up, John. What do we gain by killing him in that manner? What else is there besides personal satisfaction?”
Ryu Min, unable to contain his slave’s anger, ordered him to hide in the Messiah’s cabin for a while.
“Anyway, they’re going to die in round 15, whether it’s Berber or the Despair Sect.”
He had no intention of forgiving the murderers who killed Christine’s followers.
Even if he killed them, he planned to use them in the strategy for the round and then kill them.
“In a moment, our plane will arrive at Incheon International Airport.”
Once in Korea, Ryu Min called before heading home.
It was because of the text message he received from Min Juri.
“Hey, Juri. You said you had something to tell me. Can we meet now? Okay. See you there.”
After hanging up, Ryu Min headed to the meeting place in his Lamborghini.
But on the way, Min Juri’s voice he heard earlier kept resonating in his head.
“Where does it hurt? Her voice sounded very depressed…”.
Well, can a person’s mood always be good?
Sometimes it is and sometimes it’s not.
“I’m not sure what to say, but it’s okay. Anyway, I needed to meet with you to discuss our strategy. I should also give you the invisibility potions.”
The invisibility potions would help address the first mission of round 15 more safely.
He also brought a bottle for John Delgado, after Christine.
“If I give one to Min Juri, I have two left.”
After considering it, he decided to give them to Seo Arin and Yamti.
They were members who would definitely be useful if he let them live.
After about 30 minutes of driving, he arrived at the café where they had arranged to meet.
Cling-
Opening the door, he saw Min Juri waiting inside.
“Hey, you’re already here…”
But something seemed off in her expression.
He asked with concern as he sat across from her.
“Min Juri.”
“Ah, you came…?”
“Have you been waiting long?”
Min Juri nodded slightly without looking at Ryu Min.
She seemed to lack the courage to look at him directly.
‘What’s wrong? It seems like she’s carrying some guilt.’
It wasn’t because she had any sin to hide, but rather to avoid losing control over her own emotions if they looked directly at each other.
‘Why is she acting like this?’
Though he tried not to read Min Juri’s thoughts, he couldn’t stay like that.
He had to understand the situation.
About 10 seconds passed as he read her mind.
“Oh.”
He finally understood why.
The reason for an involuntary sigh.
“During my trip to the United States, you came to my house.”
Min Juri misunderstood that.
She thought he had gone to meet his Japanese girlfriend.
‘Good Lord, why is she making baseless assumptions…? No, it’s not the time to blame my sister. It was me who caused this confusion.’
Though there was only silence between them, he understood the situation.
He needed to untangle this mess.
“Min Juri. Why that expression? Is something wrong?”
For now, he feigned ignorance.
Instead of explaining immediately to clear up the misunderstanding, it would be more natural to steer the conversation toward that point first.
“So…”
Min Juri, hesitating in her response, finally opened her mouth.
Still with her gaze low.
“You went abroad…?”
“Eh? How did you know?”
“You weren’t answering my calls, so I went to your house worried about what might have happened. You had a brother…”.
“Ah, you met my younger brother? Ryu Won, he’s my only relative who’s 4 years younger. You saw him for the first time, right?”
It wasn’t the first time, but Min Juri nodded.
“Yeah… I didn’t know you had a brother, so I was a bit surprised. But what he said afterward was even more surprising.”
“Do you want to bring up the main topic?”
Ryu Min asked as he swallowed nervously.
“What did he say?”
“He said you had a girlfriend. Japanese…”
“Oh, that’s…”
“How could you not tell me?”
Min Juri, who had never before confronted Ryu Min in that way, looked up.
In her pupils, tears had welled up without her realizing it.
“If you have a girlfriend, you should tell me. Do I need to find out from someone else?”
“No, it’s just that…”
“Do you know how much I was surprised and felt confused? Aren’t we friends? If you have a girlfriend, you could have told at least me.”
“…”
Watching her shed tears like pearls as she spoke sincerely, Ryu Min thought to himself.
“Just for hiding that I had a girlfriend, this is what happens… What will happen if she finds out I’m Black Scythe…?”
Will he be rejected for having been hiding his true identity from his closest friend?
Just thinking about it made him feel dizzy.
“It’s dangerous…”
He decided that he must at least keep his identity hidden as much as possible from Min Juri, but he received a suspicious look.
“Since when have you been dating her? Why did you hide it from me?”
Ryu Min extended his hand with a sinister feeling as he looked at Min Juri, as if he was looking at a caught cheating lover.
“Wait a moment. It’s a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
Ryu Min spoke calmly when he had the chance to clarify for a moment.
“To be straightforward, I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“You don’t?”
“I once went on a trip to Japan, and since then I’ve been hanging out a lot, so my brother misunderstood everything. He thought I had a Japanese girlfriend.”
“So… it was all a misunderstanding from my brother? You don’t have a girlfriend?”
Ryu Min nodded sincerely in his eyes.
“Yes. I haven’t returned to Japan since then.”
“Why didn’t you tell your brother the truth?”
“I didn’t want to explain everything unnecessarily, so I just let him misunderstand. I didn’t expect you to react like this because of it…”
“…”
When she heard the word “reaction,” Min Juri imagined how her own face looked.
“Oh… What have I done?”
She showed a pitiful figure, unaware that she was misinterpreting everything.
She belatedly realized that her reaction had been exaggerated and returned to her face.
She didn’t dare to lift her head.
“So… that was all… I’m sorry. I… I was wrong.”
“No, I should apologize. I made you misunderstand things.”
As Ryu Min apologized, Min Juri’s shoulders hunched even more.
“So I even want to hide in a mouse hole…”
Although the anger had dissipated, the shame was her responsibility.
‘Fool, idiot! Why did you get so angry? He’s not even your boyfriend…!’
As she reflected on her own behavior, Min Juri lifted her head.
“I’m sorry. For showing myself so pathetic. I suddenly started crying and surprised you, didn’t I?”
“It was a bit surprising, but it’s okay. It can happen.”
Trying to brush past the situation, she attempted to smile as if nothing, but Min Juri seemed determined not to let it slide and spoke nervously.
“It might seem strange, but please don’t think of it strangely. I was overwhelmed with emotions thinking you were lying… but why did I cry if it wasn’t to cry…?”
She seemed desperate to make her behavior understandable.
Perhaps she feared her tears would be misunderstood.
But soon she realized that whatever she said would sound strange.
It was already too late to explain.
“Instead, it would be better…”
There was a long silence.
Ryu Min tried to hide his confusion.
Because he could clearly hear Min Juri’s thoughts.
“No, I can’t do that.”
“Min.”
He looked at her suddenly seriously, and Ryu Min couldn’t stop himself.
He wanted to stop if he could.
He wanted to shout at her not to say anything.
“I can say something…”
But he knew he couldn’t stop her when Min Juri showed such determination.
“I love you.”
“What?”
He pretended not to have heard, but it was useless.
“I love you.”
“…”
Finally, it was confessed.
He never imagined it would end like this with such a direct confession.
“I thought I was going to explain misunderstandings, but I ended up confessing…”
He saw the future 7 seconds later, but he couldn’t help it.
There was no turning back for Min Juri, who had made her decision.
“It’s the worst.”
It’s not that he didn’t like Min Juri.
He acknowledged she was a very good friend.
She was essential as a buffer.
But he couldn’t accept a romantic confession.
Ryu Min had spent decades repeating cycles of reincarnation with the sole purpose of surviving.
He didn’t have time for romantic relationships.
“I don’t have romantic feelings, and besides, the most important thing is to beat Round 20.”
When Ryu Min stayed silent for a while, Min Juri spoke with a red face.
“Surprised, right? I’m sorry for confessing so suddenly. But to explain why I cried, I could only show my feelings.”
“You cried because you love me.”
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
He seemed convinced, but in fact, Min Juri was puzzled.
“Is that all?”
“…”
“Don’t you have anything else to say?”
“Should we get coffee? What would you like to eat?”
“…”
Although he didn’t say it directly, he had already responded to the confession.
“It’s better for Min Juri to pretend not to hear and casually reject… but Ryu Min didn’t know that.”
“Why do you pretend not to know?”
Min Juri had no intention of overlooking the situation so easily.
She wanted a clear answer.
“You heard what I said, didn’t you?”
“Oh, that, that?”
“I like you. Ever since we became classmates.”
“……”
“And what do you think of me?”
“Before I answer… I have a question.”
Ryu Min asked with the purpose of avoiding answering as much as possible.
“Why would someone like you like someone like me?”
“What does it matter how you are?!”
Min Juri burst out as if it were her own business.
Perhaps aware of the people around them, her voice lowered again.
“Well, you’re trying to live diligently. Whether facing bullies or not.”
“How do you know I faced bullies?”
“You wouldn’t know, but I saw you by chance. Being bullied in an alley. I even made several reports to the police after seeing it.”
“So that’s how it was.”
“After the police left, worried, I followed you to a grill. I saw you working as if nothing, despite being beaten.”
This was the first time Min Juri confessed at this meeting, but Ryu Min already knew.
What she found attractive about him.
“Even working in an injured state, you looked cool and attractive. But…”
At that moment, Ryu Min had no choice but to work despite the pain.
Out of necessity for survival, as he does now.
“I appreciate that you saw that in me. But wouldn’t it be a mistake to call it love?”
Above all, he had changed.
Now, the pure Ryu Min of that time no longer exists.
There is only a beast seeking to conquer rounds by massacring thousands of players, monsters, and angels.
“So we can’t be together, you and I.”
Ryu Min slightly opened his mouth toward Min Juri, who was silently waiting for a response.
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
“It was so sudden that it confused me too.”
“So, what do you think…?”
“I…”
When Ryu Min hesitated, Min Juri’s lips dried up.
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