Chapter 56

"Hey, Rin. Stop talking nonsense and put this on."

I'm getting tired of arguing.

I take out the raincoat I brought from my bag and throw it to Rin.

Rin's hands, holding the transparent plastic raincoat, tremble.

"Is, is this for me?"

As I put on the plastic raincoat, I hear Rin's voice.

"Yeah. So put it on. Don't make me angry by getting a cold for no reason."

"Cold...?"

Rin's hands, holding the plastic raincoat, tremble.

Her eyes waver.

"Put it on. Just listen when someone talks to you."

"Ah, I understand."

She puts on the raincoat.

The sight of the see-through plastic raincoat and the soaked gym uniform underneath, revealing her lingerie, is disorienting.

I turn my gaze away and say,

"If you're done, follow me. I'm not going to do anything weird, so don't imagine things."

"I, I will... "

She sticks close to me.

I turn on the holographic map on the Hunter Watch.

The coordinates of the cave I marked earlier are visible.

"Kim Deok-sung... "

A small voice comes from beside me.

"What is it?"

"Th-that..."

Rin fidgets with her hands.

Her steps stop.

"Can, can you hold my hand?"

Rin extends her hand.

What is she doing right now?

We need to get to the cave quickly to avoid getting sick.

Her every action is getting on my nerves.

"Are you going to stay still if I don't hold your hand?"

"T-that's... "

Rin's face turns red.

It seems like she's thinking about it.

That damn seduction tactic, she can't even give it up in this situation.

I sigh.

Holding hands, it's not a big deal.

"Ah, fine."

I sigh and take her hand.

Her hand, cold from the rain.

"H-huh?"

As our hands touch, Rin lets out a strange exclamation.

Are you Kasumi-senpai?

"Now, sit over there."

The cave is filled with the sound of the relentless rain.

Rin's eyes glance at Kim Deok-sung.

"Take this."

Kim Deok-sung throws a green hot pack and a blanket to Rin.

Rin's face turns red as she takes the hot pack, which is already warm from being unwrapped.

'Warm.'

I can feel the warmth.

It feels like the life is returning to my body, which had grown cold from the rain.

I wrap the green blanket around me like a cloak.

The warmth gradually returns to my body.

I can see Kim Deok-sung.

His thug-like face, his gym uniform sticking to his muscular upper body due to the rain.

Rin's face turns red.

"Mmm..."

A strange moan escapes her lips.

"Kim Deok-sung."

"What?"

"I, I guess... I lack charm as a woman... I can't even cook... and I'm not physically attractive... So, that's why you... "

Rin's vision blurs.

Tears stream down her face.

"I... "

Rin's lips tremble.

Self-loathing fills her heart.

I've done everything I can.

I've tried my best.

But nothing has worked.

Instead, I've only received harsh treatment.

From my family, from him.

Rin buries her face between her knees and sobs.

I hear Kim Deok-sung's voice.

"What are you talking about? What does cooking and physical charm have to do with charm?"

"But... I can't cook... and I'm not physically attractive... So, that's why you... "

"Hey, did you really listen to me? Do you think I dislike you because of that?"

"Really... it doesn't matter...?"

"Of course it doesn't matter. That kind of stuff."

Rin's eyes widen at Kim Deok-sung's words.

"I've told you before. The reason I don't like you is because you don't really like me, and you haven't shown any remorse for the trouble you caused me."

"That's... "

Rin is speechless.

Finally, a forgotten memory resurfaces.

He's right.

"You don't really like me, do you? You're just doing what the Association President told you to do."

"That's... "

Rin bites her lip.

At first, that was true.

But now.

"You... are the same."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Even though you don't like me... you said you'd help solve the Association President's issue... you worried about my cold... you held my hand... and you even prepared clothes for me... even though you don't like me! Then why...!"

Rin closes her eyes tightly.

Tears stream down her face.

From the day she was adopted into the Shinozaki family as an orphan until now.

Rin has never received proper kindness.

In the family, she received only disdain and harsh treatment.

Her adoptive brothers, Ichiro's biological children, envied and bullied her for securing the position of successor.

Even Ichiro, the head of the family, was the same.

Rin was adopted merely as a tool.

Ichiro never showed her any affection.

"Can I call you Dad, Association President?"

"I am not your father. You are not my daughter. You are just the family's sword, a tool. A tool cannot be my child. If you say such nonsense again, I will disown you."

Rin could never call Ichiro 'Dad.'

"I've learned the Shinozaki Ittoryu to this extent, Association President. Please praise me."

"Praise... Do you have the mental capacity to say such nonsense? The family doesn't need a sword with emotions. A tool that throws tantrums will be discarded. So, try harder. If you don't want to be thrown away."

Rin never received any praise, kindness, or affection.

No matter how hard she tried, she never heard a warm word.

All she got was cold indifference and abuse.

Even though she was called the lady of the Shinozaki family and the greatest talent in Japan by outsiders.

The Shinozaki family was a prison without bars for Rin.

A cold hell from which she could not escape.

Rin spent her life as an outsider, not fitting in anywhere.

At best, the good memories she had were from her childhood, when she met her childhood friend Yuji at the Kurosawa family's exchange event.

"I said I would help solve the Association President's issue..."

But now, it's different.

Association President Shinozaki Ichiro.

In Japan, no one can stand up to him.

That's why Rin, despite being abused by the family, could never ask for help from anyone.

A monster that even active heroes fear.

A giant that even the Prime Minister of Japan bows to.

A powerful figure who practically rules Japan from behind the scenes.

But Kim Deok-sung used the word 'solve' when talking about the Association President.

He said he would help her.

It's not something a student from a minor country like Korea could say, even as a joke.

The weight of the name Shinozaki Ichiro is that heavy.

But he declared he would face him.

'To liberate me...'

This is the first violent kindness Rin has ever received.

That's not all.

Despite his rough words, looking back, he has consistently shown consideration for her today.

He was worried about her getting a cold from the rain and took good care of her.

He indulged her when she asked to hold his hand.

He even worried about her getting sick.

He told her that he didn't care about her lack of femininity and her ugly crying.

'If you say that... anyone would fall for you...'

Rin bites her lip.

No.

Maybe it started when she began to envy Nishizawa and Bonaparte.

Perhaps a little affection had been growing all along.

Rin finally realizes her own feelings.

She bites her lip.

"Kk."

Thump, thump.

Her heart beats.

She finally understands.

Why the proud French princess of knights would volunteer to be his personal maid.

"This is just a delusion, never mind. Let's stop talking."

Kim Deok-sung closes his mouth.

After all, Shinozaki Rin is the childhood friend heroine.

In her childhood, filled with hostility, indifference, and abuse, she secretly harbored affection for Kurosawa Yuji, the only one who showed her kindness.

So, if Kurosawa Yuji saves Ichiro and ultimately liberates Rin from the family, Kim Deok-sung thought she would end up with him anyway.