Chapter 350: Burden (4)
Then her mother said, “I was cleaning the house and just like my husband, I felt like I was being dragged somewhere , and when I opened my eyes…”
Both of them experienced the same thing. They were forcibly dragged here.
So I slightly nodded at them, and asked another question.
“Did you hear a message about inviting you to join the Borneche Expedition?”
“No, I never heard it.”
“I didn’t hear it either!”
“Um…”
As Andrei said, the ordinary people were dragged here forcibly instead of coming voluntarily.
“Alright. Both of you, please move with me. I can include you in the expedition under my name.”
Of course, I could take perfect care of them while moving by myself, but it was safer to have them included in the expedition group because they had around 1,000 members, including 500 from the Borneche Guild and 500 who joined as people who had raised their reality actualization rate.
Moreover, if they realized who I was, it would be a piece of cake for me to include them in the expedition group.
But then my sister-in-law’s father said, “No, I can’t do that. All the people here have been dragged here like me without any reason. Even though I have nothing to do with them, how can I abandon them just so that I alone can survive? Of course, I’m not saying that you should be responsible for all of them because you didn’t expect this situation at all. So hurry up and go with that expedition!”
“…”
To be honest, I predicted he might decline my suggestion because I knew his personality and character. So I did not get mad.
Instead, I asked him again, “Are you certain?”
“Of course, I am. But please take care of my daughter Unji, your brother’s wife. Don’t tell her what happened here. Just assume you and I never met here, okay? You don’t have to feel guilty about this. As Andre said, your life is at stake in this expedition, so just focus on yourself,” he said firmly.
But his wife began to shed tears, after all.
“Come on, why are you crying? After we married off Unji, we have been leading a happy life until now, right? Juyoung, just leave us alone here and follow them quickly.”
I am extremely strong. So much so that it was more difficult to find someone who didn’t know my name compared to those that did.
But my sister-in-law’s father seemed like he didn’t know exactly how strong I was. Actually, they probably knew it.
I was sure he must have heard my name because he was living in the Myongjin Shelter.
But I could feel how worried he was about my safety because something bad might happen to me because of them.
This time his wife said, “Yes, he’s right. Just follow them quickly!”
Even when she stopped crying and begged me to join the expedition, I felt a little ashamed because I thought of abandoning them deep down.
“Whew…”
Even though they were the in-laws of my family, they were not my father and mother, after all. Of course, even now, I could have carried them on my back and joined the expedition.
At this point, I started thinking about some other ideas.
In other words, I thought of saving all the innocent people who were forcibly dragged here.
Of course, they would think that I was crazy considering this, but I was confident that I was strong enough to do so. Maybe I might not win 1st place and the corresponding rewards, but I thought I could accept it just once.
After the Borneche Expedition left, those left behind began to complain here and there.
“I don’t want to die here…”
“Why me? Why me?”
“Borneche bastards! You human scum!”
“I will get even with you! Even if I die, I will definitely take revenge on you!”
When the Borneche Expedition disappeared, they vented their pent-up sadness and resentment.
And I just watched them quietly, letting them vent their anger and frustration without stopping them.
I understood how frustrated they felt after being summoned to this dangerous place against their will, so it was only natural that they were choked with overflowing anger after being abandoned.
Even if I tried to organize them to catch up with the expedition, I could not because the people here included seniors as well as children. And even if all the people here were strong adults, they could not catch up with the expedition, given that they were just ordinary people with no reality actualization rate.
Andrei, the deputy leader of the Borneche Guild, told them that they could follow the expedition if they wanted to, but he would not welcome them because they were just ordinary people. Most likely, some of the people who joined the expedition group out of the desire to become stronger than others felt guilty about the fact that they left almost 10,000 ordinary people behind in a dangerous place. In fact, there were quite a few people who hesitated to get out of the group of ordinary people.
In that respect, this ordinary people’s group was just a burden to the expedition in Andrei’s eyes.
So I just watched them cry and scream without interfering so that they could calm down after fully expressing all their pent-up emotions.
Several hours passed.
Since they had almost all stopped crying, I passed by them and moved to the podium where Andrei stood before. Then I started speaking to them who were looking at me suspiciously.
[Hello! First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Juyoung Hong from the Myongjin Guild. But I am also known as Asirante.]
“Uh?”
“Juyoung Hong?”
“Asirante?”
“I wonder if he is the same guy who killed the monsters in Osaka, Japan…”
“Don’t you know he is the most famous person in ‘Revival Legend’!”
“That’s right! I’ve heard his name, too. I was told he is the strongest person on Earth…”
They erupted into a big fuss about my real identity.
But I just let them whisper among themselves for some time, for I was not in a hurry because I had already given up on my desire for first place, and the safety zone would last for one week.
Given that this was a huge group of 10,000, there were wise as well as foolish people among them. Some of them were quick-witted, but there were also dumb people.
Fortunately the wise and quick-witted outnumbered the dumb because those who just shouted, telling me to save them as if I was duty bound to do so, gradually decreased.
Of course, I would save them anyway. Actually, I had to save them unconditionally.
If I hadn’t revealed my identity from the beginning, I would not have been pressured to save them. But I already gave them a ray of hope, so if I decided to take my hands off now, it was certain that they would direct all the anger, frustration and curses intended for the Borneche Guild toward me.
And I couldn’t blame them because they were now in a situation where they fell in deep water, so it was only natural for them to try their best to catch even the straw.
Of course, that didn’t mean that I had to pay attention to their feelings and moods.
So, I looked at them with an emotionless expression, or more precisely, with an arrogant expression.
“…”
“…”
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