[Extra] SSS-Class Barbarian (1)
“These days, novels in which the protagonist becomes a hero by being summoned to a world of fantasy has become popular.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? It’s been a while since that trend ended. Novels right now are all about heroes getting vengeance after being betrayed by their comrades.”
“Really? I think the latest trend is about regression, reincarnations, or resurrection.”
Should we really talk about this on our high school field trip bus?
It would be nice to discuss what to enjoy at our destination, but my friends didn’t seem to care about that.
Fantasy.
Wouldn’t it be better to worry about the upcoming college entrance exam rather than wasting our time on such unnecessary topics?
I looked out the bus window.
Clouds, sea, waves, trees, people, buildings, roads, cars, buses, trucks…
The unique landscape was perfect except for the congested traffic along the coastal road.
“What about you, Han Soo? What do you think is the latest trend?”
“Wait. He’s totally lost his mind.”
“Yeah. What’s he doing staring blankly out the window?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he has a girlfriend hidden over there?”
“That can’t be it. Our Han Soo isn’t capable of that.”
“Right. You went too far.”
While I was enjoying my school trip, my friends’ eyes turned to me.
How should I answer…
If I were to lie about having a girlfriend, I wouldn’t be able to handle the aftermath, so I pretended to be interested in their conversation.
“Fantasy novels that are popular these days are about revenge.”
It wasn’t just revenge.
Defeating the vile demon king, slaying the powerful evil dragon, destroying the oppressive empire, saving the world in peril, completing their vengeance…
That was where the prologue would begin.
“Haha! That’s silly.”
“Yeah. Who would read a boring, combat-lacking novel?”
“The protagonist will live the rest of their lives in happiness after defeating the demon king. Is there a need to write something so mundane as a novel?”
“Leave me be.”
By intervening in a topic I wasn’t even interested in, I became the laughing stock of my friends.
But I didn’t feel like arguing.
I wasn’t certain if they found our conversation extremely annoying, but even the female students’ eyes were on me.
However, when our eyes met, they turned their heads away immediately, pretending to be disinterested.
… I wished my friends would just remain silent until we reached our destination.
“But after hearing Han Soo’s words, I’ve grown a little curious. What would the hero do after defeating the demon king?”
“Wouldn’t they have a baby with… the princess? I don’t know…”
“The hero’s the strongest in the world. Wouldn’t they have a good life somehow?”
“How would they do that, though?”
“… I don’t know.”
My friends talked about a new topic for a while.
And this time as well, they turned their attention to me.
Why couldn’t they just leave me alone?
But, as always, they compelled me to answer.
I reluctantly answered.
“If there were no enemies around, the hero would probably go on a journey to find and cull a new evil.”
… Even if there was a limit to such a plan.
*****
“Don’t go too far. Make sure you get back to your hotel by 6 o’clock!”
“Yes!”
“Yeah~”
Arriving at the school destination, we were given free time as soon as we unpacked.
While the other classes seemed to be closely accompanied by their homeroom teachers, ours were quite unshackled.
That was good news for me, considering I could use this time to visit the tourist attractions and restaurants that I had researched on the Internet in advance.
Still…
My ears felt itchy.
“Girls, if a suspicious man talks to you, go to Han Soo~”
“Yes, teacher.”
“Yeah, to Han Soo.”
I wondered why my name was mentioned in their precautions, but they didn’t seem to mean anything malicious by it.
Did I look that funny?
I didn’t know why the female students glanced at me and smiled.
“Han Soo is as popular as always~”
“Hey! You’re making me envious!”
“We’re not kidding. I’m really envious as well.”
“Come with me, Han Soo!”
“If he’s by my side, I’ll feel safe and reassured!”
What were these bastards telling me, who had never been in a fight?
But I didn’t refuse.
I had been pretty lucky since the old days, and I had never been in an argument with the notorious delinquents in our neighborhood.
“If you want to hang out with me, feel free to!”
It wasn’t bad for me either, anyway.
As the number of people accompanying me increased, the risk of being followed by a suspicious person decreased.
If my friends were with me instead of our forgetful and carefree teacher, I would feel reassured as well.
“Hmm. Should we come with him?”
“Let’s join Han Soo too.”
“Our safety would be guaranteed that way.”
“Is that really your only reason?”
“I don’t want to keep talking about this anymore.”
The girls, who always flocked together in school, secretly joined our group.
Was it because the teacher, who was supposed to have lunch at a sushi restaurant, said something strange? Our party suddenly grew in number.
Well, the more people we had, the safer we were, so I found nothing wrong with it.
“Everyone. Please make sure Han Soo won’t be called to the police station.”
“Okay.”
“Sure~”
“Please protect them, Han Soo.”
“Will do.”
We finally officially began our field trip after roughly answering our homeroom teacher’s jokes, who still decided to neglect us.
*****
As a tourist destination with a beautiful sea, various groups gathered here.
Foreigners, solicitors, street vendors, students, children, the elderly, couples…
Hence, various incidents and accidents occurred constantly.
For example…
I went to a restaurant, which was rumored to have a delicious curry, only to be seated next to the girl said to be the prettiest in my grade.
That went to show the unexpected could happen at any moment.
Even now.
“People are gathering over there. Is there a celebrity here right now?”
“I haven’t heard anything about that. I’m curious, though. Why don’t we go look?”
“Hmm. Doesn’t it look like there are a lot of men out there?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s probably a famous singer or actress, then. I can’t see any cameraman or bodyguards, though.”
“Let’s go!”
My friends, who were bored until they saw the statue of a Buddha in a famous temple, ran to the commotion with their eyes shining brightly.
I couldn’t understand why they were making such a fuss.
“Aren’t you going with them, Han Soo?” Asked the girl beside me, who had changed her outfit from her dull school uniform to a splendid attire.
When I turned my attention to her, I found her eating curry.
I didn’t know why she asked such a pointless question.
“Do I have to?”
I didn’t want to break through such a huge crowd just to look at the face of a woman who wasn’t even my girlfriend.
“I see!”
“Why?”
“Hey, I just asked.”
“I see.”
“…”
I thought we’d have to wait for a long time, but my friends soon returned and started reporting their findings.
“She’s not a celebrity, but she’s really pretty.”
“I’ve never seen such a beauty before.”
“I even thought she was a goddess.”
“I don’t know all the details, but I heard the students of a famous university came here on a field trip as well.”
“Wow! Studying together in the same classroom as that beautiful girl…”
“She’s not just pretty. I heard she’s kind as well.”
“I’m envious.”
The school trip seemed to have been pushed to the corner of their minds.
After a while, I finally saw the subject of their conversation.
As the crowds dispersed from the scene, they revealed a group of college students. In the middle of them was a woman standing like a rose among thorns.
She had a pure beauty and innocence that seemed to convince everyone her heart was kind to all.
“Oh… Hmm?”
While mesmerized by her elegance, the smartphone in my pocket rang, bringing me back to reality.
⤷ Mom: You must have arrived by now. Are you having fun? (1:32 PM)
⤷Mom: Did you already find a girlfriend? (1:33 PM)
My mother always claimed she was treated like a princess or queen when she was still a student.
If so, I couldn’t help but wonder why she married someone as ordinary-looking as my father. Still, I had no complaints. It was thanks to them that I was born.
Oh! I should reply quickly.
⤷ Me: No. There is no such extraterrestrial life around me. (1:34 PM)
I couldn’t believe she asked me, who did nothing but study, if I was already in a relationship.
Finding a lover on a high school field trip only happened in old-fashioned novels.
This had to be caused by the gap between our generations!
⤷ Mom: Go have fun ^^ (1:41 PM)
⤷ Me: I will. (1:41 PM)
⤷ Mom: Take a lot of pictures and send them to me. (1:44 PM)
⤷ Me: Okay. (1:44 PM)
⤷ Mom: Don’t forget my souvenirs. (1:48 PM)
⤷ Me: Yes. (1:48 PM)
While answering her many commands, the pure-looking college student also left, causing the streets to return to their former state.
And we picked up our pace to follow the schedule of our tour.
“This is really weird.”
“What is?”
“I’m sure I took a picture of that college girl, but I can’t find it.”
“Same!”
I wanted to tell my friends that that was an infringement of photographic rights, but I kept my mouth shut since I didn’t want to ruin the mood of our pleasant school trip.
She was indeed beautiful enough for others to take a picture of her and keep it, but… Huh?
“What did she look like…?”
I could remember her looking kind and gorgeous, but I had no idea what she exactly looked like.
This was troublesome.
My entrance exam was just around the corner. If my memory kept malfunctioning like this, my future would look bleak.
“Han Soo.”
“Hmm?”
“Who’s that girl in the photo? Your neighbor? Your girlfriend?” Asked Curry Girl, sticking her head over my shoulder.
She shouldn’t spy on other people’s smartphones like that…
“My mom.”
“Oh, your mother looks extremely young and beautiful! She doesn’t look like you at all.”
She normally wouldn’t talk to me like this, but she was acting weird today.
In any case, our itinerary went very smoothly after that.
I almost got denied admission to the museum, claiming I was a suspicious individual despite not having any evidence to back it up. I wasn’t surprised, though, since it always happened whenever I traveled to a distant destination anyway.
“As expected of Kang Han Soo…”
“He hasn’t betrayed our expectations.”
“Haha! I thought my heart was going to pop out from laughing too much then.”
“Did you see the ticket lady’s expression?”
“Thanks for entertaining us!”
What were they even saying?
Our schedule was slightly delayed due to the museum staff’s mistake, causing us to head back to the hotel past 6:00 PM.
Follow the road we took during the day to go back…
“I’m done with the survey…”
“What do you mean? I haven’t even gotten an answer yet.”
“Answer to what?”
“Didn’t I ask you to eat together with me?”
“Thank you so much for helping out with my survey, senior, but…”
“Do you think your insincere gratitude is enough to settle everything?”
“That’s…”
She seemed to be in a difficult situation.
I didn’t really like meddling in other people’s affairs, but I’d feel uncomfortable if I were to just pass by.
The junior even seemed to have gone to the same university as my mother.
There would be no greater disgrace than that.
“Huh? No way!”
“He’s really going!”
“Here he comes.”
“Prepare for stomach pains.”
“I feel like we’ve been in a similar situation before…”
“Oh, that’s right!”
My friends and the female students babbled behind me as I walked forward, looking straight at the commotion.
“Hey, do you have anything against my sister?”
Moral code.
Whenever someone was in a difficult situation, one should pretend to be their relative or friend.
