Chapter 171: This Is Comfortable Too (1)


    After practice ended, Mondaythe start of another weekbegan.


    -We solemnly mourn the deceased students and civilians


    Monday began with everyone donning ck suits, observing a moment of silence for the students who had passed away.


    The government organized a joint funeral in Busan, while on Sejong Ind, funerals for the students took ce tofort the souls of both the departed and the survivors.


    -Duoexini is dead. No one will forcefully turn ability users into demons anymore.


    The funeral not only offered sce to the spirits of the deceased but also to those still living.


    In a situation where so many ability users had died, it was even more imperative to share in the collective mourning.


    A family member had died.


    A friend had died.


    A ssmate, who, before the practice, had joked, Hey, Im going to get a girlfriend, andughed, was no longer alive.


    The demon had not discriminated by gender or age.


    -Lets bury todays pain in our hearts and move forward for the sake of those who died. Lets live on. Lets ovee this ordeal and strive for a peaceful future.


    Ordeals.


    They cause humans to grow.


    Death is unfamiliar, but it, too, is an ordeal.


    After the rain, the ground hardens; after natural disasters, people pick themselves up from the wreckage and carry on together.


    Yet, just a funeral ceremony was not enough to quell the societal chaos and disarray.


    -Let us all not be swept away by our inner demons


    -Then why are the demonsing back to Sejong Ind! Is this a ce of exile!!


    -Uh, well, firstly


    A broadcasting mishap urred.


    The anguished cry of an ability user, charged with magical power, disrupted the joint memorial service on Sejong Ind, and the transmission abruptly ended, leaving the viewers in disquiet.


    The social turmoil persisted.<hr>


    Was it right for Sr tina to turn the demon back into a human?


    The provocative question popped up as soon as I turned on the 24-hour news channel, making me feel instantly weary.


    How can they debate this for an entire week?


    Was purifying the demon truly the correct course of action?


    After practice concluded, various controversies unfolded, yet the primary topic of discussion among the popce remained how to handle Zenros.


    -Lets hear what the citizens have to say at this point.


    -Once a demon, always a demon, right? In the past, such demons would have been executed immediately, but now, are we to spare them simply because times have changed? What about the demons who were killed before?


    -I believe they should be subjected to legal proceedings rather than execution. The Supreme Court wont issue bizarre verdicts in such cases, will it?


    -Isnt there a rtive of a Supreme Court judge among the ability users? Even if you request a recusal, thats just the way thew works in this country, I suppose


    -Since they are alive, its difficult to just execute them, isnt it? Even cancer cells are considered life. We should first ascertain whether the demon cells are living or deceased.


    Opinions were colliding.


    The issue inevitably sparked social unrest, plunging people into chaos and dividing the nation into two factions, precariously bnced.


    Its an extension of the problem where people showed a preference for the characteristics of the Goblin.


    Was it justifiable to execute viins?


    Was it right to kill evil individuals without hesitation?


    When the decision was left to judicial discretion, would thews of this country remain fair and objective, rooted in legal principles?


    Even in a nationalistic light novel, the setting was this country, and in a world ruled by ability users, the over 30s who constituted the majority, including those in the legal profession, were adults viewing the situation through the lens of their ownck of abilities.


    The somewhat neutral stance involved an agreement between Goblin and Snow White.


    -First, detain all parties, then determine their fatedeath or imprisonmentording to thew.


    Both Baek Seol-hee and I hoped to see Zenros judged not by personal biases but ording to thew.


    I didnt want to be the troublemaker the citizens of this country were looking for.


    Baek Seol-hee still believed that people should not be killed.


    Amidst this, the arrows of malice targeted Yumir-Sr tina.


    The Goblin was right.


    A photo of graffiti written with a ck marker in a public restroom began circting on the inte.


    -If the Goblin had just beheaded all the demons, we wouldnt be in this massive social chaos.


    -Up until now, the Goblin has mercilessly killed all demons and viins, but its because of that person that even the Goblin wavered. Where was his baseball bat when Baek Seol-hee stopped him?


    -Sr tina is shaking the Goblins beliefs. The root of all evil is Sr tina.


    Ridiculous.


    As was typical with the inte, the defamation and nder against Sr tina had be excessively strong.


    To summarize what they were trying to say in one line:


    -Wouldnt it have been cleaner and better if Sr tina had just killed all the demons instead of purifying them?


    That was the gist.


    I agreed.


    Probably everyone was confused because of the actions that the Goblin had shown over the past six months and the actions of the heroes before the Goblin appeared.


    -Isnt it because they now think they can save the demons that they hesitate to attack and end up being attacked? I saw the video; they flinched.


    -In the past, killing a demon was just that, but now heroes get arrested for murder~~


    -Right What about the heroes now? What if they kill a demon and then go, Huhu, I killed a person! and end up bing a demon themselves?


    Tsk.


    People called these kinds of individuals troublemakers or attention seekers.


    The government attempted to regte such behavior byw, but the reason they uttered these words was the fundamental inferiorityplex of those not born as ability users.


    I wasnt an ability user.


    But that person was born with abilities and was blessed?


    Our family was a 100 billion won asset family, but that person, born into a mere 50 million won household, sucked on a superpower spoon, and now their familys assets have swelled to 200 billion won?


    In an era where superpowers have be capital, the wealth gap due to superpowers inevitably resurfaced.


    I understood.


    The real issue was the imposition of this malice on those who simply longed for righteousness, only to ridicule them as weak-minded when they turned into demons for such trivial reasons.


    Seeing this makes me think Cheonriyan is the answer.


    The national wiretapping system, Cheonriyan, which I was always wary of when texting or calling, often intercepted such posts.


    While allowing people the minimum freedom to spew such nonsense, Cheonriyan meticulously monitored and censored to ensure that ability users on easy street didnt see such maggot-infested garbage.


    Then, if it caught any information on viins, heroes were dispatched.


    What a world.


    Therefore,


    A world ruled by the Chief was right.


    At least in a world ruled by the Chief, such things wouldnt happen.


    Then, its about time


    sh.


    A golden circle formed in my room, and Yumir appeared dressed in an academy uniform.


    Teacher


    Yumir, looking utterly downcast.


    Huh?


    She surveyed me from head to toe, then dropped the luggage she was carrying.


    Uh, uh? Teacher?


    Surprise.


    I spread my arms toward Yumir, who immediately ran toward me and knelt.


    Oh my. Whats happening? Ah, shoot, I should take a picture


    No pictures.


    Ah.


    Yumir looked disappointed but soon grasped my face with both hands and peered closely at me.


    Then I have to memorize it. How did you do this?


    I just tried, and it worked.


    But how? Whats the principle? Summoning your younger self? Shrinking? Compression?


    Youre the same.


    I was practicing the process of transforming into this childs body.


    Lets talk about the transformation abilityter.


    I reached out and gently stroked Yumirs head.


    Youve had it tough. Forget everything people say and rest well here.


    I did hear. I was prepared.


    Yumir buried her face in my shoulder.


    People are talking about Sr tina on the inte. Theyre spreading malice about why he left demons alive, causing chaos in the world.


    Baseless criticism.


    Yes, I know. Theyre deliberately trying to criticize, no, to denigrate Sr tina. I understand some people see it as a game. But still


    Yumirs body began to tremble.


    Im not bad, right?


    Of course not.


    I patted Yumirs back.


    Youre not bad. Its this world that is.


    The author who made this world like this was the root of all evil.


    Teacher, then


    Yumir hugged me tightly and then threw herself backward onto the bed.


    Is it okay to stay like this for a while?


    Of course.


    I patted and stroked her head as she clung to me like a doll.


    .


    If being younger allowed me to take care of Yumirs mental state,


    *Sigh*, ha, haa


    Well, that might be okay.