I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 212: I didn’t know it would turn out like this (1)

"This is actually a pretty well-known training method," Da-eun said.

"Yeah."

"There are chefs who became popular by making dishes from manga, athletes who won competitions by using techniques from manga... This proves that the things in manga aren’t just fantasies," she continued.

"Yeah, I see."

I nodded along as Da-eun spoke, then immediately asked as soon as she finished.

"So, can I go now?"

"...You weren't listening at all, were you?"

"No, I was listening."

I might have just let it go in one ear and out the other, but I wasn’t not listening.

"I was agreeing with you."

"Your soul wasn’t in it! You were clearly showing that you weren’t really listening!"

"...Did you notice?"

"How could I not...?"

Well, Da-eun is quick to notice things, so there was no way she wouldn't have caught on.

I had answered half-heartedly, too.

‘But...’

Knowing that, why did she still keep talking?

She’s really something. I have to admit, her perseverance is impressive.

"You're not going anywhere anyway, so why act like you're going?"

"Anywhere."

Lying on the bed, wrapping myself in a blanket and spending the whole day on my phone, would probably be less useful than just staying here and listening to Da-eun.

Da-eun, hearing my muttering, looked at me with a dazed expression.

"Rolling Kana... So cute.... ...Huh?! This isn’t right. I just—!"

She then started patting her cheeks.

In the blink of an eye, the dazed look was gone, replaced by a determined gleam in her eyes.

I could sense it right away.

"Here we go again..."

Having strong will is usually a good thing, but...

In a situation like this, it’s not a good time to get all fired up.

As I expected, my attempt to leave hastily was thwarted by Da-eun, who had grabbed me before I could get away.

Well, it’s more accurate to say that I let her grab me, since if I had decided to avoid it, slow-moving Da-eun’s hand wouldn’t have been able to catch me, and even if she did, I could easily shrug her off.

"Don’t think so negatively! You don’t have a sharp solution right now anyway!"

"That doesn’t mean I need to waste time on pointless stuff."

"Why’s this a waste of time, huh?"

"You can’t reach your goal with stuff like that."

If that kind of thing could help me reach transcendence, I would have reached it already.

A normal, or even below-average boy suddenly getting strong in a short time through ridiculous training? That’s something only possible in manga.

"You’re not a boy, you’re a girl, so you can do it!"

"...Whether I’m a boy or a girl..."

Gender doesn’t matter.

"And what if you don’t reach your goal? You said yourself, Kana. You can’t expect to succeed right away. You might fail and fail again. But those failures are experiences. And those failures will help you reach your goal."

"...Your words are smooth as flowing water."

Without realizing it, I almost opened my wallet.

It’s always at times like these that Da-eun’s persuasive skills shine.

"...Fine. I’ll try it."

In the end, I was the one who raised the white flag first.

It wasn’t because I thought her words made sense.

Even if I ignored her, she would whine for days, and I figured it would be better to just pretend to be persuaded and go along with her for now.

A very strategic choice, I must say.

"Really?! It’s a promise, right? If you go back on your word, you’ll swallow a thousand needles!"

"A thousand needles? ...Why would I swallow that? Are you telling me to die if I break the promise?"

"Hehehe... No, it’s just something they say in Japan when making a promise. It’s a kind of wordplay. Since Japan is famous for manga, I thought I’d try it."

"...You’re getting all excited. At this rate, you’ll be buying textbooks to learn Japanese."

"Wh-what? No way!"

Da-eun trailed off and avoided my gaze.

She looked suspicious.

Seeing how suspicious she looked, I narrowed my eyes, and Da-eun, suddenly feeling guilty, yelled loudly.

"...What’s wrong with learning Japanese! There’s no harm in learning another language! It could actually be a benefit...!"

"I never said it was bad."

"And I already know basic Japanese! I’m confident in free talk. I just bought it in case Kana would get interested!"

"So, I didn’t say it was bad, why are you defending yourself?"

"The way you said it had a very negative nuance! It was extremely negative!"

"It’s all in your head."

I said that with sincerity, looking her straight in the eye.

It wasn’t that I thought learning a language was bad, it was that I was judging Da-eun’s overreaction.

"...That’s worse! I was thinking of you, and you don’t appreciate it, that’s so unfair..."

"It’s not unfair."

"Sigh..."

I know that it’s good to know and use several languages, and it’ll probably help me in the future.

But knowing that doesn’t mean I have any desire to learn a new language right now.

With the methods I learned from the demons and the purifiers, I can communicate without worrying about language barriers, so why bother?

‘Although I can’t read or write.’

At least I won’t have problems when I’m out in the world.

Da-eun, hearing my logical argument, had a blank expression on her face, as though she had been struck.

"...Come to think of it, you’re right?"

She then looked disappointed.

"I wonder what I’ve been studying so hard for..."

"Do you want me to teach you?"

"...Can I do it?"

"...Maybe? Since it’s about mana, you should be able to do it."

If you get more used to handling mana, that is.

Da-eun’s eyes, which had been sparkling with anticipation, suddenly froze.

"I don’t want to learn. Kana struggled with it for a long time."

"Did I struggle... that long?"

It’s true that I struggled, but it didn’t feel like it took that long.

"The genius Kana, who even made gods jealous, struggled, so how could I, someone who’s just starting out, do it? I’ll think about it when I get more comfortable."

"...What did you say about ‘gods being jealous’?"

By the way, wasn’t this the same person who just gave a long speech about failure and success?

"Forget it. Just tell me what I need to do."

"...Huh?"

"I’m talking about the manga-style training method you mentioned."

She spoke with so much confidence, so I figured she must have thought it through.

There’s no way she was saying it without thinking.

But contrary to my thoughts, Da-eun, hearing my words, broke out in cold sweat.

If anyone saw her, they’d think she was standing in the middle of a hot summer day.

As she started sweating while being glared at, Da-eun nervously opened her mouth.

"U-uh... push-ups, 100 reps, sit-ups, 100 reps, squats, 100 reps, running, 10 km...?"

"..."

"The important part is, you have to do this every day! If you skip even one day, it’s all for nothing."

"..."

I nodded.

"I see."

"Right?! This training plan, even you would think it’s a good one—"

"I made a mistake in believing Da-eun."

There’s a saying that if you expect too much, you’ll end up getting betrayed, and I think that’s exactly what happened here.

I thought about it briefly and decided that I must be right.

Boom!

The loud sound suddenly caught my attention, and I instinctively turned my gaze toward the source of the noise.

There stood Da-eun, with wide eyes, having just dropped a pile of books on the floor.

It seemed the sound had been louder than she expected, which surprised her.

In other words, this was exactly the kind of behavior you'd expect from Da-eun.

"Ah, please don’t tell me that’s from the downstairs apartment?"

"If you were worried about that, you should have put them down quietly from the start."

"But there’s no dramatic flair in that! ...No, I didn’t expect it to be this heavy."

"If it’s heavy, why don’t you just use your physical enhancement?"

"...Right? Why didn’t I think of that?"

Da-eun, rubbing her aching arm, made a blank expression.

I could provide the answer to her confusion.

"Because Da-eun’s an idiot."

"...Did you just say that to your older sister?"

"Because Da-eun’s an idiot."

"No! I’m not an idiot, I just wasn’t used to it yet!"

"Yeah. Let’s go with that."

"Seriously!"

I know that being proficient in multiple languages is useful, but I don’t feel the need to learn one right now.

After all, there’s no problem communicating with my skills, even if I can’t read or write.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

"Wow... That sounded so arrogant, like a genius."

"So, do you dislike it?"

"No!"

Hehe, Da-eun laughed her goofy laugh.

"I actually like it because it’s cute!"

"..."

I couldn’t say anything.

I turned away from Da-eun, who was grinning.

"...What are these books?"

"Ah, you’re embarrassed!"

"Manga books?"

Ignoring Da-eun’s persistent gaze, I picked up a book.

It was filled with sound effects, dialogue, and illustrations.

Just to check, I opened another book, and it was the same.

Looking at the various characters drawn in the books, I raised my head.

...Why are we doing this all of a sudden?

"Seeing is believing!"

Da-eun grabbed a book and shoved it into my arms.

Without thinking, I ended up holding it, and she smiled triumphantly.

"I think it’s better for Kana to see it and follow along instead of me telling you about it. If you get into manga, we’ll have a common interest to share!"

"...As expected."

She had some hidden agenda.

I sighed and reluctantly opened the book.