Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 423

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 93. Good Manners

In the end, Kale Heniatus closed his eyes again.

“Why are you closing your eyes again?”

Damn it! What the hell!
Kale Heniatus raised his arm to cover his eyes. The clear intention not to open them again made Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk let out a hollow laugh.

“You never listen, whether back then or now.”
“…What?”

Kale Heniatus murmured and opened his eyes.

“What kind of dream is this anyway?”

Though it was a dream.
A space far too familiar to Kale Heniatus now unfolded before him.

It was the office where Kim Rok-soo had worked.
The space where he had spent over fifteen years appeared before his eyes, and Kale Heniatus sat in Kim Rok-soo’s seat.
The office chair that he could never feel as Kale Heniatus now pressed against his back.

Kim Rok-soo’s seat was not Team Leader Kim Rok-soo’s seat.
It was the seat where Kim Rok-soo had sat as a new hire, the closest seat to Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk.

New hires could cause all sorts of accidents and risk their own lives, so they were placed next to the team leader or senior staff to learn.

Kale Heniatus’s gaze turned toward the team leader’s seat.
Lee Soo-hyuk sat there as if it were only natural. The one who had patted Kale Heniatus’s cheek to wake him had taken his own seat.

“What is it?”

Lee Soo-hyuk, with a rather lean build for a prosecutor, looked younger than at Kale Heniatus’s last record. He resembled the Lee Soo-hyuk that Kim Rok-soo had faced when he was a new hire.
He was just like Lee Soo-hyuk when Kim Rok-soo first met him as a newcomer.

“What do you mean, man.”

The team leader sipped his mix coffee from a paper cup, gazing at Kale Heniatus with an amused expression.
When the world turned upside down, he had grabbed mix coffee from the mart, insisting that coffee was essential no matter what, and his habit of drinking only Americano had changed.
He said he couldn’t forget that sweetness from back then.

Far too much.
Lee Soo-hyuk, as reflected in Kale Heniatus’s eyes, was someone who didn’t appear in the records, yet he was behaving far too much like Lee Soo-hyuk.

Was this real?
The moment doubt crept in.

“You said I died in your place?”

Damn it.
Kale Heniatus’s face crumpled mercilessly.
The man before him was definitely Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk.

“Seeing you say something like that so casually confirms you’re the team leader.”
“Now you know?”

The team leader shook his head side to side, scanning Kale Heniatus from top to bottom before speaking bluntly.

“But what’s with your appearance?”
“What’s wrong with how I look?”

Lee Soo-hyuk, the team leader, stared at Kale Heniatus’s blunt response and shook his head again in disbelief.

“You’re covered in blood, and you look like you’re about to become some famous hero?”

Kale Heniatus’s brow furrowed deeper than it ever could.

How did the team leader know about his affairs?
And why was he appearing in this form?

The answer was singular.
There was only one being capable of such things.
That entity constantly throwing things in front of Kale Heniatus and acting smug about it.

“Damn that God of Death.”

As Kale wiped his face with both hands, his team leader’s voice reached his ears.

“Yeah. I cursed quite a bit.”

Ha!
A short laugh burst from Kale’s lips. The chair squeaked as it slid back, and the team leader rose from his seat and moved toward the window.
A curtained window. Normally, if those curtains were drawn back, the sight beyond would be the ruined and desolate landscape of Seoul.

Whoosh.
But the view beyond the window, now revealed, was pitch black.

“Since this space was created from my own memories, the parts I couldn’t recall properly turned out dark.”

The team leader spoke matter-of-factly while looking at Kale.

“The God of Death wasn’t fated to die, yet he did. Perhaps out of pity, he gave each of us one opportunity.”

Tap.
Kale saw a paper cup suddenly materialize and settle on the desk before him.
It contained instant coffee, and Kale picked up the cup. But before he could drink, Lee Soo-hyuk’s mouth opened again.

“Choi Jung-soo met an uncle who could grant memories and showed him his own. But I never got to meet anyone like that, did I?”

A detached voice flowed from Kale’s lips.

“So that’s it?”
“Yeah. It’s you.”
“Damn that God of Death bastard.”
“Right. That crazy son of a bitch, huh?”

The two of them eventually looked at each other and let out hollow laughs.
Kale brushed back his hair. His hair and hands were a mess, matted with blood and ash, but that didn’t matter.

“Am I alive or dead?”

What state is the team leader before my eyes in?

“That’s not something you need to know.”
“So knowing would be a disadvantage for me.”
“Kid. You understand perfectly well, so why do you keep adding commentary?”
“It’s my specialty.”
“I’m not hitting you. You’re a real pain.”
“I don’t have the strength to hit bones, though.”

The team leader stared at Kale Heniatus, who had bluntly fired back, and spoke in an exasperated voice.

“…You really haven’t changed.”
“So you’re going to give me your memories as the team leader?”

Kale Heniatus faced the team leader and conveyed his intention clearly.

“I don’t need them.”

I didn’t want to see the team leader’s memories.
I didn’t want to know what kind of pain Lee Soo-hyuk felt when he died, or how much of it. Even if it was cowardly avoidance, even if they were the memories of someone who died in my place.
I didn’t need them.
A person who couldn’t forget always had to defend themselves.
I spoke my intention once more.

“I don’t need—”
“Who said I was giving them?”
“…What?”
“Seriously.”

Lee Soo-hyuk approached Kale Heniatus’s side and snatched the paper cup from his hand, then took a sip of coffee himself.

“What the God of Death proposed to me and Choi Jung-soo wasn’t memories.”

The moment I heard those words, a scene flashed through my mind.

“…You’re passing on an ability?”

Choi Han using Choi Jung-soo’s white Mir in his own way.
Even as skilled as Choi Han was, it would be difficult for him to reproduce such power all at once based merely on memory.

“Right. We got the opportunity to pass one ability to one person.”

That’s why Choi Jung-soo chose Choi Han.
Of course, Choi Jung-soo hadn’t known the method of ability transfer would be so brutal. The God of Death’s chosen method of transferring abilities was far from ideal for either Choi Han or Choi Jung-soo.
However, because memories had been shown, the probability that Choi Jung-soo’s ability would be transferred to Choi Han in the most compatible way was high.

And for Kale Heniatus and Kim Rok-soo, such a method wasn’t necessary.
Because he possessed more records about Lee Soo-hyuk’s abilities than anyone else.

“Kim Rok-soo, I’ll use a sword.”

Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk was famous for his swordsmanship.
And one more thing.

“But I’ll give you a different ability.”

He was also famous for possessing two abilities.
Kim Rok-soo possessed multiple abilities as well, but when he first manifested his powers, there were already several people with multiple abilities in the world.

However, when Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk manifested his two abilities, it was such a rare case that there were fewer than ten multi-ability users worldwide.

Moreover, because his two abilities were contradictory to each other, the public’s interest was piqued as unrelated powers had come together.
Most people possessed similar powers, but cases where two completely different abilities were granted like this were almost nonexistent.

That’s why there was much talk when Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk didn’t join any Guild or national organization and instead entered that Company.

“Envious?”

When Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk asked with a sly smile, Kale Heniatus answered calmly.

“Hand it over.”

His casually extended palm urged the Team Leader to transfer his ability at once.

“Hey, nothing’s free in this world.”
“…Ha.”

Kale Heniatus’s face twisted. Regardless, the Team Leader continued with what he had to say.

“If you receive such a precious ability, then either earn your keep or pay me back.”
“…Seriously.”
“What? Did you forget who taught you?”

I hadn’t forgotten.
How could I possibly forget that?
Kale Heniatus simply leaned back against his chair, staring at his team leader.

“What are the conditions?”

The team leader held up a single finger.

“Once this is all over, you’re going to build a farm in the Dark Forest. An orchard too, and fields. Plant tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers, and squash in those fields—all varieties. If your region doesn’t have those vegetables, plant something similar instead. And you’re going to cultivate them.”

Kale Heniatus’s face contorted.

“Farming is never easy work. You know that, right? You have to check on it every single day. So don’t go wandering off anywhere. Live there farming with that kid Raon and the others. Bring along Choi Jung-soo and your other comrades.”

Kale Heniatus understood perfectly well why Lee Soo-hyuk was saying such things, so he couldn’t smooth out his twisted expression.

‘You have to take him with you. Otherwise, he won’t just be unemployed—he’ll get himself into trouble and get hurt.’

Words Lee Soo-hyuk had spoken long ago suddenly came to mind.

“Team leader, I have plenty of money. I’ll be a wealthy unemployed man.”
“So you’re not going to accept my proposal?”

The corners of Kale Heniatus’s mouth rose.

“Who said that? I’m just saying it’s petty to try to stop your subordinate from being unemployed.”
“I know well. I am petty.”

The team leader extended his hand, and Kale Heniatus grasped it.
It was the moment the two shook hands.

A sharp metallic ring pierced the air.

A sharp sound echoed out.
Kale Heniatus’s face remained expressionless as he looked straight ahead.

It crumbles.
This office space slowly disintegrated.
Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk’s form gradually turned to dust.

“Are you leaving?”

Kale Heniatus asked flatly.

“Yeah. I have to go.”

Lee Soo-hyuk answered calmly.
Yet despite his composed demeanor, his form crumbled faster and faster.

“Kim Rok-soo.”

Crack.
Kale watched Lee Soo-hyuk grip his hand tightly.

“Even gods make mistakes sometimes. Maybe because I’m insane?”

His voice remained serene, tossed out as if an afterthought.

“I didn’t die in your place.”

Kale’s shoulders stiffened slightly. Yet his gaze remained fixed upon Lee Soo-hyuk as he slowly crumbled to dust.

“I just died recklessly doing my own thing. Understand?”

Not dying in your place, but dying recklessly—that’s what he meant.
Kale was not one to miss the heart and intention behind Lee Soo-hyuk’s words.
It was an attempt to ease Kale’s guilt.

“No. That’s not it.”

But Kale had no intention of answering according to Lee Soo-hyuk’s wishes.

“It’s neither my fault nor yours, Team Leader.”
“…You’re right. That’s the correct answer.”

Kale Heniatus clenched his fist with the hand that had been shaking.
Whoosh.
The hand that had been clasped in the handshake vanished as well.
Only then did Kale Heniatus see Lee Soo-hyuk’s genuine smile—peaceful and at ease.

“Kim Rok-soo, live. Living is the greatest thing.”

I nodded, gazing into Lee Soo-hyuk’s eyes as his upper body too began to fade.

“By the way, your original body’s owner is living well too. They say he’s happy.”

Now this entire space crumbled away, leaving only Lee Soo-hyuk’s eyes behind.
Yet his voice came through perfectly intact.

“And I’m happy too. Choi Jung-soo is happy. We’re all happy.”

Those were his final words.
Even his eyes faded away now.

The world shattered.
Only darkness remained.

I closed my eyes, looking at the space where nothing existed beyond the darkness.

A sensation came to me.
I felt it was time to wake up.

I felt the gentle sensation of someone carefully tapping my cheeks.

“It’s time to wake up.”

Hong’s murmur reached my ears.
As if in response, I opened my eyes immediately.

“Meow!”

A startled cat’s front paws flailed as it leaped away.
I felt the soft texture of the blanket as I pushed myself up. My head spun slightly, and my vision of the surroundings remained blurry.

“Kale Heniatus.”
“Young master, are you coming to?”
“Human! You really are a fool, human!”

Yet the voices of several companions reached my ears.
Kale Heniatus’s lips opened slowly.

How much time had passed?

The lips that had been opening to speak those words suddenly froze.

“Ah.”

Kale Heniatus’s pupils trembled greatly.
As the dizziness faded, I felt it.
A new power that had taken root within my body became vividly apparent.

It was Lee Soo-hyuk’s power.
The team leader’s strength existed within Kale Heniatus’s body.

In that instant, Kale Heniatus recalled Lee Soo-hyuk’s final words.

‘And I too, Choi Jung-soo as well, we are all happy.’

A tidal wave crashed down.
The massive wave that had been submerged deep within my mind suddenly capsized everything, drowning my consciousness in its depths.

‘I’ll start with a small vegetable garden. I’ll plant tomatoes and cucumbers first, maybe watermelons too. Oh, and peppers as well.’
‘After living such a hard life, shouldn’t I get to live easier later?’
‘That’s funny. What would I do if I got promoted higher here? I’m not doing this to climb higher.’
‘Then why do this? Isn’t it me? I just want to do it.’
‘Kim Rok-soo, you’re really going to live as a vagrant, huh?’

The memories.
Countless buried records surged forward.
I felt my entire body being swept away by a colossal tidal wave. Yet within that torrent, the team leader’s voice, their words of happiness, anchored my very core.

“Gasp!”
“Huff!”
“This… this can’t be!”

The sound of nine-year-olds drawing breath reached my ears.

“H-human! Y-you’re crying!”

Only then did Kale Heniatus realize he was weeping. His cheeks were wet—he thought it was blood, but they were his own tears.

“…Why am I crying? I’m not even sad.”

He truly wasn’t sad.
If anything, he felt relieved and at peace.

Shouldn’t he be laughing?
Kale Heniatus laughed.
Yet that laughter wrapped the surrounding atmosphere in profound silence.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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