"Mr. Dokyun, you look really irritated. It seems like you managed to get quite a few items and other things..."
"He's sulking because nothing that suits him dropped."
Even if I hadn't killed the most mole crickets, I could proudly claim that I accounted for over 40% of the share in Bihyung's channel.
And yet, they couldn't give me a single weapon that actually fit my build?!
"Now that we're on the subject... do you have anything usable?"
"Nope."
"What about that sword?"
"That's mine."
A subtle glance passed between me and Jung Heewon.
"Heewon...!"
"Dokyun...!"
Smack!
Perhaps it was a shared sense of camaraderie born from the sorrow of being weaponless.
I felt as though I had grown closer to Heewon in that moment than I had when I first saved her.
[Stop bullshitting.]
[Hey now! In a Confucian society, how can you speak to your older brother like that!]
For some reason, every time I talked to women after the world ended, I got this kind of reaction.
We had always been closer than most ordinary siblings, but that was simply because our family situation had been so difficult.
But now, rather than just being "close," it felt... how should I put it? Sticky.
A cloying, heavy atmosphere.
I sincerely hoped all of this was just my imagination.
[The mood is strange. Be careful.]
[Ah, right... but I guess you don't need to worry about that, brother.]
[That's harsh.]
[Yes, next up: the human who died because he ran into a mole cricket.]
We returned carrying the food, but the atmosphere wasn't just strange—it was oppressive.
Of course, we weren't suckers; we had no intention of just handing out food for free.
Still, these people weren't so dim-witted that they couldn't see what was coming.
[20 minutes remain until the paid settlement.]
[Please prepare your survival fee.]
So that was why.
Even if Dokja, the others, and I had been short on Coins previously, this expedition had earned us more than enough to cover the survival fee.
But what about everyone else?
They had been so obsessed with their own safety that they never had a chance to gather Coins. On top of that, they had likely spent whatever they had left buying food from Dokja.
It might sound cold, but I considered this the price of pursuing nothing but safety in a ruined world.
The price for wishing only for themselves and their inner circle to be safe, while shoving the burden of responsibility onto those even weaker than them.
Not everyone was like that, but remembering how they acted when Dokja sold the food, I couldn't bring myself to feel a shred of pity.
Well, except for the children.
What fault did the children have? The problem lay with the adults who dragged them into a world like this.
"Please, give us some Coins! My child has nothing!!"
[Me: The survival fee settlement is quite late, isn't it?]
[Bihyung: I handled it at my own discretion... it would be a shame if two of the most popular people on my channel dropped out. No, wait, three?]
Obviously, he meant me, Dokja, and Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Tch, I really need to toughen up a bit..."
"Aren't you already tough enough?"
"I'm talking about my heart. My heart."
Maybe it was because I had taken responsibility for Dokja when we were children.
For some reason, I always grew soft when it came to kids like Gilyoung.
Like a child who couldn't even understand why the mother wailing in front of him was so distraught.
"Hey, ma'am. Put the kid's finger here."
"!!"
[You have paid 100 Coins to Kim Hyunwoo.]
"You too, ma'am. Put your finger here."
"Pardon?"
"What, were you planning to let the kid survive this world alone? If I tell you to do it, just do it."
[You have paid 100 Coins to Lee Sunhee.]
"I won't be doing this again."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!!"
This was nothing but hypocrisy.
It was my own selfishness, wanting the child to survive.
[A few Constellations are uneasy, saying you seem like a sucker.]
"Let's at least go easy on the kids. Even in a world like this, I believe there's a line we shouldn't cross."
[The Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment lavish you with praise.]
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is pleased with your statement.]
[500 Coins have been sponsored.]
[The Constellations of the Absolute Evil alignment are disgusted by your hypocrisy.]
"It is hypocrisy. It's not as if I haven't killed people. Still, in a world like this, if I want to do things my way, what business is it of yours?"
[The Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment are thrilled by your words.]
[Many Constellations of the Absolute Evil alignment are trembling with rage at your words.]
[A few Constellations of the Absolute Evil alignment take an interest in your words.]
[The Demon King, 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust,' bursts into laughter, calling you a lunatic.]
I hated a world like this.
A world that tried to force meaning onto an action that had none.
I only did it because it annoyed me to watch.
There was no deeper meaning. Yet, seeing them project all sorts of intentions onto my actions... it made me realize they weren't that different from humans.
They enjoyed entertainment, they fought, and they bickered.
They were just fish swimming in a larger pond.
If humans were frogs in a well, then Constellations were simply frogs outside the well.
That was my current perception of them.
"Come to think of it, it seemed Miss Dokja and Mr. Dokyun had quite a lot of Coins... and look, you're already handing them out."
Cheon Inho was already stirring the crowd the moment we returned, with Han Myeongoh hovering quickly by his side.
I found both of them revolting.
"D-did you say Dokja? P-please save me! I beg you...!"
"I heard your name was Dokyun! Please, just 100 Coins...!"
"Haha, Miss Dokja, Mr. Dokyun. I'm afraid I don't have enough Coins to help these poor souls... but you two are different, aren't you? Are you really just going to stand by and watch?"
Cheon Inho was mistaken about something.
Dokja cared about managing her image.
That was likely why, when Cheon Inho first started agitating the crowd, she chose to sell the food rather than simply refuse to share it.
It didn't seem like a grand plan from the start, but rather a desperate attempt to put out a fire.
Because of the agitation, it no longer felt like she was distributing food of her own volition; it felt like she was being forced into it.
So, what was the biggest difference between me and Dokja?
To give the answer immediately—
"Why should I?"
"Pardon?"
Aside from Dokja, I didn't give a damn about any of them.
So what if I became the great villain of Geumho Station?
Fine by me. Who in this station could even stop me?
Only one person: Kim Dokja.
Even Dokja, without my specific attribute, wouldn't be able to guarantee a victory against the current me.
The most important person to me wasn't Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung, Jung Heewon, or even Gilyoung, whom I cherished.
It was Dokja.
Kim Dokja, and only her.
Whether I bestowed Coins upon them or not, the sole basis for that choice was Dokja's safety.
Whether I became the tyrant of Geumho Station or the most vicious villain in the world... as long as I could protect Dokja, nothing else mattered.
[The Constellations of the Absolute Evil alignment are delighted by your words.]
[The Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment feel betrayed by your words.]
This endless factionalizing was exhausting.
"Absolute Good, Absolute Evil—go fuck yourselves and listen up. Don't try to force me into your little boxes. Assigning meaning to everything and splitting people into sides... given your age, shouldn't you have outgrown such childishness by now?"
[The Demon King, 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust,' nods in agreement.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' grumbles, asking to be left out of this.]
[The Constellation 'Goddess of Love and Beauty' cheers, claiming that bad boys are popular too.]
[The Constellation 'Lily Blooming in Aquarius' is dumbfounded.]
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is enraged and tells you not to bring age into this.]
They always pick fights like this, even though they're bound to lose the argument.
Now, all that remained was a single word from Dokja.
Depending on her word, my wallet would either open or stay firmly shut.
"I..."
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