Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

VIP section of Eungwang Global Stadium.
Hwang Ho was experiencing the sensation of sitting on pins and needles.

Jeok Ho had been cursing at the simulator's recorded video for a long time, and no one stopped him.
In fact, Shin Su occasionally made a sound as though he were egging him on, but that was the end of it.
If Kim Shin Rok were here, maybe he would have shown some restraint.

Unfortunately, Kim Shin Rok wasn't present.
The player from the 2nd year class 1, whom Kim Shin Rok had been in charge of, was in the match, and the students from the class had come to cheer together, so Kim Shin Rok was leading them as the homeroom teacher.
There was nothing stopping Jeok Ho from speaking his mind, and as a result, Hwang Ho had to listen to an avalanche of harsh insults, feeling as though his ears were being mercilessly assaulted.

When Jeok Ho finally closed his mouth, Eun Ho, as though to commend his effort, served tea.
"Jeok Ho, your throat must be dry, please have some."
"Thank you. I’ve been so busy insulting Hwang Ho that my throat is suffering."

Hwang Ho couldn’t refute that and simply stared bitterly at his empty cup, eventually pouring tea for himself.
As he did, his eyes met Baek Ho’s. Baek Ho, without a word, gently petted Shin Su, raising the corner of his mouth slightly, as if feeling relieved.
Though he didn’t show it much, it was clear that Baek Ho was pleased that Hwang Ho was taking the brunt of the insults.

It seems Baek Ho and Jo Yi-shin are quite close.
Hwang Ho, still feeling unjustly wronged, decided to accept it with a sense of joy since his friends were taking care of Jo Yi-shin.
In fact, he was more bothered by the benefactor who hadn’t been sleeping at all than by the insults he was receiving now.

The video logs showed that Jo Yi-shin almost never slept, and there were numerous moments where other raid members paid special attention to him.
Though Jeok Ho had stayed up late, supposedly making strategies, Jo Yi-shin had always managed his condition with minimal sleep, only taking the bare minimum.
Hwang Ho had believed that Jo Yi-shin would never do something foolish like forcefully reduce his sleep and become a burden on the raid team.

Despite not mentioning it, he was clearly bothered by this.
Why doesn’t Jo Yi-shin want to sleep? Is it because the Hojo family hasn’t declared their protection, and he’s anxious about that? Or is it because he doesn’t trust the young raid members?
Though insomnia, as Jo Yi-shin had claimed, was a possibility, Hwang Ho couldn't shake his concern.
If Jo Yi-shin had insomnia, Eun Ho would have known, and he would have prepared special tea to help him sleep.

Just as Hwang Ho’s worries grew deeper, a hologram appeared above the table at the center of the VIP room.
It was an update notification from the interdimensional simulator regarding a newly generated report and video.
"The simulator records have been updated."

"Already? This one came a bit quick."
"This isn’t a good sign. The irregular reporting timing suggests that the interdimensional simulator’s computation speed is unstable."
"We can’t fix the simulator right now, can we? Let’s just check it quickly."

Not much time had passed in the simulator.
The last thing they had seen was Kwak Kyung-gu bringing Yao Ruichi back to the Hojo family’s territory, and in terms of time, it had barely been two days.
The problem lay in the events that had occurred in that time.

Hwang Ho couldn’t tear his eyes away from the moment in the simulator when Jo Yi-shin and Dokgo Mi-ro met with Cheong Ho.
It’s faint, but I can hear the newcomer singing. And the music…
The first thing that came to Hwang Ho’s mind was the Celestial Priestess.

Although he hadn’t conversed much with her, he had heard her play countless times.
The Celestial Priestess, unlike others, would only accompany a performance with a proper tune. Though not as skilled as Cheong Ho, everyone loved the Newcomer’s voice, so the Priestess often provided accompaniment.
However, when Jo Yi-shin asked if the Celestial Priestess was accompanying the song, Cheong Ho denied it.

"The prophet can see distant things but can’t see what’s close. If it’s a Hojo performer, of course…"
After that, it became unclear what was said.
The screen suddenly went black, and the sound was cut off.

The blackout didn’t last long, but as the screen came back on, Eun Ho stopped the playback.
"I’ll attempt to restore the recorded video. Jeok Ho, could you please check all the logs of the video extraction process?"
"Understood."

Eun Ho and Jeok Ho immediately began working, but they made no progress.
No clear errors were visible, and it was simply apparent that the record hadn’t been captured.
Eun Ho arrived at a disappointing conclusion.

"The simulator determined that no records exist for this period. Not all events are saved as videos, but it's the first time that parts of a continuous scene are missing."
"It would be wise to reanalyze this later."
"That’s true. For now, let’s check the following video."

When the video resumed, Cheong Ho in the simulator continued speaking.
"Even if you want to hear the Priestess play, just give up. Still, that guy plays better than the Priestess, so it’s a bigger benefit, right? Though some won’t admit it, that guy’s the best performer in the Hojo."
The faint voice of the Newcomer, accompanied by subtle music that matched the song, echoed until it ended. No Hojo said a word.

Only after the scene of Jo Yi-shin and Dokgo Mi-ro returning to their quarters did Jeok Ho speak up, almost incoherently.
"The best performer? Was Cheong Ho referring to the Hojo like that? Cheong Ho was so particular about the music, having an ear for the Newcomer's voice. There was even a time when a foolish bear tried to interfere with a shabby performance while the Newcomer was singing. That time, Cheong Ho appeared like lightning and slapped that bear’s mouth shut. I can still remember that vividly."
Hwang Ho also remembered the incident that Jeok Ho referred to.

Back when Jeok Ho and Woongnyeo were in their prime, some of the Woong clan tried to separate Woongnyeo from the crazed tiger offered by the Hojo.
During that time, one of the Woong clan, attempting to get on Woongnyeo’s good side, had played an instrument while the Newcomer was singing. Objectively, it wasn’t bad, but by Cheong Ho’s standards, it didn’t come close.
Cheong Ho had kicked the man away, and Eun Ho had to intervene to stop him.

Fortunately, the Woong clan leader, who didn’t understand the situation, blamed the bear for what had happened, and the matter was settled without incident.
Now, it was just a funny memory, but as Hwang Ho recalled it in vivid detail, he felt confused.
I can remember incidents like this, but when it comes to the best performer of the Hojo, there’s nothing coming to mind. If someone like that existed, why doesn’t he appear in my memory?

He reached this conclusion but quickly reminded himself that this was still a simulator.
Moreover, the relic-type interdimensional simulator couldn’t be said to perfectly replicate the past.
The interdimensional simulator contained boss enemies that could distort the land’s memories.

The basic premise of a relic-type interdimensional conquest was to identify the differences from actual history and eliminate the root cause, the boss enemy.
Could the boss enemy be the best performer of the Hojo? If the simulator created an imaginary character, that would explain it.
Jeok Ho seemed to have had similar thoughts as he spoke.

"Ah, when something that didn’t exist is created, the memory of the land is distorted. Looks like the simulator made up a fake. The best performer of the Hojo? There couldn’t have been anyone like that..."
Jeok Ho’s voice grew more uncertain.
Had they seen this video a while ago, Jeok Ho would have confidently said that the performer was a boss enemy to be eliminated quickly.

However, he couldn’t be so sure now.
Since Jo Yi-shin had arrived, the Hojo had learned much.
The existence of the Newcomer and Cheong Ho, who had been human for a time among them.

Eun Ho, who had been asleep but woke up.
Ahn Da-in, the Hojo child they thought had been lost forever.
Thinking of them all, it was hard to speak freely.

That wasn’t all.
This is strange. I don’t want to deny the existence of the best performer of the Hojo.
Strangely, a sense of unease stirred in his chest.

Hwang Ho tried to suppress this unfamiliar sensation.
It seemed Jeok Ho shared the same feeling.
In contrast, Eun Ho and Baek Ho remained relatively calm.

Eun Ho made a timeline as if searching for something. Maybe what he’s looking for is connected to the sense of discomfort I’m feeling right now.
Having experienced another life, Eun Ho may have sensed this discomfort even before Hwang Ho did.
Hwang Ho wanted to ask Eun Ho about it, but he wasn’t sure how or what to ask.

Instead of questioning Hwang Ho, Eun Ho looked at Baek Ho and spoke.
"Isn’t that right, Baek Ho?"