Chapter 367

〈Chapter 367〉 Part 1, Chapter 16

Evening of August 16th.

After waking up and sending out alerts about Penril here and there, I was shocked to hear a story involving Seok Harang.

“You still haven’t been able to go down to Busan?”

[…Things have gotten super awkward right now.]

On the screen, Seok Harang was pulling her hair. She looked more haggard than when she took part in the Nuclearian raid, and I had no idea why.

“Why are you in such bad shape when Karna is walking around just fine?”

[Because I’m losing my mental strength in real-time, so can you show some consideration?]

Seok Harang seemed like she needed comforting. I turned on a sub-screen in the corner to check articles related to Seok Harang and found out that yesterday she “went down to New Seoul but freaked out in Cheonan and came back to Seoul.”

“Why?”

[Don’t even mention it… From the entrance of Cheonan, they were hyping me up as the hero who saved the nation and all that crap, it was so embarrassing I had to run away.]

“But a triumphant general shouldn’t be embarrassed by that kind of thing.”

[Tch. I didn’t expect people to get THIS excited!]

Currently, Korea has three goddesses.

The Goddess of Command, Baek Hee-a, who made the decisive decision to save the nation.

The Ice Goddess, Seok Harang, who conquered Pyongyang and reclaimed the old Joseon land.

And the unknown Goddess of College Entrance Exam, Yuinah.

“At this rate, if those two tell people to die, they might actually do it.”

[Don’t even start. When I waved once, grandpas with red hats fainted and fell over.]

“……”

That’s understandable. Just defeating Nuclearian was an overwhelming achievement, and now that she controls the entire Korean Peninsula, it’s no wonder people are going crazy. Especially those who’ve long advocated for northern expansion and territorial recovery through Seon Icheol’s influence.

“Still, because you alone claimed all the glory, the land is entirely Korean now.”

Originally, when the barrier was lifted, all four SS-Rank beings were supposed to reveal themselves. But concerns about various issues led to this plan being scrapped.

“I’m a villain anyway, so I’m out of the picture. Karna is worried India might not get any scraps. And Hwanryong…”

[I don’t care how hard he worked; I won’t let Chinese people step foot on the Korean Peninsula!]

“That’s what I thought.”

If Xiaolin, who houses Hwanryong, had revealed herself, there’s no doubt Chinese public opinion would have erupted. They’d probably suggest transferring land according to Xiaolin’s contribution.

“You should thank Xiaolin. Thanks to her stepping back, you got 100% of the Nuclearian raid shares.”

[That’s appreciated! But, but tch…]

Seok Harang was furious. Her eyes were even tearing up.

[You damn nuclear cat bastards… Sniff, I’m stronger… Sniff, yet they look down on me most… Huff.]

“…”

Seok Harang realized something. That she was marked as the weakest after Nuclearian’s designation.

“…But Xiaolin has the blessing of Hwanryong, so she gets buffs.”

[Karna fought Nuclearian head-on all by herself!]

“That’s true.”

I didn’t know what to say to comfort her. Seok Harang was genuinely frustrated.

[If I had truly killed the Nuclearian core and carried the team, I could’ve proudly entered New Seoul! But look at what I did!]

“You set up a strong barrier.”

[All I got was getting hit! Tch, it’s already embarrassing enough being labeled the weakest, and now they say I didn’t fight much!]

“Calm down.”

She’s embarrassed about her performance in the raid. It wasn’t exactly poor, but compared to mine or other spirits’ contributions, it was somewhat lackluster.

Someone needs to comfort her. The family members capable of doing so were supposed to visit Korea officially just before the Round Table meeting, but their time hasn’t come yet.

Should I call them now?

But they’ve already returned to Russia. Lusalka used an immense amount of magic power to push back the entire East Sea and couldn’t teleport, so Gwanggeom carried her and Yu Sung back to Moscow in his private jet.

“Damn.”

With everything going on with Penril, I already have too much on my mind. I sat up from the bed.

“Where are you now?”

[Me? A hotel in Dongjak. It’s Yoo-ha’s penthouse—]

Crash!

Crash!

“Here we go.”

Seok Harang was wearing a white hotel robe, and underneath, she was completely naked. She hastily tightened the sash around her waist.

“…What the hell? This is someone else’s hotel, and you broke the window again?”

“If I pay for repairs, it’s fine. We have leftover S-Rank cores.”

“You’re the only idiot who’d pay off broken hotel windows with an S-Rank core. …Sigh.”

Seok Harang sighed and covered the window with a wall of ice.

“So why are you here? We could’ve talked over the phone.”

“…Hmph.”

I checked to make sure no one was around and relaxed my neck.

“I came because I missed you. Is that a problem?”

“……”

Seok Harang stared at me for a while, then smirked and pulled out a drink from the room’s fridge.

“We only have blueberries. Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

I sat on Seok Harang’s bed.

***

“Mm. Do you hate pizza by any chance?”

“…No. It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve had normal food like this.”

I felt grateful for the delivered pizza which served as both dinner and a late-night snack. Even though it was only two days since I last ate properly, I felt famished as if I hadn’t eaten in ages.

“One question. What do you think about pineapple pizza?”

“…? Pineapple? Is that some kind of slang?”

“No. Pizza with pineapple on the dough.”

“Insane.”

True to her Western cuisine roots, Seok Harang’s palate wasn’t strange. Unlike Lusalka who might have some peculiar tastes, thankfully Seok Harang is human. At this moment, Heo Yoon-hwan must be thoroughly defeated by Suborof, for which we should be thankful.

“But why pizza? There are other things you could eat.”

“Pizza is kinda hard to finish alone, you know.”

“You’re really obsessed with your image.”

“Shut up. Do you know how much effort I put into maintaining appearances since becoming an adult? Back when I was a student, no one cared, but now…”

The Seok Harang Steak Incident.

While staying at the Hero Association’s Busan branch, Seok Harang went berserk cutting steaks via delivery apps during the college exam chaos, and the incident became widely known through journalists. As a result, Seok Harang only orders from trustworthy places now.

“Seok Harang, do you know this?”

“What?”

“Kim Nori is currently alone in New Seoul.”

At my words, Seok Harang looked startled. She was so busy she forgot who was even at her house. How could she forget something like that?

“W-W-What?! I need to visit New Seoul! There will probably be reporters camping outside my place!”

“I knew that would happen, so I’ve already taken measures. Puh-hehe.”

I tapped the Magical Gear to contact Kim Nori. Kim Nori answered while eating ice cream.

[What is it…? Oh, what is it?]

“Seok Harang regained her senses.”

I pointed to Seok Harang, who was awkwardly smiling behind me. Seok Harang bowed deeply to Kim Nori.

“Nuri, I’m sorry! I’m sorry I can’t come to New Seoul right now. I’ll somehow try to…”

[Hmm… If you come now, it might cause even more chaos. It might be better to just return to Busan directly. Right now, it’s complete chaos here.]

“What kind of chaos?”

[Oh, just regular chaos… Since I have ice cream in my mouth… Hehe.]

Kim Nori blinked her eyes humbly. Though I don’t intend to touch her school language, I strictly manage her swearing.

“I’m sorry for confining you to the hotel.”

[Oh no, it’s fine. My parents like it, and especially Gaon-unni takes great care of me. Right now, Gaon-unni is at the hotel pool with my parents. I’m just resting in the room.]

In a situation where no one could take care of Kim Nori, I decided to entrust her to her parents starting from the 15th.

Under Yun Yuhwa’s supervision, I handed over the keys to a guest room at the Yu Sung Hotel and arranged for Kim Gaon to be sent from Seoul to New Seoul to reunite with her family.

“Alright… Rest well. Then I’ll hang up.”

[Yes. Unni? Don’t overwork yourself. Contact me again when you’re feeling better?]

“Understood.”

Nuri focused back on eating her ice cream. I picked up a slice of pizza, and Seok Harang followed suit. We shared pizza and chatted.

“You really seem scattered right now. You didn’t even notice where Nuri is.”

“Haa… Don’t even start. How can someone suddenly become a hero and handle all this easily?”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“Are you used to it?”

“If you save the world a few times, you eventually get used to it whether you want to or not.”

I saved the world sixteen times, plus one more. In the final attempt, I saved everyone without leaving a single person behind.

“But why are you coming back?”

“…It’s not that, haa. Forget it.”

I decided to live as a regressionist. They almost believed I was some trashy guy swapping women every regression, and I was too lazy to argue anymore.

“There’s one person I couldn’t save properly.”

“Who?”

“That’s a secret.”

Through the Phoenix Route, I saved everyone. I even saved Yuinah when she went berserk. But that’s the original story.

“Because I wished to ‘restart,’ someone ended up tagging along with me. I need to save that person.”

And that someone is currently asleep inside me, feeling full.

“Hmm… Is it you?”

“Garbage talk.”

“Ahh, c’mon. How did 26-year-old Seok Harang knock down her older brother?”

“Like I’d tell you.”

I flicked Seok Harang’s forehead with my finger, and she rubbed it while getting angry.

“Ah, geez. Would telling help? You tell me all the monsters’ weaknesses but won’t reveal anything about yourself.”

“Am I a monster?”

“To me, you’re harder to conquer than Nuclearian.”

“Of course, Blazing Phoenix isn’t someone easily conquered. If it were easy, I would’ve fallen long ago.”

Otherwise, how could I have gone through half a year of hard work trying to simultaneously save the protagonist and Yuinah, two entities that cannot coexist with Changyeom? Thinking about it still makes my teeth chatter.

“Hmm… But why doesn’t your voice change?”

“What are you talking about?”

“When we raid, you speak clearly.”

“So what?”

Like I wouldn’t notice that. Seok Harang is fishing right now, trying to make me play my voice.

“I definitely heard it! You definitely said something. Did you break?”

“Then what the hell—”

Oh.

“…Hold on.”

I pulled out the battle footage from the Nuclearian raid from the Magical Gear. The moment after Phase 1 ended and Phase 2 began.

-Did I break?

I was clearly speaking in my “monster form.” Seok Harang sneaked up behind me with her pizza, wrapped her arms around me from behind, and tried to press the replay button.

“Let’s listen again. Repeat it once more!”

“No.”

“Aw, c’mon, let me hear! Listening won’t wear it out!”

“It will. Specifically, my sanity.”

I pushed Seok Harang’s hand trying to mess with the video.

“Do you know why you were chosen as the weakest in Nuclearian’s evaluation? Because you were distracted by this.”

“I didn’t know during the fight! I only realized when reviewing the combat footage later. Could it be that Nuclearian judged me as the weakest because I was distracted by your voice?”

“It’s entirely possible.”

“…This is serious.”

Seok Harang put a headlock on me. As she grew stronger reaching SS-Rank, her slightly inflated chest touched my neck. Deliberately.

“Are you not ashamed?”

“Ma! This is called a close-range attack!”

“Not even close to what Chun Gaeul or Karna can do. What are you even talking about?”

“Tch, admit it. You’re taller when female and shorter when male, so you’re hiding that, right?”

“…”

I grabbed Seok Harang’s arms and jumped back forcefully. Surprised, she tightened her grip on my neck, and I used that force to throw her onto the bed.

“Looks like teaching Ilcheol these days has made you lose discipline. This won’t do.”

“Wait, hold on! You’re trying to pull some weird stunt again! I know everything! Stop trying to troll me!”

“Hmph, whether it’s trolling or not, you’ll find out by experiencing it yourself.”

I flicked Seok Harang’s face, which had turned bright red.

Poof.

…

…

…

[Look at how scared you are.]

Seok Harang had her eyes tightly shut. Yet, she peeked at me through squinted eyes as I lifted her up with the gauntlet.

[This is my male form. Unless I reach mythic levels on my own, I’ll stay like this.]

“Ah… So you differentiate between your female and male forms?”

[Something like that.]

Though it was a misunderstanding, I had no intention of clearing it up. It was better for her to believe this way.

“What about your voice?”

[If I don’t intentionally use it, there’s no need to. It’s actually easier to convey sincerity this way.]

I patted Seok Harang’s shoulder.

[Thank you, Seok Harang. Truly.]

“…If you’re thankful, could you grant me a favor?”

[Anything except spending the first night together.]

“……Then how about just holding hands and sleeping?”

Seok Harang turned crimson all the way to her ears and raised her heels. I found that reaction so amusing that I shoved her back onto the bed.

August 16th.

I spent the night talking with Seok Harang, holding her hand.

Changyeom says: We really just held hands and slept.