We were able to reach Metheus after some time. First of all, I didn"t forget to wear a mask because I couldn"t be found. I sent a whisper to Kim Sujeong in advance and she picked me up from the entrance. She smiled and approached us. “h.e.l.lo. You went through a lot of trouble coming.”
“What trouble? How is Kis? I heard you had to do surgery on him.”
“Helena is taking great care of him. She is a complete virtuous woman. In any case, he"s improved a lot thanks to her. I think he will be okay after a bit more treatment. He is still walking well.”
“Yes, I"m glad.”
I didn"t know what was so good but Kim Sujeong laughed happily. She had returned to Kis the moment the Colosseum round ended, saying she had to check Kis" condition. It was true that the job of a doctor to look after others required more sacrifices than people thought.
I looked straight behind me. Park Muyeol was standing there and he looked fl.u.s.tered when our eyes met. He coughed. “Cough. Cough cough. What is it?”
“If you hurt someone, then you have to apologize. That is the responsibility of an adult.”
“I know. You"re not a nagging wife. Ah, really. Cough.”
I could hear all his words due to super sensitivity but I pretended not to know. He had never been like this before. In any case, the timing was good. There was an hour left until my appointment with Joseph, so there was plenty of time. I told him, “It is hard to leave empty-handed. Let"s buy some flowers.”
“Oh, flowers? Okay. Is there a flower store here?”
“Yes, it was built recently.”
“Ohh, let"s go.”
I caught Kim Sujeong"s eyes. She nodded silently like she knew my intentions. I sent her a whisper in advance that I was going to show him the flower store, so she would probably guide us there.
“I"ll guide you. I know a decent flower store.”
“Ohh, really? Yes. Ah, can I talk comfortably to you?”
“Of course, absolutely. I"m more comfortable with that as well.”
“Haha. Yes, Sujeong, we should go.”
The two of them dropped the honorifics at a rapid pace. I was the one who knew her first. I felt strangely jealous that they were getting along so quickly. Bah, this guy. What did he want to do with my daughter-in-law? I was a bit emotional as I kicked Park Muyeol"s b.u.t.t.
“Ack. You jerk...” This time, he didn"t predict it. Park Muyeol rubbed his b.u.t.t. It was pleasant to see his reaction so I had a cheerful expression. Hohoho ♡
“Would you like to have your forehead flicked once?”
“Go.” I could hear Park Muyeol"s angry voice behind me, but I tried to ignore it. It might"ve looked like a fight to anyone else, but to Muyeol and I, it was just a joke.
I spoke again to Kim Sujeong, whose face was blank, “Let"s go.”
“Ah, yes!”
We walked through the streets of Metheus. I looked around and let out a small sigh of admiration. I had heard about it, but Metheus was developing at a faster rate than I thought. It was simply a divine move that I used the information Joseph gave me to accept the residents of Garbage Village. I would have to stop by the office and check the progress they made.
“We"ve arrived. Over here.”
I was awakened from my thoughts when Kim Sujeong stopped and spoke. I moved my attention to the store in front of me. The walls were painted in yellow, reminiscent of sunflowers, Muyeol"s favorite flower. It looked particularly radiant. The roses in the garden in front of me were as beautiful as the constellations decorating the night sky. It wasn"t shameful to present this as a gift.
“Oh, it wasn"t like this a few hours ago. How...? Was she such a great NPC?”
Kim Sujeong looked at the beautiful gardens and flowers on the shelves with an amazed look. Just then, someone appeared from inside the store. It was a big man who came out like he was the owner. “Welcome...”
The moment I saw him, a great silence filled the area.
* * *
Throughout the day, Supreme Fire Dragon was responsible for a variety of ch.o.r.es. Once again, he pruned the branches in the garden and planted various flowers, including roses. He even watered pots that hadn"t been watered and made a display stand in front of the store. He even did sales.
Eileen said he could stop, but Supreme Fire Dragon refused. Every time he worked for her, Eileen"s eyes would s.h.i.+ne and she would say that his sincere appearance was cool.
The day was over and he was resting. Then he heard movements outside the store. Since Eileen had fallen asleep, Supreme Fire Dragon went outside in her stead, to avoid waking her up. “Welcome...”
Supreme Fire Dragon walked out of the store and faced the biggest crisis of his life. A moment of silence flowed before he continued speaking, “What? How are you...”
“Salamander? What are you doing here?” Park Muyeol, who was nicknamed Supreme Bamboo, asked.
Supreme Fire Dragon was a bit surprised by his sudden appearance. No, he was surprised about more than that. One was Kim Sujeong with the ID of Crystal, who he kidnapped last time. The other was a man in a wolf mask whose ID couldn"t be seen. Supreme Fire Dragon could guess his ident.i.ty. The d.a.m.n old man who took Ifrit"s Bracelet from him. He was the village chief of Metheus and actually had the ident.i.ty of Dark Wolf.
“......”
Supreme Fire Dragon"s brain spun at a high speed. He would be killed in a flash if he fought here. There was a system called "fatigue" in Arkstar. If a player kept working or hunting without rest, fatigue would acc.u.mulate. Once this went beyond 70%, the overall stats would be reduced by half. This was something that couldn"t be restored using potions. It could only be recovered by sleeping, sitting down, or taking a fatigue recovery agent.
[Current fatigue: 83%]
[All stats have been reduced in half.]
[You need to stop and rest to recover.]
Right now, his fatigue was at 83%. It was the worst situation and Supreme Fire Dragon felt sweat flowing down his back.
“Hey, I"m not here to fight...”
“Shut up, you rotten guy.” It was the masked old man who interrupted him. He seemed angry based on the fierce air he was giving off.
“Hey, Chuntaek. Weren"t you attacked by him the other day?” Park Muyeol asked the masked man.
Chuntaek seemed to be the name of the masked man. It didn"t seem like they just got to know each other. Were they friends? Oh my G.o.d.
“Isn"t this him? I was kidnapped by this guy.” Kim Sujeong"s expression distorted as she informed Park Muyeol about what happened.
The situation was going astray. In the end, did they have to fight here? Even so, Supreme Fire Dragon didn"t want to give up yet. He didn"t want Eileen to see the store like this. “No, I"m not here to fight...”
“Big Brother!”
He turned his head at the sudden familiar voice and saw his brothers, including One Fire, running toward him in the distance. d.a.m.n. How did they know to come here? Hah. Nothing was working out.
“W-What? S-Supreme Bamboo old man?”
“She is the woman we kidnapped the other day!”
“Then the person wearing the mask...”
The faces of the Fire Dragon members turned to the masked man. He silently pulled out a fork spoon. This alone proved his ident.i.ty. He was surely the old man they fought against the other day.
“P-Pull out your weapons!” One Fire shouted and the Fire Dragons pulled out their weapons.
"Ah, this is crazy. It can"t be like this..."
The situation was the worst. Park Muyeol pulled out the terrible wooden sword he showed at the Colosseum while the old man called Chuntaek had flames on his legs. Kim Sujeong seemed like she was pulling out the great s.h.i.+eld he had seen the other day. They would lose if it continued like this.
“Um... Mr Fire Dragon, what"s going on?” Eileen rubbed her eyes like she had just woken up. Her eyes opened wide at the terrible scene that was in front of her. “Oh my! What is this...” Eileen cried out.
"Eileen! Get away from him! He is a terrible villain!”
“Huh? What... no, Mr Fire Dragon is very sincere and kind...”
Eileen was looking at him with an expression that said "What is going on?" Supreme Fire Dragon closed his eyes. What should he do in this situation? If Eileen defended him then she might be kicked out for protecting a vicious villain. His beloved woman would encounter something bad because of him.
Supreme Fire Dragon hated it to death. A short time later, he made a decision. “Hahaha! That"s right, I am Supreme Fire Dragon, the worst villain among villains!” Supreme Fire Dragon declared before running toward his companions at a high speed.
He took off the ap.r.o.n he was wearing and equipped his armor and sword.
“Huhu. I was going to kidnap Eileen and take her hostage, but I failed! It can"t be helped. I will leave for today! Ha. ha. ha!”
“Huh? We aren"t fighting?”
“We will really leave?”
All the Fire Dragon members were stunned by Supreme Fire Dragon"s words. They couldn"t understand what he was saying.
Eileen realized Supreme Fire Dragon"s intentions. He was currently acting awkwardly. It was probably an unspoken message that she shouldn"t get involved with him. After working with him all day, Eileen felt that Supreme Fire Dragon was more diligent and kinder than she thought. It was vague but she had a guess in her heart.
"Mr Fire Dragon..."
Eileen caught Supreme Fire Dragon"s eyes. They gazed at each other. They didn"t say anything, but they guessed each other"s intentions.
Supreme Fire Dragon took back his gaze and turned around. He thought it would be more difficult to separate if he kept looking at her.
“We will leave!” He shouted and the members of Fire Dragon had to bow their heads silently. They thought that Supreme Fire Dragon was planning something. Thus, they quickly exited Metheus and ran for approximately 30 minutes. Once the distance grew a bit further, Supreme Fire Dragon turned back around again.
The direction was the flower store where Eileen was located. In the chilly wind, he recalled his memories with her. It had only been two days but his nose seemed to be burning as he felt a faint nostalgia.
"Eileen... you"re the first woman I"ve ever had in my heart. I want you to be happy."
Then he turned silently. The lonely moonlight shone on a man"s back.