It might have taken half a day to get to the village in carriages, but they needed four days of solid walking for the return trip to home.
Maria didn"t even bother to say anything and headed straight to her temple of choice. Even if the adverse reaction was small, a ceremony was still a ceremony at the end of the day. She did mention that she needed to pray and recuperate in a temple the G.o.d resides in order to prevent her from taking on potential losses.
On the other hand, Mikhail and Veronika looked as if they didn"t want to part ways just like that. It was pretty obvious why they would feel that way, though - the abilities, judgement, overall actions, and behaviour of Seol Ji-Hu during the request itself had left a deep impression on them.
It was difficult to estimate just how high he"d grow in the future when considering how amazing he was as a Level 2. They would lose nothing by getting close to him now. Because, well, who knows what would happen?
Mikhail had finished with his mental calculations and made a friendly suggestion of sharing a few cold ones together. He said that he"d pay for the drinks as a gesture of thanks for saving his and Veronika"s lives.
Seol Ji-Hu also busily tinkered with his internal abacus. He did feel this before, and even now it hadn"t really changed; these guys weren"t really up to his liking. However, their abilities should get a decent boost after reaching Level 4. If he thought about the future, then it"d not be such a bad idea to get friendly with them now. Most importantly, though - the free-alcohol-loving Cho Hong displayed so much cues of wanting to go, he simply had to say yes.
And on that day, Seol Ji-Hu did as the pub advertised and ate, drank, and thoroughly enjoyed himself until he was nearly p*ss drunk out of his mind. He sang loudly and cheerfully with Cho Hong as they returned back to the office. He took a much deserved refres.h.i.+ng shower and laid down on his back on the bed. Having slept on the hard, unforgiving ground for a few nights in a row, this modest bed suddenly came across as the softest and most comfortable resting place in the whole wide world.
‘This is so good." (Seol Ji-Hu)
He really liked the scent of people living around him. He was no longer alone. He was an Earthling who had made his nest in Haramark now.
A content grin crept up on his face as one thought after another slipped in and out of his head. His expression remained one of happiness as he drifted into his slumber.
He only realised that Dylan and Hugo were not in the office on the following morning of his return to Haramark.
Since their usual luggage was nowhere to be seen, it didn"t seem like they had gone out for a spot of casual stroll or some such, but Seol Ji-Hu let it be. Those two did have a mission to get to, didn"t they?
He had no clue how long they"d be away for, but seeing that Cinzia personally came here to speak to the duo, the mission couldn"t have been the kind that might end in a day or two. Also, Ian was roped into it as well, so Seol Ji-Hu couldn"t help but wonder if the royal family, too, was involved in this matter somehow.
‘Hold on."
Didn"t that mean that it was only him and Cho Hong living in this building, then? Until the two men came back, obviously. Wasn"t it somewhat like a couple living together?
"Ohh, yeah. Now that"s refres.h.i.+ng. That really wakes you up for good, doesn"t it?" (Cho Hong)
It was at this point that he heard her familiar voice. Cho Hong had finished up her hangover-cure morning workout routine and took a shower before emerging from the bathroom while shaking her wet hair loose.
‘Wow…." (Seol Ji-Hu)
No matter how many times he saw it, he couldn"t help himself.
Those pair of firm thighs emerging from the curves of the ‘Dolfin" shorts. Her healthily-fleshed, tear-drop shaped b.u.t.tocks connected to those thighs. And the arching lines flowing up from there to form beautiful curves resembling a fine white ceramic vase, with her rather appealingly shaped belly b.u.t.ton in the centre catching one"s attention. And then, as she wore the sleeveless white T, her upright bosom proudly announcing themselves a step more than before.
Maybe he stared at her for too long, because Cho Hong stopped drinking water and gave him a weird look.
"What"s up with that expression of yours??" (Cho Hong)
"W-what do you mean?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Your eyes are wiggling like a pair of worms, and the philtrum below your nose is stretching down to the ground, too….." (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong walked over to the couch and settled down on it. Seol Ji-Hu quickly took the spot next to her and began stroking her hair as if it was his new favourite hobby. Her wet-hair still s.h.i.+mmered softly in that arresting silver hue. It all looked so pretty and soft to touch too, so naturally, he couldn"t stop himself from touching it.
Cho Hong was biting into a fruit but then felt a chill run down her spine and quickly spun her head to the side. He spotted Seol Ji-Hu tightly clenching onto some strands of her hair so he could wantonly brush his face against them.
"…..What are you doing?" (Cho Hong)
"Mm? Ahh, it just feels nice, you see. And also, it"s so cool to look at, too." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Stop it. You"re creeping me out." (Cho Hong)
"I wish your hair would stay this way forever." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Stop dreaming, will ya? At the latest, it should revert back to the origi….. Argh, I told you to stop already!!" (Cho Hong)
Seol Ji-Hu tried to tie her hair and make a pretty little shape, so she got rather temperamental and shook her head around wildly. All his hard work trying to create a perfect ribbon was now lost for good and he could only lament the loss in his heart.
"Did you suddenly lose your screws or something? You know, you kinda look like a perv when you"re being like this!" (Cho Hong)
"Please, can I touch your hair some more? Well, you treat me like a pillow, so it"s all fair, right?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Urgh, Imma just…." (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong threatened to throw the fruit at him before taking a big bite out of it, instead. Orya! She then laid down on the couch and placed her legs on his lap. Not wanting to lose out, Seol Ji-Hu also grasped her hair.
"Let go, right now. Or else." (Cho Hong)
"Put your legs down first, then." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Hng! Cho Hong snorted in defiance. Her cheeks ballooned up and down as she continued to chew before she spoke to him.
"Hey." (Cho Hong)
"I"m going to the temples today, so like, wanna go together?" (Cho Hong)
"But, I"m Gula? Aren"t you either Ira or Invidia?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Urgh, come on now. You"re a Level 2, you know? It doesn"t matter where you go, as long as you aren"t a Level 4, am I wrong?" (Cho Hong)
Sure, she had a point there.
"Besides, I"m planning to stop by at Gula"s place, too." (Cho Hong)
"Really? But, why would you go to Gula"s temple?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu had been using her thighs as an impromptu drum kit and was lightly tapping on them, but after hearing her declaration, his hands came to an abrupt stop. Could it be?
"Hang on a minute. Seriously?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"No, well, it"s not a definite thing. I"ll know once I get there." (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong carried a disinterested expression. She avoided meeting his gaze and focused on chewing her fruit. However, she couldn"t entirely hide the corners of her lips from curling upwards every now and then. Seol Ji-Hu formed a bright smile for her instead.
"For real? You"re going to be a Level 5?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
He poked her on the side, and she contorted on the couch while erupting out in a fit of laughter.
"Argh, I told you, I gotta go and see first!" (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong continued to laugh out as he tickled her.
"Why didn"t you say anything?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"I didn"t expect a Nest to suddenly pop up out of nowhere, you know." (Cho Hong)
"Which path are you thinking of taking?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"I haven"t decided it yet. I"m not interested in going with Invidia at all. If I go with Ira, then I"d become a ‘Templar". If I go with Gula, there"s a good chance that I"d end up as a ‘Crusader"." (Cho Hong)
"A Templar, a Crusader…… I"m jealous. Even their names sound cool." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu jumped up from the couch.
"There"s no time to waste, then. What are you doing? Come on now. Get up. Let"s go!" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Take it easy. I"ll go after breakfast, okay. Besides, you think becoming an upper rank is that easy?" (Cho Hong)
"It isn"t?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"From Level 5 onwards, experiences alone won"t be enough. Your contribution points are counted, too." (Cho Hong)
"Contribution points?" (Seol Ji-Hu) (TL: I"m changing ‘achievement points" to "contribution points" from now on. Thank you for understanding, folks!!)
Cho Hong polished off the fruit by then. She lightly dusted her hand and nodded her head.
"Should I call it the level of contribution, instead? They look at how much service you"ve rendered to the Paradise until now, that sort of thing." (Cho Hong)
"If it"s not enough, you can"t get to the upper levels?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"I wonder. Well, it"s a bit hard to be sure about this, cuz….." (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong tilted her head this way and that, before carrying on.
"Well, even the royals get involved when it"s time to advance to the upper ranks, you see." (Cho Hong)
"Royals? Really?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Yeah. You go to a temple and get acknowledged there, then you pull off the mission the royals give you. Only then you can level up. It"s kinda like an advancement test." (Cho Hong)
"Do you have to go through all that? No exceptions?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Well, obviously there have been cases of people levelling up without taking a test, but that"s only for those folks who had contributed a lot even as they got to Level 4. You know, those people who don"t spend a single point off their achievement points tally and only chase after one battlefield after another. Too bad, there are practically no Earthlings who do that, though." (Cho Hong)
Seol Ji-Hu muttered to himself, It"s more complicated than I thought. Cho Hong shrugged her shoulders.
"It can"t be helped. You arrive at the upper ranks, and the way people treat you changes, you know. Oh, well. Warriors still have it easier compared to Priests, I"ll have you know." (Cho Hong)
"How bad is it for Priests, then?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"I heard that you gotta get a ton of offerings ready, and also gotta prove your worth through some method or rather. It"s all just too annoying." (Cho Hong)
Seol Ji-Hu nodded his head.
"I guess being a Priest isn"t as easy as it looks." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"You could say that. If you get really technical about it, every Job out there has their pros and cons. It"s the same story for Sorcerers, too." (Cho Hong)
"In any case, should we hold a celebration tonight?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Cho Hong was taken by surprise from that.
"A celebration? Eiii, there"s no need. It"s nothing worth celebrating about." (Cho Hong)
"It is definitely worth celebrating about. Carpe Diem is about to welcome its second upper level, after all." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"I"m telling you, there"s no need. It"s too embarra.s.sing." (Cho Hong)
Seol Ji-Hu easily caught Cho Hong"s waving hand and pulled her closer.
"Don"t be like that and let"s do it. Allow me to splurge tonight so I can get something out of you in the near future, okay?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"R-really? W-well, if you"re thinking that way…. Yeah, why not?" (Cho Hong)
She probably didn"t feel bad at all that someone was congratulating her like this because she stopped leering at him from the corners of her eyes and pushed herself off from the couch while pretending to be defeated by him. However, there was this bright smile blooming on her pale face. It certainly looked good on her. She opened her mouth to speak in between her smiles.
"I wonder, will it be fine for only us two to hold a celebration?" (Cho Hong)
"No helping it, then. When Dylan and Hugo come back, we"ll just have to hold another one." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Kek! I can already imagine Hugo"s face. When he finds out that I"ve advanced to the upper level before he did, he"s gonna get a serious case of stomach cramp of jealousy." (Cho Hong)
The two of them laughed out boisterously and left the office together.
They separated the mid-way. Cho Hong said she"d head off to Ira"s temple first, and Seol Ji-Hu told her that he"d be waiting at Gula"s. He wasn"t expecting much today, but it"d be a total lie if he wasn"t hoping for something to happen, as well.
However, it was as expected. There was no such thing as him shooting up to Level 3 today.
‘I see, it wasn"t enough…." (Seol Ji-Hu)
[Fufufu. Your greed is too excessive.]
‘Even still…." (Seol Ji-Hu)
[Combat experience indeed takes up the largest portion in getting to higher levels, true.]
Gula"s languid voice continued on.
[However, that is not the only thing to consider. Even if your current fitness level meets the criteria, you haven"t mastered any of your Level 2 abilities yet, have you?]
Indeed, she had a point there. And because she was right, Seol Ji-Hu had no choice but to swallow his rueful heart and accept her findings.
‘I understand." (Seol Ji-Hu)
[Remember, it"s not always a good thing for your Level to rise up quickly. You should try again after sufficiently preparing yourself inside out.]
‘I will." (Seol Ji-Hu)
He then felt the sensation of a hand stroking his head as if Gula found him adorable. He lowered his head a little. It felt nice, though.
[By the way, you have done admirably well on your mission.]
‘Pardon?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
[It was a truly surprising turn of events.]
Seol Ji-Hu tilted his head, but a thought entered his mind quickly enough. If it was a mission, then…
‘Are you referring to the request? Does that mean exterminating the Nest will have some kind of ramifications in the future?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
[Such a simple, negligible thing won"t affect the flow of events in any shape or form.]
Gula sounded so gentle, but her words certainly were not.
[However, to think that you"d forcibly create debt and tangle the strings of fate together in that manner. I had expected you to simply walk right by, but then you surprised me. Fufufu.]
‘If you mean by debt, can it be….?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Was she talking about the village head? Or Mikhail? Was it Veronika? Or, maybe even the villagers?
[In any case, I"m relieved. Although the path ahead is a field of thorns, you now at least possess shoes to help you tread on it.]
‘I just don"t understand what you"re saying?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
[I"m praising you. ‘That" will at least pry open a breathing s.p.a.ce for yourself, at the very least.]
‘….."
[Of course, it all depends on the choices you make in the end.]
Here they go again.
He felt like falling into a pit of confusion every time he heard the words that sounded like him chasing after the floating clouds.
Seriously, would letting him know in clear, concise words bring the sky down or something?
[The causality will be brought down, yes. Do not ever take the divulging of heaven"s secrets lightly.]
‘!?"
Seol Ji-Hu was grumbling inwardly but got shocked out of his mind from that warning. Scared that he might get smacked in the head again, he quickly bade his goodbye and turned around to leave.
He waited by the entrance of the temple for Cho Hong, but she didn"t show up even after a long while. It seemed that she needed more time than they had expected.
‘Well, I guess I"ll just head there myself." (Seol Ji-Hu)
He figured that he"d finish his cigarette first before leaving but then, he spotted a man hurriedly running towards him. Seol Ji-Hu had never met this man before.
"Are you Seol by any chance?"
"Excuse me? I am, but who…..?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"I came from Ira"s temple. I carry a message from Chung Cho-Hong. She says that she"ll be late today, so don"t wait for her and go back first."
"….Cho Hong said that?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"I"ve delivered the message. Well, then."
As if he had nothing more to say, the man simply turned around and left without even a goodbye. In all honesty, it was hard to make heads or tails from that message alone.
Seol Ji-Hu watched the man hurriedly climb down the steps of the temple while sucking in the last bits of his cigarette.
‘Did something happen?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Cho Hong might have said she"d be late, but that didn"t mean Seol Ji-Hu would stand around doing nothing. He trained moderately until around dinner time, and he went out to buy an armful of booze and snacks before returning to the office. He placed them down on the coffee table and settled down on the couch to wait.
‘She"d be happy when she sees this, right?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
….However, no matter how long he waited, Cho Hong showed no signs of coming back.
The clock continued to tick over and the food was gradually getting colder. Seol Ji-Hu began pouting as he fidgeted around.
She only came back several hours after the dinner time. The night had already deepened considerably by then. Seol Ji-Hu was napping a little on the couch, but he heard the front door open and his eyes shot up wide right away. Cho Hong had been walking with an energy-less face but then, formed a surprised face after running into him.
"You weren"t asleep?" (Cho Hong)
"Ah, that is, well…." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu"s gaze was lowered, and Cho Hong followed it to the table filled with the grub. She gasped out in belated realisation. Seol Ji-Hu was the same. Seeing that she looked exhausted and listless, that could only mean….
‘….I uncorked the champagne a little too early." (Seol Ji-Hu)
He admonished himself a little and cautiously spoke to her.
"I guess you got delayed a bit?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Yeah, just a little. I went to the temple and went to the royal palace, too, so…. Were you waiting for long?" (Cho Hong)
"The royal palace?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu"s eyes opened wider.
"Is it done?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Uh? Well, something like that." (Cho Hong)
"Okay, what about that test, that mission thing, then?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Well, that….. Looks like I"ll have to, you know, hash it out some more." (Cho Hong)
For some reason, Cho Hong averted her gaze. Seol Ji-Hu patted the spot on the couch next to him.
"What exactly had happened? Take a seat here and talk to me, please." (Seol Ji-Hu)
"There isn"t much to say, really. It"s not a confirmed thing, anyway." (Cho Hong)
"Oh…. Is that so?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
She looked puzzlingly listless and that naturally sucked out all enthusiasm from Seol Ji-Hu, as well.
"….You hungry? If not, how about something to drink?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Cho Hong shook her head. Seol Ji-Hu stopped lightly shaking the bottle of booze as his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. This woman refused a free drink? Something like that was utterly unimaginable.
"Did something happen to you?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"No, not at all." (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong shook her head again.
"I"m not really in the mood, you know? I"m also kinda feeling p.o.o.ped out, too." (Cho Hong)
"I see. If you"re too tired, you should get some rest first." (Seol Ji-Hu)
This whole thing must"ve played on her mind because she hesitated where she stood for a while before a helpless sigh escaped from her mouth.
"….Sorry….." (Cho Hong)
She whispered softly under her breath and slowly walked away. Seol Ji-Hu dazedly stared at her back as she entered the bedroom.
‘…Did she just say she"s sorry??" (Seol Ji-Hu)
That would be his first time hearing her apologise. Seol Ji-Hu stood there in silence for a while, before opening his mouth.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" (Seol Ji-Hu)
No reply came back his way, however.
Cho Hong seemed to be really busy all of a sudden. When he woke up in the mornings, she would be gone already, and it became a pretty common occurrence to see her return late into the night as well. Not only that, she didn"t even show up in the training facility once and, when it got really bad, he ended up not seeing her for an entire day.
But when she did come back to the office, he found it hard to approach her from the way she chose to sit all alone. She would be either resting her chin on her hands as she stewed in her worries or every now and then displayed hints of how anxious and pressed her mental state was.
He kept asking her what was the matter with her, but all he got in return was "It"s nothing. Don"t worry about it."
‘Something did happen." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Although he felt a bit saddened by her not confiding in him, it was true that people had issues they needed to sort out by themselves. Seol decided to patiently wait for her to come around and immersed himself in daily routines, instead. In the mornings, physical training; in the afternoons, abilities and Magic Power training. And then, sleep. Like a squirrel spinning inside a wheel, he continued the exact same routine over and over again.
However, the time continued to move on; one day, then two days pa.s.sed, and then, three, four days went by. A week later, Cho Hong didn"t even bother to show up back in the office at all. He had never seen her gone for more than two days in a row, so he naturally got pretty concerned.
That wasn"t all, either. He had no idea what kind of a mission Dylan and Hugo went off to, but those two also showed no signs of returning, as well. Just what on earth was going on here?
Now that the situation had arrived this far, it was only natural that Seol Ji-Hu would start suspecting that something was indeed very off. There definitely had to be something going on here that he wasn"t aware of. Convinced of this, he didn"t sleep that night and waited by the couch.
Cho Hong returned to the office during the dawn of the fourth day of his vigil. She cautiously opened the door and trudged in only for her eyes to open wide in a pair of round holes.
"What aren"t you in the bed?" (Cho Hong)
"…….."
"Were you waiting for me? Sorry, sorry. I had some things to take care of." (Cho Hong)
"……….."
Cho Hong wasn"t a fool, either. She continued to sneak a glance at Seol Ji-Hu as he sat quietly on the couch and stared back at her. It was easy to see that she did feel guilty about something.
"Yawn~, I"m so tired." (Cho Hong)
She tried her best to not notice anything and walk past him, but….
"….Cho Hong." (Seol Ji-Hu)
His low, hushed voice stopped her feet from moving again.
"Come and sit down next to me, please." (Seol Ji-Hu)
Tap! Seol Ji-Hu placed his hand on the coffee table.
"We need to talk." (Seol Ji-Hu)
< 77.="" i="" don"t="" want="" to="" live="" like="" that="" (1)=""> Fin.
(TL: Just in case you don"t know what a ‘Dolfin shorts" is, google ‘돌핀 팬츠". You can thank me later. Incidentally, it"s named ‘Dolfin" because that"s the name of the company that came up with the attire, apparently. And that name got stuck in South Korea, although technically it"s a wrong one.)