[Protagonist’s POV]
"...So you’re saying it’s just a friendship?"
"Yeah. We t up after a while yesterday, right? But then I got dragged off to the Martial Alliance right after heading to work—she freaked out and followed ."
"Hm..."
"Yep. That’s how it is."
Sweating bullets inside, I fed the Sword Empress excuses about and Dang Ayeong—
’How do I tell her we had sex—her first, no less—and I tried to brush it off like it never happened?’
What a colossal disrespect—
Sure, it’s my ss, but I couldn’t muster the guts to spill the truth—
[’...You said that to , then ca here and fooled around with another woman?’]
[’S-Sword Empress, it’s not like that...’]
[’No excuses, you lecher.’]
[—Slash!]
"...No way I’m saying it."
"Hm?"
"N-Nothing!"
Knowing how ruthless she gets with villains, I couldn’t risk her turning that blade on —
Sure, hiding it might blow up worse if she finds out—
’But if I don’t hide it now, I could die now.’
I’d have to survive today to even face that fallout—
Self-rationalizing, I wrapped up my excuses and hustled her out—
After parting with the Sword Empress—
"Phew..."
Relief washed over —I let the tension drain from my body—
Since I was alone here now, I could rest without anyone bothering—
"Nice job fooling her, huh?"
—Flinch!
"W-What the hell!"
A voice ambushed from behind—I whipped around, startled—
Yeo Socheon stood there, smirking like she’d spooked on purpose—
"Why so jumpy? Soone might think you’ve got a guilty conscience."
"People normally freak out when you sneak up like that!"
"Then train in martial arts—sense soone creeping up behind you."
"You gonna fix my dantian?"
"Nope?"
"Then shut it..."
Fair’s fair—she obviously knew my dantian’s busted—
"Haaa..."
I buried my head on the table, sighing again—
A rare break, and I still couldn’t relax—
Today’s luck was straight garbage—
"...Hey. Let’s talk."
Get close to Yeo Socheon—
That’s the clue the saintess left —
So I struck up a conversation, thinking—
Why’s it always won around ?
"I don’t really feel like chatting with you."
"Like it or not, we’re tangled up going forward, right? I get why you hate , but keeping this wall up forever won’t help either of us."
"W-Why would we be tangled up?"
No clue what she was imagining, but her face flushed—
’What a prickly personality.’
"I heard it from the other world’s saintess—this world’s in danger."
"...Ha! Don’t trust that scheming woman—every word out of her mouth’s a lie."
As expected, Yeo Socheon didn’t like her—
Maybe because they serve different gods?
’She’s a bit tricky, sure, but not a bad person.’
Yeah, she ssed with the shop a little, but she’d been a huge help surviving this brutal world—my opinion of her wasn’t sour—
If anything, this one’s the shadier one to —
Thanks for sparing a stallion’s fate, sure, but dropping solo into this hellhole? If I hadn’t t Master, I’d be long dead—
"So this world’s not in danger?"
"Of course not! With here, those twisted undead defying nature could swarm in mountains, and I’d still—"
"Swear it on the Heavenly Gods?"
"..."
Her mouth clamped shut—
We hadn’t known each other long, but I’d figured out how to handle her—
Proud, stubborn, dismissive of others—but super sensitive about the Heavenly Gods—
Last ti she ca for , wasn’t it to punish my disrespect toward them?
The saintess called her this world’s equivalent of a saintess—makes sense she’d act like this—
So I’d asked—
Can you swear on the Heavenly Gods this world’s safe?
Grip.
She clenched her fists, biting her lip—
Frustration oozed from her—
Her reaction gave a rough guess—
"...It’s actually a little dangerous."
Unfortunate answer—
"...Dangerous?"
"N-Not as bad as you’re thinking! The vampire king, lurking sowhere waiting for a chance, can’t act fully yet—I’m holding the other undead back."
"Then what about the vampire rumors popping up across the Central Plains?"
"T-That’s... desperation! He can’t move himself, so he’s sending lackeys to stir sothing up..."
"So stop them!!"
The more we talked, the more exasperated I got—
Fine, she’s got the power to block the undead—but the stuff happening in the Central Plains? Others can step in too—
"Why suffer alone? Ask for help with that death—"
That’s when—
Grab!
"No!!"
She lunged, clamping my mouth shut—
"...?"
"S-Sorry, I’ll explain later—just don’t say that na, okay?"
Nod.
No clue what was up, but she wouldn’t shut up for nothing—I nodded—
Her hand left my mouth—
"...Listen. That one—beings who’ve transcended concepts and wield them—gain power just from people recognizing and acknowledging them. One or two won’t do much, but hundreds, thousands? That’s no joke."
Her sudden gravity threw off—
"You got forced into knowing by that scheming woman, fine—but you blabbing it is another issue. Don’t say the na if you can help it. And definitely don’t tell anyone else."
"...Got it."
Only then did she step back, wiping her hand on her sleeve—
Probably got my spit on her palm—
"But why’d the saintess tell then...?"
"Maybe in her world, everyone knew him, so she forgot that detail—or figured one more wouldn’t hurt."
"...Maybe?"
It felt off, but plausible—
Decades of world-ending war—everyone there likely knew him, so that restriction might’ve been moot—
"...Just in case—haven’t told the Sword Empress or anyone, right?"
"Uh... probably not."
"Good. Nice to know that head of yours works for more than lighting won’s hearts on fire."
"...Huh?"
What’d I just hear? I blinked—her face flushed again as she flailed her arms—
"T-That was a slip! Forget it!"
"Uh... sure..."
Her words made think—this body must be pretty damn handso—
I’d seen myself in mirrors, water—knew I looked good—
’Good enough for that?’
Hard for a guy like to judge if I’m that level—won saying stuff like that was tough to gauge—
To , I’m just a short, baby-faced kid—
’...Height.’
A random curiosity hit— I glanced at Yeo Socheon—
"...What?"
"Just got curious."
"...This feels ominous."
"Who’s taller—you or ?"
"Ha."
She let out an incredulous scoff—
"You’re seriously asking? Obviously ."
"Looks pretty even to ."
"...Look closer."
Thud!
She shoved against the wall, hand slamming beside my head—
Classic wall-slam—
"Still look even?"
"..."
Up close, her eye level edged slightly above mine—
Squish.
A distinctly feminine part pressed against my chest—I turned my head, grumbling—
"...Fine, you’re taller."
"Heh. Watch yourself next ti."
"Don’t gloat over a asly 1-2 cm."
"No idea how much that is in your world’s units."
"Tch."
I wanted out of this pose, but her arm pinned —
"..."
"..."
"...What’re you staring at? My face isn’t even visible."
"Just marveling at otherworld tech."
"This cloak’s not from my world, though..."
Still, it’s a hell of a cloak—
Hides my face in shadow to shield my identity—ventilation, insulation, weatherproofing—cool in sumr, warm in winter—
Plus, it’s oversized, masking my fra—super useful here—
Without it, my small, scrawny build would invite trouble in this rough world—
Not for nothing do inn workers get hassled so much—
I’ve got it better—hides my size, my face—even in this lawless place, people hesitate to ss with —
Think about it—who’d pick a fight with so magic weirdo whose face doesn’t even show?
I wouldn’t—
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