Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Festival Preparation (2)
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Ye-hyeon ushered me inside the house.
Holding a bag full of apples, I hopped over the fence and stepped into the living room. The house was just as it had always been. High ceilings and a cool, refreshing scent.
An ivory-colored sofa had a thin blanket on it that looked like the one Ye-hyeon had been using.
He gestured toward the rattan chair next to the sofa.
“Water or coffee? Both are in plastic bottles.”
“I’ll have water. Commander, let me get it.”
My boss didn’t respond and just shuffled across the living room.
He soon shuffled back to the sofa. He was holding two bottles of mineral water firmly, but his eyes were half-closed.
The kid’s on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.
I snapped out of that irreverent thought.
I politely accepted the offered water.
“Thank you.”
“Why’d you pick apples?”
Ye-hyeon plopped down on the sofa and twisted open his plastic bottle.
I briefly explained about the apple wine. I’d promised Samuel I’d make some, so I’d gathered apples from the tree called Newton’s Apple Tree.
Ye-hyeon chuckled softly.
“Samuel’s gonna love that.”
“I hope so.”
“Did you brew it like that before?”
Nodding at his tousled black hair from just waking up.
“Yes. I’ll brew some for you too, Commander. There were plenty of apples.”
Ye-hyeon smiled faintly.
He mumbled a thanks and took a sip of water.
I watched him, waiting for the main topic.
There must be something he wants to talk about, or he wouldn’t have called me here. If it was just because he was glad to see me, he wouldn’t be speaking so casually, given his personality.
“Hilde.”
My boss set down his bottle and turned his body toward me.
“If you’re not busy, can we talk for a bit?”
“I’m not busy at all.”
“I’ll have to ask some uncomfortable questions.”
I smiled faintly.
Surprisingly, Ye-hyeon was the one I felt most at ease with when talking about the past. There was nothing I needed to hide from him.
“Ask away without holding back.”
The sleepiness faded from Ye-hyeon’s face.
Noon approached, and the morning sunlight filtered through the large windows, bathing the living room. It was always quiet here. Stepping inside made you forget the busy flow of time.
The fresh scent of the living room.
Ye-hyeon looked into my eyes with his large ones.
“The Titan I killed—it was absorbing surrounding creatures to recover. You can do that too, right?”
Wow.
Straight to the heavy question.
I steadied my slightly shaken mind.
“Yes. But I hardly ever used that ability, and I still don’t want to use it unless I have to.”
“I figured. Why? Side effects?”
“There are some. As you know, if you overuse it too long without limits, your body collapses.”
“So if you control it, no problem.”
I nodded. As expected, quick on the uptake.
And that means he’s thinking of using it...
“But why don’t you want to use it?”
A question I’d been asked countless times.
Not just on Earth, but in my old world too. People endlessly asked why the child of the World Tree wouldn’t use his blessed trait. It was incredibly powerful if used right, but unless I was truly desperate, I never touched it.
I heard all sorts of stories. Pity for the absorbed lifeforms? No confidence in controlling it? Wanting to escape the Emperor’s influence? And so on.
The truth was none of those.
And every time I revealed the truth, I faced difficulties.
I couldn’t hide it from Ye-hyeon, though.
He’d need every piece to place the puzzle of Hildebert in the right spot.
He didn’t rush me, so I wet my parched throat with water.
No matter how many times I tell this story, I never know the best way to explain it.
Anyway, I tried.
“Where I was from wasn’t a very rational place. Violence was everyday life, a caste society. Like a medieval world with magic and weird stuff.”
“Yeah.”
“So...”
I hesitated before continuing.
“So, absurd things happened all the time. Especially in areas with little exchange with others—they were unbelievably backward, full of superstitions, no laws.”
“That makes sense.”
“Yes. Do you know about the World Tree?”
“Heard about it from Yoon.”
“Then no need for extra explanation. I reached the World Tree, broke the Curse of the Divine Tree, and gained that ability—commonly called Absorption. The problem is, I ended up in a backward region without knowing about it.”
Ye-hyeon’s brow furrowed slightly.
But he didn’t interrupt. He just looked troubled and waited for the rest.
You’ve probably guessed already, but I need to say it straight.
I smiled awkwardly and explained.
“I was young and exhausted... Long story short, I got captured and had a pretty unpleasant experience. It was a long time ago, but I still struggle with using the ability.”
“Experiments or something?”
Ye-hyeon’s voice was thick with distress.
I gave a bitter smile and didn’t reply.
The silence was affirmation. Shock and worry mixed on his pale face. His dark eyes, with their drooped tail, trembled faintly.
That’s the usual reaction, which is why it’s hard to bring up...
But it was something I had to tell Ye-hyeon eventually. Especially since he’d witnessed Ray’s danger when using that ability with his own eyes. He’d want to know its power level, how best to use it.
To calm his shocked expression, I added.
“It was a long time ago. Unless I try to use it, I don’t even think about it normally. And I used it to recover when I was near death, or on the Emperor’s orders. So if you want me to use it, just give the order.”
“Some things don’t get better with time.”
Ye-hyeon muttered in a distressed voice.
He looked at me like a subordinate in the ICU.
“Let’s not use that ability if possible.”
“But the ability itself isn’t at fault. It’s very powerful. As you know...”
“We’ll just win without needing it.”
My boss spoke thoughtfully.
He was silent for a while after that. I sat quietly until he broke the silence, keeping my eyes on his gentle, downcast gaze.
Maybe I should’ve softened it more.
The Emperor didn’t blink at stories like this. Kyle urged me to get over it quickly. Swordsmanship aside, how powerful is it—don’t be a fool clinging to the past and miss a chance to grow stronger.
Actually, most people reacted that way.
It was an era without concepts like trauma or mental wounds. Even I didn’t understand my own aversion, so no blame.
Of course, being stubborn, I chose to hone my swordsmanship instead.
Lost in those thoughts, Ye-hyeon’s voice pulled me back.
“We’re doing territory reclamation soon.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
“The moment Center Core opens, the reclamation battle begins. It opens part of the barrier, so defenses drop sharply during it. We’re building walls at the boundaries, but they won’t hold like the Core.”
“I understand.”
“As you probably guessed, you’ll be the decoy.”
“Yes.”
“The four kids who know your identity will stick with you for the mission.”
That much I’d predicted.
Territory reclamation—everyone in the Core tenses up. Daily life stops during it. Commuting, school, street travel—all banned.
It’s a semi-wartime state until the Core closes.
Not just Black Badgers, but military and police fully mobilized. A massive operation. They set up at the opened Core area. In case all Badgers fall to Creatures.
Nearby hospitals cleared for the injured.
Unmanned fighters, combat drones, missiles—all on standby.
That’s why everyone’s swamped as reclamation day nears. Ami said portal construction folks and Etak people are dying from overwork.
Reclamation on Closed Heaven Day—the day after the first war, when the skies were sealed.
Does Kyle know about this reclamation...
“And me too.”
I nearly spilled the water I was drinking.
“Yes?”
“I’ll be with you too.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
The words slipped out reflexively.
Ye-hyeon blinked his large eyes.
Normally, I’d pale at what I’d said.
Not now.
“You should be at the safest spot already, what are you talking about?”
“Then our forces drop too much.”
Ye-hyeon replied.
If Yoon said it, I’d call it annoying bullshit. But from him, it just sounded like stating facts.
Even so...
“You’re using me as bait.”
“Yeah.”
“Then why stick to my side? I’m not questioning your leadership or plotting mutiny. But normally, generals don’t play decoy. Common sense.”
I tried to be as polite as possible.
But failed at controlling my expression.
Ye-hyeon looked at me and burst into clear laughter.
After laughing loudly for a while, he said with a smile.
“You’re cursing me inside right now.”
“Caught me? Yeah, pretty much.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll mostly just command while you protect me. And if my life’s truly in danger, I’ll have an escape route.”
“You could command safely from the start.”
“High chance Kyle comes for you.”
Ye-hyeon said without losing his faint smile.
“If he starts rampaging like a Stage 10, everything crumbles.”
True.
If the World Tree’s child starts burning his body, it could repeat the first war’s horrors. That’s how powerful it was. Controlled, it’s strong; burning his life force? Unimaginable.
But that’s why even more...
“Who would you pick? Yoon’s on new Core generation, can’t spare him. Richard doesn’t know Stage 10 traits well and is too good a leader, so he’ll command some squads. William Walker’s perfect for Core machine handler. Jason Tvein? Think he can calmly face Kyle?”
“You’re the Supreme Commander.”
“For territory reclamation, Center Core’s precious John Mullens will be on-site too.”
Ye-hyeon replied without losing his subtle smile.
His voice was more businesslike than ever.
The drowsy greeting was gone.
“It’s humanity’s all-out war.”
Even so...
No, that’s why he should command safely to the end.
My dubious expression must’ve shown, as Ye-hyeon let out a small laugh.
He scanned my sulky seated form and straightened his back.
“The elders’ hands will protect me from hiding too, so don’t worry.”
Well, if so...
“One thing to confirm: the Absorption ability and handling Creatures are different, right?”
“Yes. Many can handle Creatures. It’s called Beast Mastery.”
Ye-hyeon fell silent again.
He steepled his fingers and pondered. I leaned back long in the rattan chair.
Will Kyle show on reclamation day?
Others with him? I recalled faces of those who glared with hate when I pointed my sword at them.
Hecate, Ray, and...
“You were a kid.”
Ye-hyeon’s mutter brought me back.
I was surprised to see him back to looking like a kid I needed to look after.
He was gazing at me with downcast eyes.
“How young?”
Ah.
I recalled the not-so-pleasant memory.
“Pretty young. Early twenties.”
Ye-hyeon inhaled sharply.
I pulled my upper body off the chair back and peered at his pale face.
I clasped my hands on my knees and checked his complexion before speaking.
“I stopped counting age after turning over a hundred.”
“...And?”
“It was a very long time ago, and I’m really fine normally. No need to worry.”
But Ye-hyeon didn’t relax his face.
Now I fully understood why Ricardo said this guy’s too soft off-duty. If only he’d learned a bit of Kyle’s or the Emperor’s ruthlessness.
Even Lee Seung-hyun’s ruthlessness would’ve helped.
“Wounds like that don’t heal with time. I know.”
Now he’s using formal speech.
“I’m still flailing in something from seventy years ago. You think you’re different?”
“Seventy years ago?”
When he was not even nine?
Yoon’s story flashed in my mind.
About his poor caregiver.
I furrowed my brow and leaned my upper body toward Ye-hyeon.
“Were you abused? Lee Seung-hyun didn’t know?”
Ye-hyeon’s eyes widened as he stared at me.
But I didn’t regret asking. If true, Lee Seung-hyun was even less forgivable for treating Ye-hyeon like this.
Even if Ye-hyeon doesn’t answer properly, I’ll say something later.
Crazy bastard can’t even atone properly to his own kid...
Crack!
Ow!
I got flicked on the forehead.
“Take care of your own body.”
An angry voice returned.
“I never look back at my body.”
No.
Why so mad all of a sudden.
I sat stunned, rubbing my stinging forehead.
Until the man glaring at my abdomen suddenly jumped up from the sofa. Ye-hyeon, expression unchanged, strode to the fridge, saying I needed to eat something.
Told him I’m plenty healthy now—ignored.
In the end, that day I returned to the cabin hugging a pile of apples and supplements.