Chapter 281
Chapter: 281
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 281
>Chapter Title: Impulse Soft (1)
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>"By the way, this is a bit unexpected. For Brother Mores to be curious about Brother Owen."
Sisle said that as she slurped her tea heartily. A small baby bear sat on her lap, while Seoiser snarled fiercely from behind her back.
"The two of them got along terribly. They'd growl at each other every time they met."
'Yeah, sure they did.'
Seongjin was skipping his morning training to have an early tea time with Sisle.
Thanks to the little one, his fatigue had eased considerably, but he was following Masain's advice that he should probably rest today.
He also had a few questions about Owen.
"Their personalities were just too different. But don't worry, Your Highness. Until now, he and Prince Owen have never had an irreconcilable falling out."
"......"
Masain, who had been listening with a worried face from the side, chimed in cautiously.
Well. Mores's misdeeds were nothing new.
Unlike before, when he had brushed them off as unimportant, now viewing them all as his karma weighed heavily on his heart for no reason.
"Actually, when Brother Owen first left the palace, everyone was really worried. We thought maybe he'd grown to hate everyone in the palace."
Clink.
Sisle set her teacup down on the table and continued.
"But it doesn't seem to be the case. He sends letters asking about everyone's well-being every time, and he doesn't forget to send gifts like this."
With that, Sisle lifted the pink bunny eyemask she wore around her neck.
"Ah, that thing."
Come to think of it, he'd seen something similar in the Holy Emperor's office.
He had thought it was unusually modern-looking for a Delcross product.
"Yeah. His Majesty has the exact same one. I heard Brother Owen sent it to him for his birthday as well."
"That was from Owen?"
In that moment, Seongjin had a realization.
'Owen, you like cute stuff!'
No wonder he empathized so much with Seongjin in his mountain goat form.
Looking back now, there was a reasonable suspicion that the guy hadn't chosen the infant skin just because it was cheap.
"Choosing an eyemask as a gift is pretty unique, though."
"Maybe because it's hard to find on the continent? Seoiser said it's from her world."
Seoiser's?
Seongjin turned to look at her, and Seoiser backed away a step, full of wariness.
"W-what? I-I'm not telling you anything! You ominous black!"
...If you're so scared, why do you keep following Sisle around?
Anyway, Seoiser's world.
She was so guarded around Seongjin, and she never seemed in her right mind otherwise, so he'd never even considered prying information out of her.
'But Seoiser is from the regular world. Which means......'
Sure enough, the Demon King, who had been examining the eyemask, gave a sly hint.
[Yi Seongjin, that's an item from the regular world.]
Yeah, he figured as much.
"Sisle, could I take a look at that for a moment?"
Seongjin asked Sisle's permission and took the eyemask.
It looked like an ordinary eyemask at a glance, but borrowing the Demon King's demonic eye revealed faint information unique to the regular world.
〚Justitia's Headpiece (*Squishy Bunny Edition)〛
〚The noble hero who protected the world decided in his later years to gouge out his own eyes to uphold the world's laws. To honor his sublime resolve forever, the kingdom bestowed a treasure to cover his eyes.〛
〚Effects: Poison Resistance S+, Status Ailment Resistance S+, Mental Attack Resistance S+〛
〚Grade: Epic〛
〚Shop Price: 3,999,000 P-Cash (*This item is from the 'Gather, Friends Collab Commemoration - Limited Edition.')〛
As expected, it was from Pangea Chronicle.
This item's identity suggested quite a few things.
Items obtained from Pangea Chronicle could be brought to Delcross's main world and function perfectly.
And that Owen was using a guest ID to search for something in Pangea Chronicle.
-Guest ID users are all the same. They have something they absolutely need, so they risk it all to cling to this place.
Owen had said something like this too.
-I can't lose the people precious to me twice in vain. To prevent that, now I'll do anything.
So what exactly was Owen worried about?
And what was he preparing for through Pangea Chronicle?
'By the way......'
Apart from the item's identity, there was one part that particularly caught Seongjin's eye.
The shop price of 3,999,000 P-Cash.
'This seems insanely expensive? And a limited item? Did that guy get scammed or something?'
Even Seongjin, who didn't know Pangea Chronicle's market prices well, could guess. With all those zeros, this eyemask was no ordinary expensive item.
Thinking about the fumbling Owen must have done to get two of them made him genuinely dumbfounded.
'Is this thing that important?'
But after hearing Sisle's explanation, he could somewhat understand the purpose of this random gift.
"Brother Owen might seem carefree, but he's actually very thoughtful and kind. I once mentioned I had nightmares, and years later, he remembered and sent this."
"Nightmares?"
"Yeah. Ever since I started wearing it, the prophetic dreams and nightmares have completely gone away."
...Hm. So that's why he sent a Mental Attack Resistance S+ item? Even suckers have their reasons.
Resting his chin in his hand, lost in thought, Sisle prodded him.
"So, Brother Mores. When are you going to show me Rabu? What amazing ability does this Rabu have?"
"Ah, well, about that......"
Seongjin answered a bit awkwardly.
When he first modded Bingsoo No. 3, he thought he'd realized every romance possible for a child's toy. He had been purely proud, thinking no better gift existed.
But considering Logan's or Masain's reactions, and seeing Sisle happily hugging the little bear, he kept thinking maybe this was fine as is.
[Kyuu?]
Perhaps sensing he was the topic, the ice bear opened its sparkling eyes and looked up at Seongjin.
Around the bear doll's neck was a small ribbon he hadn't noticed before.
'...Kinda cute?'
Maybe it would have been better to stop at just walking and talking? Look, the kid loves it like this.
But he couldn't ignore those clear gray eyes sparkling with huge anticipation.
"...This is a controller for operating Bingsoo No. 3."
Seongjin pulled out the modded ice heart and spoke.
"To show it properly, we'll need a wide open space. Let's head to the training grounds together."
"What kind of ability needs that much space?"
"You'll see. Oh, and before we start, you should take off that ribbon around its neck."
"Huh?"
Masain Knight glanced at them anxiously from behind.
Sisle, oblivious to what was about to happen, just blinked with an innocent expression.
* * *
[Al! Ra! Buu!]
Boom!
A high-pitched electronic tone rang out, followed by a massive shockwave shaking the training grounds.
A gigantic ice bear with glowing red eyes had slammed its fist—studded with vicious spikes—into the ground.
The neatly arranged weapons clattered to the floor, and choking dust billowed everywhere.
"Eeek!"
"W-what is that?!"
The resident knights huddled in a corner of the training grounds, whispering in panic. Among them, Knight Haven was so terrified he hid behind Knight Kalmen, trembling.
Having finished the demonstration, Seongjin worried about Sisle's condition. What if the kid got too scared?
"Rabu......"
But it was unfounded.
The little saint looked up at the ice bear in rapture, then toddled over and hugged its thick belly tightly.
"You... you're such an amazing kid! I'm sorry for ignoring you until now! You're so cool!"
"Uh......"
This was a bit unexpected.
If he'd known, maybe he should've made a combining robot instead of a bear doll.
'At least I learned one of Sisle's tastes.'
Meanwhile, Sisle wasn't the only one with an unexpected reaction.
Woof woof woof!
Max, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, suddenly charged toward the bear doll and started barking furiously.
Woof woof woof woof!
-Go away! Scram!
Then it turned to Seongjin and whined pitifully!
Whirrr.
-I can do that too! I'm bigger! I'm stronger!
"Max......"
You adorable pup!
Seongjin ruffled the whining dog's head vigorously to soothe it.
"Yeah, yeah. You're the awesome and cute one. So you don't need to transform like that. Got it?"
[Hmph! You're the only one who thinks that mutt is cute.]
But Seongjin ignored the Demon King's grumbling.
"Want a treat, Max?"
[I ought to just deal with that mongrel of his......]
Anyway, relieved that Sisle seemed pleased, Seongjin operated the ice heart with a more relaxed mind.
Pfoong.
Bingsoo No. 3, which had shown destructive power shocking even the knights, shrank back into a small baby bear and nestled into Sisle's arms.
[Kyuu!]
"Good job, Rabu!"
The little saint grinned widely and petted the ice bear's head.
If no one had seen the destruction it had just wrought, anyone would think it was a heartwarming scene.
'Hm, definitely worth all the grief I gave Dexter.'
Seongjin scratched his cheek sheepishly.
It was right then.
'...Wait, Dexter?'
Seongjin flinched as a sudden memory surfaced. Something Dexter had mentioned offhand came to mind.
-Actually, my encounter with Ionia's technology was all thanks to my connection with a game company called Impulse Soft.
Uh, hold on! Impulse Soft! Hadn't Dexter definitely said that?
Seongjin never forgot anything he heard once. His memory couldn't be wrong.
'A game company connected to Ionia's tech is managing the regular world that Owen accesses?'
Then, to uncover the truth behind what Owen was caught up in, shouldn't he investigate this Impulse Soft first?
Lost in thought, Sisle approached hugging the ice bear, her face flushed with excitement.
"How did you do all this, brother?"
"Ah, right. Here, take this."
Snapping back to reality, Seongjin handed the ice heart to the little one. Like the 'Knight of Grace' controller, it was modded into a small key shape.
"As I said earlier, this is the controller for operating Bingsoo No. 3. With this, you can transform it anytime you want."
"Yeah, got it."
Sisle stared quietly at the ice heart in her hand. Her gray eyes, more mature than her age, sparkled with utmost seriousness.
"I've decided, brother."
After pondering deeply, Sisle looked up and said.
"This belongs to Rabu from now on. The thing that controls Rabu should be in Rabu's hands."
"...What?"
Seongjin was aghast.
Hold on! You saw that brute strength just now and you're saying that?
Bingsoo No. 3 is a dangerous ice golem armed to the teeth! It needs proper human control!
But before Seongjin could say anything, Sisle threaded the key onto the ribbon and hung it around the bear doll's neck. Then she peered deeply into its button-black eyes.
"You know, brother. What you gave me isn't just a doll—it's my precious friend."
Stroke stroke.
Her tiny hand gently petted the ice bear's head.
"We haven't been together long, but spend time with it, and you'll know right away. It watches over me carefully and always cares about me."
"......"
Well, it's a child-minding program.
Seongjin flapped his mouth, unsure how to respond, when Sisle smiled at him. It was a rare bright smile from the usually expressionless saint.
"So I want Rabu to grow when it wants to grow, and dance when it wants to dance."
[Kyuu.]
At that, Bingsoo No. 3 tilted its head at Sisle.
Probably the AI, unfamiliar with Delcross's language system, trying to understand its master's words with limited knowledge.
After processing the info with glowing eyes for a moment, Bingsoo No. 3 emitted a short, soft electronic tone.
[Alrabu.]
Hm. All it says is Alrabu, so who knows what it's thinking.
Maybe he should've added more varied recordings.
"By the way, Sisle. Its real name isn't Rabu, it's Bingsoo No. 3......"
"Come on, Rabu. Let's go train together! Wanna smash scarecrows in the training grounds with me?"
...Hey, kiddo.
I had my suspicions, but you are deliberately ignoring the name I gave it, right? Huh?
* * *
>"I need to meet Dexter again, Father. That dwarf technician in the Elder's workshop."
That afternoon, Seongjin rushed to the office and said so. He felt he needed to find Dexter quickly and investigate Impulse Soft in detail.
"You mean you're going back to that workshop? For what?"
"I can't explain in detail, but it's a very important matter."
The Holy Emperor set down his paperwork and stared at Seongjin silently for a moment.
"That place isn't ours to enter freely. Its little dimensional master is the Elder himself. Even I can't casually send people back and forth without his permission."
The Holy Emperor said that and furrowed his brow slightly.
But it seemed less like refusal and more like pondering how to strong-arm the Elder into agreeing. At least, that's how Seongjin saw it.
"...I'll talk to the Elder."
Finally deciding on a course, the Holy Emperor gave a curt reply.
That evening, Seongjin received a sudden summons from the Holy Emperor.
Rushing over in confusion, the Holy Emperor handed him a small disk-like object casually.
"Here, take it. It's Lycanslope's race key."
"Race key......"
He'd heard of that before.
Hadn't the Elder freaked out when the Holy Emperor asked for it last time?
"Most functions are locked now, but you should be able to come and go from the workshop whenever you wish. It's valuable, so take good care of it."
Seongjin stared blankly at the Holy Emperor's face, at a loss for words.
No way that old man would hand this over willingly.
Father, what on earth did you do in half a day?