Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Three Peaches (4)
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"...This is what Lady Little Heavenly Demon bought for you?"
Jin Sahyang doubted her ears.
The countless adult magazines in her hand.
If that diligent and handsome man had really given these magazines to Hwangdo, it would be truly astonishing.
These were all magazines filled with niche tastes that no one without perverse hobbies could buy.
"For real?"
Just to be sure, she asked again, but Hwangdo nodded as if she'd seen something ridiculous.
"That's what I'm telling you."
"That man bought you SM stuff... and bestiality... and gave them as gifts?"
"Yeah."
Such vulgar lust.
To give such gifts to a child like this, of all people.
Sahyang was shocked.
The Little Heavenly Demon, rumored to be upright and just. She'd glimpsed the dark side of that man.
'Could the reason he suddenly became the Heavenly Demon's disciple be to realize a paradise of lust in the Peach Blossom Paradise?'
A chill ran down her spine, and Sahyang rubbed her goosebump-covered arms.
"Sahyang. It's not like Brother just gave them to me. I asked him to buy them for me."
"You asked him to buy you dirty magazines, and he did it without hesitation? That's even weirder!"
Hwangdo belatedly tried to defend the Little Heavenly Demon, but it was too late.
Hwangdo's popularity in the Peach Blossom Paradise was unrivaled.
Always smiling brightly, quick to grant favors—a little fairy no one would guess was the child of the Heavenly Demon.
A kid who could live off her looks alone; a hundred out of a hundred would nod in agreement.
She looked so innocent that even when helping at the inn, she got more treats than the customers ate herself.
Child actors in outside dramas? They couldn't hold a candle to Hwangdo.
As someone obsessed with outside culture, Sahyang was confident in that assessment.
'No normal man would just buy dirty magazines for a kid like this.'
Of course, Hwangdo was a serious pervert herself.
It was true she had a natural interest in sex.
Still, the one who'd dumped that lewd info on her wasn't normal either, but as her senior, she felt responsible.
'What do I do? I don't have the right to say anything to him anyway. I don't have the power.'
Even amid all this.
Hwangdo was burying her face in the magazine, savoring every line of dialogue.
Watching her, Sahyang had a thought.
"...Birds of a feather, huh?"
Pervert with pervert.
"Sahyang? What'd you say?"
"Nothing, nothing."
Hwangdo tilted her head with her usual innocent expression.
Her pale face glowed under the lamplight, catching Sahyang's eye.
Long eyelashes framing sunset-colored irises.
Up close, she exuded the unique fragrance of peaches with every breath.
"You're so cute it's annoying."
"Everyone always says that to me. You're pretty too, Sahyang."
If I were pretty, you'd be entering beauty contests by now.
Her reckless humility stabbed at the heart.
Sahyang wiped the tears from her eyes and focused on the magazine, whatever happened, happened.
"Yeah... To live with a kid like you, that man can't be normal either."
Whether the Little Heavenly Demon had his eye on Hwangdo or just treated her like a little sister, she didn't know.
Still, the Little Heavenly Demon was handsome too, so even if they were both perverts, they made a decent pair.
Age gaps weren't a big deal in the Peach Blossom Paradise.
Customs of betrothals between forties and teens lingered here and even outside.
"Since it's come to this, go for it."
"Huh?"
"You like that Brother guy, right? Husband material? Something like that?"
Hwangdo's eyes widened round before she giggled.
"Sahyang! You have to choose a marriage partner carefully!"
"..."
"Just bumping bodies and falling in love right away? That's not even in modern outside comics anymore. You have to date for years to know~!"
Hwangdo declared it confidently.
Sahyang stared blankly at the little pervert, then swallowed her words with a scoff.
Little fairy or whatever—those were just labels from people who only knew her surface.
Sahyang knew all her shady inner thoughts.
"You, choosing a marriage partner carefully?"
"Yeah~ Of course!"
Ha.
It was absurd.
*****
I had a dream after a long time.
Since that day, I'd only had nightmares whenever I slept, so I hadn't slept for over a month. My head hurt, and I dozed off.
I naturally assumed it was the usual nightmare, but it wasn't.
"Fuck."
My body was damp, as if I'd just done the deed.
I scowled at the discomfort in my lower half.
[...It's a physiological phenomenon. As the successor to the Mokryeong King, it's natural for you to have that much vigor.]
The World Tree of Time's hurried explanation sounded flustered.
Right. Mokryeong King in the saddle position.
That unrelated king's traits always ruined my mood.
'That's one thing. The Lewd Demon trait is the real problem.'
[Lewd Demon... Ah, you mean the trait.]
I rubbed my sweat-soaked face with my hands.
The tension of over a month dissolved powerlessly.
-Knock knock.
An untimely knock.
-Dowon, here for work.
Hong Yeon's voice came from beyond the door.
"Work should've been done for the day?"
-Something didn't go smoothly... I tried handling it myself to avoid bothering you, but there's a part only you know.
"At this hour?"
-You don't sleep anyway, right?
I do have to work.
I grabbed some clothes nearby and flung the door open.
Hong Yeon was still in her work attire, as if she'd been reviewing documents until just now.
"Wait, I'll wash up."
"Now? It won't take long, though?"
She must've noticed the smell filling the room; her trailing words faltered.
"...What."
"Why are you blushing? Move, I need to wash."
"Y-You aren't embarrassed at all?"
Yeah, aside from the discomfort, I felt nothing.
Right now, I just wanted to wash somehow.
"Wait in the usual work room. I'll be quick."
"O-Okay."
I headed straight to the bath behind the stammering Hong Yeon.
-Slide.
I undressed in the changing room, washed my body, then soaked in the tub.
At first, I couldn't use the tub without heating it myself, but after deciding to use magical items imported from outside, I could bathe even at night like this.
-Splash.
Raising my hand, droplets trailed from my arm to the water's surface.
It felt like I'd rented out a public bath.
Back then, I might've burst into song uncontrollably, but for some reason, I wasn't in the mood.
I raised my hand toward the moon.
'Still like this.'
My hand trembled faintly.
It stopped near Cheondo, Hwangdo, or Baekdo, but started again away from the kids.
It wasn't a big deal, so I let it be, but maybe I should see a doctor later.
For now, I decided not to worry.
I submerged my hand fully and asked the World Tree.
'World Tree.'
[Yes.]
'You seemed to know about the Lewd Demon earlier. Know anything about husband candidates?'
[Husband candidates...? I know about World Tree husbands.]
She knew about traits too, and as a World Tree herself, she couldn't not know.
I washed my face with the hot water. Fatigue slowly melted away.
[Curious?]
'Tell me everything you know. I'm a husband candidate too, after all.'
[A World Tree's husband... Nominally a husband, yes. Like a married couple, bound to support each other for life.]
Probably nominal forever.
Some World Trees even wished for their fiancés' deaths, like with me.
[That's why the status window and system exist. To elevate the World Tree's husband to a similar level. Of course, that's just in name too.]
'Hiding something?'
[Well... Yes, I should tell you. Strictly speaking, the World Tree's husband is her spare life.]
Spare life?
[Like a battery for an electronic device—easy to understand?]
I got it immediately.
The reason the world creates husband candidates and grows their power is all to extend the World Tree's lifespan.
The World Tree of Time silently affirmed my question.
[Absorbing mana from the earth via roots is less efficient than absorbing someone who's reached a high realm. Of course, unrelated to this role, there were World Trees with genuine love too.]
'Cut the end—pure bastards.'
[No. It's a symbiotic system between World Tree and human.]
'Without telling the husbands they're sacrificed for the World Tree's life?']
[Telling them is the principle. But now... it seems not.]
They didn't tell.
Maybe just my case.
'Fine for husbands, but what about candidates?'
[I don't know about candidates. The system might've changed while I was away.]
'...Yeah?'
She knows about husbands, status windows, and systems. But not candidates.
Such an old tree, I get it.
Being treated as spare life—my resentment was so deep, I felt nothing now.
With guys trying to kill me already, it didn't change much.
'So, the status window is made by World Trees?'
[Yes. A power to check one's abilities directly. And a means to bestow power.]
'Bestow power... What if the status window breaks?'
[You lose that power, naturally.]
That's weird.
When I severed mine, I didn't lose power—in fact, I wielded it more freely.
Did the system change during that blank period?
[No, in your case... It could be a constitution issue.]
'Constitution?'
[Something caused the status window's power to be fully absorbed into you.]
The World Tree of Time pierced my thoughts and denied it immediately.
I knew from experience, but didn't expect confirmation.
The trigger was probably Purgatory. That must be it.
This ignorant guy figured out a lot.
"Thanks."
[...You're welcome.]
I got out of the tub, dried off, and changed.
'Still not enough.'
Even with the Mokryeong King's vessel, my foundation rested on talents from the World Tree.
And if World Trees laid that foundation, their true power must be vastly greater.
Not all, but at least some had god-like abilities worshipped as deities.
How should a guy like me grow stronger?
Naturally, dictated by the king's power.
*****
"Work keeps piling up."
Hong Yeon sifted through personnel transfer documents, stroking her red hair pinned with a hairpin.
Dark circles down to her cheeks.
Documents accumulating more by the day.
Thanks to reforms led by the Little Heavenly Demon's authority, the Peach Blossom Paradise's lifestyle was gradually modernizing.
The magical tools available at the top alone showed the change.
Of course, such radical shifts inevitably increased Hong Yeon's workload.
From her position, it was more than welcome.
She'd risk her life for the Paradise without hesitation.
"This is almost done too."
She sorted documents and eyed the next.
-Slide.
The door opened then. Startled, Hong Yeon dropped her papers.
A fluttering sheet fell limply on the desk.
"...All washed?"
The night's events had shocked her too.
The Little Heavenly Demon Dowon, sloppy in personality but thorough in work—that made the shock bigger.
The Little Heavenly Demon scratched his still-damp hair, glanced at Hong Yeon, and replied indifferently.
"Yeah."
Damn moody bastard.
Hong Yeon frowned but inwardly thanked the man who'd come all this way.
A truly broken personality would've ignored the dawn summons or punched her on the spot.
"Anyway, question on this document. Isn't this your department?"
Hong Yeon handed him the papers.
A list of new workers this month.
At the bottom of the list. An unfamiliar name, 'Cheondo,' that Hong Yeon didn't recognize, listed as a new worker.