Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Sightseeing for Two!
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Spear and shield.
Ducarion, standing before them, looked deep in thought.
I'd been watching from a distance. Slowly, I turned and slipped out of the sealing chamber, its seal now gone.
Arhelak was dead.
Ducarion's sword had put a period at the end of every story.
Whether it was his deathmatch with the demon or his farewell to his friends.
Outside, people were gathered.
Maria, Seo Hajin, and Kim Yang.
Maria especially was fidgeting like she might burst into tears at any moment.
"Will Sir Ducarion be okay?"
"He's already fine."
He wasn't wavering anymore.
I could faintly see the old holy knight Ducarion in him.
"He's just tying up loose ends."
"Tying up loose ends?"
"Even after saying goodbye, some things linger in the heart."
At my words, Maria peeked out again, just her head, to gaze at Deokgu. The emotion in her eyes was plain as day.
"Maria."
"Yes?"
I pulled out a business card right away.
"We find your miracle. Meracle."
"Uh... I know."
"Deokgu's going to be one of our members too."
After all this, she could spare a little cash, right?
Thwack!
Kim Yang smacked my back.
"B-Boss. The m-mood."
"Does mood buy meals?"
The tickets to get up here, the carriage fares, and even the losses from closing the office for a day—it was all massive.
If my stock charts weren't trending straight up, it wouldn't have been Arhelak bursting out, but the demon inside me.
"Looks like it's over."
I turned at Seo Hajin's words. Deokgu, emerging from the chamber, spotted us and flinched in surprise.
"Cough. You're here."
"Still coughing, huh?"
I shrugged as I asked, and Deokgu wiped his nose.
"It's the bronchi. Cough. Using holy power feels like it clears my sinuses—cough!"
"Ah?"
Holy power had that kind of effect? More versatile than I thought.
He might look unchanged at a glance, but he wasn't stuttering anymore, wasn't glancing nervously at everyone around.
Outwardly still Kim Deokgu, but something clearly different inside.
"Cough! Juseon. Thank you."
Kim Deokgu extended his hand for a shake. I smiled and took it.
"It was an honor to fight alongside a great holy knight."
"Cough. I'm not that impressive."
Maria was hopping beside us, dying to explain just how amazing Ducarion was, so I decided not to poke the bear.
"What are your plans from here?"
I let go of his hand and asked. Kim Deokgu pondered for a moment, then smiled.
"Cough! Staying on 3rd Floor Earth for now. Rajesta Continent doesn't need a holy knight named Ducarion anymore."
"Got my card? Call if your side acts up."
"Cough."
Kim Deokgu hesitated, like he had something more to say.
Then he headed straight for Seo Hajin.
"Hajin. Cough. Thanks to your push, I mustered the courage."
"No, no. Watching you... it made me think a lot too. I felt so lost after retiring from idols, but now I feel empowered."
Her beaming smile was pure idol charisma.
Facing the demon, the holy knight's holy power, and more.
She'd confronted so much, and it felt like she'd grown more mature as a person.
"So, um—cough."
Kim Deokgu steadied his breath and confessed carefully.
"Would you date me officially?"
"......?!"
"Huh, gasp!"
I was shocked, Kim Yang sucked in a breath, and the light vanished from Maria's eyes in a miracle moment.
It wasn't weird, though.
Kim Deokgu was a fan of Seo Hajin, and he'd come to Meracle in the first place hoping to match with her.
"Ah, that is—"
"......"
"Sorry. You're not my type, Deokgu."
Rejected on the spot.
"M-Me! Cough! If I lose some weight, maybe you'd—"
"I know, but that's not my type either."
Despair settled on Kim Deokgu's face.
Seo Hajin, looking apologetic, averted her eyes with effort. As if she'd ruined the grand finale of a fairy-tale happy ending.
But hey.
What could anyone do?
Saving someone and seeing them as a romantic partner were two different things.
Kim Deokgu was a bit too old for her anyway.
'Fuck, age gap hits different—guy's a crazy holy knight.'
They just weren't meant to be.
And from what I'd seen, Ducarion's fate was—
"Sir Ducarion! Over there! The cult leader's calling! Hurry!"
Maria hurriedly dragged Kim Deokgu away. Freshly rejected, he trailed after her meekly.
"They said hurry!"
"Co-, cough?!"
"Lose some weight—no, don't. First, come clean the rooms together—"
Their voices faded as they climbed the stairs.
Seo Hajin scratched her cheek.
"I didn't ruin the vibe, did I?"
"Nah. Personal tastes deserve respect."
I shrugged, comforting our client.
"Falling for your savior is kinda corny, right? Saving's saving, feelings are feelings. Ain't that right, Kim Yang?"
Signaling her to back me up, assure the client she wasn't weird—
"Baa!"
Kim Yang suddenly started headbutting my back.
The next day.
We'd parted ways with Sailos Cathedral. Now we were in a taxi Seo Hajin had called separately, heading to a city near the Tower.
Kim Deokgu was coming down to the 3rd Floor later with Maria.
In the speeding car, Seo Hajin smiled at us through the rearview mirror from the passenger seat.
"Too bad the Tower elevator schedules don't line up. If we went down together, I'd treat you to a meal."
"Nah, dropping us at the city is plenty."
A black sedan racing along Rajesta Continent roads.
Unlike the Old Martial World, Rajesta had embraced various bits of 3rd Floor Earth culture.
Vehicles were one of them.
Of course, one ride cost enough for at least a hundred carriage trips. And top speed was capped at 30 kph.
Still, it was way comfier than a jolting carriage.
"Silla make, huh."
"You into cars?"
"Got some Silla car stocks."
"......"
Silla cars—trusted and true.
Didn't realize they exported all the way to the 4th Floor.
As I inspected it curiously, the dwarf driver chuckled.
"Ho ho! Big car fan, eh? Way different from what you see on the 3rd Floor."
"Yeah, sure is."
If I had to pick the most unique feature, it was the driver's seat height.
High like a big rig's wheel, complete with steps, accelerator and brake at knee level for a human.
Looked built solely for dwarves.
"Vehicles coming to the 4th Floor basically have assigned drivers. Super rare, and not many dwarves can drive 'em anyway."
"Gotta be dwarves?"
"Machinery's our specialty."
So only specific contracted companies—and few at that—could bring vehicles to the continent.
'Way more precious than I thought.'
I nodded, already planning to buy more Silla car stock when I got home.
"B-Boss."
Kim Yang tugged my collar and whispered.
"Th-that guy. Sm-smells like booze."
"......?"
I wondered what she meant.
Then I leaned in and sniffed—faint beer scent.
I'd assumed it was just dwarf musk.
"Um... have you been drinking?"
I asked just in case, and the dwarf bellowed with laughter.
"Always knock back one before a drive."
What kind of maniac—
Seo Hajin flinched and gripped the handle. Kim Yang clung tighter to me, radiating anxiety.
"How can you drive after drinking?"
"Telling a dwarf to work sober's the real stretch, miss."
"What if there's an accident?"
"Worst case, we crash like a carriage. Car's tough—we won't die."
Rajesta Continent could use some basic vehicle safety education.
"Drive safe, then."
"B-bye."
"......"
Me and Kim Yang waved to Seo Hajin, left alone in that insane taxi since we couldn't get out due to our booking times.
The city where we got off was Gratia Bell.
The closest settlement to the Tower on Rajesta Continent. It had sprung up naturally as people gathered nearby after the Tower appeared.
Roads were a messy tangle, residential and commercial areas all mixed—no clear divisions, pretty chaotic.
Rajesta Continent turf, but a unique melting pot of cultures.
I'd been here a few times before and even run some promotions, so no worries about getting lost.
"Ugh! How much time we got left?"
"S-six hours."
"Sigh. Should've booked something faster."
Never figured we'd use taxi service, leaving this awkward gap.
I stretched with a big yawn, twisting my body every which way.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The white bell at the heart of Gratia Bell rang out fiercely.
Lunchtime signal.
People were already bustling everywhere, hunting down spots to claim today's lunch.
"We're here—wanna hit up some BBQ after so long? There's a place with a 6th Floor smoker."
"B-BBQ? N-no thanks. T-too heavy."
"Come on, nothing to do for six hours. Gotta eat hearty."
Kim Yang pouted and shot me a glare.
"B-Boss. N-nope. Eat l-light. Sn-snack around."
"What snacks? Money burning holes? It's seriously good."
"C-come on. G-give in."
"Nah, I'm the boss."
She followed along with a grumpy glare in the end. The BBQ joint was packed, as expected.
They changed the daily meat every day. Last time, the pork BBQ melted in my mouth.
Already a long line snaking out.
But worth the wait.
"We got time to burn anyway, right?"
"W-waste. H-hate waiting."
"You call yourself an influencer and can't handle a food line?"
"D-do it all the t-time."
"Then why not?"
"On-only six hours—sigh, f-fine. I-idiot."
She glanced around as she said it. Looked like she wanted to tourist for those six hours.
"Eat first, then explore. Hey, this is a business trip—expenses on me."
The line started shrinking bit by bit. As we neared the shop, the sign for today's meat came into view.
"Can't make out what it says."
I could kinda understand 4th Floor speech, but reading? Nope.
I fired up the phone translator and snapped a pic.
[Mutton]
"......"
"......"
Kim Yang peeked at my phone and glared daggers right away.
"R-real. W-wanna die?"
"......You pick what you wanna eat."
Of all days, mutton.