Chapter 518: Michael
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 518: Michael
To get straight to the point, I decided to accept his proposal for now. Of course, there was some opposition, but once I made it clear that I had little interest in Seraphim, those complaints quickly died down.
Simply put, we decided to become a show-window couple.
A big part of why they allowed it was their thinking that I wouldn't listen even if they tried to stop me, but another major factor was that they had accepted Michael as a brother. Having spent time with my brothers, the others, including Choi Seulgi and Jung Hayeon, had often joined our gatherings. They had come to understand him. Funnily enough, Michael seemed a little uncomfortable around Baek Ahyeon; you could see him flinch whenever she stealthily reached out a hand.
There were many reasons, but the biggest was probably the fact that I hadn't been meeting with Seraphim.
While they were in the Temple City, I intentionally avoided her.
We would have meals or tea together, but I did my best to avoid deep conversations or spending too much time with her.
It wasn't so much that I was worried about what my wives would think; I simply felt no particular interest.
“Hehe… Th-thank you, Lord Blood Dagger.”
“You are welcome.”
In preparation for the coming battles, I immediately summoned Lee Wanyong to the Temple City, while also informing Jang Ye Ri and Mev of the news.
It was only natural to intentionally avoid announcing it to Green Skin society, but I felt Mev personally needed to know. The truth is, Green Skin society has no wedding culture.
They pair up, have children, and spend a long time together. If they tacitly decide to be partners, that is a marriage. Naturally, I had never held a wedding ceremony with anyone. I didn't have the time, and I didn't think it was necessary. But of course, the women seemed to think differently. As soon as they learned that a wedding was a way to publicly announce that a man and woman were together, Mev grew anxious, and Jang Ye Ri became furious.
‘Publicly… announce?! What about! What about me?!’
‘A wedding… yes… a wedding… You say you’re holding a wedding, my mate.’
The reason was that my first wedding ceremony would be with a pigeon.
I tried to explain that it was just a simple ceremony and that there would be no other contact, but they were adamant. Even when I told them it wouldn't be announced across the continent, only in the East, their agitation didn't subside. In the end, I had to promise to hold ceremonies with all the others later, but it felt like I had just dug my own grave.
“This will be necessary for both you, Lord Blood Dagger, and for the pigeon Seraphim. Hehe.”
“I see.”
“Nothing else matters. What’s important for now is that you two have decided to be together. It means you, Lord Blood Dagger, will be able to exert influence over Agape.”
As expected, bringing Lee Wanyong here was a stroke of genius.
As if he were a retirement planner or financial advisor, I had no sooner tasked him with planning for everything that would happen after the ceremony than he returned with a massive report, astonishing everyone once again.
‘Fucking useful.’
I remember Choi Seulgi muttering that line again.
As for me, my days had fallen into a routine.
I would drink with Michael, Goff, Black Spear, and Broken Bow, and we’d talk about various things. With the sudden addition of a new brother, Broken Bow delayed his return to the North, and both Goff and Black Spear canceled all their appointments.
Their reasoning was that since they’d met so late in life, they needed more time to deepen their friendship.
“Are you perhaps going out again today? Hehe.”
“I don’t think I’ll be going to the Brother’s Land.”
“You will need to spend some time with Seraphim as well, Lord Blood Dagger.”
“……”
“It may be uncomfortable, but you need to create evidence that you’ve spent time together. I’ve heard that Seraphim like her are extremely rare, and they are held in awe by the other angels. There is a reason to establish that you have some level of intimacy before the wedding. Of course, it’s also necessary to show that you, as her fiancé, are doing a great deal for her.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Y-yes. It is. She is also affected by public perception. The more time you spend together, the more it benefits both of you. Agape will likely view you spending time with her very positively. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s not without its influence.”
He was talking about the lust I possessed. I wasn't foolish enough not to use what I had, but this ability wasn't very effective without Isaac. Their passive effects were probably similar. Not overwhelmingly powerful, but the kind of ability that exerts a moderate influence.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Yes. Hehe. If… if it’s uncomfortable, I will think of another way.”
“No, I’ll do as you say.”
“Th-thank you.”
The man was right. Spending a reasonable amount of time with her was a necessary act. Just as I gave a satisfied nod, there was a knock on the door.
“You may enter.”
The unexpected visitor was Michael. I wondered if he’d been too drunk yesterday to hear what I’d said. I let out a small laugh and spoke.
“Didn’t you get the message that I wasn’t going to the Brother’s Land today?”
“I know. I just came because something came up. Have I interrupted? It seems I came at a bad time.”
“Not at all. The timing was just right. Let’s go outside.”
The quick-witted Lee Wanyong gave a bow before hastily gathering his documents and leaving. No matter how many times I saw it, his perceptiveness was top-notch.
I glanced over at Michael. He looked the same as always. I was curious why he would go out of his way to find me right when I was planning to take a break from our days-long drinking binge to catch up on work.
“First, thank you for accepting my selfish request.”
“How sudden.”
“It’s just something I wanted to say.”
“There’s no need to thank me. I’m a selfish Green Skin, and I only did it because I thought it would benefit me.”
“So it wasn’t for my sake.”
“I can’t say that was completely absent. Puhat. So, is there something you wanted to say?”
“It’s not that. Something has come up that requires me to return to my homeland for a short while. I expect to be gone for some time, so I’m telling you in advance.”
“Is there a particular reason?”
“……”
“……”
“I’m going to bring my daughter. It may be a selfish reason, but it is your wedding, after all.”
“It’s not exactly something that needs celebrating. I had a hard enough time stopping Goff and Black Spear from coming… I’d rather scale it down, but it seems the pigeon’s side doesn’t want that. They want it to be as grand as possible, so honestly, I feel pressured on my end, too.”
“That word ‘pigeon’ is never pleasant to hear. This may be a small matter to you, but for me, the fate of my race is on the line. I want my daughter to see you.”
It was a new kind of selfish demand, but I couldn't say I didn't understand. From his perspective, this whole affair must have been a gamble. He said he trusted me, but there was no guarantee things would work out.
It was only natural for him to feel a sense of profound significance.
From my perspective, the idea that my ceremony with Seraphim would change so much was a negative, but after hearing Lee Wanyong, that wasn't necessarily the case. A political battle for the sake of proselytizing didn't suit me, but for someone who lived by the values of religion and salvation, it might have held great meaning.
In a way, this was his decisive battle. His desire to show all of this to his daughter was surely genuine.
“Before…”
“Before.”
“We spoke of honor. Black Spear mentioned it.”
“Yes. I remember.”
“You all said I was honorable for tearing off my own wings… but thinking about it, I don’t think that was quite right.”
“What do you mean?”
His expression looked quite complicated.
“Literally, that it wasn’t an honorable act. I thought back on that time. When I think about it, I wasn’t trying to take responsibility. I think I was simply running away. I was just trying to distance myself from my sin.”
“……”
“To die fighting the strong, to sacrifice yourself for a brother… I may never be able to understand you. I find value in making others happy. Of course, it must be difficult for you to understand me as well.”
“I agree.”
“However, I feel like I can understand, just a little, what you all are saying. Abandoning myself was not honorable. Tearing my wings was not an honorable act. Carrying the responsibility was the honorable act. Shouldering the burden was the honorable act.”
“It’s all a matter of perspective.”
“It took me a very long time to realize it. To understand something so simple, a truly long time has passed.”
He closed his eyes for a moment.
At the same time, holy power began to erupt from Michael’s body. Sprouting from his back were twelve wings, the same number as Seraphim.
“A Seraphim…”
Beyond the sheer scale of his holy power, I could see at a glance that much had changed.
‘He’s strong.’
He was strong. Stronger than I had thought. It seemed it wasn't a lie that power resided in the wings. Just as we evolved, he had become a different person in an instant.
He possessed martial strength comparable to, or even greater than, my brothers. It suddenly seemed ridiculous that I had let my guard down so completely in front of someone like him. If he had wanted to, he could have targeted me.
“……”
“I’m sorry for placing this burden on you.”
“There’s no need to be sorry.”
“I, too, shall shoulder the burden. A load that is heavy for one becomes light when carried together.”
“How cheesy.”
“I knew you’d say that.”
Michael slowly began to rise into the air. A light wind blew, perhaps from the flapping of his wings.
“I told you that I trust you. And that fact has not changed.”
“……”
“I hope you won’t hate my race too much.”
“If it weren’t for you, I might have hated them a little. To be honest, I would never have accepted such foolish conditions. You might even regret saying that. Now that it’s started, I won’t be going easy on this religious war you speak of.”
“I believe in you.”
“It’s too late to pretty things up now. There’s no turning back. Puhat. The bowstring has already been pulled. It’s no use regretting it later.”
Of course, I was joking. At first, he couldn't get used to these kinds of jokes, but now, after some time had passed, he seemed to realize I was kidding. I saw the corners of his mouth slowly turn up.
“Will you be back before the wedding?”
“I will be back before then.”
I nodded.
“See you again, brother.”
“Of course.”
It was the first time he had called me brother. Just as I opened my mouth to tease him about it, he vanished from my sight in an instant.
“Fucking fast, that son of a bitch. Pretending to be weak was all a lie.”
It wasn't a bad feeling.
However,
The day I would see him again never came.