God of the Sea (3)
God of the Sea (3)
[What do you mean by that?]
"No. It's just... from what I heard from Bia, you guys are a bit. You know?"
[Ah. Ahem! It seems there's been some misunderstanding. Perhaps that woman Bia exaggerated a bit.]
Doesn't look like it at all...
Besides, I didn't actually hear it from Bia; I heard it from Yoo Da-eun.
Considering the ability she possesses, it's obvious who's lying.
When our eyes met, Poseidon avoided my gaze, probably because he had a guilty conscience.
Figures.
Anyway, the situation has become delicate.
Just a moment ago, it was a situation where we were about to clash, and it wouldn't have been strange if one of us had died, but the atmosphere cooled down instantly when Park Gwang showed up.
It's awkward to try and get back into fighting mode now, but backing down like this hurts our pride.
This is all Poseidon's fault.
Making a move on Shin Su-ah for no reason and creating this situation.
Thinking about it again makes me angry.
I wonder if he'd just take a hit nicely.
Even though I only thought it, Poseidon must have sensed something from my murderous glare, as he took a step back.
[Hmm. I didn't expect you to know my son.]
"So. You're just going to back down? What about that precious love of yours?"
[Of course, it's a shame to let go of a love I've met again after such a long time, but...]
For a moment, Poseidon's eyes, directed at Shin Su-ah, were dripping with lingering attachment.
[But if you ask if I must obtain it even at the cost of clashing with you, that's another...]
"How is that love?"
It's annoying how he was spouting nonsense about love just a moment ago, and now he's acting as if he's come to his senses.
It's also annoying that he talks about love while having 'wives' and 'children'.
Is love a joke?
Some of us have been single for thousands, tens of thousands of years.
Ahem!
Some personal feelings just surfaced.
Still, if I had clashed with Poseidon, the surrounding sea would have been turned upside down, and it would have been chaos, so I suppose I should be relieved.
Regardless of my feelings.
"I'm leaving."
I killed all the monsters, and the Gate is closed, so staying here any longer would only lead to a clash with Poseidon.
Perhaps he knows that well, as he didn't try to stop me.
He just turned his body to talk to Park Gwang, whom he seemed to have met after a long time.
I gathered my party and came down to the island, which was now in pieces and not much remained.
As I landed on the island, Shin Su-ah caught my eye for no reason.
She certainly has a beautiful appearance by human standards, but is she really worth Poseidon's obsession?
"Nidhogg-nim? Why are you staring like that?"
Shin Su-ah, feeling my gaze, tilted her head and asked.
I shook my head to mean it was nothing and took care of Haeryeong.
Perhaps because so many things happened past the time we should have returned, Haeryeong was dozing off in Baek Yeon's arms even amidst all this chaos.
Perhaps because Baek Yeon became Dragon-kin by accepting my power, Haeryeong usually stayed in Baek Yeon's arms when I wasn't around.
When I put Haeryeong on my back in my smaller form, she didn't even wake up, seemingly happy about something, and slept while drooling, clinging to my back.
"Can I hear what happened?"
Baek Yeon adjusted Haeryeong's position on my back and asked, pointing at Poseidon and Park Gwang, who were talking over there.
However, I shook my head at her question.
It was too private a relationship to tell her about.
Still, if I had to say something...
"It's a similar relationship to ours."
"Ah. I see. I never expected Park Gwang to be involved with a being from another world."
Baek Yeon, who quickly inferred the situation from just that.
I wonder if she didn't infer that they were father and son, even though they are adoptive.
No, if she had inferred that much from just hearing that, it would have been scary.
I left the island with the two of them and sent a message using magic to Linnea, who was still on the ship.
[You follow on your own. And report everything that happened when you arrive.]
There's no need to give a ride to someone who can fly without help.
And I don't want to go near them again.
I confirmed Linnea nodded and flew towards Busan.
Still, is this one thing resolved?
So many things really happened.
I should go back and get some good rest...
"Fuck."
"Nidhogg-nim. Haeryeong is listening."
"Right. My bad."
A few days after returning from resolving various things.
Once the Fiend's base was resolved, there was no more work for me to do.
The rest was something Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon could easily handle with their power and abilities.
On top of that, the moment Park Gwang, the deputy branch manager, stepped up to help fully, rooting out and catching the brainwashed ones was nothing.
When I returned to the house we used as a temporary base, I thought I'd leave the rest to the kids and enjoy Busan, but that thought was only half fulfilled.
As mentioned earlier, the kids handled all the work.
Then what's the problem?
The problem was that I used too much power to resolve this incident.
It hadn't been long since my muscle pain disappeared, but as a price for using so much power, the muscle pain recurred.
Thanks to that, I had to just receive nursing from Haeryeong while the kids handled the work.
Still, this time I was able to recover from the muscle pain earlier than last time.
It's thanks to Shin Su-ah, who brought back lots of good things for the body every time she returned from work.
When Shin Su-ah first brought things like elixirs good for the body, I thought she had obtained them through the Association or the guild, thinking of me being sick.
When she brought a bunch of similar things on the second day, I thought she had raided a Gate where some fortuitous encounter was sleeping.
When she brought them on the third day too, I started to feel something was strange and asked Shin Su-ah where she got them.
But the only answer that came back was an awkward smile.
And when she brought them on the fourth day, I skipped Shin Su-ah and asked Baek Yeon, and I was able to hear what happened.
According to her, the one who gave all those things was none other than Park Gwang.
When they went to the Association to root out the brainwashed employees, Park Gwang appeared as if he had been waiting and gave them a full bundle without saying a word.
When Park Gwang first handed over the bundle, I thought it was compensation for this incident, but since it has been repeated for several days, there is a funny rumor circulating inside the Association.
The rumor that it's Park Gwang's gift offensive because he fell for Shin Su-ah.
But as soon as I heard that, I immediately knew who gave all those elixirs.
'Poseidon. That guy gave them.'
Even though Park Gwang is the deputy branch manager, there's no way he could obtain that many elixirs, and no reason to give them.
On the other hand, Poseidon, having the entire Pacific Ocean as his domain, could obtain such elixirs, and he has a reason to give them as a gift to Shin Su-ah.
He was overflowing with lingering attachment until the end, so it seems he didn't give up after all.
When I found out it was from Poseidon, I thought about what to do with it, but decided to just eat it like before.
In my view, it's a love that will never come true, but what can I do if he wants to try to win her favor like this?
Besides, thanks to that, my recovery sped up, so there's nothing bad about it.
Thanks to consistently taking Poseidon's gifts, the recovery was even faster than last time.
When I fully shook off the muscle pain and got up, only 5 days had passed since the incident was resolved.
It was a whopping two days less than last time.
This is all thanks to Poseidon.
In the meantime, the rumors circulating in the Association grew even larger, causing both Park Gwang and Shin Su-ah to writhe in embarrassment, but that's none of my business.
By the time I recovered, the rooting out of brainwashed Association employees and the disposal of the numerous monster corpses floating in the sea were mostly finished, so I could enjoy the sea in earnest.
Even though it might have been boring, I spent time taking Haeryeong, who had stayed by my side and nursed me until now, to the sea, and going around looking for famous restaurants.
People were terrified and avoided me, a full dragon, and Haeryeong, who had dragon horns on her head, but since Haeryeong was still burdened by people's gazes and I had no desire to be treated like a zoo monkey, it was actually more comfortable to enjoy it with fewer people.
A few days of enjoying Busan like that.
Finally, Shin Su-ah and Baek Yeon's work was finished.
Linnea? She joined between me and Haeryeong after the work had progressed to some extent and enjoyed a vacation.
I wanted to let the two who finished their work rest for a few days, but they were actually preparing to return in a hurry.
According to Baek Yeon, she said they had to go back because it seemed like they should flip over not just Seoul and Busan but other branches as well at this opportunity, and in Shin Su-ah's case...
"If I stay here any longer, I won't be able to show my face because I'm so embarrassed! More and more people at the Association are looking at me strangely, and Park Gwang-ssi's eyes are slowly dying!"
That's right.
Park Gwang's appearance of delivering gifts every time he went to the Association for over a week had become too much of a rumor.
In the end, we didn't rest anymore at their request and returned straight to Seoul.
Park Gwang, who came to see off our party leaving for Seoul, brought a bundle full of elixirs again today.
And while loading the bundle of elixirs into the trunk, he said with dead eyes.
"Thank you..."
"No. You've worked hard."
His back, moving away after dropping his dialect and bowing his head, looked smaller than when we first met.
Since there was nothing particular to say, we left Park Gwang behind and departed for Seoul, and we were able to arrive in Seoul before long.
Home is best, after all.