Persuasion (1)
Persuasion (1)
I tested my arms as if stretching.
They responded better than before.
It felt like oiling a machine.
'A body saturated with vitality energy definitely runs more smoothly. I'm a living being, after all—of course my body would be more active when it holds that energy.'
That was one reason Taesan manifestors' physical abilities were notoriously monstrous.
With their bodies brimming with vitality energy, they had no choice but to be physically hyperactive.
That also made any Taesan manifestor above a certain threshold astonishingly hard to kill.
At Lee Ji-yeon's level, she could probably recover naturally even with her head barely attached, as long as she held it in place.
And if she consciously focused on healing, the speed would more than double.
'Hmm...'
I tilted my head slightly as I rubbed my shoulder, a curious thought settling in.
There was a question that nagged at me whenever I thought about vitality energy.
Even now, after I'd achieved perception of vitality energy, Lee Ji-yeon was still infusing me with it.
More vitality energy kept forcing its way into a body already supposedly full of it.
Whenever I tried to observe precisely where all that energy was going, the trail disappeared—as if swallowed by a dark void.
It was a completely inexplicable phenomenon.
"Um... junior. Excuse me for a moment."
Just then, Lee Ji-yeon abruptly reached out and lifted my right wrist.
"It isn't... hurting or anything, is it?"
With a deeply worried expression, she gently stroked my wrist.
Ah, that was why. The wrist she'd yanked forcefully earlier.
She seemed anxious that she might have injured it.
[No]
[It doesn't hurt]
I shook my head to reassure her.
My own physical abilities were just as monstrous.
Something at this level wasn't going to leave a bruise.
"I'm glad. I got a bit emotional earlier and acted too roughly. I'm really sorry."
At my words, Lee Ji-yeon gave a soft smile, looking genuinely relieved.
I chewed on my lip for a second, then nodded.
'...Did something change?'
She was a little different from the doormat Lee Ji-yeon of earlier.
How to put it—it felt more like I was facing a side of her I'd only seen in the original story, rather than the doormat Lee Ji-yeon I'd dealt with in person.
'The original Lee Ji-yeon... did have her doormat side, but she was also a reliable figure you could lean on.'
She was a leader who used Taesan to hold the front line for her party and looked after everyone's mental well-being.
She might not possess the unprecedented output of Hong Yeon-hwa or Baek A-rin, or her mother, but she stood out for the extreme proficiency with which she led her party.
Even in the 1st Iteration, simply having Lee Ji-yeon in the party significantly lightened the player's psychological burden.
A character who, true to her name, supported the party as solidly as Taesan itself.
[Hmm...]
[Shall we go in now?]
"Ah, yes."
Lee Ji-yeon, who'd been stroking my wrist for a while, turned to step away-
-still holding onto my wrist.
The gesture, like an adult keeping a small child from wandering off, brought my feet to an involuntary halt.
"Hm? What's the matter?"
Lee Ji-yeon glanced back at where I stood frozen, tilting her head.
She didn't seem to realize what the issue was.
[Uh... no, it's nothing]
I was a bit speechless, but I shook my head with a noncommittal air.
Lee Ji-yeon blinked, then resumed walking.
Now that I thought about it, the attitude of the people around me lately was remarkably consistent.
I had very complicated feelings about being handled like a toddler standing next to a riverbank.
'Of course, my mental maturity is also that of a brat, and it's not like I completely hate being treated that way, but...'
It somehow felt like a shred of my dignity was crumbling... so my emotions were complicated.
Anyway, I was being led toward the mansion by the wrist by Lee Ji-yeon when-
- How about everyone start heading home soon? Lunchtime's already well past, and don't you have lectures to prepare for next week?
- Ehh. What if I'm living here now?
- Bullshit, who said you could just move in? You've been fed, so get the hell out.
- Who said? Got permission from the owner here yesterday~ I'm a proper resident now, you know? Ah! Did our Yeon-hwa miss that while she was passed out drunk?
- The fuck?
[Huk]
- I don't have any lectures to teach, so I've nothing to prepare. No—rather, since I must see to my disciple's training, it would be better if I stayed close.
- What is this lunatic saying? What era do you think this is, that master and disciple share a house?
- I received permission some time ago. I don't remember exactly when... but I clearly heard it from my disciple's own mouth. 'Later, when I buy a house, Master can come live together with me too!'... is what was said.
- ...That. Is obviously lip service. You know how kind a child Ha-yul is—he wouldn't exactly tell an old hag to her face that she isn't welcome.
- It also happened that the training facilities in the mansion were outstanding. Half-baked ones are worse than useless, but at this level of quality, I can actively make use of them.
- You crazy bitch, do you not understand human speech? Get the hell outside, dammit.
[Huk...]
- ...Professor Liana Bellus? Don't you have lectures to teach? In the spirit arts field?
- Ah, ahaha... the facilities here are just so good... The grounds are lovely for spirits to stay in, and there's a research lab on the east wing! As expected of facilities once used by the Headmaster personally, every single thing is of incredible quality!
- This one's a crazy bitch too, isn't she?
- Um... I, too, received permission yesterday. 'No, don't go, please stay with me...'
[Huk...]
- I was permitted from the very start, Yeon-hwa.
- ...I know.
Right before opening the door.
My body went rigid at the voices coming from inside.
Baek A-rin... somehow, I'd granted it.
I'd been drunk and, while pat-patting her bottom and calling her "Baek Ha-yul" or whatever, I'd carelessly agreed to what she asked.
Master... did I? I searched my memory.
I remembered.
It was a memory from a good while ago.
I remembered saying, with a beaming smile, that we should live together, after she'd told me she'd be truly sad once I later left her side and wandered about.
Professor Liana... when had I done that?
I dredged up a memory I'd rather not recall.
I remembered.
When Professor Liana said she shouldn't be doing this, that it was time for her to go, I'd buried my face in her embrace and rubbed it all over, acting spoiled and telling her not to leave...
"Junior?"
Lee Ji-yeon turned back to me, tilting her head.
- Shake shake.
I resisted the hand tugging at me, shaking my head firmly from side to side.
I felt like I really shouldn't go in right now.
Of course, my desire to rush in, look Hong Yeon-hwa in the eye, and cling to her was burning fiercely.
But right at this moment, stepping inside felt like a terrible idea...
- ...Ha-yul. I can feel you perfectly well in front of the door. Come in quickly.
[Heok...]
A voice sounded from inside.
The seething force behind it, like a furiously boiling volcano, made my shoulders flinch hard.
- Good boy. Quickly.
Now that I thought about it, that discreet presence had expanded while I was being pumped full of vitality energy.
And I hadn't made any effort to hide my own presence...
My face went white.
[Se-senior...]
"H-huh? Yes?"
With a trembling hand, I tugged on Lee Ji-yeon's arm and turned my head toward her.
She'd apparently heard the voices from inside too; she was looking at me with a slightly daunted expression.
[He-help...]
The Confession Necklace clicked.
A rather desperate voice sounded quietly from it.
If this were the usual Lee Ji-yeon I might not count on it, but the forceful and reliable Lee Ji-yeon I'd just seen would surely be able to help...
She called me her benefactor, right?
And I hadn't actually brought it up, but—she'd also saved that child while under the Faceless identity!
I hadn't known at first either, but I'd learned about it when Maxwell casually tipped me off before.
She wasn't as precious to the main family as Lee Ji-yeon herself, but she was a sufficiently precious child...!
I had saved her...!
"E-er, um..."
Lee Ji-yeon's eyes swiveled back and forth.
Then, as if answering my desperate vow-
She quietly averted her gaze.
This spineless traitor.
Immediately after, the door flew open, and a hand shot out to seize my wrist and yank me in.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Lee Ji-yeon
●●●●●●○○○○(60/100)
｢Successor of Taesan｣ ｢A Good Person｣ ｢Forcefulness｣ ｢Coercion｣
▽Change▽
｢Successor of Taesan｣ ｢A Good Person｣ ｢A Sense of Letdown｣
* * *
"So this is the thing?"
Building rubble and the corpses of various monsters were tangled together in a chaotic ruin.
A man scowled as he raked through the debris.
After shoving wreckage aside with his feet this way and that, an object finally revealed itself.
The man grabbed it and pulled it clean out.
"Looks like just some straw doll on the outside... Oh, but based on the mana, it's definitely an artifact of a respectable grade."
"...Yeah, that's the one. You finally found it."
"Fucking hell, how long did this take? Feels like you've been buried here for two or three months."
A red-haired man standing beside him answered back.
At that, the man let out a deep sigh and tilted his head back.
The sky was a gloomy gray.
There were no clouds drifting up there. The sky was painted gray not by rainclouds, but by the sky's own natural hue.
Nor was that the only thing strange about the sky.
There was no sunlight beaming down upon the earth, nor moonlight to illuminate the land at night.
There was practically no ordinary wind either, and what little there was felt utterly barren.
A world devoid of the natural principles that should govern it.
It was an isolated space operating under separate rules from the world's original logic.
"Buried in a dump like this, of all places, so we couldn't bring the others along... Tch."
The man who'd been glaring pointlessly at the sky clicked his tongue and inspected the artifact held in his hand.
A worn-out straw doll. It looked like scrap, with clear signs of damage everywhere.
The threads securing the straw were coming undone in many places, as if the whole thing might unravel any second and scatter across the ground.
"So, what kind of artifact is this that a god is looking for it? Even if the grade's high, if the performance is weird, it'll be a bust."
"Dunno. They called it a Vessel of Divine Descent."
"Divine Descent? They planning to use this to descend?"
"Idiot. You've got me."
"Then what? They trying to summon their legion commanders early or something?"
"Beats me... I didn't get an explanation, just heard they're calling out something else... What was it called again..."
The red-haired man closed his eyes as if pawing through his memories.
Then he spat out the faint recollection that remained.
"Heaven‑Breaking Divine General Vajra Warrior?"
"Heaven‑Breaking... what now?"
"I only overheard it too, so quit asking, you bastard."