Chapter 22
Chapter 22
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Boyhood ~Conveying True Feelings~
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I exhale lightly.
Cold breath leaks out with my exhalation.
"You filthy bastard...!"
Staring at the man staggering to his feet, my mind grows endlessly cold.
'It's been a while since I felt like this.'
Come to think of it, my acquaintances always said that when I got angry, it was like I turned into a completely different person.
I tended to become calmer when furious, which probably made the change even more stark.
After possessing this body, I hadn't had any reason to lose my temper, so I'd completely forgotten...
I turned my gaze to Seon-hwa standing behind me.
"...Young Master."
Her hair was a mess of dirt and dust.
Her cheek flushed red as if she'd been struck.
Even her feet were deathly pale, as if frostbitten.
Gazing at her with hands clasped together like a prayer, a heavy feeling settled in my chest.
'Have I been too indifferent to Seon-hwa?'
She'd always been so mature for her age that I'd unconsciously treated her like an adult.
'You idiot.'
She wasn't an adult at all.
Her pale face still feigned composure as she looked my way.
Even though her clasped arms trembled visibly, and blood seeped from her tightly pressed lips.
"......"
Had I stared too long?
Our eyes met.
After gazing at me expressionlessly for a moment, she slowly parted her lips.
"Be careful."
At her words, I closed my eyes and turned away.
I had no face to meet hers.
"You bastard! I'll tear you limb from limb!"
Just then, the mountain bandit whipped out his axe and charged in a frenzy.
I moved at once, adjusting the distance to keep Seon-hwa out of his reach.
"You rat!"
His exaggerated axe swing made the trajectory plain as day.
"I'm not gonna kill you nicely."
Facing his roar, I drew up my aura.
.
.
.
The leader of the Brigand Group was far more skilled than he'd seemed.
At the age of thirty, he'd successfully emitted aura, making him an unrivaled aura user in the group.
Having reached a mature realm, he was convinced that if he put his mind to it, he could smash the intruders who'd invaded his lair head-on.
He'd fled because he saw no merit in gambling against them.
He truly believed that, brimming with confidence in his own strength.
But maybe that's why.
His middling strength led him to the fatal mistake of underestimating the boy before him.
"Gahk!"
I can't see it.
A hand crashing into his shoulder.
A foot slamming his gut.
Aura targeting his legs.
Not a single attack trajectory visible.
Just sudden impacts rocking his body whenever they landed.
From the start of the fight, he hadn't once tracked an attack.
The axe he'd raised with such ambition lay shattered on the ground.
His body, pummeled by countless strikes, screamed with excruciating pain.
At this point, he felt the vast gap between him and the boy, mumbling through gritted teeth.
"P-plea...se...! Guhk!"
Maybe because he'd lost teeth in the last hit.
Mangling the words, he soon felt crushing pressure on his throat, flooding him with terror.
His neck clenched tight, slowly lifting into the air. Even his toes left the ground.
Face turning purple, he thrashed wildly.
"Kuh...! Grahk...!"
As he drifted slowly before the boy, right on the verge of foaming at the mouth.
Thud—
"Urk...! Cough! Hack! Heok!"
The grip on his neck vanished abruptly, dropping him to the dirt.
Panting desperately, clutching his throat, a cold voice reached him.
"Very unfortunate, but I'm not the one killing you."
"Kuh... S-spare..."
"Don't worry. 'That' emperor won't grant you a peaceful end."
Right then, navy-blue aura surged from the boy's body——
And the leader's memory cut off there.
I glanced at the bandit leader, now foaming and passed out, then walked over to Seon-hwa.
"Young Master? How did he...?"
To her, it must've looked like he'd just collapsed out of nowhere.
"An aura application. I infused intent into the aura and struck."
If you had to classify it, it'd be something like fighting spirit.
Slightly different in practice, but still an intangible force attacking the foe.
"Impressive."
"Father taught me the technique."
Though he rarely used it himself, dismissing it as a parlor trick.
"Young Master, there are more thieves inside the cave."
"Ah, it's fine. Someone else is handling them."
These were kidnappers behind a calculated crime.
Storming a place like that solo would've been insane, so I'd borrowed some muscle from the banquet hall heavyweights.
"Someone else?"
"The Sword Emperor's lending a hand."
Father and the other Empire's 10 Emperors were raiding lairs around the capital on the emperor's orders, while the Sword Emperor and I hit what looked like their main base.
Of course, we'd scoured tons of hideouts to pinpoint this one, so it wasn't wrong to say we'd pretty much cleared them all.
"How did you even find this place...?"
"I'll explain later."
Couldn't tell her the straight truth.
Just knowing about that would draw the emperor's attention.
Forcing my way into this mess had only worked by buttering up the emperor, and honestly, I wanted to steer clear of deeper ties.
'Though it might be too late already...'
Maybe dropping hints about that had been a step too far.
Doubt gnawed at me, twisting my face into a frown. That's when her wrecked feet caught my eye.
"Seon-hwa, your feet..."
"Ah, it's fine."
I stared at her feet, paling past white into blue, then crouched and offered my back.
"...Young Master?"
"Hop on. You can't walk like that."
"I can't impose..."
"What impose? You're just a kid."
Urging her half by force, Seon-hwa carefully climbed aboard.
A soft voice murmured from her face pressed against my back.
"...You're a kid too."
{Young Master.}
Then Chae-hyeon sent a telepathic message from the shadows.
I shot a glance at the shadows without replying, and she continued right away.
{As ordered, we've stationed top physicians below.}
{The Sword Emperor's cleared the lair. The rescued captives are under physician care.}
{We'll retrieve the leader you took down, Young Master.}
I gave a small nod, waved off Chae-hyeon trying to take Seon-hwa, and started down the mountain at a slow pace.
"Not cold?"
"...It's fine. Warm."
Probably thanks to the aura I'd wrapped around her.
The snow brushing her body melted away fast.
This ought to count as first aid.
How far had we gone?
"Thank you."
Seon-hwa spoke up suddenly.
"When the bandit leader dragged me off, I really thought that was it. I figured neither him nor the others would come rescue me. That I wasn't worth the effort, so they'd never bother..."
A faint sob colored her voice. I stayed silent, just listening.
"I woke up in some strange place."
"I was terrified...!"
"I thought I'd never make it home...!"
The soft whimpers swelled into full sobs, and soon she was crying her heart out.
"Seon-hwa..."
Her cries carried a storm of emotions, filling me with deep guilt as I hung my head.
"I hate it all! Mom! I wanna see Mom...!"
Her mask shattered completely now, bawling like a little girl.
"Mom! Dad! Where are you? I hate this place!"
How much time passed?
Enough to soak my back through.
I forced open my mouth, reluctant as it was.
"Seon-hwa."
"No! I hate it! Take me home!"
"Seon-hwa."
"Mom! I wanna see Mom!"
"Yu Seon-hwa."
Calling her name over and over, her sobs began to quiet bit by bit.
"Listen close. I'll only say this once."
Not exactly in my right mind, but this time, I had to meet her with pure sincerity.
Steeling myself, I told her.
"You are mine."
"......"
"Not the Yeon Clan's. Solely Yeon Je-seong's."
"...That's."
"So even if the clan abandons you, I'll always come for you."
"...Ah."
"Value or no value—doesn't matter. You're irreplaceable to me. Family, plain and simple."
A tremor ran through Seon-hwa's body.
"B-but I'm..."
"You should be the one worrying. Once I take someone to heart, I never let go."
"...!"
"I'll make up for neglecting you by paying more attention from now on."
"Hic!"
"Trust me. I'll protect you."
Seon-hwa, shuddering against my back, whispered faintly at my words.
"Am I... valuable to anyone?"
Desperation laced her question, tinged with fear and unease.
As if terrified to even ask.
As if dreading an unacceptable answer.
She trembled, eyes squeezed shut, awaiting my reply.
"Silly girl."
"Young... Master?"
I halted our descent and set her down.
Her face a mess of tears and snot, I pulled her into my arms without thinking.
"Of course you are. If you're not valuable, then who is? You're the most precious person to me."
"...Ah."
To the trembling, speechless Seon-hwa, I pressed on.
"Seon-hwa, do you know why I obsess over training?"
"...No."
To her silent in my embrace, I laid bare the truth I'd harbored in my heart.
"I'm a greedy guy."
"Greedy...?"
"Yeah. I need the power to protect Father, Mother, my cute little sister, the clan—everyone around me."
"Isn't... becoming clan head enough?"
Her eyes pleaded.
With the clan head position, couldn't you protect them all?
Why put yourself through all that suffering?
Not a bad point.
If I didn't know this was a game world, I might've settled for the status quo and the hollow title.
So to Seon-hwa, waiting tearfully, I confessed.
"It's not enough."
With rock-solid conviction.
"Woefully short."
"Why...?"
She didn't know.
About the demons that could overrun the continent any moment.
Monsters among them that even the Empire's 10 Emperors couldn't stop—the Four Heavenly Kings, maybe even the Demon King.
Being just Yeon clan head wouldn't cut it against them.
'I need raw power.'
Overwhelming might that commands awe from all.
That's why I declare it.
My long-term goal.
"I will become one of the Seven Great Powers."
"──!!"
Did she grasp the weight?
She gasped, eyes flying wide in shock.
"Impossible! Even for you, Young Master, the Seven Great Powers is way out of reach...!"
"No. It's possible."
At minimum, that's the level needed to stand with the protagonist against the demons.
'Even then, top-tier among them to have a shot at the Demon King.'
A distant dream for now.
But all the more reason.
"I'll get there, no question."
I state it with ironclad certainty.
Belief firmer than anyone's.
So no one can refute my path.
Overwhelmed by my aura, Seon-hwa finally forced out words.
"You really... truly mean it."
Incredulous.
Yet admiring.
Even envious, in a way.
Her face cycled through emotions, vivid and raw, before she murmured.
"Then someone like me..."
"Seon-hwa."
"......"
"Yu Seon-hwa."
"...Yes."
"I'm saying I like you."
"──!!"
"Me, Yeon Je-seong, aiming for the Seven Great Powers."
"Ah, uh..."
"Only you by my side."
Declaring it from the heart, Seon-hwa's face flushed crimson in an instant.
"So quit worrying."
"......"
"No matter what happens, I'll always protect you."
Gazing at her bowed head, I willed down the heat in my cheeks.
Spilling your true feelings is never easy.
But for a lifelong friend, what wouldn't I do?
I just hope my unfeigned sincerity reaches her true.