Chapter 240: Jealousy (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 240: Jealousy (11)
Even though I was waiting with the certainty that they would attack from that side, I obviously didn’t mean I would just sit idly by and do nothing.
Even if I had defeated them once before, a Demon King was still a Demon King.
Naturally, there was plenty to prepare, and considering everything I had to do to eliminate as many variables as possible, it was best to assume I had no time to spare.
Therefore…
“I’d like to move as quickly as possible, you see. This sounds like a pointless errand, so can we do this later?”
I didn’t have time to be held up since morning by a girl with drill hair.
“No, I’ve been thinking this for a while, but don’t you think your attitude toward me is a bit much compared to how you treat others…?”
“…Ah, sorry.”
Right. To be honest, between her helping Ga-eul this time and being useful during the final exams, her image had improved compared to before.
“No, well, you don’t have to apologize that much…”
But the moment I saw her face, old memories kept resurfacing, making me feel strangely unpleasant.
Whenever Aisha had called for me before the regression, it was usually for some pointless prank.
Since we had known each other for a long time, for better or worse, it wasn’t like there were only bad memories, but…
— Excuse me…? Don’t just leave your socks anywhere? Why? Does it turn you on? Do you have a foot fetish?
— Boss! Boss! Boss! This is really urgent! Seriously! I’m drinking, but my glass is empty…! Pour me one, quick!
— Boss, I’m asking this seriously. There’s a woman who passed out drunk next to you in a tank top—does it make sense to just leave her there? Shouldn’t you at least cover her with something…?
— You’re not actually impotent, right…? Ah, wait a second. Put the weapon away! Hey…! Can’t a person take a joke?!
— No, please tell that crazy bitch Lee Yu-na to stop fighting with me! Ah, I don’t care! I’m not going! If it bothers you that much, give me a kiss! Then I’ll act like a lunatic and go fight again! Uh… wait? No, I’d prefer it with your mouth rather than your fist—Ack! Okay! I’m going! I’ll go, alright?!
Wait. That’s strange. It feels like there aren’t any good memories…?
“Huh? What is it? I haven’t even done anything yet, so why are you looking at me with that face…?”
— Boss…? You’re not going to kill me, right? Right? Should I lick your shoes…?
— Boss~ I’m hungry. Make me something delicious. Ah, occasionally make it even when it’s just me and not Miss Seo-ha~ Pancakes! With lots of syrup!
— Stop bringing men around? Is the Boss jealous right now~? Because I’m hanging out with other guys instead of you?
— Uh, I was a bit arrogant, wasn’t I…? Could you please just let me live?
— Gwah?! I’m dying…! I’m really dying…! I told you I’m dying!!
Let’s stop looking into it.
For some reason, the more I remembered, the more unpleasant it became.
Ugh.
“Excuse me, I don’t think I’ve done anything, so why do I have to experience my favorability dropping in real-time? I’ve really been behaving myself lately…?”
No, I knew. I knew that things before the regression were in the past, and things now were in the present.
I knew that the current Aisha might be different from the already broken Aisha of back then.
How could I not know?
But I couldn’t help it if remembering the old days made me so uncomfortable that I almost forgot the things I was grateful for now.
“No, I could understand if you just looked like you hated me, but please do something about that expression that looks like you’re watching a pathetic younger sister. I’m actually getting hurt…?”
In the end, it was only after I forced myself to remember her end—the part I didn’t want to recall—that I was able to preserve my feelings of gratitude toward her and fix my expression.
Aisha, watching this, seemed somewhat dissatisfied, but she nodded as if she would endure it and continued.
“You’re going to fight the devil to save Miss Ga-eul, right? I’ll help too.”
Hmm?
Of course, having more combat power was never a bad thing, but it wasn’t as if I strictly needed Aisha’s help.
Aisha was a pure physical dealer and tanker, so her compatibility with devils wasn’t particularly good.
I’d feel a bit bad if she got hurt for no reason.
“I know what you’re thinking, but I’m telling you this because I have information that will be more helpful than direct combat this time.”
Honestly, I didn’t have much trust in her, but this was Aisha, of all people.
“I know the location where they are preparing a ritual to summon a Demon King-class devil into this country.”
…Oh? If that was true, it was actually quite plausible information.
“However, I’m not saying I’ll just give this to you for free.”
“…You want me to set you up with a guy?”
“I—I don’t know how much of a man-crazy woman you take me for, but can you really make jokes in this situation?”
“…A joke?”
“Uh, what’s with that reaction? Are you telling me that wasn’t a joke, but you were serious?”
Honestly, this wasn’t just a prejudice from before the regression. You were asking Lilac out on a date and then suddenly switched to me.
“No, well. Fine. That misunderstanding isn’t what’s important. We can clear that up slowly later. Anyway, I only have one request.”
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded as if gathering her courage.
“To be honest, I’m scared of whether it’s right to say this, but I’m saying it because I’ve watched you and decided you’re a trustworthy person.”
I didn’t know why she was stalling so much.
“Please cooperate with me in taking down AG Group and saving my parents.”
…What is she talking about now?
AG Group.
Ranked 3rd among Korea’s 5 Great Groups, it was a corporation where Aisha’s grandfather served as the Chairman.
And personally, it was a company I felt a bit guilty toward. I mentioned before that in the previous life, I caused a massive incident that led to the first official formation of a subjugation squad, right?
Aisha, who lost to me then, ended up becoming my subordinate.
At the time, I wasn’t in my right mind due to Seo-ha’s brainwashing, so I crushed everyone who seemed even slightly related to devils, even if the evidence was insufficient.
AG Group was one of the things I had ground into powder during that rampage.
Well, at the time, for reasons unknown, it was already on the verge of collapse and wasn’t in a state to be called a major corporation, but regardless, I was the one who dealt the finishing blow.
I felt a bit sorry for Aisha and had thought about making sure things didn’t turn out that way this time.
But for her to ask me to destroy it herself.
What on earth did this mean?
“I know. You probably think I’m some kind of crazy, unfilial person. But there’s a reason. If you agree to cooperate after this is over, I’ll definitely explain everything.”
…Was there something else I didn’t know about?
One thing was for certain.
“I’ll help.”
“Ah, yes. Then I’ll also, as promised…”
“But let’s get one thing straight.”
“Yes? Sure, what is it?”
“I’m not helping because of the Ga-eul issue, okay? I would have helped even if you just asked.”
“…Pardon?”
To be honest, I would have agonized over it, but if she had just whined for help, I would have eventually given in.
She was a subordinate I had developed a sort of love-hate bond with before the regression, and she was the one who tried to stop me at the very end.
If she really had a reason to rely on me, I would have granted it once without needing a reason.
However, after hearing my words, Aisha’s expression changed quite strangely.
“…You really are hitting on me, aren’t you? Is this push-and-pull?”
“Stop talking crazy, seriously. You’re going to make all my gratitude vanish.”
“No, then don’t say things that invite misunderstanding…! I bet everyone in the world would take my side on this!”
Aisha shouted as if it were unfair, but since she was talking nonsense, I decided to ignore her.
* * *
After persuading Aisha—who was jumping around and pestering me to be honest—through moderate means and obtaining the information, I finally arrived at my original destination.
“Welcome. You’re a bit late.”
“I’m exactly on time.”
“Ah, I’m not complaining. You usually show up earlier than the appointed time.”
Fortunately, my appointment partner, who had become much more tolerant compared to the old days, didn’t seem particularly angry.
“But honestly, it’s a bit unexpected. Did you suddenly develop faith?”
“No, honestly, don’t you think the word ‘faith’ doesn’t really suit me?”
“I’m glad you at least have self-awareness.”
That was right.
Currently, I had sought out a church that served the God of Love and Healing, and I had made an appointment with Lee Yu-na to get help with this.
I think I’ve touched on this briefly before, but in this world, multiple gods actually exist, and churches that serve them exist as well.
Among them, the most powerful was the ‘God of Love and Healing.’ Well, to be honest, even if they were called a god, they were more of a ‘character’ god, unlike entities like the ‘Lord of Myriad Worlds,’ the ‘Witch of the Time Flower,’ or the ‘One who grants wishes in a twisted way.’
But even for such a god, their majesty in this world could not be ignored.
Especially when it came to making things effective against devils, they might even be better than a ‘real’ god.
“So, if you didn’t suddenly develop faith, why did you suddenly ask for an introduction?”
“To buy some Holy Water.”
Holy Water.
Literally, sacred water imbued with divine power.
Of course, it wouldn’t work on a Demon King, but top-quality Holy Water could exorcise lower devils and be used to cast barriers, so it was good to have some in advance.
Actually, buying Holy Water wouldn’t be much of a problem even without Yu-na, but as is the case in most novels, the religions of this world had some issues.
“I’m going to buy a lot of the highest quality. Please make sure they’re ‘problem-free’ items.”
It was a common story.
Poor quality goods, where ordinary water was mixed into Holy Water containing divine miracles, were in circulation.
At least up to this point, the order of the God of Love and Healing was relatively better.
Some corrupt religious figures from other orders would even sell plain bottled water as Holy Water.
One might wonder what they were thinking in a world where the existence of gods was proven, but there were actually somewhat plausible reasons for it.
Anyway, getting into that would make the story too complicated. What mattered now was that even if I made a large donation and received Holy Water, there was a chance it would be a counterfeit.
And even if I confirmed this, picking a fight with the order would take too much time.
“Sometimes I really feel like there’s nothing you don’t know.”
But what if I used the ‘friend card’ here?
Although Lee Yu-na had gone the route of a hero, her divine power was quite strong, making her fairly famous within the order.
Therefore, from the moment I arrived with her, they wouldn’t be able to try and scam me.
“…Highest quality Holy Water is expensive. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“It’s a donation to God. Why would I be stingy?”
“I wonder. The God I serve said He isn’t particularly interested in money.”
“…Don’t say things that would cause trouble if someone heard, and just do me this favor.”
For a brief moment, Yu-na showed her loathing for the order she belonged to, but she fixed her expression, knowing it wasn’t a problem she could solve immediately.
She chose religion because she wanted to be by Lilac’s side, so it must feel terrible to find out the religion was a gutter.
* * *
Fortunately, Lee Yu-na returned with a smile, holding a bottle of perfectly fine Holy Water in her hand.
“Here. For now, this is one bottle for you to check the quality immediately. The rest will be sent to the location you mentioned once the quantity is matched. Oh, and just in case, I’ve made sure to verify the quality, so don’t worry.”
“Oh, thanks.”
It really pays to have good friends.
…Friends.
Thinking about it, we really had become much closer compared to before the regression.
I never even imagined a day would come when I’d be this close to her.
In the old days, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of asking Lee Yu-na for Holy Water.
I had quite bad memories of the Holy Water she used to—well, I should say she used to throw it at me.
Just as I was thinking it was merely a bad memory and grabbed the Holy Water she gave me, the water began to glow.
What do I mean? I mean the Holy Water literally started emitting light.
And it was bright and intense, as if it were about to explode at any moment.
And this intense light, unfortunately, bore a striking resemblance to something in my memory. It looked exactly like the moment just before a Holy Water bomb—one of the weapons she used before the regression—was about to detonate.
…It’s not that, right, Yu-na?
You’re not trying to bury me, are you…?
I wondered if I had done something wrong, but fortunately, seeing Yu-na’s equally flustered face, it seemed she wasn’t the culprit behind this situation.
Luckily, it wasn’t exploding, but just as I was feeling uneasy and considering throwing it away…
[The Will of the Saint reacts to the highest quality Holy Water.]
[Your potential is awakening.]
A completely unexpected message flashed before my eyes.
…Huh? Suddenly?