Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Ch. 7 .｡.:✧ Yulia Petenburg (1) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Yulia Petenburg.
Also known as the Witch of Petenburg.
She was the matriarch who had been leading the family ruling the small mountain village of Petenburg for 50 years, and she had been maintaining Petenburg’s independent status amidst the gap between powerful nations.
The secret was none other than potion sales.
The image of Petenburg’s potions being the best had solidified to the point where they sold like hotcakes every year despite the small production quantity and high prices.
The elixir, which could only be obtained in Petenburg, also contributed to her reputation.
One bottle of elixir could cure any illness, so the price was as high as one called.
Petenburg, which made huge sums of money like that, rather took advantage of the fact that it bordered several powerful nations and played the role of a financial center.
Did I say it was a small mountain village?
I said it was small, not that it was a rural village.
A financial city where money from all over the world gathered, located at an altitude of 2000 meters.
If it were to be compared to the real world, it would be like Luxembourg with Wall Street.
“You know what, Yoo-jin? Elves have a thoroughly matriarchal society. If you marry an elf, you have to change your surname to a bizarre Elvish one, live in a weird vine house, and can only register pointy-eared children! Ah, just imagining it is disgusting. Right?”
“Yes…”
And Jill and I were packing our bags to head to that Petenburg.
As you might have noticed from the part about leading the Petenburg family for 300 years, Yulia Petenburg was not human, but an elf.
Basically, they were a race that lived long lives, maintained a youthful appearance until right before death, had pointy ears, and kept an exclusive attitude, just like the stereotypes in genre novels.
It was fitting for a company that only shouted about innovation but ended up directly using the race settings created by the masters of genre novels from long ago.
“Ah, I hate elves. You shout it too. Quickly.”
“I hate elves.”
“One more time!”
“I hate elves.”
“That’s right!”
Even if there were elves in Petenburg, there would only be Yulia.
The intent behind the brainwashing elf hatred education was too obvious to the point of being blatant.
At this point, it would be better to just say it outright.
If you make eyes at an elf, you’re dead to me.
Like this.
‘But what is our relationship right now?’
Jill hummed as she packed her bag.
Watching her like that, my feelings became complicated.
If I were to objectively look at it, what should Jill and my relationship be called?
A mischievous young lady and her butler or nanny.
A genius girl and her stress relief doll.
A spoiled brat and a pushover, etc.
It was difficult to define it as one thing.
But one thing was certain, among all those many relationships, there was no lover relationship.
‘We’re extremely close but not dating.’
Jill was greatly dependent on me now.
Jill, who had been doing well on her own until now, completely unlocked the locks in her heart after gaining me as a complete confidant.
In front of others, she was still the charismatic saintess, but when it was just the two of us, she quickly turned into a child.
If I were to demand a deeper relationship right now, Jill would probably accept without hesitation.
If I declared that I was tired of her and leaving, Jill wouldn’t be able to endure it for a single moment, so she would have no choice but to accept all my demands.
“Ah right, Yoo-jin. I bought a building under your name. You can do whatever you want with it, whether you get tenants or anything else.”
“I changed the name on that building back to yours, Saintess, and transferred it.”
“Ah, why?! Why won’t you accept it?”
Perhaps feeling insecure about this one-sided relationship, Jill had been anxious these days, unable to give me gifts.
It seemed the only thing she thought she could give me was financial gain.
In fact, I had grown tremendously while reading the secret book of the Thakia-style swordsmanship…
Even though Jill directly saw me training, she still only thought I had learned flashy sword dancing.
It would be fun to see Jill’s eyes go wide when we eventually faced a real battle.
“It’s not because I want money that I became your bodyguard knight, Saintess.”
“Then is it for honor?”
“That’s part of it too. But the biggest reason is because serving you is my joy.”
“Why? Why are you being so good to me, Yoo-jin? Even the maid who was born and raised in our family isn’t as selfless and devoted as you.”
Why, you ask.
It’s because we’ll be parting ways anyway when I see the ending.
I swallowed those words down my throat.
“Well, maybe it was love at first sight. Thinking this is the master I will serve.”
“Love at first sight? When?”
“When you frowned and said I was dirty the moment I touched you.”
“Ah, please stop talking about that…”
I mixed in some jokes and controlled the pace, but Jill would have no doubt that I truly respected and followed her as a saintess.
This was enough.
Jill would no longer be afraid of me running away.
“Hu-hurry up and pack your bags! Stop talking nonsense!”
“I’m already done packing.”
“Then help me pack my bags!”
“Shall I help you pick out underwear?”
“You bastard!”
If I had gained Jill’s trust, the next step would be much easier.
***
“Have we arrived?”
“Wooow…”
“Saintess, you’re drooling.”
“Ehehe. Yoo-jin will wipe it for me anyway.”
After exiting the tunnel, I saw Petenburg.
I almost let out an exclamation of surprise at the scenery visible outside the train window.
In this world where the overall tone was strongly medieval fantasy, only Petenburg had an appearance similar to a grayish, angular modern city.
The skyscrapers rising in the middle of the plateau looked too foreign.
Looking at it made me feel like I had homesickness.
“Can’t take your eyes off it? It must be very fascinating, huh? Hoho. This is the crystallization of magical engineering!”
“You’re talking as if it’s your city, Saintess…”
The train soon arrived at the platform.
The oxygen was sparse enough to make breathing somewhat difficult.
The air was refreshing with the cool breeze, but the strong sunlight scorching the skin was stinging.
It was a completely different climate from Hameln, where it was gloomy and about to rain all year round, drizzling a little and stopping, then just staying cloudy.
“Eek!”
“We can’t forget this. Your skin will burn.”
Jill placed the large hat she almost forgot to bring on her head and pressed it down firmly.
I felt the urge to see Jill’s tanned skin once, but decided to hold back.
It would be fine for me and Jill, but the elders of the Diner family would throw a fit.
Saying the child went to Petenburg and came back completely darkened.
“Yoo-jin! Hand!”
“Here it is.”
“Hehe!”
The way she demanded my hand was a bit odd.
Usually, people would show their palm and tell the other person to place their hand on top of it.
On the other hand, Jill prepared to place her own hand while asking me to show my palm.
Well, that didn’t matter.
The important thing was that we were holding hands like this and strolling outside amidst the crowd.
Thanks to leaving Hameln, there would be hardly anyone who knew the saintess’s face, and even if there were, we had completely disguised ourselves in casual clothes, so no one would think this excited, mischievous girl was that serious saintess.
We had even informed the Petenburg side that we would arrive tomorrow.
In other words, for the next 24 hours, we could comfortably tour Petenburg with just the two of us without any interference.
“Are you ready, Yoo-jin?”
“Ready for what?”
“Ready to collapse from exhaustion! We’re going to play all day today! I heard Petenburg has various rides like flying ships and flying trains, and also! And also…!”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Jill still thought of me as the weakling who trembled with the Guardian Knight penalty.
I had eaten various potions and completed sub-quests to raise my base stats, and above all…
[Stats]
[Strength: 13(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
[Stamina: 12(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
[Mana: 12(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
[Agility: 20(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
[Luck: 14(x5) *Guardian Knight effect applied]
Until now, whenever I was with Jill, the Guardian Knight trait had never turned off, not even once.
It seemed Jill had toured until she was about to collapse.
I supported Jill, who was staggering to the point she couldn’t even control her body properly, and returned to the hotel room.
And in the time Jill went to the bathroom, I took out the contents of the bag I had bought, and Jill’s eyes widened.
“Alcohol?”
“There’s a liquor you can only get in Petenburg. I thought I would regret it if I didn’t drink it.”
“I decided not to drink alcohol. The elders of the family don’t like it.”
“Is that so? I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll have to drink it alone.”
“Wh-what? You wanted to drink it that badly?”
“Yes. I’ll have to drink it even if I’m alone.”
“Why drink alone so desolately. I’ll drink with you…”
The plan succeeded.
I had managed to break Jill’s alcohol abstinence, the icon of abstinence, and self-control.
As you can see, my relationship with Jill was not one where I was being led by her.
Rather, it was the opposite.
I had a significant psychological advantage, and Jill was anxiously trying to meet my expectations.
“Hm? This is sweet? I heard all alcohol is bitter and tastes bad.”
“Haha. If you start with that kind of drink, you’ll never touch alcohol again. We have to start with getting your palate used to it first.”
“It’s delicious! I didn’t know alcohol could be this tasty!”
Jill probably didn’t know her alcohol tolerance, but I knew it well.
Jill had a very low alcohol tolerance.
And the liquor I had Jill drink was a cocktail called ‘Lady Killer’.
If you kept chugging it because it was sweet, you would pass out without even realizing you were getting drunk.
Of course, I was watching her closely and controlling her pace.
“Hehehehe! Why didn’t I drink alcohol sooner? It makes me feel so good! Hic!”
As expected, Jill got drunk quickly.
To the point she wouldn’t even know if I carried her on my back.
If she took one more sip, she would collapse and fall asleep like this.
“Meow. Nyaa.”
“Nyaa?”
What was going on?
Jill, who had downed a full glass of cocktail, suddenly lay on my thigh, purred, and imitated a cat.
There was not a shred of shame to be found on her face flushed with alcohol.
“Don’t you want to raise a cat, nyaa?”
“I’m already raising a cat. A baby cat with a picky personality, lots of tears and aegyo, and full of clinginess.”
It was hard to immerse myself because she was too big to be called a baby cat, but I decided to play along with the roleplay.
I received her weak nyaa-punches and gently scratched her belly, and soon, moans of ticklishness leaked out.
It was rare to see Jill acting so blatantly cute like this.
Even when I was writing the game lines, I never imagined I would see this side of Jill.
“Nyaa. Meow. Then adopt one more, nyaa.”
“Maybe I will.”
I was carelessly blurting out whatever while tickling the neck of the seductively smiling Jill, and at that moment,
“Adopt one more, you say? Really? Ha. You must want to see me go crazy.”
“…”
Jill’s voice changed, and she brushed her hair back.
I was startled and looked, and Jill had already completely returned to a human posture and wrapped her arms around my neck.
Her hazy gaze had turned clear and sharp.
The cute baby cat was nowhere to be seen, and only a lioness with a cold gaze remained.
It seemed this roleplay was also to test my attitude.
Of course, I knew it obviously.
If I said I would adopt, she would throw a fit like this, and if I said I wouldn’t, she would sniffle and act hurt, asking if I didn’t like her anymore.
Isn’t this being fickle, you ask?
That’s right.
Nevertheless, I deliberately chose the former.
“There’s no way you would go crazy, Saintess.”
“Right? You made a mistake, right? Hurry and say so, Yoo-jin. Tell me. Quickly.”
“…”
“Please. Can’t you tell me? Hm? Yoo-jin. Please…”
“…”
In the end, I had to completely betray Jill’s expectations someday.
My fate was to abandon Jill and leave in the end.
I was doing a rehearsal for that in advance.
The Saintess Jill I knew was not someone who would crumble just because I disappeared.
At least, that’s what I believed.
“Sob… Hic…”
The breathing of Jill, who had been sniffling in my arms, gradually grew quieter.
It seemed she had fallen asleep after getting completely drunk in the meantime.
Even if I held her somewhat roughly and tossed her on the bed, Jill only tossed and turned without waking up at all.
She probably wouldn’t wake up or remember what happened no matter what I did.
The plan was a success.
“Phew… I barely escaped.”
I stepped outside and was greeted by a refreshing breeze.
Wiping the cold sweat, I high-fived my inner self.
Jill probably wouldn’t open her eyes until tomorrow morning.
Until then, I had gained freedom.
“How long has it been since the Guardian Knight penalty was applied? I missed this feeling of liberation.”
Jill, who had beautifully fallen asleep without reaching the point of vomiting or foaming at the mouth despite instantly surpassing her alcohol limit.
And I, who had gained the opportunity to freely roam the streets alone for the first time in a while.
Moreover, this was a beautiful street reminiscent of modern nightscapes.
Kya. Just walking was healing.
If I were to settle down in this world, I would have to live in Petenburg.
Of course, that wouldn’t happen.
I would definitely return to reality.
Definitely.
“Hm?”
A small dot on the large bridge where the lights of passing carriages flickered.
No, not a dot. A person.
‘Ah, no way.’
For a moment, my heart sank.
It couldn’t be someone trying to jump off, could it?
Petenburg also had quite a few casinos targeting tourists.
Could it be that they lost all their money there and became so disillusioned with life that…
Ah, this isn’t good.
With the Guardian Knight penalty making my body sloppy, I ran at full speed toward the middle of the bridge.
“Excuse me!”
“…?!”
Thud.
I grabbed the wrist of the black-haired woman leaning on the bridge railing and pulled her back.
Only after seeing her perplexed face did I realize.
Not only the fact that she wasn’t trying to commit suicide out of despair for life.
“Yulia Petenburg?”
But also the fact that she was Yulia Petenburg, the owner of this city and the second main heroine.
I never expected to meet Yulia here.
Pointy ears proving she was an elf, curly black hair, and a beautiful appearance.
Despite being an elf whose beauty was maintained without doing anything, she had deep dark circles under her eyes.
This woman, who exuded a mysterious and ruthless aura if she just kept her mouth shut, was,
“Ah. Aah. Uh. Uhm…”
Suffering from communication disorder, or social anxiety, from not being able to meet people for 300 years.
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