Chapter 507: London Date
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 507: London Date
Ding!
[Matching has ended.]
[Favorability Change]
[Lucifer 91♡ → 96♡]
[Bond Level Change]
[Lucifer Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[Favorability Change]
[Lee Serin 93♡ → 95♡]
[Bond Level Change]
[Lee Serin Lv.4]
[Calculating rewards…]
[30,500 Love Coins have been awarded.]
[Current Coins: 78,000 Coins]
[Kang Hyun-woo
Age: 21
Title: Knight of Pure Love
Race: Human
Affiliation: Earth
Class: Mage (5th Circle)
Sub-class: Martial Artist (???)
Skills: Black Flame, Foresight, Transcendent Thought, Weakness Insight, Sex Expert, Extreme Blood…
Coins: 78,000 Coins]
*
I opened my eyes in a cafe with a serene atmosphere.
Sitting across from me was Delia, her snow-white hair and dazzling golden eyes a perfect match.
Looking at her face, it finally sank in that I was back on Earth.
Heh.
Perhaps that was why a small laugh escaped my lips.
“Hm? Hyun-woo? What is it?”
“It’s nothing. I just thought of something funny.”
I glanced out the window.
The London skyline and the British sky, for once not gloomy, came into view.
The thought that this was my last day in England felt both pleasant and, at the same time, bittersweet.
It meant I would have to part with Delia soon.
‘If I had my way, I’d take her back to Korea with me, but Duke Winchester would never let me hear the end of it. Besides, she seems to feel a sense of responsibility to protect her homeland as the master of the Round Table.’
And yet, the physical distance between Korea and the UK was too great for us to visit each other often.
‘Should I take comfort in the fact that Lia can use the Magic Tower’s teleportation circle?’
The Gray Magic Tower in Seoul.
The Blue Magic Tower in London.
The Black Magic Tower in New York.
The White Magic Tower in Moscow.
The Green Magic Tower in France.
The Red Magic Tower in Barcelona.
The Bronze Magic Tower in Rome.
The Golden Magic Tower in Cairo.
The Purple Magic Tower in Ottawa.
The Silver Magic Tower in Canberra.
The Crystal Magic Tower in New Delhi.
The twelve Magic Towers, said to have been built by the First Tower Lord, were all equipped with ultra-long-range teleportation circles that connected them.
However, the resources and effort consumed with each activation were so immense that the number of people who could use them was extremely limited.
It was essentially a mode of transport reserved for VVIPs like prime ministers, presidents, and Tower Lords.
And Lia, as the head of the Round Table, was third in the UK's order of precedence.
She wouldn't be able to use it frequently, but she could probably manage it at least once a month.
‘…Still, that’s a long time between visits.’
I wanted to install a magic circle myself, but intercontinental teleportation magic was currently in the realm of the incomprehensible.
The magic circles in the towers had been personally installed by the First Tower Lord, Baylion, and it was said that even repairing them required a mage of at least the 7th Circle.
‘Right, once a month is better than nothing. We could have ended up seeing each other only once every few months.’
But I couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Just as I let out a quiet sigh and sank into my chair…
Ding!
[You have acquired the skill, ‘True Word’.]
‘…?’
A completely unexpected screen popped up before my eyes.
[True Word (眞言)
Grade: Rare
A secret language, true and without falsehood.]
The skill description seemed familiar, and I couldn't help but be bewildered.
‘This… this is the exclusive trait I got in the Tower.’
I was certain.
This was undoubtedly ‘True Word,’ the exclusive trait I had obtained from the book given to me by the Dancing Destroyer during the 5th-floor test.
In that moment, a single question filled my mind.
‘…But why?’
It went without saying that abilities obtained in the Tower couldn't be used in other worlds.
Players could only wield their traits and skills freely because the Tower provided the necessary support.
That was why I had never obsessed over acquiring skills and traits.
But Authorities were a slightly different story.
I didn't know the mechanism, but the dating app had provided separate opportunities to acquire Authorities.
Like Lucifer’s Black Flame.
But True Word was not an Authority.
‘Haa… Should I just accept this as a good thing—’
Ding!
[The proficiency of the skill, ‘Black Flame (黑炎)’, has reached its limit.]
[A special mission, ‘Master of the Black Flame’, has been generated.]
[Master of the Black Flame
Rank: Special
Be acknowledged by the Black Flame.
Reward: ‘Black Flame’ rank increase]
Just then, as if to deny me any time to think, another screen blocked my view.
My initial thought was that the timing was random, but then I recalled how the Black Flame’s rank had increased when Lucifer reclaimed a fragment of her power in the Tower.
What if this was related to that?
‘…It’s a good thing, but what in the world does it mean to be acknowledged by the Black Flame?’
The vague mission objective gave me a slight headache.
But as I was about to ponder it, another screen in the corner of my vision caught my eye.
Tap, tap, tap.
After a moment of tapping the table in thought, I swiped all the screens away and stood up.
Delia was a thousand times more important than wasting time on the screens in front of me.
“Shall we get going?”
“Ah, yes!”
Delia beamed and wrapped her arm around mine. It was a natural movement, without a hint of shyness.
After leaving the cafe, I cast perception-inhibiting magic on both of us.
“Hyun-woo…? What’s this?”
“Hm, a safety measure so our date isn’t disturbed.”
The hotel cafe was quiet because it was for VIPs only, but I was sure reporters were already camped out around the hotel.
How did I know?
Simple.
The top story on NewTube’s main page was a livestream of the very hotel we were staying in.
It was a little absurd, but at the same time, completely expected.
Delia and I had played a major role in suppressing the large-scale terror attack in London the previous night by successfully taking down Belmoras’s executives.
The public was praising us, calling us ‘heroes.’
So, it was only natural for the media’s attention to be focused on us.
“A date…” Delia murmured, savoring my words as her face turned red.
She was so cute I couldn't just let it pass, so I ruffled her hair playfully.
Even with her hair messed up, Delia didn't seem to mind. Instead, she snuggled closer into my arms. It seemed the limited time we had left together was making her more honest with her feelings.
Seeing her like that, I felt a pang of guilt.
At the same time, I steeled my resolve.
‘I’ll definitely reach the 8th Circle within a few years.’
Ding.
As I was sharing an affectionate moment with Delia, my expression grimly determined, the elevator arrived on the first floor.
As expected, the hotel lobby was bustling with people in suspicious attire.
‘Reporters.’
They couldn't openly take out their cameras inside the hotel, so they were in disguise, waiting for the moment we appeared.
But it was a wasted effort.
Thanks to the perception-inhibiting magic, to their eyes, we would look like nothing more than an ordinary married couple.
We walked confidently through the disguised reporters and out of the hotel, where a massive crowd had gathered.
Murmur, murmur—
The street was packed with reporters, news anchors, cameramen, and London citizens all tangled together.
As we exited the hotel, they all prepared to snap photos, but after confirming we were just ordinary people, they lowered their cameras with disappointed expressions.
Witnessing the scene, Delia whispered in my ear.
“Wow… It looks like every broadcast station sent their staff.”
I chuckled at Delia’s wide-eyed expression.
But the crowd before us was so enormous that I could understand her sentiment.
It seemed that not only British broadcast companies and newspapers were here, but also media from all over Europe and the world.
If we had come out without the perception-inhibiting magic, we would have been stuck with reporters until our flight.
Of course, they were just doing their jobs, so I had no intention of blaming them.
I just didn't have the time to deal with each and every one of them.
We squeezed through the crowd and got into the taxi we had called in advance.
“Where to, sir?”
At the question from the gentlemanly old driver, I looked at Delia with an awkward smile.
“I’d love to be your escort, but it’s my first time here, so I don’t know any places.”
“Don’t worry. I can be your escort, Hyun-woo.”
Delia leaned her head on my shoulder with a gentle, smiling gaze.
The old driver, watching us through the rearview mirror, gave us a warm, fond look, as if he were watching a happily married newlywed couple.
“To Borough Market, please.”
*
Borough Market, located near London Bridge, is one of the city’s oldest and largest food markets.
Boasting a tradition of over 1,000 years, it was one of London’s most popular tourist destinations.
However, perhaps due to the large-scale terror attack the day before, the market was relatively quiet.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to have been caught up in the attack, but quite a few stalls appeared to be closed.
But it didn't really matter.
In fact, it was better this way.
“Hyun-woo, say ah~”
“Ah.”
I took the chocolate-covered strawberry Delia offered me.
The chocolate wasn't overly sweet, which was nice, and the freshness of the strawberry combined with the subtle bitterness of the chocolate created a perfect harmony in my mouth.
It was a 6 out of 10.
“How is it? Is it good?”
“Yeah, on a scale of 10, it’s a 106.”
“Why 106, not 100?”
Delia covered her mouth slightly and let out a small laugh.
Her smile was so bright and charming that it made me laugh along with her.
For the record, the extra 100 points were a Delia bonus.
A moment later, Delia handed me the entire cup of chocolate-covered strawberries.
“…Can you feed me, too?”
“Of course.”
Delia’s shy question was so adorable that ‘lovely’ wasn't enough to describe it.
I immediately held a strawberry to her lips.
Delia took a bite, her eyes crinkling into a smile. She didn't seem particularly interested in the strawberry itself.
And it was the same for me.
After that, we wandered through the market like any other couple, trying all sorts of food.
Fish and chips, sausage rolls, Scotch eggs, paella, toast with raclette, cream donuts, and more.
We both had quite the appetite, eating enough for ten people.
Of course, not everything was delicious.
The shops run by British people were uniformly bad, but strangely, the British food made by foreigners was delicious.
“…It’s like they’re a nation cursed when it comes to cooking.”
I said it as a joke, but Delia’s expression turned serious for a moment. “What if I’m like that, too…” she muttered.
When she added that wives who can't cook have a hard time being loved, I just stroked her head quietly.
That was something love could overcome.
Afterward, we left Borough Market and headed to our next destination.
Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, the London Eye, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square.
Despite our tight schedule, we managed to see many of London’s sights.
Most places were in disarray from the terror attack cleanup, but just walking together was good enough.
And as the sun began to set, our final destination was a shabby market alley.
As we walked quietly down the alley, Delia slowly turned her head toward me.
She wore a wistful smile, her expression lost in thought.
“…Do you remember this place?”
“Of course. It’s where we first met.”
It was the slum I had ended up in on my first day in London, chasing after an urchin who had run off with my wallet.
It was also where I had saved the child from being beaten by a police officer and met Delia for the first time.
The only thing that had changed since then was that there were no more urchins to be seen.
I heard they had been sent to an orphanage sponsored by Duke Winchester.
“You thought I was a child abuser and tried to arrest me.”
“Th-That’s…!”
“I almost ended up in jail on my first day in England. I guess that would have been a unique experience in its own way.”
I approached the flustered Delia with a playful smile.
As I bent my knees slightly to meet her gaze, I could see a faint trace of guilt in her eyes.
“I’m kidding. Besides, you already apologized back then.”
I pulled Delia into a tight hug.
Buried in my embrace, Delia wiggled around to get comfortable, then wrapped her arms tightly around my waist.
“…Should I just follow you to Korea, Hyun-woo?”
“I’d welcome you anytime. I just moved, so I have plenty of rooms.”
“Nnng…”
Delia shook her head.
“I want to share a room with you.”
“Really? Think you can handle it?”
“…”
At my words, Delia fell silent.
Instead, the tips of her ears turned bright red.
“…I’ll come see you soon, so you have to wait for me, okay?”
“I’m going to visit you first, though.”
“Hehe…”
Delia looked up at me with a radiant smile.
“I guess this is the last part of our date?”
But the slight redness in the corners of her eyes was impossible to miss, no matter how much I tried to ignore it.
Soon, Delia pulled away from my embrace and took a few steps back before extending her hand toward me.
“I’ll escort you to the airport.”
