Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: This Isn't a Catfight
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"YOU!!!! Why are you refusing my kindness?! You Si-woo KIMCHI nobody!!"
"No, I'm fine, really."
Erina Esnatia had been like this ever since I turned down her offer to introduce me to a blacksmith personally.
"Ah! Is it because you don't have money?!"
"What, you gonna give it to me or something?"
"Ha, that's pocket change to me!"
What?
She was seriously going to give it to me?
"Come on! Lick my feet and swear your loyalty to me, Si-woo KIM!!!"
"Erina! Erina! Erina!"
"W-WHY??"
Erina pulled her foot away from me with a flustered look on her face.
"What are you doing?! It's a j-joke! Can't you take a joke?! A joke! I'll just give it to you!"
"What are you talking about..."
!!
What the hell was I doing?
Before I knew it, I'd brought my mouth right up to her shoe.
-Slap
Get a grip, Kim Si-woo!!
"I refuse."
"Then why'd you go for my foot?! Are you a pervert, Si-woo KIMCHI?!"
"No, I just got swayed by the temptation of money for a second."
"SHIT! This guy is JOAT!! No backbone!! Then why refuse it?! I'm saying I'll just give it to you!"
Yeah, exactly.
If she was introducing me to a blacksmith, it had to be top-tier.
Which meant the commission fee would be insane too. No wonder she couldn't understand turning it down.
Still.
"It just feels kinda off."
"WHAT...? You just said it feels 'off'?"
"Yeah."
"What's 'off' about ME?!?!"
"Mostly your intentions."
"WHY...?!!"
No, come on.
I don't want to owe some pointless debt.
Even if it's coming from her liking me or whatever, that's all the more reason to say no.
"SHIT!!! If it weren't for YOU, I would've DIED back there. So I'm just trying to give you a gift!"
"I've already gotten enough from that."
I couldn't have cleared it without Erina in the first place.
And I got the materials too, so I'm good.
"You think one lousy material is enough?! YOU look dirt poor!"
...Why rub salt in the wound like that?
"F-Fine droplets of falling petals..."
"SHIT!!! What fresh bullshit is this now!!"
Erina Esnatia grabbed my clothes and shook me like crazy.
I'm dizzy.
Stop it.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason I turned down her offer.
If there'd been no other way at all, I'd have taken her help.
But I have someone else I can ask.
The blacksmith 'Mura of the Massive Flames.'
No matter who Erina introduced me to, they wouldn't outdo Mura's skill.
And by chance, I'd gotten my hands on a premium material called [Psyche's Blade].
A chance to build rapport with Mura, who's still just an apprentice. I didn't want to waste that.
"Why!! WHY!! Won't you just take it!!"
Stop shaking me.
"Si-woo KIMCHI! Where are you going?!"
"You don't have to follow me."
"I'm saying I'll buy you food!"
"So why are you..."
"If you're gonna refuse my offer, then shut up and let me feed you. YOU!"
"Sigh, fine."
"Now we're talking!"
She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a loud laugh.
Totally the stereotypical medieval lady.
"Lo-look at that girl."
"Ig-ignore her and let's go."
She didn't care about the stares from people around us at all.
Yeah, whatever. Her reputation's already rock bottom anyway.
Maybe this is her idea of happiness.
"I pick the menu, right? That cheonggukjang from last time, with the great taste..."
"Guhweeeek!!!"
Erina started gagging before I could even finish.
"Hmm, about that much."
"SHIT!!! What do you mean 'about that much'?! Didn't you see me eating it?!"
"You ate it pretty well."
"WHAT? You seriously thought that looked like I was enjoying it?! I felt the terror of K-food for real!!"
Erina Esnatia rejected it fiercely.
"Huh, you're putting up quite a fight."
"SHIT! A fight?! You call that a fight?! It's not just that soup!! Cheonggukjang before, cheonggukjang salad, cheonggukjang cake, cheonggukjang ice cream—it's all BULLSHIT!!!"
"How would you know all that, Erina?"
"...."
"You say it tastes bad, but you tried all that in the meantime?"
"Wh-when I diss something, I diss it informed."
Impressive.
"Anyway! We're going where I say! A place YOU could never afford in your life, so shut up and follow!"
"Got it, so calm down."
"It wouldn't be like this if you hadn't brought up cheongguk... that food!"
Yeah, getting a free meal seems fine.
She looks like she'd keep trying to do something for me forever otherwise.
And that food she says commoners like me could never taste.
Honestly, a little curious.
The six-course spread from that dusty construction site lunchbox joint in my past life was the best meal in my memory.
So yeah, I had some expectations.
"OK! Good, Si-woo KIMCHI! Let's go eat first!"
"Let's go!!"
Woohoo!
In the middle of jumping with one hand up alongside Erina Esnatia.
"Kim Si-woo?"
Baek A-rin?
Why's she here?
I had no idea why things had gotten so tangled.
"So? You're going to eat with her?"
"Yes."
Why am I suddenly speaking politely?
Is this some survival instinct etched into my DNA?
"You ignored me when I offered, but you'll go with her?"
"Calm down, Baek A-rin."
Baek A-rin.
She's smiling, but it doesn't reach her eyes at all.
"You really think going to eat this is a good idea, Kim Si-woo?"
Baek A-rin's eyes were burning hot before I knew it.
Weird.
They should've been a cool blue, like a bead reflecting the summer sky.
When did they heat up like this?
Almost rivaling Kang Hwa-yeon's red eyes.
Stop!
Why are you mad at me?
Erina's treating me to delicious food!
"You turned down my offer flat, but who the hell is she anyway."
"YEAH! Calm down, cute little girl!"
Why are you pouring fuel on the fire?
Look at that. It's gone past heated—straight to molten lava.
She's about to unleash [Inferno] at this rate.
"I'm not a little girl. I'm Baek A-rin of the Snow Mountain Clan."
"Oh! Cute!"
Baek A-rin forced a smile and offered a handshake, gripping her mentality tight.
Introducing herself with her clan name was her way of asserting dominance in conversations or deals.
Of course, Erina Esnatia wouldn't pick up on that deeper meaning.
"Crazy! So cute!"
Erina Esnatia picked her right up in a hug.
"...."
Dangling.
Thanks to Erina's height, her feet dangled in the air.
Baek A-rin's face was already buried in Erina's chest.
"If I'd known about such a SO CUTE doll-like kid, you should've introduced us, Si-woo KIMCHI!"
"Put her down."
Finally, after dangling in midair for a while, Baek A-rin got set down.
"...."
Baek A-rin's eyes already looked defeated.
She'd realized Erina Esnatia wasn't someone you could explain with normal words.
"So, who the heck are you, miss perfect manners?"
Even in this situation, Baek A-rin kept up the polite speech.
Kinda respectable.
"She's Erina Esnatia..."
"Esnatia...?!"
Baek A-rin looked a bit shocked at the family name.
She had wide connections and sharp ears.
Not just in Korea—famous families worldwide were in her knowledge bank.
The Esnatia family was one of America's massive clans.
No wonder she was surprised.
In the meantime, Erina Esnatia grinned and spoke.
"Oh my, what's with the formality between us!"
?
Between us what?
And why's her tone like that?
"Between us...?"
Baek A-rin's eye twitched at Erina's words.
"Like sisters or something? Si-woo?"
"That's a low blow."
Never had such a global family dynamic.
"Si-woo! That's hurtful! Didn't you protect me with your life?"
"That Kim Si-woo...?"
Baek A-rin asked back with an incredulous look.
What about that Kim Si-woo?
Is it weird for me to save someone?
"SURE! Of course! Isn't it natural between us? Right, Si-woo?"
Now she's just calling me by name.
'....'
!!
Is this that catfight you always hear about?
Erina Esnatia smirked slyly, hand over her mouth.
...No way.
She's just enjoying this.
A tiny 1% favor from me saving her (in her delusion) + 200% delusion that Baek A-rin is jealous of her.
Baek A-rin is probably jealous too.
But on her side, it's not affection—it's anxiety over some famous heir sniffing around her card.
In other words, one for pure fun, one protecting her interests.
No one calls this a catfight.
'Just let 'em go at it.'
If they're both having fun, what can I do?
Plus, leaving it like this makes Baek A-rin easier for me to use.
Keep her anxious in misunderstanding? Works for me.
It's fun too.
"You two were going to eat? Mind if I tag along? Right, Si-woo? We're not exactly strangers either?"
Her little sister's lifesaver? Yeah, not strangers.
"Kyahaha! Sorry, but today it's cozy time just for me and Si-woo!"
More! Pour it on, Erina!