Seonyudo Reclaims Its Everyday Life (1)
After my conversation with Partruna, I opened my eyes again through the haze of fading consciousness — and found Hyeonseok's face right in front of mine.
"You're awake?"
"Wha—?!"
Having his face so suddenly close sent heat rushing into my cheeks, and my heart hammered so hard I could feel every beat. I was starting to understand, just a little, why my body kept reacting this way.
But the moment I admitted it to myself, I felt certain I would lose myself so completely there would be no going back. So I shoved Hyeonseok away and scrambled to my feet.
"S-sorry!"
"It's fine. I'd jump too if the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was someone else's face. More importantly — are you okay?"
"Yeah. I heard that while I was out, I spoke with the goddess I serve. Partruna."
"Ah… right. Well! Now that you're up, we should head back to Seonyudo as fast as we can."
"Yeah. We've got a lot to do from here on."
The moment Partruna's name left my mouth, his expression darkened. Something tight and heavy pressed against my chest, and I wanted to ask him why he looked like that — but the thought that he might not want to talk about it made me swallow the words rising in my throat. I simply agreed and followed after him.
"Where's Yeonseo?"
"She said she'd wait in the tent. Can you go tell her we're ready to leave? I need a minute alone to think."
"Okay…"
Even as I stepped into the tent, Hyeonseok kept tugging at the edge of my thoughts. Before I'd lost consciousness, he hadn't worn that dark look. The face I saw after waking wasn't the usual sly, teasing smile I knew, and it hurt more than I wanted to admit. I had no idea what to do about it, so I decided to find Yeonseo first and ask her what had happened.
"Yeonseo? Hyeonseok says we should get going now— Whoa! What the— Why are you doing that?!"
The second she realized I was there, Yeonseo strode right up and started pinching and tugging at my cheeks again.
"What do you mean, why?! A goddess just appeared out of nowhere — do you have any idea how much that freaked me out? You could've warned me!"
"I didn't know she was going to manifest either!"
"Haa… Fine. Then what on earth were you doing, clinging to Hyeonseok like that and… and doing… that…!"
Ah. So she… saw that.
While purifying the evil god's power that had corrupted Gabriel, my body had heated up all over again. I'd probably collapsed into Hyeonseok's arms as I lost consciousness, and then… yeah. That had happened.
"Th-that wasn't something I could control… My consciousness just cut out on me all of a sudden…"
"Even for a pervert, that was a bit much…"
"Hey! I told you it wasn't like that!"
"Sure it wasn't, you absolute pervert, Apostle of the Goddess. Just change your clothes and get out here already."
With that, Yeonseo swept out of the tent, leaving me to sink down right where I stood. The dampness of my underclothes hit me the moment I sat, and mortification flooded through me. I hurriedly dried them with Holy Fire and changed into fresh clothes.
"Haa… So the side effect even the gods didn't know about is this? I'm going to lose my mind. It's not like I can just stop purifying people… Ah, whatever. Forget it."
Even on the road back to Seonyudo after leaving the National Assembly Building where the tower had stood, Hyeonseok's expression never lightened. If anything, it grew heavier. Every so often he would fiddle with something and mutter under his breath, or let out long, deep sighs, and that sticky, pressing weight on my chest refused to ease — it only made everything harder.
I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but a nameless fear kept swallowing the words, so I simply followed behind him in silence.
"Hey, Foxy. Talk to me for a second."
"Hm? Why? Is something wrong?"
Yeonseo pulled me aside and spoke in a voice low enough that Hyeonseok wouldn't overhear.
"Is something wrong? Yeah, there is. Why have you been fretting by yourself this whole time?"
"Have I… been doing that…?"
"Yes! Hyeonseok's like that, and so are you — what's going on with both of you? What the goddess told us was a shock, sure, but not enough to tank the mood this hard."
"Huh?"
"Wait — is that not why?"
"Ah, no, I'm just… Hyeonseok's been so gloomy this whole time, so I— ah…!"
That was a dangerously easy line to misread. All I'd meant was that it bothered me when someone who usually smiled stopped smiling — but the way it came out, it sounded exactly like I was worried because someone I liked looked depressed.
And Yeonseo clearly took it that way. The corner of her mouth curled up as she poked my cheek, her voice bright with the delight of someone who'd just found something entertaining.
"Hoo~ So our Miss Foxy has been fretting because she's so worried about Hyeonseok?"
"W-wait! I think you're misunderstanding something. When someone who always smiles looks that miserable, of course you notice, right? Don't you?"
"Not really? Not particularly?"
"Ugh… That's because you're cold-blooded! You idiot!"
I tried to pull free of her, but she'd already anticipated it — her arm locked around mine, pinning me in place. The bracelet on her wrist flashed as she held me; another artifact, reading my movements again.
"Hoo, Charlotte. I don't know why you're so determined to deny your own feelings, but for now, this big sister is going to give you some advice about the situation. Listen carefully."
"Who said you were my big sister—"
"Shh. Just listen."
She pressed a finger to my lips, signaling me to be quiet, and began to speak slowly.
"First — don't be afraid to ask. If the two of you keep not talking, the misunderstandings will only get deeper. And make sure you talk when it's just the two of you."
"J-just the two of us?"
"Yeah. It's not exactly something you'd want other people to hear, right? So give Hyeonseok a little signal and slip off somewhere secluded—"
"No! What are you even saying?!"
I wrenched free of her arm and bolted. Why would she suddenly say something like… like that?! I shook my head hard, trying to forget her words — and yet some part of me still wanted to know, even if it meant doing exactly what she'd suggested, why Hyeonseok wore that expression.
"Haa. Birds of a feather, sure — but I didn't think they'd be this much alike. And Hyeonseok, as expected…"
Watching Charlotte tear off without looking where she was going and slam straight into a utility pole, Yeonseo allowed herself a small smile. Then she glanced at Hyeonseok, still turning the pendant over and over in his fingers, sighed, and followed after them both.
"Welcome back! You've been an enormous help!"
The moment he heard we'd returned, Ryu Jinseong came running from far across the settlement, seized our hands, and pumped them up and down with vigorous thanks. For all that high energy, his clothes were filthy from running everywhere and his face was drawn with exhaustion. The sight of him putting on a bright front just to keep the children from worrying made me smile a little.
"It was nothing. More importantly — is Vincent all right? I couldn't come myself and had to send Pedro ahead, so I've been fretting about it the whole time."
"Uncle Bean's recovered his health thanks to you. He should be resting quietly in the greenhouse about now."
"That's a real relief."
"Looks like you've got something to say, though — come on back to my room."
As we followed him through the Seonyudo Settlement, I took in the view. The facilities wrecked by the harpy attack were being rebuilt; people were carefully restoring the ruined gardens; and children were laughing and running around again. The sight of it all settled something warm and easy in my chest.
Off in the distance, Pedro was using his abilities to help people. When he spotted us he waved big, then went right back to work. It looked like he'd found the path he wanted to walk.
Seonyudo, reclaiming its everyday life — it was a truly good thing to see.
We followed Director Ryu Jinseong into his office, drank the tea he poured for us, and told him everything that had happened at the tower. The story of the beast that had once been Han Jin-o, leader of the harpies. Why the tower had appeared. And the truth about the gods.
He listened to the first part with his usual easy smile — but the moment the conversation turned to the tower and the gods, his expression went awkward, and he laughed in a strained, uncertain way.
"Hahaha… So… the tower appeared when the goddess who watched over us — over Earth — passed away, and it's meant to reset the world back to the beginning. Is that it?"
"Yes. But thanks to the efforts of Gaia and the other gods, the current situation is being held in place."
"Haa. Almost wish I hadn't heard that. And those cultists are mixed up in it again… We'll need to tighten the perimeter around our settlement. Thank you for telling me."
"Of course. We also need to get this information — and the pills we showed you before — to the Blue House Settlement as soon as possible. We're planning to leave soon."
"Is that so? Come to think of it, because you cleared the tower, the communication functions unlocked as well. People who've met each other can stay in some degree of contact now, so I'll put the word out ahead of time."
"Huh? Communication functions?"
I looked at him blankly. Ryu Jinseong tapped his device a few times — and a moment later mine vibrated. Looking down, I saw an incoming call from him on the screen.
"It's real…"
"It is. Thanks to that, settlements can reach each other more easily, and people can pass news along quickly. I think it's an excellent feature."
"Being able to share information more freely will definitely help."
"Exactly. But you must be exhausted — rest for now, and I'll see you at the party later."
"A party?"
"That's right. Thanks to you, the beast pack that's been a nightmare for weeks is gone, and before long people from other settlements will be sent to the National Assembly Building to establish a major new outpost. This is a celebration for that."
We thanked Director Ryu Jinseong, left his office, and made our way through a stream of grateful settlers back to the spot where we'd pitched our tent before. We set it up again and settled in to rest until the director called for us.
While we were trying to rest inside the tent, Hyeonseok said he was going out for some air and left. I started to reach for him — then stopped, hand frozen midair, and simply watched him go.
"Haa. Didn't I tell you? You two need to talk. When he comes back, I'll make sure you get some time alone with him. Talk to him, all right?"
"Okay. Thanks. Oh — by the way, when I woke up it looked like we'd already left the tower. What rewards did the two of you get?"
"A new summon page opened in my grimoire. I'll probably have to invent and create another summon before long. And Hyeonseok got a pair of earrings — he said they'd be better used by you than by him, and told me to give them to you. Here."
Yeonseo pulled a small jewel case from her pocket and held it out.
"Oh? Thank you. Are you sure I should take these?"
"According to Hyeonseok, they're appearance-altering artifacts. Including your hair — he figured it might be useful to be able to change your look a little, just in case."
"I see. I'll… have to thank him later. What about mine, though? I don't remember receiving anything."
"Ah~ Your reward? I put it in the bag over there. Go take a look yourself."
She pointed toward the bag. I went over, opened it, and searched for the tower's reward — and the moment I saw it, I turned back to Yeonseo.
"Th-this… is this really it? No, even so, this is a bit…"
"Pfft. What's with that face? Our little pervert Foxy? Isn't this the perfect reward for you? Hmm?"
"N-no! Th-this can't be right! I'm not… some kind of… pervert…!"
"Ha! Not a pervert? The person who got all heated up, leaned in to smell Hyeonseok, and then just passed out on him?!"
"Hey! Th-that wasn't my fault, I told you!"
I looked down at the reward in my hands and swallowed hard. Then I shoved it straight back into the bag and decided, firmly, that it simply did not exist.
Yeah. No way something like that could be a reward. Even if the tower tailored its prizes to the preferences of the people receiving them, this was not something I was supposed to get. Yeah. Absolutely not.
And yet, sitting inside my bag as I said all that, was a red leather dog collar — complete with a matching leash.