Jason's Rampage
“Indeed, you’re impressive! I’ve believed in you since the moment we first met! The audience’s reaction was the best. Even the big shots of the arena have started showing interest in the name ‘Undead,’ and the match with Jason now……”
The manager looked very pleased. Although he hadn’t shown the resurrection performance, it seemed he had left a strong impression on the spectators with the Muggle’s magic wand and neck-breaking. Praising that the name ‘Undead’ was something anyone interested in the arena couldn’t help but know, it appeared to have made quite an impression on the manager as well. He could have kept using the Muggle’s magic wand, but the reason he used it this time was because of growth. The conditions had been met splendidly. Seeing the corpses somewhat damaged and the arena turned into a library, well… thinking too deeply about it gave me a headache. I’ll stop there.
After the match, Adam and Eve began looking at me with gazes that went beyond respect into something closer to awe. It was a little burdensome, but it was for the best. They were friends who would help me with searching for Hwanjong and adapting to this other world from now on. Even if their reverence sometimes felt burdensome, what could I do? It just meant my charm was overflowing that much.
The only thing left was the final showdown with Jason.
“Will guns work on Jason?”
“It depends on the situation. If there’s no fear around, they should work just fine, but in a case like now where there are so many spectators……”
Kang Naram noona woke up after a long, deep sleep. It seemed like she had slept for four days straight. Even when I asked if she was hurt anywhere or if her body was okay, she answered brightly and cheerfully, “I’m fine, noona’s okay! Don’t worry so much! I was just a little tired, that’s all!” From the way she spoke, something was clearly wrong. But I couldn’t press her. She hated talking about it too much. Since I couldn’t bear the thought of Kang Naram noona disliking me, I decided to just wait quietly. I was worried. She was usually a heavy sleeper, and even if she had stayed up all night, sleeping for four days straight wasn’t normal. Still, the only thing I could do was return to our original world with her as quickly as possible. If I was worried about noona, all I could do was give my best to the things I could actually accomplish.
“The match is tomorrow. Rest well until then.”
The manager had managed to move the match forward as much as possible. Word of the gladiator Undead’s performance had spread through Sunflower Town and the surrounding cities, filling the arena seats with people looking forward to my match. Well, even if the date changed, it didn’t affect my plans. After all, I had no intention of fighting Jason fair and square in front of everyone. The manager said that promotion was mostly finished, and one of the big shots had taken an interest and would be attending, so moving it up shouldn’t be a problem.
I received thirty gold coins as compensation. In theory, that was enough money to buy fifteen Eves. How to spend three hundred thousand Solar… I’d have to wait and see. There would definitely be a use for it later. People always said the more money, the better. If things went south, I could use this money to buy a house to live in with Kang Naram noona. Unlike Korea, where housing prices were hellishly high, houses in this other world seemed quite cheap.
Anyway, I had free time. There was still a day left until the match with Jason. Rest was necessary for efficiency. So, without saying anything to Adam and Eve, I sat quietly in the forest near Sunflower Town. In other words, it was time to have a leisurely conversation with Kang Naram noona for the first time in a while.
Kang Naram noona’s sparrow drone was perched on my shoulder. This way, even though we weren’t standing in the same space, we could look at the same scenery. Of course, my experience—feeling the fragrant scent of the forest and the gentle touch of the wind—would be a little different from noona’s, who could only observe the situation through a monitor screen.
“Suho-ya.”
“Yes.”
“I want to get out of here quickly……”
I stood up immediately.
“Aaaaaah, I didn’t mean it like that……”
Aha. It was time for some nade-nade.
“Being trapped alone like this feels stuffy and gloomy and dreary and exhausting. Of course, Suho, who’s suffering out there, must be having it a hundred times harder……”
“Noona’s having it harder than me. And you’re an ENFP, too.”
“Uung. I want to go outside and people-watch a little……”
There was no strength in Kang Naram noona’s voice. Seeing her visibly struggling made my own heart ache. It hurt this much to watch someone you like suffer.
“We’ll be able to leave soon.”
“Really?”
“I promised noona I’d make it happen.”
Noona’s smile reached me even here.
“Yeah. I’ll trust you, Suho.”
“For Lady Kang Yeong-ae, this humble one would even lay down his life.”
“Th-th-th-there’s no need for that…… I-I-I’d rather die instead.”
“How could one so easily speak of the death of a lady as beautiful as the stars in the sky? This Woo Suho cannot allow Lady Yeong-ae to die before she has cooked doenjang-jjigae for him every morning with the premium special doenjang made by Cheongjeongwon Corporation.”
“Uuuung…… I’m ugly.”
I had just heard something truly unforgivable.
“Voyager 33214521 departing now. For Kang Naram, owner of an appearance so stunning that even standing next to a celebrity wouldn’t make her look inferior, to belittle her own looks—this is truly an unforgivable matter.”
“Th-th-th-that’s enough!”
“Noona’s pretty.”
“Uung, noona’s pretty! Pretty-tv!”
The plane landed back on the ground. It was a shame.
“Suho-ya.”
“Yes.”
“Even if noona changes into something strange, you’ll still stay friends with me, right?”
“On the contrary, I’d rather noona became a little ugly.”
“Eehng, why why?”
“That way other men won’t eye you.”
“Uuuung……”
“I wish you’d gain about a hundred kilograms.”
“Uung…… Then noona’s belly fat would break her back.”
The question she had just asked was actually one I wanted to ask myself.
“Even if I turn into a monster, would noona still think of me as a little brother?”
“Of course-tv! Even if Suho turns into a fat, green-skinned Shrek, noona can stay by your side. Hehe. That’d be cute!”
“That’s not what I meant……”
If I became a monster who devoured Hwanjong and could break people’s necks, perhaps unable to even control my own power—would noona still stay by my side?
“Is it because Suho eats Hwanjong?”
“!”
“Or is it because you break necks?”
Kang Naram noona knew everything. How did she know? I thought I had hidden it pretty thoroughly since coming to this other world. I was a little flustered by how calm noona seemed even after learning the truth.
“Noona’s not an idiot, Suho-ya.”
“I know.”
“But I’m a little hurt…… How could you think I’d hate Suho because of something like that? I was wondering why you didn’t tell me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you still not trust noona?”
It wasn’t that. It was just human nature to want to show only your best side to the person you liked.
“Noona thinks of you as Suho no matter what form you take. I’ve always emphasized and repeated it, haven’t I? If something like this happens again, noona will really get angry, okay?”
“Yes.”
I stroked her cheek. If noona were in front of me right now, I would have wanted to caress her soft, delicate cheek immediately. Kang Naram noona, who always looked at me as I truly was. Unlike everyone else, from beginning to end, noona looked at the inner human Woo Suho, not the outer shell of Hwanjong, resurrecting monster, or 4th-class cleaner. She was the one who became my goal. Perhaps the reason I lived with such an indifferent expression was because of Kang Naram noona, who wrapped me in such gentle warmth.
“I want to see noona.”
“I’m right here.”
“That’s true.”
It was decided. Today, I would spend the whole day talking with noona to soothe my heart. That way, I felt like I could take down Jason energetically tomorrow as well. While I was thinking about the long 5,700-character flight that would make noona happy today as well, I heard someone running toward the forest.
“Lord Suho, something terrible has happened!”
“It’s really terrible!”
It was the Adam and Eve siblings. Thinking that if it wasn’t something truly serious I’d have to beat them up for real, I looked up at them quietly. How dare they interrupt my time with Kang Naram noona, who was like sweet rain—unless they had a good reason, they’d have to face my wrath. When I got angry, I often used a very good reference to vent at people. That reference was none other than Ship-pal. Ship-pal’s contemptuous language, which even stripped away a person’s humanity, could make even Buddha and Jesus furious.
“Jason has gone on a rampage!”
“He suddenly barged into the match, killed all the gladiators, and is now trying to kill the spectators too. The manager is dead as well…… You need to come quickly!”
I stood up from my seat.
“Guide me immediately.”