Chapter 209
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: No Take-Backs
“Do you really think I'm the kind of person who comes running every time you call? Last time, this time... I only help out when I happen to have some spare time.”
Doesn't that basically mean she always helps? For an angel on vacation in the mortal world with no hobbies, what else would she have if not time?
Yeah. I'll take that to mean she's always ready to help me.
“And my help doesn't come cheap. I don't work for free. Unless it's an order from my Creator, I always collect my due compensation.”
She wipes out a demon that's hard to kill even with effort, feeds me a hidden piece, does whatever I ask with no time limit... and her price is just one Hawaiian pizza?
This seems way too generous, but I didn't say it out loud.
Honey's meant to be savored alone, after all.
“I'm not an easy woman.”
Sure, if you say so. We'll go with that.
I gave a pitiful glance at Michael, who was walking with a resolute expression, then looked down at Sion, whose hand I was holding. She gestured for me to lower my ear.
Wondering what it could be, I leaned in─
“Auntie's words and actions are total opposites!!”
She giggled and said it just like that.
“Yeah. She's embarrassed about it.”
“Why's Auntie embarrassed?”
“She's embarrassed. To others, she seems like a woman too intimidating to even approach, but really, she grants every request. So she's pretending otherwise.”
“So Auntie is kind.”
Pretty much. I patted her head, and Sion beamed.
“Did you know she could hear everything?”
“So what if she did? It's the truth.”
“T-The truth? I just said it's not with my own mouth.”
“We'll go with that.”
“Go with that?! Do I seem like an easy woman to you? If it had been Raphael or some other human, I wouldn't have even glanced at those requests.”
“Huh? Really? Then why me?”
I was genuinely curious. When I stared at her, urging an answer, Michael averted her gaze.
“Food.”
“Food?”
“Payment in food.”
Yeah, figures.
An angel like Michael wouldn't play favorites, so she's just a good person at heart.
Right. Her flushed face shows how embarrassing it is to use food as an excuse.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah? What?”
“Never mind.”
What was it?
＊＊＊
“Woooow!!!”
“Sion. I understand you're amazed, but try to keep the noise down.”
“Okay!! But it's so amazing!! So this is what a car is like!!”
“This is even more incredible than a car. It's something this person couldn't even dream of affording in a lifetime of work.”
“Really?!”
Sorry, but not everyone owns a car. Even most people don't buy limos. I'm not the weird one here.
And I'm just a student, right? Not having a car is normal.
“Fascinating.”
As I eyed the two fools with sparkling eyes from my awkward expression, a voice came from up front.
The current car we're riding in─the owners of this limo were sitting there.
We'd arrived at the meeting spot while teasing Michael, took the warp gate, and there they were, the limo owners waiting for us.
The two blue-haired sisters were looking at me.
One expressionless, the other smiling brightly.
“Normally, this is where Lee Seong-hoon goes, 'Whoa!!! A limo?! For real?! My first time!! Give it to me, Shin Ga-yeon. Hand it over.'”
“Even so, he wouldn't.”
[He totally would, nya.]
What do they think I am? I've ridden in a limo before.
Unlike that white-haired girl pretending not to be impressed or the hatchling openly sparkling.
“Why the smug look?”
“I've got limo experience.”
“You say that in front of the owners?”
“.........”
Come to think of it, yeah. Got nothing to say to that.
[Talking wrinkles in front of a pupa, nya.]
Anything I said here would feel lame, so I changed the subject.
“What are we here for anyway? You must have a reason for calling us.”
“Ah!! We've got lots prepared!! Since you came to our house and all. Meet the parents first~”
And then eat, look around, practice at the dojo a bit.
Friends visit homes for no reason sometimes, but you still need something to do.
And the most important thing was missing, so I waited for Shin Ga-yeon to finish.
“Um~ And that's about it. Our family food is really delicious. You'll be eating it for the rest of your life, so I hope it suits your taste.”
Why would I eat your family food for life? Ignoring the nonsense.
I got straight to the point.
“Sparring?”
“Pardon?”
“Sparring. With your clan's swordsmen and my strongest weapon, the Blade of Loyalty, Michael.”
“Who is your Blade of Loyalty?”
She catches the unimportant stuff like the limo fine. While riding the limo, I showed her the fridge─the thing that surprised me most─to regain her attention and continued.
“The reward should be good. Like a treasure vault that looks like your family warehouse, or one on the way underground. Something like that.”
They shot me knowing looks, but I shrugged it off.
Probably knowing I wouldn't get a straight answer anyway, the two blue-heads exchanged glances and spoke in unison.
““Father would probably know.””
Yeah. Your dad seems a bit crazy.
But I won't say it out loud.
Don't want to cross swords.
[There's the Blade of Loyalty, nya.]
Still.
＊＊＊
“Hello. I'm the one who'll become part of your family in the future.”
“Unnie? Our house is already family?!”
“Still, it's good to get familiar with faces.”
“But Oppa seemed to like this unnie more than you.”
“......Me?”
“Yeah!!”
Shin Chae-yeon oddly flustered, Shin Ga-yeon freezing over. Amid that, smiling Sion and Michael watching it all with her usual face but a hint of menace.
I'm fiddling with my phone.
Their conversation's been a bit scary for a while, but no room to butt in. They're having an important talk.
Which was─
─Benia calling on Raphael's phone since she hadn't come home in ages and contacted her. How does she time it perfectly when I'm away?
Makes me suspect she planned it.
─More importantly, why is Raphael like this? Stuck to the floor, all gooey.
“Take good care of her. She's an idiot. She played around happily earlier and now this.”
─Got it. Raphael will probably pounce on me to play games soon anyway.
“Yeah. So, how'd it go?”
─How'd it go? Got beaten nonstop by five for three days. I'm probably the only one in the world who's taken 72 hours straight of punishment.
“Not that. You have something else to say.”
─You're so materialistic. Ignisia used her Dragon Tongue as an apology.
“What is it?”
─She'll help once whenever I want.
That's great. Perfect reward. Dragon King help once at will. Like getting a one-time universal fix.
─Come home and I'll give you her scale. Break it then.
“Got it. Thanks.”
Benia had more to report too. Demon base, even if tail-cutting for the organization.
She wasn't empty-handed; she kept listing what she'd grabbed.
─Messed with the demons' brains a bit. Hardly anyone knows how thorough they really are.
“It was just a place for errand boys anyway.”
─Even so. They only had three 'fragments' gathered.
Three fragments at this point.
Not bad. Normally there'd be more, including the one I stole, but I blocked that.
Benia's revived, easy-to-use Michael's here, got a spy too.
Chip away bit by bit, something'll turn up.
─Picked up a few other helpful things too.
“Leave 'em at home. Thanks. Rest up playing with Levatein.”
─Will do. You come back in one piece too, no shattering.
Why would I shatter? Call ended with her cryptic words.
Almost simultaneously.
Sion ran to me from afar and hugged my waist.
“Oppa!! Look outside!! It's amazing!!”
“Whoa.”
For real. Peering out the window, a beautiful lake and maple trees came into view.
The harmony of flowers and trees was so exquisite, an exclamation slipped out unconsciously.
“What do you think? Our clan?”
We'd already entered the sword clan's territory. Even Michael couldn't tear her eyes from the scenery.
“Beautiful.”
“Yes. Thank you for bringing us.”
Isn't that what they should say?
Whatever.
But they were smiling, and it felt good. Michael smiling, Shin Ga-yeon smiling, Shin Chae-yeon smiling. Sion smiling.
Why are Shin Chae-yeon and Michael smiling though? That's not your character.
I couldn't quite get it, but I was the only one not smiling here. Simple reason.
“Oh, right.”
A huge fact just hit me.
[What's up, nya.]
“Fragment here's.”
Mid-story arc. Demons raid this place to gather the last fragment, Kim Tae-hyun comes to help.
Forgot about it. Yeah, this is the place that gets taken at the end. Who'd boldly invade a sword clan anyway?
It's crawling with top swordsmen.
“Well, still.”
Might be good actually.
I can just take it first.
“Nice.”
“Planning to make me do the hard work again?”
Our Michael has good instincts.
But what can you do? She came this far, no take-backs now?
“.......”
For real?! No take-backs?!