A Destined Partner
“He was the kind of guy who believed he had to possess every woman in the world. He was under the delusion that any woman would naturally fall for him.”
“He was even worse than I imagined.”
“Yes. That’s why I ended up on his radar. I was a Saintess, untouched by anyone. Camu realized what he was planning first and tried to protect me. She pretended to be me, and…”
Letting out a deep sigh, Rozamy finally shed tears.
“After he did those terrible things to her, she took her own life.”
The reason she hated Domian so passionately was because he was the direct cause of Camu’s death, who had been like a real sister to her. To make matters worse, the resurrected Domian hadn’t even remembered it!
“Before that, I had received a revelation that the Hero was my destined partner. And that was the result. After that, I gave up on everything and tried to save the world in my own way, but…”
In the end, she had only been used.
“Perhaps we really were destined partners, seeing how I ended up like this and Domian met that kind of end… maybe the revelation was right after all…”
Rozamy curled inward, weighed down by the gloomy memory.
“Miss Rozamy.”
When Yunjae’s hand gently touched her back, she flinched and looked up at him. He was the only one left to comfort her now that she had no world to return to, no people she knew, and nothing left to her name.
“…Please, don’t ever change.”
A man with the same clear, pure eyes as Camu, who had gone to face Domian in her place to save her.
“The world will surely try to tear you apart. If a natural disaster happens, they’ll find a way to blame that on you, too.”
She, too, had been blamed like that. Even without any real power, she had been a symbol, a Saintess. Because these words were born of her own painful experience, Rozamy was dead serious.
“And I’ve seen how Domian changed. So please, I beg of you, don’t change. No matter what anyone else does, at least not you…”
Unlike Domian, who had brought nothing but despair, Yunjae was the only person who had ever gifted her hope—and he had done so when she was pushed to the very edge of despair. At Rozamy’s desperate, sorrowful plea, Yunjae silently wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“Yes! I won’t ever change!” Yunjae replied in a clear, bright voice. “Because I have good people by my side.”
He had been a bit gloomy today thinking about his past, but realizing that everyone cared for and worried about him seemed to have restored his spirits.
“But…”
“Yes. Someone might leave sooner than expected, and eventually, everyone will leave. Since I’m a game character, I probably won’t age, and I might not even die.”
Though he constantly insisted on his “seventies theory,” his lifespan might actually be eternal. He was aware of this deep down, but because he didn’t want to believe it, he always clung to his claim of being in his seventies.
“But at least I don’t think you will leave me, Miss Rozamy.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
As he chuckled and nodded, Rozamy’s face flushed. Feeling his hand on her shoulder and looking at his gentle face made tears well up in her eyes. His boundless warmth and kindness not only reminded her of her sister-like companion, Camu, but also made her wish that he was her true destined partner—not the fallen Domian who matched her own ruined state.
“Please hold onto me tightly so I don’t change, Miss Rozamy. If I ever lose my way, scold me so I can snap out of it.”
“B-but I…”
“I believe that only those who have suffered can truly understand the pain of others. So when that time comes, please hold onto me.”
At his words, Rozamy buried her blushing face in his chest.
“…If someone like me is really okay.”
“That’s a relief!”
His bright, pleasant voice made her smile once more.
“But still, be careful. Humans are truly terrifying. In fact, they were far scarier than Mamon’s underlings. As long as they could profit, they wouldn’t hesitate to join hands with a Demon King, no matter what happened to the world.”
Still worried about him, Rozamy, leaning against his chest, warned him once more. Just like Lupinus, she had witnessed the fall of the Hero Domian from the front row. It was only natural for her to worry out of anxiety, but Yunjae simply offered a bright smile.
“I actually have a last resort in mind!”
“A last resort?” Her eyes widened at his words.
“Yes. I hope it never comes to that, but nobody knows what the future holds.”
What on earth could it be? Rozamy’s curiosity flared, but—
“Anyway, rather than that, I think it’s much better to think about what fun things we can do tomorrow.”
Instead of a frightening future, he was painting a picture of a joyful tomorrow.
“Once the sun rises, I’ll have breakfast with Miss Mari and go to work. Then I’ll meet people at the office, chat with them, and have a great time! We might not know what will happen tomorrow, but every single one of those mundane daily moments is something I desperately yearned for during those fifty-seven years. That’s why I don’t want to fill that precious time with worry and anxiety.”
“Ah…”
Perhaps due to Mamon's Grace, Yunjae’s romantic smooth-talking skills were improving at a rapid pace. As he chuckled and looked down at her, Rozamy blushed and averted her eyes.
“Will you join me, Miss Rozamy?”
She looked back up at him. True to her shy nature, her face turned as red as a tomato at his confession-like words. Staring at him with her blue eyes, she awkwardly shifted her gaze toward the moon and spoke.
“I-I’m bound to you anyway… and I have nowhere else to go…” Still leaning against his chest, she added with an embarrassed expression, “So… you can use me however you want.”
“Ah!”
Of all the things Yunjae had heard in his life, he never expected such a provocative statement to come out of her mouth!
“I-I didn’t mean you should make me do weird things, though!”
Flustered by her own words, Rozamy quickly backtracked, and Yunjae let out an awkward chuckle.
“Yes. Um…”
“Y-yes?”
What if he asks me to do something right now?
“I do have one favor to ask…”
“W-what is it…?”
He was a man, after all—surely he was going to demand something? As Rozamy stared at him with a tense face, Yunjae spoke.
“Please stop flying through the sky while wearing a skirt!”
“Huh?”
“Ah! I wasn’t trying to look on purpose, but it just caught my eye!”
Rozamy flinched at his words.
“W-what! When did you see that?!”
“Ah! Every time you appear, you’re wearing a skirt and flying! I’ve only ever seen white!”
“I-I only own white ones!”
Back when she was acting as a mastermind, she hadn’t cared about such trivial details, but now that things had changed, she couldn’t help but feel incredibly embarrassed!
“F-fine. Anyway, I won’t fly around in a skirt anymore…”
Though her embarrassment didn’t fade, she felt a secret thrill of joy. Is this what it feels like when a boyfriend tells you not to wear short skirts? Of course, this case was slightly different, but still.
“But now that I’ve said it out loud, I feel like I might actually miss it a little.”
“Y-you’re exactly like Lady Lupinus!”
“Ah! I am contracted to Lady Lupinus, after all!”
At the Hero’s shameless defense that his pervertedness was practically a job requirement, Rozamy stared at him with a red face.
“Just pounce on him!”
Lupinus’s seductive advice echoed clearly in her mind.
“…I-if you really want to see, I can show you.”
It’s not like I’m a Saintess anymore anyway… Swept up in the atmosphere, she blurted out the bold words, only to turn even redder. Seeing her embarrassed gaze, Yunjae’s face flushed so hard it looked ready to burst.
“Ah! If you say it like that, it makes it even harder for me to ask to see...!”
His face was a perfect mix of embarrassment and lingering regret.
“I-if you don’t want to, then forget it!”
“Ah! It’s not that I don't want to!”
Since he openly admitted to being a bit of a pervert to anyone who would listen, Yunjae couldn’t help but express his disappointment. Seeing him like that, Rozamy burst into laughter despite herself.
“…The opportunity has passed. I’m leaving first!”
Embarrassed that she had actually said such a thing, she leaped off the building and fled. Since he had told her not to fly in a skirt, she seemed to have deliberately chosen the ground route.
Watching her go, Yunjae whispered with a flushed face, glad that the gloomy Rozamy seemed to have cheered up a bit.
“…But your skirt flipped up when you jumped, Miss Rozamy.”
“Hello, everyone! Good morning!”
“Yunjae, you seem to be in a great mood today!”
“Yes!”
After a rollercoaster of bad and good events yesterday, Yunjae’s bright expression brought warm smiles to everyone in the Support Part. After all, he was the hero who had saved the world, and he had already become the mascot of their department! Naturally, seeing him happy made them feel like they were going to have a wonderful day, too.
“Make sure you don’t get all gloomy like yesterday.”
Mari, who had made significant progress with him the previous day, brushed her hair back as she spoke. Yunjae offered a warm smile.
“Ah! If I think about that, I should probably be gloomy today too!”
“D-don’t be ridiculous, you dummy!”
Flustered, she snapped at him, but he only beamed in response.
“Well, I’ll go pick up Taerin now!”
“Alright. And if you do that again, you’re really going to get it!”
“Yes, Miss Mari! I’ll be back!”
As Yunjae left to fetch Taerin, exchanging playful glances with Mari, Miju and Minseon caught onto the subtle shift in atmosphere and leaned in with curiosity.
“Those two are acting strange today.”
“W-what’s strange?”
“I don’t know, you guys just looked totally like a couple!”
Mari flinched, her face turning bright red.
“I-I have to go clock in!”
“There’s definitely something going on!”
“Oh my goodness!”
“Don’t you all have work to do? There’s nothing going on!”
She tried to play it cool, but with her face flushed all the way to her earlobes, everyone was absolutely certain that something had happened.
“Man, I’m so jealous. Dating the hero who saved the world!”
“Quiet! Just get back to work!”
While Mari was dying of embarrassment,
“Mister!”
“Ah! A maid outfit again today?!”
“I’ve figured out your taste!”
Yunjae flinched as he looked at Taerin, who was dressed up as a little maid once again.
“Ah! No, it’s not like that! Guild Leader! I’m not that kind of person...!”
“I respect your preferences. Personally, I like flight attendants.”
“Pardon?”
Yunjae blinked in shock at Taejun’s unexpected confession.
“…W-well, that is a nice look too.”
“Indeed. A flight attendant who isn't perfectly neat is quite…”
“Ah! I can't believe we share the same taste!”
As Yunjae rejoiced over discovering this new side of him, Taejun let out a soft chuckle. Yunjae looked at him with wonder, realizing that the Guild Leader had been smiling a lot more lately.
“Anyway, I’ll leave her in your hands again today. Taerin has become much brighter lately, and I’m truly grateful for that.”
“Daddy! I want to be a flight attendant!”
“Sure, work hard at it.”
Though his cool, detached fatherly demeanor remained unchanged.
“Mister, is that perverted lady not coming today?”
“Ah, Lady Lupinus is completely unpredictable. I don't know if she’ll show up or not. Though she probably will.”
She’ll probably drag Miss Rozamy along just because she’s bored. As Yunjae chuckled at the thought,
Buzz.
Taejun’s phone vibrated. He instinctively turned his head to check the screen.