Chapter 91
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Name
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"I'm home."
I took off my shoes as I returned to the lodging and quietly looked up.
Cool night air wafted in through the wide-open veranda, carrying faint breathing sounds with it.
Snooze, snooze.
"Oppa, looks like everyone's asleep."
"Seems so."
When I got back after passing on the technique to Sera, everyone had already drifted off to dreamland.
We must have spent quite a bit of time outside. They'd waited up and ended up falling asleep right there. I could understand it.
'Even just two days on that cliff was cold.'
Was that all? They must have been on edge the whole time, never knowing when or where trouble might strike.
But now, it was the complete opposite.
The weather was mild, the air comfortably cool in a way that invited sleep.
And there wasn't a hint of danger.
So they'd all let their guards down, and exhaustion hit them all at once.
'Even So-hee conked out... She must've shouldered a ton of mental strain filling in for me.'
The party without me was under Han So-hee's command. And being the leader was way more draining than it seemed.
I grabbed a blanket from the living room bed. Sera washed her hands and feet clean, headed to her room, and came back out with her own blanket.
"Good night, everyone. You all worked hard these past two days."
"Mm, Min-jun..."
I draped the blankets over the women curled up together on the wide veranda bed.
I even covered one over the harpy, who wasn't used to the bed yet and was sleeping on the floor atop the Saintess's and my clothes.
"Alright, see you all tomorrow."
「Gyaang....」
Once the lights were out, the stars in the night sky sparkled even more beautifully. After gazing up at that vast, mysterious vista for a bit, I dragged my feet over and flopped down on the living room bed.
Pat pat. Sera came over with the remaining blanket, tucked it over me, and snuggled into my arms.
"You sleep well too."
"Yeah!"
Sleep crept in softly amid the plush, comfortable night air.
A true peace I'd savored in ages—no intense romps, no night watches.
The first restful night in our third rest area.
"Here, So-hee, yours."
"Thanks."
"Here, Sera."
Early morning, beneath the dazzling sun, we threw together a simple breakfast on the veranda.
We'd bought a grill and sizzled up sausages, bacon, and fried eggs on it, paired with veggies and fruit... a sort of American-style breakfast.
"Oppa, soda for me!"
"Pick whatever you want and we'll settle up later."
"Yeah!"
Sera scampered inside to the lodging and jabbed away at the vending machine buttons.
"Kiddo, grab mine too!"
"Auntie got no hands?"
"Hey, can't you just do it for me?!"
"Nope."
And just like that, the Death God and the Crimson Flame Witch were at it again from the morning. What an energetic pair. I laid down the law preemptively, just in case.
"Sera, don't use that on party members. You know what I mean, right?"
"...Yeah."
This girl was totally planning to if I hadn't said anything.
Sera eyed Shin Seo-yeon's butt with obvious longing.
"What? What's with that creepy look?"
Sharp as ever, Shin Seo-yeon didn't miss the shady vibe in that gaze.
"Auntie scratch?"
"Hey!"
The war kicked off anew. By now it was everyday routine, so everyone just shrugged it off. The Saintess beamed sunnily and said,
"Ahh! Breakfast gazing out at the lake...! So romantic. So-hee, is this exactly what Canada's scenery is like?"
"Hmm, pretty similar. Air's not quite this balmy, though. You've never been?"
"No. Never had the chance..."
The Saintess's story sounded a lot like mine. I'd never traveled abroad either.
Mom passed giving birth to me, Dad raised me solo until cancer took him...
No room for luxuries like that.
From what I knew, the Saintess's family situation wasn't all that different.
"If I'd known Earth was gonna go under like that, I would've traveled everywhere... Kinda regret it now."
Hm. Han So-hee paused for a beat, then said,
"No need to beat yourself up over it. It's not like it's any better than here."
"Really?"
"Yeah. What I'm saying is... no need to regret it that much."
The Saintess's eyes went wide, then she broke into a bright grin.
"Got it! So-hee, you're so sweet!"
"I... guess."
Han So-hee smiled softly and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
'Her vibe's shifted a little.'
How to put it. She seemed to be paying closer attention to the party members now?
The intimidating edge from the tutorial was mostly gone. Maybe... after that leadership flop, she was determined not to repeat the mistake.
'Right or wrong direction aside... the fact she started pondering how to lead the party is what's important.'
In short, she looked like she'd keep filling my spot admirably.
I grilled up some sausages and fried eggs, plated them. The harpy snatched the plate with gleaming eyes.
「Gyaang...!」
"Hey, you! Gonna shape up or what? Sis ain't done yet?!"
「!!」
The harpy froze for a second, then set the plate on Shin Seo-yeon's table.
"Huh? What's this? Mine?"
「Kyaaang!」
"I thought... the baby sis shoving me aside to hog it first."
As if. The harpy kneaded Shin Seo-yeon's shoulders. Didn't get a word of it, but her people skills were pro-level—straight out of a workplace newbie legend.
"Here, you eat too, harpy."
I grilled her share. Finally with food in hand, the harpy dug in with a blissful look.
I grilled mine last and took a seat.
「Gya, gyaang!」
Sausage too hot—the harpy grabbed it barehanded, dropped it on the floor, picked it up, repeat. The Saintess scooped it up, rinsed the dirt with water, and popped it in the harpy's mouth.
"Tasty?"
Nod, nod!
The harpy shoved her plate at the Saintess for more.
Shin Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes.
"Gettin' real lordly. Won't fork it yourself? Like this! Eat it yourself!"
Whoa, hustle! Under the seasoned instructor's demo and nagging, the harpy mimicked her earnestly. True to her demi-human roots, she picked it up fast.
"Don't squat all pitiful on the floor—sit up straight in the chair!"
Like she'd channeled a tiger drill sergeant from some boot camp show, Shin Seo-yeon nitpicked every detail. The harpy sweated bullets following along.
Her first go at it, she looked wiped—but with Shin Seo-yeon as drill sergeant?
No shortcuts, pure effort. Smart cookie too—picked it up quick.
"Mess up table manners next time, and you're done. Got it?"
Nod, nod.
Now she sat ramrod straight, eating like a person. Looked mighty uncomfortable, but too scared of Shin Seo-yeon to hit the floor—kept at the human act.
The Saintess slipped her own sausage into the harpy's mouth to cheer her on.
Nom!
Just like that, the harpy was beaming again, all that meekness forgotten.
Her dopey innocence was straight out of the Saintess playbook.
"Min-jun, we should give her a name."
"A name?"
"Yeah. Can't keep going 'hey you!' 'harpy!' 'kid!' forever."
The harpy nodded along beside her.
This parrot—was she actually getting what we were saying and nodding?
"Harpy wants a name too, right?"
Nod, nod, nod!
...Worlds apart from her nods at Shin Seo-yeon. Eyes sparkling, full-throated agreement with the Saintess.
'She's clocked that nothing bad ever comes from the Saintess.'
Hanging around Shin Seo-yeon had sharpened her instincts and street smarts something fierce.
I rubbed my chin.
'Naming her, huh...'
A name never hurt. I asked the group if anyone had ideas. Shin Seo-yeon popped strawberries in her mouth and said,
"Watermelon?"
"Watermelon?"
"Yeah, look at the fur here—like a watermelon. Ah, wanna eat watermelon."
"......"
The harpy nearly got named Watermelon just 'cause she was craving it. Good thing it was Shin Seo-yeon's pitch?
"Watermelon good? Like it?"
The harpy shook her head like crazy.
No no no no.
"What? Hate it? Get over here. Dare diss a name from this sis?"
Shiver. The harpy bolted behind the Saintess. Deemed that not enough cover and ducked behind Han So-hee too.
Oho, she hadn't half-assed her lessons under Shin Seo-yeon—knew the party power rankings cold.
Shin Seo-yeon glared over Han So-hee's shoulder, huffed, and backed off the watermelon idea.
"Fine, Kokko then."
"...She a chicken?"
"Gugu!"
Now Pokémon?
"Chirpy!"
Sparrow next?
Her body parts sticking out must've sparked all those bird vibes. Listening in, the Saintess pouted like it was too much.
"You guys are so mean! Not even trying seriously!"
"What're you on about, sis? I'm dead serious."
"Me too, serious."
The two least serious ones pushed back, so the Saintess scooped up the harpy and declared,
"Forget it—from now on, she's 'Love'!"
We all yelled in unison.
"Nah, that's a no-go."
"Sis. Goosebumps—what kinda Love?"
"...Love? In this shitshow world?"
Even I shot it down, so the Saintess scratched her cheek like maybe it was overkill. We settled on calling her whatever until a solid name popped up.
Of course, the party runt harpy had zero say.
"Want more? I'll grill some."
Nod, nod!
The harpy hauled over a mountain of meat.
Looks better than your average celeb, slim with zero belly flab—and an appetite for days.
"Damn, this chick packs it away. All that grub goin' straight to tits and ass?"
Shin Seo-yeon compared her own chest to the harpy's hefty pair, scowled, and smacked that harpy butt with a crack.
The Saintess just grinned like it was great.
"She'd crush mukbang vids! Our Rang want more?"
「Gyaang...!」
"Sis, cut it out. Who's footing that bill?"
True that.
We stuffed ourselves silly on breakfast, grabbed drinks from the vending machine, and soaked in the leisure while watching the lake glitter in the morning sun.
But it didn't last—our resident realist Shin Seo-yeon dropped the real talk.
"So, we didn't farm jack in this trial. How we makin' money?"
"Fair point... Bonus stats and subspace pouch are nice, but nothing to sell."
"Yeah. Gotta feed our Rang better eats."
The women looked downright bummed.
Felt a predictable stare—turned to see Shin Seo-yeon eyeing me.
"That a new buy?"
"Yeah. Old fridge was tiny."
I crammed the [Whispering Silver Grass] into the new fridge real quick and shut the door. The Crimson Flame Witch kept staring holes in me.
She had a nose like a bloodhound for cash flow.
"What? Spit it out."
"Nah, just... Feels like Dickhead you'd have a money scheme cooked up."
"Kinda."
The women blinked wide, gazes full of expectation.
"Ooh! Knew it—our Dickhead! Actually useful!"
"Min-jun, you're amazing!"
"Truly... always one step ahead. Impressive. I'm learning tons."
No need to learn from me that bad.
"So, what's the plan?"
"Ah."
Right then, Sera shot her hand up like she had the answer.
"Like yesterday—go beat bad guys?"
"Huh?"
"Bad guys?"
The women shot her puzzled looks. Sera just silently hefted her weapon. Whoa—Saintess's eyes bugged out.
"R-Rang, bad for education!"
She yelped and covered the dildo. I jumped in quick before Sera could say anything weird.
"Business like before. But a fresh twist this time. Gonna need your help too."
"Our help?"
Nod.
Four women and one harpy all tilted their heads, eyes saucer-wide. Zero guesses.
But when I turned toward the vending machine, sharp Shin Seo-yeon and savvy Han So-hee lit up.
"Dickhead, you sneaky fuck...?"
"Indeed... brilliant idea."