Chapter 106
Chapter 106
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Sister and the Queen (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Pardon?”
Roberto raised his head in a hurry, a bewildered expression on his face.
“B-But if Your Majesty were to leave now...”
Now that the cumbersome obstacle known as the Marco Family was gone.
The ‘Leech’ faction desperately needed Isabella’s power to take control of all of Italy.
“Huhu.”
A gentle smile.
A beautiful smile graced Isabella’s lips.
Slowly, she reached out and caressed the chin of Roberto, who was bowing with his head at her feet.
“H-Huhp!”
Roberto’s face turned pale.
“Roberto. Since when did you start questioning my words?”
“I apologize!!”
*Tremble, tremble, tremble.*
Roberto trembled, thudding his forehead against the floor.
“Hmph.”
Isabella, who had been looking down at Roberto with cold eyes, scoffed and swept her hair back.
“Well, I’m not going just for the purpose of seeing ‘him’.”
“In that case.”
“The Owls.”
“……”
At the word ‘Owls,’ Roberto’s expression hardened coldly.
The sight of him trembling with his head bowed at Isabella’s feet vanished, replaced by a violent, bloodthirsty aura, like that of a homicidal maniac starved for blood.
“I plan to find out how those people got their hands on the Curse of Jamiwon.”
Isabella narrowed her eyes and continued.
“Perhaps… it’s the ‘Snake’ pulling the Owls’ strings from behind.”
“If that’s the case, I’ll go with you…”
“Didn’t you just say it, Roberto? That now is not the time to leave.”
Isabella's absence alone was a blow, but if Roberto, the second-in-command of the Leech faction, also left, their plan to seize control of Italy would go up in smoke.
“That’s.”
“Huhu. Roberto, you will remain in Italy and lead the Heukseonghoe. Understood?”
Isabella gave a faint smile and lightly tapped Roberto’s cheek.
“I will follow Your Majesty’s command.”
Roberto bowed his head deeply.
“Hmm. Well then…”
Isabella lightly licked the tip of her finger, her eyes sparkling.
“Roberto. There’s something I need you to look into urgently.”
“Please, tell me anything. If it’s information about the Owls, I already have some…”
“No, that’s not it.”
“…Then?”
Roberto tilted his head in confusion.
“Make me a list of what Korean men like! From number one to thirty, all of them!”
Isabella huffed with excitement, clenching both her fists.
“…Hah.”
Roberto pressed a hand to his forehead as if he had a headache.
* * *
[According to the Association's investigation, the mastermind behind the horrific terror attack in Guro-dong was one of the Association's executives, Managing Director Cheon Woo-seong, who was connected to an organization called the Heukseonghoe….]
*Beep.*
Oh-jin pressed the power button on the remote with his toe, turning off the TV.
‘So, the existence of the Heukseonghoe has finally been officially revealed.’
The Heukseonghoe's atrocities had already been exposed to the world because of the incident.
An organization so heinous they controlled monsters to massacre hundreds of civilians.
It didn’t take long for all of Korea’s news and online communities to be flooded with talk about the Heukseonghoe.
‘Not just Cheon Woo-seong’s actions, but all their past evil deeds have been laid bare.’
In particular, the incident where they kidnapped and brutally murdered the older brother of Lee Woo-hyeok, the Black Lion and Guild Master of the Valhalla Guild—one of Korea’s top 10 guilds—sent a huge shock through the nation.
“Scumbags.”
Oh-jin shook his head at their heartless atrocities.
He wasn’t the only one who was enraged.
You could tell how immense the public's fury was just by looking at the petition demanding the Heukseonghoe's punishment, which gathered over several hundred thousand signatures in less than three days.
‘Well, not that the Heukseonghoe is an organization that will disappear so easily.’
Cheon Woo-seong was dead, but that didn’t mean the Owl faction was completely gone.
Not only were there still an unfathomable number of remnants, but more importantly, their ‘King,’ Cheon Do-yoon, was still alive and well.
‘He doesn’t seem to be making any particular moves yet, though.’
If the Association and major guilds started moving to eliminate the Heukseonghoe because of this incident, he too would have no choice but to make a move.
Both in terms of timing and situation, it was time for Oh-jin to get busy as well, but.
[━Don’t even think about moving a muscle until your arms are fully healed.]
“Urgh.”
Vega, who had been sitting beside him, zipped up in front of his face and crossed her arms with a stern expression.
“I’m fine now, I’m telling you.”
[What do you mean, you’re fine!!]
*Snap!*
Vega planted her hands on her hips and scolded him.
[Just now, weren’t you unable to move your fingers, so you had to turn off the remote with your foot?]
“Ugh.”
A short groan escaped Oh-jin’s lips.
Just as she said.
In the last battle, he had over-condensed mana in both his arms, shredding his mana circuits to pieces.
He could somehow move his arms, but his fingers wouldn’t even twitch.
‘Even with Hydro-Affinity, it only heals external injuries.’
He'd heard he could heal internal injuries if his Aquarius Stigma's proficiency increased, but it wasn't that high yet.
In the end, Oh-jin was left unable to use both hands until his mana circuits healed naturally.
“…I have a mountain of things to do.”
*Tsk.*
Oh-jin clicked his tongue and let out a deep sigh.
Having to adapt to his stronger body and Stigma after reaching 6-Star, and needing to research the newly acquired Charge and Discharge skills, being unable to use his arms was quite a fatal blow.
[You just reached 6-Star. What’s the rush?]
Vega asked reproachfully.
“A great war is coming soon.”
[…A war?]
Oh-jin nodded.
Even without Lee Shin-hyeok’s memories.
It wasn’t hard to guess that an all-out war with the Owl faction would soon begin.
“Before… I was powerless and couldn’t do anything.”
Oh-jin looked at Vega with a distant gaze, as if recalling the past.
[…Before?]
“In the first timeline.”
He averted his gaze, his eyes filled with sorrow.
“Back then, I was just a rookie Awakened who had barely reached 3-Star.”
He created a false memory.
As if writing a novel, he spoke of a fabricated past.
“I… I didn’t even know why the fight was happening back then. Forget saving people, I was busy just trying to save my own skin.”
[My child…]
“But. It’s different now, isn’t it?”
A faint smile played on his lips.
“I’ve become incomparably stronger than I was then. And Vega… you’re by my side now too.”
So.
“Even if it’s training that doesn’t use my hands…”
[Absolutely not.]
*Tch.*
*She’s not falling for it.*
[My child.]
Vega’s body was enveloped in a halo of light and grew larger.
Returning to her true form, Vega reached out and pulled Oh-jin’s head into an embrace.
A touch as gentle as a spring breeze.
A warm sensation spread from the touch of her skin against his cheek.
[Why do you only think of others?]
“……”
*Only thinking of others.*
He had tricked her into thinking that way, but honestly, he never thought he’d hear those words spoken to him directly in his life.
[I know full well your desire to protect people. But you must not push yourself to the point of breaking your own body.]
She continued in a gentle tone, as if soothing a reckless child.
[Are you not the only one who can change the set destiny? Of course, other people are important… but you must prioritize your own body above all else.]
“Vega…”
[Do not try to bear everything alone.]
*Poke.*
Vega playfully poked the bridge of his nose with her fingertip.
[Just as you said… am I not with you this time?]
She gave a tender smile and tightened her arms around his head.
*Squish.*
An indescribably soft sensation pressed against both his cheeks.
[Just as you try to protect me from the fate of the apocalypse, I, too, will give my all to protect you.]
“……”
[Huhu. Are you embarrassed? Your cheeks have turned red.]
No.
How was I supposed to stay calm in this situation?
[There is no need to be embarrassed. Relax your heart… and rest in my embrace.]
A gentle voice echoed in his ear.
Was it because she was a Constellation?
Her voice was imbued with some kind of irresistible magic.
“Ah…”
A hazy sensation enveloped his body.
A languid drowsiness spread through him, like right after lunch.
Held in Vega’s arms, Oh-jin slowly closed his eyes.
[Huhu. Good boy.]
She gave a warm smile and gently stroked Oh-jin’s hair.
[Whenever you wish to be spoiled, just say the word. I will indulge you as much as you like.]
“Vega…”
Whoa, damn.
Is this what a mother’s love feels like?
I could see why that bastard Cheon Woo-seong lost his mind.
A somewhat ticklish sensation arose, along with the desire to entrust everything to her.
‘Just for a little while.’
Wouldn’t it be okay to stay like this?
Just as he was thinking that and completely surrendering his body to her embrace.
“━What are you doing?”
Ha-eun’s voice shattered his hazy state of mind.
“A-Ahem! Sis, you’re back?”
“Yeah. I went out to buy you something to eat.”
*Thud.*
She set down a heavy bag and shot a sharp glare at Vega.
“Couldn’t wait for a second, could you? Going into heat.”
[I-In heat?! How insolent!]
Vega shot up to her feet.
[I was merely taking care of my child!]
“Take care of him like that a second time and you’ll have two kids to look after.”
[Y-You have a filthy mouth!]
“Hmph. Better than pretending to be all prim and proper.”
A murderous atmosphere passed between Ha-eun and Vega.
But that, too, was brief.
[Haa. My child is not well. Let us stop this pointless fighting.]
“…Tch. Fine.”
Had they gotten used to each other to some extent?
Or was it because Oh-jin was in a state where he couldn’t use his arms?
Their war of nerves didn’t last long.
“Let’s just eat, Oh-jin. I bought a lot of stuff.”
“What’d you buy?”
“Hold on.”
*Rustle, rustle.*
Ha-eun took out the contents of the bag.
Inside were packaged dishes like nutritional porridge, ginseng chicken soup, and eel—it seemed she had scraped together everything that was said to be good for the body.
“Why’d you buy so much?”
Just by eyeballing it, there was enough for nearly ten people.
“When you’re sick, you have to eat a lot to get better, you punk. Always coming home hurt from somewhere.”
Ha-eun lightly bonked Oh-jin on the head and pulled his arm to lead him to the table.
“Ah~”
Ha-eun, who had quickly sat down to Oh-jin’s right, picked up a piece of eel with her chopsticks and brought it close to his mouth.
“…I can eat by myself.”
“How are you going to eat by yourself with those arms?”
“I can pick it up with my wrists like this.”
“Stop talking nonsense and open your mouth, you punk.”
Ha-eun forcefully shoved the eel into his mouth.
“…*Munch, munch.*”
“Hehe. It’s good, right? Your big sis here thought of you and bought the most expensive kind.”
Ha-eun grinned and scooped up a spoonful of nutritional porridge.
But before she could put the porridge in Oh-jin’s mouth, a piece of shredded chicken went in first.
[Huhu. Is it delicious?]
Vega, sitting on his left, gently stroked the head of Oh-jin, who was diligently chewing.
“Hey! I’m the one who bought it!”
[Is the amount not too much for you to feed him all by yourself?]
“…Seriously, you’re such a sly fox.”
[Huhu. You too will become wise once you’ve accumulated a wealth of life experience like myself.]
“Hmph. Must be nice being so old, old lady.”
[O-Old…!]
“No, maybe grandma? Hmm… that’s not right either. If you’re a Constellation, you must be at least several thousand years old…”
[Silence!]
Ha-eun and Vega bickered as usual while feeding Oh-jin.
‘…I don’t know if I should be happy about this or not.’
Being fed by two stunningly beautiful women, it couldn’t get any better than this, but…
The atmosphere was so hostile that it was hard to enjoy the happiness.
It was like eating while sandwiched between two incredibly pretty time bombs.
‘Well… still.’
A gentle smile formed on Oh-jin’s lips.
‘It’s not cold.’
The warmth coming from both his sides spread throughout his body.
Infinitely precious.
Warmths that he could never let go of.
“Come on! There’s still lots~ left!”
[Huhu. Try this too!]
“……”
Though he also felt like the warmth was so intense he might burn up.
‘This isn’t a flower in each hand, it’s a fire in each hand.’
*Munch, munch.*
He forced himself to chew the food being pushed into his mouth and stifled a chuckle.
* * *
“Haaah~!”
Just how many servings did he eat?
Stuffed to the point where he couldn’t eat another bite, Oh-jin escaped to the shower room under the pretext of washing up.
“They really don’t know the meaning of ‘too much of a good thing’.”
He awkwardly flailed his barely-moving arms to take off his clothes and entered the shower.
*Swoooosh!*
As he turned on the water and was soaking his body.
*-Click.*
Cautiously.
The shower door opened.
“W-What the?”
Oh-jin turned his head, a flustered look on his face.
“A-Ahem.”
There stood Ha-eun, clad in only a thin towel, her cheeks flushed.
“S-Sis?”
“It’s hard to wash with your arms not moving well, right?”
She twirled her hair with her fingertip as she stepped inside.
“I-I’ll help you. Wash.”
“Wait, what are you…”
Before Oh-jin could say anything, Ha-eun strode into the shower.
And then.
*-Swoop.*
“Stay still, you.”
The single thin towel covering her body.
She cast it aside without hesitation.