Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: Roman Holiday (1)
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“Hmm.”
A sweet breath tickled his ear.
As sunlight streamed through the gap in the window, Oh-jin opened his eyes and turned to Ha-eun, who was sleeping soundly, clutching his arm.
Long eyelashes, a high-bridged nose, and flawless skin that looked like it would slip from his touch.
Oh-jin smiled faintly, reaching out to gently stroke Ha-eun’s cheek.
“Nngh…?”
Ha-eun shook her head as if tickled, then slowly opened her eyes.
Their gazes met.
“Sleep well?”
“Thanks to a certain someone, I didn’t sleep well at all.”
With a playful smile, Ha-eun lightly pinched Oh-jin’s side.
An atmosphere so sweet it could give you cavities flowed between them.
“…”
“…”
Without a word from either of them.
Just as their lips were about to meet.
[It is I!]
*Poof!*
With a strange sound effect, Vega appeared in mid-air, spun around once, and spread her arms wide.
“Aaaaaaah!”
Ha-eun screamed and kicked Oh-jin.
Oh-jin’s body was violently launched into the air, hitting the ceiling before performing a spectacular mid-air rotation and crashing to the floor with a thud.
[…What were you doing?]
“…Nothing.”
Oh-jin got up, rubbing his aching stomach.
It felt like this kind of thing happened every time Vega showed up.
[Hmph.]
Vega, her brow furrowed in displeasure, flew over and sat neatly on Oh-jin’s head.
[Has the matter of the Guardians been resolved?]
“Well… more or less?”
Two were dead and one was in critical condition, but…
Since they had dealt with the Living Armor, the main culprit of the incident, he supposed you could call it resolved.
[Could you explain to me what happened?]
“Of course. Ah, but before that, how did absorbing Deneb’s divinity go?”
[Hah. Who do you take me for? Making the divinity of a foolish child my own is a simple matter.]
Vega made a V-sign with her small hand and shrugged.
Oh-jin chuckled and explained what had happened while she was away.
As he recounted the story of the Guardians, the Living Armor, the snake, and the toad, Vega’s expression changed with every detail.
[To purge a member of the same Black Star Organization… The child of Ophiuchus is truly a dreadful being.]
“Well, it’s not like the factions exist for no reason.”
[That monster, the Living Armor… is it completely dealt with?]
“Of course! I showed up at the perfect time and finished it off!”
Ha-eun answered Vega’s worried question, her nose held high in a boastful manner.
[Hmph. I know what humans call people like you.]
“Huh? What do they call them?”
[Let’s see… Ah, yes! A kill-stealer! They call you a kill-stealer!]
“You little brat!”
Insulted by the term “kill-stealer,” Ha-eun scowled and reached for Vega, who was perched on Oh-jin’s head.
Vega flew up, dodging Ha-eun’s hand.
[You are as rude as ever. Have you ever considered how sad Eltanin would be if he knew of this?]
“Like I care. I’ve never even met him.”
For the record, Eltanin was the name of the Draco Constellation.
“What, you’ve never met your Constellation?”
Oh-jin, who had been quietly watching the two women bicker, looked surprised.
He didn’t recall her ever talking about the Draco Constellation, but he never imagined she hadn’t even seen him.
“Well… I did actually go to meet him once. But…”
Ha-eun scratched her head and sighed.
“He was sleeping.”
“Sleeping?”
“Yeah. Snoring away. Just dead to the world.”
“So if you go next time…”
“He’s still sleeping. Has been for years.”
Ha-eun clicked her tongue and shook her head.
[Well… Eltanin follows the habits of a dragon, as befits his constellation. Once he enters a period of slumber, he does not awaken easily.]
“Then how did he grant the Stigma?”
[It seems he found a suitable candidate, bestowed his Stigma, and then fell asleep immediately after.]
So that was why there were so few Awakeners with the Draco Stigma.
[In return, he must have granted a very potent Stigma. Just look at Ha-eun; she possesses power that is in no way inferior to the 12 Zodiacs, does she not?]
“Ah. So that’s why.”
He had thought Ha-eun was excessively strong for the reputation of the Draco Stigma.
Even this time, she had defeated the Living Armor that Choi Yu-mi, another 9-Star, couldn’t even scratch.
[By the way, to push yourself again with such severe internal injuries… How much must you torment me to be satisfied?]
Vega wore a stern expression and smacked Oh-jin on the forehead.
“I was already planning to rest up until my injuries are fully healed anyway.”
[You had better.]
Internal injuries weren’t physical wounds but direct damage to the mana circuits through which the Stigma’s magic flowed. It was a problem that should never be taken lightly.
Just as forcing your body to move with a broken bone could lead to permanent disability even after it healed, recklessly using mana with internal injuries would ruin the mana circuits.
‘It’d be nice if this could be healed quickly with a potion or something.’
Unless it was an elixir, even the most expensive potion couldn’t heal internal injuries.
The same went for ‘Hydrophilia,’ which made Oh-jin’s body practically semi-immortal.
When it came to recovering from internal injuries, nothing was better than time.
“Anyway. Since Oh-jin’s going to be resting for a while and you’ll be resting too, Vega, why don’t we all go somewhere? We can even bring that mutt along.”
[Mutt?]
“That guy, Riak.”
[Calling my spirit a mutt…]
Vega pressed a hand to her forehead as if a headache was coming on.
To call Riak, whose power was acknowledged among the Constellations as the ‘Heavenly Wolf,’ a mutt.
[Truly… that is so like you.]
Vega looked at Ha-eun and smiled faintly.
It was a bit irritating to see her clinging so closely to Oh-jin, but…
For some reason, she was a woman he couldn’t bring himself to hate.
“So, are we going or not?”
[Where did you have in mind?]
“Hmm? I haven’t decided that yet.”
Tilting her head and touching her lips, Ha-eun snapped her fingers as if she had a good idea.
“How about we go abroad? You were super pissed last time Oh-jin and I went to Japan without you.”
[I was n-not pissed!]
“Heh. Is that so~?”
Ha-eun covered her mouth with one hand and grinned.
A vein throbbed on Vega’s forehead.
[You, you, you insolent thing!]
“Aack!”
*Crackle!*
A small bolt of lightning shot from Vega’s hand, and Ha-eun yelped in pain.
Just as the two women were about to start round two.
*Ding-dong.*
The doorbell rang throughout the house.
“Huh?”
“Were you expecting someone?”
Oh-jin tilted his head and opened the door.
“Hello, Oh-jin.”
Standing at the entrance was Isabella, holding a long box and smiling brightly.
“I was so surprised when you disappeared so suddenly last time.”
“…”
Her voice was so gentle it could make the corners of your mouth turn up just by hearing it.
But for some reason, a cold sensation spread down his spine.
“I told you, my internal injuries were too severe, I had no choice.”
“Oh, my. Is that right? I must have forgotten. Are you feeling better?”
“Much better now.”
He wasn’t fully healed yet.
But after pawning off the cleanup on Isabella and Lee Woo-hyeok and resting with Ha-eun for a few days, his internal injuries had healed significantly.
“Hoho. You have no idea how worried I was. You drove your motorcycle all the way back with such severe injuries.”
Oh.
Fuck.
“Uh, about that.”
“What would you have done if you’d gotten into an accident?”
Isabella smiled with her eyes and patted Oh-jin’s shoulder.
It looked so much like a chef checking the freshness of a fish that his shoulders flinched.
“What did Cheon Sang-gil say?”
Oh-jin quickly changed the subject.
“Sir Dubhe is currently away, so I haven’t been able to report to him directly.”
“He’s away?”
“Yes. It seems he’s still in hot pursuit of the ‘Snake’.”
“Is that so?”
Had he gotten his hands on some clue about the ‘Snake’?
“Still, I’ve spoken with the Cheonhye Guild and had them set up surveillance around the area.”
“Anything else?”
“Hmm… A few of the people on guard duty the other day dozed off and were disciplined. But they said nothing was missing.”
“A few of them dozed off?”
Oh-jin frowned.
It was possible to doze off while on guard duty, but…
‘Not just one, but several?’
And members of the Cheonhye Guild, Korea’s top guild, at that?
“Something’s strange.”
“Yes. I was suspicious too, so I investigated… but I couldn’t find any clues. Nothing was caught on the CCTVs or surveillance artifacts either.”
“Hmm.”
It was strange, but with no casualties and nothing missing, there was no way to continue investigating a case with no leads.
“What about Lee Woo-hyeok?”
“He’s looking after Hyun-bin. His body has healed, but… it seems the mental shock was quite severe.”
“I’ll bet.”
He’d been filled with so much anticipation about becoming the second Seven Star, only to get his ass handed to him right from the start. It was understandable.
‘By the way, what’s going to happen with the Guardians?’
Oh Hyun-bin was out due to mental shock.
With two dead, nearly half of the seven positions were now vacant.
‘I’ll have to talk to Cheon Sang-gil about this later.’
Oh-jin clicked his tongue and looked at the long box Isabella was holding.
“What’s this?”
“Ah. I brought it for you, Oh-jin.”
Was it another absurdly expensive gift?
“Your spear was broken last time, wasn't it?”
She said, opening the long box.
Inside was the jet-black spear that the Living Armor had used.
“This is.”
“I thought it would be best if you used it, Oh-jin.”
Oh-jin took the spear from Isabella and examined it slowly.
A spear about two meters long with a long blade.
‘This is nice.’
Gripping the spear, Oh-jin’s eyes widened at the feeling of it fitting perfectly in his hand.
“This isn’t just any spear.”
“Not just any spear?”
“It’s an Ego Weapon, one with a will of its own.”
“Ha.”
An Ego Weapon, a weapon that possessed its own consciousness.
It was a precious item, considered top-tier even among holy artifacts.
“Can I really just take something like this?”
“Hehe. You were the one who played the biggest role this time, Oh-jin.”
Isabella nodded with a bright smile.
“And…”
She stroked the jet-black spear with one hand and continued.
“I tried channeling my mana into it, but it seems it won’t recognize me as its ‘master’.”
“It won’t recognize you?”
“Yes. I suppose my Stigma isn’t suited for wielding a spear.”
“…”
He wasn’t so sure.
The Aries Stigma, maybe, but to the point where it would reject the Leech Constellation’s Stigma as well?
‘No. In her case, she’d claim it didn’t recognize her even if it did.’
She was, after all, playing the role of an ‘Aries Awakener.’
“Then I’ll test it out and see if I can use it.”
“Be careful. It seems to have quite a violent temperament.”
Oh-jin nodded and slowly channeled his mana into the jet-black spear.
*Crackle!*
Blue lightning flared at the tip of the spear.
‘What the?’
Oh-jin looked at the spear with wide eyes.
He was sure he had only channeled a small amount of mana, yet the size of the lightning at the spear’s tip was larger than he expected.
‘Mana amplification.’
A short gasp escaped Oh-jin’s lips.
As expected of an Ego Weapon.
It possessed an incredible function.
“Huh?”
It was Isabella who was more surprised to see Oh-jin create lightning so easily.
“What is it?”
“Oh, no. It’s just… it’s much more docile than I expected.”
She hadn’t thought it would be this compliant, and she stared at Oh-jin with a bewildered expression.
“But for an Ego Weapon, I don’t hear a voice or anything.”
Oh-jin said, lightly shaking the jet-black spear.
“It probably hasn’t formed that much of a consciousness.”
“You think so?”
He closed his eyes for a moment and focused on the spear, but he couldn’t feel any movement that suggested a ‘will.’
“Thanks, I’ll put it to good use.”
“It wasn’t mine to begin with.”
Oh-jin smiled with satisfaction and spun the jet-black spear in a circle.
‘It’s a bit of a shame that it doesn’t shrink, though.’
Being inconvenient to carry was a major drawback of a spear—
*Click, clack!*
The moment Oh-jin thought it was inconvenient, the jet-black spear transformed into the shape of a small folding knife.
“…I guess it really does have a will.”
Oh-jin let out a short exclamation, looking at the spear that had turned into a 15-centimeter-long knife.
At this size, it could be easily carried anywhere.
“By the way, Oh-jin. You said you were going to take a break to heal your internal injuries, right?”
“Yeah. That’s the plan.”
Isabella’s eyes sparkled as she took Oh-jin’s hand.
“Then I’d like to invite you to my family’s villa! There’s a place there that’s very effective for healing internal injuries!”
“And where is that?”
“It’s a place called San Fruttuoso. The seaside is beautiful, so it’ll be a great place for you to rest.”
The seaside?
“Ah, of course.”
Isabella’s gaze flickered to Ha-eun’s chest, who was standing behind Oh-jin, and the corners of her mouth lifted.
“I’ll invite Ha-eun, too.”