Chapter 299
Chapter 299
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 299
Chapter Title: Sky Mountains (5)
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[I-I am not a figment of your imagination!]
She yelled at Oh-jin, who had ignored her and started walking toward his sleeping bag.
Oh-jin's head turned to the side with a creak, like a rusty machine.
"...You're really Vega?"
His wide eyes were filled with astonishment.
Vega hiccupped and frantically shook her head.
[N-No! I am a figment of your imagination! You are dreaming right now!]
What the hell did she want from me?
"Where on earth did you get clothes like these...?"
Baek Kang's house had things like cat and dog ears, but not a niche costume like a bunny girl outfit.
No, on closer inspection, the rabbit-ear headband she wore was clearly a simple cosplay accessory, a far cry from the elaborate models at Baek Kang's place.
[W-Well...]
Vega's cheeks flushed as if they would burst, and she lowered her head.
[I-I borrowed them from Spica.]
"...From the Constellation of Virgo?"
Why would a goddess, the Constellation of Virgo, possess such a daring outfit that revealed every line of her body?
'Was she the Constellation of the Lewd, not the Maiden?'
No, fine.
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Spica owned a bunny girl outfit. Why on earth would Vega borrow and wear it?
[I... I wanted to ch-cheer you on.]
"Cheer me on?"
[S-Spica told me! That if I wore this, your strength would double, even triple!]
"......"
What kind of nonsensical bullshit did that crazy constellation whisper into my goddess's ear?
Seeing a bunny girl outfit doubles or triples your strength?
Ha.
Seriously, I was dumbfounded.
No matter how pretty my goddess was, did she think men were such simple creatures?
Getting a power boost just from seeing a bunny girl outfit?
[S-So... how is it? Do you feel stronger?]
"Yeah. I'm fucking fired up."
I felt like I could smash Kalis's skull in right now.
[What a relief.]
Vega let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.
When she'd first received the outfit from Spica, she'd wondered if wearing it would truly empower Oh-jin.
But seeing the sparkle in his eyes, it seemed to be effective.
"But why the sudden cheering?"
Still, waiting inside a tent in a bunny girl outfit in the dead of night was just too random.
[I-I just suddenly felt like doing it.]
How could she possibly tell him that this all happened because Spica had discovered the feelings she'd been keeping to herself?
'Still, this is all for the sake of cheering on my child.'
She definitely wasn't wearing this shameless outfit to seduce him.
Hadn't Oh-jin said himself that he felt stronger?
'Come to think of it, he seemed quite pleased when Ha-eun and Isabella disguised themselves as beastkin.'
Could it be?
A dizzying thought crossed Vega's mind.
[My child.]
"Yeah?"
[A-Are you, by any chance... aroused by animals?]
"Excuse me?"
What?
[Y-You don't have to hide it!]
"Hide what?"
[I can understand and accept everything about you!]
"No."
What was this goddess talking about?
[But didn't you say you felt stronger after seeing my rabbit form!]
"That's... not what I meant."
My head throbbed as I tried to figure out where to even begin clearing up Vega's misunderstanding.
[Didn't you also stare intently at Ha-eun and Isabella when they were disguised as beastkin!]
"That's because it was Nunna and Isabella."
[Come to think of it, I once heard on TV about beings with a twisted desire called 'furries'!]
What kind of maniac was spouting that stuff on TV?
"It's not that I like animals, it's... what's the word. I guess I like people pretending to be animals, no, that's not a request for you to start acting like one now."
I grabbed the shoulders of Vega, who was about to start hopping like a rabbit again, and pressed her down.
"So... uh."
How could I possibly clear my name of this horrible accusation?
I had no confidence I could logically explain the niche appeal of animal ears and tails to her, whose knowledge of human society was desperately lacking.
Giving up on a detailed explanation, Oh-jin let out a deep sigh and continued.
"It's not the rabbit. I'm fired up because it's you, Vega."
[...Wh-What?]
Vega flinched, her eyes widening.
She stammered, her lips trembling as she avoided Oh-jin's gaze.
[I-Is that so?]
"Yeah. So I don't have any weird tastes like that."
[Ahem! I shall believe you, since you say so!]
The goddess coughed repeatedly, her face flushing red.
As her excitement subsided and her senses returned, she let out a deep sigh and gently clenched her fists.
[...How truly pathetic.]
"No, really, I'm not into that stuff."
This is so unfair.
[I-I wasn't calling you pathetic!]
"Huh?"
Then who was pathetic?
[I was saying that I am pathetic for being able to do nothing more than this for you.]
Vega said with a bitter smile, shaking her head.
The mood was clearly serious, but...
Hearing her say that all she could do in a bunny girl outfit was "this kind of thing" kept filling my head with improper thoughts.
"Don't say that."
[But...]
"Even this time, I wouldn't have been able to beat Kalis without your blessing."
That was something I had keenly realized through my image training against Kalis.
"And even without the blessing, you're always a help."
[...]
Vega smiled faintly and placed a hand on Oh-jin's cheek.
[You truly are kind.]
She caressed his cheek gently, as if stroking a treasure.
A languid fatigue, along with the gentle touch, weighed down on Oh-jin.
"*Yawn*."
[Ah, you must be very tired.]
"No, I'm fine."
[What do you mean, you're fine.]
Oh-jin's eyes were half-closed, as if he could collapse and fall asleep at any moment.
[Lie here.]
Vega patted her lap.
"That's a bit..."
[Ahem. Did I not tell you to lie down? Or do you intend to defy the words of a Constellation?]
Vega pulled Oh-jin toward her with a stern expression.
Already struggling with the heavy fatigue pressing down on his body, Oh-jin couldn't resist her pull.
As his head rested on Vega's thighs, he could vividly feel the soft texture of her skin through the thin stockings.
This was more likely to wake me up than put me to sleep.
Just as he thought that and tried to lift his head...
[Stay still.]
Vega gently pressed his head down.
She couldn't use 'commands' like Isabella, and yet...
For some reason, all the strength drained from his body.
[You pushed yourself too hard today, did you not?]
A gentle hand stroked his hair.
It was a comfort like a bird flying in to chirp on a warm spring day.
He hadn't taken any sleeping pills, yet his eyes naturally fluttered shut.
Vega lightly kissed the forehead of the now-asleep Oh-jin.
[Sweet dreams, my child.]
That night, a rabbit appeared in his dreams.
* * *
"Is that the Sky Mountains?"
Thanks to Poppy, Oh-jin's party escaped the forest much faster than expected, and a massive mountain range unfolded before them.
Or more accurately, a shape that was *presumed* to be a mountain range.
"I wondered why they called it the Sky Mountains when we couldn't see a hint of it from the forest."
Ha-eun clicked her tongue and looked up at the shape presumed to be a mountain range.
Well, not that looking up helped much.
"The entire mountain range is covered in an incredibly thick fog."
Isabella squinted, surveying the area around the Sky Mountains.
A dense fog shrouded the entire range.
It was as if they had entered the clouds on an airplane, a hazy mist blanketing the surroundings.
When I first heard the name 'Sky Mountains,' I had vaguely imagined a cluster of ridiculously high peaks, hence the name.
But it seemed the reason this place was called the 'Sky Mountains' was because of this thick, cloud-like fog.
[I worry if we can even find our way properly in this.]
"Well, we have Lyak for that."
With his beast-like sense of smell and instincts, Lyak should be able to navigate accurately even in a place with obscured vision like this.
"...No, this is no ordinary fog, kid."
"Not ordinary fog?"
"Try activating your senses."
I didn't have a clever way to expand my senses like some martial artist from a wuxia novel.
But I had something that could produce a similar effect.
Oh-jin activated the Stigma of Canes Venatici.
The senses all over his body sharpened, and the surrounding terrain should have been mapped out in his head.
No, to be precise...
It *should have* been.
"What is this?"
Even after activating the Stigma of Canes Venatici and heightening his senses, nothing changed.
His visibility was, at best, about twenty to thirty meters.
There was no smell of grass or trees that should have existed in a mountain range, nor were there the sounds of insects or birds.
It was, literally, a sensation like floating through an empty cloud.
Oh-jin frowned, staring at the thick fog surrounding them.
"Is this fog blocking our senses?"
"It seems so."
"Ha."
It was an environment so terrible that it made him laugh in disbelief.
"There was no place like this a hundred years ago... I don't know when it appeared."
Lyak said, squinting as he looked around.
"Kid, do you know anything about the Sky Mountains either?"
"All I know is what Leoru told me."
Oh-jin clicked his tongue and raised his head.
Even with the thick fog, the outline of the mountain range was somewhat visible from a distance.
True to its name, a high peak was flanked by lower peaks, descending like a staircase.
Since the goal was to cross the Sky Mountains and get to the Draconian Kingdom, we could just pick the lowest peak and cross quickly.
'The problem is, I can't tell which peak is the lowest just by looking.'
As he was squinting and looking up at the mountains...
*Sssshhhk!*
The sound of something rapidly slithering across the ground grazed his ear.
A dark shape shot toward Oh-jin.
"Oh-jin!"
Isabella quickly swung her hand, and a blood-red blade pierced through the dark object.
"This is..."
It was perhaps a meter in size.
A monster with an appearance similar to a spider, but with grotesquely protruding jaws.
A peculiar feature was the complete absence of eyes.
Where a spider's eyes should have been, hideous antennae like a snail's sprouted instead.
*Shhk! Shhk! Sssssshhhhhk!*
Sounds echoed from all directions, signaling that it wasn't just one.
Because of the thick fog, it was impossible to tell just how many monsters were surrounding them.
"Oh-jin."
An unidentified fog that blocked all senses.
Peaks that seemed to touch the sky and monsters that swarmed them from the very entrance, as if they had been waiting.
And on top of that, the Behemoth that was said to inhabit this place.
Now I understood why the Sky Mountains were called 'forbidden.'
"...Can't we just go back?"
I felt the same way.