Chapter 306
Chapter 306
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 306
Chapter Title: Interlude – The Goddess's Deviation (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Ughhh….”
A sharp pain surged through him, as if pointed needles were flowing through his veins.
He let out a groan and forced his eyes open.
“Oh, Oh-jin!”
From a distance, he heard Ha-eun’s voice, followed by a clattering sound.
“A-Are you okay? Huh? You’re okay, right?”
“D-Don’t shake me.”
“Ah.”
A sigh of relief escaped Ha-eun’s lips.
Oh-jin lifted his head and looked around.
The inside of a spacious tent came into view.
“…Where am I?”
“Still in the Sky Mountain Range.”
“How did you find me?”
He didn’t know which part of the Sky Mountain Range the Behemoth’s nest was tucked away in.
And with the thick fog, it must have been difficult to find.
“The fog over here suddenly started getting sucked into one spot.”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, the Behemoth had absorbed the fog right before its final charge.
“And Vega helped.”
“Vega did?”
“Yeah. She kept shooting something like a signal flare into the sky.”
“I see. What about you? There were a ton of mabeasts over there, too.”
“Well… Bella went completely berserk and killed them all.”
An image of Isabella, drenched in blood and radiating waves of killing intent, flashed through his mind.
A chill ran down his spine.
Even Felis probably would have tucked its tail and fled if it had seen Isabella in that state.
“By the way, did you defeat the Behemoth all by yourself?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“…Did you use that technique?”
Ha-eun’s expression hardened, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Oh-jin chuckled, unbuttoning his shirt to show her the stigma engraved on his left chest.
“W-What the? Why are you suddenly showing me your nipple, you freak?!”
“No. Look at the stigma, the stigma.”
“Well, our little Oh-jin’s nipple is pretty cute.”
Poke, poke.
“Stop poking it, you crazy woman.”
“Should I lick it for you then?”
“No.”
*I think I’m going to lose my mind.*
“Luckily, I was able to win because I reached 9-Star.”
“So you didn’t use that technique?”
“Nope.”
“…Phew.”
Her stiff expression relaxed as Ha-eun swept a hand over her chest.
Looking utterly relieved now that her worries were gone, she picked up a wet towel and began to gently wipe Oh-jin’s body.
“Really… Didn’t I tell you not to make me worry?”
“Sorry.”
“Well, I guess this time couldn’t be helped, so I’ll let it slide.”
Who could have predicted that Felis would use a Sanctuary to kidnap Oh-jin and take him to the Behemoth’s nest?
“Oh, right, where’s that arrogant little cat?”
“It went back.”
Though the place it returned to probably wasn’t the Sanctuary.
“Aargh! Anyway, the next time I see that bastard, I’m neutering it first!”
Ha-eun ground her teeth, emanating a chilling killing intent.
Oh-jin watched her fuming and smiled faintly.
The sight of someone else getting so angry on his behalf wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
“Where’s Isabella?”
“She went to check if there were any remaining mabeasts nearby. She’ll be back soon.”
“How long was I out?”
“About a day?”
It wasn’t a long time, considering how severe his injuries had been.
‘Is it thanks to the Physical Reconstruction?’
He could feel a significant leap in his overall physical abilities, as if to prove there was a reason why Awakeners from 9-Star onward were classified as ‘High-Rank Awakeners.’
And was it just his physical abilities?
His mana circuits, which had been relatively narrow compared to the vast amount of mana he possessed, had also widened as if they’d undergone road construction.
‘Though they’re still pretty narrow compared to the amount of mana I have.’
That wasn’t because Oh-jin’s mana circuits were narrow, but because the amount of mana he possessed was absurdly large compared to other Awakeners.
“It really is different, reaching 9-Star.”
“Right? That Physical Reconstruction thing is pretty overpowered.”
Ha-eun, who had already reached 10-Star before him, nodded in agreement.
“Hey, but weren’t you beating up 10-Stars even when you were 8-Star?”
Just how much stronger had he become now that he’d reached 9-Star?
“I only beat the ones who were barely at the entry level of 10-Star. I couldn’t win against Isabella and Allen.”
“…Entry level or not, the fact that an 8-Star beat a 10-Star doesn’t make any sense.”
Indeed, until now, Oh-jin had fought and won against Awakeners who were one or two Stars higher than him.
“Doesn’t that mean you’re stronger than Bella now?”
“Hmm… I doubt it.”
Even though he had reached 9-Star, he was only just at the entry level.
Just as even the fastest sports car can’t perform at its best if the driver is unskilled, it would take time to get used to his strengthened body from the Physical Reconstruction.
‘The problem is, I don’t have much of that time.’
Just as he was sighing, thinking he might need to increase his training time.
*Ziiip!*
“Oh, Mr. Oh-jin!”
Isabella, apparently not even having the presence of mind to unzip the tent, simply tore the entrance open with her hands and threw herself at Oh-jin.
“Hic… D-Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
He gently patted the back of Isabella, who was sobbing and shedding thick tears.
After some time, she seemed to calm down and loosened her embrace.
“You’re really okay, right? D-Don’t tell me you used that technique… And where did that cat, who deserves to be chewed up and spat out, go?”
Isabella peppered him with questions.
Oh-jin let out a small laugh and gave her the same answers he had given Ha-eun.
“Phew.”
Isabella let out a deep sigh and swept a hand over her chest.
The two peaks, towering like the Sky Mountain Range, swayed greatly.
*Ahem.*
He cleared his throat and averted his gaze.
“…What does this punk think he’s doing the moment he wakes up?”
Ha-eun narrowed her eyes and pinched Oh-jin’s side.
Enduring the sharp pain, he quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, where’s Vega? Did she go back to the Sanctuary?”
“No. She’s outside.”
“Really?”
She must have heard the commotion inside and realized he had woken up.
Oh-jin, who had expected Vega to come in crying just like Isabella, felt a pang of disappointment and lay back down on the mat.
“Are you very tired?”
“Yeah. I am feeling a little sleepy.”
His wounds hadn’t fully healed yet, so even a short conversation brought on a sudden wave of fatigue.
Isabella quickly covered Oh-jin’s body with a sleeping bag and sat by his head, stroking his forehead.
“I’ll stay by your side to make sure you can sleep peacefully, Mr. Oh-jin.”
“I’m not a three-year-old.”
“Shall I sing you a lullaby?”
*No thanks, missy.*
“Haha. I’m kidding. My sister and I will head out, so please rest comfortably. Oh, I’ll cover the torn entrance with a waterproof sheet for now.”
“Thanks.”
Oh-jin gave a small wave to the two lovers as they left the tent and closed his eyes.
A deep fatigue washed over him, and his consciousness began to sink into the depths.
***
[Gasp?!]
Vega watched Ha-eun and Isabella emerge from the tent from a distance, then quickly hid herself as if fleeing.
Climbing up a nearby tree, Vega sat down and gazed intently at Oh-jin’s tent below.
[Haaah.]
A deep sigh, as if the ground would collapse.
The silver-haired goddess touched her pink lips, her hand trembling slightly.
The sensation on her lips was still vivid.
She had pressed her lips to his in the past to give a potion to an unconscious Oh-jin, but this was the first time she had done so of her own will.
‘I have done something terrible.’
Unable to overcome the surging impulse, she had kissed a sleeping Oh-jin.
It was a shameful act that she couldn’t even mention to Oh-jin, let alone to his lovers, Ha-eun and Isabella.
[…….]
But why?
The pounding in her heart just wouldn’t calm down.
The kindled spark of emotion gradually grew into a great flame, filling her heart.
The sense of depravity from having touched her own child.
She felt the pent-up feelings of resentment she’d had watching Ha-eun and Isabella being so affectionate with Oh-jin all at once being released.
‘I-I should not be this way.’
But when did emotions ever move as one thought they should?
Every time she replayed the lingering sensation on her lips, her feelings swelled.
The fully inflated emotion swirled around inside her chest, as if it didn’t know where to go.
What did she do before?
—*My sister’s heartfelt cheer! Comfort! Encouragement! That’s what you need to give him!*
Spica’s cry suddenly flashed through her mind.
[Hmm.]
After a moment of thought, Vega shook her head.
This wasn’t the right atmosphere for cheering or encouragement.
After doing something so wicked to a sleeping Oh-jin, what kind of cheer and encouragement could she possibly offer?
If anything, she deserved to be punished.
[…Punishment?]
A memory flashed through Vega’s mind.
The memory of being spanked on the bottom by Oh-jin, like a child who had done something wrong, surfaced unbidden.
[A-Ahem!]
Vega’s face turned bright red as she let out a series of dry coughs.
Recalling that memory brought a wave of indescribable shame.
[E-Even so, that’s….]
Her heart-pounding emotions clashed with her reason, which told her this was wrong.
A fierce conflict between emotion and reason.
Vega bit her lip and looked down at the tent where Oh-jin slept.
‘Have I not committed a sin?’
If one commits a sin, one deserves to be punished.
‘J-Just once… Just one more time.’
*Gulp.*
She swallowed dryly and clenched her fists.
For a moment, the faces of Ha-eun and Isabella appeared in her mind.
‘Have those two not been joined with my child?’
She was suppressing the feelings in her heart so as not to be a burden to him.
And yet, hadn’t those two always flaunted their affection right in front of her?
[This is the fault of those two children.]
Vega nodded repeatedly, convincing herself.
Her bursting emotions found a perfect escape route called ‘excuse’ and began to pour out.
‘I am merely receiving punishment for my wrongdoing.’
She had no intention of using this to connect with Oh-jin or to convey her suppressed feelings.
This… yes, this was a single night’s ‘deviation’.
This would be the last time; it was something she had to do to neatly sort out her feelings for Oh-jin.
*Wooooong!*
A brilliant silver light enveloped her, and Vega’s body, which had been the size of a small doll, returned to its original form.
The goddess carefully flew up, gently lifted the waterproof sheet covering the tent’s entrance, and approached the sleeping Oh-jin.
[Haaah.]
For some reason.
She felt a stinging sensation on her rear already.