A World Without a King (7)
A deep silence settled between the three of us.
It was a heavy, dark atmosphere completely unlike the light mood from just moments before.
It felt wrong to say this in such a serious, somber air, but I was on the verge of bursting out laughing.
All because of the looks on Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung’s faces.
“………….”
“………….”
The two of them stood frozen solid, faces and bodies locked up white as if they had just seen a ghost.
I personally found this kind of atmosphere uncomfortable and usually tried my best to avoid it, but this time I simply could not help myself.
…They came down so late that I used Clairvoyance to check the stairs. I never expected it would lead to this.
This whole thing had been pure coincidence.
They were taking so long that I got curious, used Clairvoyance to look at the stairs, and happened to catch their reflections in a window. Wondering what they were talking about, I watched their lips and ended up reading the conversation.
I never thought Dokja and Sooyoung would already be talking about the Disaster of Floods this early.
Back when I used to see lip-reading in comics and on TV, I thought it looked so cool that I practiced it for fun. Who knew it would actually pay off here…
Well, to be precise, I did not catch every single word. The only keywords I managed to pick out were “kid,” “Disaster of Questions,” and finally “Disaster of Floods.”
But that alone was more than enough to guess what they were discussing.
And judging by how completely frozen Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung looked right now, my guess had been spot on.
The Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, looks at all of you with a nervous expression.
The Demon King, ‘Demon God of Wrath and Lust’, watches all of you with sparkling eyes of interest.
The Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’, studies the atmosphere among you.
The Constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’, scratches his head at the current mood among you.
The Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’, prepares cold water and soda in case of sweet potatoes.
Maybe it was because this was the first time since coming to this world that I had faced this kind of atmosphere with my companions. The Constellations I could call regulars started flooding the channel with fussy messages.
I glanced at the Constellation messages, then looked back at Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung and shrugged.
“Don’t tense up so much. It’s not like I’m disappointed in you, or despise you, or feel any hostility. Nothing like that.”
“…You’re not?”
Kim Dokja tilted her head with a puzzled expression. She knew I was rather fond of the kids, so of course she would react that way.
I gave a bitter smile and opened my mouth.
“Overhearing your conversation really was pure coincidence. I’ve roughly figured out the situation, and I also understand why Sooyoung brought it up.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Han Sooyoung. She seemed to feel a twinge of guilt, turning her head to avoid my gaze.
“…So this is a question for you too, Dokja, not just Han Sooyoung.”
I already knew that the Disaster of Floods was Shin Yooseung’s future—specifically, the Shin Yooseung of the 41st turn.
“The ‘Shin Yooseung’ of the future that you two call the ‘Disaster of Floods’… is she the Shin Yooseung of this turn, or the Shin Yooseung of another turn?”
Honestly, I did not need to ask them. I could have just pretended not to know and moved on.
But just in case Han Sooyoung ever tried to harm Shin Yooseung, I had to ask this question in advance to prevent it.
“……!!”
“……!!”
At my blunt question, Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung’s faces twisted in shock, both pairs of eyes going round.
We simply stared at each other for a few seconds. Or rather, I stared at them, while they shot glances at each other and held a silent conversation with their eyes.
Then Kim Dokja let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“The Disaster of Floods is not the Shin Yooseung of this turn. She’s the Shin Yooseung of another turn.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
Looking at the serious expressions on Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung’s faces, I gave a small nod as if thinking it over.
It was about time to flip this atmosphere. If it dragged on or got any more heated, something bad could happen between us.
I let out a short laugh and said,
“What, is that all? No big deal.”
““…What?””
When I suddenly laughed after looking so serious, both of them rounded their eyes again. I shrugged.
“I don’t know how terrifying or strong that Disaster of Floods is, but… we just have to win, right?”
“No, that’s… it’s hard, that’s the point.”
“No matter how hard it is, we have to overcome it. Otherwise my little sister might die.”
“………….”
At my answer, Han Sooyoung’s mouth snapped shut.
Yeah. For someone who actually knew about the Disaster of Floods, this must have been incredibly frustrating.
Here I was, pretending to know nothing, casually tossing out an answer like that.
But I had no choice but to answer this way. If we did not kill the Disaster of Floods, Shin Yooseung would die, or the incarnations of Seoul would be massacred.
Honestly, I’d like to save the Shin Yooseung of the 41st turn too…
This time there really was no way. I could not twist it. I could not twist the story that led to this tragedy.
The best outcome for this story was still for the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung to be reborn as a dokkaebi.
If I could obtain an item even better than the Sainchamsageom at severing things—especially at severing contracts—then maybe I could save the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung…
But realistically, something like that would be at least Star Relic grade, and the route and difficulty of obtaining it would be on a completely different level from ordinary items.
Damn, thinking about this stuff always makes my head spin.
Since I had dampened the mood, I decided to flip it again and looked at Han Sooyoung.
“Alright, you’ve heard the answer you wanted. Can we move on to the second question?”
“…Do whatever you want.”
Grinning, I recalled the thing I had been holding onto and asked,
“If I had really stuck with you, would you actually have worn a bunny girl outfit for a whole day?”
“………Huh?”
At my unexpected question, Han Sooyoung’s body and face locked up for a second. Then her eyes went cat-like and her face flushed red as she shouted,
“Y-You crazy bastard! Why the hell are you bringing that up right now?!”
“What, I’m curious… Your real form is a pretty girl, so I got even more curious. So? Would you really have worn it? Hmm?”
“Get lost! Pass! I’m skipping the answer to this question! Next question!”
“Eeeh…”
“Don’t ‘eeeh’ me!”
Thankfully, asking that question worked. The atmosphere flipped again.
Han Sooyoung hissed at me like a cat spitting, while Kim Dokja stared at me with a cold look that clearly said, Of course you’d do this. I was wondering why you suddenly got all serious.
“Alright, final third question.”
“If it’s another weird question, I won’t let it slide…?”
“…………….”
At Han Sooyoung’s words I clamped my mouth shut and avoided both her and Kim Dokja’s gazes. When I suddenly went quiet, Han Sooyoung looked at me like she was wondering what was wrong, then her expression shifted to one of dawning horror as she spoke in a trembling voice.
“Y-You… don’t tell me you shut up because you were about to ask something weird?”
“…Bunny girls aren’t a weird question.”
“Ha, damn. That bunny girl crap again…”
Han Sooyoung scratched her head and looked at Kim Dokja.
“Is he always like this?”
“………….”
Kim Dokja looked embarrassed and avoided Han Sooyoung’s eyes, then carefully nodded. Seeing that reaction, Han Sooyoung let out a long sigh.
“Haa… Fine. Bunny girls, whatever. What were you going to ask?”
“Can I really say it?”
“Yeah, just ask already and get it over with.”
Han Sooyoung only said that because she wanted to end this three-question game as fast as possible. Even so, my eyes lit up as I pulled a small notebook from the inner pocket of my suit jacket and started reading the notes I had written down.
“I think Han Sooyoung would look great in a black or blue bunny girl outfit, Kim Dokja in a white bunny girl outfit, Yoo Joonghyuk in a black bunny girl outfit, Yoo Sangah-ssi in white, Jung Heewon-ssi surprisingly in red, the Demon-like Judge of Fire in blue or white, and the Demon God of Wrath and Lust in purple. What do you think? They’d all look good, right?”
“…………….”
“…………Ha?”
The Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, stares at you with a startled expression, asking why you suddenly mentioned her!
The Demon King, ‘Demon God of Wrath and Lust’, chuckles at your honest desires.
Another silence of a completely different kind fell over the three of us—no, over the Constellations as well.
Kim Dokja shot me a look of pure contempt. Han Sooyoung stared at me with an expression that screamed, What the hell is this bastard spouting?
But under those two gazes I felt not a single shred of shame. No—I was proud. Because bunny girls are truth!!
While I was internally striking a triumphant pose, Han Sooyoung asked in a trembling voice,
“…What’s the point of asking that question?”
“So I can throw a tantrum someday and make them wear it, or give them as gifts.”
“Bunny girl outfits?”
“Yep!”
“Haaaaaaaa………….”
Han Sooyoung covered her eyes with one hand and let out a deep sigh.
“…Pass.”
“Eeeh… Skipping two questions is a bit much!”
“Ah, damn it! Then ask a normal question! I’ll answer properly if you do!”
“Questions about bunny girls are perfectly normal, though?”
“Aaaagh! Are you actually a complete psycho?! Do you like bunny girls that much?! That much?!”
“Is there a guy who hates bunny girls? And calm down a little. Your blood pressure’s going up.”
“Because of you, you bastard!”
The tense, nervous look she had after my first question was completely gone. Han Sooyoung shot forward in an instant and grabbed me by the collar.
Looking at her growling face, I could not help but laugh.
The Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’, looks at you and sighs deeply, wondering how a serious moment can vanish this fast.
The Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’, drinks cola with a “figures” expression.
The Constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’, opens a bottle of cider, saying this finally feels like the Park Jinwoo he knows.
Thud-thud… thud-thud…
Just then, the sound of something running toward us reached our ears. The distance was still far enough that it was not very loud, but it was clearly heading our way.
“Dokja, take care of Sooyoung. I’ll grab Yooseung.”
“Got it.”
“W-What?”
Kim Dokja must have heard the footsteps too. Without a word of complaint she grabbed Han Sooyoung by the scruff of her clothes and ducked into the alley beside Mino Soft.
Watching that, I approached Shin Yooseung, who had been waiting a short distance away.
“Yooseung.”
“Ah, Oppa. Are you done talki— Eek?!”
I scooped up the smiling Shin Yooseung in one smooth motion and sprinted into the alley where Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung had hidden. We all crouched down together.
The moment the four of us were hidden, figures came charging through, kicking up clouds of dust.
Ah, right. This is the part that shows Dokja’s trauma, isn’t it?
Then the ones kicking up that dust cloud would be the werewolves.
We waited a little longer in the alley. Soon bipedal mutts and a few men came into view.
“Grrrr…!”
Kim Dokja, Han Sooyoung, and Shin Yooseung watched the bipedal mutts with slightly tense expressions. In contrast, I looked at them with complete indifference.
Should I grab one for Yooseung?
They could talk and made excellent sandbags. Yooseung might like one.
While I was killing time with useless thoughts, Han Sooyoung carefully opened her mouth.
“…Non-human species?”
Just then, a man standing next to the one who looked like the werewolf leader—the one with the flashy fur—spoke up.
“I-It was around here!”
The man pointed somewhere and continued.
“Those bastards completely wrecked the ‘coin farm’…!”
Slash!
“Guh…!”
The werewolf leader who had been listening quietly suddenly swung a massive claw—no, talon—at the man’s body. The man, deeply slashed by the leader’s claws, collapsed onto the cold road.
He twitched faintly, trying to say something, then went limp as if his breath had stopped, sprawled out on the asphalt.
“…Oppa.”
Watching that, Shin Yooseung carefully grabbed the hem of my clothes and hid behind my back. She looked scared.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Those guys aren’t even worth one punch from Oppa. Just trust this Oppa.”
I gently stroked the head of the frightened Shin Yooseung, trying to calm her.
“…Hey, you’re not going to protect us?”
Han Sooyoung asked gruffly. I answered with a smile.
“Wear a bunny girl outfit and I’ll protect you.”
“…Get lost. I’ll just manage without help.”
“Too bad.”
Whether we bantered or not, Kim Dokja observed the werewolves and whispered quietly.
“…They obtained the power of the meteorite.”
“I-I know that guy.”
“What?”
Kim Dokja turned her head at Han Sooyoung’s sudden words and looked at her.
“That bastard’s a drop-out.”
“How do you know?”
“I can tell. Privilege of the last drop-out. The location info and attributes of the guys who dropped out while reading all show up in my eyes.”
Finished speaking, Han Sooyoung glared at Kim Dokja and continued.
“That’s why I suspected your identity. You were clearly a drop-out, but my skill didn’t catch you.”
“Hey, then why did you suspect me?”
I asked Han Sooyoung with an aggrieved look. She tore her gaze from Kim Dokja and glared at me this time.
“If some crazy bastard like you was running wild, wouldn’t your eyes be drawn to him?”
The Constellations in the channel nod at Han Sooyoung’s words.
“I feel so wronged. Just wait until the sixteenth main scenario. I’ll sing for you again.”
The Constellations in the channel are horrified by your statement!
Han Sooyoung took a small breath and continued.
“Anyway, there were a few guys who rejected my offer back then. That wanderer is one of them. Most of them died early so I thought they were nothing special, but that one managed to grow this big…”
“What’s that guy’s deal?”
“His name’s Song Minwoo.”
“Song Minwoo?”
When Kim Dokja heard the name Song Minwoo from Han Sooyoung, her pupils trembled back and forth.
I glanced at her, then looked at the werewolf leader named Song Minwoo. I saw his nose twitch several times.
Grade 6 Non-human Species, ‘Werewolf Song Minwoo’, searches the surroundings.
I narrowed my eyes and whispered quietly.
“Looks like he’s got a dog’s nose to match the look. He caught the scent.”
“Oppa, what did you say?”
“Mm. Nothing.”
Shin Yooseung tilted her head at my muttering, but I just smiled and told her it was nothing.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Han Sooyoung looked up at Song Minwoo, who was slowly walking toward us, and said,
“That bastard’s a bit strange. He’s different from ordinary drop-outs. In my eyes, it shows him as a ‘drop-out who only read up to episode 173.’”
Song Minwoo walked up to us, looked down, and grinned.
“Found you.”
“Eek!”
Song Minwoo dared to shove his filthy mug right in our Yooseung’s face and grin. Yooseung let out a small, terrified scream.
Seeing the frightened Shin Yooseung, I shot to my feet, clenched my fist, and swung it straight into the bastard’s solar plexus as I spoke.
“If you found us, then get lost, you son of a bitch!”
BOOM!
“Guh-heok…?!!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! BOOM!!
Hit by my fist, the bastard skipped across the road like a stone on water several times before finally slamming into the wall of the building on the opposite side.
“Where does a bastard like you get off shoving that filthy face at my little sister? You looking to die?”
I dusted off my hands while looking at Song Minwoo embedded in the opposite wall.
Then I felt gazes from beside me. When I turned my head, I saw Han Sooyoung, Kim Dokja, and Shin Yooseung all staring up at me with their mouths hanging open.
Especially Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja’s expressions were priceless.
Shin Yooseung was just looking at me with pure admiration, while Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja stared at me in complete shock.
I scratched my cheek and asked,
“What?”
“You scary bastard… You send a werewolf flying with one punch? Are you even human?”
“That wasn’t even full power? Isn’t he just all bark and no bite?”
“…I’m just going to stop talking.”
Han Sooyoung let out a small sigh at my answer, then asked Kim Dokja, who was staring blankly at Song Minwoo with a frightened expression,
“Hey, what’s wrong? Do you know that guy or something?”
“…Yeah. My classmate. The bastard who gave me trauma when I was little.”
“Trauma?”
“Yeah…”
Kim Dokja watched Song Minwoo, who was coughing up blood as he pulled himself out of the opposite wall, then looked down at her own trembling hands and recalled the past.
Even now, I sometimes have nightmares because of that bastard.
When I was in high school, Song Minwoo confessed to me.
But back then I was just an ordinary student. An ordinary student who simply liked novels.
In contrast, Song Minwoo was the leader of a delinquent group—the so-called “top dog” of the class.
Living in completely different worlds, I carefully rejected his confession. That was the starting point of everything.
When I rejected him, Song Minwoo held a grudge and asked the female delinquents he usually hung out with to harass me.
Getting slapped or kicked in the back by those girls became daily life. Being sent on bread errands, having my bag torn, or having my books stolen was common.
And Song Minwoo and his gang would watch me suffer under those female delinquents while laughing.
I still remember. The difficult high school days that started because of that bastard.
I still remember. The vulgar sexual harassment he spewed as he approached me while I was crying after being beaten by the female delinquents.
I still remember. Their violence that continued right up until high school graduation.
Memories I had tried so hard to forget as I became an adult began to slowly gnaw at my mind.
I stopped recalling the past trauma and forced myself to come to my senses, only to find my entire body trembling.
I was terrified of Song Minwoo, the one who had planted that trauma in me.
I could not put any strength into my body. To end up looking this pathetic just from meeting that bastard again.
At my own pathetic self, still trapped in the swamp of a trauma from nine years ago, I hung my head low.
……I still haven’t escaped from back then.
Thump!
Just then, something warm settled on top of my head.
“…………?”
Startled, I carefully lifted my head and saw Park Jinwoo resting his palm on my hair.
Stroke, stroke.
He gently patted my head a few times, then took off his suit jacket and draped it over my head.
“What’s with the gloomy face?”
“Park Jinwoo…?”
He turned around and slowly walked toward the werewolves standing opposite us, then calmly opened his mouth.
“Dokja, personally I think the only way to overcome trauma is your own will.”
Park Jinwoo slowly loosened his hands as he spoke.
“There are all kinds of trauma in the world, and the ways to overcome them are all different. Some people overcome it themselves like I said, some get counseling from experts, some take medicine, some try to forget the trauma itself… there are lots of methods.”
Crunch!
As he walked toward Song Minwoo, Park Jinwoo twisted the neck of a werewolf beside him a full 360 degrees and continued,
“If you’re having a hard time because of the trauma this son of a bitch in front of you caused, I’ll help you. So wipe that expression off. It doesn’t suit you.”
Park Jinwoo soon arrived in front of Song Minwoo. He grabbed the fur around the bastard’s solar plexus and hauled him upright.
“Hey, flashy-colored bastard.”
“G-Grrk…?!”
Park Jinwoo slowly clenched one fist.
“From now on, you’re a sandbag. So until our Dokja’s resentment is fully vented, until her trauma fades a little—please don’t die.”
Bang!
“Guh-hek…?!”
Park Jinwoo drove his fist into Song Minwoo’s face. The force was so ridiculously strong that a single punch sounded like a bomb going off.
“You only got hit once and you’re already making dying noises? Live up to that big body of yours, buddy.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Then Park Jinwoo began mercilessly raining fists down on Song Minwoo’s face.
Song Minwoo tried to escape Park Jinwoo’s grip, clawing and scratching at his body with those huge talons, grabbing his arms and thrashing about—but it was useless.
Song Minwoo, who had been a living nightmare to me, could not put up any real resistance against Park Jinwoo’s fists.
All he could do was thrash around meaninglessly.
“…………….”
And for some reason, I simply… simply stared blankly at the sight. No—I could not look away.
Watching it, my thoughts and emotions growing more and more complicated, I carefully gripped the suit jacket that had been placed over my head.