Disaster of Floods (8)

I handed Yoo Joonghyuk the "Orcanox Meat" I'd extracted as a byproduct earlier and asked her to cook it. She let out a small sigh and disappeared into My Room.

Joonghyuk's going to need a bit of time to finish cooking. What should I do with the leftover time?

I could jump into the conversation the others were having without me. Or I could just watch Shin Yooseung, who was stuck to my side, carefully wiping the moisture off the egg's outer shell with painstaking care.

I was still deciding how to kill time when I turned my head.

A little ways off from us stood the people of Nouvelle Vague, soaked from head to toe by the raindrops falling from the cumulonimbus clouds.

...Nice.

Nouvelle Vague was a faction made up of prison escapees and wanderers. With that kind of mix came women of every age — from kids who looked like teenagers to people who looked like grandmothers.

And among that crowd of all ages, the young, beautiful, and cute women who looked to be in their twenties and thirties were completely drenched by the rain. A smile crept onto my face without permission.

...They're killing me. This is so damn good.

There were women with cute faces and explosive figures, tomboys with short hair and hourglass bodies, and others with alluring slender builds. Heaven was right in front of me.

Thanks to the rain soaking them through, their clothes clung tight to their bodies, clearly outlining every curve. I closed my eyes, nodded, and smiled with pure happiness at that seductive paradise.

Who says heaven has to be far away? Turns out heaven is surprisingly close.

If my companions hadn't been right next to me — if those women hadn't been members of the faction led by Lee Sookyung — I would have walked over and started flirting right then and there. Truly a shame.

Was this the reward for taking down four Disasters finally arriving? I was staring endlessly at the heaven that had appeared before my eyes when, suddenly, the voices of our female party members reached my ears.

"...This guy hasn't changed one bit even after being apart for a few days."

"...Jinwoo-ssi? What are you looking at?"

"...Haa. This pervert bastard."

"...Oppa, are you a pervert?"

"Jinwoo-ssi, are those kinds of women your type?"

I flinched.

Cold voices laced with chill reached my ears from everyone except one person. I slowly turned my stiffly frozen neck.

There stood Jung Heewon, Yoo Sangah, Kim Dokja, and Lee Jihye, all staring at me with frigid eyes. And last of all, Lee Seolhwa alone was tilting her head with a peaceful smile.

I forced an awkward smile onto my trembling lips and waved my hands at the women glaring at me as I tried to explain.

"Hey now! A pervert? Me? Park Jinwoo? Don't even joke! I was just thinking our precious comrades and those women over there were completely soaked, so maybe I should hand out some towels! Really!"

"““““………………….”””””

Even after my explanation, they all looked at me with expressions that said they didn't believe a single word. Watching them, I forced a smile onto my stiffened facial muscles, scratched the back of my head, and cried tears on the inside.

...Goodbye, my heaven. I wanted to keep watching that blissful paradise a little longer....

Heaven was right there, and I couldn't even freely glance that way... It truly hurt my heart.

With no other choice — with a heart that was bleeding tears of blood — I bought towels from the General Shop.

I first distributed the towels I'd bought from the General Shop to my companions, then walked toward the people of Nouvelle Vague to hand out the rest.

Thud.

Someone snatched the towels blocking my view. No — it wasn't just one person.

"Sangah-ssi? Heewon-ssi? Dokja? Jihye? Seolhwa-ssi?"

The five people who had been glaring at me earlier now cradled my towels in their arms and opened their mouths while still giving me the side-eye.

"If we let you go alone, who knows what might happen."

"Jinwoo-ssi. Did you know? Women are a little sensitive about being stared at."

"Like Heewon-ssi said, if we send you alone, who knows what kind of talk will start flying around. I'll go with you."

"If we send Pervert Oppa alone, things might get a little messy."

"Hehe. I'm just going to treat the people injured by the Disaster of Water's attack earlier."

"…………."

I honestly didn't know how to take what our female party members were saying. Should I be happy they were helping me, or should I cry because they were snatching away my last chance to observe heaven up close?

In the end, I approached the people of Nouvelle Vague under the scorching glares of the women watching me.

"Huh? They're coming toward us?"

"What should we do? Should we stop them first?"

"Still, they fought alongside us earlier, and they seem more reasonable than the other factions."

As we got closer to the people of Nouvelle Vague, I felt like an animal in a zoo enclosure. Some looked at us with wariness mixed with goodwill; others watched us with pure curiosity. There were people who showed me favor for blocking the Disaster of Water's attack earlier, and others who smiled faintly and thanked me for the help.

Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, Jung Heewon, Lee Jihye, Lee Seolhwa, and I all smiled at the people of Nouvelle Vague in front of us and handed over towels, gesturing for them to dry their wet bodies.

"Towels? These are insanely hard to get these days. And you're just giving them out?"

"I heard one of Heewon-ssi's companions is a guy who can buy modern goods. So that's him, huh."

"Thank you. I'll put it to good use."

Some people who received the towels from us were purely delighted, some were puzzled, but most simply said they'd use them well and thanked us.

"Hehe. Handsome oppa over there? You're even better-looking up close. Got a girlfriend?"

"You're the oppa who was looking at us with those dirty eyes earlier, right? You like this that much?"

My heart thumped.

And occasionally, among the people of Nouvelle Vague, there were those who said things that put me in a difficult spot. Like right now — women secretly pressing their chests against my arm, or pulling down their clothes to show off their cleavage.

In that sickeningly sweet situation, just as I was about to answer with a loose smile that I didn't have a girlfriend and that yes, I liked it very much—

A gaze as cold as killing intent stabbed into me.

That gaze and murderous aura made me instinctively realize: the moment I said what I was about to say out loud, I was going to suffer for it.

Whether the two women in front of me felt the same gaze and killing intent, they stared past my back, looked up at me with little devilish giggles, waved their hands, and wandered off somewhere else.

The moment they left my side, the sharp gaze and murderous aura stabbing into my back vanished in an instant.

Ugh.... Everyone's surprisingly jealous.

I wasn't sure about Lee Jihye and Lee Seolhwa, but I already knew the other three — Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, and Jung Heewon — had feelings for me. Wait, was Yoo Sangah one of them? She'd given me a cheek kiss not long ago. And Kim Dokja was still kind of ambiguous, so I couldn't quite judge yet.

...At this rate, I might get stabbed someday.

The future was already starting to scare me. Especially—

I rolled my eyes and glanced at Lee Sookyung, who had just received a towel from Jung Heewon.

......If I ever end up dating Kim Dokja, does that make her my mother-in-law?

I recalled Lee Sookyung from the ORV webtoon — the woman who loved her child so much she was willing to throw away her own life to save Kim Dokja.

...Shit. I'm already worrying about getting a bear-paw slap from Dokja's mother someday.

"How dare a guy like you set your sights on my daughter!?" — something like that.

A strange sensation of my whole body shivering hit me, and I shook my head and started handing out the remaining towels to the people of Nouvelle Vague.

A short while later, thanks to my companions' help, I finished distributing towels quickly. Then I bought a grill for cooking meat, pork belly, lettuce, alcohol, and various other things from the General Shop and handed them over to the people of Nouvelle Vague.

Jo Youngran's eyes went wide when she saw the items I was offering, and she looked at me with a startled expression.

"Um... what's this?"

"I'd be grateful if you thought of it as compensation for barging in uninvited."

That was a lie, of course. My real goal was just one thing: to look good in front of Lee Sookyung in advance by offering a gift (bribe).

I smiled brightly and continued.

"I felt a bit guilty about stealing the spotlight from all of you. So as a small apology, I'd like to gift you these items for a meat party. If it's not enough, please just say the word anytime."

"Ah, even so, we can't just accept this much for free...."

Jo Youngran looked troubled as she checked Lee Sookyung's expression. I walked past her toward Lee Sookyung and spoke.

"'King of Wanderers.' If you would be so kind, please accept these gifts."

I bowed my head politely toward Lee Sookyung. When I snuck a glance at her, she looked once at her daughter Kim Dokja, then gave a small nod.

That meant she would accept my gifts.

Understanding her meaning, I raised my head with a smile and continued with a bright expression.

"Thank you so much for accepting them. King of Wanderers. I feel like this will lighten the burden on my heart, even just a little."

Just then, I spotted the door to My Room opening next to where Lee Hyunsung, Lycaon, and Shin Yooseung were standing. The door opened, and Yoo Joonghyuk — wearing a pure white apron — appeared to be saying something to the three of them.

She must have finished cooking and was calling them to eat. Confirming that, the five of us and I were about to say goodbye to the people of Nouvelle Vague and leave.

If not for Kim Dokja, who was silently glaring at her own mother.

"Dokja-ssi?"

Yoo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sangah was the first to notice something off about Kim Dokja's reaction. She tilted her head slightly and looked at her.

I gestured for the other four to go ahead first. They walked toward the rest of the party with reluctant expressions, glancing back at us as they went.

Ignoring their gazes, I approached Kim Dokja and called her name.

"Dokja."

"…………."

Even at my call, Kim Dokja kept glaring at Lee Sookyung without any reaction. Lee Sookyung seemed to feel her daughter's gaze as well, and silently looked back at Kim Dokja.

Knowing the complicated circumstances between this mother and daughter, I let out a small sigh. With one hand I covered her eyes, and with the other I pulled her into an embrace around her waist.

"………?!"

Kim Dokja flinched hard when I suddenly covered her eyes and hugged her. At that moment, the people of Nouvelle Vague standing around us started making a fuss as they watched.

I casually ignored their voices, brought my lips close to Kim Dokja's reddened ear, and whispered softly.

"...I know you have some kind of connection with the King of Wanderers. But hold it in for now, okay?"

"...Ah, fine, just let go of me. What are you doing in front of all these people, you pervert...."

"Calling me a pervert is a bit much...."

Whether from embarrassment or the shame of being treated like this in front of so many people, Kim Dokja demanded in a trembling voice that I remove the hand covering her eyes and the arm holding her. I obediently complied.

Because—

I snuck a glance.

Lee Sookyung was glaring at me with trembling pupils full of murderous intent. I felt like I was about to get an earful — no, a bear-paw punch — from her.

I lowered my gaze a little to look at Lee Sookyung's hands. One of the hands crossed over her chest was trembling violently. How hard was she clenching? The veins were visible, and her hand had gone completely white.

Y-you really treasure your daughter, don't you, Dokja's mother...?

The future was already starting to terrify me.

The moment I let go, Kim Dokja turned around, glared at me hard with a fiercely flushed face, then walked right past me toward the rest of the party.

Once Kim Dokja left as well, I was the only one remaining. Realizing that, I glanced around.

The people of Nouvelle Vague were staring at me with faces full of curiosity, and some of them — who clearly didn't know how to act their age — were making a huge fuss and bombarding me with questions about what kind of relationship I had with Kim Dokja.

Feeling truly like an animal in a zoo cage, I scratched my cheek with an awkward smile, bowed at a full ninety degrees toward Lee Sookyung — who might become my future mother-in-law — and hurriedly left the area.

And in that moment, I felt someone's gaze mercilessly stabbing into my back.

I went through all that trouble giving a gift (bribe) to my potential future mother-in-law just to earn a little goodwill, and it all went up in smoke....

Why did I suddenly hug Kim Dokja? Just putting a hand on her shoulder would have been enough. Because I hugged her without thinking, I'd already started earning my future mother-in-law's hatred.

I looked at my companions, who had already started eating the food Yoo Joonghyuk cooked, then looked up at the sky.

...What am I going to do from now on?

The future was already starting to look bleak.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

Together with my companions, I scraped every last bit of the steak and sauce Yoo Joonghyuk had made from Orcanox (orca) meat.

Then, under Lee Sookyung's icy gaze, I collected coins from the people of Nouvelle Vague and handed over goods in exchange, earning coins.

Excluding Lee Sookyung, I took 1,000 coins each from the others and handed over the items they wanted.

To roughly introduce the goods I sold to the people of Nouvelle Vague for coins: first, clothing repair kits, prison uniforms, underwear, socks, blankets, bags, first-aid kits, alcohol, water, food, and so on.

I got coins, they got the items they wanted — a mutually beneficial trade.

...Honestly I wanted to charge 5,000 coins per person, but for the sake of Dokja's mother, I'll let it slide.

With all our business here finished, we and Nouvelle Vague were about to go our separate ways.

"Ah, just a moment. Would it be okay if I went to say a quick goodbye to the people of Nouvelle Vague?"

At Jung Heewon's words, we readily nodded. Heewon gave us a slightly apologetic look and was about to head over to the people of Nouvelle Vague when—

"Hey, Heewon-ssi."

"Hm? What is it, Jinwoo-ssi?"

I stopped her for a moment. Perfect timing — I needed to deliver this note to Lee Sookyung, the King of Nouvelle Vague.

"Heewon-ssi. Could you pass this note to the King of Wanderers?"

"This note?"

Jung Heewon took the note I handed her, tilted her head, and looked back and forth between me and the note. Then she nodded as if she understood, said her goodbyes to the people of Nouvelle Vague while holding the note, and I watched her hand it over to Lee Sookyung.

I originally wanted to deliver it myself, but if I approach Dokja's mother right now, I'll probably get an earful about not sticking so close to her daughter....

Having finished saying goodbye to everyone from Nouvelle Vague, Jung Heewon ran back toward us with a refreshed expression.

Arriving quickly at our side, she spoke to the party.

"Thanks for waiting, everyone. I've been traveling with the people of Nouvelle Vague for a few days, so leaving without saying goodbye would have bothered me."

"Not at all. You did well, Heewon-ssi. Goodbyes are important, after all."

"Thanks for understanding, Dokja-ssi."

Jung Heewon smiled at Kim Dokja for listening to her and affirming her, then suddenly started approaching me.

"So, Jinwoo-ssi."

"Yes? What is it, Heewon-ssi?"

"What was written on that note earlier?"

"Ah~ nothing much. Just a note saying thank you for treating Heewon-ssi well these past few days."

"...What am I, a little kid? Handing over a note like that?"

Jung Heewon looked at me with an incredulous expression. I shrugged at her gaze and continued.

"The world's pretty rough these days, you know. A beauty like Heewon-ssi traveling with such a good faction and staying safe — I was just really glad about that, so I left that kind of note."

"...Jinwoo-ssi. Are you a Casanova by any chance?"

"......That's a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠misunderstanding. I'm not a Casanova."

When I called her a beauty, Jung Heewon flushed slightly and glared at me. Contempt was mixed into her eyes, so I muttered with an aggrieved expression.

In truth, the note had this written on it:

If the progression of the ORV webtoon hadn't changed much, there would have been no need to hand Lee Sookyung a note with those words. But because of the variable that was me, Jung Heewon had reunited with the party earlier than originally and left Nouvelle Vague's side.

Of course, if Lee Sookyung had heard about Ways of Survival from Kim Dokja, she might come to Nodeul Island — where the Disaster meteor containing the Disaster of Floods was — even without such a note. But just in case, I passed the note to her.

Now all that's left is helping Yooseung awaken as a Beast Tamer, and finding Gilyoung and Han Donghoon.

And beyond that, I just needed to earn coins for the remaining period, raise skill levels, and wait for the Sub Scenario to end.

It's really not far now. The time to meet the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung is approaching.

It had only been a little over a month, but it felt like a truly long time had passed. Maybe it was because so much had happened in that single month that I felt this way even more strongly.

I remembered the Constellations and the Intermediate Dokkaebi Paul who, in the "Things That Cannot Be Changed" arc I'd watched and read before entering this ORV world, had added probability to the contract ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hokburi handed over — forcibly locking the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung into an Evil alignment.

Watching that scene, I'd wondered if the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung really had to die that way. I'd felt sad. I'd felt rage. Those memories surfaced again.

I will save her.

I would not let her go so emptily the way the ORV webtoon did. After enduring a thousand years, for her end to be so hollow — and for her to ultimately be reborn as a Dokkaebi. That kind of story. I would change it.

I've made so many preparations to face the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung.

Through the monster wave that occurred during the Green Zone scenario at Chungmuro Station, I learned how to handle large numbers of monsters. Fighting hostile people, I learned and refined how to fight humans. I obtained various skills and grew stronger, acquired various Stories, and rose to the position of a Constellation faster than anyone.

In one-on-one combat I might fall a bit short of Yoo Joonghyuk. But in multi-person and mass combat, I overwhelm her.

I had grown strong enough to feel that kind of confidence.

At first, I couldn't think of any way to save Shin Yooseung at all, and there were times I despaired that — just like what Kim Dokja had done — the only option was to reincarnate her as a Dokkaebi.

But then.

From the moment the "Story Shop" appeared within Shop User, the situation started changing 180 degrees. Hope that I could save the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung had been born.

...Saving her will burn through an enormous amount of coins, but right now I have 1.8 million coins on hand.

The plan I'd drawn up to save the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung required a minimum of 700,000 to 800,000 coins. And to guard against variables, I'd been greedily stockpiling even more coins.

With this, the plan to perfectly save her was complete.

All that's left now is time.

The only thing I needed now was time alone.

The time remaining until the "Sub Scenario — Survival Activity" ended: four days.

I will definitely save you. 41st-turn Shin Yooseung.

With Jung Heewon's farewell as the final note, we parted ways with the people of Nouvelle Vague and set off on our own paths.

And now, the time for us to separate for a while as well had arrived.

Yoo Joonghyuk said she had somewhere to go, took Lee Jihye, Lee Seolhwa, and Lee Hyunsung with her, and left our side.

I still can't forget Hyunsung-ssi's face full of despair... that voice full of despair....

It was the first time I'd seen Lee Hyunsung look at us with such pitiful eyes and cry out like that. But no one stopped Yoo Joonghyuk from grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and dragging him away.

Because our leader, Kim Dokja, had given permission for Yoo Joonghyuk to take Lee Hyunsung.

Anyway, those four left our side. And the rest of us returned to the building we'd been staying in before coming here.

"Wow... Jinwoo-ssi, you're really multi-talented, aren't you?"

Jung Heewon, experiencing my Hiraishin no Jutsu for the first time, looked greatly impressed by the space and location that had changed in an instant.

"Ahem. This is who I am!"

I nodded with a proud expression at her words. Jung Heewon then made a slightly sour face and said,

"Jinwoo-ssi, when you suddenly start showing off like that, it kind of ruins the mood."

"...That's harsh."

At Jung Heewon's honest roast, I made a dejected face. Leaving me like that, my companions each went off to hunt monsters for coins or train to raise their skill levels.

Time flew by, and the sky began to take on the colors of sunset.

And thanks to the package I'd sponsored and Kim Dokja's help, Shin Yooseung's Magic Power and Agility levels reached the scenario limit of 60.

Once Shin Yooseung's Magic Power and Agility hit 60, Kim Dokja sat her down, looked down at her, and spoke.

"Yooseung."

"Yes, Dokja unni."

"I don't have a Stigma right now, and I can't lend power the way other Constellations can. But I do have quite a lot of coins. Not as many as Park Jinwoo, though."

Kim Dokja looked into Shin Yooseung's eyes and continued in a gentle voice.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to make a contract. But if you contract with me, you definitely won't regret it."

"Mom told me not to use things like this carelessly......"

At Kim Dokja's words, Shin Yooseung spoke hesitantly.

...Just what did Yooseung's mother say to this kid?

I looked at Shin Yooseung with an incredulous expression. That was not something you should say to an eleven-year-old child.

"If I use this, does that mean I can't contract with other Constellations?"

"That's right. But don't worry. I won't interfere the way other Sponsors do."

Shin Yooseung hesitated as she looked at the Sponsor Contract floating before her eyes. Then, as if she'd finished thinking, she looked at Kim Dokja with a firmly resolved expression and opened her mouth.

"Okay. I trust Jinwoo oppa and Dokja unni."

When Shin Yooseung agreed to the Sponsor Contract floating before her eyes, a dazzling radiance began to envelop her and Kim Dokja.

The Constellations who watched Kim Dokja become Shin Yooseung's Sponsor began sending indirect messages to her.

Kim Dokja stroked Shin Yooseung's head, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then looked at us and spoke.

"It seems about time to set out. Let's cross the Han River."

"Ah, yes! Then shall we go into Jinwoo-ssi's My Room?"

"Are you planning to use Jinwoo-ssi's that Hiraishun? Hiraishin? Whatever it is, to cross?"

Kim Dokja shook her head at Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon's words and continued.

"No. This time, we're going to swim across."

"“What?!”"

At Kim Dokja's firm words, Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon looked at her with startled expressions, then turned to look at the Han River.

"Y-you're saying we should swim across that? Dokja-ssi, have you gone crazy?"

"...I'm still perfectly sane, Heewon-ssi. More importantly, everyone can swim, right?"

"Well, I can swim, but...."

"I can swim too, but are you really planning to cross that place?"

Yoo Sangah glanced at the sea dragons roaring madly as they swam across the surface of the Han River.

Then Shin Yooseung looked at Kim Dokja with a hesitant expression and opened her mouth.

"Um... Unni. I can't swim...."

"Then you...."

Just as Kim Dokja was about to go pick up a styrofoam box from around our building, I stopped her.

"Hold it, Dokja! Stop!"

"Huh?"

Kim Dokja looked at me with a puzzled expression when I suddenly blocked her.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, not that. There's something I need our Yooseung to do for a moment."

"Something for her to do?"

Kim Dokja tilted her head curiously at my words, but I walked past her toward Shin Yooseung.

"Yooseung. Now's the time to show your power."

"M-my power?"

"Yeah. Time to show your power as a Beast Tamer."

"……………."

Hearing my words, Shin Yooseung lowered her head and began muttering quietly.

"Do you really think I can do it?"

"Of course. You've raised your skill levels enough. Now it's time to move forward, Yooseung."

I smiled softly, stroked Shin Yooseung's head, and encouraged her.

The reason Kim Dokja currently wanted to swim across that Han River was entirely to help Shin Yooseung overcome her trauma and awaken as a Beast Tamer. But I firmly believed that Shin Yooseung could fully awaken as a Beast Tamer even without deliberately staging that kind of situation.

"Yooseung. I believe in you. If it's hard to believe in yourself, believe in the companions here. And if even that feels impossible, believe in me. This oppa will take care of everything that comes after."

"......Oppa."

Shin Yooseung looked at me with hesitant eyes, then gave a small nod.

I looked at her with a proud gaze, took her hand, and slowly approached the Han River.

Arriving at the river's edge, I looked at Shin Yooseung and said,

"Let's go, Yooseung. You can do this. You've worked hard these past few days, right? Have confidence! Overcome your trauma and move forward. For the little friend you lost, and to overcome the things that will come!"

"Yes...!"

Hearing my words, Shin Yooseung squeezed her eyes shut and activated her skill.

When Shin Yooseung activated her skill, bubbles of golden light like soap bubbles began to rise. She concentrated her mind to tame the sea dragons before her eyes.

Before long, Shin Yooseung's expression began to twist little by little. Watching that, Kim Dokja let out a small sigh, took Shin Yooseung's free hand in hers, and quietly supported her.

Was she recalling the puppy she'd raised during the Proof of Value? Tears began to well up at the corners of Shin Yooseung's eyes. Even as cold sweat ran down her face and her nose started bleeding, she kept her eyes tightly shut and concentrated.

And that effort of Shin Yooseung's bore fruit.

Fwaaaaah—!!

A clear, warm radiance centered on Shin Yooseung began to blanket the surroundings.

Along with the system messages that appeared before our eyes, Shin Yooseung's eyes were turning white.

Before long, the magic power spreading around Shin Yooseung's body gathered together and began to form the shape of a hand. The sea dragons on the surface of the Han River stared blankly at the giant hand Shin Yooseung had created.

Then, suddenly, a great whirlpool began to form in the center of the Han River.

Here it comes.

From within the great whirlpool, a massive spray of water shot upward, and from between that spray emerged a sea dragon easily five or six times the size of the others.

The first sea-species monster Shin Yooseung had tamed in the ORV webtoon.

A monster with a body larger than a Sea Commander, bearing horns like a crown, revealing its full majesty as the queen of its species.

When their queen revealed her dignified form, the sea dragons around her bowed their heads to the water's surface.

"……………."

Shin Yooseung looked up at Queen Mirbad, and Queen Mirbad looked down at her.

Then Shin Yooseung carefully released my hand and Kim Dokja's, and followed the path of aura stretched out like a road toward Queen Mirbad. Approaching the queen's snout, she stroked it with careful, delicate hands, then turned back to look at us.

"Let's go, unnis, Jinwoo oppa."

Her eyes, which had turned pure white, returned to their original color. Shin Yooseung wiped away the teardrops clinging to the corners of her eyes and the blood that had run from her nose, then looked at us and continued.

"This one says she'll give us a ride."

Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, and Jung Heewon stared blankly at Shin Yooseung and Queen Mirbad.

I nodded at the sight of Shin Yooseung, who had not awakened through a deliberately staged situation, but had overcome her trauma and stood up of her own will.

And I thought to myself,

Standing up with her own strength. Our daughter is truly the best....