Those Who Face the Gods (1)

After my party and I arrived at Veronica Castle, the small people's hospitality left us completely flustered.

They gave us so much without ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asking for anything in return.

First they handed over their own clothes to the party members who had been miniaturized and were making do with scraps of fabric, then prepared a place for our exhausted bodies and minds to rest for the night.

The next morning, right after a simple breakfast, we received Kim Dokja's one-sided briefing on the plan and found ourselves standing in front of the castle gates.

Lee Jihye, who had just been handed her assignment, narrowed her eyes in a way that screamed pure dissatisfaction and asked,

"So… we just have to hold Veronica Castle until the scenario period ends?"

"That's right. That's your mission."

Kim Dokja nodded at Lee Jihye's words, then looked over the rest of the party watching her and continued,

"You've all confirmed the scenario update, right? Help Gong Pildu with the defense of Veronica."

"Perimeter security is my specialty, so leave it to me."

Lee Hyunsung's solid declaration was a little reassuring, but I knew it would never be easy. He knew it too.

Kim Dokja, fully aware of that fact, gave a small smile at his confidence, nodded, and pressed on.

"If any first-wave droppers or the 'Snake' appear, do not engage them head-on under any circumstances. Even if you have to abandon Veronica, you run. Can you promise me that?"

"I promise."

I watched Kim Dokja for a moment, then turned to the party members who would be holding the castle and opened my mouth.

"Don't worry too much, everyone. Whenever I get free time I'll swing by and flip those disaster bastards upside down."

Lee Jihye's expression hardened at my words. She planted both hands on my shoulders and spoke in a chillingly quiet voice.

"…Hey, Jinwoo oppa. Just in case, you are not allowed to drop a missile on this castle, okay? We'll all die. Got it?"

"Jihye. Do you really think I'd drop a missile on the castle we're supposed to protect?"

"You're exactly the kind of person who would."

The rest of the party closed their eyes and nodded along with Lee Jihye's glare. I looked at them all with a thoroughly wronged expression.

"When you put it like that I sound like some guy who only causes trouble and stirs up chaos all day!"

"Because you are, you crazy bastard. I still can't forget the missile you dropped yesterday."

"D-Dokja…"

While I was floundering under Kim Dokja's words, Han Sooyoung and Gong Pildu, who had overheard us, tilted their heads.

"What the hell are they talking about? Missiles?"

"If it's that crazy bastard, he could probably get his hands on one."

"…Somehow that actually makes sense."

"Fuck… why is my reputation like this?"

They were giving me grief over one half-assed missile that couldn't even match modern firepower…

"Fine. Guess I'll have to show them what a real explosion looks like. I'll load a missile with Explosion Enchant and wipe the Japanese kids clean."

"Hey, we already settled this. No refunds, okay? In exchange I'll snuff out those disaster bastards for you."

The small constellation's reactions were surprisingly fun to tease. I snickered like a brat who'd just found a brand-new toy.

While I was busy tormenting the little constellation, Kim Dokja was giving Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yooseung their final instructions.

"Your job is to buy time. So gather as many insects and monsters as you can."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Both kids nodded at her words.

"If you head into the northern forest you'll find plenty of this world's unique monster species. Whenever you have free time, go tame monsters and insects."

"Got it, hyung."

"Understood, unnie."

Once Kim Dokja finished talking with our two little ones, I walked over to Shin Yooseung.

"Yooseung."

"Yes?"

She looked up at me with wide eyes. I looked down at her and pulled the fire-dragon egg from my My Room.

"Take care of this little guy while I'm gone. It's just a gut feeling, but I think it'll hatch soon."

"Really?"

"I don't know for sure, but that's my guess."

Shin Yooseung's eyes sparkled as she hugged the fire-dragon egg tightly to her chest. I straightened up and examined the egg again.

Its presence has been growing since yesterday.

That egg was going to hatch any day now. How I knew that, even I couldn't say for certain.

Maybe it was because my heart was a dragon's heart. Maybe it was the Water-Calming Pearl. Or maybe it was simply something you felt once you became a constellation.

If the kid inside that egg hatches, it'll be a huge help to Yooseung.

In the original webtoon, male Kim Dokja had said: 「There are dragons that stand at the absolute peak of monster species from the moment they're born.」

The child inside that fire-dragon egg might not be a lesser dragon at all—it could be a pure-blooded dragon. The item grade was SS, after all.

Come to think of it, when is the Water-Calming Pearl going to wake up?

I recalled the Water-Calming Pearl, which had fallen into deep sleep after absorbing the new legendary-grade story, and shook my head. This wasn't the time to dwell on it.

Next I walked over to Gong Pildu and Lee Jihye. Before leaving Veronica Castle I had items to hand them.

"Hey, Pildu ajusshi. Jihye. Catch!"

Whoosh!

I tossed each of them a weird mushroom with eyes. Gong Pildu and Jihye both snatched them out of the air without trouble.

"What the hell is this?"

"Ask Jihye. She ate one yesterday and went flying."

I jerked my chin toward Lee Jihye as Gong Pildu eyed the mushroom suspiciously. She pouted and grumbled,

"Can't you just explain it yourself, oppa?"

"There's an old saying: better to see once than hear a hundred times. You've actually eaten it, so you'd explain it better than me, right?"

"…You're just too lazy to explain, aren't you?"

Lee Jihye narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion. I snickered at her reaction.

"As expected, our Jihye knows me too well."

"But why are you giving us these, oppa?"

"Obviously for emergencies."

"Can I eat one every day?"

"…Jihye, each one costs ten thousand coins."

"Eek?! They're that expensive?!"

Lee Jihye's eyes went round as she stared at the giant mushroom in her hands. I nodded.

Honestly, until Kim Dokja and I returned—fourteen days total—I could have given them one every day.

But.

…That would mean spending two hundred eighty thousand coins.

Our comrades had already proven they could hold the line just fine without us, so these weren't strictly necessary.

Still, preparing for the unexpected is always good judgment.

The reason I was giving the mushrooms to Pildu ajusshi and Jihye was simple. Lately I'd been getting cocky about how strong I'd become, and it was time to fix that habit.

I still hadn't forgotten how my own mistake had forced Kim Dokja and Grandma Lee Bok-sun into a hard fight.

In the Seoul Dome—no, maybe in the scenarios happening all over the world—I had grown uniquely strong.

But I was still weak. No—I am still weak.

I lifted my head and looked at the sky. It was morning, so the stars hanging in the night sky weren't visible, yet I could still feel the gazes of the constellations watching from far away.

I still need to get stronger.

So I would be a little more selective with my methods, pile up stories in ways no one else would think of, and stand above that distant starry sky.

And then I would slap the faces of every constellation bastard who dared to torment our cute comrades.

Tap tap.

While I was lost in thought staring at the clear morning sky, someone tapped my shoulder. I turned. Lee Jihye was holding out my subspace coat.

"What are you spacing out about all by yourself, oppa? Here, the thing I borrowed yesterday."

"You sure you don't need it longer?"

"It's your stuff. How could I keep using it without any shame?"

"…Hey Jihye. That subspace coat automatically resizes to fit whoever's wearing it."

"Huh?"

"If you take the coat off, eat a giant mushroom, then shrink again… you might end up naked…"

"…………………."

Lee Jihye froze, face and body locked solid, eyes flicking back and forth between me and the coat. She had clearly pictured the scenario; her face had gone completely black.

"You don't want to end up naked on the battlefield, right? Especially since you're still a high-schooler."

"……Then I'll borrow it for a few more days."

With trembling eyes she hurriedly slipped the coat back on. I gave her shoulder a light pat for encouragement, then carved a Thunder God's Mark into the floor of Veronica Castle and took my place beside Kim Dokja.

Once we were ready to leave, Lee Hyunsung looked at the two of us standing before the gates and asked,

"Are the two of you really planning to set out alone?"

"No. Those two will be coming with us."

Kim Dokja turned her head toward Han Sooyoung and Asuka Ren, who were waiting by the gates.

The time to leave Veronica Castle had arrived.

We followed Kim Dokja out of Veronica Castle. While Dokja and I waved to the party members seeing us off, Han Sooyoung asked,

"So, where are we going?"

"The eastern rocky badlands."

Asuka Ren urgently spoke up at Kim Dokja's casual answer.

"That area's already been occupied by Japan."

"I know. That's why I brought you. And also…"

Tap tap.

"Hm?"

Kim Dokja patted my shoulder and continued,

"With this guy here, what's there to be afraid of?"

"Ah… well, that's true. But do you trust me? I'm from the country that person was fighting yesterday."

"I don't trust you. I just want to collect on the life I saved."

"…I see."

Asuka Ren looked conflicted after hearing Kim Dokja's words. She seemed to be debating whether she should share the information she knew.

Then, suddenly, both Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung started staring holes through me.

"Why are you two suddenly staring at me without saying anything?"

"You really don't know?"

"I genuinely don't."

I put on my most clueless face. Han Sooyoung sighed and said,

"Hurry up and giant-size."

"…This is just my original size. More importantly, why giant-size all of a sudden? Don't tell me… it's not what I'm thinking, is it?"

"It's exactly what you're thinking."

"…I'm not a taxi, young ajumma."

"Who are you calling ajumma?! You really wanna die?!"

"Ow! Ow! No violence!!"

Just for teasing her with "ajumma" once, Han Sooyoung grabbed my hair and shook me like she was trying to kill me. I couldn't put up much of a fight for fear of actually losing hair.

The reason was simple. Hair loss is the enemy of men—of all humanity.

Of course I had hair-growth tonic, but I still didn't know whether it would refresh after some time or not, so I needed to conserve it.

Come to think of it, I should check whether the hair-growth tonic I put up for auction sold.

Later, not now.

Anyway, under the three beauties' glares I released the miniaturization, returned to my original size, scooped them up, and strode out through the forests of Peace Land.

In the original webtoon the estimated travel time to the eastern rocky badlands was two days, or one day if you pushed hard.

…But with the giant Park Jinwoo serving as their personal taxi-bus, we would arrive in half a day at the latest.

…More than that, this feels weirdly complicated.

The absurdity of carrying beauties in my hands, the satisfaction of them needing my help, and the mild irritation of having become their taxi all mixed together into an emotion I couldn't quite name.

Maybe it's… kind of nice?

At some point Han Sooyoung and Asuka Ren had climbed onto my shoulders and were muttering,

"Moving like this is so damn convenient."

"I feel bad for Mr. Park, but… it really is…"

Having spent weeks as small people, both of them looked thoroughly refreshed as I covered in a few strides distances that would have taken them minutes of tiny footsteps.

"So what's the plan? Are you going after the 'King of Disasters'?"

"With the scenario like this, it won't end unless we kill him."

Asuka Ren jumped in, startled by the exchange between Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja.

"Do you even know who the 'King of Disasters' is right now?"

"That's what you're going to tell us from here on."

Asuka Ren flinched, checked the looks on Kim Dokja's, Han Sooyoung's, and my faces, then lowered her head with a troubled expression.

Kim Dokja snorted lightly at her hesitation and spoke.

"Why did the King of the White Night, Izumi Hiroki, become the 'King of Disasters'?"

"How do you… know that…?"

"How I know isn't important. We don't have time to waste on that."

"……………."

Asuka Ren made a small sound of pain, then nodded and began speaking with a dark expression.

"…Everything that happened to Izumi is my fault."

She started recounting the moment she and the other Japanese first-wave droppers first arrived in Peace Land, before she had become a small person.

"When we first-wave droppers arrived in Peace Land and checked the scenario contents, I tried to stop them. I opposed it. If we killed the small people as disasters here, we'd just be repeating what the disasters had done to us on Earth."

"But the others didn't listen to you, huh."

"Yes… Especially Yamamoto, the one who kept me in a cage, was the first to start killing the small people."

Kim Dokja looked at her and said,

"So you were the one who wrote 'Do not kill the small people' on the dimensional messenger bird."

"And the leader sent a messenger bird with the exact opposite message."

Han Sooyoung turned to Asuka Ren with an incredulous look.

"So you killed your own comrades? What a noble sense of justice. You're seriously weird. Your comrades should be more important than some small people, right?"

"That's…"

Asuka Ren had no answer to that and simply hung her head.

Knowing the information in advance really is inconvenient at times like this…

I already knew why Asuka Ren had acted that way. It was in the original webtoon.

The reason she refused to kill the small people was simple.

Asuka Ren had been a manga artist. She was the god who created this place called 'Peace Land,' so she opposed killing its small people far more fiercely than anyone else.

Even though it was the work that had ruined her life as a manga artist and she hated it for that, she also loved this world of Peace Land with equal intensity—an affection mixed with hatred. She couldn't stand the idea of her own creation being thoroughly trampled and erased by disasters, so she refused to become one herself.

Kim Dokja, one of the only two people here who knew Asuka Ren's true nature, asked her,

"If Izumi had used the Absolute Throne, there shouldn't have been any conflict."

"…The Absolute Throne's power didn't work well on those who had already become 'disasters.'"

Asuka Ren looked pained just remembering it, but she forced herself to continue.

"Once the others realized that the Absolute Throne's power Izumi used didn't work on Leader Yamamoto, who had become a disaster by killing small people, they thoroughly massacred the small people. There were only two factions in this sixth scenario."

"'Small people' and 'disasters.' Right?"

Asuka Ren nodded at my words, then lowered her head even further, her expression growing darker as she seemed to relive the past.

She trembled faintly as she remembered her comrades casually crushing the small people, slaughtering them with their weapons, setting fire to the forests that were their homes, and eventually losing their human forms to become something inhuman.

"…So Izumi killed small people in order to control the disasters."

"…Yes. To control the Japanese who had become disasters, Izumi killed small people and became a disaster himself."

"What happened after that? Looking at the fact that you're still alive, it seems the throne's command worked."

"The command did activate. But…"

Asuka Ren trembled as if just recalling it terrified her and hugged her own shoulders. I glanced at her, then carefully stroked her head with my pinky finger.

She managed a bitter smile at the small comfort, then continued in a slightly calmer voice.

"After Izumi became a disaster, something abnormal started happening to him. Suddenly he staggered, his eyes turned red, and he shouted for the comrades who hadn't become disasters yet to run from his side. And then… and then… eight snake heads burst out of his body and destroyed everything around him."

"……………!"

Kim Dokja's eyes went wide at Asuka Ren's explanation, and she stared at the girl who was trembling even harder than before.

Asuka Ren, thoroughly terrified, cried out in a shaking voice,

"There's no way to kill him. If you knew who his sponsor is—"

"'Sovereign of the Eight Heads.'"

"H-how do you…?"

Asuka Ren stared at Kim Dokja with shocked eyes. Looking at her, I opened my mouth.

"Ah, I know who that is. That's the great yokai from Japanese mythology, right? What was its true name again? Oh yeah. The radiation-soaked snake, 'Yamata no Orochi,' wasn't it?"

KRA-KOOM——!!

At my words the sky suddenly darkened and thunder crashed down. Maybe just speaking its true name once made the bastard react for a moment, or maybe it had been listening to us.

Either way, I glanced at Asuka Ren and Han Sooyoung, who had flinched at a single clap of thunder, and continued,

"But that bastard barely has any known stories."

"…What?"

Asuka Ren looked up at me in confusion.

"'Orochi' ate a few daughters ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of some old couple—or just a couple—in some countryside village, then one of Japan's three great gods, 'Susanoo,' showed up, got the bastard blackout drunk, and chopped him into pieces."

That was the end of it. After that story, Yamata no Orochi never appeared again. Well, the name did come up one more time.

There's a claim that the father of Shuten-doji, one of Japan's three great evil spirits and a great yokai, was Yamata no Orochi.

KRA-KOOM——!! KRA-KOOM——!!

"Damn constellations are so petty, throwing thunder just because someone mentioned a true name."

Look at me. My comrades call me by my true name all the time and I don't react like that.

…Okay, sometimes I do flinch a little when they call my name.

But look at this big-hearted me. Unlike those two petty bastards, I don't suddenly cover a clear, beautiful sky with dark clouds and start throwing thunder.

"…Th-that may be true, but even that great god avoided a direct confrontation with that great yokai because it was so strong!"

"Asuka. You're right. Even that infamous troublemaker Susanoo avoided a frontal fight with that great yokai. But we're not fighting the great yokai's true body. We're fighting an 'extremely small portion' of it."

I continued while looking toward the rocky badlands where, beyond the reach of my Clairvoyance, Yamata no Orochi was coiled up resting in a place sunlight never touched.

"He's not a Myth-grade constellation. He's a 'Story-grade' constellation. And he can only use an extremely limited amount of probability, so if we fight calmly we already have a chance of winning with just that."

"That's…! That's just empty talk from someone who hasn't experienced his power! Even if every single elite first-wave dropper from Japan gathered right now, they still couldn't match the monster he is!"

"Asuka. Sorry, but Korea's situation is different from Japan's."

"What…?"

"Among our first-wave droppers right now, there are already three powerhouses who could cut that snake bastard's throat this very moment."

"Wh-what?"

Asuka Ren stared at me with eyes full of doubt, as if she couldn't believe a word. I sighed lightly and said,

"And I'm a constellation too."

"……………What?!"

"I went from incarnation to constellation. You still think we have zero chance of winning?"

"M-Mr. Park is a constellation…? No, for real…?"

Asuka Ren's eyes darted frantically between Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja.

"Hard to believe, but yeah, that guy really is a constellation."

"It sounds like a lie, but it's true. Park Jinwoo received his modifier two days ago."

Even with both of them vouching for me, Asuka Ren still eyed me with lingering suspicion.

…Why is she so suspicious? Did she not see me sponsor items to their leader and send an indirect message…

Ah. I only sent it to Yamamoto, so she wouldn't know.

I sighed and sent Asuka Ren an indirect message.

I spoke to Asuka Ren, who was staring at the message I'd just sent with a flustered face.

"You'll believe me now, right? Even if you don't, I'm not sending another message. Every indirect message costs two hundred coins, you know."

"Ah……? Y-you really are a constellation…?"

Finally believing me, Asuka Ren looked up at me with a dazed expression and bowed her head.

"I-I'm sorry for doubting you. But you suddenly said you were a constellation…"

"It's fine. As punishment for doubting me, give me a lap pillow later. Or better yet, will you wear a bunny girl outfit for me?"

"Wh-what…?!"

Her face turned bright red at my sudden request, and her cute flustered reaction made me snicker with a mischievous smile.

"Hey."

Huh?

In that moment, a murderous aura like a savage beast swept over my body from behind.

Shing!

"I'm right next to you and you're trying to hit on another woman? Do you really want to die?"

Kim Dokja had somehow climbed onto the bridge of my nose, drawn her holy relic Unbreakable Faith, and was looking down at me with a twisted face.

"…I-it was just a little joke! Really…! You looked so down I just wanted to snap you out of it with a crude joke…"

"………………."

Even as I hurriedly explained myself while breaking out in a cold sweat, Kim Dokja quietly looked down at me with eyes that held not a single spark of life.

Then she pointed her sword at me and warned in a voice thick with killing intent,

"If you hit on another woman in front of me one more time, you're actually dead. Got it? Answer."

"…Yes, dear."

Kim Dokja stared down at me with razor-sharp eyes, then hopped hop-hop onto the top of my head and plopped down.

Asuka Ren and Han Sooyoung stared blankly at the two of us before slowly opening their mouths.

"…A-are the two of you… dating?"

"……In the few days I was gone you two got that close? No, more importantly, Park Jinwoo, what about Yoo Sangah? You two had a weird atmosphere going too."

"…………I haven't confessed yet. But we've kissed, so it's fair to say we're already dating, right?"

Han Sooyoung shot me a look of pure contempt.

"So you're saying you're dating both Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah at the same time?"

"………………."

"What kind of trash are you?!"

"………I have nothing to say."

But how could any man call himself a man if he didn't try to charm beauties like these? My dream is a harem!! And a pure-love harem at that!!

"You're bragging, you bastard!!"

"Huh? Did I say that out loud again?"

"That's why I'm yelling at you, isn't it?!"

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Han Sooyoung immediately pressed herself against my cheek and raised her tiny hand to smack me hard across the face.

Well, she was currently miniaturized with low overall stats, so it didn't even register as mosquito-bite damage.

"Mr. Park…"

At ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the contempt-filled voice coming from the side, I kept my head bowed low and continued pushing through the forests of Peace Land.

For a while Asuka Ren lectured me from the side, Han Sooyoung cursed while slapping my cheeks, and from above my head came the sensation of being poked by a sword tip. I just kept walking in silence.

"Haa… haa… Anyway, let's go back to what we were talking about earlier. Like Park Jinwoo said, Orochi is the name of a monster from Japanese mythology, right?"

"Plus the 'Sovereign of the Eight Heads' is the type that forms a soul contract with its incarnation. It lends powerful strength from the early stages in exchange for gradually seizing control of the incarnation's body… Looks like something went wrong in this scenario."

Han Sooyoung listened to Kim Dokja, then lightly patted my cheek with her palm and said,

"Then let's go catch him right now. We've got the Absolute Throne too. Once we take him down the game's over. Just tell this guy to fight and he'll finish it quick."

"We can't catch him right now. The scenario difficulty is way higher than I expected, and even if Park Jinwoo fought him one-on-one it wouldn't end quickly. Because right now that bastard is receiving extra probability as a disaster. So we need some preparation."

Kim Dokja turned her head and stared hard in a certain direction, as if looking beyond the forest.

"The reason we're heading to the rocky badlands right now is because there's someone else we need to meet."

"Someone to meet? What… Yoo Joonghyuk?"

"Someone stronger than Yoo Joonghyuk."

"What? There's someone stronger than that guy?"

"There is. A powerhouse native to Peace Land."

Han Sooyoung looked at Kim Dokja like she couldn't believe her ears.

"Native to Peace Land? Are you joking right now?"

She glared at Kim Dokja and continued in an agitated tone,

"Do you have any idea how weak the people here are? There's not even a third-rate swordsman, let alone a swordmaster! And the only magic they can use is lighting a fire under a cooking pot!"

"Our Sooyoung has really been through a lot…"

"Yes, you said it perfectly! Do you know how much I suffered for three weeks here?!"

Han Sooyoung raised her voice with an expression of pure injustice.

"This isn't even first-generation fantasy novels… It feels like someone deliberately gathered only the weak ones. No, I just don't get it. Why would those stimulation-loving dokkaebi bastards make a world like this the stage? Do they even want to earn coins?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

While listening to Han Sooyoung, Kim Dokja glanced around as if checking someone's reaction, then quietly turned her head and said,

"Calm down. This world wasn't made by the dokkaebis."

"What?"

Han Sooyoung cooled her excitement a little at Kim Dokja's words, then turned her head in the direction Kim Dokja was looking.

There was Asuka Ren, face bright red, head bowed low, tears welling in her eyes.

Under the gazes of me, Kim Dokja, and Han Sooyoung, Asuka Ren fidgeted helplessly, then bowed to us and slowly opened her mouth.

"…I'm sorry."

At Kim Dokja's words and gaze, and Asuka Ren's apology, Han Sooyoung finally realized and spoke with a shocked face.

"…Wait, don't tell me…?"

As if confirming Han Sooyoung's guess, Asuka Ren slowly nodded and let tears fall one after another.

"…'Peace Land' is… a manga I drew."

Click.

"……………?"

Asuka Ren, who had squeezed her eyes shut while exposing her dark history, heard a clicking sound and slowly opened her tightly closed eyes, lifting her head.

There stood the person who had just taken a photo of Asuka Ren's bright-red face, eyes brimming with tears that were already falling.

That person was me.

"Uhyo! Photo of a red-bobbed ultra-beauty blushing and tearing up, Get again DAZE~☆"

"U-ugh…! Give me that camera!"

Having grasped the situation, Asuka Ren flushed even redder and reached for my camera.

"Say cheese~!"

"Don't take pictures, Mr. Park…!!"

"Don't take pictures, Mr. Park~!"

When I mimicked her, Asuka Ren's eyes filled with even more tears of embarrassment and shame as she shouted,

"Stop copying me!"

"Stop copying me!"

"I said stop copying me…!"

"I said stop copying me…!"

The sight of the red-bobbed beauty Asuka Ren begging with tears streaming down her face made my heart tingle. And I realized something.

This person is really fun to tease (a great toy).

"Mr. Park…!!"

"Now selling photos of Japan's bob-haired beauty Asuka Ren looking embarrassed! Starting bids!"

"Mr. Park…!!!"

And Asuka Ren, who had checked the constellations' indirect messages, screamed my family name at the top of her lungs in pure despair.