Singing Princess (1)
Singing Princess (1)
Dojin, who had been resting comfortably in his room, opened his eyes at the sound of someone knocking on the door and looked toward the other side of it.
"Come in."
The moment she got permission, the person who opened the door and entered jolted in shock upon seeing Dojin with nothing on his upper body and let out a sharp yelp.
"What, what!? Why are you buck naked!?"
"......I'm wearing pants, though. And what's the big deal if I'm stripped down in my own room?"
"Then don't let guests in! You pervert bastard!"
Ga-hee, who barged into someone else's room just to complain like that, started peeking at Dojin's body by slightly parting the fingers covering her face.
Of course, there was no way a superhuman like Dojin wouldn't catch on...... Their eyes met, and Ga-hee screamed in embarrassment, protesting like crazy.
"Put some clothes on quick!"
"......What's the hurry?"
Dojin slowly got up and headed to the closet, slipping on a plain T-shirt. Ga-hee, who'd been sneaking glances at him dressing from behind, let out an unconscious sigh.
"Ah......."
"Want me to take it off again?"
"W-what're you- ahem. Anyway, mind if I sit here?"
Maybe she didn't want to admit she'd sighed, because Ga-hee cleared her throat a few times before plopping down on the edge of the bed.
Since Dojin had been lying there until moments ago, his scent clung thickly to the sheets.
Sniff sniff, Ga-hee unconsciously sniffed, praying Dojin hadn't noticed, as she explained why she'd come.
"Um, you know."
"The concert?"
"Y-yeah. Kinda about that, but... not exactly."
"What then?"
The city's idol.
Muse's diva.
The singing princess.
Ga-hee had a monopoly on every damn title like that, but she wasn't satisfied with scraps.
She wasn't some Japanese underground idol who'd settle for local fame, was she?
A real idol aimed for the world.
"I wanna go overseas."
"Overseas?"
"More precisely—a world tour!"
Dojin let out an incredulous chuckle at that. But Ga-hee's face was dead serious.
She genuinely wanted to make her mark on the world.
"......You're for real?"
"Obviously! ...Can you make it happen?"
Though she clearly hadn't given a single thought to the fallout.
Back in the Republic of Korea where Dojin used to live, "overseas" meant hopping on a ship or plane for hours to reach some far-flung spot.
Obviously, in this airplane-less otherworld, getting to another country took way longer.
Plus, unlike Earth with its globalization and alliances, most nations here were straight-up hostile.
"What do you think?"
"What do I think... I wanna ask if you're fucking insane."
Deokgu, who'd recently automated the newspaper process with magic—churning them out in a day and chilling the other six—looked downright troubled at the sudden news.
Frankly, it was pie-in-the-sky bullshit.
"Her singing's flawless. Her ability's singing-related anyway, remember? It even worked on spirits."
"Yeah."
No one was doubting Ga-hee's pipes. Former idol trainee at minimum, plus a cheat ability tied to vocals.
She could charm spirits—basically forces of nature—so gods or demons wouldn't stand a chance against her song.
But that wasn't the issue.
"You know this otherworld's a savage medieval dump? Feudalism's still king."
"......Break it down simple?"
"When Ga-hee rolled into her territory, nobles'll ditch the show and line up to grab her like the horny demons they are."
"Even if we tag along?"
"You beat an army?"
Dojin shook his head at that. Sadly, his skills were one-on-one optimized.
Hundreds or thousands? He'd eat a hail of arrows and magic spam, then drop.
Sure, with Seoyun along, problem solved... but Dojin wasn't enough of a cold bastard to sic his girl on thousands.
"Even winning a fight's a problem. Why do you think otherworld superhumans kneel to nobles and kings?"
"Dunno."
"Gods. One superhuman wrecking their chess game? They'd slap sanctions down 'cause it kills the fun."
A lone superhuman taking on thousands? Gods publicly mark him enemy, and boom—whole world's against him.
No superhuman survives that. People, beasts, even nature turns tail.
"So... thinking raw power lets you tour other cities? Fucking moronic. Capisce?"
"...What if it's not just raw power?"
"The hell? You a noble now?"
While chatting with Deokgu, Dojin brainstormed taking Ga-hee overseas. Sure, he wasn't nobility—just a plain adventurer......
"But better than one."
Pillow talk. Backed by the kingdom's queen and Holy Kingdom's saintess, he could out-scare a whole-ass king.
"You!? For real? Let's go! I'd follow Dojin-nim to hell itself!"
Visiting the Saintess's Mansion, Dojin got that ironclad yes from Iris. He thought about hitting up Elf Queen Celestia too, but nixed it—Elf Queen meddling in human kingdom biz looked shady.
Hell, for safety? She solo'd it. God-backed saintess of the Holy Kingdom?
Her guard Charlotte? Level 4 beast—superhuman Dojin couldn't take.
"...Saintess-nim, crossing borders now's kinda..."
"So what? You'll guard me, Charlotte! And Dojin-nim asked me to come!"
Whack whack! Saintess grabbed a pillow, swinging wild at Charlotte. Stones inside? Charlotte wouldn't flinch—eyes shut, silent.
Then she shot Dojin a resentful glare. Dojin just grinned wordlessly.
What's so great about that annoying prick that she melts...... No clue.
"......Understood, Saintess-nim. But notify ahead."
"That's nothing......."
Saintess fired off messages to Holy Kingdom and kingdom pronto. Saintess moves? Major event. Prep galore.
Holy Kingdom balked at the surprise, but god's rep via saintess? They caved.
Kingdom? Their opinion? Irrelevant. Saintess insists? Bend over.
"We depart in a week! Dojin-nim!"
"Nice. Good timing."
Dojin wasn't rushing either. Performance gear? Tons. Singer practice? Mandatory......
Saintess ran mental math, spotting pure romance.
"Kingdom arrival? Holy Day. Locals'll eat it up!"
"......Holy Day? Y'all got Holy Day?"
"'Y'all'? Holy Day's god's birthday—universal!"
Dojin cocked his head at the familiar name; Iris eyed him like duh.
Luckily, otherworld Holy Day differed from his Christmas.
Not Saint Christ's birth—straight-up gods' birthday bash.
'Coincidence? Hilarious.......'
Otherworld gods birthed world in one week flat.
Gods born one week pre-world = one week pre-new year.
New year? Human invention...... Otherworlders say so? Dojin zipped it.
Their calendar? Eerily Gregorian. Cosmic mystery, shrugged off.
'Makes sense we ported here—too many overlaps?'
Dojin chatted with saintess: chitchat to theology deep dives.
Iris, manless lifetime? Beloved man's talk = desert oasis.
Chat-satisfied, she got head/back pets in Dojin's arms, conked out happy. Dojin dipped, leaving her.
"─Dojin-nim."
Trailing Charlotte hit him with dagger eyes.
Dojin blinked back like why?
Bold glare met, she bit her lip.
"......Don't toy with Saintess-nim."
"When'd I?"
"Clueless is worse."
Cursing future divine smackdown, Dojin waved cheerily and headed home.
"No way, really? Actually!?"
"Yeah. One week."
Performance locked in a week? Ga-hee gaped, ecstatic—never dreamed her pitch stuck.
"Kyaaaaah! Dojin-ah!"
Bouncing manic, she tackled-hugged Dojin, yelling.
"Dojin-ah! You know I really love you!"
Boobs mashed, hopping; words hit, freeze.
Head in his chest, she peeked up, face crimson, whispering.
"I-I mean business love......."
"Gotcha."
"......Dense asshole."
"......??"
Dojin peered down at sudden-cursing Ga-hee, face all ????