Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: Epilogue: My Secret Friend, Miss Oh Daesoo
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This marks the second time I've nearly wrecked my social life trying to beat down Evil God-chan.
How aggrieved I felt in front of Tear-Stained Guy and Scar-Faced Senior? I was only punishing the wicked in the name of justice, yet the world refuses to understand the truth. It's so unfair.
And today is no different.
"......"
"......"
Those suspicious stares pierce my heart so painfully.
I explained everything.
From the outside, it might look a bit extreme or weird with the torn clothes and all, but it's a misunderstanding.
This is more like... a kind of game we both consented to. If it were serious, I would've pulled out my Heart-Piercing Sword and she'd have unleashed her Dragon Scale, right?
Somehow, the atmosphere shifted to one of acceptance.
Lodrus, who had actually experienced my strength firsthand, knew it best, and it seemed they had already figured out that Aisha was someone who hit hard. Did they do some investigating on the way here?
Well, yeah, after that spectacle where we went all out in public for everyone to see... There must've been plenty of witnesses to Aisha flipping news blocks with her Dragon Scale.
Then, out of nowhere, Kim Lulu's expression turned utterly bizarre, and she said,
"...So, you two are doing that SM thing like lovers...?"
"No, that's not quite..."
"Yeah, that's a bit much."
Aisha and I both straightened up seriously, and the mood chilled instantly.
"Uh, uh? S-Sorry..."
Kim Lulu apologized in a fluster, like she'd been hit by a sudden winter gale. It must've been obvious we hated it.
And on top of that, Aisha drove the nail in deeper.
"How do I put it... this guy's like a 'father' figure or something. It's different."
"...And you dress him up like that?"
"My dad's got weird tastes in city walls and a rotten personality too—"
"Enough."
I physically shut Aisha's mouth as she started calculating the social kill shot.
But I couldn't block the magic girls' stares, which grew even sharper.
Anyway, why did they show up here out of the blue? What's the deal, magic girls?
I urged them to sit on the sofa and spill the beans already. Then Lodrus fixed me with a look as serious as if she were about to assassinate someone and asked,
"...Was it you?"
"Me what?"
"The one who sent me... us... back to South Korea."
"......"
Did they catch on?
With my fully restored 100% high-performance brain, I pieced together the situation.
If I were the fake Demon Witch, Kim Lulu would be a threat => exclude them from considerations => trap them in the session via the pre-installed and reinforced backdoor.
But I smashed that guy, the session magic unraveled, Lodrus and Kim Lulu were freed, and by coincidence, they realized the timing of their awakening matched the fake Demon Witch's death exactly.
Yeah, they're probably 80% suspicious.
I racked my brain quickly. How to talk my way out of this without spilling the secret? Try the dimensional mage excuse again? They don't seem fully convinced yet. Or maybe some clever idea...
...Wait, do I even need to make excuses?
A reversal in thinking. I've just gotten too used to misunderstandings. Why not just be straight-up honest?
For starters, this girl has no loose ends. Unlike Irid, where 'it was all an illusion lol' could get my head chopped off.
Mental anguish over 'my friend is a made-up character?' Not worth worrying about with Lodrus—she's an assassin who tried to kill me from the start, after all.
More importantly.
"Yeah, what you went through was virtual reality. I simulated a whole world using bio-magic engineering computer tech. Every character was an independent AI."
"Virtual reality!"
"...Virtual reality, huh. Like The Matrix...?"
They're familiar with it since the session stage was modern South Korea.
The mad wizard spilled the secret with astonishing frankness.
The world they experienced was a magically implemented virtual reality. Oh Hye-in, Mongae—everyone was AI, and the threats from the Four Heavenly Kings were all staged.
He seemed genuinely thrilled and expectant, yet there was a trace of solemnity that kept it from sounding like teasing. Even in this face-to-face conversation, his true intentions remained unreadable. A strange man.
His red eyes flickered through strands of hanging black hair. That gaze seemed to demand an answer from Lodrus.
Virtual reality, fabricated beings—is it real?
Now that you know this truth, does it change the meaning of your entire journey?
No.
"...I won't give you the answer you're hoping for, mad wizard."
"What do you think I'm hoping for?"
"You want me confused. You want me tormented. Since I targeted your life... you're hoping for an apology. But my thoughts haven't wavered or changed."
"Oh ho."
She might have been thrown if this were her first brush with such a concept. But she was prepared. Maybe for a very long time.
Life sometimes sweeps you up in someone else's intentions.
Lodrus Redburn was raised as a duke's assassin, manipulated by fate-altering powers from birth to growth—nothing uncontrolled. Does that make her past life fake?
No.
Oh Daesoo is a new form born from mutated metaphor powers. But it's filled with blatant lies. Does that make the justice she wrought as a magic girl, dashing through Crown Hall, all fake?
No.
Can Oh Hye-in, created by a human rather than a god, not be Lodrus's friend?
Never.
Clutching her transformation device tightly, Lodrus spoke in an unwavering voice.
"It was all real. The time I spent in South Korea, the friends I made—all of it."
"—Yeah, yeah! It's all real! If you didn't think Daesoo was real, I might've been a little sad. I'm a created body too!"
The mad wizard burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Right answer, magic girl!"
His eerie cackle made her half-expect a follow-up like, 'But you didn't know your friend suffered for 300 million years?'
Somehow... innocent yet carefree. That described his expression well.
With his attitude and vibe loosening up considerably, the mad wizard waved his hand lazily, a smile on his lips, and said leisurely,
Don't worry—he only told them because they asked. No plans to do anything about it.
"I just told you because you asked. No intentions of 'doing' this or that. Our connection started as bad blood... but in the end, I became your fan."
"......"
"Oh Hye-in and Mongae are living happily in the simulation. Hye-in's getting along great with her family, and lately she's learning to knit scarves from this grandpa named Abraham."
"...I see."
Lodrus and Lulu breathed deep sighs of relief.
Though brief, the exchange let Lodrus understand the mad wizard a bit deeper. He's... a good person.
She could feel his goodwill.
A being with the terrifying power to craft virtual realities and kidnap minds into them. If he'd willed it, Lodrus could've suffered far worse. The thought sent fresh shivers of fear.
100 billion-year buttons, endless torture without death, countless trials stripping human dignity...
But the mad wizard didn't. To someone raised as an assassin, starved of much in life, he showed precious, shining values.
There was mischief along the way, but he properly taught happiness and joy...
Wait.
Then the tentacle violations were all this bastard's doing...?
His lips curled into a smirk.
"Lodrus. This is Aisha—she needs your advice. So, as a senior who's embraced her inner female side and submitted to frills and exposure, Oh Daesoo-nim. A word, please."
"......!!"
She should've realized from the tentacles and all. This guy definitely has a hobby of tormenting people!
It went on forever. The mad wizard was starved for someone to talk to about this. Like a fish in water, he bombarded Lodrus with teasing.
"I hear she's started picking out girls' clothes lately..."
"Shut up!"
"For your first night with Kim Lulu, planning to do it as Oh Daesoo or as Lodrus?"
"Shut uuuup—!!"
This insane scumbag!
Should she kill him and seal that mouth? No. He's the benefactor who made her a girlfriend, friends, and showed her life's joys.
A person with shame wouldn't draw a blade, and fighting would probably end in loss anyway. The incoming damage was overwhelming her shame threshold.
Even Aisha, the girl who'd been sitting blankly beside, was now grinning creepily.
"Hey, Lodrus. Just curious—which do you like more, a woman's body or a man's...?"
"Retreating! 'Transform'! 'Magic Rope'!"
Fwaaash—!
Lodrus made a sharp call and retreated. She scooped Kim Lulu under her arm and fled the scene desperately.
Behind them came the wicked wizard and girl's dual cackles.
But his trials weren't over.
After her lifespan issue resolved, Kim Lulu started fantasizing about the future more. Naturally, she'd thought about weddings dozens of times. Even decided to ask Grandpa to officiate.
But the mad wizard's question made her realize one undecided detail.
Clutched in Oh Daesoo's arms like a bride-to-be, cheeks flushed red as she cupped them shyly, Kim Lulu asked,
"Um, Daesoo... Daesoo-ya... for real, when we get married... which one will you...?"
"...I don't know, shut up!"
Oh Daesoo bellowed.
Finally, I have someone I can express my inner closeness to!
Irid, Elaine, other players—they're not really 'close' to 'me' in the strict sense. Bennett's the closest, maybe.
But now Lodrus has become my 'secret friend,' freeing me from my pathetic habit of pretending to be chummy in secret. Now I can say it proudly!
I'm at my friend's house, hanging out!
"Hey, Lodrus! Here to hang out. Cute Aisha's with me too."
"Both of you, scram!"
"Brought health food for sis-in-law too."
"...Leave it and scram."
FYI, this is our third meeting. Twice at a cafe, first time at her house.
Oh Daesoo grumbled in magic girl form like she was annoyed to death. It was the pouty attitude I'd seen tons from the session's omniscient view, but seeing it live felt different.
I entered Oh Daesoo—Kim Lulu's love nest, carrying a bundle of gifts. It included health drinks for Lulu, but the star was the 'Dream Phone.'
A direct line to the simulation—calling it connects to Oh Hye-in. She'll love it, right?
Dopamine already surging. She's probably dying to ask if she can meet Hye-in again. So I struck first.
Plus, if I throw in Mongae, whom I pieced back together after the fake Demon Witch shattered her...
Poke.
Kim Lulu peeked from the second floor.
"Oh, mad wizard's here again? Fix what you broke quick, or the palace will chew you out?"
"Aigoo, Lulu-ssi, no worries. Restoration's going smoothly."
"Oh right, someone to introduce. Hayang. Say hi, Hayang."
Huh?
A girl with hair white as if bleached poked out behind Kim Lulu. She bowed blankly with a dim voice.
That... fucking...
"Hi-dmong."
"Say 'hello' properly!"
"Helloyo."
That's Redburn's puppeteer.
She looked way younger, but no matter how you scrubbed your eyes or double-checked, it's her. My inner crow was cawing wildly too.
She survived that fatal wound, hiding at Lodrus's, biding her time...?
Now that I've blown her cover, she'll reveal her true colors soon. I hurriedly gathered mana, preparing to subdue her.
"...Aisha, battle stance! Sis-in-law, be careful too! She's Redburn's minion! A powerful metaphor ability user!"
"Wha—?! Hayang?!"
"Wait, hold on, Demon Witch. Something's off. No real intelligence in those eyes."
Aisha held me back, but I didn't drop my guard.
"She's hiding it! A guy who can manipulate bodies freely could've messed with her brain, risks and all!"
"Unless it's a world-class genius like you or me, how's some mere human gonna precisely tweak their own brain? Ninety percent chance they'd go insane and die?"
"Not wrong... I guess."
"Mooong."
Redburn's puppeteer mumbled blankly. Has she really lost it...?
In this unexpected place, I've encountered a key enemy asset turned idiot.