Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Yu-ra's Cousin
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The next morning, after breakfast, the party left the royal palace.
A few nobles, intrigued by Kang-seok’s group, had sent invitations, but they declined them all, explaining that their schedule was too tight.
“Being able to turn them down so easily is all thanks to your Meister title. If an ordinary adventurer refused like this, the noble lords would usually take offense. They’d think, ‘How dare a nobody like you refuse my invitation?’ But since you’re a Meister, even they can’t treat you disrespectfully, at least not to your face. His Majesty the King truly bestowed a great gift upon you, didn’t he?”
Abigail wasn’t wrong.
This world clearly had a class system.
It wasn't as extreme as Earth's feudal era, where nobles could kill commoners with impunity, but to Kang-seok and his modern sensibilities, the disparity was still "difficult to accept."
The last person to stop them as they were leaving the palace was Edward Price.
He hadn't sent a servant with an invitation like the others; he was standing outside the main gate of the royal palace, waiting for them himself.
Unsure how Edward would react, Kang-seok felt a slight tension. A request for a rematch would have been a headache.
Fortunately, however, Edward didn't express any anger or ill will toward Kang-seok.
He simply smiled, offered a handshake, and said they should face each other again someday.
As Edward turned and left with his attendant after the brief greeting, Choi Yu-ra, who had been staring blankly at his back, spoke.
“Isn’t that just a request for a rematch in the end?”
“Not right away, at least.”
Kang-seok let out a long sigh, as if that alone was enough to satisfy him.
Just as Iris had said, Edward was a man who sought the cause of his defeat within himself.
Instead of holding a petty grudge, he seemed to have accepted Kang-seok as a friendly rival.
“He’s a real man. Is that what it takes to be the Captain of the Knights Templar?”
Seong Yu-jin’s face and voice were also full of admiration. Abigail let out a hearty laugh.
“There’s a reason he became the leader of a group at such a young age. Rumor has it he was chosen for his ‘future potential,’ and it certainly seems to be true.”
The captains of the other religious orders were typically over thirty, even the youngest among them. In contrast, Edward was still in his mid-twenties, making him remarkably young for the position.
“Anyway, let’s get going. We’re a day behind schedule, so Kang-san and Han-yeong must be waiting.”
The two had grown much closer, and their way of addressing each other was now informal. At Kang-seok's words, Choi Yu-ra shrugged with a sly look on her face.
“Don’t you think they’re having a good time together? Maybe we’d just be interrupting?”
Even Yang Jun-gyu could tell there was something unusual brewing between Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong.
Leaving the two of them alone in the capital, it wouldn't have been strange if some sort of "event" had occurred.
Kang-seok grinned, amused.
“We’ll find out when we get there.”
“Yep, we’ll see.”
Smiling slyly, the group headed for the inn where Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong were staying.
***
Arriving at a large inn located a little way from the capital's main thoroughfare, the group was more surprised than they had expected.
It wasn’t because Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong were sitting side by side, with Park Han-yeong clinging to Kim Kang-san’s arm.
They had often been seen like that even before coming to the capital, so it was nothing to be surprised about.
The reason for their shock lay elsewhere.
“Choi Yu-ra!”
As soon as they entered the inn, a large man strode toward them with big steps and, without warning, swept Choi Yu-ra into a tight hug.
Yu-ra had been standing at the very front of the group, and the man’s approach was so swift and natural that no one had time to stop him.
What was more, Yu-ra’s reaction was not her usual one.
The woman who wouldn't have hesitated to kick an approaching man in the groin or point her crossbow at him was, for some reason, completely frozen.
Following the hug, he treated her like a small child, slipping his hands under her armpits and lifting her high into the air. She just blinked in bewilderment, unable to even utter a sound.
Seeing that the man in the cowboy hat had been sitting at the same table as Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong, Seong Yu-jin quickly looked toward Kim Kang-san and gestured with her eyes, but Kang-seok’s reaction was different. He didn't draw Durandal, but he approached the man with a sharp glare.
It was surprisingly Choi Yu-ra who stopped him.
“W-wait a minute, Kang-seok! He’s not a weirdo! No, more importantly… Hey! Choi Go-bong! Put me down! You wanna get a beating from your big sis?!”
Her face bright red, Choi Yu-ra flailed about in a panic. But the man was just as flustered.
“It’s not Choi Go-bong! I changed my name to Antonio Choi when I immigrated, okay?! I told you on the phone!”
“Choi Go-bong is Choi Go-bong. Antonio Choi, my foot. Anyway, aren’t you going to put me down?! Where do you think you’re touching me!”
It was a natural reaction, given that his hands were right under her armpits. And in front of Kang-seok, no less.
As everyone in the inn turned to look at them due to their loud voices, Choi Yu-ra frantically kicked her arms and legs in the air, as if threatening to fall if he didn't put her down.
“Big… sis? So, he’s her younger brother?”
Kang-seok, who had been on the verge of knocking out the man in the cowboy hat—Antonio Choi—stood there blinking blankly. Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong hurried over to the group.
“He says he’s Yu-ra’s cousin.”
“Judging by Yu-ra’s reaction, it seems to be true.”
“Hey! Put me down!”
Choi Yu-ra’s shout drowned out Park Han-yeong and Kim Kang-san’s words. Kicked in the chest by Yu-ra, Antonio Choi dropped her as if tossing her aside.
“What a temper. You really haven't changed a bit, have you?”
“Who are you calling a girl!”
“Don’t pull rank over a six-month age difference.”
It was the classic bickering of siblings close in age.
Still not over his shock, Kang-seok muttered to himself.
“Yu-ra is his… big sister?”
Kang-seok looked at Antonio Choi’s face, then back at Choi Yu-ra with eyes full of mixed emotions—but mostly suspicion. Seong Yu-jin’s expression was not much different.
Anyone could see that Antonio Choi was clearly well over thirty. You could believe he was the same age as Kim Kang-san.
And yet, Choi Yu-ra was born half a year before him? Then how old was she?
“N-no! It’s just that he looks incredibly old for his age! I’m young!”
Choi Yu-ra, whose mind usually worked fast, was now thinking several times faster.
Antonio Choi let out a sigh and clicked his tongue.
“Today’s old face will be tomorrow’s young one. This face of mine hasn’t changed since middle school. Just you wait until I hit my late thirties.”
He said it as if boasting, but it was a rather pitiful story.
Meanwhile, the commotion had finally drawn the attention of the inn’s staff.
A burly man, whose face and build would make most thugs flee on sight, approached the group and said.
“Please keep it down inside the inn.”
The inn was large enough to have a stable that could fit several carriages.
Suddenly embarrassed by the fact that at least twenty people in the inn were staring at them, the group meekly nodded their heads.
***
“Seriously, I’m so embarrassed because of you! And we got kicked out of the inn!”
“We just checked out. How is that getting kicked out? Besides, I was just happy to see you. Seeing you so full of energy like this is great. I guess there are some good things about being summoned to this world.”
After bidding farewell to Abigail, who said she still had business in the capital, the group left the inn and climbed aboard the four-horse carriage driven by Yang Jun-gyu.
They had no more business in the capital and a long way to go, so they decided to press on.
Choi Yu-ra grumbled, and Antonio Choi laughed heartily, pulling her into another hug even as they were seated. For some reason, his last words were tinged with deep emotion.
This time, Choi Yu-ra didn't struggle and hugged him back, patting his back and letting out a voice of relief.
“You passed the tutorial. I’m so, so glad.”
Of the 370,000 players summoned to this world on the day of the Great Summoning, fewer than 10,000 had survived the tutorial.
That was a survival rate of less than 3%, at best.
Moreover, Choi Yu-ra had lost everyone she was with during the tutorial. Just the fact that Antonio Choi had safely passed it and was here now was enough to make her endlessly happy.
“You too, Yu-ra.”
Antonio Choi patted her back as well. He had already learned from Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong that she was safe, but seeing her in person like this brought a fresh wave of emotion.
After their emotional embrace, Choi Yu-ra hid her slightly reddened eyes and turned to Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin.
“Let me introduce you again. This is my cousin, Choi Go… Antonio Choi. He immigrated to Spain in middle school, but we met again here.”
“Antonio Choi. Any friend of Yu-ra’s is a friend of mine. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He really did seem to be Choi Yu-ra’s cousin.
Recalling his first meeting with her, Kang-seok smiled wryly and shook Antonio Choi’s hand. Seong Yu-jin, who was a bit shy, just gave a nod instead of a handshake, but she welcomed him with a bright smile.
“Anyway, there’s so much I want to talk about. I’m curious how you’ve been.”
Despite his rather quiet appearance, Antonio Choi was quite talkative. It seemed he was excited to have met Choi Yu-ra.
It was only natural to be excited after meeting someone you knew, a relative no less, after being summoned to another world.
Choi Yu-ra also smiled brightly and asked.
“By the way, what’s with the cowboy look? Did you come from an FPS game or something?”
“What about you, Yu-ra?”
“I came from an FPS. I mainly use a crossbow since I’m out of bullets.”
Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin were also curious about what game Antonio Choi had been playing.
As he was none other than Choi Yu-ra’s cousin, there was a high possibility he would become a member of the guild Kang-seok planned to create.
“I was…”
“Aargh?!”
Yang Jun-gyu’s scream swallowed Antonio Choi’s voice.
The horses pulling the carriage, including Alphonse and Adamas, whinnied, and the carriage suddenly tilted sharply to one side. Naturally, everyone inside screamed in surprise.
“W-what’s going on?!”
Kim Kang-san shouted urgently. Yang Jun-gyu’s voice came from outside the carriage.
“The carriage wheel… uh… is the axle broken?”
Although Yang Jun-gyu was specialized in ‘driving’ due to coming from a racing game, he wasn't a vehicle expert.
The group hurried out of the carriage to see the rear wheel bent at a bizarre angle.
It was only because Yang Jun-gyu was driving that they had managed to stop by the side of the road. If someone else had been at the reins, it could have been a much bigger accident.
“If the axle itself is gone, it’ll be hard to repair…”
Kim Kang-san, the oldest and the only one in the group with experience owning a car, muttered seriously.
But he didn't know much about carriages either. He was just guessing that it would be hard to fix since the axle was broken.
“Maybe I used the booster too much…”
Yang Jun-gyu muttered timidly. His once-a-day booster ability provided incredible speed, but it also put a great strain on the horses and the carriage.
“Um, can I take a look?”
Antonio Choi, who had been looking at the carriage over Kim Kang-san’s shoulder, spoke to no one in particular. With no reason to refuse, Kim Kang-san readily stepped aside.
As everyone watched, Antonio Choi crawled right under the carriage. After a moment of inspection, he suddenly spoke to the group.
“Everyone, stand back a little. And unhitch the horses from the carriage for a moment.”
It seemed he was about to do something.
Kang-seok gave Yang Jun-gyu a look, and Yang Jun-gyu, along with Seong Yu-jin, unhitched Alphonse, Adamas, Pony, and the horse Abigail had brought.
After seeing the horses moved to the side, Antonio Choi lightly clapped his hands together from under the carriage.
The moment Antonio Choi’s hands touched the broken axle, a flash of light erupted.
[Carriage enhancement successful.]
A message of light suddenly appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Startled, Seong Yu-jin instinctively reached out and touched the carriage. Blinking, she read the new text of light.
“A-A Plus One Sturdy Carriage?”
Until now, touching the carriage hadn't brought up any special text. But now, it had the modifier ‘Sturdy’ and a ‘+1’ value.
“A-an Enchanter?”
“No way, an enchanter can enhance a carriage?”
Park Han-yeong said in bewilderment, and Choi Yu-ra immediately retorted.
Enhancing weapons or armor was common in all sorts of games, but enhancing a carriage was unheard of.
While the group was still in a daze, Antonio Choi pulled himself out from under the carriage. Brushing off his shoulders, he said.
“+1 is the limit without materials. Let’s just be satisfied with this for now.”
The wink he gave seemed a bit out of place with his otherwise weary appearance, but it had its own charm.
Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin looked at Antonio Choi, then at each other. They exchanged a quick glance, and after a nod, Seong Yu-jin stepped forward.
Looking at Antonio Choi, she uttered the ‘line’ she hadn’t used in a very long time.
“What game were you playing?”