Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: The Piggyback Incident
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To cut to the chase, Ye So-cheon's piggyback ride(?) was pretty decent.
Back in the day, getting carried by a woman this petite might've bruised a guy's pride or something like that.
'Whatever... Pride's the last thing on my mind now.'
What more did he even need at this point?
He'd come way too far to worry about trivial pride anymore.
In a world crawling with monsters, what kind of pride could a guy muster when he couldn't even beat a regular human girl?
Even Ye So-cheon, who was carrying him right now and looked small on the outside, could slice a mountain in half if she set her mind to it...
'...Probably?'
He wasn't sure about that much, but she was definitely an insane monster.
The kind of opponent where a weakling like him had no business talking pride.
And it wasn't just empty talk—the ride during their travel was way more comfortable than he'd expected.
Ye So-cheon might've been small, but so was he, so it didn't feel forced or awkward.
She handled her balance and strength control with the finesse of a true martial artist, making their high-speed movement feel smooth and steady.
But there was another reason this position felt especially comfy.
At first, he'd racked his brain for a more comfortable way to ride, but Ye So-cheon had straight-up suggested the princess carry—like something straight out of Earth stories.
He'd refused partly out of lingering shame, aside from any pride issues.
Their body types made it so that position would press certain embarrassing parts together...
No matter how carefully she ran, their bodies would jostle a little...
"..."
"..."
That was the reason for the awkward vibe hanging between Ye So-cheon and him right now.
Oh, don't get the wrong idea. Nothing actually happened.
They'd stopped it before disaster struck.
Barely, though—that was the problem.
'Was my body always this sensitive?'
It'd been the same during that kiss last time. For some reason, whenever Ye So-cheon was involved, his body got way more reactive.
He'd realized he was pretty lacking while hanging out with Dang Ayoung, but not this bad.
He wasn't so hopeless that he couldn't even perform as a man—he was just a bit quick on the draw(?), that's all...
'There has to be something up with this.'
He sighed inwardly and scratched his head.
No matter how sensitive a body got, there was a limit. Getting pushed right to the brink from just a kiss and... well, this? That wasn't sensitive—that was a problem.
Thank goodness they'd stopped just short each time. If it'd gone any further...
'That would've been a real accident.'
Just imagining it sent chills down his spine.
He already had a headache convincing the Sword Empress after the mess with Dang Ayoung. Getting tangled up with Ye So-cheon too? No way he could handle that.
So...
"Uh..."
"We're here! Let's hop in quick! You said it was around here, right? Haha, we'll find it in no time!"
"Ah, it's buried underground..."
-Krraaaack!!!!!
Ye So-cheon swung her sword, and a bolt of blue lightning crashed down, pulverizing the ground around them.
A person swinging a sword to crater the earth.
He'd only heard about scenes like this before—seeing it with his own eyes for the first time left his jaw on the floor, speechless.
"Ov-over there..."
"Oh, hasn't come out yet. One more time!"
-Rumbleeee!!!!!!!
A blinding blue flash seared his eyes again.
Then came the deafening roar that made his ears ring.
The pit was now nearly twice as big as before.
"Ah. Looks like that's the entrance. Let's go!"
While he stood there dumbfounded, Ye So-cheon strode toward the suspiciously structured building poking out from the crater.
He snapped out of it and hurried after her, catching a glimpse of her profile—her ears were flushed bright red.
.
.
.
Sure, something embarrassing had gone down, but they'd made it this far.
"You sure you know the right path?"
"If the heavenly secrets I read were recorded right."
By the time he came to his senses, they were back to their usual bickering.
Neither had brought it up first, but they were both acting like the earlier mishap never happened—like nothing was wrong.
"Well, the heavenly secrets won't be off, but since you're the one reading them, I'm a bit skeptical. What if you misread and we step on a trap you missed?"
"You'd survive with your protective aura up."
"Obviously. No matter who made this place—that bastard—I'm not so worthless that I'd fall to some ruin trap."
"Right. You've trained for so long, after all."
"...That sounded pointed."
"Just your imagination. Oh, trap ahead."
He shot back lightly at Ye So-cheon's words and stepped forward to find the disarm method from the heavenly secrets.
'So... Press the switch inside this nearby wall...'
But trouble hit here.
He found the hidden switch in the wall just fine, but it was too far in.
The trap would deactivate with a simple switch press, but his arms were too short to reach.
"...Haa."
"What's up? Problem?"
"There's a switch inside... Just need to press it, but my arm won't reach."
"Ugh, figures with you. Move aside."
Ye So-cheon came over at his words and shoved her arm into the wall.
For reference, she was taller than him—but only by a measly 1-2 cm.
So her arms couldn't be that much longer...
"...Nngh..."
Even she couldn't reach the end.
He blushed watching her press her body against the wall, face red, straining to push her arm in as far as it would go.
He always teased her about her height, but...
'...She's definitely an adult. Yeah.'
No one could argue otherwise seeing the flesh squishing against the wall.
Her small stature just didn't make it stand out.
'...'
Watching the scene dragged his mind back to earlier, so he shook his head vigorously.
Meanwhile, Ye So-cheon was still grunting with her arm jammed in.
Seeing her—the usual bickerer—struggling like that stirred something oddly satisfying inside him.
Like a sense of camaraderie since she couldn't do it either, or amusement at her floundering after claiming she could do anything.
'It looked easy once I saw the distance. Could just give up and poke it with my sword...'
-Click.
"Ah. Got it."
"Hold up. You cheated just now."
He grabbed Ye So-cheon's shoulder in a hurry.
"Wh-what?! I stretched my arm properly and reached it!"
"You used Vacuum Grasp just now!! I saw it!! That's farther than your arm can reach!"
"D-don't accuse the innocent! Why would I waste Vacuum Grasp on something this trivial?! And how do you even know my arm length? Measured it? Huh?"
"Urk..."
He had no comeback for that.
He hadn't actually measured her arm, after all.
But he couldn't back down now.
"Fine, let's measure now! Gimme your hand!"
"...Pardon?"
Someone else might think what was the big deal, but for short people, this was serious business.
Like that subtle rivalry of 'No matter what, I'm taller/bigger than you.'
"Ha, ha! How pathetic! Lost on height last time, so now grasping at arm length for comfort?"
"Lost on height, so I gotta win this one!"
"Hmph! F-fine. Go ahead. Measure and know your place."
Ye So-cheon covered her mouth with one hand and extended the other.
It was a dainty hand that matched her looks.
'Hand size first...'
He spread her palm and pressed his against it.
Both had small hands to match their builds, but the result?
"My hand's bigger!"
"N-no way! Measure again!"
"Same result! Mine's a tiny bit larger!"
Surprisingly(?), his was bigger.
A slim margin, but it was a win—enough to patch up his shattered male pride just a little.
Truth be told, among the women he'd met in this world, Ye So-cheon was the first with smaller hands than his.
He hadn't measured everyone, but you could tell long from short without measuring—when the difference was close enough to matter.
Some things you just knew.
"N-no way..."
Ye So-cheon wobbled slightly, like losing on hand size was that big a shock.
But putting himself in her shoes, he got it.
She'd probably been riding a similar pride high.
"Ahem. I'm a guy, after all."
"...Even if you can't properly fulfill a guy's role."
Her voice was so quiet it was barely audible, so why did that line hit crystal clear?
He cleared his throat inwardly, pretending not to hear, and boldly extended his hand.
"With this, my arms are longer too. C'mon, line 'em up."
"...You used it."
"Huh?"
"Vacuum Grasp! You did it! Just let it slide!"
"We agreed to measure, so let's finish."
"I-I don't think it's necessary..."
"Gotcha."
He snatched her hand as she tried to pull it back and locked it in a grip to stop her escape.
Ye So-cheon, who'd been wriggling moments ago, suddenly went stiff and docile.
As he lifted her arm to compare lengths...
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
-Smack!
"Ow."
Ye So-cheon swatted his hand away with a bit of force.
"E-even if we're close, you can't just manhandle a girl's hand like that!"
"...Now you say that?"
"A-anyway! Just say I lost and move on! We've still got a ways to go!"
With that, Ye So-cheon bolted ahead with quick steps.
"Hey, wait—there's still one more trap..."
-Krunch! Krunch!
-Boom!
-Slash!
"...Left."
Watching the traps shatter into splinters in seconds, it hit him.
The person before him was one of the Murim Alliance's top experts—a monster beyond human limits.
And he'd just been teasing that monster.
"...Uh."
As an apologetic vibe washed over him and he started to bow his head...
"What're you doing? Hurry up. Don't lag behind."
Ye So-cheon glanced back, urging him on—their eyes met.
Her cheeks looked a little flushed.
"Ah, got it."
Figuring she'd forgiven him, he followed her forward.
Suddenly aware of sweat beading on his forehead, he wiped it with his sleeve—being underground made it feel oddly hot.