Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: The Gift
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[Ahem. Anyway, let's put that aside for now and just talk about what we need to do right this instant. Time isn't infinite, after all.]
"Isn't the Saintess too busy for this?"
The Saintess pointed toward the next room with her finger on the screen.
...Well, fair enough. If anything, I'm the one running short on time.
The Saintess, on the other hand, had so much time on her hands she might as well have been watching me 24/7.
"Watching someone 24/7 without their consent—what else would you call it if not voyeuring?"
"Slapping 'love' on the front doesn't magically beautify a crime..."
"Why would there be CCTV in a fantasy world?"
The more I watched her, the more I wondered if she was really from this fantasy world or secretly from Earth. She knew Earth culture inside and out—games, CCTV, even puns.
"...Were you stalking me back on Earth too?"
"You did, didn't you?!"
She might look innocent, but this woman was no ordinary stalker!
That would mean she'd been stalking me for at least a decade—starting from Earth?!
"Single-minded devotion at that level is just plain terrifying..."
"I didn't exactly want to run away, you know?!"
I'd been forced to flee because of those meddling gods from heaven and earth. It wasn't like I'd chosen to bolt on my own.
At this point, maybe there was something to that "saving you" line after all...
...Nah.
Considering everything I'd been through here, that just didn't fly.
Hmm.
No matter how much I wanted to believe she'd saved me, how could I after all the crap I'd endured in this world?
"Doesn't exactly inspire trust either."
Both sides were equally shady. No question.
The real best plan was still to squeeze every benefit out of both worlds and bolt back to Earth.
...After chatting with my master first, of course.
"By the way, is it possible to bring someone else back with me?"
"No funny business."
In a way, her straightforward desperation to drag me over made her refreshingly easy to deal with.
"...You're not holding back?"
She had a point—every word rang true.
Still, these were points I'd scraped together the hard way. A little stingy with them? Sure.
"..."
I squeezed my eyes shut and hit purchase.
The Saintess recommended two items in total.
"The names are straightforward, but these descriptions are kinda horrifying."
Fine, the pope made sense, but that inquisitor? Straight-up friendly fire.
I eyed the white rope in my hand with suspicion.
Its effects were dead simple.
An insanely tough rope with auto-repair.
'Peak expert, huh...'
I ran through the cultivation levels of everyone around me, wondering who this rope could actually hold.
...Dang Ayoung?
No matter how I sliced it, she was the only one.
Sword Empress: No chance.
Yeo Socheon: No chance squared.
Master: Probably beyond peak.
'She's no slouch at the peak realm either, especially at her age. Genius doesn't even cover it.'
But with comparisons like that, she couldn't help but look weak.
......
The next item was a brooch with a striking red sun emblem.
It gave off a soft, warm glow.
That description alone told me everything I needed to know.
"Guess it's for vampires if I run into any."
According to her, this world's sun didn't faze vampires much—different god ruling the place and all. But the sunlight from this brooch was a genuine holy relic infused with the goddess's power, so it'd work on them fine.
"Haa... Wonder when I'll finally make it back to Earth."
I sighed and glanced back at the shop window. That's when one item caught my eye.
"...How much for this?"
"I'll take it."
"Got someone to give it to."
I hit buy, and a black hidden weapon materialized in my hand.
Jet-black, like it absorbed all light.
I wasn't expecting world-shaking powers from a 300-point trinket anyway.
Hell, those features were perfectly suited to a world without magic.
"Not like I'm using it myself anyway."
"You know it."
Anyone who'd been watching me this long could guess. The recipient was set in stone.
Dang Ayoung.
'She's helped me out a ton.'
We'd shared plenty of favors, and as fiancés... this gift was only proper.
Plus, she was the weakest among my acquaintances.
—Glance—
'...'
I glanced down at my arms—slender enough to make me question if I was even a grown man—and let out a sigh.
Who was worrying about whom here?
'Hm?'
While I was staring at myself, a mumble drifted over. I looked up.
"Eek!"
The Saintess was exuding dark energy from every pore on the screen.
"W-Why are you like this?! Calm down!"
"O-Okay! What do you want?! Name it!"
The screen showed her pulling a rope from somewhere and looping it over the ceiling. I panicked and talked her down.
"We can't."
"That's a no-go too."
"Why does it feel like the demands keep escalating?"
"But we can't do that either."
The Saintess tore at her hair in frustration.
...She looked like such a noble, saintly young lady, but her antics were something else.
...A rude thought crossed my mind, but I swallowed it.
...Ah. Mind read.
........
Why the hell do you have those?!
Later, to soothe the pouting Saintess, I struck a bunch of poses she requested. In return, I got her to promise to ditch the figures and pillow.
...Yeah, marriage is off the table for me.