Chapter 30
Chapter 30 - Hatching (孵化)
I first examined the black-haired woman's body from head to toe.
Although covered by a blanket and not able to see precisely, her face condition still looked gaunt. Compared to when she first lay naked in the prison, looking almost like an undead's sibling, she has certainly improved.
"Are you feeling okay physically?"
"Oh... yes. Thanks to you, I've gotten much better. Really, I don't know how to express my gratitude..."
"Never mind. It's not like I did anything."
I chuckled at her sincere gratitude.
Honestly, I really didn't do anything.
To be frank, I had almost completely forgotten about her for a month. I was desperately focused on surviving through the undead war.
But there's no need to say that and ruin my good image. I brought my face closer to her.
The woman inhaled and burrowed deeper into the blanket.
"W-why, why are you doing that?"
"My name is Park Jeong-yong. Park is my surname, and Jeong-yong is my name. Just comfortably call me Jeong-yong."
"Oh... yes, yes. Jeong-yong nim."
What's with 'Jeong-yong nim'? How creepy. Are you Cessna?
I firmly rejected honorifics and titles, but she resolutely pushed her own philosophy.
"To speak informally to a life-saving benefactor? Such a thing would be unimaginable in the world I lived in."
"... Ah, okay. Do as you wish."
Eventually, pressed for time, I surrendered. Well, honorifics aren't particularly important anyway.
I sighed and immediately asked her, "What's your name?"
"Seo, Seolbaek (雪白). It was originally a bit longer... but just call me that."
"Seolbaek."
It wasn't a very fantastical name.
The naming sense seems closer to martial arts novels. Perhaps she's a lady who came from that industry(?).
I nodded and gave a thumbs up.
"Mm. It's a good name."
"... Th-thank you."
The woman... Seolbaek's face blushed again.
Can't even compliment her. I sighed and stared directly at her face.
"W-why are you staring like that?"
Although Seolbaek asked while slightly reddening her face, I continued staring.
Just as she became restless and tried to cover her face...
Finally, the panel was generated.
[Name: Seolbaek]
[Title: 145,773,952nd Hero, Snow (雪) Elemental Mage]
[LV. 26]
[Health: 17/190 Magic: 63/574 Physical Condition: Extreme Weakness, Starving]
[Strength: 19 Agility: 23 Intelligence: 55 Hero Sense: 5]
'The name is... indeed Seolbaek.'
At least I confirmed she wasn't lying. I smacked my lips and moved directly to the next matter.
I've learned her name. What else is there to discuss?
I'll get straight to the point.
"So, Seolbaek. I'll go directly to the main issue."
"Oh, yes."
"Become my partner."
"Oh... what?"
Seolbaek seemed momentarily dumbfounded after hearing the offer that sounded like something out of a pirate manga
I scratched the back of my head and repeated my previous statement.
"I'm saying become my partner. Aren't you overflowing with the desire to repay the kindness of your life-saving benefactor?"
"Oh... yes."
Seolbaek nodded somewhat bewilderedly. I grabbed her hand.
Seolbaek let out a high-pitched "Heek!" But although her face turned completely red, she didn't reject my hand.
"Seolbaek. Look at me."
"J-Jeong-yong nim... if you do this, I..."
Seolbaek blushed but looked at me directly.
Saying one thing but not actually refusing. Good. This is half-way there.
I brought my face close to hers and said, "Seolbaek. I need you right now.
"Oh... uh, ah."
"Without you, it won't work. So let's leave together. Stay by my side. I'll protect you too. I'm staking my life on it."
"Uwaaah. Oh!"
Seolbaek's face became almost explosive with blushing.
... What's this? It looks a bit dangerous. Isn't she going to collapse again? I'm just trying to form a party and work together, so why this reaction?
As I thought about pulling back a bit.
Suddenly, Seolbaek tightly closed her eyes and started nodding repeatedly.
"Oh, I understand. I, I will protect your side,Jeong-yong nim!"
"Oh... yeah. Good decision."
Though it was a bit different from what I expected, making me stammer, anyway... it seems I've successfully recruited a partner.
I sighed with relief, feeling like I'd overcome a major hurdle.
'... But that said.'
Why does her gaze suddenly feel so warm and mild?
It seems like ever since accepting the partner proposal, she's been sending me a deep look, but it must be my imagination, right?
I cleared my throat to divert Seolbaek's attention and asked her, "By the way, Seolbaek. Can you fight?"
"Oh..."
Seolbaek let out an ambiguous exclamation.
Can she not fight? As I was about to sigh, she quickly added, "I'm not completely unable to fight. I know how to use elemental magic widely used in our continent. However..."
"However?"
"I can't say I'm good at fighting. My specialty is support elemental magic."
"Support elemental magic."
I thought she'd be a dealer, but she's a buffer, it seems.
Well, it doesn't matter. If I take her along, there'll be uses everywhere. If she can't fight, I can just make her do odd jobs.
And among those odd jobs, there's one thing I consider most important.
I should ask about this.
"Can you cook?"
"Oh. C-cooking... I'm somewhat confident."
"Pass. Start work tomorrow."
"Huh... what?"
Game set. There's nothing more to ask. If you can cook well, that's enough. What more could you want.
I nodded my head and patted Seolbaek's shoulder.
"From now on, you're our party's exclusive chef. I don't even want you to fight. Got it?"
"Ah... Yes, yes. I understand."
"Good."
The reason for being lenient about fighting is simple. In the first place, once we escape this damn Halcenberg Castle, there won't be much reason to fight in the first place.
I'm a pacifist.
Even in a world where the Demon King's minions are running rampant, I don't have the slightest desire to fight. From the beginning, I was practically forced into the hero's role against my will, so why would I want to work hard at it?
So in fact, the most unnecessary job in our party is a combatant.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that a chef is the core force of our party. What good luck to discover such a talent from the start.
"Okay, okay. So that's how it's going to be?"
"Yeesss...."
I became cheerful and immediately stood up from my seat.
And after patting Seolbaek's shoulder, I immediately packed my belongings and headed towards the door. My belongings are nothing more than an old leather bag and a pouch.
"Well, rest. If you have somewhere to go, call me first. I'll be in the next room."
"Ah...."
Seolbaek momentarily trailed off, and just before I was about to leave the room, she finally opened her mouth with difficulty.
"Um, Jeong-yong nim."
"Huh?"
"... Aren't you going to ask anything?"
Seolbaek asks while slightly grasping the blanket.
She was biting her lip and slightly trembling. Despite having brought up the topic herself, she seemed afraid that I might actually ask something.
I stared at Seolbaek quietly and then asked,
"What should I ask?"
"Why I was trapped there. How I could survive without dying...."
"Not really interested."
"... Oh."
Seolbaek looked like she had been hit on the back of her head by my indifferent response.
I smiled a bit and said to her,
"If you want to talk, talk to me later. I'm not really curious, but I don't mind listening to someone's story."
"... Yes. I'll do that."
Seolbaek slightly blushed and then dove into the blanket. I waved my hand to her and then closed the door.
"Rest."
Thunk. The door closed. I picked up my bag and went straight to the next room.
Creak. As I opened the door, dust flew up from the floor, disrupting my view. Coughing immediately followed.
"F*ck. Well, I should clean first."
I muttered while placing the items from my backpack on the desk.
Then, at one moment. My actions suddenly stopped. It was because of something that had fallen out of the pouch.
"Why is this glowing?"
An egg. The very egg I had completely forgotten about for a while.
The main culprit that threw me into a cauldron of pain.
And now, it was emitting its unique gloomy light.
I examined it carefully and soon realized something.
"... It seems... a bit bigger?"
It used to have plenty of space inside the waist pouch, but now there was no space left when I put it in.
'Wait a minute. When did it get this big?'
It was mostly because I hadn't properly examined it due to recent circumstances. As I was pondering.
Ding. A familiar electronic sound announced the panel's creation. I reflexively shifted my gaze there.
[Detailed Information - Immortal Demon King's Egg]
[Hatching Acceleration: Continuously hunting the Immortal Demon King's subordinates has accelerated the hatching time.]
[Remaining Time Until Hatching - 3 days]
Before I could even understand, a chilling warning sound swept past my ears. And a pitch-black panel filled my vision.
It was a panel distinctly different from what I'd seen so far, with a very ominous feeling.
[The Immortal's Return Point Has Been Updated.]
[Time - Mittelland Kingdom Calendar/Year 547, December 18th, 7 PM]
[Location - Halcenberg Castle, Knight Rudrick's Room]
[Notification - The Immortal Demon King is Approaching Resurrection]
[Notification - Return Point Will Be Updated Every 12 Hours Until the Immortal Demon King Fully Resurrects]
"... What is this?"
I couldn't help but open my mouth wide.
* * *
"Lord Margrave!"
I burst open the audience chamber doors.
As always, the Halcenberg Margrave was neutralizing a curse while holding his wife's hand.
"Oh. Who do we have here."
The Margrave welcomed me cheerfully as I approached. It was natural, as I hadn't visited since the demon hunting began, spending nights sleeping elsewhere.
"It's been a while since you've visited, Sir Jeong-yong. Well, what's the matter?"
"I have something I want to ask. Is this a good time?"
"Certainly. For a hunting partner like yourself, anytime."
The Margrave nodded with a trustworthy smile. I bowed slightly in gratitude.
'A hunting partner.'
In fact, until about two weeks ago, I was at best a burden, and at worst, dead weight.
This gentleman has really overestimated me. Though now my level has risen enough that I'm not just dragging everyone down.
"Ask anything. What are you curious about? Is it about the ancient demons?"
"Something similar."
I nodded ambiguously. And I carefully opened my mouth to Margrave, whose eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
With one hand, I was fidgeting with the demon king's egg brought from the room.
"The Eldritch that Lord Margrave is fighting is a type of monster, right?"
First question.
Margrave thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Of course. Whether you call them ancient demon tribes or whatever, they are ultimately monsters. It's just a way of referring to the demon king's subordinates who have existed since ancient times and become powerful with magic."
I swallowed my saliva and opened my mouth.
The second question I truly wanted to know.
"Then there must be a demon king who is in charge of the Eldritch as well, right?"
"Of course."
"Who is that?"
"The immortal demon king Rustica."
For a moment, I thought I had misheard.
No, I hoped I had misheard.
Just in case, I asked again.
"Who did you say?"
"The immortal demon king Rustica Asmodeus. The demon king called the blood of the witch Diana. One of the four strongest demon kings in history. All undead legions in the north are monsters under the immortal demon king."
Margrave spoke these shocking facts in a calm voice.