You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do (2)
Meyrin had been Julian’s comrade.
If there were rumors that she was searching for something, then naturally one had to consider the possibility that it was Julian. Yet almost everyone in Archidia had failed to make that connection. It was strange.
But of course, there was a reason.
“So that’s why everyone was so vague about it.”
Pam nodded as if she finally understood.
The wide-area spell Meyrin had cast when she left Helket. It was a mind-manipulation spell, her master Isilen’s specialty. Of course, spread over such a vast range, it was less manipulation and more memory editing.
“She hid her own weakness like this.”
The stronger a person was, the less they wanted their desires exposed. If it became known that someone of Meyrin’s caliber wanted Julian, it would be obvious what those who held grudges against him would do.
“Red Anemone.”
Her mana flowers were currently working to eliminate that very danger.
The spell did not end at Helket Castle. It spread across the entire town.
Countless red flowers bloomed along the circular boundary surrounding Helket. Red anemones blossoming atop the white snow. They looked like drops of blood fallen on pale skin.
Ham stared blankly at the sight before asking,
“Um, Pam-nim… by the way, do you know what the flower language of that red anemone is?”
Flower language was a metaphor the Fairy Corporation used with some significance. Story Fairies often had it memorized.
There was no reason a veteran fairy like Pam wouldn’t know. An immediate answer wouldn’t have been strange, yet she hesitated before replying.
“‘I love you.’”
“Ah…”
Ham nodded.
A sharp pang echoed in her chest, but she forced it down and answered,
“Th-that’s a pretty common flower language, isn’t it?”
“Mm.”
Pam gave an ambiguous nod.
Common.
It could seem like an ordinary cliché. In fact, she hoped it would. That was why she didn’t reveal the anemone’s true meaning.
“But…”
Ham asked, glancing at her cautiously,
“Why does Julian have such a bad reputation? I saw the first journey Pam-nim created for him during my training period. It had a perfect ending…”
Pam didn’t answer. She simply lowered her head and bit her nails.
Ham watched her expression for a moment, then flapped her wings and took off.
“Ah! Pam-nim! Since Julian’s back now, I’ll go spy on Ram’s side!”
“Ah, yeah. Thanks.”
Pam nodded. She didn’t watch Ham fly away. She only stared at the prison floor.
Maybe the reason I’m here… isn’t because I deceived the company.
She finally understood why she was trapped in this cold place.
It’s because I deceived you.
“I’ll come back to the mushroom farm again!”
Whooooosh—
Junil soared away from the Pocheon communal graveyard on his hang glider. Isilen watched the sky where he had disappeared, looking reluctant.
“He’s already gone.”
From her perspective, Junil’s visit had lasted only a few seconds. She turned her head toward the spot where the gate had vanished.
“…How did he resolve it?”
She could read the airflow emanating from the gate and estimate its strength. Whatever had been inside was not something Junil should have been able to handle. Yet he had come out after clearing it. He had even bragged about receiving four stars. She didn’t know what that meant, but judging by the reward he had received, it must have been extraordinary.
If something like that is already circulating in this world…
Isilen had come here at the World Tree’s request. Her role wasn’t simply to help the hero. Protecting the balance of this world, where the World Tree would take root, was also her duty. Only by helping the World Tree take root in countless worlds could she become the elf chosen by the World Tree.
Can I… reach Ersaren?
Ersaren. It meant the elf of the noble star—the guardian of the dimension chosen by the World Tree. People said it took a thousand years to reach, yet those who actually attained it all did so within eight hundred. That meant an elf who couldn’t reach it would never reach it, no matter how long they waited.
Isilen had always been told she was the closest to that level from birth, yet this year marked her eight hundredth birthday. The elders all said that if she missed this chance, there would be no hope. Conversely, for her, this was her final opportunity.
“Hmm.”
Isilen scratched her chin, deep in thought.
“Is it really okay to leave that as it is?”
The basic elven stance was observation, but the exceptional ones intervened at the most critical moments to stabilize the world. Observation was merely an attitude for maintaining harmony, not the goal itself.
While she was pondering, a single red petal drifted down above her head. She slowly picked it up and examined it.
“…?”
The image of the red petal reflected in her eyes wavered.
“Anemone.”
“Waaaaah!”
Ram and Sam hugged each other and cheered.
“Shit! Julian! I knew we could count on you!”
After all, the gate hadn’t burst and the world hadn’t collapsed. That would have been the worst possible outcome. Julian had prevented it.
“Wow, we even got a massive sponsorship payment! Ram-nim! We can use this money to screw Julian over again!”
Sam casually said something shameless—killing Julian with the money he had earned—without a hint of guilt. In a way, it was only natural. Ram was emotional, but Sam was quick with calculations.
Now we have to keep Julian’s rewards in check!
Since he had defeated a boss of this level, even a moderate clear would have yielded the strongest item by Earth’s current standards. Yet the evaluation inside the gate had been top-tier. It wasn’t just three stars—it was a four-star clear with an additional hidden star.
That was why the immediate concern was how to kill that guy.
“Pose~! Pose~! Chaaaak~!”
Ram was still excitedly striking the Sagosul pose, while Sam clutched his head and calculated the next move. He didn’t want to ruin Ram’s mood by saying it out loud. But…
Damn it!
A serious problem had arisen.
When had so many Constellations started watching? Before entering the gate, there had only been around 1,800. At this rate, they might soon exceed 3,000.
In this state… we can’t do anything.
Spending coins on someone under this much scrutiny would require an absurd amount of money.
Besides, Ram-nim already burned through way too many coins by mistake earlier.
Even though there was a commission from the amount Julian’s Constellations had sponsored… it wasn’t enough to cover what they had spent.
…Huh?
But Sam noticed something strange. Something… didn’t add up?
Julian’s sponsorships had seemed so insignificant on the 3.0 storyboard that he had never paid much attention, but…
What the hell. Why does this guy only have this much sponsorship?
Still, they were looking at 3,000 viewers now, and there had been an obviously massive sponsorship earlier. To exert that level of intervention, even in a Constellation-friendly dimension, it should have required a huge sum.
Hmm…?
The 3.0 storyboard system was still unfamiliar, so he couldn’t calculate it right away, but his intuition told him the money was leaking somewhere.
What is this?
“Haaam…”
Junil woke up in the morning and stared at something in the air with bleary eyes.
Held Coins: 1.3 Heart (HT)
It was the shop window Ham had provided.
Pop!
Ham appeared beside him, explaining like a salesperson.
“Hello, Hero-nim! Shopping after a long time, I see!?”
“Yeah. I finally saved up enough.”
“That’s because your performance inside the gate was incredible!”
Ham buzzed around excitedly.
“First, you should buy the Narrative Trick Coat! It would go perfectly with the reward you got from the gate this time…”
Clang!
The purchase went through instantly.
[1 Heart (HT)]
Purchase Complete
“Aaaaaaaaah!?”
Ham screamed. She was extremely conservative by design and prioritized Junil’s life above all else. Buying a sword first was absolutely unacceptable. After all, he already had plenty of things he could use as weapons.
“Stop talking nonsense about coats.”
Boing~!
Junil grabbed Ham’s cheeks and stretched them.
“Uuuueeergh? Cooo~ Cooooh is daaangeeerous~! I’m gonna dieee~!?”
“That’s because you don’t know anything. The standard strategy is to spend all your money right after returning and buy the best items. If you don’t know, don’t talk. Who knows when I’ll save up another Heart.”
Junil was right. He had no idea when he would discover another massive gate like that. Besides, hadn’t he only been able to enter that gate alone thanks to Isilen’s help? Even if he found another crimson gate, there would be far too many other Awakened trying to interfere. More importantly…
It might not even be Archidia.
There was no guarantee that gate would connect to Archidia. This clear had been heavily influenced by luck. He had been able to perform well because it was the stage from his first life, Archidia, and above all, he had won because a first-life villain who was an ardent fan of Julian had poured out a ton of money. Without that, he never could have defeated Belzerack.
How can I go back?
Junil wanted to return to Archidia. Honestly, the thought had been lingering in the back of his mind the whole time. Yet he didn’t bring it up to Ham. Pam and Ham probably wouldn’t want that. They wanted Junil to gather more Constellations than Kang Hae-il and become the protagonist of this world. Returning to a past stage was a separate matter. Imagine hiring a high-paid employee only to find out they were taking side jobs behind your back. You would want to fire them immediately.
So Junil changed the subject.
“Hey. But why isn’t this money piling up? Huh? I feel like more sponsorships came in.”
Boing~
He stretched Ham’s soft, plump cheeks.
“Uuuueeergh, stooop~! Stooop it~! I’m gonna dieee~!?”
“Okay.”
When he let go after stretching them, her cheeks snapped back like rubber bands.
Smack!
It sounded like she had slapped herself with her own cheeks.
“Ow… That hurts!”
“Stop lying. You guys don’t take damage.”
“Huu… Still! If I act seriously, it hurts! I’m a Story Fairy!”
Ham pulled out a mirror to check her cheeks, then spoke.
“You don’t get the full sponsorship. You only get a portion. It’s like standing in the rain holding a bucket. Not all the rain goes in, right? Besides, this is supposed to go to the designer, Ram.”
“Ah…”
Junil waved his hand in understanding.
“Got it. Now go. I bought everything I needed.”
“……”
Ham hesitated for a moment.
“I said go, you little punk.”
“Um… Julian-nim.”
“……”
It felt like she was about to bring up something uncomfortable. Then again, it would be strange if she didn’t.
“Meeting Meyrin again… isn’t a good idea. This is for your sake too…”
Ham struggled to bring it up. Junil had been expecting this. He asked the question he had prepared.
“What are you so worried about? That the Fourth Wall will break? You said it won’t break.”
“…Th-that’s true, but there is precedent.”
“Side characters can’t break it anyway.”
“Th-that’s… true. There’s no precedent for that.”
Of all things.
He had just said it casually, but he had gotten a hint. So the protagonist could break it.
“Anyway, they can’t break it without the Constellations’ power, right?”
“That’s true… You need enough power gathered… Huh?”
Ham scratched her head, looking puzzled.
“How do you know that—”
“After seven hero lives, you know everything, you little punk.”
An unbeatable argument.
“A-anyway, you know how dangerous it is if this breaks, right!? Don’t meet her!”
“I have no intention of meeting her.”
Ham studied his expression carefully. It seemed sincere.
“You didn’t look like that at all when you met her.”
But Ham couldn’t fully believe him. She had seen the look on his face when he met Meyrin.
“That’s like calling an ex after drinking. It’s just a momentary thing.”
“Wh… when did you drink?”
“Are you even a Story Fairy? That’s why you’re just an assistant. Now scram!”
Bang!
Junil flicked Ham’s butt.
Pop!
After Ham disappeared, a Constellation sponsorship arrived.
Thud.
A gift box dropped.
The sword Junil had been waiting for.
Shing—
He drew the sword. Its sharp, gleaming blade reflected the fluorescent light.
“An invisible sword is the most terrifying.”
A phantom blade modeled after the mind-sword and shadowless sword once wielded by masters who had reached the pinnacle in countless stories of the past.
Constellations can see it, but characters within the story cannot perceive it. The same applies even if energy such as mana is infused into the sword.