Chapter 61
Chapter 61
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Barbarian Warrior is in Volunteer Activity (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Han Yuseong's day was long.
He woke up early to begin with, but he also had a ton of things to do.
At 4 a.m., before the sun had even risen, he started his workout.
After stretching, yoga, and some intense hardcore training, he even dove into comprehensive martial arts practice. Steam was rising from his body like vapor, sweat pouring out uncontrollably.
"Hoo, Aram."
[Yes, Yuseong-nim. It's currently 8:30 a.m. Just a heads-up: you have a meeting with the building managers at 10, and lunch with the CEO of Taifun Game Development Co. at 2. Also—]
Aram rattled off the details like a machine gun, ever the perfect assistant.
Yuseong wiped his sweat as he listened, then reached for his water bottle.
'Huh? Did I leave it somewhere?'
He was sure he'd set it down nearby...
"Here it is."
"......"
"D-don't worry! I didn't do anything weird to it!"
"...How long have you been here?"
"F-from the beginning."
"......I told you not to use stealth skills inside the house, didn't I?"
"I-I didn't!"
"......"
"I-I only used it a little when coming in. S-so don't look at me like that..."
"Haa...!"
"......I'm sorry. Forgive me."
"......"
Yuseong rubbed his temples, still not used to this.
'How did it end up like this?'
This wasn't what he'd intended at all.
Why was there a tail-wagging puppy right in front of him? Yuseong just couldn't wrap his head around it.
The day before, Io had seen this coming and spoken up.
【Elves are a proud race—you already know that much.】
"Yeah."
【With that lofty pride comes a refusal to acknowledge others. They believe only they are right.】
"Sounds like a bunch of severe nutjobs."
【...Not quite that twisted...】
"Anyway, what's the point?"
【Hmm... To cut to the chase, kid—you didn't just crush her lofty, arrogant pride; you pulverized it. Get what that means?】
"...What does it mean?"
【You've made her 'submit' to you. Or perhaps 'subjugate' her.】
"Why... does it turn into that?"
Fear and terror he could understand, but why was it suddenly about submission and subjugation?
【That's how elves are. That arrogant pride and self-esteem—their innate mental barriers are on another level. They respect their own kind but don't know how to show true reverence.】
"That's just rotten personality from birth..."
【Anyway! Unless you're of noble high elf birth like her, earning their respect is impossible. Not even drugs or magic can do it. They don't even revere World Tree contractors or sword saints.】
"......"
Extreme narcissism—self-love gone mad.
That was the elven way of life.
'Just hearing about it makes my head spin...'
Yuseong pictured a nation full of narcissists and nearly gagged at the oily, repulsive thought.
Elves were out of their minds, he reaffirmed once more.
But Io wasn't done.
【Yet you turned that girl's mind completely upside down. It must have shaken every value and common sense she's built over centuries.】
Shattering a high elf's mental fortitude, honed over hundreds of years.
This was rare even in Midgard's thousands of years of history. Doing it through such forceful means? Practically unprecedented.
An achievement worthy of the name...!
"I don't want to count that as an achievement..."
【No helping it. You've already done it.】
"...Haa. So because I crushed her high-and-mighty racial pride, she's loyal to me now?"
【Something like that.】
"......?"
Loyalty was loyalty—why "something like"?
【To be precise, the emotion she feels toward you could be called dependence.】
"...What?"
【...She said it herself last time, but this world has nothing for her to rely on.】
No spirit fragrances, no pure forests. Not even her motherly World Tree.
Nothing at all.
Alicia's talk of wanting to die probably stemmed from desperation in such an environment.
But in the midst of that, Yuseong had trampled her values and pride, shaking even her desire to die.
A spiritual enlightenment.
To Alicia, Yuseong might be the source of her humiliation and resentment, but also the one who reignited her will to live.
How did Yuseong appear in her eyes?
【Someone she resents but can't repay, someone terrifying just to approach. Yet also her savior, who gave her the will to live.】
"......"
【A storm of countless other emotions too.】
You get it, right kid?
Io explained.
【You've become her 'World Tree.' This world's World Tree...】
"......Shit."
Yuseong knew exactly what that meant.
The World Tree was synonym for an elf's homeland, mother.
No—even calling it a god wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Putting himself on the same level as their god?
"Dependence" didn't even cover it.
【Congratulations. You've gained a follower.】
"......"
An object of worship.
The moment a devotee who worshipped Yuseong was born.
"Hoo...!"
"Wh-what's wrong!? D-does something hurt!?"
"...Yeah, fucking a lot."
"N-no! L-let's get you to a hospital...!"
"Get lost, you bitch!"
"Aak! St-stop! Th-there...!"
"...Why's your face red?"
"......"
Seeing her rub the spot he'd hit while blushing made Yuseong's skin crawl instead!
This girl...!
"...Have you gone full pervert now?"
"N-no! That's not it!!"
"......"
Stop blushing and talk, you mutt...
Yuseong's stress levels were hitting record highs today as well.
"Not happy with it..."
"......"
Sylvia couldn't help but give a wry smile as she saw who Mirni was glaring at.
Ever since that day, Alicia—whose entire demeanor had changed—trailed after Yuseong like a shadow, refusing to leave his side.
She'd back off only when he snapped at her, but even then, she kept watch from behind.
'...Does Alicia even realize what state she's in?'
Sylvia had already heard about Alicia's condition from the goddess.
It made perfect sense, and she figured only Alicia herself was oblivious to her own feelings.
'She probably can't even gauge her current state.'
Alicia surely knew her behavior was odd, but she couldn't properly grasp why.
Alicia's life had always been one of being exalted and revered.
Now, that same Alicia was revering—no, worshipping—someone else.
She wouldn't even know what it meant to worship anyone besides the World Tree.
Hence the confusion, unable to be honest with herself.
'She'll slowly come to realize her feelings in time.'
Sylvia hoped she found salvation.
That the nobility of her sacrifice for her race would bring her some reward...
'Unlike me.'
Sylvia wore a bitter smile for a moment.
Utterly forlorn and sorrowful...
With such an expression.
Alicia didn't go to the house Jang Chun-man had prepared for her.
Not that she'd given up on art.
If anything, she painted even more fervently, and Jang Chun-man was amazed by her new works.
"Your previous pieces were excellent, but now the emotional depth shines through even more. And in less than half a month? What in the world...?"
Her paintings, once evoking only nostalgia and longing, now brimmed with will to live and hope.
Such a dramatic shift only came from brushing death and surviving.
"Did you claw your way back from the brink of death or something?"
"......"
...This old man had sharper instincts than expected.
Is this what made him a pro?
"...Well, a lot happened."
"Hmm... Must've. But it's a good change. Plenty of folks are looking forward to your next exhibit—we can show them something great."
Jang Chun-man nodded in satisfaction.
As long as she painted well, he didn't pry into her personal life.
It might seem cold at first glance, but that strict professionalism made him trustworthy.
"Take good care of her, then."
"...Me?"
"Huh? Aren't you Miss Alicia's guardian?"
"W-well, yeah..."
"Please look after my new muse."
"......"
Jang Chun-man handed over a painting as a token of appreciation before leaving.
A work by a rising star artist, he said. Yuseong could only stare in disbelief.
"How the hell did I end up..."
"Huh? That's...?"
"What?"
"I know that painting! It sells for ten million won lately!"
"...How much?"
"Ten million won."
"......"
"Luke?"
"...Well, that covers room and board."
Financial therapy worked universally, every time.