Chapter 133: Promise (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: Promise (1)
The car drove on in silence.
Maybe it was because the seats were so soft, but my eyes started to droop before I knew it.
“We’ve arrived.”
The driver’s voice came from the front seat.
Still half-asleep, I lifted my head.
“This is Hero Yoon Chae-ha’s residence.”
I looked outside and saw a detached house.
An upscale residential area located near the city center.
I carefully turned my head. Yoon Chae-ha was still asleep.
“Wake up.”
To be precise, her power was off.
“Zzz…”
She showed no signs of waking.
It was as if she’d completely shut down her body’s power; she didn’t even stir no matter how much I shook her.
She was definitely not going to wake up.
“Shall I help you carry her?” the driver asked cautiously.
“No, it’s alright.”
It’d be better if I did it. I didn’t like the idea of someone else touching her, either.
I slowly hoisted Yoon Chae-ha onto my back. She was light.
The problem, however, was the strangely soft warmth that seeped into me from my back.
Trying my best to ignore it, I pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
Even before the screen lit up, I heard someone moving inside the yard.
“Chae-ha?!”
Someone came running across the yard, their slippers shuffling hastily.
It was her. Yoon Chae-ha’s mother.
Before—no, just yesterday—I had met her once.
Though not under the best of circumstances.
“Oh my… hello?”
The moment she saw Yoon Chae-ha on my back, her expression slowly changed.
She had the strange look of someone who was putting the pieces together.
“She must be exhausted after the Trial. She fell asleep on the way…”
I quickly explained the situation.
In the calmest, most composed tone I could manage.
“...Please, come in. We should get her to bed first.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I carefully stepped inside the house.
After being led to her room, I gently laid Yoon Chae-ha on the bed.
She didn’t open her eyes once.
When I lightly touched her cheek, I could feel a slight fever.
It seemed the tension and Mana Depletion had hit her all at once.
“I think it’s Mana Depletion. It would be good to give her a nourishing meal when she wakes up…?”
As I pulled the blanket over her and offered my advice, I looked up to find her mother staring intently at me.
“…I saw the news.”
She trailed off, then broke into a smile.
“You’ll be staying the night, won’t you?”
“Excuse me?”
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
But her eyes seemed to say, I know everything.
“You both went through so much. You should get some rest in Chae-ha’s room.”
“No, no. I have my own home.”
I shook my head frantically.
Sensing a huge misunderstanding, I added, “And what happened last time was truly an accident. Bulgaram suddenly sent me into the room, so I was very flustered as well…”
She slowly tilted her head, then gave a slight smile.
It was an ambiguous expression, just the corners of her mouth turned up.
“Is that so?”
I felt my breath catch in my throat.
I was at a loss for words. The more I tried to explain, the more pathetic I sounded.
I glanced at the sleeping Yoon Chae-ha.
Since her mother had seen the news, she had clearly heard what Chae-ha said.
‘You figure it out.’
I had to believe she would clear things up herself when she woke up.
I bowed my head slightly and said, “…I should be going now.”
She smiled and nodded, not asking any more questions.
She did, however, walk me silently to the front door to see me off.
As we stood before the door in silence, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned her gaze back to me.
“Hae-in. No… Student Hae-in.”
I looked back.
Her expression was still gentle.
“Please take good care of my daughter, won’t you?”
My lips wouldn’t move.
“…Yes.”
I finally managed to squeeze out a reply.
To be honest, Bulgaram had referred to her as my child, and it was true that she was now my responsibility.
Only then did she seem satisfied, giving me a bright smile as she softly closed the door.
I let out a long sigh.
A wave of fatigue washed over me, pressing down on my entire body.
*
At dawn on the day after Jung Hae-in’s successful clear.
4:30 AM, to be exact.
The sun had not yet risen, and the lights of the city’s buildings were still out.
But there was one building with a single floor that remained lit.
It was the top floor of the Glory Headquarters building.
Kang A-rin’s office.
The emergency summons had been issued at midnight.
It was somewhat earlier than the scheduled regular meeting.
The place was familiar, and the method of contact was a route they all knew.
[RIN]: Assemble.
The most private place, and the one they could reach the fastest.
No one refused or failed to attend. The matter was far too important.
Fundamentally, the thing they were most wary of was variables.
Anomalous elements interfering with the flow of events they knew.
This was a meeting to gather before those variables could widen the subtle cracks, to share the current situation and make necessary arrangements.
If something blocked their path, they would cut it down without hesitation. If not, they would monitor and manage it thoroughly.
They called this meeting the Royal Court Meeting.
And among all the variables, the ones they were most wary of were divine beings.
The actions of beings unbound by the flow of time, who had transcended causality.
And, at the same time, there was another… paradoxically, Jung Hae-in’s actions.
As the flow of events changed, the new choices he made were also a variable.
In that sense, the target who had received Jung Hae-in’s choice, and at the same time, the choice of a divine being…
Yoon Chae-ha.
She was, more than anyone, the greatest variable.
Chosen by Bulgaram and dragged into the Workshop?
And from there, both of them passed the Trial together, side by side?
Her actions had already far exceeded their expectations.
She could be considered a rather tiresome variable.
However, they had previously reached a unanimous decision that Yoon Chae-ha was not a threat.
Therefore, what Cheon Yeo-wool wanted to discuss now was not that.
“What… in the world… is this?”
Cheon Yeo-wool, forcing a smile, held out an article for the other women to see.
[In as One, Out as Two? A Curious Vibe… Was There Romance Inside?]
That was the headline.
It was clearly sensationalist gossip, with a title written purely for clicks.
But the content was even more of a spectacle.
Using their signature provocative language, the reporter suggested that ‘a special connection might have formed between the two inside the heated trial grounds,’ leading the reader to that very conclusion.
Cheon Yeo-wool habitually checked the article’s comments.
[choi0126: What a handsome couple~ They look so good together!!]
“Ah, seriously.”
Irritating comments were already popping up.
She scrolled down a little, and comments were flooding in one after another.
The further she scrolled, the more explicit and sensational the other comments became.
[youth89: You think they did it?]
ㄴ bosd41: Isn't it obvious when two adults are stuck together in a hot place?
ㄴ bosd41: They probably did everything
ㄴ youth89: fr she's pretty hot lol
ㄴ dudnf123: Excuse me, isn't that a bit of a stretch?
ㄴ bosd41: lol you a virgin?
“Hah… damn it.”
Cheon Yeo-wool slammed her watch down on the desk.
She couldn’t argue. They were right.
She ended up writing a new comment.
[dudnf123: Wasn't this Hero dating the Saintess?]
ㄴ bosd41: This person's spouting nonsense here too lol Don't you know the Saintess is shipped with the Hero?
ㄴ dudnf123: This comment was flagged by Cleanbot for inappropriate language.
ㄴ dudnf123: This comment was flagged by Cleanbot for inappropriate language.
ㄴ bosd41: ?
“Agh, so annoying!!”
It was then.
Her gaze stopped, landing on a corner beyond the conference table.
As Cheon Yeo-wool fumed, someone caught her eye.
A woman, holding a coffee cup with an air of leisure while everyone else was on edge.
It was Yu Hana.
Cheon Yeo-wool’s brow furrowed.
“Excuse me, does this not bother you at all?”
“Hm?”
Yu Hana looked at Cheon Yeo-wool, a serene smile on her face.
She genuinely looked… at ease.
“Hmm… I wonder…”
She raised the coffee cup to her lips.
And in the process, she avoided eye contact again.
It was the same last time. Yu Hana had nonchalantly given up the chance to travel with him.
She was not the type of person to ever give up a trip with Jung Hae-in. She would have stolen the chance if she could have.
This wasn’t like her at all.
“……”
Cheon Yeo-wool stared at Yu Hana with a suspicious expression.
What is this unsettling feeling…
No, that wasn’t the important issue right now anyway.
“So, has she recovered her memories?”
Cheon Yeo-wool turned her gaze to ask Ha Sion.
“Not exactly. It seems to be in the form of a lingering will.”
Ha Sion gave a slight shake of her head.
“Then, what are we supposed to do?”
If she had fully awakened her memories, they could simply make contact.
The more the merrier, after all.
But if that wasn’t the case, things would get very tiresome.
“Um… there’s not really… anything we can do, is there?”
Ha Sion offered an awkward smile.
“We’ll just… have to watch how things play out, I guess?” she added, her voice trailing off.
“Really…?”
Cheon Yeo-wool despaired.
This was the worst.
The stray cat’s territory was expanding, and no one could do a thing about it.
The variables kept multiplying, and they couldn’t stop them.
There was no way to block it.
At this rate, they would be forced to just stand by and watch it sneak into their yard and run off with the fish.
Frustrated, Cheon Yeo-wool looked again at the photos of Yoon Chae-ha in the article.
There were several pictures, but in all of them, her gaze was subtly directed toward Jung Hae-in.
It hadn’t happened yet, but it was only a matter of time before she snatched the fish and ran.
“There’s nothing we can do…? Really…?”
“Yeah…”
Cheon Yeo-wool stared into space, muttering in disbelief.