Chapter 142: Race (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 142: Race (1)
Slurp.
Cheon Yeo-wool sipped her sweet strawberry latte with a look of pure bliss.
Across from her sat two other women, their eyes sunken and haggard.
Kang A-rin and Ha Sion.
Yu Hana was absent.
Anticipating something like this, she had already entered seclusion with her father, Yu Mujin, for her succession.
In the end, she had wisely escaped Cheon Yeo-wool’s gloating.
It was nowhere near time for their regular meeting.
But Cheon Yeo-wool had summoned them all, promising a major development concerning Jung Hae-in.
Kang A-rin and Ha Sion would have rather died than go, but they were just as curious, so they had no choice but to drag their heavy bodies out.
Kang A-rin stared at Cheon Yeo-wool, her expression one of disbelief.
Chirp, chirp?
With an incredibly smug look, she even had a white bird perched on her shoulder.
Just summoning it would drain her mana, meaning it was purely for show.
Ha Sion tried to hide her expression, but the distinct red marks on Cheon Yeo-wool’s neck… kept drawing her eye.
Jung Hae-in, who had returned last night, had similar red marks in the same spot.
Don’t tell me they actually…
Cheon Yeo-wool placed her empty glass on the table and finally spoke.
“Don’t worry too much.”
At her words, Kang A-rin’s eyebrow twitched.
“Just get to the point.”
As if savoring Kang A-rin’s reaction, Cheon Yeo-wool paused for a moment before continuing.
“We didn’t do it.”
“……”
“……”
At that single phrase, Kang A-rin and Ha Sion both let out a deep, involuntary sigh of relief almost simultaneously.
They had been sure it had happened.
Honestly, both of them knew they wouldn’t have been able to hold back in that situation.
If anything, they were surprised by Cheon Yeo-wool’s self-control.
“Aren’t you quite the Saintess?” Kang A-rin said sarcastically.
In response, Cheon Yeo-wool’s smile deepened.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
Her reply made Kang A-rin’s eyebrow twitch again. She wanted to ask what she meant but barely managed to restrain herself.
Cheon Yeo-wool leaned forward slightly over the table. Her chest pressed firmly against the desk.
Then, she whispered quietly.
“Actually, it’s because I have less patience than you that I found a way.”
Cheon Yeo-wool confirmed the wavering in their eyes before she continued.
“There’s only one step left.”
She watched their trembling gazes intently.
“The moment Hae-in obtains his next Expanded Authority.”
A heavy silence fell.
There was no one here who didn’t understand what that meant.
“With that, I think even that damned Suppression Force will become meaningless. I’m certain of it now.”
Until now, they had only vaguely guessed, never certain.
But the one who had personally acquired a Fragment and glimpsed its essence—Cheon Yeo-wool—had now declared it.
What you’re thinking is correct.
“You know what happens then… right?”
Silence followed once more.
But it was different from the silence that had been filled with jealousy before.
Now, a clear, common goal had formed in the eyes of all three women.
‘Expanded Authority.’
The final gateway.
They had to overcome it.
*
For the first time in a while, I was lying spread-eagled on the living room sofa in the Vanquisher’s dorm, basking in the late morning sun.
Unlike the academy dormitory, this place had a spacious feel.
Quiet outside. A plush sofa that felt like it was made just for me.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this way.
Lazing around.
This was a break I was giving myself.
The vacation had only just begun, but I’d been busy dealing with major plans, like Bulgaram’s Workshop and the Vatican.
Thanks to that, a part of my mind was at ease.
At the same time, however, my head was starting to ache thinking about what to do next.
First on the list.
‘Acquiring the Fragments.’
Cheon Yeo-wool had successfully acquired her Fragment.
The problem, however, was that the Evil God had noticed the existence of the Fragments.
It was a race against time now.
Accordingly, I had to move up the timeline for the other characters to acquire their Fragments, much earlier than originally planned.
But for the rest of this vacation, there was nothing more I could do.
Yu Hana was probably at her family home by now, undergoing the succession ritual to inherit the position of her father, the Azure Cloud Sword Emperor.
It was the most crucial time for her, a time when no one could interfere.
Kang A-rin’s Fragment was more difficult.
It was impossible during the current research period.
So, for the remainder of the vacation, this was as far as I could go with the other characters.
That meant I needed to focus on something else for the rest of the break.
====
[Authority: Fragment of Harmony (片鱗)]
① Shatter Evil, Reveal Justice (破邪顯正)
— Destroy that which is wicked.
② ???
③ ???
====
The second Expanded Authority.
I had to aim to unlock it.
The growth of a Fragment’s Expanded Authority depends on what its user does. Therefore… I was now in a situation where I had to cultivate myself.
Not developing Seong Si-woo, but developing Jung Hae-in.
Organizing my increasingly jumbled thoughts, I slowly got up.
That was enough rest.
It was time to get moving again.
With firm resolve, I pushed myself completely off the sofa.
But just then.
Creeak.
Someone came through the door.
It was Sion.
She had left early in the morning, saying she had an errand to run, and had just returned.
Her eyes met mine, and she tilted her head as she looked at my clothes.
“Going to train?”
She must have been asking because I was already in my training clothes before I’d even laid down on the sofa.
“Yeah, I was about to.”
Resting itself just didn’t suit me.
I was planning to head straight down to the basement to start training.
“Hmm… then just a moment.”
Sion zipped into her room.
I stood in the hallway for a moment, waiting for her. I could faintly hear the rustle of clothes and the sound of her bustling about inside.
A few minutes passed.
The door opened again, and she reappeared.
She was wearing the tight-fitting, performance training gear she usually wore.
And yet.
“…?”
Something was strange. I found myself scanning her body up and down.
Then I found the problem.
Sion was wearing an outfit made of white fabric.
It was performance wear that Seong Ara had made for her, saying it would be comfortable for shooting her bow.
The problem was that the outfit itself was a bit revealing, so she never wore it outside the training room.
But her current attire took it a step further.
The entire line from her thigh down to her ankle was torn in a long, straight line, as if someone had drawn a knife right through it.
Every time she walked, her thigh was blatantly exposed through the gap.
“Let’s go together.”
She spoke to me with an innocent smile, as if nothing was wrong.
I was speechless for a moment before I managed to speak.
“…What’s with your clothes?”
“Oh, this?”
Ha Sion glanced down at her leg, then answered with a pure expression.
“I told Ara it was uncomfortable, so she ripped it for me. With both sides open like this, my mobility is much better.”
What in the world did that woman create?
Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, Ha Sion tilted her head and studied my reaction.
“So, are you… not going to train?”
She took a step toward me.
The bare skin visible through the slit in her pants filled my vision.
I let out a deep sigh.
“I’m going…”
We headed straight for the underground training ground.
And so, a few hours after we started training.
I was lying flat on my back.
And from that position, I watched Sion.
Thwang! Thwang!
Sion’s archery was always satisfying to watch.
Wearing black leather gloves that fit her hands perfectly and carrying a heavy bow larger than her torso and a quiver, she moved through the training ground like a lioness.
She never stopped moving, securing the optimal position against the attacking dummies and firing her arrows without hesitation.
Extremely fast and accurate.
Mobile assault. That was the direction Sion was pursuing.
“Nice.”
I didn’t forget to add a few words of feedback.
Sion liked it when I gave her training advice from the side.
I saw her shoulders puff up slightly at my praise, but her gaze remained fixed on the dummies.
Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip!
In the blink of an eye, the five arrows she loosed embedded themselves in the necks of the five dummies before her.
A perfect, flawless volley.
It was truly astonishing.
In the original story, the character of Sion was little more than a MacGuffin.
Just a device to heighten the story’s atmosphere.
But the Ha Sion before my eyes now was different.
She was alive, breathing, and displaying phenomenal archery right in front of me.
I once had a thought.
‘If Sion is this strong, couldn’t she be a key player in the battle against the Evil God?’
But I quickly erased that thought myself.
Not only did Sion not have a Fragment… but more importantly, I didn’t want to place such a heavy burden on her.
She was the first person I met after falling into this world, and the one I cherished the most.
I would end it all myself.
That seemed to be the most fitting way to put it.
Sion, her eyes still fixed on the target, spoke nonchalantly.
“Gwang-cheol went on a trip to Japan as soon as the dungeon raid was over. With his grandfather.”
“So I heard.”
It was about Vanquisher.
They said he left the very day I arrived.
I had a message from him on my watch.
“He left me behind,” she added.
“That’s mean of him.”
Why didn’t he take Sion with him?
Just as I was about to say something more to comfort her, I felt a sudden chill.
“You too, Hae-in.”
At that premonition, I slowly, very slowly, lifted my head.
Ha Sion had turned only her head to look at me.
Her bowstring was still pulled taut, aimed at a dummy, vibrating as if ready to fly at any moment.
She was smiling.
But it wasn’t her usual lovely smile.
Sion asked in a very gentle voice.
“Did you have fun in the Vatican with her?”
“……”
I couldn’t say a word.
Thwang!
As I remained silent, her smile deepened slightly.
With a sharp whoosh, the bowstring was released.
But the arrow missed. The dummy had already ducked its head.
Ha Sion looked at the disappointing result and tilted her head with an innocent expression.
“Oh?”
She slowly lowered her taut bow.
Then, with her eyes fixed on me, she spoke in a voice full of regret.
“I guess… I was a little late, huh?”
Before her words had even finished, she nocked another arrow to the string without a hint of hesitation.
The arrow was fired instantly.
Thwang!
This time, it was a perfect hit.
“Well then, I’ll just have to take another shot.”
Sion was still smiling.
