Chapter 208: Japan (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 208: Japan (1)
In the end, Rin could no longer bear the pressure on her lower abdomen.
I left the sleeping Rin in the care of an attendant and stepped out of the room. My Watch showed it was already 1 AM.
Outside, the world was submerged in a lightless darkness.
“Yatagarasu… Yatagarasu…”
I mulled over the name as I walked down the empty corridor.
There was a sense of dissonance I couldn't shake.
Kisaragi Rin was, without a doubt, quite powerful.
The internal energy I had felt beneath my palm surpassed that of most heroes.
If so, the organization known as Yatagarasu must be far more formidable than I imagined.
But why…
Why was their presence so faint in my memory of the original story's plot?
Of course… it was possible.
There were plenty of powerful individuals in this world, and it wasn't as if I could have created a setting for every single one.
Even if I hadn't created them, or had simply forgotten, powerful figures could certainly have emerged naturally within the flow of this world.
Besides, a young female leader. High probability of an early death.
Combining these two keywords… it might have been perfectly natural for her not to appear in the latter half of the original story.
She would have died early, so it's no wonder I don't know about her.
I reached a plausible conclusion and convinced myself.
The reason I'm thinking this way isn't because I see the situation negatively. On the contrary, it's because I see it as very positive.
The appearance of an unexpected powerhouse means we might gain another ally in the coming war against the Evil God, which is always welcome.
In other words, that's not what I'm currently fixated on.
It's the possibility that there might be other hidden powerhouses—ones I've forgotten, or never even knew existed.
Variables like Rin.
What if there are more powerful figures like Iano's successor, who vanished into the annals of history, whom I can't remember?
Searching for them might prove helpful.
But for now, of course.
I had to deal with the task at hand: Rin.
The energy eating away at her body and life force, upon analysis, turned out to be a type of Sahan energy.
It was parasitizing her soul, intricately woven in the form of a complex spell, but there was no need to delicately unravel it.
I could probably just devour the whole thing…
There was just one problem.
For Flapper to deal with the curse, it first had to be drawn out of her body.
And to do that, I needed a medium to temporarily contain the curse outside her body, preventing it from scattering or running rampant.
A vessel to hold it while it was still connected.
Without one… I couldn't risk pulling it out recklessly.
I pressed my throbbing temples as I walked down the cold corridor.
I hadn't realized it, but ten hours of intense concentration seemed to have drained all my stamina.
Since it was already so late, I decided I should head to the hotel and sort out my thoughts.
The hotel….
“……”
To the hotel….
Go there….
And sort out… my thoughts…?
Ah, right.
“Oh, hell.”
I was in for it.
I was so focused, I'd completely forgotten.
Right now, I was practically a wanted man.
I first raised my Watch.
I didn't know where our lodgings were. Seriously.
The reservation I made was gone; only the one they booked remains.
Which means I have to contact someone who can tell me the location…
‘Cheon Yeo-wool?’
I shook my head as soon as her name came to mind.
Not her.
Kang A-rin, Yu Hana… definitely not them either.
Sion… probably not. She was the least likely to work.
That leaves…
One person.
Yoon Chae-ha.
Of course, I could be wrong, or just mistaken.
With a trembling hand, I was about to call Yoon Chae-ha… but decided to try a message first.
[belief_]: Chae-ha
The reply… came faster than I expected.
[summer]: Whoa
[summer]: You done?
She seemed more okay than I thought.
At least, through text… she did.
[belief_]: Yeah, just finished. I'm about to head back to the hotel.
[summer]: Hmm… here?
[belief_]: Yep, can you send me the location?
And after a short wait.
[summer]: I think it'd be better if you didn't come
[summer]: (Location)
[summer]: It's here
I checked the location. It was a top-tier hotel in the heart of Tokyo.
I'd seen it myself while looking for a place.
I'd read that it was the best hotel in the city, one that perfectly replicated a hot spring using Magitech.
I hadn't really considered it as an option.
[summer]: Let me know when you're out front. I need to get ready.
Thank god for Yoon Chae-ha.
Really.
Seeing her last message, I let out a sigh of relief and sent a reply.
[belief_]: Okay, thanks.
After leaving the Yatagarasu shrine, I hailed a cab and headed straight for the address she'd sent.
The brilliant nightscape of Tokyo flashed past my window.
If I had to compare, the Seoul of this world was much more developed than the one I came from. Tokyo, however, didn't seem all that different.
“……”
Ten hours.
What could they have been thinking, waiting for me all that time?
Of course, it was official business. It was all to obtain Artemis's Bow.
But that was only relevant to Sion; the others had nothing to do with it.
And it was the same for Sion. Even if it was official business, relationships between men and women can't always be understood through logical explanations alone…
Either way, I couldn't go in empty-handed.
I had the taxi stop in front of a convenience store near the hotel.
I figured I should at least buy some snacks they liked before going in.
[belief_]: I'm downstairs. I'm just grabbing a few things at the convenience store. Take your time.
The car stopped, and I sent the message to Yoon Chae-ha before opening the door.
After sending it, I went into the convenience store.
I headed for the snack aisle, picturing each of their faces.
“Cheon Yeo-wool…”
She likes strawberries, but they wouldn't be selling fresh ones here.
I scanned the dessert section thoroughly.
Ah, they have strawberry cake, at least.
I picked it up.
Next, Kang A-rin.
She's usually very strict about managing her figure and doesn't touch snacks, but on days like this, she makes an exception.
Her taste was specific. Dried squid… She's the type to relieve stress by chewing on something.
Then there's Yu Hana.
Yu Hana was the trickiest, as she didn't have any clear preferences.
So I grabbed the widest variety of snacks I could find, from potato chips sold only in Japan to sweet chocolate cookies.
Sion… I know her tastes very well.
Canned yellow peaches.
I grabbed a can immediately.
And finally… Yoon Chae-ha.
Just then.
“I'll have cup ramen.”
Someone called out from behind me.
Startled, I turned my head.
There stood Yoon Chae-ha in a large hoodie, staring up at me.
It was my hoodie.
The size was so big on her that it covered her entire torso and lower body, but…
I quickly scanned our surroundings. Inside the late-night convenience store, there was no one but the clerk dozing at the counter.
Only after confirming this did I carefully slip my hand under Yoon Chae-ha's hoodie.
“Ngh.”
Her body trembled slightly at my touch.
It wasn't bare skin…
But I could only feel a very thin layer of fabric.
“Hey…”
I couldn't help but worry.
I immediately took off my top and tied it around her waist to cover her lower half.
“No one can see, you know.”
She pouted, as if annoyed by my overprotectiveness.
“It just bothers me.”
“There was no one outside.”
“Alright.”
I stroked her hair.
Then, as requested, I took a seafood cup ramen and put it in our basket.
After paying, we left the convenience store and headed up to the hotel.
We stepped into the elevator.
“It's the very top floor.”
“Is the room nice?”
“Yeah, it's huge.”
“How are… the others?”
At my question, Yoon Chae-ha stopped walking. She turned to look at me and answered slowly.
“They're fine.”
She replied, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile.
I had a pretty good idea of what that meant.
We reached the top floor, and the doors opened.
Apparently, there was only one room on this floor.
The entrance to the room.
I swallowed dryly and touched the key card Yoon Chae-ha had given me to the sensor. The door slid open without a sound.
Before me was a wide-open living room.
It was unbelievably large.
It seemed even bigger than the penthouse at Gaon.
Like five rooms combined into one?
But there was no one in the room.
I kept my guard up and slowly scanned the living room.
Not on the sofa, not at the bar, not anywhere.
“Where… is everyone?” I asked Yoon Chae-ha, who was standing beside me.
– Shuck.
Without a word, she shrugged off the outerwear I had given her and tossed it aside.
Yoon Chae-ha was now back in her primordial state, wearing nothing at all.
“Follow me.”
With those words, she grabbed my wrist and led me toward a massive sliding door at the far end of the living room.
The moment the door opened, a wave of hot, humid air washed over me.
And… beyond the steam, a massive open-air hot spring, reflecting the city's nightscape, came into view.
A private hot spring, just for us.
“I was actually in the middle of bathing. That's why I just threw something on to come out.”
Yoon Chae-ha said this as she descended the steps, gliding into the water.
– Splash…
The ripples she created completely cleared away the steam that had been obscuring my view.
And there they were.
The first person I saw was Kang A-rin, leaning back against the edge of the spring.
She saw me, smiled, and waved.
“You're here?”
She said with a grin, waving her hand.
The five women, wearing nothing at all, were waiting for me in the steaming hot spring.
