Chapter 68: Reward (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 68: Reward (3)
Betrayed by the axe you trust, as they say.
“Ah.”
I was confined to a hospital room.
Of course, I could move around freely, but that was the situation in principle.
‘Hello?’
The moment I requested to be discharged, Kang A-rin had unhesitatingly picked up her watch and made a call.
Classic Kang A-rin. With a cheat code like her, this should be easy…
‘Professor, please run every single test that exists. Yes, that’s right. And please make sure he absolutely cannot leave until the results are in. Yes, yes.’
‘…’
I was speechless.
Kang A-rin ended the call, then turned to me with a leisurely smile.
‘Let’s just get all of this done before you go, okay?’
So much for trusting anyone in this world.
In the end, I was stuck here for the entire day.
A few more tests were completed. I lost track of how much time had passed.
Creeak.
The door to my room opened again.
Is this really a VIP room?
It was less a private room and more a public square.
The person who entered wore a neat outfit and carried a graceful air.
The navy-blue bob, the white headband, the classic silhouette—I recognized her at a glance.
It was Cheon Yeo-wool.
She walked in quietly, closed the door, and scanned the room before her eyes met mine.
“This hospital really is the worst.”
Cheon Yeo-wool smiled faintly and perched on the edge of my bed.
“I was going to bring you to one of Arcadia’s rooms… It’s a shame.”
She looked at me again, her gaze softening with affection.
“…I’m glad you’re awake.”
Her tone was the same as always, but the emotion within it felt a little different.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
I replied, my voice full of gratitude.
Without the Cult’s support, I doubt I would have woken up.
Then, the faintly smiling Cheon Yeo-wool slowly began to approach me.
Quietly at first, stealthily. Like a cat.
Before I knew it, the distance between us was shrinking.
Finally, she stopped right beside me and, without hesitation, spread her arms slightly.
A pose that seemed to say, You can come into my arms.
“…”
She said nothing, just looked at me.
I looked back at her, also silent.
“What are you doing?” I asked, breaking the silence first.
At that, Cheon Yeo-wool’s brow furrowed slightly.
“That’s what I want to ask. I heard what happened, you know.”
Her tone was a little sulky.
“Isn’t there something you’re supposed to do??”
She even flapped her outstretched arms.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her expressing her dissatisfaction with her entire body.
“Hah.”
Finally, Cheon Yeo-wool sighed and lowered her arms.
She looked slightly miffed. Her lips jutted out in a small pout, and she glared at me through half-closed eyes.
Watching her, I smiled slightly and spoke.
“The Moon Spirit Water… thank you.”
My low voice made Cheon Yeo-wool flinch.
“I know that stuff is incredibly precious.”
At my words, Cheon Yeo-wool blinked.
I’d said it casually, but her expression shifted subtly.
“Not really.”
A short reply. But not the one I’d expected.
“It was something you were meant to drink someday. I’m the one who stole it from you.”
I answered, my voice tinged with apology.
Cheon Yeo-wool just scoffed.
“Stole it? Who did?”
She looked up at me, tilting her head slightly.
“You have to be alive to drink an elixir, don’t you?”
She said it playfully, but her eyes were filled with conviction.
“Besides, I heard I was only able to escape being kidnapped thanks to you.”
Cheon Yeo-wool gave a little shrug and leaned toward me.
It was a casual gesture, but it held her own brand of sincerity.
Then she added, as if it were nothing, “So, of course, I had to give it to you.”
So naturally, as if it had been her plan all along.
She sat there with a proud posture, as if expecting praise.
“…”
I watched her in silence for a moment.
Squeeze.
I reached out with both hands and gently pinched her cheeks.
“Hueh?”
Her eyes went wide at the sudden touch.
Without a word, I applied a little more pressure with my fingertips, gently kneading her cheeks up and down.
“Hnnng…”
Her lips parted slightly. Her eyelashes trembled.
And slowly, her shoulders relaxed.
She didn’t resist.
If anything, she seemed to unconsciously relax and lean into my touch.
Why is she so damn impressive?
From the moment she’d taken my word that an Apostle was coming and mobilized all her forces, to providing the Moon Spirit Water. It felt like she was deliberately choosing to do one admirable thing after another.
Just how much more impressive are you going to get?
I chuckled softly, gave her cheeks one last gentle tug, and let go.
The skin, freed from my fingertips, slowly returned to its original shape.
Cheon Yeo-wool rubbed her cheeks as she looked up at me.
Faint red marks from my fingers lingered on her pale skin before slowly fading.
A faint blush bloomed in their place.
Her eyes looked slightly dewy, her lips were parted, and she seemed to be quietly catching her breath.
Her confident air from moments before was gone, replaced by a look of slight disarray.
It was a strange sight, stirring both a sadistic urge and a protective instinct in me.
Okay.
I made a decision.
To make up for the Moon Spirit Water she’d lost, I would pour even more opportunities her way.
I’d planned to do so anyway, but now I would do even more.
Not just for her, but for every organization that had provided elixirs and support.
I had no intention of just taking without giving back.
If you’re given one thing, you return at least that much.
That was a truly symbiotic relationship.
*
That evening.
I was changing my clothes, preparing for my discharge.
The test results had come back faster than expected, all before evening.
It seemed that despite her words, Kang A-rin had pulled some strings to get everything expedited.
“They said you’re really okay?” Sion asked, her expression worried.
The Old Man, true to his word, had brought her back in the evening.
I wanted to ask her the same question.
I’d heard that of the four who were rescued, Sion had been the most severely injured.
She looks fine, though.
Outwardly, her face seemed perfectly normal.
She looked a little tired, but any bandages she might have had were already gone.
“Yeah, I’m perfectly fine.”
I shrugged as if it were no big deal.
Sion scanned me with suspicious eyes.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
I rotated my arm a few times, deliberately acting nonchalant, and she finally let out a sigh.
Just then, the Old Man spoke quietly.
“Once you’re discharged, we need to go to the Association before dinner.”
Sion blinked. “The Association?”
“Yes.”
I smirked and asked the Old Man, “The Association… they have anything to say?”
By now, the Association was probably sweating bullets.
They had presented the mission as ‘ordinary,’ and despite deploying high-level assets like the Vanquisher members, the outcome had been the complete opposite of what they’d expected.
An enormous variable had appeared, and everyone had nearly been annihilated.
The Association had essentially sent the Vanquisher to their deaths.
Of course, it was an unforeseen disaster with no malicious intent, but they still had to take responsibility.
“They were practically groveling.”
“The Association President?”
“Yes.”
I smiled and nodded.
The President of the Hero Association was not a man who bowed his head easily.
For the Association to be so deferential meant they were treating this as a far more serious incident than I’d thought.
Makes sense.
I naturally moved on to the next question.
“So, what are they offering?”
The Association.
The Hero Association of South Korea.
They had the best resources on the planet, ripe for the taking.
My interest was piqued.
But the Old Man hesitated strangely before continuing.
“…That’s why we’re going now. The criteria for compensation are… a bit unusual.”
I raised an eyebrow slightly.
“They are?”
What could be so unusual about the compensation criteria?
What kind of standards are they using?
Given the gravity of the situation, they wouldn’t be playing games.
Then, the Old Man added curtly, “And the Association is holding on to that ominous lump.”
“As they should be.”
The Remains of the Evil God.
The Association was the only place capable of handling and storing that energy.
With that, we left the hospital and got into the car the Old Man was driving.
I was about to head for the passenger seat when—
Thud.
“In the back.”
A single, indifferent word.
Before I could even turn my head, my arm was lightly grabbed.
But the grip was strangely strong, and I was pulled toward the back without being able to put up much of a fight.
By the time the door opened, I was already sitting in the back seat.
Side by side with Sion.
The car pulled away smoothly.
The engine hummed with a low, steady rhythm, and the night scenery blurred past the window.
It didn’t take long to reach the Association.
Thanks to the smooth traffic, we arrived earlier than expected.
Screech.
The car came to a gentle stop.
As the door opened, a familiar voice greeted us.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
Well, well.
Look who it was.
The Association’s diligent worker, Mr. Kim Gil-gyu.
But despite the smile on his face, beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
“The Vice President is waiting inside. Please, come in.”
Mr. Kim Gil-gyu turned quickly and led the way.
Hmm…
After a moment of organizing my thoughts, I spoke quietly.
“Could we possibly see the byproduct first?”
To decide on a direction for the negotiations, I needed to see the real thing first.
“Ah…”
Kim Gil-gyu hesitated for a second.
He glanced over at the Old Man, seeking his approval.
The Old Man slowly closed and opened his eyes.
It was a brief gesture, but its meaning was clear.
Do as he says.
“Yes, of course. I’ll guide you to the lowest basement level.”
And so, we stepped into the Association building.
Despite the late hour, the inside was still bustling.
The incident was still under a press embargo, so they must have had a mountain of work to do, from preparing press releases to getting their internal affairs in order.
Instead of the staff elevator, we headed toward a more heavily secured area.
Beep.
Only after he swiped a key card did it begin to move.
Then, with a heavy mechanical groan, the elevator doors opened.
The moment we stepped inside, Kim Gil-gyu continued in a low voice.
“To be honest, we don’t know exactly what this thing is.”
He added quietly, “But the energy it radiates, the power it contains… it’s truly extraordinary.”
Then, he let out a short sigh.
“That’s why we had no choice but to lock it away on the lowest level.”
A wise decision.
Prolonged, direct exposure to that energy would do no one any good.
When the doors opened, a massive glass partition was revealed before us.
Beyond it, in the very center.
A black jewel rested there.
“Please call me whenever you need me.”
As if to give us space to talk, he stepped back toward the elevator.
The Old Man, Sion, and I slowly walked forward.
Wooooong…
The entire space seemed to be breathing, vibrating subtly.
The air felt so thick, likely due to the energy radiating from the jewel, that it was almost an illusion.
Then, the Old Man spoke in a low voice.
“What a foul energy.”
That was his assessment.
I couldn’t think of anything to refute it.
I had hoped that seeing it in person might allow me to grasp something with my All-Encompassing Perception…
The nature of it is a bit different.
It seemed a specialized eye for magic theory was needed.
“But how did you know something like this would come out of an Apostle?” the Old Man asked.
I thought for a beat before answering nonchalantly.
“I read about it in a book.”
“A book?”
The Old Man’s expression was unreadable.
I shrugged and continued.
“The records say that when the Hero from two generations ago dealt with an Apostle, something similar to this emerged.”
The Old Man gave a slight nod.
“Back then, another Apostle fought tooth and nail to retrieve it, and we couldn’t stop them… but this time, we were lucky.”
I smiled leisurely.
We really were lucky.
This was a Remnant of the Evil God, an object of infinite value.
“Are you going to take it?” the Old Man asked in a low voice.
I gave a short laugh.
“What? Absolutely not. I’m going to leave it locked up here for a long time.”
Until it could be analyzed and utilized, the jewel was nothing more than a white elephant.
In its current state, it was just a dangerous object with no use.
Mr. Kim Gil-gyu would surely be dismayed to hear that, but it couldn’t be helped.
The burden of managing it would fall entirely on the Association, but it was an investment for the future.
“…Then what do you plan to do?” the Old Man asked again.
His gaze was fixed on the jewel beyond the glass partition.
I had already been briefed on the way here in the car.
Separate from any compensation offered by the Association, ownership of the Apostle’s byproduct had been granted to me, the one who delivered the final blow.
There were no objections from within the Association or from other factions.
In other words, it was legally mine.
So then?
I had already reached a conclusion before I even arrived.
This substance was something that had never once been studied on Earth.
It was so strongly characterized by magic theory that even my All-Encompassing Perception couldn’t analyze it.
But I knew one person who would be overjoyed to get her hands on this. No, not just overjoyed—she would probably faint.
At that moment.
Sion, beside me, quickly turned her head.
Her eyes widened slightly, her gaze sharp as she tried to read my face.
I held her gaze without a word, then looked back at the jewel beyond the partition.
Yoon Chae-ha.
I slowly repeated her name in my mind.
Finally.
The time had come to make use of her.