Chapter 47. The Hero Is More Nervous Now Than When Fighting the Demon God
Chapter 47. The Hero Is More Nervous Now Than When Fighting the Demon God
He went into a mountain without even knowing exactly where it was.
He made his way, thoroughly checking to make sure no one was around.
And he stayed on high alert, worried that Laila might secretly follow him.
"It's a surprise... it would be awkward if the person in question found out."
He pulled the sword that bastard had used out of his ring, and it still radiated heat.
"The problem is how to compress this..."
Should he just beat it with a club, like hammering it?
That was absolutely impossible.
Probably the entire surrounding area would be devastated.
"As expected, should I just knead it with my hands?"
A crude but certain method.
There was no worry about destroying the terrain, and he could control the mana spreading outward.
As they say, starting was half the battle.
"Hngh...!!!"
— Crunch... Crack...!
It was way harder than he thought.
Tearing something like this apart was trivial, but he had to handle it carefully so it wouldn't break.
It felt like trying to separate two attached soap bubbles without popping either.
"Hoo..."
In the end, he reduced the giant longsword, which had been nearly two meters long, to roughly the length of a forearm.
The problem was that if he compressed it further, it really seemed like it would explode...
"There's no other way, right?"
He decided to go for it.
He focused mana into his hands, pressing down so that no mana leaked out.
If even a little mana leaked out, it would cause a tremendous storm and throw the whole area into chaos.
"Please..."
— Fwoosh...!
The mana gathered into a single point and began emitting intense heat.
At the same time, it started burning the shirt he was wearing.
Also, sweat poured down like rain.
— Crackle... zap!
Eventually, he compressed the sword from the size of a forearm to the size of a coin.
Then he compressed it even further, reducing it until it was truly the size of a fingernail.
— Fwahahak!!!
"Whoa, that actually worked?"
His clothes were already completely burnt, leaving him practically naked, and only a really tiny jewel sat on his hand.
A jewel had been created, gleaming with a transparent crimson that seemed to devour even the surrounding light.
"Now, this..."
He focused his mana sharply at his fingertip.
If he melted part of the ring with mana and embedded the jewel...
"Huh?"
However, the jewel smoothly adhered to the artifact as if it had a will of its own.
"???"
He stared blankly at the artifact, which had been reduced to the size of a ring.
He didn't know what had happened...
"Is this a good thing?"
Rather, it was in a much more stable state than when the jewel had existed alone.
Now, all he had to do was take this and confess to Laila.
"But what should I say when I confess...?"
He had never once in his life confessed to someone, let alone dated anyone.
Even in the other world, women only approached him first, thanks to the halo of being the Hero.
"Give birth to my child...?"
Saying something like that felt like he'd really get slapped.
---
Laila was rolling around in light clothing, hugging a pillow.
"Hnng... When will the Hero return...?"
The place where Laila was staying was a little different from the hotel Song Hoon had imagined.
It was less a hotel and more a high-class ryokan with a hot spring attached.
Song Hoon only knew the location of the lodging.
"Will we be able to eat and then go into the hot spring together?"
Before making the reservation, he had already called the front desk and confirmed a room with a private open-air bath.
A private hot spring bath that outsiders couldn't enter and could only be used by the guests staying in that room.
"Hmm... what should I do about that cheeky brat..."
Her anger still hadn't subsided.
How dare she make eyes at the Hero while she was standing right there, staring with wide-open eyes?
It was a relief they were on Earth; if it hadn't been Earth...
"Hmm..."
Song Hoon's actions over the past few days had been a little different.
He often suggested going out together, and above all, he held her hand first.
Just like lovers...
"Hnng... I shouldn't be doing this..."
Laila subtly lowered her hand to check.
And as she sensed something strange, her face turned red.
"I keep having strange thoughts..."
Imagining Song Hoon's huge hands touching her all over made her body heat up little by little.
Laila got up from her spot and sharply surveyed her surroundings.
— Click! Clack!
She locked the windows and the door, and even drew the curtains, thoroughly concealing the interior so it couldn't be seen from outside.
"Just a little bit before the Hero comes..."
— Squelch... squish...
"Hnngh... Hero, if you keep me waiting, I'll devour you..."
---
With all his clothes burnt, he sat completely naked on a large rock in the middle of the forest.
Of course, he had packed a few simple clothes just in case of such a situation.
"Ha... I'm going crazy."
Bad thoughts kept circling in his head.
- What? Hero... have you been looking at me with those kinds of eyes?
- Ugh... Hero, our age difference...
- I only thought of you as a nice older brother...
- I'm really uncomfortable. I'd rather you didn't contact me anymore.
Just thinking of Laila's coldly hardened expression made his blood run cold.
"Uwaaaah!!!"
— Ka-booooom!!!
He regulated his emotions and decided to seek advice from those around him.
The viewers?
Absolutely not, even if the sky split in two.
"In the first place, they're no different from that IRang guy..."
His parents?
They would likely give good advice... but there was a risk it might reach Laila's ears first.
Among the people around him, excluding his parents, someone who had experienced married life.
And someone he was somewhat acquainted with.
- Hello?
"Ah, Nudungji... are you on stream right now by any chance?"
- No, I ended the stream a while ago and am resting now.
Nudungji.
A streamer he had collaborated with, knew to some extent, and who was also married.
The perfect person to give him advice.
- So, what's the occasion for you calling me first?
"Uh, that..."
The words didn't come easily.
What should he say?
At times like this, it was best to just push straight forward, coolly.
"Nudungji, what did you do when you first met your wife?"
- Pfft...
Maybe because it was such a random thing to say, Nudungji's laughter came through the speaker.
He laughed for quite a while before speaking.
- Are you planning to confess to Laila?
"..."
- Isn't it obvious? The reason you suddenly called me, a married man, is because you want to hear some pro tips, right?
"You've hit the nail on the head."
- Hmm... but I don't think you really need my advice.
What did he mean by that?
The person involved was burning with anxiety and going crazy...
"I've never had an experience like this before, so I'm not sure what to do."
- Just plainly and honestly say what's in your heart, Hero. Then everything will work out well~
With those words, Nudungji hung up the phone.
He had expected great advice from an experienced person, but now he stared silently at the disconnected phone.
"Haa... just go for it?"
Ah, whatever.
It was something he always felt at times like this, but when had he ever thought things through and acted...
He couldn't strut around the streets naked, so he changed into suitable clothes and left the forest.
In the still chilly weather that was too cold to be called spring, snow was falling little by little on the streets.
"The address Laila gave was definitely..."
He looked up the address and ran straight in that direction.
And unusually, the hotel was not in the city center but in a remote place.
"It's not a hotel...?"
It was an old-fashioned building similar to the Takamine family estate from before.
A building similar to a hanok, but with a different feel.
He went inside the building and somehow communicated using a translator, after which they guided him to the room number.
"Whoa, we get this huge room all to ourselves?"
— Clack!
The door was locked.
Laila had definitely said she'd be waiting in the room...
Had she gone out sightseeing somewhere because she was bored?
— Knock knock!
"Laila, are you in there?"
The sound of rustling came from inside, as if someone was there.
She had probably been sleeping and woke up at the sound of him arriving.
— Swish!
"Haa... Hero, you're here?"
The sight of Laila when she opened the door and came out was a bit...
Lewd.
Extremely so...
"Haaah... come in."
Perhaps because she had truly just woken up, her clothes were decently neat but damp with sweat, and one shoulder was slightly exposed.
And her face was slightly flushed.
'Oh boy, what am I thinking.'
"Uh, were you sleeping?"
"Yes? Yes...! I was a little tired..."
"U-uh, yeah..."
Laila gave a brief introduction to the facilities.
Inside the room, there was a private open-air bath that connected to the outside but was not visible from the exterior.
She said they could eat later and then wash up...
"Shall we eat soon?"
She picked up the phone receiver in the room, spoke skillfully, and hung up.
And after waiting about thirty minutes, employees knocked on the door, came in, and set out all kinds of food.
At the same time, an experienced-looking older lady explained the dishes.
"Hero, this is seasonal fish... and this is a hot pot..."
While she was explaining, she glanced at him and Laila.
Then, with a gentle smile, she pointed at seafood like oysters and eel and said,
"Are you newlyweds? This is food that's good for stamina."
"Well... she says these are oysters and eel..."
"Huh?"
She had clearly said quite a long sentence in Japanese... but the translation only gave that?
Laila's face turned oddly red.
Was there some food she couldn't eat...?
Anyway, all the employees left and they started the meal.
But he inhaled the food so fast he wasn't sure if it went into his nose or his mouth, while continuously fidgeting with the ring in his pocket.
"Laila, once we're done eating, want to go for a walk?"
"A walk...?"
"Yeah... earlier I saw there's a pretty big walking path just for guests here... there's also a cafe and a bar with a nice atmosphere..."
"Let's go together to help digest!"
Score.
It was worth the heart-wrenching effort of stopping an employee earlier and running the translator.
Whether he and Laila became lovers today or not, he would see this through here.
'Hoo... I was more nervous than when I was fighting the Demon God... crazy...'