The Incompetent Hero and Red Oni (3)
The morning after I'd thoroughly enjoyed myself with Baekryeon and Seollin.
I'd emptied load after load of seed into Baekryeon's womb while she was lost in the aphrodisiac's haze, and Seollin—clearly envious—had started clinging to me with sweet little whines until the three of us were tangled together. Time slipped away, and before I knew it, morning had arrived.
Since Baekryeon and Seollin each came four or five times for every single climax of mine, I was the only one still coherent enough to function when dawn broke.
So I went downstairs alone for breakfast, and the innkeeper carefully approached me.
"Guest."
"?"
His gaze held irritation mixed with a touch of envy.
"I'm terribly sorry, but... would you mind restraining yourselves from such vigorous activities? It's a nuisance to the other guests...."
"Ah...."
So that was why the morning felt so quiet.
The irritation made sense, then.
As for the envy... ah. Right.
When we first arrived yesterday, he did give me some pretty envious looks after seeing Baekryeon and Seollin's faces.
Was he jealous that I got to go at it that hard with the two of them?
"My apologies. I don't know if this counts as compensation, but please take this."
"...."
I quietly held out a gold ingot. The innkeeper stared at it for a moment, cleared his throat, accepted it, and walked off.
"...The lack of soundproofing is a problem too."
If we had a mage, we could at least slap on some soundproofing magic. But all three of us were sword-swinging warrior types....
Once the Yeom Kingdom business is wrapped up, the first thing I should do is recruit a mage-type party member.
The Baek River, which cleanly divided the border between the Yeom Kingdom and Jo.
Cross this river, and every stretch of land beyond belonged not to Yeom, but to Jo.
With that river before us, Baekryeon, Seollin, and I were fishing.
"...There's something I've been wondering about."
"What?"
"Why are we fishing right in front of the Baek River?"
"Because I suddenly got a craving for fish after so long."
Seollin stared at me with a look of pure disbelief.
"And you... have to do that right now?"
"Even a ghost that dies well-fed has a prettier face. Here, have a drink."
"Indeed. In Jo, we have a saying that even mountain-viewing is best after a meal. And... this one also needs time to settle her heart. I believe Doryeong stopped here out of consideration for me."
"That is absolutely not what this looks like...."
She didn't seem remotely convinced by Baekryeon's explanation, but the part about needing time to compose herself must have landed, because she sat back down.
What the hell? Why does she react completely differently when Baekryeon says it versus when I do? Is she looking for a scolding?
But I was a generous man, so I'd let it slide.
Twitch. Twitch.
Then my fishing rod jerked—something had taken the bait.
"Got one! Bite! Bite!!"
"Doryeong! Careful!"
"Yeah! Take it slow! You always put too much force into it and snap the line!!"
Given my track record of already snapping the line several times, Baekryeon and Seollin rushed over in a panic.
Sure, at first I hadn't known how much strength to use and kept breaking the line—but this time was different.
"I've already figured out exactly how much force to apply, so stop worrying!"
I pulled with carefully measured strength—
"?!"
—and the line yanked back far harder than expected. My face twisted on its own.
What the hell? Did something bigger than I thought take the hook?
I could put more power into it if I wanted, but the line would never hold. The fishing line in this world was absurdly weak compared to reality.
"Damn it—Baekryeon! Seollin! Grab the rod!"
"H-huh?"
"W-what are you trying to do?!"
I handed my fishing rod off to the two of them. The moment they took it, the pull was so strong they nearly lost their grip in surprise—but somehow they held on.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
"Ugh!..."
"Why is it this strong?!..."
Even as the thing thrashed and tried to escape, Baekryeon and Seollin gritted their teeth and clung to the rod with everything they had.
It's a little nerve-wracking, but they should be able to hold it for a while like this.
Having made that call, I shrugged off my outer clothes.
"W-what are you doing?!"
"Doryeong??"
"I'm going in myself to catch it."
Baekryeon and Seollin stared at me in shock, but with both hands locked on the rod, there was nothing they could do to stop me.
While they were still reeling, I threw myself into the Baek River.
You are exposed to a chill yin energy.
The river's characteristic cold sank into every inch of my body. And the moment that registered, something red flashed before my eyes.
You are exposed to a fierce yang energy.
Boundless Yang Divine Art has manifested.
"!!"
What the hell is that?...
A red... carp?...
It thrashed violently through the water.
A carp, sure—but an enormous one. And not just any carp: one radiating a vivid, blazing red. Having something like that appear out of nowhere was absurd enough on its own....
Every time it moved, a massive cloud of bubbles surged upward.
Then its gaze locked with mine.
Sorry, but you're getting caught.
I drew the Holy Sword.
The Baek River's current made ordinary sword swings nearly impossible, but—
Gang-gi has been manifested.
Golden dawnlight Gang-gi coiled around the pure white Holy Sword.
With that energy wrapped around the blade, I swung.
KRAAAAAANG!!!
"Whoa... what even is this?..."
"It looks like a Millennium Fire Carp, but... I've never heard of one this huge...."
Baekryeon and Seollin both stared at the carp—larger than most grown men—then looked at me without a word.
I ignored them and focused on building a campfire so I could dry my soaked clothes.
For the record, Samadhi True Fire was absolutely perfect for starting campfires.
Come to think of it, I've never actually used this in combat.
Trying it out sometime later wouldn't be a bad idea. With that thought, I looked over at Seollin.
"More importantly—can you butcher it?"
"Hmm...."
Seollin studied the overwhelmingly massive Millennium Fire Carp for a moment, then answered in an uncertain voice.
"Some spirit beasts carry poison, so... I've butchered spirit beasts before, but... I've never seen a Millennium Fire Carp this big. I'm not sure I can do it properly."
"That so? Still better to have someone with experience handle it than someone who knows nothing."
"Yeah... alright. But it's so huge.... Baekryeon, can you help?"
"Mm. If it involves a blade, leave it to me."
While Seollin took the lead in butchering the Millennium Fire Carp, I sat quietly by the campfire and waited for them to finish.
The crackle of the flames was perfect for spacing out.
...Jo is almost here.
I still wasn't sure how coming to the Yeom Kingdom to find Geogeonhwan had led to all of this, but whatever needed resolving still needed resolving.
That was why we'd come this far. And yet—
A question that had nagged at me ever since fighting Juzaku in Yeomhyeongok refused to leave my head.
How did Red Oni subdue Baekho?
No matter how pure the White Tiger bloodline of the Baek family beastmen might have been, they were still ultimately human. So Red Oni being able to massacre the Baek family was understandable—within the realm of possibility. But him subduing Baekho herself and dragging her off? That raised questions.
Is Red Oni really that strong?
If the Four Sacred Beasts were roughly equal in power, then Juzaku's strength had been considerable. She'd been fighting me, sure—but by ordinary standards, the number of people capable of subduing a Sacred Beast was vanishingly small.
And on top of that, the Juzaku I'd fought had already had part of her power sealed by Hyeonmu....
No matter how I look at it, something's off....
In the game, Red Oni was a fightable monster, so his specs were public. Looking at those specs, they weren't low—but they weren't high either.
Juzaku, who'd projected a presence on par with the Demon King fragments, couldn't possibly have lower stats than them. Her total stats had to be close to the 900s. And Red Oni simply wasn't strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Baekho, who was on that same level.
In-game, he was perfectly defeatable. I couldn't believe those stats were enough to subdue Baekho.
There's something I don't know. Something that let him overpower her.
What could it be?
"What are you doing?"
"Hm? Ah... you're already done?"
At some point, Seollin and Baekryeon had finished dismantling the Millennium Fire Carp and walked over.
"Still... I'm not sure we should eat this."
"Why not?"
"Because a Millennium Fire Carp is a spirit beast packed with powerful yang energy. If you just eat it without thinking, that yang energy could cause serious side effects. And this one's way bigger than a normal one."
Is that so? Well, nothing to be done about it then.
"I'll just eat it myself."
"Like hell you will!..."
Seollin stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
I'd been completely serious, but either way, I stowed the butchered Millennium Fire Carp that Seollin and Baekryeon had prepared into my inventory.
"Alright, let's cross."
"No—if you're not even going to eat it and we're just leaving, then why the hell did we go fishing in the first place!..."
"You said you couldn't eat it."
"I mean, I did say that, but!!..."
Seollin shook her head like she no longer knew how to respond, while Baekryeon watched from behind with a soft "haha" of laughter.
"So how are we supposed to cross the river? I figured there'd at least be a boat, but there's nothing."
"Mm. Ordinarily there would be boats, but... with the isolation edict in effect, it seems most of them have stopped operating."
"Then we'll just have to cross on foot."
"Is that even possible? The water looks pretty deep, and the current's fast."
Who said anything about swimming? Just walk on the water.
Water Striding has been used.
"Let's go."
"...."
"And when exactly did you learn that one, Doryeong?"
When? When I was about to wreck those pirates, that's when.