A Leisurely Stroll in Manhattan with the Goddess
Manhattan.
It was the heart and symbol of New York.
Though they called it a neighborhood, its actual area was on the scale of an entire city.
It was enormous, and many of the famous buildings that came to mind when people thought of New York were located here.
“So where do you wish to go?”
Well.
I hadn’t really thought about sightseeing…
“If it were Jiyoung, she would have drawn up a proper plan.”
Walking around the city with the goddess had not been on the schedule.
Even after thinking hurriedly, not much came to mind.
“This cannot be your first time in this city.”
“Last time I only handled business and left.”
“This one is speaking of your previous life.”
Hmm.
I had come here before.
Back then, though, instead of a forest of skyscrapers, the place had been filled with smoke.
The simultaneous Gate Breaks.
The artificial gates installed by Rene Davis’s fanatics had run out of control and turned New York into a wasteland.
“Was that child Ellen unable to protect New York?”
“One hand cannot block many.”
New York was vast.
And it had been easy for the Klyphoth followers to pull their tricks.
Even if Gold Moon had prepared with full determination, casualties would have occurred.
Faced with a disaster no one had foreseen, even Ellen had been powerless.
“Yet did that Rene fellow not raise troops in Europe?”
“He pulled tricks in America to keep them from paying attention to the European front.”
“Indeed. A cunning yet meticulous plan.”
That would not happen anymore.
Rene, the mastermind behind New York’s devastation, had been reduced to dust and vanished.
The fact that an intact New York could be seen was also thanks to me.
“This one must thank you.”
“Thanks for what?”
“Hehe. These children do not know of your achievements, do they?”
Nyx stroked my head with her right hand.
“How commendable. Most commendable.”
“You’re treating me like a child.”
“In Yeo’s eyes, you are a child, are you not?”
Come on.
If I mentioned age here, she would get angry again, right?
I had to match her rhythm somehow.
Still.
It didn’t feel bad.
“Let’s go to Times Square.”
“Is it nearby?”
“About an hour’s walk.”
There was still plenty of time before the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
There were no other schedules either.
The other party members were probably each enjoying their own sightseeing.
So let’s take a relaxed look around as well.
“Huh? Isn’t that the Savior of Paris?”
“Look, he’s exactly like in the photos.”
“For real?”
“Wow. What brings him to Manhattan?”
Not long after we began strolling through Manhattan, the surroundings grew noisy.
I hadn’t expected to be recognized so quickly.
It wasn’t as if I were the only Asian here, so how had they known?
“You have now risen to the ranks of celebrities.”
……I’m an idiot.
To think that with Nyx beside me I believed I wouldn’t draw attention.
“I thought she was a celebrity. So the Savior of Paris was next to her.”
“She’s really beautiful.”
“Wow. I’ve never seen her face before. Who is she?”
The manifested Nyx was beautiful even by my standards.
Her long hair that reached her waist never lost its luster.
Her fair skin and jewel-like crimson eyes drew people’s gazes like a black hole.
Her true self was an excellent loafer who scratched her belly back at the lodging or lay sprawled on the sofa eating snacks.
But only an extremely small number of people knew the goddess’s true nature.
So it was only natural that she drew every eye.
Even I had grown dull.
“To think of quietly sightseeing in this state.”
“Is something the matter?”
“No.”
What did it matter if people looked?
It wasn’t as if it would wear us down.
As tourists, we simply needed to enjoy the energy of New York.
“Contractor. Look at that.”
“Snapple? It’s juice. Juice.”
“It has come at the perfect time. This one was feeling thirsty.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll buy it for you.”
We each held a fruit drink in our hands and walked at an ordinary person’s pace.
As time passed, I felt the gazes upon us grow heavier, but I paid them no mind.
“Hehehe. Everyone is recognizing the greatness of the contractor.”
Um.
I don’t think that’s quite it.
The passersby’s eyes went to the goddess first, then to me.
Tsk.
I had never once thought I was lacking, but in relative evaluation this was a complete defeat.
Even so.
“Mr. Savior of Paris! Please give me an autograph!”
The courageous citizens who approached allowed me to puff out my chest with pride.
Ehehehe.
Behold. This is my level of recognition.
“Um, the person beside you as well… please give an autograph…”
“Hehe. You know how to appreciate a goddess.”
“Yes?”
Do not attach question marks.
She really is a goddess.
I could not explain every detail, so I simply smiled and let it pass.
“Schwarma? Is that food as well?”
“It’s a type of kebab, I heard.”
“This one is curious about its taste.”
“I’ve only heard stories. I haven’t tried it either.”
Nyx did not reply. She simply stared at me.
In other words.
You want a bite, right?
Unable to withstand the silent pressure, I pretended to give in and opened the store door.
The atmosphere suggested the place was at least forty years old.
With the baseless belief that older establishments were more likely to be delicious, we sat at an empty table.
“Two shawarmas, please.”
“Coming right up.”
They sliced a thick piece of bread in half and filled it with seasoned meat and stir-fried vegetables.
The dish was placed on the table.
A spicy aroma tickled the nose.
The scent of exotic spices stimulated the appetite.
Growl—
“We have had a busy schedule since morning. Do not make such uncultured noises.”
“That sound didn’t come from me?”
When I glanced at the goddess, her face had turned bright red.
“T-that cannot be. This body is not even a living creature, so why would such a sound emerge?”
“They say consciousness rules the body.”
The homunculus vessel.
It had reacted according to what Nyx thought or desired.
Um.
You really were hungry.
From now on I would have to make sure she ate properly…
“Ouch! Why are you stepping on my foot?”
“Cease your impudent thoughts.”
“What kind of thoughts did I even have?”
“Did I not say I can roughly read the thoughts of mortals?”
Damn.
Her perceptiveness had become frighteningly sharp.
I gave up on arguing and took a bite of the shawarma.
“It’s delicious.”
“It is a seasoning I have never tasted before.”
Wow.
To radiate the atmosphere of a high-class restaurant while eating shawarma.
Every time this happened, I realized anew that Nyx was a goddess.
New flavors experienced in a foreign land.
I could not even remember when I had last felt such impressions.
“Is it not pleasant to have times like this on occasion?”
Nyx gave a short laugh.
In the not-quite-two years since my regression, many things had changed.
The speed of growth had been advanced by more than ten years.
Thanks to me defeating the dragons in the promotion match, the Earth dimension had also produced high-RP players.
For the Babel Tower to swallow a dimension, the average performance inside the tower after the third erosion had to be low.
If the current atmosphere continued… we might be able to prevent the tower’s erosion altogether.
The Gold Moon guild was expanding its power faster than before the regression.
Of the two Monarchs who had betrayed humanity, one was dead.
The other had been converted into a comrade.
So could we not say that the ending in which Earth was destroyed had been altered by half?
“……Even so, we cannot let our guard down.”
My goal did not end at preventing Earth’s destruction.
The Old Gods who had committed those despicable acts.
Until I dealt them a proper blow, the resentment in my heart would not be relieved.
“Do not worry. On the path of vengeance, this one shall accompany you as well.”
The fact that I had regressed.
And that I knew the original history.
The declaration that she would always stand by my side as an ally somehow filled me with strength.
“Therefore let us enjoy even this moment in comfort.”
“Ah, okay.”
My heart tingled in one corner, so I answered awkwardly.
Ugh.
Why was I like this?
Even after finishing the shawarma we continued walking aimlessly.
We must have walked quite leisurely.
By the time we reached our original destination of Times Square, the sunlight had vanished and darkness had settled.
“We came too late.”
“There was no fixed schedule, so is it not fine?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“The city of sleepless nights is not bad either.”
The scenery I had only seen in movies.
Standing side by side with Nyx and looking at the illuminated Times Square plaza felt strangely moving.
“I’m always grateful.”
“You are being formal all of a sudden.”
“No. I don’t mean it that way.”
A little more.
Something.
I could not find the right word to express the emotion rising in my mind.
Not a trustworthy comrade I could entrust my back to in battle.
A different expression.
A different word.
Nothing came to mind, so no words left my mouth.
“Do you have something to say?”
My reflection shimmered in her crimson eyes.
That’s right.
There is something.
It feels like it’s right on the tip of my tongue…
“Masteeeeer!”
“Ah. Yeah, there’s no way it’s masterrr—”
I unconsciously repeated the words coming from behind me and my tongue twisted.
“Jiyoung. What brings you here?”
“I came out to see the night view and heard the two of you were at Times Square, so I came.”
I hadn’t even told them our destination.
How had she known?
“It was all over SNS. The two of you.”
The photo on her phone.
The people who had asked for autographs or commemorative photos had posted them.
The attached hashtags—#SaviorOfParis, #LooksLikeACelebrityWhoIsShe—were just the beginning.
Man.
I once again realized I had become a celebrity.
“What’s this atmosphere? Did you two go on a date or something?”
“Jiyoung. It seems the previous sparring was insufficient.”
“Huh? Why the serious face? It was really… a joke. Geez.”
Jiyoung spun on her heel and vanished from sight.
“Have a good time!”
“That kid.”
Huuu.
I had tried to hold it in, but no more.
Tomorrow I would really have to add two extra sets to the sparring.
“So what were you going to say?”
“I forgot because of her. I’ll tell you when I remember.”
“Hehe. This one shall look forward to it.”
What exactly are you looking forward to?
Even I don’t know what I was trying to say.
The New York schedule was not as tight as I had expected.
We finished the two S-rank gates in two days.
As for A-ranks, they posed no real problem for a party where every member had been promoted to Diamond.
“Let’s divide the raid teams into three.”
Me.
Hyung Youngsu, Nyx, Ping Lei.
Jiyoung, Karla, Enrique.
We allocated personnel according to their inclinations and closed the gates assigned by Gold Moon.
“Kuoooo!”
“An unwelcome familiar face.”
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue and summoned the Dragon’s Wings.
Thunder God
Dragon's Wings
An ogre leaping between trees with monkey-like agility.
From the fully spread wings, bundles of yellow lightning surged upward.
Crackle!
“Guooock.”
The creature that had received a full electric massage rolled its eyes back.
Thud. The large, charred monster collapsed to the ground.
Before the overwhelming firepower it had been reduced to a well-done steak.
Even after devouring the completely blackened corpse, the taste remained the same.
I had already filled my essence to 100 percent, but thanks to the additional effects granted in the tower’s basement my stats continued to rise steadily.
Even without devouring new monsters’ essences, it was more than enough motivation to accelerate the clearing speed.
The result?
“I can’t believe it.”
William Rockefeller muttered in an exhausted voice.
“Two S-ranks and eight A-ranks cleared in five days.”
“You can assign us more if you like.”
“It’s fine. We can handle the rest with our own strength.”
The gates were perfectly suited for training the kids.
The Babel Tower still did not impose severe death penalties.
The tension of knowing a single mistake could mean death could only be tasted inside gates.
Perhaps because they had cleared gates so diligently back home, finding anything above A-rank had become difficult.
“Oh, right. Ellen said she wanted to see you.”
“When will she arrive?”
“In about an hour.”
“Then I’ll wait.”
“Wait in the lobby. I’ll come down on time as well.”
The rest of the party happened to be in the lobby too.
I headed down to the first floor with light steps.
“Hey. Then shall we have a match?”
Enrique’s loud voice shot through the gap of the opening elevator doors.