Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: I Missed You
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Eloa sobbed like a child in Do-yoon's arms for a long while.
She forgot all about her dignity as guild master amid the nostalgic warmth she felt for the first time in a century, completely reverting to her old chick days.
"Waaah... So... so much... I missed you so much... I missed you so muuuch... Waaah..."
"Yeah, yeah."
Eloa rubbed her face against Do-yoon's chest, savoring the touch of his hand stroking her hair.
Her appearance had become that of a completely different person, but the hero's embrace was still as broad and warm as ever.
"Thank you for surviving, Eloa."
"Waaah..."
At those words, Eloa recalled the years she had endured to survive—and for her new family from the World Tree.
The frightening, agonizing days. Sobbing loudly, she poured out her heart to the hero—things she had never told a soul.
"It was... so hard... so horrific... The war without you was so horrific, Hero..."
"I'm sorry."
"When the new Demon King descended... *sniff*! I thought... what if you'd been there, Hero... When the even stronger Demon King's forces advanced... what if you'd been there..."
"I'm sorry."
"When the first walls fell... when the rebuilt nations crumbled one by one... when our guild members started dying... when my new comrades started dying..."
"..."
"If you'd... *sob*! been... there... waaaah..."
"...I'm sorry."
"Waaaah... waaah..."
Overwhelmed by emotion once more as she spoke, Eloa sobbed in Do-yoon's arms for a long while. The pent-up grief from those horrific years exploded uncontrollably.
Do-yoon simply repeated his apologies, gently stroking her still bright-yellow hair.
"...Sorry. On a day like this... *hic*!"
"It's fine. Cry all you want in front of me."
Eloa looked up at Do-yoon, her eyes brimming with tears.
"From now on, I'll be right by your side. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you all this time."
"..."
Eloa wanted to say, No, don't apologize. But his steadfast, warm reassurance choked her up again, leaving her speechless.
She hugged Do-yoon even tighter, burying her face in his chest once more. Her tears showed no sign of stopping.
A long while later, once Eloa had finally pulled herself together, Do-yoon and Eloa at last began to catch up.
"You've grown so much. That little squirt from back then turned into such a beautiful young lady."
"...Am I pretty?"
"Yeah. You've grown up so beautifully."
Even with her eyes still puffy, Eloa couldn't suppress her beaming smile. Hehe. The Hero says I'm pretty.
"Still a crybaby, though."
"I-I'm not a crybaby... In the last hundred years, I've never cried in front of anyone..."
"...Not a single person you could lean on?"
Eloa startled and frantically waved her hands.
"That's not it! The surviving guild members, the World Tree family, even Millane... they're all reliable people. But..."
She hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"Even you, Hero... right up to the moment you passed, never once showed weakness in front of us."
"..."
"I wanted to be someone like you for my comrades looking up to me."
Do-yoon fell silent. To him, she was still just that innocent little chick—yet here she was, speaking with such maturity.
He was proud of how upright she had grown. Yet at the same time, he pitied her for being forced to mature so harshly by the war.
"...Well done."
"Hehe..."
But Do-yoon swallowed the rest. From now on, I'll just be her Hero again.
Oblivious to the sadness in the Hero's eyes, Eloa simply beamed at his praise.
"Ah! But what on earth happened to you?"
"Hmm."
Do-yoon started to explain but caught himself and stopped. Sophie's earlier whisper came to mind.
He wanted to talk longer, but time was short. Rainbows didn't last.
Do-yoon rose to his feet.
"Huh?"
"Sorry, but let's finish catching up later."
"Huh? Why, why?"
"I have somewhere to be right now."
At that, Eloa shot to her feet with a look like the world was collapsing.
"No!!"
She grabbed Do-yoon.
"Why, why...? We just reunited, and you're off somewhere again...! D-does the World Tree displease you? It's really great here! State-of-the-art facilities, amazing benefits, and every guild member..."
"Eloa."
"Please don't go! If 10,000 gold isn't enough, I can get more! Really! I'll work so hard..."
"Eloa."
"Don't go, don't go... Hero, please..."
Eloa pleaded desperately, clinging to him. Her eyes trembled violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
The agony of losing her Hero once clawed viciously at her heart.
Do-yoon silently gazed at this pitiful girl. Seeing her like this left his heart uneasy.
But that was all the more reason to go—to ease her burdens.
Do-yoon embraced Eloa and patted her back, soothing her.
"Ah..."
"Eloa."
"Y-yes..."
"I'm not leaving you. I'll always be by your side. I'm just stepping out briefly for something I need to do."
"...What do you need to do...?"
Do-yoon gently pried Eloa away and met her eyes.
"Gotta go pick up our little chick's gift."
"...Huh?"
Do-yoon grinned at Eloa, whose eyes had gone wide.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Heavenly Bow Illusion Flight (Lv. - Rate. A)
>Inherent ability of the unicorn, a beast from illusions. Allows travel to anywhere in the world where a rainbow appears.
Do-yoon arrived at the Alliance's front lines via Sophie's skill.
Before leaving the Cradle, Sophie had confessed her skill to Do-yoon. In turn, he had named several spots hiding his legacies, asking her to let him know if a rainbow appeared nearby.
And right now was the moment a rainbow had appeared near one of Enoch Războinic's legacy vaults storing treasures.
"I'll head out—you wait here."
"Okay."
After brushing her off lightly, he left Sophie at an inn and stepped out into the city streets.
The streets teemed with people. It seemed like a highly commercial hub.
'This place has completely changed.'
This nation, alongside the Lion King's Muspelheim, was one of the Alliance's few directly bordering the Demon Realm and holding the front lines—yet it saw no clashes with the Demon King's army.
Muspelheim stretched long and horizontal across the continent's center, shouldering every front alone. This place merely brushed the Demon Realm at the continent's edge via a sliver of territory.
As long as mighty Muspelheim held firm next door, the Demon King's forces would lose any captured city here to swift reinforcements. Thus, they saw no point in wasting troops on a meaningless conquest.
'Wasn't originally such a big city.'
As a result, this city had become a haven for mercenaries and hunters living off monster hunts, booming economically from monster byproducts.
Do-yoon trudged to the city gates leading into the Demon Realm. Meaningless to check those heading to certain death—no one stopped him.
He entered the Demon Realm's eerie, overgrown forest.
Crunch. Crunch.
With every step, the dry soil and unnaturally tough, resilient grass pressed through his shoes.
Pale trees distorted the eye with grotesque patterns; twisted, dense branches seemed to writhe on their own.
Yet Do-yoon advanced straight ahead without a hint of hesitation, his eyes as calm as ever.
"Hmm..."
Do-yoon frowned at the numerous presences approaching from afar.
Looks like he'd have to get some monster blood on him after all.
'Clothes'll get dirty.'
Wonder if the vault has spare clothes? Probably just mountains of gold and jewels.
Do-yoon flexed his fist and pressed on.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Tsk."
Do-yoon clicked his tongue upon entering the hidden cave. The stench of monster blood clung to him.
Rumble rumble...
A massive boulder shifted behind him, sealing the entrance. From outside, not even a trace of movement remained. Dwarf-engineered mechanisms were flawless.
Drip. Drip. His footsteps echoed through the silent cave.
Do-yoon descended a long, steady slope. The vault's sheer size demanded a deep entry point. Housing gold, jewels, and more, its contents took up immense volume.
Soon, a starkly plain massive door appeared before him.
A thin slit marked its center—for inserting a key.
This lock used the same mechanism as the Sword Emperor's sword collection gallery: exceedingly simple in design.
In truth, it was practically useless, often relegated to ceremonial buildings or nobles' pretentious displays.
But wielded by Buske or Enoch, it became the world's sturdiest lock.
'If only he'd lived...'
Do-yoon recalled a conversation from ages ago with Buske.
Buske had been present when the vault was built. Staring at the lock, he and Enoch had bantered idly.
'Not to my liking.'
'What?'
'My gallery's lock opens for both of us. But this door... only you.'
'Jealous? Work harder to catch up.'
'...Shall we bet, Enoch?'
'A bet? You? The eternally boring one.'
''Tis the path of the sword.'
'Fair enough. What wager?'
'Ten years. Bet it'll take me ten to open this door.'
'Fat chance. Even a genius like you—I nearly died to the Demon King gaining this insight. Took me thirty years.'
'If I win, what'll you give?'
'All the treasures inside. Yours.'
'...For real? That entire mountain of gold and jewels?'
'The Sword Emperor—who cares for naught but blades—is practically drooling.'
'Ahem.'
'But if I win, three swords from your collection.'
'...Two.'
'Deal.'
"Pfft."
Do-yoon couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. One of the few times the utterly stoic Buske had shown greed—even staking his precious collection.
'Died before hitting ten years, though.'
Standing before the door after a century, he suddenly wondered.
If Buske hadn't died, who would've won the bet?
"..."
Enough. Pointless what-if.
Should've stopped at the reminiscence. Now his mouth tasted bitter.
'Lock should still be fine.'
It would be. Dwarven make, and the design was dead simple.
Do-yoon fiddled with the sword hilt at his waist, then gripped it firmly. Pure divine beast mana converged in his arm.
A crude iron sword from the Cradle, too shoddy to even withstand sword aura. But...
Shing—
Right now, it was the sole key to the continent's greatest treasure vault.