Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: The Retrogressive, the Egoist, and the Red (6)
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Having been through this once before, Yeomyeong didn't panic. He calmly replied in his mind.
'I don't know what Dodol Table is, but I am Cheon Yeomyeong.'
It's both a lie and the truth.
The light of the crystal swept across his forehead, as if trying to pierce through his thoughts.
Your real name is... Dung Beetle? Why would you name yourself that?
...
Cheon Yeomyeong sounds more human, so I'll call you that.
...
Is this crystal different from the one I saw in Manchuria?
Compared to the crystal he'd conversed with back then, the one before him now seemed... a bit ruder.
Cheon Yeomyeong. Tell me, why do I sense the power of 'us' from you?
Yeomyeong easily realized that 'us' referred to the World Tree. He thought carefully.
'I ate the crystal.'
You? How?
Unconsciously, Yeomyeong recalled the moment he'd swallowed the crystal given to him by Darulma.
As if reading his memory, the World Tree's crystal fell silent for a moment.
Before the silence could blanket the space, the crystal sighed.
The plan has gone awry.
This is why those Dodol Tables...
This is the problem with you experiential absolutists. You're always weak to variables. Don't you think?
A string of words Yeomyeong couldn't comprehend.
He neither affirmed nor denied, simply staring at the crystal.
The crystal stared back at Yeomyeong, and just as the mood grew heavy, it spoke again.
Cheon Yeomyeong. What kind of person are you?
'...Me?'
Yes, you. The one who rendered countless sacrifices in vain and will render even more lives meaningless in the future.
...
I don't resent you. Just as one who loses their home to a typhoon can't blame a butterfly on the other side of the world. I know you merely flapped your wings. Like all butterflies do...
Words filled with an inexplicable sorrow. Caught in the sudden wave of emotion, Yeomyeong furrowed his brow slightly.
'I am just myself.'
A philosophical answer. And the one farthest from what I wanted to hear.
'Long-winded questions beget long-winded answers.'
You don't yield an inch. You're just like Border White—that guy. You even look alike... Are you blood-related by any chance?
'We look alike? I never got that impression...'
As Yeomyeong tried to continue, the crystal suddenly emitted a burst of light.
Startled, he drew up his mana, but the light enveloped his body a fraction faster.
'What are you doing all of a sudden?'
The crystal didn't answer. Instead, it shone even brighter, piercing into his eyelids.
Then, as if trying to rummage through his mind, it roiled violently...
And vanished.
What was that? Cautiously opening his eyes, Yeomyeong saw the crystal, now dimly gathering its light.
Like a person who flinched in surprise and huddled up.
The crystal's voice trembled, proving as much.
Oh no. 'I' have already... chosen.
'...Chosen what?'
The World Tree didn't answer this time either.
After humming with light for a moment, it spoke in a voice barely suppressing something.
What a pity it's come to this. You will make a choice as well.
'...Another riddle?'
A riddle... Better call it a prophecy. No tip needed.
Tip? Like a fortune teller? As Yeomyeong had that absurd thought, the crystal continued.
Just as we did in the past, you too will weigh the value of lives. Hundreds of millions against millions... No, perhaps even more extreme. Billions against one.
...
When that moment comes, remember these words: 'I believe in your choice.' Understood?
'...I have no idea what you're talking about.'
We're the same. Why on earth did I choose you? You don't look like a protagonist to anyone.
'Protagonist? What do you...'
mean?
Yeomyeong's question didn't continue.
The crystal's light faded a bit quicker than that.
Crackle—
With a sound like something snapping, the floating sensations returned to normal.
***
Right after opening his eyes in reality.
Lying on the small inn bed, Yeomyeong rolled off onto the floor like a doll with its strings cut.
Had he expected to wake in the World Tree's dream?
He slammed his head into the floor, and the concrete was hard enough to banish his sleepiness in an instant.
A heavy pain throbbed from his forehead, drawing a wry smile, but Yeomyeong swallowed it down.
An unfamiliar presence lingered in his room.
"...Who's there?"
Rubbing his forehead as he asked. No reply came from the room still shrouded in night.
Of course. If they were going to show themselves so easily, they wouldn't have hidden.
Yeomyeong quietly drew up mana and wove a spell.
He heard the opponent—who'd concealed their presence—gulp, but he completed the telekinesis spell a touch faster.
An invisible force first sealed the door and windows. As they locked with a clatter, telekinesis crushed down on the entire room.
The next instant, Yeomyeong's telekinesis caught something transparent trying to leap for the window.
He immediately maneuvered the spell to grab it and clenched his hand.
Or tried to.
But the moment he moved the spell to throttle the intruder's neck, the intruder shrieked.
"B-brother-in-law! Wait a sec!"
...Brother-in-law?
He barely halted the spell, and at the same moment, the opponent shed their cloak of invisibility.
...
Right after, the window opened, and moonlight peeked in.
Under the soft glow, the girl caught in telekinesis locked eyes with Yeomyeong.
Eyes a slightly lighter blue than Seti's.
Yeomyeong silently gazed at her suspended in midair, rubbed his brow, and looked again. He couldn't think of what to say.
An awkward, heavy silence.
"Uh... Sleep well? I didn't wake you, did I?"
Unable to bear the awkwardness, as the moonlight seemed about to flee out the window, Neti smiled and spoke.
Faced with that smile, Yeomyeong briefly considered hurling her out the window as is, then sighed at the transparent cloak in her hand.
"Where'd you get that transparent cloak?"
"...Shoemiri gave it to me. Said it was brother-in-law's."
Just as expected. More precisely, it was borrowed.
"Why tell me now?"
"...Honestly, I forgot."
"Fine. Lots going on, so I'll let that slide... Why sneak into my room at this hour wearing that?"
"...No comment?"
Yeomyeong opened the window and shoved Neti's body outside. Only after she was mostly out did she confess.
"I-it was curiosity!"
"...Curiosity about what."
"Um... that is..."
As her words trailed on, Yeomyeong pushed her out the window.
A no-need-to-hear-more attitude.
Neti let out a scream—or was it a fuss?—and clung to the railing.
"Physiognomy! Physiognomy! I wanted to check your physiognomy!"
...
A brief silence.
Only after the night breeze swept through the room as if dumbfounded did Yeomyeong sigh, pull her back in, and set her down on the floor.
"You use telekinesis amazingly well..."
Whatever Neti said, Yeomyeong ignored her and snatched the transparent cloak from her arms.
He thoroughly checked it for any damage, then sat on the bed.
Was it little-sister instincts? Neti quickly knelt before him in seiza.
"I'm sorry..."
...
Yeomyeong pressed his temples to accept the situation. Truth be told, he wasn't really angry.
Compared to that 'Saintess'... this was mere child's play.
In the end, deciding to forgive her, he asked lightly.
"...So, how was my physiognomy?"
Meant to lighten the mood casually, but Neti's response wasn't light.
"It's good and bad."
...
"The physiognomy like yours is commonly called the Sheep Fortune face—clear phoenix eyes with eyebrows slightly arched upward. It brings innate talent and official luck."
"...The bad part?"
"Worst luck with women. Meet a woman with a Peach Blossom Arrow first, and you'll ruin your fate, so the first woman is crucial."
...
"Oh, and for reference, my sister has no Peach Blossom Arrow."
This feels familiar...
Yeomyeong racked his brain, then sighed deeply, wondering why he was taking this seriously.
"Neti."
"...Yes, brother-in-law."
"Whatever physiognomy or nonsense, I won't care. Next time, just ask normally instead of sneaking in. Got it?"
As he spoke, he patted her shoulder.
Clearly meaning forgiveness and goodbye, so Neti stood, bowed politely.
She grabbed the doorknob to leave, then turned and cautiously said.
"...Keep it secret from my sister, please."
"Of course, it'll be our secret."
"Thank you..."
Unfortunately, Neti's wish didn't come true.
The moment she opened the door, Seti—arms crossed—greeted her in the hallway.
"What brings my little sister here at this hour?"
Neti shot Yeomyeong a pleading look, but he just shrugged with a wry smile.
Sorry, can't help you with this one.
***
The dark inn room, before dawn arrived.
"Mass-producing Ratkin somewhere in the sewers with the World Tree crystal, huh..."
That was the first thing Seti said after hearing about Yeomyeong's 'World Tree dream.'
"Skeleton Dragon, Shepherds, and now a Ratkin legion... What a mess."
"...Don't forget the outsiders who came to the city targeting the World Tree crystal and sacred relics."
Yeomyeong explained the dream, omitting just the right parts—mainly the conversation with the crystal.
"...The Palace Lords don't seem interested in stopping this chaos."
No, the two besides East Palace Lord were actually making it bigger.
As if trying to start a war.
"The board's too big; I don't know how to get in on it."
Pondering what exactly troubled her, Seti sat by the window, nibbling her lower lip. Moonlight flowed down her fine hair.
After admiring her hair briefly, Yeomyeong picked up the transparent cloak and stood from the bed.
"Do we really need to get involved?"
"...Not get involved? Just watch and jump in at the key moment?"
"No, that easy way won't work. Without an intel network... we won't know when the key moment is."
"...Then?"
"There's a saying in back-alley gambling: If you can't read the board... flip it over."
Saying so, Yeomyeong rummaged through his luggage bag.
From it, he pulled a small pouch he always carried, and Seti gave him a puzzled look, wondering what it was.
"...Flip it? How?"
"If you've got the cards, anything's possible."
With that, Yeomyeong opened the pouch, revealing its contents.
A golden seal gleaming like gold, an ivory handle, and... a key stained red like blood.
"That's...?"
"The Key of Blood Tears. The sacred relic from the Blue Rat."
Yeomyeong picked up the key. The relic exuded a heavy aura, as if proving its extraordinary nature.
He'd received it in Manchuria and never used it till now, but who'd have thought it'd come in handy like this.
"Sacred relic? You don't mean..."
Seti realized what he meant, her eyes widening.
World Tree crystal and sacred relic.
Both were the baits the Palace Lords used to draw outsiders to the city.
They'd gathered people on rumors alone, but if they showed the actual sacred relic?
It wouldn't just flip the board—it would bring massive chaos to the city. Tremendous chaos.
The problem was...
"...You sure? You might lose it."
"Once I master the technique inside, it won't matter."
"...How long to master the relic's technique?"
"No idea till I try... Can't promise, but I think within a week."
Arrogant words that would make any superhuman frown. But Seti couldn't deny them.
Anyone else, maybe, but she knew his talent better than anyone.
Gazing at Yeomyeong briefly, Seti tapped the windowsill thoughtfully.
Silence settled between them, and as the sun began to rise faintly over the distant city...
She spoke again.
"Yeomyeong, while you're out... I'll spread rumors about the sacred relic. Or should I say I'm putting it up for auction?"
"Not a bad idea."
Yeomyeong smiled faintly and handed her the transparent cloak.
"Whatever the plan, this'll help."
Thinking of the Saintess? Seti looked down at the cloak with a complicated expression, then took it.
Tucking it away, she asked.
"When do you use the relic? Right now? Or after breakfast?"
"...Breakfast, just us two. I'll be back quick."
With that, Yeomyeong held the Key of Blood Tears and stood in the room's center. Seti quietly stepped aside, and the two gazed at each other wordlessly for a while.
Soon, a subtle mood arose between them.
Then, a pained voice intruded.
"Um, sis, sorry to ruin the mood, but..."
Neti's voice from the door, arm raised.
The two, having completely forgotten her, turned to Neti simultaneously.
Whether from holding her arm up without mana, or some other reason, Neti's face was flushed red.
"Can I lower my arm and leave now...?"
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