Chapter 42
Chapter 42
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Does the Saintess Dream of the Sacrificial Lamb? (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
* * *
***
Half a day after the Saintess left the recovery room.
Yeomyeong received a summons from the mercenary group. He had been lying in bed, replaying the recent battle in his mind, but he frowned the moment he checked his phone.
Could the Saintess really have...? Half worried, half suspicious, he got out of bed, changed out of his patient gown into regular clothes, and stepped out of the recovery room.
"Oh, newbie. You look more intact than I expected."
Right outside the recovery room in the hospital corridor, a familiar face was waiting.
Team 3's leader, Tianlin. His face and arms were wrapped in thick bandages, proving he had survived the last battle.
"Anyone would think I was the one admitted."
As Tianlin let out a hearty laugh, appearances alone made him look more like a patient than Yeomyeong. Yeomyeong gave a wry smile.
"Senior, what brings you here?"
"Came to pick you up. The rest of the team is waiting downstairs."
"...You came to pick me up? Is there a problem?"
The moment Yeomyeong asked, Tianlin jerked his chin toward the area behind him.
Beyond the corridor bustling with nurses, mercenaries were glaring at him and Tianlin.
"Let's head down first. And try not to make eye contact with those guys."
Contrary to his words, Tianlin exaggeratedly grinned and placed a hand on Yeomyeong's shoulder.
Yeomyeong played along with the act, walking lightly as if they were sharing a fun story.
'They're putting surveillance on me? Why?'
As they left the hospital, he heightened his senses and realized there was more than one or two people watching him. At least ten.
Even outside the hospital, the surveillance didn't let up. Reporters and merchants openly stared at Yeomyeong too.
"...What the hell is going on?"
"Is it the sorrow of fame, or the inevitability of finding treasure?"
As Tianlin broached the subject lightly, mercenaries waiting at the hospital entrance surrounded Yeomyeong and Tianlin.
Fortunately, they were all familiar faces. Members of Sunjuk Mercenary Group's Team 3.
Only then did Tianlin relax, wiping his brow.
"That dragon you fought last time? That's the problem. More precisely, the rib bone it left behind."
On the way back to base camp with his mercenary comrades, Tianlin explained what had happened.
It all started with the dragon rib Yeomyeong had severed.
The military found the rib in the combat zone and immediately claimed ownership, thinking it was a windfall.
The Saintess was tied up with reporters, and Yeomyeong was unconscious. Luckily, Kim Mansu, who had followed the military, spotted them moving the rib and protested right away.
Yeomyeong and the Saintess fought the dragon—what right did the military have? It was a reasonable, logical claim.
By mercenary industry custom, remains of monsters and other prey belonged entirely to the mercenaries.
A normal military unit would have backed off, but the issue was how insanely valuable the dragon rib was.
Brazenly, the military demanded half. They called it emergency requisition, but... their intentions were obvious.
Money.
Ever since dragons were designated as endangered protected species, their body parts always fetched astronomical prices.
One claw could buy a house in New York; ten scales could change your life. No need to say more.
Moreover, this rib was especially unique. Unlike illegally poached goods, it was legally obtained.
Dragon bone that could be traded legally, not on the black market. Anyone would covet it.
Of course, the military's coercion didn't last. The Saintess, freed from the reporters, intervened.
She aggressively used her political position to pressure them.
She and Yeomyeong fought the dragon—anyone else claiming the bone would incur the wrath of billions of believers on Earth and beyond the dimensional gates, she declared.
Once things escalated that far, the military had no choice but to back down. There was some dirty retaliation, but the rib was safe...
"...Hold on, dirty retaliation?"
Yeomyeong, who had been listening quietly, cut in, and Tianlin shrugged.
"The military announced to the entire Manju base that half the rib is yours. Scumbags with no business ethics. If they can't have it, they'll shit on it."
"Then those tails on us are all..."
"Guys eyeing you and the rib. Some might scout you, others threaten. From the looks of it, the latter outnumber them."
"...."
"Heh, believe it or not, all this happened in the day you were in recovery. I still can't wrap my head around it."
Tianlin laughed hollowly as the group arrived at the base camp.
Now that they were here, the stares from behind had lessened significantly.
A few eyes still lingered on his back, but no one dared approach.
They just needed to open the door and go in... but Tianlin didn't grab the handle. Instead, he said with a serious face,
"Newbie, the captain and investors are inside the camp right now."
"The captain?"
Sunjuk Mercenary Group's captain, Kwon Mongju. Yeomyeong had heard the name, but only the name.
"He's a legendary figure in the mercenary world. Climbed from the bottom to here... a tough one."
"...I see."
Why the sudden explanation about the captain? Yeomyeong tilted his head.
Tianlin seemed to be pondering something. He clamped his mouth shut and paused.
A brief silence followed, and just as Yeomyeong's eyebrow twitched in impatience,
Tianlin whispered quietly into Yeomyeong's ear.
"Whether it's the captain or the investors, if they demand a share of the rib, refuse flat out."
"...Senior?"
"If they push, say you'll quit the group."
"...."
"Don't get the wrong idea, newbie. You risked your life for me and the team, so I'm giving advice in return. No need to stick with assholes who prioritize money over loyalty. That's it."
Only then did Yeomyeong understand why Tianlin was saying this.
The captain and investors waiting inside the base camp were also after the dragon rib.
'...What a hassle.'
The Saintess's request, the dragon rib, and his original goal of shaking off fame.
As Yeomyeong's worries deepened, Tianlin opened the base camp door with a stern face.
***
Clang!
The Saintess kicked an abandoned can on the street.
The irritated kick sent the can flying through the air, smacking the head of a mercenary smoking nearby.
"You fuck! Who the hell?!"
The mercenary, suddenly hit in the back of the head, opened his eyes wide and spat curses.
Oops. The Saintess quickly ducked behind the alley corner.
Only after squeezing between the hard concrete walls did she remember she was wearing an invisibility cloak.
'Got spooked for nothing.'
It couldn't be helped. This was the first time she'd worn the cloak for a whole week.
She'd only ever worn it for secret outings before...
'Doing all sorts of crazy shit. Really.'
The Saintess swallowed a sigh and plopped down on the alley floor.
Was it the tension release? The fatigue she'd been holding back crashed over her, pressing on her nape.
She buried her head between her knees and cast a healing spell on herself.
Her physical fatigue vanished quickly. But the weight on her heart remained, heavily crushing her chest.
'A week ago, if I hadn't seen that prophecy...'
In her weary depression, the Saintess imagined 'what ifs' in her mind.
If she hadn't seen the prophecy. Then she could have attended the entrance ceremony she'd dreamed of, reciting the pledge as freshman representative.
She might have reunited with her 'one and only friend,' caught up, gossiped like girls her age, and savored youth.
She could have joined the shooting club, showing off her secretly honed marksmanship.
And maybe, just maybe, experienced romance like in TV or novels...
Thinking that far, the Saintess let out a hollow chuckle.
'Yeah, right.'
She slapped her cheeks with both hands.
It was all her choice. Skipping the entrance ceremony, rolling around Manju on the brink of death.
She had already given up a page of her youth to come to Manju.
And that choice was right. No matter how precious youth was, was it more than the lives saved in Manju?
Thanks to her decision to come, Wallad survived.
Countless Manju residents escaped disaster, and the dragon was stopped...
That line of thought naturally brought one face to mind.
'...Pretty face, broken personality.'
Cheon Yeomyeong, the lunatic who tried to snap Wallad's neck on sight.
Thinking of him soured her mood automatically. It reminded her of his face from the hospital earlier.
Coldly rejecting her bodyguard request, then getting offended the moment she offered money.
She'd brushed it off as a joke then, but now it felt unfair.
'A mere mercenary punk, how dare he.'
Reject my offer? From the dragon fight to the rib, how much did I help?
Sure, he helped her too, but... the point was he rejected her.
'Just you wait. I'll make an offer you can't refuse.'
She pulled out her smartphone and opened the mercenary request list she'd checked in recovery.
'Fine, what if I actually hire him? What'll he do?'
Mercenaries lived and died by money, didn't they?
No matter how great he was, she had enough cash to crush that pride in one go.
'But buying someone I hate with money and doing whatever...'
Wouldn't that end her as a Saintess?
As she felt an inexplicable sense of depravity,
A familiar voice came from the other end of the alley.
"Saintess."
A soft, emotionless voice. The Saintess turned to look at the owner.
Entering the alley corner was a middle-aged woman wearing a blue rat mask covering half her face.
She wore a blue coat over her curvaceous figure and blue high heels that made no sound on the concrete.
"...Mother."
"I told you not to call me Mother outside. Call me President of Blue Rat Company."
The woman the Saintess called Mother stared precisely at her location, as if seeing through the invisibility cloak.
"Giving me chills... Whatever. How'd you find this place? Did Uncle Wallad snitch?"
"Wallad just did his job."
Ugh, should never have saved this tattletale. The Saintess sighed deeply and looked up at the mask.
"You're here to drag me back, right? Sorry. Can't go now."
"...If it's to stop Manju's disaster, that's already done. No need for the Saintess in cleanup. You should head to the academy."
"That was just a side thing. The real purpose... you know. Can't say—prophecy."
The Saintess dusted off her butt and stood. She glanced at her smartphone, then suddenly realized something.
'If I don't want to, can't I just hire under someone else's name?'
Insight was swift, action swifter. The Saintess looked straight at the blue rat mask and said,
"Mom, help me out."
"...Help? Saintess, did you just ask for help?"
Was the sudden request so shocking? Her mother replied hurriedly.
"Of course. Saintess, I can help with anything you want."
Her tone brimmed with anticipation. But the Saintess's next words shattered it.
"I want to buy a guy with money... Can you buy him for me instead?"
* * *