Chapter 184: Past(2)
Chapter 184: Past(2)
Lina stared at the sky, her face utterly blank. It was understandable.
The man she had only seen in her dreams was right before her eyes.
‘So he was alive in this life, too.’
She had considered the possibility that the Black Witch and that man might be together, but she never imagined they would meet like this.
At the same time, there was another person stunned by the man in the sky.
It was Kerry.
Kerry recalled the memory from when he had entered Lina’s inner world.
The man’s attire was identical to what he had worn when he’d looked in the mirror as the Ruler of Mana.
He couldn’t see the man’s face because of the mask, but there was a certain air about him.
That bastard truly exuded an aura similar to the reflection Kerry had seen in the mirror within Lina’s mind.
But this was no time to be spacing out like Lina.
The crushing force felt from outside the barrier.
That power was no ordinary thing.
The amount of mana the shield-creating bracelet was absorbing was immense. That meant the attack from the outside was incredibly intense.
It was then that the masked man descended to the ground. He completely shattered the glass tube that Lina had already half-destroyed.
Crash—
‘He broke that glass tube so easily?’
Even if it was already damaged, it was astonishing strength. On top of that, the magic pressing down on the party was still active.
The masked man lifted the Black Witch into his arms.
“…Wait.”
Lina spoke, her voice trembling.
“I want to hear your name. No… can you take off that mask…?”
It felt as if all her forgotten memories would come flooding back if she could just see the face behind that mask.
But the man didn't answer.
He simply stared back at Lina in silence. Terrifyingly cold eyes could be seen beyond the mask.
“If you can’t take off the mask, then at least talk to me for a moment…!”
“…”
Lina’s heart pounded wildly. Her breathing grew ragged.
Despite Lina’s desperate words and gestures, the masked man paid her no mind and leaped into the sky.
“I said stop!”
“Lina! You can’t go out there!”
Kerry grabbed Lina’s hand.
Outside the barrier, the surroundings were still being crushed by an immense pressure.
The pebbles on the ground couldn’t withstand it and cracked, crumbling to dust.
The barrier sank deep into the earth.
He could guarantee it: the force was strong enough to kill an ordinary person instantly if they stepped outside.
Lina wouldn’t be defeated so easily, but in her current dazed state, he couldn’t help but worry.
The masked man grew more distant, rising higher and higher into the sky. He was shrinking, like a star.
The Black Witch was still crying.
Still crying, she reached a hand out toward Kerry on the ground below.
“Ke…rry…”
That longed-for name. All she could do now was repeat it.
Due to her incomplete resurrection, the Black Witch couldn’t even move properly.
The party could only stare blankly at the retreating figure of the Black Witch as she vanished high into the sky.
Once the man was far out of sight, the magic that had been pressing down on them finally disappeared.
Kerry checked Lina’s reaction.
It seemed Lina had taken a huge shock this time.
The Black Witch’s cry, calling her a murderer, clearly had some story behind it.
Just as he was about to feel relieved seeing Lina standing there steadfastly…
Lina crumpled to the ground.
*
The party found a nearby village to rest.
Their most important final mission had been to stop the Black Witch’s resurrection.
He couldn’t tell if they should consider the mission a success or a failure.
In any case, they had managed to prevent the Black Witch’s complete revival.
Judging by her final state, it seemed unlikely she could bring disaster upon the continent.
Normally, they should be chasing after the Black Witch right now, but they couldn’t.
Lina wouldn’t wake up.
The Saintess and the old fox examined Lina, but they could only conclude that there was nothing physically wrong with her.
“There are no problems with her body. This is likely a mental issue. Given her current state, the hero has probably been enduring a great deal of stress for some time. She should wake up with time.”
The old fox nodded in agreement with the Saintess’s diagnosis.
Indeed, he was well aware that Lina had been pushing herself too hard.
“Then we have no choice. We’ll have to wait here for Lina to wake up.”
“Will that be alright, Kerry?”
Victoria asked, her eyes filled with concern. Her gaze was asking if it was okay not to pursue the Black Witch.
“We can’t help it. We can’t recklessly track the Black Witch without Lina.”
Even if she wasn’t in a complete state, the only one who could face the Black Witch was likely the hero, Lina.
“True, that masked man was no ordinary foe either. A hasty pursuit could be dangerous.”
His feelings were a complicated mess. That man was clearly the Ruler of Mana. In other words, the Kerry from a past life.
‘I’m right here. So who the hell is that guy?’
He had been mulling it over constantly while staying here, but he couldn’t find an answer.
Lina lay on the bed with a peaceful expression, as if she knew nothing.
It seemed she wasn’t having nightmares today. What a relief.
The party sat gathered around Lina. Everyone wore a worried expression.
While Lina was unconscious, the party took a long-overdue rest.
They ate delicious food at the inn and slept soundly.
They had all been running themselves ragged. They deserved a break.
The Saintess, her recent proactive attitude nowhere to be seen, started to whine.
“We’ve driven off the Black Witch, so how about we all go home now?”
“The problem with the Black Witch hasn’t been resolved yet.”
He shot a glare at the Saintess, who was spouting nonsense about finally being able to go home.
Only then did she shut her mouth. As if she was the only one who wanted to go home.
It was then that Victoria gave a sly smile. A very suspicious smile.
‘I’ve been working hard to satisfy her urges during our break, so why is she smiling like that…?’
It was their first rest in a long time. There was no way Victoria would miss such an opportunity.
They had been at it all night just last night.
Lately, Victoria’s suspicious smiles had been getting on his nerves.
Even when he asked what was wrong, she would just brush it off, saying it was nothing. Seriously suspicious.
It was also inefficient for the entire party to be stuck by Lina’s side while she lay there all day.
The party decided to take turns looking after her.
Kerry devoted himself to training during the time he wasn’t watching Lina.
The prophecy made him anxious if he wasn’t training.
And there was someone else who wore an anxious expression just like Kerry.
Natasha was staring into a mirror with a worried look on her face.
*
The time Natasha spent looking in the mirror grew longer and longer.
It wasn’t that she’d come down with a late case of princess syndrome. Natasha spoke while looking at the mirror.
“But… but… I have to trust Seobangnim.”
It was as if she were talking to someone. But in front of Natasha, there was only a small hand mirror.
It was then that the Natasha in the hand mirror began to move her mouth and speak on her own.
Of course, this was a sight no one else could see.
[You idiot! You’re the definition of an idiot!]
“…Why am I an idiot? You’re the idiot! Why can’t you trust Seobangnim?”
[I’m not saying I don’t trust Kerry. I like Kerry, too!]
“…If you really like him, you have to trust him.”
The Natasha in the mirror let out a deep sigh, as if looking at a hopeless delinquent.
[What if another woman steals Kerry away while you’re hesitating?]
“!”
[By the time you’re bawling your eyes out, it’ll be too late to turn back time.]
“…”
[But there’s a surefire way to keep a hold on Kerry. Victoria told you, didn’t she? All you have to do is follow her advice.]
Victoria had whispered to Natasha some time ago, saying there was a way to definitively make Kerry her man.
Natasha’s anxious eyes darted back and forth. She still couldn’t seem to make up her mind.
The Natasha in the mirror was frustrated.
She had memories of sharing her body with Kerry. And, of course, Victoria had been there in those memories too.
That was why the Natasha in the mirror was so urgent. It would be a real problem if Victoria beat her to the punch with that method.
[You’re an idiot! A moron!]
“I am not an idiot!”
She could have told Natasha everything, but the Natasha in the mirror didn’t.
She didn’t want to see her innocent original self get hurt.
After all, she was also her.
To the Natasha in the mirror, love was a battle to be won.
It was something she was used to, having shared love with Victoria from the moment her consciousness first emerged.
Perhaps thanks to the repeated persuasion…
Natasha asked in a wavering voice.
“Just suppose… I did what Victoria told me to.”
[Right.]
“But what if… what if Seobangnim dislikes me for being a loose woman?”
[It’s better than not having Kerry at all!]
“I don’t want Seobangnim to hate me!”
[That won’t happen! You idiot!]
The same meaningless conversation repeated itself like a broken record.
The two Natashas had different opinions, but their love for Kerry was the same.
Natasha spoke in a lonely voice.
It was a heartfelt confession she had never even told her grandmother.
“Back when I was captured by the bandits… when I was at my lowest, Seobangnim was the one who gave me hope and comfort.”
[I know. I’m you, after all.]
“I had given up on everything back then… I’d lost my family and the home I had to live for. The one who gave me hope then was Seobangnim.”
Natasha spoke as if reminiscing, her gaze fixed on a distant point.
“He risked his life to stop the bandits.”
[Right.]
“To think there was someone like that in the outside world. Someone who would repay the kindness of a few rice balls with their life. He’s the one who showed me that there was still warmth left in the world. If it weren’t for Seobangnim, I…”
[That’s enough. I know all that.]
“…”
The two chattering Natashas fell silent for the first time.
They understood without needing to say more.
They were the same person, after all. They knew that a decision had now been made.
[That Black Witch woman, or whatever she is, was clinging to Kerry again today. As expected, women can’t help but flock to a handsome man like Kerry.]
“…That’s true.”
[That’s why we need to make it official. So that even if Kerry takes other women, we can be the first.]
In this medieval otherworld, polygamy was common sense.
It wasn’t unusual for a capable man or a nobleman to have more wives than he could count on his fingers.
“You’re right… It was foolish to think I could have Seobangnim all to myself. He’s too wonderful a man for that. But we have to be the first.”
[Yes, that’s it! You’re doing it tonight, right? Got it?]
“Okay!”
The moment Natasha made her decision, the Natasha in the mirror broke into a wide grin. With that, the hand mirror returned to its ordinary appearance.
*
Kerry finished his training with the Witch and returned to his room. It had been an exhausting day.
The past few days had been a repetition of the same routine.
During the day, he trained with the Witch, and at night, he diligently banged Victoria.
Perhaps satisfied after her long-awaited break, Victoria had said she wouldn’t be visiting tonight.
It was hard to believe Victoria was satisfied, but hey, a day like this had to come eventually, right?
Kerry washed up first.
It seemed he could finally rest easy by himself tonight. Kerry stretched and threw himself onto the bed.
That’s when he felt something strange about the bed.
It was soft, but a different kind of soft.
More importantly, the moment he threw himself onto the bed, he heard a sound.
“Ugh!”
“…”
Someone was hiding under the blanket. He hadn’t noticed because the blanket was thick.
He never would have imagined someone would be hiding in his bed in the first place.
Was it Victoria after all? It had been suspicious when she so readily agreed not to visit tonight.
The moment Kerry pulled down the blanket, he didn’t see the blonde hair he expected.
What he saw was another familiar head of red hair.
‘No way… It can’t be… Surely…’
He carefully lowered the blanket a little and saw a pair of red eyebrows twitch.
“…”
Now he was certain.
Kerry pulled the blanket down to her face. A woman with a shy expression met his eyes.
“Natasha…”
“Seobangnim…”
Natasha was lying in his bed, her face completely flushed.
Seeing her bare shoulders, it was obvious she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
Looks like she’s really going for it today.
First, he should at least ask what was going on.
“Natasha. What are you suddenly doing in my bed? And with your clothes off…”
Natasha, perhaps embarrassed by her naked body, pulled the blanket up to her neck.
If she was going to be like that, she shouldn’t have taken her clothes off in the first place.
“…”
Natasha remained silent. Then, she suddenly shot her hand out and grabbed Kerry’s wrist.
In that instant, something clicked shut around his wrist. It was a magic handcuff, formed from blue light.
The other cuff was, of course, fastened around Natasha’s wrist. What the hell was this situation?
He was too stunned to speak.
“…”
Natasha spoke with a solemn expression, like a revolutionary reading a declaration.
“…I want to have your baby, Seobangnim!”