How Does Brother Namgung Know the Mesugaki Heavenly Demon…?
……………
In the forest on the outskirts of Cheonju.
"Heavenly Demon Light Destruction Cannon—!"
A beam of terrifying destructive and piercing power shot from the fingertips of the twin-tailed maiden, punching fist-sized holes through everything along its one-li path—trees, boulders, even the very earth itself.
"Ooh—hohoho♥ Noob♥ Noob♥ This one is the greatest under heaven, the greatest of all ages……"
"That is quite enough, Master."
Wham—!
The maiden had been flashing a victory sign with her index and middle fingers and letting out a haughty laugh like some pampered young lady, but the young master—who had already circled behind her—delivered a sharp knuckle rap loaded with internal energy and sent her crashing down.
"Agh-euut, that huuurts…… You noob……"
Even though it was only a knuckle rap, the blow to the back of her head had been packed with true force; an ordinary first-class expert caught unprepared would have died on the spot. Yet she merely teared up and complained that it hurt.
The young master clicked his tongue, pretending not to notice while once again marveling at the maiden’s incomprehensibly tough body.
"Tsk tsk. Just how long do you intend to keep using that technique……"
"Ugh-eu…… It is the technique from this one’s favorite light novel! A noob like you would never understand!"
In truth the maiden had little choice but to use it; the move was one of the few things that remained clear in her fragmentary memories of a popular light novel. She did not strictly need to shout the name or strike the pose, yet the character who had once stirred her girlish heart left her no other option.
"This one shall use it until the day she dies, so you…… Wait. Who are you, that you dare assault this one?"
Seeing her fail to remember him made the young master’s brow furrow and his chest ache faintly, yet he answered in a calm, even voice as though nothing were amiss.
"Only last time you were calling yourself Mae Sugakhee, were you not?"
"Ah—right. You were the one who gave this one that title. No wonder you seemed useful for a noob."
Even her original moniker had grown hazy, yet she still remembered “Mae Sugakhee” because she had found the name utterly delightful.
Only then did the maiden—Mae Sugakhee—look the young master over carefully.
"Hmm…… You’ve gotten rather pretty for a noob, haven’t you? If it weren’t this one, she might not have recognized you. Of course you still fall short of this one’s beauty♥ Noob♥"
"Haa…… You failed to recognize me from the very start…… Anyway, let us get to the point. Why did you dine and dash?"
"Eh, um? Who knows……? This one has no memory of the affairs of mere noobs—"
Even as she spoke, Mae Sugakhee stared blatantly into empty air and pretended to whistle.
"Tsk tsk. Are you deliberately making it obvious you’re lying…… Your clothes are a mess. Did you lose everything gambling somewhere?"
When the young master pressed harder, her face flushed scarlet; apparently even she found the dine-and-dash embarrassing.
"I-it is not this one’s fault! She clearly handed them money, yet the noobs insisted it was not money at all!"
As “evidence” she produced a cute cherry-blossom pouch filled with ancient coins that only antique collectors would ever seek out.
"Banliang and wuzhu coins……? No matter how long you have lived, using currency from the Han and Qin eras is a bit much, is it not……? Have you not changed at all in the last ten years?"
"Bah, this one knows nothing of such things! After she finished eating they said her money was not money—what else was she supposed to do?!"
"Haa……"
Knowing her circumstances, the young master could understand her frustration—somewhat. Only somewhat.
"……Even so, you have already forgotten yesterday’s dine-and-dash and done it again the next day more than thirty times in Cheonju alone. Roughly once a day."
"Eeh……?! This one did that?!"
"……Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through going to the yamen to smooth things over, paying your bills, and hunting you—Master…… Mae Sugakhee—down?"
Watching the Heavenly Demon—Mae Sugakhee—widen her eyes in pure astonishment, the young master barely restrained the urge to give her another solid smack.
Perhaps the problem was that she had artificially repeated the rejuvenation process over and over to preserve her youth across the centuries. The already slightly scatterbrained beauty of a master had now fully become a haughty little brat who believed herself a twenty-one-year-old sheltered maiden.
"Haa…… Then let us do this. I will cover every dine-and-dash and supply whatever money you need for the time being. In return, travel with me for a while. How does that sound?"
"You will supply the money……? Ah……♥ Understood. Understood♥ So the noob has fallen for this one and is throwing money at her♥"
She swayed her twin-tails with that uniquely punchable, smug little smile. A vein throbbed on the young master’s forehead; his fist clenched tight.
"Th-that aside…… Let us hurry to the dormitory I own. ……Hm?!"
"Noob♥ This pouch is mine now♥"
In the brief instant his anger distracted him, Mae Sugakhee’s monstrous physical ability let her snatch the money pouch hanging at his waist.
"It jingles so much♥ Rich noob♥"
Already ten paces away and shaking the silver-filled pouch, she watched him grind his teeth.
Crunch—
"So you want to play, is that it……?!"
A murderous sound escaped between his molars as his body shot forward like a cannonball.
……………
"Noob♥ Chasing this one so desperately♥ You were a perverted noob all along♥"
"Kugh…… When I catch you…… I’m going to lift you up and slam you down……!"
Having completely lost his composure—and even his usual speech patterns—the young master poured everything into his lightness skill, yet Mae Sugakhee, who had forgotten nearly all her martial arts, still matched him with raw physical ability alone.
"Your legs are decent for a noob♥"
After a while of this love-chase game, the young master realized it would never end and decided to use his head instead.
"Ah, a Dragon Pill……!"
The method: stare into empty air and claim that a treasure from her favorite light novel was floating there.
"Ah, where……?!"
Even a three-year-old would not have fallen for such clumsy acting, yet the maiden whose mind had been reset to pure innocence swallowed the bait whole.
"The Dragon Pill belongs to this one……! Where is it?!"
While she was distracted, the young master closed in and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Ah……! You caught this one, noob♥"
For all her earlier teasing, the moment their bodies touched she made no real effort to escape, only casting him a coquettish glance.
"Perverted noob♥ Does this one’s body tempt you so much?"
Though her mind had been bleached into that of a twenty-one-year-old maiden, her body still remembered its former habits. She wore a scandalously revealing outfit of unknown origin, and even without perfume a sweet, fresh peach scent clung to her. Lightly damp with sweat, she subtly ground her hips against his groin while looking up at him with half-lidded eyes.
"………."
He had already decided to stop calling her Master after seeing that she no longer remembered him, yet here was the person who was essentially his master, memory-lost and openly seducing him. The situation was absurd—yet paradoxically he felt the black desire sleeping in his gut stir and writhe.
……………
Even so, the young master exerted his willpower and crushed that dark hunger back down. In the end he did not spend the night with Mae Sugakhee in the forest.
"……Ahem. If you have calmed down, follow me. The sun is already setting."
Dealing with her any longer would have kept them out well past midnight—possibly until dawn. He had no great objection to outdoor affairs, but if he was going to do it he preferred somewhere comfortable. The days when he would take any place so long as he could get dirty were long behind him.
"Hmph. Boring noob."
Mae Sugakhee looked disappointed that he had not pounced, yet she still understood she was short of money and followed in silence.
Haa, I wonder how those two are doing……
He had left Yu Gaeul and Im Seowol in Maeng Harang’s care, yet Mae Sugakhee had delayed him considerably. Of course he would later receive detailed records and recordings, but just how thoroughly had Maeng Harang broken them in by now?
Caught between anticipation and worry, he drifted into thought—until Mae Sugakhee tugged on his arm.
"Distracted noob. Standing right beside this one yet thinking of other people?"
"Ha.ha.ha. Of course not. ……By the way, have you found a method that would allow a man to become pregnant?"
"Hm……? How does a noob like you know about that?"
She tilted her head and asked with perfect innocence. His forehead twitched again, but he quickly smoothed it into a calm smile.
"If you do not wish to say, then do not. A pity. Had you answered honestly I would have bought you pudding……"
It was a childish push-and-pull, yet once more Mae Sugakhee fell for it completely.
"Ah—! Underhanded noob! Fine. But you must buy it, understand? ……This one has heard rumors of a mountain village, an uninhabited island, and a temple where even men can become pregnant……."