Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Please Don't Abandon Us
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The women's naked bodies were dyed red with blood.
"Haah... Haah."
Only their ragged breaths echoed through the room.
And on the floor lay mangled corpses unrecognizable as human shapes.
The sight of them standing there, their pale naked forms drenched in blood, almost resembled a scene straight out of a horror film.
"Hic..."
After a prolonged silence, the sound of the women beginning to sob one by one followed.
"Th-thank you."
The woman who had brought the sobbing group offered her gratitude.
Her body was splattered with a fair amount of blood as well. It was the boss's blood.
"Yeah."
Things seemed roughly wrapped up, so I rose to my feet.
The trip back would be quick if I flew.
'Looks like I can have dinner with the others tonight.'
"W-wait just a moment."
Her voice caught me as I started to leave.
I glanced at her.
"Wh-where to?"
"Where else? Business is done, so home."
Her eyes wavered at my words.
"Something to say?"
"........."
She seemed to have words, but I left her behind and took a step.
"P-please don't abandon us!!"
Suddenly, one of the women grabbed my leg.
"...?"
What was this about?
But that sparked it—women started clinging to me one after another.
"Please don't go!"
I couldn't fathom what was happening.
In my original world, I was something of a celebrity, so it might've made sense, but here? No clue why they were acting like this.
"W-we'll do anything."
As she spoke, I felt sly hands groping at my groin over the mana armor.
I undeniably like women.
But even naked, their blood-soaked state wasn't the least bit arousing.
"I don't get why you're coming at me like this."
"If you leave us behind, we'll be back to our old lives in no time."
"........."
You never know with people, but the odds were high.
None of them were Awakeners, from what I could tell.
Going elsewhere was dicey, and staying put seemed best for now.
But what if other guys showed up?
Optimism that they'd be decent folk was hard to come by.
So they were latching onto me—slightly more gentlemanly than the raiders I'd just wiped out.
"It may be shameless to demand more after you saved us... but please understand our desperation."
If they were men, I'd have been ruthless.
But those desperate, pleading eyes from the women left me no choice but to ponder it a bit.
Still, over twenty was a burden, even for a guy mad about women.
'Just dump them on the Cheonbu Sect?'
Those saps would probably take them happily for a few supplies.
Baek Seol-hwa quietly swung her sword on the rooftop, waiting for Park Un-ho.
The others had been sent to the Cheonbu Sect.
Her husband had told her to stay there too.
But she figured she could slip away alone if trouble arose. Plus, she wanted to be the first to greet her returning husband.
'He said if he handles it quickly, he might return today...'
At that moment, the sound of car engines came from the school gate.
Baek Seol-hwa sheathed her sword and moved to the rooftop fence to peer down.
Three military vehicles pulled up to the gate, and people disembarked.
'Those guys...'
Baek Seol-hwa knew who they were.
She had seen them before, when they came looking for her husband to get a generator.
It was the survivor group holed up in the army base across the river.
'Of all times, while my husband's away...'
Baek Seol-hwa knew how vital the generator was.
But the timing was too perfect for a simple follow-up request.
Their brazen entry onto the grounds didn't scream "trade."
At the direction of a man named Jang Seo-won, the people from the vehicles began swiftly infiltrating the school.
'Thieves after all... showing their true colors. No way... those ruffians were a planned diversion too...'
As Baek Seol-hwa scanned the faces of those who got out, her expression turned ice-cold.
'Senior Brother?! Why is Senior Brother here...'
Senior Brother Cheon Su-ho had been excommunicated and left the Cheonbu Sect.
Yet here he was, colluding with these thieves.
Suddenly, her senior brother started bellowing.
"Junior Sister, it's me!! Cheon Su-ho!"
Baek Seol-hwa found it odd that Cheon Su-ho was calling out to her.
"Junior Sister, I came to save you!!"
But his continued shouts left her baffled.
To come save her? It made no sense.
She hadn't planned to engage the thieves alone and had just intended to observe, but with Senior Brother Cheon Su-ho's appearance, she couldn't stay put.
Baek Seol-hwa leaped straight from the rooftop, landing before Cheon Su-ho.
"Junior Sister!!"
Here to steal, yet her senior brother greeted her with an inexplicable beaming smile.
But she could feel the soldiers behind Jang Seo-won carefully aiming their guns at her.
Baek Seol-hwa glanced at them before addressing Cheon Su-ho.
"Why are you here, Senior Brother!? Are you in league with these scoundrels?!"
"No, Junior Sister. I came to save you."
Baek Seol-hwa tilted her head.
"...What do you mean by that..."
"Exactly what I said. I came to save you. Come with me."
"I don't understand. If you withdraw now, I'll overlook it for old times' sake."
"Junior Sister, you don't need to go this far for your promise to that shameless cur!!"
"Senior Brother! Even you—insult my husband, and I won't stand idly by."
"H-husband? Husband?!"
Cheon Su-ho's face twisted in fury.
But it wasn't directed at Baek Seol-hwa. It was aimed at Park Un-ho.
Jang Seo-won sensed their conversation wasn't meshing.
Still, he had no intention of harming her.
She was the granddaughter of the Cheonbu Sect leader.
No need to poke the bear and make another enemy.
His plan was to grab the goods and leave.
Once back at the main camp, even if Park Un-ho returned, he couldn't touch them.
The camp bristled with weapons and superpowered individuals leagues beyond those raiders.
Park Un-ho might be strong, but he couldn't withstand the barrage from the main camp.
"Open your eyes! Junior Sister!! Come with me!"
"Senior Brother, enough with the nonsense."
"This differs quite a bit from what you described..."
Jang Seo-won grilled Cheon Su-ho with a sour expression.
"Th-that guy's got some weird power. He must've brainwashed you with it or something!"
"Senior Brother, did getting excommunicated drive you mad too?"
Cheon Su-ho looked like he might explode from frustration.
But Jang Seo-won had no time for their sibling squabble—a report crackled over the radio.
"One?"
The report from his subordinate infiltrating the school made him frown.
Just one generator found.
And it was in use.
To sell to the Cheonbu Sect, they should've had multiples, not one.
"Tch. Bring that one at least."
Baek Seol-hwa's face darkened at the words.
"The generator was your goal after all?"
"Yes. Do you know where any others might be?"
"You think I'd tell thieves that?"
From her attitude so far, Jang Seo-won hadn't expected much.
Per Cheon Su-ho, she should've cooperated easily, but something was off—her demeanor didn't match expectations.
'Hidden somewhere else? Should've surveilled longer.'
Rushing in haste might've been a blunder.
Still, taking the running one would provoke Park Un-ho. Might lead to discovering the rest.
And strangely, no sign of the other women besides Baek Seol-hwa.
Taking her hostage was tricky too. The Cheonbu Sect was a factor, and from Cheon Su-ho's tale, Park Un-ho didn't seem like a saint.
Recalling their direct encounter, the way he'd outright insulted him as a lolicon didn't paint him normal.
But no choice.
Had to take what was there.
"Grab what we've got."
He issued the order over the radio, and soon his men hauled out a fairly large generator.
They'd brought superpowered folks, so weight was no issue.
Baek Seol-hwa watched them load it onto the truck but couldn't act rashly.
Senior Brother aside, she instinctively sensed the man in the officer's uniform wasn't to be trifled with.
It was a calculated crime exploiting her husband's absence.
"My husband won't forgive this."
"I hope he doesn't."
Jang Seo-won actually wanted him to charge in blindly, thinking he'd gone to Jochiwon.
If rage overtook him and he stormed the camp, they could capture and interrogate him for the generators' locations.
"We're pulling out."
Jang Seo-won said to Cheon Su-ho, who still looked reluctant.
"Ju-junior Sister... really..."
Cheon Su-ho gazed at Baek Seol-hwa with pleading eyes.
"Senior Brother, excommunicated and reduced to thieving—I'm disappointed. Don't make me angrier."
Baek Seol-hwa was already furious at failing to stop the thieves stealing right in front of her; Cheon Su-ho's words only fueled it.