Chapter 98: Naturally, the Role of [Romeo] Belongs to Baek Tae-yang.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 98: Naturally, the Role of [Romeo] Belongs to Baek Tae-yang.
"Right now! I must transform this party venue into a Gate! Let’s go! Into the classic masterpiece, [Romeo and Juliet]!"
Riiiiiiip!
The moment he tore the plan—large enough to cover the entire table—in half, the surroundings began to dim.
It was the omen preceding the manifestation of a Gate, but since this was an exceptionally large one, the scale was on another level.
Because he intended to pour in a level of power so immense that even an Opener couldn't interfere, a great deal of preparation had been required.
"Normally, just tearing the plan would be enough, but..."
Having identified the exact cause of failure in the previous Gate, there was no room for complacency.
From the very beginning, he would fix the roles within the Gate completely, making it impossible for them to be swapped.
He would also fix the ending, ensuring the situation concluded in a way where only Min-su could reach the finale.
Not a single flaw could exist in this perfect operation.
"Furthermore, I even included a clause stating that no third party can interfere, directly or indirectly, with Romeo and Juliet."
Even if Baek Tae-yang tried to use some trick to intervene later, it would be futile.
The plan to perfectly unite Min-su and Melanie was being realized right here, right now.
"Bwahahahaha! Come! My special Gate! Swallow everything!"
He began to jump and wave his arms repeatedly, officially initiating the Gate's creation.
The surroundings grew darker.
The torn pieces of the plan merged back into one, transforming into a hole reminiscent of a black hole.
At the very moment that overwhelming power, seemingly capable of devouring everything, was about to expand according to Chubby Ahn's will—!
Ding!
"Huh?"
A message window caught Chubby Ahn's eye.
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Implementation of the S-Class Gate, Classic Masterpiece [Romeo and Juliet], is impossible.
To see the detailed reasons, please press [Next].
[Next]
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"...? What kind of bullshit is this?"
I'm the Author; how can anything be impossible?
If I write the story that way, it should just happen.
Though flustered by this unprecedented situation, Chubby Ahn couldn't overcome his curiosity and pressed [Next].
"The novel goes wherever the Author writes... what is this..."
He grumbled habitually as he read.
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The Author's requirements for the implementation of the S-Class Gate, Classic Masterpiece [Romeo and Juliet], are as follows:
Priority Condition 1: Fix the ending.
Priority Condition 2: All roles in the Classic Masterpiece [Romeo and Juliet] must be assigned to the individuals desired by the Author.
Priority Condition 3: Those playing the roles of [Romeo] and [Juliet] must not be influenced by any third party.
Currently, a problem has occurred regarding the second priority item, preventing the Gate from being implemented normally.
In the case of Melanie Airiel, who was chosen for the role of [Juliet], she possesses the dignity and qualities of nobility, and her appearance perfectly meets the requirements.
However, in the case of Kim Min-su, who was assigned the role of [Romeo], his recent actions and appearance are unsuitable, making it impossible for him to perform the role.
The Classic Masterpiece [Romeo and Juliet] is a work with such high public recognition that it has even been made into movies.
Consequently, the public's standards for appearance and dignity are very high, making it too much of a stretch for Kim Min-su to play the role of [Romeo].
Furthermore, as the Classic Masterpiece [Romeo and Juliet] involves many duels, it requires high combat performance capabilities.
Looking at Kim Min-su's recent record, not a single victory has been confirmed; therefore, it is judged that his probability of reaching the ending is low.
The recommended role for Kim Min-su is not [Romeo], but [Paris].
[Paris] is the fiancé of [Juliet] and the character who is defeated in the final duel with [Romeo].
He is judged to be a character similar to Kim Min-su, who lost So Yu-min and was defeated by Baek Tae-yang.
If Kim Min-su is assigned to the role of [Paris], the Gate can be generated immediately.
Do you agree?
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"What?"
Chubby Ahn's eyes, which were usually the size of millet seeds, widened to the size of buttons.
What on earth was he reading?
Thinking he might be hallucinating, he rubbed his eyes and did some light stretching.
Yet, the fact that the message remained unchanged meant this was reality.
"Min-su, the protagonist of this novel... can't be the protagonist of the story I'm creating within it?"
It was absurd.
Wait, wasn't an Author supposed to be able to do whatever they wanted?
Wasn't everything supposed to be implemented exactly as I wrote it?
"This is the power I gained for that very purpose... what... what is this...! No, then if our handsome Min-su is playing Paris-whatever, then who is Romeo!"
Though he shouted into the air, the message window responded to Chubby Ahn's words.
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Naturally, the role of [Romeo] belongs to Baek Tae-yang.
==================================
"...Eeeeeeek!!! Do you think I'd ever let myself be the one to link Baek Tae-yang and Melanie with my own hands? Absolutely not!!! Not a chance! Find a way for my cute Min-su to be Romeo, no matter what it takes!"
This time, the message window did not reply.
Chubby Ahn, unable to figure out how to cool the rage boiling up to the top of his head, began pacing around the room in circles.
Five minutes later.
With tears in his eyes, Chubby Ahn made an inevitable choice.
"F-fine... then scrap this Gate for now..."
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According to the Author's wishes, the Classic Masterpiece [Romeo and Juliet] Gate is being scrapped.
We look forward to a more wonderful Gate next time.
==================================
He had given up on implementing the Gate.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a way to snatch the [Romeo] position away from Baek Tae-yang.
He had considered giving up the priority conditions, letting Baek Tae-yang have the [Romeo] role for a moment, and then having Min-su steal it.
"...Min-su is just too weak right now..."
But he simply couldn't see Min-su defeating Baek Tae-yang while the latter held the [Romeo] role.
Min-su had already lost to Baek Tae-yang's [Magistrate Byun] while he himself was [Lee Mong-ryong].
If he lost to a supporting character while playing the lead, there was no way he could win when the roles were reversed.
"Do I have to pull some hidden pieces forward and dump them on him... but if I do that, I might not be able to write the story... wh-what... what should I do..."
Among the countless worries, there was only one conclusion Chubby Ahn could reach decisively.
"Since Min-su fainted, the party has to end too."
Because that was the only welfare he could provide for Min-su.
His bitter muttering filled the large room.
The Devil Chaos Ultra King was nowhere to be found.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Inside Melanie's limousine.
There sat a furious Melanie and me, working hard to appease her.
"I'm truly disappointed. How could you leave me alone and play around until the party ended?"
"No, the party just ended early. Why are you disappointed in me? I told you, I was going to come straight to you as soon as my business was done."
"Still! Even so! Shouldn't you have come to check on me at least once in the middle? Do you have any idea how bored I was, tucked away in that corner!"
"That's why I'm begging for forgiveness like this."
"You just made an excuse! You're justifying it!"
"I'm sorry. Really, I'm reflecting on it from the bottom of my heart."
The party had come to an abrupt end.
The host had ended it for some nonsensical reason, claiming there were personal circumstances.
For the party to stop so soon after Kim Min-su fainted.
Does that mean there's some deep connection between Kim Min-su and the Noble side?
Is it not just Noble unilaterally supporting Min-su, but Min-su providing some benefit to them as well?
What kind of help could that idiot possibly be to anyone?
'I'll have to look into this separately later.'
For now, soothing Melanie was the priority.
Melanie was expressing her absolute fury with her entire body.
She had her arms tightly crossed and her head turned away, refusing to even look in my direction.
"Even if you apologize! You didn't just come with me; you came as my bodyguard, so you should have at least made an effort! Leaving me like that...! Did you... did you like it that much when those women were rubbing their... their breasts against you!"
"I didn't want to do that either, but I had no choice because of Min-su. That guy is such a womanizer... that was the only way to get close to him. Do you really think I'd enjoy women rubbing their breasts on me?"
Actually, I did enjoy it.
I especially loved burying my face in Su-jin's massive tits and breathing her in.
"...It was because of Kim Min-su?"
Fortunately, the Min-su shield successfully blocked Melanie's wrath.
As expected, there was nothing quite like Min-su when the situation turned disadvantageous.
"Yeah. Like you said, why would I be doing that with other women when I have you? I'm your bodyguard, after all... But Min-su really grabbed onto me and wouldn't let go. He kept saying he couldn't pick up girls without me."
When you have momentum, you have to push it to the end.
I sensed that if I didn't appease Melanie now, I wouldn't get another chance.
Therefore, I put my heart and soul into trashing Min-su, strongly appealing to my own righteousness and the "unavoidable" nature of the situation.
"I understand, but I still don't like it. If a situation like this happens again later, I hope you won't act like that."
"Of course."
Having said that, Melanie looked down, shyly twirling her drill hair.
The look on her face that said, 'What did I just say?' was truly cute.
As I watched her with a smile, she noticed my gaze and glared at me sharply.
"You don't think my anger is completely gone just because the atmosphere improved a bit, do you?"
"Is it... not?"
She was a more difficult woman than I thought.
Judging by her tone, she looked like she was about to ask for a favor.
"Tomorrow is the day your Gate leave ends, right, Tae-yang?"
"That's... right?"
Uh-oh, I have a bad feeling about this.
"Then tomorrow... go to school with me."
"...Alright."
I'd have to go to school with Melanie while avoiding the gazes of Yu-min and Su-jin.
'The difficulty level is pretty high, isn't it?'
I was already feeling overwhelmed.