Summer Vacation (4)

Guildmaster Kwon Yongha was fiddling with my forearm.

He had a totally crazed expression, as if he'd been either brainwashed or charmed.

Should I say he looked like a child drooling at the sight of delicious snacks?

No, to be precise, it was more like someone's eyes sparkling after falling head over heels for a beautiful woman.

'I knew roughly that he had a survival-of-the-fittest ideology, but...'

The weak must be devoured by the strong.

The weak can never stand on equal footing with the strong.

Because Kwon Yongha was so stubbornly fixated on this philosophy, Sang-ah inevitably suffered unfair treatment at the mansion.

'What a crazy bastard.'

But apparently, to those who aren't the weak, he's endlessly nice.

Given his ideology, he seems to openly like those who are strong, much like himself.

For example, when meeting a strong person, he might invite them to join his organization.

But this was beyond mere fondness; it was just madness.

──────────────────[A mission has been issued. (Rare)]- The leader of a major guild has become captivated by you. Seduce him even further.

On completion: Significant karma increase (physical restoration 0.5%).──────────────────

There had never been a mission as absurd as this one.

What? He's captivated by me?

This bearded old man?

'Don't make such a loving face with that boomer mug of yours.'

I was barely holding back the urge to vomit.

And if that wasn't enough, now I had to seduce this perverted bastard?

There's a limit to this kind of shit.

"By any chance..."

By any chance, what?

"Won't you become mine?"

Pffft! Uuweeek—!

Not even joking, I couldn't hold back my disgust and actually started gagging.

I was barely stopping myself from throwing up today's lunch.

Become his?

Is he out of his mind?

It made me even more nauseous, the way he was saying it like a confession.

"Are you alright? Why are you suddenly acting like that?"

Why? Why do you think.

It's all because of you.

"I'm fine. You just said something so shocking, that's all."

"Ah... I see. For a student like you, it must have been quite a sensitive expression. I apologize."

Even if an adult heard it, it'd be intolerable, you lunatic.

I wanted to punch him in the face then and there, but was holding back with the utmost patience.

Especially looking at that love-drunk face.

"So, to the point... You're saying you won't harm me in any way, right?"

"Yes. Same goes for your family."

Kwon Yongha responded kindly to me.

It was still laced with affection, so it was revolting, but I could at least sense some sincerity.

"Hearing you say that, I feel relieved."

"We've chatted for too long. Let's continue our previous conversation."

Sang-ah's mother's origins.

Kwon Yongha was at least someone who knew she was not a native of Earth.

The entirety of her records had been fabricated, with Kwon Yongha intentionally creating an Earth identity for her.

"I'm curious how you met Sang-ah's mother."

"Before I tell you that, there's something I want to confirm."

"What is it?"

"Do you have enough value that you won't regret hearing it?"

I frowned at his suddenly strict attitude.

I expected something like this, but it was a bit ridiculous.

"I already know about Sang-ah's mother's homeland."

"Is that all you're offering for a give-and-take?"

The nuance was as if, through me, he had something to gain, but he was still demanding a lot of value from me.

His kindness from moments before felt almost fake.

From what Sang-ah had told me, he was certainly not a good person.

"May I hold your hand for a moment?"

"..."

But I could roughly guess what this old man wanted.

Even if he was wary, I didn't sense any malice toward me.

It just felt like he wanted to test me.

I took his hand... and revealed a bit of my true self.

"...!!"

In Kwon Yongha's eyes, a demon with horns and wings appeared.

The demon channeled magic power into his grasped hand.

Feeling that power, Kwon Yongha broke into a cold sweat and instinctively let go.

It was like touching static electricity—no, more accurately, the tensed look of someone who'd nearly stuck their hand inside a beast's throat.

"This is..."

Kwon Yongha stared blankly at the palm that had touched the demon.

And then, sitting before him again was not a 'demon', but 'Ma Seongjin.'

"Did I just... see that wrong?"

"You're free to interpret it as you like."

Kwon Yongha's eyes widened at my sudden return to human form.

Then, the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward and he burst out laughing.

"Hahahahaha! The more I see you, the more interesting you become. Well then, fine."

Kwon Yongha looked pleased, as if he'd finally learned what he wanted.

To gauge my strength—that's all this old man wanted.

A simple yet weighty demand.

"Then... I suppose I should start from that point."

Soon, past stories of how he first met her began to pour from Kwon Yongha's lips.

It was about 15 years ago, while he was exploring an S-rank gate in Gangwon Province.

He said that, faced with a hellish level of difficulty far beyond any A-rank gate, countless party members had died.

But as they died, Kwon Yongha felt nothing in particular.

They had entered knowing what might happen.

Above all...

—They died because they were weak.

Even then, Kwon Yongha was strong.

As his party fell away, he managed to keep himself alive.

And for that, the other party members resented him.

He knew this, but could only sigh in response.

—Typical behavior for lowlifes.

On the prearranged day of the S-rank gate raid, they plotted to kill Kwon Yongha.

If they killed him inside the gate and blamed it on monsters, it would be the perfect crime.

Once Kwon Yongha was dead, all the spoils of the raid would be theirs.

It was almost convenient, as he was always a pain to look at.

So they tried to assassinate him as planned... and spectacularly failed.

—Did you really think I wouldn't notice that you'd poisoned my canteen?

He had already swapped out his canteen in advance.

But back then, Kwon Yongha still had some remnants of humanity.

So he gave them a chance instead of killing them outright...

—And after all, I gave you a chance.

But they ignored his warning and attacked anyway.

They'd always despised him, and without him, they said all the rewards would be theirs, so he should step aside since he'd already enjoyed enough.

Those were the kinds of excuses they offered.

—Bullshit.

With overwhelming strength, Kwon Yongha beat them to the ground.

Even though it was a one-against-many fight, none of them could take him down.

Considering this was an S-rank gate and the party was made up of both A- and S-rankers, it was terrifying.

—Their ranks shouldn't have been low at all.

Those crawling under them are bound to swarm like insects.

But, blinded by inferiority, they tried something like this.

And even after being given a chance to live, they stubbornly clung to their desire to kill him.

Looking down at his bloodied rivals, Kwon Yongha thought:—Not worth associating with.

The more he looked, the more pathetic they seemed.

That's all the weak are: a breed like this.

Never trying to climb on their own, always stealing or breaking someone else's ladder to pull others down—trash, the lot of them.

—Some things never change.

Because their minds are rotted by laziness, they'll never think about growing stronger.

So instead of climbing with their own legs, all they do is try to drag others down.

All because they haven't gone through real hardship.

The weak must always experience a hellish ordeal—regardless of age or frailty. Even if it's your own child.

—Hm?

It was then.

Just as he was about to leave after finishing them off.

A woman appeared and sat in front of the fallen bastards.

He thought she might be a monster, but she looked human; then, he thought she might be human, but she had horns on her head.

Then was she a Mutamit awakened being? But... that woman wasn't part of their party.

Given that the only hunters in the gate were their group...

—Who on earth is she?

Kwon Yongha kept his guard up against the mysterious woman.

After all, she could be a monster disguised as a human.

But the woman started healing the fallen ones.

Strange magic power flowing from her hands mended wounds inflicted by Kwon Yongha.

—Who are you?—...

Even as he questioned her, the woman kept healing.

Once she finished treating them, she slowly approached Kwon Yongha.

When she reached out her hand, Kwon Yongha immediately tried to draw the greatsword strapped to his back.

But then—

—Hm?

The wounds he'd gotten fighting those guys were healed.

It was all because of the magic power flowing from the woman's hand.

And, when she finished the healing, the woman collapsed.

She didn't care whether you were enemy or ally—healing everyone without discrimination was just absurd.

And they weren't even acquaintances.

Yet he was strangely curious and couldn't just walk away.

A woman shrouded in mystery, appearing in the middle of an S-rank gate.

Wondering about her true identity, he picked her up and carried her piggyback.

That's when it happened.

Swoosh—!

Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air toward Kwon Yongha's head, but he sensed it and deftly caught it.

Then, a horde of people suddenly jumped out and surrounded him.

—What's going on?

People appearing out of nowhere in the middle of an S-rank gate.

What was this situation?

Moreover, there was something odd about their appearances.

Instead of modern clothes, some wore outfits like primitive men, or ones reminiscent of medieval knights.

This was true of the horned woman as well.

—Something smells fishy.

Intrigued, Kwon Yongha grinned.

And then—

"So... what happened next?"

Suddenly, Kwon Yongha cut off the story.

The mysterious figures who showed up in the S-rank gate.

They were definitely from Mewzealand.

"Tell me quickly!"

"..."

I pressed him aggressively.

For people from there to cross into Earth was no trivial thing.

Even though I'd destroyed the Reveli Kingdom as the Demon King, there were probably still survivors.

If their discriminatory ideology seeped into Earth, that would be a true catastrophe.

Considering discrimination against Mutamit is already rampant here, Earth could end up just like Mewzealand.

'He mentioned soldiers wearing armor, right?'

Those must have been soldiers from the Reveli Empire that I'd collapsed.

As is typical in Mewzealand, those trash treat all non-humans as less than people.

"You want to know?"

"Yes!"

Kwon Yongha's expression grew ever more serious.And then—

"To be continued!"

"You son of a bitch!"

"Argh, ow ow ow!"

I lost it and grabbed Kwon Yongha by the hair, giving him a shake.

What's this "to be continued in the next episode" nonsense.

Where did this old boomer pick up second-rate cliffhanger moves like that?

This "Revealed in 60 seconds!" kind of stuff is so outdated, and yet he's pulling a "next episode" card.

"Calm down and let go of me so I can talk, will you?"

"You ended it as you pleased, now what could you possibly say?"

"About those outsiders who shot an arrow at me."

I let go, for now.

Kwon Yongha cleared his throat and continued.

"That horned woman was none other than her. She was being threatened by those outsiders."

After that, he'd carried the woman outside the gate and created an identity for her.

The name 'Kwon Su-yeon', written at her hospital room door now, was born then.

"Is this much information sufficient?"

"No. You still seem to be hiding a lot."

"..."

A sly smile lifted the corners of Kwon Yongha's lips.Anyone could see he was angling for more give-and-take.

"Then I'll periodically provide you with information. What will you offer me in return?"

He seemed to be quite interested in Mewzealand as well.

Just the fact that he fathered Sang-ah through her mother told me that much.

But Kwon Yongha's philosophy was considerably dangerous.

If someone like him got exposed to Mewzealand's ideology, who knew what sort of disaster would unfold.

So I decided not to provide any information about that world.

Instead...

"Guildmaster, do you want strong offspring?"

"...?"

"I can help you with that."

For someone so obsessed with survival of the fittest... there's an offer he could never refuse.

****

Meanwhile, silence reigned outside the hospital room.

They were dying to know what was going on inside, but unfortunately couldn't hear a thing.

Kwon Yongjun asked, doubtful:"Hey, you peon. What's with your friend anyway? Who is he really?"

"..."

Kwon Yongjun referring to his own sister, Kwon Sang-ah, with such disdain.

His attitude prompted Kang Minji, the lawful wife, to chime in as well.

"I totally can't figure you out, bitch. Just trying desperately to get in your father's good graces, right? Isn't that it?"

Whether at the mansion or here, this woman was always the same.

If Sang-ah seemed the slightest bit happy, she'd immediately try to ruin it.

She enjoyed toppling carefully built towers with glee.

There was only one thing to say to someone like her.

"It's nothing special. He's just a friend."

"What?"

"Don't give me that crap!"

The two snapped back in identical fashion.

In the past, Sang-ah might have shriveled in fear, but not anymore.

She had learned more than just magic power discipline from Ma Seongjin.

'Someday you'll become superior to those people.'

'Don't be negative. That day will surely come.'

'And when the time comes, take advantage of your strengths.'

'Don't cower. Use your strengths as a weapon to crush them.'

Recalling those lessons, Sang-ah responded:"What business is it of yours who I meet?"

"Wha... What?!!"

"Hahaha! Guess your brain cells rotted while I wasn't looking."

Kwon Yongjun reflexively gathered magic power into his fist.

With his other hand, he grabbed Kwon Sang-ah by the collar.

"You little...!"

"Are you sure you want to do this with Dad in the hospital room?"

"What...?"

"You forgot what Dad said just now?"

Any further commotion would lead not just to coughing up blood, but worse—that was the warning.

Remembering this, Kwon Yongjun had no choice but to let Sang-ah go.

"It's not my brain cells that are rotten—sounds like yours are."

"You damn wretch...!!"

"Shush."

Freed, Sang-ah covered her mouth with a smug grin.

Seeing that, the two felt their brains boiling like lava.

Clack—

At that moment, the hospital room door opened.

Seeing Kwon Yongha emerge, both of them froze.

Maybe he was mad about the commotion?

But...

"See you next time, friend."

"Anytime."

Kwon Yongha was, unexpectedly, beaming.

He bumped fists with the boy he'd spoken to, a show of camaraderie.

The two watched, eyes wide in disbelief.

'Friend?'

'He called him "friend"??'

There's no way the cold-blooded Kwon Yongha would act like that.

Just what on earth went on inside?

[You have successfully completed your mission! (Rare)][Reward granted.]

Meanwhile, the boy smiled as he looked at his completed mission.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=I'm glad Seongjun's ass is safe...【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.