Chapter 206 |
Sidriel finished preparing to go to the 3rd Corps immediately.
“I can go anytime.”
“I’ll give you a moment.”
Sidriel silently nodded.
Sara Dunphy and Choi Hyun-seok moved to a slightly distant place to talk.
“Park Hyun-a’s treatment won’t be done in a day or two.”
“Then what should we do?”
“I think it would be best for me and Park Hyun-a to return to the Mariette Kingdom.”
Sara Dunphy must accompany Park Hyun-a for her recovery.
Sara Dunphy was the only one who knew this.
“Since we need a high-level healer, working with Abelson Mariette is inevitable.”
Sara Dunphy couldn’t treat Park Hyun-a because she uses demonic energy.
Then the only options left were Abelson or Rachel, but since Rachel couldn’t be far from Choi Hyun-seok, they had no choice but to work with Abelson.
“The problem is that it’s too dangerous for Park Hyun-a to teleport right now.”
“Hmm, flying by magic would be too much as well. It would take over a month.”
Park Hyun-a’s magical vessel would break if she went even a day without treatment.
Long-term travel was also impossible.
“So spatial movement magic is all that’s left.”
“We’ll have to observe her condition more to see if she can endure spatial movement magic. I think three days should be enough.”
“Three days…”
Choi Hyun-seok trailed off and turned his gaze.
He glanced at Sidriel, who was standing alone looking blank, and whispered quietly.
“I don’t mind… But that friend over there. They seem quite eager, will it be okay?”
Although Sidriel’s face is expressionless and seems to show no emotion, that was just her expression.
She couldn’t stay still, constantly twisting her body and occasionally glancing this way, seeming like she wanted to ask when they would depart.
“I’ll speak to that young lady.”
“Understood.”
Sara Dunphy approached Sidriel.
The two talked quietly.
Watching them, Choi Hyun-seok pondered the word ‘young lady’ that Sara Dunphy had used.
‘Young lady…’
Though about 90 years old, when converted to human age it would be mid to late teens, so the expression ‘young lady’ wasn’t wrong.
However, her appearance was closer to that of a refined young man, so he still wasn’t used to the fact that Sidriel was female.
“Looking closely, she is certainly pretty…”
Setting aside the overall atmosphere and examining each facial feature individually, Sidriel is beautiful.
If she grew out her hair and changed her atmosphere, maybe the disconnect with the term ‘young lady’ would disappear.
While having such idle thoughts, suddenly Rachel’s sigh was heard.
“Sigh~ Always like this with women!”
For a moment, a vein popped on Choi Hyun-seok’s forehead, but he held back as he didn’t want to interrupt their conversation.
A moment later.
Sara Dunphy returned after finishing their talk.
“She says she understands.”
“That’s good.”
Sidriel’s expression remained as emotionless as before.
However, the atmosphere had changed subtly.
Slumping down on a rock and staring blankly, she seemed disappointed that she couldn’t leave immediately.
Choi Hyun-seok turned his gaze back to Sara Dunphy.
“So we’re departing in three days?”
“We’ll have to check her condition again then, but I’m almost certain.”
“Understood.”
“Until then, you should rest and take time to adjust to your grown body.”
“Yes.”
Choi Hyun-seok had leveled up in various ways after killing the Demon King.
As Sara Dunphy said, it seemed he should spend time moving his body moderately to adjust.
***
“Ugh, ahhh-!”
Park Hyun-a’s treatment continues.
The desperate screams had become familiar background noise after continuing for over a day.
Choi Hyun-seok sat on a rock, staring blankly at the sky.
‘Nothing to do.’
Being alone and doing nothing.
This was surprisingly painful.
Sara Dunphy and Rachel were focused on Park Hyun-a’s treatment.
Left alone without anyone to talk to, Choi Hyun-seok was bored.
“Hmm…”
As a result, Choi Hyun-seok’s main activity became observing Sidriel.
Sidriel was the only potential conversation partner in this situation.
She too was spending time staring blankly like Choi Hyun-seok.
The difference was that she moved even less actively than Choi Hyun-seok.
‘Like a stone statue.’
Sidriel really did nothing at all.
At first, she seemed interested in Park Hyun-a’s treatment process and watched briefly, but that didn’t last long.
Soon she sat on a rock a little distance away and became like a waiting widow’s statue.
The only time she made a sound was after meals.
“Thank you for the meal.”
She would bow her head in greeting and then return to sitting on the rock like a statue.
Choi Hyun-seok decided to try talking to Sidriel.
‘Since we’ll be moving together for a while, it would be good to know more about each other.’
After Park Hyun-a’s treatment ends, he would have to move with just Sidriel anyway.
It would be better in many ways to get to know each other beforehand.
Choi Hyun-seok carefully moved to Sidriel’s side.
Sidriel glanced up briefly before turning her gaze away and starting to space out again.
“Ahem, hem!”
Sidriel turned back at Choi Hyun-seok’s fake cough.
Her eyes asked what business he had.
“Um… Don’t you get bored just staying still like that?”
“I’m used to it.”
“But staying too still might make you stiff…”
“Not at all.”
Sidriel continued speaking with an expressionless face.
“I wasn’t supposed to be known to exist. So since birth, I had to stay alone underground in the Demon King’s castle.”
“Always? Your whole life?”
“Yes. Father came occasionally, but not for long. I was mostly alone.”
Sidriel spoke matter-of-factly as if it was nothing.
“So for me, solitude is as natural as breathing.”
The girl remained expressionless even while saying she spent nearly 100 years alone.
Choi Hyun-seok felt an ache in his heart.
‘Living alone her whole life with father being the only person she occasionally met…’
What would it feel like to spend a hundred years in loneliness?
Moreover, he had killed her father, who was her only companion.
Being human, Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t help but feel guilty.
‘This won’t do.’
He felt he needed to say something.
“Then what about your mother?”
“She died right after giving birth to me because the secret had to be kept.”
“Ah…”
Choi Hyun-seok’s face turned bewildered, his eyes darting around frantically.
‘Shit… This isn’t right…?’
The conversation was sinking deeper into the darkness with each word.
At this rate, he would feel depressed and guilty every time he looked at Sidriel’s face.
‘Right. First, I should apologize!’
Choi Hyun-seok decided to apologize for killing the Demon King first.
It was somewhat ridiculous for a hero to apologize for such a thing, but.
Right now, he felt he needed to do at least this much.
“Um… About killing the Demon King, that is…”
“You don’t need to worry about father’s death.”
“Huh?”
“Father wanted to die anyway. He was too old, and would have died soon even if left alone.”
Choi Hyun-seok nodded with a bitter expression.
‘Even the last resort failed.’
There was no way now.
He didn’t have the ability to save this depressed girl.
‘No. There’s still one thing left.’
Suddenly, a good idea flashed in Choi Hyun-seok’s mind.
He opened his inventory and checked something tucked away in a corner.
“Hehehe…”
His secret weapon.
This would surely blow away this demon girl’s depression in one go.
“Hey, will you come with me for a moment?”
“What is it?”
“There’s something I want to show you.”
Sidriel got up without saying anything in particular.
Choi Hyun-seok walked with her into the forest.
“Good. This should be far enough.”
“What did you want to show me?”
“This.”
Choi Hyun-seok took out a yellow fruit from his inventory.
“What is this?”
“Dusebaryche.”
“Dusebaryche?”
“It means ‘Sweet Greed.'”
Sidriel repeated the words ‘Sweet Greed’ with a serious expression.
“That’s a dangerous name.”
“Dangerous? Do you know how precious this is!”
Choi Hyun-seok grinned and wrapped the surroundings with mana.
He was blocking the scent from leaking out.
“Sweet Greed… This yellow fruit is precious?”
“Of course. This is an incredibly delicious fruit.”
At the mention of fruit, Sidriel showed recognition.
“Ah, so this is a fruit. If it’s fruit, I’ve eaten some that father gave me before.”
Choi Hyun-seok wagged his index finger.
“No, no! This isn’t like those common fruits. This is the most delicious fruit in the world!”
He chose a flat rock, dusted it off, and carefully placed the fruit on it.
“This is really precious. I only have five of these.”
“If it’s precious, there’s no need to give it to me. I don’t place much importance on eating anyway…”
“Never mind that just sit down!”
Choi Hyun-seok pressed down on Sidriel’s shoulders to make her sit.
He also sat down and carefully held the fruit.
“Now, I’ll cut it.”
Choi Hyun-seok swallowed hard and released a tiny amount of mana.
The golden fruit was cut in half.
Simultaneously, an incredible fragrance spread in all directions.
“T-this…?”
For the first time, a proper expression appeared on Sidriel’s face.
Her eyes grew so large they looked like they might pop out.
She was shocked by the dizzying fragrance she had never smelled before in her life.
“I-i-i-is this okay?”
“What is?”
“Such a fragrance… It’s dangerous… too stimulating… Oof!”
Choi Hyun-seok pushed a piece of the fruit directly into Sidriel’s mouth.
After a moment of surprise, Sidriel’s jaw slowly moved.
Gulp-
The fruit smoothly slid down her throat.
Sidriel looked at Choi Hyun-seok with dazed eyes.
“Uh… This is…”
“Want more?”
Sidriel nodded like someone in a trance without answering.
When given another piece, she silently put it in her mouth.
Choi Hyun-seok also ate a piece.
‘Ah, this is it…’
His eyes naturally closed as ecstasy washed over him.
“You… Choi Hyun-seok, was it…? Where is this…?”
Her voice had become somewhat dreamy.
Choi Hyun-seok also mumbled with unfocused eyes.
“This is heaven.”
“I see… So this is heaven…”
Sidriel nodded with an enraptured expression.
“Heaven. It’s the best.”
“The best.”
***
“Phew, that’s enough for today.”
As soon as Sara Dunphy spoke, groaning sounds came from both sides.
“Damn… This is really impossible.”
“Ugh, Rachel is tired. I miss the days when I was just a lazy bee, no, just lazy…”
Rachel muttered while sprawled out on a rock.
“By the way, where did the hero go?”
“The Demon King’s daughter is also nowhere to be seen.”
“Did something happen?”
The three looked around, but Choi Hyun-seok and Sidriel were nowhere to be found.
“Hmm, I can sense the hero in that direction.”
Rachel could instantly locate him no matter how well he hid because she was connected to Choi Hyun-seok.
“Let’s go check it out.”
The group slowly moved in the direction she pointed.
Soon, strange noises began to be heard from one side.
“Hahahahaha…!”
“Kheek, hek, khehehe!”
The group looked at each other with serious expressions.
“What is this?”
“Did something happen…”
“Let’s speed up.”
As they ran, Choi Hyun-seok’s presence grew closer.
The bizarre noises also grew louder.
Finally, after passing a huge tree, the two came into view.
“Hahaha! Choi Hyun-seok! Heaven! We must go to heaven!”
“Wait! I’ll send you there right now!”
There were a man and woman laughing like mad people with relaxed expressions.
Yellow peels were scattered on the ground, familiar to Park Hyun-a and Rachel.
“Huh? They’re gone?”
Choi Hyun-seok blinked while rummaging through his inventory.
All the Dusebaryche had disappeared.
“Strange. I had five of them, where did they all go?”
“Choi Hyun-seok! They’re on the ground! The ground!”
“Oh? You’re right! Heheheheh!”
“You’re completely stupid! Hahahahaha!”
They laughed for a long while, finding something incredibly funny about the fruit peels on the ground.
Sara Dunphy looked at them with a serious expression.
“What happened? Did they fall victim to enemy mind magic?”
Sara Dunphy didn’t know about Dusebaryche.
That’s why she misunderstood that Choi Hyun-seok had fallen victim to an enemy’s mental attack.
“Strange. I don’t sense any traces of magic…”
Park Hyun-a heaved a deep sigh.
“It’s not that. It’s the substance in that fruit that’s the problem.”
“Substance?”
“Yeah, there’s something like that. Anyway, that idiot…”
Meanwhile, Rachel was upset.
“Hero! That’s unfair!”
She flew to Choi Hyun-seok and punched him in the chest.
“Huh? Rachel?”
“You promised to eat them secretly with me!”
“Hey hey! There’s still lots left! Look here!”
“Those are just peels!!!”
Rachel shouted and approached the fruit remains.
Something caught her eye as she knelt down with a dumbfounded expression.
‘That…’
A bit of fruit flesh is left on the peel.
Because Choi Hyun-seok’s mind was hazy, he hadn’t cleaned the peels properly, leaving some flesh behind.
Rachel swallowed hard.
‘C-come on, have some dignity!’
She was a dedicated fairy.
She was supposed to be God’s apostle.
She absolutely couldn’t do something as pathetic as licking fruit scraps.
Just then, Park Hyun-a’s angry voice was heard.
“Get it together, you idiots!”
Even when Park Hyun-a hit them on the back of their heads, the two just kept laughing, finding something incredibly funny.
During this time, Rachel carefully approached the fruit peels.
‘I-I’ll eat it secretly… If no one knows, I can maintain my dignity!’
Just as she was about to lick the flesh stuck to the peel.
“Ow! Why are you doing this~”
Choi Hyun-seok, pushed by Park Hyun-a’s punch, stepped on the fruit flesh.
Squish-!
The fruit flesh remnants burst out.
Rachel screamed while kneeling.
“N-nooooo-!”
Thanks to the hero who defeated the Demon King, the fairy was able to maintain her dignity that day.
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