episode_0084

“Um~ Excuse me, Mr. White Tiger?”

“What is it?”

“Have you had anything that made you feel good recently…, or is there anything special?”

Lucy, who was examining White Tiger’s condition, asked out of the blue, and White Tiger’s face flushed for a moment.

Then White Tiger’s tail wagged gently, and his ears perked up and moved awkwardly.

He looked like he was embarrassed, no matter who saw it.

He may have lived a long time, but White Tiger doesn’t seem to be used to things like lies.

“Well…, I was locked up all the time. I guess it’s because I’ve become fully aware that I can roam around so freely now…, I think that’s it….”

Still, White Tiger did his best, hiding his embarrassment as much as possible. Of course, his voice became fainter as he went on.

Lucy looked at him and raised the corners of her mouth with a knowing smile and nodded.

“Sure~ That might be it. Actually, I was just asking because Mr. White Tiger’s condition seems to have become quite stable recently, so don’t be so nervous~”

“Um…, that’s for sure. It seems like Mr. White Tiger’s condition has been rapidly stabilizing recently.”

Seolrin nodded in agreement with Lucy’s words.

If Lucy is checking things like whether White Tiger’s vessel is opening with divine power, Seolrin is in charge of decocting medicinal herbs to detoxify White Tiger’s body of accumulated toxins. Thanks to that, it seems that Seolrin was also able to check White Tiger’s condition.

Of course, White Tiger felt as ashamed as if he had shown his naked body, and hurriedly headed towards White Lotus as if running away.

“Hmm~”

“What are you looking at.”

Lucy’s gaze, which had been looking at the receding White Tiger, soon reached me.

I lightly brushed off Lucy’s gaze and thought.

‘…Certainly, after a big release, White Tiger’s mental state seems to be very stable.’

After a great pounding of rice cakes.

White Tiger running out on his own and masturbating alone has completely disappeared.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he can’t stand his fever every night and runs out every night to pound rice cakes with me. After that one big release, White Tiger would come out slightly every night and have a light conversation with me, who was standing guard, before returning most of the time.

“Hero.”

“Ugh, what is it.”

“Did you do it?”

Lucy said with a slight raise of her lips, making a vulgar gesture that was unlike a nun.

Every time I see her, I wonder if this girl is really a nun.

…Ah, she said she was a vampire and succubus hybrid. Why is a girl like this a nun?

“Don’t talk nonsense, and if you’re done with your work, pack your bags quietly.”

“Isn’t it enough to just put everything in the Hero’s inventory? Is there any reason to pack?”

“What if we get shipwrecked and you get separated from me?”

“Is the Hero the type to break a stone bridge after tapping it?”

Currently, we have arrived at the village port and are spending the day.

Outside the tavern, it has been a long time since the isolation order was lifted, so there were quite a few merchants from the Salt Country.

And most of the Salt Country merchants were trying to buy food from Jo.

“When a war starts, what is the first thing that soars in value?”

“Of course, it’s food.”

“In other words, even ordinary merchants have noticed that there is a clear atmosphere of war in the Salt Country.”

“Well, that’s right. That person named Yang Ja-mun said that the Salt Emperor’s castle was a mess.”

After briefly looking around the village, I looked at the sea beyond.

* * *

Splash! Splash!

Having finished our preparations, we boarded the ship and were able to set sail safely.

The weather is clear.

The waves were moderate, so it was a good day for the ship to cut through the sea, as the sailor said, so it must be true.

“Hero.”

“Ugh, what is it again.”

I was looking at the sea, recalling the time I fought the Cultivation Demon King when I was cracking down on pirates, when Lucy spoke to me again.

“Aren’t you being too indifferent to me?”

“Can you just say it’s the result of your behavior?”

“I think I just acted normally….”

Lucy, who was shedding fake tears and grieving, shrugged her shoulders and said.

“Unexpectedly, both Mr. White Tiger and Ms. White Lotus suffered from severe seasickness.”

“Certainly…. White Tiger has the attribute of steel, and according to the Five Elements, steel and water are mutually beneficial, I heard.”

“Oh my, you know a lot about the Five Elements?”

“I’ve heard a lot.”

But White Tiger, who has the attribute of steel that is mutually beneficial with water, getting seasick is….

Is it because White Tiger’s own power is weak? Or is seawater treated differently?

Come to think of it, I think I heard that salt is bad for metal….

“Well, that’s not important. First of all, I want to contact the Holy Kingdom and tell them that I’ve found the Hero. Is that okay?”

“Do you have a means of contacting them?”

“Of course.”

Lucy nodded lightly and took out something like a crystal ball from her bosom.

“This is….”

I’ve seen it in the game.

Was it a communication orb? I’ve seen it in story cutscenes. I’ve never actually obtained it as an item.

“It’s a communication orb. It can communicate quite far, but it can’t show the appearance like a normal communication orb.”

“It looks like it. So? Why are you trying to report this with my permission?”

Lucy smiled at my question.

“Of course, isn’t it obvious? The Hero came to the Salt Country without revealing his whereabouts. Isn’t that because you don’t want others to know about your whereabouts yet? Do you still think it’s too early….”

“…Do as you please. I think things in the Salt Country are coming to an end anyway.”

“Hmm…, yes. I understand. I’ll do that. Then, I, the quick-witted nun, will leave.”

What is she saying.

Lucy disappeared, saying strange things.

And not long after Lucy disappeared, Seolrin approached me.

“Leon.”

“Seolrin, how are White Tiger and White Lotus?”

“I think they’ve calmed down for now. They’re sleeping now. I’m glad I had motion sickness medicine.”

“I know, right.”

Seolrin looked at the sea I was looking at for a moment.

I looked at Seolrin for a moment.

Seolrin always had a confident appearance, but somehow Seolrin’s appearance looked small now.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“If we go back to Sicheon…, we might have to kill your brother.”

“….”

Seolrin stopped talking for a moment at my comment.

Then she said quietly.

“I’m okay.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

Splash!

A wave struck the ship.

The ship hit by the wave swayed greatly. Of course, neither I nor the unmanned Seolrin were in a state of comically falling over because of such a thing.

“If my brother is a traitor, my brother would have tried to kill me first.”

That’s…, true.

The moment I first met Seolrin. Seolrin was under attack by the Beastmen Alliance and her life was threatened.

According to the story of the Cultivation Demon King later, if White Lotus and I had not passed by that place, she would have been dragged to the Beastmen Alliance and treated as a poison material to extract venom.

If that’s the case….

If Dang Seol-ryun is a traitor….

“If I don’t stop my brother, other members of the Dang Clan will be sacrificed.”

“That’s right.”

“So I’m going to stop him.”

Seolrin, who nodded to herself as if she had made a big decision, turned her gaze to me.

“So help me.”

“Yeah. Of course.”

* * *

On the third day of sailing.

Perhaps because the effects of the motion sickness medicine had begun to work, White Tiger and White Lotus occasionally came up on the deck.

But they mostly went back soon.

One day, as we were sailing through the sea.

“…Did you kill him?”

“Wow, is that what you say as soon as you meet me?”

The Cultivation Demon King appeared.

Of course, he didn’t appear while causing a splendid commotion.

When we first met, he showed an overwhelming spirit that crushed everyone in that place, but now his presence was so faint that no passing sailor could notice him.

“What the hell did this guy eat in the meantime? He’s become a monster?”

“Fight?”

“Master. Control your murderous intent. My body isn’t in good shape right now. If I tried to fight you in my current state, I would have my head cut off. I like to fight, but I don’t like to fight a losing battle.”

The Cultivation Demon King shrugged his shoulders and raised the corners of his mouth.

“I’m honestly quite looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of mess you’ll make.”

“I don’t know if I can live up to your expectations.”

“Have you met him? The Sword Demon kid.”

“Did you know?”

No, it’s natural that he knows.

The Cultivation Demon King was in a cooperative relationship with the Beastmen Alliance, and so was the Sword Demon.

If they were cooperating there, they would have had a chance to meet each other at least once.

“Now that I see it, the swords you and he use are quite similar.”

“I have the same master as a disciple.”

“Wow~ That’s quite tasty. My anticipation is growing even more, so I’m feeling good.”

It must be tasty from the point of view of a spectator.

I’m annoyed to death from my point of view.

“Then I’ll be on my way now that you look healthy.”

“Wait. I want to hear the answer to the question I asked before you go.”

“I’ve killed so many people, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Dokjon…, I’m talking about Dang Seol-pung.”

At my question, he nodded as if he had realized something and said.

“Ah, you’re talking about him. He was strong. He was quite strong. Thanks to him, I was satisfied. Of course, he was able to fight me because several lucky factors overlapped.”

“So did you kill him?”

“I’m the one who drove him to the brink of death.”

“Then who finished him off?”

“Find out for yourself.”

Leaving those words behind, the Cultivation Demon King disappeared.

“…Tch.”