Ch.144Festival (1)

“So are you okay now?”

Lorian didn’t say much after that. He remained silent as if he had said all he needed to say, or as if he needed time to organize his thoughts. We took this as a quiet dismissal and stepped outside.

Well, it must be complicated for him. It can’t be helped.

Actually, I was secretly impressed by the remarkable patience Lorian displayed, considering he didn’t explode in anger.

“Probably. I mean, Lorian became a woman, lost an arm, and still chased after me… I think everything will be fine.”

Someone like Lorian shouldn’t have any major issues. If there is a problem… well, at least I don’t want to dig into it right now.

I’ll have to deal with it later when I’m ready. Even as I thought this, something still felt off.

I couldn’t quite explain what felt wrong because my self-reflection abilities were lacking.

Then again, when someone is as perfect as me, it’s hard to find flaws. When all you see is perfection everywhere you look.

And then my sister, who was far more perfect than me, smiled faintly.

“No, not Lorian. I was asking if Sejin is okay.”

“…Me?”

Why wouldn’t I be okay? I turned to my sister with confusion, and she was gazing at me with those large eyes of hers.

“Why me? I’m not really…”

“You went through all that.”

Only then did I vaguely understand what she meant.

Objectively speaking, it was normal for her to worry like this.

The golems didn’t have much of a bond with each other, but I felt their deaths.

I vaguely understood the emotions they harbored, and why they chose death.

It was thanks to divine power. The insight I gained by concentrating divine power in my head was clearly an ability beyond just reading situations.

It was almost at the level of reading fate.

Among these abilities, I seemed to specialize in reading the past.

That’s why fighting was difficult.

The memories of the golem who called himself the God of Vengeance kept flowing into my mind, and seeing those memories made it hard to deny his vengeance.

Even I would probably grab the hand of a demon, let alone a god, if someone killed my sister and was living shamelessly.

The frustrating part was that I couldn’t easily say whether the God of Vengeance or the God of Craftsmanship was right or wrong.

I could understand both sides, which made it difficult to make a hasty judgment.

I couldn’t even comfort myself with mental gymnastics. As my sister said, I had experienced too much and was confused, even though I had already won.

The Empress wanted me to devour gods and grow stronger, and she informed me that there were Netel’s agents among the three clans, including herself.

The God of Vengeance seemed to confuse me with “Father” and called that “Father” a traitor.

Listening to the golems and the fragments of the God of Craftsmanship, I wondered if it was truly betrayal.

I recalled the presence of “Father” that I had experienced several times.

A soft, gentle light, like the rising east.

The setting sun and warmth that shines gently.

…Is “Father” really such a being?

If so, should he express himself that way?

I had doubts. Just looking at what happened because of Father’s factors in my body.

I couldn’t even tell if Father was truly a benevolent deity.

It felt like the opposite.

As if something evil was disguising itself.

So my mind was complicated. Lorian didn’t seem to notice, but my sister, who had lived with me all my life, clearly did.

That’s my sister for you. Always looking out for her brother.

“Even if I say I’m fine, you won’t believe me, right?”

“Since it’s you saying it, I want to believe you. But… you don’t look okay.”

My sister was looking at me with concern. Feeling resistant to lying to her, I rolled my eyes for a moment and then let out a deep sigh.

“I’m not really okay. But it’s not something I can solve right now, or maybe ever.”

“Mmm… I guess so. It’s a complicated issue.”

Before I knew it, my sister had reached out her hand, and I habitually took it as we walked.

We left the garden and crossed the still dim dawn toward the outside of the temple.

My sister’s expression brightened as if she was reminiscing about old times, but she was still concerned about me.

“Still, if there’s anything I can help with, tell me, okay? I’m strong now.”

“Weren’t you always stronger than me? I remember you lifting 20kg rice bags like they were nothing.”

“You brat.”

A long finger poked my cheek. I smiled awkwardly.

“But… there’s nothing you can help with. It’s something I need to think about and decide on my own.”

“Mmm…”

My sister made a pained sound and lowered her eyes. It hurt my heart to see her like that, but there was nothing I could do.

After all, even the issues between my sister and me hadn’t been resolved yet.

I felt my sister’s hand holding mine. Warm, nestling, and now interlocking fingers.

When my friends used to laugh and say I was too close with my sister, I would tell them it was because she was my only sister who had raised me all my life, but even then, I might have noticed something was a bit off.

My sister was excessively intimate with me, cared for me too much, and loved me too much.

It took me a long time to realize that this wasn’t typical sibling behavior, but now I know.

My sister sees me as a romantic interest.

The suggestive looks she gave me in middle school, which caused me so much anguish and pain, were indeed suggestive, and she still harbored desire for me.

We had temporarily covered it up. Pretending not to know while knowing, acting as if there was no problem until it was spoken aloud.

Perhaps that’s why I could sense those signs in her every action.

Hesitating, fearing, wavering.

I could tell just by how she firmly held my hand, interlocked our fingers, and gently tickled me.

When our eyes met as I turned my head unconsciously, she smiled, creasing her eyes that resembled mine, and her face flushed slightly.

My sister wasn’t even one of the three clans. So it wasn’t attraction caused by “Father’s factor.”

It was a forbidden love that had continued since Earth.

I didn’t know what to do about it. Suddenly, certain words came to mind.

‘Spread your bloodline widely to revive the bloodline of the gods.’

Can’t we report Valterok for sexual harassment or something?

I sighed involuntarily. He even dismissed it by saying, “Incest is common among gods,” even when it involved my sister.

It’s not strange that this comes to mind now.

Because of this, I felt both comfortable and uncomfortable dealing with my sister.

My insides were tangled. It was comfortable, but on the other hand, it was just a problem I had pushed aside, and I felt something building up layer by layer.

But I didn’t show it. It’s not an issue to bring up right now.

After resolving other things, when I have more freedom…

…Exactly when?

I was about to swallow a sigh when my sister spoke.

“Shall we head back then? We have a lot to do.”

“Huh? Things to do?”

What had we been doing? My sister blinked at my words.

“Oh my, you don’t know? I thought you knew.”

Know what?

As I looked at her questioningly, she cupped my cheek.

“Everyone’s been busy preparing. You really don’t know?”

Well, since I returned carrying Lorian (and occasionally Hui when he got tired), I did get the impression that everyone was busy moving around.

But I didn’t know it wasn’t for new construction or expansion, but for some kind of preparation.

I had no idea. After all, since falling from the fortress of the three clans in the sky, I hadn’t had the chance to properly check the time.

My only sense of time was the play time since I first opened my eyes in this world.

[Play Time: 9,976 hours]

A cold number with no additional information to indicate any particular period. I glanced at my status window and then looked back at my sister.

My sister smiled warmly.

And then she said, as if she hadn’t expected me not to know, as if she was happy to tell me something new.

“It’s your birthday!”

*

Wow, my birthday.

Even after returning, I wasn’t feeling great, but.

The fact that my birthday was approaching gave me a new feeling.

Beyond the realization that I had been here for so long.

And the fact that my sister still remembered my birthday.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had forgotten.

It was touching.

But I, Yoon Sejin.

As a cool and manly man who had to maintain my dignity, I didn’t show how happy I was and just said, “Really? I didn’t know. It’s already that time,” and moved on.

But my sister was indeed my sister. She saw right through me and said:

“Are you excited? You should be. Everyone’s working hard to prepare.”

Or maybe my mouth corners were just turned up too much.

Well, it couldn’t be helped since it had been ages since I’d received birthday wishes.

Even a steel-like person like me craves affection from others, and if it’s from many people, it’s even more exciting.

I returned to the temple with anticipation, openly scanning my surroundings.

And after looking around, I realized that while they called it a birthday celebration, it was essentially a banquet.

It was a bit overwhelming, but I had never experienced a birthday party like this before, so it was refreshing.

I was both excited and worried.

As I crossed the temple toward the nest, I encountered a man who had likely contributed greatly to this banquet.

“Old man.”

“Ah, you’re back. I heard you had returned.”

Beside the old man walked a dog.

The way it wagged its tail as it walked made it hard to believe it had lost its owner.

But there must be wounds inside. It might be behaving calmly because the environment had changed and it felt awkward.

Then again, considering how it had welcomed me when we first met, despite me being a dangerous being, this might be closer to awkwardness.

Poor thing.

But it’s fortunate that it will be cared for by someone like the old man.

I glanced at Hui, the dog who seemed to be in a relatively good mood after receiving attention from many people, and then scanned the surroundings.

I felt somewhat proud that so many people were working hard for my birthday.

It made me feel like I hadn’t been wasting my time here.

I smiled, thinking it was fortunate after all.