Ch.168Episode 34. Christmas Eve (1)

I received information about Forest from the Association President, but there was nothing particularly suspicious.

His process of becoming a hero and reaching S-rank was even more impeccable than mine.

Yet somehow, it felt to me like someone had fabricated a plausible background to create the character of Forest.

Is this sense of dissonance simply because I know the original story of this world?

What bothers me is that Forest is an “S-rank.”

If he weren’t S-rank, I would have thought he was a character who didn’t even qualify as an extra in the original story.

But this S-rank position couldn’t possibly have gone unmentioned in the original work. In this world, Akcheon may not be at full strength, but in the original story, they were frustratingly active.

It made no logical sense that the Association wouldn’t seek help from an S-rank hero.

In the end, I had no choice but to question Forest again. Of course, that would have to wait until the Association had definitively determined responsibility for the Anrakgyo incident.

*Slide*

I opened the sliding door and entered. A black-haired woman was sitting on the bed, looking out the window. It was snowing outside. She turned her head at the sound of my footsteps.

“…Yujin, you’re here.”

“Yeah. Where are your mother and grandfather?”

“I sent them away. Told them to take a break. They looked tired.”

More like they looked uncomfortable, I’d bet.

“Did you talk well with your mother?”

“I tried my best.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her saying she “tried her best” to have a conversation. What was this, a blind date?

“Is that so? You’re being discharged tomorrow, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’ll be free from Christmas Eve.”

“Christmas…”

She murmured wistfully.

Having devoted herself so diligently to training, she probably never had the opportunity to spend such holidays with anyone.

I imagine these occasions only brought back unpleasant memories for her.

“Ah… these are walnut pastries. Forgive me if they’ve gotten cold?”

“It’s okay. Walnut pastries taste good even when they’re cold.”

“Is that so?”

Yeon Muhui obediently accepted the bag. As she rummaged through it, she first offered one to me.

I looked at the walnut pastry she held out, then naturally leaned forward and ate it directly from her hand.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“Isn’t this how you meant for me to eat it?”

As if you didn’t see my mouth coming toward it but still didn’t pull away.

I chewed the walnut pastry, savoring the taste. It tasted the same as the ones from the rest stop, but somehow felt lacking without that special rest stop ambiance.

“Hmm. I think the ones from the rest stop tasted better.”

“Of course! The rest stop walnut pastries are a hundred times better. It’s disrespectful to even compare them.”

A hundred times might be an exaggeration…

“I don’t think so. Hmm… maybe it tastes good because you bought it for me?”

“Ugh! S-stop teasing me.”

Muhui said while pointlessly hitting the bedcover. She’s kind of cute.

“You seem healthy enough judging by your responses. How are you feeling?”

“…Fine. Thanks to the potion you made me drink.”

She answers faithfully despite furrowing her brow.

“That’s good. Really.”

I said as I sat down in the chair beside the bed.

I can’t help but smile looking at her sitting so upright. I’m truly relieved that no one died.

Come to think of it, at first I thought I’d take down Akcheon alone and create an environment where they could grow.

I was so arrogant.

Without Association President Seong Inhyeok or Ha Yuri, someone from the Special Unit might have died in this incident. If that had happened, I would have been consumed by guilt and regret.

“Ah… um…”

*Rustle*

She fidgeted nervously, rolling her eyes around while crumpling the walnut pastry bag.

“So, thank y—”

“By the way, did you master the Lotus Slash?”

Our words overlapped, cutting off what Muhui was trying to say.

“Oh, sorry. What were you going to say?”

“Ah, um? N-nothing! That, um… the L-Lotus Slash…!”

“…What’s wrong?”

She seemed embarrassed by her stuttering and was fanning her face to cool down.

“I-it’s nothing!”

“Really?”

“Yes! A-anyway, about the Lotus Slash, I used it on impulse, so honestly, I don’t really understand the sensation.”

“Do you remember what it felt like?”

It was fine if she didn’t have a clear sense of it after using it just once. Once you’ve used a technique at least once, you can use it consciously the second time.

Just because this world is based on a novel doesn’t mean techniques can be used repeatedly right after learning them, like in a game.

That’s why I always emphasized the importance of proficiency when learning new techniques.

“It was like time flowed differently just for me… like the world had stopped… I was just lucky it worked…”

“Hmm. That’s probably what it means to be at the S-rank level.”

I couldn’t say for certain. The character Yujin had transcended S-rank from the beginning.

But when fighting powerful opponents like Yeonhwaryong, I felt a clear difference in how time flowed around me.

“S-rank level…”

Muhui would likely be the first to reach the ranks of S-class.

In a way, it might be inevitable. While others played, she alone trained diligently without missing a single day.

And I watched that more closely than anyone else. Both in the novel and after my possession.

I gently took her hand.

“W-what are you doing?!”

As she urgently tried to pull away, I forcibly pulled her hand back and said:

“Stay still.”

Hearing my serious tone, she stopped resisting and stared at me.

It was quite a rough hand.

Despite her fair skin and delicate face suggesting she’d never done hard labor, her hands were covered with calluses and various scars.

I caressed the calluses on her palm.

“You didn’t reach the S-rank level because of luck. These hands prove it.”

“…They’re just rough, unremarkable hands.”

Perhaps feeling embarrassed, Muhui pulled her hand from mine. She clasped the hand I had been caressing with her other hand, holding it tightly. As if protecting something precious.

“You must have wanted to put down your sword many times. You had no one cheering you on, no one to lean on.”

“…”

She didn’t deny it.

“But that’s not the case anymore, is it?”

Because now she has me, and family who genuinely want to connect with her.

At my words, Muhui looked at me with wide, surprised eyes. Her lips, which were about to say something, curved upward.

“…Yes.”

I’ve felt this before, but seeing these seemingly irredeemable villains change one by one fills my heart with emotion.

I can’t say my actions were 100% right, but when I see them change, it reminds me that I wasn’t wrong.

“Yujin.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think I can defeat that person?”

“As I’ve said many times, you can win.”

I spoke with conviction.

“Because you’re going to become the ‘hero’ I personally trained.”

This unwavering confidence will guide her path forward.

“That’s right.”

At my immediate response, Muhui smiled with remarkable ease.

I never knew she could smile like this—she who never put down her sword, as if constantly being chased by someone.

“…Thank you.”

Muhui said while clutching the bedcover.

Well, well. Even Muhui, who never says anything sentimental, is thanking me.

“If you’re thankful, let’s hang out after you’re discharged tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve. Since you’ve been going non-stop until now, wouldn’t it be okay to take it easy for a few days? Or would you rather spend tomorrow alone too?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Then it’s a promise?”

“Huh? No…”

I turned on my phone to search for nearby restaurants, then sighed as I considered my situation.

“Ah, but I can’t go anywhere too crowded.”

“Right. You’re an S-rank hero. Everyone would recognize you.”

“Exactly. It’s been a while since we’ve had fun, and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“…”

Inviting her to my room wouldn’t work since the others might come…

“Is there somewhere you’d like to go?”

“…Yes.”

After thinking briefly, Muhui nodded. She answered relatively quickly, as if she’d already had a place in mind.

“Where?”

“…I want to see the ocean in Taean.”

“The ocean?”

“Yes. It’s been a while.”

It’s been a while. Does she have some memories there?

“It’ll be pretty cold in the middle of winter. Will that be okay?”

“It’s fine.”

“Alright. Then let’s go see the ocean. We can stop by the main house afterward.”

“We don’t really need to…”

“…Really? Should I book a pension then? It would be tough to make a day trip to Taean and back.”

I wonder if Muhui understands what booking a pension implies.

“Near the ocean?”

“Yes. We could grill some meat and spend time relaxing there.”

If Jung Iyeon were here, she’d probably say something like, “Wow, look at him smoothly making a move! Trash!”

I feel like laughing. I can’t deny being trash, though.

“…I’d like that.”

The wrinkles in the bedcover Muhui was clutching intensified. She was trying not to show it, but her subtle agitation revealed her thoughts.

If she agrees while knowing what it means, I can take it as her wanting to spend time with me too.

After all, no matter how aloof she acts normally, it would be absurd to say she has no attraction to the opposite sex.

“Great. Then for the pension…”

“I’ll make the reservation.”

“Do you know a place?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Then let’s leave after you’re discharged tomorrow and we’ve seen your family home.”

“Okay.”

I should just sleep at a motel tonight instead of going up to the Academy.

“Rest well until tomorrow, and I’ll see you then.”

“…Are you leaving already?”

Wow, is this really Muhui?

I wonder what about this incident triggered such a change in her.

I hesitated at the hint of disappointment in her voice. My bottom, which had just left the chair, sat back down.

“No. If you ask me to stay, I will.”

When I said this with a grin, Muhui snorted with a sulky face.

“…I won’t say that.”

“Then should I go?”

“…”

She glared at me with a frown. Look at her getting upset when things don’t go her way.

“Alright, alright. I’ll stay if that’s what you want. I’m free anyway.”

“Okay.”

Only then did she smile again. Watching her eyes curve gently, I inwardly chuckled. She’s quite pretty when she’s not being difficult.

After that, we chatted intermittently until her family arrived, and surprisingly, we were able to spend a peaceful time together.