Ch. 61 The Root of the Matter (1)
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 61 – The Root of the Matter (1)
“Oh my god!”
“Reina!”
As the dungeon was cleared, Diana and I, who had been trapped in the trap, were naturally ejected outside.
The joy of defeating the boss and clearing the dungeon was short-lived, as the four party members rushed toward us, horrified by our battered state.
“It’s not a serious injury.”
I forced a smile at Kim Ji-eun, whose eyes were shaking in panic as I got up.
Although I was still sore all over, recovery was quick as long as there were no fatal wounds.
“I saw the notification.”
Kim Ji-eun, who had sighed in relief after confirming my words, mentioned the notification—the special reward, the unicorn.
Hearing this, I glanced at Lee Se-jin, who was checking on Diana.
Even I had been unsure, but in the end, the system had sided with me.
I couldn’t help but think that this might be compensation for the “unfairness” I had endured.
If they hadn’t interfered, who knows what might have happened.
“I’m glad you’re safe. I heard the explanation. What happened inside…”
“We succeeded in the conquest, so everyone played a meaningful role. Your role was significant in the process. You’ve worked hard.”
Lee Se-jin, who had been checking on Diana, came over and expressed her concern to me.
Her sincere brown eyes showed no trace of regret over missing out on the reward.
She truly was a radiant person. Even drenched in sweat and wearing revealing armor, she looked noble and beautiful, like the sun.
‘It’s a shame that such people are attached to those bastards.’
Her charm was so high that it was pitiful to see strange people flocking to her.
Did those bastards not realize that their actions would negatively affect her?
‘They must know.’
A bitter smile naturally formed.
These were people who had lived as constellations for who knows how many years.
They couldn’t possibly be unaware of the consequences of their actions. They likely knew and still acted this way, which made them irredeemable troublemakers.
[Special Reward: The Unicorn Awakens.]
At the same time, the S-rank mount, the unicorn, began to awaken, revealing itself in a bright light before us.
“You should step back.”
“…I know.”
Just before the unicorn appeared, I whispered to Diana.
Although her secret had been exposed to all of Fate Road through her own words, what Diana had wanted was to confide in me alone in that secret space where she thought only the two of us existed.
If she were to face the unicorn’s intense disgust as in the original story, her secret would leak to unwanted people, so I warned her in advance.
Thanks to that, Diana left the scene early, using her injuries as an excuse.
In any case, no one paid attention to her departure because of the dazzling presence of the mythical creature before them.
“Wow…”
“Amazing. An S-rank mount!”
Kim Ji-eun exclaimed in admiration, while Karom watched with keen interest.
The pure white horse, with a shining horn on its head and blue eyes, was looking at us.
“Look at this. It’s different from an ordinary horse.”
The unicorn slowly approached Lee Se-jin, who was at the front, and gently nuzzled her.
I chuckled as I watched her casually stroke the unicorn’s mane, seemingly unfazed.
This must be the attitude it shows to those who meet the conditions of a pure maiden.
‘Should I sell it to Lee Se-jin?’
I thought about selling the unicorn to Lee Se-jin at a high price.
Unlike me, Lee Se-jin wouldn’t mind fighting while mounted.
“It’s coming…”
Then, after leaving Lee Se-jin’s embrace, the unicorn finally began to approach me, its owner.
My heart pounded inexplicably.
Honestly, I couldn’t say I wasn’t nervous.
I had no idea how the unicorn would react to me, a man in my previous life. Could it even detect a secret that no one else knew?
‘If it shows even the slightest hint of suspicion, I’ll kill it.’
I had gone through all this trouble to end the pointless debate. I had endured all sorts of hardships in the process.
But if it were to reignite the controversy here, I might just channel my inner Kim Yu-sin and cut off this colt’s head. (T/N:A Korean military general.)
“…?”
“…What.”
Finally, the unicorn standing before me stared at me intently.
Unlike Lee Se-jin, who had immediately nuzzled it affectionately, the tense moment dragged on, and I couldn’t help but frown slightly.
The unicorn is a noble creature.
Its lofty self, as high as its exceptional abilities, is incomparable to an ordinary horse.
It chooses its own master, and even if someone receives it as a reward, it will mercilessly reject them if it doesn’t like them.
In that sense, the unicorn was now feeling confused.
The silver-haired woman before it was undoubtedly beautiful and pure.
But despite clearly meeting all the conditions to ride it, it didn’t feel as drawn to her as it had to Lee Se-jin moments ago.
“…”
The unicorn circled around Reina, sniffing as if appraising her.
It was trying to find what instinctually made it uncomfortable.
“Why is it doing that?”
“Is it being extra careful because she’s its master?”
Reina could hear the others whispering behind her.
Naturally, a vein began to bulge on her temple.
Her eyes, which had been looking down at the ground, gradually filled with anger, glowing red.
It was a demonic glare that would make anyone, let alone the unicorn, instinctively avert their eyes.
But the unicorn, unaware that its head might be severed if it delayed any longer, turned its head.
“Huh? Why is it coming to us?”
Kim Ji-eun and the other two, who had been standing far away, panicked as the unicorn approached them.
They had all voluntarily stepped back, knowing they didn’t meet the unicorn’s conditions.
“-!!”
“Ahhh! This crazy horse!”
The unicorn, confused by its instincts, wanted to reaffirm what it despised by approaching them.
Sure enough, upon seeing Karom and Zenus, who were men, the unicorn’s eyes rolled back in anger, and it charged at them.
Its instincts were indeed correct.
Having confirmed this, the unicorn turned its satisfied gaze toward Kim Ji-eun, who was hesitating.
“N-no. I’m not…”
Kim Ji-eun, who had stepped back, claiming she wasn’t pure, was flustered by the unicorn’s actions.
Unlike its aggressive behavior toward the men, the unicorn, though somewhat dissatisfied, began sniffing around Kim Ji-eun.
“You’re not…”
“Eek?! No! It’s a misunderstanding!”
Kim Ji-eun, startled by Reina’s incredulous look, shook her head frantically, but the unicorn remained glued to her side, sniffing.
Given the unicorn’s ferocious reaction to those who didn’t meet its conditions, this was practically a confirmation.
Kim Ji-eun, who had been lying about having experience, was left speechless, her face turning red.
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ㄴ“LOLOLOLOLOL.”
ㄴ“Cute. Why would she lie about that? LOL.”
ㄴ“Honestly, it was obvious. Kim Ji-eun is the classic “tough on the outside, soft on the inside” type.”
——————————————————————————————————————————
Thanks to this, the fan gallery users who were watching also burst into laughter.
For Kim Ji-eun, it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment of shame.
——————————————————————————————————————————
ㄴ“But why is the reaction different from what it showed to Lee Se-jin?”
ㄴ“It seems more like a divine beast than a mere animal. Maybe it’s just picky.”
ㄴ“Reina doesn’t ride mounts anyway. She was planning to sell it, so it doesn’t matter.”
ㄴ“Anyway, does this mean the whole “Reina’s virginity” debate is over? Ah, what a relief.”
——————————————————————————————————————————
Fortunately, Kim Ji-eun, who was standing nearby, drew attention, and the users attributed the unicorn’s somewhat ambiguous reaction to its picky nature.
In the end, since the unicorn didn’t reject Reina and even allowed her to ride it, the incident was effectively concluded.
——————————————————————————————————————————
ㄴ“Something’s off… Is that reaction normal? Is there something else going on?”
ㄴ“Let’s stop forcing it. How long are we going to keep talking about this?”
——————————————————————————————————————————
Of course, there were still users who remained suspicious, but their opinions were in the minority.
At least Reina’s fandom, especially Serpina, the manager, actively began to restrict the topic.
The unicorn’s proof, the tiresome debate that had been dragged up too frequently in a short time—there was ample justification to limit it.
“I’ll sell the unicorn to Se-jin soon. It seems to like her more anyway.”
“…Please do.”
“By the way, why did you lie about that?”
“Ugh…”
While disbanding the party and heading to the headquarters for rest and treatment.
Reina chuckled and asked, causing Kim Ji-eun to avert her eyes and groan.
She couldn’t possibly admit that she had lied just to boost her pride, even if it killed her.
“W-What are you going to do now? You should rest, right?”
“I’ve been through unexpected hardships, so I’ll rest too.”
Instead, she quickly changed the subject.
Reina, who had no intention of tormenting her further, nodded with a chuckle.
‘It ended well. Please let this be the end.’
Of course, what Reina wanted most right now was to check Fate Road.
From her perspective, this had been an event that required a lot of effort.
Since the cause had been a community debate, she really wanted to see some payoff.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Oh yeah, for once this is one of those events that doesn’t benefit her isn’t it?Smh!
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