Ch.8529. The Sacred Fire of Parma (2)

Soso sometimes thinks about it. No, more often than thought.

Why she came to like—no, to love—a man named Lee Minsu.

So on this business trip, when she suddenly received a message from Minsu, she was incredibly excited. A request had come to Flame from the Far Eastern Diocese.

A request to find a sacred object of the church. Due to its confidentiality, they asked to keep the number of participants to a minimum.

With the condition that Lee Minsu must participate.

‘Yurina would typically be the one asked to cooperate…’

Or perhaps Father Stefano from the Cross Society or Seong Arin would be more natural choices. Yet the Far Eastern Diocese specifically requested Minsu, who was still only a B-rank hunter.

And about that fact, no one at Flame questioned it. There were rumors that Minsu’s hunter rank would soon rise after his performance in the recent advance team.

Moreover, contrary to what was reported in the media, Minsu had performed as well as Yurina and Soso in that cooperative mission. No, he had performed even better.

‘Everyone on Flame’s field team acknowledges Minsu.’

They acknowledge him not just as a main operator, but as a dealer. In fact, when the information team analyzed the log records after all missions were completed,

Minsu’s combat firepower metrics were not at all inferior compared to Yurina herself. The Far Eastern Diocese might have taken notice of Minsu’s achievements.

‘The Far Eastern Diocese specifically requested that Minsu complete this mission with guild members he wants to cooperate with.’

In other words, the Far Eastern Diocese had designated Minsu as the party leader for this request.

In truth, if the Association or another company had sent such an official document, it could have offended Yurina Soso as his superior.

But the White Cross Society, and a high-ranking cleric like Archbishop Enrico, wouldn’t have designated Minsu without reason.

‘And Minsu chose me as his partner.’

That fact made Soso’s heart flutter. Even though Yurina, Father Stefano, and Seong Arin were available, he had chosen her.

Of course, he might have highly valued her as an A-rank hunter and a user of the Cheonma Divine Technique. But Soso couldn’t help hoping that there might be some personal feelings behind his choice.

Because Yeon Soso loves this man, Lee Minsu. She assigns meaning to every little action he takes.

“Why did you choose me as your partner instead of Yurina or Arin… can you answer that?”

Unable to contain herself, she asked him directly.

She placed her hand over his on the gear shift. The moment waiting for his answer felt excruciatingly long.

Finally, Minsu answered.

“Because you’re the most reliable comrade I could ask for, Soso. That’s why I chose you.”

Her heart raced at those words. Just “comrade” was a bit disappointing, but at least he had said he trusted her the most right now.

‘Even though the Blood Demon… no, even though I did such terrible things…’

Yet he doesn’t push her away. Just that alone made Soso feel a warmth in her heart.

Minsu was the person she could call her only friend. That’s why she came to like him.

As the daughter of the Five Great Celestial Sages and the only daughter of Cheonma. But she herself was inadequate.

Her father, Yeon Sehwi, always showed her abundant affection, but because of the weight that came with the name Yeon, she fled from Muguk and came to study abroad at Eins.

But Soso couldn’t adapt even to her study abroad life that she had escaped to. Her awkward Korean and her once chubby figure made her lack confidence in standing before others.

Since Eins Academy was a world-famous first-class academy, all cadets were excellent and took great care of their appearances. Soso’s inferiority complex only grew.

While she was hiding in the library without making a single friend, escaping from reality,

Soso met Minsu. And Minsu was a friend who understood her feelings best. As if he had known her for a long time.

They clicked so well together. It took very little time for that friendship to turn into affection.

But by the time she realized her feelings for Minsu, he was already interested in Yuri Tarkovskaya.

‘But not anymore.’

Minsu himself had said that he wasn’t involved with either Yuri or Seong Arin.

If that was the case, Yeon Soso had no intention of stupidly losing Minsu again like before.

Just then, the traffic light changed. Feeling her heart flutter at the touch of his hand, Soso gently removed her hand.

– Blood Demon, teach me. Anything that could help me seduce Minsu.

She was too embarrassed to look at Minsu’s face now. Soso turned her gaze toward the window and silently called out to the Blood Demon.

***

Adersk, the capital of the Slavic Kingdom. The atmosphere there was quite unique.

A city filled with European traditional houses and architectural styles everywhere. Yet it was also as well-developed in transportation as any modern metropolis.

During the time when Yuri’s father, Andrei Tarkovsky, was Prime Minister, he modernized the city in partnership with Korean conglomerates.

At the same time, he preserved all the traditional Slavic districts that would later become famous tourist attractions.

A strange city where modern and medieval elements were exquisitely combined. And the sight of massive airships floating around, rarely seen in modern times, was also unique.

‘Yuri said she never actually lived in this city.’

Since Archduke Andrei’s domain was quite far from here. Seoul might be more familiar to her.

Compared to Soso, who grew up in Hong Kong, the capital of Muguk, the backgrounds of these two daughters of noble families were quite different, despite both being from prestigious lineages.

‘Hong Kong, huh.’

Whether in Muguk or the Slavic Kingdom, places that underwent dimensional fusion had their original Earth cities completely replaced by cities from Ailethan.

But the fact that Muguk, located in the southern part of China, kept the old Chinese place names was probably due to political issues.

And the daughter of Cheonma, who possessed the most noble bloodline in Muguk, Yeon Soso, was sitting silently in the passenger seat next to me, just looking out the window.

‘The reason I chose Soso.’

Soso had remained quiet since asking me that question. She didn’t seem angry, so perhaps she was quite pleased with my answer.

I told her that she was the most reliable comrade.

As Flame’s main operator, I thought coldly. The Sacred Fire of Parma. That sacred flame is hidden in a very dangerous place even within the Slavic Kingdom.

It would be good to go with all of Flame’s elite guild members. But the Sacred Fire of Parma is a sacred object and treasure of the White Cross Society.

The Archbishop demanded maximum secrecy in exchange for entrusting the sacred fire to me. So I couldn’t bring many party members.

‘Then for any potential combat, the most necessary person would be the main dealer.’

Swordsmen are awakened ones who can exert the most stable power against any opponent. Yuri is also very strong as an S-rank hunter, but from a balance perspective, forming a pair with Soso is better.

In other words, saying she was the most reliable comrade was my honest feeling.

‘I chose to pair with Yuri in the exchange tournament, but…’

Of course, I was confident then. No matter how much of a world championship final it was, the opponents were still cadets. And in that unbalanced pair with two mages, my personal feelings were actually quite strong.

I liked Yuri. Naturally, I didn’t want her to pair with someone else.

But now I was thinking about it.

How Soso, who was my closest friend and who had awakened the Cheonma Divine Technique and advanced to S-class with me at that time, must have felt when I chose Yuri instead of her.

‘Soso probably felt similar to how I felt.’

And my thoughtlessness created the Blood Demon inside Soso. I have no intention of making the same mistake twice.

‘I won’t love anyone, but I can like them all.’

No, of course those people are only three: Yuri, Soso, and Arin. If liking all three of them helps Flame grow more, if it helps me get closer to the Red Lake, then that’s what I’ll do.

And that act is more cowardly self-deception than anything else I’ve ever done.

But to some extent, it’s also my honest feeling. Me, who loved Yuri. Also me, who relied on Arin for everything during the past two years.

‘And…’

Me, who was closest to Soso at Eins. I’ve decided not to love the three of them, but I honestly don’t want to lose them either.

‘Right. There’s not much time left anyway.’

As long as the feelings don’t cross over into love, I can do anything for the three of them.

I need all three of them.

‘I probably don’t need to think about it too complicatedly.’

During the two weeks I was collapsed after the cooperative mission, I thought endlessly about the issue with the three of them.

My feelings for Yuri from Eins days. My guilt toward Soso. My gratitude and regret toward Arin. But even with all those complicated feelings remaining inside me,

I don’t have enough time left even if I devote all of it to revenge.

‘As long as I don’t cross that line I’ve set for myself. Everyone…’

That’s how I organized my thoughts. And I want to become close with Soso again. I, who was far from being an insider from the beginning, really got along well with Soso.

It’s funny thinking about it now, but we were both community addicts. Of course, in my case, I became that way after my possession of a minor character, searching for any information to survive.

Anyway, Soso and I were close enough to share all sorts of trivial conversations. Even saying that we would never see each other romantically.

I stopped the car. We had arrived at the first destination set by the Far Eastern Archdiocese.

Soso, who had fallen asleep leaning against the passenger window, had changed incomparably from her Eins days.

To the point where she could be considered the most beautiful woman in Muguk.

***

“I received advance notice from the Archbishop. Please follow me from here.”

The place where the two arrived was on the outskirts of Adersk. There, they transferred to a car with a priest who had come out to meet them in advance.

‘Since it’s a top-secret matter, it seems even approaching it isn’t easy.’

The car they transferred to was an old-fashioned SUV like the ones used at Flame. At first, they headed toward regular roads, but

as they went further, the road conditions worsened until they were practically on unpaved roads.

The priest sitting in the passenger seat, who was guiding the two, spoke to us.

“I assume neither of you is familiar with the Slavic Kingdom.”

“That’s correct.”

“While Adersk is a metropolis, if you go to the outskirts like this, you can still see remnants of the old Slavic Kingdom. The area we’re heading to is called the Ashen Forest.”

The priest continued his explanation for a moment.

That place was also where a Great Demon had appeared. Unlike Krosel, who was sent back to the netherworld from a territorialized state,

the demon that appeared in the Ashen Forest caused enough damage to annihilate an entire city.

“A forest like this grew in the epicenter where no one could live anymore. Of course, it’s an event from over 200 years ago…”

It was an event that happened in the Slavic Kingdom of Ailethan, not Earth. But since the current Slavic Kingdom has undergone dimensional fusion,

that cursed area, contaminated by demons, remains intact.

“The demon was annihilated by the Slavic Kingdom’s army, but in exchange, the Ashen Forest area became an extremely dangerous place.”

Magi with a concentration incomparably denser than that of magical beasts. That place, where the residual thoughts of the Great Demon remained, maintained enough magi for a Great Demon to appear again at any time.

“And to suppress that magi, the Far Eastern Diocese…”

“Yes, Lee Minsu, you are correct. They suppressed that magi with the Sacred Fire of Parma.”

And the priest said with a voice mixed with fear:

“Therefore, the path to find the Sacred Fire of Parma will definitely not be smooth.”

At his words, I mentally reorganized the information about the Ashen Forest that I had already received from the Archbishop.