Chapter 142: The Angel Who Goes on a Date (7)

Episode 142: The Angel Who Goes on a Date (7)

The genius black mage, Soya’s perfect date… plan.

Of course, Soya wouldn’t admit it was a date, but that didn’t change the essence of this operation.

To hang out with Leffrey. And to achieve her ‘goal’ while the other two girls were away.

Honestly, she had been a little flustered when Yumari appeared, but thankfully she was able to get through it.

‘Who’s flustered?!’

Of course, Soya wouldn’t acknowledge those feelings. Her heart pounding whenever she saw Leffrey smile, or that indescribable feeling that made her eyes warm as she looked at him sleeping, bathed in sunlight, or that unbearable anxiety when he was out of her sight…

She didn’t want to acknowledge those feelings.

If she did, then she would have to face her own pathetic self, she would have to acknowledge her own shadow, stretched long by the bright light called Leffrey.

‘I’m not confident like Hongwol, and I don’t have amazing parents like Yumari. I’m too focused on studying magic to even know how to have fun outside, and everyone hates black magic.’

Soya’s hands trembled.

‘That’s right. Leffrey is only being nice to me because he’s an angel. If this relationship is nothing more than…’

But today was different.

If only she could hold onto that light, a light that might leave her side at any moment.

Then she would have nothing else to ask for.

The girl even had such thoughts.

‘To do that, I have to follow the plan. This perfect plan I’ve crafted based on reference materials.’

Reference materials. It was only natural for Soya, who loved mangas, to have only romantic comedies and romance light novels as reference materials… well, some people get most of their knowledge from fantasy, don’t they?

‘Although my first plan. To choose clothes with Leffrey and while he does, I, naturally… with Leffrey… ehehe… was a failure, my next plan will definitely succeed!’

Soya secretly struck a fighting pose. Leffrey, who was watching her from the side, could only shake his head without saying a word.

And Soya’s next plan was…

…Watching a horror movie.

“Soya, are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

Leffrey, who had returned with popcorn, asked with a worried tone. It was understandable that he would be worried.

He still remembered the time when the Mooncat Tribe came to steal the holy sword. Soya had buried her face in her hat, muttering “S-Soya’s not here.” denying reality. And for this girl, who’s always hiding behind Leffrey at the slightest provocation, to watch a horror movie…?

“I’m fine. It’s a black magic–related movie. And I’m one of the best black mages. Plus, this director, he’s not very good, he just uses cheap jump scares to…”

Ramble Ramble- Soya rattled off the information about the movie she had found on the internet.

By the time her explanation had passed the first verse to the second, third, and finally reaching the fourth verse, Soya smiled confidently.

(TL Note: References about the structure of Korean Pansori in which, [this is simplified], a singer passionately performs a long and complex story which has several ‘jeol’, aka verses in English.)

“The movie is going to be fun, right?”

“Hmm…”

Leffrey had a lot he wanted to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth, fearing he might hear beyond the fourth verse and into brain-melting territory

‘Fufufu.’

Actually, Soya couldn’t help but feel confident. Because she knew already exactly which scenes were scary and when they would play out.

[I’ll give 100 points to anyone who can tell me exactly in detail where the scary parts appear in the newly released ‘Hole in the Dark’.]

(TL Note: 내공 (nae-gong) literally means “inner strength”. However, it is often used as slang on the internet as ‘points’ or ‘internet points’. It’s like Reddit karma(??) and I [believe] it’s used in sites back then such as Naver Knowledge iN. If anybody knows more, be sure to let me know!

Although she used up all her points asking about it, Soya now had a complete understanding of the movie.

‘They say this movie is really scary. And the suspension bridge effect will kick in when watching a scary movie…’

The Suspension Bridge Effect. When a person is nervous or excited about something, and if there’s a person of the opposite sex nearby, then that nervousness and excitement could be misinterpreted as attraction towards that person.

That’s why couples watch horror movies together. Because the fear and excitement from the movie could be redirected into romantic feelings.

Moreover, if she can show a cool image of not being afraid of the horror? That’s also one of the factors that increases attractiveness.

‘I can finally show Leffrey how cool a black mage can be. The perfect plan.’

Soya nodded and moved closer to Leffrey. And then, just like in the department store, she subtly tried to hold his hand.

“Now, let’s go.”

Leffrey said something like ‘Wow, I can’t wait’ while holding the popcorn bucket. But honestly, he wasn’t that excited.

‘I’ve already seen this movie. Three times. Once when it was released, twice on a movie channel, and a third time during a late-night special…’

But Soya, blushing just from the fact that she was holding his hand, couldn’t concentrate on Leffrey’s reaction.

‘This movie is pretty scary. Will Soya be able to handle it?’

And so the film started rolling. The advertisements ended, and ten minutes into the movie, Soya began to regret her decision.

‘It’s-it’s-it’s-it’s too scary.’

The truth is, complex media like movies couldn’t be fully conveyed through mere text alone. There’s a reason for the saying “seeing is believing.”

Even if you knew all the spoilers and the scary parts of the movie, if you’re a scaredy-cat, you’ll just end up being scared anyway.

Just like Soya here.

Tremble tremble—Soya’s shoulders shook.

“Kyaaa!”, “Ugh, Dodge it!” she shouted, along with other such noises.

(TL Note: Original text had a ‘chuimsae’ which is when a traditional Korean music (Pansori) reaches a high in the middle then stops and at that point you cheer. It became slang for essentially noises, I think. IDK WHY I ADDED THIS, DELETE THIS)

“No! No!” she cried.

Quiver- Soya’s legs shaking.

‘Soya, as expected, you never disappoint…’

Leffrey, feeling the other audience members glancing at them, channeled Angelic Power into his hand, then gently stroked Soya’s back.

[Comforting a future hero who is terrified is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

In the end, since he gained Angelic Power, let’s just say it was a profit. Leffrey naturally wrapped his arm around Soya’s shoulders, making every effort to comfort the girl.

Soya, who had been feeling fear and anxiety just a moment ago, suddenly couldn’t tell where this tension and excitement were directed when she felt these comforting hands.

The girl turned her eyes away from the scary movie to look at the boy comforting her.

The boy, an incredibly handsome (Beautiful) boy with an angelic face, and for a moment, the girl forgot to even breathe as she stared into the boy’s eyes.

Soya had no idea where this tension and ‘excitement’ was coming from.

After the movie ended, Soya realized that her second plan had failed, as she assumed the classic OTL (Orz) posture.

(TL Note: OTL (Orz) is an emoticon used to express failure, frustration, or despair. Just imagine a person lying down on the ground with their hands in frustration and look at the word again. 〇刀乙)

‘S-so embarrassing.’

Even though it was a movie featuring black magic, she trembled in fear and clung to Leffrey. In the end, she couldn’t even properly watch the movie and just stared at Leffrey’s face.

And Leffrey, knowing this, asked with an awkward smile, “Should we get out of here?”

‘So embarrassing, so embarrassing, so embarrassing.’

Soya wanted to erase all the memories of her confident past self. But if she erased all the memories of watching the movie…

‘Then those memories of Leffrey holding my shoulders will disappear too.’

…A black mage needs a dark history. Soya stood up, accepting her past, and spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Let’s go grab lunch.”

“Okay, where do you want to go?”

“I have a place in mind.”

Although her second plan had failed, her next plan will definitely succeed.

Thus, after having lunch at a family restaurant, the boy and girl, following Soya’s plan, headed for their next destination.

“This is… Naiad Park?”

A hologram of Naiad floated above a massive glass dome. Beside it, a commercial song played along with the title, “Enjoy a water park with the spirits.”

And along with it, other titles appeared, such as, “Escape the cold winter, come to the south sea!”, and “All the oceans of the world, right before you.”

And the place was swarming with children and parents, couples and friends. Half of them were in swimsuits, and the other half were in casual wear.

Of course, when they came out to the parking lot, they all shivered in the cold, putting on their coats.

“I got one, no, two tickets.”

Soya mumbles in a small voice. Then she pulled out a paper bag from her pocket dimension.

“Since I received them, it would be a waste to throw them away, and the timing seems right…..”

Soya continued to speak, making excuses. Leffrey nodded.

“This is my first time here, but I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

“They’ll probably have them for rent.”

Hearing that, Leffrey nodded. Actually, it’s not that bad. A water park? Isn’t it a place where friends often come to play?

‘…I wouldn’t know since I’m not an Inssa, but I guess that’s how it is.’

Leffrey, hiding his bitter smile, looked up at the hologram of Naiad floating in the air.

‘Come to think of it, Naiad. She really loves money and fame.’

He had heard that she had branded herself, selling bottled water, appearing in advertisements, and doing all sorts of things. Naiad Park was probably one of her businesses…

‘Hmm, since it’s run by Naiad, there shouldn’t be any major problems.’

And so, the boy and girl entered the waterpark, a place where they could enjoy a water park in the middle of winter, a place where spirits resided.

And the inside of the water park was a dazzling, or at least a brilliant sight. It was enough to make the eyes of the two boys and girls sparkle.

“I’ll go change clothes.”

“I’ll go rent a swimsuit.”

Soya’s voice trembled a little. Leffrey, hearing that, just nodded and headed for the swimsuit rental place.

The hallway leading to the changing room. A strange smell, a mixture of the mana scent loved by spirits and the smell of disinfectant that humans preferred, filled the air. Leffrey, walking down that hallway, couldn’t help but think.

‘Picking out clothes, watching a movie, having lunch… This feels like a date.’

Leffrey knew.

That this was a date.

‘Does Soya really like me in that way?’

Thump thump—His heart started to race faster as he imagined Soya, now all grown-up. If she was cute before, now she is both cute and… thrilling.

‘To have my heart race while looking at the girls I’m supposed to protect. This is a sin.’

Gulp—Leffrey put both his hands on his cheeks. They were warm.

‘I’m an angel.’

A being who had long transcended his humanity.

That was Leffrey.

Could an angel’s body even date a human? With heaven silent now, it was a fact no one could know.

‘And I have a mission to fulfill.’

Leffrey had to defeat the demon king. For the sake of this world, and for the sake of the three girls he protected.

‘And the most important thing is…’

And the most important thing,

Was that the girls were still just girls.

Leffrey suddenly realized that this emotion was too overwhelming for him.

He had felt this way while looking at Yumari and Hongwol. And each time, he was filled with the same guilt.

‘At this rate, I’m disqualified as a guardian angel.’

At this rate, he should be called a wolf angel, not a guardian angel. Leffrey, the Wolf Angel. Awooo—

‘I’ve fallen…’

As the dejected Leffrey, after changing into his swimsuit, trudged outside, a sweet voice came from his side.

“Oh my, are you here alone?”

“You’re so cute.”

At the end of Leffrey’s gaze stood three women. They were incredibly beautiful, and therefore strange.

‘Women like that, they would surely have men by their sides.’

Even if they weren’t with anyone, they were beauties, flowers of this waterpark, who could easily choose any man they wanted.

In other words, there was no reason for them to personally search for a man. And yet…

These charming women slowly approached Leffrey and muttered in flirtatious voices,

“Won’t you play with us?”

“Let’s have some fun together.”

Leffrey, looking at those women, couldn’t help but smile.