Chapter 295: Three Walk Together (9)

As usual, it was Yeomyeong who stood in the kitchen.

He rummaged through Darulma’s refrigerator, grabbing all the fancy, and seemingly soon-to-expire ingredients to make pasta.

Various kinds of ham, cheese, olive oil, pepper, and so on.

If one had to give it a name, it could be called a hodgepodge pasta. But as soon as the dish was set on the table, Mara started eating with chopsticks.

Her frantic eating made her look like someone who hadn’t eaten for days…

“…It’s true, I haven’t eaten for days. Hey, don’t look at me like that while I’m eating.”

“…”

As if she could read Yeomyeong’s thoughts, Mara continued to taunt while eating, and soon enough, she had devoured more than 20 servings of food on her own.

Satisfied, she patted her stomach, then threw a tantrum for dessert until Seti grabbed her and dragged her to the bathroom.

“Hurry, wash up before you go out again.”

No one knew what Seti had done to her, but Mara obediently went to wash up. By the time Yeomyeong, Seti, and the Saintess were making plans on what to do to the governor’s face…

“Ugh, people really need to wash to stay alive.”

Mara came out of the shower and into the living room, wearing an oversized t-shirt that wasn’t her, with her hair still damp. She looked just like any other girl their age.

To think she was the same person as that freak, Yeomyeong thought in amazement. Mara, noticing his gaze, smirked and crossed her arms.

“What are you looking at? Does it turn you on?”

“…”

Yeomyeong frowned deeply. What did that crazy bastard just say?

“You’re being such a wimp. If you just look at it boldly… tsk.”

Thankfully, Mara’s antics didn’t last long, as the Saintess’s gun was now pointed at her forehead.

“Whether it’s Seti or her, why do you only go for girls like that? Is being a freak your type or something?”

Mara muttered in a barely audible voice, just loud enough for Yeomyeong to hear, before sitting down. Who was the freak now?

Yeomyeong lightly tapped Mara’s head from behind before saying.

“Stop talking nonsense. Why were you locked up in the basement?”

“Why? I couldn’t escape. Your girlfriend put a leash on me… kek!”

“…”

“Ugh, I thought you’d at least feed me…”

Mara looked at Seti with conflicted eyes. Seti stared back coldly, making Mara quickly look away.

What on earth happened between those two, Yeomyeong wondered, resolving to ask later in bed, before speaking up.

“Mara, we’ve got an interesting plan. Want to join us?”

As soon as the words left Yeomyeong’s mouth, a question mark appeared over Mara’s head.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“…”

“After treating me like this, you want me to work with you?”

It was a valid point. So much so that even Corvus nodded in agreement. But Yeomyeong confidently began explaining the current situation and the plan.

The fact that the Governor was trying to mess with him and that he wanted to join hands, but wasn’t satisfied with just doing it the easy way, so…

“…You want to punch the governor in the face to feel satisfied?”

After listening for a moment, Mara summed up Yeomyeong’s explanation in one sentence. Yeomyeong nodded, and Mara chuckled in disbelief.

“That’s a damn crazy thought. I was wondering why you were dating a freak, but I guess you’re the freak, huh? Right?”

“…So, are you not going to do it?”

“No, let’s do it right now.”

After Mara agreed to the plan, the group scattered to prepare for their individual tasks.

Mara, chewing on the barley cookies Darulma had given her for dessert, suddenly asked.

“But, are you sure this will be okay?”

“What now?”

“I might double-cross you guys, you know.”

As soon as the topic of betrayal came up, Corvus’ eyes narrowed, sitting in her chair.

However, Yeomyeong answered nonchalantly.

“I know you won’t.”

“…What makes you so sure?”

“If you are going to betray me, you would’ve eaten the Demon King’s heart last time.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

At the mention of the Demon King’s heart, Corvus looked up in shock, but Mara grinned and bared her teeth.

“Then, is everything else fine?”

“…What do you mean, everything else?”

“I mean, is it okay for you to keep fighting like this?”

“Ah, if you mean my body, there’s no prob—”

At that moment, Mara cut off Yeomyeong’s words.

“I’m not talking about your body, I’m talking about the True Intention you’ve just obtained up, and the martial arts you’ve built based on that. Have you organized it well? Did you give it a name?”

Was that something worth talking about? Yeomyeong shook his head and was about to reply her with “Not yet.”

But as he shook his head, the crow sitting in the chair suddenly spread her wings wide.

“My apprentice! Wait a minute. You have established your own True Intention?!”

Yeomyeong nodded, and Corvus flew over to his side.

“When? When did you establish your True Intention?”

“It hasn’t been long. I was fighting with Ayatollah in the dream…”

“Then, it’s already been four days!”

Yeomyeong couldn’t bring himself to say, “I spent three of those days unconscious,” because Corvus’ eyes were glaring at him so intensely.

“How could you keep something so important a secret from your teacher!”

It wasn’t really a secret. He just forgot about it… but if he said that, he was sure to get in more trouble, so Yeomyeong quickly changed the subject.

“Uh, Teacher, the thing is… I was just too busy…”

“You were too busy to tell your teacher about your True Intention? You’re worst apprentice ever.”

At that moment, Mara muttered sarcastically. Corvus immediately turned her head and glared at her, and Mara quickly grabbed a barley cookie and ran off.

“…”

Now alone with his teacher, Yeomyeong swallowed his bitter smile and spoke honestly.

“I’m sorry, Teacher.”

Without hesitation, Yeomyeong bowed his head. Corvus looked down at him and sighed deeply.

“Apprentice, lift your head. There’s no need to bow.”

“…”

“I know that you never intended to deceive me. You are not the type of person to do that, are you?”

Upon hearing the kind voice, Yeomyeong slowly lifted his head. Their eyes met, and Corvus gently asked.

“So, what is the True Intention you’ve established? Love? Compassion? Struggle? Or maybe… revenge?”

Yeomyeong, who saw Corvus’ eyes filled with anticipation, glanced around cautiously.

Following Seti, Neti unfolded a map, and even Darulma, holding a phone, was watching.

Everyone in the group was looking at him and Corvus out of the corner of their eyes.

Slightly embarrassed, Yeomyeong carefully whispered his True Intentions into Corvus’s ear.

Mencius said this:

Both fish and bear paws are things I desire, but if I can’t have both simultaneously, I would choose bear paws over fish.

Similarly, life is something I desire and righteousness is also something I desire. If I cannot have both, I forgo my life, and take righteousness.

Like choosing the precious rare bear paw over a common fish, this statement carries the teaching of the idiom: to sacrifice life for righteousness, which means that righteousness is more important than life.

However, Yeomyeong found a different answer there. If he desired both, shouldn’t he aim to have both?

Even if the barrier of reality blocked him… wasn’t it right to strive to obtain everything he wanted?

If Mencius heard this, he would likely grab him by the neck, but Yeomyeong wanted to live that way. This was the principle that summarized Yeomyeong’s life…

Having finished explaining, Yeomyeong pulled his face away from Corvus’ ear.

Though his true intention was still lacking, like that of a newborn, the possibilities and meaning contained within it were conveyed to Corvus.

And Corvus’ response to hearing this was…

“…”

Silence.

She did not snap her beak or flap her wings as usual. She simply stared blankly at Yeomyeong, unable to close her beak.

“What exactly is your True Intention?”

Unable to hold back, the Saintess intervened, but Corvus still couldn’t close her beak. She stared at the Saintess, Seti, and Neti in turn.

Sensing an odd familiarity in her gaze, Yeomyeong was about to speak, but Corvus moved her beak first.

“Apprentice…”

“Yes, Corvus.”

“Are the two flowers in your hands not enough?”

“…?”

Yeomyeong raised an eyebrow, then realized what misunderstanding Corvus had and slapped his forehead.

“No, Corvus… My True Intention wasn’t meant in that way.”

“Is that so?”

Mara intervened once again, but both Yeomyeong and Corvus deliberately ignored her.

Corvus grabbed Yeomyeong’s cheeks with her two wings and said.

“Of course, I trust you, Apprentice.”

“…”

Wasn’t that what was usually said when you don’t trust someone?

“So, I trust the promise you made to me. You will return to the academy as soon as this plan is over. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“After this commotion, you will return to the academy, stay quietly for a while, refine your True Intention, learn martial arts… and also… also…”

Corvus’ eyes turned toward the Saintess.

As Yeomyeong tilted his head, unsure of what her gaze meant, Mara, having eaten all the cookies, chuckled.

“The Saintess is still a virgin.”

Quietly listening to the conversation, Darulma coughed, but Mara added.

“I helped a little.”

With that, the Saintess drew a revolver.

About the time when the sunlight shone upon the Ferris wheel and the heads of the people during lunchtime in Chicago.

Countless people were walking around at Navy Pier, where both Lake Michigan and the Chicago Dimensional Portal were visible.

The shopping mall and plaza, destroyed by the recent attack from the commies and the monsters, had already been restored.

Sitting in the newly restored Navy Pier park and watching the Chicago Dimensional Portal being restored across the lake, one could feel both America’s frontier spirit and Chicago’s prosperity at the same time.

Of course, most citizens did not feel such sentiments. Their attention was now fixed on the limousine that was just entering Navy Pier.

As soon as it maneuvered through the crowd, the luxurious limousine was immediately surrounded by bodyguards.

– Everyone, please move aside!

• Please cooperate with security!

• Anyone who approaches within a certain distance will be penalized!

  The bodyguards pushed the citizens away mercilessly. Some people fell and screamed, but the bodyguards did not flinch.

  That was because the people inside the limousine were very important.

  Furthermore, this was America. A country where even people with depression could own firearms, and the president had been assassinated several times in history.

  However, one of the people inside the limousine seemed to have a slightly different perspective.

  Suddenly, the limousine door opened with a thud, and a massive man stepped out of the car. As soon as he appeared in the crowd, citizens and reporters pushed through the bodyguards to get closer.

  – Governor! Please sign this!

• Alton! Alton!

• You’ve been selected as the running mate for the upcoming presidential election, what do you think about that?

  No matter how much the bodyguards panicked, Governor Alton started talking to the citizens with a smiling face.

  His overwhelming popularity was enough to erase the existence of both the mayor of Chicago and the senator, who were stuck in the limousine, unable to do anything.

  In a country that worships strength and machismo, a self-made massive politician was such a figure.

  The only shortcoming, perhaps, was that he wasn’t the main character of this event.

  Among the citizens gathered here, some, no, almost more than half, were more focused on the girl with a blindfold sitting in the back seat of the limousine, rather than the governor.

  – Oh, Five Gods.

• Praise the Saintess.

• The Saintess of Salvation…

  Devout believers who came after hearing that the Saintess would attend the event, along with Chicago citizens she had saved.

  The longing glances they sent were so intense that they could almost pierce through the thick bulletproof glass of the limousine.

  “If people knew what the Saintess really wanted, everyone would be in an uproar.”

  Mara, shuddering under all the gazes, muttered maliciously in a voice small enough only for the Saintess and Seti sitting beside him to hear.

  “Shut your trap. Do you want me to make another hole in your butt?”

  The Saintess snarled as she poked Mara’s backside with the muzzle of her revolver. Mara looked disgusted as she stared at her and turned to the citizens outside the limousine, who were praying.

  “I’m a bad guy by nature, but you really…”

  Fortunately, there was no further conversation, thanks to the limousine arriving at its destination.

  The podium and award stage were set up at the beach park right in front of Navy Pier.

  As soon as the limousine stopped at the place filled with people who were about to receive medal awards and various media outlets, cheers, applause, and the flashes of cameras exploded.

  Soon, the limousine door opened, and the Saintess took a deep breath before stepping out of the car.

  She smiled beneath her blindfold, waving to all sides with a fan service that was a given.

  Her acting was so superb that even Mara and Seti, who were standing beside her, were amazed.

  “You’re wicker than I thought…”

  “Shh, keep quiet from now on. If you don’t want your lip movements to get you roasted, that is.”

  “…”

  At the oddly realistic advice, Mara chuckled and kept quiet, waiting for the Saintess’ performance to continue.

  The Governor, who was the first to step onto the stage, began his speech.

  [My beloved and respected citizens of America, Illinois, and Chicago.]

  [I am deeply honored to be the first speaker of this meaningful event.]

  [Decades ago! The citizens of Chicago used their freedom and will to…]

  The speech, starting with a strong and powerful voice, quickly captivated the audience. However, the Saintess, who sat right in front of the stage, was half-listening to the speech with one ear while the other ear let it go.

  Her eyes, hidden beneath her blindfold, were directed towards the red haze flickering on top of the tall buildings in downtown Chicago, across from Navy Pier.

  Similarly, Mara, who had also spotted the red haze, muttered quietly.

  “That guy really likes to fall from the sky, doesn’t he?”