Chapter 34: I’m curious about that elf.

At a gathering with fellow returnees, we decided to distribute the mana stones after building camaraderie.

The elf’s face contorted, and we agreed to divide them fairly.

“It seems like you need a lot of mana stones, Elf.”

“I never cared about money in the first place. Just pay me for my effort.”

Said Neko cheonma.

Then, moving on.

“So, what’s your name, Battle mage?”

As we distributed the stones, the conversation naturally shifted to names.

Battle mage shot back at me when I asked, seemingly annoyed.

“Are you really that curious?”

Well, distribution is one thing, and curiosity is another.

“Seriously, why are you so obsessed with my name?”

Seeing how hard they were avoiding it, I became determined to find out.

If I couldn’t get it here, I might have to threaten the Seolhwa guild for an investigation.

“Just tell us already.”

“Ugh…”

Judging by that troubled expression, teasing was practically my duty as a saint, right?

When else would a kind saint like me get to torment someone?

“I already told you, my name is Yeonghee.”

“Hey!”

“And believe it or not, my childhood friend was Chulsoo.”

Wow, what a match made in heaven.

But is that really a name worth hiding?

If your name is Yeonghee and your childhood friend is Chulsoo, that’s practically a classic.

“How could you just say that! It’s just a coincidence.”

“So what? We’re all returnees here. Didn’t I already tell you my name? I’m Seose-ryeong both as a demon and on Earth.”

I didn’t care much, having already heard their name.

“It’s not on the level of ‘Yeonghee!’”

What’s so wrong with being Yeonghee?

Especially when you’ve got Chulsoo as a boyfriend.

I think those names are perfectly charming.

“What’s wrong with Yeonghee? It’s familiar and nice.”

“Wait a minute. We’re glossing over something important. Hey, saint. Why haven’t you told us your name?”

Oh, right.

Did I forget to mention that?

Battle mage seemed to feel wronged that only they had to reveal their name.

Well, Seose-ryeong’s name wasn’t anything extraordinary either.

But did I really not say my name?

Isn’t it their fault for not asking?

“You didn’t ask.”

“Oh, right… But come on! You grilled me for my name, and you didn’t say anything?”

“Ugh. Women, I swear.”

They shook their head in frustration.

Why not just let it go?

Women always like to argue about these things.

“You’re a woman too! Everyone here except the orc is female!”

I, being modeled after a goddess, had a perfect form.

It’s a bit different, but not exactly wrong either.

“I’m not a woman. I’m a goddess.”

“Wow, that’s some serious princess syndrome.”

The elf muttered disdainfully.

It didn’t seem like this was going to be let go.

Fine, then.

As the saint Karina, there’s nothing stopping me from revealing my past name.

Puffing out my chest with pride, I spoke.

“Alright. My name is Park Si-woo.”

Since I was a returnee and tied to these people anyway, I figured it was time to spill the beans.

But suddenly, Battle mage started laughing, clutching their stomach.

“What? So you were a guy, and you were that curious about my name?”

Hmph.

They’re in no position to be mocking.

“You seem to be under some misconception. Was I a guy? Sure, just like the elf here.”

I casually stood next to the elf, trying to form a bit of camaraderie.

“Huh? What? Really?”

“Yes. I reincarnated over there and lost most of my memories of Earth, so just consider me a woman now.”

“But still, how can a guy dress like that?”

What’s wrong with how I dress?

Oh, right.

I am showing quite a bit of skin.

From Battle mage’s perspective, I probably look like some perverted womanizer flaunting myself after having been a man.

“Well, if you put it that way, I feel like I need to explain. Honestly, it’s just easier to move around like this. Unlike when I was a guy, there’s nothing swinging between my legs, and besides, it feels refreshing. It’s a crime to hide such a beautiful body.”

Now that I think about it, I’ve really grown used to speaking like this.

Even though I cursed the goddess at first, I’m really enjoying this form.

“Wait, so you dressed like that because you used to be a guy?”

“You’re still mistaken. This was a gift from the goddess. When I asked if it wasn’t too revealing, she told me not to apply human standards to a goddess.”

“That’s a fair point, but are you okay with it?”

Of course I am.

What’s there to be uncomfortable about?

Male pride?

I’ve got none of that left.

“I like myself. Isn’t it normal for a girlfriend to want to look pretty for her boyfriend?”

After gazing at the mirror, I couldn’t help but feel happy.

“Just looking in the mirror makes me happy.”

“You crazy girl. Seriously, doing both the male and female roles on your own.”

Of course! I love myself!

“Enough with the jokes. Shouldn’t we start dividing things up now? Non-hunters are easy targets for hunters in a dungeon, so if you’re done, it might be best to leave the tower.”

“You’re right.”

I took out the mana stones from my inventory.

As I emptied them out, they piled up quickly, more than expected.

There were so many mana stones.

Without an appraiser present, and even if we had one, it would be hard to separate them by grade.

They all looked the same, so dividing them into five equal parts should work.

Clatter, clatter.

“How much is coming out?”

It’s a ridiculous amount!

“Yeah, the elf swept away the enemies with wind magic, so the mana stones just came pouring out.”

The elf’s Sylph did a great job.

When the corpses of the enemies were blown away, the mana stones appeared.

“Isn’t it annoying to divide this up?”

Yeah, it’s too much.

There’s a whole mountain of it.

I don’t want to give it away to the hunters waiting outside either.

I can’t keep it all to myself, but I don’t want to share it with others.

“Then should we just give a chunk to the Elf? Hey, Orc?”

“He’s been out of it since you declared him ‘your man’ earlier.”

Huh?

My man declaration?

That was just from a past life!

“Why?”

Is the Orc feeling rejected or something?

This is unexpected.

“Why?”

Is there a reason the Orc should feel that way?

“From what I can see…”

“Poor Orc!”

Why would the Orc feel rejected by my past life declaration?

“Hey? Orc? Should we handle the mana stone division ourselves?”

“Oh… uh, yeah. Sure.”

So, we decided to give half to the Elf.

The rest we split evenly among us.

Even this much is a fortune.

This is why small guilds cling to the Tower of Destruction.

I’ve heard that guild operating costs are high, and the Tower is seen as a financial utopia.

Surprisingly, we finished quickly.

Only about two hours?

“Should we go for an after-party?”

“I think I should be heading out now.”

The Elf, having gathered her mana stones, stood up first.

“Why?”

“I have a curfew. I need to be home by 6 PM.”

A curfew at 6 PM? What is this, is she a teenager?

Even teenagers don’t have curfews like that these days.

“Are you a teenager?”

“No, my wife said so. If I’m late, she won’t give me dinner.”

Wow, her wife really keeps her on a tight leash.

But seriously, what’s the big deal if you miss dinner?

If a woman has had kids, she probably knows how to cook, right?

“Don’t you know how to cook? You said you’ve raised two kids?”

“I’m from the upper class of Elves. We had servants to cook for us.”

“Wow, the bourgeoisie…”

No wonder her wife can use dinner as a threat.

*

We used a portal stone to return to Seoul.

After exchanging contact information, the Elf said….

“See you again.”

…and walked off first.

I watched her leave, her back looking strangely pitiful.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Well, yeah…”

“Maybe she’s a victim of domestic violence? As a righteous saintess, it’s my duty to look after her.”

It’s absolutely not because I’m curious about her personal life.

“Isn’t it just you who’s curious?”

“If I’m curious, aren’t other people curious too? Usually, people are interested in stuff like this, right?”

“Why does it matter? It’s not good to pry into other people’s family matters.”

“Yeonghee, I agree with the saintess!”

Exactly!

Even the Cheonma knows what’s up.

“Hey, call me Cain.”

“This isn’t the time for trivial matters. The important thing is that this fellow returnee, the Elf, might be suffering from outrageous abuse by her family. Isn’t that right?”

Wow, as expected of the leader of the Cheonma Cult!

So righteous!

“Uh, well, yeah, that could be true…”

See?

That’s exactly what I’m saying.

It’s not that I’m just being nosy.

If it turns out the Elf is in serious trouble, wouldn’t it be the saintess’s duty to smash her wife’s head in?

“What if we just let her go today, and then there’s a murder? What if something happens because of domestic conflict?”

“Come on, is that really likely?”

“You hear a lot about these things lately, don’t you? Especially on internet forums, about marriages and stuff.”

I’ve read tons of that.

“Yeah, but should we really treat reality and what floats around on the internet as the same?”

“Reality can be harsher than you’d think sometimes. Orc, you’re coming with us, right?”

“Huh?”

What’s with the ‘huh’?

That’s why people treat you like a monster.

Or are you trying to ditch us now?

“You’re not going to back out after coming this far, are you?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… I might really get into trouble if we go.”

“Why?”

What’s the issue?

Is it some kind of problem with segregation?

If that’s the case, we can handle it together.

“That… well, you’ll understand when you see it.”

Said the Orc.

“What are you even talking about? Let’s just go.”

At first, I thought the Orc was just being a coward, so I ignored what he said.

But when I thought about it, if he really was scared, he wouldn’t have fought the hunters, right?

That realization hit me as we headed to the Elf’s house, and then… it happened.

“Kyaaah! The Orc has enslaved those women!”

“How could something like this happen in the middle of the city?”

“Shouldn’t we save them?”

Ah, I get it now.

Basically, right now, I, Cheonma, and the Battle mage must look like the Orc’s slaves.

And since we’re women, they probably think we’re some sort of sex slaves.

Well, if I had known this in advance, I could have prepared for it.

“Orc, why didn’t you tell us ahead of time?”

“What?”

“If you had, we could’ve worn collars, and you could’ve held our chains.”

In other words, a photo-op of three female slaves and one master Orc.

“Are you trying to get me arrested?”

“I’m just offering you a gift of pride and satisfaction as a male conqueror. Of course, as the saint, my appearance fee is high, so even for just a concept photo, you’d have to pay at least a billion won.”

“So, you’re planning to lock me up and take my money too? How ruthless.”

Why does he take everything so seriously?

Though, if he did offer a billion, I might consider it.

In the end, we had no choice but to put a mask on the Orc’s face.

Hmm, but covering the Orc’s face with a mask just made him look even more like a criminal.

“This makes me look like a total criminal, doesn’t it?”

The Orc lamented.