Chapter 2 – Back to Earth #1

Bailun, a border city in the northern region of the Sailun Kingdom.

Also known as the Bayer County, it was home to two of the twelve great northern families.

One was, of course, House Bayer. The other was House Chase, whose domain was the Red Dawn Tower.

Despite being the land where two of the twelve northern families resided, Bailun in the past was closer to a backwater, true to its name as a ‘border city.’

This was not particularly strange. Although a member of the twelve northern families, House Bayer was a warrior family whose influence was gradually waning, and while House Chase’s mansion was in Bailun, their actual territory was the Red Dawn Tower.

Given the circumstances of the two families, Bailun, which was neither particularly fertile nor had any notable specialty products, was bound to remain just a small city on the border.

But in just two years, the situation had changed.

A specialty product called shampoo and conditioner was born in Bailun.

Factories were built everywhere, and the number of merchants coming and going from Bailun increased.

From there, a natural, virtuous cycle began.

More people, more money, a growing city, and even more people and money flocking to Bailun.

The decisive blow was, of course, the addition of the Cordelia Merchant Guild.

With the full support of the Cordelia Merchant Guild, Bailun underwent dazzling development, and by now, it had become a metropolis rivaling Langest, the so-called heart of the North.

And at the center of this Bailun.

In the Bayer estate, which was originally located on the outskirts but had become the city center as the city grew, there was an existence completely out of place in the bustling city.

“Ahh, this is paradise.”

“Does it feel good?”

“Yeah, it’s great. The absolute best.”

Under the shade of a large tree.

A little white bear cub lay with its head on a maid’s lap, a drowsy expression on its face. The maid, smiling softly as if the cub were the most adorable thing in the world, continued to brush its fur slowly.

A little white bear cub.

The strange thing wasn’t that there was a bear in the middle of the city, let alone in a count’s mansion.

Of course, a talking bear cub was a noteworthy being in itself, but this particular cub had something far more special about it.

It was a Wild God.

A guardian of nature, born and raised in the Wild Lands.

“The weather’s nice.”

In a mild climate completely different from the Wild Lands, where blizzards raged year-round, the Wild God—Rough Avalanche—closed his eyes with a contented smile.

It was to better savor the maid’s brushing.

Rough Avalanche had originally planned to drop off Yuna and return immediately to the Wild Lands, but he had somehow ended up staying at the Bayer estate for a full seven months now.

‘Couldn’t I just make this place my sanctuary?’

He could even take the maids as his tribe.

Perhaps he could become the symbol of the trade city of Bailun.

He thought he could hear the calls of Great Storm and the other Wild Gods and inhabitants of the Wild Lands from far away, but as they were literally far away, Rough Avalanche couldn’t hear them well.

But it was at that very moment.

A conversation that Rough Avalanche, who had been imagining himself dressed up in a cute tuxedo for a Bailun city event, could not ignore reached his ears.

“Oh my, really?”

“Yes, really. They said it’s their 100th lovers’ elopement.”

“Haa… It’s so romantic.”

Lovers’ elopement.

The 100th time.

Hearing the maids’ chattering, Rough Avalanche couldn’t help but shake his head.

It was all too clear who they were talking about.

‘Same as ever.’

One hundred elopements.

Who else but those two would elope a hundred times?

‘Wait, isn’t it not even an elopement in the first place?’

Aren’t they already married with the blessings of both their parents and the entire world?

“Haa… I want to try eloping just once.”

“Me too.”

At the maids’ subsequent sighs, Rough Avalanche shook his head again.

Because of the trend those two had started, a culture of eloping before marriage had taken root in the Sailun Kingdom.

‘They’re probably eating well on their own.’

It was those two, after all.

Worrying about them would be a waste of effort.

‘I’m sure they’re doing just fine right now, engaging in some lovey-dovey antics that would make anyone cringe.’

Rough Avalanche imagined it for a moment and shuddered.

Just the thought of it was enough to make his hands and feet curl.

“Rough Avalanche-nim?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. Just for a moment.”

Smiling at the maid who looked down at him with concern, Rough Avalanche sat up instead of lying back down with his eyes closed.

He could see familiar faces approaching from a distance.

“Unca Bear!”

“Unca Bear!”

“Well, well, have my little ones come to see me?”

Rough Avalanche greeted the toddling Amber and Aiden and, toddling in a similar fashion, approached the two children.

And at the same time, in a different place.

Rough Avalanche’s imagination had become reality.

*

“Here, say ‘ahhh.’ ‘Ahhh.’”

On a scenic hill, blessed with fresh air and a beautiful view.

Sitting on a picnic mat, Cordelia held out a piece of gimbap with her chopsticks. Yuder glanced around before opening his mouth, a bit timidly.

“Ahhh.”

“Yes, good boy.”

Popping the gimbap into Yuder’s mouth, Cordelia immediately picked up another piece and said.

“Again, ‘ahhh.’”

Her voice was incredibly gentle and loving, but instead of readily opening his mouth, Yuder cleared his throat.

“Hey, you’re usually so shy. Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“Nope, not embarrassed. Because no one’s watching? Are you the one who’s embarrassed right now? Hmm? Is that it?”

As Cordelia tilted her head, Yuder opened his mouth with a nonchalant expression as if to say ‘not at all,’ but Cordelia could tell.

Yuder’s cheeks were turning a faint red.

‘He’s not like this when others are watching, but he gets like this when it’s just the two of us.’

Especially when he’s on the receiving end like this, he gets even more flustered.

‘What kind of shyness is this?’

Usually, he does far more embarrassing things with a straight face.

But Cordelia didn’t mind.

For her, who was utterly smitten, this shy side of him was just another one of Yuder’s charms.

‘It’s also a good way to attack him.’

A shy Yuder is a rare and cute sight.

Giggling inwardly, Cordelia once again held out the gimbap, her eyes telling him to open his mouth. Yuder, still looking embarrassed, closed his eyes slightly and opened his mouth.

And the other two people watching them looked at each other with lukewarm expressions and spoke.

[Ahem, I know this is nothing new, but I think they sometimes forget we’re watching.]

[Sometimes? I think it’s more often than not.]

Valencia, the sword spirit of Sword Origin, and Melissa, the artificial spirit dwelling in Moonlight.

Thanks to an artifact created by Edward, the two were not only able to communicate but also share the same space as they were now.

[What is it with them kissing in the middle of eating gimbap?]

[Is this the first or second time we’ve seen it?]

When Valencia replied with an enlightened expression, Melissa spoke in a serious tone, as if genuinely impressed.

[Valencia-nim, you have such a high tolerance for this sort of thing.]

[It’s not for nothing that I have reached the Principle of the Sword.]

And after another ten seconds or so had passed.

[Ahem, ahem, ahem, shall we play a game of chess?]

[Sh-shall we?]

Their faces flushed red from the scene unfolding outside, the two primly turned around and set up a chessboard.

It was the fifth day of their 100th lovers’ elopement.

The destination for Yuder and Cordelia, who were traveling along a deserted road, was the newborn Paragon Kingdom, located beyond the borders of the Sailun Kingdom.

In truth, calling it a ‘kingdom’ yet was a bit of a misnomer.

For one, the newborn Paragon Kingdom had no ‘king.’

But the Paragon Kingdom had Landius and Lena, and the many surviving citizens of Paragon who had gathered to see them.

It was clear they would soon lay the foundation for a proper nation.

“It seems so full of life. And it smells good, too.”

Riding on Yuder’s back, Cordelia looked down at the capital of the newborn Paragon Kingdom spread out below the hill and spoke, sniffing the air.

The city, in the midst of construction, was chaotic, but because of that, it was also overflowing with vitality.

“It’s lunchtime, after all.”

Yuder also sniffed the scent of baking bread carried on the wind and smiled.

“Let’s hurry down.”

“Alright.”

Yuder, smiling again, summoned Nightmare instead of becoming the Black Gale.

If he had his way, he would have loved to walk down with Cordelia on his back, but that would be far too conspicuous.

“And Nightmare is okay?”

“This is the Paragon Kingdom.”

It was the homeland of none other than Belkian, the No Life King, now reborn as a Vampire Lord.

Indeed, at the construction site below the hill, there were more undead than people.

“No wonder the construction is progressing so fast.”

The sight of skeleton workers, who could labor 24/7, 365 days a year, moving about the construction site gave even Cordelia, who was accustomed to magic, a surreal feeling.

And Yuder, as always, continued with an additional explanation as he looked at the rising castle walls.

“For now, it’s a temporary measure because they’re short on hands… I heard they won’t use them anymore once the country’s foundation is somewhat established.”

“Huh? Why? Isn’t more labor a good thing?”

“Because it reduces jobs for people.”

Cordelia blinked at Yuder’s words but soon nodded as if she understood.

“You mean if people can’t work because of the skeletons, the unemployment rate will go up?”

“Something like that. Since the level of civilization in Pleiades isn’t that high yet, many people have to engage in manual labor, and they can’t possibly compete with skeletons.”

On Earth, too, the Industrial Revolution had caused countless jobs to disappear.

Of course, new jobs were created as well, but it was also true that the number of those who fell behind in the process was by no means small.

“Mm, I like it.”

“What? The Yuderwiki?”

“No, a smart man.”

Cordelia whispered and hugged Yuder’s waist tightly. Yuder, with a pleased expression, urged the horse forward.

Valencia and Melissa, as always, had lukewarm expressions on their faces.

And after another ten minutes or so.

Yuder and Cordelia crossed the capital of the rebuilding Paragon Kingdom and arrived at a large temporary structure—the provisional city hall—erected on the site of the completely destroyed royal palace.

“Cordelia! Yuder!”

The first to spot them was, as expected, Lena.

The two were wearing magical masks to avoid attention, but to the angelic Lena, their very souls were visible.

Lena, who came out wearing sleeve protectors as if she had been in the middle of paperwork, greeted them warmly. Yuder and Cordelia quickly dismounted Nightmare and removed their magical masks.

“The maddening couple?!”

“It’s the fantastic couple!”

“His Holiness the Pope and the Goddess’s Avatar!”

As soon as they removed their masks, hushed gasps erupted from all over the provisional city hall.

But Yuder and Cordelia couldn’t pay attention to the reactions around them.

A being had appeared who captured all attention just by existing, a being truly like the sun.

“My disciple! Cordelia!”

At the thunderous call that boomed like a lightning strike, smiles spread across Yuder and Cordelia’s faces again.

A half-naked Landius, his steel-like muscles on full display, stood waving from the direction of the palace ruins.

“As expected of Landius.”

He was clearly shirtless, yet his muscles were so solid they looked like a suit of armor.

And now that she looked, it seemed he had gotten a bit bigger, too.

Newly impressed, Cordelia smiled again, then cupped one fist in her other hand in a martial arts salute she had once seen in a movie.

“May the muscles always be with you.”

At the prayer-like greeting, Landius’s eyes widened for a moment before he burst into laughter and returned the salute.

“May the muscles always be with you!”

Indeed, the meaning of words changed depending on who said them.

Hearing Landius, who could be called an incarnation of muscle, offer a blessing of muscle, Yuder felt as if his own muscles were heating up.

‘No, is this a form of PTSD?’

Yuder involuntarily recalled the face of Landius laughing heartily while saying, ‘We’ve wrecked your upper body, now let’s wreck your lower body!’ and managed a slightly awkward smile.

“It’s been a while, Master.”

“Yes, it has been. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Laughing heartily again, Landius crossed dozens of meters in a single leap instead of walking, then turned back towards Lena.

Lena gave Landius an affectionate smile, as if finding him incredibly endearing, then turned to Yuder and Cordelia.

“It’s lunchtime. Let’s eat together. We can catch up on things we’ve missed.”

“Yes, Sister Lena.”

Lena, who seemed quite pleased with the title ‘sister,’ smiled again and turned to lead the way.

*

‘Hey Yuder, I know this is nothing new, but…’

‘Yeah, I think I know what you’re going to say.’

Inside the temporary building.

Sitting across a large dining table from Landius and Lena, Yuder and Cordelia were thinking the exact same thing.

‘Lena is amazing.’

Landius had inherited the blood of giants and had even undergone Ancestral Regression to awaken it.

In other words, Landius was a giant.

Of course, he wasn’t the kind of giant that was five meters tall like a troll or ogre, or over ten meters like a cyclops, but he was clearly a giant, far larger than a human.

He stood 2.4 meters tall—no, now that he had broken through the Wall of Seven Gates, he was closer to 2.5 meters.

Moreover, he wasn’t just tall.

Thanks to his ridiculously muscular physique, reminiscent of a steel fortress, Landius was not only tall but wide as well.

And next to this Landius sat Lena.

At a little over 170 cm, she could be considered tall by Pleiades standards, but sitting next to Landius, with a little exaggeration, she looked like a doll.

In fact, Landius’s biceps were thicker than Lena’s waist.

And the scene before them made this disparity all the more apparent.

A bowl of delicious, steaming hot stew.

Lena’s was small.

No, it was a standard size.

And Landius’s was huge.

It was almost like a pot—no, a cauldron had been placed before him.

‘H-how do they do it at night—ah, no! Get out, dirty thoughts! Begone, inner demons!’

As Cordelia shook her head, her face bright red, Landius and Lena tilted their heads, wondering what was wrong. Yuder thought with a bitter smile.

‘Maybe I should go through that bookshelf after all.’

That bookshelf, full of the books he had received from Kaisa.

In any case, that was enough of the stray thoughts.

Yuder praised the food Lena had personally prepared, creating a conversational atmosphere before bringing up the main topics.

“Are the others doing well?”

Kamael, Belkian, and Fran.

As the Cordelia Church had close ties with the Holy Cross Guardians, Yuder knew a fair amount about Kamael’s recent activities, but it was no exaggeration to say he knew nothing about Belkian and Fran.

At Yuder’s question, Landius replied while tearing a large piece of bread.

“You probably know more about Kamael than I do… As for Belkian and Fran, they’re in the east right now.”

“The east… do you mean near the border region?”

“Yes, the same border area they were defending not long after the Disaster War ended.”

During the Disaster War, demon followers from the east had led their hordes to invade the west, so not only Belkian and Fran but also Landius and Lena had been active on the eastern border.

But now that not only the Disaster War but also the war with the east was over, why had the two of them gone to the east?

“Could it be because of the Superhuman Emperor who appeared in the east?”

A rumor that began to spread around the time of the founding of the Yudelia Holy Nation.

A Superhuman Emperor had appeared in the east.

A superhuman called the Azure Dragon had started a great war to unify the east.

At Yuder’s question, Landius slowly nodded.

“He hasn’t made any specific acts of invasion yet. But… he is certainly a figure to be wary of. His overwhelming strength is also a concern.”

The east was practically the headquarters of the demon followers.

It wasn’t a stretch to suspect a connection to the demons, given that a superhuman had been born in such a land.

“As Landi said, nothing has happened yet, so they just went to the east to check things out and investigate. They probably won’t even cross the border,” Lena said with a gentle smile.

It seemed she was trying to lighten the serious atmosphere.

‘The Superhuman Emperor who appeared in the east… the Azure Dragon.’

He was a figure who hadn’t existed in Heroic Saga 2 or 3.

Who is he, and how powerful is he?

‘It might be a needless worry.’

Although he had the grandiose title of Azure Dragon, honestly, Yuder couldn’t imagine him being stronger than the Landius sitting before him.

And if he wasn’t a demon follower, but had obtained the power of a superhuman through pure training, Yuder had no particular reason to oppose him.

As Lena said, it wasn’t as if he had invaded the west.

‘Besides, Belkian and Fran went.’

If it was those two, they were highly likely to handle any unexpected situations that might arise.

‘Alright, let’s move on.’

Even Landius and Lena right in front of me don’t seem to be thinking about it that seriously.

Having organized his thoughts, Yuder straightened his posture, drank the tea Lena had served, and spoke again.

“Master, may I ask what story you said you would tell me when we arrived?”

Yuder and Cordelia hadn’t visited the Paragon Kingdom for no reason.

In the first place, the letter from Landius and Lena had been the catalyst for their 100th lovers’ elopement.

—We would like you to come to the Paragon Kingdom in the near future.

At Yuder’s question, Landius and Lena took a deep breath and looked at each other. Then, Lena spoke.

“We called you here because… there’s something we’d like to solve together.”

“Together?”

“Yes, the four of us, together.”

Nodding at Cordelia’s question, Lena gave a meaningful smile.

---

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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