SS #37 Kang Yujin (2)

Yuder Bayer.
Black hair and green eyes.
The protagonist of Heroic Saga 2 Remake, born with a frail body due to his Extreme Cold Qi, yet blessed with the supreme talent of a Heavenly Martial Body.

Cordelia Chase.
Red hair and blue eyes.
A magical genius who inherited a strong lineage of angelic blood.
The true protagonist of Heroic Saga 2 Remake—kind, beautiful, and deserving of every compliment imaginable.

In the original Heroic Saga 2, Yuder and Cordelia had been just two of the twelve playable characters, and unpopular ones at that.
But in the remake, which added a “Perfect Happy Ending” route with significant story revisions, they were reborn as the undisputed main characters.
Among the original player base, there was a lot of talk—that Outboxer and Nopok had completely overhauled Heroic Saga with their own characters, that it was a Mary Sue, a self-insert fanfic. The backlash was particularly fierce from fans of Maximilian, who had been the original protagonist before being demoted to a villain. But what could they do? The rights to the Heroic Saga series were already in the hands of Kang Jin-ho and Hong Yu-hee.

In any case, Yuder and Cordelia.
The true protagonists of Heroic Saga 2 Remake.
And right now, they were standing before Yujin’s very eyes.

Co-cosplay?

That was his first thought, of course, but Yujin immediately corrected himself.

This isn’t cosplay.

It couldn’t be.
They were real.
They had to be real.
After all, the beauty of these two was simply not of this world.
They were so handsome and so beautiful that it seemed as if light was radiating from their entire bodies.

Wait, are they actually glowing?

Like, with a halo or something?
Whatever the case, the two were practically self-illuminating.
No, considering the Perfect Happy Ending route of Heroic Saga 2 Remake and the contents of the scripture at home, they were two gods.

‘Look how startled the kid is. Maybe we should’ve turned off the halos?’

‘Hmph, it’s only natural for him to be shocked. And it’s fine. This way, we don’t have to waste effort convincing him. It’s easier.’

‘Wow, you sounded a bit like my father just now.’

While Cordelia and Yuder exchanged a rapid-fire conversation with their eyes, Yujin pressed a hand to his chest and took deep, deliberate breaths.
It was thanks to the teachings passed down from Alexei to Kang Jin-ho, and then to Yujin himself.

‘Always think about the victory condition.’

Don’t panic. Focus on the victory condition.
Don’t get fixated on the event before you; grasp the overall flow.

But what is the victory condition?

Getting my father-in-law and mother-in-law’s approval?
Marrying Yuria?

N-no.

I’m getting way ahead of myself.
I haven’t even met Yuria yet.

As Yujin floundered in a maelstrom of confusion, Yuder and Kang Jin-ho looked at each other, continuing their conversation as god and apostle.

‘What’s with the kid’s state? Did you even raise him right?’

‘It’s because he’s facing an incredibly bewildering situation. If it weren’t Yujin, he wouldn’t even be able to react this calmly.’

‘Hmph…’

Kang Jin-ho’s defense was valid and logical, but Yuder still narrowed his eyes, seemingly unsatisfied.

‘Anyway, why don’t you explain things to him?’

‘Understood.’

He had to at least give the boy a chance.
Having finished his mental conversation with Kang Jin-ho, Yuder was about to give Yujin a concise and simple explanation of the situation, but by then, Cordelia had already opened her mouth.

“So, basically—”
Heroic Saga 2 is a game based on events that happened in a real world called Pleiades, and everything that happens in Heroic Saga 2 actually happened.
And your mom and dad are super-duper close friends with me and Yuder.
“Explanation over!”

Cordelia’s playful wink at the end was so beautiful it felt like his heart would explode, but Yujin managed to protect it with another deep breath.

I don’t really get it.

No, his head sort of understood, but the story was so bewildering that it was hard to accept.

But still, it does make sense.

His family was not ordinary.
A father who takes his son camping in the Guiana Highlands, an eternally youthful mother, and an angel for an aunt.
If Heroic Saga 2 was a real world, then all of this would make sen—

No, it doesn’t! What’s the connection between Heroic Saga being real and a father taking his son on a survival camping trip to the Guiana Highlands?

He needed additional context.
Additional context about his father and his aunt Natasha!

Anyway, calm down, Kang Yujin.

Hadn’t Alexei said it?
Always remain calm.
Face every situation with reason and logic, not emotion.

Taking a deep breath, Yujin straightened his back and looked forward, only to be startled again by the sight of Cordelia, who had somehow appeared right in front of him. Both his body and mind flailed.

Damn it! She’s too pretty!

It was at that very moment.
The impossibly beautiful Cordelia, who was in fact the Goddess of Beauty, smiled mischievously like a little devil and, leaning her face close to Yujin’s, asked.
“By the way, Yujin.”

“Y-yes!”

“There’s something I’m curious about. Could you tell me?”

Cordelia was the Goddess of Beauty and Love, and in person, she was an incredibly beautiful and lovely woman.
When such a woman asked with a hint of charm, Yujin, though young, was still a boy and had no way of refusing.

“I-if it’s something I can answer.”

As he managed to give a conditional reply with his last shred of reason, Cordelia flashed another brilliant smile, making the hearts of both Yujin and Hong Yu-hee, who stood behind him, flutter simultaneously.

“Mhm, it’s fine. It’s a question that Yujin—no, that only Yujin would know the answer to.”

What could it be?
What was Cordelia about to ask?

“Yujin, don’t feel pressured. Just answer honestly.”

“O-okay.”

“Yujin…”

“Yes.”

“In Heroic Saga 2, who do you like the most? Huh? Your favorite character. Who’s your fav?”

Who do you like more, Mom or Dad?
Cordelia’s question, on par with that classic dilemma, caused Yujin’s brain to freeze for a moment. Cordelia continued to beam, while Yuder, standing behind her, smiled coldly and spoke with his eyes.

‘You’d better answer carefully.’

Who was his favorite character in Heroic Saga 2?
At Cordelia’s question, Kang Jin-ho frowned.
It was a question with no right answer, filled only with traps.

Tch, but the one asking is Cordelia.

It was a devilishly tricky question, but the crucial point was that the asker was Cordelia, not Yuder.
Yuder would have asked such a question with the genuine intent of setting a trap, but Cordelia was likely asking out of pure, genuine curiosity.
However, innocent purity could sometimes be crueler, and it was a fact that Yujin was now cornered.

Yujin, remember Alexei’s teachings.

Honestly, even Dad doesn’t know the right answer, but think of the victory condition and come up with the best possible response.
And so, as Kang Jin-ho cheered him on, Yuder watched him coldly, and Cordelia smiled with eyes full of expectation and curiosity.
Yujin, his brain having shut down, produced an answer not from his head, but from his heart.

“Yu-Yuria.”

“Huh?”

“Yu… Yuria. The NPC from the DLC.”

As Yujin answered, looking half-dazed, Cordelia let out an audible “Oh my,” then broke into a wide, delighted smile. Yuder swallowed a groan, his expression truly complicated.

He liked Yuria the most.
Yuria was his favorite character.
It was the best possible answer Yujin, Yuria’s fiancé, could have given.
How could a parent get angry and say, “Why my daughter and not me?” when someone says they like their daughter the most?
On top of that, it was a fiancé saying he liked his fiancée!

“You like our Yuria the most?”

“Uh, umm… Yes. I like her the most.”

Having lost the energy to think any further, Yujin answered honestly as asked. Cordelia, muttering, “Oh, how sweet,” tugged on Yuder’s sleeve and sent him a look.

‘What do you think? You like him, right? I like him.’

‘Hmph, for a young kid, he’s quite forward.’

‘Why? He said he likes Yuria.’

‘We don’t know how Yuria feels yet. An engagement is just an engagement. There’s no guarantee they’ll fall in love just because they were engaged before birth, like we were.’

‘Oh, you.’

Seeing Yuder being uncharacteristically stubborn, Cordelia felt a mix of finding him cute and frustrating. With a slightly complex smile, she turned back to Yujin and asked.

“So, Yujin, what do you like about our Yuria? Huh? There must be a reason she’s your favorite character.”

“Huh? Oh… um… that…”

“That?”

“I just like her… Sh-she’s pretty, and…”

As Yujin mumbled his reply, Cordelia smiled again as if he were the cutest thing alive, while Yuder’s glare intensified.

‘So he does just like her for her looks. Engagement’s off, it’s off!’

‘Hey, why are you like this again? You liked my looks too, you know.’

‘That’s not true! It wasn’t just your looks I liked!’

‘But you did like my looks, right? I like your looks too.’

‘Kgh…’

In this kind of conversation, even Yuder, armed with reason and logic, could never win against Cordelia.

He loses all reason when we talk about this stuff.

Chuckling softly, Cordelia patted the head of Yujin, whose face and neck were beet red as if he’d just made the confession of a lifetime, and then stood up.

“Anyway, Yujin, you are our Yuria’s fiancé.”

“It’s not confirmed. The engagement can be broken at any time. If Yuria says she doesn’t want it, it’s over.”

Cordelia mercilessly pinched the side of Yuder, who was making such sour remarks, but that kind of attack did zero damage to him anyway.
So, with a slightly annoyed look, Cordelia stomped on Yuder’s foot once before speaking to Yujin again.

“Yujin, we’re going to take you to Pleiades.”

“T-to the world of Heroic Saga?”

“Yup, to introduce you to our Yuria.”

Meeting Yuria.
The idea was so dreamlike that Yujin felt his reason about to evaporate again, but he flinched and quickly gathered his wits.
Yuder, standing behind Cordelia, was sending him a sharp glare.

‘If Yuria doesn’t like you, this is all off!’

Yuder’s earlier words suddenly came to mind, and Yujin swallowed dryly.
Yuder was right.
Regardless of whether Yujin liked Yuria, if Yuria disliked him, it was all over.

“We’ll be leaving tomorrow evening. So get yourself ready before then.”

“…I understand.”

When Yujin replied with a suddenly determined expression, Cordelia tilted her head in confusion, but she liked his resolute face and immediately smiled again.

“Okay. If you have any questions, ask your mom and dad.”

“I will return tomorrow afternoon,” Yuder added immediately after Cordelia. He shot one more intense glare at Yujin before giving Kang Jin-ho and Hong Yu-hee a nod of farewell.

And that night.
After getting a more detailed explanation from Kang Jin-ho and Hong Yu-hee, Yujin said he needed some time alone and went into his room, where he took several deep breaths.

Pleiades.
Yuder and Cordelia.
Their daughter, Yuria.
His own fiancée.

Crazy. This is seriously crazy.

Just the thought of it made his heart start pounding as if it would burst again.
But Yujin was Kang Jin-ho’s son, and at the same time, a boy who had inherited Alexei’s teachings.

Be calm. Think about the victory condition.

Tomorrow, I’m going to meet Yuria.
So, what is the victory condition given to me?

I have to make Yuria like me.

No—it’s not just about her liking me.
I have to confirm my own feelings too.
Whether I truly like Yuria, not as a game character, but as my actual fiancée.

Steeling his resolve, Yujin climbed into the capsule that enabled full-dive virtual reality games and closed his eyes.

Heroic Saga 2 Remake.
He had to run a simulation before the real battle.

Logging into the game he had spent thousands of hours playing, Yujin set off towards the Yudelria Holy Nation, where the NPC Yuria resided.

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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