SS #37 Kang Yujin (3)

As befitting Yujin, who was practically raised on Heroic Saga 2, his character window had hundreds of characters registered.

With the remake, the number of playable characters had greatly increased from twelve to twenty-four, and Yujin’s character window contained all twenty-four of them, albeit with varying levels.

‘Should I go with my main?’

Among the twenty-four playable characters, he was the one Yujin had raised the most and felt the most attached to.

The successor to the holy sword, a character his mother—a devout follower of Cordelia—had originally despised, but had started to like after a new route was added in the remake.

Lucas Hresvelg.

But just before pressing the play button, Yujin changed his selected character.

This was because Lucas was a character from Heroic Saga 2, making the age gap between him and Yuria, Yuder and Cordelia’s child, akin to that of a father and daughter.

‘That’s a bit weird.’

His goal right now was purely to meet Yuria.

Recalling Alexei’s teachings about victory conditions, Yujin scanned his character window and selected a character.

Redin.

One of the playable characters from the Heroic Saga 3 Remake.

He was still older than Yuria, but the age gap was small enough for them to be like an older brother and younger sister.

‘Alright, let’s really go.’

To meet Yuria.

Taking a deep breath, Yujin pressed the start button.

At that very moment, as Yujin logged into the game for a practice run…

Yuder and Cordelia were sitting in a couple’s seat at a PC Bang they hadn’t visited in a long time, eating cup ramen.

“Mmm, this is the stuff. That unique cup ramen flavor you can only get at a PC Bang.”

Cordelia sniffed the air and even did a little shoulder dance in delight, but Yuder’s expression was far from pleased.

“What is it now? It’s been ages since we had cup ramen. It’s okay to eat junk food once in a while.”

This was a reflexive attempt to soothe him, as Yuder was the type to meticulously select what Cordelia ate, often muttering, “This is food for a goddess’s mouth.” But even as Yuder nodded in acknowledgment, his expression remained stiff.

‘There’s something more.’

The two of them were so close they could read each other’s thoughts with just a glance.

When Cordelia gestured with her eyes for him to spit it out, Yuder crossed his arms, glared at the monitor, and said,

“That kid, Yujin. His main is Lucas.”

“What’s wrong with Lucas?”

Cordelia used to despise Lucas, but that was a long time ago.

Now, Lucas was a close friend, a cherished younger brother, and the husband of her best friends.

Besides, the Heroic Saga 2 Remake had added a ‘Perfect Happy Ending’ route, so choosing Lucas no longer forced the unpleasant plotline where Cordelia becomes a demonized human.

So why was Yuder so displeased that Yujin’s main was Lucas?

If anything, Yuder was closer to Lucas than she was.

“Lucas is a good character. He’s good-looking, too.”

“Yes, but he’s also a man who two-timed.”

Kaisa and Scarlett.

Lucas’s two wives.

That was right.

Among the twenty-four playable characters in the Heroic Saga 2 Remake, Lucas was the only shameless one who two-timed.

“And do you know who his main is in the third game?”

“Wh-who is it?”

Cordelia asked, her eyes filled with dread. Yuder clicked his tongue, furrowed his brow, and said,

“Redin.”

“Gasp! Redin the Harem King?!”

“That’s right. Redin the Harem King.”

An unrestrained, womanizing fiend who went beyond two-timing to have a whopping four heroines.

To think that the main characters he chooses are all harem protagonists.

Lucas at least had the excuse of a past-life connection, but Redin didn’t even have that.

Cordelia could see what Yuder was getting at.

Kang Yujin is the kind of guy who only mains harem protagonists.

In other words, a sinister desire to have his own harem lurked in Kang Yujin’s subconscious.

Could they really give the spot next to Yuria—a girl so kind, pretty, and pure that you could attach every good word to her name—to a guy like that?

“H-he’s just a kid!”

“A kid?”

“Y-yes, he’s a kid. Since he’s a kid… you know… being strong, having lots of money, lots of women… It’s natural for him to admire that sort of thing, right?”

“So you’re saying he’s rotten from the start.”

“Nooo! That’s not it!”

As Yuder spoke with a serious face, Cordelia pounded her chest in frustration as if to say that wasn’t it, but it was also true that she couldn’t think of a good defense.

What was she supposed to say in a situation like this?

If she’d known this would happen, she would have come with Yu-hee and Jin-ho.

Hong Yu-hee would be no match, but Kang Jin-ho could probably hold his own in an argument with Yuder!

“Anyway, if Yuria doesn’t like him, it’s all over. The whole thing is null and void. A pre-birth engagement for children who haven’t even been born yet… it’s unreasonable.”

“You and I had a pre-birth engagement, you know?”

“That’s because we were destined for each other. We’re the exception.”

Looking up at Yuder, who was saying such childish things with a serious face, Cordelia forced a smile and said,

“Anyway, he hasn’t even met Yuria yet, so don’t be like that. Okay? Hmm?”

Cordelia spoke gently as if soothing a child, but Yuder remained silent to the end. With a sigh, Cordelia picked up her cup ramen.

‘Well, it’s not like Yuder is completely wrong.’

In the end, what mattered was how Yuria and Yujin felt about each other.

Yuder’s tone suggested that only Yuria’s feelings mattered—or rather, that Yujin’s feelings were already a foregone conclusion—but they wouldn’t know for sure until the two actually met.

Stealing a glance at Yuder, who still wore a displeased expression, Cordelia chuckled at how he was starting to resemble her father—Count Chase—and then focused on eating her cup ramen.

Just as time seems to fly by during exam periods—especially in the early hours of the morning before a test—Yujin’s time was deleted in an instant.

‘I-it’s morning already?’

Yujin, who had been diligently practicing conversations with a Yuria NPC, kicked open his capsule and sat up, a complex, strange mix of anxiety, fear, and anticipation churning inside him.

“You’re up?”

“Yes? Yes, sir!”

Hearing his father—Kang Jin-ho’s—voice from the living room, Yujin quickly ran to the bathroom to wash up.

Even though it was school vacation, Yujin’s day always started at 7 a.m.

His mother—Hong Yu-hee—always woke up after 9 a.m., but that was because she was his mother.

She was the sole exception to all the rules established by Kang Jin-ho for the Kang family.

“Good morning, Yujin.”

“G-good morning, Auntie.”

Yujin blushed as he spoke, flustered by Natasha’s outfit—a tank top and dolphin shorts that seemed to show a lot more skin today. Natasha chuckled and said in a suggestive tone,

“Yujin.”

“Yes, Auntie.”

“You know that contract is still valid, right?”

“D-don’t tease me!”

The childhood contract where he’d even left a thumbprint, promising to marry Aunt Natasha when he grew up.

His face turning even redder, Yujin bolted back into the bathroom, and for some reason, Natasha pouted.

And so the morning began.

After washing up, Yujin ate the breakfast Kang Jin-ho had prepared, then took the hand of a late-rising Yu-hee and headed to a beauty salon.

It wasn’t their usual neighborhood salon, but a magnificent place that made him wonder if it was really a salon at all. And it wasn’t just a place for doing hair.

“Mm, good. My son is so handsome. I like it.”

From skincare to hairstyling.

Having received what felt like a full-body makeover, Yujin stood awkwardly, staring at the mirror and muttering, “Is this me?” while Hong Yu-hee, Natasha, and Kim Hye-eun—who had joined them at some point—stood with their arms crossed, smiling fondly.

Another couple of hours passed.

Back home, Yujin sat on the sofa with perfect posture, trying to suppress his pounding heart as he waited for Yuder and Cordelia.

In his mind, he replayed the meeting with Yuria he had practiced all through the night over and over again.

‘From Pattern A to Pattern Z.’

Twenty-six conversation patterns, prepared according to Yuria’s possible responses.

From there, he had checked over a thousand branching patterns.

He was still a child and resembled Hong Yu-hee much more, but Kang Jin-ho’s blood also flowed through Yujin’s veins.

‘Help me, Alexei.’

Give me strength.

And then, after some more time had passed…

The master bedroom door opened again, and Yuder and Cordelia appeared.

“Oh my, our Yujin looks like a celebrity! Don’t you think so, Yuder?”

“Hmph. He’s somewhat presentable.”

Cordelia smacked Yuder on the butt—who was reacting just like a member of the Chase family, despite not having a single drop of their blood—and turned back to Yujin.

“Yujin, are you ready?”

“I’m… ready.”

Finding Yujin’s serious reply adorable, Cordelia gave a melting smile and looked at Hong Yu-hee, who stood with a face as tense as Yujin’s and nodded gravely.

“Alright, let’s leave right away.”

To Pleiades.

To meet Yuria.

As Cordelia opened a Spatial Gate, Yuder, though grumbling, took her hand and began to escort her. Kang Jin-ho and Hong Yu-hee held each other’s hands tightly.

“Yujin, it’s okay. You can do it. If it doesn’t work out, you can just marry your aunt, right?”

“Yes, Auntie. Thank you.”

When Yujin thanked her with a bright smile, Natasha gave a bitter smile, but only for a moment.

“Alright, let’s go. Yuria’s just a person in the end. A person. It’s no big deal.”

At Natasha’s not-quite-encouraging encouragement, Yujin swallowed hard and stepped toward the Spatial Gate.

Inter-world travel.

Travel to another world—no, to Pleiades, the world that became the origin of the Heroic Saga series.

He had already heard about it from his mom and dad, but the inter-world travel itself was anticlimactically easy.

The moment he passed through the Spatial Gate, another world appeared.

Of course, there was nothing to clearly indicate that it was ‘another world.’

It wasn’t as if a god from another world suddenly appeared and welcomed them—

‘—or not.’

“Welcome to Pleiades.”

The goddess of Pleiades.

To be more precise, a welcome from Cordelia, the goddess of love, magic, beauty, and the sun.

A goddess from another world welcomed him, so this must be another world.

That must be it.

Nodding dazedly, Yujin looked around at the scene before him.

Indoors.

Inside a large room, to be exact.

Luxurious walls, ceilings, and furniture of a style he’d often seen in Heroic Saga 2.

“This is our mansion in the royal capital. Have you seen it in the game, by any chance?”

Yujin immediately nodded at Cordelia’s question.

The ‘Newlywed Home Purchase Event’ that appeared when playing as Cordelia and Yuder was a mandatory event that absolutely had to be triggered.

But it was at that very moment.

“Yuder, it’s dark outside… Is it possible a time difference variable occurred?”

At Kang Jin-ho’s question, who had already glanced out the window, Yuder flinched and wiggled his fingers in the air. Before long, he narrowed his eyes and said,

“Just as Kang Jin-ho said. A time difference variable occurred. It’s the day of the ball. And it’s already started.”

The 300th Founding Anniversary Celebration.

The original plan was to arrive the day before the Founding Anniversary Celebration, but a time difference variable had occurred during the inter-world travel.

The time difference variable, which occurred because the flow of time between worlds is different, was an unexpected random number that not even Yuder could perfectly predict.

“How much time has passed? The ball hasn’t ended already, has it?”

“Not yet. It’s probably just started… If we get ready and go now, we should be able to make it somehow.”

Yuder, quickly answering Cordelia’s urgent question, turned to the group and said,

“Everyone, get changed. No, we don’t have time. Don’t move.”

At Yuder’s words, everyone flinched and froze. Cordelia, understanding immediately, wiggled her fingers and activated a spell.

A change of clothes in an instant.

Now dressed in a stylish black tuxedo, a startled Yujin looked down at himself, but the others, seemingly quite used to this, immediately sprang into action.

“I’ve called a carriage outside. Let’s get in and go now.”

As Yuder spoke and wiggled his fingers, the window opened. Cordelia then gestured, and an invisible force instantly moved the group out the window.

The next thing he knew, he was inside a carriage.

Half dazed, Yujin could only stammer “Uh, uh, uh…” as he looked out the window, his eyes widening in awe.

‘The royal capital! The royal palace!’

The royal capital of the Sailun Kingdom.

The massive, beautiful royal palace at its center.

He had seen it hundreds, thousands of times in the game, but seeing it in person was a completely different experience.

It was because of the real-life vibrancy that even full-dive virtual reality couldn’t capture.

‘I-I think I can hear the BGM.’

The beautiful yet majestic background music of the royal capital that played upon arrival.

And it wasn’t his imagination.

Because upon seeing the royal capital, Hong Yu-hee and Kang Jin-ho had started humming that very background music.

It was a reflexive reaction, not an intentional one. Cordelia laughed and joined in, and Yuder, too, participated with a bitter smile, so the inside of the carriage was soon filled with the royal capital’s background music.

And finally, the carriage arrived at the royal palace.

As befitting the royal palace of the Sailun Kingdom, one of the continent’s two great powers, the security system was thorough, but with Yuder and Cordelia together, everything was a free pass.

The group, practically running, arrived right in front of the hall where the ball was being held. They exchanged one last look, and Cordelia took a deep breath, then smiled at Yujin and said,

“We’ll go in first and buy some time. Catch your breath and then come in. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Cordelia smiled again at Yujin’s loud, reflexive reply, while Yuder muttered something peculiar—“He’d be good at stating his rank and name…”—and gestured to a palace staff member with his eyes.

“Announcing the entrance of the Goddess’s Avatar!”

Yuder and Cordelia entered through the open doors of the hall.

Countless eyes focused on the two of them.

Yujin understood what Cordelia had meant by ‘buying time.’

Their entrance.

And the dance that followed.

It was the dance of the two gods who protected Pleiades.

It was literally a dance not of this world, so everyone couldn’t help but be enthralled, and Yujin was no exception.

He found himself almost mesmerized by Yuder and Cordelia’s dance.

But at some point.

Yujin, who had been completely absorbed in Yuder and Cordelia’s dance, unknowingly turned his gaze.

No, to be more precise, he looked somewhere else despite the fact that Yuder and Cordelia were dancing.

A strong pull.

The guidance of fate, which made it inevitable.

Even though she was among more than a thousand people, he recognized her at a glance.

It was as if she alone was shining in a sea of people.

A black-haired girl in a pink dress.

Yuria August Bayer.

Yujin swallowed hard, and Yuria, who had been focused on Cordelia and Yuder’s dance, turned her gaze.

She looked at Yujin.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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