SS #37 Kang Yujin (7)

Sensing killing intent was, in itself, an act of instinct.

A sense every human was born with.

And that sense could be honed through training.

Sharper.

More sensitive.

That was why Yujin didn’t miss the stealthy killing intent that shot toward him from behind.

Fwish!

His response was instantaneous.

Before his innate senses could even issue a command, movements ingrained by training unfolded reflexively.

He shot to his feet, turning and lowering his stance as he drew the knife hidden in his shirt.

His left arm shot out to shield Yuria, his eyes scanning the entire area to assess the situation.

Yujin held his breath.

Having traveled with his father since childhood through the Guiana Highlands and the Amazon rainforest, not to mention the African savanna and deserts, Yujin had witnessed not just ordinary wildlife but also ferocious beasts up close on numerous occasions.

Yet even he couldn’t help but flinch, his body stiffening for a moment in the face of the creature—no, the monster—that had appeared before him.

It was a bizarre creature.

It had the head of a draconic beast, the massive body of a lion that rivaled an elephant in size, and a tail made of a snake.

It was approaching with its body lowered, still a dozen meters away, but its sheer size—far larger than a full-sized van—made the distance feel negligible.

‘A chimera.’

He had never seen one before, but he knew its name.

It was merely his first time seeing it in the flesh; it was a monster he had encountered countless times in the Heroic Saga series.

Yujin’s breathing grew ragged.

He wasn’t quite panting, but his breaths were far from calm.

And that was only natural.

It was the first time in his life he had faced a real monster.

Perhaps because it knew it had been spotted, the creature began to radiate a killing intent so potent it was unlike anything he had ever felt on Earth.

An ordinary person, upon facing the chimera’s killing intent, would have collapsed, foaming at the mouth, or screamed in panic.

Therefore, the fact that Yujin, despite his ragged breathing, still held his defensive stance was commendable.

But Yujin couldn’t be satisfied with that.

This was a real situation, and he wasn’t alone.

‘I have to protect Yuria.’

-Always keep the victory condition in mind.

Alexei’s teaching filled Yujin’s mind.

For Yujin, the most important thing right now was protecting Yuria.

Therefore, he thought only of how he could protect her.

Had it been Kang Jin-ho or Yuder, they would have broadened their thought process to find a more logical solution. But Yujin was the son of Kang Jin-ho, and of Hong Yu-hee.

Yujin focused solely on ‘protecting’ Yuria. He mobilized the intellect inherited from Kang Jin-ho and the analytical skills honed through training, calculating how to defend her from the monster.

Fight it head-on and win.

Impossible.

Draw the monster’s attention to myself to buy time for Yuria to escape.

Relatively possible.

Then how do I increase the probability of success?

What’s the surest way to draw its attention?

His thoughts moved at the speed of light, and in an instant, several plans formed in his mind.

And it was at that very moment.

“Thank you, Yujin-oppa. And I’m sorry. A chimera is a really dangerous opponent, so I have no choice. I’ll take care of it.”

Her calm voice was filled with sincerity.

But Yujin couldn’t look back at Yuria.

He was concentrating every nerve on the standoff with the monster.

At this sight, Yuria once again gave a complicated smile.

Yuria knew what Yujin was thinking.

She knew how serious he was, and she could feel that he was prepared to risk his life to protect her.

That was why her smile was so complicated.

Because she was truly sorry to Yujin.

Because she was truly grateful to Yujin.

Yuria didn’t step forward right away.

She knew Yujin would stop her with his outstretched left arm.

So, instead of stepping forward, Yuria opened her lovely lips and whispered in a small voice.

“Nine Heavens and Nine Gates, Open.”

Nine heavens.

Nine gates.

Just as one reaches the horizon to grasp the principle of the sword, this was the path to transcendence, opened by understanding and accepting the world’s providence.

“First Gate, Second Gate, Third Gate.”

Each time Yuria’s voice rang out, the surrounding area shook.

The atmosphere roiled as a powerful aura swelled in an instant, and the world’s very system seemed to react to her elevated presence.

The chimera lowered its stance further and growled.

Its serpentine eyes fixed solely on Yuria. Yujin could only watch her back as she walked past him.

Yuria reached a hand into her skirt.

She produced a sword of astonishing length—it was a mystery where she’d hidden it beneath her skirt—drew it from its sheath, and let it hang loosely at her side.

Yuria was still a small, pretty girl.

But Yujin found himself swallowing hard.

And looking at her small back, he remembered one thing he had forgotten, something that Kang Jin-ho and Yuder would have surely recognized.

‘Yuria is Yuria.’

The child of Yuder and Cordelia, the Guardians of Pleiades.

She was not the child of ordinary humans.

She was a girl who could never have been ordinary in the first place.

BOOM!

With a roar that shattered his thoughts, the chimera leaped.

The moment Yuria gripped her sword, the beast’s instincts screamed at it to flee, but its pride wouldn’t allow it.

Despite its huge bulk, its movements were as fast as lightning, and the dozen-meter distance was as good as nonexistent to it.

The distance vanished with its leap.

Its fangs and claws aimed for Yuria.

And before they could reach her, Yuria’s sword drew a beautiful arc.

Twelve Swords of Snow Flower, Second Blossom.

Snow Flower Full Bloom.

A blue chill followed the arc of Yuria’s sword, forming the shape of a blooming flower.

And that twisted the flow.

The chimera, which had been like a runaway locomotive, veered on its own and charged not at Yuria and Yujin, but at a large tree, crashing into it with a tremendous roar.

To Yujin, it was an incomprehensible event.

All Yujin could understand was that Yuria had swung her sword, the ground had frozen over, and the side of the chimera, which had crashed head-on into a large tree due to its sudden change of course, was covered in frost.

Twelve Swords of Snow Flower.

A hidden swordsmanship of the Paragon royal family, its true power accessible only to those who wielded the ultimate power of the extreme.

Yujin blinked and exhaled.

And once again, he realized with bone-deep certainty just what kind of child he had tried to protect, and whose child she was.

“Oppa, are you okay?”

Yuria asked carefully, and Yujin’s face turned bright red.

It wasn’t just because she was so beautiful and lovely, still wearing the bunny ear headband. Nor was it just her expression, a mixture of apology, gratitude, and the awkwardness of not knowing how to act around him.

‘S-so embarrassing.’

He was embarrassed.

He was really, truly, incredibly embarrassed.

Who was I trying to protect, stepping forward like that?

How must I have looked in Yuria’s eyes?

Did I look like a pup trying to protect its master?

It was humiliating.

He wished he could find a hole to crawl into and hide.

“Oppa?”

Yuria spoke again, and seeing the fear now mixed with worry in her expression, Yujin forced himself to take a deep breath.

And it was at that very moment.

SPLASH!

A torrent of water pouring from above engulfed Yuria and Yujin.

*

It was a simple principle.

The tree was enormous, its leaves were enormous, and those enormous leaves held enough water to create a deluge.

And the chimera’s impact had been powerful enough to shake every single one of those leaves.

Hence the downpour.

Nature’s sprinkler.

“Uh, uhhh.”

It was Yujin who made the dazed sound.

And for good reason, as he had only just regained his senses.

Right after the downpour of water.

Yujin and Yuria, who had become like drowned rats in an instant, looked at each other, and after that, he couldn’t remember things clearly.

No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say he was half out of his mind due to the series of unexpected events and what happened afterward.

It started something like this.

“L-let’s dry off.”

“Huh?”

“Our clothes, let’s dry them. We’ll catch a cold if we stay like this.”

The night air was already chilly, and if they stayed in wet clothes, even Yuria would inevitably catch a cold.

‘No, wait, would she?’

Seeing her open the Nine Heavens and Nine Gates, it seems she also has a Heavenly Martial Body.

But thinking about it, even Yuder, the epitome of a Heavenly Martial Body, often caught colds, so it didn’t seem likely that Yuria would be immune.

So, Yujin thought as he had been trained.

Staying in wet clothes leads to catching a cold.

In a situation like this with the cold night air, it might not end with just a simple cold.

So, they must dry their clothes and warm their bodies.

“Our clothes… how do we dry them?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, the, uh, clothes.”

“Uh… by taking them off?”

Start a fire, make a temporary clothesline with branches, and hang the clothes on it to dry.

A survival skill he had practiced dozens of times with his father.

Yujin, who had answered Yuria’s question reflexively, flinched for a moment. Yuria pursed her lips, a thoughtful expression on her face, then nodded, hiding a smile that would have made Vivian exclaim, ‘She’s so black-hearted!’

“Okay, let’s dry them then.”

And now.

In a small cave they found a little ways from the tree, they had a fire going. They were directly grilling—no, rapidly drying their wet clothes over the open flame on a makeshift rack of branches, while also warming their chilled bodies by the campfire.

It was an action he had done dozens of times, but Yujin, who had just barely recovered his senses, couldn’t help but feel like he was about to lose his mind again.

And for good reason, because the person with him now was not his father, but Yuria.

‘I-is this okay? Is it really okay?’

Yujin himself was shirtless, wearing only his boxer shorts.

He couldn’t see Yuria, but as far as he knew, she was in her underwear, wrapped in his own outerwear, the only piece of clothing that hadn’t gotten wet.

Although they were still young, a boy and a girl were together in a secluded place, practically naked.

Of course, sufficient safety measures were in place.

Yujin himself was blindfolded and had his back to Yuria.

He couldn’t see even if he wanted to.

Even if he lost his mind and tried to do something strange, it would be fine.

After all, Yuria was dozens of times stronger than him.

‘Right, good, it’s okay, no problem.’

The fact that his thoughts were running nonstop seemed to betray his current state, but Yujin didn’t stop repeating the mantra to himself.

If he stopped for even a moment, he felt like he would lose his mind to the presence of Yuria he could feel right behind his back.

And while Yujin was floundering in his anguish…

A heated discussion was underway in Yuria’s mental Guild House.

“I think hiding the fact that we can dry clothes with magic and engineering this situation was a very good idea.”

“Because Yujin-oppa probably doesn’t know we can use magic.”

“He seemed to think of us as a pure swordswoman, right?”

“Yeah, so we don’t have to worry about him finding out. For now, at least.”

“The timing of the water splash was great, too. Thanks to that, the awkward atmosphere was instantly reversed.”

“But isn’t Yujin-oppa so cute and cool?”

At the words of the Yuria wearing the bunny ear headband, the other Yurias all nodded in agreement.

“Did you see him holding his ground in front of the chimera?”

“I saw, I saw! And that left arm. He did that to protect us, right?”

“Such a man.”

“How can he be so cute and lovely?”

“No, it was cool. It’s true he’s cute and lovely, but that was cool.”

“Haaah, if it were up to me, I would have just wanted to keep being protected.”

“How nice would it have been if it were just a wild boar or something.”

“I know, right? Why did it have to be a chimera?”

“But thanks to the chimera, a secondary event like this happened, right?”

“That’s true.”

Again, the Yurias nodded with their black-hearted smiles.

But one of the Yurias pouted her lips as if slightly dissatisfied and said.

“But isn’t Yujin-oppa too much of a gentleman?”

“I know. I expected him to turn his back, but a self-blindfold?”

“Yujin-oppa’s idea is so cute. So lovely.”

Yuria was fundamentally an elegant, aloof, and cool city girl, but once her switch was flipped, she turned into a doting fool who could rival Vivian.

Just like Yuder.

“Anyway, what should we do? This situation itself is very good.”

“Yeah, yeah, it seems good. How about we talk while watching the campfire? It feels kind of romantic.”

“The fact that one person is blindfolded is a bit of a problem, but I agree with talking anyway.”

“Me too.”

“Me too.”

It was then that the Yurias raised their hands one by one in agreement.

“Are you really going to be satisfied with just this?”

It was Madam Yuria, the leader of the Guild House.

Thanks to the bunny ear headband, her usual elegance and aloofness were somewhat diminished, but she still possessed both aloofness and a sly charm compared to the other Yurias.

“Let’s advance things just a little bit further.”

“P-progress?”

“Leaning our shoulders against Oppa’s. If shoulders are too much, then maybe our backs?”

At the Madam’s suggestion, the Yurias simultaneously pictured the same scene.

Two people leaning shoulder to shoulder, watching the campfire.

The breath and sweet scent of skin felt right beside them.

Two people smiling with flushed faces, whether from the campfire’s light or something else.

“That seems good.”

“That makes a pretty picture, doesn’t it?”

“As expected of the Madam!”

Madam Yuria, who smiled with a “fufu” at the Yurias’ praise, adjusted her bunny ear headband and said.

“Then let’s execute the plan.”

“Yes! Ma’am!”

Immediately after the Yurias shouted their reply…

The real Yuria, her face bright red, cleared her throat a few times, then subtly scooted over, adjusting not just her posture but her position.

It was to lean her shoulder against Yujin’s.

“Y-Yuria?”

“It’s to warm our bodies faster with our body heat.”

If Vivian had seen this, she would have shouted, ‘L-look at that black-hearted girl! Her eyes, her lips, everything is so sly!’ but sadly, she was not present.

Yuria blocked Yujin’s movements with an aloof voice pretending to be logical, then swallowed hard.

‘Sit.’

Right next to Yujin.

‘And lean my shoulder against his.’

Yujin flinched.

So did Yuria.

The faces of the two, already flushed, turned even redder.

“A miscalculation.”

Madam Yuria said with a flushed face, and the other Yurias also nodded with their lips pressed tightly together.

Because when they sat right next to each other and leaned, it wasn’t just their shoulders that touched.

Their thighs and calves touched.

Bare skin against bare skin!

‘S-so soft!’

‘So firm!’

The first thought was Yujin’s, the second was Yuria’s.

At the contact with Yuria, so soft and warm it made him doubt such softness could exist in the world, Yujin clenched his teeth, while Yuria swallowed hard again at Yujin’s unexpectedly firm muscles.

Of course, both were still just a young boy and girl, and the current situation alone was already enough to make them feel faint with the blood rushing to their heads, so no further progress could be made.

Their limit was simply leaning against each other, gulping dryly, their hearts pounding.

But this alone was enough.

Because just being like this made them feel incredibly happy.

And one minute passed, then two.

Slowly but surely, the two grew accustomed to the situation and opened their mouths at almost the same time.

“Y-Yuria.”

“O-Oppa.”

Their words tangled, and after sharing an awkward laugh, they spoke again.

“You go first.”

“Oppa, you go first.”

It was a conversation that could be called cliché, but it wasn’t a problem for the two of them.

Yujin and Yuria laughed again, and once more, they opened their mouths at the same time.

But this time, something preceded them.

“Freeze.”

A cold, hard voice.

At that voice, which exuded a chill like the very essence of Extreme Cold Qi, Yujin and Yuria flinched simultaneously.

The owner of the voice, Yuder August Bayer, the guardian of Pleiades and the home, glared down at Yujin and Yuria with furious eyes.

---

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

Please do consider subscribing to my Patreon or donate to my Ko-fi if you like this work or to get early access to chapters