SS #40 Time to back(6)

“Now, you listen carefully to what your big sis is about to say.”

Cordelia patted her chest and began to explain to Yuder what would happen after they released Raizekang’s seal.

“So… it’s a Fever Time?”

“Yup, yup, that’s exactly it.”

They would beat up the immobilized Raizekang and have a grand time leveling up.

If they couldn’t level up here and now, conquering the Dungeon Book would be impossible, making this a critically important event.

“That’s… something else.”

“Oh, it is. We can gain a ton of levels.”

As Cordelia spoke, shimmying her shoulders excitedly, Yuder gave a wry smile.

What Yuder found amazing wasn’t the leveling, but Cordelia, who had just thrown the first punch at a Demon Prince, sealed or not.

She really is Nopoki.

She was a lewd, wicked, insidious, and obscene young lady, but at the same time, she was also our violent, beast-like, and simple Nopoki.

“Hey, what are you thinking? You were just insulting me, weren’t you?”

“Nope. I was praising you.”

As Yuder replied shamelessly, Cordelia narrowed her eyes in suspicion but eventually nodded.

“Alright, anyway, there’s one more way to make the future even better than the one I know.”

“A better future?”

“Yup. Bellastin and I improved Bellastin’s magic circle.”

Cordelia patted her chest again, then puffed it out and began to boast.

Although she’d had help from Bellastin herself, as she’d said, advancing the already cheat-level magic circle of Bellastin was truly a remarkable achievement.

Meaning, I did it, not Yuder.

After all, she was Cordelia, hailed as the Goddess of Magic.

At least when it came to magic, she wouldn’t lose to Yuder in theory.

“I’ve greatly improved the magic circle’s energy efficiency. Before, it could only be maintained for three minutes here, but this time, we can keep it up for a full five minutes. You know what that means, right?”

Fever Time had been extended from three minutes to five.

The experience gained from Raizekang would decrease as their levels rose, but the level difference between them was enormous to begin with.

With an extra two minutes, they could gain several more levels.

“Alright, shall we get to drawing?”

With a grin, Cordelia lifted her skirt and began to pull out tools that were tightly strapped not only to the inside of her skirt but also to her thighs and calves.

The shy Newbie Yuder, his face beet red, hastily turned his head away.

“How cute.”

As Cordelia giggled, Yuder pretended not to hear, biting his lip and trying his best to look elsewhere. But to Cordelia’s ears, it sounded like he was muttering things like, “Lewd!” and “Filthy!”

He’s like a young noble lord.

Giggling again, Cordelia began to draw Bellastin’s magic circle with her own hands.

I’m not the me I used to be.

She was Cordelia, the Goddess of the Sun, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, and also the Goddess of Magic.

Humming a tune, Cordelia began to swiftly sketch out Bellastin’s magic circle.

“This is just basic knowledge for a ranker, wouldn’t you say?”

As Cordelia said this boastfully, Yuder showed a look of genuine admiration.

Because of what had happened before they arrived, he had been thinking, ‘Cordelia really is a beast!’ but seeing her skillfully draw the magic circle, he was once again struck by the majesty of a max-level player.

“Alright, all done. Shall we begin?”

They had to hurry because of the time they had wasted—no, the time they had used so very meaningfully—before coming here.

Cordelia rolled her shoulders lightly to loosen up and gave Yuder a look that asked if he was ready. Yuder nodded.

The unsealing of the Demon Prince Raizekang.

Flashing a charming smile that revealed her canines, Cordelia pricked her fingertip with a knife and let a drop of blood fall onto the magic circle.

And in the next instant.

The moment the drop of blood from a soul that had reached the realm of gods—even if its vessel had changed—stimulated the magic circle.

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

With a terrifying scream, the Demon Prince Raizekang revealed himself.

*

“Yup, yup, it’s been a while. See you later.”

[I-I will not forget this. I-I will have my revenge….]

Raizekang vanished, leaving behind a line even more sorrowful than in the original story.

It was only natural. He hadn’t just been humiliated; he had suffered a truly painful blow.

Cordelia August Chase.

The Goddess of the Sun and Magic who protected Pleiades.

Cordelia’s body was weak, and the amount of mana she had accumulated was small, but she was still the Goddess of Magic.

With the power of her transcendent soul, she condensed the mana in the atmosphere.

With her equally transcendent mana control, she completed an impossibly complex formula and, with the divine power of her magic, pummeled Raizekang.

The result of her efforts.

Cordelia literally had an explosive leveling spree.

Yuder, decked out in all the buffs Cordelia had cast on him, also gained a ton of levels, nearing level 20.

Nice, nice. At this rate, the Dungeon Book will be a piece of cake. A piece of cake.

A super ultra happy ending that surpassed a perfect happy ending was indeed possible.

Cordelia clenched her fists, renewing her resolve, and turned to look at Yuder.

“How about it? Isn’t your big sis reliable?”

At the triumphant question from the max-level player, Newbie Yuder finally smiled and nodded.

*

Cordelia’s journey, having pummeled Raizekang to level up and extorted the Sun Necklace from him, continued smoothly thereafter.

Newbie Yuder’s bright smile was so adorable that she had to kiss him—no, had to dote on him, which caused a delay of about thirty minutes, but that wasn’t a major problem.

Return to Dahlia and Maia, get a good scolding, and then go home.

[Bye, dream of me.]

As Yuder got out of the carriage, she sent him a message with magic. Yuder’s cheeks flushed slightly as he replied with a look.

He had leveled up, but as a newbie, he hadn’t learned Message Magic yet.

Ugh, my baby Yuder is so cute.

As Cordelia watched the retreating Yuder with eyes dripping with affection, Dahlia narrowed her brow.

For some reason, the cute, kind, and pretty young lady seemed like a perv—no, a bit excessive.

When did they get so close?

Did something happen when the two of them were alone?

Something.

Something happened.

Dahlia, who had lived her entire life as a knight and had little experience with romance, blushed for a moment but forced herself to compose her expression by clenching her teeth.

This was a moment that called for a strict guard knight scolding an impulsive act, not a friendly older sister prying into what had happened to Cordelia.

Fortunately, it seemed to have an effect. Cordelia, who had been practically drooling while watching Yuder, sucked in a breath and quickly put on a repentant expression.

And time passed again.

After arriving at the mansion, she was reprimanded for her sudden, impulsive behavior and confined to her room after being forbidden from going out.

Since she had experienced this once before, her heart was at peace even while being scolded.

Once my grounding is over, I’ll go clear the Dungeon Book.

Lying down on her bed, Cordelia closed her eyes for a moment and retraced her old memories.

The love letter from Yuder that had arrived as soon as her grounding was over.

When she first received it, it started with words of admiration and whatnot, which she found truly dreadful at the time, but later, it became a love letter she read dozens—no, hundreds of times.

Arranging our meeting in Hangul was so like Yuder.

In Pleiades, only Cordelia and Yuder could read Hangul.

It was a secret script that only the two of them could share, much like the secret that they had been reincarnated and remembered their past lives.

A smile spread across her face.

She remembered herself shivering as she read the sentences over and over, searching for some hidden acrostic joke.

And then came her date with Yuder.

No, their first dungeon exploration.

I was really surprised.

It was practically her first time in a party with Yuder.

He wasn’t number one for nothing.

It was amazing enough that he had the entire strategy guide memorized, but should I say there was a consideration in every single one of his plays?

She had hated to admit it back then, but now she could admit it freely.

He’s like an oppa. Dependable. An adult.

She could rely on Yuder.

She could lean on him.

It wasn’t just because of his muscles, which were as solid as a fortress wall.

The mature Yuder.

The Yuder who always considered her.

Of course, the fact that he’s also childish in some ways is part of his charm.

Like not telling her about the boss enhancement mechanic, or bragging about getting a lot of last hits.

On second thought, maybe he’s not that much of an adult?

Though it was just a thought to herself, Cordelia giggled.

It was Yuder.

She was thinking about Yuder.

In contrast, Newbie Yuder is…

A new kind of smile formed on her lips.

The cute and lovely Yuder.

A Yuder who was more like a younger brother than an oppa.

Cordelia traced her lips with her long, slender fingers.

Yuder’s lips, Yuder’s tongue, Yuder’s saliva that had touched her soft, pink lips.

It was Yuder.

It was definitely Yuder.

The texture, the feeling, the warmth.

But.

Cordelia suddenly realized.

No, it would be more accurate to say she felt it.

And that feeling materialized into a single sentence in her mind.

It’s not Yuder.

It was Yuder.

It was definitely Yuder.

But the Yuder she knew, the Yuder she loved, the Yuder who had gone on all sorts of adventures with her and saved the world—

It wasn’t him.

Cordelia remembered what Yuder had said.

The words he had spoken when he said that Kang Jin-ho and Hong Yu-hee were now completely different people from himself and Cordelia.

‘Our memories are different. The time and experiences we’ve accumulated are also different. Even if we started at the same point, we’re already different people.’

It was a Yuder who shared a past with Kang Jin-ho.

But that didn’t make Kang Jin-ho and Yuder the same person.

It was just as Yuder had said.

After the day that decided the 1st place for the 23rd month, an irreparable gap had formed between Yuder and Kang Jin-ho.

She wasn’t just talking about physical differences.

Kang Jin-ho didn’t have the memories he shared with her.

He didn’t possess the will of the Yuder who, through countless past lives, had never given up and pushed forward solely for the sake of a perfect happy ending.

The memory of them huddling together, trembling in the Wild Lands, to sleep.

The lover-like skinship they first shared at the Sword Banquet.

The memory of the sweet first kiss they shared after confessing their love in the face of the great calamity that was Malekith.

All of it was with Yuder.

Not with Kang Jin-ho.

Cordelia thought of the Temple of Eros.

She recalled her first night with Yuder there.

It was an unforgettable night.

A precious memory she would never forget, even if a hundred, a thousand—no, even if ten thousand years passed.

Yuder.

My swindler.

My prince, who was mischievous but also kinder than anyone else.

Newbie Yuder was the same.

He was like Kang Jin-ho.

He was Yuder, but he wasn’t Yuder.

He wasn’t her Yuder.

Fear spread across her face, which had been full of smiles.

Her eyes, which had reddened in an instant, were filled with tears.

Because she had realized.

That her Yuder was gone.

That the more she strived for a perfect happy ending with Newbie Yuder, the more her Yuder would disappear.

It wasn’t just Yuder.

Dahlia was the same.

She wasn’t her Dahlia.

The Dahlia who became the Angel of Protection.

The Dahlia who shared a sense of camaraderie with Cordelia because of the black-hearted Maia, just like Yuder.

Faces came to mind, one by one.

Father.

Older sister.

Older brother.

And—

And—

“Yuria.”

Our child.

Our daughter.

The fruit of the love born between her and Yuder.

What would happen to Yuria?

If she built a new love with Newbie Yuder and had a child, would Yuria be born?

But would a daughter be born this time?

What if a son was born?

And what if he was named Yuri or Coder instead?

No, it was a problem even if it was a daughter.

She wouldn’t be her Yuria.

The one who was so aloof yet cute, just like Yuder, so incredibly lovely—

It was hard to breathe.

Tears poured out.

She was so scared and terrified that she could only cry like a child.

Yuder.

Yuria.

She missed them.

She wanted to see them.

I want to go back.

To Yuder.

To Yuria.

“Yuder… Yuder…”

Cordelia wept, whispering the name of her love.

She cried out for her partner, the one she could always trust, the one with whom she could overcome any hardship or adversity.

And in that moment.

Beyond the darkness filled with despair and fear.

—Cordelia!

She heard Yuder’s voice.

*

Ending Maker Chapter 473

SS #40 Time to back(7)

Cordelia’s eyes flew open.

Wiping away the overflowing tears, she looked around.

A voice.

Yuder’s voice.

The call of her true partner, the one with whom she had shared all sorts of adventures, the one with whom she had brought about a perfect happy ending.

Where did it come from?

Where was he calling from?

—Cordelia!

She heard it again.

Cordelia instinctively looked up at the ceiling.

What came into her tear-blurred vision was not a familiar ceiling.

A black wolf.

A noble and beautiful, yet lonely, green-eyed beast.

She reached out her hand.

Transcending time and space, she answered the call.

“Yuder!”

The sun and the moon saw each other and were connected.

A single line was drawn—no, from the line that was never broken, that was connected even in this very moment, a brilliant light erupted and filled her entire vision.

And at a certain moment.

Cordelia blinked.

In her vision, still blurry with tears, a familiar ceiling came into view once more.

Not the room in the Chase County estate, but a room in the Holy Nation of Yudelia.

The Moon Room, which she had decorated to her heart’s content, a room she sometimes thought was a bit over the top, but loved nonetheless.

Panting, Cordelia knew instinctively.

She was back.

Home.

To the place where her Yuder and Yuria were.

“Yuder!”

Cordelia shot up, crying out.

And she felt a touch.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist.

Not the incredibly thin and frail arm of Newbie Yuder, who had no training whatsoever, but the arm of the max-level Yuder, as solid and dependable as a fortress wall.

She was instantly relieved.

She could let out a sigh of relief, as if waking from a nightmare, and lift her head.

“Cordelia.”

Yuder’s voice came from above her head.

The real Yuder, the max-level Yuder, was really tall.

He was more than 30 centimeters taller than her, so the difference in their size was enormous.

That’s why she could lean on him.

It was more than possible to be completely enveloped in his large embrace.

As she tilted her body to the side, her head rested on his hard chest.

Her eyes fell on his abs, and she reflexively reached out a hand, a messy smile on her face.

The sensation at her fingertips was firm.

Not soft.

The abs she had so desperately wanted to touch when they first went to the capital together.

The abs Yuder had worked so hard to train because he never knew when she might touch them.

A laugh escaped her lips.

It was because she truly felt that she had returned.

“Cordelia?”

The question came from above her head again.

So Cordelia tilted her head back and looked up at Yuder’s face.

It was the face of a man with sharp features.

She liked Newbie Yuder’s sickly handsome face, but this face was still the best.

It had a slightly androgynous feel, but in the end, it was the face of an adult with stronger masculine features.

Cordelia reached out and touched Yuder’s cheek and jaw.

At the soft yet firm feeling, she let out another sigh of relief.

And she could tell.

That Yuder was waiting for her.

Until she calmed down, until she soothed her startled heart and regained her composure.

“Yuder, you really are an oppa.”

As she muttered softly, Yuder narrowed his brow in a slightly playful manner.

Even more reassured by his handsome face, Cordelia closed her eyes for a moment and savored Yuder’s embrace.

The solid Yuder.

Yuder’s scent.

Yuder’s embrace.

“Calm now?”

“I’m calm.”

She had been sitting up at first, but by the time she answered, she was lying down.

But she was still in Yuder’s arms.

Using his arm as a pillow, Cordelia opened her eyes.

Her vision was clear and bright, as if to prove that her tears had stopped.

“I had a fun, but scary experience.”

Cordelia calmly recounted what had happened.

How she had woken up in the past.

How she had amazed Newbie Yuder with her knowledge of the future.

How she had taught the pure and innocent Newbie Yuder an adult’s kiss.

How she had once again used Raizekang as a leveling-up punching bag, gotten scolded by Dahlia, and then, while lying in bed thinking about what to do next, had burst into tears, wanting to see the real Yuder and Yuria.

“What do you think happened? Was it… a dream?”

Cordelia’s voice was laced with doubt.

Stepping back, it was something one could only think of as a dream, but the memories were too vivid to be just a dream.

What had happened?

What had happened to her?

“Let’s figure out the cause together, slowly.”

“Yeah… together.”

Cordelia smiled brightly.

The words ‘together’ resonated in her heart.

“But Cordelia.”

“Yes, Yuder.”

“You taught Newbie Yuder an adult’s kiss?”

“Yup, yup, it was so much fun. He was so completely innocent and had no stamina, so he was panting like crazy, you know? His life was already at zero, but he wanted to kiss, and he wanted to do more, so he didn’t know what to do… hehehe.”

Thinking of Newbie Yuder again, a laugh naturally escaped her.

The small and frail Yuder.

The sickly handsome boy whose face turned red, who didn’t know what to do with the desire he was feeling for the first time in his life, who unknowingly sent pleading glances, who made her want to keep teasing him.

“His stomach wasn’t trained at all, so it was completely soft, but that was nice in its own way… Wait, Yuder?”

Cordelia, who had been letting out a laugh that was more perverted than black-hearted as she honestly recounted her story, flinched.

It was because Yuder’s expression—or more accurately, his gaze—was unusual.

Green eyes fixated on a single emotion.

She had seen it so many times before that she could clearly tell Yuder’s current state without needing to have a conversation through their eyes.

“Excuse me, that was you, Yuder.”

Cordelia said, dumbfounded by Yuder’s jealous gaze, but Yuder, still with jealous eyes, replied.

“You said it yourself that it wasn’t me.”

His voice was the very definition of serious.

So Cordelia unknowingly flinched and said.

“No, well… Ah! It could be a dream. Just a dream. Yup, yup. Newbie Yuder was just a character in a dream.”

“We’re not sure about that yet. And even if it was a dream, it’s still a problem.”

Yuder’s voice was serious this time as well.

And Cordelia, seeing Yuder’s shadow looming over her, realized.

Max-level Yuder was indeed different from Newbie Yuder.

She was trapped.

Cordelia was lying on her back, and Yuder was completely on top of her.

He was in a prone position, supporting himself on the bed with his forearms and knees.

Faced with his cool gaze, like a predator looking down at its neutralized prey, Cordelia couldn’t help but tremble in fear, just as Newbie Yuder had.

It was only natural, as a large, hard, and monstrous thing was pressing down on her stomach from above.

It was an object Cordelia knew very well.

It was as hot and hard as a fire-heated iron rod, and as monstrously thick as her own forearm.

Unconsciously swallowing dryly, Cordelia reacted like a small animal, just as Newbie Yuder had.

Cowering.

Revealing fear and an unconcealable anticipation and desire in her large eyes.

Their lips met.

A firm and forceful hand gently grasped the place Newbie Yuder hadn’t even dared to touch.

She couldn’t breathe.

Yuder’s tongue, pushing in relentlessly, stole even her breath.

Max-level Yuder.

My black-hearted beast.

As if reading the thought that appeared in Cordelia’s blue eyes during the brief moment their lips parted, Yuder gave a handsome smile.

If Scarlett had seen it, she would have called it a lecherous, wolf-like smile, but to Cordelia, it was a handsome smile nonetheless.

“Brace yourself.”

Because you cheated.

No, it wasn’t.

It wasn’t anything like cheating.

But Cordelia didn’t bother to deny it.

Feeling the truly beast-like gaze of Yuder and the heat of the monstrous object that seemed ready to pierce her at any moment, she swallowed dryly.

A chilling sensation ran down her spine, and at the same time, her heart began to pound as if it would burst.

Yuder’s lips met hers again.

Cordelia launched a counterattack, determined not to be taken as helplessly as Newbie Yuder.

And the next morning.

Cordelia, who had fainted more than ten times in one night, lay limp like a corpse, letting out a faint breath as she thought.

They really are different.

Max-level Yuder and Newbie Yuder.

And I like this one better.

Rather than the cute and lovely Newbie Yuder, I prefer my truly beast-like and black-hearted swindler.

Because of the time we’ve built up.

Because we’ve colored each other with our own colors.

She had been tamed by Yuder, and Yuder had been tamed by her.

That’s why they couldn’t be thought of separately.

Because the two of them were one.

Because they were a fantastic couple, unimaginable when not together.

Cordelia, with a neck that had no strength left, painstakingly turned to look to her side.

The face of Yuder, still full of energy as befitting a beast, came into view.

“I want to see Yuria.”

Actually, I wanted to see her as soon as I woke up, but because of you, I’m a whole day late.

At Cordelia’s resentful gaze, Yuder smiled apologetically and kissed her on the forehead.

“Sorry, and sorry again.”

“Why?”

“Yuria’s not home right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because she eloped.”

At Yuder’s answer, Cordelia blinked and then said without thinking.

“Again?”

“Yeah, again.”

“I mean, she’s engaged and the whole family is supporting her, so why on earth does she keep eloping?”

“Hmm… I wonder.”

Yuder briefly debated whether to call out Cordelia on her shameless words but decided against it.

He had known for a long time that Cordelia’s conscience was thick-skinned.

“So where did they go?”

Elopement or not, they couldn’t escape Yuder’s eyes.

At Cordelia’s question, Yuder caressed her chest and answered.

“They went to Korea. To Yujin’s house. They’re probably camping right now.”

“They went a long way to go camping.”

After grumbling for a moment, Cordelia, who didn’t have the strength to lift a single finger, just pouted her lips and continued.

“Yuder, we have a lot on our schedule today, right?”

“A lot.”

They were the Pope and the Goddess’s Incarnation who ruled the Holy Kingdom.

It was only natural for their schedules to be packed every single day.

But Cordelia pouted her lips again, and Yuder, after giving those lips a little bite, gave her the look she wanted.

*

In the Moon Room, a collection of excessive tastes.

Maia and Dahlia, who had taken turns reading the letter that had been on the bed, exchanged a calm conversation with faces that were neither surprised nor angry.

“Hmm, they’ve run away after a long time.”

“It’s been almost a year, right?”

“That’s great progress.”

“Indeed.”

Chuckling, Maia opened the escape notebook after a long while.

It was a notebook with over 100 pages, but it was already filled with entries, except for a few pages at the back.

“Which number notebook is that?”

“What number do you think it is?”

Answering a question with a question, Maia recorded the monumental one-thousandth elopement on a blank page of the notebook.

fin

Inside the Dungeon Book.

Newbie Cordelia, with a very flustered—or more accurately, a beet-red—face, made a dazed, stammering sound.

It was because of the boy in front of her, whose eyes were filled with fervor.

“Today, I’m getting my revenge.”

Because I practiced a lot.

Instead of asking what and how he had practiced, Newbie Cordelia recalled the dream she had a few days ago.

A dream.

A dream in which her future self had toyed with the boy before her, reveling in the superiority of being number one.

But it wasn’t a dream.

It was reality.

“Brace yourself.”

Newbie Yuder said with a resolute gaze, though it was mixed with a somewhat clumsy aura. Newbie Cordelia swallowed dryly.

They became a maddeningly—no, a fantastically—perfect couple, much faster and more intensely than certain someones living somewhere else.

—-END—-

---

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