Chapter 53: Here is the legendary henchman

Misamoto Maho.  

Occupation: Shrine Maiden.  

Her body belongs to an ordinary schoolgirl, but occasionally, a divine being from the heavens descends into her.  

Normally, it’s the Dragon God who takes over, but this time, a new deity had descended, which was, in its own way, quite an extraordinary event. 

Yet, in some sense, it felt like watching a TV drama, making her heart race with excitement.  

It was like witnessing a romantic drama from a VIP seat.  

It’s just so entertaining.  

The Hero wasn’t exactly dating anyone, but his clueless charm struck a perfect balance.  

There was a delicate intricacy to his relationships, as if he could end up with just about anyone if things aligned right.  

Wasn’t this what they called a reverse harem?  

Most girls her age weren’t into dramas, preferring computer games, sports, or magical training. 

But Maho had been frail since childhood, likely due to her divine affliction, and spent most of her time indoors. 

As a result, she leaned a bit “masculine” in her habits.  

Watching romance dramas.  

Knitting.  

Arranging the gold trinkets, the Dragon God instructed her to prepare for the shrine.  

Though her personality was feminine and optimistic, she grew to enjoy these homebound hobbies.  

Like any young adult, she also harbored dreams of ordinary romance.  

In any case, with the Goddess’s descent, Maho learned the backstory of the Goddess and the Hero. 

Watching the Hero interact with other girls from a third-person perspective felt like stepping into a romance drama and experiencing it vicariously. 

It was thrilling and uplifting.  

Shin Yuseong’s relationships with these women were anything but ordinary, but that only made it better.  

Unlike the mundane reality lacking in romance, as a fictional narrative, it was gripping and unique, sticking to her palate like a well-crafted story.  

A kind of vicarious satisfaction.  

Perhaps just a dopamine-fueled moment.  

Though this interaction happened through her body and was seen through her eyes, Maho was clearly observing this narrative as if it were a piece of fiction.  

“To my great and loyal Hero, I bestow this honor.”  

The scene where the Goddess, with a deeply solemn expression, pinned a medal on the Hero’s chest was so moving and poetic that Maho clapped along as she watched. 

But then, the “film” cut off.  

The alcohol she’d consumed affected her frail mind, and she passed out cold.  

Ah.  

And now, here she was.  

Waking up defenseless, she found herself in a situation where she nearly exposed herself in front of a ridiculously handsome guy.  

In Shin Yuseong’s common-sense terms, it was like standing in front of a stunning woman wearing nothing but boxers.  

She knew his face, and sure, she’d been indulging in vicarious satisfaction moments ago, but the sudden shift threw her into a panic.  

“KYAAAAH—!!”  

Misamoto Maho, clutching her chest like a flustered boy, let out a scream.  

***

Regarding the situation where the Goddess had descended, had a blast, and then left, only for the original body’s owner to wake up screaming…  

For a moment, I imagined getting sued.  

I don’t have a sister, so I wouldn’t know, but just as a brother wouldn’t think much of his sister wearing a tank top, I didn’t think twice about arm-in-arm with the Goddess, sprawling out and sleeping.  

But seeing someone wake up screaming “KYAAAAH!” jolted me awake.  

The realization that I’d brought a stranger into my home hit me like a tidal wave, and for a second, I froze.  

Luckily, I quickly realized I had a slight advantage in this situation and calmed down.  

Still, this is a pretty awkward turn of events.  

[The Goddess sheepishly scratches the back of her head.]  

She’d said she wanted doenjang soup and jeyuk bokkeum last night, so I went through the trouble of making it, only for her to vanish by morning.  

Then again, she’d probably burned through a lot of divine power.  

Some weirdo had set up a barrier, and the Goddess had added plenty of light and sound effects during the medal ceremony.  

Still, I didn’t expect her to disappear this quickly.  

[The Goddess smacks her lips with a regretful expression.]  

Seriously, you could’ve stayed a bit longer. 

I worked hard on this meal.  

[The Goddess contemplates descending again.]  

Uh, hold off on that.  

But it was a relief, in a way.  

Instead of the possessing Goddess, the pink-haired original owner was back and enthusiastically devouring the meal.  

At least I wouldn’t have to throw out the doenjang soup or jeyuk bokkeum I’d prepared for breakfast.  

The pink-haired schoolgirl, Maho, savored the gochujang-based jeyuk bokkeum with sparkling eyes.  

“…Wow, this is seriously delicious.”  

Was it because the world’s roles and dynamics had flipped, even affecting taste preferences? 

She was eating the jeyuk bokkeum with such relish that, as the cook, I felt pretty good about it.  

The school cafeteria served Korean food, but jeyuk bokkeum was a rare treat.  

Having polished off a bowl of rice in no time, Maho nodded with a satisfied expression.  

“To think you’re this good at cooking. You’re gonna be super popular after you get married, Yuseong.”  

“Being popular after marriage doesn’t do much good, does it?”  

“Nah, as long as you’re popular with your wife, that’s enough. You’re married, after all.”  

Is that so?  

No, that’s definitely the norm.  

But this girl, screaming her head off earlier, and now eating so heartily.  

As I stared, intrigued, the pink-haired schoolgirl suddenly cleared her throat and changed the subject.  

“Ahem, so, Hero? Yuseong? What should I call you?”  

“Just call me what you usually do.”  

“No, it’s just learning all this backstory makes you seem like a different person. It’s like meeting a dating show contestant in real life.”  

“…Dating show?”  

I furrowed my brow, confused, but Maho, now more relaxed, didn’t seem to care.  

Placing her plate and bowl in the sink, she looked at me with a curious expression and asked, 

“So, who’s your favorite?”  

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  

“Come on, you know what I mean. Ahem, okay, it’s the weekend—what’s your plan?”  

“I’ll probably head to the Blue Tower for a patrol.”  

“Ooh, going for that route, huh?”  

I was talking about picking up gifts, but she seemed to interpret it differently.  

Her reaction reminded me of the Goddess, and I considered correcting her, but decided to let it slide.  

Maho grinned and pressed further. 

“Anything else? Any other plans?”  

She was probably fishing for some romantic “route” development, but I did have another task, albeit in a completely different category.  

“I’m planning a trip when I get some free time.”  

“Ooh!”  

I didn’t fully understand, but it seemed like someone had come for revenge.  

I’m no stranger to retaliation myself.  

If they were bold enough to cause a scene at the academy, I’d need to deal with them later.  

China wasn’t that far, after all.  

But today, there were others I needed to attend to before the terrorists.  

***

“Oh, great Master!”  

After a hearty breakfast and parting ways with Maho, I headed straight to the Blue Tower’s research lab.  

With midterm season keeping me busy, I hadn’t checked in, and I needed to ensure the barriers and bindings hadn’t weakened.  

The demons’ constant struggling could gradually wear them down.  

But they haven’t weakened at all?  

That was unexpected.  

These were holy barriers, so any tampering would be obvious, yet they seemed to have behaved impeccably.  

These demons really didn’t try to escape? Not even one?  

I’d planned to make an example of any escape attempts, but the fact that none had even tried made me suspicious. 

Casting a skeptical glance, the lab’s overseer, a count-level demon named Albania, prostrated herself and exclaimed, 

“How could we dare commit such disloyalty as to stray from our great Master’s side?! If any fool tried, I’d personally deal with them!”  

“Well, look at this loyal lapdog.”  

I used my authority to check for deceit, and shockingly, it was 100% sincere.  

A count-level demon, of all things, acting like this toward a Hero?  

“Fufufu! To stand before our great Master is the highest honor!”  

Frowning at yet another burst of genuine flattery, I shook my head.  

This girl, demon or not, probably never had a chance at a normal job.  

If she had, she’d have earned a divinity of flattery or bootlicking by now.  

Not that such a divinity exists, but she was that impressive.  

“We, your humble servants, have prepared a modest offering for our great Master.”  

“Ooh.”  

Maybe he was kind of endearing.  

As Seol Yeonhwa had mentioned, they’d prepared gifts. 

Curious to see what they’d come up with, I followed, only for them to lead me to a separate room.  

With over ten noble-class demons confined in this lab and a hundred dark mages neutralized, it made sense they’d have plenty to offer.  

But…  

This is way too much.  

I froze at the sight of a room overflowing with gold.  

A literal mountain of it filled the storage room.  

“This is but a meager treasure, yet we gathered it to offer our great Master a tribute as radiant as your brilliance.”  

Meager?  

I suddenly wanted to see what a non-meager treasure looked like.  

The count-level demon, Albania of Illusions, gestured to another room with a loyal expression. 

“Next, we have a room of magical artifacts.”  

“There’s more?”  

“For our great Master, we still have enough to fill five more storehouses.”  

At his words, I rubbed my chin, unfazed.  

Hmm, how should I put it?  

For some reason, I was starting to like this guy.  

[The Goddess simply shakes her head.]  

To be continued…

***

Translator’s Notes:

Glad that the misunderstanding cleared up quickly. 🤣🤣