Chapter 257: Side Story – Familiar (1)
YLnBLcThe end of the long Winter came with a late Spring.x2L8
WbLoHowever, traces of the Winter had yet to fully disappear. Piles of snow had yet to melt from rooftops, and demonic beasts waking up late from their hibernation often drifted downward.U5aqDzX
6mHy6tJAlthough an enormous war had just ended, the world was still in chaos.l7KUO
XqjtFrKnights and mages were valuable in times like this, including even the current students of the Academy.3DUUU
udrWith great power comes great responsibility. I vowed to do whatever I could to help the people that were still in great suffering.bHQgL
oRL0“So… Is that your excuse for just running away without making a decision?”vhT
mRNk“What a dickhead.”xt7YSSv
nDP4QYLark and Jaeger commented while looking at me like I was some piece of trash.r43Zy
tDD5s“You guys are such horrible friends. Don’t look at me like that!”yvDn
aQPnX“I can’t; I just can’t understand this guy.”PD5QK
59JSeriously, they were the few ‘male’ friends that I had, so I hoped they would be a little bit nicer.pm8GQne
9wg“Fuu… Maybe I need to ask other people.”fMJo
2fcwdeu“Do you even have friends to consult with apart from us? Apart from maybe Dorron and Kranel?” asked Lark, seeming genuinely curious.o5vgLFo
v6JIusUWell, I did have quite a few friends though.eLE3B
PaNS“I could ask Professor Deina, Professor Lulara, Mary, Melina, Jenna-sunbae, Jurie, Liel-sunbae or Elza-sunbae – you know, the one that graduated this year. They should be able to help out. Hmm… Or, wait, since it’s about relationships, maybe Mielle or Claria could help me better… There’s also Mrs McMillan – I helped her when she had a problem with one of her cats – and Anna might be able to help as well considering how mature she is. Actually, I guess asking a 10-year-old girl about relationships isn’t the best idea.”TMb4Ja
AH5HR“…There are more and more names being added.”Q9bAVT4
KECdu“I swear, this guy is one hell of a bastard.”5eoQ
ef7wThe two of them condemned me with eyes of contempt. There seemed to be a misunderstanding here.Zv3OA
nYkFL“It’s not like that, you idiots! They’re all just friends!”GFwvCJW
LvXIt was guys like them who always said ridiculous things like how men and women couldn’t become true friends.uRT
iHvYvBut that wasn’t the case, and I was the living proof of it.V1LA
cKzZQVHI had close friends like Younghee-noona, Hanbyul, Seyoung, Misha and Fujiwara. They were super close with me alright!YDmNcs
rMQwQ3– Thud!ab6Fq
iMnjgSuddenly the carriage came to a stop. We had arrived at our destination, which was a small village not too far from the Academy.PZTU
W5Fre1h“Aigo, dear guardians! You have arrived!”IHgM
i7Ks1GThe chief, whom we had seen here and there, welcomed us with great passion.9A1Ene
fE0DY“Haaht?!”51N3
FkgTKUpon seeing me, the chief immediately got on his knees and bowed down.vhg1x
PB7“O, O Sun…!”d6diz
vV7zZtdHe wasn’t the only one. The villagers who had gathered around the entrance to see the visitors all went on their knees.lJqZDNK
ut5dxwJ““O Great Sun…!!””xMd
1O0nSeeing them on their knees, Jaeger smirked.rKjjX6H
9EyodII“Did you hear that, o great savior?”T4bU5VY
Fx1C6“Aigo…”sb8
j30ViI had a headache seeing that. This was because of Estelle’s rumors to a great extent.DoAmzG
2SZQZuDuring the process of fighting back the Old Faith’s prophecies about the Apocalypse, Estelle added lines about me on her own accord.Rlv
zJKA New Sun will rise.LhoRc
wGgnGYThis alone might have been simply interpreted as a hero that would save the world, but Estelle preached prophecies that implied different things about me, as if really trying to make me a god.gnBc
PpGAnd most importantly—zG4VCvE
bFy“To be fair, anyone who saw that wouldn’t think of you as human.”Cps
SDNrlnE“Honestly… I can’t see you as a human either.”JxZ
9dRxqmEven Jaeger and Lark had such reactions, because of the Sun I manifested to bring light back to the world and melt the Winter.kARYW
PY0People seemed to have seen the descent of the Sun that brought warmth back unto the world from everywhere, and witnesses were telling stories even from the corners of the continent.i3F
5ieMWas it fair to see someone who was capable of doing that as a normal human? Even the royal capital appeared to have unending discussions on that topic.NhL6
yGA7Lq“Well, that doesn’t change anything,” I replied. “I’m just a human who’s a bit too amazing.”zwJmbkK
eUmV74“Here he goes again.”JxEanO
6SsMP8“It’s times like this that you do seem like a normal human.”ob3q
Nwy5SeThe two of them continued grumbling all the way until we were ready for our job today of military civil aid. Our job was to remove the snow around the town and deal with any demonic beast or spirit that could appear in the vicinity.Zzl
zQAZIt was like a volunteer activity, with the only monetary payment being a reimbursement for our travel fees.HqOYI
1dBs“By the way, is it really okay for you to be out here?”yp1b6j
6bYJaeger asked while scooping up a pile of snow. Lark replied in my stead.aYY2Syo
V7u9“He’s just buying time. He probably couldn’t decide what to do and just opted to run away. This civil aid is nothing but an excuse.”SzE
e4CDUag“Kuhk…!”9rX1niB
VlBywCDLark knew me too well.ZzJtkF
fbk5s“But is it really that hard?” asked Jaeger. “It’s only five… wait, how many was it again?”oOlEd
kYB“Marie-sunbae, Alicia, Hua Ran, Miss Lunia, and Her Highness Estelle and Miruam… We have to include Chairman Erin as well. It’s seven so far, I guess,” replied Lark yet again.0Mx
mbMJwWhat was that ‘So far’ for? Huh? Lark?!ssx
yfbCj7F“That is so much. But shouldn’t you consider Hua Ran as two?”jKzF
6v17“Well, but for Hua Ran, it’s not like he needs to choose one of them.”LWH8pO9
ScG“Then wouldn’t Hua Ran be the best choice?”KvibJ
bIwOboNo choice but to embrace polygamy…! Jaeger uttered nonsense which Lark cut off with a shake of his head.jl7
bIsGiF2“On that note, you would have to group up the Arden sisters and Her Highnesses as well.”d9FF6O
zyJhLark mentioned the Arden sisters who were eagerly waiting for a chance to steal each other’s love, as well as the two princesses whom the King had officially given his permission to take.A7G0
6xs“But dude, you can’t give up on Marie-sunbae either. You know how much money they have? They have dozens of mines and 2 million hectares of farmland.”Xu3
Gu8bsFQ“It’s so ridiculously big that I can’t even fathom it.”jBXIQdP
ezBM29“And her breasts are huge too!”noWvhw
JA1p“…It is an honor to have her as my future boss,” said Lark Buhgman, a predestined future employee of the new tower of mages, the Dunareff Tower, thanks to the power of connections.kAX
Z43fy“But Alicia’s also hard to give up on. It feels like she’s the perfect example of a good wife. She has a great personality after all.”ZbbtGK
XH9A4ZG“She’s kind and sometimes cute when she shows her clumsy side.”TUMr
owpuUX1“Most importantly, I think she’ll be open to cheating and accept them as wives.”y5c6UC
p0mg“…I agree. She would be the perfect wife for Korin.”RyLS3K
48YTs“And Hua Ran too! Seeing Ran whisper, she’s like a fox.”pXYqlz
BWDqAKh“Plus, Hua is mostly indifferent but quite cute when you start talking to her.”lfd0a6
Y6VJHmU“And one plus one combo as well! Two flavors!”VDJlC8i
wXMWithout refraining, I looked on with eyes of contempt at the two of them and their stupid conversation.vtFk
RdgS“…Seriously, the way you guys think is horrible.”9mA
XRch0Jaeger turned around.GdWdm
l9ia“Who do you like the most then?”GhJ9I3d
u1bPk2“…”K840
IJS7“Don’t you have to choose someone in the end? You’re not going to ignore all of them are you?”0YkIXx
kL1U“I can’t… do that.”pltGRh
6hQEI had to make a decision. I had to, but there was… a problem…b211UD
3zFEOfk〚I will not disregard the misfortune of the good.〛qfe
MTO[Fulfil your Precept]s8O
ZADo6lFrom Marie to Master… there was a system message for everyone except for Miruam.103
tYlr5cRight – the Precept, ‘I will not disregard the misfortune of the good’ also applied to my romantic relationship as well.O61y
kslIf I were to choose someone, the rest of them would lead a sad life, and the Precepts wouldn’t allow that to happen!UBXkEd
8pricThe reason Miruam was excluded… was probably because my own standard of Miruam was far from that of a good person.o2Y8
MjW38AcHowever, that didn’t mean I could exclude only her from the list of options, since she was also one of the people who loved me.BNMr
0aktQ“The aftermath is the real problem… If I were to choose someone, then the rest of them would…”4BBS
TM0JwvDIt would be going against the Precept for the rest of them. That would be the first time I would experience a penalty of that level from going against the Precept, because I had never gone against it in the first place!C6CV0
bZaBesides, it had a difficulty rating of S, and I couldn’t possibly imagine how big of a penalty it would be.aZNc
45jgs‘Thinking about how it was for Tates in the game…’Y6fL
3CWK6In the original game, Tates had lost a drastic amount of his power, but my current situation was even worse.CGcOs6
yjX3DquIt would make 6 people unfortunate – six S-rated penalties!OCy7mxL
WiAR4“You’re right… I don’t think the rest would just sit there and accept it if they see you choose someone else.”OUD
GjG1XThe two of them, who had no idea what my concerns were about, appeared to have taken it the wrong way.n5jFKYq
17cACnJ“No, well… That’s not the issue here.”jHX
Pak4I thought about a what-if scenario – about what other people would do if I were to choose only one of them as a lover.pFqNM9
Evj“…They are all nice, so I don’t think anything dramatic would happen.”C2Ix4
eqP“…”n2q9hs
K7Ek“…”R1Vx
52HkdqW“What… What’s wrong with you guys?”0xV
Fsq“…Nothing.”Ye1ty7
4nvq“If you say so, Korin.”lCqRGH
SVMxtSPWeird, but in any case, it was to postpone the problem and buy time that I volunteered to come here.j7TuK
amw8I applied for a mission that would take several days to complete and this one alone was long enough to fill up this year’s required voluntary service hours.MMxD
XJ0[A one-week-long military civil aid… Hmm, well, I feel like I know why, but I will give permission.]KB64t8i
JjqPELady Josephine seemed like she knew my intention judging from how she was shaking her head.ZYiWwtB
p2jWm5‘After a week or so… I should have more time to think for the time being.’gMh
34tMarie was due to graduate, and Hua Ran and Estelle were going to be busy dealing with things related to the Order. And as for Miruam, well, she was always busy.3abooq
ONPjBlEBecause all of them had urgent matters at hand, I was sure I would be able to buy a lot more time by disappearing for a short period of time.v5qr1Eg
xeN‘But would having more time let me solve this problem?’bBGn
QKBlx4Whichever decision I were to make, it would make everyone unfortunate except for one, right? Was this even a solvable problem?bkJ
Hyu1DCUDamn this Precept. Was it too late to remove it? It had been a reliable aid helping me through hardships all until now, but to think it would smack me at the back of my head at the very end!M9SxB
F6K99Problems like this were best discussed with Master, but even Master was a part of the problem in this case.ThWJ
ueK8Pc“AHHKKK…! DAMN ITTTTTT…!”9t17
B32mlm4“He’s doing that again. He’s gone mad for sure.”ZU0Mgz
RusQcp5“Let him be. He’s having the freaking happiest dilemma of a man.”Awd
LztrWW“I did see this coming from a mile away though.”wAkbQf
kzpqN6These two friends were of no help. They did nothing but look at me with contempt like I was having a happy dilemma, and calling me a damn player.Fh0nzo
Mwlco“Ehew…”15xLN2d
DJqkWorrying wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so I decided to continue helping people since I was here and headed to the chief.rh9
Tvy2“Sir Chief.”H6C
LkoVV“Aigo, Esteemed Sun.”1pw25
D5H1“Please don’t be so formal. You can treat me as per normal.”WIgtwJR
7BYKf“How could I possibly be so insolent to the Champion of the Sun acknowledged by the Saintess?”N41iLqU
rQKp“…”xhGYo1
Y5vVoL3Seriously, what was she doing out there?48L
vPGZnHW“What’s the most urgent task at hand? Should I melt all the snow?”mflW
hGYUnfortunately, I couldn’t use the Sun for a while. It had been overused when I was melting the Winter around the world and needed some time.4gVoz7
OlpTZgI had to focus on recovering my divine energy, but I could still use Runes of the Sun to melt the snow built up around the village.I0lza
n4zb“More urgently than that…” the chief said. “Right, there is a mage who came here several days ago.”oHu4D
Ub14ob“A mage? That’s strange. When I checked the record, there were no guardians that were dispatched to this region.”lEukE
wphRight now, I was the Chairman of the Guardian Association. Although I was soon going to give away the position to someone else, I did my research before coming here and there weren’t any guardians sent here.u47
ndt“It was a mercenary lady. She visited our village in the middle of her trip, and kindly volunteered to deal with the demonic beasts at a cheap price.”RxWH
d7MKYs“Really?”YPT
M34FmEven low-grade mages were expensive to hire. For a remote village like this to be able to afford one… they either had to be a really low-grade mage, or someone really kind.Nt2k9
NwT“She left to search for demonic beast nests but hasn’t been back for two days. She did take a camping kit with her but… she was a young lady so I’m a bit concerned for her sake.”OldyOD
y80Being away for two ways sounded pretty normal. If the nest was on the bigger side, there were several measures that had to be made to make sure none of the beasts escaped alive, after all.A8xS
AoEThXBesides, it was especially more time-consuming for mages, who unlike knights couldn’t simply run into crowds of demonic beasts and bash all of them to death.I8wZ5
rh7Cfx“Which way did she go? I will go help.”MEkrSHT
KNN“Aigo! I’m sure the Esteemed Sun would easily be able to deal with the beasts, but I am afraid it might seem like I am ordering around an esteemed one.”CzE95oA
XvI“Please treat me like normal. Please.”5lG
DnGDd5GLeaving behind the chief, I went towards Jaeger and Lark who were still removing the piles of snow.G8Y
LrxqmXR“I have to head off to the mountain over there for a bit.”lFDW
SllkQOm“Huh? What is it for? We need runes to melt the snow though.”9moBfFJ
JWLHUH“Ask Lark for fire. There seems to be a nest of demonic beasts over there. I’ll quickly deal with it and come back.”TObgqM
LkX5y“Alright. Leave the village to us and go. Do you need rations?”bt7pBtO
K9TFW“I have mine.”IsDSF
ZPTe9Leaving the two of them behind, I headed in the direction that the mage lady had gone off to.0jb7E3
c9knrg3The mountains were quite rough with no roads, but there was no issue finding the nest of demonic beasts.aRIVChU
BOsEe3M‘Boar-type monsters, huh.’O6gH
TfjgKZJThey excelled at climbing mountains and lived in large groups. Although they were Grade 4 demons at best, there were a lot of them and they had to be dealt all at once.q9qoUK
ap9ORkOr the other option was to build traps all around to make sure they couldn’t run away and start another group elsewhere.LlI
BxuJ1L‘No wonder the mage couldn’t come back straight away.’LR7yUmx
wEuTWiKilling them with large-scale flame spells was difficult because it might lead to bushfires or destroy the natural wildlife here. When dealing with a nest like this in the middle of a mountain, a large group of average guardians was much better than having one exceptionally powerful guardian.8OxH02c
GaK‘Let’s find the mage first.’MzYSw
aCyMB84She must have been making preparations for the past two days, so most of the preparations should be made by now. In fact, she might not even need much of my help.YqJPtvl
K1nTzIt didn’t take long for me to find the mage.SHdY
1k6loj“Who is it…!”xOc
pE1FNoticing my presence, the mage immediately turned around and I quickly threw my hands in the air and revealed my agenda.3tGTcH
CJip2“Calm down, calm down. I came from the village under the chief’s request.”Ioq9Vc
LsZ“…”XvDKhY
TXMThe mage lady seemed vigilant with her staff still pointing at me. She was quite… the beauty.K3T
3cB9WShe had a slim but healthy S-line body, and brown hair that gave off a cool aura. For some reason though, her face, or rather her atmosphere, felt quite familiar.gVa
tBR“Sorry, I had to be very cautious these past two days observing the nest. My apologies, Mr. Korin Lork.”n2k
35Tuj“Do you know me?”LMS
PvSkT1nHearing my question, she replied with a faint smile as if it was a dumb question to ask.p99bvI
Pk09zSN“Who wouldn’t be able to recognize the Sun?”frF
VX7mUD“The rumors are a bit too widespread, right?”eKO
ACC4NWalking up, I offered a handshake.QLa3
pC0Wc“I’m Korin Lork. A 3rd year student of the Academy.”XBtOR
yl2WLy“Aren’t you missing a few titles in there?”HPwgO
r4G“I do have a lot of titles. Collecting titles is a hobby of mine.”l4Hh
Ye5M6Grade 1 Justice of the Peace, Leader of the Korin Guardians Guild, a baron of the kingdom, Chairman of the Guardian Association and more… It reflected just how busy of a life mine had been.v2tK
5EuKr1U“I didn’t hear about a mage being dispatched to this region. Are you a mercenary?” I asked.5BcHI
aBg“A fresh one. I haven’t been able to register at the Association yet.”cVn7xEh
fWict“No wonder. I would have remembered a beauty like you registering, after all.”FDgdm0
bTF“…Can you say that again?”yXRur
LcARDH“Hmm… Apologies if that put you in a bad mood.”ZB5Bz
RBF“No no no. That’s not what I mean. I just didn’t catch what you said.”Whv
IagQReally? Don’t mages have much better physical abilities than normal people? Well, since that’s what she was saying, I repeated my words again.fUh
dcQynmN“I said, I would have remembered a beauty like you registering.”3Re
yObWVU“Really?”hLgP94
UZ6FAlthough she had an indifferent look on her face, the corners of her lips were slightly tilted up and there was a faint flush on her cheeks. She seemed to be in a good mood.ognLF
dE84agjThere was someone similar to her though… Who was it again?sqbNb
UDR2WS4“Oh right. I forgot to give my name.”niW1tJD
fsouThe mage lady said after, for some reason, tightly holding onto my hand that I was offering for a handshake.9kqzX
3Uo“My name is Park Sirin.”g7M3T
S3VBSFrom the east, huh!wb3
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HaydenZeMan
VIP Qi RefinementUh oh