Chapter 275: Awakening of the Eye (2)

I briefly glanced at Horn. Her lips glistened with grease, the corners of her mouth curved in satisfaction, and her belly bulged outward.

She looked every bit the victor after a battle against SSS-grade beef.

I looked away from Horn and turned my gaze forward again. The winter night sky, filled with stars, stretched out before me.

As I gazed at the full moon dominating it, an inexplicable melancholy washed over me.

Maybe it was because of the amount of money I had just spent, now flickering in my mind like the stars above.

‘She ate 20 portions all by herself…’

SSS-grade beef. As its triple “S” implied, it was the best meat I had ever tasted.

The fat was evenly marbled, the texture so tender you could eat it with your gums. The more you chewed, the more umami it released. It was, quite literally, a flavor avalanche.

The problem was the price. 300,000 won per portion. And Horn devoured twenty of them without flinching.

I had set down my chopsticks after an hour. No matter how delicious it was, after a few bites, it gets cloying.

Horn, however, picked up three pieces at a time without hesitation. For over five hours, she didn’t stop her chopsticks for a second.

Her ravenous, combative appetite drew the attention of the staff. The restaurant owner came over with a smile to ask if we needed anything else. A rather opportunistic attitude, honestly.

I understood. I’d have done the same. So although it annoyed me a little, I couldn’t say anything.

‘Well as long as she enjoyed it, that’s enough.’

Anyway, with the money in my account, spending 7 million won wouldn’t even make a dent. After handling several major matters, I had amassed a considerable fortune. Around 70 billion won.

In my past life, I wouldn’t have earned even a fraction of that, not even in my dreams. But in this life, I became a millionaire at eighteen.

The interesting part is, this was just the beginning.

That number would only snowball from here, until I lost all sense of money.

In truth, ever since I became one of the Seven Stars, money stopped holding any real value. It’s merely a means to maintain the dignity that the title demands.

Even so, accepting that emotionally was another matter. Maybe because of memories of scraping together every last penny, 7 million still felt like a huge sum. It’s something I’d need to get used to gradually. Or just keep living frugally like a pauper in spirit.

‘Better to see the bright side. This is the life of sharing. I can’t be stingy forever.’

Suddenly, my gaze dropped to the black envelope in my left hand. SSS-grade beef.

Since Choi Seol-Ah had whined endlessly about not getting any, I ended up buying two takeout portions for her.

“Two portions should be enough.”

That thought turned out to be naive. How could I have known there would be guests?

When I arrived at Choi Seol-Ah’s house, I saw two people sitting at the table. One I recognized, the other I didn’t. The homeowner, Choi Seol-Ah, was trembling in a corner, hiding.

“We’ve been expecting you, Heavenly Sword.”

The familiar face was Altair. I quickly scanned his condition—a reflex more than a conscious act.

‘Limbs intact, no visible injuries.’

He was fine. His expression was relaxed too, which meant none of the Auditore members had sustained serious injuries. Only then could I breathe a sigh of relief.

What intrigued me was how they had returned so quickly. From Hawaii to Korea, even with a spatial portal at the airport, it took about eight hours. Still, congratulations came first. I’d ask more later.

“Well done, patriarch.”

I gave him a faint smile. He smiled back. Just as I was about to look at the man sitting next to him…

Horn clung to my jacket sleeve (or maybe to the black envelope) and hid behind me. I could feel her fingers trembling. The man watching her let out a deep sigh.

“I see you’re well.”

He spoke in a dry, plain voice.

“…Yes. As you can see.”

Horn replied in a barely audible murmur.

“Thanks to Lord Heavenly Sword and the others, I’ve been fine, Lord.”

“Lo-Lord?”

I repeated the word unconsciously and looked at the couch. The stern-faced man, arms crossed, was observing us. Looking closely, I realized he wasn’t human. His ears were elongated, like Horn’s before she used magic.

“I didn’t have time to inform you, Heavenly Sword. This gentleman came specifically to see you. If his presence becomes a problem, I’ll take full responsibility.”

Altair quickly added.

“By the way, he’s the one who brought the Auditore members here.”

With those hints and my limited game knowledge, I figured out who he was.

Dragon Lord, the Red Dragon Valerion. Leader and supreme representative of the dragon clan.

And there he was, in the human world, sitting on a couch next to Altair. At Choi Seol-Ah’s house, Horn’s contractor. It felt like a sitcom episode.

“……”

The strongest dragon stared at me. In that moment, I saw it. A cross-shaped glint sparkled in his pupils. It was the Magic Eye.

Valerion rose from the couch and stepped forward. Amid a heavy silence, he spoke.

“If I’d known you were in this world, I would have come sooner.”

In a polite tone.

“It’s been seven hundred years since we last met.”

“……”

Without a word, I threw the black envelope in my hand.

Thud!

With a shriek that shattered the solemn mood, the envelope landed squarely on Choi Seol-Ah’s head.

“Put that on the grill.”

I said, without taking my eyes off Valerion.

“I’m going to talk with him in the other room.”

***

I entered the adjoining room with Valerion. I locked the door behind us, wary that someone might enter while we talked. The topic was far too sensitive.

“Don’t worry about our voices leaking out.”

Valerion snapped his fingers as he said this. A translucent barrier enveloped the small five-pyeong room. It was a silence spell. I recognized it immediately as the same one Meain had used just before the attack in Joaquin.

“So Meain is favorable toward humans?”

I looked at him. He was staring at me too.

“It’s not that we particularly like them. Dragons simply adjust our demeanor depending on who we’re dealing with.”

The Dragon Lord answered with his characteristic coolness.

“In short if we’re being nice, it’s because it’s you, Lycan.”

My mind clouded. The clarity with which he said my name left no doubt—he was certain this body belonged to the First Corps Commander, Lycan.

How should I respond? As I pondered this, the Lord sat cross-legged, as if he were in his own living room. Do all dragons have that kind of adaptability, like Horn?

“I don’t know the full details, but it’s obvious you avoid that ‘name.’ So I’ll call you what everyone else does Heavenly Sword. I won’t ask why you’re here or what you plan to do. It seems like you’re not exactly the same person I remember.”

I scratched my eyebrow with my index finger and then nodded. The Lord was sharp and knew how to talk. With people like that, it was easy to get along. I liked him.

I mirrored his posture. Silence settled over the room once more. Two men seated face-to-face. It was a strange feeling, even if neither of us had planned it. He was quiet. So was I.

But someone had to break the ice.

“So, what brings you here, Lord?”

I took that role. After all, I’m a swordsman. And now, I cut through the silence.

“My original intention was to thank you, Heavenly Sword. You saved my granddaughter from being sold.”

“It wasn’t intentional… But I guess that’s how it turned out. Though if you used ‘original,’ that means your purpose has changed, right?”

“Yes. I’ve heard a few things about you. The way you move like lightning gave me a clue. And I wasn’t wrong.”

The Lord straightened his back and rested his fist on his knee. In a solemn posture, he asked.

“From what I can tell, you’ve lost both your power and your memory from seven hundred years ago. Am I right?”

I nodded. It was better to admit it directly than to try and deny it. A decision based on instinct.

“You’re more or less correct, Lord. It seems I lost my memory and my power, and ended up here in the human world. I only recently discovered that this body originally belonged to a demon.”

I lied a little. I couldn’t tell him everything. That would mean giving too many explanations. Some of them impossible—like that I’m a possessed soul, or that I received the Blessing of the Sword God.

Even if I wasn’t met with hostility, I couldn’t trust him so easily. After all, we’d only just met. Not even being Horn’s grandfather changed that.

If he tried using his Magic Eye to tell if I was lying, we’d see.

“I see.”

Luckily, he didn’t. Now I feel like the bad guy. Damn it.

“So… your Magic Eye is still sealed?”

His comment caught me off guard. I asked immediately.

“Did you just say ‘Magic Eye’?”

The Lord looked puzzled.

“Don’t tell me you forgot that too. I thought you’d at least remember that much.”

“I told you—I don’t remember anything. But the Magic Eye is supposed to be exclusive to dragons, right? How do I have one? Could it be that I was originally a dragon?”

The Lord shook his head. It took him a moment, as if organizing his thoughts, and then he replied.

“The Founder Hero inherited the Magic Eye from the previous Lord.”

“I… kind of knew that.”

“Well, it’s the same with you.”

He said.

“You inherited a Magic Eye too. The second most powerful one after the Eye of Rings—The Reversal Eye.”

I was speechless. Valerion continued, his voice grave.

“I’m here to help you awaken that eye.”

“…Why would you do all this for me? Just because I used to be the First Corps Commander before losing my memory?”

The Lord gave a brief smile. It was strange seeing another expression on his face.

“It’s funny, but seven hundred years ago, I hated you. You and the Founder Hero, Balor Joaquin. Because the previous Lord only ever paid attention to you two. It was childish jealousy. But now I understand. I understand why he did.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them. A reddish glow rimmed his pupils.

“The war is coming. Not just between humans and demons. A greater war, against higher entities.”

Valerion’s Magic Eye was the Eye of Clairvoyance.

Unlike blessings like Media’s [Poet’s Blessing], which only predict, this eye sees the future with certainty.

That’s why his words were a prophecy.

“The only one who can stand against them is you, Heavenly Sword…“