< Episode 23. The Abandoned World (3) >
As expected, there was no room for dissent.
To that man, selecting participants for a scenario wasn't a matter for discussion—it was something to be announced.
"If anyone has complaints, I'll hear them now."
With that murderous aura pouring off him nonstop, who would dare complain?
The kings, fully aware of Yoo Joonghyuk's overwhelming combat power, trembled, unable to even consider resisting.
Ah—except for one person.
"M-move! Get your foot off me!"
Unfortunately, the self-proclaimed President of Yeouido seemed not to have heard any stories about the Tyrant King. For a politician to be that out of touch with rumors—what a shame.
"Who the hell are you, barging in like this—!"
Crunch!
"Gaaahhh!"
Yoo Hyunho screamed as his hand was crushed.
"My hand! My hand!"
Crunch!
"Gaaahhh! Guards! Guards, where are you?!"
Yoo Hyunho, his limbs mangled, writhed as he cried for help—but there was no one here who could help him. Yoo Joonghyuk's foot pressed down hard on his back, and after a moment, Yoo Hyunho let out a strangled groan and passed out.
When silence fell over the tent, Yoo Joonghyuk spoke again.
"Seems there are none. Then I'll announce the list."
Tension colored the kings' faces.
As expected—Yoo Joonghyuk really was something else.
To seize the axis of power this easily…
In an instant, the kings had fallen from the position of those who choose to those who are chosen.
I tore open a strip of jerky from the table and waited for Yoo Joonghyuk to continue.
Beside me, Queen Mihee, Min Jiwon, looked at me as if I were ridiculous.
「How can you be so calm?」
Sorry, but my situation's different from yours.
After all, I'm someone Yoo Joonghyuk himself acknowledged as a companion.
He might threaten me, saying the oath is over and all that, but in the end, that bastard admitted my usefulness.
Yoo Joonghyuk spoke.
"First, of course, is me."
…Well, that was obvious.
There was no way he'd leave himself off a list he made.
Behind Yoo Joonghyuk, his party had already arrived.
Lee Jihye and Lee Seolhwa.
I also saw Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon peering in with worried expressions. Jung Heewon, in particular, looked like she might charge in at any moment, so I stopped her with a glance.
Yoo Joonghyuk continued.
"Second is Lee Jihye."
I'd assumed I'd be second, so that was unexpected.
But then again, I wasn't originally on his companion list. If he picked me first, the others might feel slighted.
For all his coldness, he's oddly considerate of his own people.
I get it, you bastard.
Unable to hide her excitement, Lee Jihye grinned at me.
…That's kind of annoying.
"Third is Lee Seolhwa."
Lee Seolhwa nodded and stepped forward.
With each name announced, the kings' faces grew darker.
They could all sense it.
This list was the final list.
「Seven spots left. We still have a chance.」
「The Tyrant King's party is only those three, so the remaining picks have to be people outside his group.」
「And among those left, we're the strongest…」
Their thoughts were written all over their faces.
Me? I wasn't worried at all.
Obviously, I'd be on the list.
Surely the next one would be—
"Fourth is Lee Hyunsung."
…What?
Lee Hyunsung, who'd been standing in the back, went pale when his name was called.
"M-me, sir…?"
Yoo Joonghyuk ignored him and looked at the person next to him.
"Fifth is Jung Heewon."
"…Me?"
Jung Heewon's eyes widened in shock.
Even I hadn't expected him to pick her.
Is this guy seriously taking my whole party?
"Sixth is Lee Gilyoung."
"…Huh? Me?"
Then Yoo Joonghyuk turned his gaze to Shin Yoosung, who was standing next to Lee Gilyoung.
Shin Yoosung immediately hid behind Lee Gilyoung with frightened eyes.
Flustered, Lee Gilyoung fidgeted for a moment before making up his mind and stepping in front of her protectively. Yoo Joonghyuk looked down at the two children with an unreadable expression, then turned away.
"And then…"
Finally, Yoo Joonghyuk's gaze fixed on me.
Yeah. Finally, my turn.
You saved me for last on purpose, huh?
As expected of the protagonist—you know how to stage things.
"…The rest, decide among yourselves."
I swallowed a whole piece of jerky and started coughing.
Yoo Joonghyuk gave the inside of the tent a quick glance, then looked at me one last time with a faintly contemptuous expression, as if he had nothing more to see, and turned his back as he left.
What?
That's it?
Seriously?
…Then what about me?
Why are you looking at me like that?
By the time I chased after him, Yoo Joonghyuk was already long gone.
I stood there blankly for a while.
Jung Heewon carefully asked me,
"Aren't you two close?"
I thought we were.
[Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire,' smiles with satisfaction.]
Lee Jihye added, sounding puzzled,
"Mister, didn't you meet our master at dawn? I totally thought you'd be on the list."
"What are you talking about?"
"He said he was going to see you early in the morning."
"Early when?"
"Like one or two a.m.? Were you asleep?"
I thought back over the time.
Between one and two in the morning.
That was right before I went to the Underworld.
"I was awake then. Yoo Joonghyuk didn't come."
"That's weird. Master definitely went and came back. And when he returned, he seemed kind of angry."
"Angry?"
"You know that look he gets when he's mad. Like he's slightly looking down on someone…"
I searched my memory of that moment.
What had I been doing right before going to the Underworld?
Ah. Right. I remember.
I was drinking with Yoo Sangah. Dionysus was pouring alcohol everywhere and messing up the mood, and then…
Uh… um.
[Constellation, 'God of Wine and Ecstasy,' wears a mischievous smile.]
[Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire,' smiles with satisfaction.]
[You have received 500 coins as a donation.]
With a complicated expression, I explained what had happened back then to the group.
They all looked shocked.
Jung Heewon narrowed her eyes and pressed me.
"…You kissed Yoo Sangah?"
"That's not what I said—what were you listening to?"
"Was it really because of Dionysus? You weren't just pretending to be drunk?"
"It was because of Dionysus, and nothing happened."
Jung Heewon looked at me skeptically.
…Did I bring this up for nothing?
"Hmmm… maybe Yoo Joonghyuk saw that? And decided to step aside because of the atmosphere…"
"Yoo Joonghyuk isn't that kind of guy."
"And even if Mr. Yoo Joonghyuk really did witness Dokja kissing someone, I don't think he'd have any reason to be upset about it…"
"I told you, I didn't kiss anyone."
When I grumbled, Lee Jihye gave a meaningful smile.
"Ah! I think I get it now…"
[Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire,' says that it's comradeship.]
"…Comradeship?" Jung Heewon tilted her head.
Lee Jihye burst out laughing.
"Is that what your sponsor says, unni? That this is comradeship?"
"What does that even mean?"
"If it's comradeship, then I think I understand."
Unexpectedly, Lee Hyunsung raised his hand.
"Come to think of it, I'd feel unpleasant too if Dokja were doing something like that."
[Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire,' snorts at the unexpected remark.]
"…Huh? Why would you feel bad, Mr. Hyunsung?"
Lee Jihye looked like she was about to get a nosebleed.
Lee Hyunsung's expression was serious. Nervous about what kind of bombshell might come next, I listened closely.
"We're constantly risking our lives in these scenarios. Mr. Yoo Joonghyuk and I both train our bodies every morning in preparation for the next scenario. With nothing but the resolve to protect our comrades, we endure harsh training day after day."
"…Huh?"
Lee Jihye looked dazed, as if this wasn't the answer she'd expected.
Jung Heewon, on the other hand, listened intently, wearing a that actually makes sense expression.
"In a situation like that, if the comrade who's supposed to guard my back is indulging in base desires and fooling around, of course I'd feel bad. I'd feel betrayed. The Yoo Joonghyuk I know is extremely ascetic, and even though he isn't a soldier, he has an exceptionally strong soldier's mentality. Someone like him would be very sensitive to anything that might loosen discipline. It would feel like the bonds of comradeship were breaking."
"…Hmm. That's not completely unreasonable."
Jung Heewon nodded in agreement.
[Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire,' is disappointed in their incarnation.]
[Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire,' is enraged at Lee Hyunsung's misguided notion of comradeship.]
Strangely enough, the more I listened to Lee Hyunsung, the more plausible it started to sound.
A scene from Ways of Survival suddenly came to mind.
I opened the text file and skimmed through Yoo Joonghyuk's third regression, and sure enough, I found something that could count as evidence.
「Pathetic. Getting distracted by a woman.」
「Those with strong sexual urges are excluded from the companion list. They're prone to ruining things.」
If he really misunderstood it that way, then this was unfair.
If I'd actually kissed her, that'd be one thing—but I hadn't even pecked her.
Damn it. And now it was too late to explain that it was all a misunderstanding…
"Kim Dokja? Shall we choose the remaining participants now?"
Min Jiwon had approached me while I was lost in thought.
When I turned around, the other kings were also looking at me.
"The Tyrant King took six people, so there are four slots left."
"So we have to choose four from among us…"
With the Yeouido faction completely crushed, that left five kings including me.
After gauging the mood, Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung spoke first.
"Hm, since there are only four slots left anyway—"
"How about deciding it with a captain's duel?"
The one who proposed it was me.
"Arguing with words will only waste time. Everyone wants to fill the allocated slots with their own faction anyway, so let's settle it with a duel. The winning king takes all the remaining slots."
At my words, the kings looked at each other simultaneously.
After a brief pause, the answer came.
"Agreed."
Once again, the Neutral King Jeon Ildo was the first to declare his withdrawal.
"I'll stay behind. Someone has to remain here and keep people in line…"
A wise decision.
If you can't perform well in the scenario anyway, it's not a bad idea to consolidate your power base here. And though people don't know it yet, there are certainly scenarios prepared for the incarnations left behind.
Those goblins who love intense stimulation would never leave incarnations in peace.
The King of Wanderers also simply raised her hand and declared her withdrawal.
The other kings looked surprised, but also relieved that a competitor was gone. Min Jiwon looked at me confidently and said,
"That trick you used last time won't work again."
She must know that I won the 'Throne Seizure' by spending hoarded coins.
…So I've really been underestimated, huh?
We fought, switching opponents one by one.
It didn't even take five minutes for the outcome to be decided.
Who won?
There's no need to ask.
"This is unbelievable… I thought only the Tyrant King was a monster. How did you get this strong?"
Cha Sangkyung lay collapsed in a heap, while Min Jiwon, her body covered in bruises, panted as she spoke to me.
Yeah. It would've been easier if we'd just done this from the start.
I shrugged.
"Ten people is just the initial allocation. So everyone, just wait. The second allocation will start soon enough."
"…Sigh. I suppose it can't be helped. You've secured four slots—who are you taking?"
"One is me, and another is that kid."
At my glance, Shin Yoosung's face brightened.
She must have been worried about being left behind.
"And the remaining two… I already have people in mind."
"Not me, right?"
"No. Not you, Min Jiwon."
"Tch… Fine."
Min Jiwon brushed herself off and stood up. One by one, the dejected kings left their seats. I turned to my companions.
"You all go on ahead. I've got something to take care of. Let's meet at the station later."
After my companions nodded and left the tent, the once-crowded interior quickly became empty.
...
After some time passed, only two people remained inside the tent.
Me—and the masked woman.
Then, for the first time, she spoke.
"Looks like you've made a lot of friends."
I hesitated until the very end.
Whether I should really talk to this person.
But to secure someone necessary for the next scenario, I had no choice but to ask her for help.
I took a small breath and spoke to the King of Wanderers.
"It's been a while, Mom."
< Episode 23. The Abandoned World (3) > End