Chapter 236: Episode 44 – Swindler (4)
I reflexively raised my head at Yoo Jonghyuk’s decisive words. “...Is it okay?”
“The scenario we are facing right now isn’t the Demon King Selection but the Martial Arts Competition.”
I had been thinking this but once I heard Yoo Jonghyuk say it, I felt a strange sense of relief and pride. “You... have really become a person. At the very least, I won’t die for the time being.”
Yoo Jonghyuk ignored my words and continued, “The only thing that can be obtained from the competition is the Black Demon Sword. Getting the Black Demon Sword doesn’t mean we can win the Demon King Selection.”
Yoo Jonghyuk was right. Winning the Murim competition didn’t mean we could win the Demon King Selection.
“That’s why you have to go to the Gourmet Association. We need colleagues for our nebula. You might be able to gain allies if you go to the Gourmet Association.”
I understood what he was saying. Go to the Gourmet Association and come back with some usable constellations. There was one worrisome point.
“...Our nebula?”
“Didn’t you say you would make one last time?”
“Kim Dokja’s Company?”
“I’ll quit right away if it is really named that.”
Yoo Jonghyuk turned his head away with a frown. I felt pleasantly surprised.
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is wiping her tears with a handkerchief.]
It was something that was unthinkable when he first grabbed me by the neck. Yoo Jonghyuk and I really became colleagues. In any case, it was funny that I was hesitating when Yoo Jonghyuk told me this.
I stood up and declared, “I’ll go.”
***
That night, I was greeted by a Gourmet Association Guide who flew through the portal. The guide drove a small carriage with a black horse, while dressed in a western cowboy costume. He seemed to be one of the subordinates of the owner of Oro Castle.
The guide descended from the carriage and bowed politely to me.
[Are you the Demon King of Salvation?]
“That’s right.”
[Take the carriage. The journey is quite long and you can rest.]
The guide didn’t show any particular surprise or responses towards me. Was it because he was a guide of the Gourmet Association that he wasn’t surprised by ‘Demon King of Salvation’? The guide got on the carriage and turned to ask me.
[I will pick up some passengers along the way. Do you mind?]
“Uh, that’s okay.”
Some passengers... who? I missed the opportunity to ask as the guide immediately started the carriage.
The interior of the carriage was spacious and comfortable. There was no shaking at all and it was like I wasn’t moving. It was great. I could read Ways of Survival on the journey.
I read Ways of Survival during these few hours. Maybe it wasn’t a few hours but a few days. It was difficult to measure the time because I didn’t know how fast the carriage was moving.
「...Thus, the 15th regression Yoo Jonghyuk thought as he died, ‘I wasn’t lucky.’ 」
「 ...At the end of the 19th round, Yoo Jonghyuk thought, ‘Next time.’ 」
「 ...Yoo Jonghyuk finished his 25th life and murmured, “It really will be next time.” 」
...I had to cancel calling him a person. This jerk, he was still a sunfish in the first revision. It was the same whether I helped him or not.
I didn’t forget to find the information I needed on Yoo Jonghyuk’s death. There weren’t many details about the Gourmet Association. Yoo Jonghyuk visited the Gourmet Association in the later stages but it was to kill them, not get along with them. Those sections were mostly filled with “Kuaaaack!”
「 The Flying Fox said, “Constellations are all bad. However, the Gourmet Association are the worst among them.” 」
It was also impossible to find any favourable contents about them. The more I read, the more I was uncertain that going to the Gourmet Association was the right thing to do. Anyway, I continued reading Ways of Survival.
「 Yoo Jonghyuk was thinking, “It would’ve been nice if he had come with me.’ 」
If there was a difference in taste between the original and the revision, it was the moment these words came out. They were traces of when I intervened in the original work. I paid particular attention whenever these lines appeared. It was because there were only a few scenes where the ‘third regression’ was mentioned.
「 ‘You must do this. He said this is the right way.’ 」
...The right way? What did this mean?
[It is time to eat. If you don’t mind, I’ve prepared something simple.]
“Thank you.”
The carriage stopped and the guide provided me with a meal. It was a type of in-flight meal. It resembled high-quality ham and smelled very fragrant. Of course, it wasn’t really ham.
[The Last Gladiator of Planet Selegedon.]
It was a story meal typical of the Gourmet Association. It seemed to be a pretty strong story based on the concentration that I could feel...
I touched the soft ham with a fork that the guide gave me. At this moment, some of the story contents flowed into my head.
-S-Spare me. Please spare me...!
A city that crumbled in a horrible manner due to the turmoil of the constellations. The appearance of incarnations bursting under huge pressure. The dying gladiator who lost all dignity...
The bodies of torn incarnations pouring into the mouths of wickedly smiling constellations. The last scene of the world that had already disappeared. The screams and despair of the incarnations gathered together at the end of my nose.
I looked down at the ham and quietly put down the fork.
[...The food doesn’t suit your taste?]
“I’m not hungry right now.” I answered with a calm smile.
[I’m sorry. I didn’t account for your taste as a constellation. New food...]
“No, I’ll eat what I brought.”
The guide took away the plates in a regretful manner and sat back down on the driver’s seat. Once he was completely gone, I barely relaxed my expression. It felt like I was going to vomit.
A sentence I had just read in Ways of Survival passed through my head.
「 “it is a nightmare for the incarnations.” 」
Once again, I realized where I was going and who I was dealing with. I foolishly acted like I was going on a picnic.
I touched some of the stories that were in my pocket. Compared to the stories they ate, the stories abandoned in the ‘Story Horizon’ were almost colourless and odourless. They were the plain stories of ordinary incarnations living and dying in a normal way, just like trash. There was a reason why the Gourmet Association abandoned them.
I absorbed the story fragments using Lamarck Kirin and quietly closed my eyes. Somehow, I felt like I was going to have a nightmare.
***
The trip continued for a few days and I used the interlude to look at some of the things I hadn’t maintained.
[Coins Possessed: 1,252,353 C.]
First, I checked the coins that I hadn’t paid attention to lately. It was a really huge amount of money.
1.2 million was enough to buy the Great Demon’s Eyes. However, Anna Croft had already obtained it. I had a better skill so I didn’t need it. But...
I wondered how to use the remaining coins. It wasn’t bad to increase my overall stats but the efficiency of the stats started to fall once the average exceeded 100. From then on, investing in skills was much better than investing in stats.
Of course, there were times when the accumulated overall stats were overwhelming. Once I convinced the Fourth Wall, I should properly check my Attributes Window.
[A new passenger is going to enter. It is okay?]
I was so immersed in my thoughts that I wasn’t aware the carriage stopped. “Yes, I”m fine.”
The left door of the carriage opened at my reply. I was a bit nervous as I looked at the people who were going to join me through the cracks in the door. The possibility of it being a constellation was high.
“Ah! I’ve been waiting a long time. Why are you so late?”
[I’m sorry. The road was a bit rougher than I thought...]
A voice that was somewhat familiar entered my ears. It was a high female voice mixed with a Russian accent.
I could see three people through the cracks in the door.
[There is someone who has already boarded. I hope you have a pleasant journey.]
Whether it was lucky or unlucky, I didn’t feel any constellations. In other words, they were all incarnations with stories.
A woman with a gentle smile boarded the carriage first. “Excuse me.
The woman who greeted me politely had brown hair that fluttered in the wind. The moment the woman raised her head, I reflexively asked, “Selena Kim?”
Selena Kim. She was one of the American representatives at the constellation banquet. Perhaps it was due to my changed face but the woman was confused for a while before exclaiming,
“Ah, you...?”
“Do you remember who I am?”
“Of course! Kim Dokja! It’s been a while! Were you invited?”
“Yes, that’s what happened.”
I shook hands with Selena and studied the rest of the group. The person who followed with a girl with twin ponytails.
“What are you... eh?”
As expected, I had seen this person before. It was the Russian girl I met at the constellation banquet.
Her name... what was it? I remember her having the nickname of Red something.
I ignored the girl and checked the remaining person. At this moment, I got goose bumps.
“This is the first time we’ve actually met.”
There was an immeasurable depth in the calm and relaxed voice. I knew this person well. One of the strongest incarnations in Ways of Survival along with Yoo Jonghyuk. I had even met this person before.
“I saw you in a dream one day. I don’t remember since it was too long ago. At that time, you said we would meet...”
I remembered. In the Green Zone scenario, I saw her after eating the Specter’s Stone. I told her, “I remember.”
“I’ll formally greet you. It is nice to meet you, Kim Dokja. No... Demon King of Salvation.”
She smiled while a yellow demon eye flew above her blond hair. It was a very beautiful smile but I couldn’t accept it. It was because I knew better than anyone the disturbing thoughts behind the smile. “I am Anna Croft.”
Asgard’s prophet. The head of the Zarathustra, Anna Croft was here.