158 – To the Homeland of Fire – 1

Late at night on the day Gi-jun returned from receiving his reward at the royal palace and had a full-power spar with Biche for the first time in a while, plowing the surrounding land and leaving his party members shocked to the point of collapsing.

Only Gi-jun and Lucy came out to the gathering to send Biche off.

To be precise, just as Biche was quietly trying to slip away because her time was up, Gi-jun, with Lucy’s help, had come out to see her off.

“I wanted to leave in secret.”

“No way. If we part this time, we don’t know when we’ll meet again.”

Gi-jun shook his head in dismay at Biche’s words.

Even without that, how gloomy had he been after finding out too late that Gin had secretly left this time?

Even if he had to leave, he had wanted to dress him in armor made of dragon materials and send him off before then.

Thinking of the wolf boy who was only big in size but incredibly soft-hearted inside, Gi-jun sighed.

“Are you that sad? I told you I’ll cross over soon.”

Seeing Gi-jun sigh, Biche assumed he was that heartbroken over parting with her, and comforted him in a soft tone.

Although that was not entirely a misunderstanding, Gi-jun, who could not trust the word ‘soon’ that she spoke, narrowed his eyes.

At that look, Biche hurriedly added.

“It’s true. My coming here this time was a huge help. It shortened the time much more than my original estimate, really.”

As she spoke, Biche’s gaze brushed past Lucy for a split second, but Gi-jun did not notice.

“Alright… I will keep sending you food.”

“Hee, it’s a promise.”

The two shut their mouths tightly, not knowing what else to say.

They had shared enough of what they had to say during their date yesterday, and revealing their inner feelings any further would be excessive.

Neither of them wanted to end up holding the other back just when they had to part.

“Jjun, I have a proposal.”

Unable to bear the lingering attachment, regret, and frustration, Biche proposed to him first.

“Let’s do a parting hug. Everyone does this.”

“Ah—that’s good. But if possible, let’s make it a hug promising a reunion.”

“Yeah, that would be good.”

Sharing a silly conversation with highly tense expressions, the two gradually narrowed the distance.

And while Lucy watched with a look of disbelief, both of them opened their arms and hugged each other, with neither being the first to do so.

Burying her face in the nape of Gi-jun’s neck, Biche whispered in a tiny voice as if feeling self-conscious about her bold actions.

“Is it a bit too much?”

“No, I think it’s fine.”

“Right?”

“It feels like it’s a bit lacking, though.”

“You’re right, I think so too.”

Having reached an agreement in an instant, the two held each other even tighter with tense expressions.

As they felt each other’s breath, scent, and warmth unfiltered, they even had the illusion that the two had become one.

“Phew—”

“Haa…”

Their breaths were dreadfully long and slow.

At this moment, they could even clearly read each other’s thoughts.

They wanted to hold each other even more tightly.

They did not want to separate.

Like this forever, and if possible, until the end of the world—

—Demon, aren’t you going back?

The two, who had forgotten the timing to pull apart and were holding each other tightly, jumped apart in surprise at Lucy’s words.

Meeting each other’s gaze with awkward expressions as they blinked, the two suddenly realized they felt the same impulse and simultaneously took a step back.

—Cowards.

To his frustration, Gi-jun had no way to talk back as Lucy giggled.

However, Biche glared at her with a pout, then boldly stepped forward a step and a half again and put her arms around Gi-jun’s shoulders.

And she puckered her lips and planted a peck on his cheek.

“Uh.”

—Ahhhhh!

Gi-jun froze in place, and Lucy intensely regretted the disaster her provocation had brought.

Biche snorted with a huff and backed away, then…

“Don’t misunderstand, this is that, uh—in our civilization, it’s what a master does to wish for a disciple’s future.”

She rambled.

—How can you make such a clumsy excuse so confidently.

“Anyway, it’s that kind of greeting! Well, I’m off!”

A crack appeared in the air and split wide open, forming a black hole in an instant.

Biche leaped straight into the hole and soon vanished from sight, waving her hands like a jellyfish in her embarrassment.

The hole closed, and Gi-jun, left alone, blankly stroked his cheek and murmured.

“Wishing for the future…”

—Don’t believe it!

* * *

He had received his reward from the royal palace, and he had sent Biche off as well.

Now, the time to truly leave Cor had come.

In truth—he also wanted to stay in Cor a little longer to help Ye-min build the guild, but Ye-min firmly refused, saying she could not get in his way.

Moreover, Gi-jun himself was worried that if he got too deeply involved in the guild, his highly renowned influence might somehow end up harming Ye-min.

“Still, I want you to name the guild, Oppa. I heard your party name is Lumen? I think it would be nice to just use that.”

“If we use that as it is, it’ll literally be the end of us.”

“What does it matter? It’s a guild established with Earthlings as the mainstay anyway. You are basically representing Earth, and if anything, you’re the one who got the civilization skill…”

Hoping to connect with Gi-jun even in such a manner, Ye-min insisted until the end that he must name the guild.

In her mind, she was already picturing Gi-jun revealing his identity when the time was right and leading the guild with her.

“Then—let’s call it Terra.”

“I like it.”

A word meaning Earth, and also land, not only in Latin but also in modern English.

There was no better word to reveal the identity of Earthlings.

For some unknown reason, in Leta, where English was spoken as the common tongue, there was infinite potential for the word ‘Terra’ to be used for meanings other than Earth—yet, strangely, other Letans showed little reaction upon hearing the word.

“Is it a word from your hometown? It’s a method commonly used by guilds representing a civilization. I think it’s good.”

Monoceros, the Lord of Turis, who had come to help set up the guild, said so as he wore a warm smile.

“Since it is a matter of managing a large number of people, I expect there will be a lot of noise… but as long as the Gratia royal family supports you from behind, you will be granted overwhelming authority to suppress them all. I know they are preparing a title of nobility for you as well, so please play along with them to a reasonable degree in the future.”

“I will gladly do so. Thank you for your assistance.”

At the sight of Ye-min bowing politely, the Lord of Turis let out a low groan.

It had been difficult to understand in the first place why the King would leave Gi-jun alone and make someone else the master of a large guild, but now that he faced Ye-min one-on-one, her terrifying beauty and overwhelming charm made him realize why.

The Lord of Turis turned back to Gi-jun and asked with a worried expression.

“Say, there is still a place for my daughter next to you, right?”

“I don’t know what kind of place you’re talking about.”

Gi-jun feigned ignorance, swearing that even if he died and came back to life, he would never reveal to this man that Unika had told him she would give him her horn.

“Ts-ts, this guy. Anyway, I heard you are going to Uralta.”

“That’s right. I think I will be leaving today or tomorrow.”

“Then, though it might be a bit of a hassle, would you mind going to Turis with me, picking up Unika, and heading to Uralta together? Since I am returning to Turis, my daughter will also be appointed as an administrator of Uralta right away—and I think there is no better person than you to escort her.”

“Well, since Unika is beautiful… it’s only natural to worry if she travels alone.”

“Indeed, indeed, you know it well. It’s not to brag, but my daughter takes after my wife and has a truly delicate and lovely charm.”

The moment the words about Unika being beautiful came out, the eyebrows of Ye-min, who had been controlling her expression because she was in front of a noble, twitched.

She was already going crazy because there were too many competitors, and she was relieved that the Demon King had finally disappeared from her sight—but there was another one?

And they seemed quite close, too?

Of course, Gi-jun did not notice the change in her expression and continued his conversation with the Lord of Turis.

“…But if you are worried about the journey, wouldn’t it be better to just go through a teleport gate?”

“Oh, you didn’t know yet. You cannot go to Uralta via a teleport gate. The closest city, at least, is Turis. That is why I can make such a request of you without feeling burdened.”

What?

He felt stunned, as if struck on the back of the head.

When Gi-jun asked for the reason, the Lord of Turis explained with a hearty laugh.

“I am not a mage either, so I do not know the details, but they say that a massive magic power dwells in the volcano at the center of Uralta. Because that magic power is ridiculously huge and constantly vibrates, teleport gates cannot operate stably. …No, this is probably an excuse. The value of Uralta is absurdly high, and His Majesty did not particularly welcome the mages of the Magic Tower staying in Uralta.”

“Indeed… it is a famous region, but is it being managed somewhat restrictively?”

“Exactly. Its value is so immense that even Countess Defect, who previously held that region, often had to obtain His Majesty’s approval to handle matters related to Uralta. That is why she stayed in the capital, and if I may add, that is also why she acted so closely with His Majesty.”

“And she was a vampire to boot.”

“…That is why I am truly grateful to you in many ways.”

Although the chances were low, had Gi-jun failed to see through her identity and the vampires’ surprise operation had been successfully executed—the King of Gratia, who had many occasions to meet Io Defect, would have naturally been in danger.

“If starting from Turis is indeed the closest route, I have no reason to refuse. Alright. I will take Unika with me.”

“That’s what I like to hear! My daughter, with this, I have done everything I could do for you…”

“I can hear you.”

At any rate, the guild Terra was successfully established and took its place as a civilization representative guild officially supported by the nation.

The Earthlings belonging to Terra numbered a whopping 30,000, with non-Earthling humans at 7,000, and non-human races at 3,000, bringing the total count to roughly 40,000—an absurdly large crowd.

Compared to the giant guilds renowned across the Leta continent, it was indeed still far behind and its members were weak, but in terms of cohesion alone, it was second to none.

Ye-min was confident in multiplying the members by more than tenfold, and she was also confident in making all of them revere her as an absolute being.

“Will all Earthlings gather here someday?”

“I don’t think anything special would happen even if they did. I will do my best to nurture them. We have the civilization skill Oppa obtained, so it’ll work out somehow.”

“I’m counting on you, Min-ah.”

“Leave it to me, Oppa.”

However, the purpose of the guild was, first and foremost, to support Gi-jun.

Clinking glasses with Gi-jun at the farewell party, she pondered how she would run the guild in the future.

“I heard you created a guild. I want to join that guild too! I think it’s time for me to repay the favor I received from you!”

And the next day, seeing the man who had stormed into Terra’s guild house, which was handed over by the state, leading his own party—Choi Kang,

Ye-min smiled for the first time since meeting him.

Who would have thought that a useful chess piece would roll in on its own like this?