Chapter 224. Teresa’s Tears (2) (2/2)

[Wait a few days before seeing Luxuria.]

‘Excuse me?’

[Luxuria is the twin sister goddess of Castitas. She will be able to give you more accurate information.]

‘Can’t I go right now?’

Seol Jihu asked all heated up.

[Luxuria is in the middle of a large-scale ritual ceremony. I’m sure you can wait a few days.]

Gula pacified him calmly.

[If it’s the Spear of Purity… we have to talk about it amongst ourselves first. Fufufufu.]

She gave a profound laugh.

How could Seol Jihu not wait a few days when he just met with someone who had waited hundreds of years?

He said yes and then turned around.

[Also.]

Gula’s voice held him back.

[Please try to resolve it well. Console her, or put her at ease by stamping your seal on it.]

‘?’

[Didn’t I tell you before? That the future began to change.]

Seol Jihu did remember. But…

[With you wrenching the future, a new future has opened up for that child.]

[If that man is the shield that will block the swarming darkness, then that child might become your precious left arm in the future.]

Setting aside who this man was, Seol Jihu felt like he knew who this child referred to.

[It’s good to have a clear sense of purpose. It’s not bad at all. After all, you’re still in the process of tempering your shield.]

[I’m just saying you shouldn’t be too cold.]

Seol Jihu smiled bitterly at Gula’s advice.

*

Members of the expedition team, excluding Maria, Teresa, and Hugo, were waiting outside. For some reason, Chohong and Phi Sora looked a little impatient.

“Hey, um, I’m gonna go look at it again.”

“Me too.”

The two women raced to the temple, where the storage was.

Seol Jihu chortled.

That was just how human psychology was. When they suddenly had a lot of money, reality would feel like a dream. It was the same logic as constantly checking your bank account after hitting the lottery jackpot.

“Didn’t you put everything in storage?”

Kazuki asked while pointing at the bag on Seol Jihu’s back.

Seol Jihu explained while laughing.

“They’re offerings. I plan on going right away.”

Remembering why Seol Jihu put in the additional condition regarding offerings, Kazuki understood what he meant immediately.

“Don’t you think it’s a shame? Selling those will give you more than a few gold coins.”

“I didn’t know you knew how to make jokes. Not that it was funny.”

“I’m just saying.”

Kazuki laughed, noticing thorns in Seol Jihu’s words. He then asked to accompany him, saying he wanted to say hello.

Seol Jihu readily agreed as that wasn’t really a problem.

They waited until Chohong and Phi Sora came out before heading back in the direction of Carpe Diem’s office.

No, that’s what they tried to do.

“Agh, it’s driving me insane. Let me go take a look just one more time.”

“Me too!”

Just when they reached the bottom of the stairway, Phi Sora and Chohong quickly ran back up to the temple.

“Me too.”

Even Marcel Ghionea joined in.

“Oh, come on!”

Seol Jihu yelled.

*

Chohong and Phi Sora checked the storage six more times before they were finally relieved.

Seol Jihu arrived at the building on the opposite side of Carpe Diem’s office…

“Noona! Yuhui Noona!”

And he knocked on the door with a drum beat.

Crash, crash! Seo Yuhui hurried out and displayed a dumbfounded face seeing Seol Jihu’s beaming smile.

“Jeez… you surprised me.”

She pinched his cheeks lightly for pulling a prank after not having seen each other for a while. Then, she guided him inside.

After sitting down, Seol Jihu took out the offerings he’d desperately been waiting to show off.

A hint of surprise flashed across Seo Yuhui’s face as soon as she saw the contents of the bag.

“These…”

The quality of the offerings was one thing, but the divine power they carried was something else. They would at least restore her strength to Level 3 or even the early stages of Level 4.

In fact, she would be hard-pressed to find offerings of such quality even if she searched the entire city.

‘Where did he get so many high-quality offerings…?’

Seo Yuhui stared at Seol Jihu with a renewed gaze.

“They’re… too expensive.”

“Ah, don’t feel pressured. They’re all yours.”

When Seo Yuhui sounded a bit uncomfortable taking all these offerings, Phi Sora shouted in high spirits while tapping on Seol Jihu’s shoulder.

“We struck it rich this expedition, so this much is nothing!”

“Yeah! It’s all thanks to him! Auuu, you cutie!”

Chohong also laughed like an idiot and ruffled Seol Jihu’s hair until it got disheveled.

The two women treated Seol Jihu like a baby, while Seo Yuhui’s expression turned strange as she stared at him blankly.

“Hnng~”

She spoke while letting out a strange hum.

“Thanks. It must have been hard.”

“No, not at all…”

Seol Jihu scratched his head awkwardly.

Seo Yuhui shook her head.

“It was hard, right?”

She spoke gently while spreading her arms out. Seol Jihu’s eyes opened wide.

‘Wait! That motion!’

He was convinced.

She was inviting him into her arms.She was trying to embrace him as a reward for working hard.

His body threw a fit for a moment. Seol Jihu became reluctant.

Even he knew shame. It would be a different story if he was asleep.Embracing her with everyone looking was a bit…

At that moment, Seo Yuhui opened her mouth with a sweet smile.

“Squish.”

“!?”

Seol Jihu was astonished.

‘H-How?’

Seol Jihu hesitated. However, he soon fell into a difficult situation as Seo Yuhui asked in response to his indecision.

“Jihu?”

He could tell just by her expression.

Didn’t you have no qualms about embracing me in the past?Are you trying to save face now that you grew up a little?

“Jihu….”

Seo Yuhui blurred the end of her speech pitifully.

Seol Jihu didn’t know what to do as she sounded more and more hurt and saddened.

Seo Yuhui tilted her head.

“Is the side-effect okay?”

Oh right, there was that convenient excuse.

“Y-You’re right. I’ve actually been feeling a bit tired…”

Seol Jihu responded quickly and toddled towards her with a cough. He didn’t pay attention to the gazes behind him. After all, this was something out of his control.

‘Squish.’

The important thing was that Seo Yuhui’s embrace was the coziest place in the world. His restless body seemed to calm itself down.

This was really a paradise in Paradise.

‘Ah… amazing.’

Now I feel alive.

Seo Yuhui smiled brightly as she patted the rabbit snuggling in her arm.

With a beaming face, she sent a hard-to-understand smile at the two women staring at them dumbfoundedly.

*

Thanks to recharging the Seo Yuhui Energy, Seol Jihu was able to return to the office in delight.

He didn’t see Jang Maldong and the Yi siblings. They must still be at Huge Stone Rocky Mountain, training.

Jang Maldong picked up as soon as he contacted them via a communication crystal.

—You must have arrived just now.

“Yes, I called to let you know we’re back.”

—So, was the expedition fruitful?

“I have more than a few things to discuss with you.”

Seol Jihu twiddled his fingers.

“When will you be back?”

—We’ll be back soon. We actually went back once and returned to the mountain.

“Huh? Why?”

—Because of Sungjin.

Jang Maldong smiled bitterly.

—He got severely hurt during training, so we went back to Haramark after some emergency treatment. I planned to let him rest, but he insisted on going back.

Jang Maldong clicked his tongue.

—That brat’s got the stubbornness of a bull. Even a bull’s tendon won’t be as tough as him.

Jang Maldong shook his head.

Seol Jihu asked with worry.

“Is his injury serious? How is his body?”

—It’s gotten a lot better. Sungjin is training as much as you did.

“I hope he doesn’t push himself too much… He needs to think about his body.”

—You’re the one to say.

Jang Maldong nodded his head with a peal of uncontrollable laughter.

—Well, we’ll be back in a few days. We can talk about the details then.

“Got it.”

—Oh, yes.

Jang Maldong stopped Seol Jihu just as he was about to hang up.

—It’s about that lady friend of yours, Kim Hannah. She’s your Inviter, right?

Seol Jihu’s eyes widened at the unexpected mention.

“Yes. What about Kim Hannah?”

—She called when we returned to Haramark.

Jang Maldong continued calmly.

—I didn’t plan on picking up at first, but she was calling every time I checked the communication crystal. Once, twice, thrice… it just kept going.

‘What?’

Seol Jihu’s eyes narrowed.

“Did you pick up?”

—Mm, it seemed urgent, so I did. Sorry.

“No, no, it’s fine. So what happened? Why did she—”

He swallowed his words rather than asking, ‘Why did she not pick up all this time?’

—I’m not sure. She was looking for you, but when I said you were on an expedition, she said okay and that was it.

After saying that, Jang Maldong furrowed his brows and smacked his lips.

—But… her complexion was a bit…

“Excuse me?”

—No, it’s nothing. I can’t decide just by looking at her once.

Jang Maldong shook his head.

—Anyway, try giving her a call. Now, if possible.

“Got it.”

—Alright, I’ll see you later.

With that, the call ended.

Seol Jihu smacked his lips.

Kim Hannah had called at a point he was ready to develop a fully-fledged organization.

‘You never know your luck.’

If I knew, I would have asked her to participate in the expedition.

Murmuring inwardly, Seol Jihu rummaged through the desk drawer and took out the appropriate communication crystal. Then, he placed his hand on the faded crystal orb.