Chapter 110 (1/2)

Chapter 110. The Reason She is Here

Chohong arrived at the Huge Stone Rocky Mountain around noon. She was unable to sit or walk comfortably the entire trip, even though she was visiting what should be a nostalgic place.

Since the only memories she had of the mountain were rolling on the ground like a dog, taking a breath of air made her feel more disgusted than refreshed.

'Being a temporary leader really saved my a.s.s….'

After arriving at the place Jang Maldong had told her about, Chohong let out a deep sigh before craning her neck out and looking around the vicinity. She could see something black moving in a zigzag from one mountain peak to the other in the distance.

“Heeey!”

She waited until it came near, and when she waved her hands, Hugo stopped after descending the mountain slope. He looked at Chohong and wiped off his dripping sweat.

“You're here?”

“Rejoice! Your Messiah has come to save you from your distress.”

“Messiah…. Why couldn't you have come earlier?”

“Watch what you say! This mountain is the territory of an evil devil. Even I, the Messiah, have to risk unimaginable danger to get here.”

“f.u.c.k, you call yourself a Messiah when your own safety is the first thing on your priority list?”

When Hugo grumbled, Chohong giggled uncontrollably.

“Since you're still up and running, I'm guessing that it wasn't half bad, huh?”

“No, no,” Hugo shook his head and grinned.

“I trained earnestly while a certain someone was lazing around at home.”

“Oh?”

“Just you wait, I'll show you the fruits of my training, fufufufu!”

Chohong's facial muscles twitched hearing Hugo's declaration of war. She placed her hand by her ear and leaned forward toward him.

“What did you say?”

“Never mind.”

“Whaaat?”

“Are you deaf?”

“Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. I just couldn't hear what you said because it was coming from a LOSER who's not even a High Ranker.”

Hugo's expression stiffened.

“Y-You're only a false High Ranker.”

“Mhm, next Level 4 who can't even become a false High Ranker, please.”

“b.i.t.c.h!”

Hugo pounced on her before quickly backing off. Chohong had taken out her '+2 Thorn of Steel'.

“Kyaaa, look at this thing. It's gorgeous no matter how many times I marvel at it. Don't you agree?”

“f.u.c.k you!”

“You know, I've actually been itching for a fight. For some reason, I haven't seen a single monster on my way up here either.”

When Chohong glanced at him, Hugo flinched and shouted in injustice.

“Y-You just got lucky with Seol giving you that mace!”

“Like you're the one to speak. Didn't you take Khan's halberd when he died in the Forest of Denial?”

“That and this are separate matters!”

“Yeah, yeah~ What can I do~? Seol just likes me more. If you aren't happy, go appeal to him too~” Chohong smirked and sneered at Hugo.

“Anyways, should you really be worried about me? You lost all your equipment when you got captured last time.”

Chohong stabbed where it hurt the most, and Hugo's face contorted. In the end… “Huaaaang!” He burst into tears and ran off.

“Hmph, you're no match for me.” Chohong snorted and walked onward leisurely. Soon, she spotted a bizarre old tree. It was a tree measuring more than two arms' width around, but more importantly, its leaves had all fallen on the ground.

'd.a.m.n, the old man must have come up with another strange training method.' That was the first thing she thought of when she saw this poor old tree. Soon, she found the cave hideout on the hill. When she saw Jang Maldong standing in front of it, she immediately bowed down to her waist.

Jang Maldong replied without even looking at her.

“You're here.”

“I am.”

“You look nice.”

“How can you tell when you haven't even looked at me?”

“I only need to hear your voice to know.”

“If you're thinking about making me train, stop dreaming. I need to go back soon to take care of an important matter.”

Chohong paused, as Jang Maldong had raised his hand. However, he was staring into the distance with a thoughtful look.

Chohong also turned her gaze. There, she saw a youth stabbing and slicing the air with a spear. He displayed a series of spear techniques while dodging about a dozen wooden logs flying toward him.

“You're already making him do that?”

“Be quiet.” Jang Maldong crossed his arms, tapping his arm with his right thumb.

“Oh?” Chohong exclaimed in surprise, seeing Seol Jihu dodge the logs rather well.

“How many has he dodged so far?”

“Over 100.”

Chohong stood tall and watched the youth with a relaxed expression. However, that only lasted a moment. Once the youth surpa.s.sed 200, and then 300 dodges, she couldn't help but jump in surprise.

“Isn't this his first training?”

The moment she asked this, Seol Jihu collapsed. Several logs had unexpectedly shot toward him from all directions. Perhaps he had miscalculated, as he couldn't dodge one of them and was struck on his side.

Jang Maldong's thumb stopped.

“312.”

A satisfied smile bloomed on his aged face.

“So he finally surpa.s.sed 300. That's his newest record.”

Chohong whistled.

“Wow! Then again, my highest record is 1008.”

“You pulled that off once.”

“But a record is a record.”

“You're right. Though, you did take over a year to accomplish that.”

“…Chet.” Chohong turned away. Jang Maldong smiled as he watched Seol Jihu kicking himself, before turning around and facing Chohong.

“So what's this important matter?”

“It's not just one or two things. There's even this huge incident….”

“Speak.”

“I'll explain on our way back. The carriage driver is probably shaking in his seat.”

“You sure are pulling all sorts of tricks to avoid training.”

“I'm not! Anyways, hurry!”

Chohong shouted indignantly before running down the hill. Jang Maldong smirked and then shouted that the training was over. Seol Jihu and Hugo immediately came running.

As they had already packed their bags in the morning, it didn't take long for them to get going.

“Hut, hut!”

Seol Jihu threw his bags over his shoulder, and then glanced back. Looking at the cave he had stayed in for the past month, a bittersweet feeling welled up inside him.

'I can always come back later.'

Shortly afterward, he made a refres.h.i.+ng smile and turned back.

The carriage carrying Carpe Diem's four members began to race toward Haramark at full speed.

“So what's this huge incident?” Jang Maldong asked once the speed picked up.

Chohong, who was grumbling about the sweaty smell Hugo and Seol Jihu were giving off, spat a mouthful of saliva out of the carriage before opening her mouth.

“First, hundreds of villagers from Ramman Village moved into the city.”

“Oh yeah?”

As Jang Maldong felt deep sympathy and all sorts of indebtedness towards Paradisians, he immediately expressed his interest.

“Hoho, that should have happened a long time ago! After all, Ramman Village is close to the border region…. Anyways, I suspect that there were some unhappy voices. There's also the problem with where they would stay.”

“Actually, it's been pretty quiet.”

“Quiet? I doubt those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds playing real estate would sit still and watch.”

“What can they do when the rightful owner of the land tells them to give it up? Well, the royal family took the initiative to concede half of the land to the villagers. More importantly, the Temple of Luxuria publicly announced their support for the Haramark Royal Family's decision.”

“The Temple of Luxuria did?”

Jang Maldong was looking at the youth sitting next to him with a grin when he heard this and became surprised.

“They didn't just support the royal family with words. They said they would even support the move directly.” Chohong continued, “In fact, just a few days after the announcement, the Daughter of Luxuria appeared in Haramark.”

“What?”

Jang Maldong's eyes widened greatly. Hugo also dropped his jaw, and then a gulp went down his throat.

“The Executor is personally overseeing this matter? No, she's the one who made the announcement?”

“Hey, did you see her?”

When Jang Maldong and Hugo asked at the same time, Chohong cleared her throat.

“The Temple of Luxuria made the announcement, but there is a ton of people who think she's the one who made the call. I'm also one of them.”

“Of course, she is someone who has saved Paradise from danger numerous times. She must have lent a hand so that there wouldn't be any problem with the move.”

Jang Maldong nodded his head referring to her politely. Although they had no prior contact, he saw her in a favorable light from all the stories he had heard about her feats.

“She is most certainly the type to do something like that. She must have come to Haramark to help with the move personally.”

“Well, here's where the huge incident comes in.”

Chohong paused as if what she had to say next eclipsed everything she said before. Jang Maldong scowled.

“Hurry up and say it!”

“Heeey, I'm asking if you saw her!!”

Hugo also shouted. Chohong giggled in response.

“Remember the building in front of our office that went under construction?”

“Now that you mention it, it did change.”

“The owner of that building is the Daughter of Luxuria.”

“…W-What?”

“I know! She moved right in front of us!”

“Really?” Jang Maldong revealed a strong hint of suspicion, and Chohong immediately jumped up.

“Come on! Have you been tricked your whole life? I saw her tending to her garden just this morning!”

Judging from Chohong's reaction, it didn't seem like she was lying.

“Anyways, that's been the talk of the entire city for the past few days. There was even a huge crowd in front of the building.”

“Hoh…. Why would she move to Haramark…?”

Jang Maldong leaned back in his seat with a face that said he just couldn't figure it out. Then, after a brief moment of silence, he opened his mouth.

“It's indeed a huge incident.”

“Now we have another thing to brag about! Being neighbors with the Daughter of Luxuria!”

“That's enough nonsense out of you. What about Kazuki?”

“He's under a lot of stress.”