651

 [Chapter 170]

[Falling Wings]

Morning of the second day after the monster invasion.

The people of Yongsan-gu were busy repairing the positions that collapsed overnight.

""""...."""

The two army commanders that appeared in Yongsan-gu the previous day.

Level 4 Samgakji Great Toad Chief.

Even if the army commander's rank was low, the reality that there were two army commanders, not one, heightened their anxiety.

Moreover, they lived in an area bordering the Han River.

Tonight too, the two army commanders will invade, breaking through the positions they repaired.

And they may end up no different from the people covered in white sheets laid out in one building.

Nevertheless─

"─I hear <Swift Sword> took down a Level 3 monster in Jung-gu last night? They say he was the first to take down an army commander that even S-rank clan members and Twelve Seats couldn't defeat?"

"Hey! How can you call him <Swift Sword> so impersonally? Is the Pandora Clan Lord from some other neighborhood? Shouldn't you call him Pandora Clan Lord!?"

"What does it matter if he's <Swift Sword> or Pandora Clan Lord. The important thing is that he's fighting for us without even sleeping."

The people of Yongsan-gu quickly chattered in lively tones.

Though the current situation was gloomy, compared to other regions, it couldn't be said to be entirely gloomy.

Residents and foreigners were joining forces to fight with Players, and Pandora Clan members were blocking the army.

Also, even though a fifth army commander appeared, the damage wasn't as great as expected.

Above all, news that <Swift Sword> Noh Eun-ha and clan members took down an army commander boosted morale.

Right then,

"Huh? What's that?"

"Oh... Something's coming in?"

People who were maintaining Seobinggo-ro.

They soon saw trucks crossing Dongjak Bridge and shouted in surprise.

"S-Supplies! It must be supplies!"

"I see Sirius Group's logo! Alice Group and Luminus Group too...! I see other group logos too!"

"How many trucks are there..."

A bridge connecting Gangbuk and Gangnam.

But bridges spanning the Han River were currently non-functional due to the Cocoon's destruction.

This was because monsters hiding in the Han River were occupying the surroundings.

Those creatures interfered with people's movement by poking their heads above the water surface or occupying the bridges.

To be precise, they blocked supplies from moving from Gangnam to Gangbuk.

But the situation at Dongjak Bridge was different.

[Hello. This is Samra Transport, swiftly and safely transporting your hearts! To help our heroes who don't hesitate to fight to protect their neighbors, domestic groups led by Sirius Group have stepped up to supply resources.]

A Player standing on the lead truck broadcasted telepathy to nearby people.

People cheered.

"Food! Kids, food is coming!"

"Someone contact Pandora Clan!"

"It's not over yet... This is how it should be! This is how business groups should be!"

With monsters controlling the Han River bridges, Gangbuk was in an isolated state.

That they would have to fight a lonely battle among themselves.

That they couldn't expect external support.

People couldn't erase such thoughts from their minds.

However, as a result of Pandora Clan perfectly defending Dongjak Bridge while coming to Yongsan-gu, the only road connecting Gangnam and Gangbuk remained.

To this, led by Sirius Group, various business groups supported supplies and asked Samra Transport to deliver them.

"Go out! Quickly go out and receive supplies!"

"They say it's thanks to Pandora Clan that business groups could cross Dongjak Bridge?" "Wow! I wonder if there's cigarettes or alcohol? I just ran out..."

"You idiots! Don't just stand there watching, quickly go out and show them the way! We need to think about where to park all those trucks!"

""""Long live Pandora Clan!!!""""

☆

Yeo U-bi's condition improved.

Her skin that had turned pitch black had already returned to normal.

However, she needed to rest for a day to let the elixir's effects fully permeate her body.

It will be difficult to expect Yeo U-bi noona to participate in battle.

It's regrettable but can't be helped.

Yeo U-bi sleeping soundly.

Yu Nam-hoon decided to stay in the hospital room, saying he would watch over her.

Eun-ha left the hospital room with Noh Eun-ah and Cha Eun-woo.

"Can't you make magic that can neutralize the army commanders' poison?"

"It's not that we can't make it, but we lack time to calmly analyze it. If we had enough time, we could develop healing magic."

Two Level 4 army commanders.

Eun-ha asked Eun-woo, who could now smile brightly after stopping her tears.

But the answer came from the opposite side.

Eun-ah answered.

"Still, we have to try somehow. Now that U-bi unni has survived, we're going to try analyzing it." "You're not going without sleep, right? You should still get enough sleep."

"What about you, are you getting enough sleep? I don't think I've seen you sleep once since the Cocoon broke..."

Eun-woo added.

Then she carefully looked over Eun-ha's body condition and spoke.

Noh Eun-ah's eyes narrowed too.

"That's right. What's with the kid's face? Get some sleep, even a little. Fortunately, there's little chance of monsters appearing in broad daylight." "Yeah, I'm planning to get some sleep when I get back. I won't be able to sleep long, but I should at least close my eyes for a bit."

Eun-ah advised as if admonishing.

Eun-ha nodded.

He was feeling tired anyway.

In fact, he hadn't slept since the army invaded until now.

He had been so busy there wasn't even time to sleep.

I should rest. At this rate I'll really collapse.

Moreover, he even used his gift at dawn today.

Fatigue had accumulated.

Fortunately, everything that needed to be done was finished, so he decided to get some sleep for a while.

"By the way, analyzing the poison structure will be work. With the library not functioning normally, I wonder how long it will take to analyze..." "Yeah... If there was someone who survived being poisoned, we could get antibodies from them... Unni, how about looking for antibodies among people poisoned by monsters under the Great Toad Chief?"

"Let's try that for now... Maybe the structure of their poison is similar to the army commander's."

Meanwhile, as they walked down the hallway.

Eun-ah and Eun-woo sighed repeatedly while talking.

Eun-ha, who had been quietly listening to their conversation─

"─Can't we get antibodies?"

""Huh?""

As if saying what's so difficult about that.

Eun-ha casually replied.

The two women's eyes widened.

Eun-ha shrugged and looked around.

There he is.

Clan members inside the building.

He found the person he was looking for among them.

He pointed with his finger.

"Cheon-seo's gift adapts to environmental changes and ultimately gains immunity, right?"

"Huh? Eun-ha, what did you say?" ""...."""

Lee Cheon-seo.

His gift was <Cockroach >.

Eun-ha ignored him who was blinking in surprise at being suddenly pointed out, and explained to the two women.

"That makes sense."

"There's a possibility."

"Huh? W-What?"

The two women's eyes sparkled.

Cha Eun-woo smiled wickedly.

Noh Eun-ah stared at him intently with her hand on her chin.

"Even if we can't get antibodies, Cheon-seo won't die easily from poison thanks to his gift. He'll survive even after healing magic is developed, right? Eun-woo, you know how excellent Cheon-seo's gift is."

"That's right. He showed excellent adaptability even carrying 2 eggs in his stomach. He probably won't die even if poisoned by the army commander."

"So let's poison him."

"Huh...!? W-What! What are you suddenly doing to me!"

"Min-ho, catch him!"

"Chang-jin, you catch him too!"

""...!!""

Crash!

Eun-ha's order fell.

The two men simultaneously rushed at Lee Cheon-seo.

Meanwhile, Eun-woo gave orders to Mok Min-ho who was nearby, and Eun-ah gave orders to Han Chang-jin who had just entered the building.

"Waaah!! Help! Why are you doing this!?"

"Stay still! The needle might break if you tense your arm too much."

"Yeah, it'll be over soon so don't cry and stay still."

""""...."""

<Guinea Pig (Marmotte)> Lee Cheon-seo.

That day, it became an alias occasionally mentioned among Pandora Clan members.

☆

"Supplies have arrived!"

"Huh?"

After Lee Cheon-seo was carried to the ward.

Eun-ha, who had left the building, heard people shouting from the bottom of the hill.

Supplies have arrived.

Eun-ha doubted his ears.

There's no way supplies could come in?

Eun-ha recalled memories from before the regression.

Bridges connecting Gangnam and Gangbuk were blocked by monsters.

As a result, Players in Gangbuk had to fight in isolation until the Fairy brought reinforcements.

Of course, they couldn't expect resupply, and Players even fought each other over food.

[Pandora Clan telepathist Jin Seo-na. After confirming with people, it seems the administrator unni persuaded groups to send supplies.]

Telepathy heard soon after.

It seems supplies did come in.

To this, Eun-ha went down to the road where Dongjak Bridge could be seen with other clan members.

""""Wow....""""

Everyone marveled.

Huge trucks were lining up and passing through the bridge.

Some trucks had already crossed the bridge and were heading somewhere following foreigners' guidance instructions.

"Let's go take a look too."

"Clan Lord! I'll guide you!" "Who's your Clan Lord."

Eun-ha told the clan members.

Just then, Dominic who received a message from David Kim guided them.

"...So many came."

He heard from Dominic as they walked.

Thanks to Pandora Clan safely defending Dongjak Bridge, groups were able to send supplies to Gangbuk.

In other words, trucks that would be distributed throughout Gangbuk were concentrated at Dongjak Bridge.

"What about monsters? With so many trucks, they won't just stand by..."

"They say Players from Gangnam stood guard. They said they can't send reinforcements because they need to protect Gangnam too, but they'll help as much as they can within their means."

Dominic said with his nose in the air.

He appealed his usefulness to Eun-ha in that way.

Eun-ha pretended not to notice and looked up at the truck in the lead.

Above the Samra Transport logo, Sirius Group's logo was printed large.

Other trucks also had logos of groups that sent supplies engraved.

All 10 major groups have gathered.

Sirius, Alice, Yeongwon, Luminus.

The logos Eun-ha saw most often were familiar groups to him too.

Besides these, names of 6 other groups including Samra Group could be seen.

Occasionally, names of groups that didn't make the top 10 in business could be found too.

"Hey, Eun-ha! Are you guys alive and well!?"

"Hae-su hyung?"

Right then.

Someone flung open the door and got out of one of the parked trucks nearby.

It was Byeok Hae-su.

Wearing work gloves and overalls, he waved and approached.

The clan members' faces brightened.

"Seeing your faces, nothing bad happened! That's fortunate, fortunate!"

"Hyung, what's going on?"

"Can't you tell by looking? It's supplies. Ah, you guys just take as much as you want. The groups that sponsored this time allowed it."

Bang bang.

Byeok Hae-su hugged Eun-ha tightly and hit his back.

The sound was loud since he hit with his large hands.

Byeok Hae-su laughed heartily as if something was so good.

"The eldest sister-in-law was really amazing. Do you know what she did the day you guys left for Gangbuk?"

""""...."""

Clan members dumbfounded.

Byeok Hae-su let go of Eun-ha and finally explained the whole story.

"As if preparing for something like this to happen, she gave orders to Sirius Group to prepare supplies." """"...."""

"From the next day, she contacted people from various groups and made plans to supply resources to Gangbuk, you know? And luckily, thanks to you guys opening up Dongjak Bridge, supplies were able to come like this today."

"This noona really..."

"Treat the eldest sister-in-law well, you brat. Ah, of course the other sisters-in-law too."

It was Han Seo-hyun's picture.

Eun-ha couldn't hide his bewildered feelings as he kept watching trucks park in the elementary school playground.

Just as he kept secrets from her.

She too had been preparing while keeping secrets from him.

"And I came to check if you guys were doing well. While I'm at it, I'll maintain your devices and deliver a device to Si-hyung too. Eun-ha, give me your device first."

"Ah, here."

The clan members smiled broadly hearing Byeok Hae-su's words.

They were in a situation where device maintenance was needed due to continuous battles anyway.

Eun-ha and the clan members handed him their devices.

During that,

"Ah, and take this too."

"A letter? What's this?"

"What do you mean what is it. It's a letter the eldest sister-in-law told me to give you."

Byeok Hae-su held out a letter.

The envelope was quite thick.

Eun-ha raised the corners of his mouth at the fact that Han Seo-hyun sent it.

"And Sirius Group will pass on an elixir they were keeping to you Eun-ha this time, so use it as you see fit."

"You brought an elixir too?"

"That's in the car now, I'll give it to you later."

To think she'd even give up an elixir.

Han Seo-hyun exerted a lot of effort.

Eun-ha burst out laughing.

☆

Pandora Clan hall temporarily assigned by the people of Yongsan-gu.

Though it was only temporary, Eun-ha who entered his room immediately flopped down on the bed.

"I wonder what this noona sent?"

Then he opened the letter.

Right now outside, foreigners were busy distributing supplies.

As a result, it was noisy outside but very quiet inside the building.

I feel like I'm going to fall asleep.

Eun-ha tried hard to stay awake and read the letter.

"...Cute."

Though it was a short impression.

The words consisting of just three characters contained many emotions.

To summarize Seo-hyun's letter, she said she would focus on what she could do to help him.

So you do your best at what you can do.

And don't get hurt.

Lastly, she misses you.

Eun-ha couldn't help but laugh seeing the handwriting that seemed particularly forceful on the last phrase.

"Huh? There's something on the back? Postscript?"

Then he found something written on the back of the letter too.

Another message was written starting with 'p.s.'.

「p.s. Yu-jeong asked. She said she has nothing she can do but wants to give you something. So I'll enclose a handkerchief. How you use it is up to you.」

"...Is she jealous?"

She could have written on a new sheet of paper.

Eun-ha muttered seeing the postscript deliberately left on the back of the letter.

He couldn't know Han Seo-hyun's feelings, but somehow it seemed like she was being petty.

It was different from the her he knew.

He wondered if the situation of monsters invading Gangbuk had made her so emotional.

Eun-ha recalled Han Seo-hyun's face and looked forward to the day he would meet her after defeating the monsters.

"By the way, she said Yu-jeong sent it? Ah, this must be it."

No wonder the envelope was thick.

Soon Eun-ha found a neatly folded handkerchief inside the envelope.

A handkerchief with the emblem of an evening primrose embroidered on it.

It was the handkerchief Lee Yu-jeong usually carried around.

"...Thank you. I'll use it well. Come to think of it, how does Yu-jeong know about these kinds of magic? I should ask her when I see her later."

A handkerchief with powerful protective magic formulas engraved on it.

Eun-ha carefully folded the handkerchief again and put it in his navy blue jacket pocket.

"I'm sleepy... I should get some sleep for a bit."

"Bibi..."

Eventually Eun-ha decided to sleep.

Buldak was tired too and lay down on the windowsill closing its eyes.

He was about to close his eyes too when─

"─Eun-ha, are you sleeping?"

"Hm? What's up?"

"Ehehe."

"Baba!"

Peek.

Jung Ha-yang opened the door and came in.

She saw him in the room and approached with a smile.

Then without hesitation, she threw herself onto the bed where he was lying.

"I thought I'd close my eyes for a bit here too!"

"Huh? Are you done with work?" "Seo-na and Min-ji said they'd take over, so I decided to rest for a bit. What's wrong? Do you dislike being with me?"

"...No. Come here."

"Okay!"

She clings tightly to Eun-ha's body.

Jung Ha-yang ran into his arms with a soft smile.

Eun-ha gently hugged her.

Sleepiness quickly washed over him.

But the problem was─

"─Ugh..."

"What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

"No, I'm sleepy but..." "Hm?"

"Never mind. Let's sleep quickly. At this rate we won't have time to sleep."

Eun-ha groaned.

Jung Ha-yang looked up at Eun-ha with innocent eyes.

Eun-ha avoided her gaze.

He forcefully closed his eyes.

I won't be able to sleep properly...

I can't do that in this situation either...

Jung Ha-yang presses her body close.

Eun-ha consciously pulled his hips back.

☆

Still, sleep came easily.

Being tired, his eyes closed naturally.

...How long did I sleep?

It feels like I slept for 3 hours.

Eun-ha rubbed his eyes.

"Mmm..."

Perhaps sensing his presence.

Jung Ha-yang who had been sleeping soundly soon stirred.

She flailed her arms.

Seems like she's looking for him.

Then she moved her body and hugged Eun-ha's stomach.

"Mmm...?"

"Did you sleep well?"

"...How long did we sleep?"

"3 hours. Sleep more." "No. I need to work now too. But I want to stay like this a little longer."

She nuzzles her face against his back.

Eun-ha stroked her head and woke Buldak with a light tap.

Buldak who had been sleeping well opened its eyes with a squawk.

"I wish this would end quickly. I want to go home and sleep soundly." "Me too."

"I want to sleep comfortably with you too."

"We just slept comfortably now."

"We only slept for 3 hours."

Jung Ha-yang puffs out her cheeks.

Eun-ha poked her cheek with his finger.

He checked the time.

12 PM.

It was about time to switch with clan members who were working.

Eun-ha reached out and grabbed his jacket.

"You put on clothes quickly too."

"You put them on me."

"You're such a baby." "Mm, I want to be a baby."

Jung Ha-yang spreads her arms.

Eun-ha sighed but helped her put on her jacket.

Jung Ha-yang fixed her hair.

She fixed Eun-ha's hair too.

Eventually the two who had tidied up simply came out of the temporary clan hall.

Right then─

[─Announcement from the Mana Management Organization.]

""...."""

Thud.

An Ain wearing a robe suddenly landed in front of Eun-ha who had come outside.

It was a Player under Baek Seo-jin.

The Ain relayed telepathy.

The gist was that there would be a meeting at 2 PM, so please be sure to attend.

But the content the Player delivered was a little different from what Eun-ha had heard yesterday.

[...So we request that the people named from now come to the Mana Management Organization headquarters by 2 PM.]

Dobong-gu and Nowon-gu, Zenith Clan.

Gangbuk-gu, Regulus Clan.

Seongbuk-gu, Silla Clan.

Seodaemun-gu, Myeongwang Clan.

Jungnang-gu, Blaze Clan.

Seongdong-gu, Tempest Clan.

Mapo-gu, KK Clan.

Eunpyeong-gu, Donghae Clan.

Dongdaemun-gu, Dangun Clan.

Gwangjin-gu, Samra Clan.

Finally─

[─The representative clan for Yongsan-gu and Jung-gu is Pandora Clan.]

""...."""

Yongsan-gu and Jung-gu, Pandora Clan.

The Player finished those words and immediately disappeared.

The two blinked.

"Oh ho..."

And Eun-ha raised the corners of his mouth.

His shoulders shook.

It was truly delightful.

Pandora Clan is the representative for Jung-gu too?

They had taken Jung-gu into their grasp before they knew it.