830

 [Chapter 208]

[Devil of the Sea (5)]

Starlight sparkles.

Particles of light that can't be grasped move as if alive, attacking Kraken. Kraken is being torn like paper by the trajectories created by the starlight.

What on earth is that magic?

It's amazing that the swords turned into particles, but for each particle to have such power...

Twelve Divine General <Dragon Slayer>.

Hikigaya Hayato couldn't believe the phenomenon he was seeing with his own eyes.

In Japan, it took several high-ranking players together to deal with Kraken.

It was a being that could only be taken down if at least three Twelve Divine Generals worked together.

And from Hikigaya's judgment, the situation didn't seem much different for China or Japan.

But Noh Eun-ha was now dealing with Kraken almost alone.

And without even taking any significant injuries.

"Hikigaya-kun, focus. What are you doing in the middle of battle?"

"Ah, I'm sorry."

He had become much stronger than when he had a match with Noh Eun-ha in Japan.

But Noh Eun-ha had become even stronger than back then.

He had expected it to some extent, but it exceeded Hikigaya's imagination.

In the end, he was scolded by <Undine > for being entranced by Noh Eun-ha's divinity.

Meanwhile, she also seemed to admire Noh Eun-ha's skills.

"Is that man Hikigaya-kun's lifelong rival?"

"...I think of him as a rival, but I don't know what he thinks. But... now I'd be happy just to be acknowledged as a rival."

"He's a skilled person who could easily defeat more than half of the Twelve Divine Generals. Maybe he could even defeat all of them... Where on earth is the source of those skills?"

The conversation ended there.

This was because Demonpus resisted Lao Chen and attacked them who had retreated to the rear.

Hikigaya Hayato avoided the attack and recalled her last words.

I'd like to know what the source of that guy's power is too.

Gift? Device? Spirit Beast? Principle?

Hikigaya asked himself.

But no answer came.

He thought Noh Eun-ha might be able to deal with Kraken even without using those swords.

He landed on the water surface and immediately dashed forward.

Eight General Xiao Lang opened the way.

Hikigaya put strength into his sword.

A real monster.

The Chinese guys have strong power too, but that guy is really unfathomable.

It was then that Lao Chen appeared.

Their gazes crossed.

Lao Chen was smiling.

It was a challenge to compete over who would take down Demonpus.

Hikigaya gritted his teeth.

Having felt defeated by Noh Eun-ha, he wanted to at least show Japan's potential to the Chinese player.

Lao Chen seemed to feel the same way.

It was ridiculous.

Are we competing among ourselves while completely excluding Noh Eun-ha from the competition?

What meaning does this have?

Nevertheless, Hikigaya swung his sword at Demonpus with all his might.

Even if it had no particular meaning, he didn't want to hear that he was the weakest.

It was then.

His back felt hot.

─Whoosh!!

Peep!!

The sound of flames burning.

The sound of a bird crying.

He turned around after killing Demonpus in cooperation with Lao Chen.

By then, Kraken had been subjugated too.

The area above the water surface was covered in crimson flames.

""""...."""

With his back turned to Demonpus.

Hikigaya stared as if entranced at the scene divided by flames and sea at the water surface.

Noh Eun-ha was there.

"Shiranui..."

It was the same for others.

They couldn't help but look.

Japanese people including Hikigaya uttered some words.

Shiranui.

It was a meteorological phenomenon said to be seen in the sea of Kyushu, Japan.

Lights appear on the water surface.

Those are called oyabi (parent fire).

The sight of those lined up enough to fill the horizon was called 'shiranui'.

As can be seen from the Chinese characters, it meant mysterious fires of unknown identity.

"To think we'd see a phenomenon like shiranui in Korea..."

"It's a wonderful sight. What was that person's epithet again? I don't know Korean well so I'm not sure."

"It should be... <Cardinal >."

"<Cardinal >? That's hard to understand. Is it a religious meaning? In Japan, the epithet <Shiranui > would feel more familiar."

<Undine > said.

Hikigaya nodded too.

Several Japanese people were calling Noh Eun-ha <Shiranui >.

Probably people who witnessed today's battle will return to Japan and talk about a player called <Shiranui >.

He would exceptionally gain a Japanese epithet while being a Korean player.

Also─

"─In this case, we could write <Shiranui > and read it as 'Shiranui', but... Ah, as expected. There are people creating another epithet too."

Undine pointed to one side.

Japanese players suddenly started arguing with each other.

Hikigaya gave a bitter smile at the sound of them fighting.

<Undine > looked embarrassed too.

"<Unknown Blaze> in the sense of unknown fire... It's a bit long."

Write <Shiranui > and read it as "Unknown Blaze".

Or write <Unknown Blaze> and read it as "Shiranui".

From the sound of Japanese people arguing, it seemed there would be a long dispute in Japan over how to handle Noh Eun-ha's epithet.

Either way, it must have been deeply engraved in the people here.

Hikigaya decided not to interfere in the Japanese people's dispute.

Either way was fine with him.

He had already acknowledged Noh Eun-ha's skills by handing over the Totsuka no Tsurugi he inherited as a family heirloom after losing the match.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Come to think of it, I don't see Totsuka no Tsurugi...

Where is it?

It wasn't among the swords Noh Eun-ha used when fighting.

Hikigaya wondered.

He decided to greet him after a long time and ask about it.

☆

Kraken was defeated.

A smile didn't leave Eun-ha's lips.

This was because Kraken was a monster with some meaning to Eun-ha.

It was the trial where he first tried to change the future.

When I was young, I thought I could never defeat it, but now it's like this.

A trial that had to be overcome with someone's help even in this life.

But now Eun-ha had overcome Kraken with his own power.

He couldn't help but feel good.

"Yap!"

"Huh?"

It was then.

As the flames stuck to the water surface were about to go out, Ariel poked her head above the water.

She suddenly puffed up her cheeks.

She even protested while flapping the scales on both sides of her head.

"I thought I was going to die from the heat! I almost became steamed fish, are you sorry or not sorry?"

"But you're still alive. If you had become steamed fish, I would have eaten you deliciously. Okay?"

"Ugh, don't make jokes like that even as a joke. I got goosebumps!"

"So? Did anything come out of Kraken besides magestones?"

"The magestones are here, and... squid legs?"

"Squid legs?"

"One leg didn't disappear. It was huuuge and so hard to pull up, do you know how much I struggled? Hurry up and praise me!"

"Okay, you did well. But how should we handle the squid legs..."

Ariel poked out her head.

Eun-ha bent his knees and patted her pink hair.

There wasn't much satisfaction in patting it since it was wet.

Eun-ha quickly removed his hand and looked at the spoils floating on the water surface.

It was Kraken's leg.

The leg was big and huge.

It seemed like it would be more than enough for twenty people.

"What if we grill and eat that?"

"Grill and eat it? That? Hmm..."

"Grilling squid legs and eating it with dew wouldn't be bad."

"What's with the combination of dew and squid? It'll just make your stomach sour and your mouth fishy."

Ariel drooled.

Eun-ha frowned at her words.

"It doesn't seem good to eat. Squid legs and monster legs are different, so it probably won't taste good."

"Ehh, but it looks delicious..."

"We'll hand that over to the government along with the magestones, to be converted into resources and divided."

Among monster meat, there were occasionally delicious monsters.

But Eun-ha had never experienced eating monster meat and finding it delicious.

There was no hesitation in his judgment.

Rather than eating that, I'd rather eat Minji's... No, her cooking and that are the same.

Eun-ha received the magestones from Ariel.

Other players will take care of moving the Kraken leg.

It was then.

"It's been a while. You've gotten stronger."

"Huh?"

A Japanese man spoke to him.

A man with a greatsword on his back.

He held out his hand to Eun-ha.

Eun-ha looked at the other person's face and fell into thought for a moment.

Is this the guy who bothered Seo-hyeon in Japan?

Eun-ha didn't remember the man's face and name well.

But there was only one Japanese person who acted like he knew him and said it had been a while.

After assessing the situation, Eun-ha grasped the man's hand.

"Yeah, it's been a while. But you can speak Korean?"

"I spoke Korean when we met back then too..."

"Ah, really? I forgot."

"..."

Distrust filled the man's eyes.

His eyes were asking.

Do you really know me?

Eun-ha avoided his gaze.

Finally, the man who didn't get an answer sighed deeply.

"I'm Hikigaya Hayato."

As if to say he'll introduce himself again so don't forget.

The man introduced himself.

Eun-ha finally recalled a little about the man.

"I know too. <Dragon Slayer>."

"...So you knew my epithet. You were also interested in my actions..."

"I heard you became a Twelve Divine General? Congratulations. Ah, and congratulate me too."

"Congratulations? For what?"

We weren't on good terms in Japan.

Meeting like this after time had passed, he felt very glad.

So Eun-ha treated Hikigaya familiarly.

"Seo-hyeon gave birth to a child last year. When we go back to the hotel later, I'll show you my son who looks just like Seo-hyeon."

"..."

Eun-ha had no ill intentions.

He just wanted to boast about his child.

Of course, Hikigaya's face stiffened hearing those words.

He made a face that didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"...I see, congratulations. Is Seo-hyeon doing well?"

"Seo-hyeon is doing well. We contact each other once a day."

"Haha..."

There was no soul in his laughter.

Hikigaya decided to change the topic.

That acted as an even more fatal blow.

"By the way, where is Totsuka no Tsurugi? I've been looking, but it doesn't seem like you have it now..."

"Ah, that?"

Eun-ha smiled brightly.

He showed Remnant Moon Howling Star.

"Hey, your sword was really good? Thanks to it, I received help several times when in danger. Now it's been completely melted in a forge and used as material for this sword."

"...Hahahahahahahahaha."

"What's wrong? Are you sick somewhere?"

Hikigaya laughed like a madman.

His laughter sounded just like sobbing.

☆

The Korea-China-Japan subjugation operation ended.

The person who stood out the most in this operation was Noh Eun-ha, who was deployed as reinforcement midway.

No one among those in the conference room could refute that fact.

"The Pandora Clan Lord is a really unlucky case. Since dealers were already assigned to the Twelve Seats, he hasn't been able to be nominated as a candidate so far. Well, if a dealer position becomes vacant, he'll probably be selected with top priority."

""""...."""

Ahahaha.

Im Ga-eul spoke proudly, as if revealing a law of nature.

People looked at her bragging openly with pathetic gazes, but couldn't refute.

That's how overwhelming Noh Eun-ha's feat just now was.

Meanwhile, Im Ga-eul was lying.

I have to do this to let them know we're not mistreating Noh Eun-ha but treating him well.

Unfortunately, there was almost no possibility of Noh Eun-ha becoming a Twelve Seat.

This was because Pandora Clan currently occupied 2 Twelve Seat positions.

Unless a national crisis arose and they selected Twelve Seats completely anew, the probability of Noh Eun-ha becoming one was extremely low.

Nevertheless, Im Ga-eul lied because the people present were showing interest in Noh Eun-ha.

"He's 27 years old, right? Quite young. To deal with a 3rd rank monster almost alone at that age without taking much damage... It's really surprising that such an amazing player exists in such a small country."

First, China's Premier.

Im Ga-eul could see him thinking with narrowed eyes and a hehe laugh.

He must be gauging whether he could scout Noh Eun-ha.

Of course, Im Ga-eul had no intention of letting that happen.

Meanwhile, Kaguya also had her eye on him.

"He was caught in Japan. I didn't know he would become this strong. Hmm... should I just scout him now? Harems are legal in Japan too."

"There's no use scouting the Pandora Clan Lord? The Pandora Clan Lord, his wives, and the people around him all have their lives based in Korea. They can't abandon that and go to another country, so don't bother our player out of curiosity."

To this, Im Ga-eul warned Kaguya in a thorny tone.

Kaguya shrugged her shoulders.

It was an expression of giving up.

"Tch, I got it. The Fairy is lucky. You have a successor, and a player with a bright future. You don't need to worry about the next generation and the one after, I'm envious."

Kaguya grumbled.

Then she changed the topic.

"So since the game was cancelled like this, how should we handle the spoils? For now, we can consider that Kraken was subjugated almost entirely by Korean players, so we'll obediently yield it to Korea. In exchange, yield Demonpus to us."

"China is the same. Let's hand over Kraken to Korea."

"Yes, that's fine. For Demonpus, have the two countries negotiate and divide it."

The distribution of spoils was handled quickly without taking much time.

This was because all that came out of Demonpus and Kraken were magestones and their legs.

Unless skill stones came out, they didn't feel the need to argue while exerting themselves.

The government will buy Kraken's magestones, and the converted amount should be divided among those who participated in the battle.

We should tell the players to divide Kraken's leg among themselves. It probably won't have much value as material for making artifacts anyway.

Im Ga-eul calculated quickly.

Fortunately, the damage wasn't great, unlike China.

This was because Lee Do-jin commanded the players and minimized the damage.

Thanks to this, she judged that she could use this incident to raise the prestige of the Fairy Government.

 By then, the leaders of other countries seemed to have calculated the results they would show their citizens after returning to their respective countries.

"Then let's end the subjugation operation here, and later in the evening, let's talk comfortably about how to manage Korea-China-Japan relations in the future while having dinner."

"Sounds good."

"Agreed."

The Fairy, Kaguya, and the Premier.

The three smiled at each other.

They didn't like each other, but they could cooperate adequately for their mutual interests.

They stood up from their seats.

"Baek-ryeon, let's go now. Are you tired?"

"No, I'm not. Watching the battle was quite thrilling. Especially when uncle was fighting..."

"Ah, right. You've only seen it on TV every day, so this must be the first time seeing a battle up close. The Pandora Clan Lord was cool, wasn't he?"

"He was... a bit cool."

Her expression is all over her face.

Ha Baek-ryeon turned her head abruptly.

Im Ga-eul gave a bitter smile.

Although she was studying to be a Fairy, it seemed maintaining a poker face was still difficult.

Anyway, she decided to take Ha Baek-ryeon and leave the conference room.

Then she thought about bursting into laughter once she returned to her room, releasing the joy she had been holding back.

Not only had her shoulders relaxed as Noh Eun-ha defeated Kraken, but she would also have some advantage in future Korea-China-Japan talks.

It was then.

"Little Fairy."

"Wait."

"Yes?"

The Hou Yi, who had been keeping silent until now, opened their mouths.

Ha Baek-ryeon tilted her head.

Then the Hou Yi, who got down from their chairs with the Premier's help, spoke to her.

It was close to advice.

"Be grateful to your parents."

"That's right, because they gave birth to you."

"...Yes? Yes, I will."

"Now, Hou Yi. Let's go."

It was an unexpected remark.

Ha Baek-ryeon politely greeted the Hou Yi after hearing the interpreter's words.

The Hou Yi roughly accepted her greeting and immediately left.

Why are they telling me to be grateful to my parents?

She answered in a daze.

Ha Baek-ryeon couldn't understand.

But Im Ga-eul and Kaguya, who remained in the room, gave pitying looks to the Hou Yi as they left.

"They probably said that because they grew up without receiving parental love and were only used by the authorities. The Hou Yi must be worried that the little Fairy might end up like that too."

"As long as I'm here, I will never let that happen."

"Yes, I'm sure the Fairy will do well. Still, there's nothing wrong with what the Hou Yi said. Little Fairy, it's good to express gratitude to your parents whenever you have the chance."

Kaguya gave a bitter smile.

Then she added:

"People with the Gift of <White Silver> are miracles just by being born. They try to disperse mana by manifesting <White Silver> from inside the body, but how could a fetus handle that power? They almost always disappear, consumed by their own power."

"Ah, is that so..."

"And the fetus's <White Silver> mana can harm the mother too. There are many cases where the mother can't withstand the energy and passes away. That's what happened to our mother."

"Ah..."

Ha Baek-ryeon couldn't say anything after hearing that story.

Above all, it was the first time she had heard this.

She realized that her mother had survived by a miraculous probability and given birth to her.

She couldn't help but feel respect for her mother Ha Ji-eun.

Meanwhile, Kaguya continued speaking─

"─So they say people with the Gift of <White Silver> have almost no chance of having children. Especially if the Gift holder is female, the possibility of a child in the womb surviving the <White Silver> energy approaches 0%."

"What?"

"Oh my, you didn't know? If you have <White Silver>, you have to give up on pregnancy. That's why I haven't been able to have a child even though I'm married to the Emperor of Japan. Harems become necessary."

"Kaguya-sama, let's stop talking now. This child hasn't been educated about that yet."

"Oh, my... I'm sorry. I ended up interfering with the little Fairy's education. I apologize."

"..."

Im Ga-eul sharply cautioned her.

Kaguya apologized.

But Ha Baek-ryeon didn't hear Kaguya's apology.

...I can't have children?

Someday getting married and having children.

She had been thinking of it as something so natural.

But Ha Baek-ryeon realized that such a natural future wasn't allowed for her.

She fell into great shock.

☆

Meanwhile, Kaguya looked at a woman appearing on the monitor.

The only ranger holding a bow.

"Was she a Japanese-Korean? But her name is Hoshimiya..."