The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Chapter 142 . Choice of Destiny (2)

“It’s a place I should never go?”

Seol Jihu raised his voice subconsciously .

[After the previous emperor was executed, the emperor that succeeded him declared it a forbidden place . ]

‘Forbidden… . ’

It wasn’t a strange concept . No matter the era, it wasn’t uncommon for the ruling party to designate some places as forbidden grounds .

It was just that this Sacrificium place had been designated as a place one couldn’t visit easily by an emperor of the Empire, a nation which was said to have reached the apex of magic engineering . The weight of the ban was far heavier than normal .

“Why did he designate it as a forbidden place?”

[Uuuuun~]

Flone groaned, seemingly having trouble recalling something that happened such a long time ago .

[I think it’s because people kept dying even after the death of the previous emperor . ]

‘After the death of the previous emperor?’

Seol Jihu tilted his head .

“Was he raising a monster in his villa or something?”

[I don’t know . ]

The smoke shook side to side .

[Many people wondered what the exact reason was, but no one could figure it out . The only thing everyone knew was that the only person to survive after going into that villa was that greedy emperor himself . Both during his lifetime and after . ]

“Do you think you could explain this in greater detail?”

At that moment, a small cough rang out, causing Seol Jihu to jump in surprise . Jang Maldong was staring at him with narrowed eyes .

“Are you calling someone?”

“Huh? Ah, yes . ”

“You can talk normally . You don’t have to whisper . ”

“Thank you . ”

Jang Maldong closed his eyes again after giving Seol Jihu a fixed stare .

Seol Jihu had many questions he wanted to ask Flone…

“… . ”

But because it felt like Jang Maldong noticed something, he couldn’t open his mouth easily .

*

When Seol Jihu returned to Haramark, he saw that Kim Hannah was calling him . He immediately placed his hand on the round crystal, and they were connected in less than 10 seconds .

The reason she had called was to notify him that she had found the Heaven-Slaughtering Star and the white headband girl .

The brother and sister duo were last seen in Eva . But seeing as how they disappeared after going into the temple, she said they had likely gone back to Earth and that she would notify him when they returned . It was at this moment that she realized Seol Jihu wasn’t really listening and furrowed her brows .

—What’s up with that attitude? You’re the one who asked me for help .

“Oh yeah, thanks . ”

—Do I have to fish for compliments? What’s wrong? Is something worrying you?

‘Should I say it?’ Seol Jihu hesitated . Although he wanted to confide in someone, Bok Jungsik had asked not to let the Yi siblings know about the transfer, and had even asked for a non-disclosure request .

But because Seol Jihu wanted to obtain information, he asked in a roundabout way so as to keep the secret .

However, Kim Hannah wasn’t someone to be looked down on .

—Archer? You mean, Yi Seol-Ah?

She instantly realized what he was worried about when he said, ‘Master visited White Rose because they had a talented Archer . ’

“No?”

—Don’t lie . Ordinary Archers won’t catch Master Jang’s eye . Since you said White Rose… it either has to be their top Archer or a rising star .

“Well, he actually went to see their top Archer . ”

—Oh yeah? What was that Archer’s name?

“Uh, what was it again?”

—Funny . You’re saying that without even batting an eye? Hey, don’t lie to me . That top Archer I just mentioned? He recently ended his contract with White Rose and left .

When Seol Jihu fell silent, Kim Hannah laughed as if his attempt to trick her was cute .

—Who are you trying to fool? Wet your mouth a little before you try .

Seol Jihu looked dumbstruck . Kim Hannah cackled, then rested her chin on her interlocked fingers .

—Anyways, I’ll keep it a secret, so just say it .

“… . ”

—Or don’t, if you don’t want to . You think I won’t find out just because you stay silent?

In the end, Seol Jihu revealed everything that happened until now .

By the time the explanation came to an end, Kim Hannah’s eyes had narrowed to a slit .

—He~eh . A collaboration for an expedition in exchange for a transfer… .

Her eyes rolled .

—That’s intriguing, for sure . The conditions are too good .

“You think so too, right? Maybe they’re targeting me . ”

Kim Hannah looked at Seol Jihu strangely before going ‘Ah . ’

—Right, Master Jang is there .

“…You really don’t think I might have figured this out?”

—As if .

Seol Jihu smiled bitterly .

—Anyways, expedition… expedition…

Kim Hannah tapped on her desk . It wasn’t as if she knew everything there was to know about Paradise, and it certainly wasn’t a strange thing for Earthlings to go on an expedition .

But Kim Hannah showed suspicious movements like tilting her head or twisting up the corners of her mouth .

—It smells…

“Smell?”

—It smells fishy .

Kim Hannah revealed a furtive smile .

—I can practically smell the rotting odor of shit .

Seol Jihu couldn’t help but think about how Kim Hannah compared things to poop whenever something happened .

—Given what I know about that old man Bok Jungsik, there’s no way he would proceed with something so reckless… . Aha!

Tak . She smacked the desk before staring at Seol Jihu .

—Hey .

“?”

—You haven’t gone ahead and accepted the offer, have you?

“Why would I? I refused, obviously . ”

—Good . I’ll be clear just in case . Don’t interfere in this matter . Don’t get yourself involved and don’t be related to it in any way . Got it?

“I told you, I refused . ”

—We’ll see about that .

Kim Hannah snorted .

It wasn’t until a few days later that Seol Jihu found out what she meant .

**

“Welcome . It’s pretty hot today, isn’t it?”

“It’s been a while, Princess . ”

“Yes, come in . ”

Teresa came out to greet Seol Jihu and personally led him to the reception room .

Teresa wasn’t in her usual military uniform and was wearing an apron instead . Because of it, she exuded a cozy and graceful atmosphere rather than a lively and energetic one .

“I heard that you became Carpe Diem’s new leader . ”

“Ah, yes . ”

“You must not have been taught all the duties and responsibilities that come with that position . It’s hard, isn’t it?”

“It is a bit unsettling, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it . ”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that . Would you like to wash up and rest? Or maybe you’d like to eat something first?”

Saying this, Teresa suddenly blocked her mouth with her hand and dropped her head . Seeing how her withdrawn shoulders were trembling slightly, she seemed to be making considerable effort to rein in her laughter .

‘What’s wrong with her?’

“No, I already took a shower this morning . I also—”

“I see, then why don’t you eat first?”

Teresa spoke gently as she personally took Seol Jihu’s jacket off .

“Ah, I’ll hold onto it . ”

Despite Seol Jihu’s refusal, Teresa more or less ignored him and headed to the dining hall . As a result, Seol Jihu was able to enjoy the unexpected luxury of having the Princess’s handmade food .

Other than Teresa constantly asking ‘Is it good?’ and staring at him with her chin cupped in her hands, the meal couldn’t be more excellent .

Teresa spoke as she watched Seol Jihu tap his mouth with a napkin .

“Mm, I guess this is enough for today . ”

“Excuse me?”

“No, I was just talking to myself . Anyways~”

Teresa threw off her apron and returned to her usual appearance .

“I heard that you became Carpe Diem’s new leader . ”

“Didn’t you say the same thing just a while ago?”

“Eii~ The meaning is different, you know~?”

Teresa giggled .

“Anyways, how does it feel, being a leader?”

“Mm… . ”

Seol Jihu thought for a moment before replying .

“There are many things I want to do, but not much that I can actually do? That sounds about right for now . ”

“Why? There’s something even our Hero of Haramark can’t do?”

Seol Jihu didn’t know when he received another strange nickname, but he still smirked .

“There are things in life you just can’t do without money . ”

Hearing the bitterness in Seol Jihu’s tone, Teresa folded her arms .

“You’re right . Money doesn’t guarantee happiness, but it at least guarantees leisure . ”

Seol Jihu couldn’t help but agree seeing how realistic this was .

“Don’t worry too much . If you’re lacking money, you can just make more . ”

“Right, like how you can eat cake if you don’t have bread . ”

Seol Jihu nodded his head in agreement .

“Aii, that’s not what I meant . ”

Teresa shook her hand .

“I’m asking if you’re interested in making money . ”

“?”

“Listen . We’re not the ones who came up with this plan, but an interesting proposition has been made to us a few days ago… . ”

As Seol Jihu listened attentively, his expression became more and more distorted .

Teresa was chatting away until she saw Seol Jihu’s grim expression .

“What’s wrong?”

She trembled inwardly, wondering if she said something wrong .

“Did White Rose make this proposition?”

And when she heard this, she blinked her eyes .

“…Oh, you already knew?”

“Princess . ”

Seol Jihu’s voice suddenly dropped an octave .

“Did White Rose tell you to ask us?”

His manner of speech changed as well .

Feeling that something wasn’t right, Teresa quickly fixed her posture .

“No . White Rose made this proposition to collaborate, then asked us to introduce them to a good team if we knew one . ”

“… . ”

“It sounded like a good offer, and Darling’s, I mean, Carpe Diem’s team popped up in my head… . ”

Teresa was speaking fluently when the end of her speech became blurred .

“Princess . ”

Seol Jihu slowly opened his mouth .

“In truth, we visited White Rose a few days ago and heard the same offer . ”

“Oh, you did? I didn’t know . ”

“Yes, and we refused . ”

Seol Jihu had thought the matter was over when he refused them . However, the same offer had now returned to him through the Haramark Royal Family .

Was this a coincidence? Or was it part of Bok Jungsik’s scheme?

Or… was this destiny?

Seol Jihu’s eyes narrowed .

“Have you accepted?”

“We haven’t given a definitive answer . ”

Teresa shook her head .

“But we gave a favorable answer . The evidence they provided was flawless . Since the villa belonged to an ancient emperor, even a rock lying around there might be made of gold . We could tell that White Rose made careful preparations for this expedition . They were offering us an opportunity to take a bite out of an already-prepared meal, so we didn’t really want to refuse outright… . ”

Teresa mumbled before asking carefully .

“Why did you refuse?”

Seol Jihu became speechless . At this rate, there was a huge chance that the Haramark Royal Family would participate in this expedition .

He wanted to tell them not to go, but he couldn’t think of a proper reason .

Saying, ‘You’ll die if you go’; he would be lucky to not be treated as a madman .

‘Maybe I should reveal the existence of my Nine Eyes… . ’

If it were Teresa, perhaps she might believe him .

He bit his lips lightly and fell into deep contemplation . Meanwhile, light flickered in Teresa’s eyes as she watched the youth intently .

The Seol Jihu she knew didn’t cower no matter what wave came crashing in . He didn’t shrink, nor did he back away .

In fact, the more difficult the problem was, the more he would work to find a solution . The result he produced always impressed her as well .

But now he was showing such disapproval for what seemed like a well-planned expedition…

‘Could it be?’

After staring at him for a moment, she initiated a conversation .

“You see— I’ve actually been thinking about not going… . ”

Seol Jihu shot his head up .

“Well… White Rose’s offer was good and all, but I wasn’t really sure about having to enter the Parasites’ territory . I mean, they did tell us that they would travel by sea, and not land, but… you remember, right? What we experienced while we were escaping from the laboratory . ”

Teresa continued nonchalantly .

“I’m still jolted awake from sleep whenever I think about it . I don’t want to crawl into that situation again just to make money . ”

“Then…”

Checking that Seol Jihu’s complexion had brightened, Teresa dealt the finishing blow .

“Eii, I’ll just not go . Life is more important than money anyways . ”

“Princess . ”

“Please understand . I’m a fickle woman, you see . ”

“Right, I agree . Well thought, Princess . Well thought . ”

Seol Jihu didn’t nitpick about she changed her tune completely . He nodded his head, relieved from the bottom of his heart .

Seeing how the youth smoothed down his chest to finally relax, Teresa was convinced .

‘I dodged a bullet . ’

She hadn’t changed her tune for no reason . Teresa had noticed the secret Seol Jihu was hiding a long time ago .

To be more precise, it was when they were escaping from the Delphinion Laboratory . Although Teresa was the one who led the way, Seol Jihu was the one who told her about the enemy’s whereabouts .

At first, she found this rather mystical . But when the youth was spot on 100% of the time, she couldn’t just chuck it up to him having good intuition .

It wasn’t as if he was an Archer . No, even if he was a High-rank Archer, it would be impossible for him to be right hundreds of times consecutively .

She wasn’t sure about the details, but it seemed likely that this mysterious ability of his had activated this time as well .

In other words, there had to be a reason .

A reason that the youth known as the ‘problem-solver’ was taking his foot out of this matter .

Moreover…

‘If Hubby says don’t go, I won’t . ’

Teresa smiled bashfully as she rubbed the apron she took off .

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