Chapter 67: Whisper of the God of Love (Part Seven)
“Alright, I’ll go with you.”
Almost involuntarily, Muen said so.
“No—”
An was taken aback for a moment, then immediately retorted sharply:
“You can’t come with me, young master!”
“Why not?”
“This has nothing to do with you, does it? There’s no need for you to take such a big risk for me!”
“Who said it’s irrelevant? Who said I came for you?” Muen chuckled lightly.
“What?”
“Actually, I just remembered, I still owe that guy Eluka a meal favor.”
Muen turned his head, gazing at the gigantic, deformed monster.
A hint of sadness flickered in his eyes.
Strictly speaking, Eluka was the first friend he made when he arrived in this world.
Yeah, they had dinner at her place, so that counts as friends.
“Who would’ve thought that just grilling a fish would lead her to end up like this. Fate, it’s truly lamentable. And disgusting.”
“Since I’m her friend, I have the obligation to see her off on her final journey,” Muen said boldly, hands on hips.
“No one has the right to stop me, not even An.”
“But… it’s still not possible!”
An stood up, determinedly blocking Muen’s path, speaking earnestly, “It’s too dangerous. I promised Master and Madam that I would protect Young Master, never letting any harm come to him!”
“Protect me?” Muen tilted his head, murmuring softly, “But An, haven’t you always wanted to harm me?”
“Harm you? I haven’t.”
“Drugging, ambushing, imprisoning, even wanting to sever my limbs—haven’t you done or wanted to do all these things, An? Aren’t they harmful?”
“I…” An hesitated. I did it out of love, out of love for the Young Master.
If it were the old An, she would definitely say something like that. It would be expected.
But now, looking at Muen’s peaceful gaze, witnessing the rampant monster nearby, hearing the hoarse cries of hundreds of people and Eluka’s crazed words echoing in her ears, An found herself unable to utter those words.
It’s as if, by saying them, Eluka would stand amidst a bloody pool, surrounded by countless corpses, sneering at her and saying, “See, Master, you’re just like me.”
But it’s not the same.
“Not the same. Not the same.”
“I beg you, Young Master.”
In the end, An could only resort to pleading.
“Don’t go. If something happens to you… I’ll never forgive myself, even in death.”
An tightly grasped Muen’s garment, crying and pleading.
“Please, Young Master…”
“An.”
Muen lowered his head to look at the weeping An.
He remained silent for a moment, carefully examining her demeanor.
Then, suddenly raising his voice, he roared, “An! What’s the first rule of etiquette for Campbell’s household servants? Tell me loudly!”
“Yes!”
Almost reflexively.
Muen’s words triggered the instinct deeply ingrained in An from years of conditioning.
And just like returning to the lectures of the former head maid every morning, An straightened her posture, standing tall like a pine tree.
She lifted her head high, speaking loudly:
“The first rule of Campbell’s maid etiquette is to always stand tall, aside from bowing to the master and guests!”
“Exactly, stand tall, An.”
Muen patted An’s shoulder, then smiled as he straightened her disheveled bangs, tucked the strands sticking to her cheeks behind her ears, and tidied her maid uniform, smoothing out the wrinkles little by little.
Until An returned to the image he remembered.
Poised, elegant, skilled, composed.
“Now you look like yourself, don’t you?”
“Young master…”
“Alright, stop crying. I know you’re worried about me, but haven’t you been saying recently that I’m not the same as before?”
Muen lowered his head slightly, meeting An’s eyes with a gentle expression.
“I’m sorry I can’t become the person you idealize, but haven’t you seen it yourself? I’m not that useless young master anymore. Well, I still only have those three basic moves, but I managed to escape from your hands and even from that monster’s hands, didn’t I?
Escaping, that’s my specialty. So even if I can’t win a fight, I can still run away. In a way, I’m even better at escaping than you are.
So, don’t worry, okay?”
“But…”
An stared blankly at Muen. She wanted to say something more, but Muen suddenly extended his finger, pressing it against her lips.
“No arguing, this is an order from the Young Master.”
An felt dazed for a moment. Though it was a command, the words were incredibly gentle.
She looked at Muen, feeling a bit lost in thought.
The sunlight cascaded onto Muen’s golden locks, casting a hazy glow around him. With each gentle breeze, even his features appeared radiant.
Those clear, lake-like eyes seemed to draw one’s soul in.
Yes, the Young Master had indeed changed. Overnight, he had veered completely off the course she had set for him.
He had become ambitious, gentle, cunning… and a bit foolish.
To willingly confront the contamination of the evil god, it was something the old him would never have dared to imagine. It was as if he had transformed into someone else entirely.
But why was it that this completely divergent version of himself, so far from her ideal, could capture her gaze so effectively?
You shine so brightly, Young Master.
Tears streamed down An’s face as if she were staring directly into the scorching sun.
…
“Alright, let’s go.”
Muen smiled gently as he finally convinced An. He stretched his arms, flexing his muscles, and then walked towards the monstrous creature without looking back.
He said.
“Let’s go and bring redemption to your disciple, my friend, our dear Miss Eluka!”
…
…
“Ah, am I doing this again, again, again, again, again!?”
Standing atop a towering metal pillar hundreds of meters above ground, Muen clutched his head and flailed around as if experiencing some sort of mental breakdown while nobody was around.
“Damn it, my cursed sporadic death-seeking syndrome!”
Selicia was like that last time, and she’s like that again this time.
Clearly, there are better paths to choose, but she just has to go full throttle on the death-seeking route.
Even though I cherish my life so much, why do I always lose control at critical moments?
“Heh, unable to walk away when you see a pretty girl cry, I guess I’m a different kind of old pervert.” Muen sighed lightly.
But, this time, compared to last time, there are some differences.
At least, this time, he won’t be as powerless as before.
…
“Listen, An, let me tell you what to do now.”
“Firstly, after being contaminated by the evil god, Eluka can’t be killed by conventional means, I think you’ve already realized that.”
“So, our goal isn’t to waste energy trying to kill or awaken Eluka, but to find the source of the evil god’s contamination, the medium through which the evil god exerted its power.”
“Rings, necklaces, sculptures—there must be something like that. The evil god can’t just release its power out of thin air; the rules of this world don’t allow it.”
“The source must be around Eluka, so I need you, An, to use your abilities to clear the way for me.”
“You clear the way, help me fend off the monster’s attacks, while I use my agility and flexibility to approach Eluka, find the source of contamination, and destroy it!”
“That’s the plan!”
…
Recalling the plan discussed with An not long ago, Muen let out a sigh of relief. At times like these, Muen was somewhat grateful that he had read the original book; otherwise, he wouldn’t know how to deal with the evil god.
But… it still wouldn’t be easy.
Because the more you know about the original book, the more you understand how terrifying that thing is.
“…There’s no choice but to go for it.”
Muen spread his arms, took a deep breath, then shouted loudly towards the monster still playing in the water not far away:
“Hey! Attention, everyone, listen up, I have an announcement to make!”
“Huh?”
Hearing the voice, the monster turned its body, and hundreds of faces simultaneously turned their gazes toward Muen.
Then, it rushed toward him fiercely.
Eluka exclaimed joyfully, “Mr. Muen, are you finally coming to accept my love?”
“I won’t accept your love.”
Muen flipped the middle finger, laughing:
“Because—
I’m a paratrooper!
Hahaha!”
With that, Muen leaped forward.
