NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 375
Chapter 376
[Oh ho, certainly! How did you manage to get something like this? I’m surprised you ripped it off from Shuyo, but how on earth did you siphon the energy?]
“About that….”
When Yeon-woo looked at Tae-oh, Tae-oh began to feign ignorance. Since it was entirely his decision that led to the energy being trapped within his body, Yeon-woo had no way to explain it.
“I thought it was trying to escape, so I chewed it and swallowed! But I figured it would be dangerous, so I didn’t digest it!”
[…Is that so? No matter how I think about it, this spirit is way too competent for what it is. You can’t overindulge, especially when it comes to things related to the Demon King.]
“Hiiing.”
[Still, you did well. I think it’ll be a great help.]
Tae-oh frowned at Leviathan’s serious caution, but he didn’t forget to praise him.
Forgetting the warning he just received, Tae-oh quickly turned into a grinning fool. Dawn looked at him with a hint of annoyance.
‘He’s jealous, that one. Jealous.’
‘Hehe, how cute. So cute.’
Yeon-woo and Nea watched the future daughter-in-law with beaming smiles. Of course, they didn’t plan to force it if one of them said they didn’t want it in the future, but for now, it was fine since Dawn liked it.
While thinking about the child’s cuteness… no, considering Dawn’s status as a god, it might not just end in cuteness, the two were happily smiling as Leviathan peered into a purple energy wrapped in a black shroud.
“So, do you have any estimates or anything?”
[Well…. As was the case before, there’s something stirring in my chest. Last time, we had the option to use it as a scout to track the Demon King, but honestly, that research was sufficient with the last one.]
Hmm, it seems it’s not very helpful. This means, from this point onward, gathering the Demon King series would only be collecting parts of the Demon King.
“Then should I just get rid of it if I come across one next time?”
[No, there’s no need to go that far. No, stop looking at me with those suspicious eyes. I’m not saying I want to do something with it; it’s just that it might be useful sometime.]
“That may be true, but it’s hard to store something like this….”
[This is exactly why I brought something for you!]
With a dazzling sound effect, Leviathan pulled a box from his pocket.
It was a box Yeon-woo recognized. It was the same box currently containing Shuyo’s main body. Indeed, if it was that box, it could definitely hold it securely… but….
“Ah, so you blew some air into it to sell it, huh?”
[Cough. Don’t speak like a street vendor. This is something made from quite expensive materials, you know?]
“Of course, it should be able to hold the Demon King. Well, fine. After all, you never know when or where it might be needed.”
Yeon-woo took the box from Leviathan’s hand, opened the entrance, and tossed the energy of the Demon King inside.
Immediately, countless magical formulas engraved inside began activating, starting to bind the energy of the Demon King more and more.
“Charge it to Riley.”
[Riley’s in for quite a lot of trouble, you know. Having a boss who makes such irresponsible purchases.]
“That’s not something you should be concerned with.”
At Yeon-woo’s blunt reply, Jiz, standing behind him, nodded vigorously in agreement. See? That’s not something you should be saying!
[So, have you gone to that gate yet? I really hope you’ll go soon. I want to talk about that right away.]
“I’m preparing to go after I get discharged, so don’t rush me.”
[Yeah, as soon as you come back, you’d better visit. No, you don’t need to worry about that. You’ll definitely be coming back.]
“Is there really something that amazing sleeping there?”
[Absolutely. For sure. It’s something beyond common sense.]
If that’s the case, he thought he had enough experience from the fight with Toyo. Well, if Leviathan was saying it was that amazing, there really must be something.
“Alright. While I’m at it, wanna play with the kids?”
[Is that really okay!?]
Seeing Leviathan’s eyes sparkle with excitement, Yeon-woo nodded. Then, Leviathan dashed out of the hospital room with a joyful expression, accompanied by the kids.
Jiz, witnessing this scene, wore a tired expression.
“It’s quite troubling if you let our master play around without permission….”
“I’m sorry. The kids seemed bored….”
“There’s no helping it. I’ll go supervise so they don’t cause any trouble.”
It might seem like the four kids were just playing around, but in fact, they were a dragon, a dark spirit, a being from another world, and the Demon King.
Leviathan, being very cautious in that regard, wouldn’t cause any issues, but there was no telling how it might go while they played and got carried away.
The four strongest kids in the world… how lovely.
“Then I think I’ll sit here quietly.”
As Yeon-woo was thinking that, Nea plopped down next to him. Yeon-woo was taken aback by her sudden boldness.
Wait? Nea is acting like this? Internally flustered but not showing it, he moved his hands.
“Then… should I hold your hand?”
Yeon-woo took Nea’s hand, clearing his throat, “Ahem.” Since he was turned away, he couldn’t see her expression, but the warmth in his hand made it clear she must have been blushing.
“Then….”
Nea said as she gave Yeon-woo’s shoulder a gentle tap. Wondering if she had something to say, Yeon-woo turned his head to see a shadow fall over him along with her golden hair.
Then the sound of a kiss echoed softly in the quiet hospital room.
*
“Hmm.”
Days later, the Ice Palace Lord was looking down at them with a stern gaze. It was Yeon-woo, Nea, and the children.
Of course, at this point, Yeon-woo had reached a level where he could fare well against the Ice Palace Lord, so he didn’t need to feel overly intimidated, but even so, this situation was enough to make anyone feel small.
“Greetings. I am Baek Joo-han, the Lord of the Ice Palace.”
“Thank you for your polite words, Lord. I am Alkeinea of the Gold Dragon clan.”
The two seated adults exchanged courteous greetings. Yeon-woo and Baek In-hwa watched quietly from the side.
“You are aware of my relationship with Yeon-woo, correct?”
“I am aware. Given that, if my daughter likes him, what can I do? And since you have kept your promise to catch the Demon King, I cannot stop it.”
“Glad to hear that you know.”
Nea nodded as she said this. After a moment of thinking about something, she turned her head towards Yeon-woo.
“Then, Yeon-woo, how do you feel? Do you love In-hwa?”
“Um, sister…!?”
The sudden question startled Baek In-hwa. It wasn’t an easy question for Yeon-woo to answer either, but he thought there must be a reason she asked and opened his mouth.
“…I’m not sure.”
“I see, I see.”
Yeon-woo’s answer visibly dampened Baek In-hwa’s spirits. Well, that was understandable; hearing a rejection from someone they liked was obviously disheartening.
“In that case, do you love Yeon-woo?”
“…Yes, sister.”
Baek In-hwa nodded sheepishly, her face starting to turn red. This was a reaction Yeon-woo had rarely seen from her. He could sense her feelings too.
No matter what, confessing is incredibly difficult. Especially given that it was practically a situation of being half-rejected. The impact was not something Yeon-woo could even fathom.
As Nea watched this unfold intently, she let out a small sigh. She then opened her mouth.
“…Then go ahead. Just do it behind my back.”
With that, Nea stood up and left the room.
Yeon-woo was taken aback by her sudden action, and Baek Joo-han twitched his lips slightly.
Baek In-hwa was trembling, clueless about what was happening.
‘What is happening??’
As Yeon-woo remained dumbfounded by the unexpected turn of events, Baek Joo-han cleared his throat and rose.
Baek In-hwa did similarly.
“Then I will take my leave with this in mind, son-in-law. I will contact you when the arrangements with Nea are settled.”
What in the world… what just happened…
*
The current society, in principle, does not impose restrictions on marriage. Whether a woman has multiple husbands because she is capable, or a man has multiple wives due to wealth, it doesn’t matter.
This is because the population has drastically decreased.
This aspect of society can be seen as a direct symbol of the chaos in the early gate society. With people dying in droves, perceptions of marriage changed.
It was said that as long as one had the capability, it was not a problem to marry multiple partners at once.
Of course, people who were accustomed to monogamy were not likely to hastily marry multiple others.
Except for a very small portion of people, most maintained the lifestyle of monogamy.
Among this very small group are those from the martial arts world and the top-ranking hunters from around the world.
In other words, Yeon-woo also qualifies for this. Having entered the realm of a master, he is virtually in the rankings too.
He hadn’t checked recently, but if he looked at the hunter rankings, he would definitely be in the top several hundred. If his exploits in defeating the Demon King were acknowledged, he’d surely be within the top hundred.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Yeon-woo has to marry multiple women. It merely means the public would not oppose such an arrangement.
‘Phew….’
Outside the room, Nea leaned against the wall and let out a deep sigh. To be frank, she wasn’t feeling particularly happy.
Dragons, especially Gold Dragons, are quite greedy. To be precise, it’s more about ownership than accumulating wealth.
To elaborate further, they have a tendency to not easily share what enters their domain with others.
It was unprecedented for Nea to hand over an egg, and now she decided to give up the one she loved to someone else.
Logically, she thought it was the right thing to do. Seeing that Baek In-hwa was the kind of child who would sacrifice for Yeon-woo’s sake, she permitted it.
If it’s that child, she would surely be a help to Yeon-woo.
“Cough, hack.”
Suddenly, Nea coughed. A bit of blood trickled out. Last time, she had to expend energy to open the gate leading to the Demon King’s space. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason blood was seeping out.
Her instincts were rejecting it. She suppressed her nature with rationale, struggling to find the words. Her tightly clenched jaw ached.
“I’m sorry if it feels like I’m using you, but I need you to help me.”
For Yeon-woo’s sake, she didn’t hesitate to load him with the burden of marriage.
Since she had only remaining days to weaken further, acquiring the Ice Palace as an ally was a considerable achievement.
(To be continued in the next episode)