Chapter 74 – 73 – Lie (1)

“Uh… um.”

What is even going on? I was having a sweet time with Diana when suddenly a scream echoed. I looked over to see Cha Hyewon’s face flushed red as she turned away. I quickly got dressed, and now here we are, standing awkwardly face to face.

…Why are you here? And Diana, why are you glaring at Cha Hyewon like she’s your rival?

“How did you…?”
“…I ran into the slave trader you sent in the middle of things. I overheard something and it sounded like it was about you. So I came looking….”

Cha Hyewon glances at me and Diana, then scoffs. Slave trader? Ah, she must mean the guild leader and Merosi. I told them to sell off the captured mercenaries as slaves, so I guess they are slave traders.

“Your group is worried sick, but you’re having a grand old time.”
“Are they really worried?”
“Of course. Especially that little one. She was so gloomy, I felt like I was suffocating just being near her. So I came to find you myself to get some air. …I was a little worried too.”

What? Is she a tsundere too? It feels good that she was worried about me. …No, Diana. Stop glaring already.

“Do you… have a problem with me?”
“No.”
“…Then why are you glaring at me?”
“Oh, my mistake. I wasn’t glaring. I was just wondering if you two were having a ‘whisper’ behind my back.”

…Hmm, Cha Hyewon’s glare is painful. Her eyes are surprisingly sharp when she opens them wide.

▷ Hey! You didn’t tell her we’re players, did you?
▶ Am I crazy?
▷ Then how does the Saint know!
▶ Something like that happened.
▷ I knew it when you started drooling over NPCs.
▶ It’s not like that… Diana suddenly became able to join the party and started whispering to me.
▷ What!? Is she a player too?

“Oh my, are you whispering?”
“Ah, no. I was just sorting out my thoughts.”

She’s quick to catch on. Our Saint’s eyes have narrowed.

“I heard that you and your fellow countrymen, like Yurian, have special abilities… Is that true?”

Cha Hyewon looks at me, asking what I’m talking about. I’m about to open my mouth when Diana’s narrowed gaze turns towards me.

“Ahem.”

I quickly shut my mouth… Did she see? Did she hear? …No, probably not?
Luckily, Cha Hyewon was quite perceptive. She realized that the special ability Diana was talking about was the whispering and answered appropriately. It’s so reassuring.

“I see. So your countrymen have such special abilities. Ah, I don’t have any special abilities like that… but I can whisper with Yurian. Is it because we’re ‘specially’ connected~?”

She says with a smile, but Diana… please don’t. What am I supposed to do if you’re wary of her too? Are all the women around me my enemies?

▷ What is she talking about?
▶ …I’ll explain after we get out of this situation.

We arrived at a place with dozens of people bustling about, along with a sullen-faced Cha Hyewon. Why are there so many people?

The campsite is so rigidly organized it’s suffocating, and the tents and uniforms are all the same, like a military camp. No, it’s not like a military camp, it is a military camp.

Judging by the insignia, they’re Imperial soldiers. The black double-headed eagle on a gold background, powerfully fluttering on top of the large tent in the center, is famous enough that no one wouldn’t recognize it.

Unless you’re suicidal, no one would make and carry around that fancy flag that symbolizes the Empire, so it must be the Empire.

As I walk past the soldiers who are saluting Cha Hyewon, I wonder if being a magistrate is this great. It was nothing special in the game, but now that it’s real, the true taste of power is revealed. If I had started the tutorial in the Empire, I would have been a glorious high-ranking magistrate.

“Saintess! Yurian!”

A familiar voice. The red-haired knight with the charming husky voice sighed in relief, and the small figure next to him rushed over and dove into my arms. I quickly caught her.

“Karsilla. That’s dangerous.”

True. If I had started in the Empire, I wouldn’t have met my current group. No, if I had adapted properly, I would have met them, but we wouldn’t have the same relationship. It’s better this way. Our Diana, Irian, and Karsilla are much more important than the position of magistrate.

My affection for my kids is welling up in my chest, about to burst out. …I think something is actually about to come out.

“Cough, cough! Ouch, ouch. It hurts, Karsilla.”

She’s burying her face in my stomach and patting me with her fists… This hurts too much? Cough! She hit my solar plexus. Ugh, I feel like I’m going to throw up. I barely manage to endure Karsilla’s punches when the small face buried in my stomach slowly turns towards me.

“…Does it hurt a lot?”
“No. It doesn’t hurt at all… well, it’s not that it doesn’t hurt, it hurts a little, Karsilla. Can you hit me a little softer?”
“Okay.”

Ugh! Cough! No, this is no joke! It really hurts!
If I hadn’t seen Karsilla’s big eyes looking teary, I would have run away. How can she be so strong? This is the first time I’ve felt this much danger to my life recently.

She must have been very surprised by the sudden separation during the nighttime attack and escape because Karsilla is burying her face in my stomach and won’t let go.

I stroke Karsilla’s small head, which is sticking to me more tightly than when we parted at the temple, and turn my gaze to Irian. In the meantime, he’s asking Diana how she’s doing, but she’s being so cold that he looks flustered.

“Um… Saintess? Are you perhaps unwell?”
“No. I’m fine, Sir Irian.”
“Th-then, are you hungry?”
“No.”
“Oh… Ah! You must be tired.”
“No.”

I can’t help but smile wryly at his tearful face. She said she’d allow it, but is that really allowing it? It’s obvious that if I defend Irian in front of Diana, who’s acting up, the situation will only get worse, so I’ll try to ease the atmosphere for now.

“Diana is just being unreasonable. Irian, aren’t you happy to see me?”
“Well, you… you look fine, so that’s good.”

Even though he says that, Irian was looking at both of us almost identically when he first found us. What a cute guy.

The owner of the large tent with the fancy Imperial flag was Magistrate Cha Hyewon. Just from the outside, it looked like a tent for a high-ranking person, but the inside had a bed, sofa, table, and a makeshift wardrobe… It had everything. This power… I’m jealous.

We gathered in Cha Hyewon’s tent and explained what had happened. The sudden attack, the dozens of well-trained mercenaries, the mage, and the guy named Alber Hamatan.

I hid the fact that the little one was what they were looking for, which was probably Karsilla. There’s no point in saying it when Karsilla is sitting right here. It would only make her anxious. By the way, when are you going to get off my lap, Karsilla? Diana is glaring at us.

‘Is she even keeping Karsilla in check?’

I broke out in a cold sweat at Diana’s glare. She’s become so blatant. Before, she tried to hide it, but now she’s openly giving me the stink eye when there are women around me.

But I can’t let my harem be disturbed. I’ll need to have a serious talk with Diana later. A serious talk involving not only words but also my body to keep her in check.

“Irian, how was it on your side? Were there any pursuers?”

Irian’s expression was indifferent as he listened. Since the little one was their target, I had considered the worst-case scenario where those Alber Hamatan guys would have swarmed Irian’s side, but surprisingly, nothing happened?

“There were quite a few mages you mentioned. I couldn’t fight with the little one there, so I just kept running. After playing tag for a while, I saw the magistrate rushing over and joined up with her, and they immediately ran away.”
“Yeah. They just retreated when they saw us. Who are those guys?”

I didn’t expect Cha Hyewon, who has shallow game knowledge despite being a player, to know, but I couldn’t help but sigh when I saw her tilting her head blankly. Sigh, she’s just an NPC except for the fact that I can whisper and talk about modern things with her.

…No, let’s change my thinking. The fact that I can whisper and talk about modern things with Cha Hyewon is enough. Plus, she’s pretty. So damn pretty. I don’t know what she looks like in real life, but the image I get from the familiar name Cha Hyewon makes me think she’s pretty.

“Oh, right. Didn’t you say you needed temporary IDs? There’s a guy named Mark among my subordinates. Go to him, and he’ll give you IDs and your personal information.”

That’s right, IDs. It was hard to enter the city without them. Cha Hyewon, who was glancing at the women getting up, exclaimed as if she had remembered something and opened her mouth.

“Oh, wait. I forgot. The leader here is… Yurian, right? Only the leader should stay. Everyone else, please leave. I have something to talk about.”

…She’s so bad at lying, it’s obvious. Irian nods as if it’s nothing, and I barely manage to persuade Karsilla, who doesn’t want to leave, to go with him. Diana, who has a sulky expression, also leaves surprisingly obediently.

▷ See you later.

Of course. I replied to Diana’s whisper and sat facing Cha Hyewon, and we talked about what we had missed. I hid the personal stuff, like what happened with Irian at the temple, and as we talked, I felt strangely familiar with her.

“Aren’t you really a college student in real life?”
“What are you talking about? I told you I’m a working adult. It’s been ages since I graduated college. More importantly, what’s that? The whispering.”
“Ah. So, that’s…”

How should I explain it? I don’t even know the exact conditions.

“You know that each character has a random personality, right? You have to find that out and… well, this is just my theory. Ahem. If you have sex or ejaculate inside, I think the condition is met…”
“You crazy bastard.”
“…Listen to me.”
“I am listening.”

Her, her expression is weird.

“As you know, I’m pretty close with Diana. We’ve known each other for a long time. But it was only today that I was able to recruit her into the party. And after recruiting her, I could whisper to her. I thought about why it would be today. And there’s only one answer.”
“……”
“Insemination…!”
“……Get out.”
“Ah, it’s true. Does it sound like I’m joking? That’s really the unlock condition.”
“Ah. So you were having sex with the Saintess?”
“W-well, yeah.”
“Are you kidding me?”

Of course, I didn’t think Cha Hyewon would believe me easily. But it’s not a complete lie. Maybe it’s not just insemination, but sex in general?

Looking at the timing of the party recruitment system message, it fits perfectly. How can I show her? I can’t.

“Get out while I’m being nice.”
“Ah, alright, alright.”

Just before I left, I heard Cha Hyewon’s voice from behind.

“Hey. How long have you been here? About… 5 years?”
“5 years? What are you talking about? It’s been 16 years.”
“……I see. Okay, go on.”

Cha Hyewon, who I glanced back at, was giving a wry smile.