Praise the Orc! Chapter 151:
Chapter 151 – Rain is Coming
The rain fell down in droves, relentlessly striking the umbrellas .
Ian tilted his umbrella and looked up at the sky . A steady stream of water poured out from the gray sky . Suddenly, the sound of music was heard from a store . It had a catchy melody . He didn’t know whose song it was, but it was sung by a familiar voice he heard often . The singer was singing about a goodbye in a melancholy tone .
Students ran splashing through the water . Ian’s feet were wet . He looked down at his wet feet . The neon signs were reflected on the surface of the puddles and the sound of laughter from distant children overlapped with the rain .
Ian shook his head .
Gloomy thoughts filled his head . This wasn’t good .
Ian tried to clear his mind .
“What are you doing? You look miserable . ” A voice broke through Ian’s thoughts . He looked back and saw Yiyu . She was smiling at him from under her colorful umbrella .
“Hello…”
Yiyu was with Yoon Bora . Yoon Bora bowed awkwardly as Ian greeted her lightly .
“Was Oppa waiting long?”
“Yes . I waited a long time . ”
“Well, that might be the case . Bora was the one who made me late . Isn’t that right?”
“No, you…”
“Right . ”
“Hey! Oppa, Yiyu is falsely blaming me . ”
“Be quiet . ”
Ian smiled as he glanced at the two of them and asked, “Okay, what do you want to eat?”
“I was thinking about it . I got over 900 points, so shouldn’t it be 90,000 won per person?”
“……”
“Didn’t you say don’t worry about the price?”
Yoon Bora poked Yiyu’s side, who shrugged .
Today was the day when Yiyu received her TOEIC score . On the day of the exam, Yiyu had suggested this if she got the score that she was aiming for, and Ian had accepted without thinking . Her target score was quite high so he internally thought it would be difficult . But she was quite good at languages and eventually got the score she was aiming for . Yoon Bora, who took the test with her, decided to accompany her .
Ian smiled and said, “Yes, then let’s go somewhere expensive . At least 90,000 won . ”
“Uh…um…”
She didn’t know a place that was so expensive . How could a student living off pocket money suddenly think about expensive food? At best, only the tuna that Han Yeori liked came to mind . However, Yiyu didn’t like eating raw fish when it was raining .
“So…” Yiyu looked at Yoon Bora, as if urging her to say something . But Yoon Bora shook her head . She didn’t know anything about expensive food .
Yiyu struggled for a moment before opening her mouth, “B-Beef?”
“……”
Ian looked at her with raised eyebrows .
“W-What?”
“Just follow me . Bora-ssi, do you have anywhere you want to go?”
“No . Everything is good . Oh, if you just…”
“Is that so?”
“Ah, where are we going?!” Yiyu cried out impatiently .
“You just have to follow me . ” Ian led them as he headed to the restaurant that he ate at with Ji Hayeon . He hadn’t driven his car so they took a taxi . The employees remembered him from when he came with Ji Hayeon and treated him deferentially .
Ian refused to be served directly by the manager . An employee escorted him to a private room . Ian naturally ordered the course dishes . Various dishes came out as Yiyu nagged at him . Ian and Yiyu tasted the food, talked and laughed at jokes .
Then a voice popped into Ian’s head .
‘Viva Alaste!’
The lively laughter of Alaste was overlaid over Yiyu and Yoon Bora’s voices . He recalled the shrimp dish that had been served to him by Alaste’s best chef . The sweet and sour taste of the shrimp made him constantly eat it, leaving him with a bucket of shrimp shells .
“Oppa?”
“Huh?”
“Are you okay? You don’t look good . ”
“I’m just a little tired . ”
He smiled . Yiyu turned from Ian towards Yoon Bora . During their conversation, Ian frowned .
It was rare for him . He rarely looked back on the past . It was because the weight of the things he had done was so heavy it was difficult for him to raise his head . Therefore, he decided to look ahead instead of dwelling on it .
However, today his thoughts turned towards the past .
Why?
Vigo’s face as he laughed and bragged about Alaste entered Ian’s mind . When he closed his eyes to shake it off, he could see the barbecue ribs cooked at the festival . The people shared the barbecue with him and praised him as a hero .
Now they were no longer there . Everyone he knew in Alaste had died .
That fact weighed on him . He knew that it wasn’t a game, but living beings from a real world . Ian suppressed his emotions . Death was one-sided and couldn’t be reversed .
Ian closed his eyes, feeling both grief and regret . He had been too naive . If he had stayed a little longer in Alaste, he could’ve stopped them . He shouldn’t have thought about anything else until he pulled out the seed of the Heaven and Earth Clan .
Regret led to a more distant past . A memory from a previous battlefield came to mind . The faces of those he couldn’t see anymore .
“Oppa?”
“Wait . ” Ian stood up . His face was pale . “I need to quickly go to the bathroom . ”
“Uhh…”
Ian opened the door and left . The manager was surprised at Ian’s complexion . Ian just smiled and left the restaurant .
It was still raining . Ian leaned his head against the wall of the building . The landscape of the world melted into the rain .
“Why…?”
Even if he closed his eyes, he couldn’t erase their faces in the darkness . Ian stared at the street through blurry eyes . He remembered his deceased comrades . He felt enough sadness at their funerals, so there was no reason to be shaken now .
Nevertheless, their faces were so scary because they eventually led him to one face in the darkness . He had to see her . Ian bit his lips and opened his eyes .
“Crazy…”
Yes, Elder Lord was a real world . The knowledge of that fact might break him . He was tired of seeing people die . No one knew that he was fighting for them as they kept swinging their weapons without a sense of guilt . It was a meaningless resistance . Just .
‘Raven, I was wrong . ’
Ian’s eyelids drooped .
‘Go . ’
It was her last gesture to him .
What type of expression was he making at that time? He wondered if he was looking at her with a resolute face, determined to never abandon her . He didn’t think so . Maybe there was some hypocrisy mixed in with regret and sorrow, or a condescending expression as he retreated .
He didn’t know . Shortly after she gestured, a shell flew into her body and Ian was staring stiffly at flesh and guts . Her laughing face as she held an assault rifle could no longer be seen . Her death was no different from the other deaths .
Ian instinctively reached into his pocket, an old habit . He had no cigarettes . He removed his hand from his pocket and raised it to his face . He desperately tried to block the memories, but they kept clinging to him .
Maybe, if he had moved a little faster . If only he performed the operation properly .
Perhaps he did . He built meaningless assumptions and talked nonsense . The memories of that day repeated against his will .
Go, go, go . Explosion, explosion, explosion . His expression, expression, expression .
Ian slammed his fist against the wall .
Alaste, Alaste, Alaste .
Pain spread . He took a deep breath . Ian grabbed one of his injured hands before heading back to the restaurant and handing over his card .
“Something happened…please tell my companions that I am leaving first . ”
***
Han Yeori switched off the last light .
The sound of a broadcast was heard from her phone that she had unknowingly left on .
–The Heaven and Earth Clan had issued a statement about the broken agreement . They defended themselves by saying it couldn’t be helped because they were ordered by the emperor . They are playing as the emperor’s vassals and it is a game, so the users of the Alaste Love club should understand since they are also roleplaying…
She suddenly turned her head . She felt a haunting feeling . The cafe was clearly empty . She tilted her head . Then she was shocked to see something moving in the darkness .
“Hah . ” She froze before frowning, as she realized that the silhouette belonged to a familiar person .
Then she looked again . He must have a reason for doing this .
“Boss-nim . ”
Ian didn’t answer . Han Yeori pouted .
He had the ability to move without any sound . It was a strange talent from his old days as a soldier .
“Boss-nim?”
He raised his head . It was dark but the lights from the street outside leaked in, revealing his bloodshot eyes .
“Are you okay?”
Ian looked at her and blinked before smiling . “Have you finished?”
“Yes . ”
“Can I have just one cup of coffee?”
Han Yeori didn’t complain . She looked at Ian’s face and nodded .
“Yes . ”
She walked into the preparation room and turned on the light . She hesitated in front of the espresso machine before making a drink and setting it down in front of Ian .
Ian looked down at it quietly . “Is this coffee?”
“Just drink it . ”
Mint chocolate frappe . Ian quietly put the straw in his mouth .
Han Yeori asked, “Are you okay?”
Ian laughed . She noticed that his laugh sounded a little unusual .
“Yes, I’m fine . ”
He drank the mint chocolate frappe for a while as the chill faded . Han Yeori sat next to Ian .
“Why are you acting like a man who had his heart broken?”
“How did you know?”
“I have to leave work, so regain your spirit . ”
She tapped Ian’s head . Ian chuckled in a low voice . His voice rang through the empty café . Suddenly, Ian leaned against her .
Han Yeori complained, “Heavy . ”
“Just for a moment . ”
Ian said with a sigh, “Let me do this for a moment…”
As he closed his eyes, Han Yeori looked at his face leaning against her shoulder, at the still remaining mint chocolate frappe and then up at the ceiling . Ian’s breath tickled her ears . The second hand of the clock touched her nerves .
“……”
Time passed . Han Yeori whispered towards the silent Ian, “You don’t have to worry . ” As Ian’s breathing evened out, she added, “I won’t report you for sexual harassment…”
She reached out a hand towards Ian’s bangs . There was still sweat on his forehead . She wiped it with her fingers and then smiled as she wiped it on Ian’s clothes .
“Why is my boss like this…?”
Ian’s heartbeat was transmitted from where he was leaning against her . Han Yeori felt his pulse and then got up . She carefully laid the sleeping Ian on the body and placed a cushion under his head .
Ian was now asleep . Han Yeori looked at his sleeping self before taking a coat from the counter and covering his body . It was summer . He shouldn’t get a cold .
It was still raining outside the store . Cars passed through water . The procession of umbrellas could be seen .
“Um…”
Han Yeori slung her bag over her shoulder and looked at Ian one last time .
“People with quick senses…”
Rain poured down as soon as she opened the door and opened her umbrella . The rain striking the umbrella was heavy . Han Yeori stood at the doorway of Café Reason . As her ears became familiar with the sound of the rain, she began to move .
Rain was coming . So it was like this . She steadily moved away from the café as her silhouette gradually melted into the rain .