The Second Coming of Gluttony 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 **** .
Seol Jihu couldn’t help but think about how Kim Hannah compared things to **** 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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