56 Ducarion

Paladin Ducarion.

A figure who needed no explanation.

Together with his comrades, he sacrificed himself to seal away Arhelak, one of the demons of the Abyss.

His heroic saga would be recorded for generations to come, and no doubt many would follow in his footsteps.

Yeah.

'Was there really any need to open the box?'

Prism's performance was in full swing, but I just couldn't concentrate.

A Pandora's box weighing 213 kg sat in front of me.

Was it really right to open this?

I quietly turned my head toward Maria.

"Wow! Waaah! I get why Hella looks up to idols now!"

"My ears huuurts!"

Maria was waving her light stick with all her might, while Renea, wearing a headset, was stubbornly sitting in her seat.

The volume was so loud that it seemed a bit much for the elf, but the fact that she was still keeping time to the rhythm made it seem like it wasn't all that bad.

Anyway.

'If I open this box... Maria's going to get hurt, isn't she?'

That's definitely Ducarion.

Seeing him in person made it obvious.

Ducarion was channeling divine power, and Seo Hajin shone far more brightly than the other members.

"Kuhup! Kuhup! Seo! Ha! Jin!"

"......"

Watching him beam with innocent joy made me want a cigarette.

"B-Boss?"

Kim Yang, sitting beside me, tilted their head when they noticed something was off about me.

"I-It’s not fun?"

"No, it is fun."

"Th-Then?"

"...No."

If I told her, it would have to wait until after all this was over.

Kim Yang still looked puzzled by my answer, but she didn't press further.

Meanwhile, the concert was slowly drawing to a close.

"Everyone—! Our nine years of Prism activities have truly been a dreamlike time!"

Seo Hajin stepped forward, gripping the microphone.

"Even if we leave the name Prism here for a little while! That doesn't mean each member's journey ends wherever they go!"

Seo Hajin's voice trembled with tears.

Even if she had complaints about life as an idol, her feelings toward the people who loved her were sincere.

The fans knew that too, so the audience quickly turned into a sea of tears.

"This song today! Prism wrote it together, pouring all our feelings for you into it. We'd be grateful if you listened kindly!"

Seo Hajin bowed her head, choking up and letting tears fall, and the other members bowed deeply with her.

"We love you, everyone! Thank you so much for everything!"

Across the screen, the title of the new song appeared.

<At the End of the Smile>

- We've been together for so long that I don't even know what to call this.

- I'll say the trembling at the ends of my words is because of the wind.

- I want to be remembered beautifully, at least for this moment.

Listening to the song that followed, I realized I'd come here with a lighter heart than I thought.

'I heard this was a goodbye concert, but I didn't expect it to feel like this.'

Everyone was crying like it was a funeral, and yet they were smiling as they listened to the idols sing.

- Say goodbye with a smile.

- Farewell and parting.

- I'll leave us somewhere in between.

- Someday.

- If we meet again like a miracle.

- Today, with this smile, I'll say it's been a long time.

"Huaaah!"

"Eek?! Don't grab me!"

For some reason, the grandmother, overcome with emotion along with everyone else, tugged at my clothes and cried sadly.

There was nothing strange about crying.

In fact, people who weren't crying here were rare.

- Goodbye!

- I'm smiling.

- So you should smile too.

- At the End of the Smile.

- So we can remember today with joy.

The stage ended with the ending pose.

In an instant, with the cheers, people burst into tears.

And so, today—

the idol group Prism disbanded.

* * *

"Hwaaah! So sad!"

"Waaah! I'm crying!"

"P-Please. S-Stop."

On the way out of the dome after the performance.

Renea and Maria were crying their voices hoarse.

They'd completely forgotten why we came today and had enjoyed the concert to the fullest.

"Anyone would think you were hardcore fans."

"The boss has no romance!"

"Exactly! How can you not sympathize when it's this sad?!"

"Hah, Kim Yang. I'm going to smoke, so take the kids to the waiting room."

"T-The waiting room?"

"I arranged to meet Seo Hajin."

They were probably busy greeting each other and sharing their lingering emotions, but I still had things to do.

As Kim Yang nodded and headed for the waiting room with the two little ones.

I pretended to head for the outdoor smoking area, then made my way to where Spectrum was gathered.

They were all waiting at the back door, apparently planning to greet the Prism members as they came out.

Among them, the oversized man was easy to spot.

I approached Mr. Kim Deokgu with my business smile firmly in place.

"Mr. Deokgu? That's right, Mr. Deokgu?"

"Kuhup!? You are—."

"Yes, it's me. Kim Juseon from Meracle."

Deokgu looked flustered when I greeted him with a smile. He must not have expected to run into me here.

"W-Why are you here—kuhup!?"

"Haha, you know why, Mr. Deokgu."

I tried to whisper in his ear, but my protruding belly meant I couldn't even get that close.

In the end, I spoke softly in an awkward stance.

"I came to investigate the divine power shining on Seo Hajin."

"...!"

"Yes, that's right. She joined our side. Mr. Deokgu, could we talk for a moment?"

"Kuhup! Ku, kuhup!"

Deokgu immediately got excited and followed after me.

There was a gazebo nearby, so I took a seat there. Judging by the ashtray beside it, smoking was probably allowed.

"Mr. Deokgu, would you mind if I smoked?"

"Kuhup! O-Of course!"

"Do you smoke too, Mr. Deokgu?"

"I-I'm kuhup! A non-smoker."

He was so excited that the tension in his neck showed.

"Phew."

After taking a drag and exhaling, I calmly went over the words I'd arranged in my head.

"Mr. Deokgu, to be honest, I didn't come here because of Seo Hajin."

"Kuhup?"

"More precisely, I came to investigate the divine power shining on Seo Hajin."

"...?!"

His face stiffened completely.

Even his expression looked shocked.

So he really had lived his whole life as a paladin.

He didn't seem to have anything to do with lying.

"Phew. If I've said this much, you understand now, don't you? Paladin Ducarion."

"Ku-hu—! Ku-huup!"

What happened next was unexpected.

He ran.

And with that massive body of his, he ran as hard as he could.

For about five seconds.

"Haaagh! Haaagh!"

He hadn't run in so long that he was bent over, hands on his knees, dry-heaving.

I'd heard that once you get that heavy, even standing puts serious strain on your joints, but the fact that he endured a three-hour idol concert proved that the indomitable spirit unique to paladins was real.

"Don't run away. Let's talk."

"G-Go away! Kuhup! I, I'm Kim Deokgu! I'm not Ducarion!"

"You've already been exposed. I need you. Right now, Arhelak—!"

"N-No! No! I said no—!"

The moment Arhelak's name came up, Mr. Deokgu shoved my chest with both hands. With his massive build, I nearly flew backward and fell over.

"Ugh?! Ducarion!"

"N-No! Don't c-call me that! Kuhup! I, I'm! D-Deokgu! Ku-huup!"

What his tearful flight conveyed was a kind of desperation.

Maybe because of that.

Life, honor, even death.

I could no longer stop him as he threw everything away and ran.

* * *

We arrived at the waiting room.

Sniffling sounds still echoed from here and there, as if everyone were still feeling the afterglow of the final performance.

Finding Seo Hajin wasn't difficult.

Renea and Maria were grinning ear to ear after getting the members' autographs.

Kim Yang was talking separately with a man in a suit and glasses.

He looked like someone from Prism's agency.

'What is this?'

I wondered if it was some important conversation, but he looked over at me and quickly came over.

"G-Give me the money."

"...Why again?"

"I, I did sales. E-Extra pay."

"I didn't tell you to work through the weekend."

"G-Give me the money."

"What are you, a thug? I'll buy dinner on the way home, so let's call it even."

Kim Yang nodded and drew back a hand.

Just then, Seo Hajin spotted me and immediately came over.

"Mr. Juseon, I heard from the staff that you seem to have noticed something."

"Ah, yes..."

I glanced back at Renea and Maria. They were so absorbed in the concert that they'd apparently forgotten for a moment why we came.

The Prism members who had followed after Seo Hajin suddenly surrounded me.

"Hello! We heard our unnie has some incredible power!"

"Really? Unnie has worked so hard. Honestly, it wouldn't be strange even if a miracle happened."

"Hajin unnie is the kind of person who can do anything well!"

The distinctly feminine scent of cosmetics wafted over me. The dizzying fragrance almost made me step back.

I could tell exactly what kind of person Seo Hajin was in Prism as the leader, but—

"Ahem, ahem."

Right before telling the truth, I paused for a moment and took a business card case out of my inner pocket.

"I should introduce myself first. We find your miracle—hello, I'm Kim Juseon, CEO of Meracle."

Because I wouldn't be able to say anything good.

I might as well start with the sales pitch.

* * *

A little earlier, a few minutes before Kim Juseon came to the waiting room.

Kim Yang came into the waiting room with Renea and Maria.

'There are a lot of people here.'

Having a lot of people around was fine.

I dance in clubs often enough, after all.

But having so many people crying was a little awkward.

"Wow, waaah."

"The people who had just been far away are right in front of me—."

Of course, Renea and Maria didn't seem to mind.

'We did come here to check the divine power, after all.'

I wondered if they'd checked it properly.

While the two were getting autographs from the welcoming Seo Hajin, Kim Yang stood a step behind them.

With the boss absent, they had to stay focused.

"Ahem, excuse me?"

Then a man approached.

He wore glasses, his hair was slightly receded, but his suit was unmistakably high-end.

'Alomang.'

A custom-tailored suit brand.

I thought the boss would look pretty good in something like this someday.

"You're Kim Yang, right? The SNS influencer."

I wondered what was going on, but the man recognized them. Since he was here, he was probably fairly high up at Prism's agency too.

When they nodded, he actually handed over a business card.

"I'm Choi Gilmun, head of the artist division. To be honest, we've been paying quite close attention to your SNS too, Ms. Kim Yang."

"..."

Kim Yang looked down at the card and calmly handed over their own card as well.

When Kim Juseon had his made, he had a few made for Kim Yang too.

"Marriage agency Meracle—haha, that's a shame; I'm already married."

"..."

I didn't think much of it.

I just handed one back on reflex.

When Kim Yang stayed silent, Choi Gilmun asked with a smile.

"By any chance, have you ever thought about debuting with us? Watching the dance shorts you upload, I thought your dance lines were really beautiful. As it happens, we're putting together a new group—"

"No."

My answer was already decided, so I didn't bother listening to the rest.

"I'm not changing jobs."

The reason he wasn't flustered by the firm refusal was the power of experience. Choi Gilmun replied with the same smile.

"Someone of your level, Ms. Kim Yang, has plenty of potential. If you get a little professional coaching at our company, you could definitely go much further than you are now—"

"I'm not going. I like my current company."

"Grrr."

Likewise, based on his experience and years in the business, Choi Gilmun could tell.

No matter how much he tried to tempt them, they wouldn't budge.

"I understand. Still, if you change your mind or your situation changes, please do give us a call."

Kim Yang frowned.

Change their mind?

If their situation changed?

Was he talking about Meracle going under?

"You too."

"Pardon?"

"If you get divorced, come by."

"..."

As Choi Gilmun, who'd just taken a solid counter, let out a hollow laugh.

Clunk.

The door opened, and Kim Juseon came in.

Kim Yang immediately trotted back over to Kim Juseon.

"G-Give me the money."

"...Why again?"

"I, I did sales. E-Extra pay."

"I didn't tell you to work through the weekend."

Watching him look so dumbfounded made me almost laugh.

"G-Give me the money."

"What are you, a thug? I'll buy dinner on the way home, so let's call it even."

A satisfactory answer.

Kim Yang nodded and drew back a hand.