Chapter 56
#056
1.
Made it home safely, for now.
“Hurry, hurry and offer this concubine some mochi!”
As soon as we got home, Shion came barreling toward me, practically drooling.
“Go change into the bunny girl outfit.”
She dashed to the corner and, with great effort, even put on the bunny girl outfit she swore she'd never wear.
For the record, Shion's everyday clothes had been replaced with Arbel's spare clothes.
Turns out the two of them were about the same size.
We mustn't forget.
Once something becomes familiar and taken for granted, the excitement naturally fades.
If you make the bunny girl outfit everyday wear, that much of the thrill dies.
Look at Shion.
Every time I offer her mochi, she mindlessly chomps it down, but when she has to beg for it, she's this happy, isn't she?
“I-I've put it on…! Hurry! Hurry!”
“Ahem, you have to ask properly.”
“Master…! Quickly, give this concubine the mochi…!”
“Here!”
Shion carefully took the mochi in both hands and ate it up with tiny, eager nibbles.
They must have tasted so good that tears welled up in her eyes.
Last loop, I was dying to slap the crap out of her.
But looking at her like this, she's cute, I guess.
“Are they that good? Let me have a taste too.”
I took one of the mochi from the paper wrapper, dusting off the white glutinous rice flour, and put it in my mouth.
Soft, chewy, sweet.
Nothing especially remarkable.
It's that familiar taste we both know.
Three of these for 5,000 Bios? Now my stomach's starting to twist.
“What do you think you're doing!!!!”
With white powder around her mouth, Shion suddenly shot me a furious glare.
“Human!!! Why are you laying hands on this concubine's tribute!!!”
“…….”
I take back the part about her being cute.
I immediately put her in a headlock.
“Hey, you little bitch, is your mouth the only mouth you got?”
“Th-This concubine was wrong…. O-One is fine to eat… but the last one must be for me….”
“Still not getting it, are you.”
“Gieeek…!!!”
As I kept Shion in a headlock, I thought.
I still didn't have enough information.
Why was Isis being so cooperative?
Whether she was really going to make the Red Jade.
Whether the offer of 125 million Bios itself was just too unreal to be serious.
If she was just talking off the cuff, then why lend me the stealth necklace and why give me advice?
There were too many things I didn't know.
“Can't be helped.”
Am I supposed to go to the casino, flip over everyone's cards, and play poker?
Of course not.
You only find out what the other side is holding after the betting's already over.
Reading my hand and the table, then betting when the odds are in my favor—that's skill too.
Even if I fail, I'll still have another chance to try again.
“Screw it, I'll bash my head against it and see.”
“Master… I understand… I'll give up the mochi… so stop now… and let this concubine go….”
The problem had also become much simpler than before, and what I had to do was clear.
All I had to do was dodge the messy power struggle, gather money, and then go to Isis.
Of course, that didn't mean it was easy.
Ten Manneunghwa, or 125 million Bios.
The time limit was only 19 days.
Considering the 25 percent Necropolis premium slapped on Manneunghwa, getting my hands on it seemed practically impossible.
“In the end, that means I need to prepare Bios….”
It was an amount that could only make me laugh in disbelief.
I have 500,000 Bios to my name, that's all.
And I'm supposed to turn that into 250 times as much in 19 days?
Even Kim Jeong-hwan at his peak couldn't have hit that kind of return.
“Sigh, I'll think about it tomorrow.”
Today was ridiculously long too.
If I kept thinking any longer, I'd run out of steam.
“Hey, you eat the last one.”
“…Really?”
I let go of the headlock and gave the little pest one more mochi.
After brushing my teeth, taking a cold shower, and changing clothes, I dove into bed.
Just as I was about to catch some sleep….
“Boksoon, what are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Aren't you sleeping? Hurry up and turn the lights off and come here.”
Shion, now changed into the pajamas I gave her, was fidgeting over there.
“Th-This concubine isn't sleepy yet. It's fine, I grant you permission to sleep first.”
“……?”
Shion quietly backed away and pressed herself against the corner of the wall.
She had just been happily eating mochi and had come out after washing up, but now she'd suddenly gone stiff with nerves.
“A-A man and a woman sharing the same sleeping chamber…! Unthinkable! Prepare a separate bed for this concubine at once!”
I spread the blanket wide open.
“Quit the nonsense and get in here.”
“……ugh.”
“Get over here!”
When Shion reluctantly walked over, I pulled her and the blanket together into a tight hug.
Shion had whined about not having any hot water, but after her shower she smelled like fragrant body wash.
“Heh-heh… you little thing! You're so soft!”
It was softness on par with Arbel's!
I could shower her with affection all day!
“Nng… nngh…!”
“Relax, just relax. Hm? Why are you so scared? Who said I was going to eat you?”
I hugged Shion, brushed her hair aside, and whispered in her ear, feeling her shoulders stiffen at once.
I could see exactly what this little brat was thinking.
But I had no intention of actually laying a hand on Shion.
Think about it.
A grown man and woman falling for each other and spending a hot night together? Nice.
And if the woman is as beautiful as Shion? That's twice as good.
But I couldn't forget one thing.
Even if every condition is met, Shion is still the final puzzle piece of the premium route.
If I start ordering the stray-cat Jjapjo to service me, and she gets pissed and ruins a meal that's already almost done?
I'd end up creating an undead Arbel.
I can't pull that kind of bullshit twice.
Managing her affection at a reasonable level was essential.
“Heh-heh, nice and warm.”
“Ugh… nngh…!”
Still, I couldn't resist a body pillow!
Arbel on the left, Jjapjo on the right.
My bed life had become pretty luxurious.
“Human…! I-I have a proposal. You're going to do something lewd to this concubine anyway, aren't you?”
“Nope.”
“Don't lie! There's no man who could look at someone as beautiful as this concubine and not get aroused!”
“I said no.”
“I-I'll make you a proposal instead…!”
A proposal?
Hmm, now that's a little tempting.
I'm Cedric.
A man who may seem prickly at first glance, but is too weak-willed to easily refuse a pretty girl's proposal.
“What kind of proposal?”
Shion pulled away from me and said,
“D-Don't touch this concubine… how about you mess with that one instead? She doesn't even have consciousness, so she can't resist.”
Jjapjo pointed at Arbel with a finger.
-Smack
I gave her a hard forehead flick.
“Auuuu…. It hurts… it hurts….”
Shion rubbed the top of her head with both hands like a squirrel grooming its fur.
“How dare you, how dare you hit this concubine… nghhh….”
“Sleep.”
Damn it, I got my hopes up for nothing.
Still, it's nice having warmth on both sides….
Without exaggeration, it was the most luxurious bed I'd had since entering Necropolis.
2.
The early morning hours.
5:00 a.m.
‘Proud workers of Necropolis, good morning to you all. Another energetic morning has dawned. The current time is 5:00 a.m.’
“Ugh… I hate this… fuck….”
As usual, I got up while listening to that godawful street broadcast.
The first thing I'll do when I become a Tier 1 mage is go kill the bastard who wrote that broadcast script.
It feels like I just blinked, and it's already morning.
I want to sleep more….
“What the hell.”
Something felt more cramped than usual, so I startled and lifted the blanket….
“Hmnya-nya….”
Jjapjo had curled herself up like a fetus and clung to me like a barnacle.
“Ah, no wonder the bed felt so uncomfortable….”
She'd liked cramped spaces before too.
Seems she has a habit of squeezing herself into corners.
“Arbel, good morning. Mwah!”
“…Ugh, nngh….”
I wanted to sleep longer, but there was no time.
As part of my routine, I gave Arbel's cheek a bunch of smacking kisses.
Then I got up and stretched.
I bought some meat dumplings for breakfast from the dumpling shop on the first floor, then sat down at my desk.
It was time to revisit the worries I'd been putting off.
A simple yet desperate worry that every modern person could relate to.
“So how am I going to make money?”
I thought maybe after sleeping on it, brilliant ideas would bubble up, but of course there was nothing like that.
Roughly speaking, considering prices and everything else.
100 million Bios would be worth about 1 billion won.
The problem was that I had to make this 1.25 billion won in Necropolis, a place even more notorious than Cambodia, not in Korea.
“Why the hell doesn't Necropolis have garbage meme-coin futures and options….”
The more I thought about it, the more hopeless it felt.
“Tsk, maybe borrow from Iming-ham?”
I gave it some thought….
No matter how much of a man of honor Iming is, he wouldn't just hand over a fortune of over 100 million Bios without even knowing the circumstances.
If he were that much of an idiot, I wouldn't be treating him like an older brother.
It's a move worth trying only when every other option has been blocked.
Same goes for Mama Ceres.
Especially this one is suspicious by nature, so I'm reluctant to ask her for help carelessly.
“What if I borrow as much as I can first, then try to multiply it at the gambling den?”
Now that's really tempting.
I can play at the casino and clear the route too?
If it works, there'd be no exploit sweeter than this.
Alright, let's go with this.
“Focus!!!”
I snapped back to my senses.
If it were up to me, I'd go with this whether it worked or not.
If I'm going to clear the route anyway, might as well choose the comfortable, fun option.
But this isn't Aden; it's Necropolis.
The betting limits are much lower than in Aden.
Even Shion, who's sprawled out asleep, would know that the gambling house has the advantage when the number of rounds is high.
Then what about PKing the fixers and going full Tarkov?
“Hmm, rejected too.”
Killing low-rank fixers and stealing their gear is a pretty decent way to make money.
But we saw this in the previous loop too, didn't we?
If you act too tyrannically, they'll band together and come back with knives.
Besides, in this Necropolis, once you make an enemy, there's no escaping them.
“…Hmm… no brilliant method, huh….”
I crossed my arms and thought long and hard.
One hour, two hours.
By the time Jjapjo, who had gotten up at some point, was slurping down a blood pack, two hours had already passed.
“Ha, fuck!!!! The more I think about it, the angrier I get!!!!”
“W-Why are you having a fit all of a sudden?!”
It really pisses me off that I left 200 million Bios behind at the Aden casino.
If I went back, could I get it back?
“Ghh…! What a waste! I'm bleeding tears…!”
If I'd only had that, I could have cleared the loop in one go.
No, even if only the sack full of Manneunghwa had been left behind!
I would've already taken Jjapjo and Arbel to a resort and been eating apple-mango bingsu by now!!!
“That Kisara bitch….”
I took a brief time to hate her properly.
“Die, Kisara. Kisara, you motherfucking bitch. You bitch whose surname sounds like a cattle breed. Kisara's mom can't even make kimchi stew.”
Looking back, all my misfortune started with that bitch.
If it weren't for her, I might be spending happy times with Arbel in the Count Montreven household right now.
Bored, Shion had been wandering back and forth with a blood pack in her mouth like a Capri-Sun when she hesitantly came over.
“Human.”
“Go away. Master is busy.”
“That's not it….”
“Hey! I said I'm busy! If you're bored, go clean something!”
“Do you know Kisara?”
“Huh?”
“Wait. What? What did you say?”
“I asked if you know Kisara Yagyu, that detestable woman.”
I was thrown off.
For the record, I never told anyone, 'If you touch the Manneunghwa, Kisara Yagyu will come after you.'
It's only natural to freak out and cut ties as soon as loan sharks start clinging to you.
Much less because I judged that saying, 'The executor of the Paradise Administration is relentlessly chasing me,' would do absolutely nothing good for my social life.
That didn't mean I was just sitting on my hands.
I did some personal digging.
I had to at least find out who the crazy bitch chasing me was.
But even the black market info broker,
and even Ceres and Iming, whom I'd tried to sound out,
didn't know anything about Kisara Yagyu.
“But how do you know Yagyu?”
“How could I not? The sworn enemy who dragged this concubine down from the throne.”
Something felt off.
This is a little strange, isn't it?
Shion is a Jjapjo.
That much is an incontrovertible, cross-verified truth.
In other words, an experimental subject created in a laboratory by Twilight Resource Development.
There was no way this girl had a 'past' or anything like it.
〈Case 82. █ year █ month █ day.〉
The doll is presumed to inherit memories as soon as it inherits the gene.
One hypothesis flashes through my mind.
What if the memories she inherited weren't limited to her time as an experimental subject?
“Don't tell me... you remember your days as a True Ancestor too?”
“How insolent! This concubine is the True Ancestor itself! I only lost my power for a time!”
“Cut the crap and answer properly.”
“Ugh…!”
When I gripped her shoulders tightly, Shion's voice trailed off.
“Y-Yes. Not everything, but bits and pieces….”
“You little bitch! Why are you telling me this now!”
“Y-You didn't even ask! I-It hurts…! Let go of me!”
“Sorry, I got a little excited.”
I let Shion go for the moment.
But I couldn't help getting excited.
Because there was one thing in her words I just couldn't gloss over.
“What did Kisara Yagyu do?”
“I-I already told you! She's the repulsive woman who dragged this concubine from the throne!”
“So you lost to her, then?”
“…….”
“You lost one-on-one?”
“I-I fell into a devious trap.”
So you lost one-on-one.
“Haa… fuck… why does nothing ever go smoothly….”
I scratched my head hard.
It's still a distant goal for now.
But I intended to try killing Kisara someday, even if it was later.
If I gathered Mama Ceres, Joker, and a few other odds and ends, wouldn't a raid be doable?
That's what I thought.
But if we assume Shion inherited even fragments of the true ancestor's memories,
the apex predator that ruled the RCD Foundation 200 years ago,
the Tier 7 life-lineage that Twilight Resource Development is still busting its ass to control to this day,
that is the one and only Red Moon, Shion Tsukimiya.
And Kisara Yagyu was the one who dragged that monster off the throne?
“Ah… I'm dizzy….”
As for the Death Constant, it was a far bigger deal than I'd thought.