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The Four Penguins of the Apocalypse

 

My desperate acting. I spoke with a dumb expression as if I were truly an innocent person, but the answer that came back was merciless.

 

Is this what reality is like? It was so cold.

 

“You’re lying.”

 

“Sunghoon-ssi. You did beat Ishia, didn’t you? Why are you lying?”

 

“See? That person agrees too!”

 

You, please just stay quiet. Are you doing this on purpose? You’re doing this on purpose, right?

 

As I pressed down on Raphael’s head with tears in my eyes, she resisted saying things like “Why?! Why have you been acting like this?”

 

If you really don’t know, there’s something wrong with you.

 

“That’s right. A black-haired man accompanied by a beautiful blonde! And they say his way of speaking is annoyingly strange, that’s you!”

 

“We’ve only exchanged two sentences? If it’s still annoying, doesn’t that mean my very existence is annoying? Huh? Are you picking a fight now? Right?”

 

“Wow. How do you reveal your existence so clearly in just three sentences? Are you an idiot? Are you doing this on purpose? If this is acting, you deserve the Best Actor award. Congratulations. This year’s award ceremony is your stage, Sunghoon-ssi.”

 

Are you picking a fight too? Want to try? My title has recently changed from a man who can hit women to a man who can knock women out, you know?

 

As I was having a staring contest with Raphael, Yang Minji approached with steps that seemed like they would make a pitter-patter sound and looked up at me.

 

When I met her eyes that were like looking at flower petals, goosebumps rose all over my body. No matter how I look at it, her eyes seem interested.

 

This is dangerous. This is dangerous.

 

It’s more dangerous than Ishia. Even if I could somehow ignore or pass off Ishia’s incident to someone else, this one is different.

 

She’s a main heroine close to being the true heroine. In terms of web novels, she’s the character that appears on the main cover.

 

In terms of light novels, she’s the one who takes charge of the cover of volume 1.

 

What I’m saying is, she’s a character who is at the center of almost all events that occur in the novel along with Kim Taehyun. She’s like the eye of the storm. If you’re near her, you can’t help but get caught up in events.

 

Unlike the Magic Association that just fights among themselves, the events that occur centered around her, no, centered around Kim Taehyun, gradually increase in scale. How big do they get? You can think of it as events that affect all of humanity.

 

The center of events where all of humanity’s lives are at stake? Just kill me instead.

 

Those are events for Kim Taehyun to handle. It has nothing to do with me. Please don’t do this.

 

I’ll just quietly interfere from behind.

 

“What’s wrong with you? Like a dog that needs to poop.”

 

Shut up. Be quiet. Ignoring the damn blonde who’s picking a fight without reading the situation, I looked ahead.

 

Pink eyes looking at me with her hand on her chin, she seems to be agonizing over something, but she’s probably looking at my capabilities.

 

As befitting the daughter of a guild master, she has the ability to evaluate others, so her first meeting with Kim Taehyun was also drawn by a power with no end in sight.

 

Well, if she’s looking at my capabilities, the reaction will probably be—

 

“Wow. How did you beat Ishia? No matter how I look at it, you’re below an ordinary person? You have almost no magic power, how did you get into the academy? Are you some rich young master? No. If that were the case, I would know!”

 

“Pfft!”

 

“…”

 

This is picking a fight, right? I can get angry, right? I’m getting angry? I’m scary when I get angry? Even if I make such an expression like I don’t know anything, I’m a man who can get angry?

 

Sensing my gaze, Yang Minji smiled brightly and said.

 

“I had expectations, but you’re really nothing special!”

 

“Puhahaha!!!”

 

Alright. Let’s fight. Bring it on.

 

***

 

Well. After that, Yang Minji asked a few more questions and then left, disappointed on her own. That’s really fortunate for me. Her being disappointed means she won’t be interested in me anymore, right? Thank you very much.

 

“I guess it’s right that people get disappointed because they have expectations. Look at me. I don’t have any expectations for Sunghoon-ssi, so I don’t get disappointed— Give it back. Give it back. I always have expectations for Sunghoon-ssi. I’m always aware of the fact that you’re the benefactor who will send me back to the celestial realm.”

 

I returned the snack bag I had taken from Raphael and looked around. Really, many cats had gathered and were eating the food hurriedly. Calico, mackerel tabby, orange tabby, cats of various types were gathered.

 

Among them, there’s a cat that particularly catches my eye. Unlike the others, it comes to me with a noble gait and rubs against me.

 

This one, whose whole body is covered in black fur, knows that if it rubs against me, something more delicious will come out. I grinned and took out a weapon from my inventory that could seduce even the most aloof cat in one go.

 

The great and mighty Churu. As I peeled off the wrapper and held it out, the black cat licked it frantically, making the contents disappear.

 

It’s like seeing an angel from somewhere.

 

“Mmphbrghah!!”

 

“Finish eating before you speak.”

 

Ignoring the angel who got angry in the middle of eating, somehow knowing I was insulting her, I looked at the cat, which had already emptied the contents and was meowing for more.

 

I took out one more with a benevolent smile and held it out.

 

Chomp chomp. Chomp chomp.

 

While listening to the sound of delicious eating, I stroked the black cat’s glossy fur. As if knowing the price of the Churu, it allowed my hand.

 

Is this the psychology of a cat mom? I understand why they do it now.

 

Nodding, I opened my mouth while stroking its fur.

 

“Is it delicious? Lachesis?”

 

Freeze.

 

The one that was eagerly licking the Churu stopped moving. It looks up at me with a creaking movement, but I just smile benevolently.

 

“Who’s Lachesis? I’m Raphael? Have you already gotten senile?”

 

“Ah. Sorry, sorry, I called you by the wrong name. But do you know what a spiritual beast is?”

 

“Suddenly, what—”

 

Before Raphael could finish speaking, I cut her off and spoke in a voice loud enough for anyone around me to hear.

 

“Spiritual beasts are long-living animals that were deified among ancient people. Originally, they were just that, but due to the dimensional war that happened long ago, they accepted mana and gained special abilities.”

 

“I know that too, you know?”

 

I’m not talking to you. Please stay quiet.

 

“Their abilities and powers differ for each individual. But times have changed. The belief in gods has disappeared, and the position of deified spiritual beasts has plummeted. Do you know the difference between monsters and spiritual beasts?”

 

— Me, meow~

 

I caught the black cat trying to escape while sweating profusely and put it on my lap. I continued speaking with a smile.

 

“Whether they harm humans or not. If they harm humans, they’re monsters. If they coexist, they’re spiritual beasts. But that’s also a thing of the past now. Would they really leave beings that could attack humans at any time alone?”

 

Ignoring Raphael who was making an expression like ‘Has this human finally gone crazy?’, I looked at the one sweating like rain on my lap, it cried while avoiding my gaze.

 

It’s making a gesture like ‘I don’t know’, but that won’t work.

 

“How long are you going to pretend not to know? The person I just talked to is the daughter of the guild master of 「Dawn」, Korea’s top guild. She’s bound to know about modern tracking techniques, and if she discovers a long-lived spiritual beast—”

 

[Wh, what do you want, meow?]

 

You finally opened your mouth.

 

***

 

Lachesis.

 

The black cat who played with the threads of fate. The only spiritual beast in this world that can interfere with others’ fates in small ways.

 

A spiritual beast that has lived for 999 years, one step away from becoming a divine beast.

 

Such a spiritual beast is sitting in a corner of my dormitory room. You might ask how a cat can sit, but she’s in human form right now.

 

Gone is the black appearance from earlier, and a beauty with silver hair and red eyes is occupying a seat. She even has cat ears, which seems like a terrible taste, but she’s a cat? Her original form is a cat? It’s not my taste, though.

 

[What do you want, meow. So.]

 

She looks at me with an expression that seems slightly sulky. She’s looking up at me with her legs crossed, and at a glance, she looks like a haughty beauty. But in reality.

 

“Try eating this first.”

 

[Ah! Isn’t this a snack, meow? A precious thing that I could only steal and eat because no one would give it to me in cat form—]

 

She’s an idiot who likes food. More than that, didn’t she just confess to a crime? Feeling sympathy for the convenience store manager who had their snacks stolen, I rummaged through my inventory.

 

“What’s that? Why is that human eating my snacks? No, the dormitory room is already too small for two people, what are we going to do if we add more people? You should think about the residents too.”

 

Raphael came over and muttered with a sullen expression. She seems to be complaining because I didn’t give her snacks and gave them to Lachesis instead.

 

But this room is my room. She’s an illegal resident? The snacks are also my (extorted from Ishia) snacks. Huh? Isn’t this one useless? Isn’t she just like my past self who was stuck at home eating meals prepared by parents?

 

“Do you want to leave?”

 

“What? Why is your thought process going in that direction?”

 

As Raphael backed away in shock, I took out a piece of paper from my inventory with satisfaction. It’s called a contract.

 

These days, online shopping is good. If you order, it comes right away by magic, so there’s no need to wait. By the way, I took the money because Raphael had something like a [God’s Bank Account]. If I let her keep it, she’d probably spend it all in a day. It’s better if I have it.

 

If you read the [God’s Notebook], it says that living expenses for two people are deposited every month, which made me a little creeped out by the sudden kindness.

 

Anyway, cutting to the chase, I held out the contract.

 

[What is it, meow?]

 

Lachesis asked, throwing away the now empty snack bag. She’s licking her fingers covered in snack crumbs, which is a bit disgusting.

 

“A contract. You’ll have to lend me your power. Don’t worry, it’s not a taming contract.”

 

A taming contract. It’s a scary contract mainly used by summoners, which magically subjugates monsters after subduing them, a terrifying contract that only needs one party’s will.

 

I wouldn’t use such a scary thing.

 

Hearing my words, Lachesis snorted. With her legs crossed and arms folded, she really.

 

“How arrogant. Should I kick her out? Coming to someone else’s house, eating someone else’s snacks, and throwing the bag anywhere!”

 

Is that the part you’re angry about? I stopped Raphael and listened to Lachesis.

 

[Is a mere contract what you’re trying to do with threats, meow? That won’t work on me, meow. Do you know how many years I’ve lived— What’s that, meow?]

 

Lachesis looked at what I was holding, drooling. It’s a different food from snacks.

 

A food that’s steaming hot, that I bought a while ago and put in my inventory. It smells of oil, is salty, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

 

“Chicken!!”

 

Raphael rushed over, but I easily avoided her and put the chicken down in front of Lachesis. But. Every time she reached out her arm, I slapped her hand away.

 

I’m clearly slapping her hand away, but my hand hurts.

 

“If you want to eat, you have to make a contract, right?”

 

[Succumbing to food. I might—]

 

“It’s not just food. Think about your future life. What’s there a year from now. You can be safe. There are two people who will call you. Just one year. Just lend me your power for one year. Then you can have a safe and indulgent life with unlimited food.”

 

At my words, Lachesis repeated words like [Un, unlimited?], [In, indulgent?]. Her pupils are shaking a lot, she seems to be half convinced.

 

She’s a spiritual beast that has lived for 999 years. To become a divine beast by reaching 1000 years, she needs someone who will call her with 「Reverence」. I think the setting was that she came to Justitia to find that person and meet her master.

 

It’s a bit hazy. Anyway, evolving from a spiritual beast to a divine beast is a heavenly mandate that must be achieved as a living being. There’s no way she can refuse.

 

It would be hard to refuse when food and safety are guaranteed. Especially with chicken dripping with oil right in front of her eyes. How can she resist?

 

[….]

 

Lachesis swallowed hard. I gently pushed the contract forward.

 

[You, you’re not lying, meow.]

 

“If you’re unsure, you write the contract terms. What I just said.”

 

[…..]

 

She reached out her arm. As I looked at her with an expression like ‘What are you doing not putting your fingerprint?’, she bit her own arm and sprinkled blood on the contract.

 

“What are you doing?!”

 

[Meow? Aren’t all contracts blood contracts, meow?]

 

I didn’t intend that. But thanks for doing it. A blood contract is stronger than a regular contract. A contract that can’t be broken, bound by each other’s blood. I guess an old fart who’s lived for 999 years doesn’t know about modern contracts.

 

“It’s really easy.”

 

[Meow?]

 

I smiled at Lachesis, who was tilting her head as if she had misheard, and brought a kitchen knife from the kitchen and slightly cut my hand.

 

My hand trembled, but it was manageable when I closed my eyes. My blood dripped onto the contract. Lachesis’s blood and my blood were sucked into the contract, creating letters.

 

Eventually, a red thread seeped out, connecting me and Lachesis.

 

My wrist and her neck. A slightly chuunibyou-like pattern appeared.

 

“It’s not a taming contract, but the master-servant relationship should be clear. It’s natural to check and read contracts properly. Remember that.”

 

[Meow?]

 

To Lachesis, who still seemed not to understand and was tilting her head, I raised my hand as if to show her. The red pattern that appeared on my wrist. The red pattern that appeared like a collar on her neck.

 

The contract that she injected blood into like crazy is not a taming contract that unilaterally proceeds with the contract, but a master-servant contract that is made with mutual consent.

 

By the way, the market price is 200,000 won.

 

As it’s made with mutual consent, it’s even more powerful than unilateral taming. Moreover, a contract made with blood? That says it all. Thanks to her, I received an unwanted gift.

 

I was sure she wouldn’t know about master-servant contracts as she’s ignorant of the ways of the world, but I really didn’t expect a blood contract.

 

The pattern on my wrist glows. As it glows, my mouth opened.

 

“Sit.”

 

[Meow, our contract is equal— Gyaaaaaaah!!!!]

 

Lachesis started rolling on the floor, grabbing her neck that was glowing red. It looks really painful watching from the side.

 

“It won’t subside until you sit. Hurry up.”

 

[You tricked me! Human! Gyaaaaaaah!!]

 

She pounced on me as soon as the pain subsided, but it’s natural that you shouldn’t attack your master in a master-servant relationship, right?

 

Here’s the translation of the remaining part:

 

“Tricked you? You’re talking as if I’m the bad guy? Listen carefully, Lachesis. The one who gets scammed is the bad one. You made me become a bad person. But I’ll use my great generosity and forgive you just this once. Be careful not to get tricked next time. Now, I’ll show you who’s in charge from now on. When you call me, use [Master] or [Owner].”

 

[No— Gyaaaaaaah!!]

 

Well, she’s resisting a bit, but she’ll submit eventually. The night is long, after all.

 

“Wow. You’re really trash.”

 

I wish she wouldn’t say that while eating the chicken I set aside. I went over to Raphael and continued speaking while eating chicken together.

 

“Sit.”

 

[Gyaaaaaaah!!]

 

“Stand up.”

 

[Gyaaaaaaah!!]

 

“Sit.”

 

“Sit. Stand up. Sit. Stand up.”

 

I’ll keep going until she becomes obedient.

1 Comment

  1. Ki L-Me
    Oct 23, '24 at 11:59 pm

    I hate this world Aqua

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