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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Weight of the Shield (2)
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At the inauguration ceremony, everyone received their equipment, and I received gifts from Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee.
Then, we each took a slice of the cake Im Ga-eul had brought.
Shin Se-hee carefully scooped a bit of cake with her fork, put it in her mouth, and her eyes sparkled.
"Mmm, even after a while, this flavor is truly special. By the way, I had no idea Senior Ga-eul's family home was that bakery."
"Yeah, yeah, at home, they're always telling me if I'm just going to be a background character at the academy, I should just come back and learn how to bake. If it weren't for my juniors, I probably would've had to go back this semester."
Im Ga-eul said she was glad that wasn't the case, but at the same time, she looked at the leather gloves on her hands with a complex expression.
'Well then.'
I also took a forkful of the cake Im Ga-eul had brought and put it in my mouth.
Munch, munch—
Even for me, someone who doesn't particularly like sweets, the soft texture of this cake was quite inspiring.
'Oh, this cake… the taste is just okay, but the texture is good. What if I combined the texture of a slightly tough steak with cake to make a "Scake"…?'
It was while I was seriously contemplating a new dish in my mind that it happened.
Suddenly, Yi Yuri raised her hand.
"?"
"Oh, excuse me. Is today's schedule finished with this?"
"Yes, it is, but…"
I nodded.
"Then, I'm sorry, but can I leave first?"
"Now…?"
"Yeah, I have something urgent. I'll make sure to be on time for tomorrow's dungeon schedule."
Her tone was stiff, as if she were reciting a memorized script.
"I'm really sorry. See you tomorrow then!"
Yi Yuri repeatedly apologized and then quickly got up and rushed away.
"Huh? It seems Gukbap-ssi had something urgent today?"
"Junior Gukbap… she barely ate any cake… Should I freeze it and give it to her later?"
"She's probably just itching to use her new shield. Well, I'll be off too. I want to test out my shoes' performance."
The party members merely tilted their heads or offered strange guesses.
But I knew why Yi Yuri was acting like that.
'I guess I'll have to go cheer up our Gukbap later.'
* * *
As expected.
There was only one place Yi Yuri, with her complicated thoughts, would go.
Her personal training ground.
It was free to use, didn't cost money, allowed her to clear her head alone, and train at the same time.
She often mutters to herself that it's killing three birds with one stone.
When I suddenly appeared behind her, Yi Yuri looked blank.
"Training suspended."
[Training suspended.]
With an emotionless voice, the goblins' movements stopped in their tracks.
"…How did you get in?! This is a personal training ground!?"
Yi Yuri asked, her eyes wide as saucers. It seemed my presence here greatly surprised her.
It was understandable that she was surprised since it was a restricted area for anyone who didn't enter together from the start.
Well.
"I asked the instructor for help."
"…Huh?"
"I just told them there was a party activity announcement, but one member wasn't coming out of the training ground. They immediately gave me entry permission."
As I playfully wiggled my phone, Yi Yuri made a bewildered expression.
"What, you can do that…?"
I remembered that the academy instructors basically had master keys to the training grounds,
and I just tried my luck, but Professor Baek Seol-hee handed over the entry code without a moment's hesitation.
'Otherwise, I was planning to just camp out in front of the training ground until she came out.'
"…So, why are you here? Do you have something to say?"
Yi Yuri quickly composed herself and spoke to me as if nothing was wrong.
"Yes, I do have something to say."
I nodded calmly.
"You could have just left a text, and I would've read it later. Is it urgent?"
"Of course, it's urgent."
"What is it?"
"I didn't hear a thank you."
"…What?"
"No, I gave a tank a perfectly good shield, and you just left without even a word of thanks. I gave you a gift, you have to let me at least get credit for it."
When I shrugged and spoke, Yi Yuri's mouth fell open in bewilderment.
"What kind of… you came all the way here just to hear that—"
Then, as if she realized why I was there, her expression suddenly hardened.
"Hey, Jin Yuha."
Her voice had a chilling calm.
Yi Yuri stared intently at me.
"Are you… are you pitying me right now?"
The corner of her tightly bitten lip trembled.
"Do you feel sorry for me? Did you come all the way here to comfort me out of pity?"
"No."
"…If you knew how I felt right now, you shouldn't have come here, Jin Yuha."
"Damn it… I'm already so embarrassed."
Yi Yuri scratched her head vigorously, then raised it again.
"Now that I think about it, you've always been like this… You, you knew my situation from the start, didn't you? That's why you tried to take care of me somehow."
As if she was suddenly overcome with emotion, her voice began to carry a slight tremor.
"Yeah, from the beginning… It was really strange that someone who throws around top-grade magic stones would say they had no money and ask to join my party."
"Hey, Yi Yuri."
"Yeah, looking at my state right now… well, I guess I have nothing to say… I'm completely decked out in things you gave me. Anyone else would probably think I'm a girl who got lucky and succeeded by meeting the right guy. A dirt-poor girl who got lucky and had her life turn around completely."
She looked at her wrist and shield alternately with a hollow expression.
"An impossible-to-monetize subspace tattoo on my wrist, and in Carmela's Forest, you did all the work and then gave me the money and achievements. Now, a shield worth hundreds of millions. Honestly, that emergency kit alone would cost all the money I've saved up until now."
Ha—
She scoffed, letting out a hollow laugh.
"I'm truly sorry for being such an ungrateful bitch who accepted such precious gifts and then gave you that piece of trash in return."
I silently met her gaze.
Then she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Ah, seriously! I know I sound like a total loser and a complete idiot talking to you like this right now. I know, but… this is your fault for coming all the way here—!"
"Hold on."
I raised my hand, interrupting her.
Yi Yuri swallowed her words and closed her mouth.
"No, listening to you, something sounds strange."
My head tilted to the side.
"What do you mean your gift is a piece of trash?"
Yi Yuri glared at me.
"Among the gifts I received today, yours is my favorite."
Yi Yuri's face twisted into a harsh grimace, as if I had touched a raw nerve.
"Bullshit—!"
I pulled out the crumpled all-access pass she had given me that morning from my pocket.
"Hmm, first, it's too noisy. I'll use this. From now on, you have to obey my commands for one hour. First, don't say anything, and shut your mouth. And come sit here."
As I calmly gestured to the ground at my feet, Yi Yuri gritted her teeth.
"…What kind of trick are you trying to pull—"
"Whoa there."
I frowned and gave her a stern look.
"This all-access pass. Is that all its worth? Its usability depends on your mood?"
"…"
"I'm going to use it properly from now on. So, shut your mouth and come sit here. Every time you open your mouth, it's an extra ten minutes."
Yi Yuri bit her lip tightly and stared at me, then slowly moved her feet.
Thump. Thump.
Plop.
And she knelt at my feet.
I could see the crown of Yi Yuri's head below me.
'No, hey, that's a bit of an… awkward position.'
"…Turn around, stretch your legs out, and sit comfortably."
I hid my surprise and spoke again.
Yi Yuri turned her back to me and sat with her legs extended.
Thud.
My hands rested on her shoulders.
Massage, massage—
"Eep!?"
Yi Yuri startled and quickly turned her head at the unfamiliar sensation.
"Whoa there, face forward."
As I massaged her shoulders, the elasticity of her skin pushed against my fingertips.
'…This would be quite satisfying to massage.'
I lightly infused my fingertips with mana and began to massage her shoulders.
"Guh!?"
"Ten minutes added."
"…!?"
Massage, massage—
Yi Yuri covered her mouth with both hands, suppressing the sounds that threatened to escape, and trembled, her head bowed low.
Each time I pressed down, her body twitched, which was quite amusing.
I continued to massage her shoulders until she calmed down.
"…"
"…"
A solemn silence fell over the training ground.
I looked at her flushed red earlobes before speaking.
"…You know what? Should I make an honest confession?"
"…"
"Could you take a look at my sword for a moment?"
I took my hand off her left shoulder and drew Moonlight from my waist.
And I showed it to her.
Yi Yuri's face, with her hand covering her mouth, was clearly reflected in Moonlight's blue blade.
"This is a really good sword. A sword you can't get even with money. The Sword Emperor, ranked second? He'd probably go crazy and try to kill me if he saw this."
"…"
"Hmm, in game terms, it's legendary-grade? It's a sword good enough to be considered almost final-tier equipment."
In the reflection of the blade, Yi Yuri's eyebrows furrowed as if to say, 'So what?'
"So, actually, this sword doesn't need any special maintenance. I haven't even sharpened it once since I first met you. I just wiped the blood off."
"…"
"So, I'm sorry to Kang Do-hee, but the sword maintenance kit she gave me wasn't really a necessary gift for me."
Yi Yuri's eyes, watching the blade, widened slightly.
It seemed she couldn't believe this sword hadn't been sharpened even once since then.
Even though I'd put it through a lot since I possessed this body, Moonlight's blade was still a sharp, chilling blue.
"And I, honestly, don't really like sweets."
"…"
"The cake Senior Ga-eul brought, I know it's precious, but honestly, I didn't really get the taste."
"…That's because your taste buds are weird."
Yi Yuri slowly parted her lips and retorted.
"It tasted good to me…"
I couldn't do something uncool like adding ten minutes here.
I nodded.
"Well, it did have something special. That fluffy texture gave me quite a bit of inspiration. I'm thinking of combining it with steak later to make something called a Scake."
Yi Yuri turned her head, making a bizarre face as if asking if I was in my right mind.
"But, I guess no one would eat that, right?"
"…Who would eat something like that?"
Yi Yuri grumbled a rebuke, and I grinned.
"So, if I don't use this Yi Yuri pass within a month, I'm going to make you eat it."
"…!?"
Yi Yuri's eyes widened.
"Yes, that's right. You'll eat it."
Chuckle.
Now that her mood seemed to have lightened a bit, a laugh escaped me.
"And finally, the building Shin Se-hee gave me… That one was definitely pretty strong."
Massage, massage—
"But if I had to choose between that building and this, I wouldn't hesitate to pick this all-access pass."
"…Why?"
Yi Yuri asked, her voice hesitant.
"Isn't it obvious? It's a cheat-like right that lets me hire a tank like you once a month, for free."
"And you, the one who's using it for something so useless right now…"
"Useless?!"
"…"
"If I can use this to sit down and talk with an angry Gukbap, it's a profitable deal. And it's for life, so what if I waste a little?"
Yi Yuri's shoulders twitched as if startled.
"…Th-that…!"
"No. I'm not giving it back. Go away. You should have checked it carefully before you gave it as a gift."
I flashed a wicked smile.
"Just think of it as falling into the hands of a truly vicious loan shark. I plan to use this very, very thoroughly, you see?"
"…"
"And you're going to regret giving this to me for a long, long time. Ah, I shouldn't have sold my life so cheaply at such a low point…!"
Then.
"I don't regret it…"
Yi Yuri mumbled in a small voice, her head bowed low.
"Hm?"
"I! Don't! Regret it!"
"Really? Even when you'll be someone who earns a hundred million won a day without batting an eye later?"
When I asked that, Yi Yuri turned her head and looked up at me.
"No matter how great I become later, no matter how insignificant you might become. I've decided to stay by your side… That's what I've decided."
She continued in a calm voice.
"I decide who my shield protects. And the weight of my shield isn't light enough to be changed by a single word."
Yi Yuri took hold of my hand that was massaging her shoulder and slowly stood up.
She turned to face me, meeting my eyes.
"So, it's okay now. Jin Yuha. Thank you for comforting me."
She smiled, as if a great weight had been lifted.