Chapter 189: Vacation in Rome (5)
“F-Forgive me!”
Roberto rubbed his shin and urgently bowed his head.
Isabella puffed air out of her nose and crossed her arms.
“By the way, has anything worth mentioning happened in Rome?”
“Hm. I just have one piece of information to convey.”
“What is it?” asked Isabella with her eyes narrowed.
“The Second Star has appeared in Italy.”
“…Damien?”
—The Second Star, Damien Salvator.
He was a member of the Seven Stars, the group that was known as the strongest in the world, and an Awakener of Libra.
Damien was known for opting out of gathering forces and working alone despite being powerful, but what gained him the most fame was his title.
‘The Sword of Justice.’
Fitting his title, he traveled around the world punishing thousands of criminals as if he had a duty to eliminate evil.
From the perspective of someone known as the ‘Sword of Justice’, beings such as ‘vampires’ that feasted on human blood were—
“…Things have become troublesome.”
—an ‘Evil’ that deserved to be punished.
“Why did he suddenly come to Italy?”
“We haven’t been able to figure that out yet.”
“Hmm.”
Isabella furrowed her brow as if she didn’t like how the situation was developing.
The existence of the Hirudo faction was thoroughly hidden using the Colagrande Household as a cover, and there was nothing that made them stick out since, if anything, they helped people instead of harming them, unlike other factions.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the Sword of Justice’s sudden visit.
“Monitor Damien closely, and find out the goal behind his visit.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Roberto bowed deeply.
Woosh—
His body disappeared like it was melting into the darkness.
“Sigh.”
A deep breath left her mouth.
She was very excited about using the opportunity to completely charm Ohjin, but…
‘The Purple Forbidden Enclosure’s Curse and even the Sword of justice… there are many obstructions.’
Isabella roughly chewed her lips and dragged her sandals across the floor.
She raised her head and looked up at the blazing sun.
“I should lay low until night for now.”
The effects of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure that tormented her and ate away at her stigma disappeared at night.
Isabella decided to wait until night and walked towards the van that was parked on the side of the road.
* * *
“…”
In a dark alley without any signs of life…
After using Black Curtain to eavesdrop on Isabella and Robert’s conversation, Ohjin narrowed his eyes while he watched Isabella walking to the van.
‘So the effects of the curse still remain.’
He couldn’t have imagined that it was the reason behind why she suddenly clutched her chest and groaned.
“The Sword of Justice, huh…”
—The Second Star, Damien Salvator.
Ohjin had heard of him before.
‘I hope that he doesn’t cross paths with Isabella.’
There was one more thing he became certain about after hearing their conversation…
The feelings Isabella had for him exceeded friendship.
Well, it wasn’t hard to figure out if you considered how Isabella treated him until then, but the whole thing felt different since he had confirmed it directly out of her mouth after she had dropped her ‘Saintess of Rome’ act.
-B-But then what will I do if he turns me down?!
“Pfft! Hahaha!”
He involuntarily burst out into laughter as he recalled what she had said.
It felt like it was his first time hearing the sincere words of not the Saintess of Rome, not the Queen of Leeches, but ‘Isabella Colagrande’.
‘Though she’s still difficult to understand.’
Still, he started wondering if it was okay to be at ease around her and approach her not as an apostle of a North Star, not as the Lightning Wolf, but as ‘Gwon Ohjin’.
‘I should head back before Isabella takes notice.’
If he remained absent for too long, there was a chance of Isabella encountering Ha-eun in search of him.
“Hyup.”
Ohjin moved to a place that couldn’t be seen from the van and arrived at the beach.
“Grrr… Woof!”
“Ah! You damn mutt!”
“Fufu! A warrior shall not avoid a match that has appeared before them!”
Riak and Ha-eun were playing in the water.
Rumble!—
Boom!—
The pillars of water that soared several meters up into the air made him wonder if it was truly within the borders of ‘playing’, but it seemed like Ha-eun and Riak were bantering and having a good time.
[Where are you coming back from?]
Splash, splash—
Vega, who was leisurely enjoying bathing in the sea on a donut-sized tube, headed over to him.
Ohjin submerged his body into the warm sea and leveled his eyes with hers.
“I went to help Isabella since she said she wasn’t feeling well.”
[Hmm. There isn’t anything suspicious going on, is there?] Vega asked carefully.
Her worries were understandable since she too was one of the people who were aware of Isabella’s true identity.
“I don’t think we have to be so wary.”
Ohjin recalled the conversation he heard in the alley and shrugged.
Vega narrowed her eyes.
His sudden change of heart weighed on her mind.
* * *
Translator - Maccas
Proofreader - ilafy
* * *
[…Ah!]
Vega’s eyes widened as she suddenly thought of something.
[Breasts! It must be those breasts!]
“What?”
[That witch’s evil body has charmed my child!]
She had no way of knowing a human’s aesthetic senses, but she could easily deduce how lethal Isabella’s body was by thinking of how the males reacted when they arrived at the beach.
[Hurry up and leave my child’s head, you wretched being!]
“Ow, ow, ow.”
Vega zealously swam over and slapped his forehead.
Ohjin smirked and shook his head.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like that.”
[Hmm… Are you sure you weren’t charmed by those wicked things?]
“Um.”
If he was being completely honest, he had definitely taken a glance or two, but…
[Ahh! I… I knew it!]
He barely got Vega to stop materializing her true form and slowly headed over to the deeper part of the sea where the water went up to his shoulders.
“Fuu.”
Ohjin took in deep breaths and could feel some kind of warm energy permeating his damaged mana circuits.
[Do you feel like it’s doing anything to help heal your internal injuries?]
“Yeah. It feels somewhat warm and refreshing at the same time.”
It was like he was bathing in a natural hot spring that was said to be beneficial to your health.
The mana mixed with the seawater tickled his skin while it passed by; gently permeating the pores around his body and healing his injured mana circuits.
“This feels a lot better than I expected.”
Its healing effects were impressive enough to make him instantly understand why the extreme minority of powerful people monopolized the place.
[Is that so?]
Vega had a satisfied smile on her face.
“I think my internal injuries will recover if I rest well while soaking here for a couple of days.”
[Fufu. That’s a relief. Forget about your worries and use this opportunity to get some well-deserved rest.]
Vega jumped off her tube and landed on top of his head.
She smiled gently while sweeping his seawater-drenched hair and continued.
[Weren’t you always pressured by the title ‘Heaven-defying Star’… and always forced to overexert yourself?]
It had been around one year since she first met Ohjin.
It was nothing but an instant to a celestial, but he had grown incredibly fast during that time by using his knowledge and experience as a Regressor.
'No, I didn't simply get stronger.'
How much he struggled desperately to become that strong… how miserably he rushed to his current position…
He could understand it all because of the woman who was always with him.
If just the woman who was watching over him shivered from anxiety, how difficult must it have been for the person in question?
[You strange little thing.]
Vega proudly patted his head.
Ohjin felt Vega’s ticklish touch and smiled bitterly.
"Should we go a little deeper?"
[Let us do so.]
Ohjin swam to a deeper part of the sea with Vega on his head.
The temperature gradually increased the farther they moved from the shore, and the seawater became so hot that his skin turned red.
"Hm?"
At one point, he discovered a warning message floating around the sea in that area.
'Is this where that gate is located?'
Ohjin dived and looked around with interest.
It appeared that the gate was still quite far away, as he couldn’t see it with his naked eye.
[There just might be… a dragon vein flowing here.]
"A dragon vein?"
Ohjin’s eyes widened from shock after resurfacing and hearing her sudden comment.
[Hasn't the sea and weather changed completely in this area? It wouldn’t be strange for a dragon vein to be here with how much it was influenced by mana.]
'Dragon Vein' was the term used to refer to locations that had an unnaturally large amount of mana flowing in that area.
As she said, there was a chance of a dragon vein being there since it was a starzone that had such a large change in its atmosphere.
'In that case…'
Ohjin’s eyes shone.
If there really was a dragon vein flowing in that area, it might be possible to absorb that power using the Black Heaven.
'It is too much for me right now, though.'
Not only were his internal injuries not completely healed yet, but he also couldn't use the Black Heaven when Vega was next to him.
'I should come back to confirm it later.'
He turned to face the shore with that in mind.
"Let's return to where Ha-eun and Riak are."
[Hmm. This lady wishes to spend a little more time relaxing with you…]
"Haha. We can just come back tomorrow."
He just happened to be thinking of returning there later to investigate the possibility of a dragon vein.
[Okay. Let's go.]
He swam with Vega back on his head.
Splash!—
Ohjin moved quickly like he was water skiing.
Just when they were about to arrive near the shore—
"H-Help! There's a person drowning over there!"
—they heard an urgent voice.
Ohjin quickly turned his head and observed his surroundings.
He saw someone struggling at sea.
'There aren’t any lifeguards…'
It appeared that, in an effort to keep the place as secret as possible, they didn't dispatch any lifeguards.
[My child!]
Ohjin clicked his tongue as Vega urgently pulled his hair.
He quickly swam to the struggling person.
Splash, splash!!!—
A woman was shaking like she was having a seizure.
He quickly grabbed her arm and swam to the shore.
"Are you okay?"
There was no reply.
'Hm?'
Ohjin frowned and looked back at the woman.
Everything below her belly button had completely melted away.
Her intestines poured out and floated on the seawater.
"The fuck?"
'What is it this time?'
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