Everything settled down in the sewers.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Three people stared at each other without a word.
The first person glanced at the second, but the second person instantly looked away and avoided locking eyes. The second person was forced to look at the third person, but the third person avoided eye contact as well.
They continued this game of avoiding each other’s gaze before Yoo Yeonha stepped up and broke the awkward silence.
“I will apologize instead.”
Rachel grimaced while holding her chin, which swelled up after being struck by an uppercut or whatever that attack had been.
However, the ambusher didn’t seem apologetic at all and muttered something under her breath while awkwardly scratching her neck. “Who told you to aim your sword at someone without even trying to talk?”
Rachel glared at her ambusher and gritted her teeth. “Ouch!”
A sharp pain struck her when she gritted her teeth too hard.
“Anyways!” Yoo Yeonha exclaimed with a clap, which got both of their attention. Then she asked Chae Nayun, who appeared out of nowhere, “How did you get here, Nayun?”
“How else…” Chae Nayun replied before stealing a glance at Kim Hajin by naturally rolling her eyes as if she simply checked the surroundings. She couldn’t help but wonder, How in the world is this sewer so clean? I mean, look at this water and the plants growing around.
“The king asked me to come,” she said.
“The king?” Yoo Yeonha asked.
“Yeah, she wanted me to help Kim Hajin, who was in grave danger. So…” Chae Nayun’s words trailed off and she stole a glance at Rachel this time.
She initially thought only Kim Hajin would be here, but never imagined Rachel would appear as well.
Yoo Yeonha pointed at Kim Hajin. “So you’re here because of him? That’s what you’re saying?”
“Yeah, but what the hell’s going on? What kind of a situation is this?” Chae Nayun scratched her head with an annoyed expression.
She couldn’t understand the current situation. She came to save Kim Hajin, but he turned out to be with the princess and Yoo Yeonha. They claimed to be tagging along to clear a quest.
“Anyways, listen up Nayun. I will explain as simply as possible…” Yoo Yeonha proceeded to explain everything within fifteen minutes.
They ended up in the old England recreated in this world. Lancaster became the king and owner of this place. He plotted something so big that it would even affect the real world.
“Do you understand?” Yoo Yeonha asked after finishing her explanation.
“Erm… Yeah…” Chae Nayun replied with a serious look.
She knew very well that it would be impossible to swap this England and the real England unless someone used the fragment she was looking for. She became all the more certain that she would find it here.
“But… what happened to Kim Hajin?” Chae Nayun asked as she looked at him. She found it strange that he had been sleeping the entire time without moving an inch.
“He gotsh poishoned by a poishon called Emptwee Dweem,” Rachel replied. Her speech became slurred due to her swelling chin.
“Pfft!”
Chae Nayun tried to hold back her laughter, but marvelously failed.
“…”
Rachel glared at her and wanted to instantly cut her down.
Chae Nayun faked a cough, “Ehem… Empty Dream… What the heck is that?”
Yoo Yeonha answered this time, “It’s a poison that makes the victim keep dreaming. There’s no antidote and the victim can only recover by themself.”
“Oh… is that so?” Chae Nayun muttered while staring at Kim Hajin’s face.
This was the first time she saw him sleeping so peacefully.
“Hmm…”
Honestly, she felt relieved that he fell asleep. She rushed over after hearing he was in danger, but had been extremely nervous and didn’t dare to face him. Things turned out in her favor if she didn’t have to talk to him.
“Look at him sleeping…” she muttered.
Chae Nayun found him adorable after watching him sleep for so long. She flashed a mischievous smile and walked towards him. However, Rachel immediately dashed over and blocked her path.
“Down’t go closh to ze patience,” Rachel warned her.
“Aren’t you the patient?”
“What ziz you shay?”
Rachel pouted in anger, but ended up looking like a carp bread[1] instead.
Chae Nayun burst into laughter. “Anyways, I understand what’s going on and I’m glad to help.”
***
Rachel and Chae Nayun covered themselves in robes and went to the surface. Chae Nayun stubbornly wanted to sightsee around the old England.
“Hmm… So even a tiny fragment can create a world like this…” Chae Nayun muttered while looking around the perfectly recreated England.
Rachel tilted her head in confusion and asked, “What ziz you shay?”
“No… Nothing. Pfft! Ah… this is hilarious. Hey, shouldn’t you go to the hospital or something?”
Rachel’s recovery took longer than usual because Chae Nayun’s fist had been filled to the brim with mana.
“No, Lanster’s eyes are all over zi playsh…” Rachel stopped talking midway after seeing Chae Nayun mock her with pouting lips.
Rachel lightly shoved her.
“Pfft! Ah, alright. I’ll stop it. Anyways, I’ll wreak havoc here while the two of you sneak in from underground, right?”
Rachel nodded.
Yoo Yeonha would plan the specifics, but the overall gist of their plan went like that.
“What if Kim Hajin doesn’t wake up by then?”
“We have to moove hims to a swave pwaish.”
“Move him to a safe place?”
“Yesh.”
Rachel suddenly felt bothered by something. She noticed a hint of emotion in Chae Nayun’s voice when talking about Kim Hajin.
“You musht bwee cwosh? Seein you run here sho fasht,” Rachel nonchalantly asked.
Chae Nayun turned around and looked at her.
Diiing!
The Big Ben rang, signaling that the clock had struck twelve.
“You asked if we’re close?”
“Yesh.”
Chae Nayun placed both hands on the back of her neck and began thinking. Then she stretched her hands up, “Who knows?”
Kim Hajin and me. What are we to each other? Can we say that we’re close?
She asked herself as the memories she shared with him flashed across her mind. She recalled the unforgivable things he did to her and she did to him.
Chae Nayun made a bitter smile that turned into a mischievous one. “Rather than being close… we’re super close with each other.”
“…”
“Very, Super, Close…”
Rachel’s expression stiffened as she glared at Chae Nayun.
Chae Nayun tapped her chin, “What? Whatcha gonna do about it?”
“I know you’re lying.”
“Pfft! Really? Is that what you think?”
“Hmph!”
“Believe what you want to believe.”
“Layer…”
“You sound cute like that. Hey, cutie pie!” Chae Nayun teased and pinched Rachel’s swollen cheeks.
Rachel slapped her hands away and glared.
“Hoo…”
Then she sighed in resignation. They had to cooperate, so she decided to be the adult and hold it in since Chae Nayun came all the way here to help Kim Hajin.
“Here,” Rachel handed a mirror to Chae Nayun.
“What’s this?”
“Itsh a miwor connected to my shprits vishoon.”
Her pronunciation seemed to be getting better by the minute.
“Hmm… Is that so?” Chae Nayun inspected the mirror.
A different scene played in the mirror. It showed the spirit rat’s vision that Rachel controlled.
“That rat ish going around the Hampton Palash and the area around it evweeday, sho use that to familiarize yourshelf with the area.”
“Sure… if you say so…” Chae Nayun placed the mirror in her pocket and began walking somewhere.
“Where are you going?” Rachel asked, but Chae Nayun simply waved without looking back.
“I’ll be sightseeing for a bit. I’ll be careful not to get caught, so don’t worry.”
“Hey…”
“I’ll be back real quick.”
“Haa…” Rachel sighed and shook her head. She turned around and returned to the sewers.
***
Their preparations for that day proceeded smoothly.
Yoo Yeonha made magic bombs infused with her mana. She designed them to minimize casualties while incapacitating the English forces with her lightning attribute. They used the spirit bird and spirit rat to install the bombs throughout England.
Rachel immersed herself in training and Chae Nayun volunteered to be her sparring partner. Rachel finally had a proper training session thanks to her.
“Ugh!”
“Too slow!”
“Kyah!”
“Just die!”
Anyone else who saw them sparring would probably mistake it for a one-sided beating.
Rachel couldn’t keep up with Chae Nayun and Chae Nayun pummeled her into a corner using only bare fists.
“Heuk…” Rachel grabbed her stomach and collapsed after being punched in the guts.
Yoo Yeonha began worrying after watching them spar. “Hey, are you alright?”
However, her voice carried a hint of superiority more than worry. After all, Chae Nayun belonged to Essence of the Straits. Watching her one-sidedly pummel Rachel, the vice leader of another guild, felt quite pleasant.
“Not yet…” Rachel muttered while staggering.
Chae Nayun didn’t give her any space and immediately attacked again. However, Rachel reacted this time and summoned her wind spirit to amplify her speed. She caught up to Chae Nayun and blocked the punch with Galatine. Then she kicked Chae Nayun in the abdomen.
Creaaaak!
The tiles broke as Chae Nayun slammed her feet to the ground. She stood upright and clapped with a hint of sincerity.
“Oh, you grew stronger already?”
“Not yet…” Rachel muttered as she wiped the blood off her lips. A necklace became visible through her disheveled clothes.
Chae Nayun pointed at it and asked, “What’s that necklace? It looks pretty.”
Rachel didn’t plan on responding, but suddenly stood upright and flashed a mischievous smile.
“I got it as a gift…”
“From who?” Chae Nayun asked.
Rachel already anticipated her question and only flashed another smile.
Chae Nayun seemed to realize something and asked in a cold voice, “Don’t tell me… Kim Hajin?”
Rachel nodded in response.
“…”
Chae Nayun turned to look at Kim Hajin sound asleep on the bed. She stared at him for a while before taking off her watch.
The entire atmosphere suddenly changed.
Shwaaaa!
A ferocious aura burned so strong that it seemed to snuff out the oxygen in the air. Rachel held her breath and staggered back.
“…”
Crack… Crack…
Chae Nayun cracked her neck and took a few steps forward. The sewer tiles caved in with every step.
“I’ll be getting serious now. Take care of yourself,” she said in a voice cold as ice.
Rachel nervously gulped and pleaded, “Hey… wait a minute… let’s take a break…”
“No.”
Puuuk!
Chae Nayun instantly appeared in front of her and punched her in the guts again. Rachel’s eyes trembled at the sudden impact and she couldn’t follow Chae Nayun’s movements at all. It seemed as if Chae Nayun disappeared and reappeared like the wind.
Rachel plopped face-first into the ground. She couldn’t even make a sound since everything happened in the blink of an eye.
“I’ll pummel you down if you don’t get up,” Chae Nayun warned in the same icy voice.
Rachel held her abdomen and slowly got up. The pain became fuel for her anger. She gritted her teeth and gripped her sword.
Chae Nayun suddenly struck her shin when Rachel prepared to move.
“Kyak!” Rachel shrieked like a dying bird and collapsed again.
“Hey, get up. We still have a long way to go…” Chae Nayun threatened.
Chae Nayun’s personal training could only be described as brutal. Rachel had never experienced such brutality in her life. However, she could feel herself growing stronger at a more rapid pace than ever before.
***
January would soon end and every day that passed only made the atmosphere more nerve-wracking.
Rachel skipped training for today and stood on top of a building. She looked down at England’s scenery.
The winter seemed quite peaceful. Everything felt too cozy and peaceful to call it fake. It would be a shame to lose this view because it looked so serene.
“What do you think about the results of your training?” someone asked from behind.
Rachel had no idea how, but Yoo Yeonha showed up from behind her.
“…”
Rachel pouted and removed the bandage on her nose. A shallow scratch remained from where she had been cut.
“I think I zid grow shtronger… after being beaten up…”
Her speech became slurred again after being struck on the chin.
“You’re quite impressive. You made Nayun use her sword in just a week.”
“I never knew zhat there wash that much of a gap between our abilities,” Rachel said with a sigh.
She lost to Chae Nayun, who didn’t even use a weapon, while she used Galatine all the time. No, Chae Nayun repeatedly pummeled her to the ground.
Rachel had no choice but to become stronger if she wanted to make it out alive from Chae Nayun’s fists, which carried some deep personal feelings.
“We will meet him shoon… Lanster…” Rachel said as she thought of Lancaster.
She wondered what she should say once they met. Could she possibly say anything to correct their ruined relationship? What should she say first?
She wanted to prepare exactly what to do and say, but it turned out to be much harder than she thought.
“Well, that’s entirely your business…” Yoo Yeonha told her.
“Yesh…” Rachel muttered before a nervous thought crossed her mind.
“But… what about Hajing?”
If she and Yoo Yeonha had come here… then who guarded Kim Hajin?
“You don’t have to worry. Nayun is taking care of him.”
“Ah…” Rachel nodded. She felt relieved for a moment before realizing that she shouldn’t be relieved.
“No!” She suddenly stood and exclaimed. Then she screamed in a trembling voice, “How can you leave zhe two of them alone!”
“Huh?”
“Damn it!” Rachel cursed and ran as fast as she could. She ran so fast that she began sweating profusely.
What would the two of them do alone? No, what kind of indecent things would Kim Hajin suffer at the hands of Chae Nayun?
Her blood shot up to her head just thinking about it. She became one with the wind and sped towards the sewers.
Rachel immediately arrived at the sewers and caught Chae Nayun doing something very indecent to Kim Hajin, who remained fast asleep and defenseless.
1. This is a popular Korean street snack known as Bungeo-Ppang that looks like a carp. It’s originally from Japan and is also called Taiyaki. More info here: ☜
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