The Girl and the Plunderer (Conclusion)A long time passed, but I didn't feel the blade. When I slightly opened my eyes, Baek Wol-hyang's sword tip was stopped just a hair's breadth from my face. If she applied even the slightest pressure, it would pierce me.
Baek Wol-hyang looked at me with suspicion-filled eyes and spoke.
"How do you know Reni?"
Her voice trembled thinly when mentioning Reni, making it clear Reni was someone important to her.
"I smelled your scent on Reni."
Though Baek Wol-hyang still had her sword pointed at me, her face flushed tomato-red, clearly shaken by my words.
"I-I have no scent whatsoever!!"
"You carry a dignified fragrance worthy of the Sword Saint."
Her ears perked up at the word 'Sword Saint'.
She seemed to like being called 'Sword Saint'. 'Sword Saint' was a term I'd seen in pre-war martial arts novels. How did she know this term living in the current era? Did she find and read pre-war martial arts novels?
Seeing her grinning from ear to ear, she seemed the type who couldn't hide her good mood.
While still pointing her sword at me, she suddenly came to her senses and wiped the smile off her face.
"Don't try to sweet-talk me. Where is Reni?"
Seeing that the quest condition said Baek Wol-hyang's favorability would drop if Reni died, and how her voice trembled with desperate expressions whenever mentioning Reni, I felt certain she wasn't hostile toward Reni.
"Promise to spare my life. Then I'll tell you where Reni is."
"Tch."
Baek Wol-hyang glared at me while grinding her teeth with a frustrated expression.
"Fine. But if you dare try anything foolish with my body again, I'll cut your head off without mercy. The same goes if you try to sway my heart."
She seemed resentful about me stealing her first kiss. She slowly lowered the sword pointed at me.
"Follow me."
We moved through the air toward Firenti Village. Glancing back, I saw Baek Wol-hyang flying right behind me. Though I knew from the start she could fly, it remained endlessly fascinating.
Is that... walking on air? How is she flying without any equipment?
It took less than a minute to reach Firenti Village. But Reni was no longer on the rooftop where I'd left her.
A chilling aura emanated from behind me as I hovered mid-air looking around. It felt like she might bisect me with an iai strike any moment.
"X! Find a green-haired, red-eyed girl about 150cm tall!"
[Target located.]
X immediately displayed Reni's location on screen. She wasn't far.
Following the coordinates, I saw three disheveled women kicking something in a sunless alley corner. Their half-crazed expressions suggested they too had lost male family members to the Oist gang. As I approached, their voices became audible:
"You!! If only you hadn't escaped, my husband wouldn't have died! Why did you crawl out and cause this?!"
"Bring my son back! My son!!"
"Ugh, ack! Why are you alive when my children are dead?!"
No way.
The target of their kicks was a bloodied Reni.
Tududududududu!!!
"Eek!! Hyik!"
The women fled screaming as minigun bullets embedded themselves at their feet. I rushed to the bloodied Reni and shook her.
"Reni! Snap out of it!"
"Ugh... uuugh..."
I took a water bottle from inventory and cleaned her wounds. While preparing emergency medicine, I noticed her wounds healing rapidly. Only Oists had such fast regeneration. I'd suspected she might be Oist when seeing her red eyes.
Should I really help an Oist?
To evolve X, I need to absorb the Oist leader. Helping an Oist like her might be counterproductive.
Baek Wol-hyang watching from behind spoke curiously:
"Who is that child?"
Though wearing her eyepatch again now, Baek Wol-hyang's eyes were also red. She was likely Oist too.
'Beast King Eden', the Oist captain, was supposedly stronger than Baek Wol-hyang. Could I defeat and absorb him?
Frankly, I didn't feel confident about beating even Baek Wol-hyang.
Wait.
Whether they're Oist or not doesn't matter. Focus on handing Reni to Baek Wol-hyang and surviving.
Baek Wol-hyang didn't seem to recognize Reni in her shrunken state. Were they not close?
"You don't know who this is?"
She tilted her head before clapping excitedly:
"Reni's daughter?"
I nearly called her an idiot.
When I didn't respond, Baek Wol-hyang studied Reni leaning against the wall and gasped:
"Wait. This is Reni! How did she end up like this?"
"*Cough* *cough*"
Though Reni's body was healing rapidly, she still seemed unwell. Baek Wol-hyang pressed urgently:
"If you're conscious, explain. What happened?"
"Huu-"
When her coughing subsided, Reni opened her eyes fully and spoke calmly:
"Eden brought the Monster Corps and annihilated my gang. The parasites he implanted drained my power, reducing me to this state."
"Then you should have come to me."
"I only regained my memories recently. Garuda's cry startled the parasites out, temporarily restoring my power and memories."
"Then why are you like this now?"
"I'm not fully recov- *cough* *cough*"
Reni's wounds reopened as blood seeped through her skin. Her condition wasn't stable enough for complete Oist regeneration.
Baek Wol-hyang's expression hardened before she suddenly vanished. She returned seconds later with bloodied hands - likely having dealt with Reni's attackers.
I needed to clarify something.
"You two."
Their attention turned to me.
"Aren't Oists Eden's subordinates? Why were you attacked by him?"
Schwing!
The sword's unsheathing sound made me feel hair fluttering down my back. She'd sliced off my hair without me realizing. My heart froze belatedly.
Baek Wol-hyang growled:
"Do you have a death wish?"
"I-I take it back! Forget I asked!"
Reni also spoke coldly, clearly angered:
"Eden is a traitor who killed our king and usurped the throne."
"So he's your enemy."
I unconsciously sighed in relief. At least I wouldn't have to fight these two powerhouses.
Wait. One more thing.
"Do you eat humans too?"
"Didn't I show you last time?"
"Show me what?"
"Our staple food is human breast milk."
I recalled when Baek Wol-hyang buried herself in my augmented breasts to drink milk.
Oists seemed divided into breast milk drinkers and human eaters. I felt Baek Wol-hyang's gaze lingering on my chest as she licked her lips. Embarrassed, I covered my chest with my hands.
This world has too many beings obsessed with my breast milk.
Perhaps feeling awkward too, Baek Wol-hyang cleared her throat and lifted Reni to leave.
"Since you helped me find Reni, I'll spare you as promised. Don't expect further mercy - never appear before me again."
As Baek Wol-hyang turned, Reni's small hand waved goodbye from her shoulder. Their figures shimmered before vanishing completely.
"Is it over...?"
With their departure, the Firenti Village incident seemed fully concluded.
Flying over Firenti Village, I saw Oist gang scars everywhere. Women wept over dead men's bodies. This tragic scene would likely continue for days.
The only consolation was that the threatening Oist gangs and monsters were gone. If the survivors regained their spirit, they could rebuild.
[Enemies detected. Prepare for combat.]
"Huh? X, what are you talking about? It's all over."
Kugugugugugugung!!
A thunderous roar came from above. Looking up, dozens of small missiles rained down toward me.
"What the fuck?!"
I boosted sideways at maximum thrust, narrowly dodging the missile barrage.
This will destroy Firenti Village!
Tudududududududu!!!
Frantically firing my minigun at the missiles couldn't stop them from falling toward the village.
Kwagwagwagwagwang!!!! Kwagwang! Kwang! Kwangkwang!!!
Building fragments and charred human bodies scattered everywhere.
"What insane bastard would do this..."
Tearing my eyes from the village, I looked skyward to see a man in white combat armor. He was crying while staring at me.
"Hic... hihic, Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... Goddess... I missed you so much."
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