Chapter 133
Chapter 25 Germination (2)
‘The transfer offer is gorgeous once.’
I didn’t expect it to come out in public like this, but I still had no intention of responding to the transfer.
So, I pretended not to hear Marquis Epenel’s words and dug my ears.
The Marquis of Epenel also pretended not to see my reaction and accepted the medal handed to me by the aide with a nonchalant expression.
Then, with a nonchalant expression like the first time I climbed the podium, I put the medal on my chest.
After that, it was the turn to receive the reward, just like the previous players did.
“By tying the feet of generals and succeeding in killing them, he contributed to the siege quite a bit. In recognition of the achievements of the stranger Kei, we give him 100 herons and appropriate armor.”
The rewards and equipment received were the same.
But it didn’t end there.
“In addition, Stranger Kay contributed greatly to bringing suffering survivors into the arms of God. For that, the High Priestess of Pinelpenia gives thanks and a proper reward.”
The Church of Pinelpenia, not the church, gave a separate reward.
It’s not an unofficial place, and I’m the only one who takes care of something in a situation where there are so many people watching.
It was a treatment that felt excessive because it was out of the blue.
‘I belong to the Palao, but it’s a situation where I’m being praised separately in Pinelpenia.’
Isn’t it perfect for the Palao Church to look ridiculous?
Conversely, there is nothing bad about Pinelpenia.
It’s good for creating a situation where Palao took care of those he couldn’t take care of.
It was great when evaluated as a way to objectively show off Pinelpenia’s intentions, but… … .
It didn’t look good that they used me for their own purposes without prior agreement.
Nevertheless, instead of showing resentment, I accepted the box that Marquis Epenel gave me.
‘Though I don’t like the fact that things proceeded one-sidedly.’
In other words, it means that I have nothing to pay back when I receive this item as the other side proceeded with the work unilaterally.
‘Let’s say it’s the price he paid for taking me on his own.’
I couldn’t tell what was in the small box the size of a fist.
I turned around and came down the podium with the intention of checking later, and quite a lot of eyes followed me.
Then, by the time the next players all received medals and rewards.
“congratulations! MISSION – Main Scenario Act 1, Chapter 3: Counterattack Prelude has been successfully completed.”
「Choose a participation reward.」
「You are eligible for the ranking reward.」
“Ranking rewards… … .」
More than a dozen messages came to mind.
“It gives a lot of achievements… … How the hell do you use this?”
At the murmur of the player next to me, I also checked the message related to the achievement.
‘two hundred.’
10 when connecting to a server through a hidden mission.
100 when you clean up a 4-star polluted area and receive the 1st place reward.
200 in the ranking reward for the main scenario.
In addition, you can get small achievements when destroying Meseo.
So even when party hunting, I did most of the destruction of Meseo.
Thanks to that, the accumulated achievements were not insignificant.
‘I’ve already accumulated over 3,000.’
But what do you do with achievements, you don’t even know how to use them.
‘It’s not displayed on the status window, and I don’t even know how to use it.’
Although there were hints everywhere that it was used for transfers and gate regeneration.
There are no reviews from people who have used it.
It’s not known how to transfer, nor how to recreate the gate.
‘I think I know in which case it is given… … .’
Presumably, reputation has to do with recognition among players and contributions to the planet.
Improving player survival is synonymous with preserving Earth’s forces.
It was safe to say that his reputation was built up as much as he contributed to the safety of the planet.
That’s probably why you give fame as a reward when you clear a mission.
‘Because the hall disappears when the mission is cleared.’
The accumulated reputation remains as a permanent discount.
On the other hand, achievements seemed to be given based on actions performed in Bihar.
And unlike its reputation, it is assumed that it is expendable.
‘Probably because reputation increases and achievements are expressed as accumulation.’
I stared at the system message while writing down the achievements added this time on a separate notepad.
There were a lot of thoughts in my head, but I couldn’t fully immerse myself in them.
This is because the victory ceremony has come to an end and it is time to march.
Players and those who contributed to this siege, in turn, climbed into a wagon without a roof.
Soon after, the march started, and the Biharis once again gave a fierce cheer.
Among the players sitting close to each other, there were those who seemed embarrassed to clear their throats while waving their hands in response.
Of course, I looked straight ahead and ignored the cheers coming from all directions.
I didn’t like this heat coming from others.
‘But why?’
You don’t know if the cheers knocking on your whole body reach the depths of your heart.
* * *
Since the victory ceremony was over, there was no reason to remain in Robole.
After joining the party members, I headed to the temple to return to Harbon.
There was a guest who arrived at the gate one step ahead of us.
“uh? Isn’t that Ilena?”
Children who are keeping their seats on the other side while catching the eyes of the players coming and going through the gate.
They were the survivors of the farm, including Ilena.
Of course, not all of them came, only three or four of the older children who were nearly ten years old.
Among them, one additional child was rescued after catching a general.
When I met Ilena in the polluted area, she cried so much that she couldn’t tell the difference between tears and runny nose.
He must have calmed down quite a bit now, his face was sober.
While I was examining the faces of the children, Kim Yul, who approached first, greeted me with a smile.
“Didn’t you come to see the victory ceremony? We were so cool!”
“Oh, hello. I think it will be difficult to meet you there… … .”
To that, Ilena glanced at me and answered.
“You waited? Could you please continue here? You know when we’ll be back!”
“Well, hey, strangers often come and go here… … .”
Kim Yul asked back with a look of surprise. I was surprised as well.
Rather than the fact that the kids waited for us here, I was surprised that they thought that way.
‘Aside from gathering information about strangers in a few days… … I know how to roll my head.’
To have decided that we would be camped out in a place we might go to meet us separately.
There is a possibility that we may not have come, so looking at it objectively, it is a poor judgment.
However, considering Ilena’s age, it was quite far.
‘Well, that’s why he must have thought of escaping with dozens of people.’
After looking down at Ilena for a while, I lowered my posture and asked.
“Why did you wait?”
Is it because their faces are closer? Ilena’s face brightened.
I intended to wait quietly without rushing the child.
But someone interrupted before Ilena could answer.
“I want to say hello!”
It was the child found during the additional search with Yang Tae-ho.
Among them, the kid who told the other kids not to go down.
‘Was her name Judith?’
At first glance, I remembered hearing Ilena calling.
“That’s all! I have no other meaning, so don’t think strangely!”
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Judith was looking at me with rather wary eyes.
Seeing that he stood still in front of Ilena… … .
“aha.”
Its intention was easy to see.
‘They play nicely.’
Thanks to that, my complex thoughts were broken.
I pressed my lips together because I thought a smile would come out.
At that moment, Ilena pushed Judith aside and yelled back.
“You are the one who says something strange to my brother!”
It was a bonus to stare at Judith fiercely.
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Judith opened her mouth in shock.
“brother… … ? Are you, are you, are you?”
After a while, he even screamed out loud with a look of betrayal.
“I don’t call you oppa! I’m a year older!”
“What kind of brother is he shorter than me!”
When I glanced back, Yang Tae-ho and Yul Kim were looking at the sky or pinching their sides to hold back their laughter.
It wasn’t much different from me.
The muscles in his face were sore from straining his mouth to hold back a smile.
My heart melted as I watched the children babbling about something insignificant.
In the meantime, the children’s war of nerves was ending.
“Don’t interrupt and go away!”
Ilena drove Judith away with her fierce gaze and unstoppable touch.
Then, eating and breathing, he turned around and glanced at me.
Then he quietly wiggled his hands together and tapped the toe of his shoe on the ground.
“Hi go.”
“Ah, a sinful man… … .”
Tae-ho’s sighs and Kim Yul’s murmurs could be heard from the side.
I hit the thigh of Kim Yul right next to me with my elbow.
It meant not to say unnecessary things, and fortunately, Kim Yul immediately shut up.
“Kko, sure… … .”
Immediately afterwards, Ilena gulped and swallowed.
“I just wanted to say thank you.”
Ilena’s head lowered as she started talking with her ears red.
“The things that saved me, the things that comforted me at that time… … .”
It was mumbling as it went backwards, but there was no problem understanding it.
“More, thanks to you, I feel much better. No more nightmares… … .”
“… … .”
“That, it was Kei-sama who looked out for us to stay… … thank you so much.”
“thank you so much!”
As if they had practiced in advance, the children conveyed their thanks in one voice.
It wasn’t a calculated word to get something out of me.
It was pure sincerity, just as it is.
I don’t know why, but I felt like I was getting smaller in front of that sincerity.
Because I’ve been stocking up and calculating for profit all along.
It was also a calculated act that he volunteered to escort these children.
I only came out because I knew that a mission related to the safety of children would emerge.
It really wasn’t a decision purely for the kids.
The reason I laughed at the hypocrisy and selfishness of others, but couldn’t bear to criticize them, is because, in fact, I am not very different.
Taking advantage of someone and taking action based on my own interests was the natural course of wisdom that I learned while living in reality.
On the other hand, Ilena and other children hadn’t learned that yet.
“ah.”
When my thoughts reached that point, I was able to realize something I hadn’t known before.
In the meantime, I have been aware that I am soft on children.
But I didn’t know what exactly it was for.
I thought it was just a projection of my younger siblings and passed it on.
It hadn’t been a big deal until now, so it didn’t matter if I didn’t know about it.
But today, I suddenly realized why.
‘Did I want to protect you… … .’
A child untainted by the world is pure.
Being pure, you can treat others with all your heart.
Such innocence is also the glory of the past that I had to lose now.
Because I’m having a hard time treating others with pure sincerity.
So I guess I wanted to protect what I lost.
The wind, which even I did not know, must have led to acts of being generous and soft toward the children.
I closed my eyes to hide my agitation.
However, my cheeks trembled slightly as I realized the underlying wind that I did not know about.
It is enough if I have done this far in matters related to children, and it is not my business to know anymore.
Why did you keep repeating the same thing to yourself?