I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years chapter 149

149 – Return (1)

In fact, contrary to Merilda and Lin, as well as the thoughts of the Crimson Salamander, the hero king had indeed fainted.

Because, the hero king had never let his guard down for a single moment since the demon generals began discussing Larutania in the Demon Realm.

Even after wiping out all the demon generals, he remained vigilant, ignoring the deep exhaustion in his body, until Kelba opened the door to return to his original world.

After crossing over to the intermediate realm, he endured excruciating pain for weeks to break through the seal forcibly placed by Kelba to hinder the hero king.

And in that state, without fully recovering his strength, he returned to Larutania to confirm that the Lady had come back, so it was somewhat inevitable that she couldn’t withstand it.

It was about five hours later that he was able to have a conversation with the hero king again.

Quietly gazing at the sunset scenery beyond the mountains, Kim Hyunwoo soon fixed his gaze on the hero king, who had slightly pallid skin.

“…”

“…”

They remained silent.

Simply maintaining silence in the quiet office.

“It’s been a while.”

It was Kim Hyunwoo who broke the silence first.

“Yes, it- it has.”

Greeting the hero king – no, Charles – awkwardly, Kim Hyunwoo once again confirmed.

The fact that his emotional limit was blocking even thoughts about the former heroes.

Unlike the slight joy he felt when meeting Merilda and Lin, Kim Hyunwoo had various thoughts looking at Charles.

The joy of seeing the hero he had raised right before his eyes.

Simultaneously, resentment towards the one who had drained the most money from him during his student years.

Besides, various other emotions were crossing his mind, so Kim Hyunwoo, quietly observing her, asked,

“How have you been for the past 10 years?”

He soon posed the question.

The hero king looked at Kim Hyunwoo with slightly trembling eyes and began his story.

The story was quite long.

As the sun hung in the middle of the mountain, falling down until night arrived, Charles’ story continued.

And when the perfect night arrived, and the moonlight softly illuminated the terrace of the study.

“…That’s how it happened.”

The Hero King finished telling his story.

“…”

Kim Hyun-woo was at a loss for words.

It was understandable, as the story that came from the Hero King’s mouth was heavier than he had thought.

‘…She went to the Demon Realm because of me…’

Listening to the Hero King’s story, Kim Hyun-woo felt a strange sense of guilt.

Of course, Kim Hyun-woo was well aware that he didn’t need to feel guilty about the Hero King’s story.

After all, it was Charlotte’s own will to go to the Demon Realm.

But even if it was her own will, the fact that the subject of that will was to meet Kim Hyun-woo made him feel quite guilty from his perspective.

If Kim Hyun-woo hadn’t suddenly left, she wouldn’t have had to suffer in the Demon Realm.

“…”

Feeling oddly suffocated in his chest, Kim Hyun-woo said, “I’m sorry.”

Soon, he could see Charlotte, who had just finished telling a ten-year-long story, bowing her head.

And before Kim Hyun-woo could say anything, she spoke.

“I knew that you, my lord, were struggling. I knew it was burdensome to prepare our gifts, to endure our tantrums.”

Charlotte’s voice trembled.

“But still, I… I turned away from you. Rather than – I threatened you to receive better gifts than other heroes, I interfered with your work to spend more time with you than other heroes.”

Her trembling voice was moist.

“I… I was foolish… Even though I knew how much you cared for me, I wanted constant reassurance.”

Tears flowed from her eyes.

“I’m sorry… truly, truly sorry… Please forgive me… just once… huk.”

And then, she begged for forgiveness.

“…”

Kim Hyun-woo heard the Hero King sobbing in his ear.

Thud-

The sound of tears falling grew louder, as if the volume had been increased.

In such a situation, Kim Hyun-woo remained silent.

“…”

＜p class=”a”＞From Noble mtl dot com

It was true that Kim Hyun-woo had quit the game because of the heroes’ excessive demands.

At that time, those demands seemed excessively irrational to him, and their threats were enough to cool off his affection poured into Arthel, and further, into the heroes.

So, in the end, he quit the game.

But even though he had quit the game, he hadn’t desired this situation.

At least, he had cursed the heroes who demanded gifts at times and felt annoyed, but he hadn’t wished for the heroes to go through such turmoil.

No matter how much he cursed them, in the end, they were the heroes he had poured his affection into.

He didn’t wish for them to suffer in agonizing pain day by day.

Therefore, as Kim Hyun-woo watched Charlotte crying with a heavy heart, he quietly began to speak.

“Phew-“

With a light sigh and a smile, he spoke.

“You don’t need to ask for forgiveness.”

“…What-“

“Charlotte, you did nothing wrong… Well, I admit I found it a bit annoying when you asked for a gift, but-“

“Still-“

Seeing Charlotte on the verge of tears again, Kim Hyun-woo hurriedly continued.

“Wait, I said, it was just a bit annoying, but that doesn’t mean I need to ask for forgiveness. Truly.”

“Then… Are you accepting me back?”

Charlotte looked at Kim Hyun-woo with eyes as red as a rabbit.

And then.

[★★★★★☆Would you like to offer a recruitment proposal to the hero ‘Hero King’? Y/N]

[※Warning: This hero is a demon, so accepting into your territory will create hostile territories and nations.]

[※Warning: She is a demon!]

[※By accepting the demon, you could become a public enemy of the continent!]

With the appearance of this window, Kim Hyun-woo’s vision was filled with notifications.

Unlike the notifications from Merilda and Lyn, this notification, proposing recruitment of a demon, came with a threatening message warning about the possibility of creating hostile territories and nations.

“…”

Kim Hyun-woo’s hand hesitated for a moment, but even so, it eventually moved.

He knew how foolish this action was, even as his hand moved.

If he were to accept her at this moment, it would undoubtedly be a significant blow to the Larutania territory.

Yet, despite being aware of this, Kim Hyun-woo did not stop his finger and directed it towards ‘Y’.

[Norba Kingdom Relation -111]

[Kallan Kingdom Relation -333]

[Eastern Union Clan Relation -233]

[Seretova Territory Relation -442]

[Hallansia Territory Relation -552]

[Altronia Territory Relation -661]

[Kamia Territory Relation -772]

[Ebroa Territory Relation -334]

[Chelba Territory Relation -552]

[Andelum Territory Relation -723]

[Kehalam Territory Relation -921]

…

…

…

…And as if to prevent such thoughts from Kim Hyun-woo, a new notification window appeared before his eyes, almost as if warning against making the wrong choice.

However, Kim Hyun-woo’s fingers were swift and precise.

In front of him, another notification window popped up once again.

—-

※ Caution

★★★★★☆ When recruiting the hero ‘Hero King,’ as a member of the ‘Demon Race,’ it may harm the influx of residents to the territory.

—-

—-

If the territorial development level is high, it can nullify the reputation of the recruited hero.

[Demon Race Reputation: 2748738]

[Larutania’s Territory Development Level: 5072]

Existing Territory Influx Rate: 42%

New Territory Influx Rate: -123475%

—–

As if intentionally trying to prevent pressing that button, now the notification windows were clearly conveying their purpose.

However, despite absorbing every word of all the notification windows with his eyes, Kim Hyun-woo did not stop his finger from moving towards the Y.

No, he even moved faster towards the Y button than before.

And.

“Of course, I’ll accept it.”

With Kim Hyun-woo’s muttering, the moment his finger pressed the Y button.

[★★★★★☆ Recruited the hero ‘Hero King’ to the Larutania territory!]

A notification window appeared before his eyes.

[Oh]

“!”

In Kim Hyun-woo’s ear.

[Too bad. If you had waited a bit longer, it would have been over. What a pity, really.]

Loria’s voice was heard.