183 – Rumors (3)
Aria’s words filled the office with silence in an instant.
However, the heroes’ gazes were all fixed on Kim Hyun-woo, and he met their gazes head-on.
‘This is awkward.’
He thought to himself.
It was true that he had a proposal ring, and he was well aware that its usage period was running out.
However, despite this, the reason Kim Hyun-woo felt awkward was because he had no intention of using the proposal ring on the heroes in front of him, at least not for now.
No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say that he had no confidence.
“Um…”
Kim Hyun-woo had tried his best to avoid getting too close to the heroes so far.
…In the end, he had failed and had now developed a somewhat deep relationship with the heroes, but the underlying principle had not changed.
If someone were to say, “What’s the point of complaining when you’ve already messed things up?” Kim Hyun-woo would be at a loss for words, but the reason he was hesitant to give the proposal ring to the heroes was because of the relationship that would change.
Of course, he could have an even deeper relationship with the hero he gave the proposal ring to, and Kim Hyun-woo did not deny that.
But what about the one who didn’t receive the proposal ring?
‘…It’s dangerous.’
As soon as Kim Hyun-woo thought that, he could vividly see how the heroes in front of him would react.
To him, it was a mixture of gratitude and complexity, but in the end, all the heroes standing here now showed him one-sided affection.
However, that was precisely why Kim Hyun-woo could not use the proposal ring.
…Of course, it was not because he was afraid of not being loved by the heroes anymore that he could not make a decision.
Kim Hyun-woo said this, but he did not think he was such a trashy person.
Rather, Kim Hyun-woo thought that if he did not have feelings for someone, he would rather quickly resolve the relationship in some way.
Despite having such thoughts, the reason Kim Hyun-woo had not yet given a proper answer to any of the heroes was because this relationship was not purely based on that aspect.
Kim Hyun-woo still had work to do.
He had not yet figured out what Loria’s plot was, and he needed the heroes’ strength to solve it.
If he gave the proposal ring, the person who received the proposal ring would immediately gain additional ability corrections and become stronger, but the other heroes would definitely see their abilities decrease.
The moment he gave the proposal ring, their favorability would also drop by several levels.
That’s why.
“…Hmm.”
Kim Hyun-woo seemed to be thinking deeply about how to handle this, and then he spoke.
“The ring… I’m still thinking about it.”
““!””
Kim Hyun-woo smiled wryly as he watched the heroes widen their eyes at his words.
It seemed that he needed to think about this properly as well.
####
In the Abyss.
The mysterious merchant, who had been enveloped in darkness and turned into a fairy by Loria’s power, was surrounded by the same dark darkness as before.
The only difference from before was that.
[What are you going to do now?]
[Ha- I told you not to move to the Abyss, really.]
A red butterfly and a blue butterfly were fluttering in front of the mysterious merchant, who was now tied up.
“I didn’t know I’d be so useless with my hands tied~ Honestly, who would have thought that guy would be so strong?”
[That’s why I told you over and over again. That guy is so obsessed that he’s been collecting and eating pieces of this and that, so he’s incredibly strong here?]
[If it weren’t for someone like the Mysterious Merchant, he would have been annihilated by now.]
The mysterious merchant looked at them and replied with a sly smile to the blue merchant and the red merchant.
[So, what are you going to do now? You can’t move because your hands are tied.]
As soon as the red merchant asked, the mysterious merchant spoke.
“Hmm, well, I’ve already sent a letter- I hope it reaches him, but will it?”
[How long will it take?]
“About 10 days?”
[10 days…?][…Isn’t it a bit tight?]
“…10 days is tight? It shouldn’t be that bad, right?”
The mysterious merchant spoke to the blue merchant and the red merchant.
However-
[…Roria has already taken out the abandoned creations of the other world into the middle world.]
“What?”
The mysterious merchant spoke with a look of bewilderment for the first time at the red merchant’s words.
“…When?”
[I think it’s been a while. They’ve already eaten the north and are heading down to where Lartania is. They’re also recreating their former colleagues there, so the situation isn’t very good.]
“How long will it take them to get to Lartania?”
The red merchant pondered the mysterious merchant’s question and said.
[…2 weeks…10 days at the earliest.]
“The situation is really bad.”
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The mysterious merchant’s expression turned serious at the red merchant’s words, but after a while.
“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
[Can you really say that so calmly? If you make a mistake, the whole world could be blown away?]
The blue merchant spoke as if he couldn’t understand.
However.
“You guys are mistaken about something. I’m not that calm either? I’m still thinking about what to do in my head?”
[You seem too lighthearted for that?]
“There’s no point in getting stressed out more than necessary when there’s nothing you can do.”
The mysterious merchant said that and then fell silent as if in thought, and soon swallowed his breath.
“Well, maybe this is okay?”
[…Yes? What do you mean?]
“I mean what I say? I’m wondering if this is okay. After all, all I have to do is go and tell Kim Hyun-woo the information, not give him power?”
[That’s true, but…wouldn’t they be able to move if they had the information?]
“That’s true, but I can’t tell them.”
[…]
The red merchant was about to say that he was just going to pass it on to Kim Hyun-woo.
“Well, in fact, strictly speaking, the creatures of the other world could be helpful.”
[Yes?…Suddenly?]
“Yeah. Well- there’s nothing we can do about it.”
The mysterious merchant’s words left him speechless.
“Let’s watch for a while.”
####
That night.
“Whew-“
Kim Hyun-woo sighed deeply and walked back to his room.
He didn’t have much work to do today, but the reason he was so tired was because of what had happened this morning.
‘…Ring, ring…ring.’
It was a problem he had already recognized, but after Aria started talking about it today, he had started thinking about it and it was eating away at his mind until late at night.
…In fact, Kim Hyun-woo already had the best answer in his head.
If he succeeded, it would be a very good way to keep the heroes’ favorability from falling, and it would be a way that no one would be unhappy.
The only problem was that the method would only work if Kim Hyun-woo thought of it as his own personal idea, so he had been thinking about it all day.
‘…No, right? No- but maybe I should tell them once…no, but if I tell them and their favorability drops, that would be bad. I don’t know what will happen if I think about the heroes’ relationship.’
Kim Hyun-woo, who had been thinking about it, arrived at his room and opened the door without hesitation.
“…Huh?”
Kim Hyun-woo could see it soon.
“Oh, hello…”
“Uh…Charles?”
Charles in Kim Hyun-woo’s room.
…In fact, he had already experienced the situation of having heroes in his room, so it wasn’t that surprising.
However, what surprised Kim Hyun-woo was the clothes Charles was wearing.
…To put it bluntly, the clothes Charles was wearing weren’t the kind that would make Kim Hyun-woo’s brain stop working for a moment, like the clothes Lynn or Elena had come in.
Nevertheless, the reason Kim Hyun-woo couldn’t take his eyes off of it was because Charles’ clothes were so unusual.
“…What are those clothes?”Charles was wearing a negligee.
It was a negligee so thin that even the inside was faintly visible, and it seemed that if she stood in front of Amaterasu, her insides would be completely exposed.
If it had ended there, Kim Hyun-woo wouldn’t have asked about the clothes, but the reason he asked was because Charles was wearing armor on his arms and legs.
…As if wearing half-armor on his arms and legs like a typical Korean online game girl armor, and the rest of the parts were pierced.
Kim Hyun-woo, who had seen it a lot in online games, realized that when he actually looked like that, the contradiction in his outfit was stronger than he thought.
“…Men like this…”
Listening to Charles’ words, I realized that she had come to the room with the same assumptions as the other heroes.