Return of the Shattered Constellation

[Successfully completed the two Sudden Quests (The Owl’s Plea & The Tiger’s Plunder)!]

[As a reward, the blessing of ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ will be granted!]

[Currently accessing your achievements to accurately determine which reward to give you.]

[Please wait for a moment.]

…

[As a reward, you have obtained the right to keep the trophies you have acquired.]

[Acquired ‘Dream Sphere × 32’!]

[Acquired ‘Formerly-Red Ghost’s Knife’!]

[Acquired ‘Energy Flask’!]

[As a reward, the blessing of ‘Calamity Tiger’ will be granted!]

[Currently accessing your achievements to accurately determine which reward to give you.]

[Please wait for a moment.]

…

[A substantial amount of time is needed to accurately analyze your achievements and performance.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ ponders what gift to give you for achieving such high performance.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ ponders which fang to give you to praise your achievements.]

The moment they concluded that Chang-Sun had completed the two quests related to destroying the lab, Minerva and Heoju had been wondering what to give him as a reward; however, it had been quite some time since he finished the quests.

‘It’s understandable, seeing as they probably think my [Alignment] leans completely to one side,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Even though his [Alignment] slightly leaned more toward evil, he was still in the middle of the scale; as people naturally favored the side that highly appreciated them, Minerva and Heoju had to be agonizing over what reward to give.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ boasts that it will be very difficult to give a better gift than hers, which suits you very well!]

Meanwhile, Pabilsag was busy bragging to the two deities.

In any event, it seemed that the two would only be able to give Chang-Sun his rewards at a later time, so he decided to wait. Besides, he had no plans to fight for a while.

‘The White Tiger Clan must have found out about the lab by now, so everyone in the Clan will have flipped out,’ Chang-Sun thought with a faint smile.

After calming down, Baek Gyeo-Ul slowly raised his head and wiped his eyes as if he suddenly felt shy, but his eyes were as red as his cheeks, making Chang-Sun chuckle lightly.

“But who is she…?” Gyeo-Ul asked as he looked at Shin Eun-Seo, whom Chang-Sun had laid on the ground; he was curious to meet the unfamiliar woman, but…

“I don’t know,” Chang-Sun replied with a shrug.

“Pardon…?” Gyeo-Ul asked cautiously.

“I just found her being held captive somewhere, so I brought her with me,” Chang-Sun explained.

“Oh,” Gyeo-Ul said with a nod. Although he did not know Chang-Sun had visited the Secret Tiger Lab, he knew Chang-Sun had other agendas he was unaware of; thus, he simply assumed the woman was a survivor of one such thing.

“Then do we have to leave her like this?” Gyeo-Ul asked, looking at Eun-Seo worriedly. It had not been long since he was cured of the half-spirit curse, but he pitied Eun-Seo.

‘He might be bad at expressing his emotions, but he still does. He also seems to be good-hearted,’ Chang-Sun observed.

Due to Gyeo-Ul’s half-spirit curse, it had been difficult to see any changes in his facial expression, but not anymore. His kind nature made Chang-Sun want to take him along even more.

People who suffered from discrimination and violence often turned out with crooked natures. Having grown up watching such things, their ways of thinking would automatically be affected. However, Gyeo-Ul had no such issues, apart from being a pessimist.

That meant he was born to be a man of great caliber and good nature like his father. Despite his notorious reputation in Heaven, Xerxes had often left Chang-Sun frustrated with his tender-heartedness.

‘He’s like a dog,’ Chang-Sun concluded.

Naturally, that sounded strange, but he did not mean it in a bad way. Although a dog would remain alert against strangers, it would gently wag its tail after opening up to them.

After reassessing Gyeo-Ul, Chang-Sun answered, “She’ll wake up on her own, as I administered first aid.”

Gyeo-Ul nodded, fixing his gaze on Chang-Sun with eyes full of absolute trust. It seemed he would believe everything Chang-Sun said, even if he told Gyeo-Ul that one plus one was three.

Just then…

“Mmmm…!” Eun-Seo groaned, her eyes twitching for the first time.

Surprised and unsure what to do, Gyeo-Ul began fidgeting. However, Chang-Sun felt distracted, gesturing at Gyeo-Ul to stay put as he woke Eun-Seo up.

“Hey, Miss Shin Eun-Seo. Can you hear me?” Chang-Sun called out after digging up her name from his memory.

When she heard Chang-Sun, Eun-Seo quietly opened her eyes. As she gained focus, she saw Chang-Sun looking at her. “…!”

Facing the last person she had expected to see, her eyes widened. It was only natural for her to be surprised, as she had been a fan of Chang-Sun for a long time.

“Can you hear me, Miss Eun-Seo? Can you tell me who I am?” Chang-Sun repeated.

However, Eun-Seo did not answer, and instead lay still with her eyes shut.

“…?”

“…?”

Unable to understand what she was doing, Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul tilted their heads in confusion.

“I must be dreaming. How can I still dream about him during training… I must have gone crazy,” Eun-Seo mumbled to herself, falling asleep again.

Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul were unsure how to react, shooting each other dumbfounded looks and blinking silently.

* * *

“D-D-Did you, the Tyrant… really s-save… m-me…?!” Eun-Seo stuttered, almost losing her mind after she heard Chang-Sun’s explanation of what had happened. She was so excited that she was unable to sit still, making Chang-Sun briefly wonder if smoke would come out from her nostrils at any moment.

Luckily, she seemed to be unable to remember what had happened after she was kidnapped, just as Chang-Sun expected. Perhaps her defense mechanisms had subconsciously activated to protect her ego, or the [Dream Sphere] caused temporary memory loss; whatever the cause was, she could not remember what had happened at all.

Chang-Sun thought it was better for her to forget what had happened, as such incidents often became a source of trauma that could corrode a person’s mind.

‘Of course, I have to constantly help her stay mentally stable…’ Chang-Sun thought.

Meanwhile, Eun-Seo was still incredibly excited, making Chang-Sun wonder whether there was any side effect of the [Dream Spheres] that he did not know about.

“B-By any chance, did I drool or say nonsense while I-I s-slept…?” Eun-Seo trailed off, busy trying to read Chang-Sun’s mind.

After recalling the sleep talk he had heard when he brought her along from the lab, Chang-Sun shook his head, thinking it would not be good to bring it up. He replied, “You didn’t.”

“R-Really?” Eun-Seo asked again.

“Really, you didn’t,” Chang-Sun repeated.

“Phew…! That’s a relief,” Eun-Seo said, heaving a sigh of relief only after Chang-Sun firmly shook his head. However, when Chang-Sun stood up, Eun-Seo subconsciously stared at him in surprise.

“It seems you’ve gotten better, so let’s get out of here first. As you can see, we aren’t exactly safe here,” Chang-Sun said, planning to observe her for the time being in order to see whether there would be any unexpected side effects.

However, Eun-Seo was practically about to faint from excitement, due to the way Chang-Sun had not only saved her but also offered to find her colleagues. The ‘Tyrant’ Lee Chang-Sun she knew had never been kind to anyone. Whenever fans asked for his signature, he had always coldly rejected their requests without explaining why. This time, however, he had made a kind offer despite his usual cold tone, making her heart flutter.

‘C-Can this really be happening? I’m not dreaming, right? I’m awake. I’m awake…!’ Eun-Seo thought elatedly.

At that moment, however, she suddenly came to her senses. During her Player qualification test, she had watched visual aids that warned about doppelganger-type monsters that disguised themselves as humans and lured Players into traps. When she recalled that, she hurriedly moved far away from Chang-Sun, staying on her guard like a scared kitten.

“…?”

“…?”

Wondering what was wrong with Eun-Seo now, Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul turned back to look at her. Eun-Seo sharply narrowed her eyes and asked, “What’s your blood type?”

“It’s Type B,” Chang-Sun answered.

“When’s your birthday?” Eun-Seo quickly added.

“It’s January 30th,” Chang-Sun replied, tilting his head in confusion.

“What’s your favorite food?” Eun-Seo continued, her eyes shining.

“It’s kimchi-jjigae[1], but why are you suddenly asking these questions?” Chang-Sun asked, squinting in response to her strange behavior.

However, Eun-Seo did not lower her guard easily, replying, “That’s not your favorite food. That’s weird, because I accurately remember that two years ago, on August 23rd, you said you wanted to eat tuna gimbap[2] first after returning to Korea. That was during an interview you had after pulling off a come-from-behind victory to beat the French team in San Francisco, 3:2.”

“…?” Chang-Sun was dumbstruck.

“I’m right, aren’t I? Yeah, my oppa is the embodiment of rudeness, so he wouldn’t be kind like you. You’re fake, aren’t you? Who are you?” Eun-Seo replied with a smirk.

It seemed that Eun-Seo had misunderstood and thought Chang-Sun was a doppelganger, but it would be difficult to explain himself. Although the game had happened two years ago on Earth, it had happened several hundred years ago for Chang-Sun, so he could not even remember it. He had just answered ‘kimchi-jjigae’ because his mother had been making the dish often as of late.

‘What should I do? Should I just leave her here?’ Chang-Sun quietly wondered.

“Huh? My bad, you’re my oppa. Hehe, when did kimchi-jjigae become your favorite food?” Eun-Seo suddenly asked with a grin, lowering her guard and standing beside Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul again.

Confused by the sudden change, Chang-Sun tilted his head and asked, “What made you change your mind again?”

“The look on your face,” Eun-Seo said, beaming.

“…?” Chang-Sun was bewildered.

“You considered leaving me here just now because I was bothering you, right? Yeah, my oppa would definitely do that,” Eun-Seo explained.

“…”

“Which direction should I go now? Is it this way?” Eun-Seo asked, taking the lead.

After watching her for a moment, Chang-Sun chuckled. Although it was hard to read what was going on inside her head, Eun-Seo was somewhat adorable. It was hard to hate her.

“You’re silly,” Chang-Sun remarked, chuckling as he slowly began moving. Gyeo-Ul laughed along as he followed them.

1. Kimchi stew, a traditional Korean dish. ☜

2. Rice and fillings (in this case, tuna mayo) rolled in seaweed, similar to Japanese maki but without vinegared rice; also a traditional Korean dish. ☜