Chapter 321.

I reached out to Boss . My crude hand touched her cheek, and I could feel the softness of her skin on my calluses . Seeing the calluses I got while cocking the crossbow, bitterness rose up within me .

I had gotten more used to this world than I imagined .

With that, the urge within me disappeared, replaced by an unknown stuffiness .

But this time, Boss moved . Her cold yet warm hand grasped mine and kept it from shaking .

We looked at each other with our hand held together . Neither of us said a word, surrounding us in a strange atmosphere .

I slowly approached her, close enough to touch her completely .

My heart beat loudly . I could also hear the beats that didn’t belong to me . Was she just as nervous as I was? I felt a little embarrassed and happy at the same time .

Just as our breath mixed together and our lips were about to touch…

“Kuhum . ”

An intentional cough rang out .

The romantic mood disappeared, and we widened our eyes in surprise .

Gulp— I swallowed hard and stared at the corner of the tent . Harin was taking up two people’s worth of space . It was only then that I realized how close Boss and I were .

“… . ”

I scooched away with a bitter smile . Boss was still expressionless, but she glared at Harin somewhat aggressively .

“I’m tired~”

I murmured loudly and lied down . I stretched my arms out and stared at the ceiling of the tent . My heart was still thumping, and a smile lingered on my face . Nothing really happened, but I was in a good mood .

I quickly decided to fall asleep while this feeling lasted . With the end not far away, I wanted to enjoy every moment I could .

I closed my eyes .

“…?”

But soon afterward, I felt something pressing down my arm . I opened my eyes curiously and saw Boss’s head over my arm . She was using my arm as a pillow .

I couldn’t tell whether she was really asleep or just pretending . Regardless, I turned back to the ceiling with a smirk .

It was a bit uncomfortable, but I didn’t mind . Boss’s head was so small that it was barely heavy anyways .

**

Climbing past the second peak, ‘Lokio’, we arrived at the third peak, ‘Kilata’ .

Kilata’s environment was that of a jungle . All sorts of threats, from monsters like giant mosquitos, elemental snakes, crimson monkeys, and king alligators to quicksand swamps and magic-eating plants, filled the mountain .

But with Boss’s strength and my eyesight, the hellish mountain was manageable . I found out that Boss didn’t lose too much of her strength because her background was set as an assassin .

“Kilata really is more difficult than the previous mountains . It’s worse than I imagined . ” Harin murmured .

We were currently at the midpoint of the mountain . It had taken us five days to get to the 3500-meter mark . In comparison, Ploriun and Lokio had taken us only two and four days to climb, respectively .

“Just finding a place to stay the night is annoying here . ”

Kilata didn’t have caves, and with the sheer number of monsters inhabiting it, sleeping on the ground was impossible . We had to sleep in the sky or not sleep at all .

As my stats recovered to an extent this past week, I could build a shack even with my eyes closed . With plenty of wood around us, I easily built treehouses with a little bit of Stigma’s magic power .

“I’ve already seen it multiple times, but… your craftsmanship really is inhuman…”

Harin muttered as she looked around the shack I built . I laughed inwardly . This one was my best work yet .

“I’m a descendant of the dwarves . ”

“Dwarves?”

“Yep, I’m not kidding either . ”

“… . ”

Harin blinked her eyes in a daze . I wasn’t sure whether she was in disbelief or trying to come to terms with what she just heard, but it seemed she had heard of dwarves as well .

Whish—

At that moment, Boss arrived with a strong gust of wind . She was in charge of procuring food, and she arrived with bird meat and berries in her hands .

“Do these look edible?”

“Yep . ”

According to Observation and Reading, the bird meat was a delicacy named [Licor], and the berries were simply labeled [Delicious Tropical Fruit] .

I seasoned the bird meat and put up a campfire . Once the fire was going, I skewered the bird meat and put it over the fire .

Six skewers finished in the blink of an eye . I gave two to each person and presented the berries as dessert .

We finished the meal in just 15 minutes .

“It’s getting dark . ”

Darkness descended early in the swampland . Although it was only five in the afternoon, we were enshrouded in darkness .

“Thanks for the meal . Should we rest a bit now?”

Harin leaned against the wooden wall as she rubbed her belly .

“Sure . ”

I spread out the bedding I made with soft leaves I found in the jungle . Harin lied down immediately, I lied down across from her, and Boss lied down next to me . Boss then turned to me and stared at me fixedly . It seemed she was asking to use my arm as a pillow again .

“…You guys . ”

But Harin suddenly opened her mouth . Boss and I flinched subconsciously .

“W-What’s up?”

“You said you believed that devils exist, right?”

Harin sounded serious, so I strained my ears . I could tell instnctively that this was an important piece of information .

“Yes . ”

“Then do you remember the incident from a month ago?”

“…Incident?”

“The Loren noble clan was destroyed for committing treason . You know, for spreading that the prince was an incarnation body of a devil . ”

This was the first time I was hearing about this, but I nodded my head .

“Yes, I have . ”

“…It’s hard not to have heard anything . ”

Harin paused and let out a deep sigh .

“…It’s not a lie . ” She continued more seriously than before . “Arunheim’s prince, Krisbell, houses the devil, Baal, in his body . ”

“… . ”

I listened to Harin quietly and reflected on what she said . Then, something she said caught my attention .

Arunheim’s prince, Krisbell .

Baal’s incarnation body .

Krisbell and Baal .

Kris… ‘bell’ .

“…!”

I turned to Boss with my eyes wide open . Boss seemed to have realized something too as she had a shocked expression .

**

[Arunheim’s Palace – ‘Arun’]

Arunheim Kingdom was a major superpower in the continent along with the Republic of Leores . Although it advocated a clear caste system, it had something called the Common Promotion System, which allowed talented commoners to rise in status . Some called it ‘the kingdom where the shackles of slaves were the most beautiful’ .

Jin Sahyuk stepped into the heart of Arunheim Kingdom – the palace, Arun . She walked through the ostentatious halls of the palace and reached the most decorated place of the palace, the king’s quarters .

“…This is your past?”

Jewels and ornaments adorned the room . Selling just the king’s quarter seemed enough to buy a castle .

“Foolish and arrogant . ”

Jin Sahyuk muttered as she looked around the palace . Although she couldn’t protect her country as a king, she had never once let herself loose in luxury .

“Yep, this is me . ”

Bell answered, sitting on the corner of his bed . His outfit was different from what he wore on Earth . He had a gown engraved with gold with enchanted bracelets around his wrists and enchanted rings on his fingers . Bell called them the ‘greatest treasures in the kingdom’ .

“Royalty from a ruined world and the incarnation body of Baal . That’s who I am . A bit complicated, right?”

Jin Sahyuk stared at Bell and let out a heavy sigh .

“…So I have to kill you here?”

“No, not yet . ” Bell shook his head . But looking forward to his death, he was full of smiles .

“There are two months left, so you don’t have to rush it . Baal will descend the moment you kill me . I’m sure you need time to prepare . ”

“… . ”

Jin Sahyuk looked around the room again . Although countless treasure and jewels filled the room, none looked used .

Jin Sahyuk turned to Bell once again .

“…I’m curious about something . ”

“Hm? Oh, go ahead . I’m about to die . As long as I don’t have to repeat the past, I can answer any question you have . ”

Bell truly looked relieved .

Jin Sahyuk asked in a small voice, “How did you become Baal’s incarnation body?”

Hearing her question, Bell’s face stiffened a bit . However, his smile quickly returned .

“…There was someone I wanted to see one more time, even if I had to sell my soul to a devil . ”

“Sell your soul?” Jin Sahyuk frowned .

“Yeah . Humans all have something they want . For you, it would be returning in time . ”

Jin Sahyuk’s eyes widened . Returning in time was a phenomenon that transcended miracles . To go back while maintaining one’s memories, the only person to have done such a thing was Earth’s Shin Myungchul .

“…Returning in time?”

“That’s right, I’m a Returner . In exchange for going back in time once, I gave my soul to Baal . ”

“… . ”

Jin Sahyuk found it hard to understand . She furrowed her brows and glared at Bell . Meeting her gaze, Bell smiled thinly .

It was then . Kiik— The door opened and another man walked in .

“…So you’re Jin Sahyuk . ”

Jin Sahyuk turned to the direction of the voice . Standing there was a man with a sharp expression . Jin Sahyuk knew he had to be ‘Yi Yeonjun’ .

“That’s right . And you’re what… his boyfriend?” Jin Sahyuk smirked and pointed to Bell . Yi Yeonjun frowned, and, unlike himself, Bell shot up with a flustered look .

“No, no, of course not . That’s not even funny . ”

Bell pulled on Jin Sahyuk’s shoulders . Until then, Yi Yeonjun kept glaring at Jin Sahyuk and Jin Sahyuk glared back .

“Calm down, both of you . This meeting is so that we can peacefully discuss how to achieve what each of us wants . ”

Bell seated Yi Yeonjun and Jin Sahyuk and began something akin to a ‘meeting’ .

**

Same time, in the house of a noble family, ‘Pritun’, located some distance away from Arunheim’s capital, Shin Jonghak and Chae Nayun were together .

“So this Loren Clan spread the false rumor that the prince was a devil?”

“Yes, now you understand . ”

Seeing that Chae Nayun finally understood, Shin Jonghak clapped and nodded his head . In this world, Shin Jonghak was a successor of the Pritun Clan, and Chae Nayun was his knight .

“Hm… but why would the Loren Clan spread such a rumor? It’s obvious what would happen to them . ”

Shin Jonghak answered with confidence, “Probably because they were housing a devil . They were about to be found out, so they spread that rumor in a futile attempt to draw the attention away from them . Our clan received orders to kill the devil that escaped from their clan . ”

“Our clan? Really?”

“Who cares? It’s nice being a noble . ” Shin Jonghak grinned .

Chae Nayun made a vomiting gesture and then asked again, “So… we have to catch the devil that escaped?”

“Right, catching and killing that devil is the first trial of the Demon Realm Gate . ”

“Hm… it’s surprisingly simple . ”

…Although they were far from the truth, Chae Nayun and Shin Jonghak looked at each other seriously and nodded their heads . From a third-party perspective, their analysis was truly cute .

“Alright, well, now that I know the ultimate goal, I’m going to go train . ”

“Huh? Oh… How much power have you recovered?”

Shin Jonghak grabbed Chae Nayun as she was about to leave . He didn’t want to let her go . Now that she was a member of his clan, he wanted her to be with him as long as possible .

“I’ll be back to normal in a month . ” Chae Nayun answered nonchalantly .

“Then what’s your quest?”

“Recovering my strength is my quest . ”

“And the reward?”

“My weapon, Balmung . …Why are you asking me all this?”

“Huh? Oh, well… because you’re my knight . ”

“I think you’re too into this . Snap out of it . ” Chae Nayun got up with a scowl .

Shin Jonghak wanted her to stay, so he asked another question, “Wait . Have you thought of ways to contact others?”

“How would I do that? This world doesn’t even have a phone… . ”

But at that moment, Chae Nayun remembered the 8-star card, [Infinite Communication] . She couldn’t help but wonder if it worked in this world .

“No, wait, maybe I do have a way . ”

Chae Nayun closed her eyes . Then, she focused on sending a telepathic message to the person she was most familiar with – ‘Extra7’ .

—Hey, can you hear me? It’s me, Chae Nayun . Reply if you can hear me .

“…Gulp . ”

5 seconds… 10 seconds… 15 seconds… 20 seconds… 1 minute… 3 minutes…

Time passed, and no answer returned .

“…Guess it doesn’t work . ” Chae Nayun smacked her lips and turned back . “Looks like we’ll have to go look for them directly . ”

At that moment…

[Chae Nayun? Is it really you?]

Extra7 replied .

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