Chapter 200 : Chapter 200

Chapter 200 - Side Story Chapter 7

“...Is that really possible?”

Shaman Eliya-ssi muttered with a dumbfounded voice.

So, I was here right now to order ‘protective talismans.’

The talismans made by shamans were effective in various ways. Beyond their purely magical meaning, they were also nice to look at, and well.

“...”

Many of them were also useful as childcare products.

That is to say.

So.

“You made a family.”

“...Yes, well. It just happened.”

“Right. I certainly feel like I’ve said something like that before.”

“Pardon?”

“I must have prophesied that you would be involved in something like this, for sure.”

Did she?

Come to think of it, I feel like I heard her say something about a physically happy future awaiting me before.

Eliya-ssi sighed and shuffled through the paper on which she had written down my order.

Looking at the seven order forms, each packed with different requests, Eliya-ssi’s expression was one of almost admiration.

“You really did it with all of them here?”

“...”

I silently turned my gaze away.

Well, I knew it was a reprehensible act.

At least it was a relief that Eliya-ssi seemed to be purely admiring it.

After I dragged the bed into the Guild House before, it didn’t end with just that one time; we did it quite often after that.

“Well, I don’t think there will be many people who will criticize you for it.”

Eliya-ssi replied, taking a long drag from her cigarette.

“Either way, you’re the man who saved the world twice. How many people would dare to oppose a man like that living as he pleases with the women who like him?”

“Well, still, there’s the matter of public perception.”

“You, do you really care about that?”

“To be honest, not really.”

Eliya-ssi gave a knowing smile as if to say, ‘See?’

Well, honestly, what do I care about public perception or reputation?

For one thing, just seeing the status window that had been relentlessly nagging me about being banished from this world if I didn’t make a family within seven days disappear, it was clear that one of the seven had... hit the strike zone.

I wasn't so broken in the head as to run away without taking responsibility for that situation.

Well, even if they hadn’t entered the strike zone, I would have supported and lived with all of them on my own.

I had the ability to do so. If you have a problem with that, then say it after you’ve caught up to everything I’ve proven.

“...Hmm.”

As I was mulling over those thoughts, Eliya-ssi looked at me quietly.

“That, you’re definitely going to do it, right?”

“Pardon?”

“No, I’m seeing a glimpse of your near future as I look at your face. You... might get caught up in something big.”

“...Is there anything bigger I can get involved in here?”

“There is.”

The Shaman-nim replied, tapping out her pipe.

“Of course, aside from that, you do look a bit tired. Are you sleeping properly these days?”

“Actually, I wanted to consult you about something strange.”

“Hmm?”

“I do sleep properly. I sleep very properly... but for some reason, I feel unusually sluggish every morning. I’m not at a level where I need to worry about my health, so I was wondering if you could see anything.”

“...Well, I do see something. It’s related to what we just talked about.”

Eliya-ssi replied with narrowed eyes.

It was an answer that made even me a little tense.

Having constantly fought with trans-dimensional beings, it was a situation where there might be secondary damage I wasn’t aware of.

A curse? Did I suffer from some kind of soul-eroding contamination?

“No. It’s just that... you might want to think that you might be missing something.”

“Missing something?”

“The thought that seven might not be all of them.”

“...?”

What is she talking about.

What does this have to do with why I’m tired even after sleeping?

As I was thinking that and blinking my eyes, the Shaman-nim let out a deep sigh.

“Well. With your abilities, you’ll figure it out. What would change even if something more was added now?”

“...?”

What on earth is she talking about.

***

“Hurry up and come help, you old man! We’re really busy right now!”

As I returned with my hands full of the talismans that Eliya-ssi had wholeheartedly made for me, Seo Ah-in’s grunting voice could be heard from inside the Guild House.

Strangely, the others, well...

After ‘that incident’ the other day, they would blush to their ears and run away whenever they saw me. But strangely, this one seemed to have become much more arrogant than before.

What on earth was the reason for Seo Ah-in to become like this? Let’s find out from a Q&A we had before.

“You’re a weakling, Gyu-sik-ssi.”

“...”

“I don’t know about the others, but you couldn’t beat me. Who was it that cried uncle first?”

“...”

Let’s... let’s stop finding out...

Shaking off the slightly depressing memory, I entered the Guild House to find it filled with decorations for a party.

Well, anyway, I didn’t know who it was among the people here yet, but since there was someone who had succeeded in the... ‘strike,’ it was a party to celebrate that.

I had no idea what they were thinking, but since they wanted to do it, I was doing it too.

And it wasn't just among ourselves; we were summoning all the nearby relatives to have a grand celebration, so everyone was busy with the preparations.

“...”

Come to think of it, there was no stranger act than this.

What was there to be so proud of that we had to call all the relatives to show off?

“...Well, I agree with that.”

Lee Si-yeong, who was sitting next to me and making decorations with her own hands, said with a bitter smile.

“First of all, our Spirit Queen seems to come here whenever she has a chance, so it feels like she already knows everything.”

“...That’s true, isn’t it?”

As I said that, Selpas, who was naturally mixed in and helping with the work in the corner, flinched and looked this way.

“I, I still finish all my official duties before coming to play...?”

“...Isn’t it a problem in itself that someone who is a queen just comes to a place like this to play so casually? Haven’t you slept over quite a few times?”

As Lee Si-yeong rebuked her like that, Selpas, at a loss for words, pouted her lips and turned her attention back to her work.

“Son-in-laaaaaw! I’m heeeere-!”

“Oh. You’ve decorated it nicely.”

As we were talking, the guests started to arrive one by one.

As I greeted them one by one at the entrance, a strange war of nerves sometimes continued. And there were people who knew each other.

‘...It’s like greeting guests at a wedding hall.’

As I was tilting my head at that thought, the last person to arrive was Eliya-ssi, whom I had just met.

Seeing that she had brought a whole armful of things, it seemed she had prepared a lot with great determination.

“Take it. Being a novice parent will be a little tough. I’ll tell you how to use them one by one if you contact me later.”

“...Somehow, it feels like you’re the person around me who always picks the most practical gifts.”

As I was muttering that, a loud call for me came from the center of the hall.

“Son-in-law! Hurry up and come here! We all have to take a commemorative photo!”

So I did that.

I took a picture with all the people I had built relationships with since coming here.

Everyone had a smiling face.

And looking at that, how should I put it.

“...”

Really.

Truly.

The feeling is strange.

That the journey I had taken here seems to be concluding so peacefully.

It was a long time if you call it long, and a short time if you call it short.

But in the end, it seems to be wrapping up with such a peaceful and pastoral scene, after all the twists and turns.

Seeing all the connections I had made since coming to this world gathered in this one place, I couldn’t help but feel this way.

“...Kim Gyu-sik-ssi? Your eyes are getting a little red.”

“Shut up. Even if a person cheesed their way through 200 chapters, they still have the right to get sentimental at the end.”

“...?”

Seo Ah-in tilted her head with an expression that said she had no idea what this man was talking about and disappeared.

And the party began in earnest.

Everyone was boisterous, eating and drinking. They shared their feelings. They told stories, and met new people.

Life goes on. With new events.

***

“...By the way. Who’s the one who became a mom?”

Sometimes, an unwelcome bomb-like incident comes along.

As soon as the flushed and drunk Han Si-yeon-ssi said those words, the surrounding atmosphere became heavy.

Tense gazes were instantly exchanged within the Guild House.

“Anyway, it seems the son-in-law will live with everyone here, and I don’t think anyone has a problem with that. But wouldn’t everyone be curious about who the first one is?”

“...Um, Mom. That’s for later...”

“Hey, the shaman is here in this very spot, isn’t she? How about we just ask her?”

There’s always someone like this.

Someone who casually brings up a sensitive topic when they’re drunk.

And in such a situation, there should be at least one person who can vaguely let it slide.

The problem was that the person in question, Eliya-ssi, didn’t seem to have much intention of doing so.

“...Well, you’ll find out soon enough anyway. Should I just tell you here and now?”

“Yes, yes! That young lady needs to prepare properly too. Otherwise, it could be tough, you know?”

“Right. She probably can’t even imagine it’s her right now.”

Eliya continued in a serious voice.

“Then shall I tell you in the shaman’s way? Like twenty questions. I’m sure the person concerned will realize it as they listen.”

“Hmm, that sounds fun.”

“Alright. Then let’s start right away.”

Eliya cleared her throat.

“...The expectant mother, for one, has a lot of experience sleeping in this building. Also, she is closely related to the phenomenon of the man being unable to sleep at night.”

Everyone nodded with a tense expression.

The night’s activities were an annual event in which almost everyone participated.

“And the expectant mother is in a very high position. And she has a very strong affection for the man.”

There weren’t many people here who didn’t fit that description. Everyone’s heads nodded again.

“Also, the expectant mother has, without the other party’s consent, secretly, alone, had relations while the other party was asleep.”

“...”

“...”

From here, everyone’s expressions became strange.

People who had never done such a thing tilted their heads, and surprisingly, people who had something to agree with subtly turned their gazes away.

“Furthermore, the expectant mother is not a person who belongs to this Guild House.”

Oh my god.

At this point, everyone’s faces turned pale.

“Lastly, the expectant mother is, well.”

Eliya cleared her throat and delivered the final blow.

“Probably not human.”

“...”

Everyone’s heads turned to one side as if they would break.

The person who met all the conditions was trembling, holding a wine glass in her hand with a look of utter doom.

“...Uh.”

The Spirit Queen Selpas looked around with a deathly pale face.

“N-no, it’s not me! It’s not meeeee-!”

“...”

“...”

Seeing her reaction, which was a clear admission to anyone, everyone covered their faces.

Then, Kim Gyu-sik, who had been watching from beginning to end, let out a deep sigh.

“...It’s a mess to the very end.”

Really, it was just as he said.

THETHETHE

END$

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