Chapter 103 - Homecoming Journey
A fierce(?) behind-the-scenes struggle where only a single winner can monopolize the benefits!
The end of that struggle, after overcoming countless defeated bodies(?), finally came to an end the next morning.
“Uh… so you’re saying I should choose the person who picked the better gift??”
The absolute judge to end this struggle, the fortune-teller Dam Han-ul, woke up from sleep!!
‘No, I told them to just choose one person, but it’s gone round and round and ended up with me having to choose.’
I clearly said to choose well and pick just one person, but this has come to me?
‘Was it that difficult to choose one person… Well, looking at the state of the living room, it seems it was…’
What is this, that such great people fought so fiercely over this?
S-rank superhumans can live like kings with absolute power, receiving the best treatment wherever they go, but for such people to fight so desperately over this, looking so undignified, I wonder if this is right.
‘To think they would put in so much effort just to be an escort…’
I can’t understand it. Personally, I thought they might pass it off as bothersome.
Hmm, if other people saw this appearance, wouldn’t they react like ‘Is this what S-rank superhumans are like?’ with a disillusioned look?
Or they might think it’s good because it makes them seem more human and friendly.
“Please decide quickly, teacher!!”
“Yes, Gangin! We need to decide quickly so we can eat and go down! Your parents will be waiting!”
“……”
They’re my parents, not yours, but why do you seem more enthusiastic than me?
“…It’s not like it’s a holiday, and it won’t take that long, so I won’t get scolded even if we’re a bit late…”
Our parents aren’t particularly strict people.
Hmm… come to think of it, we get along well and are close. We’re not awkward, and we keep in touch often.
But thinking about it, I’m the only one here whose parents are still alive and well??
Even Akame and Ricone, who might have had parents, I heard theirs passed away. Is this how it is?
Well, let’s leave these random thoughts for later…
“Yes, so you’re saying to choose which of these three is better, right?”
What Akame chose was expensive wine.
Dalgi chose medicinal herbs with good nourishing effects.
Heukmyo chose a defensive artifact.
“Certainly, our parents do enjoy alcohol. They like wine too.”
“Th-then…?!”
“But they have firm tastes… they don’t like this type of wine.”
The wine our parents like isn’t the kind of wine with a bitter taste that you usually think of when you think of wine, but rather a low-alcohol, sweet wine that’s easy to drink comfortably…
So the wine our parents like is sweet wine, and the wine Akame brought is dry wine.
It’s not a wine they particularly like.
“Ah…”
“W-well. I’ll give it to them anyway…”
“No, this can’t be…!! It can’t be like this…!!!”
Anyway, Akame, who chose expensive wine but couldn’t gauge their taste, was the first to crumble…!!
And she did so while wailing (?) pitifully.
Phew, what’s all this about… It’s just the bothersome task of escorting me a bit, but they react like this… Making it harder to choose…
Anyway, now that Akame has fallen miserably first like this… next is the medicinal herb Yeon Dalgi prepared…
“Health is important. When you get old, people say everything aches and hurts, right? Our parents often say health is the most important thing.”
Unless you’re a superhuman, there’s no fighting against time for ordinary people.
Even superhumans who have left the human realm get duller and weaker as they age, so how much more for ordinary people?
“Th-then, of course, this Yeon Dalgi…!!”
“But I already bought medicinal herbs last time. Two super-grade ones from mountain gods…”
I got them from Old Man Hoseo and Baekrok.
When I said it was for my parents, they gladly chose and gave them to me.
I packaged them well and sent them by courier, and I got a message saying they were delivered well and both of them ate them well.
Thanks to that, they’re a bit too healthy… Honestly, I think my parents might be stronger than me now because of how strongly the medicinal herbs worked.
As expected of mountain gods, their sense in choosing medicinal herbs is no joke. The effect of the medicinal herbs is no joke either…
“Ah, aah…”
“Dalgi, you know too? For ordinary people who aren’t superhumans, excessive consumption of medicinal herbs acts as a poison that destroys the body rather than medicine.”
Having already eaten two strong medicinal herbs, eating more would rather have adverse effects.
Especially if it’s medicinal herbs Dalgi obtained, it wouldn’t be an ordinary item, right? If so, conversely, I can’t give it to them to eat even more…
“It can’t be helped…”
“That I… that this Yeon Dalgi would make such an unthinkable mistake…!! Kiyaak!!!”
Like that, even Yeon Dalgi sank, falling flat on her back while pulling her hair.
No… Is this really something to react so desperately to…?? Why are you betting your lives on this??
Anyway, since it’s come to this…
“Well, in this case, it’s naturally Heukmyo’s victory, right?”
“Uryaa!! Ah, before I unfold my victory ceremony… Is what I prepared really well prepared??”
“It ended up winning naturally because it was last in order, but honestly, if I had to choose, I would have chosen what Heukmyo prepared. I prepared a defensive artifact too.”
What Heukmyo prepared was a defensive artifact in the form of a bracelet made by stringing beads.
As it’s an artifact for ordinary people to use, unlike artifacts for superhumans that are used by infusing magic power, it automatically charges by absorbing magic power from the atmosphere and activates automatically when it detects a threat.
Since it’s rechargeable, there’s a daily usage limit, but that’s unavoidable. Is there such a thing as a perfect artifact in the world?
“What I prepared is in the form of a necklace, so it doesn’t overlap. In many ways, it would be the best gift in the current situation.”
By the way, what I bought is also an artifact similar in form to what Heukmyo prepared. Well, artifacts that even ordinary people can use are all similar.
The world is quite dangerous, so shouldn’t we protect our parents’ safety too?
I’ve already taken care of their health, money, travel, and so on.
“It’s also a bracelet that our parents like.”
Our parents, sometimes have polar opposite tastes, but in some areas, their tastes match perfectly.
Anyway, as Heukmyo rose as the final victor, he immediately performed a refreshing victory ceremony.
“Jjaaaaas!! This is it meow!! This is exactly it meow!! Uhyoo nyaaaah!!!”
Like an old soccer player, Heukmyo pulled off a refreshing ceremony towards the defeated losers, and then smiled and mocked them.
“I came, I saw, I conquered!!! Did you see, losers meow!! In the end, it’s this Heukmyo-nim who won, that’s what I’m saying meow!! Nyahahaha!!”
…He’s provoking them so freely and thoroughly that I’m worried he might get ganged up on when he comes back.
Oh, looking at their eyes, if he scratches them more, he might get beaten up now, not after coming back?
“Nyanyanya! Wait there so pitifully meow! This body will go alone with the teacher…!!”
‘Ah, read the room, Heukmyo!!’
I don’t know why he’s so happy about this, but if you do more, you might not even be able to escort me and end up buried in the ground!!
Thinking that inwardly, I quickly dragged Heukmyo out before a disaster could occur preventing us from departing today, and immediately went to the garage and started the car.
And after getting in the car with Heukmyo, I quickly said goodbye and left the house.
“…Oh! Then I’ll be back, guys! Take care of the house!”
Well, I’ve got all the gifts, and I’ve got an escort, so there were no problems.
So I immediately left the house and started driving down the road with my own hands after a long time.
“Oh my… This is quite spectacular from the start…”
This is absolutely not a spectacular thing…
“Hehe… But I’ll perfectly escort you so that the journey is nothing but peaceful meow!!”
“With the escort of Heukmyo, who’s now S-rank, it is reassuring. Hahaha…”
These days, seeing transcendents like EX-rank makes S-rank look shabby, but that’s absolutely not the case.
Well, don’t all superhumans look shabby compared to such transcendents? Even S-rank is a superhuman among superhumans who have surpassed even the standards of superhumans beyond humans, a powerhouse of an unimaginable scale.
Actually, it’s probably rarer for such an S-rank superhuman to have to step up, but still, safety first, right? Because I’ve come to think that being safe is the best these days, I’ve brought along such luxurious escort.
‘…I never imagined their reactions would be this intense…’
Well, thanks to those intense reactions, I was able to prepare a few more gifts, so isn’t that good? They’ll use them somehow, even if it’s giving them to acquaintances.
And besides that, isn’t it boring to go alone? It’ll take a few hours, so it’s good to have someone to talk to. Yep.
Like that, sitting side by side with Heukmyo, I drove down the road, chatting lightly with Heukmyo, and was able to enjoy the journey without boredom.
Maybe that’s why we were able to arrive at our parents’ house faster than expected.
“Th-this is the teacher’s house…!!”
“Whew, maybe because we came in a hurry without eating breakfast, I’m hungry… I should ask them to make food.”
For some reason, Heukmyo seemed very nervous, and I walked into the house with heavy steps.