“Thank you for your help, Lady Athena.”
Struggling to stand again, Robin said.
His appearance was covered in wounds, in a state that couldn’t possibly be called good, yet his eyes remained shining, unbroken.
“Thankful? It was just boring, so I came to see.”
As she pulled her sword from the massive monster’s corpse, she spoke.
Beautifully dazzling yet fearsomely strong, the strongest human in the Empire. Athena.
Her eyes reflected bright sunlight, but there was a hint of ennui in her expression.
“No, thanks to you all, we were able to complete the quest safely. I will repay you.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
At Robin’s words, Athena smiled and slowly approached him.
Then she extended her white finger to Robin’s sight.
“Your eyes. I like your eyes. Will you give them to me?”
At her words, Robin stepped back in shock.
“..What?”
“Haha… just kidding. Why are you so shocked?”
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“Hmph. It’s fine. Just keep fighting for the world. That’s enough of a repayment.”
She left those words and gracefully disappeared.
After all, what I truly wanted is no longer in this world.
– Bulgului Yongsah! Chapter 142 (中)
“W-what did you just say?”
“Oh? You didn’t hear?”
Athena pointed at me and said again.
“I’m saying you should be my slave.”
‘Is she crazy?’
Without any introduction, she’s asking me to be her slave. I should have doubted my ears at first.
Why? Just why?
Is she seriously asking me to be her slave?
Did my master owe Athena a huge debt at some point?
If not, I could never comprehend this situation.
“Are you… sane?”
Failure to grasp Athena’s intentions led me to ask her directly.
Even after hearing my aggressive words, she replied nonchalantly.
“Right now, I’ve never been more sane.”
“Popping up and telling someone to be their slave is totally insane!”
“Ah. I can see how that would be shocking from your perspective. Sorry.”
As if realizing something, she apologized and continued speaking.
“I’ll say it politely. I fell for you at first sight. Please be my slave.”
What part of that is polite?
Do normally smitten people ask to become their slave?
No. What reason could she possibly have to fall for me?
I only saw her face for the first time today. She must have too.
As I plunged deeper into confusion, she spoke again.
“Did you know?”
“….?”
“I’ve said the same thing three times?”
“Ugh!”
That feeling again.
It’s like my body is screaming at me to run away.
Overwhelmed by fear, I stepped back and increased the distance between us.
“I’d really like a response soon.”
‘Let’s call it quits.’
Understanding her behavior seemed impossible right now.
Whatever it is, there’s only one thing I need to care about.
“Say something reasonable. I have no intentions of being your slave.”
Not getting entangled with her.
I focused on her clearly, resolute.
Athena smiled at me as if my response was amusing.
“Think it over. If you become my slave, you’ll live a significantly better life.”
“A better life?”
“Yes. Not in this poor neighborhood, but in a proper household where you can live in luxury.”
Not finished yet, she raised a finger and continued.
“You can take any jewels you want, and if you want to do anything, you can. As long as you’re in my mansion, you can live the life everyone envies.”
“In exchange for just one thing. You’ll need to obey only my commands. How about that? Sounds good, right?”
Athena sounded like a wealthy nobleman.
At first glance, it doesn’t seem bad.
She wouldn’t be joking around about this.
Given that she’s known as the Empire’s hero, her assets must be beyond imagination.
I could probably live gloriously without ever lifting a finger.
If it were the me before possession, I might have taken her offer without hesitation.
After all, having a stunning beauty like Athena take care of you would be every person’s dream, right?
But right now, I have no intention of that.
This world is from the novel “Bulgului Yongsah.”
She is undoubtedly a character tied to the mastermind of that world.
The moment I follow her, the story will unravel uncontrollably, which is absolutely not what I want.
And above all.
‘I can’t leave Dania and Lily behind.’
I promised.
To protect Dania.
To safeguard Lily’s smile.
I steeled my heart and spoke to her.
“I don’t know why you want me so much… but thanks for the offer.”
At my words, her eyes widened, filled with joy. She probably thought I’d accept.
“Good choice! Then let’s start with the engraving-“
“But I’m sorry. I’m not leaving this place.”
Upon hearing my response, she stared at me blankly for a moment.
Slowly, her smile faded away.
“Why?”
“Because I have precious people here.”
The kind of familial relationship I had just formed. There’s no way I’d let go of that.
…. Hmph
One of her eyebrows raised, as if something displeased her.
Suddenly, the air around us began to shift. It felt like the atmosphere was growing colder, reflecting her mood.
I quietly waited for Athena’s response.
After contemplating for a moment, she regained her smile, but I could sense it.
That smile wasn’t going to lead to a good situation for me.
“Hera. You seem to be under a misconception.”
Athena reached her hand toward me.
“I didn’t come here to make an offer.”
“You..!”
“I came to take you.”
Golden mana began to surge from her hand toward me.
As mana poured down on me, my instincts told me to move sideways.
At that moment, a magic trap took shape beside me, tightening as if to grasp the air.
If I hadn’t dodged, it wouldn’t have been the air that got caught, but my body.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
I glared at Athena sharply, who was looking at me with a sly smile.
“A disobedient slave needs some training, right?”
“Keep calling me a slave, and I’ll-!”
I shouted at her, but returned to the same situation I was in before, facing the magic again.
I kicked the ground hard, propelling myself backwards to dodge.
But this time, she appeared before me in an instant and grabbed my throat.
“Hurk!”
“First, let’s correct that expression. You shouldn’t look at your master like that, right?”
As she raised her hand, my body followed, unable to touch the ground, and I began to choke.
“Cough…! Huh!”
“Our Hera… should have gentle eyes, right?”
As oxygen depleted, my body started heating up.
The fear directed towards her gradually began to shift towards anger at this ridiculous situation.
‘I don’t even know anymore.’
I lifted one foot and kicked Athena.
…..!
Her body flew backward.
I was released from her grip and touched the ground with both feet again.
“Cough..! Haah.. Huh..”
As the much-needed oxygen returned to my body, I began to regain my sense of reality.
‘Don’t let my guard down.’
Ordinary people would have been immediately overwhelmed, but she is the strongest human in this world.
With a hit like that, I wouldn’t have even caused a light injury.
As if responding to my thoughts, her voice reached me.
“By the way… did you say you have a unique ability?”
Casually brushing off the dirt that clung to the kicked part, as if nothing mattered to her.
I assumed a stance, ready for her attack at any moment.
“Sorry, Hera. It seems I’ll need to handle things a bit more roughly.”
With that, Athena stretched out her foot and her body vanished from my sight.
However, my ability wasn’t simply to enhance my strength; it dramatically improved overall physical abilities.
That included intuition as well.
‘To the right..!
Turning my head to the right, I saw a fist flying towards me.
Not just any fist—a fist enriched with high-density mana. I immediately raised my guard.
Boom! The shockwave hit me. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as strong of a blow as I’d expected. I immediately followed up with a kick to her side.
Yet something blocked my kick. I looked down to see several small magic circles overlapping, forming a protective barrier around her.
“You should focus on me, Hera.”
As Athena spoke, I quickly shifted my gaze to her, who was extending both hands toward me.
“Bind.”
As I struggled to escape, her hands prevented mine from moving behind.
Swish—like rain, swords descended from the sky, encircling my body.
As the swords resonated with each other, I felt a heavy pressure bearing down on me.
“Ah.. Ugh”
Overcome by the weight, I sank to my knees.
I tried to escape, but the more I attempted, the stronger the force pressing me down became.
“You look quite lovely when you stay still.”
Athena gently stroked my chin with her finger.
“Ugh..!”
For some reason, I felt deeply offended, and I focused all my strength into my legs this time.
Then.
Crack!
The sound of something breaking. Athena looked utterly shocked, her eyes wide open.
“That barrier was one even a giant drake couldn’t break…”
Athena mumbled as I focused the strength in my leg.
With each moment, the pressure on me lightened.
I felt that if I pushed just a little more, I could break free.
‘Just a little more…!’
But.
“Just sleep for a bit, Hera.”
She placed her hand on my head.
An enormous bell-ringing sound rang in my head, and my vision faded to black.
—
She was gone.
Just moments ago, her side was where Hera was.
With just a flick of the hero’s hand, she vanished away.
“Uh… Sister!! Hera sister is..!”
Looking at my sister, she seemed just as confused, clearly bewildered.
I felt uneasy.
The anxiety I’d felt since hearing that the Empire’s hero was looking for Hera.
Somehow, the fear of losing a loved one made Lily tremble.
‘Sister… where have you gone..?’
Lily tried to calm her trembling body with effort.
“I-I’m fine.. She said…”
That she’d want to see her grow up.
That she’d protect both herself and Hera.
That she’d never leave me.
As the ominous feeling engulfed her, something dark and slimy within Lily’s heart began to swell.
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