외전: 다른 세계 – 10

In fact, considering the common sense of South Korea, my parents’ words came close to being a bit rude.

I was only 21 years old, and since I introduced my girlfriend as being the same age, she was also 21. Moreover, in terms of our setting, we had only been dating for about two weeks.

Therefore, casually asking a couple in their early twenties, who had just started dating, if they thought about getting married was quite sudden.

It was undeniably a question that would be impossible to give a proper answer to unless both parties had considerable confidence in their relationship.

My mother’s face stiffening slightly probably reflected her concern that my girlfriend might feel uncomfortable or change the subject. After all, she didn’t want to overstep and jeopardize her relationship with her son.

“I think she asked the question believing I wouldn’t refuse.”

Of course, my mom wouldn’t ask such a question without any basis. There was a high probability that she had observed us carefully over yesterday and today and formed her own convictions.

“Yes, I do.”

“Del… Juwon?!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, as soon as I answered, Iris shockingly turned to look at me.

I almost blurted out my name from that other world, but it seemed my parents chose to overlook the slip of tongue. From what I heard, it did sound like I had mixed up my words.

For me, this was only natural. There was absolutely no reason to hesitate. Surely, I was being watched from my apartment using magic.

Seeing that my answer seemed to please him, my father nodded. A faint smile appeared on my mother’s face as well.

“Miss, what do you think?”

With a glimmer of expectation, my father’s gaze shifted to Iris. Iris blushed furiously and stuttered for a moment before closing her eyes.

“I, I think so too.”

“Oh my, oh my, oh my…”

My mother exclaimed in delight, hitting my father on the thigh repeatedly. The sound of her smacking his thigh was surprisingly loud.

My father, who seemed to have received a good number of smacks, cleared his throat with a cough and stood up.

“Juwon, let’s talk for a moment.”

“Yes.”

I followed my father after confirming that my mother had moved next to Iris, looking quite emotional.

My little sister hadn’t been seen since a few hours ago. To be honest, it wasn’t my concern.

“Juwon.”

“Yes.”

The initial part of the conversation we had in the room repeated itself.

“Even I, much older than you, see her as a wonderful lady. I thought I raised a son who has nothing to envy others, but for a moment, I felt she might actually be a precious girl for our son.”

“…”

“Now that you’ve confirmed your feelings, make sure to discuss the wedding schedule between you two. I don’t know how her family will think about it, but we have no intention of interfering with adult men and women getting married. Instead, ask us anytime if you don’t understand something.”

Now that I thought about it, didn’t they have parents too? That thought crossed my mind suddenly after hearing those words. I had never mentioned it and had completely forgotten about it since I had never met them.

Even excluding the special cases of Kaikilia and Aurora, and Minerva and Nix, what about the others?

‘…Well, I guess it will all end without any problems.’

In Eclipse’s world, polygamy was allowed anyway, so I could just show my face and be done with it. Unlike now, I wouldn’t have to go through such complicated processes.

“Okay. Understood.”

“Good. Let’s go back in. Your mother should be finishing her conversation with that lady by now.”

My father shuffled back inside, and after checking that the front door was completely closed, I called for Eclipse.

“Goddess.”

—Yes, you.

“How far along are you?”

—It’s almost done. Just as you instructed, I proceeded with the changes as slowly as possible while only touching very localized parts. There will be no erosion of this world by my power, nor any drastic changes occurring. However…

“What is it?”

—Ah, it’s nothing.

Seeing her trailing off, I suspected it wasn’t truly nothing. I considered pressing her for details, but decided to let it go. If it were something that could harm me, she would have told me earlier.

When I returned to the living room, Mom had already taken out an album and was chatting excitedly with Iris. Iris was gushing over my childhood photos.

Her expression appeared stoic as usual, but I could tell.

“Look at this! All the time he was so into games, ignoring food and sleep… And look at him after scoring well on his exams. It’s impossible for us to criticize him.”

Wait, why are you pointing that out?

After a four-hour long release of embarrassing history, we returned to my apartment, escorted by my parents, who waved until we were out of sight.

I didn’t forget to give my little sister the enhancement potion as a parting gift. For some reason, she had been sulking in her room for a while, but the moment the potion kicked in, she jumped around and hugged me.

Then I got hit once. How dare you touch my body.

‘The real fun begins tomorrow.’

Thinking about the storm of phone calls and text messages I would receive in 24 hours made me burst into laughter. Upon seeing my laughter, Iris commented that I felt different.

I’m not a demon. I planned to give her the permanently effective enhancement potion someday.

Someday.

“Everyone did well—”

As soon as I stepped back into my apartment, I was stunned by the sight before me.

Photos from my album seemed to be floating in the air. And they were much higher resolution than the ones from the album.

I stared at the perpetrator.

“What is this, Minerva?”

“It’s what the child described as a photo concept. I recreated it using mana. To be able to capture past time and space on a single sheet of paper, why didn’t I think of this before?”

“Please get rid of it right now.”

“I understand.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Minerva disassembled the photos, and seeing that no one was upset as they disappeared, I gained confidence.

These kids had already gathered everything they needed.

I considered whether I should demand they return everything but gave up. They wouldn’t take it out in front of me, so as long as it’s not visible, I didn’t care what they did with my photos.

The four Holy Kingdom members, who quietly hid in my room, felt a bit uneasy.

“How was your time at Delta’s house, Iris?”

“…It was amazing, really.”

“I know. You looked more than happy. I asked out of courtesy.”

Erica poked Iris with a smile that resembled her sister’s. Iris seemed flustered and didn’t know how to react.

“Don’t be too downhearted, Erica. If there’s an opportunity, it will come abundantly later.”

“I’m not particularly downhearted. Seeing Iris shiver, I actually think it’s fortunate it was the second time.”

“I didn’t shiver!”

“Really? Should we ask Minerva to confirm? She was able to play back videos, not just photos.”

“About that…”

As the Knight Commanders bickered among themselves, showing the absurd nature of Minerva, Nyx quietly approached and stood beside me.

Originally, she was supposed to come after Aurora, but due to unforeseen circumstances, she had been pushed back.

“Sorry for skipping, Nyx. Next time, you’ll definitely be first.”

“Hehe, it can’t be helped. I wouldn’t want anything to mess up this world.”

The reason Nyx and Iris swapped places was purely due to height. Nyx was so small that it could create an unsettling atmosphere, so the goddess warned about it.

Considering the Goddess had severely restricted her powers, there wasn’t much else to do. The more involved Eclipse became in this world, the higher the probability of harmonizing with the Goddess’s realm.

If she used her powers to restore that harmonized environment, it would only increase the degree of harmonization. Therefore, the best option was to restrict her powers from the start.

‘Eclipse probably wouldn’t have known. She hasn’t touched anything but her own world.’

The fact that this colossal truth was revealed now was simply because Eclipse had never needed to interfere here until now. The soul collection and throwing away took place in an external dimension.

Just interfering with the world could increase the chances of a dimensional merge—indeed, the Goddess was remarkable.

“Still, I don’t regret choosing this body. Hehe. You can carry me easily.”

“What do you mean… Wait a second.”

Initially, I understood she meant it was easy to hold her. But suddenly realizing this, I looked down at Nyx, who was grinning.

This meant something else entirely.

I ruffled Nyx’s hair, then went to find the Knight Commanders. By now, Iris had returned to the Knights’ conquest. She wore a white sleeveless top and dolphin shorts, and, as expected, no underwear.

Surrounded by her three companions, Iris was being teased, and upon seeing me, she grabbed my sleeve tightly and hid behind me.

“Oh, right. Iris, I wanted to ask you something.”

“…What is it?”

“When I went into my sister’s room, she was openly sulking. Is there anything you think could have triggered that?”

“Hmm… I do have one thing.”

“Really? What is it?”

Hearing that my sister had been upset instantly piqued the interest of the three girls who usually despised her.

“During a conversation, the topic of bras came up. Your sister answered that to prevent sagging, one must wear one. So I asked her why she wore it if it was for that reason, and the conversation ended there.”

Looks like my sister got hit with an unexpected strike.

“I didn’t say anything because you seemed to dislike talking about her… Should I have mentioned it?”

I pulled Iris closer gently, comforting her as she looked a bit anxious. Iris seemed surprised for a moment, then soon buried her face in my chest.

“…Why are you doing this, Delta?”

“Because I’m proud of you.”

I secretly significantly advanced the date for providing the real enhancement potion. Since something like that had happened, I should definitely move the date up.

외전: 일상

It had been two weeks since I arrived in this world. During that time, everyone was enjoying their lives here in their own ways.

I had encouraged them to do so. I told them to think of it as a vacation, allowing them to experience life in this world as they wished. Anything they needed or wanted, the goddess and I would take care of it.

Initially, I thought they would want to travel around together with me, but surprisingly, that wasn’t the case.

First of all, Kaikilia and Aurora had become completely immersed in Brightest Darkness 4. They came to find me every few hours or when they died due to some foolishness, spending sticky time with me, but aside from that, they spent most of their time playing the game.

Interestingly, Aurora’s progress was much faster than Kaikilia’s. There were two reasons for that.

“Aunt, please don’t just see it solely from your perspective, and plan your actions within what the game characters can do. Game characters can’t move as quickly as you do! Even if you type on the keyboard while rolling around, you can’t cancel the action.”

“That’s exactly what’s strange! This is a character descended from the goddess who took after me! Why can’t it move exactly like me? It’s absurd that any attack would kill me with just one hit. I am not that weak!”

“Your exterior may resemble it, but it’s an entirely different existence. Also, if you find it so difficult, you could just play without the Darkest Light Mode as Delta suggests…”

The first reason was that Kaikilia kept playing Brightest Darkness 4 as if it were ‘her own senses’.

If you were to point out the apex of the Empire’s strength, Kaikilia would surely be one of the top two alongside Minerva. Thus, when she played in accordance with her own senses, it was no surprise that the game didn’t go well.

It was due to having a player with such exceptional specs behind the monitor. No matter how much in-game characters might fly or fight, they could never compare to Kaikilia’s specs.

‘If Kaikilia’s specs were fully realized, even without Darkest Light Mode, most enemies would be one-shot kills.’

Still, she was quick to devise countermeasures, but she frequently came to me upset over dying because her character couldn’t dodge a clearly visible attack, so I often comforted her.

In contrast, since Aurora had no such personal strength, she adapted much faster, which was the first reason.

“Delta, this is way more enjoyable than I expected!”

“…Really?”

“Yes! Exploring the world I lived in like this is incredibly fun. I was locked in the mansion and seldom got to go outside.”

The second reason was that Aurora was an absurdly talented individual.

When it came to acquiring and adapting to games, her speed was far superior to mine. I had reached this level after playing Brightest Darkness 4 for ten years, but I was no match for a case like Aurora.

Thanks to her lineage from Libanus, combined with her overwhelming aptitude and enthusiasm, she was progressing at an impressive rate, even with Darkest Light Mode activated. What on earth was happening?

Thanks to this, the prideful Kaikilia felt she couldn’t allow herself to fall behind Aurora, applied Darkest Light Mode, and started fresh only to get completely wrecked.

“I can’t do this either.”

Additionally, Minerva, who had started Brightest Darkness 4 with us, was not actually playing the game but trying to extract data using magic.

The initial reason she wanted to play Brightest Darkness 4 was to discover secrets about the world, including the ancient scrolls. After dying a few times, she lost interest within ten minutes and resorted to her current state.

—Crackle!

“Oh my.”

Since items in this world weren’t made to withstand mana and magic, Minerva ended up breaking over a hundred computers just within these two weeks.

With silver-white pupils directed my way, I used my Powers of Restoration as familiar practice. The main unit had been emitting black smoke due to all its circuits being fried, but it restored its shape in an instant.

“Hey there.”

“Yes, Minerva.”

“Hey, hey, hey.”

Instead of touching the computer again, Minerva sneaked over and sat me down on the bed, climbing sideways onto my lap as if she were a princess.

Softly, my face aligned with her chest. Minerva wrapped her left arm around my head, pulling it close to her bosom. My head sank deep into her cleavage, and the smell of milk wafted into my nostrils.

“Will you help me, child?”

“Here we go again. If you want to know where the ancient scrolls are located, I can let you know, but I can’t be bothered and won’t tell you all the secrets of the world.”

How broad do you think that range of secrets is?

“I’m asking you to do it this way. Okay?”

Minerva’s voice was almost sultry. Though her emotions were anxious, her tone was nobly polite, and I wondered where that previous refinement had disappeared to.

“Is the reward insufficient? Whatever you want, just say it. I’ll fulfill all your desires, anything at all.”

With soft whispers and gentle fingers, she seized my hand and began pulling it. Her fingertips brushed against the tie of her somewhat ajar bathrobe. It was as if she were prompting me to unravel it.

Minerva’s arms tightened around my head, and her soft bosoms enveloped either side of my head. The scent of milk intensified.

“I’ve told you before.”

Instead of untying the robe as she hoped, I lifted her up and placed her gently on the bed. Minerva, sitting in a very alluring pose, puffed up her cheeks.

Who did she learn that from?

“Minerva, you could just play Brightest Darkness 4 yourself and find out.”

“But it’s not fun.”

Minerva puffed her lips out, and I felt her complaints growing progressively more childish as time passed.

“Studying magic feels the same to me.”

“Why? Studying is much more enjoyable than a game, isn’t it?”

As expected, that was the answer of a nuts-and-bolts type of leader among the crazy magicians.

—Click!

As we continued to debate with our thoughts diverging, a camera sound from behind me broke through. It was the historic sound of the 200th shutter click today.

I left saying I would think about it and exited the room, leaving Minerva pouting.

As soon as I entered the living room, I spotted a heavily waved blonde hair darting into her room. I hurriedly followed behind.

“Welcome, Delta.”

“Do you have something to discuss with us?”

Inside the room were four people nonchalantly seated, waiting for me. Floretta, Luna, Stella, and Selene—the four members of the Holy Kingdom side.

“I do.”

“Ah!”

“Aah!”

I magically seized the smartphones hidden in the cleavage of the Popess. Floretta and Luna looked at me as if the world was ending.

First, I pressed the power button on Floretta’s phone. The lock screen revealed a background photo of me. Luna’s phone displayed the same.

Up to this point, it was understandable. Ever since I gifted them smartphones, everyone had been using my photos or pictures taken together as their background.

The real shock came next. I unlocked the phone and without hesitation, entered the gallery. Floretta had 17,389 photos; Luna had 17,421. Together, there were approximately 35,000 photos, all of which were pictures of me.

“I’m sorry, Delta. We’ll pay for our sins with our bodies.”

“Yes, please punish us freely for taking such unauthorized photos of the Holy One.”

Floretta and Luna hoisted their see-through clothes, similar to Eclipse but more revealing. Unlike Eclipse’s clothing, which served its role faithfully, the popesses’ clothes routinely got caught in their cleavage or slipped toward their armpits.

As if that wasn’t enough, the popesses pulled Stella and Selene, who had been seated calmly beside them, into a hug.

“The same goes for them, Delta.”

“So how about punishing them alongside us?”

Floretta’s and Stella’s bosoms squished together while Luna’s and Selene’s thighs touched. Despite that, all four of their gazes were solely on me.

“I’m sorry, Holy One. We’ll repay this sin with our bodies.”

“That’s right. Please punish us as you see fit.”

‘Did they plan this from the very beginning?’

Whether I said nothing, they got to take my photos freely, and if caught like now, they could fulfill their desires by asking me for punishment. Either option was advantageous for them.

I shook my head and handed the smartphones back. Well, if that’s a way to enjoy this world in their own way—no matter how much it leans toward my side.

The popesses received their phones back with slightly gloomy expressions and immediately rejuvenated their spirits by snapping more photos of me.

“Delta, do you want to eat together?”

Following the scent of food wafting through the living room, I was welcomed by the Knight Commanders, who were busy ordering various dishes and evaluating the flavors.

Driven by curiosity about how my world’s food would taste, they were likely relishing in what could be the truest sense of vacation in this world.

Similar to how a trip overseas always involved trying the local delicacies, I thought.

“I’m good—ugh.”

“Don’t be that way! Eat what we share!”

Just as I was about to refuse, Lize swiftly stuffed a piece of seasoned chicken into my mouth. Then she gestured for Erica and Iris to approach as if they’d been waiting for the cue.

“Have this too, Delta!”

“Here, eat this as well!”

While I was chewing the piece of chicken in my mouth, the last remaining member of the squad fixed her gaze on me with six eyes now.

Claudia, holding a 40-degree vodka bottle and blowing air into it, removed her lips with a puzzled expression. There were already over five empty vodka bottles scattered about.

“…I suppose I should be fed one of those as well, shouldn’t I? Right, Delta?”

Claudia awkwardly grinned as she picked up a piece of chicken with her chopsticks. Tap, the chopsticks touched my lips. I obediently opened my mouth and swallowed it down.

The chopsticks were quickly withdrawn. Claudia glanced between the chopsticks and me with a slightly awkward expression before sucking off the remaining seasoning from them.

“How’s this food?”

“Hmm… I think the one I had a few days ago was better.”

“I agree. It doesn’t suit my taste.”

“Really? I think it’s alright.”

“You always say that. Claudia, what about you?”

Claudia, who had been snapping the chopsticks together, looked startled and raised her head.

“Uh, um?! I think it’s either good or not good…?”

Seeing the Knight Commanders seriously evaluating the taste of chicken made me chuckle. Especially Iris and Erica didn’t seem to fit that kind of image.

‘Despite all that food, they haven’t changed a bit.’

I briefly glanced down at the thighs revealed beneath the dolphin shorts and the abdomen snugly fitted under the sleeveless top. Their bodies were still near-perfect and had not gained any weight.

‘Did Eclipse design them that way…?’

To ensure they remained incredibly visually appealing, the goddess must have ensured they maintained the best possible weight. In any case, one had to acknowledge the love she had for her creations.

Everyone was enjoying their lives here in their own ways. Kaikilia and Aurora were, the Knight Commanders were, as were the popess sisters and Stella and Selene.

Even Minerva, while slightly awkwardly, was involved as she occasionally visited the Knight Commander for food, watched Kaikilia and Aurora, or shared collections with the popesses.

In this world, only one person truly seemed to be doing ‘nothing at all.’

“Ugh… Uh?!”

“What are you doing, Nyx?”

As I energetically ripped the covers off my bed, a startled Nyx emerged, having her face buried in a pillow, with her face only now peeking out in surprise.

“I was… resting. Hehe. They said I should just rest here as much as I want in this world.”

“I didn’t say you could stick to my bed and play around all day.”

“Eek!”

Nyx had a simple routine. She appeared to know precisely when I woke up and would burrow under my blanket. Then she’d fidget on the bed for a whole day, occasionally indulging in some playful contact, and once I went to bed, she would move away. That was it.

Thanks to that concise and straightforward routine, I had to purify my bed every day as if I had dumped a whole bottle of fruit-scented perfume onto it before going to sleep.

I even heard she had fought with the popess sisters over the rights to my bed, which was utterly absurd.

I used magic to lift Nyx. Hanging in mid-air, Nyx smiled awkwardly. A transparent liquid trailed down her inner thighs.

Fortunately, it seemed today wasn’t heavily scented before the actual start. Could I even consider this a good fortune?

“Would you like to join me? It could feel better if we do it together.”

“No.”

“Eek…”

As Nyx drooped in disappointment, I wondered if she was genuinely expecting that question.