〈 174화 〉 173화 – The Aftermath of the One Left Alone.

*

A little while later.

I managed to halt the chase through a dramatic compromise with the succubi.

The compromise was simple.

Add ‘(Virgin)’ next to all the succubi’s contact information.

[You guys have no conscience.]

‘Damn village bus bastards.’

The pure white unicorn inside me whispered, spinning its horn like a drill.

Should I kill them, Master?

Be patient. Non-Virgin Slayer inside me.

So now, I was squeezing and adding an irreversible word next to the village buses in front of me.

I suppressed the rebellious unicorn in my heart again.

I struggled to hold back the rising blood from my throat.

As soon as I finished making all the revisions, the succubi snatched my mobile phone and began reviewing it multiple times.

“Who is Choco Hyung?”

“Your profile picture is a Chihuahua? Are you f*cking with us right now?”

“Our brother will kill you if you speak ill of him, you damn bitches.”

“Ah… Yes, I’m sorry.”

As I rarely expressed my anger, the succubi quieted down and stopped questioning me.

While thinking about meeting Choco Hyung at home, I was able to retrieve my mobile phone from the succubi, who had surprisingly finished their review.

Neither Lilith nor Jeong Siwoo seemed particularly flustered about their burnt house.

After all, Caressy had assured them she’d cover the repair costs, so they looked unbothered.

The expression on their faces showed they planned to build an even bigger house than before.

Moreover, Lilith and Jeong Siwoo didn’t stop there.

Since their place was gone anyway, they decided to take another honeymoon trip.

“Then, son-in-law! Let’s meet next time with a grandchild!”

“When Ayeon is crying, you’re the one who’s dead.”

“F*ck.”

Lilith and Jeong Siwoo were about to set off on their honeymoon trip.

Just before they left, I vaguely heard their private conversation.

“Dear! Please use your strength this time!”

“I’ll work hard for the time I was under hypnosis.”

“Let’s name our son Jeong Baljeong and our daughter Jeong Miya!”

[Looks like Lilith named them all.]

‘Damn it, I shouldn’t have listened.’

Rick’s crew seemed to be shoving him into a large trash bag, like cleaning up waste.

Just then, I spotted Spencer and couldn’t resist asking a burning question.

“Rick, what are we going to do with that guy?”

“We’ll take him to a shop that uses TS beams and completely transform him.”

“Is it even going to matter when the original is such a mess?”

“What are you talking about?”

Spencer shot me a look of disdain.

“Getting TS’d with a TS beam means becoming a flawless pretty girl, that’s common sense!”

“If your chest is bigger than Rick’s, then possess him.”

“You bitch!!”

Spencer tried to smack me, but it was so slow that I easily dodged.

Of course.

As soon as Hyeji left, I shamelessly put on fake breasts again.

And they were even bigger and heavier than when I first saw them.

Spencer sighed as his attack fell flat.

“So what are you planning to do after getting hit by the TS beam?”

“I’ll just stream and make some money.”

“There are plenty of TS streaming seniors on Nopia, so just watch and learn.”

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll go pay for the plus subscription right away.”

[Isn’t it also on J Platform?]

‘Total angel!’

Just then, the Black Dragon approached me.

Unlike before, it wasn’t hostile at all.

Curious about the Black Dragon’s behavior, I immediately asked.

“That guy is finished too, so what are you planning to do now?”

“The master-servant relationship has ended. I’m free now.”

“That’s unfortunate. The whitest thing the Black Dragon had is now gone.”

“What do you mean? The whitest thing for this body is my teeth!”

The Black Dragon raised a question at me.

Then a number on top of the Black Dragon’s head increased by one.

Right after, the Black Dragon seemed to realize what I was about to say and was about to roar at me.

“Don’t you know? The whitest thing about you is your master.”

“You bastard!!!”

Of course, my mouth was a bit quicker than that.

I dodged the vicious tail swipe and distanced myself from them.

With that, I said goodbye to Rick’s crew.

Finally, Hyeji, Elcia, and Jeong Ahyeon left to extend their party.

Caressy mentioned she’d follow them to watch.

So now I was alone, separated from my party.

Just then, I saw the delivery bag containing the loot and was about to grab it.

“Stop right there.”

I was intercepted by Jeong Bia, whose eyes were bloodshot.

Jeong Bia gripped the delivery bag tightly, glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me.

“Where are you going, you damn punk?”

“Please just go away, you loot thief. You’re ruining my ratings.”

“This is mine! Let go and go away!”

But Jeong Bia had no intention of letting go.

No, she was even trying to bite my hand.

“Growwwwwl!”

“You bitch?”

I had just saved Jeong Ahyeon per her demands, and now I was annoyed by her attacking me right after everything.

I reached into the delivery bag and pulled out various accessories as my fist wrapped around them.

Seeing this, Jeong Bia screamed at me in a voice close to a scream.

“Do you think you’d have gotten here without me?!”

I lightly shook the accessories I had in my hand in front of Jeong Bia.

Then I slipped them into my pocket and smiled.

“I’ll only take half of the other money.”

I immediately grabbed the delivery bag.

Then I used centrifugal force to throw it onto the property where the house still had some embers left.

Jeong Bia lost her mind and rushed towards the delivery bag.

“My precious!”

And just like that, Jeong Bia vanished with the delivery bag.

The succubi also swiftly departed, claiming it was their first vacation in years.

The chaotic moments that had just passed seemed like a lie; only a chilling silence remained.

No one, and nothing, was in the place.

At that moment, as I sensed my solitude, Piece spoke to me.

[Did you finally realize the heroines are interested in you, you idiot!]

‘That took a bit longer than expected.’

I was certain that Jeong Ahyeon had feelings for me.

However, it was a surprise that both Hyeji and Elcia also seemed to have favorable feelings toward me.

[Surprise is f*cking right!!! I thought I was gonna die from the frustration!!!]

‘Shit. I can’t argue with being an idiot.’

Slowly, I started to piece together a clearer understanding.

Specifically, the bizarre behaviors Hyeji displayed in the past.

The time I thought she was going to confess, and then she showed me a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur, causing me to spill my bullets out in frustration.

The time Hyeji was about to confess but was interrupted by her father, and she had beaten him.

Twice, no less.

[Even now, how the hell is Hyeji’s dad still alive?]

‘In comedy novels, characters usually don’t die.’

On the other hand, with Elcia, I thought she had no feelings since she constantly called me “Master.”

So this situation I found myself in now felt somewhat miraculous.

[Yeah, to be honest, I initially thought she wasn’t a heroine.]

‘I had absolutely no shame.’

It’s not that I disliked them at all.

If I had to be honest, I had some feelings for them, too.

In fact, they were arguably far too good for me.

So I might think that if we mutually felt okay, what was the problem?

But.

‘There’s just one thing that troubles me.’

[Are you concerned about the future where you kill everyone?]

There was something nagging.

A nightmare I had locked away deep within my consciousness was wiggling and surging towards the surface of my awareness.

That was the horrid future I glimpsed from Caressy’s regression abilities.

Where I killed everyone.

[Does that mean you’re going to refuse the confessions of others, citing that as your reason?]

‘For the time being, it seems necessary.’

I forced a bitter smile.

I was terrified of forming a relationship with anyone until I resolved that dreadful future.

If I killed someone I had a romantic connection with by my own hands…

Nothing could be more horrific than that.

I was scared.

I shut my eyes to forget, but it only made it clearer.

My breath quickened, bordering on hyperventilation.

My fingers began to tremble.

It felt maddening.

[Calm yourself.]

‘Sorry. That was embarrassing.’

Hearing Piece’s words made me feel somewhat steadied.

Regardless of whether I was in a romantic relationship or not, the future ahead would arrive, and I wished to minimize the shock as much as possible.

Even the thought of killing them directly terrified me, and if they were my lovers, it would be even more painful.

In a way, it could be called cowardly.

A typical protagonist shouldn’t be this pathetic.

A protagonist should connect with numerous beauties and act with overwhelming power to get what they want.

They should have everything they desire and command it as they wish.

In the end, they should demolish anything that leads to such a terrible conclusion.

Yet I wasn’t like that.

I wasn’t overwhelmingly strong either.

Events often unfolded contrary to my intentions.

Fortunately, things mostly went well, and I was just grateful for that.

I didn’t resolve many situations solely by my own strength.

Moreover, in that future, Hyeji, Elcia, and Jeong Ahyeon, who were stronger than me…

All became cold corpses.

Not due to anyone else, but because of me.

I hadn’t even started a relationship with them, but was it possible that their affections had prevented me from killing them?

Or perhaps they hadn’t resisted because we were truly in a romantic relationship?

I couldn’t tell.

So I made a hypothesis.

In the latter case, they might have willingly accepted death.

If that were the case, wouldn’t forming a relationship draw me closer to that dreadful future?

That’s what I thought.

Additionally, I made another assumption.

What if I had no relationship with them?

If the feelings they had for me were overshadowed by their desire to save others?

And if they could kill me without any hesitation?

Could I accept my death without a shred of hesitation then?

Of course.

I could absolutely die for them.

If necessary, I would smile until the last moment of my death.

Over and over. Hundreds of times. Thousands of times.

Piece spoke to me in a pitiful voice.

[Isn’t that too harsh on you?]

‘Compared to killing them directly, it’s nothing.’

Still, I hoped for a future where everyone survived.

I sank deeper into thought.

When I finally regained my senses, it was already starting to get dark outside.

But no one had come.

[Didn’t everyone go off to unwind without you?]

‘What? They treat this like being cast aside? I thought only the bastard writing this was the only one getting it.’

– Damn it, really.

Once more, I ignored the voices that had been echoing lately.

I began to ponder whether I should keep waiting for them or find a place to stay.

In that moment.

“Shinwoo.”

“Oh, you’re here?”

The wild Hyeji appeared.

*