〈 Chapter 296 〉 Episode 290 – Funeral (2)

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While a crappy feeling whirls in Caressy’s heart.

A face more welcoming than anyone else appears before her.

‘Is that Shinwoo?!’

It was none other than Shinwoo himself.

With his right arm reattached after being chopped off.

‘Thank goodness.’

Although it looked like it would take a while to recover, wrapped up in bandages, it was proof that he was healing, and that gave her some relief.

At that moment, one thought struck Caressy’s mind like lightning.

‘I confessed thinking I was gonna die, and now I’m a bit embarrassed.’

The fact that she confessed to Shinwoo while half-heartedly thinking it was all over.

And then she even kissed him on the forehead right after.

‘How am I supposed to face him later?’

Remembering that, Caressy was on the brink of losing it.

Of course, realizing that no one had discovered her yet made it feel even worse.

‘No, fck! If no one discovers me, this worry is pointless!’

Anyway, embarrassment could wait for later.

For now, getting rescued by someone was the priority.

But there was something even more pressing.

‘What does Shinwoo actually think of me?’

Caressy was especially curious because she had vanished after confessing.

What kind of despair was Kim Shinwoo, who now had that gloomy look on his face, feeling?

As if responding to Caressy’s curiosity.

With an even more despairing face, Shinwoo was biting his lips.

Finally, he slowly began to speak.

“Fck…*”

‘Is he sad because I’m not around?~’

An unexpected sigh.

It was clear that he was suffering quite a lot without Caressy.

If that’s the case, then she still had a chance.

‘Finally, I can end up with Shinwoo!~’

Caressy’s plan went like this.

She would appear like a puff in front of the deeply despairing Kim Shinwoo.

Claiming she crossed over from the brink of death.

‘But that alone isn’t enough.’

She certainly didn’t plan to end it there.

Of course, it could end that way, but…

If possible, she wanted it to be as dramatic as possible.

She would let him know that she would soon disappear, causing an emotional upheaval in Shinwoo.

Seizing the moment when he was at a loss for what to do.

She would casually drop that if someone confessed, the Lord would save him.

‘Then Shinwoo would almost definitely confess!’

If that happened, Kim Shinwoo would urgently plead for her and confess.

She’d casually accept, pretending she couldn’t help it, wrapping it up there.

Calming her own embarrassment a bit while gaining an upper hand in romance; it was a terribly ambitious plan.

‘What a perfect plan!’

Honestly, she felt a bit guilty about it.

Especially since it involved deceiving Shinwoo’s feelings and simultaneously selling out the Lord.

‘I feel a little sorry, but I can’t help it.’

Still, she had no intention of withdrawing the plan.

Because her fear of Shinwoo’s girlfriends outweighed everything else.

‘If Shinwoo doesn’t do it himself, he’ll die. Like really die.’

Everyone’s mental state was swinging back and forth, but oddly enough, their power was still mighty.

If any of those girls went nuts, it would feel like the end of the world.

Especially just thinking of Hyeji made her legs tremble like jelly.

‘Even the Lord can’t win against that. No, the Lord would definitely die too.’

For a moment.

Shinwoo, who had a gloomy expression, opened his mouth again.

“…Is this a joke?”

‘Hurry up and say it~ I’m suffering because you’re gone~’

The moment Caressy looked at Shinwoo, who was really despairing, with interest in her eyes.

“Even if it’s a funeral, it’s not a buffet kind of thing.”

‘I wish he would just shut up and stay quiet.’

Anger surged up in her.

Shouldn’t he be saying things like, ‘Caressy, I missed you.’ or ‘You didn’t die, right?’

She knew it wasn’t normal from the start, but this was just too much.

‘That bastard!!!’

Just as Caressy gnashed her teeth, she noticed others approaching Shinwoo.

Of course, it was Hyeji, Elcia, and Ayeon.

Soon after, their conversation began to reach her ears.

“Shinwoo, is it true that Caressy really died?”

“…….I’m sorry. I was too weak.”

“It’s okay. You did your best, Master.”

“How unfortunate. For a dog cat, she was a good dog cat.”

Seeing everyone with gloomy expressions missing Caressy.

It felt somewhat comforting to her troubled heart.

‘But it’s only natural they miss the one who was the most normal~’

Still, this wasn’t quite enough.

She wished they’d say a bit more about her and miss her more.

So that when she returned, everything would go smoothly with Shinwoo.

‘I want you to miss me more~’

As if sensing Caressy’s expectations.

Once again, their conversation began to stimulate her ears.

“Shinwoo, isn’t this your first time seeing such a large funeral?”

“Yeah. It looks like everyone really misses Caressy.”

“It’s really unfortunate. But can this size be managed with the current finances of the Beastman Kingdom?”

“It looks like they pushed for it, but I wonder if they can manage it.”

‘Honestly, I was surprised too.’

The scale of the event to honor Caressy was indeed unprecedented.

In previous times, when the Beastman Kingdom was overflowing with money, it would have been no problem.

But now, the situation was a bit different.

‘……I didn’t expect they would really demolish the entire kingdom.’

Being up on the pillar, the only benefit was being able to see the Beastman Kingdom all at once thanks to the clear roof.

But looking at the ruins where not even a blade of grass survived, one had to wonder if that could really be considered a benefit.

Restoration would take time and astronomical amounts of money.

‘Casualties remarkably avoided again.’

They were thorough in various meanings to the point it amazed her.

Still, holding such a grand event in the current situation seemed unreasonable.

Meanwhile, Shinwoo and the others were still hitting the regret despair peak hard.

Naturally, Caressy was feeling good about it.

At that moment, another figure appeared in Caressy’s line of sight.

“Are you all already thinking of giving up? What about Caressy?”

‘……Dad.’

That figure was none other than the Pope.

Come to think of it, they had said goodbye without a proper farewell at the end.

He still wore a gentle smile, but his eyes looked pretty worn, indicating he was suffering a lot.

Even so, the Pope kept up his smile and began to speak.

“You all didn’t falter, and you pressed on until the end, did you?”

“But…”

“It’s too early to lose hope. You won’t give up this time, right?”

‘That’s right! I can’t give up on me!’

She desperately wanted them to at least look for her once more since she was still not moving.

She would not give up either.

She silently prayed for them not to give up.

‘I’ll definitely return, so don’t give up yet!’

In that moment, the Pope grinned even wider than before.

He pulled out something thick from his robe and spoke.

“The condolence money is sufficient. So you can rest assured the funeral won’t be canceled.”

‘Whether my funeral is canceled or not, you bastard!!!‘

Furious at that statement, Caressy was.

But they quickly moved on, lightheartedly laughing, erasing the gloomy atmosphere.

None the wiser to Caressy’s rotting heart.

“…….Shinwoo, I guess that’s all cash.”

“Hahaha, that’s just a tiny part of it.”

“With that amount, gathering must have been quite the hassle.”

“Sigh. The amount was so huge, I got worn out collecting it.”

‘So that’s why you looked worn out!!!’

Now she understood the Pope’s tired look.

If that amount was merely a fraction, it must have been quite a job to keep track.

Of course, the smile on his face seemed to suggest that it was all worth the trouble.

‘You bastards! This isn’t a festival!’

But in that talk, Elcia and Kim Shinwoo weren’t participating.

Both merely hung their heads down with gloomy expressions as if nothing had ever happened.

Soon after, Elcia clenched her little fist and trembled as she began to mutter to herself.

“I’m sorry, Caressy. If only I had been a bit faster.”

‘……I thought you’d be dazzled by the condolence money, but I guess not. I see it now.’

Contrary to Caressy’s expectations, Elcia was still maintaining her gloominess.

Honestly, she hadn’t expected that reaction, and it stirred something uneasy in her heart.

Now she felt a bit sorry for calling her “Ear Goblin” all the time.

‘I should treat Shinwoo well next to her.’

The moment Caressy’s evaluation of Elcia skyrocketed.

Elcia’s words started to ring clearly.

“My condolence money will forever live on with my Elf Coin.”

‘You should just die forever, you bastard Ear Goblin!!!‘

As expected, an Ear Goblin was an Ear Goblin.

Her true nature didn’t change.

At that moment, Shinwoo’s voice reprimanding Elcia rang out.

“Elcia, even so, buying coins with the condolence money isn’t quite right.”

“I’m sorry. I did it so I could always remember Caressy.”

“But Caressy hated coins. If you spend money like that, she won’t be able to rest easy.”

‘See? Only Shinwoo gets it.’

While she wouldn’t have to worry about resting, she really hoped none of her money would be spent there.

If possible, it would be better for the remaining condolence money to go into rebuilding the Beastman Kingdom.

Caressy thought she hadn’t made a wrong choice in picking Shinwoo.

“We should use the condolence money for picking up Kitazan.”

‘You’re the most fcked up piece of sh*t!!!’

In that moment, she painfully realized her choice had been utterly wrong.

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