ReLife Player

ReLife Player 078

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Bibell

[Even if it means turning the world into an enemy(6)]

«…Finally.»

It was 3 PM. Peak hours had passed.

Jung Seok-hoon, who had taken off his apron, could finally catch his breath.

For days now, he had been working tirelessly without rest.

It was all because the fairy, Im Ga-eul, had requested a large order. To meet the deadline, he had to cut down on his sleep.

They said he could make potions when he had free time, but he couldn’t afford to close the shop.

If it weren’t for Hayang and Min Su-jin helping with the store, he might have collapsed from exhaustion.

«Here.»

«Thank you.»

Seok-hoon raised his lips as he accepted the glass of ice water Su-jin offered.

Just her smiling made the fatigue melt away.

«Why?»

«No reason. I just like it.»

There was no particular reason for their laughter.

They simply looked at each other and smiled with contentment.

«Lately, Dad seems to only play with Su-jin unnie.»

«Our Hayang is jealous, huh? Dad loves you so much, Hayang.»

«That’s right, Hayang. Do you know how much Mr. Seok-hoon likes you?»

Hayang pouted and swelled her cheeks.

They didn’t know what to do, staring at each other without realizing.

«Hmph, I don’t know. I’m going to take orders from my friends.»

Hayang smirked at the two of them hurrying. She carried the menu and walked over to the table with children.

The two of them burst into light laughter when they realized she was just joking.

She had grown up.

Seok-hoon watched his daughter take orders flawlessly with a proud smile.

Until recently, she used to be awkward with people and would easily shed tears, but now she had grown up.

It made him proud and a little sad.

It felt like she had left his side now.

Still, he was immensely grateful to the children who had changed his daughter.

Eunha hasn’t arrived yet.

From what he heard, Eunha had some important business to attend to, so he couldn’t make it.

That’s why even though the kids were lively and noisy, there was a certain emptiness in the air.

They might deny it, but Seok-hoon knew that the kids were secretly relying on Eunha.

He wondered what was keeping him from coming.

«Huh?»

That’s when his smartphone vibrated.

[Eunha & Euna]

Seok hoon looked at the name on his phone and scratched his head.

What’s going on?

He decided to pick up the phone.

«Hello, is it Eunha?»

[Yes, sir. It’s Eunha. Sorry for calling so suddenly].

«No. What’s wrong, I thought you couldn’t come today?»

[…something came up, and I need to ask you a favor].

«A favor?»

A favor?

He wasn’t the kind of kid to ask for a favor.

He seemed so mature for his age, and when he said the word «favor,» I knew it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

Seok hoon listened to his story and thought about it.

It wasn’t a difficult request.

But it would require him to stay in the kitchen.

In the meantime, there was no one who would take care of Happiness.

«─I’ll do it.»

«Dad, I’ll help!»

They must have been listening to the phone call.

Su jin raised her hand to interrupt, and beside her was Hayang, who was taking orders from her friends.

«…Yes, I think I can do it.»

[Oh, thank you, and the money will come later, soon….]

«Eunha’s birthday is just around the corner. I’ll cover it.»

[…It’s shameless, but thank you. Oh, and…]

«…Yeah, sure.»

He hung up the phone.

Seok-hoon tied on his apron, which he had draped over a chair, and asked the two of them to take care of the store.

Before heading into the kitchen, he called out to Minji, who had been watching what was going on from afar.

«Minji.»

«What?»

«Eunha wants you to bring home the drinks I make from now on.»

«What, I haven’t even been here long?»

Minji grumbled as she jumped up from her seat and began to ramble on about Eunha not being here right now.

Apparently, that wasn’t enough.

«Seona.»

«Mhmm? Yes?»

«Send a telepathic message to Eunha for me.»

«It’s too far away to reach.»

«But send it anyway. Otherwise, I’m going to explode»

«Yeah, okay.»

«No Eunha, you ass!»

[Min-ji wants to tell you, No-eun-ha, you little dumbass!]

Of course, Seona’s telepathy only spread to the people in the store.

Everyone in the shop burst into laughter. Seok-hoon, who was in the kitchen preparing ingredients, also grinned when he heard the telepathy.

«Wow, it looks like captain is up to something, and I want to join too.»

[No, you can’t].

«…Do you have to tell me telepathically?»

[Yeah, you little dumbass number 2].

«Did I do something wrong?»

The kids were having a great time today.

☆

…Impressive.

Shin Seoyoung looked ahead and admired her inwardly.

«Hop! Step! Jump!»

While shouting, Euna rose vertically from the ground.

At that moment, the ground she was on cracked and a tree trunk stretched out.

If she was any slower, the tree trunk would have caught her and she wouldn’t have gotten out.

Her reflexes were amazing. She had unfolded a spherical sensory network around herself, and had identified the flow of mana.

That wasn’t all.

Leaping into the air, she was defenseless.

If Seoyoung created a gust of wind, she would be caught in it, unable to react.

«Uh-oh, if I do this….»

At first, Euna panicked.

However, she applied her experience in making footholds and jumping in the air to create a foothold similar to a surfboard.

Then, using her excellent motor skills, she flew through the air, riding the wind like a wave.

That’s good… Then how about this.

Seo-young waved her hand once again and the wind in the area disappeared.

Euna, who had been riding the wind currents, had no choice but to fall.

«Jelly!»

Mana that appeared outside of her body enveloped her. The mana turned into a jelly-like consistency, offsetting the damage of the fall.

She popped out of the jelly and leapt at Seoyoung without hesitation.

She pointed her index finger at Euna.

Bullets shot out of her fingertips, splintering into many pieces and rushing toward her.

«Jelly!»

The child had a vivid imagination.

Seo-young was amazed at the magic Euna had devised.

The jelly, which she assumed was a type of protective magic, had swallowed the mana bullet.

It was a type of protection magic, and a type of confinement magic.

«But it’s far away.»

«I got it… Uh-uh-uh-wooahh!»

Just before Euna’s hand touched Seo-young.

A tree branch that had risen from the ground a moment earlier had grabbed her ankle.

Before she knew it, she was dangling in midair, unable to break free of the tree branch.

«You’ve grown a lot, though.»

Seo-young looked up at her as she hung in the air and gave her honest assessment.

She had been teaching Euna for about three months.

Eunha had told her that she had vast amounts of mana, but not much sense in manipulating it.

It was a lie.

Euna was very good with mana. She had tons of mana, but it only looked that way because she was focused on the art of managing a small amount of mana efficiently.

As if to prove it, she had grown so much in just three months.

«Ugh~ Give it up! Put me down~»

«No, no. Getting down on your own is part of the lesson.»

«Woooo….»

Seoyoung smirked. She wondered how Euna would solve this problem.

It was then that her phone vibrated.

«What?»

Seo-young raised an eyebrow as she looked at the name displayed on her smartphone.

It was rare for this person to call her directly.

She felt a little uneasy.

Had he gotten into an accident somewhere?

Should I answer it or not?

She looked down at her vibrating phone for a long moment.

Well, there’s no other choice.

«Hello. Eunha?»

[Yes, Seo-young. I’m calling because I have a favor to ask].

«What have you entrusted to me this time? You rarely call me for help. You know, I should gain something from this too.»

[Well, noona, I did help you with the dawn department store incident, didn’t I?].

«Oh, my God. Is that what you’re saying?»

[I also told you about the Happiness Potion Store].

«…Eunha, can I hang up?»

[Please help me].

«Ha. Okey»

Seo-young reluctantly gave in, her tone showing irritation.

She was a bit of a pushover.

Once again, she couldn’t stubbornly refuse.

«What’s the request?»

[I’m going to confront someone.]

«And you expect me to handle the aftermath? It’s not a crime, is it?»

[Well, I think it might benefit you too, noona.]

«Sigh, it doesn’t seem like a benefit to me. Alright, I’ll put this up for you.»

[Thank you. Also, noona, do you have time right now? Can you give me a buff?]

«…Did you really entrust something to me?»

Seoyoung asked incredulously.

I can’t believe you’re asking me one of the Twelve a buff.

[You’re with Euna right now, right? don’t tell her].

That’s a lot of orders.

Seo-young couldn’t believe how shameless the request was.

«Ha, is this why I became a member of the Twelve Seats for? I feel self-disgusted and miserable. …

Wait, I’ll go right now.»

[Okay, thanks, I won’t forget about this].

Seoyoung hung up the phone.

It was a good thing it was off-hours; she would have been very upset if she had gotten a call during a workday.

She sighed and summoned a teleportation circle.

«Whoosh~! Hehe, unnie, I did it!»

Meanwhile, Euna managed to escape.

«Sorry, I have something urgent to attend to. Rest until I come back.»

«Where are you going?»

«…There’s something like that.»

She was easily swayed by others.

Internally, she scolded herself for being so easily persuaded, but she still complied with Eunha’s request.

Soon, a strong wind blew.

«Wow…»

After the wind subsided, there was no one left in the spot where they had been.

☆

‘Even if it means turning the world into an enemy, I will protect you’

Bruno still remembered the words he’d sworn years ago.

Surely she remembered, too.

So why doesn’t she trust me?

He walked into the bedroom, thinking about the past.

A bedroom bathed in sunset.

Bruno pushed aside the dressing table.

In its place was a single, square niche.

With the tip of his knife, he slit it open, revealing a secret compartment.

He reached into the space and pulled out a briefcase made of mana alloy.

Inside were player devices, potions, and other aids.

He pulled out each piece of equipment, checking its condition.

He didn’t know what had happened to her.

But he had a vague suspicion that ‘they’ had shown up.

If so, he would absolutely need this equipment.

«…Good.»

All the equipment was functioning properly.

He took off his suit.

His muscular upper body was covered in numerous scars.

He had lost some muscle mass compared to before.

Looking in the full-length mirror, he objectively assessed his current condition compared to when he had fled from Italy.

This was why he couldn’t say he was the the «Brown Bear of Valentine.»

Nevertheless, he didn’t hesitate to put on the equipment.

He had made a promise to her.

Even if he had to turn the world into an enemy, he would protect her.

«…Wait for me.»

As he left the bedroom, he checked if his smartphone’s battery was fully charged. He also tuned his internal mana.

The moment he opened the front door, he planned to rush to wherever she was.

He opened the door. The setting sun painted the sky red.

And─.

«─Mr. Bruno.»

Eunha, with the setting sun at his back, was waiting with a determined expression.

«Let’s go together.»

He spoke with an unusual determination, radiating an extraordinary aura.