“…You’re saying that the Young Demon bought this for you?”
Jin Saeyang could hardly believe her ears. The countless adult magazines in her hands seemed to mock her disbelief.
It would be truly astonishing if that earnest and stylishly handsome man really handed these magazines over to Hwangdo. These were magazines filled with niche tastes, not something one could buy unless they harbored a perverted hobby.
“Really?”
Asking just in case, Hwangdo nodded his head, looking at her as if she were the strange one.
“That’s right?”
“That man, he gave you magazines about SM and… affairs and… stuff like that?”
“Yeah.”
A vile sexual desire. To think he would gift such things to a child.
Saeyang was shocked. The usually just and fair Young Demon. She had glimpsed the dark side of that man.‘Could it be that the reason I suddenly became a disciple of Cheonma was to realize the jungle law in Dowon?’
With a chill, Saeyang stroked her goosebumped arm.
“Sister. It’s not that brother just gave them to me. I asked him to buy them for me.”
“You asked for adult magazines and he bought them without any hesitation? That’s even weirder!”
It was too late for Hwangdo to defend Young Demon.
In Dowon, Hwangdo’s popularity was unmatched. Always smiling brightly and willing to fulfill requests, no one would suspect this little fairy was the child of Cheonma. Even if it was said that one could live off their looks, a hundred out of a hundred would agree with this child. With an innocent appearance and helping out with the inn’s work, Hwangdo often received more than what the guests paid for.
An actor in a drama outside? Not as good as Hwangdo. As someone obsessed with outside culture, Saeyang was certain of that.
‘To think a guy would buy adult magazines for such a kid, he can’t be normal.’
Of course, Hwangdo was indeed a serious pervert. It’s true she was naturally very interested in sex. Passing such lewd information to Hwangdo wasn’t normal either, but as a sister, there was a responsibility to bear.
‘What to do? Still, I’m not in a position to say anything to that person. I don’t have the strength either.’
Meanwhile, Hwangdo was burying her face in the magazines, literally savoring every line.
Seeing her like that, Saeyang had a thought.
“…Birds of a feather flock together?”
Perverts meeting perverts.
“Sister? What did you say?”
“No, nothing.”
Hwangdo tilted her head with her characteristic innocent face. The pale face illuminated by the lamp light caught Saeyang’s eye.
Long eyelashes and sunset-colored eyes. Approaching her, one could smell the unique scent of peaches emanating as body fragrance.
“Really annoyingly cute.”
“Pi, sister always says that. While being pretty herself.”
‘If I were pretty, you’d be in a beauty contest by now.’
Indiscriminate modesty stabs at people’s hearts. Saeyang dried the tears welling up in her eyes and focused on the magazine as if resigning herself to fate.
“Yeah… To live with a kid like you, that man can’t be normal either.”
Whether the Young Demon was eyeing Hwangdo or just saw her as a younger sister was unknown. But since the Young Demon was handsome too, both were perverts but could be considered a good-looking pair. The age difference was not a big deal in Dowon. Customs of marrying between the ages of 40 and teens existed here, and naturally, outside as well.
“Just make the best of it.”
“What?”
“Don’t you like that brother? As a husband? Couldn’t you see it that way?”
Hwangdo’s eyes widened, then she giggled.
“Sister! One should choose their marriage partner carefully!”
“….”
“Just bumping bodies together and falling for each other right away hardly happens even in today’s outside comics. It takes years to know~!”
Hwangdo spoke as if making a promise. Saeyang blankly stared at this little pervert, suppressing the words trying to escape her throat with a smirk.
Even if they call her a little fairy or whatever, those were just titles given by people who only know Hwangdo’s appearance. Saeyang knew all of her dark insides.
“You’re going to carefully choose a marriage partner?”
“Yeah~ Of course!”
Sigh.
It was absurd.
After a long time, I had a dream.
Ever since that day, I had nightmares whenever I fell asleep, so I didn’t sleep for over a month. My head hurt so much that I finally fell asleep.
I thought I would have the familiar nightmare again, but it wasn’t.
“Damn.”
My body felt damp as if I had gone through a significant ordeal. I scrunched my face in discomfort from the unpleasant feeling in my lower half.
[…It’s a physiological response. As the successor of the Tree Spirit King, it’s natural for you to have such vigor.]
The World Tree of Time hurriedly explained with a somewhat flustered voice.
Right. It always came back to the Tree Spirit King. The temperament of that king, who had nothing to do with me, always ruined my mood.
‘That, and the lustful demon is probably to blame.’
[Lustful demon… Ah. You mean the temperament.]
I rubbed my face with my sweat-drenched hands. The tension that had lasted for more than a month felt like it was dissipating helplessly.
-Thump thump.
A knock came at an untimely moment.
-Dowon, I’ve come about work.
Hongyeon’s voice could be heard from beyond the door.
“Shouldn’t today’s work be finished?”
-There’s something that didn’t go well… I was going to handle it so as not to be a nuisance, but there are parts you wouldn’t know unless it’s you.
“At this hour?”
-You hardly sleep anyway.
Work, I guess I had to do it. I grabbed some clothes nearby and flung the door open. Hongyeon was dressed as if she had just been looking at documents, in her work attire.
“Wait, I’ll take a shower.”
“Now? It won’t take long, right?”
Noticing the smell filling the room, Hongyeon’s sentence trailed off.
“…What.”
“What are you blushing for? Move, I’m going to shower.”
“Do you not feel embarrassed at all?”
Indeed, aside from the discomfort, it didn’t bother me much. All I wanted was to somehow take a shower.
“I’ll be waiting where we always work. I’ll be back soon.”
“Ah, okay.”
I went straight into the bathroom as Hongyeon stuttered.
-Slide.
I took off my clothes in the changing room. After washing my body, I immersed myself in the bath. Initially, the bath couldn’t be used without directly heating it, but after deciding to actively use magical items brought from outside, it became possible to use the bath even in the evening.
-Splash.
Raising my hand, the droplets of water fell from my arm to the water’s surface.
It felt like I had rented the communal bath for myself. In the past, I couldn’t help but sing a song in such a situation, but for some reason, I wasn’t in the mood. I raised my hand towards the moon.
‘I’m still like this.’
My hand was trembling slightly. The trembling stopped when I was beside Cheondo, Hwangdo, or Baekdo, but as soon as I was away from those girls, my hand started trembling again.
It’s not bothersome enough to worry about, but maybe I should visit a hospital at some point.
For now, I decided not to worry about it. I immersed my hand in the bath, asking the World Tree.
“World Tree.”
[Yes.]
“I noticed you seemed to know about the lustful demon earlier. Do you know anything about the husband candidates?”
[Husband candidates…? If you mean the World Tree’s husband, I am aware of that.]
She seemed aware of the temperament, and more importantly, she was also a World Tree, so it was impossible for her not to know. I washed my face with hot water. The fatigue gradually eased.
[Are you curious?]
“Tell me everything you know. After all, I’m a candidate for the World Tree’s husband.”
[The World Tree’s husband is… nominally correct to say so. Like a couple, they are to assist each other for life.]
It seemed like it was meant to last forever. There were World Trees like the one after me who longed for the demise of their fiancés.
[For this reason, the status window and its system were created. To elevate the World Tree’s husband to a status similar to that of the World Tree. Of course, this is only in name.]
“What are you hiding?”
[That is… Yes, I should tell you. In more precise terms, the World Tree’s husband serves as a reserve life for the World Tree.]
Reserve life?
[Think of it as the battery for an electronic device, if that analogy makes it clearer.]
That explained everything. The entire purpose behind creating husband candidates for the World Tree and nurturing their abilities was to prolong the life of the World Tree.
The World Tree of Time silently confirmed my understanding.
[Absorbing magic through roots from the earth is less efficient than absorbing it from someone who has attained a certain level of power. Of course, there were World Trees who genuinely loved their partners, regardless of this role.]
“Cutting to the chase, they’re all bastards.”
[No. It’s a system designed for the mutual benefit of the World Tree and humans.]
“Sacrificed for the life of the World Tree without even informing the husbands?”
[The principle is to inform them. It seems… that is not currently being followed.]
They didn’t inform them. It might just be in my case.
“What about the husband candidates, then?”
[I am not sure about the candidates. There might have been changes to the system during my absence.]
“Really?”
Knowing about the World Tree’s husband and the status window and system but not about the husband candidates seemed plausible for such an ancient tree.
The fact that they saw me as a reserve life, I had grown so accustomed to the animosity that it didn’t even faze me anymore. There were those who wished for my death, so being a reserve life wasn’t much of a stretch.
“So, the World Tree created the status window?”
[Yes. A power to directly check one’s own skills. And a means to grant power.]
“Bestow power… What if the status window is severed?”
[Naturally, you lose that power.]
That was quite strange.
When I severed my connection to the status window, far from losing power, I found myself able to draw upon it more freely. Could this also be a change that occurred during the gap in time?
[No, in your case… It might be considered a matter of constitution.]
“Constitution?”
[It seems right to assume that the power of the status window was fully absorbed by you following a certain event.]
The World Tree of Time seemed to read my thoughts and immediately refuted them. I hadn’t expected a definitive answer, yet it knew what I had experienced firsthand.
That event must have occurred in Purgatory. That must be the reason. I’ve come to understand a great deal for someone who initially knew nothing.
“Thank you.”
[…Thank you.]
I rose from the bath, dried off, and changed my clothes.
“I still seem to be lacking.”
Despite possessing the vessel of the Tree Spirit King, my essence was rooted in the talent bestowed by the World Tree. And if the World Tree laid that foundation, then the actual power of the World Tree must be even more formidable.
Not all World Trees were like this, but at least one must possess abilities worthy of being revered as a deity in this world.
What steps should I take to become stronger?
Naturally, it was determined by the king’s power.
“Work keeps piling up.”
Hongyeon sifted through documents related to personnel assignments, fiddling with her red hair that was pinned up with a comb.
Dark circles under her eyes. Documents that kept accumulating over time.
Thanks to reforms led by the Young Demon, the lifestyle in Dowon was gradually becoming more modern. The magical tools available on the top floor alone were evidence of this perceptible change.
Naturally, the radical changes meant an increase in the workload for Hongyeon, which was inevitable. From her perspective, it was very much welcome. Sacrificing oneself for Dowon was hardly considered work at all.
“This is somewhat finished.”
She organized the documents and then took another set into view.
-Slide.
Just then, the door opened. Startled, Hongyeon dropped the documents, and a fluttering paper weakly landed on the desk.
“…Are you done showering?”
The event that had occurred at night was somewhat shocking for her, too. It seemed even more shocking because it involved Young Demon, who, despite his terrible personality, was meticulous in his duties.
Young Demon, scratching his still damp hair, responded indifferently upon seeing Hongyeon.
“Yeah.”
Such a terribly unpleasant character. Yet, Hongyeon felt a sense of gratitude towards the man who had come all the way here, furrowing her brows.
If he truly had a broken personality, he wouldn’t have responded at dawn when called. Instead, he would have raised his fist right there.
“There’s something in these documents I’m curious about. It’s part of your responsibility, isn’t it?”
Hongyeon handed him the documents—a list organizing the new workers of the month.
At the very bottom of that list, a new worker’s name, ‘Cheondo,’ unfamiliar to Hongyeon, was written.
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