Episode 30: Incubation
I first examined the woman with black hair from head to toe.
Though I couldn’t see clearly due to the blanket, judging by her face alone, she still looked emaciated. When she was first lying naked in the prison, she was practically undead, but she looked better now.
“Are you feeling alright?”
“Ah… Yes. Thanks to you, I’ve gotten much better. I really don’t know how to thank you…”
“That’s enough. Did I even do that much?”
I chuckled at her heartfelt gratitude.
Honestly, I didn’t do much.
In fact, I almost forgot she existed for an entire month while I was desperately trying to survive the undead war.
But there’s no need to ruin my image by saying that. I leaned my face close to hers.
The woman gasped and buried herself deeper under the blanket.
“Uh, why, why are you doing that?”
“My name is Park Jeong-yong. Park is my surname, and Jeong-yong is my given name. Just call me Jeong-yong.”
“Ah… Yes, yes. Master Jeong-yong.”
What’s with this “Master” business? It’s giving me chills. Are you Diana?
I refused her formalities, but she insisted on maintaining her own philosophy.
“To address my savior as an equal? Such a thing would never happen in the world I came from.”
“…Alright, do as you wish.”
I gave in since I valued my time. Titles aren’t that important anyway.
I sighed and asked directly.
“What’s your name?”
“Seop Baek… It’s actually longer, but you can just call me that.”
“Seop Baek, huh?”
It wasn’t a particularly fantastical name.
Your naming sense is closer to martial arts novels, I see. You must be from that industry.
I nodded and gave a thumbs up.
“Hmm. Good name.”
“Thank… Thank you.”
Seop Baek’s face turned red again.
She can’t even handle compliments. I sighed softly and stared straight at her face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Though Seop Baek asked this with a slightly reddened face, I continued to gaze at her.
When she began to fidget and turned to cover her face…
Finally, the panel appeared.
[Name: Seop Baek]
[Title: 145773952nd Hero, Snow (雪) Qi Gong Master]
[Level: 26]
[Health: 17/190 Magic Power: 63/574 Physical Condition: Extreme Weakness, Hunger]
[Strength: 19 Agility: 23 Intelligence: 55 Hero Sense: 5]
‘The name is… Seop Baek, confirmed.’
At least she wasn’t lying. I swallowed and moved on to the next matter.
Having learned her name, what else was there to talk about?
Let’s get to the point.
“So, Seop Baek, let’s get straight to the point.”
“Yes?”
“Be my companion.”
“Huh?!”
Seop Baek looked momentarily stunned, as if she had just heard a proposal from a pirate manga.
I scratched the back of my head and reiterated what I had said.
“Be my companion. Since you owe your life to me, don’t you want to repay that debt?”
“Yes?!”
Seop Baek hesitantly nodded. I grasped her hand.
Seop Baek made a high-pitched “Heek” sound. Even though her face turned bright red, she did not pull away.
“Seop Baek, look at me.”
“J-jung Yong… If you keep doing this, I… I…”
Despite blushing, she looked me straight in the eyes.
She’s not really resisting. Good. I’m halfway there.
I leaned my face close to hers and spoke.
“Seop Baek, I need you.”
“Eh, a-ah!”
“I can’t do it without you. So come with me. Stay by my side, and I’ll protect you too. On my life.”
“Aaahh! A-ah!”
Seop Baek’s face became so red it looked like it might explode.
…What is this? It seems kind of dangerous. Is she going to pass out again? I just want to form a party and go on an adventure. Why is she reacting so strongly?
Thinking this, I moved back a bit.
Suddenly, Seop Baek tightly closed her eyes and vigorously nodded.
“Yes, I understand! I… I will protect you, Master Jung Yong!”
“Uh, uh… Good, good thinking.”
This was a bit different from the situation I had imagined, but in any case… It seems like I’ve successfully recruited a companion.
I sighed in relief, having passed a big hurdle.
‘…By the way’
Why is her gaze burning so intensely now?
For some reason, ever since she accepted my invitation, she’s been looking at me with deep eyes. Am I imagining things?
I cleared my throat to draw Seop Baek’s attention and asked.
“So, Seop Baek… Do you know how to fight?”
“Ah…”
Seop Baek made an ambiguous exclamation.
Does she not know how to fight? As I sighed, she quickly added.
“Not completely. I know how to use Qi Gong, which was widely practiced on my continent. But…”
“But?”
“I can’t truthfully say I’m skilled at fighting. My specialty is actually support Qi Gong.”
“Support Qi Gong, huh?”
I thought she might be an attacker, but she seems to be a buffer instead.
That doesn’t matter. There will always be a way to use her if we travel together. If nothing else, I can give her some odd jobs.
And among all those tasks, there’s one I particularly consider important. I should inquire about that.
“So, can you cook?”
“Ah… Well, I’m somewhat confident in cooking.”
“Accepted. Start tomorrow.”
“Uh… Yes?”
Game set. There’s no need to ask anything more. If she can cook well, that’s enough. What else could I want?
I nodded and patted Seop Baek on the shoulder.
“You will be our party’s official chef from now on. I won’t expect you to fight. Got it?”
“Ah… Yes, yes. I understand.”
“Good.”
It’s not a big deal that she doesn’t fight. Once we escape from this ridiculous Halsenberg Castle, there won’t be much fighting anyway.
I’m a pacifist.
Even in a world where Demon Kings run amok, I have absolutely no desire to fight them. This hero job was forced upon me under duress; why would I want to work hard?
In fact, the most unnecessary profession within our party is the combatant.
A cook, on the other hand, could be considered the core strength of our party. It’s great to have such talent from the start.
“Alright then, let’s just go with that?”
“Yes…”
With a cheerful feeling, I immediately stood up from my seat.
I patted Seop Baek’s shoulder again, gathered my belongings, and headed for the door. My luggage amounted to little more than a worn-out leather bag and a pouch.
“Take a rest. Call me if you need to go anywhere. I’ll be in the next room.”
“Ah…”
At first, Seop Baek hesitated to speak, but just as I was about to leave, she managed to open her mouth.
“Uh, Master Jung Yong.”
“Hm?”
“Isn’t there… anything you want to ask me?”
Seop Baek tightly clenched her blanket while asking.
She bit her lip and trembled slightly. Though she initiated the conversation, she appeared terrified of what I might ask.
I looked at her silently for a while before asking.
“What should I be asking?”
“About why… I was imprisoned there. Or how I managed not to die…”
“It’s not that interesting to me.”
“Ah…”
Seop Baek looked like she’d been hit on the back of the head with my indifferent response.
I smirked at her and spoke.
“If you want to tell me later, that’s fine. I’m not particularly curious, but I don’t mind listening to other people’s stories.”
“… Yes. I’ll tell you later.”
Seop Baek blushed slightly before diving back under the blanket. I waved my hand at her briefly before closing the door.
“Rest well.”
The door closed with a thud, and I immediately entered the adjacent room, carrying my bag.
Cough cough. Dust fluttered around, clouding my vision as I opened the door. A coughing fit quickly followed.
“Pfft, damn. I better clean this place up first.”
I muttered this while taking items from my backpack and placing them on the desk.
At that moment. My actions suddenly came to a halt. It was due to a particular item that had fallen out of my pouch.
“Why is this glowing?”
It was an egg. The very egg that I once forgot about entirely.
The one that caused me endless suffering.
It was now emitting its usual eerie light, flickering brightly and ominously.
I carefully examined it and soon realized a fact.
“Isn’t this… bigger?”
It originally fit comfortably in the waist pouch, but now, there was no space left when placed inside.
‘Hold on. When did it get this big?’
I hadn’t checked properly lately because I’ve been so preoccupied. While I was lost in thought.
Suddenly, ting! The familiar electronic sound signaled the appearance of a panel. I instinctively turned my gaze to it.
[Detailed Information – Egg of the Eternal Demon King]
[Incubation Acceleration: Consistently hunting the Eternal Demon King’s bound minions has shortened the incubation time.]
[Remaining Time Until Hatching – 3 days]
Before I could fully comprehend it, a chilling warning sound echoed in my ear. Then, a dark panel loomed large in front of my eyes.
This panel was markedly different from the ones I’d seen before and exuded a creepy atmosphere.
[The Eternal Respawn Point has been updated.]
[Date – Mittelrand Kingdom Calendar/547th year, December 18th, 7 PM]
[Location – Halsenberg Castle, Knight Rudrick’s Room]
[Notice – The Eternal Demon King is nearing resurrection.]
[Notice – Every 12 hours, the respawn point will update until the Demon King completely resurrects.]
“What is this?”
I unintentionally opened my mouth wide in surprise.
*
“Lord Halsenberg!”
I boldly entered and opened the meeting room door.
As always, Lord Halsenberg of Halsenberg was busy neutralizing a curse with his wife.
“Ah! Who’s this?”
Halsenberg warmly greeted me as I approached him.
“It’s been a while since someone dropped in like this, Jeong Yong. So, what brings you here?”
“I have something I’d like to ask. Do you have a moment?”
“As much time as you need—for a hunting companion like you.”
Upon hearing this, Halsenberg nodded confidently while smiling. I bowed slightly to express my gratitude.
‘Hunting companion, huh.’
Actually, until about two weeks ago, I was a deadweight, at best an annoying tagalong.
You, sir, overestimate me too much. Now, though, I’ve leveled up enough that I don’t hold us back anymore.
“Feel free to ask anything. What’s on your mind? Perhaps it’s about the ancient demons?”
“Something like that.”
I nodded ambiguously and cautiously broached the subject to Halsenberg, who was eagerly paying attention.
In one hand, I idly fiddled with the Demon King’s egg I had brought along from the room.
“Isn’t the Eldritch that Lord Halsenberg is fighting just a kind of monster?”
First question.
Halsenberg paused to think for a moment before nodding.
“Of course. Eldritch may be referred to as ancient demons, but they’re still monsters. They’re simply subordinates of the Demon Kings who have existed since ancient times, with powerful magic.”
I swallowed before speaking.
The real question I wanted to ask came next.
“Then, there must be a Demon King above Eldritch, right?”
“Of course.”
“Who’s that?”
“The Demon King of Eternal Life, Ruthika.”
For a moment, I thought I’d misheard.
Rather, I hoped I had.
So I asked again.
“Who was that?”
“The Demon King of Eternal Life, Rustica Asmodeus. She’s known as the bloodline of the witch Diana and is one of the strongest among the Four Demon Kings throughout history. All undead armies in the northern region are under the command of the Demon King of Eternal Life.”
In a calm tone, Halsenberg revealed a quite shocking fact.
