Chapter 20

Once, a girl who was my closest friend told me something. She said that calming down a sulking girl is harder than plucking a star from the sky and shoving it up your nose.

At the time, I laughed it off, but now I think she might have been right. Oh, my friend, I will never forget you. But couldn’t you have taught me how to calm her down too?

I sighed deeply, my worries piling up like a mountain. But I had to calm Airi down. If she wrote a bad evaluation about me to her dad, I’d be done for. Now I understand why delivery app bosses stress over every single rating.

Airi, the letter you casually tossed might be a death sentence for someone. Honestly, I’m already dealing with my fiancée issues, and now you’re giving me a headache too.

I cautiously knocked on Airi’s door.

The sound of knocking echoed, and Airi responded in a sharp tone.

“What?”

Wow, her coldness could freeze a volcano.

“I have something I want to talk about. Is that okay, my disciple?”

“Come in or don’t, it’s up to you. You always do whatever you want anyway, Master.”

An invisible status window seemed to mock me. This damn thing only shows up when I’m about to get screwed. I swear, one day I’ll shut this Joker-like thing up, and I’ll do it with a chainsaw.

“Then I’ll come in.”

As I carefully opened Airi’s door, I saw a small bug crawling in the hallway. It felt like the bug was talking to me.

‘You’re screwed, idiot.’

This bug, which would die if it even got grazed by a Rock, Fire, or Flying-type move, seemed to have a death wish.

Just as I was about to stomp on it, I remembered something. This might be my last moment, so I need someone to remember me.

Bug, from today, your name is Rabun. Rabun, I will definitely come back here. Wait for me!

The door creaked open. Rabun, please cheer for me.

Airi was lying on her bed, staring at the wall. She wasn’t practicing Zen meditation or anything… she was just sulking so much she didn’t even want to look at me.

Then I remembered another tip that girl gave me. If the girl is even facing me, it’s manageable, but if she turns her head away, I’m screwed.

I guess I’m screwed.

But damn it, if you were going to tell me, you should’ve told me how to calm down a girl who’s turned her head away. She died on the day she promised to tell me.

“Hey, Airi…”

“What now?”

“Can we talk face to face?”

It’s uncomfortable seeing you practice Zen meditation when you haven’t even embraced Buddhism.

More than anything, I didn’t want to deal with the extreme difficulty of calming down a girl who’s turned her head away. I suggested to the developers to lower the difficulty, but…

“No.”

Rejected. Isn’t the basic principle of management communication and compromise? Today, I’ll fix their attitude through a truck protest. Trucks and isekai go hand in hand, right?

Ah, trucks are for sending people to another world, not for coming here.

“Airi… I understand why you’re upset…”

“…You understand?”

Why is it getting cold again? Is Airi secretly an ice mage? Wow, in <Draghinty Fantasy 2>, ice magic is considered a trash tier, even veterans avoid it.

“Yes, I understand.”

“You always tell me to do this and that, and I just follow like a fool, right?”

I wasn’t this scared the first time I killed someone. My mind is going blank. Is this what they call ambition? Airi, you have the qualities of a king.

“Master, you said you understand me, right? Then tell me why I’m upset. Don’t just give me vague answers.”

Wow, my specialty of using vague answers to smooth things over is blocked. Airi is either pure or a bit dumb, so I thought I could trick her.

“Airi, when I was 17 and you were 5, we ate together, slept in the same house, and I taught you everything.”

“…So?”

“Did you think our relationship was so shallow that we couldn’t understand each other’s feelings?”

“Don’t try to smooth things over with vague words!”

Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if I really did something that wrong.

Rabun, give me logic.

“Airi, if you want, I’ll tell you why you’re upset. But…”

“I’m a bit disappointed that you thought our relationship was so shallow.”

I sighed softly. Honestly, this was my gamble. I still don’t know what I did wrong.

At 29, it’s normal to drink outside, and since I’m not married, it’s okay to hug a close older sister, right? Also, when I fought the slave trader boss, I broke the rules of Makgora by using magic. But the rules of Makgora are meant to be broken.

“Well, Airi… what I did wrong was…”

I paused for a moment. If my gamble worked, Airi would think this was her last chance.

“I know… you feel sorry for me… but I’m just a bit upset.”

It worked. Thank you, Brother Goni, Brother Agwi, and Sister Jeong.

“I understand, Airi. You must be really upset.”

“I was looking for you since dawn… and you were hugging Sister Camelian.”

Thinking about it, I did mess up a bit.

“My disciple, Sister Camelian was just really worried about me.”

“I know… Sister Camelian went out to look for you since dawn too.”

“She just hugged me out of relief when she saw I was safe.”

After all, Werner is like a precious younger brother to Camelian. No wonder in the official side story, her comrades joked that if she kept doting on him, she’d get arrested. Young Werner didn’t understand the joke, and Camelian just blushed and drank.

Of course, drunk Camelian later beat everyone up.

“Out of relief…?”

“Yeah, it’s normal to hug someone like family, right?”

“If they’re like family, it’s okay to hug them?”

“Of course.”

She’s been away from her family for so long, she’s lacking in that area. It’s like teaching an isekai person about our culture. Ah, this is called a hug.

Airi fidgeted for a moment, then asked in a trembling voice.

“Then… am I like family to you?”

I gently hugged Airi. Just enough to faintly smell her hair. The unique floral scent of her hair stimulated my senses.

And in the gentlest voice, I said.

“Family… no, more than that. Airi, you’re special to me.”

Of course, the original Werner cherished Airi so much he’d risk his life for her. She was that precious to him.

“Special…?”

“Yeah, at first, I thought I was stuck with an annoying kid. But not anymore.”

I think I’m stuck with a terrifying kid. I think of her as an executioner holding my death button.

“Then, if I want to, can I hug you anytime?”

I had a feeling agreeing to this would lead to trouble. But if I refused, she’d give me a 1-star rating, and I’d die. So I had no choice.

“Of course.”

And as usual, I patted her head.

“You’re being unusually agreeable, Master.”

Well, I’m scared of that 1-star rating. If I get a bad rating, the boss (Zick) will come to complain. And the day he complains will be my death day.

“Well, this master is always magnanimous. If you’re not upset anymore, I’ll take my leave.”

I managed to clear the very hard mode and leave. I saw three stars ding ding ding, and fireworks went off.

Rabun, are you watching? I came back.

Maybe because I was tense for so long, my throat was dry, so I headed to the kitchen for some water.

But there, I saw my fiancée’s maid… I couldn’t remember her name. It must have been Saccharin.

“So, Saccharin, you brought a letter.”

Saccharin’s eyes seemed fiercer, but I ignored it.

Anyway, a letter? They say it’s one mountain after another. I dealt with Camelian, then Airi, and now my fiancée.

How do people live like this?

As I approached to take the letter, I saw a shocking sight.

Saccharin, that damn birdbrain, was eating Rabun.

“You damn birdbrain!”

Rabun… I’ll avenge you. Of course, if I kill that birdbrain, my fiancée will kill me.

But you would’ve told me to forget about revenge and live on.

I’ll carry on your will.