Chapter 80

By nature, men are simple creatures.

Creatures weak to physical touch.

If a pretty girl smiles at them, their minds instantly race through life plans—whether they’ll have a son or daughter, which kindergarten to send them to, and even “I won’t give my daughter to you!”—all in a flash.

I gave a soft smile to the young man who had asked for my autograph.

“Want to take a selfie with me?”

“Sure!”

The young man looked like he was about to burst into laughter. I stood up from my seat, placed the desk between us, and linked arms with him.

“What are you doing? Not taking it?”

“Y-y-your arm… i-i-is touching my chest.”

“It’s fine, just take the picture.”

—

Eve.

You said my chest was just a grotesque lump of fat, but that’s not true.

Look.

The boys from your line are rushing over to mine in droves.

—

Even though I was a man not too long ago, the behavior of men is so simple and easy to understand. Just the act of linking arms, the sensation of their forearm touching, can change their reactions so drastically. It’s both funny and a little sad.

Look at the length of my line. It’s already more than double Eve’s—an overwhelming difference.

When I glanced over, Eve’s lips were trembling. She was forcing a smile, but I could tell how upset she was inside.

But you can’t do this, can you? Right?

“What’s your name?”

“I-I’m Lee Junyoung! I live in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province!”

I don’t know why he suddenly gave me his address when I only asked for his name, but I signed the paper for him, writing “Mother-Body” and drawing a big heart.

I don’t know what Eve will bring in the third round, so I need to pull in as many people as possible right now.

Judging by Eve’s trembling, she probably didn’t expect me to go this far. But like I said earlier, you’re the one who made me like this, Eve.

This competition, which could have been just for fun, became something I’m taking seriously because of you, Eve!

Though now, whether I win or lose, it doesn’t matter anymore. All that’s left is the scars.

—

“Do you really have to go this far?!”

Eve’s voice echoed brightly in the waiting room. The paper in her hand showed the numbers: Mother-Body—1,131, Eve—339.

It’s overwhelming. More than double, almost triple the score. Honestly, with this lead, even if I slack off in the third round, I’ll still win.

“What did I do?”

“You really want to beat me that badly?!”

“Yes.”

Honestly, regardless of the outcome…

“I didn’t really want to win, Eve. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

I deliberately gave a relaxed smile. Standing a short distance apart, I slowly stepped closer and placed my hand on Eve’s shoulder.

The height difference was clear, and I was looking down slightly. Eve glared at me with dagger-like eyes.

It doesn’t matter.

Just like no one cares about a defeated dog barking on the battlefield, Eve has no right to say anything when I’m winning with my own strength.

I slowly leaned closer to Eve’s face.

“W-what? What are you doing? You can’t do this here—”

What are you talking about?

“Eve. This kind of competition isn’t about winning.”

“What are you saying?!”

To the flustered Eve, I whispered slowly into her ear.

“It’s to make the other person angry.”

“Hey!”

It’s a huge success. A perfect, huge success.

Let’s be honest. Winning is important, but if I’m about to lose, making the opponent as angry as possible is just as important, right?

Even if I don’t win, you won’t win gracefully either. Take that!

And right now, I’m almost certain to win. Plus, Eve is incredibly angry. It’s the perfect situation.

—

“Fine. Then the next round will be this.”

Eve pulled out two boxes from the corner.

“Do you remember the outfit you wore during that photoshoot before?”

“Yes.”

“Wear that. I’ll admit it now, my banner click-through rate was six times higher than yours! Got it?!”

“Is that so?”

If I wear that, it’s obvious I’ll win overwhelmingly again. Has she been a woman for so long that she’s forgotten how men think? When given a choice between cute and sexy, men will always go for sexy.

But there’s no reason to refuse.

“Alright. I’ll accept that challenge.”

—

This is what they call digging your own grave.

Of course, Eve was cute. She’s not very tall, and with her pale, exotic look—like a Nordic girl, or maybe an elf—she looked absolutely adorable and pretty in that blue dress.

But what time is it now? It’s almost 6 PM. The kind of people who would fawn over a cute, pretty fairy have already gone home with their loot, happily chatting with each other.

And the kind of people who would still be here at this hour are…

“A little more contempt in your expression, please!”

“Insult me too!”

“You little brat.”

“Put your hand on your mouth!”

“Give me a slight sneer!”

“Look down and smirk!”

“Say, ‘I’m annoyed!’”

Why doesn’t she understand such a simple fact? How can she not know the nature of men? It’s so obvious if you just think about it…

“How is someone with that intelligence the head of the association?”

Oops.

I accidentally said that out loud. Eve heard it and glared at me with furious eyes.

What are you going to do, glare at me? Victory is already in my hands… or so I thought. Suddenly, I felt a chill.

It wasn’t the cold, but something incredibly unpleasant was here. This feeling… yes, it’s the same as when I caused chaos at the Magical Girl Association a few days ago.

Disgusting, like something licking me. I quickly looked at Eve, and she seemed to feel it too, stopping her signing and looking around.

“Dusik, do you feel anything?”

“What do you mean?”

Dusik just tilted his head in confusion. I don’t know what it is, but it seems only Eve and I can feel it. And worse, the feeling is getting closer.

Just as I thought that…

“Autograph…”

I picked up the autograph paper and pen. I still have work to do.

“—is unnecessary.”

What?

At the sudden, random remark, I looked up to see an unfamiliar man smiling down at me.

“Long time no see, Vesprede.”

Vesprede? Not Vesprede Amory, but the Vesprede who’s probably playing with Sohee and Kabe right now?

“Uh, this ring might be causing a misunderstanding…”

Wait, hold on.

“Who are you?”

That should come first. As I pushed my chair back and stood up, an inexplicable energy burst from the man.

“Mother-Body, stand behind me.”

It was a pure white space. In this void, Eve stood in front of me, protecting me, while the mysterious man stood ahead.

The man brushed back his slightly messy bangs and smirked. Even in this situation, he’s annoyingly handsome.

His gaze turned to Eve. That smug smile is incredibly irritating.

“Not bad. To not be repelled by my banishment barrier, even after not using it for so long. Are you a thousand-level?”

“…”

Eve silently extended her hand forward.

“I—the Radiant Princess and Valkyrie of the Light Realm, Miracle Princess Eve—command thee! In the name of my comrade, heed my call! Fanatic Spear!”

“Why is your concept like this?”

“Shut up! Who are you?!”

Eve pointed the Fanatic Spear at the man and shouted. From behind, I could see her ears turning bright red—she must be embarrassed.

“Me? I see. Has it been that long? As for me…”

The man crossed his arms.

“The Arbiter of the Celestial Realm. The Guardian of Love and the Executor of Jealousy. The Creator of All Life and the Overseer of Its Beginning.”

“Hey, Eve. He’s not far behind you, huh?”

“Honestly, I’m not that extreme.”

“Looks pretty similar to me.”

While we were talking, his introduction continued.

“—I am the Proud God of the Light Realm. Escario.”

“So you’re the escaped prisoner.”

Eve’s Fanatic Spear began to emit a radiant aura.

“It seems the Elphim no longer recognize their gods.”

Elphim? What’s that?

“Elphim? What kind of outdated term is that?”

“That’s irrelevant. I’ve come only to reclaim my bride. Vesprede, come here.”

Wait, bride? Did he just say bride? Vesprede is his bride?

“Vesprede is your bride?”

“Indeed. It seems you don’t recognize me, but… no matter. Vesprede, oh, my beautiful Vesprede.”

Vesprede is cute, but not exactly beautiful. The image that comes to mind is more of a cute little kid, far from being described as beautiful.

And now, calling a kid his bride? This is straight-up pedophilia. I can’t hand Vesprede over to this creep.

“I refuse.”

“What?”

“I said I refuse.”

“W-what do you mean?”

The man looked utterly shocked. Seriously, isn’t this guy a total pervert? Calling a boy beautiful—okay, fine, some boys can be beautiful. I’ll admit that.

But calling a boy his bride? And telling him to come here?

“She’s mine. I won’t give her to you.”

No matter what anyone says, Vesprede is my child now. I have no intention of handing him over to some pervert.

“I don’t want to give her to you. Get lost, you pervert.”

Eve, too, spun her Fanatic Spear, which was radiating a bright aura, and slammed it into the ground. The man’s expression changed, and he turned to Eve.

“An Elphim daring to insult a god. I was going to forgive you for your service to Vesprede, but you’re being too arrogant.”

“Bullshit. An escaped prisoner has a lot of nerve. Draw Lancer! My legion, heed my command! My legion, which never loses its light even in the flames of hell, transcend the walls of time and descend here now! Show your brave forms and annihilate my enemies!”

Eve’s elbow twitched oddly, and then rows of figures identical to her lined up on either side.

Each of them hurled their spears at the man—

“To challenge the God of Light with the power of light is utterly laughable.”

The man was completely unharmed.

“Yoon-Woo, transform quickly.”

“Ah, uh. Okay.”

Only then did I realize I wasn’t transformed. I pressed my earring. I’ve gotten so used to the dress that I didn’t even notice. This is a bit of a problem.

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