My Beloved Sister And The Woman I Once Loved (2)

<(Reminiscence)>

“Hey, why do you like me?”

“Wh-what? Who said I liked you?”

There’s no bluntness like this. This crazy girl. There are times when I seriously doubt if she’s really a woman.

“Tsk tsk. Poor thing, at least don’t stutter. Answer me. Why do you like me?”

“…I don’t know.”

“What?”

“I said I don’t know! I used to like soft, feminine, pretty, voluptuous women with curves, but why did I end up liking someone like you…? I must be crazy. I should go to a shrine and get this curse lifted… Hyo-ju?”

I was so worked up that I spat out whatever came to mind, but then I felt a chill from the murderous intent coming from across the table, and I struggled to lower my head. As if I was forcing myself to look at something I didn’t want to see.

“You crazy bastard! I’m a tomboy and flat-chested! So what, did you pay to upgrade me? Did you at least touch me so my boobs would grow or something?!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“I don’t know. Just die!!”

*―*From a past that was once the future.

I met Hyo-ju when I had been in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ for over four years, entering the fifth year.

She was hurling curses at the muscular male agents, which didn’t match her slender figure.

The first words she said to me, as I curiously watched her, were…

“What are you looking at, you jerk? Never seen a woman cursing before?”

Maybe it was because of that first conversation?

As I reached the fifth year and had to decide whether to give up on the ‘Battlefield of the Gods,’ I embarked on the journey out of the beginner’s village, Exorsus, with her.

For a brief moment, I thought of it as just a temporary companionship—though Hyo-ju might not have thought so—but from that day on, the two of us were together until she took my heart out in that final moment.

The words she said to me the most were about how frustrating I was and whether I thought the world was easy.

About ten years after hearing those scoldings, after experiencing all sorts of trials and tribulations, I realized how truly naive I had been.

She was my savior, my unrequited love, my mentor, and a relentless femme fatale.

“But why did someone like you, who seems to lack nothing, enter that cursed battlefield? What could you possibly be missing?”

Lee Hyo-ju was attending the law school of one of the top three universities in the country.

Though she was a bit worn out from tutoring and part-time jobs, it wasn’t to the extent that she needed to enter a place called ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’ Especially not as a woman.

I watched Hyo-ju, dressed in a uniform and reading a book during a lull at the convenience store visible through the glass on the second floor of the cafe, and posed a question she couldn’t hear.

No matter how much I pondered, I couldn’t understand Hyo-ju’s last words, nor why she sent me back in time instead of herself.

An inexplicable frustration unknowingly led my steps to the place where she was working part-time.

We had shared countless conversations over 25 years, confiding in each other about everything.

So I knew that by now, she was grudgingly continuing her convenience store part-time job during the vacation because she couldn’t find a replacement.

The same Earth. But because we came from entirely different dimensions, we had many conversations, and I had a rough idea of Hyo-ju’s current situation and circumstances.

“Why would someone like you…?”

“A man too persistent is never popular…”

Startled, I froze at the voice coming from across the small table in the ordinary cafe without any hint of presence.

Reflex stat 44. This number meant that no human on Earth could approach me so closely without my senses detecting them.

The reflex stat encompassed reaction speed, intuition, senses, agility, dexterity, and more.

And yet, effortlessly and naturally, an exotically beautiful woman appeared across the table and looked at me?

In other words, this woman was not human.

“…Who are you?!”

My voice, low and growling, was thick with menace.

Yet, she seemed unaffected, smiling even more brightly.

“Who do you think I am?”

A being that is not human.

A being interested in observing Hyo-ju through me.

And addressing me so naturally with familiarity.

An indescribable beauty.

“You… are you Aetas?”

“Correct. But your words are short for a mere human?”

Rumble!! Crack!! Clang, clang, clang!

With a smile still on her lips, she exuded an aura, then suddenly lunged at me. The wooden table in front of me shattered, and the mug split in half.

However, I am not an object. If I were intimidated by mere ‘aura’ in this dimension of Earth, where I couldn’t draw out my true power, I wouldn’t have decided to dive back into that mess.

“Stop trying so hard. You can’t even use 10% of your power here. You might end up embarrassing yourself, you witch.”

“…Oh. Interesting. Are you a Fons? Or… a regressor?”

“…!!”

Crash!!

In the rush to stand, the chair made a sound as it tumbled, but my gaze was fixed solely on the woman grinning in front of me.

It’s only natural for the tension to thickly rise, isn’t it?

“You… was it you all along?”

“Did you forget who Lee Hyo-ju is an agent for?”

“What’s the reason…?”

“Well, shouldn’t you ask Lee Hyo-ju, whom you love, rather than me?”

“How dare you say that?!”

Boom!! Bang!! Rumble!!

I am not just someone who merely survived the ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’

The Seven Stars known as the best, the Seven Star Constellation. I’m Kim Han, the eccentric Seventh Star.

The air screamed at the punch I threw with a powerful stomp.

Though my divine power stats were weak, the moment my fist, shrouded in a hazy divine power, reached Aetas, the transparent barrier quivered and cried.

“Oh, an agent challenging a god?”

“What nonsense is this crazy woman spouting? Are you my assigned god? Stop selling nonsense, ah!!”

Boom! Rumble!! Boom boom! Rumble!!

“You’re aware that due to the difference in level, you can’t harm me, right?”

“I know, you witch. And you can’t harm me either, right? As long as I don’t receive ‘direct’ damage. So, aren’t I your trusty punching bag? I’ve been stressed out lately… Let’s have some fun!!”

The café’s furniture flew around, shattering and breaking.

Fists and legs tore through the air, striking the barrier protecting Aetas.

Even a clumsy attack would suffer damage just from colliding with that barrier, so I fully exerted myself, throwing my entire body into it.

There was already no one on the café’s second floor the moment she appeared before me.
Aetas might pretend to be crazy and strike my foot or fist, allowing her to harm me, but that’s just how gods are. Useless beings who live solely on their pride.

There’s no way that lofty pride would let her willingly be hit by a mere ‘human’ like me. Especially not by a fist or foot, albeit weakly imbued with divine power.

“Whew, that felt refreshing. Good job, punching bag.”

“You!! You’re really… annoying!”

“Thanks for the compliment. And I’ll make sure to kill your agent as soon as the battlefield begins.”

“……”

Ludicer is a peculiar god; most gods place various meanings on this ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’

We’ll discuss the origins later, but from the highest-ranking heaven and demon gods who boast about their greatness, down to the lower-ranking gods, they all use the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ to gain power, for political reasons, or for recognition.

So it was perhaps natural that Aetas was left speechless when I said I’d kill her agent as soon as I started.

“That’s a bit problematic. Should I reluctantly use Lee Hyo-ju as my agent again?”

“…What?”

“Oh, it’s the first time I’ve seen you look flustered. I’ll use Lee Hyo-ju as my agent. The original contract was that if I sent you back, Lee Hyo-ju would be able to leave the battlefield and live happily.”

“…You crazy woman! What did you say?”

Yet she didn’t answer my question, just smiled that annoying smile again.

“…Really? So Lee Hyo-ju said that? Fine!”

Yeah, fine. Damn it.

If even the woman I trusted and loved to the end wanted to throw me back into the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ and rest comfortably herself… Well, fine! It’s not like I’ve ever been a man blessed with good fortune.

“Alright. Do it with Lee Hyo-ju again. Divine words carry power, but the penalties for breaking them aren’t trivial, right? And reversing something promised by divine words? Well, it’s not my penalty, so do as you please! You bitch! And what about Lee Hyo-ju? She’s just a woman who once killed me. That’s all Lee Hyo-ju is.”

“You… really have a way of speaking that’s annoying. Just like that child over there.”

Aetas pointed at Lee Hyo-ju and spat out words with irritation, as if expelling sand from her mouth.

“Praising me now won’t change anything between us.”

“……”

An uncomfortable silence settled between us.

For a moment, Aetas’s expression seemed to say, ‘What kind of guy is this?’ then she looked conflicted, finally sighed as if giving up, and sat on the chair opposite.

As she sat, the broken fixtures of the café seemed to return to their original state, as if time had been reversed.

“Sit.”

“You crazy woman. Who are you to order me around?”

“Sigh… Fine, would you please sit? The conversation is quite long.”

“……”

Surprised by the unexpectedly gentle request, I sat down, took out a cigarette from who knows where, lit it, and inhaled deeply.

She’s a crazy woman too. A goddess, taking on a female form, smoking with a decadent aura like a worn-out woman.

As I exhaled deeply, the acrid smoke enveloped my face.

“Did you meet him?”

“Him?”

“Yes, him.”

For this haughty woman to refer to someone as ‘him’?

I heard from Hyo-ju that she even called the heavenly god Amor as ‘this woman’ and ‘that woman.’ So there was only one candidate left.

“C–”

“Stop! That’s enough. So, you met him.”

“…Yes.”

Hastily cutting off my words, a deep concern was clearly etched on Aetas’s face. She opened her mouth slightly but couldn’t easily speak.

“Whew… This is something I cannot mention. Especially with the eyes of the hypocrite and the madwoman. But one thing is certain. Everything is happening under his dominion. Keep that in mind. And that child is pitiful. I hope you don’t hate her too much.”

“When talking to a person, speak in human terms. What nonsense is this?”

“Pfft. Yes. Once you enter Exorsus, you’ll know everything. Until then, prepare and ponder to your utmost, delightful agent.”

Like a master of martial arts disappearing after throwing a riddle, Aetas vanished with incomprehensible words, appearing before Hyo-ju beyond the window.

“What is she saying? These so-called gods are all unnecessarily pretentious!”

Meeting Aetas made things more complicated, but if resolving the feelings I had for Lee Hyo-ju is a gain, then it is indeed a gain.

Both the Creator and Aetas are matters to ponder once inside Exorsus. For now, more meticulous preparation is needed so I won’t be swayed by anyone.