Chapter 41

Morning came, and Theo woke up groggy and half-asleep. Out of habit, he opened his guild window. Blaine was logged out. Normally, people just left the game running, but since Blaine’s actual body was made of data, it seemed he had to log out if he wanted to move around in reality.

Theo’s mouth felt bitter as last night’s careless slip of the tongue popped into his head. He shook his head as if trying to shake off unnecessary thoughts, then stretched.

After making a simple breakfast of coffee and a sandwich, he grabbed the doorknob to head out—but the door wouldn’t budge. Tilting his head, he pulled up a display beside his temple and checked something.

“Ah, today’s maintenance.”

He trudged over to the sofa and slumped down. Then, after a moment, he got back up, pulled a watering can from the storage, opened the window, and watered the flower bed.

It was a lazy, dull morning.

“Maybe I should just sleep more.”

But then… ding, a whisper notification rang out.

『Hey, what are you doing today?』

The familiar voice made him freeze for a second. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Aslan at all yesterday.

“Nothing much.”

『Let’s go hunting after the maintenance ends.』

“I haven’t chosen my Action yet.”

『Still? What the hell have you been doing all this time?』

“I was busy.”

『Bullshit. Then how about we run a survival dungeon at least?』

“With who? If it’s just me and you, I’ll pass. You damn trash heap.”

『Trash heap? How dare you look down on me? You’re not even Tier 10.』

“You’re stabbing me right where it hurts. You don’t even have an Eternal Item.”

『…Fuck.』

Theo even heard an exaggerated sniffle. He burst out laughing.

“Fine. After maintenance, I’ll see you at the Survival Dungeon.”

『Deal.』

After chatting with Aslan, exactly an hour later the maintenance ended. Theo quickly headed for the Survival Dungeon.

Three hours after Theo and Aslan entered the dungeon together, Blaine finally logged back in.

[Guild] [Blaine: Hello everyone]

[Guild] [Bastard Kid: Oh? You’re only logging in now?]

[Guild] [Blaine: Yeah lol]

[Guild] [Father: Where’d you go?]

[Guild] [Blaine: It’s data inspection day, so I had to stop by the center]

[Guild] [Father: Ah~ Nothing wrong?]

[Guild] [Blaine: Nope lol, said I was perfectly fine]

[Guild] [Holanghee: Didn’t get taller?]

[Guild] [Blaine: Huh? Taller?]

[Guild] [Holanghee: Yeah!]

[Guild] [Blaine: Same as before…]

[Guild] [Holanghee: Damn, that’s a shame. Try harder, Sweetie]

[Guild] [Noquia: Eat some calcium, calcium!]

[Guild] [Blaine: ?;;]

[Guild] [Yorkshire: Cal—pfft—cium lololol]

[Guild] [If It’s Not You Then Me: So how exactly does a 4th Gen even take calcium…?]

[Guild] [If It’s You Then Me: What about 3rd Gen?]

[Guild] [If It’s Not You Then Me: Don’t they just swap out parts for 3rd Gen?]

[Guild] [If It’s You Then Me: Oh right, that’s true]

[Guild] [If It’s You Then Me: Hey, Father, make yourself two meters tall]

[Guild] [Red Snapper: Don’t suggest stuff like that. Just imagining it’s horrifying;]

[Guild] [Leather Flute Hip Song: A two-meter-tall Father noona… shit… I’d get stomped to death… scared it’ll show up in my dreams;]

[Guild] [Father: ……]

[Guild] [Marco: At that point Father noona wouldn’t be a Borg, she’d be a mech]

[Guild] [Noquia: Mec—pffft hahahaha]

[Guild] [Holanghee: Eww lol disgusting lolol]

[Guild] [Red Snapper: Disgusting as hell lololol]

[Guild] [Father: …….]

[Guild] [Blaine: Where’s Theo hyung?]

[Guild] [Holanghee: Sweetie, there’s not a single day you don’t ask about Theo :)]

[Guild] [Blaine: Huh?]

[Guild] [Noquia: Honestly, isn’t Theo hyung basically a macro to him?]¹

[Guild] [Noquia: No matter what you ask, the answer’s always “Theo hyung.”]

[Guild] [Father: Don’t treat the kid like some “Hyung parrot.”]

[Guild] [Holanghee: Hyung parrot?]

[Guild] [Noquia: None of us ever called him that, but Father, you just turned him into one.]

[Guild] [Father: Huh? Really? My bad.]

[Guild] [Theo: Didn’t you say you might not make it because of inspection? You’re early.]

[Guild] [Blaine: Yeah, it ended sooner than expected.]

[Guild] [Blaine: Are you at the Survival Dungeon?]

[Guild] [Theo: Yeah.]

[Guild] [Blaine: With the noonas?]

[Guild] [Theo: No.]

[Guild] [Noquia: Not us.]

[Guild] [Father: Nope.]

[Guild] [Blaine: Oh… then…]

[Guild] [Theo: With Aslan.]

Just as Blaine was stepping through the gates of Lucilvania, his feet froze. His eyes, fixed on the display, shook violently.

[Guild] [Theo: I’m a bit tied up right now, so let’s talk after I’m done with the dungeon.]

[Guild] [Blaine: Huh? Ah… okay.]

He waited, hoping for another message, but Theo stayed silent. The thought of Theo and Aslan being together in a dungeon made bitterness well up inside him. His eyes stung, the roof of his mouth throbbed.

“Hyung…”

Something unknown surged up, filling his chest and throat. His breathing tightened, and his chest felt heavy. Standing in the middle of Lucilvania’s main street, he wiped away tears that threatened to spill. Just then, Holanghee called out to him.

[Guild] [Holanghee: Aww, our sweetie got abandoned ;ㅁ; Come hang with us instead?]

Only then did Blaine lift his head. He had come to Lucilvania hoping to see Theo, but with Theo gone, he didn’t know what to do. Surrounded by the chaotic flow of people, fear seeped in, along with chills and nausea.

Covering his mouth, Blaine gagged and staggered off toward the guild house as if fleeing.

“Oh? You came quick.”

When Blaine entered the guild house, Holanghee, who had been sitting at a table in the hall, widened her eyes. She stood, beckoning him over, then frowned as she noticed his pale face.

“Sweetie, are you sick? You look pale.”

“No, I’m just a little dizzy….”

“Dizzy? Is there something wrong with your device? Ah, right… you don’t even use a device….”

Holanghee’s face was full of worry as she reached out and pressed her palm against Blaine’s forehead.

“I-It’s fine now.”

Blaine flinched, dodging her hand, and forced a smile. Holanghee’s expression immediately hardened.

“Fine? You’re drenched in cold sweat.”

“What’s going on?”

At that moment, Father walked over and asked, and Holanghee quickly explained Blaine’s condition.

“Want me to get you some water?”

Father checked Blaine’s forehead as well, but Blaine shook his head. As kind as they were, he couldn’t help but think that he wished it was Theo worrying over him and pressing his forehead instead.

Father stared at Blaine’s gloomy face for a while before perching on the edge of the table.

“Then how about resting in your room upstairs?”

“No, really, I’m okay.”

“…Alright, then how about I make something tasty? Something cool and refreshing.”

Holanghee clapped her hands, delighted with the idea, and soon Noquia popped out from somewhere and plopped down in a chair. Their expectant expressions made it hard to refuse. Blaine reluctantly nodded, and Father stood up and headed into the guild’s workshop.

“Lucky us—thanks to Blaine, we get to eat Father’s cooking for free.”

“Right? Wonder what cool and refreshing thing it’ll be.”

Unlike the excited Noquia and Holanghee, Blaine still looked downcast. After a while, Father returned from the workshop carrying three sherbets.

A sharp, refreshing scent wafted from them.

Noquia and Holanghee snatched theirs away before Father could even hand them out, and Father set the last one down in front of Blaine.

“It’s ginger, lemon, and peppermint. Good for nausea.”

Father handed Blaine a spoon. Blaine stared blankly at the sherbet.

“Go on, try it. Nothing weird in there.”

Father sat back on the table’s edge, and Blaine scooped a spoonful into his mouth. It was delicious. Maybe it was because the sherbet tasted so good, or maybe it was the kindness of the three of them, but emotions welled up until Blaine couldn’t hold them back. Spoon still in his mouth, he burst into tears.

The tears gushed out uncontrollably, as if something had broken inside him. He tried to hold it in, but choked sobs leaked out between his teeth as he bit down on the spoon.

Father, Holanghee, and Noquia flinched in shock at Blaine’s sudden crying and rushed to his side, while Blaine collapsed forward on the table, sobbing miserably.

“Why are you crying? Is it because Theo went hunting with Aslan?”

Noquia asked, flustered.

“H-He’ll be back soon, don’t cry.”

Holanghee patted Blaine’s back gently, trying to soothe him.

“Should we call him? Tell him to come right now?!”

Father raised her voice deliberately, as if blaming Theo. Blaine shook his head violently, telling her not to, but he didn’t lift his face or stop crying.

The three of them could only exchange glances, caught between worry and awkwardness.

He’s crying out of jealousy? No way… that’s huge.

As they coaxed him gently, Blaine’s sobs finally began to quiet. He slowly raised his head. Anyone else would have had swollen, puffy eyes by now, but Blaine’s were only tinged red, giving him a sorrowful kind of beauty.

It was the kind of face you’d want to capture in a photo and enshrine as a national treasure.

The three tried to calm their pounding hearts by swallowing dryly or faking coughs. In front of their flustered movements, Blaine kept his gaze lowered and whispered in a trembling, barely audible voice.

“Do you think… Theo hyung likes Aslan…?”

It sounded like he might burst into tears again any second. But the three only looked at him with awkward expressions.

“…I don’t think so.”

Holanghee.

“…No way, right?”

Noquia.

“…Of course not.”

Father.

Their united denial finally made Blaine look up at them. His sorrowful, drooping brows made him seem even more pitiful.

“But… they do look close…”

“They’re just friends. They’ve known each other a long time, that’s all.”

“Haven’t you actually been the one sticking closer to Sweetie these days?”

Father and Holanghee worked hard to explain.

“I’m just the new guy… the junior in the guild…”

“He doesn’t ignore you just because you’re new.”

“Yeah, if anything, he’s usually the one who couldn’t care less about others, but with you it’s different.”

They tried their best. But Blaine’s eyes filled with fresh tears as he protested.

“But he called me a snot-nosed kid…!”

“Snot-nose—!”

Noquia nearly burst out laughing. If not for the death glares from Holanghee and Father, she would’ve lost it completely.

“H-he said that…? W-well, that’s just because you’re young…”

Father’s excuses only made Blaine look even more miserable. Holanghee, unable to take it anymore, jabbed Father hard in the ribs with her elbow. Father collapsed forward, clutching her side.

“No, what she meant was he worries about you. And worrying means you’re on his mind.”

Holanghee spun a smooth explanation, and Blaine seemed to listen. Father, still holding her side, nodded frantically in agreement despite the pain.

If there’s such a thing as a cult, then Holanghee must be its leader, they thought. Her silver tongue poured out words like a sermon, and Blaine, little by little, calmed down as if he were being converted.

Meanwhile, Noquia quietly studied Blaine. His face, his body, every line—evaluating him piece by piece, running invisible calculations in her head. Then suddenly… Slam! She struck the table and stood.

Blaine and Father, startled out of Holanghee’s speech, both turned to her. Noquia approached with a solemn expression, grabbed Blaine’s hand, and pulled him to his feet.

“Physical beauty.”

“…Huh?”

“You’ve got good proportions for your age, and your muscles are firm.”

“…What?”

“The younger, the fresher and the more supple. Youth—that’s what Aslan doesn’t have, and it’s the one thing he can never beat you at. So here’s what you do: play the card of physical beauty. Seduce Theo with your body.”

Blaine’s eyes widened. A shaft of light pierced the darkness of his mind, bursting into radiance.

“Wait…”

“Stop…!”

Holanghee and Father tried to stop Noquia, but it was too late. To Blaine, Noquia was a messiah, and her words were scripture, doctrine, and revelation.

A messiah cannot be resisted.

And thus, the so-called “Physical Beauty Operation” that Noquia proposed would soon stir up a massive storm.