#188: The Tragedy Of Dragon Sword Mir — Starborn Cheat Character

“It’s been a while, Yu Seha.”

Su Ok-bin smiled brightly.

No matter how many times I saw her…

‘Truly a beautiful person.’

That otherworldly beauty unique to elves still preserved her ethereal charm.

I was momentarily dazed but quickly regained my composure.

With a gentle smile, I extended my hand towards Su Ok-bin.

“Yes, it’s been a while, Vice President Su Ok-bin.”
“Oh my~”

At the mention of Vice President, Su Ok-bin chuckled softly.

“Thank you for recognizing it.”
“Senior Divine Light Garam informed me. To think you rose to Vice President in just half a year… Congratulations sincerely.”

Perhaps she found my words endearing.

Su Ok-bin blushed faintly.

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Yu Seha.”
“No, I haven’t done much.”

I was sincere.
Just as Divine Light Garam said, Su Ok-bin was an excellent person.
Ultimately, it was only a matter of time before she rose to the top.

I merely provided a few opportunities along the way.

“……”

Then Su Ok-bin stared intently at me.
I wondered if something was on my face, but she chuckled quietly.

“You’re the same as ever. They say a person’s nature doesn’t change… Still as innocently kind as ever. I thought you might have darkened a bit after witnessing and experiencing so much recently… But you still shine. To the point where I feel ashamed of myself.”

“Pardon?”

Step, step.

Su Ok-bin closed the distance between us.

With a height that reached up to my chest, she looked up at me with a soft chuckle.

*Isn’t she getting a bit too close? *I thought, as she approached, her eyes sparkling like rubies.

Then, as if wrapped in a warm blanket, I was gently embraced.

“N-Nueeng?!”
“Hoeeng!”
“Hiyaak!”

From behind, I heard the screams of the trio.

My face turned red in an instant.

A warm, sweet scent, reminiscent of properly heated formula, wafted in.

Here, uh, um…

Indescribable, graceful curves and alluring flesh pressed against various parts of my body.

‘It seems like things like this have been happening a lot lately…?’

With Ju Na-young…
And with Peng Jin-ah…
Could this be some kind of trend…?

“V-Vice Pr-President?”
“You can call me Su Ok-bin. Or you can just call me noona if you like. Or even… Ok-bin~?”
“Ah, yes… um, Su Ok-bin… ma’am. What exactly is this…?”
“Hehe, it’s a reunion after a long time. It’s a hug of joy. Isn’t that natural?”

A hug…

It’s a bit intense for that, isn’t it?

Su Ok-bin smiled sweetly.

She lifted her head and leaned her face towards my neck.

After sniffing, she whispered in a voice that tickled my ear.

“You smell even more delicious.”
“…Uh, excuse me?”
“It means you’ve become much stronger now. To the point where you’re almost unrecognizable from before. Oh? You seem taller too?”

Su Ok-bin looked up at me and gently touched my cheek.

“Um… could you stop now…?”
“Hehe, can’t we stay like this just a bit longer?”
“I-I’m quite troubled by this distance…”

I turned my face away.
I couldn’t bear to look at her any longer.
Those ruby-like eyes were filled with an irresistible allure.

“…You’re still so defenseless. Aren’t you worried you might really get caught like this?“

“…What did you say?”

“It’s nothing. Hehe.”

Only then did Su Ok-bin release me.

I glanced to the side.

Divine Light Garam, crouching, exclaimed, “N-no! It’s impure!” trying to calm her reddened face.

Natsu & Yuri were covering both her eyes.

“W-Wow, th-this creature is indecent beyond belief. Is that the power of an elf?”
“Ho, hoee…”

“Hehe~ Looks like that was a bit too much stimulation for these wet-behind-the-ears kids, huh?”

“I-I’m not a kid!”
“Stop calling me a kid, you filthy half-blood vampire!”

“Oh my~ Revealing someone’s family history without permission… this is why kids these days…”

“Eeek!”
“Ugh!”

Su Ok-bin faced the saintesses with a peculiar hostility.

Meanwhile, a small question in my mind was answered by the recent words.

‘Ah, as expected…’

It seemed Su Ok-bin was a quarter elf and also a vampire.

Well, she had said she was an elf.
No one ever said the other part had to be human.

‘…How does that family relationship work?’

Love between an elf and a vampire…?

I had never heard of such a thing.

In the first place, elves are partly considered monsters nowadays, and vampires are outright targets for extermination in some places.

No wonder vampires fled to the <Gate> and settled there.

‘There must be a complicated story behind it.’

Such bickering conversations were soon interrupted by a knocking sound.

Knock knock.
Creak.

A woman, appearing to be a servant, poked her head in.

“Excuse me, Saintesses, Mother Superior… and Vice President? The meeting is about to start.”

“Oh my, already… Have Chairman Yu Neung-hae and the Four Great Clan members arrived?”
“Ah, the Chairman hasn’t… She will arrive soon, and from the Four Great Clans, only Team Leader Cho Seol-hwa of <Dragon Sword Mir> has arrived first.”
“Ah.”

At the mention of Cho Seol-hwa’s name, Su Ok-bin showed a slightly complex smile.

Looking at her, I couldn’t help but feel curious.

Her reaction was a bit awkward to just say they knew each other.

“Understood. Thank you for letting me know. You may leave now.”

“Yes.”

A short while later, the group stepped outside.

Since I was only called here to receive a reward and had nothing to do with the meeting, it seemed this was where I would have to part ways.

“Later… will you play with us?”
“Play with us!”
“Of course. Little saintesses.”
“Eeeek! Don’t call us little!”
“Don’t!”

I laughed softly.
I carefully hugged the two saintesses.
They squirmed in my arms, perhaps feeling suffocated, and I stroked the tops of their heads.
It had been less than an hour, such a brief connection, and yet my heart felt oddly warm.
The generous reward helped, too—it certainly made me like them more.

‘…If I ever get married in the future…’

I thought it would be nice if my first child were a daughter.

‘…Am I crazy?’

And then I was shocked.
Just now…
Had I really entertained the thought of marriage?

—Get him! Catch him!
—He’s a monster who always brings blood wherever he goes.
—If we don’t kill him now, we’ll all regret it later.
—…
—Hey… sometimes I wonder. Are you even human like us?
—What kind of strategy is this—no, never mind. As long as it’s efficient.
—It’s not like either of us is going to live long anyway.
—Even if we survive, it’s a life without anyone to love us. Who cares about strategy at that point?

‘Tsk…’

I shouldn’t have thought about it.

I considered it foolish.

All my life, I had only harmed, killed, and been chased…

What did I know of love?

I let go of the two girls.

“Then, I’ll see you later, Junior.”
“Take care~ Oppa~”
“Oppa~”

After waving my hand, Su Ok-bin, who was beside me, approached.

Now it was time to say goodbye to her as well…

“Are you okay?”
“Uh, what?”

Su Ok-bin suddenly blurted out something strange.

She looked slightly worried.

“Hmm?” I tilted my head in confusion, and she leaned her forehead against mine.

“Vi-Vice President?”
“I said you can just call me noona~”
“Ah, no, that’s a bit… um, what is this…?”

Su Ok-bin tilted her head while keeping her forehead against mine.

‘Mmm, no fever…’ she muttered, then sighed softly.

Soon, she gave me a slightly sympathetic look and gently spoke.

“Are you in pain?”
“…!”

I flinched slightly.

“You are suffering from past memories.”
“…How did you know?”
“Because I went through the same thing. You had the same expression as I did.”

Su Ok-bin closed the distance again and pulled me into a hug.
It was already the second hug today, but…
It felt subtly different from before.

“I won’t ask what kind of wound it is. I’m not the type of woman to kill the mood like that.”
“Uh, um…”
“However… Even if you pretend otherwise, wounds tend to fester if left unattended.”

“Healing is necessary. Sometimes you need to show your wounds to others. That way, you can let out the pus and let new flesh grow.”
“…That’s…”
“It’s a difficult thing to do. I know. I went through it too.”
“……”

I felt a bit curious after hearing that.

“…How did you overcome it, Su Ok-bin… noona?”
“Oh, I haven’t.”
“What? Really?”

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Su Ok-bin laughed brightly.

“No matter how much I try, I can’t fix it perfectly. Just because new flesh grows doesn’t mean the scar disappears.”
“Oh…”
“But… As people who understand me started to appear one by one… I no longer feel afraid.”

“Fortunately… Yu Seha has at least three people who will embrace those scars.”

Ma Hana, Moon Bora, and Ju Na-young.

“And there might be more connections I don’t know about. For example… Professor Peng Jin-ah?”
“……”
“I’m not saying you have to do it right away. It’s okay if it’s later. Trust them. At least you won’t regret it. Additionally…”

“I also hope to become one of the people Yu Seha can trust someday.”

“……”

I closed my eyes for a moment.
Scars…
The past…

‘…To the girls…’

Is it okay to tell them?

About my true past.

I slowly opened my eyes, breaking the silence.

I bowed my head.

To the grateful benefactor who showed me a path I had never considered before.

“…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome…”

Since the conversation had already started, I asked about a question that had arisen earlier.

“Um…”
“Hmm?”
“Well… when Team Leader Cho Seol-hwa’s name came up earlier, your expression seemed a bit complicated… Can I ask why?”
“Oh my. I always feel this, but Yu Seha’s intuition and judgment are beyond human.”
“That’s actually something I’d like to say.”

Su Ok-bin smiled gently at my words.
Then, with an ‘hmm…’ expression, she crossed her arms.

“…She’s competent and incredibly loyal, but… sometimes it’s too much. Overstepping, really. She handles everything on her own without reporting, and that kind of unilateral action is problematic when you’re supposed to serve a master. She wasn’t always like that, though.”

“…Pardon?”

“She’s a bit obsessive now. If she perceives even the slightest threat to the Clan Master or heir, she eliminates it. Thoroughly. And cruelly. I’ve clashed with her more than once because of it.”

I could sense that this was about the <Dragon Sword Mir>.

Su Ok-bin looked at me and gave a bitter smile.

‘Please don’t mention this anywhere else,’ she implied.

“Are you aware that the current <Dragon Sword Mir> Clan Master is Ju Yae-yong?”

“Oh, yes, I saw it on the news.”

“Publicly, it’s said that she has one daughter… but that’s not the whole truth.”

“What?”

“She had an older daughter once. I met her once, long ago. She was a girl as bright as the sun.“

“Interestingly, there was a concentric circle-like mark on her eyes. Many considered it a trait of a king. And it was Team Leader Cho Seol-hwa who assisted her closely.”

“…Wait, concentric circles?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

“Oh, no.”

A slightly chilly sensation brushed my chest, but I calmed myself.

After all, there were plenty of people with unique patterns in their eyes other than ‘her.’

Of course, in GAL, Ju Na-young’s family story was never mentioned, so there was a lot I didn’t know, and it might be something else entirely.
Since there was nothing I could do immediately, I decided to let it pass for now.

Su Ok-bin continued speaking.

The first daughter, nurtured under the care of her mother Ju Yae-yong and Cho Seol-hwa…

But then, tragedy struck out of nowhere—like a cruel joke.

“She died suddenly from an unknown illness. She collapsed and died on the spot, coughing up blood.”

“…An illness?”

“Yes, but… the illness wasn’t natural…”

It was clearly the effect of a poison-based skill.

It was an ability primarily used by <Villains, Demons>.

“…! That…”
“Yes, it was poisoning.”

If they had just a bit more time, maybe they could have saved her somehow… But she died right there on the spot.

“There was nothing anyone could do. Cho Seol-hwa, covered in her blood, reportedly ran madly to the hospital. But it was already too late.”

“…Ah.”