Chapter 102
“I thought you would know it was an act, but you really didn’t?”
Of course, I didn’t know. Just from the smell, it didn’t seem like something humans could drink.
Despite not stopping Marvis and Hexion from their drinking contest, partly because I didn’t have the chance, I also calculated that since they were already conquered characters, they wouldn’t die even if they drank poison.
“That makes it more disappointing. It means you abandoned me while I was asleep and ran away with another guy.”
No, I didn’t run away—I just returned to my room. This isn’t an MT retreat; it would be awkward to sleep together there.
T/N: MT (Membership Training) refers to a Korean group retreat or workshop where participants often share accommodations. Shin Joo is saying she simply went back to her room alone rather than staying overnight with others in the prayer room, as that would be inappropriate since this isn’t an organized retreat where group sleeping arrangements would be normal.
“Shin Joo-ah. Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“Well… you seem drunk.”
“I’m not drunk.”
“Everyone who drinks says that… huh?”
Marvis walked straight toward me. A strong alcohol scent wafted over, making me cough slightly. Though he smelled of alcohol, judging by his speech and movements, he didn’t seem drunk.
Do demons not get drunk? If we had made a drinking bet when we first met, I would have been the one pickled in alcohol that day.
“Neither alcohol nor sleep—nothing in this world makes me comfortable.”
He must have a lot on his mind. He seemed to have a rather sensitive personality, and when such people start viewing the world negatively, they tend to sink deeper into depression.
‘Well, Marvis must have suffered emotionally while I was gone.’
Marvis doesn’t know how anxious I am about another bad ending because of the bomb. While saying I’ll extend my tentacles for world peace might be acceptable within the game’s setting, it must have been a bolt from the blue for Marvis.
He told me not to leave, but I did; he came all the way to the Holy City, but I didn’t welcome him warmly and kept him in opposition with Hexion the whole time. He had every right to feel hurt.
‘The system caused this mess in the story, so why do I have to clean it up?’
It’s a bit unfair, but what can I do? He’s the man I tamed, so I need to take responsibility. This is also a player’s fate.
I swallowed hard and exhaled with a “whew.” Clenching and unclenching my fists helped release some tension, so I gathered courage to walk over to Marvis and take his hand.
“You can’t get drunk, you can’t fall asleep, so you came looking for me?”
“Shin Joo-ah, right now…”
“You’ve had a hard time, Marvis. I’m sorry for not understanding.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s stay together until you feel better.”
Marvis’s eyes narrowed. It was a look that seemed to expect I would just say these things but would go to remove Hexion’s bomb when morning came.
If his intuition is that good, I wish he could also understand my headache about the bombs.
I gently stroked Marvis’s arm, then leaned in and hugged his waist. He flinched slightly, seemingly surprised.
“Shin Joo-ah. What are you doing?”
“Recharging.”
“Recharging?”
“You said you can’t rest. They say hugging someone you like eliminates a third of the day’s fatigue.”
“Don’t try to gloss over things like this.”
Despite his words, Marvis didn’t push me away. His grumbling was indeed just complaining, and he must have missed my body heat.
[Marvis]’s current affection level: 90
They say when your body is tired, your personality becomes difficult; now that his stress is relieved, his dropped affection has risen again. I’m not sure if he’s simple or sensitive.
“By the way, Marvis. How did you enter the Holy City? The gate wasn’t open.”
“…That guy came over.”
Marvis pulled out a crumpled paper from his chest. A pass with a seal. Hexion had carried that when he came looking for me from the Holy City to the demon territory.
“So I thought the reverse would also be possible.”
That pass, wasn’t it one-way?
Could it be used to cross in the opposite direction, too?
If anyone could cross just by stamping a seal, wouldn’t the barrier protecting the Holy City be useless?
“If you can come and go without a gate… huh?”
Looking closely, the color of the seal on the pass was different from Marvis’s.
I examined it carefully.
“This is the temple’s symbol, isn’t it?”
Surprisingly, it wasn’t a demon seal but a temple seal.
‘How did this end up in Marvis’s hands? Was there really a traitor within the temple?’
When I looked at him with surprised eyes, Marvis pouted and tucked the crumpled certificate back into his chest.
“I discovered it while testing. It was just one number different.”
“What number?”
Marvis’s lips moved, but no sound came out.
‘Why is he just mouthing words?’
As I was about to release my arms from his waist and straighten my posture, I saw small letters floating around with a small electrical signal sound.
;param:ITEM number
IF ITEM:3 == 1
PRINTFORM Demon Pass
ELSEIF ITEM:4 == 1
PRINTFORM Temple Pass
ENDIF
‘Huh?’
It wasn’t the usual 0s and 1s. A sequence of meaningful words. The arrangement of uppercase words was strangely familiar.
As I tried to focus on reading it, the translucent letters that had briefly appeared soon disappeared.
‘Was that… could it be that I saw the item code?’
Game items are grouped by similar types and assigned numbers.
Whether it’s a demon pass or a temple pass, they’re both classified as passes, so it’s not strange that their item numbers differ by one, being 3 and 4.
So the text I just saw was probably the actual game source code.
‘Didn’t they say it was a game with web and mobile connectivity? Yet the code looks no different from a text game.’
I hadn’t seen source code before, but in a game with so many bugs, it’s not impossible for source code to be exposed due to an error during play.
But something was strange.
‘How did Marvis know that items have numbers?’
No, more than that, how did he know that passes are “items”?
Even though we use inventories, this is a game world with magic and divine power. He shouldn’t find that strange.
“Marvis, how did you…”
“But no matter how much I tried, I could only change that one number and nothing else.”
“What?”
“You’re the only one who can do more than that, right?”
Do what? I couldn’t ask the question because Marvis lifted me up and kissed me.
“Um, mmm… Marvis. Wait a moment.”
“You said you’d stay with me until I felt better. Be still.”
Marvis fell onto the bed while holding me. The moon wasn’t bright to begin with, and with a large man’s body looming over me, everything suddenly went dark.
Gripping my wrists as I tried to push him away, he raised them above my head and lowered his face to kiss my exposed neck.
The strong smell of alcohol wafted over me, making me grimace and turn my head, and he whispered in my ear.
“You need someone to make you feel better, too.”
“No, that’s not it. I’m not in the mood right now…”
“Isn’t it because your body is heated that you’ve been chasing after men? Seems like it didn’t go well with that white guy.”
My body stiffened momentarily at the mention of Kaint. Seeing my reaction, Marvis laughed bitterly.
“You must have been quite disappointed, judging by that expression.”
“I wasn’t disappointed.”
If I had brought him to my bedroom, I would have run into Marvis anyway, making things more awkward.
Besides, pushing Kaint away was my own decision. Perhaps because of that rejection, I’ll have to take a more difficult route to conquer him. But I just couldn’t bring myself to approach the current Kaint.
“So don’t bring up that person.”
“Are you being petty because you were rejected? That’s not like you.”
What’s like me? To cling persistently, like when I first flirted with Hexion? Kaint would hate that even more.
“Well, if you stop looking at other guys, it’s good for me.”
Marvis slowly caressed my face. His palm was so hot it felt like it would burn, and I flinched in surprise.
“I was at my limit, too.”
If he lived as a virgin for 150 years, could he really not bear it after just a few days and come looking for me? I’m not some human delicacy…
“Really.”
His breathing became ragged, and his red eyes glowed eerily.
A cool sensation ran down the back of my neck, and my muscles tensed tightly.
I instinctively realized that what shadowed Marvis’s red eyes wasn’t excitement from lust but killing intent.
Consciously relaxing my stiffened fingertips and exhaling, I saw the numbers on his status window behind him blinking dangerously.
Until the next bomb: D-3
Ding.
Until the next bomb: D-2
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