Chapter 995 – 995. Yggdrasil (7)
A purple tornado that is sucked into the center.
“… Portal?”
No matter how much I looked, nothing came to mind other than the portal.
“Just wait a moment.”
After carefully looking around the portal…
“This is the last time.”
Behind the portal, the road was blocked as if it had been cut.
If you go inside, you will definitely be transported to a different place.
Midwinter burst out laughing at the last words that came out of my mouth.
“Huh… “Have you finally arrived?”
The destination I had longed for.
But unfortunately, I did not give a hopeful answer.
“There is no guarantee that this will be the last.”
There was a possibility that it was the last, but there was also a possibility that it was simply a portal to another location.
It would be fortunate if we were to move to another location.
In the worst case…
“We can move to the side of the mountain we passed by or to another place on the mountain.”
I also had to consider the possibility of having to come back the way I came.
But even in that worst-case scenario, our answer did not change in the end.
“Let’s go in.”
There’s no road behind here anyway, and there’s nothing there if you go back.
From the beginning, there was no other option than this portal.
Nevertheless, I did not enter the portal, but instead looked at Midwinter and spoke.
“Yuha, please wait here for a moment. Follow me.”
“Ugh… ? Me?”
Midwinter shook her shoulders and started following me.
After increasing the distance between me and Namgung Yuha, I immediately got to the point.
“You, join us.”
“Affiliation?”
I gave the same explanation as I gave to other women when I brought them into the ship.
In the middle of winter, even though I was shivering from the cold, I listened and concentrated.
The middle of winter after hearing my explanation…
“Oh wow… “You’ve been to another world.”
“Yes.”
“Okay… “Now I know why it’s so strong.”
Midwinter sniffed her nose and laughed.
Even though I wanted to react more loudly, my body didn’t seem to respond because of the cold.
“I’m not forcing it, but honestly…” “I hope you accept.”
Seeing her shivering from the cold, I decided it was important to get inside the portal quickly.
Midwinter saw my impatient appearance and smiled and nodded.
“Okay… Of course. But what should I do?”
“You just have to accept it. Then you will figure it out…”
Armonia will do it.
It was a moment I was so looking forward to.
[Suho.]
‘It’s all over, right? Then…’
[A problem has occurred.]
‘… ‘What’s the problem?’
The problem was mentioned in Armonia’s mouth.
And every time that happened, I had to face a bad situation.
[Approval for ship affiliation has been denied.]
Just like now.
A situation that I cannot understand.
It didn’t take long for my doubts to be answered.
[Sorry. God rejected it.]
‘God? What are you talking about. ‘Isn’t it your right to create ship affiliations?’
Wasn’t it solely Armonia’s authority to approve ships?
But there was one thing I missed.
[As you know, you need to use Enel to assign specific people to the ship.]
And using that Enel…
[And although you have easily allowed it up until now, you have made it clear that no more can be done.]
‘Her…’
At first, it was so absurd that my anger slowly boiled over.
But the boiling anger began to cool down again.
‘Was it actually a fraud to be able to create an affiliation with only 10,000 to 20,000 Enel…? .’
It was literally.
Recruiting talented people at will and traveling through space.
In some ways, I thought it could be a greater benefit than the temple and zodiac, which have protagonists who rule a world.
Yes, I understand.
I understood…
‘Why, at a time like this…’
I never thought it would get stuck like this in a situation where I couldn’t pull it back.
It’s impossible to get Midwinter out of the dark mountain.
This happened in a situation where they had to be taken with them unconditionally.
When I looked embarrassed, Armonia apologized.
[Sorry. Suho.]
‘Huh? Why are you sorry? It’s not your responsibility.’
God is the problem. God guy…
And that God is probably watching this situation.
‘They say it’s definitely not possible?’
[It is possible conditionally, but…]
Armonia trailed off slightly before continuing her words.
[The conditions are strict. In order to belong, a certain level of obedience is required.]
‘… Obedience?’
The first word I heard after meeting Armonia.
But if I just heard the word, I felt like I knew roughly what it meant.
[An obedience level of 90 or higher is required.]
‘Is 100 the maximum?’
[In fact, yes.]
Is that actually the case?
It was an ambiguous answer.
But I had no intention of dwelling on that part right now.
‘What is the obedience level of midwinter?’
[… It is 55.]
‘And…’
There is still a long time left.
‘I thought you might have developed a crush on me… Wasn’t it that bad?’
There was a lot of regret.
I thought we had become close friends to some extent because we shared a bath and fondled each other…
However, Armonia began to explain on my behalf in my disappointed voice.
[Obedience is not likeability.]
The obedience that Armonia mentioned was a higher level concept of likability.
[It means not only liking Suho, but also recognizing him as someone you can devote your life to.]
‘Aha…’
But… Being loyal to another person ultimately means liking them.
Compared to that, being loyal just because you like something is strange…
[For reference, Kang Han-na’s obedience level is 95.]
It was Kang Han-na, not me, who was surprised by Armonia’s words.
[Yes!? I’m that high!?]
Kang Han-na spoke gibberish as if making excuses in a more surprised voice than I was.
[Well, something seems wrong? Even though I’m like this, I have strong individualism, so I’m not the type to bow down to men that much. And…]
Countless excuses.
But the more I made excuses, the more the situation became shaky and mired in a swamp.
I giggled and made fun of Kang Han Na talking gibberish.
‘Hannah, thank you for being loyal to me.’
[Profit! Oh, no! Something seems wrong…]
[I think it would be better to consider the right and wrong later and focus on the current situation.]
[… Yes.]
Kang Han Na lowered her tail to Armonia.
I laughed at Kang Han-na’s sagging voice and continued the story again.
‘How to increase obedience?’
[… There is no exact method.]
There is no exact way.
But Armonia’s answer actually became the answer.
‘The fact that there is no exact method means that there is no set method.’
There were countless ways.
The representative method among them is help.
The reason her obedience level is at 95 is probably because I helped her and brought her to my ship.
I kept asking questions to find out more specific methods.
‘What is the level of obedience of other family members?’
[Viola is 90, Siho is 90, Beatrice is 95…]
And the long-awaited Lena.
[Lena is 110.]
‘… What? ‘I heard 100 is the maximum?’
How long has it been since I said the maximum was 100? .
But Armonia answered my words bluntly.
[Actually, 100 is the maximum. However, Lena obeys Suho to the extent of exceeding the maximum.]
‘Her…’
I started laughing without even realizing it.
I could feel Lena’s loyalty to me just by her actions.
But when I heard the numbers, I actually felt sorry.
It was a moment when I was deeply moved.
[… 110?]
A voice full of discomfort was heard through the communication.
The owner of the voice was Kang Han Na.
And I know better than anyone why she feels so uncomfortable.
‘It’s just a shame. ‘Don’t worry too much.’
This may be because the level of Lena, whom she considered her rival, was much higher.
[And… It’s high. High. Phew…]
‘…’
I don’t know if it was out of pride or jealousy, but Kang Han-na decided to worry about it later.
First, the important thing was the middle of winter right in front of us.
Midwinter was staring at me.
“Okay… What? What’s the matter? “What’s the problem?”
“No. “Nothing.”
I said that and wiped away the midwinter nose with a tissue.
When I suddenly wiped his nose, he got scared and screamed in the middle of winter.
“W-what! Suddenly!”
“I just cleaned it. “Just stay calm.”
“Si, I hate it! I, I will clean it. “Pay attention!”
He seemed quite embarrassed that I was wiping his runny nose.
If you see your face turning red…
“Stay still.”
“Keuuuuu! I-I’m cleaning it…”
But I ignored midwinter’s reaction and continued cleaning.
And while wiping, he spoke over the phone.
‘First, I understand that I don’t belong. Then let’s use a different method.’
[If there is a way… ?]
‘Make me a good location tracker. They also added a recording function.’
The reason I wanted Midwinter to join the ship in the first place was because of anxiety.
When I entered the Mountain of Darkness, I didn’t know that I would be scattered like this, so I just entered, but I didn’t want to make that mistake again.
‘Warp may be impossible, but if there is a tracker, I can run anyway.’
[I understand.]
With Armonia’s answer, a location tracker was placed in my hand.
After wiping away all of her snot in the middle of winter, I handed her cube with its location tracking function.
She tilted her head, her face still red, in the middle of winter when she received the small machine.
“What? “This?”
“It’s a location tracker.”
I explained to her as much as I could about her lies.
“Don’t put that in your inventory, keep it on her. If there’s a problem, I’ll come running right away.”
“Okay…”
Midwinter sniffed her nose and stared at the cube I handed her.
The midwinter I looked at like that…
“… Thank you.”
With a bright smile, she carefully placed the cube in her arms.
I said this as I watched Midwinter taking care of her cube.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
So, Midwinter and I headed back to the portal where Namgung Yuha was waiting.
Namgung Yuha breathed a sigh of relief when she saw me and Midwinter reappear.
“Have you finished the conversation?”
Even though Namgung Yuha could see our situation a thousand steps away, she seemed to have waited quietly in the dark without looking.
A woman whose manners are so ingrained in her that she takes on her own insecurities.
I smiled bitterly and apologized to Namgung Yuha for being like that.
“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“No. Then…”
Namgung Yuha came towards me and asked, completely washing away her anxiety.
“Are you going to go in?”
“Yes. Let’s go in.”
I held Namgung Yuha and Midwinter’s hands tightly and spoke.
“Just in case. “Hold on tight.”
“Yes.”
“Uh, yes!”
When I heard the two people’s nervous voices, I unconsciously held their hands tighter.
And just then, Armonia’s voice was heard.
[Suho, Min Ha-yeon’s group has just entered the portal.]
Not only did I have a reason to go in, but I also had a reason to hurry.
I lead the two people by their hands, holding them tightly with an urgent heart…
“Let’s go!”
I jumped into the purple portal.
The purple rays of light flickered and caused motion sickness.
And after some time…
“Whoa!”
The soles of my feet touched the ground and I landed in an unknown place.
As soon as I landed, I checked the two people on either side.
“Are you both okay?”
Namgung Yuha, both in the middle of winter…
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“It’s safe here too!”
He landed safely holding my hand.
First of all, I felt relieved that I wasn’t scattered.
Let’s relax our hands with such relief…
“Uh!? Suho!”
“Mister!”
“Oppa!”
We were able to hear the happy voice of Min Ha-yeon and her group who were separated from us.
Fortunately, it seemed like the portal itself was a device to bring them together.
Min Ha-yeon and her group were happy to see us and hugged us as soon as we met.
“Winter, wasn’t it cold?”
“Yes, I was fine.”
“Yuha, you really worked hard.”
“You three really worked hard.
While exchanging greetings like that…
“Excuse me… “I can hear your voice.”
Everyone tilted their heads at Namgung Yuha’s words.
“Voice?”
“Yes. Six participants… And…”
Everyone looked around at the sound of Namgung Yuha’s speechless voice.
And only after looking around like that did she notice the large hologram that appeared above her head.
In that hologram…
“And I hear in my head that there are 8 minutes and 56 seconds left.”
As Namgung Yuha said, 〈 participants: 6 people. The remaining time was 8 minutes 56 seconds 〉.
