Chapter 47

EP.47 The Paladin Must Protect Aya

"Hey, how many kids are you going to have on your first meeting?"

It's not even lyrics from a song...

After the Paladin's statement, the room fell silent once again.

Everyone seemed to freeze, mulling over his words,

and then, as if in reaction, it became even noisier than before.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

"Ah, I'm crying from laughter. What did Sanghyun just say?"

"Ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!"

"Opa, does anyone laugh like that in the world?"

"Sometimes I watch his stream. That's his reaction when he gets donations. He's forcing a laugh."

"Trapped by the broadcast concept... How could he..."

"What did you say? Kids? It's a joke, right?"

"Why, did you even name your grandchild? Ha ha ha ha!"

"You said it was just a broadcast concept, not your real personality. But it was real!"

"Where did our Paladin go? He pretended to be so well-behaved from the moment we met until now, but it was all an act."

"Opa, that's not okay. You're too pretty to marry. I'm against it!"

"...."

The Paladin's face was flushed with embarrassment.

He seemed very confused, as if he couldn't believe he had said such a thing.

Did he speak without thinking?

...Did he like me that much?

The Paladin couldn't make any excuses.

He just stammered, "No, that's not it. No, wait, that's right, but... No, what are you talking about?" while floundering.

The entire team thoroughly teased him.

After a short while,

he seemed to realize he was making a fool of himself and closed his mouth.

He didn't say anything, and his gaze shifted from my face to the ground.

It was awkward.

His awkwardness made me feel awkward too.

I hesitated, not knowing what to say to him,

when suddenly I felt a wave of hunger.

Come to think of it, I had been so excited about eating meat that I hadn't eaten anything from morning until now.

My stomach was practically shrinking.

As I clutched my stomach in pain,

the Paladin, who was still looking down, somehow noticed and quickly handed me a pair of chopsticks.

"Miss, you haven't had dinner yet, right?"

"Yes, yes...."

Awkward!

You're not that kind of person.

Act like the character in the game who shouts and swings a greatsword.

Where did the tough guy who used to shout, "Charge, mindless core!" go?

Whether my thoughts reached him or not,

he finally calmed down, cleared his throat, and called the waiter.

"Alright, the Holy Maiden is here! Hey! Give us four more servings!"

It doesn't matter,

but don't call the game nickname so loudly.

It's embarrassing.

Ordinary people who don't know about the game,

especially the group that was interested in this, were whispering to each other, "What's a Holy Maiden?"

I was really embarrassed.

However, after placing the order,

I couldn't scold the Paladin, who looked at me with a "Did I do well?" expression.

"Thank you...."

"Yes, yes...."

"Isn't it too awkward between the two of you?"

"Praphe Opa, I would be awkward too if I received a sudden confession on our first meeting."

"It's not a confession."

"Then what was it? Ha ha ha ha."

"Stadak, I can't get used to that laughter."

"Sanghyun, isn't that too much? You were leading the conversation, and now that the Holy Maiden is here, you've clammed up. It's awkward for us too."

"Right, right."

It seemed that when I wasn't there, the Paladin was at the center of their group, leading the conversation.

Realizing this, the Paladin regained his composure and continued the conversation.

"Since the Holy Maiden is here, everyone is gathered."

"By the way, where's the director?"

"He said he couldn't come. He's going somewhere. He had a big fight with his girlfriend or something."

"Wow, I completely forgot about that."

"Stadak Opa, I'll tell the director everything."

"Poor director...."

As we chatted, the meat arrived.

Was it because I was so hungry, or because I hadn't had a proper meal in a while? Even the raw meat made my mouth water.

As I sparkled with excitement, the Paladin carefully observed my face, then started grilling a piece of meat for everyone.

"Should we order more drinks?"

"Sure, I haven't had enough yet."

"Opa, you said you were drunk just from looking at the Holy Maiden."

"That's because the game character suddenly appeared in front of me. Now, it's making me sober up."

"I agree with that."

"Sister, you can't drink either. You're just like me."

"Holy Maiden, it's a bit strange to call you that in reality. Hmm. How about alcohol? Are you okay with it?"

Are you okay with alcohol?

It wasn't bad.

It wasn't a matter of life and death, but to be honest, I liked alcohol.

Alcohol was perfect for clearing my mind of all sorts of thoughts.

The focus on me in the shop hadn't waned even after quite some time had passed.

I thought that if I had a drink, I might be able to escape the burden of the continuous stares.

As the Paladin offered me a glass, I instinctively shook my head.

Why do I need a glass to drink?

I can just drink from the bottle.

...Looking back, I guess I was a bit,

lacking in common sense?

I had never been in a drinking situation with others,

so while I knew it was normal to drink from a glass,

I didn't think it was strange to drink from the bottle.

As I refused, the Paladin seemed to misunderstand.

"Ah, you don't drink. Then have more meat. I'll grill it for you quickly."

"Opa, he said he can't drink, but he filled my glass to the brim...."

"That's because I saw through you. Is the Holy Maiden like you?"

"Wow, he's discriminating against people!"

"Sanghyun is right. I could chew a rock at twenty. Back then...."

"Sister, you can't drink either. You're just like me."

"Holy Maiden, don't be upset. He's a complete drunkard. Look, he's still fine after drinking more than a bottle."

Everyone seemed to have had a drink.

In that situation, I didn't want to say I couldn't drink, so I just smiled.

They ordered soju, which was the same color as the floor, and passed the glasses around.

Just before clinking the glasses, the Paladin spoke.

"I'm sorry for causing trouble with the internet issue. I know everyone is busy, but thank you for coming. Holy Maiden, you must have been surprised by my nonsense when you arrived. I'm really sorry...."

That's right.

During the final match, there was a sudden internet issue with the Paladin, which caused problems with the character and equipment swap. I had to play the greatsword warrior.

I had forgotten, but it seemed to have been weighing on his mind.

Honestly, it was hard to call it a mistake,

but he felt responsible for the team, so even though the outcome was good, he still apologized.

It was very,

mature of him.

He had even proposed to me out of the blue,

and he was so embarrassed that he couldn't say anything,

but if I were in his position, I would have tried to brush it off.

His willingness to admit his mistake and apologize was impressive.

It was a simple act, but a difficult one.

I suddenly noticed his appearance.

He was neatly dressed without any flashy elements, and his slightly long, wavy hair suited him well.

They say the face completes the style.

In short, he was a handsome man with a good face.

His personality and appearance,

made him a socialite.

While criminals don't write "I am a criminal" on their faces, looking at his face made me curious.

Was this really the person who, for ten years, played over 20,000 matches as a greatsword warrior in the game, shouting, "What's our team doing? Uuuuuuuh! Charge, mindless core! You mindless guests!"?

The gap between reality and the game was too big.

What kind of game could turn a normal person into this?

...After all, there was a pervert here who had been enthusiastically engaging in character sexual harassment and shouting, "More, more, bad words, hek hek."

I didn't have anything to say to him.

"Opa, you're talking too much!"

"Alright, let's drink!"

I watched as everyone drank, sucking my fingers.

Oh, it looks even more delicious now that I can't drink.

I suddenly felt very isolated, so I poked the Paladin's side, who had finished his drink, and said,

"Give me one too."

"Ah, you don't have to push yourself."

His eyes were filled with worry.

It's as if he would make that face if he saw a child left by the roadside.

Do I look that weak?

Well, the Holy Maiden doesn't really give off the impression of being a heavy drinker.

But if I were to fall over after one drink, that would be different.

I was weak when it came to worry.

I wasn't the type to insist on doing things my way just because I wanted to, especially when someone was concerned about me.

I thought it would be rude to the person who was worried about me.

And now, the Paladin was worried about me.

Hmm.

Well, I didn't come here to drink anyway.

So, it's fine.

...

...

...But as the glasses kept circulating and the number of empty bottles increased, I started to feel more and more discontent.

I want to join in.

I can drink well too.

"Holy Maiden, it's okay. We'll drink your share too."

...Don't drink my share, give it to me.

"Sister, alcohol is bad for your skin. Hic."

You're hiccupping because you've had too much.

"Should I order you a soft drink?"

Don't treat me like a baby.

"Ah, you're getting drunk. No? Ah, Holy Maiden, you don't have to drink."

That's not it, I want to drink!

"Ah, you're eating the meat so well. Should I order more meat? How about rice? No? Alcohol? No, it's fine."

The meat is delicious, of course, but...

Alcohol.

Give me alcohol!

A strange feeling, not anger or resentment, but something else, was boiling up inside me,

and it had already reached its limit.

I hesitated for a moment,

then almost instinctively,

I skillfully opened the soju bottle the Paladin had brought,

and drank it straight from the bottle.

Gulp.

Gulp.

It took less than thirty seconds to finish the bottle.

Oh, it's bitter but delicious.

The team members were greatly surprised by my actions.

In fact, everyone in the shop was rubbing their eyes, shocked by what I had done.

...Why?

Is this the first time you've seen someone drink from the bottle?

Author's Note

Thank you, Do-yatsae, for the 50 coins donation.

Thank you, Praphepopo, for the 60 coins donation.

Thank you, Sipsamil, for the 50 coins donation.

The Jungmo part ends in the next chapter!

I wanted to wrap it up this week, but it's a bit disappointing.

If possible, I'll try to come back once more on a weekday!

Thank you for reading!