What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 490

#490

Youth☆ Naval Academy (5)

Juice-like vivid orange back and leopard spots extending to the tail. Big, round eyes.

The petite reptile was frozen, halfway out of a small hole beneath the headstone.

Tete and I reflexively held our breaths.

For several seconds, no one moved.

Only the sound of the cold wind occasionally whistled past our ears.

We knew it was alive only by the rhythmic fluttering of the lizard’s throat.

-······.

It must have been surprised to see unfamiliar humans. And an awkward divine beast, too.

“······It’s so cute. Hello.”

I mumbled, observing the little one.

The strange small animal seemed to look at us, or perhaps it didn’t care at all.

Since I don’t usually encounter reptiles, today’s meeting was simply amazing and fascinating.

Usually, don’t they hibernate in this kind of weather? Or not?

“Gasp, did Gongja wake it up from hibernation?”

Oh my. Isn’t this animal abuse?

“No, I’m not that much of a scoundrel. I just came out for a patrol after drinking yesterday and found it.”

“Is a normal patrol even possible when you still smell like alcohol?”

I asked without any ill intentions, genuinely curious.

The man shrugged, looking unfazed.

“It’s easier that way. When I’m drunk, people tend to avoid me, so it’s good for figuring out the situation.”

Huh?

“The range in which I can move around without being suspected widens.”

“······.”

For a moment, a hypothesis flashed through my mind, but I decided not to voice it just yet.

I awkwardly lowered my gaze from Gongja.

And carefully examined the little lizard again.

“······You were trying to show me this friend, specifically. Not the headstone.”

“Right. It looks bizarre. Considering your group’s actions so far, it wouldn’t be strange for another divine object to appear.”

His voice was low and serious. He was incredibly quick to catch on.

I nodded thoughtfully.

Suddenly, what I had said to my friends in the foothills flashed through my mind.

‘I have something to tell you. I have stories about the noise I heard, and stories about divine objects. You probably guessed the latter.’

······Divine Object(神物).

Just as the Liester Empire has four divine objects, the Venetian Theocracy also has four divine objects.

Among them, the most famous in Liester is probably the water-attribute divine object ‘Ice Silkworm’s Reliquary’ obtained by Gain.

It’s a national treasure that’s already famous throughout the territory.

The reliquary came with us this time, and it stayed quietly in Gain’s bag because it’s something that needs human touch.

It’s good to take it out and play with it when fighting, but I heard it’s a gentle friend and easy to appease.

The second most famous divine object of the Theocracy is ‘Headwind’s Omen,’ owned by Crown Princess Eliser.

That beautiful golden spear was the master of ‘Sosori Gorge,’ where fierce winds blow all year round. According to rumors, the Crown Princess jumped into the valley with her bare body, subdued it, and tamed it.

The wild weapon ultimately succumbed to her strength and will after three days.

Now, as I saw last summer, the two are practically one.

The third is ‘Ilan’s Spirit,’ which broke through the Yeriho black market and finally regained freedom.

Our friend, the Spirit, is currently staying in the lord’s castle there, under the protection of the Imperial Army.

It has been weakened a lot due to being exploited by humans for a long time, but a divine object is still a divine object, so it is still powerful and sacred.

The huge spirit form and clear personality are special features.

I heard that it has been friends with Empress Lumayan for a long time.

Then what about the last fourth one? Well, even the name is unusual.

You get the feeling right away when you hear it.

“The divine object ‘Heart of the Serpent Dragon.’ Is that what you suspect?”

That’s right. It’s just openly a dragon. A dragon that was transformed from an Imoogi [a Korean mythical serpent]!

“Isn’t a dragon just a giant lizard in the end? If so, it’s very suspicious. And there’s also the legend of the sea dragon that has been passed down only on the coast of the North Sea.”

Lightning Gongja rummaged through his pockets and replied. He was absolutely right.

As soon as I heard the legend of the sea dragon, I thought of that first, so maybe other friends are thinking similarly.

I never thought I’d get a clue (?) in the wide schoolyard.

“The fact that it digs a hole under this headstone and lives there is also suspicious.”

“That’s what I’m saying. There’s no reason why there wouldn’t be an animal-shaped divine object when there’s also a spirit, right?”

Clack! He took out a candy from his pocket and popped it into his mouth like a pill.

He really likes candy. Is it that good?

······No, that’s not it.

“But there are a few things that bother me.”

“Right. First of all, that’s not a ‘heart.’ It just looks like a lizard on the outside.”

“Yes.”

Gongja gestured with his staff. I immediately agreed.

The names of the divine objects are quite grand, befitting the strongest items in the world, but the key is ultimately the last word that is modified.

Dduk-ssim usually looks like a bird, but its true identity is an ‘ark,’ and Hwaseong’s ‘Wisdom Sword’ goes without saying.

In that case, it’s right to see the ‘heart’ as the main body of the Serpent Dragon’s Heart.

-······.

“It’s okay. We won’t do anything. Do what you want to do.”

Then the lizard came out a few more steps.

Was it a coincidence? Could the heart of this cute little one be a divine object? Is such a leap possible?

But······.

“One more thing. If this friend is a divine object, the paladins must have noticed it, even if I and Gongja didn’t. The ether and pressure of a divine object are truly great. The same goes for divine beasts.”

“Tsk.”

Gongja crunched on the candy and clicked his tongue.

He didn’t seem to have anything to say about that.

I showed Tete on my back and added.

“The baby is also quite sensitive to ether, but there’s no reaction.”

-Awoo.

Tete moved its flipper towards the lizard.

As this child’s guardian, I knew for sure.

This was not a reaction to a divine beast sensing ether, but a reaction to being curious about a creature it was seeing for the first time.

There was another thing that bothered me.

“If there really is a divine object here, I don’t understand why the royal family or the lord’s castle are leaving it alone like this. Of course, the divine objects of the Theocracy tend to wander around······. If we feel suspicious, wouldn’t the locals have already taken action? The administrator who came to Yeriho and Yara, the village representative, didn’t talk about divine objects.”

“Well, I admit that. We need to hear from the school teachers about this headstone and the lizard.”

Gongja nodded readily. I recalled the plans for the future and said.

“Yes. First, I need to convey the situation to all the guild members. And about the warmth preservation magic on this place. Especially since the Crown Prince likes magic research······.”

That guy, he doesn’t show it, but he enjoys using magic quite a bit.

It was true that wizards are generally curious and like to research.

If he knew there was a stone like this here, he would definitely want to see it.

Today’s tip: If your most capable non-combat mage is sick, mobilize a robust romance-fantasy male lead.

“Ha, touching.”

“Yes?”

Gongja chuckled and looked towards the sea.

I tilted my head, wondering what he meant.

You’re dressed like that, so you must be crying because you’re cold······.

“You seem to have forgotten, but this guy is also a wizard. An 8th circle one.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for reporting to me first.”

That’s right, I bowed politely.

Dioph is someone whose words and actions don’t suit me, but I knew that he was a hard worker and a member of the imperial family trusted by His Majesty.

He seems to have brought a big piece of 떡밥 [tteokbokki, a popular Korean street food, here meaning ‘a big opportunity’ or ‘something to chew on’] this time, so it’s right to express my gratitude······.

-Rustle, rustle.

Huh. I heard something moving near the headstone. Our eyes moved quickly.

And our mouths dropped open. Uh?

“Uh······?”

-Rustle, rustle, rustle.

-Swish!

The lizard wasn’t alone!

Behind the first one that came out, a lizard that looked the same but was a little smaller popped out.

Then a slightly larger one, and then a little one with slightly different patterns appeared.

Surprised, Tete stiffened its round body.

The lizard group, which appeared all at once, enjoyed the breeze without any particular communication······.

-······.

-Rustle, rustle!

-Swish, swish.

About a minute later, they went back into the hole without even looking at us.

I was stunned and just moved my lips.

We had been writing a serious scenario assuming the lizard was a divine object, but these people’s gestures were so cool that they were cold [meaning their actions were anticlimactic and dismissive].

Before we knew it, only the three of us were in the shade of the schoolyard again.

No, well······.

“Gongja. This is······.”

Are they just ordinary family members?

“Damn it, I knew it was too easy.”

The man ruffled his long hair. Tete cried, ‘Ooh?’

It roughly meant, ‘Did you guys do something useless again?’

-Grumble······

“······.”

My hungry stomach gave a sad answer instead of me.

I barely swallowed a sigh and sniffed. Well, there are days like this in life.

A sad day when you starve and can’t eat 떡밥 [tteokbokki, here meaning ‘a big opportunity’].

*

Perhaps feeling sorry for making me take a fruitless trip in the chilly weather, Dioph Gongja obediently took me to the indoor training ground.

Of course, the words that popped out of his mouth were like this.

‘I’m going that way anyway, so follow me. Or wander around again.’

‘······.’

His tone and expression were quite bad, but I was too clumsy to stand on my pride and say it was okay.

I quickly accepted the favor, saying, ‘Thank you.’

Gongja smirked, but I decided not to care.

In fact, I was hungry and exhausted, so I didn’t have the strength to argue.

-Deenge······! Deenge······!

And now. At the entrance of the indoor training ground.

“Thank you!”

“Thank you so much, instructor!”

I quickly pulled up my hood, watching the students pouring out like a wave.

The bell rang twice, so it was already break time.

For reference, one ring is the start bell for the class I missed.

“Did you see it earlier? Did you see it up close?”

“Yeah! It’s crazy, what should I do? How can a person look like that?”

The excited students indiscriminately fired hot sentences like freshly baked potatoes [meaning they were excitedly blurting out fresh, unfiltered thoughts].

Their well-developed jaws and cheekbones were dyed bright red.

Their words were so fast that the pronunciation and intonation were all jumbled up.

“Aaaah! I really thought my heart was going to explode! Aaaah, my legs are so weak I feel like I’m going to collapse. Wow, I’m going to die.”

“I can’t get married now. No, I won’t. My will is completely broken······.”

“Let’s go again. He’s still there! Huh? I really wish! Just one last time!”

“No way. I just feel like I’ve become black sugar sea cucumber [a metaphor for being completely drained and exhausted]······.”

“No matter how you look at it, he’s not human, right? He swept up the grace of the gods all by himself, so there’s no way he can be the same human as us, right?”

“Maybe he’s a prince somewhere? Isn’t he actually a very high-ranking person?”

“I know! Aaaah!”

‘I was standing right next to him! Really two steps away!’ The students screamed.

The wide training ground echoed with the sound.

Seeing their feet stomping and their faces grinning as if they had drunk alcohol, I felt a new feeling.

They were much younger than me, but their frames were several times more developed.

Even though it was a wide entrance, my body kept getting pushed back.

I put the carrier in front to protect Tete and worked hard to stand on tiptoe.

I think he’s still there······.

“There he is.”

A smile crept onto my face at the pleasant feeling. In the distance, Crown Prince Cedrick was standing in front of the target.

He was surrounded by a dozen students and a teacher, holding a dagger and explaining something.

Even from here, I could easily tell that his words were short.

However, unlike what I had been worrying about for over an hour, the class seemed to be going well.

Seeing the peaceful scene made me feel strange somehow. It’s hard to explain in words······.

Ah. Was this the feeling I had when I went to observe Eunseo’s class instead of my brother?

“I’ll have to apologize later. My brother would be a hindrance right now.”

-Oowoong.

I quickly whispered and turned around. At that moment―

“Guild Leader.”

Huh.

“You’re late.”

“······.”

In an instant, the surroundings became silent.

It wasn’t that he spoke in a loud voice, but because all the students closed their mouths and focused their attention on us.

I roughly covered my reddening neck with my robe. Ugh.

“I’m really sorry. I got lost because it was my first time here.”

“What’s that?”

“Yes?”

“What you’re holding in your hand.”

The Crown Prince questioned, gnashing his teeth. I quickly opened my palm.

This······? It’s a candy that Lightning Man threw at me because he felt sorry for me.