What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 557

Hell Dive with Bated Breath (7)

Damn it, I’m screwed!

“Ah······.”

I floundered around like a broken robot vacuum cleaner, unable to get my bearings.

Not knowing where to look, I glanced at the sky, then at the neatly stacked bags of garbage, and then groped around for traces of sawdust.

I was so embarrassed that my mouth felt parched.

Of course, that didn’t make the Crown Prince disappear from before my eyes.

It was a fresh reminder of how overwhelming the main character’s presence was!

-Kkyaaa!

“Shh. Leia, calm down.”

-Kkieung?

To make matters worse, the troublemakers were being extra chatty today.

But what do I say now? Aren’t things super awkward between us right now?

After fighting so publicly yesterday (90% of which was me yelling alone), everything was left hanging after the subsequent military council, and we hadn’t spoken to each other since.

Not just talking, we hadn’t even gone near each other.

Cedric had been treating me like I was invisible, and I had been desperately trying to avoid him so as not to upset him.

Besides, I was quite busy preparing for today’s operation.

“Oh, hello······.”

“······.”

That’s how an awkward greeting came out, like running into my middle school homeroom teacher at the supermarket in front of my house.

I almost bit my tongue. I cringed at my own eloquence and squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them.

In the distance, I could see the knights giving us space.

I felt like singing a song to beg them to come back.

“······Um, well.”

When I fixed my gaze on the Crown Prince’s Adam’s apple, I noticed Lophy clinging to his broad shoulders.

The tiny feline blinked slowly at me.

Wagging its tail like a foxtail, it even meowed, ‘Yawoo.’

I finally felt my heart calming down at the long-awaited expression of affection.

Meanwhile, the red pandas clinging to me were constantly fidgeting, tilting their heads, and reaching out their front paws in all directions.

“Hang in there, our divine creatures are so hyper.”

-Kkieueung

“······The baby.”

“Ah, Cristelle is taking care of Tete. She’s helping us with our operation too.”

“······.”

I made eye contact unconsciously, but quickly looked down when there was no response.

Wow, his tone is similar to his usual one, so for a moment, I spoke as usual.

But he looks a little better than yesterday.

Is it because the uniform and cape suit him so well?

Or did he get a lot of sleep because he was stressed from fighting with me?

······Though there wouldn’t have been time for that.

“Um, did you have breakfast?”

“The meal.”

“Yes?”

What did he just say? I was so surprised that I jerked my head up again.

I was just shaking my head for no reason.

I was definitely a broken robot vacuum cleaner earlier, but now I was like an alarm clock that Eunseo beats up every morning and breaks.

In contrast, the man’s crimson eyes were burning calmly like flames in a fireplace.

As someone who had grown up as royalty since birth, his expression was inscrutable.

Nearly ten seconds passed before I realized that he had asked me if I had eaten.

“Ah, yes. I ate a lot. Especially the black sugar sea cucumber soup, which wasn’t too sweet and was so delicious that I emptied four bowls. I heard that the Sea Military Academy’s kitchen has a historically deep cryogenic storage facility. So they can keep the ingredients fresh for a long time······.”

Hey, please shut up! Where are you going with this!

“······Um. Sorry for the long story. Have you eaten?”

Reconciliation is out of the question, damn it.

What good is a guy like me, who only talks about food day and night, as a friend?

He’ll just think I’m a fool who doesn’t take this situation seriously.

I’m about to lose all the affection I had.

“······Not bad.”

“Yes?”

“The soup.”

“Ah.”

I see. I just nodded like the world’s biggest idiot again.

Once we finished talking about the meal, the conversation ran dry again.

I felt like I should just say ‘Goodbye’ like before and leave.

I have a prior engagement right now······.

-Kkieueu

“Demi, no. Behave.”

-Kkieo, kkieoeo!

Around that time, the little one, who had been struggling to get out of my arms, finally jumped up in a pose like a Pikachu cutlet [a breaded and fried cutlet].

A chill ran down my spine and my temples throbbed. Demi!

Read the room!

-Kkieung!

Wham! The divine creature clinging to the Crown Prince’s arm began to climb up his upper arm.

It was a sight that gave me goosebumps all over, but the man remained frighteningly silent throughout.

I swallowed hard and reached out to pull the red panda away.

“I’m sorry, you must be busy. These guys are participating in the operation, so they seem excited after a long time. They seemed to have been itching for the past few days······.”

-Kkieueu

“······.”

Now Demi was gripping the Crown Prince’s clothes as if he was about to tear them.

The situation was so funny and sad that a sigh escaped me.

Divine Creature, why are you so strong? You’re going to pull Black Hyung [term of endearment] out of the ground.

“Did you perhaps hear about the operation from Lord Johann? He said he would report to you separately and get your approval. We’ve been trying to close that warning window in the sky since yesterday······.”

“I heard it.”

“Yes?”

-Kki?

I blinked, stopping myself from picking up Demi. ‘Heard it’?

······Does that mean he heard our conversation?

“Every single word.”

Herit’s father! That’s just a live YouTube broadcast!

“······I see. Yes.”

I desperately called out to Lord Johann in my mind, while maintaining a calm hyung’s [older brother/friend] face on the outside.

Meanwhile, Demi blatantly mocked me and clung to the Crown Prince’s arm.

To make matters worse, Leia and Perry showed interest in his actions.

Wow. The messengers of the Main God aren’t helping me at all today!

“Um······. We will mobilize the divine object Ice Silkworm’s storage, the Blessing of the Sea, the heart of the Four Dragons. And even the Saint’s Wish residing in my body. Lord Johann has agreed to lend his strength to this. François is in charge of the safety management of the military camp on the ground. As I mentioned, we will also receive the help of the divine creatures.”

“······.”

While calming the children, I did my best to ease the atmosphere.

Demi stuck out his pink tongue without a care.

“I don’t know if I can use a power similar to Crown Ether again······. But if we don’t close that, it seems like it will never close. Then the chaos on the continent will be further aggravated.”

“······.”

“So I’m going to try my best. It would be nice if Hwaseong’s Hyegeom could join us too.”

Oops. I finally bit my tongue.

I couldn’t believe the words I had uttered myself, and my eyes almost popped out.

Jeong Yeseo, you insensitive bastard! That’s why you’ve lived your whole life as an outsider!

“I’m sorry. I heard you were leaving for the North today.”

“······.”

“I wish you good luck. Please······.”

I could feel the Crown Prince’s gaze on the top of my head. I could also hear a long sigh.

I felt like I was going to die from the awkwardness and embarrassment.

I finally took Demi out of his arms and held him in my arms!

-Kkieueu!

“······Okay. Please be healthy. We will come down as soon as we close the window at once, and if we fail, we plan to try at least two more times. Then······.”

As I turned to leave, his neck, hidden by his black uniform, caught my eye.

It happened to be at that moment.

“······.”

I really thought about it for a long time.

I stood there for so long, agonizing blankly, wondering if this was okay.

The Crown Prince was just watching me, wondering how pathetic I could be.

-Rustle

“······I hope you take this with you.”

Finally, I took out the Saint Stone necklace from my right pocket.

The man’s eyes showed the first noticeable reaction.

-Saaa······

It was ‘bewilderment.’ I quickly averted my gaze.

“Duke Dioph brought it to me. It seems that the Crown Prince······. Lost it.”

“······.”

Actually, he threw it away.

“······Even if it’s uncomfortable, I honestly hope that the Crown Prince uses that Ether well. I hope you use it all up for your own safety.”

“······.”

“I can fill it up again if you need it.”

I finally looked up at him.

The irises, which had been shining brightly until just now, were already darkening.

The black hair that covered half of his forehead felt like an unapproachable curtain of night.

Maybe this is what distance is.

“······You can use it. Because I’m a priest.”

“······What?”

“Of course, I’m not saying you should treat me like an object. I’m just saying that if you think there’s a reason why the Main God sent Ether into me, then you should try it the other way around.”

“Serenite.”

“You can talk when you want to talk, and if you don’t want to, you can just treat me as a competent human resource. I can wait. I said everything I wanted to say yesterday.”

“······.”

······Okay. I think I told him everything coolly.

I held out the necklace, looking vaguely near his shoulder.

Of course, there was no movement from the man.

Then Lophy, who was licking his paws and pretending not to notice—

-Euuu

-Thud!

Okay! Lophy snatched it, so it’s okay!

“You―”

“Then I’ll go first! I think I’m already fifteen minutes late!”

-Kkya!

‘Have a safe trip!’ I shouted like a drunken freshman in Sinchon [a district in Seoul known for its youthful atmosphere] and passed the Crown Prince.

Then I ran like crazy to the place where I was supposed to meet my friends.

Without looking back until the end, and miraculously without getting lost.

And so, now. In the middle of the Bareun-Atsuma temporary military camp.

“Hoo······.”

Holding a long Saint Staff in my right hand, I took a light breath and looked around.

Only our group was inside the huge golden sanctuary.

Due to the orders from above, no one, including ordinary soldiers and warhorses, was allowed inside.

It was for everyone’s safety.

The calm before the storm was weighing heavily on my friends’ shoulders.

-Whoooo······

-Saaa······

Then the cardinal’s gentle wind softly wrapped around everyone’s ankles and passed by.

Right next to me, Ms. Gain was doing calisthenics to loosen up her body.

I could also see François, who had started circulating mana while holding his mace, and the Four Dragons were waiting for a signal, with their huge bodies half-raised.

I checked the vines tied around the troublemakers’ waists for the third time.

Tete, who was in my arms, was constantly creating small, yellow jellyfish and twinkling his eyes.

He looked like an excited divine creature, so I was a little worried.

I lowered my voice as much as possible and told them over and over again.

“You guys are just assistants. Never overdo it, okay?”

-Auk

“Yes. If it’s hard, stop right away, and if you want to sleep, just sleep. No. If you want to quit now, let’s go to the wizard standing over there. That strawberry-haired ajusshi [term for older man] will take you to your grandfathers.”

I pointed to Jibril Dioph outside the circle.

The divine creatures were only looking at my fingertips as if they had made a promise.

-Kkieng?

“······Okay. I’ll gratefully accept your help. But really be careful. Promise.”

-Aong

Tete flapped his flippers gently.

The lightning wizard was observing us from a distance with his arms crossed.

I stroked the baby’s cheek and looked up at the sky.

Far away, at a distance as far as the sun—

“Shall we decide on our call signs?”

“Yes? Call signs?”

I was startled as if I had been splashed with cold water. It was thanks to our protagonist as always.