What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 621

#621

Another Name (4)

“Wow. What do you like about him?”

“Just! Just! Just!”

-Thwack, thwack, thwack!

‘Ouch! Ow! Your hand is so spicy!’ Gain writhed and struggled as she was vigorously hit on the back.

She marveled at the technique of hitting only the spots she couldn’t reach, and it was the first time she realized her hand had such a spicy touch.

I mean, how often does one get hit by oneself in life!

-Slap―!

“Owww!”

“Let’s try not to have conversations like this, okay, teacher? Huh?”

“Why? Are you still just flirting? Not at the confession stage yet?”

“Ugh, Ham Gain! What do you mean flirting, with a kid young enough to freeze to death!”

“No! I’m you and you’re me… I just don’t see how marriage is possible with someone like that. Honestly, just imagining me and him like that wakes me up, gives me the creeps, and makes my stomach churn. My whole body just rejects it.”

“…Seriously, that bad?”

“I told you. After the engagement fell through, we’ve been fighting like cats and dogs ever since! Our attributes are completely incompatible, so there’s not much good in being together!”

-Woong!

‘Ugh.’ Gain shuddered once and walked away.

Christel, or rather, the other Gain, stared blankly at her retreating figure for a moment.

The knight’s hair, tied high, was scattered in all directions by the sea breeze.

Commoner’s clothes and pants, a postman’s hat stuffed haphazardly into her pocket.

Muddy old boots, a torn vest with frayed edges, and a baby harp seal swaddled on her back.

A face with a familiar smile, looking down at the distant dawn sea.

“……”

-Swoosh, swoosh……

That figure, somehow, looked free. Feeling the absence beside her, Gain turned around.

“What, did your dress tear?”

“No… I suddenly remembered something to say.”

“What is it? Tell me.”

She blinked, waiting for the words to follow.

Christel skillfully grabbed the hem of her skirt and approached.

“You absorbed the Blessing of the Blue Sea and became a paladin… So, you must have more freedom of movement, right?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I probably won’t be able to receive a title like you in the future, but you can go anywhere freely without restrictions, right? Unlike me.”

“…Ugh, what are you talking about? If you set your mind to it, you can do it. Why wouldn’t Ham Gain be able to receive a title?”

Gain made a face and grabbed Christel’s hand.

Unlike her own hand, calloused and scarred in places, Christel’s palm was smooth and white.

But Gain had no intention of evaluating the other version of herself’s time and effort based on just this.

It was only natural.

“What are you lacking? I know how much you suffered to get here.”

“……”

She still vividly remembered how she felt when she opened her eyes in a strange world where she knew no one, one spring day. At the time, the Sarnese County’s lord’s castle felt cold and bleak.

Even though the marble under her feet was solid, she felt an endless sense of falling every minute, every second.

She knew in her head that the conditions of her newly acquired life weren’t bad—no, in fact, they were excellent.

She also knew that if she used this opportunity well, she could live a so-called ‘easy life.’

Frankly speaking, she didn’t have much attachment to the life she had left behind.

But it was impossible to forget the primal fear that hung over one side of her heart.

On top of that, a heavy sense of guilt piled up.

It naturally took time for her to run around energetically while carrying all those emotions.

She desperately needed warmth and someone to rely on.

Precious beings who built strong muscles in her heart.

“Hey, and what’s so great about a title anyway? Of course, it’s great to have one. But do you die without it?”

“…You don’t die. The great Ham Gain doesn’t die.”

“Exactly.”

Gain held the other version of herself’s hand and gently shook it.

The sea breeze wildly ruffled their clothes and ran away, but their gazes remained fixed in one place, not wavering.

Different shades of blue sparkled clearly, reflecting the other version of themselves before their eyes.

“Besides, you must have built up something until now. You’ve probably developed your own tricks. You’ve been to social events here and there, so your relationships are probably much wider than mine. And you’ve probably caused your fair share of trouble with your friends.”

“…That’s true. I recently caught a criminal with them. An alchemist, I think.”

“An alchemist? That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Sounds fun.”

“Hey, people live the same everywhere. This neighborhood is full of scammers, and if I catch them a few more times, I’ll get a medal.”

“That’s great. Did you know that if you collect five medals, they’ll exchange them for a knight’s title?”

“Oh, are you crazy!”

It was Christel who raised her voice first.

Her cherry blossom-like hair fluttered, and laughter finally burst out.

Gain engraved the pink, rippling like waves, into her eyes and whispered almost inaudibly.

“You didn’t cut your hair either.”

At those words, the laughter slowly faded like foam.

The Gain here nodded after a long while.

“…Yeah, well.”

The sound of waves crashing against the cliff covered the silence for a moment.

Soon, the duchess in her dress took the first step towards the bell tower.

Gain followed her, walking softly.

One sincere heart flowed incoherently from the other’s tongue.

“…I have to live diligently. So I don’t get resented by the body’s original owner.”

“Yeah. It’s better to do everything than to do nothing.”

“That’s what I mean. Then at least something will remain in this child’s name.”

“Right… But I can’t cut my hair. It’s a pain in the ass, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Not yet.”

Step, step. The two stopped again.

This time, it was because the white bell tower blocked their path.

Gain looked up at the high blue roof and recalled the day she first docked at this cliff.

It wasn’t that long ago, but it felt as distant as a fairy tale she had read as a child.

It was early summer when awkwardness still lingered between them.

They were too wary of each other to be called teacher and student, and they knew too little to call everyone friends.

A time when the world was all innocent primary colors and beautiful.

Her lips moved slowly.

“…Let’s keep running hard in the future. Since we’re living under a different name, let’s not tarnish her name. So we don’t get scolded later for being pathetic older sisters.”

“We have to. We have to cheer up while thinking about Isabel.”

-Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh……

Around that time, the sun peeked over the horizon, and dazzling golden embroidery began to decorate the surface of the water stitch by stitch.

A few drops of red dawn fell into the blue eyes, spreading out in purple.

Gain felt as if her heart was swelling up like a steamed bun.

She felt strangely overwhelmed, and her eyes felt inexplicably teary.

The fact that she had met another version of herself here seemed to be a great comfort.

Even though they stood in different places, and what they saw and felt was different… Still, the two were ‘Ham Gain’ who shared the same past.

There were feelings that only the two of them could understand, and thoughts that only the two of them could fathom.

“……”

-Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh……

And loneliness that only the two of them could comfort.

“Still, I think I’ll be able to live much better if I go back like this. Don’t you think so too? Because I know there’s another me somewhere…”

“Hey, didn’t that just flash?”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Christel pointed at the sky.

Gain heard the illusion of the serious atmosphere that had been created shattering.

Her watery gaze quickly went up.

-Squeak……

“…What is that sound?”

Under the blue roof, something that looked like crumpled aluminum foil was slowly rotating.

Moreover, the sound effect gave a chilling feeling, like a seesaw moving alone in an empty apartment playground.

She had no idea when it had been boasting such a horror movie-like mise-en-scène [setting or scene].

Has that always been spinning like that?

The two Christels frowned at the same time. ‘Squeak, squeak, squeak……’

“I heard that’s a great divine object, even though it looks like that. Don’t you guys know anything about it?”

The duchess turned to the knight and asked. Gain, who met her eyes, flinched.

The wriggling of Tete on her back felt particularly vivid.

“Huh? Know anything…?”

I blinked at the completely unexpected message.

I woke up instantly, as if I had been doused with ice water.

Hyung [older brother], is that really true?

【…Yeah. So don’t worry about here. It will be completely separated from the original work. Probably.】

“Wow, awesome……”

That’s really great! Really, really great!

I quickly covered my mouth, which was about to shout.

I had woken up briefly in the early morning because I was thirsty, and my brother, who had been working all along, had delivered good news through the status window.

I had been constantly worried about what would happen here when we left anyway.

I was anxious that it might collapse like the world line I had disappeared from, or that it might disappear altogether because it was an ‘event that deviated from the original work.’

“Is that actually feasible? Not just your wish or theory, Hyung?”

【I think so. It’s still clearly visible in front of me.】

While we were talking, eating, washing, and sleeping, Hyung had been pondering how to preserve the story that was branching out from the original work.

He was also quite embarrassed by the fact that the content was being written on its own, regardless of his intentions.

Then, while watching me sleep soundly…

【While reading the content that my little brother fell asleep snoring, I suddenly had an idea as my head went blank. The fact that I am the ‘Toegyeong’ file manager.】

【I wondered why I hadn’t thought of this until now. I wondered how I could have forgotten such a simple thing… Maybe I’ve gone crazy because it’s the first time I’ve stayed up all night so tense.】

He even came up with the ‘Save As’ button!

In short, our story is currently being derived under the file name ‘I Quit and Became a Duchess of Another World Episode 000,’ but if Hyung solves it well, this place will have an independent title.

Then, theoretically, the prince who adventured with us will no longer have any reason to be merged into the original work and disappear.

Fortunately, pressing the ‘File’ button in the Korean word processor brings up several menus, so—

“Then what about the title? Shouldn’t we give it a well-suited one if possible?”

【I’ll think of that when the time comes. Right now, the most important thing is to send you back safely. The next priority is for you to return home safely.】

“…Okay. Anyway, thanks for the good news.”

I was so happy and relieved that my heart was pounding like when I drank too much coffee in college.

I answered in a whisper and quickly opened my bag.

The interior of the temple was still bluish, giving a strong early morning feel, but the sun was waving its hands little by little through the hole-filled window.

Gain and the Crown Prince in the next seat were both nowhere to be seen, so they must have gone out for a walk or training together.

Looking at Sir Johan, who was fast asleep one seat away, made me feel warm.

Of course, there were many… so many incidents that happened while coming here.

I felt good because it seemed like only good things would happen from now on—

-Clatter

“Oops.”

Another item fell out of my bag!

I stretched out my back to pick up the rolling object.

-Tap

“Ah……”

But instead of a crystal bell, a sleek black boot came into view.

It was a clue that I couldn’t possibly not know who it was.