What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 654

#654

Wartime Prohibited Person? (2)

“Ugh…”

“Oh my, flattened like a pancake!”

I hurriedly picked up the child, worried that their already fragile body might be hurt.

Fortunately, the boy seemed unharmed, settling comfortably in my arms.

‘Squeak!’ Recognizing my face, which they loved, Leah didn’t hold back and started climbing up my legs.

With Peri joining in, my whole body quickly became heavy.

Following them, Gain, with her pink hair styled like a bread bun, rolled out of the trolley.

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter despite my staggering.

“Lady Christel, how…!”

“Wow! I almost became a flattened dumpling inside! If there were a few more of us, we would have fainted, Master!”

“Shh, shh!”

David, looking anxious, put a finger to his lips.

I checked Seydie for fever and then quieted my breathing.

Tite, spotting Gain, burst into tears of joy, and a horrified Gain quickly picked up the baby and started playing peek-a-boo.

I thought that was the end, but then another uninvited guest appeared from inside the iron trolley.

I quickly bit down on my lips to stop myself from shouting.

-Tap, tap, tap…

That’s GuGu! GuGu!

“GuGu, why are you in there? Did you sneak out without telling me?”

Tap, tap. The fire lizard tapped its tail in agreement and diligently began climbing the table.

I barely managed to suppress the shivers running down my spine at its cute eyes and flickering tongue.

Due to the Four Dragon’s nature, GuGu could split into thousands of individuals, so the ones with me would sometimes be two, then ten, then five again.

Unlike the other treasures, they didn’t get lost if one went missing, so I never knew exactly where they were or what they were doing.

So, you’ve been with your friends all this time? Without telling me!

“In the future, please tell me when you’re going out, okay?”

“Ether.”

“Let’s wait a bit, Seydie. We’ll eat together.”

“Why is your robe like this? Was there a shortage of fabric?”

“Hospital gown. Hospital gown.”

The boy clicked his tongue, looking at the shirt that was split open down the middle of the back.

I glossed over it with a vague explanation.

I wasn’t exactly trying to lie, but I couldn’t exactly say, ‘I suddenly grew wings, so now they only give me these kinds of clothes.’

And I thought that was really the end…

“Excuse me.”

“…Huh?”

That voice, could it be?

-Creak, creak…

Uh oh…? I stared blankly as a long, adult male leg extended from the trolley.

A startled Leah fell off my waist like a chestnut and rolled on the floor.

I thought Gain and Seydie were understandable, but anything more than that seemed crazy.

This isn’t some old comedy sketch, and even if the trolley is big, how can three people fit in there?

How did you squeeze and compress your bodies like that? And…

“It seems like it’s been a while, Master.”

“Good heavens, Sir Johann!”

A man who was easily over 190 cm [approximately 6’3″] tall!

-Flap flap!

“Ugh!”

At the same time as my jaw dropped in shock, my body, unable to withstand the impact, mercilessly spat out six wings.

Once again, I lost control of my wings and lurched forward before soaring into the air.

A surprised Seydie gasped.

Lopi, immediately recognizing this as a hunting game, wiggled his butt and pounced on me!

-Woof woof!

“Ouch, Lopi! My pants! My pants!”

“Ahahaha! Ehehehe! Tite, look at Master! So pretty but so funny!”

“Oh, Lord!”

“Lopi!”

My clothes are going to tear at this rate!

I awkwardly grabbed my waist with one arm and flailed like a winter scarecrow with a child in the other.

David hesitated, repeatedly trying to approach me, and kept offering unnecessary prayers to the sky.

The Cardinal’s eyes were wide with wonder, as if he had never seen such a sight before (which he probably hadn’t!).

His slightly gaunt face seemed to regain some color, and then—

“…Hahaha, ahahaha.”

“Sir Johann! Don’t just laugh, help me! You have air magic!”

Until the man finally failed to maintain his composure and burst into laughter, I was doing freestyle in the air, tilted at about 45 degrees.

My athletic skills were already terrible, so this change was truly frustrating and unfair.

How am I supposed to control six wings at once? Especially in just a few days!

“Hahaha, I’m sorry.”

“Turn left, turn left. No, just number 1 on the left!”

“Amazing.”

“You’re number 3, he’s number 1! Ugh!”

Seydie, clinging to my arms, sighed in a way that didn’t suit her age.

White feathers and fluff scattered everywhere, and the cries of the children below, filled with joy, splashed like colorful paints, hitting one wall and then the other.

I glared at the ceiling beyond, barely managing to pull up my almost-falling body.

“Ah, Jung Hyun-seo—!”

If you’re going to give them to me, give me a remote control too!

*

Some time later.

Anyway, after I somehow managed to get back down and we all sat down to eat a late lunch.

“How did you end up sneaking in like this? Couldn’t you have just come directly?”

-Flap!

“You stay still. I’m the one asking the questions.”

The wings, which had popped out in joy at seeing my friends, hadn’t gone back in and were still fluttering about, catching the breeze.

At least half of them had been tucked away until ten minutes ago, but every time Gain spoke with a twinkle in her eye, one would pop out, making me die of embarrassment.

She was putting the falling feathers into her pocket, saying, ‘Oh my, how much is this worth? There’s one here too. I’ll be rich if I sell them,’ and acting cheeky.

She even hummed strange tunes and rhythms, saying, ‘Find an angel, ssaba [likely a nonsense word or onomatopoeia]. Ssabassaba.’

Anyway, it was all meant to tease me, so I gritted my teeth and pretended not to hear.

“Well, um. This kid said his body wasn’t going back to normal. So, we just decided to sneak in together.”

Ah… So that’s why he was singing the Ether song on repeat.

“He suddenly demanded a group action. Even though he usually prefers individual actions.”

“The Grand Preceptor is suddenly talkative.”

The boy glared, stopping his tearing of the bread with his small hands.

He couldn’t come to me alone, so he must have thought about it and dragged his friends along.

Sir Johann rumbled low in his throat, looking at his young disciple.

Hiding in the trolley must have been Gain’s idea.

I took the rough bread from the child’s hand and gave him a piece of well-fried Pednon [a type of fried bread] instead.

It might not taste as rich as the ones from the Imperial Palace, but it had a little sugar sprinkled on it, so it wouldn’t be bad for raising his blood sugar.

Our meal consisted of two loaves of bread, half a piece of cheese, and goat’s milk each.

Since three people had come in such a large trolley, we couldn’t bring in any more food.

Still, it was delicious. To be more honest, I felt full even without eating.

“Eat it all and enjoy it, Seydie.”

“Ahem, excuse me for interrupting.”

-Saaaaa…

“Yes, David.”

I answered, releasing more Ether through the sanctuary.

Gain leaned back and stretched as if she could finally breathe.

Sir Johann, for once, accepted the energy without complaint and stroked GuGu, who was clinging to his knee.

The middle-aged man looked at us with a troubled expression.

“If it’s not my presumptuous judgment… Can I assume that everyone gathered here is well aware of His Highness’s special circumstances?”

“Ah.”

“Eh?”

“…”

I wondered what ‘His Highness’s special circumstances’ meant, but when I thought about it, there was only one in-depth question that David from Romero Palace could ask us.

I immediately met Seydie’s eyes and almost soared to the ceiling again. Stay calm!

“It seems like it would be harder not to know, given what’s happened so far.”

Sir Johann replied lightly. His disciple added, munching on Tom cheese.

“Besides, we can all feel the Ether, David.”

“…Yes, of course. I know everything. Of course, I wouldn’t know after all the things we’ve been through together for years.”

“Hmph.”

The boy scoffed openly at my words.

I pretended not to notice and poured goat’s milk into his glass, and Gain whispered, ‘He’s a master of pretending not to know, an artist of pretending not to know,’ teasing me.

I’m so embarrassed. Why did I keep up that pretending act, past me?

You fool who doesn’t know what’s ahead!

“…I am truly pleased and grateful. Then, I will take my leave now. If you need anything, please open the door and find me at any time.”

“Thank you, David. We will enjoy the meal.”

-Saaaaa…

It might have been my imagination, but the middle-aged man seemed a little tearful, and I quickly greeted him to successfully change the atmosphere.

In the meantime, I felt like the legs of the little boy sitting next to me were getting longer, but I managed to ignore that too.

I fed Demi clean water while trying to fix my gaze on the opposite side (“Let’s drink just three more sips. It’s dry indoors, so just three sips.”).

-Saaaaa…!

“…”

Somehow, the kid was wearing clothes that were too big.

Somehow, he came wrapped up in clothes that were far too long…!”

“Then, how did you three overcome the rampages…? Especially Sir Johann, I heard it was touch-and-go. I heard Lady Elizabeth suffered greatly with Gain. Could it be that you resolved your berserk state by fighting her…?”

“…”

At that, the three of them simultaneously shut their mouths. However, the reasons seemed different.

Seydie, who was twice as big as before, was just someone who didn’t answer well in the first place, and Gain suddenly lowered her head and started tearing at the bread, saying…

“Sam… Shouldn’t Sam speak first? Ah, this is about age… It would be better if Sam spoke first.”

She began to passively demand…

“I should speak first. I haven’t explained some parts to my two disciples yet.”

Finally, Sir Johann accepted her suggestion, and Gain let out a sigh of relief (?).

We silently watched him take out anise seeds from his pocket and put them in the goat’s milk.

Hmm. But anise milk usually tastes better when the seeds are simmered…

-Whoosh!

“Heok!”

“Are you crazy?”

-Weooo!

Did a goblin fire just come out of Sir Johann’s second finger?

“Wait a minute, wait a minute!”

“Awesome! Is that fire? Real fire?”

“Could it be that he has become the master of the Four Dragons?”

Seydie, who had already entered her late teens, asked sharply, and we looked back and forth between the two of them, our souls completely gone. Is it real?

Then, the Cardinal smiled bitterly, rubbing his fingertips.

“No, to be exact, I made a deal.”

“…A deal?”

“Yes. A short contract.”

The Cardinal’s expression was a little awkward, as if he wasn’t used to the fire energy yet.

I forgot that my wings were fully spread and focused all my attention on his story.

*

“Your Highness, Your Highness—!”

Someone came running urgently from the distant cliff, calling for Elissa.

The Crown Princess stopped brushing her horse and quickly raised her head.

In fact, all the knights, including her, were resting their warhorses and quenching their thirst here.

The Cheonro [likely a geographical location] has always been a terrain with scarce water, and the road is so rough that most people fill their canteens here rather than relying solely on supplies.

Water attribute knights had already begun to store Ether.

The person who arrived in front of the Crown Princess quickly bowed. It was Kuman, a soldier from a commoner background.

“What’s wrong? Are they coming?”

“No, it’s not that. That is…”

He coughed for a long time to catch his breath, and then barely managed to give an answer with a flushed face.

However, it was not the news she was waiting for.

“They’re not there. The… Duke Sneider’s private soldiers are not advancing on the Cheonro. We are the only ones here.”