What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 857

Do What You Can’t If You Must (7)

I spent a long time volunteering at the animal shelter for the first time in a while.

I was happy to see some of the other volunteers whose faces I recognized.

After scrubbing the dogs’ food and water bowls until they were sparkling clean, I immediately put on a protective suit, mask, and work gloves. I shoveled for about three hours to clean the kennels, sweating profusely—no exaggeration, it was as hard as what I did in the military—my body was very tired, but my mind was clear for a while, so it felt refreshing.

In the meantime, Cardinal Johan was in charge of walking and playing with the shelter dogs. Since they couldn’t go for walks often, many of the dogs liked to run at full speed as soon as they got out.

The air-attribute Cardinal used his endless stamina and the power of the wind to cool the dogs down and gently nudge them along, ensuring everyone had a pleasant afternoon.

After gobbling down twenty sandwiches I had packed for lunch with a cup of Cafe Chris [a fictional brand], in the afternoon, I gathered all the towels used at the shelter, boiled them thoroughly, and scrubbed the dogs with shampoo.

Finally, I carried the feed that the sponsors had sent by the truckload to the warehouse and poured plenty of newly opened feed into the well-dried bowls. The dogs, who still loved human touch, wagged their tails and licked the back of my hand and cheeks. I was suddenly grateful and felt a pang of affection.

After volunteering, I changed into new clothes and headed home.

With a grateful heart, I bought Cardinal Johan a large pot of gamja-tang [spicy Korean potato stew].

It wasn’t until I got home, showered, and relaxed that I realized what had felt off that day.

‘…’

It was the first day we hadn’t talked about ‘that place’ all day.

I rationalized that I needed a change of pace too, but on the other hand, I felt deep guilt towards Cardinal Johan.

And I kept thinking pathetically to myself.

…Don’t forget me. Remember me at least once.

I remember everything.

‘…I hate it.’

That was a lie. I couldn’t hate my Earth. Probably never will.

“Mom!”

“My babies are here!”

The next day, my siblings and I visited Geumgyeong Nursing Hospital with Cardinal Johan.

Mom, whose condition hadn’t worsened lately, looked very bright.

It was the tail end of the strawberry season, but since it was Mom’s favorite fruit, I bought the best quality again. I felt pleased watching her eat a plateful in one sitting.

Eunseo sat on the sofa next to the bed and briefly talked about her midterm exams, how envious she was of other schools’ festivals, an episode of making apple tteokbokki [Korean rice cakes] with Cardinal Johan at home, and her impressions of going to school with me.

She was so angry at her brother after hearing the truth about Toegye [a character in their story], but I was still proud of her for being such an affectionate and kind daughter to Mom, the original author.

While I carefully checked the contents of the shelves and refrigerator, my brother, who had taken the baton from my sister, began to explain the recent situation.

“…So, now I really don’t see a way out.”

Hyunseo Jeong opened a bottle of water and ended his words with a sigh.

I forced a smile and handed a water bottle to Cardinal Johan as well.

He didn’t seem particularly thirsty, but I’m sorry to say I needed something to do.

An excuse to fidget without looking awkward. Anything would do.

Mom looked back at us and slowly organized her thoughts. “…Um. So, Yeseo’s friends don’t remember Yeseo, and Eunseo can’t read what happens after that. All we can do here is for Yeseo to…”

“We can distort space-time, but it’s impossible to fix the coordinates as you wish.”

Jeong Hyunseo, who had emptied half of the water bottle, replied.

“He gained great power by becoming a Cardinal and the owner of the Holy Grail, but he doesn’t know how to use it. It’s not even certain if he can use it properly. As of now.”

“…”

“…My son must be so upset. He must miss his friends.”

“It’s okay.”

I smiled brightly on purpose and put water in the electric kettle.

I decided to make tea because I couldn’t just sit still.

What’s here right now… Chamomile. I should drink chamomile today.

‘I have prepared camomile.’

‘Thank you.’

At the same time, Benjamin’s words rang in my ears. It was the conversation on the first day of possession.

“…”

It’s okay. I smiled at Eunseo as soon as our eyes met.

She looked at me with worried eyes and soon got up to go to the bathroom.

I heard my brother say something to Eunseo as she left the room, but I was too dizzy to hear exactly what he said.

I put a tea bag in the boiled water and slowly returned to the sofa.

Mom looked at the closed hospital room door and lowered her voice. ‘After listening to Hyunseo’s story…’

“…I don’t think Eunseo alone is enough. That’s what I think. From Mom’s point of view.”

“Yes?”

I looked up abruptly, holding the teacup. I immediately met Mom’s eyes.

“Your brother and I wrote the story for Eunseo. So, it’s still true that our daughter is ‘the biggest piece of the Lord.’ But why can’t that child see what happens next? Why? She’s an amazing being with great power. If Eunseo wants it, everything should be possible there.”

“…”

“There’s only one answer.”

Mom got out of bed, walked to the window, and stood with her arms on the windowsill.

Her black eyes, which looked just like my brother’s, were sparkling with energy.

“What about you? In this situation, would you want your sister to cross over to another world line?”

“…”

For a moment, I was speechless. I glanced at Cardinal Johan and quickly opened my mouth.

“It’s true that the journey back is dangerous. It probably is. I fully understand why my brother and Eunseo are worried. But I…”

“Eunseo is your sister, Yeseo.”

“…”

“Deep down, she doesn’t want to let her brother go.”

Thump.

My heart tumbled with indescribable emotions.

I licked my lips and lowered my gaze.

“That’s…”

“There’s no guarantee that you’ll come back safely. And the more she reads, the more vividly she’ll know how much you’ve suffered.”

“…”

“An ordinary twenty-year-old, now nineteen in international age. It’s natural for a child raised by her older brothers not to want to send her brother to a faraway land. Does Mom’s idea sound strange?”

“…That’s…”

It wasn’t strange at all. Really.

I stammered several times, but in the end, I couldn’t say anything and closed my mouth.

My head was spinning, and I didn’t know what to say first.

Eunseo knows that I’m having a hard time not being able to meet my friends, and she knows that I’m not the same as before since I was cut off from that place.

So she sincerely wants to help me. There is not a single grain of falsehood in my sister’s sincere heart. But at the same time…

-Click!

“Big brother! The protector said she doesn’t like milk these days and won’t drink it. I think we should buy lactose-free next time?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…And she said she likes the bread so much that she has to save it. What? Why are you all looking at me?”

…That child cares so much about me that she can’t let me go.

Of course. We’re family.

“But isn’t there a good way?”

Mom asked in a cheerful voice.

Eunseo blinked her big eyes and clapped her hands with a snap!

“Ah! Soy milk? Soy milk instead of milk!”

“I heard that Canaria is holding a fan fiction contest?”

“Yes?”

“Huh?”

My siblings and I reflexively frowned at the appearance of a completely unexpected topic—but one that had been brought up once before.

No, strictly speaking, the ‘contest’ was a topic that only my brother, Cardinal Johan, and I had discussed.

That was when Eunseo didn’t know Toegye’s identity yet….

“Fan fiction contest? What is that? Are you seriously planning to hold a contest with fan fiction of Canaria novels?”

“Don’t you see the event banner when you connect to Canaria all day long?”

“I don’t pay attention to events that are too stupid. Is it the first or second time Canaria has done something useless?”

“…”

I had nothing to say to her scathing reply. I blankly turned to Cardinal Johan.

The man smiled with a wink, as if to say, ‘See?’ No….

The contest was something that my PPT [PowerPoint presentation] was criticized for, and I thought it was just a useless card in many ways?

“Mom is in favor.”

“Yes?”

“It’s okay to upload our story.”

…Oh my god, Jeong Eunseo.

“Mom, think carefully. The internet is scary these days. Even if you accidentally upload a photo and delete it, it will float around for decades…”

“Really, Mom is fine. I wrote it for Eunseo in the first place? The important thing is Eunseo’s heart.”

Mom shrugged her shoulders and replied to my brother.

The youngest was looking around at us with an expression that said, ‘I really don’t understand any of this right now.’

In the meantime, our mother, Choi Seona, did not allow reverse gear [wouldn’t back down].

“The fact that friends who shared dreams with Eunseo no longer have the same dreams means that the myriad gods who reign as the one and only god are leaving their homes one by one.”

The myriad gods who reign as the one and only god… So ‘Pantheon.’

“…Then…”

“Now, if Eunseo is the only one watching over that place, it will be too much of a burden for Eunseo and that world line in the long run. Just like Yeseo supported the world line alone at one time. Haven’t you thought about that?”

“Ah…”

To be honest, I hadn’t. No, I couldn’t.

None of us had the time to look at the situation for a long time and make a judgment.

I looked at Jeong Hyunseo with a face of great realization.

No wonder. There was a reason why my brother told us to come see Mom together… My brother saw the root of the problem.

“We need to increase the absolute number of gods. That way, the number of dreams will increase and the possibilities will increase.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

With Mom’s words, silence flowed through the single room for a while.

It was Jeong Eunseo who broke the silence again, as expected.

“…So, you’re going to write fan fiction about our story?”

“No. If you don’t like it, absolutely—”

“How much is the prize money for the contest?”

The child asked with a serious face.

I was about to answer seriously, but I instinctively closed my mouth.

If I say it’s three million won, I think she’ll go straight to Canaria headquarters….

*

The Temple of the Boundary was right in front of us.

“Ah, what kind of smoke is this… Cough.”

It wasn’t a figurative expression, it was really right in front of us.

Gain coughed and pulled the reins, hacking and coughing in the gray smoke that surrounded the temple like a fog—of course, it only looked gray to her, and it was actually purple—while the prince wanted to go shopping nearby, so the party was escorting him together.

…Anyway, what kind of alcohol is he buying so much of? It doesn’t look like he’s going to drink it himself.