Chapter 276. Winter’s Struggle (1)

—Going beyond the founding of an organization, Valhalla rises to the position of Eva Royal Family’s partner organization in a short time.

The news spread to all regions of human territory in just four days. Valhalla had already been attracting attention since the moment they toppled the giant Eva Alliance.

Valhalla, led by Haramark’s War Hero Seol Jihu, did not stop there and succeeded in toppling Evangeline. By taking the partner seat of the royal family, they crossed the finishing line of their recent actions.

Given the huge scale of this incident, it was only natural for the Earthlings’ attention to be drawn. This, of course, included the big shots and the influential organizations of each region.

*

The northeastern city, Caligo.

“Hnnng.”

A straight-faced woman made a nasal sound as she read the news report scattered on the streets.

“When I met him during the Banquet, I thought he was a slightly interesting guy…”

After reading the article for a long time, she mumbled to herself.

“But he turned out to be a really interesting guy.”

The corner of her mouth curled up. Her straight face began to be riddled with interest.

“Good.”

After muttering meaningfully, she threw the paper aside and turned around.

*

The northern city, Grazia.

“Ah, fuck, is this true?”

A woman chattering at a pub screamed in surprise.

“That son of a bitch really became the representative organization of a city?”

“That’s what they say.”

“Well, fuck me! We can’t even try to fuck with him now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah! Argh, this is driving me nuts.”

“Aha, your teeth?” Seeing the woman rubbing her jaw, her comrade cackled. “Quit dreaming. I looked into this representative, and he has more than a few crazy bitches by his side. You’ll end up breaking all your bones before you can get anywhere near him.”

“Ah~ There goes any chance of me getting revenge~”

“Revenge, my ass. You had no intention of getting revenge anyway.”

“What am I gonna do about my poor teeth?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Nothing. You’re going to do absolutely nothing. Or if you want, you can close your eyes and ask him to take responsibility.”

Hearing this, boisterous laughter burst out from their surroundings.

“Kyahahaha! You’re gonna ask him to take responsibility for breaking your teeth!? Are you fucking crazy!?”

Even the woman whose teeth were missing cackled.

*

The western city, Odor.

“…How long does it take to get to Eva from here?”

A young man sitting with his legs crossed asked as he sipped on a cup of coffee. His Servant-lover-best friend looked at him curiously.

“Why? Do you plan on going?”

“Yep.”

The young man affirmed as he read the newspaper carefully.

“What gives? I wouldn’t expect that from the man who should have become the Star of Sloth.”

“That’s because I didn’t choose Acedia.”

The young man replied lightheartedly and continued.

“Besides, I’ve been interested in him.”

“Since when?”

“Since I saw him tenaciously chase Undying Diligence, kill him, then go crazy against the other two Commanders like a demon.”

“Ugh, I saw that too. He was a little scary.”

“Rather than scary…”

The young man trailed off and looked blankly into the air as if to reminisce that moment.

“He was odd.”

“Odd? In what way?”

“He reminded me of Sung Shihyun.”

The woman frowned.

“That son of a bitch?”

“He might have been arrogant, but he had the skills to back it up.”

The young man spoke calmly.

“You have to admit what you have to admit. Even I wouldn’t have come out victorious no matter how many times I fought.”

“So what, you’re saying they’re the same person?”

The young man shut his mouth at his lover’s sulking tone. Then, he shook his head with slight hesitation.

“No, it’s hard to say that. They’re certainly different.”

“?”

“Though he and Sung Shihyun share a similar vibe, they’re different in subtle ways….”

He paused for a long time before continuing.

“How should I say this… The greatest? The strongest? I felt like I was seeing the pinnacle.”

“Ehew, what the heck does that mean?”

“I don’t know, it’s hard to describe it. He shouldn’t have been in Paradise for even a year at that point, but he looked like someone who toiled away in this world for over 10 years.”

The young man shook his head roughly like what he was saying didn’t make sense to him either.

“That’s why I want to go. So I can see and feel him out more clearly.”

“So you’re basically saying you want to go to satisfy your curiosity. That’s pretty much what I expected.”

“That’s only a part of the reason. Seeing as how he left Haramark, he must have a vision he is trying to fulfill. I have more than a couple of questions I want answers to.”

The young man got up with staggering steps.

“When do you plan on heading out?”

“Since they became Eva’s representative, I’m sure we’ll hear from them soon. Oh, by the way—”

The young man pushed his glasses up and looked back at the woman.

“Our association’s rising star, Othello Delphine, was his acquaintance from the Neutral Zone, no?”

“…It’s Odelette Delphine, not Othello.”

The woman closed her eyes and sighed.

“At least remember the name of your own kid.”