“It... really... hurts...” I muttered.
There was no way Hee-Ra was the kind of person who would strangle a little kid to death. Strictly speaking, she was not suffering from madness. She was simply being consumed by her instinct. She instinctively craved power. More than that, she wanted to crush powerful opponents.
A mere child could irritate her, but I doubted if she would see them as worth the effort to kill, especially when the kid wasn't showing even an ounce of will to fight.
If the kid were to stand tall, laugh in her face, and mock her, it would be a different story.
If the kid showed fear and came off as weak and unworthy of her wrath, then I believed that she wouldn't harm that kid.
‘Right? You won’t hurt me, right?’
For now, I had no choice but to take the position of someone pleading to be spared. I believed it was the right answer, and it really was the right answer. Sure enough, I could feel the pressure in her grip slowly easing. Strictly speaking, she hadn’t been using her full strength, but at the very least, it was getting easier to breathe compared to before.
‘One wrong move and I would have lost my life, damn it.’
Perhaps she just wanted to give me a warning. After all, if Hee-Ra noona really intended to kill me, I wouldn’t be able to yell, “Go get ‘em, noona!”
“Cough! Cough! Cough! Haa... haa... haa...” I panted.
“...”
“Th-Thank you, noona,” I said.
“...”
“I-I think there’s been a bit of understanding,” I said.
It seemed that the relationship between Hee-Ra noona and the time traveler wasn’t built purely on goodwill. There had to have been a time in the past when a mistake was made, and it had to have been an unavoidable one.
“I-I apologize for what happened back then. In this line of work, there are times when I’m forced into unavoidable situations. I think that incident in the past was one of those times for me. I truly am sorry about it. But in order to correct the timeline, I had no choice—”
“What?” Cha Hee-Ra interrupted me.
“O-Of course, there’s no such thing as something truly unavoidable in this world. Yes, it was clearly my mistake, but things that are meant to happen will happen. Please try to understand that I didn’t betray you, but it’s just that those events were bound to unfold in this timeline. Why would I betray you, noona? I didn’t betray you,” I explained.
“Trying to weasel your way out with vague words like that isn’t going to work out for you, kid. I mean, I believe that you’re some sort of time traveler, as I can see the signs with my own eyes.
"To be honest, I couldn’t care less whether the continent’s timeline collapses or not... and that so-called 'end of the continent' doesn’t really matter to me,” she said.
“R-Right,” I said.
“Even calling me a collaborator is funny. Strictly speaking, we just made a few one-time deals. I’m not your ally or anything close to it. The only reason I’ve kept you alive is that you have something to offer me. Understand?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.
“Y-Yes, of course. I understand,” I answered.
“Of course, the fact that you’re an oddly cute little brat, even if it doesn’t match your personality, does play some part in all of this... but still... what should I do with you?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.
Hearing that, I quickly filled Hee-Ra noona’s glass.
‘It wouldn’t hurt to look even cuter.’
The idea to look even cuter took root deep inside me. With every word we exchanged, it felt like I was walking on a tightrope. I was pretty used to conversations like this, but with an unpredictable opponent, I had no choice but to stay cautious.
Even Cha Hee-Ra glanced at me briefly before saying anything..
“So tell me what you can give me.”
‘Offering information about the future might not work on her...’
I had to think about this one.
I couldn’t just start talking because I didn’t know what kind of information would actually be useful. Anything too far off in the future would be meaningless to her, and it wasn't like I had every detail figured out anyway.
I didn’t even know how Jung Jin-Ho got cornered.
I had no idea where those guys were, either, so what could I possibly tell her? Honestly, it felt like I could just make something up and get away with it, but...
‘That sounds too risky...’
Since there was no guarantee that I could time-warp any further into the future than this point, making an enemy out of the entire Red Mercenary Guild was a risky move. In fact, she had already shown a lot of patience by forgiving my first mistake.
Right now, it was probably wiser to just...
“I think I can give you a potion that will delay your symptoms.”
This could be the answer.
“What?” Cha Hee-Ra questioned.
“I’m not saying that it can cure it. As I said, too much time has already passed, but it can slow down the symptoms. I don’t know how effective it will be, but it’s probably better than nothing,” I added.
“...”
“Just to let you know, it might take some time. Of course, since this is something that shouldn’t exist in this timeline, I’d appreciate it if you keep it a secret,” I requested.
“If you’re going to offer an item from the future, how about something a little better?” she asked.
“That’s out of the question, noona. I don’t have those items with me right now, and it’s not something I’m allowed to do. If I introduce items that will have too much impact, it'll be okay at first, but it'll cause massive damage in the long run.
"I can’t guarantee that it would help you at all,” I explained.
“...”
“An E-rank potion would be acceptable... but honestly, getting approval from the higher-ups for even this is no easy task. Still, if it’s for you, noona, I’m willing to do whatever I can!” I told her.
“So... what is it you want to say? You want me to admire your cuteness or something?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.
“If you find me cute, I’m totally fine with that, noona,” I answered.
“...”
“...”
“I don’t exactly love it, but... it’s not bad,” Cha Hee-Ra commented.
“Right?” I said.
“The cycles have been shortening lately, so I was starting to get worried. For this, I suppose it’s only right that I protect your friends’ identities,” Cha Hee-Ra said.
“I’d expect nothing less from you! Thank you, noona!” I yelled out.
“Okay, we’ll consider this matter resolved... Now it’s time to settle the remaining debt,” Cha Hee-Ra said.
“...Pardon?” I asked.
“It’s a trade. You sold us to the brigade... Don’t you think it’s time we get something in return?” Cha Hee-Ra questioned.
“Ah... So, about that...” I mumbled as I looked straight into her eyes.
“Bring me Jung Jin-Ho,” Cha Hee-Ra ordered.
“...”
“Bring him to me in a state where he can still fight. That bastard’s going to die here anyway, isn’t he? Didn’t you say that?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.
“I said... he has a chance... of dying... The future can always change,” I corrected her.
“Spare me the headache and just bring him to me... Actually, I don’t care about the place. Just set the stage so that bastard and I can fight. He’s going to die anyway. Does it even matter who kills him? It won’t affect the timeline or balance or whatever else you kept muttering about, right?” she asked.
‘That’s a possibility, but...’
Originally, his fate was death by hundreds of arrows, but even if he were to be killed by Cha Hee-Ra instead, it wouldn’t really change much. At this point in time, Jung Jin-Ho had already outlived his usefulness.
The real problem was figuring out how I was going to drag him all the way to where Cha Hee-Ra was located.
“There’s no room for negotiation. Honestly, for someone like you, it shouldn’t even be that hard...” Cha Hee-Ra commented.
‘It’s definitely hard, damn it.’
“I don’t know... where that man is either,” I told her.
“Really? Then you better start looking for him,” Cha Hee-Ra said.
‘Shit, that didn’t work.’
“I’ll try my best,” I said.
“No, it’s not about doing your best. You have to get it done, and you have to do it before the Blue Guild does,” she ordered.
“I-Is the Blue Guild here as well?” I asked.
“They’re at a different camp, but they’re somewhere here... You think those guys would skip an event like this? Especially Count Kim Hyun-Sung. He must be itching to get Jung Jin-Ho and the brigade...
"Regardless of what happens, I don’t want to lose my prey. Got it?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.
“Yes, I understand...” I muttered.
“Then get out. We’re done talking. Also...” Cha Hee-Ra trailed off.
“...”
“I’m looking forward to it, kid,” Cha Hee-Ra added.
It was an ultimatum. Arguing back and forth about whether it would work or not felt pointless, and I saw no meaning in talking further with someone who no longer wanted to negotiate.
I had no choice but to smile and back away. I suddenly had a ton to do right now, after all.
‘Honestly, I could just ignore it.’
However, it meant constantly running away from Cha Hee-Ra from now on. At least I got what I wanted—for now. She promised to protect our identities, and I got the freedom to move about as I pleased.
As soon as I stepped out of the tent, Rafael rushed up to me as if he had been waiting for me.
‘Ah, this bastard is so annoying.’
Obviously, I had to say something first, as he was certainly going to ask a bunch of questions.
“I think it’s best if we talk later...”
“Pardon?” Rafael asked.
“I’ll be doing the meeting tomorrow. You can go and rest,” I told him.
“Ah... hyung! ...Hyung, wait!” Rafael shouted.
‘Damn it, I’m getting a headache.’
After ignoring Rafael, I had no choice but to start moving.
‘Is it even possible to set things up before Kim Hyun-Sung catches on?’
It was a problem that had to be considered from many angles.
As far as I knew, Kim Hyun-Sung saw Jung Jin-Ho’s death. He had even described it as somewhat of a terrifying sight, so without the Goddess’s Mirror here, there was no other way but to see it with his own eyes.
In that sense, Hee-Ra noona’s request to handle things before Kim Hyun-Sung made sense, as our interests actually aligned.
‘I wonder if I'll ever cross paths with Kim Hyun-Sung.’
“Of course not,” I mumbled.
Unlike Cha Hee-Ra, Kim Hyun-Sung was directly involved with the whole regression thing. Knowing that direct contact with someone like him carried great risks, I figured that I couldn't have possibly approached him recklessly.
More importantly, Kim Hyun-Sung never mentioned a time traveler kid from his first life, and he never ran around looking for the time traveler in his second life, either.
If I were Kim Hyun-Sung, or anyone who knew about the time traveler’s existence, I would try to locate the time traveler immediately after regressing.
Above all, it made no sense for him to forget that so-called time traveler. Even if I were secretly helping him as some mysterious kid, it’d be the same. Kim Hyun-Sung wasn't stupid, after all. He was just a bit slow-witted.
‘I have to avoid running into Kim Hyun-Sung.’
If I ran into him without hiding my identity... I couldn’t shake the thought that—no matter how the second life would begin—the future would change. At the very least, that much was certain.
‘I have to go back as soon as possible.’
Things started going wrong when Rafael’s party made their way here—no, it started going wrong when that hexagram was discovered.
And at the perfect moment, I heard someone shout. “It’s the Blue Guild!”
‘Shit.’
“The Blue Guild is coming!”