Chapter 239: Baptism Of The Stars (1)

An awkward silence settled over the room. They could hear the ticking clock. The oppressive stillness seemed like it would last forever until Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t hold it in anymore and let out a stifled laugh.

“

Pfft

.”

Song Ha-Eun, only wearing a white robe, moved like lightning and kicked Kwon Oh-Jin in the stomach.

“

Eek!

”

A sound that should never come from a human’s stomach rang out as he flew into the wall.

Crack!

“

Kugh!

”

Flushing bright red, Song Ha-Eun glared at him. “Shut up! If you so much as smirk from now on, you’re dead! Got it?!”

Kwon Oh-Jin slid down the wall and crumpled onto the floor.

NT, no, Rebecca clutched her stomach and burst into uncontrollable laughter. “

Kyahahahaha!

Oh my god, that was hilarious!”

Song Ha-Eun trembled and bit her lip in frustration as she couldn’t exactly kick a ten-year-old no matter how much she wanted to.

“

Ugh...

”

Her clenched fists shook with barely contained rage.

“So... this little brat is Phecda?” Song Ha-Eun glared at the girl casually swinging her legs on the couch.

Kwon Oh-Jin groaned as he pulled himself up and nodded.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rebecca Bell.” Rebecca smiled and grabbed Song Ha-Eun’s hand.

Song Ha-Eun frowned and asked irritably, “What’s Phecda doing here anyway?”

“

Hmm

. Well, I was kinda interested in mister here, so I followed him. I never expected to witness this kind of comedy show.”

With a smile far too seductive for a child, Rebecca glanced at Kwon Oh-Jin with dreamy eyes.

“What? Interested?” Song Ha-Eun’s jaw dropped, and she turned toward Kwon Oh-Jin. “Y-You little shit! Have you seriously moved on to kids now?!”

She leaped at him like a cat, grabbed him by the collar, and shook him violently.

Kwon Oh-Jin gasped for air and managed to shoot Rebecca a sharp glare. “Cut it out. That’s enough.”

“

Hehe

, okay, okay. Sorry, sorry.” Rebecca shrugged and snapped her fingers.

From one of the decorative potted plants in the room, large leaves sprouted and coiled around Rebecca. Encased in the leaves, she began to grow and changed into an adult woman.

Song Ha-Eun stared with wide eyes. “W-What the hell...?”

The woman with deep green hair looked so strikingly beautiful that even Song Ha-Eun became speechless. That earlier remark about being interested in Kwon Oh-Jin now rubbed her the wrong way in a whole new context.

Rebecca shrugged and shook her head. “Don’t worry about what I said earlier. I am interested. Sure, but I’m not desperate enough to chase after a man who’s already taken. Although... if mister is interested, then that’s a different story.”

Rebecca shot Kwon Oh-Jin a suggestive look.

Faced with such a bold gaze, he merely chuckled. “As you can see, I’m already taken.”

He lifted Song Ha-Eun’s hand and held it up proudly.

Rebecca pouted and folded her arms. “Oh my, you never know with relationships, right? Maybe you're all lovey-dovey now, but what if things cool off later—”

“No,” Kwon Oh-Jin cut her off and gently shook his head. “That’s not going to happen. Ever.

It wasn’t a vow filled with fiery conviction or a dramatic declaration. He said it calmly and plainly as if simply stating a fact.

Rebecca’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “

Heh

...”

While Song Ha-Eun blushed and kicked her legs in embarrassment, his gaze remained calm like the surface of a lake at dawn.

Only then did Rebecca realize that getting this man to look at her would be impossible. Not even a Celestial could force him.

“Well, aren’t I a little jealous?” Rebecca turned toward Song Ha-Eun with a mischievous smile. “What did you do to earn that kind of love from mister?”

“W-What do you mean? What did I do...? T-That’s...”

“Is it because you wore some sexy lingerie and posed seductively by the front door while saying, ‘Are you home, baby?’”

“

Kyaaaaa!

” Song Ha-Eun screamed and charged at her.

Rebecca burst into laughter and leaped behind the couch to escape.

“I-I told you to shut up!”

“

Hehe.

Teasing her is way too fun.”

Rebecca looked at Song Ha-Eun like she had found a new entertaining toy.

Song Ha-Eun furrowed her brow in annoyance. “Well, you’ve had your fun and got rejected too. Why don’t you head back to your room now?”

“I suppose I should. I’ve no intention of spoiling your cozy little night together.”

As Rebecca nodded and began to rise, Kwon Oh-Jin stopped her.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“

Hm?

What is it?”

“In about a week, I’m supposed to receive the baptism of the stars. I was wondering how exactly that works.”

“Oh, that.” Rebecca nodded. “Once you enter the Sanctum, the Celestials will guide you to a place called the Milky Way Spring.”

“It’s inside the Sanctum?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t?”

Kwon Oh-Jin cocked his head. She had already been there before, so how could she not know?

“It’s kind of like... a warp? It takes several Celestials chanting together to open a path to the Milky Way Spring.”

“

Ah

.”

They didn’t physically travel there, but used a warp.

“Once you’re there, you soak in the spring for about ten minutes. During that time, the Celestial you serve will recite an incantation for you.”

“That’s it?”

“Yep.”

That’s surprisingly simple.

“I heard the power of your Stigma can increase? How does that work?” he asked.

“Oh, that part varies from person to person.”

“It varies?”

“Yeah. When you soak in the spring, an enormous amount of mana gathers around you.”

That made sense. Three Dragon Veins intersected at the Milky Way Spring, so it would naturally be overflowing with mana.

“Then, depending on how brightly the spring shines, the amount of mana that flows into the person will differ.”

“

Hmm

.”

The brighter the spring, the more mana one receives?

“How bright are we talking?” he asked again.

“For me, it was like a fluorescent light?”

“A fluorescent light... Is that considered bright?”

“I’m not that close with all the Seven Stars, so I’m not sure. I heard Allen’s was about as bright as a torch.”

Fluorescent lights are brighter than torches, so...

“Yours was brighter than Allen’s?”

Being the apostle of another North Star Celestial, I thought he’d be more special. I guess not.

“Well, I am kind of a special case.” She playfully stuck out her tongue and shrugged.

Now that he thought about it, Han Jun-Man had mentioned Rebecca a few times.

He said she became a high-ranking Awakener in just two years.

Even compared to himself, that was an astonishing growth speed.

“Though it’s not as much as you.” Rebecca smiled bitterly and shook her head.

People often called her a genius blessed by the stars, but she couldn’t compare to Kwon Oh-Jin. He possessed such absurd talent that it would be believable if he claimed to be a Titan, a being who created Celestials, reincarnated in human form.

“Anyway, even just a fluorescent level of brightness is considered impressive, right?” he asked.

“Yup. Thanks to my baptism back then, I ascended to ten stars.”

“What?”

She reached ten stars right then and there?

Then, maybe I can...

If he were lucky, maybe he could reach nine stars after the baptism.

Waiting a week is gonna be torture.

Kwon Oh-Jin held back the growing excitement in his chest and smirked slightly.

“Are you done asking questions, mister?”

“More or less.”

“

Hehe

. Alright then, I’ll be going. Let’s catch up again soon.”

“Oh, one last thing.”

“

Hmm?

”

It wasn’t anything important.

“What kind of title will I be getting?”

With the seats of the Avaricious Wolf and the Celestial Boat Star empty, he wondered if he would get one of those names.

“Oh... the Celestials will decide that, but for you it’ll probably be...” Rebecca trailed off with a mischievous smile before shaking her head. “Never mind. I’ll let that be a surprise for later.”

Kwon Oh-Jin looked at her curiously, but didn’t press further.

“Well then, I’ll be off now~ Don’t let me interrupt your romantic night~”

Song Ha-Eun bit her lip and glared at the door after Rebecca walked out. “

Ugh

. I really don’t like that girl.”

She gritted her teeth and growled at the closed door.

“There’s no harm in getting to know her, though.”

Even if governments spent their entire budgets, they still couldn’t guarantee forming a personal relationship with one of the Seven Stars.

“

Haa

. Why are there always more women popping up around you?” Song Ha-Eun sighed deeply and pinched Kwon Oh-Jin’s cheek. “But still...”

With a soft smile, Song Ha-Eun leaned into Kwon Oh-Jin.

She lightly kissed his cheek like a sparrow’s peck. “What you said earlier... It was really touching, you know?”

Looking at her smile, Kwon Oh-Jin slowly reached out and gently lifted the edge of her white robe.

“Come to think of it, what did you say earlier? You called me your baby or something?”

“

Ahhh!

Y-you said you weren’t going to bring that up, you jerk!” She shrieked and tried to back away.

Kwon Oh-Jin pulled her back by the waist. “There’s no one watching now, is there?”

“Y-Yeah, but still...” Song Ha-Eun avoided his eyes and trailed off.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “You said you’d give me a special reward when I came back as one of the Seven Stars, didn’t you?”

“

Umm

...”

Song Ha-Eun bit her lip and lowered her head. A wave of unspeakable embarrassment washed over her. Along with it, the secret plan she had buried began to stir.

“

Phew...

” Taking a deep breath to steady her pounding heart, she gently stroked Kwon Oh-Jin’s cheek with feigned calmness. “S-So what kind of present does my baby want?”

The words came out like she had squeezed them from the bottom of her soul.

Kwon Oh-Jin gulped, utterly captivated by her unbearably adorable demeanor. At that moment, he could only say one thing while looking deeply into her eyes.

“

Waaa

.”

I’m just a baby. Give me food.