Chapter 293: Interlude - Banquet (3)

After putting Song Ha-Eun to bed, Kwon Oh-Jin headed down to the stream and found Isabella, who had just finished washing her face. She glanced at him with much clearer eyes than before and chuckled at the sight of him drenched in vomit.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Did you just laugh?” Covered in the stench of puke, Kwon Oh-Jin shot her a sharp glare.

Isabella tried to stifle her laughter, covering her mouth and shaking slightly. Soon, she burst into peals of laughter while clutching her stomach. “Looks like unnie had a little too much to drink.”

“A little?” Kwon Oh-Jin sighed and shook his head.

He stepped toward the stream and examined Isabella’s condition. Compared to Song Ha-Eun, she looked a lot more sober. They had been drinking together, but only Song Ha-Eun was completely wasted.

“Don’t tell me you did that to her?”

“Oh my, how could you say that? The party atmosphere was just too good. Unnie must’ve gotten a little carried away.” Isabella shrugged with a cheeky look.

Suppressing a groan, he peeled off his vomit-covered shirt. His upper body shone under the moonlight. While he didn’t have the towering height of someone like Allen or Lee Woo-Hyuk, his sharply defined six-pack looked like it had been carefully sculpted by a master artisan.

Gulp.

Isabella swallowed hard as she stared at his physique under the moonlight.

She crossed her thighs as if something tickled her.

“H-How’s unnie doing?” She looked away from him as if trying to hide her flushed cheeks.

“She’s asleep for now.”

“

Hmm

. I’m curious to see how she reacts in the morning.”

“Don’t tease her too much.”

Because I will.

“Give me your shirt. I’ll wash it for you.”

“It’s fine. I’ll do it.”

He couldn’t let Isabella wash his shirt, soaked in vomit.

Kwon Oh-Jin crouched by the stream and began slapping the shirt against the water. He hadn’t thought to bring any soap, so he rinsed it as best he could before spreading it out on a rock.

“Alright, I’m going to wash up a bit now.” He gave her a subtle glance, gesturing at the vomit still on him.

The look was meant to say, “I’m gonna wash up now so you can go on ahead.”

“Then I’ll help you wash up.” Isabella’s eyes sparkled like a predator spotting prey as she trotted over to him.

“Why would I need help washing—”

“But your body’s not fully recovered yet, right?”

She wasn’t wrong. Receiving a blessing didn’t just burden Vega. It also took a toll on Kwon Oh-Jin. It wasn’t as bad compared to using Open Heaven, but he definitely wasn’t fully recovered.

“Or... is it that you don’t want to bathe with me?” Isabella looked up at him with big, teary eyes like she felt genuinely hurt.

Even though he knew those were crocodile tears, his heart still skipped a beat.

“

Umm.

” He would’ve resisted in the past, but couldn’t think of a good excuse to say no now that he had accepted Isabella as a lover. “Fine, but let’s keep our clothes on.”

Some drunk beastkin could still wander over.

“Alright!” Isabella smiled brightly and followed him into the stream.

The icy water quickly cooled them down.

“Holy crap. It’s freezing.” Kwon Oh-Jin shivered as he scrubbed off the traces of Song Ha-Eun’s vomit.

Being an Awakener helped him resist the heat and cold to a certain extent, but he could still feel the painful freezing water.

“Last time, unnie warmed the water for us.”

“Yeah, and we ended up here because of that person.”

Technically, he could warm it himself using electricity, but that wasn’t an option with Isabella in the water too.

“Then... how about this?” Isabella seductively smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

He could feel her soft, warm skin through the thin fabric.

“W-Wait.”

“Don’t move, Mr. Oh-Jin.” She pulled him closer and pressed herself against him.

An unbelievably soft warmth spread through him.

“Oh my?” She glanced down at a certain very warm part of his body that had begun reacting.

With a mischievous grin, she gently rubbed herself up and down against him.

“

Kugh!

” Kwon Oh-Jin bit his lip and held back a moan.

One Riarc. Two Riarc. Three Riarc.

He desperately tried to think of Riarc, playing in a vast greenfield, but his body already began reacting and wouldn’t cool down easily.

“You don’t have to hold back, you know,” Isabella said.

“Someone might come...”

“

Hehe

. True. If some other bitch ever saw your body, I’d have no choice but to kill her.”

There’s no need to kill anyone, please.

“Please hold still.” Isabella gently began to wash him.

Every time her delicate touch grazed his skin, his shoulders twitched involuntarily. Isabella giggled as if savoring his reactions, and carefully wiped him down multiple times even though all the vomit had already been rinsed off.

“I think I’m pretty much clean now.”

“Hold on.”

As Kwon Oh-Jin started to rise, Isabella pressed herself against him again. She rested her cheek on his chest, right over his Stigma, and placed her ear there. She could hear the steady beating of his heart.

Thump, thump.

“This sound calms me...”

“My heartbeat?”

“Yes, it reassures me that you’re really alive.” Isabella smiled warmly.

She closed her eyes with her ear still pressed against his chest. They silently held each other for a long while.

Then, Isabella slowly opened her eyes. “I’m sorry...”

“For what?”

“For lying to you before.”

Was it that again? She had already apologized so many times since it happened.

“I told you. It’s fine now. In the end, everything worked out anyway.”

Feeling his comforting pat on her back, Isabella closed her eyes again. “Mr. Oh-Jin, I never thought I’d live to see a day where I’d be this happy.”

Since the moment the Stigma of Leech had been engraved on her chest—No, perhaps even long before that, she had secretly given up on happiness. She had clutched the shattered pieces of hope in her hands and sobbed through lonely nights. Then, she met him. Someone who planted the seed of happiness among the broken shards.

“It’s all thanks to you.”

If not for him, what would have become of her? According to Kwon Oh-Jin, she had died in her previous life at the hands of the Marco Family. Even if she had miraculously survived, could she have lived as happily as now? Would she have known such days filled with hope?

No.

This was all thanks to Kwon Oh-Jin. She was reborn the day she met him.

“Mr. Oh-Jin, you are everything to me.”

For him, she would do anything. Her body, her heart, and even her soul... She would give it all to him.

“Isabella...”

“

Mmm

.”

Raising her face from his chest, Isabella gently pressed her lips to his. Only the moonlight shone down on the quiet stream. Isabella clung to him like a leech, sucking on his tongue with a hungry passion.

After a long kiss, she finally pulled away with a smile. “

Hehe

.”

Kwon Oh-Jin felt a powerful urge well up from deep within his chest. He had tried to resist, but this was just too much.

“Screw it.”

“M-Mr. Oh-Jin?”

He pulled Isabella tightly into his arms. Grasping her voluptuous breast in his hands, he was about to give in to the surging desire when shouts echoed out in the distance.

“Mr. Oh-Jin!”

“Where are you? Come have a drink with us!”

“We want to hear the tale of the great warrior’s valor!”

Isabella murderously glared in the direction of the voices. “Those clueless mutts...”

Their voices grew closer and harder to ignore.

With a sigh, she pulled away from him. “Shall we go back?”

“Yeah, I guess we should...” Now back in control of himself, Kwon Oh-Jin awkwardly smiled and stepped out of the stream.

After returning to the cabin and changing into dry clothes, Kwon Oh-Jin headed toward the group of Silver Mane beastkin yelling for him.

He had asked Isabella if she wanted to come with him, but she decided to stay behind to care for Song Ha-Eun.

Kwon Oh-Jin went alone to the center of the village, where the grandest part of the feast took place. The beastkin, loudly chattering and visibly drunk, had gathered in droves.

“You’re here!”

“The great warrior has arrived!”

“The man who brought down Kalike!”

The Silver Mane Tribe swarmed Kwon Oh-Jin the moment he appeared, eyes gleaming with admiration.

Leoru stepped in and blocked the crowd like a wall against moths drawn to a flame.

“Alright, alright, we get it. Settle down a bit.” He filled a large cup with liquor and handed it to Kwon Oh-Jin. “First, have a drink.”

“Thank you.” Kwon Oh-Jin downed the alcohol in a bowl-sized cup.

The fiery liquor burned down his throat and spread through him.

“

Khaha!

As expected, the great warrior is on another level!”

“It takes this kind of strength to defeat someone like Kalike!”

The Silver Mane beastkin clapped and cheered at the sight of Kwon Oh-Jin drinking so boldly. Kwon Oh-Jin usually didn’t enjoy strong alcohol and now felt a nauseating unease in his gut.

Still, I should go along with the mood here.

As someone who had fought against the powerful demonkin, building a bond with the beastkin was important. With only five members in Kwon Oh-Jin’s group, they absolutely needed the beastkin to stand a chance against the demonkin in the future.

“I heard you, the great warrior, came from a world beyond the rift. What kind of place is that?”

“I’ve heard rumors that it’s filled with horrifying demons...”

The beastkin warriors huddled around Kwon Oh-Jin and bombarded him with questions.

With a faint smile, Kwon Oh-Jin began to tell stories that they would like. “Just like your kingdom, the world I live in is also facing a great threat.”

After all, what did warriors and strength-worshipping beastkin want to hear most? He spoke of when the first rift appeared, how the demonic beasts flooded in like tidal waves, and embellished the story as needed.

“As expected! Only someone who survived such a harsh environment could be as strong as you!”

“To think that a warrior inherited the power of the stars and stood against the demonic beasts... What a moving story!”

Nothing built friendships more than a shared experience. Kwon Oh-Jin likened the invading demonic beasts from Earth to the demonkin, slowly telling the story of the Awakeners who fought back.

Just as the drinking party reached its peak, Leoru stood up holding an empty dish. “We’re out of snacks. I’ll go grab some fruit or something light to eat.”

“Chief! You can ask Leo to—”

“

Haha

, aren’t the kids about ready for bed by now?” With a gentle smile, Leoru excused himself to fetch some more food.

As he left for just a moment, a Silver Mane beastkin noticed Riru hiding in the distance.

“

Hmm?

Isn’t that Riru?”

“What are you doing over there and not heading to bed?”

She was crouched next to a barrel larger than herself, sneaking glances in their direction.

Riru jumped up in a fluster when she realized that they had spotted her. Her gaze darted around until it landed on Kwon Oh-Jin. “W-Well...”

“Did you come to hear more of the great warrior’s feats, Riru?”

“N-No! It’s not like that!” Her face flushed bright red as she frantically shook her head.

A beastkin warrior smirked at her response. “Come sit with us.”

“Okay...” Riru timidly trotted over and sat down.

The beastkin put an arm around Riru’s shoulder and gave Kwon Oh-Jin a suggestive look. “By the way, what do you think of our Riru?”

“What?”

What kind of question is that?

“She might still be young compared to your other wives, but she’s got a bright future.”

“

Haha!

The chief’s wife was the village’s greatest beauty back in the day!”

The drunken beastkin began rambling nonsense.

Riru flailed her fists in protest. “W-What are you all saying to Oh-Jin oppa?!”

The beastkin warrior who had his arm around her whispered in her ear, “Then what? Are you just going to sit here twiddling your thumbs?”

“B-But...” With her face red as an apple, Riru looked down. “O-Oppa already has wives...”

“A great warrior naturally attracts many females,” the beastkin whispered slyly, egging her on. “My wife once said something to me before we got married...”

He leaned in and whispered something into Riru’s ear.

At his words, Riru leaped to her feet. “H-How can I say something like that?!”

“

Kuhuhu!

Just try it! Any man would fall for it. I’m telling you!”

What had he said to make her react like that? Kwon Oh-Jin was also slightly drunk by this point and hadn’t caught the words.

“Y-You’re sure...?” Riru asked.

“Yeah. That line got me hooked too. Now, look at me...

haha

.” The married beastkin sighed deeply, full of regret.

Riru stole a glance at Kwon Oh-Jin. “

U-Um

, oppa...”

“

Hmm?

”

Approaching him, Riru clenched her fists tightly. “I-I want to be your b-bitch!”

“What...?”

Did I just hear what I think I heard?

Kwon Oh-Jin’s mind went completely blank from the sudden bombshell.

Clatter!

The sound of a plate shattering rang out.

“What did you just say...?” The kindly smiling Leoru had completely disappeared.

In his place stood a ferocious wolf, murderously glaring at Kwon Oh-Jin like a demon thirsting for blood.