Chapter 160: Reorganization (4)
A few days later.
[A 'Mysterious Merchant' is arriving at your territory to deliver an artifact!]
[Time remaining: 57 days, 12 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds]
Kim Hyunwoo made a strange expression as he saw the arrival date of the Mysterious Merchant.
This time, it was understandable because the notification window had popped up out of nowhere when Kim Hyunwoo hadn’t done anything in particular.
‘It’s nice that I can meet him without doing anything… But it would have been better if he came a little sooner.’
As Kim Hyunwoo was watching the numbers decrease day by day, he heard a knock and turned his head.
“It’s me, comrade!”
There was River, still smiling brightly as always.
“What’s up, River?”As Kim Hyunwoo looked at River who entered the office, River grinned widely.
“It’s done! The missile!”
“…Really? Didn’t you say it would take longer last time?”
“Yeah, but after making it with Shadra, the speed has increased, and you invested a lot in the budget too, didn’t you? So we were able to speed things up. Come quickly! I’ll show you right now.”
River immediately approached Kim Hyunwoo, grabbed his arm tightly, and pulled him up with strength.
Soon, they arrived at the underground section of the Blacksmith Guild.
“…Oh.”
Kim Hyunwoo couldn’t help but be amazed as he looked at the missile, which was remarkably similar to what he commonly knew.
“Oh, Dad, you’re here!?”
“Shadra.”
Kim Hyunwoo greeted Shadra, who was smiling brightly as soon as he arrived, and then looked at the missile and spoke.
“Is it finished?”
“Yep! We haven’t tested it in full scale yet, but theoretically, it should work perfectly! If we invest a little more in fuel, it could even reach the Eastern Clan Alliance from here!”
“To the Eastern Clan Alliance?”
“Yeah! It should even hit the target precisely.”
“…It’s developed more than I expected.”
Kim Hyunwoo had a bewildered expression.
He had expected some progress with the missile, but he hadn’t thought they would be able to use it to this extent.
‘…I thought at best, it would be able to launch a bit farther.’
With that thought, Kim Hyunwoo continued to ask.
“…So if we load the warhead now and launch it, you’re saying it will reach the Eastern Clan Alliance?”
“That’s right. But in that case, the fuel…oh, we’ll need this much.”
Kim Hyunwoo received the paper Shadra handed him, and after thinking for a moment, he clicked his tongue.
‘We need 20,000 Red Stones just for the fuel?’
Of course, lately, Kim Hyunwoo’s finances have become very solid, so firing one missile wouldn’t be too much of a burden. But 20,000 Red Stones for one missile still seemed psychologically overwhelming. Ṝ�
‘…But.’
That was just thinking from the perspective of using a lot of Red Stones, but realistically, 20,000 Red Stones wasn’t a huge expense.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
If they successfully launch the missile and it flies directly to the Eastern Clan Alliance, Kim Hyunwoo would be able to deal massive damage without any harm to himself.
With that in mind, Kim Hyunwoo, who had been pondering, said:
“Shadra.”
“Yes?”
“How long will it take to make it reach the Eastern Clan Alliance? And how long to manufacture the warhead?”
He quickly asked Shadra.
“Hmm… If we consider the time to make everything and launch it…about a week?”
“Go ahead and make it then. I’ll provide all the support you need.”
Kim Hyunwoo responded to Shadra’s answer with that decision.
After telling Shadra and River to make the missile properly, Kim Hyunwoo returned to his office and continued his work.
“Whew.”
He let out a tired sigh and gazed at the completely dark night sky, lost in thought.
‘There’s more work than I thought.’
At first, there wasn’t much to do, but once the domain started operating in full swing, the work started piling up.
That was because, as Lartania began to be properly established, mercenary groups started expressing interest in forming their own guilds within the domain.
And that wasn’t all. While administrative tasks were being handled diligently, the major decisions all required Kim Hyunwoo’s approval, leaving him with hardly any time to rest lately.
That’s why, as Kim Hyunwoo was staring blankly at the dark night, he stretched his stiff body, stood up, and headed to his bedroom. After quickly washing up, he collapsed onto his bed.
“Whew.”
Kim Hyunwoo let out a light sigh and closed his eyes.
However-
“Master…?”
At the sound of a voice, Kim Hyunwoo opened his eyes.
“…Merilda?”
He saw Merilda sitting by the open window.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing really…”
“Then?”
Merilda, curling her ears slightly and tail around her belly, brought the pillow she was holding forward and spoke.
“…Can I sleep with you? It’s been a while.”
Kim Hyunwoo paused, closed his mouth, and thought as Merilda covered her face slightly with the pillow.
‘Sure, we’ve slept together in Arteil, but now…it’s
Back then, it was just a game, so he didn’t think much about it, but now, Kim Hyunwoo couldn’t help but feel different from back then.
“That’s a bit…”
As Kim Hyunwoo awkwardly replied, Merilda gave a sheepish smile and said:
“S-sorry, Master… I guess I got a bit too clingy…”
Her smile was awkward, but her tail drooped, and her ears tilted backward.
“I’ll go to bed, goodnight, Master…!”
Anyone could see that she was trying to express ‘I’m so sad’ with her entire body while still forcing herself to sound cheerful.
“…Let’s sleep together.”
“Didn’t you say no?”
“It’s been a while, so it should be fine.”
Kim Hyunwoo reluctantly gave in, and Merilda’s drooped ears perked up as she quickly approached him.
A little while later.
“♥”
Kim Hyunwoo found himself lying next to Merilda, who was hugging his right arm tightly, rubbing her face against him, and wrapping her tail around his body.
“It feels nice to be lying next to you again.”
“…Really?”
Kim Hyunwoo swallowed the words ‘I’m dying here’ and instead had a casual conversation with Merilda after a long time.
After some time had passed and it was late into the night.
“Shall we get some sleep now?”
Kim Hyunwoo patted the chattering Merilda once and then closed his eyes.
…But then.
“…Merilda?”
“Yes, Master?”
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I will.”
“Then why aren’t you closing your eyes?”
“I want to watch you until you fall asleep.”
Kim Hyunwoo felt a strange sense of pressure as Merilda kept looking at him with her eyes wide open.
“You see my face all the time, though?”
“I want to see your sleeping face.”
“Really? Why?”
When Kim Hyunwoo asked, Merilda suddenly didn’t answer and looked down slightly.
As her face gradually turned red, Kim Hyunwoo had a puzzled expression.
“…Do you want to know?”
As Merilda lifted her gaze slightly, Kim Hyunwoo instinctively realized something.
If he nodded his head here, he knew he would be sucked into an irresistible flow, purely on instinct.
That’s why.
“…Ahem, I’ll hear it next time. Goodnight then?”
Kim Hyunwoo naturally changed the subject, smiled, and tried to close his eyes.
“Uh…!”
But Kim Hyunwoo had no choice but to open his eyes again.
The reason was that Merilda’s lips were pressed against his.
Merilda, clearly trying hard, shut her eyes tightly as she awkwardly initiated a kiss, parting her lips and slipping her tongue into Kim Hyunwoo’s mouth.
“…!”
Startled by her own action of inserting her tongue, Merilda’s eyes flew wide open.
As their eyes met, her already flushed face turned an even deeper red, clearly embarrassed by the moment.
“Churrrp-”
Yet, she showed no intention of stopping, clinging to Kim Hyunwoo even more and deepening the kiss.
After continuing the kiss for a while,
“H
Due to her lack of experience, she struggled to breathe properly, panting heavily as she gazed at Kim Hyunwoo with teary eyes.
“…When I watch you sleep, it makes me feel like I’m your wife, and it makes me happy.”
She said, and at her words, Kim Hyunwoo’s heart pounded wildly. Merilda then ran her hand across his face, looking unsure as she darted her eyes around.
“By any chance, right now-”
She lowered her head slightly and then lifted her red eyes slowly.
“Do you…feel the same way…?”
She asked that way.