"First, go change, then come to dinner. That way we can talk as much as we want."
Yuu told her with a calm smile.
"Ah… y-yeah." Jin-ah answered without thinking too much before walking to her room.
Wait.
Why was Aegis acting like a dad? Why was he behaving as if this was his house? And why was she obeying him so meekly?!
Jin-ah scratched her head, feeling pretty confused. But in the end, she sighed.
"Well… I guess it's fine. It's not like I don't trust him." She muttered with a shrug.
The only thing that worried her a bit was, how was she gonna explain this to her brother? Yeah, that was definitely gonna be awkward.
Shaking her head to push the thought away, she quickly changed into her home clothes. She wore a loose aqua-blue shirt and soft pink shorts.
She looked at herself in the mirror and struck a pose with her fingers in a V. Smiling brightly, she ran downstairs.
When she entered the dining room, Yuu had just set the dishes on the table. Then he sat in a chair, lifting his face to look at her.
For a moment, Jin-ah felt a little embarrassed. Why was he looking at her like that? Until she realized it looked like he was silently approving her outfit.
"Ahem… well… everything's ready now." She said with a nervous little smile.
She sat down too, and her eyes sparkled like stars when she saw the table. There were several colorful dishes, and the aroma was so delicious she feared her stomach might growl and embarrass her in front of a guy.
She lifted her head, and their eyes met. Yuu smiled again.
Wow…
He was too beautiful. Unfairly beautiful. A man like that in front of you, smiling calmly, cooking you dinner… what was her poor heart supposed to do?
"Ah, stop it…" She waved her hand in front of her heated face. Then, with a sigh, she asked, "Hey… does this food have the same effect as the one at the castle?"
"No. This time it's just a normal dinner."
Hearing that, Jin-ah let out a huge sigh of relief.
Phew, thank goodness.
If all the food he made was gonna have weird effects, she wouldn't survive for long.
In fact, she wanted to take the chance to ask what Yuu was doing in her house. However, the table was so full of dishes her willpower crumbled.
Her eyes lit up when she saw the fried chicken, her favorite. She grabbed a drumstick and brought it straight to her mouth.
And that's when she rolled her eyes sideways and saw Yuu watching her with curiosity.
Right now! When she was about to devour the drumstick like a starving ogre!
Heat rushed to her cheeks.
Ugh...
She couldn't eat like a savage in front of a guy, right?
Although, well, it was a little too late to pretend she was some refined princess…
She took a small bite, trying to play it cool, but the look of satisfaction that slipped out was impossible to hide.
It was delicious. In fact, it was way better than anything she remembered eating in her entire life.
'This is cheating.' She pouted slightly.
Was Yuu trying to trap her through her stomach?
Impossible! She wouldn't fall that easily!
While she kept battling between her pride and the chicken, Yuu opened his mouth.
"Jin-ah, I want to take you on a journey."
"..."
Huh?
She froze with the drumstick in her mouth, staring at Yuu in confusion.
Was that… a confession?
A trip together? Him and her?
Her heart skipped a beat and her face immediately turned red.
"U-um… w-what do you mean by that?" She stumbled over her words, making him chuckle.
"A journey to another world, I mean. To help you grow stronger. I want to ask if you'd accept becoming my Pathstrider. My follower who'll walk by my side for eternity."
Pathstrider?
Jin-ah tilted her head. She had no idea what that weird word meant.
Seeing her blank look, Yuu smiled and began explaining calmly.
She listened carefully. Though halfway through, she already felt dizzy. Eternal follower? Walking together? Blessings? Leveling up?
In the end, her brain boiled it down to something way simpler.
"So basically… I can level up like in an RPG?"
"You can see it that way. Although, in fact, since your Awakening at the castle you already had something similar. Your Awakening's growth-type, remember?"
Growth… That's right.
That already sounded amazing on its own, but now… with Aegis's "blessing" too?
Turns out it wasn't just any blessing. With it, she could level up faster, gain special abilities, and basically become way more powerful.
'Am I like the protagonist of a game now?'
After a while processing it all, her heart began to settle down.
Walking at the side of a god. At Aegis's side. She looked at his face. A god that beautiful…
It didn't sound bad at all, actually.
Except for one detail.
"U-um… does that mean I'll be immortal too?"
"For now, no. The higher you level up, the longer your lifespan will be. One day you'll reach eternal life. But even then you could still die if someone managed to kill you. True immortality… is much more complicated."
Golden eyes, calm and distant.
His words carried weight.
Because Yuu already possessed that immortality.
He was the Aeon of the Beginning and the End.
The only one who walked across endless time.
But more than a blessing, it was a curse.
Everyone around him ended up dying.
Friends, loved ones… they all disappeared, one after another, until he was left completely alone.
Jin-ah, not knowing the details, felt that distant air surrounding him. The emptiness hidden beneath his calm smile.
'He feels… a little sad.' She thought that.
"So what'll happen to my family? My mom and my brother."
"You won't have to worry about them. Your mom will heal someday. You'll be able to heal her yourself once you're stronger."
"Eh… really?" Her eyes went wide.
"As for your brother…"
Yuu's lips curved into an amused smile.
"You've got even less reason to worry about him."
Less reason? What did he mean by that? Jin-ah blinked several times.
Of course, she had no way of knowing.
But Yuu did.
Her brother, Sung Jin-Woo, was the protagonist of this world.
But for Jin-ah, what mattered right now…
'So I'll actually be able to save Mom? With my own hands…'
That thought filled her heart with hope.
Jin-ah set the chicken drumstick back on the plate, and after a long sigh, looked at him with a serious expression.
"Alright, Sir Aegis. I'm willing to be your Pathstrider."
Yuu smiled broadly, even clapping enthusiastically.
"Perfect! Then finish eating, and afterward we'll begin with the blessing."
That way, she'd walk at his side and follow his Path.
He was pretty happy. After all, in just these few days, he'd already gathered some girls to be his Pathstriders.
After that, dinner continued. Though, to be honest, it wasn't elegant at all. Because Jin-ah tore into the meat, ripping it apart with her teeth. She devoured the stir-fried veggies and gulped down the fruit juice like it was her last meal.
All the while, little moans of satisfaction escaped her.
"Phew…"
Jin-ah sighed happily, leaning back and rubbing her stomach. She was more than satisfied.
Yuu blinked a few times.
How was it possible her stomach wasn't bulging after all she'd eaten?
He thought about asking if she always ate like that, or if she wasn't afraid of gaining weight, but saying something like that to a girl could be lethal. So he kept his mouth shut.
However, Jin-ah perfectly noticed his look.
'U-uh… is he thinking that? T-That's not my fault! The food was just too good! It was definitely the food tempting me, not me!'
Her face flushed red with embarrassment.
Although, now that she thought about it… if she was gonna walk by Yuu's side forever, did that mean she could eat this kind of food every day?
'Does being a Pathstrider also come with unlimited food perks?'
"So? Did you like it?" Yuu asked softly, as he reached out and ruffled her hair tenderly.
"Mm…"
That sudden gesture made her blank out for a few seconds.
"Now you should get ready for the blessing."
He explained how the blessing worked to become a Pathstrider.
Hearing the explanation, Jin-ah blushed instantly, all the way to her ears.
"U-uh… G-Got it!"
Despite everything, she quickly nodded and led him to her room.
When they entered, Yuu glanced around. The place was actually pretty girly, with some teddy bears on the bed and shelves. His eyes lit up when he spotted a huge plushie. He walked over and picked it up.
"Oh, this is cute. Kinda looks like you."
"W-what…? Like me…?"
Jin-ah froze.
Did he just indirectly call me cute?!
Wait.
"Why're you comparing me to a panda?!"
Jin-ah puffed out her cheeks in a pout while Yuu chuckled softly at her reaction.
Turning away, she hurried to her bed, trying to hide her burning face. With trembling hands, she took off her shirt and lay down on her stomach.
'Ahhh! This is the first time a boy's ever been in my room… and I'm showing so much skin…! I've never had a boyfriend, I'm not even interested in that stuff… but… but...!'
Her face turned crimson, buried in the pillow.
But at the same time, she wasn't afraid. She trusted Yuu, as shown when she turned her back to him right then.
Yuu approached the bed and sat by her side, pulling a needle out of nowhere. With it, he pricked his finger and let a drop of white blood fall onto Jin-ah's bare skin.
The white drop sank smoothly into her skin. Right after, Yuu passed his hand over her back as if drawing on it.
"Nnh…~"
The sound of a moan escaped her, face still buried in the pillow.
W-what was that?! Why did it sound so weird?! This is way too embarrassing!
While she wished she could vanish from the universe, a soft glow appeared over her skin. Little by little, the symbol of a snake biting its own tail was etched into her back, glowing faintly before settling into its natural color.
"All done." Yuu pulled out a white sheet of paper and calmly began writing on it while observing the symbol. "Alright, everything's set. You can get dressed again."
Jin-ah buried her face deeper into the pillow, then very shyly peeked at him from the corner of her eye.
"U-uh… c-could you… turn around?"
Yuu raised an eyebrow, then let out a laugh, an amused look spreading across his beautiful face as he turned on his heels.
"Sure, sure."
'Is he laughing at me…? Uuu~'
Jin-ah felt like her heart was about to explode as she hurried out of bed and quickly put her shirt back on.
"Uff…" She sighed in relief once she was ready.
Then Yuu turned back to her and handed her the white sheet.
"Here. This is your Status. You can see your existence's basic info on it."
She took the paper with both hands, looking at it with sparkling eyes.
'My Status…! Level, strength, agility… I-it's really like a character sheet in an RPG!'
Her cheeks lit up with excitement, and she swallowed hard while admiring the beautiful snake symbol before starting to read.
×××
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