SSS-Class Suicide Hunter - Chapter 205

1.

I had one incredibly important task.

It had nothing to do with attacking the Tower, but it was something that I absolutely had to do before I moved on.

I spoke with a resolute expression.

“I would like Raviel to meet Uburka.”

Immediately after clearing the 35th floor.

We were all summoned to the completely white space once again.

While my colleagues were talking amongst each other, I made a request of the Constellation, [The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage].

“No, I have to introduce them. I’ve put it off until now, but I can’t put it off any longer.”

“Hmm….”

The Lady stroked her chin.

“Really?”

“Yes. Even though they aren’t really my children, I still think of the goblins as my children. And since we’re husband and wife, it is something that Raviel needs to know, and it’s something that I need to tell her.”

“I understand Death King’s personal situation, but… You all are currently attacking a chain from the 30th floor. Inhabitants who are not participating in the attack cannot enter other floors.”

“Can’t you bring Raviel here for a moment?”

“No, no!”

The Lady made an X with her arms.

“The Silver Heart didn’t participate in the attack. Besides, she’s not even a part of your Tower yet. I can’t bring her here.”

It seemed that ‘Silver Heart’ was an abbreviated form of [Silver-Plated Heart]. This Constellation. She really had a habit of calling people by nicknames

“Why? We already cleared Raviel’s stage.”

“How should I explain this… Uhh. You can think of the Silver Heart as a foreigner without a visa. There are places that you can enter without a visa, but there are also places that you can’t, right? It’s the same thing. If they are from the 30th floor or lower, then they can’t be brought here. That is a rule of the Tower! Even if you have complaints, there isn’t much I can do about it.”

I thought about it.

“…Then what if Uburka and I stopped by Raviel’s world for a bit?”

“Uhh, that would be difficult too. That broken hearted pig is a Constellation. He has the authority to visit other floors but…”

Indeed. Uburka was a broken hearted pig.

Dad is sorry that I couldn’t support your first love…

“With regards to the rules, it’s certainly possible, but I’m not exactly sure if I should allow that or not. That’s because Death King is currently in the middle of an attack. You can’t just go back and forth as you please.”

“Okay. Then let’s do this.”

I smiled.

“Give me and Uburka a visitation pass as my reward for the 35th floor. Or at the very least, allow Uburka to stay here.”

“Hehh?”

There was a hint of interest in the Lady’s eyes.

“Why should I do that?”

“Since he’s a Constellation now, Uburka won’t die from his lifespan. If we go to the 36th floor from here, we will skip over hundreds of years again… I don’t want to leave Uburka there alone.”

“In other words, it’s a [parent’s responsibility to their children]?”

“You could say that.”

“Understood.”

The Lady nodded.

“If that’s the case, then I should be able to convince the top brass in the Tower. The Tower Master thinks that motherly love, parental duty, and stuff like that are incredibly important! Hang on.”

The Lady closed her eyes.

The Lady’s bangs floated into the air like an antenna. The bangs then began to sway from side to side.

…Was she communicating? Like that?

“Mhm. Communication complete.”

The Lady opened her eyes.

“I’ve been given permission to accept Death King’s proposal.”

“Ohh.”

“However! You’re not allowed to meet in the world Raviel was born in. You can only meet on the 29th floor. Death King, Uburka, and Raviel, you three are only allowed to meet on the 29th floor.”

“…?”

I tilted my head at the Lady’s words.

“Thank you for listening to me, but, uh… Why only the 29th floor?”

The 29th floor was no ordinary floor.

It was none other than Kim Yul’s stage.

It was made up of the Shinseo Middle-High School and the surrounding commercial district.

“It’s not even a real world.”

That was right.

The Librarian even called it Ascending City’s [side story].

The city was merely an embodiment of a fantasy because it was not a part of the real history of our world.

It had no special resources, and no unique tourist attractions.

Was there a special reason why we could only meet on the 29th floor?

“—sorry.”

The Lady suddenly became expressionless.

“I can’t tell you the reason.”

The determination on her face was obvious.

“I owe the Death King. I have [debts]. So if possible, I’d like to accept all of Death King’s requests. But this I can’t.”

“I will admit that the broken hearted pig deserves to be a Constellation. If the Death King agrees to be a responsible guardian, I’ll allow him to go to the 29th floor. Isn’t that good enough as a reward?”

I nodded slowly.

‘There is some secret on the 29th floor.’

But I wouldn’t forcefully ask when she rejected so firmly.

The Lady was my friend. There was no reason to push the Pillar that liked me.

‘I already got what I want.’

I freed Uburka from years of waiting.

And I was given the chance to introduce Uburka to Raviel.

Having achieved both of my objectives, there was no need for me to be greedy.

‘However….’

It was a secret that made even one of the Pillars serious.

What could it be?

I suppressed the curiosity within me and opened my mouth.

“Yes. That reward is enough.”

“Great! Sorry to the kids that are on the 29th floor now, but you guys have to leave-.”

[The Constellation ‘The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage’ has temporarily taken over the management of the 29th floor.]

[The Constellation ‘The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage’ has removed all hunters from the 29th floor.]

With a soft yap, the Lady shook her hand.

“While I’m at it, I’ll adjust the time as well.”

[Administrator Authority- Activate ‘Country Lockdown’.]

[The 29th floor has been sealed.]

[The entry level for the 29th floor has been increased.]

[You are eligible to enter the 29th floor!]

“Good.”

Seemingly satisfied, the Lady smiled happily.

“Now, no one can enter the 29th floor till Death King leaves. Even Constellations won’t be able to enter. That place has been prepared for Death King, so go have a private conversation with your family!”

“Uh…. tha-, thank you?”

“It was nothing.”

I wasn’t sure what she did, but I still bowed my head. In any case, it seemed like an extravagantly authoritative action was taken just for me.

“Head to the 29th floor first. I’ll send Silver Heart and the broken hearted pig there soon. Well, this is also part of the service. Feel free to enjoy it.”

The Lady clapped her hands.

“If you want to come back, just think of my face and say [return]. Before that, I won’t interfere with the 29th floor, so don’t worry. See ya!”

A smile finally appeared on the Lady’s lips.

[Confirming the Death King’s qualifications.]

[Permitted to enter ‘Ascension City – Side story’.]

A black shadow covered my eyes.

2.

When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in the middle of an intersection.

Hooonk!

A car horn blared loudly at the intersection. It was really noisy. But thanks to it, I was able to clear my head. When I turned my head, the driver of the car pointed towards me.

“Hey! You want to die? What kind of brat can’t get out of the way in time!?”

He was being rude even though it was our first time meeting.

But the universe got revenge on the driver’s impatience. A red light. The sign indicating a complete stop flashed overhead.

“I’m sorry.”

“If you’re sorry then get out the way! I swear young people….”

I stepped out of the middle of the intersection. The cars which had stopped moving because of me, began to move once again.

The drivers turned to glare at me again, but that was it. They quickly drove away. The cars moved in two lanes, and soon, the city became completely indifferent to my existence and flowed according to its own schedule.

Just as the city became indifferent to me.

“Mm.”

I also lost interest in it.

Because on the other side of the crossing was a face I missed dearly.

“Raviel!”

She was dressed casually.

In clothes that didn’t match the modern city setting.

Raviel created her own paradise under a traffic light.

“…Gong-ja?”

It seemed the aftereffects of the teleportation hadn’t yet cleared. Raviel rested her hand on her forehead.

“Is this hallucination magic? Is another Constellation invading? It’s sad that my wife is wagging his tail in front of me, and I can’t pet him because I have to figure out the truth…”

“Ah. Are you feeling dizzy? Do you need to take a seat? No. It’s too hot here. Let’s go to a store first and rest. But first, give me a hug.”

“Umm, this silliness. It’s definitely my love.”

Raviel’s tensed brow relaxed and she finally smiled.

“I’m sorry I doubted you even for a moment. Gong-ja.”

“It’s fine. We are each other’s biggest weaknesses, so we always need to be careful. When I was clearing the 35th floor, I ran into a Dream Demon who tried to imitate Raviel.”

“Hoh? That caught my attention. How many seconds did it take you to realize it wasn’t me?”

“1 second. I figured it out before I breathed out.”

I smiled brightly.

“It was a stupid Dream Demon who wasn’t even wearing your wedding ring.”

“Indeed. That was a fatal mistake.”

Raviel giggled softly.

I grabbed her left hand before her laughter died down. Gently. I rubbed the wedding ring on her finger, pulled her hand slightly, and kissed her.

“I missed you.”

“I’m happy to see you.”

“Is everything alright with the family?”

“Ahh. The Lady of the House is gone and the Lady of Golden Silk maid suddenly disappeared which caused a major disruption in the management of the mansion. If this Duke had been even a bit less capable, the family might have collapsed.” (TL: So he’s the lady of the house? xD)

“That. No matter who it is, to marry such a capable person, they must have saved the country three times in their past life.”

“I heard you saved the world a few times.”

This time, Raviel was the one that initiated the kiss.

We looked lovingly into each other’s eyes for a while.

“…Anyways, what’s going on Gong-ja? As I was doing my morning work, a little blond child suddenly popped up from the floor and said [Hi? Sorry. Death King asked me to take you to the 29th floor for a while].”

“Ah. That person… is a Pillar.”

“A Pillar?”

“Yes. You can call them Constellations above Constellations. She’s one of the people that manages the Tower. I asked her to let me meet Raviel for a moment as a reward for clearing the 35th and she agreed. Mm, but I didn’t just bring you here recklessly.”

“Ahh.”

Raviel stroked my cheek.

For reference, we were still at the intersection.

Cars and passersby were still going past.

“Oh my god. Kids these days….”

“Seriously, the level of education….”

The people walking down the street stopped one by one and looked over at them while whispering. Well. A beautiful woman like Raviel was openly showing her affection in broad daylight so any sane person couldn’t help but be distracted.

Of course, we didn’t pay them any mind.

This was my first time reuniting with Raviel after a few months so why would I have space in my consciousness for other people? My brain was currently busy taking and storing images of Raviel’s face.

The [Ascension City – Side story] was a world created because of me, so they could tolerate this kind of behaviour.

“You asked for such a cute reward. Did you miss me that much?”

“Umm. Actually, I have something to tel Raviel…”

“Daddy?”

At that moment, the world seemed to freeze for a moment.

“You’re Daddy, right? No matter how I look at it, you’re definitely Daddy.”

Raviel and I slowly looked over.

There, Ubukra stood, staring at me with his arms folded.

Raviel tilted her head to the side.

“…[Daddy]?”

My heart sank.

“Uh. No. Wait a minute. Raviel, what happened was…’

“Oh my God!”

Uburka frowned.

“What a disappointment! You were grinning so happily with your colleague not so long ago and now you’re trying to bump lips and make love with someone else. My hope for daddy is fading by the day!”

Scrunch.

Raviel’s eyebrows moved about 11 degrees down.

“…a colleague? Is that so?”

Raviel turned to look at me.

“Gong-ja. This guy keeps saying interesting words and sentences. Unless my language skills are lacking, it’s hard for my doubts and inferences to drift off in a certain direction.”

“No. No. No! Raviel! It’s not like that.”

“You’re so shameless Daddy. You confidently said in front of me [I have a special relationship with the Black Dragon Master]. How shameless are you to meet someone else? I can’t understand it!”

“…”

Hoh.

Raviel’s lips were stretched thin.

“If it’s Black Dragon Master, that should be the person who came to the first meeting.”

Raviel reached out and grabbed my neck.

The strength of her grip wasn’t that strong.

But even if the Devil King grabbed my throat, I wouldn’t be this scared.

“Of course, I believe in our love. I wouldn’t doubt you even if words like ‘affair’ somehow intruded into our life. But I still want to ask for an explanation. I don’t know why. Gong-ja, I will give you exactly 60 seconds, so speak for your life and my peace.”

This was unfair!