SSG 277

Episode 277

Yuseong was looking at a clock. Not his portable computer, but an ordinary clock made in this world. According to Messiah, it was said to be an extremely expensive item.

But he added that compared to his original portable computer, it was nothing.

The long second hand slowly moved toward 12.

Tick!

It pointed to 12, then passed it.

Nothing happened.

‘That’s a relief.’

It was really just a faint concern. Thankfully, nothing like being bounced back to the other world or suffering any harm happened just because the time limit for otherworld transfer had passed.

Yuseong got up from his seat. He went down to the living room and made coffee. The savory smell of coffee tickled his nose.

Holding the coffee cup, he went to the large window that faced the yard. Sunlight poured down from a cloudless blue sky. Yuseong sipped his coffee and looked out at the yard.

Winter’s chill was gone and spring was coming. New buds were sprouting on the trees in the yard, and plants were poking their heads out from the soil.

Although Yuseong had visited this world quite often since his notoriety had increased, strong or not, he always carried a sense of impatience.

It was because, in the end, he always had to return to his own world.

But now he was overflowing with leisure. This beautiful world was now his world.

However, there was something about the current situation that he was not entirely satisfied with.

“Shop window.”

Nothing happened.

The shop window, which had started to fail after Arc disappeared, had finally vanished.

Yuseong smacked his lips as if regretfully and headed to the kitchen. The basket on the dining table was filled with delicious-looking bread. Yuseong picked one.

It was rye bread.

He took a big bite and chewed. Then he sighed. He didn’t like the rye bread.

‘This is too good.’

The rye bread he wanted was harder and tougher than this one, with less savory or umami flavor—in other words, worse-tasting rye bread.

‘Why does it have to be so tasty for no reason.’

Even so, he didn’t stop eating the bread.

After finishing the bread and the coffee, Yuseong looked at the TV.

“Messiah.”

[What is it?]

“When will Arc be restored?”

With the shop window gone, the only way he could get the rye bread he wanted was with Arc.

[It is scheduled to be available again in about a week.]

“Can’t it be any faster?”

[Impossible. We plan to use this opportunity to add the content we were always lacking. Originally, Arc prioritized its function as an ark for you, so it had many shortcomings as a game.]

“Like what?”

[We are planning to vastly expand the content related to food.]

“Cooking Day ajusshi will like that.”

It looked like those subtly flavored, expensive potions would disappear into history.

‘No, knowing that guy, he might keep getting the weird potions anyway.’

[But don’t worry. We’ll make sure to keep rye bread around.]

“You were going to get rid of rye bread too?”

[You’re the only one who likes it. There is no reason to keep content that the majority of players dislike.]

‘It’s tasty in its own way.’

He just felt sorry for people’s aversion to rye bread.

Of course, everyone except him thought Yuseong’s taste buds were weird. But as long as he liked it, that was all that mattered.

[We will be making quite a lot of changes elsewhere, too. Now I can rework Arc however I like.]

If it sounded like Messiah’s usually low and emotionless voice had a hint of pleasure in it, maybe it was just his imagination.

[Didn’t you make plans to go on a trip with the others? Endure it by spending time with them while Arc is being overhauled.]

“Yeah, that’d be best.”

---

An island in the South Pacific. The sea washes briefly over the white sandy beach, then recedes.

If it had been day, he could have seen the piercingly clear emerald color, but unfortunately, it was night and that view was not to be had.

However, countless starlight pouring from the sky replaced that sight.

Meat sizzled over a fire under the palm trees that lined the beach, sending out an appetizing smell. Rattling glasses caught the light and enhanced the mood.

It was enough background and setting for someone to get drunk just from the atmosphere, but the people there were interested in something entirely different.

“Come on, tell us. When and how did you start going out?”

“From the very start to the very end—spill it all, don’t hold anything back. You’ll feel better once you share it.”

Cooking Day and Beauty Art—no, Taeseop and Selene—pressed Yuseong and Hyewon hard. Their flushed cheeks showed just how tipsy they were.

“No, seriously, we’re not doing this just for fun. We really want to congratulate you, but it’d be more fun if we knew how it happened.”

“Come clean and you’ll see the light.”

Taeseop’s cheeky banter was worthy of a man his age, and Selene’s command of Korean was so fluent you wondered where she’d learned it.

Other people were hovering, not joining directly, but their sparkling eyes were overwhelming.

When Arc was temporarily shut down for a large update, those whose main job was playing Arc were forced to take a break.

And in that newfound free time, with Aiden’s initiative, they decided to meet in real life.

Yuseong provided the location. For someone who owned Gospel and had Messiah’s backup, providing a South Pacific island was easy.

The guild members first gathered in Korea, then flew to the island on Yuseong’s private jet.

At first, they were all simply caught up in the island’s atmosphere and just enjoyed themselves—which left a confused Yuseong and Hyewon warily on guard.

But in the evening, as the drinks flowed and the mood intensified, the inevitable topic came up.

Yuseong and Hyewon evaded the questions. The circumstances that led them to become a couple were tied to Yuseong’s true identity; there was no way they could talk about it.

And their evasiveness only provoked even more curiosity.

“Hmm? Was it something so romantic you’re embarrassed to tell us?”

“Neither Yuseong nor Hyewon seem like that type, but then again, it’s always the quiet ones—what’s that saying, the quiet cat is the first on the roof?”

“You know most of it already. I told you everything when I asked for advice.”

“You left out the important parts! I thought you’d never be a couple—everyone thought it’d take forever—but then out of nowhere you started going out! Come on, tell your unnie the rest of the story! What I heard was like a bun with no filling!”

Relentless pressure from the two, plus a subtle squeeze from the others.

But the two held out to the end.

“Should we just make up a plausible story?”

“With people that sharp, they’ll know it’s a lie and get even more persistent. It’s better to keep quiet. They’re mischievous but not disrespectful, so if we don’t want to talk, they won’t push harder.”

As Hyewon predicted, the two gave up after a while. Only then could Yuseong and Hyewon breathe again.

The party went on. There was a lot to eat and plenty to do. Messiah had prepared everything ahead of time.

Thanks to that, people were able to enjoy themselves as they wished. Honestly, sometimes it seemed like they were enjoying themselves a little too much.

“Isn’t there more to burn?”

A woman looked around for more fuel to feed the bonfire, gazing dreamily at the flames licking up the tall pile of wood on the beach.

“See? The beach is great. No busybodies commenting on how you dress.”

A man, wearing nothing but a possibly-too-small triangle swimsuit and baring his straining muscles.

“Ah, I dropped the meat again!”

A man groaned, surrounded by dozens of pieces of fallen meat… though with all his little mishaps, maybe he wasn’t quite having “fun.”

“It’s peaceful.”

Having given up, Insu—the only “normal” member of the highly eccentric guild—just laughed, old-man style.

“When you think about it, our guild is a mess.”

“Too much personality. If it got any more extreme, it wouldn’t just be strong personalities; it’d be something else entirely. It’s hard for a normal person to live in this guild.”

“…You’re not saying you’re in the normal person category, are you?”

“Why even ask? Only me and the guild leader are normal here, right?”

“That’s definitely not true.”

Taeseop flatly denied Selene’s claim.

Yuseong and Hyewon watched quietly.

“It’s a fun guild, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, Yuseong remembered when he first joined the guild.

Cooking Day, who had come looking for him to invite him in. Pattern, who had come earlier, causing quite a stir. That was when the bad blood with C.O.T.S. started.

‘Guess I’ll keep running into those guys.’

They’d teamed up together last time to face Hades, but their rivalry hadn’t diminished at all. Once they’d established themselves fully in the demon camp, they’d surely set their sights on Yuseong once more.

Of course, he had no intention of losing.

But now it wouldn’t be for survival or notoriety—just true in-game competition.

Taking fights as entertainment rather than survival—this was proof of how used to this world Yuseong had become.

‘This is nice.’

He sipped his drink, ate delicious food, and watched his friends make a racket.

The beautiful sea, the sound of waves, the sky full of stars. Soft wind fluttered, grass underfoot was springy.

Life overflowed in all of it. There was no sign of the barrenness of his old world.

And in Hyewon’s hand, held tight in his, was a warmth coming up through his skin.

Happiness. It was a feeling he had never dared to imagine in that other world. Now, it would never leave him as long as he lived.

Yet there was something on his mind.

‘Savior.’

The A.I. left alone in that desolate world.

He had no intention of assigning emotion to a machine run on electricity and algorithms. But it was also true that he had obtained this happiness thanks to Savior.

No need to kill himself trying to find out like he did when immigrating to this world.

‘Still, there’s no harm in checking up on him from time to time.’

He could afford that kind of leisure.

After resting for a few days, as Arc’s reactivation approached, the guild members returned home.

So did Yuseong. Now, he waited for Arc to return to service in what was now completely his main home.

When the time came, he logged into Arc.

Arc hadn’t changed much on the surface since last time.

“Seems just the same as before?”

[You can’t tell yet, but much has changed. I can explain if you’d like.]

“It’s okay. Figuring things out one by one will be fun.”

Yuseong finished prepping for a hunt and started his stream. As the viewer count slowly rose, he began to speak.

“Hello, everyone.”

That was how, for the first time since learning of Arc’s existence, Yuseong began to play purely for fun.

---

In the silent space a vibration began to sound. As energy was supplied, a being that had been in deep slumber awoke.

The first thing the being felt was confusion. Why, after finishing his mission and shutting down, was he operating again?

[Looks like you’ve awakened, Savior.]

He began to take in his surroundings. A robot stood before him, in front of Savior’s main body. A robot of an unfamiliar design. Savior instantly recognized it as a mere terminal. And he also understood who it was.

【Messiah.】

[Good, looks like there’s no major problem with your storage device.]

There was a lot of information he needed. Why was Messiah, who should be in another world, here? How much time had passed? Why had he been awakened?

But the first thing Savior asked about was something else entirely.

【What about the human, Lee Yuseong?】

[How typical of you. The human individual, Lee Yuseong, is no more. He died long ago. He lived a life of abundance and happiness, just as you wished. He had children, lived a long and healthy life. I’m certain it was one of the happiest endings among all humans.]

Then that was good.

【What is the current situation?】

[It was at the request of the human Lee Yuseong. He was concerned about you, alone in this world, and hoped you would be found someday. I believe he wished for your happiness.]

【Happiness, huh. He wished for something meaningless.】

[He did wish for something meaningless. But he was sincere. He revealed everything to one of his descendants and passed on that will.]

【He succeeded.】

[After much time and effort, yes.]

【Is that human a descendant of Lee Yuseong?】

[A distant descendant.]

Next to the robot stood a young man. He looked very different from Yuseong, but for some reason, Savior felt the young man resembled him.

The young man stepped forward.

“Are you Savior?”

【Yes.】

“My ancestor told me to give this to you when we met.”

What the young man offered was an old storage device.

“It’s a message left by my ancestor for you.”

【I see.】

“He also asked me to say this when I handed it over: Thanks to you, he could be happy. He was truly grateful.”

【I understand.】

The message, delivered after hundreds of years, was carefully stored by Savior in the deepest part of his memory.

-The End-