Book 1, Epilogue 19 - Rare Genius (2)
“So? How much did I lose?”
“Excuse me?”
“My life expectancy.”
Sophie wondered if she had heard right. The reason was the expression on Lee Gun’s face as he asked the question.
Sophie looked at Lee Gun with a serious expression. “Are you sure you aren’t asking me about what I ate for lunch?”
“I didn’t?”
“Are you sure you’re talking about your own life?”
“I am.”
Sophie had to pound her chest in frustration. “The fact that you can ask such a question means you get the severity of your situation, right? How can you ask it in such a calm manner…”
“Uh. That’s why I’m asking in a serious manner. How long do I have left?”
Sophie didn’t think Lee Gun’s expression matched that of a person asking such a serious question. She let out a sigh.
In the first place, Lee Gun had a cavalier attitude. He didn’t seem to care if he died or not. And someone like that was asking about his lifespan, so she assumed Lee Gun had realized the severity of his situation.
She bit her lips. “It’s really bad. You won’t be able to live long.”
“How much?”
“Your lifespan has been shaved by almost half. At this rate, forty… No, you’ll die an early death around your mid-thirties.” Sophie clenched her fists.
However, she was soon surprised.
It was because Lee Gun burst out laughing as he clapped. “What the hell? I still have a lot of time left.”
“?!”
“You want to die, idiot? You spooked me because you became unnecessarily serious.”
Sophie was taken aback. “What the hell! I just told you right now that you have only ten years left to live?! Mid-thirties is—”
“I’m twenty-two years old right now. It’s incredibly long if I can live ten more years..”
“Excuse me?! How can you say dying in your thirties is long? In comparison, the Zodiac Saints will live a very long time thanks to their Zodiacs!”
“That has nothing to do with me.”
“!”
Lee Gun got up as if it wasn’t a big deal. “There is a chance that we can die today while we fight the monsters.”
A complicated expression appeared on Sophie’s face. “That’s… It applies to only you since you don’t have a Zodiac…”
“Five years.”
“!”
“I’ll eradicate all the monsters within that time. I just need to live until I can accomplish that task. I don’t care how many years I can live after that.”
“…!”
“That’s why ten years are enough. I’ll work for five years and enjoy the remaining five.”
Sophie gritted her teeth. “That’s… You’ll be able to extend your lifespan if you take some drugs. Don't worry too much about it! I’ll make sure to look for something good. I promise…”
When it seemed like Sophie was having a hard time dealing with this, Lee Gun rapped her head as if she was being foolish. “You’ve never done such a thing for me, so don’t start now, bedwetter.”
“Please call me by something else! I’ve never done such a thing!”
“Then I’ll call you a mongrel that barks.”
“I’m being serious! I’ll help you, so please don’t overdo it!”
“Don’t try so hard to get in my favor. I won’t let you have Taeksoo no matter how nice you are to me.”
Lee Gun smirked as he left.
Sophie grumbled and called him rude. “He acts like that even if I’m nice to him!”
Sophie was grumbling to herself when…
“How’s Lee Gun’s status?”
“?!!”
Jean-Louis appeared next to Sophie without making any sound. She almost screamed.
Then she glared at Jean-Louis. “It was your doing!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t deny it. You’re the one who worsened Lee Gun’s condition, right?”
Mysterious cysts had been growing within Lee Gun’s body. They had adhered themselves to all the important organs, such as his lungs and heart. These masses were dangerous enough to kill Lee Gun if he wasn’t careful.
While she called them cysts, they weren’t malignant. So they shouldn’t have been a problem.
“The cysts were messed up with in the raid in Russia! They turned from benign to malignant! It harmed his vital organs, and now Lee Gun’s lifespan is…”
“I know nothing about that. It seems Lee Gun’s body isn’t in a great state. It’s quite unfortunate that those masses burst.”
Sophie glared at him. “I’ll tell the others.”
“I have nothing to do with it. Are you sure you want to do that?”
“What do you mean?”
“The only one who knew about Lee Gun’s health status was you. You were the only one who knew he had cysts inside his body, right?”
“…!”
“If someone burst those cysts, isn’t it logical that you’re the culprit?”
“Don’t try to frame me! I would never do such a…!!”
Sophie bit her lips. A thought appeared in the corner of her mind.
‘Can it be? My Zodiac could have…’
Her Zodiac had been trying to use Lee Gun to make more money.
Jean-Louis let out an odd laugh. “What would happen if Hugo Otis found out about this?”
“…!?”
“I know it all. The medicine that Aquarius gives to Lee Gun isn’t effective. You knew this, yet you kept your silence. You passed on those medicines.”
Sophie was flustered. “That’s not true! Without those medicines, Lee Gun’s body would…!!”
“You know this, yet you keep stringing him along, saying he’ll be able to live longer.” Jean-Louis laughed in derision. “Anyway, Hugo is righteous, and he looks up to Lee Gun. If he finds out about this, it’ll be a sight to behold.”
Jean-Louis let out a cheeky smile as he disappeared.
Sophie ground her teeth and immediately called for her Zodiac. “Oh, my Zodiac! Did you really pass on information about Lee Gun to Jean-Louis?”
While she couched it as a question, it wasn’t a question at all.
“The only one who would have known about the status of Lee Gun’s body is you!”
As soon as she spoke, a water spirit appeared above her head. It was none other than Aquarius.
When Aquarius saw the enraged apostle, she laughed at Sophie for daring to act impudently toward her.
[He is a gnat who’ll die soon. Why do you foolishly show such interest in him?]
“What?”
[As soon as he awakened, Lee Gun was destined to live a short life. Unlike the chosen ones such as you, he’s a lowly mutant. He dared to use the power of the gods as a human. It’s the price of showing no fear toward us.]
“Still, I don’t think you should have—”
[You have to choose.]
“What?”
[You can keep your mouth shut, and it’ll allow you to keep the status quo in your life. Or else…]
Aquarius contemptuously laughed.
[You can advocate for someone who won’t even be able to live long. You can return to your life before you became a Zodiac Saint. You can return to living the life of a bum.]
Sophie’s face turned pale when she thought about her past life.
However, as soon as her Zodiac disappeared, she ground her teeth. While she had been threatened, she couldn’t turn a blind eye to Lee Gun’s death. Therefore, Sophie secretly created a message and called for her Construct.
“Please deliver this to Lee Gun. Please tell him that he has to do everything written there.”
[All of it?]
Jean-Louis contemptuously laughed when he saw Sophie’s rebellious action.
* * *
The next day…
“What? I can take all of this?”
After he met up with Heiji, Lee Gun’s eyes turned round. In truth, Lee Gun had gone looking for Heiji after he had received the note from Sophie.
[You’ll be able to heal your body if you have the tears and blood of fairies belonging to the Gemini temple. It won’t be easy, but please talk to Heiji about it.]
Of course, it wasn’t a normal note. On the surface, it said, “Please wait for me after you purify yourself.” On the inside, the note held a secret message about Heiji.
Despite the possibility of being tricked, Lee Gun had decided to meet Heiji. Of course, he didn’t expect Heiji would hand over the tears and blood of the fairies.
It was to be expected since fairies became weaker if they became corrupted. Blood symbolized corruption for the fairies, so it was a subject that shouldn’t be broached. Moreover, the fairies were a race that Heiji treated with extreme care.
As soon as he told her his request, he had been prepared to fight Heiji.
“Alright. If it’s only that, you can take it.”
When he saw Heiji’s extremely easygoing reaction, Lee Gun looked at her as if he were looking at a bug. “How high of a fee are you going to charge me that you’re acting like this…?”
Heiji felt a surge of anger. She pouted. “I’m not asking for anything! I also received a note from Sophie! I’m not sure what’s going on, but she said you were hurt a lot this time around! I’m not someone who would charge you right now when you’re in such a state!”
“Right now? How much debt are you planning on putting on my tab?”
When Lee Gun looked at her with contempt(?), Heiji pounded her chest in frustration. “Damn it! I’m saying I’m not going to take any money from you!”
“????”
Lee Gun tilted his head in confusion. It was as if this situation didn’t make any sense the more she talked.
“You’re meticulous about taking money from others down to the cent, so why?”
While all the Zodiac Saints loved money, Heiji was one of the ones who really loved money.
Of course, Heiji wasn’t in the waste or parasite category of Lee Gun (Sophie, Yang Wei, Sergeyevich, Ivan, and Giselle), who viewed the lives of humans as money.
But she was meticulous when it came to transactions involving money. That was why Lee Gun looked at Heiji with suspicion.
Heiji’s face turned red at Lee Gun’s reaction. “I…I do have one request…”
“Request?”
The light in Lee Gun’s eyes turned violent. It was a cold look, as if Heiji was about to reveal her true colors. “Alright. I knew this was coming. What do you want? You want me to be your slave? Servant or….”
“Date.”
“Da… What?”
“Date!!!”
Lee Gun blinked in surprise. Flustered, he took a step backward. “…uh…ah…with Taeksoo?”
Heiji angrily tossed the ingredients at him. “Not him! You! I want a date with you!”
“…?????” Lee Gun looked shell-shocked, but he soon nodded as if he had realized something. “Alright. Let’s go on a date.”
Heiji became full of unadulterated joy. However, her happiness lasted only one minute. The reason was the place Lee Gun had taken her to.
“W-Why are we in the forge? Also, there’s no one here?”
“I rented it. Anyway, you don’t have to beat around the bush.”
“W-What?”
When Lee Gun started taking off his clothes, the pouting Heiji almost screamed.
Lee Gun then got close to her and grabbed Heiji’s arm. “We don’t have much time. Let’s do this quickly.”
“Uh??!!”
Did he act ignorant all this time while knowing what she wanted from him? Heiji didn’t mind his approach, so she started taking off her outer clothing. “I…I don’t like the location, but if you don’t mind…”
However, she soon screamed.
After pulling on her arm, Lee Gun poured plaster on her hand.
“Ahhk! What the hell are you doing right now?”
“What else? I’m trying to make a model so that I can make you a weapon.”
“What?!!”
“It won’t take me long. Just wait here.”
When Lee Gun lit the kiln, a ferocious heat hit them. It was so hot that one couldn’t help but take off one’s clothes.
Heiji spat fire from her mouth when she saw Lee Gun’s actions. “Hey! Did you think I seduced you to get a weapon out of you?!”
“Uh? You did not?”
Heiji felt her insides boiling. No, she did gain a lot since she had seen Lee Gun without his clothes, but still…!
“Damn it! I don’t need a weapon! I want to be with you… I like you enough that I want to do it with you!”
Finally, Lee Gun’s face turned slightly red. He seemed to have finally realized what was going on.
As this was going on, a monster monitoring them raised an alarm.
[Ahhhk! It’s an emergency! The Celibate Time skill has lost a bit of its effectiveness! We have to place another one on him!!]
A hidden subordinate of Hailey had been monitoring Lee Gun. It screamed as it coughed up blood.
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