BXBX NOVEL Book 1, Epilogue 15 - I like you (1)
The Zodiac Crab was known as Cancer, and it was the one that had tried to kill the great hero Hercules. It was Karkinos’s constellation.
Cancer was a constellation located in a place where the days were shorter. So it was accompanied by the image of Death.
Anyway, the Constructs of the Cancer temple were surprised by the words of their master.
[Your opinion on Lee Gun has worsened.]
[Master, didn’t you like Lee Gun not too long ago?]
“I thought he might be of help to us. I never liked him.”
[Then…]
“That person is slowly becoming a threat to our abilities.”
[…!]
The Zodiac Saint of the Cancer temple, Jean-Louis, had infiltrated the human camp under the orders of the monarch Time.
It was possible because the Cancer Zodiac was a fallen evil god. A transaction had taken place where the Zodiac had chosen Jean-Louis as its Zodiac Saint for a price.
In the future, the evil gods related to Yooha’s arms would become good negotiation partners for the unknown civilization.
Anyway, Jean-Louis was truly the leader overseeing the Cancer temple. He was called the best strategist among the twelve Zodiac Saints. However, Lee Gun worried him. It was for no other reason.
- Lee Gun! He once again saved a sealed-off city!
- Is anything impossible for him?!
- Lee Gun doesn’t know the definition of defeat. His fans are increasing in number all over the world!
“Lee Gun is very popular with the people.”
[Yes… He suffers more injuries because he doesn’t have a Zodiac. However, this works in his favor as it pulls at the heartstrings of the people.]
[We are fortunate that he doesn’t have a Zodiac or the Faith of the humans might have headed toward his Zodiac.]
Jean-Louis furrowed his brows. While Faith might be a problem…
“Lee Gun is too good at killing monsters.”
[Yes. He truly has the requirements needed to become the perfect hero. Wasn’t that supposed to be helpful to your plan?]
[To gather money, you needed someone to take on the role of a star…]
Jean-Louis snorted. Lee Gun was supposed to be helpful to his plan?
“That’s been a bit nebulous in recent days.”
It was unclear if this was intentional or not, but Lee Gun was recently killing all the monsters related to Jean-Louis’s plan, causing him losses. Of course, these losses weren’t significant, but they bothered Jean-Louis.
‘Also, the other Zodiac Saints are starting to follow him a bit too much.’
“The ones supposed to be useful in bolstering our power are starting to develop positive feelings toward Lee Gun. It isn’t a good development.”
He was referring to Kevin, Stevens, and Heiji. They were quite powerful, so they were supposed to be useful to his plan in many ways.
The Constructs gulped when they read his expression.
[Then there is the incident with the Capricorn temple. The Capricorn temple was a good source of income, but the incident with Lee Gun might decrease the influence of the Capricorn Saint…]
This Construct was referring to the incident from a couple of days ago, when Lee Gun had humiliated the Capricorn Saint at a hotel.
[Who would have expected his manufacturing ability to be better than the Capricorn Saint’s?]
[Stevens is their greatest source of income, yet he’s now trying to move toward Lee Gun.]
The Cancer temple supplied weapon ingredients illegally and received a cut in return.
[Is it ok to leave Lee Gun alone when we are taking losses like this?]
Jean-Louis let out a subtle smile. “I heard those who fly too high toward the sun don\'t survive for long.”
[What?]
Jean-Louis merely shrugged as he turned around. “It’s nothing. Lee Gun hasn’t overstepped his bounds yet, but we do need to keep an eye on him.”
Jean-Louis’s eyes turned sharp like the eyes of a monster. “If he does overstep his bounds, it’ll be a different story.”
* * *
At that time…
“Ooh-ahhhhhh!!!”
Hugo let out a blood scream as Lee Jaewon’s mouth fell open.
“Oh. It moved!”
Hugo was currently arm-wrestling Lee Gun.
Lee Gun smirked as he looked at the red-faced Hugo. “Good. You moved it around 0.05 degrees.”
As soon as he let go, Hugo despaired. “Ahhhk!! I can’t believe this is all I can do! I couldn’t even move Teacher’s arm by five degrees…!!!”
“It’s because you’re incompetent.”
“Ahhhk!! Teacher finally taught me the way, so why?!” Hugo could barely say anything as we wailed.
On the other hand, Lee Gun was grinning inside. It looked as if Hugo had made no progress, but that wasn’t the case.
‘When he fights the others, he’ll feel the difference in power.’
Oblivious to this fact, Hugo despaired. “I can’t let this be! At this rate, I’ll be a nuisance to you, Teacher!”
Lee Gun furrowed his brows when Hugo brought up this subject again. After going missing(?) for a couple of days, Hugo had returned as a slightly(?) changed man.
“Teacher!! You will become someone big in the future…!!!”
“He’s talking nonsense again.”
The cause was unknown, but Hugo now kept saying things that didn’t make sense. For example…
“Teacher will become someone much bigger!”
“Oh! Is that so? What will I become?”
“Uh. I have no idea!”
“What?’
“I can’t remember it, but I’m sure you will become someone amazing, Teacher!!! That’s why I want you to marry me!”
“Damn it! What the hell is he talking about? He’s acting like the time when we first met!! Did he lose his memory?”
“I’m fine! This time, I acquired a potion that’ll change your sex!! It’ll all work out if you use this, Teacher! Here!”
“You want to die!!!”
It could be a side effect of Oblivion’s skill. Hugo’s memories were mixed up, and he was acting strange.
Lee Gun had a tough time making Hugo come to his senses.
‘Which asshole made him like this?’
He would kill the culprit if he found out who did it.
Of course, the 1,000% increase in Faith started to fade away after a couple of days, and Hugo returned to normal.
“As expected, something is off about him.”
Lee Gun asked Hugo where he had gone, but Hugo said he couldn’t remember.
“I’ll give you a shoulder massage! You haven’t been feeling well in recent days. You seem stressed out. A bald path is forming near your forehead— Kuh-huhk!!”
“You don’t have to say such unnecessary things.”
“Ah! I learned physical therapy and physiotherapy for you, Teacher. I’m sure it’ll be of great help to you.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Lee Gun found this development quite convenient, so he let Hugo work on his shoulders.
‘I know that the stress on my body increases as I use my abilities, but…’
In the past, he just had to go to sleep, and he would wake up feeling recovered. But recently, there was no recovery. In fact, he felt worse.
In reality, Lee Gun’s body was getting damaged bit by bit. Of course, Lee Gun didn’t worry about it too much at this point.
‘It won’t get in the way of me killing the monsters.’
It was all that mattered.
‘I have to find that fog monster so that I can find Yeonwoo’s corpse.’
That was Lee Gun’s only wish.
During the manual therapy, Lee Gun started feeling great pain when an out-of-position bone was manipulated.
Seeing this, a worried Hugo asked, “Are you ok? I know you’ve been destroying facilities related to Mr. Jean-Louis. Are you sure you aren’t picking an unnecessary fight with a Zodiac Saint?”
Lee Gun furrowed his brow. “Something is fishy about that Crab bastard.”
“…!”
While none of the Zodiac Saints were to Lee Gun’s liking, a couple of them smelled dangerous. Jean-Louis was one of them.
‘It bothers me that he tried to use Jaewon.’
“It feels as if he’s merely trying to make money using monsters. That’s why you can’t go easy on him either. I’m also acting as if it’s a coincidence that I’m interfering with his plan.”
“Uh. What do you want me to do with them?”
“What?”
Instead of answering, Hugo pointed out the living room window.
Unexpectedly, Heiji and Hailey were standing across from each other, and an odd air was present between the two of them.
“Mmm… Did you not hear what I just said?” Heiji let out a bright smile as she looked at the beautiful woman facing her. “If you didn’t, I’ll say it again. Get out of my way.”
Hailey was barring Heiji’s path, without a single ounce of mirth in her eyes. “Why should I comply?”
Heiji became angry at Hailey’s prompt reply. Hailey was a cold-blooded witch who had no interest in men. So why was she being like this?
Heiji had a beautiful smile on her lips, but murderous intent emanated from her face. “Do you understand me? I’m not here for you. I have business with the man inside that place.”
“That’s quite the coincidence. I have business with him too.”
The smile on Heiji’s face vanished.
The two of them were well aware of what the other wanted. But something didn’t make sense for both women.
“Hailey, you’ve never shown interest in men. Why don’t you do as you’ve always done? Go play with your monstrous subordinates.”
“What about you? Why don’t you put flowers in your hair and go play with your fairies in the flower garden?”
What did this bitch say? Heiji didn’t lose her elegance as she became angry. She couldn’t understand why Hailey was acting this way.
Hailey was extremely popular with the male Zodiac Saints. Aside from Kevin and Jean-Louis, all the rest had hit on her. However, she lived up to her nickname as the ice princess.
She ruthlessly turned them down and didn’t even treat them as if they were human. It was as if she had no interest in humans.
‘Was I mistaken?’
It didn’t matter in the end. While they were comrades, there was no reason to be nice if they were rivals.
So Heiji laughed as she asked, “Are you interested in him?”
Hailey flinched when she felt the murderous intent. She looked at Heiji.
Heiji laughed. She seemed to have extracted some meaning from Hailey’s silence. “Yes. There is no way. There is no way you are interested in him—”
However, Heiji’s eyes flashed when she saw the look in Hailey’s eyes.
Heiji, who had her arms crossed, raised her finger. She made a sign that would summon the fairy monarch that possessed the greatest firepower!
Hailey also wagged her finger.
Kwahng!!!! An explosion erupted outside the lodging. The lodging had a defensive barrier placed over it, so it didn’t suffer much.
The two women started brawling against each other. The magician Heiji used telekinesis to raise and throw items, while Hailey used her sword energy to destroy the items thrown at her.
In the end, Hugo screamed when he saw the mess taking place outside. “Ahhk! Teacher! Stop the two of them!”
“Why would I do that? If you want to stop them, you have to do it. They are your guests, right?”
“You’re right. What??!!” Hugo looked at Lee Gun, dumbfounded. “Why are they my guests? Of course, they are your guests, Teacher!!”
“Idiot. If you’re so oblivious, you won’t be able to get married. It’s why that perverted woman keeps sending you gifts. You should have taken care of it immediately.”
“What?? Sophie-nim? I received nothing?!”
“Of course. I sent them all back to the sender.”
“?!!”
Lee Gun cackled as he thought of the gifts sent by Sophie that he had ripped open. The Saintess had even written scandalous hand-written letters.
So Lee Gun and Jaewon had filled the envelopes with bugs before sending them back.
“We sent her presents of rejection in your stead so that you don’t have to worry about it.”
“What?! What did you send her?”
“You don’t need to know that. Anyway, you should choose between those two beautiful women. There is no way you’ll choose that bedwetter.”
Lee Jaewon, who was eating a rice ball next to Lee Gun, was in a predicament.
‘Would it be better if I tell him the truth?’
No matter how Jaewon cut it, it seemed Heiji and Hailey liked Lee Gun. However, he stopped himself, because it would be too much work. Lee Jaewon continued to eat his rice ball.
Kwahng!!!
In the end, the fight wasn’t resolving itself. Heiji burst through the smoke as she appeared in front of Lee Gun. Her magician robe outfit had a thigh slit, and her confident walk was very beautiful.
“Lee Gun! Would you like to team up with me? I received a big commission from Russia! You received it too, right?”
When Heiji grabbed Lee Gun’s arm, Hailey rushed up from behind and grabbed Heiji by her arm. “Heiji! I’ll team up with you!”
Heiji was dumbfounded. “Hey. I wasn’t talking to you!”
At the same time, Hugo had a realization. “Ah! Is that why the two of you are here? Because of the commission sent by Russia?”
In the future, this commission would be known as a legendary raid. It would be dubbed the great raid of Russia.
Anyway, Russia was vast and dangerous. So even the independent Zodiac Saints tried to form a team of two.
Lee Gun scratched his head. “It would be great to have support there. I’ve thought about it, and it could be great to have someone who could place a buff on us…”
Both Hailey and Heiji grabbed Lee Gun’s arm.
“I’ll do it!”
“I’ll do it!”
The two women glared at each other.
“You’re a thief Zodiac Saint, Hailey. You’re far from being someone who can fill the role of support.”
“What about you? You’re better at breaking things than being a support, right?”
Hugo groaned when he saw this. “Ah! Excuse me… For your information, I’m going in his stead to the raid… Teacher is injured right now…”
Heiji was surprised. “What? You’re the weakest among us. Have you lost your mind? Do you realize how dangerous that place is? You’ll die immediately!” Heiji shook her head. She looked at Hugo as if she was worried about him.
Lee Gun patted Hugo and Heiji on the shoulder as if he understood what was going on. “Yes. I’ll go with Jaewon. The two of you should team up since you guys are interested in each other.”
Heiji grabbed Lee Gun as if he were talking nonsense. “What are you talking about? I’m interested in you!”
Lee Gun’s eyes turned round.