Chapter 112

: Vol. 5 – Episode 2 That night.
The party started during the day, but didn’t cool down until late at night.
When the noble heroes started to talk about something other than Sungjin and his girls, Sungjin called his girls to a private room.
There’s something important I want to tell you.

Realizing what Sungjin was about to talk about, the girls became quite. Before the battle against the Golden Wise King Kapitle, Sungjin had told them that he would consider his future with them seriously, so he was about to share his thoughts.
Is he… planning to get married now?
Is he? Is he?
With authority in his voice, he started to tell everyone formally,
I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I’m in Valhalla, and I was able to conquer this continent thanks to your help. It was really thanks to the connection we had.
It was not by himself; it was a result they all had achieved together, so it was more than just a one-on-one loving relationship, which meant he couldn’t talk about the rules from where he was from, to take only one and abandon the rest. He was now able to realize that he had already come too far for that.
When he first arrived in Valhalla, he was just a pro gamer wannabe who was level 0, but now he was the conqueror of the continent, and the girls were counting on him. Some of them had even offered their everything to him.
There was no one who would take the conqueror’s women that he didn’t take. He didn’t want to make anyone unhappy, especially when they had given everything to him, so his responsibility was… not to follow the rules he had on earth but to make all of them happy with his great power.
That was his decision.

Then…
Ereka’s eyes started to shine in expectation. She was not able to react to the word
all
or anything else, since she was a girl from this world, where it was natural for a conquerer to have multiple women, so it didn’t matter how many girls Sungjin would take. She understood that Sungjin wanted to concentrate on the battle and eliminate all causes of destruction, but she felt lonely when he wasn’t around.
Now that you’ve finally conquered the continent…
Other girls thought the same thing.
Is he now planning to get married and have kids?
They were already thinking of marriage, skipping the dating part.
Marriage…
The first…
Our first night…
To be on his arm and become his woman, that was the moment the girls were scared of but waiting for. They felt their hearts pound.

But not now. I need more time.
Sungjin put down his glass. I will take everyone. That was what he had decided, but his body wanted to do it immediately. It always made him excited to have provocative and beautiful girls waiting for him right next to him, but there was something that he had to do first.
To become an Arc Master, I need to conquer the center and the sacred area. Now is not the time.

His fight was far from over, and his fight was something that he had to be all in for. He didn’t know how long it would take or how dangerous it would be. It was a rough path to take the girls he loved down.

Are you going to?

Sungjin opened up to the girls.
I was hesitating.
Should I stop here? I already have people who are counting on me. Maybe going on would be an irresponsible decision to make.
It was his desire to accept the challenge and try. He was not sure if he could drag the girls into danger for his desire and ambition.

But… I had two reasons that made me decide to keep going.


Two reasons…?


First, our continent is better now, but the extras living in the east and the west continent are miserable. What I heard from the sailors was despicable.


Yeah, you are right.


And I have a way to save them, right?

On earth it would have been impossible to have such a grand vision, but in this world, it was possible for him. I have power that might be enough to stop it. Would it be the right thing to do if I leave others in misery and just save my continent?

Second, if I stop, my people will live four hundred years under merciful rulership, but I want to create a world where everyone is respected and treated correctly.

That was his dream: natural human rights.
He was making his continent where people could live happily without abuse. He was able to do it under his rule—at least for four hundred years. But what he wanted was a world where people had natural human rights.
That’s not something I can do, even as a king with absolute power. It was an impossible world where heroes had absolute power while the extras didn’t have any power to fight. It was a world with a structure that made equality impossible, so, in order to change it, he had to become an Arc Master who could change the rules.

You are right. That was what you wanted from the beginning.


… And there’s one more reason.


Another reason?


Above all, knowing that there’s an amazing fight waiting for me, I feel stuck just staying here. I’m sorry, everyone.
He knew it was a reason that might be irresponsible, but he wanted to fight.
Maybe my other reasons are just my excuses to move on to the next challenge.

That was the darkness of Sungjin: his strong desire to fight. He knew that his desire to continue fighting would make the girls unhappy, but he still wanted to go forward to the next challenge.
Looking at Sungjin, Ereka told him with her warm smile,
No, Sungjin. I think I know you. You are not someone who would try to hurt others only for your pleasure.


… Thank you.


And stopping while knowing there are a lot of people that you have to save wouldn’t be you,
said Ereka, holding Sungjin’s hand.
I understand that it wasn’t an easy decision because you need to take care of the people that you saved, but don’t worry about us.
Ereka looked at everyone as if to ask,
don’t all of you agree with me?
Everyone nodded.
We know that you are worried about us, but we want you to pursue your dream and go forward to the next challenge.

Her hand was soft and warm, and her words were even warmer.
Ereka…
Sungjin was extremely impressed by Ereka’s words.
Eustasia added her hand on top of theirs with a bright smile.
I agree. I’m your knight and you are my king. When I made my oath, I told you to fly high, right?


I…


Were you thinking about keeping us here to rule the continent while you headed to the center by yourself?


…

Eustasia knew what Sungjin was thinking, and Sungjin didn’t know how to answer her, because it was his plan. Without him, the order he had established could become chaos again, so he planned to assign the girls as rulers of the continent on his behalf. That was the solution Sungjin had thought of to protect his peoples’ lives and the girls’ safety.

Let’s go to the center and fight.


Me, too! I will join you guys, because I love you all.
Rachel added her hand as well with an innocent smile.
And when we conquer the center, we can cure everyone living in other continents as well as our own. I think that would be the will of the goddess.
The saint told everyone that there would be no discrimination of the goddess’s love among continents.

I am coming, too, where you two are going.
Jenna added her hand, as if she were competing with Rachel.

Hmph. We are already one body and soul, don’t you think?
Zakiya said provocatively, and added her hand.
Sungjin couldn’t find his words for a while due to mixed feelings. He wanted to leave the girls because he knew there were a lot of dangers waiting for him. The center was an unknown territory. He didn’t know what kind of challenges and difficulties were waiting for him.
Until now, the enemies had challenged him, and he had no choice but to fight them because he wanted to protect his girls, but it was different this time. The continent was giving them a stable life. The girls didn’t have to join him in this dangerous challenge.

Thank you everyone.
He wanted to leave them behind but… Sigh… He was grateful that they wanted to join him… and deep inside… he wanted to be with them all. He wanted to leave them, but he also wanted to be with them.
Yeah, we started this together, so let’s stay together until the end.

Sungjin finally made his decision: it wasn’t his responsibility to keep them somewhere safe but to win the fight to thank them all. In fact, it was rather against his responsibilities to tell the girls to stay behind and watch him fight. I will not forget today. I will remember this moment and win this.

Yes!


And when our challenge is over…
Sungjin continued with a strong voice,
we will still be together.
That was the first promise he made, but it was a clear one. He made it clear that he wouldn’t leave them feeling lonely.

Yes!
The girls were happy. It wouldn’t be today, but they didn’t have to worry anymore because Sugnjin had just promised, and Sungjin hadn’t promised it lightly. It had taken a long time for him to think about it, so they could trust his promise and feel comfortable.

Before we go to the center, we need to organize the system and appoint the representative.


Okay.


But tonight, let’s just enjoy.


Sure.

From the first day until now, they had made a lot of memories to talk about, although they were happy to just talk about unimportant things as long as they were together. It didn’t matter to them if the place was just a field under the starlight or the party hall of the emperor.
The next day, Sungjin announced that he would challenge the center. He also announced that he would prepare for six months to organize the system to provide security for the people, and he prepared thoroughly.
The gap between the two social groups is huge. It won’t be possible to keep the order forever when I’m not here.
He was trying hard, but he knew the limits of the situation. I won’t plan something impossible. All I need is time to conquer the center.
Fortunately, it would be possible because his fight against Kapitle had filtered out the good heroes, which would keep the system stable for a while.
And I’ll conquer the center before the system fails and then come back to reorganize the system. It was a fight he couldn’t lose.
It was a fight he shouldn’t start in the first place if he couldn’t win it.
Chapter 1
Six months later Sungjin was standing in front of the door to the center. The door was huge.
The Valkyrie with golden wings stood in front of Sungjin.
[You, the conqueror of the continent.
Gods were watching your victory.
This is the door of challenge that will take you to the center.
Think again before opening the door.
If you stop here, you can stay the ruler of the continent and live a comfortable life.]
He was not a ruler of a country but of a whole continent.
He had loving girls next to him to rule the continent with, and loyal servants and people who praised him. There was nothing he would miss more than living such a great life as an emperor. And four hundred years of youth was guaranteed. No emperor on Earth had such a blessing.
Maybe it would be wise to stop here.
Enough words. I’m going forward,
Sungjin answered clearly but firmly. His eyes still chased the stars beyond this world.
[Okay, but keep that in mind. Beyond this door are strong and legendary opponents who are beyond the level of your continent. If you get stuck on the battlefield, you can’t come back to this continent.]
When trying to fly, one must expect to fall.
So I should keep winning. Open it.

[You can bring only five people with you. Did you make your choice?]

Of course.

Sungjin smiled and looked at his team standing behind him. Ereka, Jenna, Eustasia, Rachel, and Zakiya. They were his closest team members and had a special relationship with him.
He didn’t ask them if any of them wanted to go back because it would be rude to try to reconfirm their decision now.
[Gods watch upon your future.]
The door opened. The bright light welcomed them, and they walked into it. The blinding bright light lasted for a while, and when it was gone, they realized they were standing in a completely different space.