Resurrection Chapter 36 - Call me your boyfriend

“That is why I told you in detail what would happen in dungeon number 77, right? If there is anything else you are curious about, ask away. I will answer you with all my heart to the best of my memory.”

“Words are not enough. Give me proof.”

“The most certain proof would be that I know Seo Heesoo’s true nature.”

“True nature?”

“That Seo Heesoo is the one who will destroy the world.”

Bang! I slammed my fist on the table, which was covered with a crisply ironed tablecloth. Min Gongchan did not even bat an eye, but I said with my eyes blazing.

“On what grounds are you spouting such bullshit?”

Min Gongchan sighed as if dealing with someone who could not understand.

“I told you, I saw it.”

He placed the now-empty water glass on the table and added.

“Because I am a regressor.”

👑

Hearing it again, it was a ridiculous and absurd story. I began to suspect that I was wasting my time on a crazy person. Isn’t this bastard the king of attention seekers, a moron who wants other people’s attention even if it means lying?

My thoughts must have been written all over my face, as Min Gongchan let out a hearty laugh.

“You can bring the dead back to life, but you cannot believe that I have regressed?”

“It is because the thing you supposedly saw in the future is Heesoo hyung destroying the world.”

Min Gongchan tapped his fingers on the table, tap, tap, and muttered as if to himself.

“I have always wondered. Why do you trust Seo Heesoo so damn much?”

“Because he is Heesoo hyung. Do you think just anyone can become a Paladin?”

The White Goddess had all-around abilities and a generous heart, so she had a large number of apostles. The number of second and third-class apostles alone reached the thousands, and at one time, almost every healer was a priest or clergyman of the White Goddess.

On the other hand, there were only three first-class apostles, and among them, there was only one Paladin. That was Heesoo hyung, as the White Goddess was quite selective in choosing her first-class apostles.

She only appointed as her representatives those who, in anyone’s eyes, were nothing short of holy and just, so it was no exaggeration to say that God had officially certified Heesoo hyung’s righteousness.

At my unhesitating answer, Min Gongchan retorted without losing.

“That was in the past. Now he is corrupted and has lost the White Goddess’s protection.”

“He regained his abilities…!”

“Even if he did, he is a Berserker. Have you ever thought deeply about what that means?”

I recalled the time when Ulfheðinn had possessed him and hesitated slightly. Not missing that opening, Min Gongchan said.

“Do you know what Paladins and Berserkers have in common? They both do not fear injury or death. If a Paladin overcomes fear with fanatical faith, a Berserker is numb to pain or fear. It is not scary because it does not hurt.”

Suddenly, the image of Heesoo hyung, who had seemed perfectly fine, flashed through my mind. He said he was not prone to divine sickness, but as far as I knew, there was no such constitution. Maybe his body had just become unable to feel pain.

As I kept my mouth firmly shut, Min Gongchan seized the opportunity and poured out his words.

“When your resurrection skill is added to that, he is literally invincible. A Berserker who is not afraid of getting hurt or dying and can be revived as many times as needed. Leveling up is a piece of cake. In fact, in the past… that is, in the past that I know, it does not take Seo Heesoo more than a few months to go from A-rank to S-rank. By clearing dungeon number 77, that dungeon, he easily becomes S-rank.”

A chill went down my spine as Min Gongchan’s words contained the exact plan Heesoo hyung had mentioned. I did not let on that Heesoo hyung was planning to clear dungeon number 77 and said.

“My goal is to make Heesoo hyung max level anyway. Simply Heesoo hyung becoming stronger is not a problem.”

“You are right. If Seo Heesoo reaches max level according to your plan and saves the world, then that would be the case.”

“He will save it. Do you think I chose Heesoo hyung as the savior simply out of personal feelings?”

“Aren’t you?”

At the piercing question, I flinched.

I asked myself if there was any impure motive in choosing Heesoo hyung as the beneficiary of the resurrection skill. The answer came quickly, and I shook my head firmly.

“No. There is a clear reason why I decided to use the resurrection skill only on Heesoo hyung.”

“I know. Because no one else but him would ever agree to your purpose.”

“You know what my purpose is?”

At my words, blurted out in a fit of anger, Min Gongchan answered easily.

“The shutdown of the awakened system and the restoration of Earth to its original state.”

Cold sweat trickled down the back of my chilled neck. What Min Gongchan had just said was a bigger secret than the fact that I had the resurrection skill.

My true goal, which I had confided only to Heesoo hyung.

The reason why I intended to have him reach max level and kill the Black King.

“You must be thinking that only Seo Heesoo, by repeatedly undergoing the ordeal of dying and being reborn to reach max level, can kill the Black King and drive out the gods. To end the awakened system and return the Earth to how it was before.”

“……”

“There is no way the other awakened beings, aside from Seo Heesoo, would agree to this plan. Because the awakened, who think of themselves as a chosen new humanity, would never wish for the Earth to regress to the old era.”

Feeling as if I had been hit where it hurts, I did not open my mouth rashly. My mind was in a turmoil with various thoughts.

How on earth does Min Gongchan know my plan? Is he really a regressor from the future?

Just then, breaking the tense silence, the food we had ordered arrived. It was aglio e olio cooked with real clams, garlic, and olive oil, and a rack of lamb steak from a sheep that had actually grazed on grass.

The aroma itself was different, but neither I nor Min Gongchan could bring ourselves to touch the food rashly. I swallowed not saliva, but dry spit, and managed to open my mouth.

“Stop with the nonsense and get to the point. You said Heesoo hyung will destroy the world, but Heesoo hyung is not that kind of person. Above all, there is no reason for him to do so.”

I thought that no one, not just Heesoo hyung, would have a reason to destroy the world. Even people who vaguely think that since they are ruined, the whole world might as well be ruined, would not be able to rashly press the world destruction button if it were in their own hands.

Heesoo hyung, setting aside my purpose, was someone who had agreed to defeat the Black King. From his days as a Paladin, he had constantly strived to kill the Black King, and he took the fact that the world would be destroyed the moment that bastard awakens seriously.

How could such a person, in what way, go wrong and destroy the world?

Facing me, who was staring at him as if to say, ‘go on, explain,’ Min Gongchan spoke.

“Reason? There is one.”

Just as I was about to press him for what that reason was, Min Gongchan cut me off and uttered the words.

“Because he loves you.”

I doubted my own ears.

I do not know what I just heard. Did I get water in my ear? Was I hearing things or was that tinnitus?

Not understanding what Min Gongchan had said, I asked back.

“What?”

Min Gongchan said something even more ridiculous than the fact that he was a regressor.

“Seo Heesoo destroys the world because he loves you.”

I let out a short snort, “Ha!”

It was so absurd it was funny. A story about the destruction of the world suddenly turned into a love story. No matter how great love is, I did not know it was great enough to destroy the world. No, that is only when love actually exists.

I suddenly felt a sense of futility.

Min Gongchan must be suffering from a serious mental illness. I can understand, since this is a crazy world with so many crazy people. I just felt it was a waste of time to have listened to his words seriously and even lied to Heesoo hyung.

At the same time, the food placed in front of me caught my eye. I picked up a fork and knife, cut the lamb chop, scrape scrape scrape, and put a large piece in my mouth. The juices, combined with the seasoning, filled my mouth with happiness. It was a taste incomparable to cultured meat.

Feeling sad that meat had now become a delicacy that could only be tasted at such an expensive restaurant, I said.

“It is a delicious meal for a change, it would be a waste to let it get cold, so eat. You are the one paying, so you should at least taste it.”

Even seeing me suddenly talk about food, Min Gongchan continued undeterred.

“It may be hard for you to believe now, but it is true. Seo Heesoo, who was saved from the demon’s den by you, regained his life’s purpose through you, and became the savior of the world by reaching max level through you, betrays you in the final moment. Just for the reason that you do not love him, he swallows the Black King and becomes destruction himself.”

“You must have watched a lot of comics back in the day, huh? That is quite a dramatic development.”

“Things turned out that way because you denied Seo Heesoo’s feelings until the very end. You missed the chance to set things right because you ignored the very fact that he loves you.”

“Ha, say something that makes sense. Then I might be able to affirm it. Heesoo hyung is a man, and I am a man, so what does that even mean?”