The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 182

Dalgeurak- Dalgeurak-

On the large table, various high-end dishes and precious wine were being filled.

It was the result of Raven mobilizing all the members of her organization at Lee Shin's single word to eat first.

"Oppa, do you like it?"

"Yes, it all looks delicious."

On top of that, the fact that there was a lot of it was important.

Although his efficiency had improved with [High-Speed Recovery], his body was in a terrible state due to the combination of the wounds he had sustained in the fight with Raven and the rebound from deactivating [Mad Dragon].

Even if it was impossible to fully recover, he needed to eat a lot of anything right now to raise his body condition to a level where he could at least move to some extent.

Lee Shin lightly patted Raven's head as if to say she had done well.

"Hehe…"

At that, Raven accepted Lee Shin's touch with a happy expression.

-Surprisingly, you two seem to be getting along quite well already.

'Although it was an impulsive statement made due to the aftereffects of sharing her abilities and memories, since I said I would treat her as family, at least on the outside, I have to do this much.'

Normally, he might have ignored it, thinking that the deceived person was the foolish one, or just thought of it as getting a new toy.

But this time, it was difficult for Lee Shin to just let it go.

Because the word 'family' had that much of a great meaning to him.

'I don't know if I can fulfill what she wants, but I have to at least make a minimum effort.'

Lee Shin thought that and looked at Raven, who was purring at his touch.

"By the way, so you were the boss of this organization."

"Yes, just as you said, oppa."

Raven said that and looked at Lee Shin's hand that had fallen from her head with a disappointed expression.

"When I fell into this place through the dungeon, the first people I met were them. I didn't think much of it at first, but it was annoying that they were trying to pull a fast one on me, so I'm just controlling the leadership with mental magic using the jewel as a medium."

Raven, as if she were happy to be talking with Lee Shin, told him all sorts of trivial things that he hadn't even asked, unlike how she had been speaking in one-word answers until now.

-It's like a child who has come back from kindergarten, clinging to their parent and chattering away.

'Well, since she's a kid who made a contract like this with me because she wanted a family's love, it's natural. But how do you know that when you don't even have a child?'

-I saw it in an anime while you were sleeping. It was quite informative.

At Irehgue's answer, Lee Shin just let it go.

Because for him, it was much better for Irehgue to establish his own personality like this.

"But you're controlling the leadership?"

"Yes, oppa. That's right."

"Then did you also order them to kidnap people?"

"Th, that's…"

At Lee Shin's surprise question, Raven's eyes wavered with anxiety.

Seeing that, Lee Shin nodded his head as if to say it was okay.

"It's fine. I'm not asking to scold you, but just because I'm purely curious. Even if you did something with some malicious intent, I won't blame you."

He was serious.

Lee Shin had promised to play the role of a family for her, and to him, a family was a being that would extend a hand kindly and confidently even when everyone else was blaming and pointing fingers at him.

'In the first place, I already have a splendid track record, so it's not like I can say anything to her.'

"Yes, I ordered them to bring them. But I sent them back quietly after I was done with my business."

Perhaps because she believed Lee Shin's words, Raven said in a low voice.

"What was your business?"

"To find out information about this place by looking at people's memories, and… to find out something I've been personally curious about."

"What was it that you were curious about?"

At Lee Shin's words, Raven raised her head and looked at him intently, then said.

"I was curious about what a normal family is like, oppa."

"…So you brought it with the intention of using it like that from the beginning?"

"Yes, that's right, oppa. Although the family seemed to think I had taken it for effective information gathering."

Lee Shin nodded his head slightly.

Although he had looked through all of Raven's memories through the jewel, at that time, he hadn't thought that the situation would turn out like this, so he had mainly looked at the key information.

So naturally, he was ignorant of such circumstances.

Lee Shin nodded his head, thinking that he would have to look at Raven's memories in a corner of his mind again later.

'By the way…'

Lee Shin said, looking at Raven.

"…Can you reduce the use of the word 'oppa' a little?"

He didn't know if it was because of her lack of affection, but the current Raven was putting the word 'oppa' in almost every sentence, as if it were a habit.

It was to the point where he suspected that she might be trying to instill the thought in him by continuously making him hear the word 'oppa'.

"Ah…"

"Sigh, no. Just call me whatever you want."

But as Raven looked at him like a puppy that had had its bone taken away, Lee Shin had no choice but to sigh and withdraw his words.

-Kuhuhu, this is surprising. That regressor woman would be surprised to see you being so obedient.

'Hah, it was a mistake to say I would see all her memories.'

Perhaps because of the influence of seeing Raven's memories, the current Lee Shin was feeling her not as someone he had met for the first time today, but as someone he had known since he was young.

And judging by her actions so far, it was probably the same for Raven.

-You chose this yourself. Endure it with grit and determination.

Irehgue, who was on Lee Shin's head, said in a voice mixed with laughter, and Lee Shin put food in his mouth with a contemplative expression.

Even while talking, he had been mechanically moving his hands, so the mountain of food had at some point revealed its bottom.

And soon, the moment the food was completely gone.

"Hmm, alright. I think it's time to change the subject. And it would be good to change the place too."

"Oppa?"

Raven, who couldn't understand Lee Shin's sudden words, looked at him blankly.

At that, Lee Shin waved his hand lightly as if to say not to worry, and then took out his phone from his pocket.

◎ ◎ ◎

Dureureu- Dureureu-

Crowley, who was lightly rotating a beaker containing a dangerous-looking green liquid, reached out his empty hand and answered the phone when it rang.

He didn't bother to turn his eyes to check who was calling.

Because he didn't need to look at the screen to know the identity of the self-centered human who would call at the crack of dawn, ignoring the owner's circumstances.

-Hmm? You answered faster than I thought.

"Judging by your words, it seems you know that calling at dawn is rude."

At Crowley's prickly voice, Lee Shin on the other end of the phone answered with a chuckling voice.

-Hey, don't be so annoyed. I also called at this time because I had my own conviction.

"What conviction are you talking about?"

Lee Shin answered as if it were obvious.

-Of course, the conviction that you would be up all night doing research.

"Uhm…"

At Lee Shin's words, Crowley closed his mouth as if his weakness had been poked.

And for good reason, Crowley was currently up all night, continuing his research and experiments, just as Lee Shin had said.

"Hoo, staying up late like this is bad for your skin."

"Ugh, is it because I pulled an all-nighter after a long time? I feel like my body is drooping. I think I used to be fine for up to two days before."

On top of that, he had even mobilized his two disciples.

Crowley looked at his two disciples, who were being ground down by various experiments behind him, for a moment, and then turned his eyes back to the beaker he was holding.

"So what's the reason you called? And before that, I'd appreciate it if you could explain why you left, saying you were just going for a walk, and haven't come back until now."

-What, are you worried about me or something?

"Yes."

At Lee Shin's playful question, Crowley answered in a serious voice.

-I'm worried about what kind of trouble you might have caused.

Crowley's voice, as he said that, was full of sincerity.

Although it had been less than a day, Crowley could understand why Cheon Yuhwa had been so careful when dealing with Lee Shin.

It was Crowley's thought now that he wouldn't be this anxious even if he had let a child loose in a military secret area.

-I haven't caused you any trouble, have I? Your trust in me seems to be at rock bottom.

"I saw the video of you rampaging on the internet very well."

-Ah, then I have nothing to say.

Lee Shin had jumped into the front lines of various countries using the artifact Crowley had made, slaughtered monsters, and saved people, and in all those places, he had caused big and small accidents, thereby imprinting his existence on people.

Crowley recalled the data that had organized the accidents Lee Shin had committed.

13 cultural heritages destroyed, 8 natural landscapes destroyed, 31 buildings collapsed, and countless misdemeanors such as swearing and assault against people.

It was a result that could be believed even if he had said he had gone around causing trouble, not to deal with monsters.

-I was just diligently catching monsters.

"Hah, you were too diligent."

Since he had seen how crazily Lee Shin had fought in the video, Crowley also just acknowledged that part and moved on.

"So why did you call me?"

-Ah, it's nothing much, something came up, so I think I'll be out of touch with Cheon Yuhwa's side for a while. I called to let you know that.

"…What did you say?"

Because Lee Shin had said it so nonchalantly, Crowley momentarily suspected that he had misheard something.

At that, Lee Shin confirmed that Crowley had not misheard with a kind voice.

-I'm going on vacation for about a month, so tell them not to look for me.

"…Hoo, alright. Let's put those guys aside. Then what are you going to do with the guys you left with me? Are you going to tell them so insincerely too?"

Crowley, in his own way, extended a hand to stop Lee Shin's rampage.

-Yes, it will probably be like that. Ah, it's fine. It's not the first or second time I've done this, so those guys will probably just click their tongues or swear and readily accept it.

In fact, the word 'give up' was more appropriate than 'accept', but Lee Shin intentionally ignored that thought.

At Lee Shin's words, Crowley turned his head and looked at Lee Hyunyoung, who had at some point stuck close to his side and was listening to the content of the phone call.

As he questioned her with his eyes whether this was true, Lee Hyunyoung nodded her head as if it probably was, agreeing with Lee Shin's words.

-And considering that they're helping you, it's not a loss for you either.

"It's not a loss, but it's not a big gain either. At most, it's just that the number of artifacts I can experiment with in a day increases by a few."

-Huh? What do you mean by that?

Lee Shin, who had detected something strange in Crowley's words, stopped talking for a moment and then opened his mouth again.

-When I wasn't there, how did you experiment?

At that, Crowley told him one by one how he had proceeded with the experiment today and what they were doing now.

-You were deceived by them.

And Lee Shin dismissed Crowley's explanation with a single word.