Chapter 190

Chapter 190

"Eugene's not running away?"

Choi Yeon asks, shaking her head when she sees me standing still.

"I'm afraid you might be serious."

"What? I shouldn't be serious?"

I sighed as she shook her head, as if it didn't matter if she really was serious.

"I mean, what's the point of an Awakened going all out against a bunch of seven-year-olds? I'm just asking you to play, like, catch and release. Let them get away with it."

"Ah."

She nodded, finally understanding after all this explanation.

"Okay. Slowly. Right?"

"Yeah. You can do that, right?"

"Yeah."

She nods assuredly, and I move away.

"Oh, Eugene."

"What?"

"Do I have to be serious when I catch you?"

"Me?"

I wanted to tell her to catch me with all his might, but realizing once again that this was the Blue House, I nodded and said.

"Just enough so that you don't hurt the surrounding grass."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

I nodded, realizing that if we messed up this garden, we'd be in trouble.

"Close your eyes and start a ten-second count."

"Okay. 10...... 9......."

As she begins to count slowly, I look around anxiously.

It's an empty lot with few places to hide and I sigh as I stare at a place where only a child could hide.

'Guess I'll be the one being chased after all.'

"0...... going."

She finished counting, and a gust of wind blew through the garden.

"Yay......!"

I tell her not to go full speed, and she starts chasing me at a breakneck pace.

"You'll ruin the grass if you run like that!"

"No, I'm being careful."

"What?!"

I look at the grass she's treading on, dodging her attacks as she lunges at me with all her might.

She has a thin layer of aura around her, minimizing the impact on the ground.

Surely that would prevent her from digging a hole in the ground with each step or lunge.

"So, that's how it works?"

I focus my aura on my toes, trying to keep them as straight as possible.

The fluff underfoot made me feel like a cat. It's a small change, but the results are dramatic.

I was able to react faster and move more freely in the moment.

"How did you do that?"

"Have you forgotten who I am?! I'm the heir to the Aura Formula!"

I had already learned how to make my aura slimmer from Kwak Chun-sik so applying it was a piece of cake.

What I must do now, is not run, but evade.

As I'm diligently backing away, dodging the hands that are constantly reaching out to grab me.

"Aaah! Sister and brother are playing!"

"Cheesy! Cheesy!"

The two children who had been hiding behind the bushes came out with their cheeks puffed out and glared at us.

"Jiyun, let's play!"

"Yes, Yeon-ah!"

They looked at us, talking to each other as if they'd gotten to know each other in the bushes.

But they were strangely motionless for a group of kids who were talking about playing amongst themselves, so I sneaked a glance at Choi Yeon and said quietly.

'......go get the kids now.'

'Now?'

'I'm signaling for you to chase them now, but not as fast as you were just now, slowly, like you're going to catch them!'

'Yeah.'

Eventually, Choi Yeon turns away from me and runs towards the kids.

The kids, who had been pretending to be pouting, let out a squeal and started running across the lawn.

'Choi Yeon, scare them off!'

I don't say anything, I just follow the kids around like a pervert!

Luckily, she hears my shout and looks back at the kids and opens her mouth.

"Yeah......you're going to catch them all?"

"I'm catching them all, but Yeon-ah is running away!"

"Gah~!"

It seems that it's easier to play with children this way.

While watching the three children running around excitedly, I cautiously step behind them.

Okay, if I leave quietly, they'll get tired of running by themselves, right?

I must have watched them run for 10 minutes or so.

"Gotcha."

Eventually, the game ended with Choi Yeon hugging both of them at the same time.

"Hehehe......."

"Haha......."

The kids were sweating profusely and smiling from ear to ear.

As Choi Yeon watches, amazed at the new realization that she doesn't know how, but is better at playing with them than she thought.

"Eugene, I think this is training to pace myself. I'm on to something."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the genius of this newfound realization, even while playing games with the kids.

How the hell does one learn something new by playing with seven-year-olds?

Monster was definitely the right name for her.

It was then.

"Oh, you're having fun, aren't you?"

-Hiccup.

A familiar voice accompanied the sound.

Turning around I see that Kwak Chun-sik with his face a little redder than usual, was out here with Choi Sun-ho and the president, who had his head down.

"......Your name?"

"Eh."

How much has this guy been drinking?

"Aren't you supposed to be unable to get drunk by using aura? Get a grip."

"If that's the case, why are you drinking? Hiccup! Isn't that right, Choi?"

"Eeeeeee. That's right, that's right. Even the president drinks, so how can you use such a trick?"

"Ughhh. Ughhh."

The three of them had been away for so long that they were almost in a daze.

"......Grandfather?"

"Uhhh? Aaah. My sweet granddaughter. Choi Yeon-yi. Yeon-i. Yeon."

"Have you been drinking a lot......?"

"A little, very little!"

Why is it that whenever I get together with a group of people who are all drinking, they all get all high?

He told me that the last time he had a drinking party, it went crazy, so I could understand why.

It's just that these guys have fun with it.

"I just saw that. That looked like fun...... hiccup, why don't you join us?"

Kwak Chun-sik suddenly made a strange suggestion to us.

"I want us to play with the old man, is that okay?"

"I'm in! Me too!"

Choi Sun-ho suddenly raises his hand to join in.

"Hey. President's brother. You too?"

But Kang Sang-rok's hand is weak from the alcohol compared to the other two, and he falls to the ground in a heap.

"Eing...... tsk tsk. You're still a young bastard...... enough! Just the two of us!"

In the end, it's just the two of them, as the president declares himself a no-show.

"You two have your fun, then, and we'll take a break."

A drunken game of tag against the world's strongest senior citizens?

What better way to kill yourself?

Choi Yeon shook her head in disinterest, and Choi Sun-ho, who was watching, smiled wryly.

"Too bad. I was going to give you a gift if you survived the game."

"You mean......?"

A gift that Choi Sun-ho was so confident about?

"That's right. Not a gift from anyone else, but a gift from the Sword Saint. Are you interested, Corleone child?"

If he's going to talk like that, I can't help but be intrigued.

"If the Sword Saint is willing to say so, it can't be ordinary. That bet. I'll take it."

"Eugene, are you really going to mess with my grandfather?"

"Because it's a good opportunity."

It was a drunken Sword Saint, not the usual sober Sword Saint so the odds are in my favor.

"......I'll do it if Eugene does it."

"You're in?"

"Yeah. If Eugene is confident enough to do it, it's possible."

"Okay, since there are two of us, let's set the rules right away. Me and Chun-sik will only move with one foot. If our other foot touches the ground, or if we don't catch you within 10 minutes, we lose. On the other hand, if we catch you within that time, it's our victory."

-Hiccup.

They raise a foot at the same time, as if trying to coordinate their movements.

"We are ready to-."

"Are you-?"

A bunch of drunken old men running toward us it's like something out of a horror movie, but in reality, it's even scarier.

One is an Aura Master and the other is the so-called Sword Saint.

"The oldest."

"Yeah."

"They help each other in times of danger."

"Yeah."

Suddenly, the distant president, holding the children up so they wouldn't get caught, raised his hand to the sky.

"Shijiazhuang!"

──Bang!

With a sound that spurred the air, the two figures disappeared.

"Scatter!"

If we stayed together, we would only be pinched by the two old men.

We chose to split up, and as expected, the two old men pounced on us one by one.

"Hahahaha, I've always wondered what kind of skill the little Corleone brat has."

It must have been a sneaky 'catch', but for some reason, Choi Seon-ho made a clenched fist and sent a punch toward me.

"What's with the fist?"

"Do you think I don't have control over my strength?"

"No, that's not the point──."

True to his word, he threw a moderately controlled punch, but I could hear the air popping from the tip of his fist as it grazed my cheek.

"If you had hit me, I would have been stunned at the very least!"

"Then you lose!"

This madman has no control over his drink.

"Now, what are you going to do, you're going to get caught!"

The second punch was swung at me.

"I have a way!"

Apparently, the only rules set are that we can't be caught by them for 10 minutes or their other feet can't touch the ground.

Which means.

───Quang!

That means it's okay to use weapons!

"Hahahahaha, that's hot!"

Even though it was a shotgun fired from very close range, Sword Saint blocked it with a smile on his face.

He truly lives up to his name and his physical abilities are monstrous.

But more importantly, his body was pushed back by the impact of the shotgun.

I fired a second magazine at his knee.

'I'm going to make his foot touch the ground on impact, will it work?!'

But his knee deflects the round; however I'm already running away.

"You're using the recoil from the ...... bullet to get away? Ha, that's a brilliant use of it."

Anyway, I don't have any tricks up my sleeve right now so my best bet is to run as fast as I can and look for an opening.

Still holstering my shotgun, I pulled out my Tommy and blindly fired a barrage of bullets to buy time but Sword Saint didn't seem to mind, soaking up every bullet with his bare body as he ran toward me.

It was a terrifying sight.

"If this is all you had to do to stop me, I'm disappointed......."

"Then be disappointed in yourself."

I had already closed the distance between me and her.

"Choi Yeon!"

"I'm ready!"

At my shout, she stretches her hands in front of her, ready to take on Kwak Chun-sik.

He laughs in disbelief at my maneuver, when I should normally be running away.

"What, are you giving up...... huh?"

But

"Grandpa~!"

The thing I picked up touches Kwak Chun-sik's back, and at the same time, Kwak Chun-sik's body stiffens.

"Yeon-ah?"

"Ew! Grandpa's alcohol smell, I hate it!"

He panics when he sees Yeon-ah grimacing while clinging to his back.

At the same time, like a baseball player sliding toward the base, Choi Yeon, still holding onto Kwak Chun-sik's leg, pulls his leg downward with all her might.

"Now, wait!"

─Pop.

Kwak Chun-sik had a puzzled expression on his face but his one leg finally fell to the ground.