CHAPTER 196: SWORD OF JUSTICE (2)

The street bustled like a marketplace. The Colosseum stood beyond the crowd that filled the street. The iconic landmark in Rome that everyone had heard of at least once showed off its grandeur.

“I thought it’d be something big when you said you had a wish, but you just wanted to hang out in the city together?” Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled at Song Ha-Eun, who excitedly glanced around with sparkling eyes.

After winning the bet, she simply wished to visit downtown together. It was nothing more than a simple request to go on a date and undeserving of being called a grand wish. In addition, it wasn’t just the two of them. Vega and Riarc had tagged along too.

“Well, we didn’t get to have any real fun because of those damn monsters last time.” Song Ha-Eun shrugged and licked the gelato she had just bought.

Just like she said, their trip to San Fruttuoso to rest and relax had been ruined since the very first day. Understandably so, she wanted to make up for that.

“You could’ve just said you wanted to hang out instead of making it a wish. I would’ve come with you,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

Song Ha-Eun laughed it off. “Well, I just needed a bit of an excuse. Don’t worry about it.”

The bet had been half a joke to begin with. She didn’t desperately want anything enough to call it a wish.

Because you’ve already made my wish come true.

Song Ha-Eun lightly hugged Kwon Oh-Jin’s arm and smiled softly. His firm muscles radiated warmth, and his faint vanilla scent put her at ease.

Just being by his side and doing nothing special was the wish she truly longed for.

“What? Were you expecting something naughty when I said I had a wish?” She teasingly grinned and tickled his side.

Perhaps he had actually been thinking of something along those lines since he quickly looked away and cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Hehe. You little perv.”

Song Ha-Eun giggled and squeezed his arm tighter.

Rising slightly on her toes, she whispered like honey into his ear, “You don’t have to wish for stuff like that since I’ll agree to it all.”

Kwon Oh-Jin swallowed dryly.

Gulp.

The desire burning in him ignited like gasoline at her wicked tease. Just as he turned to her with conflicted eyes, Vega came flying toward them.

“My child! My child! Look at this!” Vega snorted in excitement while holding a triple-stacked gelato bigger than herself.

It came from the same shop where Song Ha-Eun had bought hers.

“They said it was on the house and gave me a maaaaassive one!” Vega said.

“So that’s why you were late.”

Cuteness was universal. She ordered the same thing as Song Ha-Eun, but somehow ended up with twice the gelato.

Vega proudly hugged her massive gelato. “Even in this form, it seems my divine aura cannot be hidden!”

She laughed in satisfaction and tilted her chin up.

Kwon Oh-Jin smirked and took the gelato from her.

“Ah!

What are you doing, my child?! That gelato is mine!”

Vega flew over in a panic.

“It’s too big for you to eat like this. I’ll hold it for you so you can eat comfortably,” he said.

Vega cleared her throat, “A-Ahem. Well... thank you.”

A bit flustered and clearly embarrassed at not realizing his thoughtfulness, she perched on top of Kwon Oh-Jin’s hand and began eating her gelato.

“But what about that mutt? What did he have to do so urgently that he suddenly left?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“That’s...”

Kwon Oh-Jin recalled how Riarc had refused to join them and returned to the Sanctum with a bitter expression. After realizing Kwon Oh-Jin had let Song Ha-Eun win, Riarc had looked strangely stiff and anxious.

Should I not have let her win?

Would this not have happened if he had simply overpowered her? If he did that, it would’ve been Song Ha-Eun feeling down and not Riarc.

She’s already been feeling down lately.

Song Ha-Eun’s confidence had taken a hit after seeing how disturbingly fast Kwon Oh-Jin was growing. She even went as far as convincing him to recruit Isabella, who was practically a romantic rival, to stay by his side since she couldn’t protect him alone.

He never expected Riarc to be hit the hardest by his purposeful loss.

I did something unnecessary.

He regretted doing something that would eventually be exposed to Song Ha-Eun anyway.

Vega, munching on her gelato, flew up and perched on his head.

“Do not worry, my child.”

She gently patted his forehead with her tiny hand. “Possessing great power will always influence those around you. You cannot avoid it, nor can you stop it. All you can do is accept it.”

She wore a bittersweet expression. Maybe she, too, had gone through something similar before becoming a North Star Celestial.

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded silently and pressed his lips tightly together.

“What are you two whispering about over there?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“Nothing important.”

“Hmm...”

Narrowing her eyes, Song Ha-Eun glanced at Vega on Kwon Oh-Jin’s head. Then, she burst into a bright smile.

“Anyway! We’re out to have fun, so let’s have fun! Come on, let’s go look around!”

Song Ha-Eun tugged his arm excitedly.

“Hehe. Do you even know how unfair it felt when you went to Italy without me last time?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now stop pulling on me. You’re gonna stretch my shirt.”

He chuckled and followed Song Ha-Eun into the Colosseum.

“Woah... Seeing it in person feels so weird after only seeing pictures of it all my life.” Song Ha-Eun looked around with bright eyes.

Kwon Oh-Jin, Song Ha-Eun, and Vega went on to see St. Peter’s Basilica and the Trevi Fountain, two of Rome's most popular tourist attractions.

“Whoa! This place is massive! It kinda looks like Vega’s temple. Oh-Jin, look! I heard you’re supposed to throw a coin into the fountain and wish for good luck!”

They wandered around Rome for quite a while until Song Ha-Eun suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“Hey, Oh-Jin.”

“Yeah?”

“This isn’t actually that fun.”

Her eyes, once gleaming with excitement at all the sights she had only ever seen in pictures, now contained a hint of boredom.

He nodded as if he’d been thinking the same thing. “Yeah, that’s just what tourism is. At first, it’s all ‘Wow, amazing!’ After a while, it just gets old.”

“Ugh. Playing by the beach was way more fun.” Song Ha-Eun pouted, clearly disappointed.

Spending time with Kwon Oh-Jin was always fun, but wandering around and looking at cultural heritage she had no interest in wasn’t really her thing.

“Wanna just find a nice restaurant and grab some food?” he asked.

“Mmm... I’d rather drink.”

“Then let’s look for a pub.”

He also preferred having some tasty food and drinks rather than looking at another historic landmark.

“Hmm. I, on the other hand, enjoyed seeing the ancient civilizations of humans,” Vega said.

“We can come back another time. We’ll be staying at the Colgrande’s estate for a while.”

“Very well.”

With that, they set off in search of a decent pub. Just then, a scruffy boy around fifteen years old bumped into Song Ha-Eun.

“Sorry,” he mumbled and bowed his head before hurrying off without another glance.

“Ha-Eun, he’s—”

“That damn little kid has got fast hands.”

Song Ha-Eun clicked her tongue as she watched the boy disappear into the distance.

In their brief moment of contact, her wallet had vanished from her pocket. The kid was skilled, but a high-ranking Awakener like Song Ha-Eun would definitely notice.

“Are you just gonna let him go?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

She bitterly smiled and shook her head.

“It’s not like I had much in that wallet anyway.”

Seeing the boy in ragged clothes reminded her of her own childhood with Kwon Oh-Jin. It stirred up some sympathy within her.

“Still, maybe I should catch him and teach him a lesson? Let him know that he shouldn’t do this next time.”

Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head. “Unless you’re planning to get the money back, what’s the point?”

If they weren’t going to take responsibility for the boy’s future, lecturing him now would be meaningless.

It’s not like he’s got any other choices to survive.

Because Kwon Oh-Jin had been desperately poor before, he knew very well that the young boy couldn’t survive other than leeching off of others.

“Let’s just go,” she said.

“Okay.” Kwon Oh-Jin nodded.

Just as he turned to leave, he saw the boy from earlier being dragged back by a young man with tousled brown hair and a gentle impression.

“Agh! I-I’m sorry!”

The young man handed Song Ha-Eun her wallet from the boy’s hand.

“I happened to catch this boy pickpocketing.”

“Ah... thanks.” Song Ha-Eun accepted it with a slightly awkward look.

The young man brightly smiled at her. “I’m glad you got your wallet back.”

The boy began crying and bowing deeply toward the young man. “Hic! I-I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”

With a kind expression, the man gently corrected him. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, right?”

Only then did the boy turn to Song Ha-Eun and bow. “Oh... I-I’m sorry, miss. My mom, she’s really sick... which is why I needed the money. I’m sorry.”

Tears streamed down his dirty cheeks.

Song Ha-Eun looked at him for a moment and pulled out some cash from her wallet.

“I don’t know how much your mom’s medicine costs, but hopefully this helps.”

“Ah...”

The boy took the money and bowed repeatedly.

“You can let go of the kid’s arm now, don’t you think?” Song Ha-Eun said to the young man, who still firmly gripped the boy’s arm.

The man slowly shook his head. “No. This boy has committed a crime. He stole from someone and caused harm.”

“But I got my wallet back—”

“Still, the crime of stealing remains. What he did was wrong,” the man firmly said. “Wrongdoings must be punished.”

“So you’re planning to turn the kid over to the police?”

“Yes. I’ll make sure he receives proper punishment. There’s no need for you to worry.”

She didn’t know exactly how Italy handled juvenile offenders, but one thing was certain. The moment the police got involved, the boy would lose his only way to earn money for his mother’s medicine.

“No, please! If that happens, my mom won’t get her medicine!”

“Then accept your punishment. Once you’re released, find a job and earn money the right way.”

“Where would I even find a job? Even if I did, I wouldn’t make enough in time for her medicine!”

“It can’t be helped,” the young man said with unwavering conviction. “Because this is the right thing to do.”

To take nothing from others, to harm no one, and to work with one’s own strength to righteously earn what one needed. Just as the young man said, that was truly the right thing to do.

Only then did Kwon Oh-Jin realize the young man’s identity.

He was Damian Salvatore, the Sword of Justice, one of the Seven Stars who held the position of the Celestial Boat Star.