All My Murim Noonas Are Obsessed With Me!-Chapter 109 - 2 Centimeters Is Still A Lot! (1)

[Protagonist’s POV]

"...So you’re saying it’s just a friendship?"

"Yeah. We met up after a while yesterday, right? But then I got dragged off to the Martial Alliance right after heading to work—she freaked out and followed me."

"Hm..."

"Yep. That’s how it is."

Sweating bullets inside, I fed the Sword Empress excuses about me and Dang Ayeong—

’How do I tell her we had sex—her first, no less—and I tried to brush it off like it never happened?’

What a colossal disrespect—

Sure, it’s my mess, but I couldn’t muster the guts to spill the truth—

[’...You said that to me, then came here and fooled around with another woman?’]

[’S-Sword Empress, it’s not like that...’]

[’No excuses, you lecher.’]

[—Slash!]

"...No way I’m saying it."

"Hm?"

"N-Nothing!"

Knowing how ruthless she gets with villains, I couldn’t risk her turning that blade on me—

Sure, hiding it might blow up worse if she finds out—

’But if I don’t hide it now, I could die now.’

I’d have to survive today to even face that fallout—

Self-rationalizing, I wrapped up my excuses and hustled her out—

After parting with the Sword Empress—

"Phew..."

Relief washed over me—I let the tension drain from my body—

Since I was alone here now, I could rest without anyone bothering—

"Nice job fooling her, huh?"

—Flinch!

"W-What the hell!"

A voice ambushed me from behind—I whipped around, startled—

Yeo Socheon stood there, smirking like she’d spooked me on purpose—

"Why so jumpy? Someone might think you’ve got a guilty conscience."

"People normally freak out when you sneak up like that!"

"Then train in martial arts—sense someone creeping up behind you."

"You gonna fix my dantian?"

"Nope?"

"Then shut it..."

Fair’s fair—she obviously knew my dantian’s busted—

"Haaa..."

I buried my head on the table, sighing again—

A rare break, and I still couldn’t relax—

Today’s luck was straight garbage—

"...Hey. Let’s talk."

Get close to Yeo Socheon—

That’s the clue the saintess left me—

So I struck up a conversation, thinking—

Why’s it always women around me?

"I don’t really feel like chatting with you."

"Like it or not, we’re tangled up going forward, right? I get why you hate me, but keeping this wall up forever won’t help either of us."

"W-Why would we be tangled up?"

No clue what she was imagining, but her face flushed—

’What a prickly personality.’

"I heard it from the other world’s saintess—this world’s in danger."

"...Ha! Don’t trust that scheming woman—every word out of her mouth’s a lie."

As expected, Yeo Socheon didn’t like her—

Maybe because they serve different gods?

’She’s a bit tricky, sure, but not a bad person.’

Yeah, she messed with the shop a little, but she’d been a huge help surviving this brutal world—my opinion of her wasn’t sour—

If anything, this one’s the shadier one to me—

Thanks for sparing me a stallion’s fate, sure, but dropping me solo into this hellhole? If I hadn’t met Master, I’d be long dead—

"So this world’s not in danger?"

"Of course not! With me here, those twisted undead defying nature could swarm in mountains, and I’d still—"

"Swear it on the Heavenly Gods?"

"..."

Her mouth clamped shut—

We hadn’t known each other long, but I’d figured out how to handle her—

Proud, stubborn, dismissive of others—but super sensitive about the Heavenly Gods—

Last time she came for me, wasn’t it to punish my disrespect toward them?

The saintess called her this world’s equivalent of a saintess—makes sense she’d act like this—

So I’d asked—

Can you swear on the Heavenly Gods this world’s safe?

Grip.

She clenched her fists, biting her lip—

Frustration oozed from her—

Her reaction gave me a rough guess—

"...It’s actually a little dangerous."

Unfortunate answer—

"...Dangerous?"

"N-Not as bad as you’re thinking! The vampire king, lurking somewhere waiting for a chance, can’t act fully yet—I’m holding the other undead back."

"Then what about the vampire rumors popping up across the Central Plains?"

"T-That’s... desperation! He can’t move himself, so he’s sending lackeys to stir something up..."

"So stop them!!"

The more we talked, the more exasperated I got—

Fine, she’s got the power to block the undead—but the stuff happening in the Central Plains? Others can step in too—

"Why suffer alone? Ask for help with that death—"

That’s when—

Grab!

"No!!"

She lunged, clamping my mouth shut—

"...?"

"S-Sorry, I’ll explain later—just don’t say that name, okay?"

Nod.

No clue what was up, but she wouldn’t shut me up for nothing—I nodded—

Her hand left my mouth—

"...Listen. That one—beings who’ve transcended concepts and wield them—gain power just from people recognizing and acknowledging them. One or two won’t do much, but hundreds, thousands? That’s no joke."

Her sudden gravity threw me off—

"You got forced into knowing by that scheming woman, fine—but you blabbing it is another issue. Don’t say the name if you can help it. And definitely don’t tell anyone else."

"...Got it."

Only then did she step back, wiping her hand on her sleeve—

Probably got my spit on her palm—

"But why’d the saintess tell me then...?"

"Maybe in her world, everyone knew him, so she forgot that detail—or figured one more wouldn’t hurt."

"...Maybe?"

It felt off, but plausible—

Decades of world-ending war—everyone there likely knew him, so that restriction might’ve been moot—

"...Just in case—haven’t told the Sword Empress or anyone, right?"

"Uh... probably not."

"Good. Nice to know that head of yours works for more than lighting women’s hearts on fire."

"...Huh?"

What’d I just hear? I blinked—her face flushed again as she flailed her arms—

"T-That was a slip! Forget it!"

"Uh... sure..."

Her words made me think—this body must be pretty damn handsome—

I’d seen myself in mirrors, water—knew I looked good—

’Good enough for that?’

Hard for a guy like me to judge if I’m that level—women saying stuff like that was tough to gauge—

To me, I’m just a short, baby-faced kid—

’...Height.’

A random curiosity hit— I glanced at Yeo Socheon—

"...What?"

"Just got curious."

"...This feels ominous."

"Who’s taller—you or me?"

"Ha."

She let out an incredulous scoff—

"You’re seriously asking? Obviously me."

"Looks pretty even to me."

"...Look closer."

Thud!

She shoved me against the wall, hand slamming beside my head—

Classic wall-slam—

"Still look even?"

"..."

Up close, her eye level edged slightly above mine—

Squish.

A distinctly feminine part pressed against my chest—I turned my head, grumbling—

"...Fine, you’re taller."

"Heh. Watch yourself next time."

"Don’t gloat over a measly 1-2 cm."

"No idea how much that is in your world’s units."

"Tch."

I wanted out of this pose, but her arm pinned me—

"..."

"..."

"...What’re you staring at? My face isn’t even visible."

"Just marveling at otherworld tech."

"This cloak’s not from my world, though..."

Still, it’s a hell of a cloak—

Hides my face in shadow to shield my identity—ventilation, insulation, weatherproofing—cool in summer, warm in winter—

Plus, it’s oversized, masking my frame—super useful here—

Without it, my small, scrawny build would invite trouble in this rough world—

Not for nothing do inn workers get hassled so much—

I’ve got it better—hides my size, my face—even in this lawless place, people hesitate to mess with me—

Think about it—who’d pick a fight with some magic weirdo whose face doesn’t even show?

I wouldn’t—