Debuff Master-Chapter 1179

Tae-Sung and Yong Seol-Hwa landed in Switzerland.

They checked into the luxury hotel they had booked and enjoyed a lavish lunch.

After that, they took a spin near the Swiss Alps in a brand-new Ferrari, cruising along the mountain roads for a scenic drive.

Then, they sat at a cafe boasting a breathtaking view, sipped coffee, snapped pictures, and chatted about everything except BNW. Both of them came to this trip to forget about the game for a while and live in the real world, so they were careful not to bring it up.

Why?

It was all because they knew that they would end up talking about it for hours once the topic was opened. Hence, they mutually decided that the best plan was to avoid it altogether.

“This place is amazing, right, oppa?”

“Yeah. It’s so beautiful and the air is really fresh.”

“I’m so happy we’re here!”

Yong Seol-Hwa seemed happy that they were on vacation together.

Of course, her phone had been ringing nonstop and had about one thousand missed calls by now, but she completely ignored all of them. In fact, she switched her phone off at one point.

She was not in the mood to talk to her father, as she was still annoyed that her father had somehow tracked her all the way to the airport.

Meanwhile, Tae-Sung was in a pickle.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

His phone refused to stop buzzing.

[Seol-Hwa’s Dad: Hey, you punk! Where are you?!]

[Seol-Hwa’s Dad: You rascal! What are you doing with my daughter?!]

[Seol-Hwa’s Dad: Pick up the damn phone!]

[Seol-Hwa’s Dad: I’m going to find you. And I’m going to kill you.]

He received one message after another, and the messages became more and more threatening as time went on.

Tae-Sung turned to her and asked, “Erm... Seol-Hwa? Maybe you should... you know... call your dad back at least?”

“Nope,” Seol-Hwa shut him down. Then, she warned, “Don’t you dare think about answering his calls. I’m warning you.”

“But still...”

“He keeps meddling! Are we kids? Am I a kid? We’re two consenting adults who love each other, so why does he keep meddling with my love life?!”

“Well, you have a point, but he’s your dad. I’m sure he’s just worried about you.”

“I don’t care.”

“Just give him a quick call and reassure him, okay?”

“...”

“Come on, just give him a call. You’re making it awkward between me and your dad, too.”

“Okay, I’ll go give him a call...”

With that, Seol-Hwa got up and stepped away for a bit to call Yong Tae-Pung.

About ten minutes later, she came back.

“All done. He’s reassured.”

“Really?”

“Yup.”

“How? Convincing him shouldn’t have been easy—”

“It wasn’t that hard. I told him I’ll snitch on him for secretly buying stocks behind Mom’s back and losing everything.”

“...What?”

“He immediately told me to be safe and have fun.”

“Haha...”

Tae-Sung was completely speechless by what he heard.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Just then, his phone vibrated.

[Seol-Hwa’s Dad: If you so much as touch a hair on Seol-Hwa’s head, I’m going to rip you into pieces. You use separate rooms. No sleeping together, got it?]

Tae-Sung sent back a quick reply to reassure him. There was no need for Yong Tae-Pung to worry anyway, as he and Seol-Hwa would not be sharing a bed.

The five-star hotel they booked was a massive suite room with multiple bedrooms.

‘It’s too early for those kinds of things.’

Tae-Sung was confident that Yong Tae-Pung had nothing to worry about. It had not even been six months since they started dating. Being the conservative guy he was, he did not think they were ready to take their relationship to the next level yet.

This trip was really just a trip, and he had no hidden agenda.

“Let’s take some photos, oppa.”

“Sure.”

With that, Tae-Sung put aside all worries related to Yong Tae-Pung and enjoyed his time with Yong Seol-Hwa.

Unfortunately, the peace did not last long.

“Huh?”

“Isn’t that Han Tae-Sung?”

“Yeah! That’s Han Tae-Sung!”

Some nearby foreigners recognized him and started flocking over, talking in their respective languages.

Tae-Sung couldn’t understand a word they were saying.

How was he supposed to know their language? He could use translation apps to figure out what they were saying, but that was not an option with a crowd of this size.

He couldn’t understand what they were saying, but there was one thing for sure—the crowd was growing, and it was growing fast.

“Erm... Let’s move elsewhere, Seol-Hwa.”

“Okay, oppa.”

Tae-Sung and Yong Seol-Hwa quickly got up and left after the crowd grew bigger until they were getting swarmed by them.

‘Damn. I let my guard down just because I was in another country.’

He thought he would finally get a bit more freedom now that he was outside Korea, but clearly that was not the case at all. In truth, it would be the same anywhere in the world. He was already so famous that he would be recognized anywhere he went.

On that same night...

[Breaking News: Pro Gamer Han Tae-Sung Spotted With Fellow Pro Gamer Yong Seol-Hwa In Switzerland!]

[Entertainment: Han Tae-Sung ❤ Yong Seol-Hwa Sweet Getaway In Europe!]

[Gaming/General: Who is Han Tae-Sung’s Girlfriend?]

Just like that, Tae-Sung and Yong Seol-Hwa became the center of the global rumor mill. Their secret relationship was revealed to the world, all because they let their guard down for a moment in Europe.

***

Meanwhile, the continent was rather peaceful while Tae-Sung was away enjoying his break in the real world.

Enraged by his defeat, Lee Geon had ordered his fanatics to slaughter NPCs even more brutally, which meant that mass killings were happening all over the continent.

But that was about it...

The world war that engulfed the entire continent had ended along with the Marchioni Empire’s expedition to the Coral Planet, so no other major events were unfolding on the continent.

The return of peace allowed the NPCs to turn their backs on the chaos and start rebuilding for a new future. As they rebuilt the lands ravaged by war, their will to live burned stronger.

To further bolster the people’s morale, the Marchioni Empire launched a massive military drill to mark the arrival of spring.

However, the problem was that the play they chose to conduct these drills was dangerously close to the border of the Proatine Empire.

‘It’s too soon. They’re moving faster than expected,’ Michele thought upon hearing the news.

He realized that the Marchioni Empire had already begun its pressure campaign, which was way earlier than expected.

That was the only explanation, as there was no other reason for the Marchioni Empire to carry out such large-scale military drills right at the Proatine Empire’s border.

Thus, Michele decided to call Duke Neighdelberg to buy some time.

“Greetings, Duke Neighdelberg.”

— Oh? To what do I owe this pleasure?

“It is nothing urgent, Your Excellency. I just wanted to inform you that our empire has decided to accept the Marchioni Empire’s proposal.”

—- Hohoho! There was no need for you to call to inform me! We never doubted your empire to begin with!

“Thank you, Your Excellency. Indeed, a union between His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Stuttgart von Posteriore, and our beloved princess is something to be wholeheartedly welcomed.”

— Hoho! That’s right! What greater honor than this?

“That is the decision we have reached internally. I believe we can work out the details step by step soon.”

— You've brought such delightful news. However, the Marchioni Empire would like Princess Verdandi to come study in the empire.

“Study in the empire?” Michele muttered, feigning ignorance with a straight face.

— Now that Her Highness is destined to become the empress of our grand empire, wouldn’t you think it would be proper for her to receive education in the glorious nation she would soon lead?

“I agree,” Michele replied with a nod. Then, he added, “But please grant us a bit more time.”

— Hm?

“Please allow Her Highness to learn from her parents for some time and bond as a family, too. If you could wait just a year or two, we will gladly send her to the empire once she is ready.”

— A year or two... I’m afraid two years is too long. Early education is crucial, wouldn’t you agree?

“Then...”

— Let’s make it a year, shall we?

“Undersood.”

Michele accepted the duke’s suggestion without any resistance.

A single slip of his tongue here could have exposed that the Proatine Empire was fully aware of the Marchioni Empire’s intentions, so he decided to be completely cooperative for now.

— Excellent.

Duke Neighdelberg didn't press the matter any further when Michele had obediently agreed to his demand. He was well aware that waging war on the Proatine Empire immediately was a heavy burden, as the Coral Planet Expedition had just concluded.

In addition, it would take quite some time to completely ruin Siegfried van Proa’s reputation among the populace.

‘Exactly one year. That’s all the time we have on our hands—one year left.’

After ending the call with Duke Neighdelberg, Michele bit his lower lip, feeling the urgency set in.

The Proatine Empire would have to make a very difficult choice in one year.

Would they send Verdandi as a hostage or go to war with the Marchioni Empire?

The answer was obvious.

The Proatine Empire and the Marchioni Empire were destined to clash in exactly one year.

***

Yong Seol-Hwa seemed completely unbothered even after knowing that rumors of their relationship were swirling on the front page of every news outlet in the world.

“Are you okay, Seol-Hwa...?” Tae-Sung asked cautiously.

It was night, and they were sitting together in their hotel suite, sipping wine.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“You know... about the dating rumors. I just wondered if you were really okay with it.”

Countless articles about Tae-Sung and Yong Seol-Hwa were flooding the internet in real time. The media frenzy was so wild that both of them had to switch their phones off, as they were getting bombarded with calls from both reporters and acquaintances.

“It doesn’t bother me at all. Actually, I’m happy.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, everyone around the world knows we’re together now, right?”

“Erm... That’s true, but...”

“I love that we can openly go on dates from now on.”

“I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried you would feel uncomfortable about it.”

“Not at all. But what about you? Does it bother you, oppa?”

“No way! I don’t care what other people think as long as we’re happy. Now that it’s out in the open, we can finally just be ourselves when we’re together.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Of course!”

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Suddenly, Yong Seol-Hwa threw her arms around him.

“S-Seol-Hwa...?”

“I’m so happy.”

“Me, too.”

Tae-Sung wrapped his arms around Yong Seol-Hwa, holding her in his embrace for a long while. They shared a moment of warmth and affection without saying another word.

“Good night, Seol-Hwa.”

“You too, oppa. Sleep well.”

“See you in the morning.”

“Yup.”

As the night deepened, the two parted ways and went to their own rooms.

‘Oh well... At least we can just date properly now that it’s out in the open. I mean, it’s not like dating is a crime anyway, right?’ Tae-Sung thought as he lay down and tried to sleep.

Just then, another thought popped up in his mind. ‘Come to think of it... this means my family will find out about my relationship, too.’

Until now, he had been too shy to tell his family that he even had a girlfriend.

However, news of them dating was practically plastered everywhere at this point, so it was practically impossible to hide it from his mother and sister anymore.

‘They might get a bit upset that I didn’t tell them sooner, but I’m sure they will welcome the news. I mean, they’ve been hoping I’d find a nice girl to date.’

Tae-Sung suddenly thought that he ought to call his mother and explain everything before she heard the news from other sources.

He picked up his phone and—

‘Nah, tomorrow. I’ll call her tomorrow.’

—He decided against it, as it was already too late. He was also exhausted from their first day of traveling and could barely stay awake.

Resolving to push everything tomorrow, he slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

‘Huh? W-What...?’

Tae-Sung was half-asleep when he realized that someone was curled up against him, causing him to open his eyes.

“...!”

It was Yong Seol-Hwa; she was nestled right in his arms.

‘S-Seol-Hwa?! Why is she here?’

He was sure that they had bid each other goodnight and had gone to their own rooms, so why was she on his bed?

“Are you awake?” Yong Seol-Hwa asked, peering up at him with sleepy eyes.

“I-I think I am?” Tae-Sung stammered in response.

“I got scared sleeping alone.”

“H-Huh? Why?”

“The room was too big... It felt unfamiliar and... scary.”

“O-Oh, I see...”

“And I wanted to be close to you when I slept.”

“Ah...”

“Your arms are so nice. They’re so warm.”

She burrowed deeper into his chest...

“...!”

Tae-Sung pressed his lips onto hers.

“...!”

Yong Seol-Hwa’s eyes widened in surprise, but she returned the kiss without hesitation.

And so, the two of them...