The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 371

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Maxed-Out Player’s 100th Return – Side Story Episode 16
16. Christine’s 101st Cycle (Part 2)
Having escaped the danger, Christine hurried out of the club.
That’s when she spotted a familiar man looking around nervously ahead of her.
“Bishop Jeffrey?”
“Christine!”
Jeffrey rushed toward her, his face a mixture of worry and relief—clearly he’d been searching for her.
“I’ve been looking for you. Where were you?”
“I was having a birthday party with a friend.”
“Were you at the club?”
“Yes….”
Christine didn’t deny it.
Besides, there was something she needed to ask Jeffrey anyway.
“By the way, did you happen to see a man leaving the club just now?”
“A man?”
“An Asian man. He was about a head taller than me….”
Jeffrey’s expression turned bewildered.
Well, it was natural to be confused when suddenly asked about a random Asian man.
“Why are you looking for him? Did he do something terrible to you?”
“No. He actually helped me.”
“Helped you? What happened inside?”
As Jeffrey pressed for details, Christine had no choice but to explain what had transpired in the club.
Jeffrey’s eyes widened as if they might burst from his skull.
His gaze burned with fury and murderous intent.
Seeing this side of him for the first time, Christine was even more startled.
“J-Jeffrey?”
“That bastard who harassed you—where is he?”
“He’s probably… still passed out on the floor.”
The moment he heard that, Jeffrey tried to storm back into the club.
Until Christine grabbed his wrist.
“That’s enough. I don’t want to be here anymore. I don’t want to get involved.”
“But….”
“Let’s just go home. Jeffrey. I’m fine, really.”
“…Understood. The Father is worried. Let’s go.”
That night, Christine returned home with Jeffrey.
She sent an apology message to her friends for leaving early.

* * *
Several days had passed since that incident.
‘Who could he be? That man.’
The stranger who appeared out of nowhere and saved me.
I still regretted not seeing his face.
‘What good would seeing his face do? I couldn’t even find him with that.’
My only concern was that I hadn’t been able to thank him properly.
‘I should focus on my studies.’
I had immersed myself back into theological study.
“Christine. Father is calling for you.”
“Father?”
Puzzled by the sudden summons, I made my way to Father’s room.
Knock, knock—
As I knocked, a voice came from within.
“Come in.”
Opening the door, Father sat before me with his usual grave and solemn expression.
But today, his face seemed even more stern than usual.
‘Does he have something serious to discuss?’
“Sit here.”
I sat across from Father.
“What did you call me for?”
“I heard you nearly fell victim to something terrible the other day.”
‘Is he calling me in to lecture me?’
Anticipating a sermon, I adopted a repentant demeanor.
And truthfully, I was reflecting on my actions.
“I won’t go to the Club again.”
“Of course you won’t. For the powerless and weak, this world is a dangerous place. Power means money, after all.”
Why was he suddenly bringing up money?
Just as I was puzzled, Father said something I never expected.
“You’re in your early twenties now—isn’t it time to think about marriage? So, when are you planning to marry?”
“M-marriage?”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
A boyfriend?
I shook my head vigorously as if to say that was impossible.
“Not at all.”
“Good then. I’ll arrange a match for you—go meet him.”
“What?”
For a moment, I wasn’t sure what he meant.
“I’m telling you to enter into a strategic marriage.”
His next words struck me like a thunderbolt.
Very forcefully.
“W-what do you mean….”
“You know Oseong Group, right? The famous Korean company.”
Of course she did.
The smartphone she currently owned was made by that very company.
“Just recently, the eldest son of that group came to me and said he was looking for a fiancée and wanted to establish a connection with us. He asked me to show him a photo if I had a daughter. So I showed him your picture, and without much deliberation, he said to proceed. It seems he took quite a liking to you.”
Christine couldn’t respond.
Her mind was in a daze.
An engagement? A political marriage? A photo? Oseong Group?
What in the world was he talking about?
“You’re arranging a political marriage for your only daughter? Are you serious, Father?”
“Have you ever seen me joke about something like this? I’m serious.”
“But why…?”
“You wouldn’t understand, but our family’s finances aren’t in good shape.”
The costs of running a church exceeded imagination.
Until now, those expenses had been covered through donations and various contributions.
“But that’s only until the grace period on the borrowed interest expires. Once next year comes, I’m not sure what will happen. We might even have to close the church doors.”
Despite having a congregation of 100,000 members, Christine’s family wasn’t making a fortune from it.
Rather, they had reached a point where they were struggling to figure out how to handle the accumulated interest payments they’d been putting off.
That’s why the method they’d come up with was a political marriage with a wealthy family.
“Isn’t this the only way to live a comfortable life?”
“So you’re selling your daughter off?”
“Don’t look at it so negatively. Isn’t this something wealthy businessmen commonly do? Most people would probably see it as an opportunity. Though it’s a foreign country, it’s a world-renowned conglomerate family, isn’t it? You’ve been given the chance to become a daughter-in-law of that household.”
Christine knew well that Oseong Group was counted among the world’s leading conglomerates.
But she had never envied wealthy people throughout her life, nor had she harbored greed for money.
The title of conglomerate held no appeal for her whatsoever.
Her father Nathan, knowing this well, began to persuade her with kind words.
“I have no intention of forcing this on you. Above all, your opinion is what matters most. In this day and age, you can’t force someone to do anything anyway.”
“….”
“But out of consideration for the other party’s sincerity, meet him at least once. See if he’s suitable as your future husband by meeting him directly and then decide. I’ll respect your wishes in any case.”
“So if it doesn’t seem right after meeting him, I can cancel?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Since it seemed they’d already arranged a meeting, Christine couldn’t back out any further.
‘Meeting once isn’t such a big deal….’
She wasn’t without reservations, but she could accept this much.
If she thought of it as simply a blind date, that was all there was to it.

* * *
The blind date was arranged quickly.
When the other party mentioned they had to leave the country soon and could only meet the next day, Christine became busy preparing.
‘I didn’t expect to meet so soon. I guess he’s already in the United States?’
She applied makeup for the first time in her life and dressed herself in a beautiful one-piece dress.
After all, it was a blind date—she couldn’t possibly show up bare-faced.
‘He said he was Asian? Korean?’
Though she had no prior connection to Korea as a country, her impression of it wasn’t negative.
Perhaps it was because the Asian man who had saved her at the club recently was from there.
‘Alright, let’s do this.’
Christine entered the fine restaurant where they had agreed to meet.
“I’m looking for someone named Ma Gyeong-rok.”
“Ah, Mr. Ma. Of course. Please follow me this way.”
The staff member kindly led Christine toward the window seats, and soon she caught sight of a man.
“Hello. I’m Ma Gyeong-rok.”
His English was fluent.
He wore a neat, tailored suit.
His features were sharp yet refined.
Overall, the first impression wasn’t bad at all.
Yet his face seemed somehow familiar.
‘Where have I seen him before? Could it be…?’
The Asian man she’d seen at the club recently?
Though she recalled him, she couldn’t be certain they were the same person.
The club had been far too dark to make out his exact features.
“I’m Christine Craig.”
“Yes. Please, have a seat.”
Christine took her seat.
“Your English is really excellent.”
“When you meet with buyers and conduct business, English is essential.”
“Ah, so you’re learning management and such at the group?”
“Yes. It suits my aptitude as well.”
Light conversation continued, and the food arrived.
Ma Gyeong-rok’s movements as he cut his steak and sipped his wine were utterly natural and refined.
‘Coming from a chaebol family, he’s probably visited fine restaurants like this countless times.’
For Christine, who had never been to such a place before, she could only scramble to mimic his actions.
“You’re rather quiet.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t you have any questions about me?”
“Oh…”
Ma Gyeong-rok posed the question.
I’d been so focused on cutting my steak that I barely said a word.
“Do you plan to inherit the company later, Ma Gyeong-rok?”
“Yes. But first, I’ll need to win the succession competition.”
“A succession competition?”
“I have two younger brothers. Being the eldest doesn’t automatically mean inheriting the group.”
“Ah, so you have brothers.”
The conversation died again.
It wasn’t something I’d said out of genuine concern, so it didn’t bother me much—but still.
‘He’s not particularly talkative either.’
Watching Ma Gyeong-rok eat quietly, seemingly indifferent to me, I found him somewhat peculiar.
“Is there anything you’re curious about regarding me, Ma Gyeong-rok?”
“How much experience do you have meeting men?”
“Pardon?”
A rather blunt question.
My face flushed completely, but I still managed to answer.
“Um, none. Not once.”
“I see.”
“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“….”
I couldn’t understand it.
If he had no curiosity, why had he agreed to this blind date?
‘Didn’t he say he agreed just by seeing my photo? What’s the real reason?’
Or had he been forced into this meeting by his father, just like me?
Just like I had been?
The thought sparked an unexpected sense of kinship.
“We can learn more about each other as we meet again later. Don’t you think?”
“Ah… yes, that’s true.”
And so the blind date continued, filled with more silence than conversation.
“I’ve already paid for the meal. Then, I’ll see you again next time.”
Ma Gyeong-rok left the table as soon as we finished eating.
My first impression wasn’t bad, but he was certainly a man with a unique style.
‘He showed absolutely no personal interest in me. Like someone who treats blind dates as just another work obligation.’
His indifference only sparked my curiosity further.
That’s why I told my father.
“So, what happened? Have you decided to get engaged to him?”
“I’ll decide after meeting him a few more times.”
I said I’d see him again.

* * *
After that, I shared several more meals with Ma Gyeong-rok.
“Hello, Ma Gyeong-rok.”
“Good to see you, Christine.”
“You’re a bit late today.”
“Yes. The flight was delayed. I apologize.”
“Oh, no. There’s no need to apologize….”
Ma Gyeong-rok, whom I met again, was no different from usual.
He was taciturn and made no witty jokes.
He simply cut his steak with mechanical precision, occasionally asking how I had been.
Yet Christine could not help but feel a certain astonishment at him.
‘Does he really take flights over twelve hours just to see me every time?’
It wasn’t for business—he simply boarded a plane each time for a blind date?
Could a man like that truly harbor no feelings for her?
‘At the very least, there must be something he finds appealing about me if he’s willing to endure such inconvenience.’
With that realization, her own resolve crystallized.
“About the engagement.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll do it.”
At those words, Ma Gyeong-rok’s hand paused mid-cut of his steak.
“I understand.”
Watching the knife resume its gentle motion, Christine decided she would come to understand him.
She would discover what feelings this man truly harbored for her.

* * *
A few more days had passed since I began dating Ma Gyeong-rok.
In truth, we could hardly be called a couple at all.
Had we ever truly touched each other? Had we ever gone on a proper date?
Our way was simply to share meals a few times and converse—that was the extent of our relationship.
And I harbored no desire to deepen things further.
‘I don’t understand him. His heart remains utterly opaque to me.’
I had asked him directly about his feelings several times, but each occasion Ma Gyeong-rok evaded with vague platitudes.
—What does that matter? The important thing is that we’re engaged and seeing each other.
Always like this. Every single time.
‘He seems to care for me, at least… but he never shows it.’
Sometimes I wondered if he viewed this merely as an extension of business.
Sometimes I questioned whether I was truly so unremarkable.
‘Perhaps this is how things will remain. At least Father’s debt will be resolved.’
I had accepted this arrangement out of financial necessity, though I couldn’t say I disliked Ma Gyeong-rok.
It was simply his utter lack of response and his inscrutability that frustrated me.
‘Perhaps as time passes, our feelings will grow. Our relationship will deepen…’
Such were Christine’s thoughts, though she remained ignorant of one thing.
An event capable of overturning the world would erupt the moment the new year arrived.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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