Chapter 232: Guardian (2)

After the fight was over and confirming that there wasn't even a single monster remaining in the Philippines, we returned home on the plane we put in Hwaya's inventory. Although everyone was exhausted, we were full of smiles knowing that we had achieved more than what we came to do. That said, a few were still unhappy.

"My own son is ignoring his father..."

Hearing Father's mumbling as he leaned against his seat, I flinched. However, to my surprise, Walker who had his body buried deep into his seat stood up for me.

"If you don't want to be ignored, get yourself a god's true name, Kang Yungoong."

"If that's easy, why don't you do it, Walker?"

Walker retorted to Father's rebuttal with a grin.

"I'm good. People should know where they belong."

"Edward says that, but he was vexed too. He doesn't like getting left out of things, you see."

"Now that you mention it, he did come to our raids when we didn't call him."

"Don't spread false rumors, Sophie."

On the other hand, Yua's expression continued to be heavy. It was because of the Lava King's Egg I gave her.

"I don't have the right to take this, Oppa. Everyone got hurt because of me, and many succubi even died..."

"Who knew the Philippines would have such a monster? It's not Yua's fault."

"There was nothing I could do. I thought I could be of help to Oppa now..."

"That's all the more reason you should take it. Yua is the most suitable one for raising whatever monster that comes out of the egg."

"Oppa..."

Seeing Yua's dejected look, I patted her head. Who would like hurting others because of something they said or did? Although Yua couldn't be blamed for what happened, she couldn't help but feel pained. However, nothing would change by staying dejected. If I put it a bit stronger, it was foolish.

"Because of Yua, we discovered the Lava King sooner and defeated him. The sacrifice we had to make in the process is regrettable, but it'll be fine as long as Yua doesn't forget about it. You can get stronger for the remaining succubi."

"... Yes, Oppa. I will."

"Good."

Yua's expression became slightly brighter. Good, once she had a clear goal, she would undoubtedly march forward without losing sight of herself.

At that moment, Ye-Eun who was standing up from her seat behind us spoke up.

"How come you get strangely smarter and kinder whenever you talk to Yua?"

"Are you implying I'm mean and stupid when I'm talking to you and the others?"

"Owwww!"

Even while I punished Ye-Eun appropriately, the plane was soaring to its destination. For the record, Leon was piloting the plane for the way back instead of Walker. Why were all the men in our guild so able!?

After we returned to Korea, we were showered with countless camera flashes. Of course, I simply ignored them. The most important thing right now was to get some rest. We had reclaimed an entire country. It wasn't something that people would forget because we stayed quiet for a day or two. Furthermore, there were more important things we had to tend to.

We decided to hold the funeral for the six dead succubi at the resort area. The main reason was that it was the most environmentally beautiful place we knew. As the dead succubi didn't leave behind any corpses, we buried an empty coffin along with gifts we had for the parted.

"Dear Husband should already know this, but funerals aren't part of succubi's tradition."

"Makes sense."

"Un, because our existences are like morning dew, disappearing the moment we die... That's why this feels so unfamiliar."

Licorice continued.

"I'm happy. That even though we won't leave anything behind, everyone here will remember us."

"Licorice..."

Although I had not known her for a long time, because she had always shown her playful side, the current her felt extremely unfamiliar. However, Licorice was the Succubus Queen, naturally having lived for a much longer time than me. She had undoubtedly experienced much more and had grown much more. Perhaps because these thoughts were written on my face, Licorice made a small smile and spoke.

"Not long after I was born in Enesis, I became the Succubus Queen. It was really only luck that I was born with this bloodline."

"Really?"

"Un. But immediately after that, my world lost its power. At a young age, I had to lead my clan to cross over to Elesia. For the sole purpose of obtaining a world's power, I claimed countless lives without knowing good or evil."

"..."

Licorice stared at the tombstone we placed and continued.

"At the time, there was only one thing on my mind - my clan. We had to survive. We had to survive. That was the only thing I could think of. That's why when even a single member dies, I lose my reason and go wild... You saw it, right?"

"I did."

"When the war ended and I realized that we'd lost... I negotiated with the Lord and found shelter in a place isolated from the dungeon. In truth, I just wanted to rest a little."

"I see..."

"Of course, I knew I couldn't stay like that forever. If I did, the entire clan would simply wither away. I knew a day would come when we would have to fight again."

"..."

"Whether I was on the side of the humans or the monsters, whether I was on the defending side or the attacking side, none of that mattered. What mattered was that my clan survived, just that. Ah, no. I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to meeting the man who would become my husband. You see, the one regret I had was never having even touched a man's hands after being born as a succubus. Huhu, I was scared on one hand, but my heart also fluttered on the other... That's how I waited for Dear Husband."

For that part, Licorice spoke as she looked at me coquettishly. Unable to find the words to respond, I scratched my face awkwardly.

The attacking side and the defending side, monsters and humans. Which side was at fault? That, I didn't know. I had always struggled to protect the place I belonged, and the only thing that had changed was that there were more people I had to protect. Of course, Licorice and her clan included. That's why the fact that those I had to protect died made me...

"So you don't need blame yourself, Dear Husband. We had long since prepared ourselves for this fight and this sacrifice. We never even dreamed of surviving until the end without any casualty."

Did she also have the Evil Eyes Daisy had? I stared at Licorice with doubtful eyes, but she only gave me an enchanting smile in return. In the end, I sighed and retorted.

"... Will you continue to fight with us?"

"If Dear Husband dies, I'll die too. Plus, I have to avenge the dead clan members! Don't ask such obvious questions, Stupid Husband."

"The one who calls people stupid is the stupid one! ... In any case, thank you."

"Huhu, I'm happy to have met Dear Husband. I'm glad that my husband is you."

Her expression was too happy for me to nitpick about when I had become her husband. I told myself to address that problem later and shut my mouth. However... I also had a feeling that I might have to change my stubbornness in this regard.

Once the funeral ended, I visited Fairy Garden for the first time in a while. Of course, I only had one goal. That was to give Pure Black Desire to Lin for repair. However, when I visited Lin's workshop, a shocking scene entered my eyes.

"Lin... Lin is working on his own accord!?"

"I'm! A! Blacksmith! You! Damned! Bastard!"

Lin retorted to the beat of his hammer with a stronger force behind each strike. Curious as to what he was making, I asked.

"What are you working on?"

"Hasn't! Anyone! Taught! You! Not! To! Talk! To! Someone! Who's! In! The! Middle! Of! Working!?"

"But Lin's different than those novice blacksmiths. Plus, why should anyone wait four to five hours to see a blacksmith? It's not like they have anything to learn."

"So you know."

Lin's shouting suddenly stopped. I thought he would put on an aloof act next, but that didn't seem to be the case. He put down his hammer and dipped a red-hot piece of metal in water to cool it down.

"So, what is it?"

"A ring."

"For me!?"

"Kang Shin, have you been hit by a hammer before? Are you trying to have a taste?"

Even though I had gotten much stronger than the first time I had met Lin, I still had no confidence to win against him. He seemed weaker than Loretta, but he was still a Transcendent who had far surpassed my level. As such, I declined his offer politely and asked again.

"So who is it for?"

"Loka."

"Lokanyan!?"

When I looked at him with a shocked face, Lin responded awkwardly.

"Yeah, we got one. It's a bit late, but I thought I should make her a ring."

For a moment, I tried to process what he just said. Then, I spoke with a blank expression.

"Congratulations, Lin."

"You understood with just that? Damn it."

"To think that Lin would become a father... Pfft."

"I see, you don't think a hammer is enough and want to try the anvil?"

"Forgive me."

Lin looked at the completed ring. Then, he began the detailed refining process as he breathed out fire from his mouth. In this entire world, the only person... no, draconian who would make a ring like this would be Lin. I asked Lin again.

"So Lin, um... how?"

"I always planned on taking responsibility for Loka... It's just that we haven't gotten a baby until now."

"That's the most surprising thing I heard out of your mouth..."

"Not that I won't do it with other women."

"That's the worst thing I heard out of your mouth..."

Light flashed. Lin was imbuing the ring with magic as he was refining it. It let me realize once again how skilled he was as a blacksmith and as a magician.

Even as he was performing such a difficult task, he yapped endlessly in response.

"Men with both ability and charm are few in number, and all women want such men. If they want me, I'll give myself to the women I like. I'll be able to enjoy myself, and the women will be happy too. It's killing two birds with one stone. You shouldn't think too hard either. I heard from Noonim that it's quite crazy. No one's doubting that you're a Hero, you don't have to bring so many women around..."

"I'll never be able to do that."

"Then just do what you want. But know this. What will happen to the women who are only looking at you is up to you. It'll be nice if they'll leave for other men, but there are surprisingly many women who can't do that. Not everyone can be like Loretta Noonim."

"I heard she has a... first love."

"Are you hoping girls you throw away will remember you for hundreds and thousands of years? Then you're the worst."

"..."

"Like I said, your Loretta's Noonim's new love found with great difficulty. You managed to make Noonim fall for you when she had given up on love, but if you make her sad again... I'll kill you."

The killing intent that shot out for a moment made me flinch. I realized once again how much I had grown. If it was in the past, I wouldn't have noticed anything, even if I fell under a status effect. Lin seemed to have noticed that too as the corner of his mouth twisted up to a smile.

"I'm just saying it. Well, if you have the ability, it's best to just accept everyone. It's not like Noonim will give up at this point just because there are one or two more women."

"Lin's values and mine are too different."

"Of course, we lived in a different world after all. In the world I came from, strength was all that mattered. Those with power would be forgiven no matter what they did, and those without power chose a master to protect their bodies and minds. The lucky ones were the ones who could make the choice for themselves. Most didn't have such luck... There were many men who took up women, and also many women who took up men. I was especially strong, so many wanted to come under me. Amongst them, women paid with their bodies."

This was the first time Lin had said anything about his world. I became a bit curious, and asked.

"So did you accept them all?"

"Are you crazy? I have eyes too. Plus, what am I going to do if I accept every girl that comes to me? If I was lax about that kind of stuff, I would have never see the end of it. If you don't have feelings for them, you have to cut them off."

"Uk."

"It was kind of like your current guild. I only accepted those with abilities. Of course, they weren't just women, but men too. There were also many that I simply protected, and I didn't always make them my women or servant. I had my fair share of troubles you see. Also, it's not like I could take them with me wherever I went."

"Was Lokanyan also...?"

"You could say that she was my first ally."

"I knew it."

"Are you done asking now?"

"I'm still curious about a lot of things."

"Then bring a good bottle of wine later. The rest won't be free."

"Got it."

Lin cooled down his ring and scrutinized it to check that everything was perfect. Then, as if satisfied, he sighed and put away the ring somewhere. Then, he took out of a cigarette from a place different than the place he had stored his ring. Finally, he tilted his head and asked.

"By the way, what are you here for?"

"Repair my Pure Black Desire, Lin."

"Uaaaaaaak! More work!? Come on, just how did you poke holes in a Legend grade armor!?"

"You see, I fought a weak world's enemy..."

"What weak world's enemy? There is no such thing! Uuuu, I should have chased you out the moment I saw you!"

I suddenly felt much better. When I met Lin, I really had to see his troubled face!