LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 405
Chapter 406
Returning home after a fight should be the proper procedure, but the current situation had some rather concerning aspects that made me second-guess that.
It was the war taking place in Alkeon. Others might wonder why I should care about the affairs of another dimension, but for Yeon-woo, it was something that weighed on the mind.
Noel and I had vowed to support each other as heroes, after all. With the commonality of having the same teacher, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but feel troubled.
Moreover, that very teacher was off fighting against the Demon King’s army.
So, even though I had inadvertently taken care of some martial arts business, what truly troubled me was Alkeon.
Of course, I still had to speak with the Earth Serpent before that, so things were quite tangled up now.
The mana I had exhausted fighting the Heavenly Demon wouldn’t recover within just a few days either. It would take at least a month before I could rejoin the front lines in Alkeon.
…Despite all those complicated thoughts, the Choi family finally arrived home.
Sadly, the monster slayer was not the intoxicated Lucrecia from the banquet the night before, but rather Yeon-woo and Nea taking turns at the wheel.
A few days later, on the road back from a long journey, the adults—excluding the children—hauled themselves through the threshold like half-dead corpses.
What a sight to see Master herself suffering from a hangover! Yeon-woo felt a twinge of anger toward Lucrecia.
“Ah, home!”
“Welcome back, Sister Riley!!”
“Welcome, you all.”
Riley smiled brightly, her appearance tidy, though the fatigue hidden beneath her makeup was faintly apparent. She shot a piercing glare at Yeon-woo.
“Hehe, my bad.”
“…You look tired, so I’ll let it slide.”
Fortunately, it seemed that Yeon-woo could earn some sympathy due to travel fatigue.
Knowing that she wasn’t the only one who had it rough made it easy for someone’s heart to soften.
Riley had now become almost just like any other human. Hmm, a positive change indeed…
Though I find it a bit ironic to think that the cause of the change was the overexertion brought about by myself, well, good things are good things, right?
“I’ve prepared a meal.”
“You’ve worked hard….”
Nea, who stumbled past the threshold, remarked thus. She appeared quite exhausted herself.
Her personality was naturally inclined towards caution, which only amplified her fatigue.
Given that she drove the Monster Slayer—a wildly unpredictable ride that would roar to life at a stomp and screech to a halt with another—she must have needed to concentrate all her nerves.
Still, with the singular focus of ensuring her family reached safety, this could perhaps be the first time she suffered muscle soreness in her life.
“I have a report, but first, you should rest.”
With those final words from Riley, Nea and Yeon-woo, as if entranced, headed toward the bedroom.
After a minimal shower, the two collapsed onto the same bed.
In the spacious house with a garden, filled with the cheerful voices of children and the barks of dogs, it seemed entirely oblivious to the fatigue brought on by their travels.
*
The next day. As the birds chirped and in their hearts, the roosters crowed boldly, expressing their discomfort towards the sky, Yeon-woo woke up.
He was a man who could efficiently shake off any fatigue and rise on time. He definitely slept quite deeply.
“Let’s check the reports.”
Of course, Yeon-woo was a tender-hearted person, so he didn’t plan to wake the tired Riley that morning to hear the reports directly.
Instead, he had previously tucked away the written report in Relin’s Archive, intending to reference that.
With the sun barely up, Yeon-woo bustled out of the house and began a light jog.
He could have taken a route through Relin’s Warehouse to the Archive, but since the library wasn’t far, he decided to just run there.
“The air is fantastic.”
And indeed it was! The atmosphere of Harmony City was vibrant. The impending war hadn’t suffocated their spirits nor made them anxious.
Passersby greeted him with slight bows as they went about their peaceful lives.
From early morning, throngs of people strolled to their places of employment, while hunters like Yeon-woo engaged in morning exercises to maintain themselves, sharpening their edge amidst peace.
A feeling of looseness yet readiness—the very atmosphere reminded Yeon-woo of his fighting spirit, serving as a prime motivator.
Before long, Yeon-woo arrived at Relin’s Archive and surveyed the interior.
Relin’s Archive, filled with countless magical tomes left behind by the Grand Sorcerer, had become an indispensable location for the mages of this city.
Thanks to that, many extensions had been made. They included a cafe for quick meals and even an accommodation service.
Essentially, they had set up an infrastructure where daily living was possible within the Archive.
Thus, the inside was bustling with people hard at work on their studies.
He caught sight of someone downing a mountain of coffee muttering, “Professor… please let me out… professor… please let me out….” but decided to turn a blind eye.
‘It’s not like I’ve imprisoned you.’
The doors are open whenever—there’s always a way in and out, after all.
Still, the fact that this fellow couldn’t leave meant he was trapped by something more than the door itself.
Ah, yes—the chains of academia called “degrees”…
Whatever the case, Yeon-woo walked silently through the management area without hesitation.
The management area was refurbished from the boss room where Riley once stayed. Yeon-woo’s business operations and all related paperwork were handled here.
It looked shabby at first glance, but the title of Grand Sorcerer was no decoration. Enhanced security meant it came with immense protective capabilities.
Well, Yeon-woo was able to come and go like this thanks to Relin’s Archive.
He sifted through the latest reports lined up chronologically. Nothing too grand stood out.
The situation at the frontlines in Alkeon remained stagnant, and Baek In-hwa was still exuding the Demon King’s energy. Consequently, it appeared that the Saintess was having a tough time.
Apart from that, various tidbits about product sales and other mundane information were neatly organized.
Hmm, it seems Riley has been working hard. I feel a bit sorry, but she was the one still tackling everything alone despite my allowing her to share some of the workload if necessary.
Her personality, always seeking perfection, was probably why she couldn’t allow that. What a tough life it must be for the homunculus.
While reading through the files, Yeon-woo soon reached a conclusion.
“Okay, let’s go check up on Baek In-hwa.”
*
“…You’ve come?”
Na Yang-ho opened the door, her eyes shining with intensity. In response, Yeon-woo offered her a bottle of high-end wine.
Even though Na Yang-ho could easily afford anything, this wine, produced in limited quantities, was tough to get. The moment she accepted it, her expression softened just a bit.
“Come in.”
Well, stepping into the health teacher’s house… it feels a bit risqué, doesn’t it? Is “health teacher” really a universal term?
It seemed that Baek In-hwa, who had moved from her mansion, had decided to stay at Na Yang-ho’s house for a while.
That seemed a reasonable choice. Only someone like Na Yang-ho could purify the intense energy of the Demon King to that extent.
It’d be unwise to leave a rare polyhedron responsible for safeguarding freedom without supervision; this was definitely the best call.
“How’s Baek In-hwa doing? She doesn’t go out much, right?”
“Sometimes she has fits, but otherwise not too often. No matter how much purification we do, the essence of the Demon King’s energy remains buried. She’s too scared to go outside…”
“Ah, I see.”
It was a situation where words felt difficult to express. It meant that the Demon King’s seed was buried too deep for the purification energy to reach.
Honestly, I had an inkling of a way to deal with it. It might pose some issues, though.
“You mentioned her fits; what do they feel like? Was there any obsession with the teacher or anything?”
“N-no, nothing like that. It felt like fighting an invading spirit? A bit of destruction happened, but nothing impressive really.”
Even breaking household items turned out to be nothing of sound significance. That attitude certainly lived up to the title of Saintess.
“…I guess there’s no helping it. Now that I’m back, I’ll try to handle it. Would you care to join?”
“Sure. I don’t know what you’re planning, but I can’t just abandon my patient.”
“Ugh, blinding… are you a god?”
“What are you talking about? Let’s just go inside and talk first.”
Even with a tired look, her concern for her patient truly made her the definition of a good person.
Seeing Yeon-woo act like he couldn’t bear to look at her because it was too dazzling, Na Yang-ho narrowed her brow and said that.
Yet, her ears were flushed red, indicating her embarrassment. How adorable.
After a bit of chit-chat, Yeon-woo knocked on the door to Baek In-hwa’s room.
“Hey, you doing alright?”
“Come in.”
With that entry pass from Baek In-hwa, Yeon-woo entered the room, finding that it wasn’t the same moldy atmosphere of Demon King energy as before.
In the tidy room, Baek In-hwa was comfortably dressed and reading a book, turning her head at his arrival.
“You’re here.”
“Yeah, I’m here. You look a lot better than before.”
“Right. The teacher has been taking good care of me.”
Her complexion was much improved, and her speech wasn’t bizarre. Even to Yeon-woo’s eye, other than the faint output of the Demon King’s energy, she seemed to have no problems at all.
“Get dressed. We’re going out.”
“Huh? Suddenly?”
Caught off guard by the abrupt request to go out, Baek In-hwa appeared surprised. However, Yeon-woo wasn’t about to retreat.
“You have ten minutes to get dressed. If you don’t come out, I’ll go on an outing with the teacher.”
“…You brat.”
With that, Yeon-woo opened the door and left. Either having been eavesdropping or just coincidentally, Na Yang-ho was fiddling with her hair outside.
“What on earth are you saying, Yeon-woo?”
“…Hmm.”
Had I possibly made a wrong choice? When I thought back, Na Yang-ho had many admirers, yet because of her exceptional abilities, she had also remained unmarried before my return…
What should I say? It seemed that the mere presence of a man beside her would overshadow him.
“How about I introduce you to a good man later?”
“…Really?”
With a slightly frantic tone, Na Yang-ho approached, startling Yeon-woo.
Fortunately, I knew several kind, handsome, and capable individuals—like Raymond or Kim Hyun-soo…
Once again, an unexpected task had fallen into my hands.
(To be continued in the next chapter)