章 417: 831
[Chapter 209]
[Unwavering]
Before the regression, during the Korea-China-Japan subjugation operation.
Ha Baek-ryeon, who had turned 15, heard about the side effects of <White Silver> from Kaguya.
She couldn't have children.
Learning this fact, she fell into great shock.
So she locked herself in her room.
"I really can't dream of a normal life like others, can I?"
Eun-ha and the Fog Flower party members were worried about her.
But she couldn't tell them.
What would change by telling them?
She just lay alone on the bed in the dark room, ruminating on her misfortune.
In the end, I'm alone.
I lost my father when I was young.
I lost my mother too.
Now there was no one connected to her by blood.
She had vaguely thought that someday she would get married, have children, and form a family connected by blood.
But the <White Silver> she resented so much had taken away even that small wish.
"I don't want to be alone..."
Would she be able to get married properly?
No, probably not.
She didn't want to prevent someone she would come to like from having children.
It's too selfish.
In the end, for the sake of the person she liked, she would have to let them go.
So she had to give up on sharing her heart with someone she liked, and give up on getting married and forming a happy family.
Squeeze
Ha Baek-ryeon hugged her pillow.
She buried her face in the pillow and cried, holding back her voice.
She hated her own existence so much.
She resented <White Silver> so much.
In the end, I'll live as a Fairy and die as a Fairy.
There's no happiness for me anywhere.
In the middle of the vast universe.
A feeling of being all alone.
She would have to feel this for the rest of her life.
☆
After asking the players to transport Kraken's leg.
Eun-ha returned to Donghae Hotel.
"Welcome, Pandora Clan Lord! Are you hurt anywhere? Please tell me if anything hurts. I'll take urgent measures."
"...No, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern."
The first person to welcome him was Im Ga-eul.
Unlike her usual self, she opened her arms wide and hugged Eun-ha.
Eun-ha made a sour face as he ended up hugging Im Ga-eul unexpectedly.
This person... she's doing this performance because she really wants to boast.
He understood the situation.
Kaguya and China's Premier were also around her.
Other foreigners were waiting at the door, perhaps to see Eun-ha.
Eun-ha clicked his tongue as he received their applause.
"You did well, child."
"Then please look after Pandora Clan well. Give us something."
"I'll think about that."
Then Im Ga-eul whispered.
Eun-ha replied in a low voice too.
Soon Eun-ha broke free from her hug and looked for Ha Baek-ryeon.
Huh? Why does Baek-ryeon's face look like that?
Ha Baek-ryeon standing next to Lee Jung-hyun.
While she was gently clapping, her face was shadowed.
Eun-ha could immediately tell she was feeling depressed.
It was like this in the previous life too...
Did something happen to make her feel bad even with Lee Jung-hyun next to her?
I thought I had taken appropriate measures.
It seemed something had happened after all.
Eun-ha approached Ha Baek-ryeon.
"Ah, uncle."
"Did something happen?"
"Me? No, nothing happened."
"...Really?"
Ha Baek-ryeon suddenly raised her head.
She shook her head vigorously.
He couldn't say anything when she denied so strongly that nothing had happened.
If he pushed her, he might end up making her cry.
There were people from other countries too.
He couldn't make a scene in front of them.
In the end, Eun-ha had to take a step back.
"If you have any troubles, tell me. I'll definitely solve them for you."
"...There's nothing like that. Now that uncle is back, I'll go to my room. I want to rest a bit since Kaguya-sama and Hou Yi are here."
"You must have been nervous. Rest well. Director Lee Jung-hyun, please escort Baek-ryeon to her room well."
"Alright, don't worry."
Perhaps because she realized her emotions had been noticed.
Ha Baek-ryeon tried to leave.
Eun-ha felt bitter watching her turn away without telling him anything.
He waved to her.
I thought we had gotten quite close...
But does Baek-ryeon still feel distance from me?
Am I not reliable enough?
He felt somewhat hurt inwardly.
Eun-ha felt discouraged.
It was then that Im Ga-eul spoke to him.
"Don't feel hurt just because Baek-ryeon didn't tell you."
"You know what happened to Baek-ryeon, Fairy? What is it?"
"I can't tell you this. Even if I tell you, it's not something you can do anything about. It's something Baek-ryeon has to resolve on her own. You just prepare to cheer Baek-ryeon up when she gets over it."
Im Ga-eul seemed to know.
But she didn't try to tell him and turned her back on him.
"This is why I was going to tell her a bit later..."
Muttering those words.
Im Ga-eul left.
Eun-ha could only fall into thought as he watched her leave.
What did Baek-ryeon find out?
What did she learn to be acting like this?
What happened while I was gone to subjugate Kraken?
Eun-ha looked around.
He searched for the Koreans who were in the conference room.
Their eyes met.
""""...."""
They quickly turned their heads away.
They didn't want to tell him.
Eun-ha frowned.
It was then.
"Noh Eun-ha player. No, should I call you <Cardinal> now? It's been a while. And I was really impressed watching today's battle."
"Kaguya-sama."
This time Kaguya approached.
The woman he met 10 years ago hadn't changed in appearance from then to now.
Eun-ha shook hands with her.
"It would have been nice if Seo-hyeon came together. Then we could have had a meal together, the three of us..."
"It can't be helped. Seo-hyeon is busy taking care of the child."
"That's right. Ah, I really wanted to see the child who must look just like Seo-hyeon in person, it's such a shame."
Eun-ha gave a bitter smile.
From the moment she reunited with Eun-ha, Kaguya kept mentioning Han Seo-hyeon's name.
When Eun-ha showed her pictures of Han Seo-hyeon and Noh Yuseong, she even exclaimed how cute he was.
She seemed to miss Han Seo-hyeon that much.
I should set up a video call later when there's time.
As far as Eun-ha knew, Han Seo-hyeon was in contact with Kaguya occasionally.
But because of the distance between Korea and Japan, the connection was often unstable.
At most they exchanged texts or calls, but couldn't video chat.
But now that Kaguya had come to Korea, they could somewhat overcome the unstable communication environment.
Eun-ha decided to try out the idea he had spontaneously thought of a little later.
"But you know."
"Yes."
"Didn't you say before that you had no intention of forming a harem?"
"..."
"Seo-hyeon is so pretty, so I thought you definitely wouldn't form a harem if you ended up with her. But to think you took two more wives even after marrying Seo-hyeon..."
"..."
"Harems are legal in Japan, how about coming to Japan on this occasion? If you're willing, I could secretly take you back in a large carrier when I return. Even if the Fairy protests afterwards, you'll already be in Japan, so what can she do?"
"Haha..."
Kaguya narrowed her eyes.
Although he knew she was joking about scouting him, Eun-ha could only laugh it off now.
This was because he had made a promise to her in Japan.
Should I grab my stomach even now?
Damn...
What was he thinking 10 years ago?
If he could go back to that time, he wanted to shut his mouth tightly.
He shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about the future.
Perhaps reading Eun-ha's feelings, Kaguya burst into laughter.
"Anyway, congratulations on taking three people as wives. But don't let Seo-hyeon, who allowed you to form a harem, face ostracism just because you have many wives."
"Of course I should. Don't worry, I'm doing that."
"Sigh, Seo-hyeon must have suffered a lot because of you. If I had known this would happen, I should have married Seo-hyeon to a decent Japanese person back then... There's a saying in Korean, right? That there's not a single person to trust in this world."
"Haha..."
Eun-ha could only laugh.
There was such a saying in Korea.
That laughing when it's hard is first-class.
He somehow smoothed it over with laughter.
"But what should I do, I feel sorry?"
"What? What for?"
"About the little Fairy. She ended up hearing something she shouldn't have known yet because of me."
"...What did you say to Baek-ryeon, Kaguya-sama?"
"Oh my, look at this? Are you trying to threaten me thinking I might have done something to the little Fairy?"
At Kaguya's words.
Eun-ha's face hardened.
Kaguya saw this and gently showed a displeased expression.
She was the leader of Japan.
Even though she was treating Eun-ha favorably, she wouldn't like behavior that infringed on her authority.
Eun-ha knew this too, which is why he had been treating Kaguya appropriately while drawing lines.
Realizing his mistake, Eun-ha immediately apologized.
"I'm sorry for being rude. But as someone protecting the next Fairy, I have to be faithful to my role."
Of course, Eun-ha didn't just apologize.
He had to be aware of his role.
<Cardinal> Noh Eun-ha shouldn't show such an attitude towards Kaguya, but <Little Princess's Watchdog> Noh Eun-ha only protected Ha Baek-ryeon.
"So you show such a sharp reaction to Kaguya... Even if you're faithful to your role, you should know how to show flexibility (yutori) in dealing with people. Alright, I did something wrong to the little Fairy too, so I'll let it go. Let's both be careful from now on."
"Yes, Kaguya-sama. So what did you say to the next Fairy?"
"Well, that... It seems your Fairy doesn't want to tell you either, is it okay for me to say..."
"Kaguya-sama."
"Yes, what is it?"
"There's a saying in Korea."
"What saying?"
"There are two things that make people annoyed, the first is stopping in the middle of talking..."
"And the second?"
"..."
"Ah, what is it? Don't annoy people and tell me quickly."
Kaguya nagged.
After a while, Eun-ha heard the whole story from Kaguya.
☆
People with the Gift of <White Silver> are highly unlikely to have children.
No, they can't have children.
Eun-ha, who heard the story from Kaguya, couldn't easily deny it either.
Actually─
─In the previous life, I never heard rumors of a <White Silver> holder getting pregnant.
It was the same even in neighboring Japan.
Kaguya, while being the Emperor's wife, never got pregnant.
Considering the power of <White Silver> that disperses mana, it made sense.
That's why Eun-ha could accept that story without much shock.
But how would it have been for Ha Baek-ryeon, who had just turned 15, to hear that story as the person concerned?
It's understandable that Baek-ryeon would be depressed.
If someone suddenly told me I couldn't have children, I would have been bewildered and shocked too.
Eun-ha didn't like children.
That hadn't changed even now.
There were just exceptions.
So if it had been himself in the previous life, Eun-ha wouldn't have empathized well with the pain Ha Baek-ryeon must have felt.
What does it matter if you can't have children?
Yourself is the most important.
Surely if he had said such words to Ha Baek-ryeon in the previous life, he would have made her very angry.
However─
"─Ah, Eun-ha. What's the matter?"
This life was different.
Eun-ha was extremely happy that a child resembling himself existed in the world.
He could empathize with how shocking it must have been for her to hear she couldn't have children.
So Eun-ha came to meet Ha Baek-ryeon, abandoning the dinner party with people from other countries at the beach.
"Is Baek-ryeon inside? Everyone else is out having a barbecue and playing, but I heard she's not feeling well."
"Ah, about that... She's not sick, just lacking energy... Ah, how should I say this. Baek-ryeon getting over it..."
"I heard everything from Kaguya-sama, so you don't need to gloss over it. So let me in."
"Ugh... What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to eat with her."
"Wasn't that mine?"
"You don't think I'd bring what the Special Affairs Director was going to eat, do you?"
"Right, you were that kind of guy..."
"There's still a lot of meat left, so go out. I'll take care of Baek-ryeon."
"Oh, really? Thanks. Then I'll really go eat meat?"
"Yes, go."
Eun-ha chased out Lee Jung-hyun.
Lee Jung-hyun left gleefully at the thought of eating barbecue.
He was bound to get scolded by Im Ga-eul for abandoning Ha Baek-ryeon.
"That person is quite a scatterbrain too. Baek-ryeon, I'm coming in."
Eun-ha clicked his tongue.
Then he knocked on the door.
There was no sound from inside.
He was going to go in regardless of whether there was a sound or not.
Eun-ha entered her room.
"..."
The room was dark.
All the lights were off.
Eun-ha was about to turn on the lights but stopped.
The moonlight and starlight coming through the window was enough.
"Baek-ryeon, are you sleeping?"
"...No."
Ha Baek-ryeon was on the bed.
She was lying on her side with the blanket over her head.
When Eun-ha sat down nearby, she squirmed with a listless tone.
"I thought you might be hungry so I brought some food. You should eat even if you're not feeling well. Come on, get up and eat quickly."
"I'm not hungry..."
"Eat even if you're not hungry. I came here to see you eat."
"Tch."
Ha Baek-ryeon slowly got up.
Her hair was disheveled.
Her eyes were a bit red too.
Eun-ha pretended not to notice.
Then he picked up some meat from the plate he was holding.
"Here, sausage coming. Open your mouth."
"I'll eat myself. Give me the fork."
"No, I have to feed you. This is how I'll receive my reward for defeating Kraken today."
"What are you saying... Hmph, uncle is really childish and immature."
"You just realized that now? Eat quickly."
"Yam."
Ha Baek-ryeon eats the sausage.
Eun-ha chuckled seeing her chew deliciously.
Then he held out a large squid leg to her mouth.
"Squid leg? It's huge."
"It's a leg Kraken left behind when it died. We were wondering how to handle it, so we tried grilling it as barbecue."
"I heard monster meat doesn't taste good..."
"Try it once. It's surprisingly tasty."
"Ugh..."
"Don't you trust me?"
"...I'll trust you a little. Not completely though."
"Then just try a little bit."
"Why is this... wup... Huh?"
The moment Ha Baek-ryeon opened her mouth.
Eun-ha suddenly put the grilled squid leg into her mouth.
The squid leg was so big.
Ha Baek-ryeon cut the leg with her teeth and spat out the rest onto the plate.
"How can you just give it to me like that?"
"How is it? Tasty, right?"
"It's better than I thought."
"Kraken was good food after all. A Chinese player said the butter they brought was good too. Ah, now a Japanese player is saying they're going to make takoyaki with this leg?"
"Takoyaki? What's that?"
"Tako means octopus..."
"Then shouldn't it have octopus legs?"
"Demonpus didn't leave anything besides magestones. So they're substituting with squid... Let's just move on. Here, eat one more."
"Yam."
Now she eats well whatever is given.
Eun-ha was satisfied.
Come to think of it, he had never spent time with Ha Baek-ryeon like this in this life.
Eun-ha patted her head as she opened her mouth like a baby bird.
"I heard from Kaguya-sama. Why you were feeling down."
"Ah..."
Eventually, Eun-ha stated the purpose of coming to meet her.
Ha Baek-ryeon flinched.
She gave a bitter smile.
"Is that so? It can't be helped."
A tone of resignation.
Her voice was filled with moisture.
She was trying to get over it in her own way, but it wasn't working well.
Eun-ha understood her feelings.
But he couldn't just comfort her by saying everything would be fine.
Such comfort was useless.
"─Do you know what I realized after living for several decades, only 10 years ago?"
"...What do you mean several decades? I know your age, uncle."
"Anyway, listen."
"Okay, I'll listen."
Instead, Eun-ha decided to give her certainty, not comfort.
It was a certainty he realized 10 years ago.
Eun-ha had not forgotten that feeling since saving Han Seo-hyeon in Japan.
"Nothing is impossible for me."
"What?"
"There's nothing I can't do. You've seen me succeed at things people said were impossible, right?"
"So?"
"I, who can do that, will tell you it's possible. You can have children."
"What? Are you joking now?"
"This kid doesn't believe me. Don't worry. I'll definitely find a way for you to have children, somehow."
"..."
This is a world where magic exists.
So nothing is impossible in this world.
If we search the entire world, we might find a way.
And Eun-ha intended to definitely find a way for Ha Baek-ryeon, even if he had to search the whole world.
"So don't worry about not being able to have children when you're not even married yet. You're still young. It's too early to worry about that."
"..."
"So be patient and wait, even if it takes time. I'll definitely find a way."
I don't know which guy will take Ha Baek-ryeon away.
In the distant future, Eun-ha will use every means possible to allow her to have children, just as he did.
So─
"─That's not your worry. It's my worry from now on. You just need to trust me and wait for that time to come. Got it?"
"Why... Why are you taking responsibility for my issue?"
"Why? Is that not okay?"
Ha Baek-ryeon asks.
Eun-ha couldn't answer.
To answer her question, he would first have to tell her that he had regressed.
So he smoothly passed it over with a cheeky smile.
Eun-ha finally said to Ha Baek-ryeon:
"Even if there's really no way, we'll conquer a black dungeon. They say the conqueror can grant any wish without any price."
"How do you know that, uncle?"
"I just know."
"Did Eun-ah unnie see the future?"
"I'm telling you I just know."
A dungeon that no one has conquered yet.
But 3-4 years from now.
The Southern European Union including Italy will conquer the <Deep Sea Dungeon>.
Those who return from the black dungeon, which you can't leave once entered unless you conquer it, reveal information that shocks the world.
One of them was─
─They said it gives the power to grant any wish to the person who made the greatest contribution.
A <Miracle> without price.
Or a principle even greater than <Miracle>.
That's what it was.
Eun-ha knew this, so he could assert it to Ha Baek-ryeon.
Meanwhile, in his previous life, Eun-ha hadn't entered the <Abyss Dungeon> to fulfill a wish.
This was because there was something else among the information the Southern Europeans revealed.
Anyway─
"─Tch, what's that. Aren't you embarrassed saying that?"
"This kid retorts like that when I'm talking seriously?"
As he had resolved while living this life.
Eun-ha was willing to conquer the black dungeon again for Ha Baek-ryeon's sake.
Of course, Ha Baek-ryeon, who didn't know Eun-ha's hidden feelings, just burst into laughter.
"Thank you, oppa."
Nevertheless.
Ha Baek-ryeon cheered up watching Noh Eun-ha, who told her to just trust him without any basis.
☆
In the previous life.
Eun-ha was concerned about Ha Baek-ryeon, who had become depressed recently.
That period was quite long.
Eventually, Eun-ha couldn't leave her alone anymore.
"Tell me."
"What?"
"Who is it? Who said something to you to make you look like that?"
"Come on, oppa. I'm telling you nothing really happened."
"Nothing happened but your face keeps looking like that?"
"...Can't you just leave me alone to get over it myself?"
"I tried to leave you alone, but I can't anymore. How can I when you keep groaning next to me like that."
"..."
That was the first time Eun-ha got annoyed at Ha Baek-ryeon.
In fact, he didn't know why he was getting so angry himself.
But he realized from the next words he uttered.
"We're family, aren't we? Can't family at least tell each other what happened?"
"What?"
Although he had protected her out of duty.
Before he knew it, Ha Baek-ryeon had naturally melted into Eun-ha's daily life.
Now he was unconsciously thinking of Ha Baek-ryeon as his family.
Eun-ha frowned in surprise after saying those words.
"No, forget it. Let's pretend I didn't say anything."
It wasn't like him.
Maybe he had gone crazy somewhere.
Eun-ha tried to leave her room.
It was then.
"Hahaha, ah, what is this."
"..."
"Family, we're family."
Ha Baek-ryeon burst into laughter.
Eun-ha didn't know she could show him such a big laugh.
Eun-ha blinked his eyes.
Ha Baek-ryeon muttered something to herself as if she was happy.
"I thought I was alone, but I wasn't alone. That's right. I had oppa now."
"Why are you laughing..."
"Thank you, oppa. But I'm really okay now."
Ha Baek-ryeon smiled.
Nevertheless, she never told Eun-ha the truth in the end.
Instead, her face improved again after that day.
"Oppa, what are you doing?"
"...Maintaining my device."
From then on, she stuck close to Eun-ha and kept chirping.
At that time, Eun-ha thought an annoying baby cat was sticking to him.
But inwardly, he didn't dislike it.
"─What kind of person does oppa like? How about me? I could do whatever oppa tells me to..."
"You must have been corrupted by the twins. Don't joke around."
"Tch, I'm not joking. You know what?"
"What?"
"I can be legally recognized as a quasi-adult soon."
"..."
"You don't have to hesitate anymore. I won't be a minor anymore."
"These twins really..."
At that time, he didn't know the baby cat would grow up to be a tiger.
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