Since Hainha’s visit, my life has become more prosperous.
It was all because I now had a smartphone.
“Ah, this is convenient.”
I hadn’t realized it was so useful until I used it for a few days. The invention of the smartphone could be called a technological revolution.
With this one device, I could make calls, take photos, browse the internet, and enjoy games. It was such an incredibly useful item, yet so common that everyone had one.
Maybe it was because I had grown so accustomed to that world over the past twenty years. Honestly, I was even a bit culture-shocked.
I had previously thought magic was far superior to science, but now I saw that both were equally remarkable fields of study.
“Mom, are you watching that again?”
While I was sitting on the couch, deeply engrossed in my smartphone, Erina came rushing over.
Having found computers fascinating, Erina was now intrigued by smartphones, analyzing them in her own way.
It seemed she was determined to become a beautiful and intelligent scholar in the future.
“Please, sit here.”
I placed Erina on my thigh and we looked at the smartphone together. A video from iTube was playing on the screen.
“‘No, everyone. The Pope is undoubtedly the strongest among the Returnees! Just look at his Sacred Power, it’s extraordinary!’”
Hearing such praise about me made my shoulders unconsciously puff up.
I had searched for ‘Pope’ on iTube, and the more I watched, the more I felt content. This was already the seventh time I had enjoyed it.
“But who is this person?”
Just then, Erina asked, leaning against me. I smiled and ruffled the hair of my ever-curious eldest.
“He is a very admirable person. He deserves the respect of others.”
“What did he do?”
“He praised your mom.”
“Why is that such a great thing?”
As expected, the questions from my five-year-old were relentless. If I kept answering her, it would eventually turn into a rapid-fire Q&A session.
Pretending to think for a moment, I gently rubbed Erina’s face.
“But why is our Erina so pretty?”
Changing the subject with a bit of playfulness made her forget her earlier question. Instead, she smiled brightly.
Seeing her smile, even though she’s my daughter, was adorable enough to make me grin at that moment.
Creak!
Suddenly, my smartphone made a cheerful sound. It was a notification sound from the national messenger ‘Kralatalk.’
I lightly patted Erina’s head while checking the message. It was from Hainha.
[Hainha: Please provide your bank account details. The child support will be deposited this week.]
Child support.
I had seen that in the Returnee Support Plan from before. They said they would give 400,000 won per child.
As I could receive it monthly until the children turned 18, it would become quite a nice income.
Honestly, I wished they’d give me more, but for now, I decided to be content with this. Greed must be suppressed as it is a wicked desire.
“Anyway, receiving more wouldn’t make a big difference.”
I nodded quietly while rummaging through my thoughts, then replied to Hainha slowly.
[Eluke: By the way, I opened an account yesterday^^]
It wasn’t even a long message, but it took a while to type. It had been a long time since I had used a smartphone regularly.
After struggling to reply, barely a few seconds later, Hainha messaged again.
[Hainha: ^^ That looks old-school, so don’t use it.]
Hainha pointed out my use of the emoticon. As she had promised before, she was teaching me the words and expressions that people use nowadays.
But it was somewhat shocking. Does that mean people don’t use ‘^^’ anymore to express a smile?
With my doubts in mind, I typed back again, and once more at a slow pace.
[Eluke: Then how do people smile?]
[Hainha: Just use emoticons! Kralatalk is a lot easier for that.]
[Eluke: ^^ Isn’t that also an emoticon?]
[Hainha: Ah.]
Hainha left that single exclamation, and for a moment, she didn’t respond at all.
After a little time had passed, she finally said something.
[Hainha: It’s a long road ahead…]
For some reason, that message conveyed a sense of frustration.
*
The child support Hainha mentioned was deposited soon after I gave her my bank account details.
Exactly 1,200,000 won.
It was the first asset I had since returning. The sponsorship funds had yet to be settled.
I planned to use this money as wisely as possible, of course, employing ‘modern’ methods as a proper member of society.
Ding!
With the elegantly set notification sound I had chosen, my phone vibrated. I checked, and it was the much-anticipated text.
[Five boxes have been delivered to your front door.]
These were the items I had ordered through a mobile shopping app.
I immediately sent Liam to bring the boxes inside.
“What’s all this?”
Liam, who had set the boxes down in the living room, looked puzzled. He seemed surprised by the conveniences of modern civilization.
Honestly, I was a little shocked too. I had ordered them yesterday, but they arrived today. It was a speed that I could hardly have imagined in the past.
“Liam, get used to it. This is normal here.”
Of course, I acted nonchalant, like a proper member of modern society.
“In this world, you can obtain what you want in just a day without having to pay a great sum of money to a mage. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Isn’t that true for me too? I can get it in less than a day.”
“…”
I tried to ignore the words of the former hero, who was only competent in unnecessary areas, and unpacked all the items.
I handed one of them to Liam. It was a stylish pair of sunglasses.
“Here, take this.”
“What is this?”
“Let me put it on you.”
I placed the sunglasses on Liam. As expected, they suited him wonderfully, thanks to his handsome face.
“How does it look?”
“It’s darkening my vision.”
“It’s meant to block sunlight.”
“Isn’t sunlight a blessing from the Goddess? Why block it?”
“…”
I found myself at a loss for words, just opening and closing my mouth as I rummaged for another pair of sunglasses that was a tad smaller but otherwise identical in design.
“How about this?”
“It looks nice, but is there really a reason to wear this? You’re fine even looking directly at the sun, right?”
“…You’ll need to try harder to adjust to this world.”
Liam was particularly sharp today. I hurriedly pretended to organize other boxes, worried he might figure out that I had impulsively bought them just because they looked cool.
The rest of the items were all for my family.
Clothes for my daughters and some toys for Rohan. After hours of picking and choosing, I settled on items that seemed reasonably priced and of good quality.
And I also prepared a gift for Seo-yoon. It was a smartphone case.
The one she was using was too worn out, so I wanted to buy her a new one. Thankfully, I had just received some money, so I made the purchase right away.
“She’ll love it.”
I was sure she would be moved. It was a gift that was perfect for Seo-yoon.
But just to be sure, I took a picture and sent it to Hainha for confirmation.
[Eluke: This is a gift for my younger sister. What do you think?]
[Eluke: (bear with sparkling eyes emoji)]
I asked using an emoji as I had been taught. Hainha responded immediately as usual.
[Hainha: Can I speak honestly?]
[Eluke: Don’t be too blunt.]
[Hainha: Then I’ll stay silent.]
For some reason, her reaction had a rather negative undertone. I pondered for a moment and asked her to tell me honestly.
Only then did Hainha share her true thoughts.
[Hainha: That’s exactly what our mother would like. It’s way too old-fashioned.]
[Eluke: How old is your mother?]
[Hainha: She’s 53 years old.]
After reading those messages several times, I belatedly felt flustered.
“What’s wrong with a diary-style case…?”
It was the best-looking option I found on the mobile shopping app, but it seemed that it wasn’t such a good choice after all.
[Eluke: Maybe my sister will like it?]
[Hainha: Just let me pick one for you, so just stay quiet.]
[Eluke: Okay…]
[Eluke: (bear with sniffing emoji)]
How did my tastes end up this outdated?
I actually knew the reason, but if I continued to think about it, my heart would start to hurt, so I decided to stop here.
And rather than indulging in useless thoughts, I resolved to focus on practical things that would actually benefit my life.
“O Radiant Sun…”
I removed the sunglasses and set them aside as I stretched out my hand, reciting a prayer.
“Please grant me a useful blessing that prevents motion sickness during gaming today. You can use all my Sacred Power if that’s what it takes.”
It was alright to act without courtesy. It didn’t matter if there were no formalities. After all, faith isn’t determined by external display but by the size of one’s belief.
Trusting the Goddess more than anyone else, regardless of how rude I might be, she always responded graciously.
Just like now.
Woooooong.
The sunglasses soon began to shine in a remarkably bright pink hue. In exchange, my internal Sacred Power nearly depleted, but I couldn’t help but smile.
“Goddess, I love you.”
As expected, the Goddess was quite generous.
*
Meanwhile, Inha was taking a break at a café, pulling out her smartphone to open the Tribe app. A notification had just come that Eluke had started a broadcast.
[Solar Scepter is actually happening today]
-Pope (elluke1002)
Glancing at the broadcast title, Inha furrowed her brow.
“What’s he up to?”
In the previous broadcast, Eluke had complained of motion sickness within just five minutes.
Even after taking a break and using a Sacred Spell, it hadn’t lasted long.
So, she honestly wasn’t expecting much. She wanted to see him play Solar Scepter but gave up on that thought. How could she ask someone who suffers that badly from motion sickness to play?
Eluke didn’t quite fit with 3D games. Deep down, he likely knew that but seemed intent on giving it a shot anyway, which made her anxious.
“I’d better stop him if he’s pushing it.”
While she had mentioned preparing a countermeasure before, she wasn’t particularly hopeful. It seemed better to just talk him out of it before he even started.
Fortunately, it was not too difficult to persuade him. If she threw in a large sponsorship while saying not to do it, he’d probably stop right away.
Inha pondered how much to sponsor as she entered the broadcast.
Soon enough, she witnessed Eluke, the beautiful Pope, confidently seated while wearing sunglasses.
“…Is he really hoping to prevent motion sickness with those?”
She hesitated and put in her Bluetooth earpiece, not long after hearing Eluke speak. His tone was the same politely formal one as always, though it rose a bit.
“Many are asking about the sunglasses. Please be careful how you phrase your questions; these are not ordinary items.”
Eluke raised the sunglasses above his head, smiling.
“These are the sacred relics of our Order, ‘Haemaki.’”
“…”
Inha took a moment to ponder seriously before deciding to sponsor him.
[havant has donated 1,000 won]
-Ajummoni, why are you doing this?
Fortunately, when it came to sponsoring as ‘Havant,’ there was no need to keep up appearances.
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