After sharing a long and passionate kiss, we began talking about a girl named Icle.
“Who the heck is she?”
“Hmm…”
The girl’s identity.
Honestly, there was no need to guess. I had already more or less figured it out.
It was so obvious that it made me question things instead.
Did she even try to hide her identity from the start? At this point, isn’t it practically an open secret?
“Do you know who you are?”
“I do.”
“Oh, who are you?”
I named the being who I suspected to be her.
“I’m probably the Servant of the Black Sun.”
Icle was, after all, one of the subordinates of the Evil God who had been targeting me lately. It was hard to see it any other way.
The excessive black attire, the attitude that wouldn’t listen to Liam, and the way she looked down on Great Demons as lesser beings all screamed “Black Sun.”
It was hard not to think they were related in various ways.
“…You’re sure she’s a subordinate? Are you certain?”
Liam squinted, looking skeptical. It seemed like he couldn’t quite believe it.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, as I understood why.
The reason Liam didn’t trust my guess was that the Evil God we knew and Icle were too different.
“Surely it’s really strange. A subordinate of the Black Sun acting like a girl and getting into petty arguments.”
If it were just that, I might have dismissed it as a precursor to future evil deeds or simple mischief.
But the proposal Icle had made to Liam was too shocking to overlook.
“Most likely, when she called me ‘big sister,’ she was referring to her master, the Black Sun.”
“Oh.”
Liam sighed briefly, furrowing his brow deeply.
“Unbelievable. So, she asked me to take the Black Sun as my mistress?”
“That’s about right.”
“…”
Liam, who was about to curse, glanced at Rohan and then simply shut his mouth.
Then he began muttering, grinding his teeth.
“I was toyed with from beginning to end…”
It seemed he thought the Black Sun had sent a subordinate in the guise of a girl just to mess with him.
It was a reasonable judgment.
Suddenly appearing, pestering him with various comments, and then making strange demands like accepting a sister who looked just like her certainly complicated his feelings.
A former reckless punk who usually ignored what others said was now totally confused.
Anyone could see that Liam had been perfectly played for a fool by the Evil God.
I wasn’t going to deny that.
However.
I wanted to add one more suspicion to that.
Because of what I had seen in the Void.
‘…Could it really just be a joke?’
The scribbles the Black Sun had left in the Void felt like the words of an internet community addict.
It wasn’t the kind of content an Evil God, who massacred innocents simply because they lived better lives than him, would leave behind.
If those meaningless, frivolous phrases were genuinely what the current Black Sun enjoyed using, then.
The childish and brazen behavior exhibited by the servant pretending to be a girl might not be a joke; it could very well be genuine. She could be influenced by her master.
This shattered all existing perceptions of the Evil God.
‘So, what’s the purpose?’
The Goddess had told me that the Black Sun was targeting me.
Naturally, I took her words to mean that the Evil God was scheming to take my life.
Considering the Haoran incident was ultimately in line with the Black Sun’s intentions, my guess seemed quite plausible.
But what if that weren’t the case?
What if the reason the Goddess wasn’t actively protecting me was that the Evil God had become childish and frivolous?
Perhaps the Black Sun harbored some strange goal other than just killing me.
“O Sun, what on earth has happened to the Black Sun…?”
I never expected that an Evil God would become anything less than malicious and cunning; it terrified me.
It was that mysterious.
“By the way…”
Liam, who had been snorting for a while, suddenly changed the subject.
“That girl… I realized something after speaking with the Black Sun’s subordinate.”
He spoke with an unexpected gravity.
His gaze was serious, his words not silly, and his gestures were composed and heavy.
It was a rare hint of what one might call ‘True Hero Mode.’
Such moments were seldom seen, and they arrived quite suddenly.
But what profound realization could he have gained from such a low-level conversation with the Black Sun?
Did he want to raise his argument skills in line with a demigod? No, that wouldn’t be a resolution befitting a True Hero.
“What is it?”
Matching the serious tone of my husband, I straightened my back gracefully.
At that moment, Liam knelt on one knee in the air.
A soft silver light began to emanate from the back of the former hero’s head.
This wasn’t ordinary light.
It was a holy radiance that filled the heart with excitement just from seeing it.
An aura granted only to those who have reached divinity.
The symbol of a sacred saint—a halo.
‘…His divinity has grown?’
I was startled, my eyes widening as I hesitated, and Liam took my hand.
“I thought I loved you enough, but it seems I was still lacking.”
Not at all.
Even now, it was enough, but perhaps he was diminishing the affection he held due to the Black Sun’s strange proposition.
Recognizing his shortcomings and reflecting was not something just anyone could do.
Only those who could boldly abandon the will and beliefs they had held could grow endlessly.
Perhaps that was why.
The light of the halo grew even stronger.
“So from now on, I’ve decided to love you more sincerely than I do now.”
With determination, Liam kissed the back of my hand, which he had been holding so dearly.
Coincidentally, on that hand was the doodle Erina had made before we departed for the Void.
A sunflower and a knight.
And the phrase “I love you.”
The cute doodle from our daughter, which was the fruit of our love.
“What’s your thought on this?”
“My thought?”
I chuckled softly as I placed my hand over Liam’s head.
I already knew what I wanted to say.
“Then please protect me forever.”
Even if the Black Sun appeared right in front of me intending to burn me alive, I wouldn’t be afraid.
Because the most reliable and strongest knight is beside me.
Even though the state of that Evil God seemed strangely off…
As long as Liam was by my side, I could face any threat head-on.
“Of course, that’s what I should do.”
Liam returned to his usual self, chuckling cheerfully.
I smiled along with him.
Seeing my mom and dad smiling, Rohan also began to wave his arms happily.
It was a moment that would stick in my memory for a long time.
“Well then, should we start heading back?”
“Sure.”
“Oh, but before that, I have something else to say.”
“What is it?”
I asked, trying to sound nonchalant, as Liam wickedly chuckled and whispered in my ear.
“I’ll use one ‘Eluke body freedom pass’ here.”
“…….”
Why is he suddenly acting like this after everything was going so well?
“Do we have to do it here? Let’s do it when we go back.”
“No way.”
“What about the kids?”
“Don’t worry. Rohan doesn’t know anything. Why are you acting like this? Didn’t you give me the freedom pass for this?”
Realizing that continuing the conversation would lead to a tough disagreement, I sighed and nodded.
“…Make sure no one sees or hears us.”
I was just too weak against Liam.
*
I took a day off and relaxed under Kelaout’s permission.
I spent time playing with the kids, lounging around in bed, and having some delightful chicken for dinner—a much-needed break that brought comfort and ease to my weary mind and body.
Honestly, a single day felt far too short, and when I mentioned wanting to rest a few more days, I had to endure a lengthy sermon from Kelaout about the dangers of sloth.
Anyway.
The holiday swiftly passed, and the next day arrived.
It was time to get back to work.
Before diving into my duties, I wanted to inhale some fresh air, so I eagerly went out for an early morning stroll.
With every step I took, a pleasant smile naturally blossomed on my face.
It was all thanks to the stargazing adventure from a couple of days prior.
On that day, I had a truly valuable experience.
The kids were happy, I had reconciled with Liam, and I had witnessed the divine growth of a demigod.
Plus, although it was something I couldn’t really share with anyone, I had shared a unique relationship high up in the sky.
‘…It was an addictive thrill.’
When I first set out to stargaze, I never expected it would turn out to be such a fulfilling family outing.
Since it was so unpredictable, it would likely remain a cherished memory.
Maybe because the emotional satisfaction was so great, even though my body was still tired from the triage rounds, my steps felt light.
“Pope, you’ve been looking cheerful since yesterday. Must be something good happened.”
Yao said, her voice filled with curiosity as she walked beside me, but I just smiled back.
I wanted to savor this delightful feeling all on my own without sharing it with anyone.
I hummed a tune I hadn’t sung in a while as I looked around the walking path.
Lush trees, weeds, and the occasional flowering mountain plants.
They were disorderly and lacked beauty, having grown in the wild, yet they made me feel warm.
Plants thrive by directly receiving the sun’s grace, which makes me feel closer to them than animals do.
“Yao, isn’t this walking path wonderful?”
“Of course, it is! Our White Tiger seems to think so too.”
The beast we brought from the Void, the White Tiger was bouncing around ahead of us.
Just as Yao said, it seemed to be enjoying the walking path. Its charming pursuit of butterflies among the trees was delightful to see.
With a contented heart, I continued to watch the White Tiger and then spoke.
“Yao, have you drafted a training schedule?”
Starting today, all the key figures of our Order would go into intensive training.
The goal was for everyone to reach the peak of superhuman abilities. Should that happen, we might be able to hold our own if the Black Sun suddenly appeared.
However, even gathering only superhumans wouldn’t fully face the Evil God.
We did have Liam, a demigod, but one wasn’t sufficient.
So.
I decided to become a demigod myself.
Having tried once before and failed, this would be my second attempt.
“I’ve managed to put a schedule together to some extent.”
Yao said confidently without showing any signs of hesitation. She was trustworthy when it came to work.
“Using the experience I had when I turned into a 1-star trash character from bumping into obstacles, I set up a training plan. The Archbishop even corrected some weak points, so it turned out pretty good.”
“Sounds good.”
“But… how do you plan to become a demigod? Do you have a method?”
Of course, I had a method.
I planned to follow the motto of the revered one.
“For starters, I’ll just keep trying until I succeed.”
If you keep smashing headfirst into things, eventually things will fall into place.
That was the confident philosophy of the Goddess.
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