The morning chorus of birdsong fills the air.
A strange window. A strange ceiling. A strange chimdae.
Everything felt foreign to me.
But my heart was at ease, as if I had returned home after many years.
And that must be because of the eonni in front of me.
“Hehe…”
I wriggled in the bed, burrowing closer into eonni’s embrace.
To my surprise, I felt eonni’s hand gently stroking my head with a soft smile.
“Looks like you’ve turned into quite the spoiled one, Hera.”
“I’m just so happy to see you, eonni… Do you dislike it?”
Eonni pressed a brief kiss to my forehead and hugged me tighter.
“Not at all. I actually wish you’d be even more spoiled in my heart.”
Eonni was still the same.
Always comfortable to be around, always treating me warmly.
Even after three years apart, Dania eonni still held affection for me.
I found it hard to think of leaving this place.
“I’ll make breakfast. Come out in a bit.”
After leaving those words behind, Dania eonni stepped out of the bang, and I flopped back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
“I don’t want to go…”
The reunion with my beloved family after so long was wonderfully sweet.
It made me yearn to live under one roof with them for a lifetime like before.
But that was impossible.
I had to prepare for the demon king hunt…
And more importantly, there was a daughter I had to take responsibility for.
My adorably cute and lovely daughter, Mari.
I couldn’t just stay here without her.
Besides, today was the day I had to see Iris. Time to leave had come.
But… I no longer felt sad since I could always come back anytime.
“Guess I should head out.”
Thinking that just seeing eonni’s face was enough, I got out of the bed, putting my disappointment aside, and headed toward the delicious food aroma.
*
“Are you really leaving today?”
“Yes… I have promises to keep… and I need to get back to the academi.”
Eonni looked at me with a sad expression at my words.
“Do you have a place to stay? If not, you could live here.”
Lily, who had been eating beside me, grabbed my hand tightly, her eyes sparkling.
“I think that’s a great idea, Hera eonni.”
Given the hint of selfishness in Lily’s words, I gently shook my head.
“I don’t think I can, since I already have a home.”
“…Are you living with Athena?”
“No, I’ve been apart from Athena for quite some time.”
At my words, Lily’s previously darkened face brightened a bit, and I started pondering deeply.
‘Speaking of which, I should meet Athena soon…’
Ever since Athena’s soul was infused in me, I felt like she was always with me.
It’s like her life was cradled within me…
Thanks to that feeling, I hadn’t visited her until now.
But now, after quite some time has passed, even though I hadn’t fully forgiven her…
The thought of wanting to see Athena started to rise within me.
She had caused me so much pain, yet she was also the first person I loved with romantic feelings. Of course, I would want to see her.
‘…I’ll have to contact her once Lily’s situation is resolved.’
The plan for hunting the demon king I set up included Athena as well.
She could be seen as an essential force, at least as strong as Lily.
Even if she didn’t possess a sacred sword like Lily, she was still the only one who could match her in power.
If the hero Lily and the strongest human Athena combined their forces, there would be enough chances for victory.
And if my daughter, the swordsman, the saintess Iris, and I joined in, I honestly didn’t think we would lose.
Since Lily showed a positive attitude towards the demon king hunt… I should reach out to Athena soon.
Since Robin couldn’t become the hero, we all have to strive for everyone’s happiness.
I will act to ensure that everyone in this world can live safely and peacefully.
“Is anyone living with you?”
During my deep contemplation, I suddenly heard Dania eonni’s voice.
Having lost focus in the conversation, I mindlessly replied.
“Yes… I live at home with my daughter.”
‘Mari. I hope Sephir is taking good care of her.’
But my words, uttered without much thought, led to a tragedy.
Crack-
As I turned my head toward the sudden sound of something breaking, I saw a plate and the sikdak shattered by Lily’s fork.
The sikdak was supposed to be made of stone, right?
But I had no time to worry about the sikdak.
It was because Lily’s eyes before me were burning with a fierce rage that far surpassed the ominous aura I’d seen from the demon king.
“What did you just say…?”
Lily’s voice lowered to a chilling void.
“Li… Lily?”
“Daughter…? Did you just say daughter?”
Cowering under Lily’s menacing aura, I instinctively sought help from Dania eonni with my eyes but…
“….Hera?”
“Um… eonni…”
Dania eonni was merely gazing at me with eyes that had sunk into darkness.
The gentle eonni looking at me with such a gaze meant something had gone terribly wrong.
Had I said something wrong?
“Tell me, eonni.”
The voice, as if returned from hell, made my heart skip a beat.
I looked up to see Lily staring at me with icy calmness.
“Which bastard is he?”
With that, Lily’s face radiated lethal intent as if she would kill anyone at any moment.
“Wha… what are you talking about?”
Crack-
While I wandered in confusion at Lily’s words, I heard the sound of her grinding teeth.
“Which bastard… laid a hand on my eonni… I’ll kill him right now.”
“Hera.”
From beside the lethal Lily, eonni’s voice snatched my attention.
In the hope that she might support me in this situation, I looked at her with a desperate expression, but eonni only stared at me with the same heavy gaze as Lily.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Wh… what?!”
Naturally, her question made a flurry of question marks float in my mind.
A boyfriend…?
For me…?
“That… that can’t be true… Why would I have a boyfriend?”
However, my intended explanation seemed to make eonni’s gaze even colder.
“…So, he did that to you without your consent?”
“Wha…? What are you talking about?”
As I began to tremble in confusion, Dania eonni gently stroked my hand and spoke.
“It’s okay, Hera. Just tell me. Who got you pregnant?”
“Y… you?! P… Pregnant?!”
Startled, I suddenly leaped up from the sikdak.
‘P… Pregnant? Who? Me?’
Looking at eonni with trembling eyes, she raised an eyebrow and asked.
“Didn’t you just say you have a daughter?”
“Ah… Well, that… that’s not one I gave birth to…”
Only then did I start to grasp the situation from her words.
‘Ah, they confused it because I mentioned I have a daughter…’
After all, I hadn’t explained the situation and simply mentioned I had a daughter. So it was understandable they would jump to conclusions.
I placed my calmed heart in my hands and tried to explain the situation to her slowly.
Or so I tried, but…
“You don’t have to hide it, eonni. I’ll kill them. Anyone who dares to touch you shouldn’t exist in this world. Just tell me who they are, and I’ll go immediately to take their head off-”
Lily’s chilling voice stopped me from speaking anything.
…Looks like it would take a little longer to explain.
After some time, the atmosphere of our meal calmed down again.
Dania eonni let out a sigh of relief and resumed moving the tableware.
“You startled me, Hera…”
“I’m sorry… I said something weird.”
“…”
I glanced at Lily, who was still staring blankly at her food, and offered another apology.
After all, Lily had just confessed to having feelings for me. It would have hit her with a much greater shock.
“I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t explain it well…”
“…It’s okay. Really, it is. Please make sure to introduce me to your daughter. I want to befriend her.”
“Uh… really. Sure.”
After closing her eyes for a moment, Lily picked up the food and muttered in a small voice.
– Pregnancy must be mine…
I thought I heard something strange brush past my ear but decided to ignore it.
As we continued our cozy meal, Dania eonni asked me a question.
“When will you leave?”
“…I think I should head out soon after breakfast.”
“What a shame… just when we finally got to see each other.”
Her words cast a hint of melancholy in my heart as well.
If it were up to me, I would have preferred to live here with all of them, letting the demon king and academi be damned. But I knew that was impossible.
I suppressed my regret and looked earnestly at Dania eonni.
“I’ll come visit again. Until you get sick of me and kick me out.”
At my words, eonni’s eyes widened momentarily, and then she broke into a radiant smile, giggling as she stroked my head.
“Sure, come anytime. I’ll be waiting.”
With that, we were able to finish our remaining meal warmly and comfortably.
I felt again that I had done very well to come back here.
It truly was such a blissful moment.
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