“Ri… Lily-ah…?”
“Um… Why are you here, Unnie…?”
As if in disbelief, Lily’s eyes started to tremble fiercely.
“Why did you kiss that woman…?”
“Uh… Huh?”
I checked my posture at Lily’s words. Wrapped around Athena’s waist, my toes lifted, pressing my face against hers.
It was quite an embarrassing position to show to others. And especially if the person in question was Lily…
My eyelids began to twitch slightly.
After staring at me in confusion for a while, Lily soon took out the Sacred Sword with a look of realization.
“Ri… Lily-ah?”
Why are you drawing the Sacred Sword…?
“Oh… I see. That woman threatened you again, didn’t she?”
“Uh… Huh?”
“Unnie. I’ll kill her for you. I’ll save you. I can do it.”
Lily clenched the sword and started walking closer.
As her murderous intent thickened, I desperately tried to intervene, but Athena interrupted my words first.
“Calm down, kid.”
“Who are you calling a kid?!”
Lily scowled at Athena’s words, approaching even faster.
“Are you trying to take Unnie away again…?!”
“Ri… Lily-ah, that’s not it! Athena is-”
“It’s okay, Unnie. I’ll save you. Just trust me.”
With that, Lily dashed forward quickly. Athena sighed as if she had no choice and wrapped her mana around her body.
A tense standoff.
“Ah… Athena saved me!!”
But as I rushed between them and stretched out my arms, both of them suddenly froze in place.
So there was silence among the three of us for a moment.
“….What?”
Breaking the silence was Lily’s eerily calm voice.
I hurriedly approached her to explain before she could misunderstand further.
“I… I almost got kidnapped by the Demon King… but Athena stopped it!”
“…The Demon King tried to take my Unnie?”
Lily’s violet eyes gleamed with even more intent.
Thinking this isn’t good, I rushed to Lily and firmly held her hands.
Fortunately, Lily’s energy slightly subsided. I quickly seized the opportunity to speak.
“If it weren’t for Athena… I would have been dragged into the Demon Realm. So please, calm down…”
“……”
However, despite my plea, Lily continued to shoot Athena a cold glare.
Meanwhile, I started to persuade Lily with the softest voice I could muster.
“Um… A-Athena isn’t as bad as you think, okay?”
“She kidnapped my Unnie. She made her cry. What if she does it again?”
“Th-That’s nothing to worry about!”
Lily’s eyes widened in surprise. She didn’t give any reply and waited for my next words.
I faced her and said confidently.
“Now Athena has become my slave! So Unnie is fine.”
“….What?”
A chilling voice interrupted my expected positive response.
Lily looked at me with an expression of confusion.
“My Unnie’s slave? Why? Did Unnie agree to it?”
“Uh…? Th-That’s…?”
“….No. We need to talk separately.”
Lily grabbed my arm and started leading me somewhere.
With no resistance, I followed her when Athena grabbed my other arm to stop me.
“Kid, I just reunited with Hera after two years!”
“Don’t touch my Unnie!!”
“That’s impossible.”
Thus began the standoff from both sides.
They pulled me fiercely like kids fighting over a toy during the holidays.
“Wait… guys…!”
As the pain began to intensify, I tried to mediate, but my words were drowned out by their strong tension.
“I also have a lot to say to Hera, kid.”
“She’s my Unnie!! Don’t take her away!!”
“Wait a second…!”
With my arms stretched out to both sides, they were both pulling me this way and that.
In the midst of my confusion, someone started approaching us.
Hoping for a touch of salvation, I looked at the figure.
“…….Eomma?”
With slightly longer sky-blue hair and an incredibly beautiful face.
My daughter, whose eyes would not hurt even if you put them in your own, was staring at me with serene eyes.
“What’s going on here?”
“M-Ma… Mari…?”
This already chaotic situation was about to spiral into pure catastrophe.
*
The heart of the Empire known as Ruiter.
And in this famous city, a promising restaurant has survived through fierce competition.
Drawing popularity from various social classes with delicious food and tasty drinks.
Currently, this restaurant was operating solely for three people.
The customers, at first, couldn’t help but be dissatisfied.
They came to this restaurant with high expectations, having heard the rumors, only to be turned away.
However, when the manager inside explained the situation, they quickly retreated, humbly.
After all, it was a historic event where the Empire’s hero and the wielder of the Sacred Sword were gathered in one place.
Who would dare to confidently step inside?
‘I’m screwed….’
Manager Tom thought inwardly.
He had worked hard to build up his restaurant’s reputation, but he never expected his life would hang by a thread overnight.
“I’ll have a beer. Um… the kid can’t drink, so give her a soda—”
“Who are you calling a kid?!”
The silver-haired girl, the Hero, snapped, causing Tom to flinch.
“Ri… Lily-ah… let’s try to stay calm here…”
Fortunately, the beautiful dark-haired lady spoke nervously, and the Hero’s rage began to subside.
Eventually, the dark-haired woman snatched the order slip from the hero, starting to place her order slowly.
“Um… I’ll have a beer as well. Ri… Lily, what do you want to drink?”
“…Water.”
“Oh, is that so? Then please give us a water and the most popular menu item each.”
Finishing her sentence while handing over the order slip, it felt heavier than her own lifeline.
“Please make it delicious.”
With a charming smile that could lure anyone in, her tone felt like a death sentence to Tom.
‘If it’s not tasty, my life is ruined…!!’
“I’ll make sure to fulfill your order!! It will be ready soon!!”
However, he couldn’t voice any complaints.
In the end, he trudged back to the kitchen.
Tom thought to himself.
Today might very well be the end of his career.
*
‘… It looks like they’re quite surprised, huh?’
The manager’s face kept replaying in my mind.
He probably looks as if he’s about to be executed at any moment.
After all, Athena and Hero Lily were here; how could one not be tense?
He already felt guilty for sending the customers away, and now it seemed he added an extra burden.
‘I’ll have to thank him later, saying it was delicious when we leave…’
That would be the least he could do.
“Well, I don’t plan to talk to you for long.”
In the brief moment I drifted into thought, Lily was once again glaring at Athena with fierce eyes.
“I want to talk with you.”
“Isn’t your face too thick?”
As Athena casually remarked, Lily gripped her utensils tightly and spoke in a seething voice.
Honestly, I was at a loss.
I didn’t know where to start.
From Lily’s perspective, Athena must have been loathsome.
I initially hated Athena to the core as well.
If anything, Lily would hate her even more.
So, asking Lily to get along with Athena was understandably difficult.
However… selfishly speaking…
I wished they could get along.
Athena wasn’t a bad person; she just had a twisted personality.
Lily, too, was a genuinely sweet and adorable girl who only got sensitive about issues related to me.
Oh, and as a side note…
Surprisingly, Lily started to get along rather well with Mari.
Upon introducing her as my daughter, Lily treated Mari with an abundance of kindness.
– Is Unnie human?
After receiving the answer to that one question, Mari began to accept her.
From then on, the two started to communicate surprisingly well.
“Lily… can’t you just get along with Athena?”
As I looked at Lily with earnest eyes, she flinched and exploded with emotion.
“Unnie! Have you forgotten what this woman did to you?! She made you her slave and took you away without permission!”
With each word, Athena flinched slightly.
Perhaps it pricked her conscience, as her expression darkened.
“But… how can I get along with someone like that? Do you have any idea how I’ve been for the last three years… how hard it was?”
As her pent-up emotions overflowed, she began to raise her voice, tears forming in her eyes.
Yet, it wasn’t an incorrect statement, so I was at a loss over how to persuade Lily.
As I continued to wander aimlessly, Athena gazed at Lily for a moment, let out a short sigh, and approached her.
“…..What’s the matter, you?”
As Athena stepped closer, Lily took out her sword, ready to strike at any moment.
But…
“I was wrong.”
At Athena’s unexpected words, the hand Lily had resting on her sword sheath lost its direction.
“…What?”
As Lily froze in astonishment, Athena slowly lowered herself, kneeling before Lily and looking up at her.
“I’m sorry. I truly regret what I did back then.”
Lily looked at Athena, unable to believe her eyes.
But Athena disregarded it and continued to look at her seriously.
“It’s not going to be easy, but… will you forgive me, just this once?”
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