I Just Want to Rest
***
After seeing Yuna all the way home, when Cheon Seong returned to the house, Hana was already sound asleep in bed after finishing dinner.
"I'm back, Beatrice."
[Welcome home, my dear. Hana has just fallen asleep.]
"Sorry. Leaving Hana behind and rushing off like that."
[It's fine. I won't mind if you entrust her to me next time either.]
"Mmm... Dad... Dad..."
While stripping off his clothes, Cheon Seong approached the one mumbling his name in his sleep and gently stroked her head.
"Hehe... Good."
Watching the one smiling happily while he stroked her head made his heart feel at ease.
[You kept asking if I came back while eating, and I told her.]
"Oh... I should have hurried a little more."
[You came running as fast as you could, didn't you.]
"...Please pretend you didn't notice that."
Hana worried him after eating alone, so he rushed over after dropping Yuna off, but Beatrice must have sensed even that.
[You have changed a lot.]
"...That's not true."
Thanks to Hana, Yuna, and Beatrice, his personality seemed softer lately, but it was only with his own people.
Even now, thinking about those bastards made his teeth ache, and nightmares of that day still woke him up in the middle of the night.
And more than anything, he couldn't afford to relax.
Today was no different. The futures he knew had been shifting slightly lately.
Seeing minor incidents being reported on the news earlier than expected made it clear how drastically the future had changed, and he felt like he might go mad.
For now, living with Hana and Beatrice was fine, but he didn't want to believe he had changed.
He couldn't afford to change. He couldn't let himself grow soft in this peace.
He had to kill the Celestials and punish those who touched his precious people.
So he couldn't let himself soften or let his guard down... because he was that kind of person.
[...I feel like my dear spoke unnecessarily.]
"No, Beatrice. It's not your fault. It's just that I feel a sense of responsibility toward myself."
The moment he learned he had the power to kill Celestials, he started feeling responsible toward himself.
A strong responsibility to kill Celestials.
Other people's lives weren't his concern, but if he couldn't kill Celestials, his people would be in danger anyway, so he bore that responsibility.
In his past life, only ten Celestials had been killed while humanity died out. But when he asked Beatrice, she said it was only about the same number as the one he killed, Affinity, or even weaker ones.
Even Affinity was a 6th-class Celestial, and Beatrice was 1st-class.
That meant he didn't even know how many 1st-class Celestials stronger than Affinity existed.
With just 6th-class Celestials, the entire human race was wiped out. If 1st-class Celestials like Beatrice appeared, there would be no way he could stop them all from dying.
So he had to become strong enough to kill 1st-class Celestials. His current goal was to master the magic he used last before he died.
He had to prioritize learning the End: Eclipse.
Back then, he had been at the peak of standard ability users, just before transcending. He had died using the final Eclipse, his transcendence ending with his name and life at the same time.
That meant to use Eclipse again, he had to reach at least transcendence.
Time was tight.
Five years remained until Celestials appeared, and he had to reach transcendence within that time.
When there were only five people in the world who had reached transcendence, reaching it in five years was practically impossible. But he had to do it.
'...I need to start hunting monsters.'
Hunt monsters to collect mana stones and increase his mana.
It was the fastest way to grow stronger right now.
'...No. Let's think about that later.'
If he had been the Cheon Seong right before regression, he would have started monster hunting immediately.
Not now, though.
If he started hunting, he would inevitably have less time with Hana and couldn't protect Yuna.
But there was one way.
"...Beatrice."
[Why are you calling me, my dear?]
"...Teach me teleportation."
Learning the teleportation magic from the space element.
The reason he hadn't learned it from Beatrice before was simple.
It was too dangerous.
Space magic was classified as high-tier magic not just because it was difficult, but because the risks were too great if the casting failed.
Teleportation was especially risky: if it failed mid-cast, the caster's limbs could be severed and left in an unknown space, possibly vanishing entirely.
He wasn't moving without a plan after regression.
He was systematically addressing the things with the least danger to him.
That's why he hadn't considered learning teleportation from Beatrice.
If he messed up, it was better to disappear completely than have his limbs cut off, so he had avoided learning it.
[Are you sure? Teleportation is not an easy magic, as you know.]
"I know... If I don't learn it, I can't take care of Hana, can I?"
Even though Hana was a Yoho and grew quickly with her intelligence, she was still a child.
Kids her age needed parents around them.
Of course Beatrice could watch her, but it was better for Hana's emotional growth if it was him and her together.
...And now, without Hana, he felt empty.
"I was going to learn it later anyway. I just moved it up."
Teleportation was dangerous, but it was one of the magic he had to learn.
No matter how strong he became, his body was one, and the people he had to protect were more than one.
For their sake, he had to learn teleportation, and moving it forward now changed nothing.
[...I understand. But today, rest without doing anything.]
"I don't need to rest. I'm not tired, and I don't even feel like it—"
[Rest. This is an order from your master.]
Cheon Seong's mouth opened to say he didn't need to rest, but Beatrice, who had raised him, blocked it.
[You are mentally overwhelmed right now. No matter how strong and mentally strong you are, humans are weak. So rest. This is a command from your master.]
Cheon Seong, moved by Beatrice's firm will, pulled away the hand blocking his mouth and replied.
"Alright. I'll rest today as you say. But tomorrow, never. Even if I'm mentally overwhelmed, time is too tight right now."
[...That should be enough. Here... come here.]
Following Cheon Seong's words, Beatrice showed a slightly sad expression, kneeling on the floor and patting her own thigh.
"...What are you doing?"
[I'm doing this to make you rest.]
"Just lie on the bed and rest."
[Hana is sleeping, so she might wake up. Don't be stubborn and come here quickly. Why? Or do you want to touch my chest? If you do, you can touch as much as you want. Come quickly.]
Beatrice lifted her ample chest and asked, and Cheon Seong's Adam's apple moved involuntarily.
"Wh-what... I don't need that."
[Whether you need it or not, I don't care. And if you do, I have thought about it too.]
Beatrice used telekinesis magic toward Cheon Seong and lifted his body.
"Ugh! Beatrice! What are you doing!"
[Shh. Quiet now. Hana is sleeping, remember?]
"Ah... no... first, undo this... ."
[No.]
With telekinesis magic, Beatrice finally laid Cheon Seong's head on her thigh, stroked his head, and said,
[You will be able to do it. So don't worry too much.]
"...Even so, I can't help but worry. There are too many people I need to protect."
[My dear. There is no one you must protect alone. You are also a person. So don't carry too heavy a burden for yourself. This is my request.]
"... ."
The worry for him that Beatrice felt was so clear that Cheon Seong closed his eyes and couldn't say a word.
If he answered Beatrice's words, the emotions he had been suppressing might burst out, and if he opened his eyes, the tears he thought had dried might flow. He couldn't do anything.
All he could do was receive comfort from Beatrice's gentle strokes on his head; he had no will to do anything else.
No matter how much he suppressed, there was a limit, and he was so exhausted that it was even more so.
So for now, he just wanted to... rest comfortably.
***
It had been about two minutes since Cheon Seong placed his knee pillow under him, and he was sleeping with his head on Beatrice's soft, fluffy thigh.
But for just a moment, Cheon Seong's face wrinkled, and he started groaning in pain, as if tormented.
It was a nightmare.
The nightmare that had tormented him since before regression had returned.
[It's fine. It's not your fault... They don't resent you.]
Beatrice wiped the sweat flowing from his forehead and whispered to him until he calmed down, saying it wasn't her fault and that he wasn't resented.
Luckily, after a while, Cheon Seong's face smoothed out and he slept peacefully. Beatrice, regretting not being able to see his face as much as now, continued stroking his head.
"...Yuna..."
Cheon Seong's voice calling Yuna's name tenderly made Beatrice's heart ache.
[...This much is something I can't do anything about.]
No matter how many times it continued, it always hurt this much.
Comforting him while telling him it was unavoidable, Beatrice's hand that was stroking his head suddenly stopped when Cheon Seong murmured.
"Bea... trice..."
Beatrice's heart swelled with emotion at Cheon Seong muttering her name.
[Yes... I'm here. Your master is right here.]
Beatrice's hand stroking Cheon Seong's head was filled with tenderness.
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"Kim Secretary. Have you still not found him?"
"Yes, Young Miss. I've been looking based on the appearance description you gave, but I haven't found him yet."
"Sigh... I see. You can go now."
"Understood."
Clang
"Aaaah! Where the hell is he!!"
Yoo Hwa-young, a beautiful girl with red hair, punched the bed with her small fist and muttered.
"Hah... Where is he really? Or is he not living in this direction?"
She was looking for the masked man from the underground auction house.
The young-looking man's appearance glimpsed through the broken mask seemed like someone her age.
"That skill and appearance aren't rare, yet everyone is taking so long to find him!!"
'...It's because of the picture Young Miss gave us...'
While secretly watching Yoo Hwa-young who was pounding the bed in frustration, Kim Secretary recalled the picture she had given them.
Yoo Hwa-young's drawing, as if a 5-year-old kindergarten student had just drawn it, meant that no matter how many people they assigned or how much time they spent, it would take forever.
From a young age, Yoo Hwa-young had shown talent in many fields, but her drawing skills had always been stuck in place.
'And what was the guild master thinking, letting Young Miss know...'
The reason Kim Secretary was secretly watching Yoo Hwa-young right now was because of his superior's order: the guild master of the Flame King Guild.
Anyone who joined the Flame King knew and many already knew that the guild master was an enormous doting father.
When the youngest daughter, Yoo Hwa-young, asked to find a man, the guild naturally had to turn upside down.
—Find that bastard right now!!!
The sight of him shouting at everyone in the guild hall, spewing heat that could burn the office, still sent chills down one's spine even thinking about it.
'Who the hell is the idiot who seduced Young Miss... hah...'
And he was the surveillance agent assigned to monitor whether Yoo Hwa-young was contacting or meeting any other man.
Of course, if Yoo Hwa-young knew, it would cause chaos, but no one at the scene could refuse the guild master's order to shout and turn their face red with anger.
'...Sorry, Young Miss. We have no choice but to survive.'
Kim Secretary could only apologize inwardly to Yoo Hwa-young who was still hitting the bed asking when he would find the man.
No one could refuse the words of the only transcendent strong person in South Korea.
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