Fa...ther and Daughter Role Reversal (1)
Fa...ther and Daughter Role Reversal (1)
[Return to the mansion?]
I tilted my head at the sudden suggestion, and Lee Ji-yeon added an explanation.
"When you became younger last time. You used Taesan to recover, right? Specifically, by channeling Vitality Energy into your body."
[...Yes, that's right.]
I nodded obediently.
By imitating Taesan and artificially absorbing Vitality Energy, I can revert to my original state relatively quickly.
"That explains it. Not long after you learned the Taesan technique, you returned to normal in no time."
Lee Ji-yeon, nodding as if a question had been resolved, patted my shoulder.
"Then you must also be aware that your mansion is brimming with an overwhelming amount of Vitality Energy."
[Yes.]
The mansion where the Headmaster once lived—whether due to some special Word Command cast upon it—is abundant in Vitality Energy.
It's the perfect environment for a body like mine that constantly bleeds Vitality Energy.
Breathing is easier there, and the hollow sensation that always lingers around me diminishes.
Even without deliberately imitating Taesan, my Vitality Energy naturally replenishes itself within that mansion.
"That's why I suggested it. If you stay there, you'll return to normal much faster and without any strain."
She had a point.
If I stayed at the mansion, I wouldn't need to use Taesan, and since it wouldn't be an artificial infusion, there'd be no burden.
But I couldn't nod.
[Still. The situation isn't fully resolved yet...]
The Reverse Side Rampage was beginning to show a downward trend.
Since we had been holding it back effectively up until now, the damage would only decrease further as the rampage lost momentum.
Even so, it didn't feel right for me to withdraw from here.
Me, who personally triggered the rampage and gathered the forces to stop it?
"...Didn't you say that was a catastrophe destined to happen someday? You stopped it with the resolve to sacrifice yourself. And in reality, haven't the casualties decreased dramatically thanks to you?"
[The casualties have decreased, but they aren't zero.]
"If you hadn't stopped it, we wouldn't be able to count them on one hand like this. Is that why you've been looking so gloomy from time to time?"
Lee Ji-yeon murmured in apparent disbelief, sweeping back my hair.
"Junior, you don't seem to realize how tremendous the things you've done are. During Sipnaha, in China, and here and now."
[I'm not a fool.]
My lips jutted out involuntarily at her words that seemed to treat me like some clueless idiot.
Of course, when I write it down, I do have some awareness that I've accomplished remarkable things.
I just can't ignore the casualties listed beneath those accomplishments.
I could have done better.
That thought refuses to leave me.
"Is that why you're reluctant to go back?"
[...We can all go back together later, right?]
"Ah, was that the main point? You're worried about us?"
She hit the nail on the head. Truthfully, the latter reason carried far more weight.
My fingertips and toes itching with restless embarrassment, I buried my face in Lee Ji-yeon's arms.
'...Did I always cling to her so readily?'
A question flickered for a moment, but I soon let it slide, sinking into the comfort.
'How could I just leave...'
Since I had come here in secret to begin with, I never expected the people around me to show up here.
They would surely be a great help, but I hadn't deliberately sought their assistance.
But since they had come anyway, I didn't want to leave either.
No matter how much I wield the Authority of Space, having them right beside me puts my mind at ease.
Even if my body is in this state, I can return to normal immediately if I'm willing to bear the strain.
"Ah... Then... Alright."
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been looking awkward at my tight-lipped reaction, seemed to ponder for a moment before breaking into a smile.
It felt like a remarkably confident smile.
"Just trust me."
[Pardon?]
"As long as I'm here, I won't let anyone get hurt. We'll all return safely. Well, everyone's strong in the first place, so it probably won't be an issue anyway."
Lee Ji-yeon shrugged her shoulders and pressed both hands firmly against my cheeks.
"Anyway, everyone will be safe, so don't worry. You've already suffered enough, Junior. Go back and rest comfortably."
My cheeks squished between her hands, I blinked.
Whether she found that sight amusing, Lee Ji-yeon let out a small laugh and asked again.
"Understood?"
[Yes...]
The answer came reflexively. It was because of a certain momentum that made it difficult to raise any objection.
Watching my reaction, Lee Ji-yeon nodded as if satisfied.
'...Then what about meals...?'
...Truthfully, I had more personal reasons for wanting to remain here, but I couldn't bring myself to say them.
In the end, I kept my mouth shut, my cheeks still firmly squished.
* * *
That was why I returned to the mansion first.
When I told the others the same thing, they seemed sad to see me go but also visibly pleased.
Evidently, none of them had been comfortable with me being on a battlefield, even if it was the rear lines.
...I felt the same way about them, but due to my karmic debt and condition, I let myself be quietly ushered away.
'If things get truly dangerous, I'll have to use Spatial Leap to jump over anyway.'
The travel itself wasn't inconvenient.
That was because I could cross over to Siyoram directly through a temporarily installed Gate.
Anyway, that was how I returned to the mansion.
"Dad, you really... are too much. Yes?"
[Sowwy...]
...And that was how I ended up with my cheeks ruthlessly seized by my daughter, Seo-yul.
The feeling of having returned alive was incinerated alongside Seo-yul's icy expression as she waited at the mansion's front gate.
And now I'd been dragged into the mansion and was having both cheeks pinched like rice cakes. That was the current situation...
"How could you do this? You said you'd come back safely, and then you return all battered and injured..."
[I'm weally sowwy... Seo-yul...]
The sensation of my cheeks stretching in my daughter's hands felt profoundly awkward.
"This is the umpteenth time... I, I thought... something had gone wrong again..."
[I'm sorry... it's all my fault...]
But I would never dare to escape the touch of my enraged daughter.
Faced with the suppressed tears visible beneath her cold demeanor, I could do nothing but break out in a cold sweat.
How could anyone with a conscience run away? I was in a position where I'd have to accept it even if Seo-yul grabbed me by the hair and shook me...
"Miss Lee Seo-yul has suffered greatly in her heart."
Those were the words of Lady Eriel, entrusted with Seo-yul's protection and care.
The reproach in her stoic gaze made my shoulders shrink on their own.
I had no leg to stand on for any rebuttal...
'...But shouldn't you at least be helping me?'
The fairies gathered in clusters around me were shifting nervously, staring at us, while I was being thoroughly tormented by Seo-yul.
'You always call me King, King, but when your King is being persecuted, you just gawk blankly?'
That wasn't all.
The spirits, too, were just hovering around, whimpering and watching Seo-yul's mood.
The baby unicorn also couldn't bring itself to approach and just circled the area.
'Why are they like that?'
I have no idea why everyone is so wary of Seo-yul...
"Dad, where are you focusing your attention?"
[Eek.]
My wandering consciousness snapped back.
Her lips jutting out in a pout, Seo-yul released her hands from my cheeks.
Then, lowering her hands, she slipped them under my armpits and abruptly lifted me into the air.
[Hurk...]
That act was utterly shocking.
My legs left the ground. My body floated up. Seized by Seo-yul's hands, I dangled limply in midair...
Seo-yul's eyes sparkled as she held me aloft.
"...Dad. Now you're a lot smaller than me."
[Ugh...]
A sharp blade stabbed deep. The place it lodged was where the last scrap of my pride resided.
"I'm the bigger one now."
[Gaah...]
"From the outside, people won't see a dad and daughter. They'll think you're my little brother."
[P-Please stop...]
My body trembled from the tremendous psychological damage.
Seo-yul, who somehow seemed to be in a better mood, beamed a bright smile and then scooped me into her arms.
Astonishingly, I fit into her embrace.
[Gyaaah...]
As if that were the finishing blow, my spirit crumbled. An indescribable misery shattered my heart...
Ellia...
Having escaped Seo-yul's clutches, I trudged toward the only hope: Ellia, who had accompanied me for the sole reason that she couldn't possibly let me go alone.
"Ahaha, did Seo-yul give you a good scolding?"
I burrowed, wriggling, into the arms of Ellia, who smiled wryly and opened them wide.
As I rubbed my burning cheeks firmly against her chest, a hand came up over my head and warmly stroked my hair.
"Do you know how worried Seo-yul was? You realize this much is nothing but a cute display of affection, right?"
"Yesss..."
I know. In the end, I know I'm the guilty one, which is why I can't dare to resist...
Being held in Ellia's arms made things feel okay.
The gazes flying at me from around the room stung a bit, but I still didn't want to leave her embrace.
- Grumble...
Right then, my stomach grumbled. It was hunger that had set in later than usual.
'I should eat something...'
My expression clouded at the hunger tickling my stomach.
As famished as I was, I needed to put something decent into my mouth...
Just as I was about to pull out some porridge from my Subspace.
"...Oh my, are you hungry?"
Ellia's gaze as she looked down at me turned peculiar.
* * *
[The Tower Master of Growth suppresses the 「Curse of Beauty's Misfortune」.]
[The Tower Master of Growth heaves a sigh of relief.]
[The Tower Master of Harmonization collapses onto the floor.]
* * *
At the moment Lee Ha-yul departed for Siyoram through the Gate,
Lee Ji-yeon was in a temporary office situated behind the defensive line.
Having checked the minor tasks at hand, she tapped her fingers on the desk.
'Does he truly not perceive it?'
Lee Ha-yul uses Taesan. Moreover, in the past, he had used Taesan's manipulation of Vitality Energy to revert a childlike body to normal.
...Something was strange.
How much Vitality Energy can one contain? How large and sturdy is the vessel that holds it?
Injecting Vitality Energy into one's body implies being able to perceive one's own Vitality Energy and vessel.
And yet, Lee Ha-yul seemed oblivious to his own peculiarity.
He acted as if he had filled himself with Vitality Energy, but from what Lee Ji-yeon perceived, the amount was far from sufficient.
'What on earth is it?'
It didn't add up. There was a discrepancy in awareness somewhere.
Her expression creased, Lee Ji-yeon racked her brain.
'Should I have just taken him to the Life Vein...'
The Life Vein.
One of the zones managed by the Taesan family's main house, it is a location guarded with exceptional strictness because it is filled with uniquely pure and numinous Vitality Energy.
In principle, entry is impossible for anyone who is not a key affiliate of the family.
'But isn't Junior practically an affiliate now...'
Lee Ha-yul wields Taesan. On top of that, his output is comparable to her own.
'No, but still, it hasn't been officially announced...'
Wasn't this a matter she hadn't even reported to the family head yet?
And they'd also have to inform the Three Great Families, get their acknowledgement, prompt their shock, their uproar, the subsequent handling, the internal meetings, the meetings, and the meetings...
'Ugh.'
Imagining the chaos yet to unfold, Lee Ji-yeon let out a deep, involuntary sigh.