Chapter 110
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: The Understanding One (2)
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Hot chocolate isn't difficult.
I headed to the kitchen.
I poured milk into a small pot, dumped in a heap of finely chopped dark chocolate, and set it on the heat.
Slowly, I began stirring.
How sweet should I make it?
- Hmph... hmph...
Oh dear.
Someone outside was huffing and puffing.
Make it extra sweet.
She's still young, after all.
I added a generous amount of sugar.
Sweet enough to brighten her mood the moment she tasted it.
Right then.
[User... perhaps...?]
[(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)]
- Swish.
A cute little hand poked through the hole.
I nodded with a smile.
I sent the hot chocolate in a paper cup over to her side of the world.
I picked up the remaining mug and stepped out.
"You've kept you waiting, Heavenly Demon."
I approached her, calling her Heavenly Demon as casually as ever.
The man who'd just called her "Hwayeon-ah" was nowhere in sight.
"......"
Jahwa-yeon shot me a pouty glare, her face full of sulkiness.
A clear look of protest.
"Who calls the Heavenly Demon by her personal name like that?"
She took the hot chocolate I offered and launched into her complaint.
"Isn't your name lovely?"
I replied shamelessly.
She flushed slightly, flustered for a moment, but quickly schooled her expression.
"Not even 'Hwayeon Sojeo.' You can't call me that."
She grumbled as she warmed her hands on the steaming mug.
She must have been cold.
"I see."
I nodded obediently.
Then I stood, fetched a blanket, and draped it over her shoulders.
"From now on, I'll call you Heavenly Demon."
Jahwa-yeon's eyes wavered with confusion.
She fidgeted awkwardly for a bit before clearing her throat and pointedly looking out the window.
"......If you really want to use my real name, then call me the way they do in this world. 'Hwayeon-ssi' or something..."
She finally offered a compromise. At that moment, a system window popped up before my eyes.
[Hearing 'Heavenly Demon' again feels like putting up a stiff wall all over, so she hates that.]
Heh heh. So that's how it is.
I've gotten to see so many sides of Jahwa-yeon today.
She doesn't like "Hwayeon-ah." And she doesn't like "Heavenly Demon" either.
What a picky monarch.
"No can do. I can't be rude to the Heavenly Demon."
"......"
At my words, Jahwa-yeon looked at me.
She was licking her lips, clearly savoring the hot chocolate, but her eyes were glaring daggers.
Her expression screamed deep dissatisfaction.
For now, shall we begin the session?
It's a bit early, but let's get started.
"So... what brings the Heavenly Demon here today?"
If it were nothing, she'd have just dropped by unannounced.
She would've sent word through Geumgang at least.
But this time, she made a reservation.
This was different.
"I have business."
She set down her mug and fixed me with a steady gaze, chin propped on her hand.
"I didn't realize it back then, but your reputation... the stories paint you as exceptionally capable. As expected of this seat's judgment. I'd like a counseling session after all this time."
"Counseling, you say."
Something must have come up.
She'd never suffered from any mental affliction to begin with.
Her problems were always discords with her people or internal power struggles within the cult.
For her to request a session directly like this meant trouble had definitely arisen.
I straightened into full counselor mode.
"Understood. What's been troubling you lately?"
[Oh, so delicious~!!]
[All gone!!]
I ignored the excited exclamations and met Jahwa-yeon's gaze.
"Do you know about the relations between the Righteous Sects and the Demonic Cult?"
She spoke first, hot chocolate mug in hand.
The moment she began, her aura shifted instantly to that of a sovereign.
"...To some extent... I suppose you could say I know..."
I had to give a vague answer.
That was the extent of my knowledge—vaguely pieced together.
Just scraps from wuxia novels.
More than a layperson, sure, but from a counselor's perspective, it was ambiguous.
"Well, sworn enemies. That much is enough."
She brushed it off simply.
"But the world has changed. The organizations have too. Even that fox of the Azure Heaven Alliance is fully aware of it."
Jahwa-yeon's tale was straightforward.
It was about the past.
The Azure Heaven Alliance had been cunning, while the Demonic Cult in her absence had been foolish.
"Getting caught up in pointless rage and picking fights—idiots."
She took a sip of hot chocolate.
The Demonic Cult without her had been foolish.
"But now, I've rooted out every last one of those idiots. Only those who think of the cult's future remain."
She closed her eyes.
"So... we..."
She murmured softly.
"Have decided on a Righteous-Demonic alliance."
"?!"
I almost couldn't believe my ears.
The Righteous Sects and the Demonic Cult? Together?
I wouldn't have been so shocked if it were just guilds merging.
But this was something else entirely.
Like mixing water and oil, wasn't it?
As if understanding my bewildered expression, she licked the hot chocolate from her lips and added,
"Of course, having to keep dealing with that old fox's facade doesn't sit well."
She set down her mug.
The petulant little Heavenly Demon was gone; the atmosphere was purely that of a ruler.
"But the gains outweigh it."
Setting aside culture and ideology, her judgment was utterly rational.
Hunters from the Central Plains were fewer than those from major regulated worlds, but their strength was exceptional.
That was why the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and Azure Heaven Alliance, despite their endless feuds, had each secured a spot among the top ten guilds.
If those two joined forces...
It was tantalizing to imagine.
The ripple effects would be enormous.
"A wise choice."
I nodded.
Now, what was her worry here?
There were several possibilities.
But best to hear it from her lips.
"My concern is harmonizing the organization's members. It's... given me quite the headache."
Not a mental illness—just a regular worry. People could absolutely come to a counseling office for that.
Piling up troubles turned them into stress, undermining mental health and quality of life.
I just had to offer advice there.
"That's why I'm still mulling it over. We haven't stamped the final agreement yet."
"Does this alliance mean fully merging the two organizations?"
Let's start with the basics.
"We'll combine names and plan exchanges."
"However, the process won't be smooth. Even for the future, my subordinates will surely harbor different thoughts inwardly."
I listened in silence.
"What do you think, physician?"
Jahwa-yeon met my eyes and asked.
"Do you think it's right? Do you think my actions are correct?"
In the end, her worry was the backlash arising from merging two massive organizations.
A thoroughly realistic issue.
I nodded.
Was Jahwa-yeon asking me for a solution?
I could provide one if needed.
'Hold joint training, banquets to foster unity internally and externally, exchange positions, and so on.'
Not hard.
Advice was always easy; solutions were clear-cut.
Would Jahwa-yeon really come here at dawn in her pajamas for such obvious platitudes?
I...
Didn't think so.
She might show childish sides at times, but she was cool-headed.
Her talents as a ruler were outstanding.
After executing the Left Protector with a single stroke, she'd rebuilt the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's standing and prestige.
Someone like her wouldn't seek me out for an answer this basic.
What she truly feared probably wasn't the issues after integration.
Jahwa-yeon was still young, after all.
Since purging the Left Protector, she'd ruled her subordinates through fear.
They could no longer dream of defying the Heavenly Demon's words, and those outside the cult were simply enemies.
Among them all, I was the only one who could offer her clear support and encouragement.
Therefore.
She needed my backing.
I'd made that promise that day.
To love her as a monarch.
To be her sole understanding one.
To send her boundless support beyond measure.
What Jahwa-yeon was asking was,
'Has that resolve changed?'
[Didn't you say you'd love me? Didn't you say my will was right?]
[Tell me my choice is right.]
My guess was spot on.
Jahwa-yeon wasn't the type to fear side effects from a grand undertaking.
She wasn't one to shrink back in fright.
She just needed certainty.
The certainty that someone supported her before making such a monumental decision.
The suitable response was obvious—no need to check.
"Have you forgotten?"
I smiled.
"I promised to be the Heavenly Demon's one and only understanding one."
And continued,
"To love you always as a monarch."
"Nothing will block your path ahead."
Jahwa-yeon stared at me blankly for a long while after hearing that, then gave a slight bow of her head.
I could feel her shoulders trembling ever so faintly.
Was she that moved?
Doesn't look like she's crying...
A moment later.
When she raised her head again.
Jahwa-yeon was smiling.
'What?'
The atmosphere...
had completely changed.
Once when she began talking about her worries.
And now again—her aura had shifted in an instant twice over.
"Physician?"
Her voice even started to sound oddly buoyant.
This feeling was a first.
"Ditch the 'Heavenly Demon' title."
"......Then, Jahwa-yeon-ssi..."
"Ditch 'Hwayeon-ssi' too."
She looked at me, her lips curving up even higher.
"Call me Yeon."
I'd been strong-armed into a new form of address.
"A name I permitted only to my father and an old friend of the past."
"......Ha ha, how could I possibly..."
I laughed awkwardly and tried to take a step back.
"Now I get it. This won't do."
- Tap.
She snatched my wrist—softly, but with lightning speed.
"You're definitely mine."
Jahwa-yeon strode toward me.
With a gesture of her hand, the jet-black robe hanging on the chair flew to her like a living creature, draping over her shoulders.
The disheveled girl in pajamas from moments ago had transformed into the full regalia of the Heavenly Demon.
"Come now, physician. Say it. The name of the monarch you love."
She gently caressed my chin.
"Yeon."
Then Jahwa-yeon whispered into my ear.
"Hurry."