Two Mothers Must Be Nice (1)
Resolving Selene’s misunderstanding took an enormous amount of effort.
“Selene, there’s a reason for all of this! Please, just listen to me!”
No matter how much I protested, she showed no sign of listening. The Wedge Sword of Hellfire blazed with a brilliance I had never seen before, and I was forced to confront the uncomfortable truth that Selene had never once used her full power until now.
Karne met her head-on, spreading her black wings without restraint and drawing the 5-star weapon I had once gifted her in the game. Kugugugu! The wedge sword and the scythe collided. In the next instant, a battle so swift and fierce that no ordinary human eye could follow erupted between them.
Unable to stand by any longer, I summoned the 4-star disaster Rock Crusher to stop their fight, only to watch our poor golem lose an arm within a minute.
“Mirien, can’t you try to stop them?”
“Huh? Why me?”
The only disaster capable of mediating this fight, the Storm of the North Sea, was surprisingly munching on popcorn. Not only that—she was happily watching the two of them go at it.
“Wouldn’t it be better if they just fought until they wiped each other out? Then Actor could stay with me and be happy, right?”
“……”
As expected, there was no camaraderie between them. How on earth was I supposed to resolve this total mess? I let out a groan.
In the end, the fight only stopped when both sides were completely incapacitated. Selene’s shoulders looked dislocated, her arms dangling limply at her sides, while Karne had lost a good chunk of her left wing. Of course, once they returned to the base they would recover to their original state after some time, but the aftermath of two disasters going all-out was nothing short of devastating. A nearby mountain had been stripped bare, the stream had evaporated, and even the area around the cave was completely destroyed.
“…How the hell am I supposed to clean this up…?”
All this damage had come not from fighting Karne, who was hostile toward me, but simply from dealing with the aftermath. What kind of excuse could I possibly give the Chinese Awakened Alliance when they arrived soon?
While pondering the problem, I glanced at the one-armed Rock Crusher and came up with a plan. First, I rolled around in the blood-soaked ground near the cave until I was covered in it, then tousled my hair until it looked wild. I tore off several buttons from my cheap shirt and ripped the cuffs with a sharp rock.
“What are you doing? Stop that. Actor, self-harm is bad.”
“It’s not self-harm. It’s makeup. I’m making an excuse.”
“An excuse?”
Mirien didn’t understand, but I ignored her and continued turning myself into a complete wreck. After doing a few sets of burpees, I was utterly exhausted.
Leihu and Yu Junseo arrived a few minutes later.
“N-Nam Juyeon!”
Yu Junseo was the first to leap out of the car and rush toward me. His running posture was awkward; he looked like he had nearly wet himself during the fight.
“What happened to you? Are you hurt? You’re okay, right?”
Yu Junseo asked the obvious question. I caught my breath and calmly lied.
“Yeah, more or less. I’ve wrapped things up.”
“Wrapped things up…? Don’t tell me you cleared that dungeon…”
“Not cleared, exactly. I just drove out the dungeon’s master.”
Lao Ying, quick on the uptake, translated my words for Leihu. The Chinese man covered his mouth in disbelief. His gaze naturally drifted to the devastated landscape around us.
Yu Junseo asked with a half-doubting expression, “Nam Juyeon, don’t tell me all this is from you fighting directly?”
“Something like that.”
I gave a bitter smile while looking at the Rock Crusher I was still keeping summoned. To the Chinese Awakened, our poor one-armed golem—who had lost its arm while trying to intervene in Selene and Karne’s battle—probably looked like a revolutionary fighter who had just finished a war against the Nationalists, or even like a founding father. Of course, the hand that could have pointed at the ominous bird and called it harmful was already gone.
“Then… Nam Juyeon… you killed all those countless disasters and drove out their master…”
Having grasped the situation, Yu Junseo let out a hollow laugh.
“…You really won’t consider becoming the president of the Awakened Association?”
“I won’t.”
I refused outright. After that, everything proceeded smoothly. With such clear evidence of battle, Leihu and the rest of the Awakened Alliance didn’t suspect me in the slightest. Instead, they showered me with every possible praise, calling me the savior who had rescued China from crisis. According to Lao Ying’s translation, they even used terms like “Martial Alliance Leader.” It was easy to see just how grateful these China-obsessed people were.
“So the Alliance is planning to hold a celebratory banquet in honor of this victory. They’re saying you’re practically the main figure behind it, so won’t you attend…?”
“I’ll have to decline.”
I shook my head with an awkward smile.
“I’m a bit tired, so I’d like to rest today.”
“…Ah.”
My disguise was perfect. I looked completely exhausted. No one objected to me going to rest. Leihu wore a worried expression and said something, which Lao Ying translated.
“They’re offering to send a doctor from the Alliance.”
“No, that won’t be necessary either.”
After all, I didn’t have a single injury. But Yu Junseo interpreted my refusal differently.
“Well, you can’t trust those Chinese doctors anyway.”
As always, he added an unnecessary remark.
*
The Chinese Awakened Alliance was in full celebration mode now that everything was resolved, but from my perspective, the real work was just beginning. Or rather, this was where it all started.
“That whore dared to do something vile to My Lord! She must have used brainwashing magic!”
“Oh my, Selene. Such harsh words. How can it be wrong for a child to cherish their mother, and for a mother to embrace her child?”
“That very attitude is the problem!”
As expected, the moment I summoned them back to the lodging, Selene and Karne immediately started brawling again. Fortunately, both of them still had enough sense not to draw blades openly inside the embassy. Selene pointed an accusing finger at Karne, her face twisted in fury, while Karne merely wore a faint smile.
“To begin with, you laid hands on My Lord with ill intent. That alone is blasphemy.”
“He wasn’t hurt. I already apologized to Actor, didn’t I?”
Karne glanced at me as if seeking confirmation. I nodded awkwardly, and Selene reacted even more violently to my response.
“My Lord, that woman is falsely claiming to be your mother!”
“That was something the child asked of me. How could I refuse when she so adorably begged me to become her mother? Besides, I don’t think it would be proper for a loyal subordinate to object to the child’s decision to accept me.”
“My Lord, do you truly intend to bring that black-haired beast into this sacred domain? That harlot was ready to turn her back on you and destroy the world just half a day ago!”
Even though the conversation was between the two of them, Selene directed her complaints at me. I mumbled a vague reply.
“…Well… that’s true, but it’s not the case anymore…”
I could understand why Selene was furious. Even I hadn’t expected Karne to smile at me just because of some mother-and-child roleplay. It was good if it was good, and bad if it was bad. I was glad the external matters had been resolved smoothly, but dealing with this internal conflict was no easy task.
Moreover, while Karne was gentle toward me, she showed no such kindness to Selene.
“…However, Selene, this wretched mother has some doubts.”
“What is it?”
“You failed to protect Actor, didn’t you?”
“W-What are you saying…?”
“Am I wrong? Just a few hours ago, you lost to me, Selene. I’m not sure this mother can entrust the protection of her precious child to such a weakling.”
“……”
Crack. A sound that could never come from a human throat escaped Selene. It was the sound of her reason snapping. My heart lurched, wondering if she might draw her sword, but instead she trembled her eyelids and looked to Mirien as her last hope.
“Magic Sack! You say something too!”
“Huh? Umm… Well… Neither of you is exactly wrong, I guess? Or maybe not.”
Mirien answered with a smirk, and Selene’s eyes narrowed.
“…Magic Sack.”
“What?”
“Why are you sitting on My Lord’s lap?”
“…Because it’s comfortable? Mind your own business and finish your fight.”
“……”
At some point, Mirien had crawled into my arms. She was truly a master of exploiting gaps in the market, a middleman trader of the highest order. Of course, for me, caught in the middle, it was pure torture.
“…Can’t you all just get along?”
In the end, all I could do was repeat the same words I had said countless times before.