Her Name Is Rhea (2)
Was this place from another world?
Far from the OO Hotel.
On a road already turned into an isolated zone, Rhea took her first step.
“The air quality here is quite bad.
I’ll have to keep this egg carefully wrapped in my arms as I leap straight onto the building above.
“The buildings here are incredibly tall.
It’s fascinating.
Human-built structures never surpassed even small mountain ranges.
But the buildings around here were high enough to easily clear small mountains.
Below, piles of scrap iron rolled around while hundreds of thousands of humans swarmed like ants.
“The era of humans… I suppose.
Rhea grabbed a leaf that drifted on the wind and blew a tiny breath of green light into it.
Fairy-like spirits emerged.
“Kyuuu! Kyuuu!!
Addressing the brightly smiling spirits, Rhea said,
“Find my hero for me.
The spirits scattered in all directions in search of the hero Kim Min-su’s scent.
In less than a minute, one spirit returned with news.
“Master! Master! Found him..!
At those words, Rhea shared her senses with the spirit.
It felt familiar.
The spirit’s senses.
Those senses revealed that some being carrying Kim Min-su’s scent was approaching her location at great speed.
“Approaching…?
Was the hero sensing Rhea’s offspring?
With that expectation, Rhea waited for him to arrive.
Tap.
A figure landed lightly on the building rooftop.
Rhea’s eyes widened slowly at the sight.
A woman with eyes like blood and flowing red hair.
Kim Min-su’s scent clung heavily to her.
“You… Are you related to the hero, I mean Kim Min-su?”
Jeok Hwa-ryeon felt her entire body shiver.
The Dragon Fear was suppressing her.
“Such overwhelming aura. Interesting. But how do you know Kim Min-su?”
Jeok Hwa-ryeon poured out her spiritual power with a glare.
The Blood Demon’s red aura spread around her.
If a normal person had been between them, they might have gone mad or died from that aura alone.
Rhea stepped back while shielding the egg in her arms.
“What…? Egg?
“Since you seem to know Kim Min-su, I’ll explain. This egg is my child with him.”
“What…? Child?”
“So, you must meet him.
Jeok Hwa-ryeon’s mind seemed to stop.
“Another wife…? And a child?”
She knew he had lived a third life as a hero in that world.
But she had never heard he had fallen in love there.
“Hah…”
Jeok Hwa-ryeon sighed and withdrew her aura.
“Let’s head to our home first.
***
“Here, isn’t it?”
“The gate is open!!”
“It was definitely closed before. Why is it open again?!”
Park Nam-jin reached the site once more and scanned his surroundings.
“What exactly happened here again?”
Private hunters stood in a circle around the gate.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the staff member frantically measuring the rank.
The gate was one of two types.
The Green Gate that led to another world.
The Black Gate where monsters or dangerous individuals could emerge anytime.
The third type, an unknown world gate without information, was a Red Gate.
“According to the scanner, it’s unmeasurable like last time.
The gate that had previously spawned a Living Armor Legion lasted an hour before vanishing on its own.
Since it appeared a second time, someone might have entered to destroy the core.
“Oh dear. Hot spot again these days?”
“A-rank hunter Moon Si-un!”
Hunter Moon Si-un, holding a katana, walked toward the portal.
“We’ll handle this one from the Valhalla Guild.
Countless Valhalla Guild hunters followed him.
“The clearance rate for private hunters on Red Gates is only 5%. We’ll have to step in.
“Valhalla Guild’s iron will! Kang Baek-ho is here too!”
Park Nam-jin watched them in admiration.
“This is really the first time I’ve seen it up close.
Someone grabbed Park Nam-jin’s shoulder.
“Is this Mr. Nam Jin-cheol?”
“Y-you are…?”
“Special Hunter Crime Department. I’m Ju Tae-jin. Is your schedule free?”
“Ah… Yeah… The gate I was about to enter was blocked too… It’s fine.
Ju Tae-jin smiled and led him to a nearby café.
***
I was heading home with a generous handful of beef and drinks plus snacks in my hands.
I suddenly recalled the conversation with my team leader Jo Seung-min.
“Are you really going to take vacation?”
“Of course I am.
“What’s with the high work addiction?”
“Oh right. I might even use my childcare leave soon.
“Huh…? Childcare leave?”
Jo Seung-min’s face had been priceless as he panicked.
Recalling that face, I smiled as I opened the door to my house.
“I need to keep the garden neat here.
Weeds had overgrown since no one was managing it.
The house had five floors.
The first floor held the kitchen and swimming pool.
The second floor was the sleeping quarters and living room with a massive TV.
The third floor featured a huge gym.
The fourth and fifth floors were the study and training room.
It was basically a giant resort.
As I approached the house entrance,
Whoosh—
A soft, refreshing breeze blew.
“That feels… familiar.
I glanced at the garden for a moment, then turned back to the house and saw a head of pure white hair.
Like fresh snow, that hair was soft and smooth.
Pure blue eyes like a doe’s, cute features, small stature, and two tiny horns on her head.
In my memory, Dragon Rhea stood there holding a small egg the size of a human head.
“Rhea…?”
“You’re still alive… My hero Kim Min-su.
I instinctively knew the egg in her hands was my child.
Still, I had to ask.
“That egg is…?”
“Our child.
“Before we moved to another dimension… on that night…”
At those words, Rhea nodded.
I immediately pulled her gently into my arms.
“I’m sorry… for leaving you and the baby behind… I’m truly sorry…”
Rhea spoke with a choked voice.
“It’s okay. I heard it wasn’t your fault.
“You heard… from who…?”
“From your first wife.
“First…?”
What exactly had the two of them discussed?
I stared at Jeok Hwa-ryeon’s eyes, which were fixed on me with an expression full of something important to say.
“Let’s go inside first and talk about the rest.
The water had already spilled.
Since things were this far, there was no choice but to charge forward.
***
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Rhea sipped the tea Jeok So-ye had brought and watched Kim Min-su get taken for a ride.
“No, that’s… It’s a bit different. Even in another life, there’s another woman…”
“Do you think I can’t understand that? In Murim, a Color Demon with twenty concubines.
“If that’s how you put it… I have nothing to say…”
After taking Kim Min-su from the fox-like ones, she now learned he had a first wife.
Rhea’s head felt like it would split, but after listening to Jeok Hwa-ryeon’s full words, Kim Min-su started to look pitiful.
“Losing his life three times…”
If it had been Rhea herself, she would have gone mad if left alone in another world with the honor of being a Lord Dragon and a member of the Hero Party, while the precious person Kim Min-su was gone.
Kim Min-su had endured it three times and still stayed sane. That was truly admirable.
“Um… When will that child be born?”
Jeok So-ye’s quiet question about the tea drew everyone’s attention.
“Hmm… Since Min-su came, she probably won’t wake up right away.
Rhea stroked the egg as she answered.
Jeok Hwa-ryeon smiled and poked Jeok So-ye’s back.
“Our little So-ye will have a sibling soon?”
“Yes…
Jeok So-ye smiled, looking pleased inside, and bowed her head.
“Soon after birth?”
“This child already understands speech clearly, so she was supposed to appear when Min-su found her.
Everyone had question marks floating above their heads at those words, but understanding came with the revelation that it was a Dragon’s child.
Jeok Hwa-ryeon looked at Kim Min-su and said,
“So, honey. There’s no other woman?”
“There is.
“Really?”
“She’s not human. I don’t know what she is. But if she hadn’t existed, I would have died in my third life.
Kim Min-su had never spoken like that before, so Jeok Hwa-ryeon narrowed her eyes.
“Not human? What is she?”
“A monster, a phantom, an incomprehensible being. The origin and mother of all things that can’t be explained in one word. Humans in that world called her Mother. That’s all I know.
Understanding was impossible.
That was what every human feared.
“An incomprehensible existence. My husband really attracts every kind of life form.
“Hey, Jeok Hwa-ryeon. Could you tell me how you met Kim Min-su?”
“Dragons are old, you know. Just say it casually.
Jeok Hwa-ryeon had a laid-back side too, so even though the problem of one man having two women was no small issue, there was no friction between them.
“Sure? Hwa-ryeon, speak comfortably too.
“Sister, then let’s eat something delicious while we talk.
We headed to the second-floor living room with snacks.
Kim Min-su finally wiped the sweat from his brow and said,
“The storm has passed.
He turned his attention to Jeok So-ye, who was watching the egg in his arms with great care.
“So-ye?”
“Father…. The egg seems to have a crack…?”
…!
CRACK!!