Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Strange
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Strange
[Sis! Sis!! It'll collapse if you let go!!]
"R-Really?!"
[Yeah!! If it collapses, we have to start from the beginning!!]
"I'll hold on tight!!"
Watching my daughter and her maid having a blast, squealing away. I'm sitting in a chair right now.
The sun beating down. The scent of the sea on the breeze. Cool winds. In this paradise on earth that's almost too peaceful to believe, I'm just blankly staring at them.
It's already been a week since we got here. Levatein has completely taken a shine to Isia, playing like that with her every day.
And when I ask, 'Why is Isia your sis?', she hits back with, 'Cause she's pretty!!'
Just my personal take, but isn't Mikael's face even prettier than Isia's? Of course, personality-wise, Isia is way more angelic.
Mikael's way too strict with me. Scary, even. Well, whatever. If my daughter calls her an auntie, then she's an auntie.
Sis this, sis that. Settled. Mikael's officially an auntie. Silver-haired auntie.
Something about that sounds off. Anyway, that's how it is.
"I don't like it."
What's this now? Propping my chin on my hand, I glanced to the side. Raphael had her chin resting on my shoulder.
With those straight eyes, looking displeased. Muttering, 'Seong-hoon agrees, right?'
What's your problem? More importantly, my shoulder hurts. Telling her to get off would be pointless, so I decided to endure it.
That's how it works with this stuff. The weaker one endures. The greatest humiliation of my life is being weaker than this damn blonde.
"Lately, Levatein seems to like that woman more than me. Isn't that weird? We're supposed to be the parents."
"She still likes me just fine."
"That's 'cause you're always nice to Levatein."
"Why don't you try being nicer to her?"
"I am nice to her."
"Yeah, that's true. You're not mean or anything."
Raphael looked at me like that was unexpected. What? What's the issue? I am nice to her.
"Exactly!! I'm an angel of benevolence, so I'm nice to everyone!!"
[That's not true nya.]
"Not true. But whatever. Reality's the harshest teacher."
The cat nodded at my words. If you're an angel of benevolence, start by being nice to me. To me. Be nice to the people around you. What's the point if you're only nice to outsiders? Be nice at home.
"Am I not nice to you, Seong-hoon?"
"..."
"Hel-lo?"
She has been nice lately. But that's just 'cause she's in a good mood. I suspect it's because she grew six wings and is feeling great.
She'll go back to being her damn blonde self soon enough? Three days of resolve isn't a saying for nothing.
[Raphael's the three-day type nya.]
Yeah, that too.
"Seong-hoon? Answer me!! Am I not nice to you?! Lee Seong-hoon!!! Say something!!!"
I didn't answer to the end, so Raphael grabbed and shook me. Shaking won't change anything.
But if she kept it up, I'd get dizzy, so I gave her a thumbs up.
"The nicest in the world."
"That's right. But put more soul into it!!"
I don't wanna.
I have my pride too─
"Lady Raphael!! I'm dying!! You're the most caring angel ever!!"
No, I don't.
"Shing..."
[What's shing?]
"Huh? Oh. That's─"
After finally calming down the damn blonde. I'm watching Isia rebuild the sandcastle that collapsed from all the commotion.
With her lips pouted, tears welling in her eyes, building the sandcastle like a sulky kid. It's pretty cute.
A laugh slipped out before I knew it. Of course, my daughter next to her is about 500 million times cuter.
Watching the sandcastle get rebuilt and beaming with a bright smile, I wanted to snap a photo right then.
But that'd make me look like a doting dad. Better hold back.
"Take the pic. What's the big deal."
"Shut up."
Ignoring the blonde saying stuff like 'There he goes again.' The whiner next to me was getting annoying, so I ruffled her hair wildly.
I was trying to think seriously. Don't interrupt.
Ignoring the blonde who didn't get why I was laughing, I kept thinking. Pretty philosophical stuff.
It was about fate.
Sounds like bullshit, but I'm serious.
Fate, or destiny in other words.
It means something predetermined. For example, that black-haired woman making a sad face right in front of me.
She was born with the fate of becoming an archmage. Unless I kill Isia, that's not changing.
No matter how much I sabotage or bully her, her innate talent won't vanish.
Meaning, becoming an archmage is set in stone.
Examples like Kim Tae-hyun or Sophia too.
Kim Tae-hyun was born to fight demons. An inescapable destiny.
My meddling twisted it a bit, but in the end, unlike with vampires or half-demons, he showed up before me when fighting demonkin.
Meaning he has the fate of battling demons to save the world.
No matter how much I try to smother it, it won't change.
Sophia has a fate too. She'll eventually reunite with the being the other progenitors call the leader.
That's the set flow.
Demons threaten the world. The leader seeks Sophia. Isia becomes an archmage.
These are all world-level fates. To block them, you'd have to intervene on a global scale.
But that's impossible, so all I can do is prepare and stall. Someday, what I've blocked will burst open.
"Hm."
So why am I pondering this all of a sudden? Only one reason.
"Isn't it too peaceful?"
I have a fate too, after all.
"Well, we came to a peaceful place."
"Fair enough."
But it's too peaceful. Honestly, I figured it'd turn into chaos before three days were up after arriving.
The first day did go nuts, but let's chalk that up to nothing. This past week has been truly uneventful.
Wake up in the morning, head to the beach, play. Get hungry, eat. Get sleepy, nap.
Utterly mundane and peaceful. Sure, we ran off to a spot they couldn't find, but this is peaceful to the point where it feels like they're not even looking.
Even after that incident on day one.
"Weird."
"Right? So weird. Levatein should be running to me whining she's hungry by now. That's why raising kids is pointless, huh?"
She's talking like some 40-year-old auntie. Ignoring her, my fate is one thing.
Karma.
Retribution for everything I've done so far. Contracting with Lily, interfering with half-demons, attacking vampires.
I thought as soon as Justitia's barrier vanished, they'd come hunting me with fire in their eyes.
"The peace makes it scarier."
There's a saying about the calm before the storm. Demonkin or vampire raids that should definitely happen aren't coming, and that scares me more.
"Did the demonkin piss themselves from that angel punch?"
"Makes sense."
Looking at Raphael nodding away, I realized. Nah. To be scared, there need to be witnesses, but everyone hit by that angel punch turned to ash.
So why? Peace is great, of course. But what's with this inexplicable unease?
Unable to figure it out, I tilted my head, letting Raphael's chatter go in one ear and out the other─
My phone buzzed.
[Sender: Sophia]
[Whatcha doing?]
Sophia. I naturally picked up the phone and texted back. Raphael naturally plopped her chin on my shoulder again to peek at the screen.
"Send 'Figure it out yourself.'"
"Why be mean?"
"Not mean. Just. How about: 'Jealous of Maldives? Come join~~'"
"You've learned well."
Mostly the bad stuff, perfectly. I gave her a thumbs up, and she did the same.
But I didn't send that. No reason to be petty, and I was the one who kept her from coming here.
Justitia's the safest spot. Why come to Maldives?
Instead of nagging her off, I promised good replies, so I sent something like 'Just chilling' and chugged my drink.
The blonde next to me pouted, bummed out. Her absorption of the bad stuff is impressive.
I was gulping down the drink when another text came.
Naturally, our eyes went to the screen─
[Miss you.]
"Pffft hahahahaha!!!!!"
The drink flew into the sky.
"Don't eat lunch today, Seong-hoon."
Who asked you.
─We'll eat separately.
─Handle your own food, Seong-hoon. Starve or whatever.
That's what she said while snatching my black card, turning me into a beggar out of nowhere.
I nearly starved thanks to that, but there's always a way out even if the sky falls.
Thanks to the future archmage-slash-current maid idiot, I survived.
You come to Maldives on vacation and starve? Come on.
"Thanks. You're more angelic than angels."
"An-Angel? I'll take it as a compliment."
Isia shoveled in a spoonful of the food she nervously brought out, then spoke up again.
"Yo."
"One at a time. Just one."
"Using casual speech after a lifetime of polite is ha─ hard, you know?"
"Yo."
"No 'yo'!! ...Yo."
This is fun. I giggled and beat her to the 'yo', so she got mad at herself, realized how weird it was, and cast her eyes downward.
Teasing her is entertaining. Still, seems like a good change.
Dunno what wind blew in, but casual speech all of a sudden.
Even Kim Tae-hyun didn't get this in the original. Kinda feels bittersweet hearing it.
"Shing...."
Our meal with mumbling Isia, embarrassed by the teasing, went like this.
I tease, Isia gets shy. Casual and polite mixing in chaotic harmony at the table.
Not bad. I even got used to her weird speech patterns, and chatting led to some bolt-from-the-blue news.
"Oh, yeah. Yang Min-ji mentioned last time. That Kim Tae-hyun guy? He's at her guild for summer break─"
Before Isia finished, I dropped my spoon.
"For real?"
Why tell me now?
"You didn't ask."
Fair.
"Yo."
One at a time.