Chapter 451: Ally or Enemy (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 451: Ally or Enemy (5)
Her awakening came at a time when she was growing increasingly discontent with her life.
‘One with Aptitude’.
Though she was young, she knew.
She knew the trait she had been given possessed an extraordinary power.
The reason she hid it was because of the colossal shadow of her parents, a shadow she could never seem to escape no matter what she did.
Even if she boasted about having a good trait, their response would simply be, ‘It’s all because you have great parents.’
So she hid it.
In her young mind, she thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep one trump card hidden.
The change began when she returned home after a long period of wandering.
The sudden face-to-face meeting, and then the quest.
She simply followed along, not knowing where she was or what she had gotten herself into.
After that, her trait evolved one step further, becoming ‘Bearer of Karma,’ and at last, she came face to face with him.
Temperantia, the God of Temperance who had chosen her.
He, whom she met in the world of her subconscious, said that his face was a projection of those who had the greatest influence on her life.
And his face was an exquisite blend of two people she knew.
The first was Son Si-woo.
That was a given.
Even in her own mind, no one had influenced her life as much as her father.
But the second person was a surprise.
‘Kim Do-jin…’
She was flustered to see his face making up the other half of Temperantia’s.
‘Why…?’
He had been clear.
The face he wore belonged to the people who had the greatest influence on the life of Son Seo-yeon.
If that was true, it meant Kim Do-jin had that much of an impact on her.
‘Is… that so?’
She found it difficult to comprehend.
It was true she had been learning a lot from him recently, but that was strictly as a Hunter.
She didn't think there was anything about him that could have pierced through her entire life.
In the midst of her confusion, she heard news that was even more shocking.
-“Originally, that position was meant for your father, not you.”
The one who was supposed to have been chosen by Temperantia was not her, but her father, Son Si-woo.
So she asked.
Why had he chosen her instead of her father?
To this, he replied.
-“Because he no longer has a body that can fight.”
They were words she couldn't understand.
He couldn't fight?
But her father was still active as a Hunter.
“Ah…”
Then, it suddenly occurred to her.
The ways her father had changed from his usual self.
At some point, she had stopped seeing him doing his dawn training.
Why?
He used to say that for him, dawn training was something he had to do every day, like brushing his teeth, eating, or sleeping.
He said he had a trait that made it so, and that his personality had become that way as well.
But that same father had declared he was taking a break and had been resting for two whole years.
In all that time, she hadn't seen him swing his sword even once.
Was it truly a rest to soothe his weary body?
Or… had he become unable to swing a sword anymore?
The god had said:
-“Your father was an exceptionally noble man.”
Through him, she learned the truth.
That her father’s body was broken.
That he had sacrificed himself to protect people, to protect this country, from a disaster that had struck without warning.
And… that he had been pushing his broken body to keep going all this time.
-“A greater danger is approaching. But your father can no longer stand against it.”
That was why he had chosen her.
It wasn't simply because she was Son Si-woo's daughter.
She had talent.
Perfect physical balance that surpassed even her father's in his prime.
And magical talent that surpassed her mother's.
Then, he declared with certainty:
-“On the day your talent fully blossoms, the world will finally know peace.”
It didn't feel real.
She couldn't believe it.
But she accepted the god's proposal and took the position of an Apostle.
There was only one reason.
‘I have to let him rest.’
To let her father, who was pushing his broken body, finally rest.
She knew well.
She knew that a man like Son Si-woo would never just stand by and watch a crisis unfold.
‘I’ll… take his place.’
It wasn't entirely for his sake.
It was also for her own selfish reasons.
The shadow of her parents had always felt so vast, as if she could never escape it no matter how far she ran.
She felt that when that day came, she could finally, completely break free.
Not long after she made her decision, the Saintess told her about the existence of the Guardians.
An organization that protected the world from a great evil.
-“We need your power.”
The Saintess’s proposal followed.
Son Seo-yeon no longer hesitated.
* * *
The moment I heard her story, my mind went blank.
I felt like I’d get into an accident if I kept driving in this state, so I pulled the car over to the shoulder and took a moment to catch my breath.
“Hoo…”
Startled, Seo-yeon asked me in a worried tone.
“A-Are you okay…?”
“…Yes, I’m fine.”
The duty that should have been mine was now shouldered by my daughter.
But I didn't understand.
Changing a choice of this magnitude should require a significant reason, but Seo-yeon hadn't told me one.
Well, she did give a reason.
That her potential far surpassed Son Si-woo’s.
That was true.
She possessed a talent I lacked, and thanks to me, she had a perfect body.
So much so that I couldn't even remember what it was like for her to be sick.
But it all sounded like an excuse.
It felt like there was a real reason, and she was trying to make me understand with only secondary ones.
A doubt crept into my mind.
Could it be that Seo-yeon was chosen instead of me because… I had been transferred into this body?
What if they knew the current Son Si-woo was just an empty shell and chose my daughter instead?
And what if they had told her…?
“Are you really okay…?”
I lifted my head and looked at Seo-yeon’s face as she asked again if I was alright.
No.
She hadn't realized that the current Son Si-woo is a fake.
If she had, there would have been some kind of change in her demeanor.
I asked her.
“What about you, Sunbae? Are you okay?”
“Me? Why…?”
“That’s an incredibly heavy burden, you know.”
Hero, guardian.
They're just fancy-sounding titles given to people who do nothing but suffer through grueling work.
At the same time, they're titles that can make a person delusional.
They make you think you're someone special, compelling you to step up when you don't have to.
And the hardships Seo-yeon would face would be several times more difficult and exhausting than what I had gone through.
To my worried question, she replied.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re fine…”
“Yeah.”
As Seo-yeon nodded, her expression showed not a hint of regret or fear.
“To be honest… the whole ‘saving the world’ thing doesn’t really resonate with me. To be more precise… the scale is so huge that it doesn’t feel real, you know?”
That made sense.
It had been the same for me when I first became an S-rank and people started calling me the hero of Korea.
If even the hero of that tiny piece of land felt that way, how would it feel for the entire world?
“I joined the Guardians simply because… I want to get stronger.”
A clear goal was reflected in Seo-yeon’s shining eyes.
What could it be?
This goal that made her so single-minded.
She soon continued.
“I just hope Mom and Dad… don’t have to struggle anymore.”
“……”
“Both of them have lived such intense lives, and they’re still living that way. So… I want them to be more comfortable now, and for that to happen, it seems the world needs to be a little more peaceful.”
I never knew.
I never knew my daughter thought so much about her family, about her parents.
That made it all the more bitter.
If only she had shown a little more of that heart when I was still Son Si-woo.
I would have been so happy.
Just as a mix of pride and sorrow for my grown-up daughter washed over me, she spoke again.
“When that time comes… we’ll all go on a trip together. Mom, Dad… and our dog, Poppy, too.”
A trip.
When was the last time we went on a family trip?
It felt like a very long time ago.
And if I remembered correctly, even that one didn't end well.
Han Ju-hee had to leave first because of a problem at the Magic Tower, and then the schedule for an S-rank dungeon raid was moved up, so we had to return to Seoul before we could even properly enjoy ourselves.
“A-And.”
I smiled bitterly at the unpleasant memory for a moment.
The girl, who had started speaking in a trembling voice, looked at me with a blushing face and continued.
“A-And then, I hope you can come with us too, Do-jin…!”
“Uh, um.”
As I was trying to figure out how to respond, searching for the right words, she beat me to it.
“I-I’ll just walk from here! See you later…!”
“No, wait…!”
Click!
Thud!
Before I could say anything, she opened the car door and bolted out.
I watched Seo-yeon’s back as she strode quickly down the sidewalk, disappearing into the distance, and was lost in thought.
“I wonder…”
Sadly, that wish will probably never come true.
A foul, bitter taste filled my mouth.
* * *
The subjugation of the Church of Light.
It was one of the largest operations since the founding of the Guardians.
The number of personnel deployed was small due to equipment limitations, but its importance was immense.
The Apostle of Sloth, who possessed abilities related to brainwashing.
There was no telling how great a threat he would become if he wasn't eliminated as soon as possible.
“Good… all the Holy Knights have entered the country.”
The Vatican’s Holy Knights had safely set foot on Korean soil.
The priests selected from the local branch were also exceptionally skilled.
Above all, she had high hopes for the man she had met here for the first time, Kim Do-jin.
“He was much better than you thought, wasn’t he?”
He had been the Saintess’s pick.
So she had expected him to be skilled to some extent, but the aura she felt when she finally met him in person exceeded her expectations.
By a long shot.
“And for a magician, his body was very solid.”
She had felt it clearly as she smiled and patted his shoulder a few times.
That was not the body of a magician.
It was a body so trained and refined that you could believe he was a seasoned warrior.
He was still a little below her standards, but that only made her more excited.
She wondered what form and hardness that body would possess once it fully matured.
“Ehehe, slurp…”
Just as she was forcing her slackened expression back into place while unconsciously swallowing the drool that had started to form…
Knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Click!
The person who opened the door and entered was an Operator from the Guardians.
His name was Max.
Though not well-known to the public, he was a man with a solid reputation in his field.
But his face was deathly pale.
Had something happened?
“Uh, um… Angela?”
“What is it, Max? Did something happen?”
“…You could say that. Please look at this.”
Max handed Angela a single sheet of paper he had been clutching in his hand.
It was none other than a receipt.
“It’s a receipt Hunter Kim Do-jin sent, asking for it to be expensed.”
“Ooh…? Is that so?”
Deeply intrigued by the name Kim Do-jin, she immediately unfolded the receipt.
And was horrified.
“4.4 billion… won?”
An extraordinary sum.
She scrunched up her face and asked.
“This amount… how much is it in dollars?”
“Calculated at the current exchange rate, it’s approximately… 4 million dollars.”
“……”
She thought to herself.
It seemed a certified madman had just joined the ranks of humanity's guardians.