Episode 82: Dad, Are You Lonely?

Episode 82: Dad, Are You Lonely?

At the far northern end of Malaysia, only a few dozen kilometers from the Thai border, a strange army came ashore on a nameless beach that wasn’t even properly marked on the map.

Thanks to Woojin and Sangjin sweeping away monsters and smashing gates wherever they found them, Malaysia—once choked with violet mana haze—was slowly beginning to look like itself again.

The sea here, after so long without sunlight, was an almost painful emerald blue, and the sand shone white as if someone had dusted it with sugar.

"Waaah! The ocean! Dad, look over there! The water’s sparkling!"

Gabi jumped from Woojin’s shoulder and sprinted across the beach on her tiny legs.

For all that she was an Origin-grade goblin, she looked for all the world like nothing more than a little child seeing the sea for the first time—bright-eyed, innocent, and completely delighted.

Woojin settled beneath the goblin umbrella Gabi had conjured in the middle of the beach.

Honestly, this thing can summon anything… Goblins really are absurdly overpowered.

Beside him, Catherine had already spread out a mat and set out some cold drinks.

"Gabi, slow down! You’ll fall!"

It was ridiculous that he was worrying about an Origin-rank goblin, and yet somehow it didn’t feel ridiculous at all.

Gabi ignored him completely.

She raced straight to the palm trees lined along the shore and punched one of the trunks with her fist.

Crack—!

Huge coconuts, mangosteen, durian, and other tropical fruits came raining down over her head.

A normal child would have been crushed flat, but Gabi simply snatched the fruit out of the air and plopped down on the sand to begin a full-on eating spree.

"Mmm! This one’s so sweet! This one’s nutty! Dad, try this!"

...Right. What exactly was I worrying about again?

Gabi, her face smeared with juice, sniffed at a piece of durian.

"Ewww!! This one smells like an outhouse!! Dad, you eat this one!!"

No, seriously—this kid...

The stench jabbed at Woojin’s nose, but when he saw Gabi’s blissful little face, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

He shoved the durian into his mouth with a resigned laugh.

Who would have guessed that, in the middle of this hellish campaign to cleanse Asia, he’d stumble into a place like this—a little paradise?

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"Master Sangjin! Master Sangjin! How’s Lumi’s swimsuit? Eroa picked it out for me!"

Woojin turned toward Lumi’s shrill, high-pitched voice from across the beach—and immediately choked on thin air.

"...Those lunatics."

Sangjin was already sitting in a beach chair, looking one breath away from a nosebleed.

In front of him stood his two maid summons in outfits so scandalous they should have come with a warning label.

Eroa, the first maid, wore a black monokini trimmed with lace.

Her usual maid uniform was already outrageously revealing, but as a swimsuit it made her voluptuous figure all the more blatant.

Especially with her sides and back cut so deeply open, the curves of her generous chest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠threatened to sway out of control every time she moved.

Lumi, true to her nature, had chosen a pink polka-dot frill bikini.

The problem was the size.

There didn’t seem to be nearly enough fabric in the world to contain her eruptive bust.

Every time she bounced around with that careless energy of hers, her chest looked ready to spill right out of the bikini, and Sangjin was staring so hard he seemed to have left his soul somewhere behind.

"Heh-heh-heh... Shouldn’t you girls be putting on oil?"

Woojin looked at him in disbelief.

"Hey, you actually brought oil?"

Sangjin answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course. Sunscreen and tanning oil are basic gear when you come to Southeast Asia, bro."

"...Damn it."

Eroa smiled seductively, loosening the ties of her bikini top as she stretched herself out on the mat.

"Then perhaps we could trouble our master’s hands for a little help?"

Sangjin snorted and started slathering oil over his hands.

"O-Of course!!"

"Hehe, thanks to Sangjin, I’m living a life of luxury."

Whether the one being pampered here was truly Sangjin or Eroa was open to debate.

"Masteeer! Me too, me too!"

Lumi, unlike Eroa, wasn’t bothered with any attempt at seduction. She just yanked off her top and flopped down face-first on the mat.

Woojin looked away on instinct.

Then a cool voice came from beside him.

"Safe."

It was Catherine.

Woojin asked in a trembling voice, "W-what happens if it’s out?"

Catherine gave a faint smirk. "Wouldn’t you know better than I would, Woojin? That was an excellent reaction time just now."

In truth, he had caught a glimpse, but there was no reason to admit that out loud.

Instead, a very interesting voice reached his ears.

"Kim Chulsoo... Take those sunglasses off and get over here this instant!!!"

Kim Chulsoo, who had been sitting beside Sangjin, panicked, yanked off his sunglasses, and trotted over with awkward little steps.

"P-Pffft!!"

Even Brother Chulsoo couldn’t resist, huh.

"Then we’ll rest for a bit too. Woojin, you should take a break as well."

"Please do. And maybe go on a date while you’re at it."

With that, Catherine and Kim Chulsoo headed off together for a quiet walk along the surf.

Woojin heard Catherine’s voice ring out from nearby. "Be honest. With those sunglasses on, were you looking or not?"

"I absolutely was not!! I have cast aside all worldly ties and all temptations...!"

"Huh? You cast aside the world and left me behind?"

"N-No, that’s not what I meant! I meant everyone except Catherine!"

Ah... Brother.

"Hm. Then I suppose I’ll forgive you. How do I look?"

"What’s there to say? You’re the most beautiful woman in the world."

Catherine had also changed her clothes with Eroa’s help, turning her outfit into a swimsuit by magic.

It was a simple one-piece with a white wrap skirt tied over it.

And yet there was something unmistakably adult about her beauty—a dangerous, alluring charm that blended perfectly with her golden hair.

Each time her long, smooth legs were washed by the surf, they gleamed in the sunlight.

Kim Chulsoo, shirtless except for a pair of shorts, had a chest packed with hard, sharply cut muscle and broad shoulders that were enough to slay any woman’s heart on sight.

"Miss Catherine, please watch your step. The shells are sharp."

As though an Awakened might actually be hurt by a seashell.

And yet that sort of gentle attentiveness was exactly the kind of thing that would earn Chulsoo points with Catherine.

He took her hand with quiet tenderness.

Catherine blushed faintly and took it in return.

"Chulsoo, you’re really... Hmph. Just look at me, all right? Understood?"

Kim Chulsoo laughed softly, the sound warm and easy.

"Of course. For the rest of my life, there will be only Catherine."

"...J-Just give me your hand. I want to walk like this."

And so the two of them wandered along the beach, hand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in hand and wordless.

A strange pink haze seemed to drift between them.

It was such a peaceful, romantic sight that it was hard to believe these were the same people who had been tearing monsters apart by the hundreds.

Watching all of this, Woojin let out a long sigh as a familiar sense of exclusion crept over him.

His little brother was living out a harem scene with two maids, and the secretary couple over there were enjoying an adult romance.

At his side, all he had was his goblin daughter, her face smeared with juice, crushing fruit with enthusiastic little chomps.

"It’s sooo good!! This fruit is sooooo good!!"

"Do you like fruit that much, Gabi?"

"Yep! Gabi loves fruit! I like dried persimmons too!"

"Ah... So you’ve got a sweet tooth?"

"I love sweets!! These days, candy and chocolate are my favorites!"

Woojin reached out and patted Gabi on the head.

She was wearing a cute little one-piece swimsuit that suited her babyish frame so well it practically triggered paternal instincts by itself.

"That’s right. Eat as much as you want, Gabi. Dad will buy you all the sweets you want—lots and lots of them."

"Really!?"

"Of course."

"Dad’s the best!!"

The dream of every father in the world.

At those words, Dad’s the best, Woojin felt a warm, ticklish flutter in his chest.

I’m done. If I ever get married, it’s got to be Eileen, Jihyun, or Ayoung. Nobody else.

Women like them would understand Gabi.

But someone else? Not a chance.

For the first time, Woojin fully grasped the limits of his own situation.

And once that thought settled in, a wave of longing hit him all at once.

"Man... it’s only been a little while, but I miss them like crazy."

Woojin muttered it under his breath as he gulped down a cold juice.

That was when Gabi climbed up onto his lap.

She stared up at him with huge eyes and asked, "Dad, are you lonely?"

"Huh? Well... not exactly lonely, just..."

"You look sad. Dad, do you miss your mommies?"

"Pffft—!!"

Woojin sprayed his drink in a dazzling arc.

"Cough! Cough! Gabi, what did you just say? Mom... mies?"

"Yep! Dad has lots of mommies! Gabi knows them all! The white-haired mommy, the blank-face mommy, the little mommy!"

Gabi counted them off on her fingers, referring in order to Eileen, Yu Jihyun, and Jo Ayoung.

Woojin scrambled to cover her mouth, but by then her voice had already carried across the entire beach.

"Dad, if you miss your mommies, just call them! Gabi can open the door for you!"

Woojin fell into thought for a moment.

Eileen, Jihyun, and Ayoung were probably fighting desperate battles on their own fronts right now.

He wondered if it would be rude to bother them, but then again, he did suddenly want to hear how they were doing.

Carefully, Woojin picked up his phone.

Rrrrriiiing—

Click—

Thirty minutes later, Gabi waved her goblin wand with manic excitement.

"Mommies are coming, all three of them! Presto—!"

Snap—!

In the middle of the sand, a massive traditional Korean gate rose up out of nowhere.

Woojin spoke into the handset. "A door just appeared?"

"W-What is this?"

"That’s a goblin door Gabi made. If you open it and come through, you’ll come ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠straight to where we are."

No sooner had Woojin finished speaking than the door flew open, and three women burst out of it with shrill screams, throwing themselves at him all at once.

"Oppaaaaa!!"

"You guys!!"