[Extra] Retribution! (4)
“Hoohoohoo~♪”
The twins could hear their grandfather humming all the way to the living room from the kitchen.
He always seemed to feel delighted whenever he saw them, but today their effect on him seemed especially severe.
The man spoke to their grandfather.
“Did something good happen?”
“Ah! Hero. Today’s the second happiest day of my life!”
“Is that so.”
“Aren’t you going to ask when the first one was?”
“I don’t see the need to.”
“Haha! Brave Hero, don’t be timid. It’s the day my granddaughters were born!”
“I see.”
Their conversation continued for quite a long time, and as it progressed, their speculation that he was their father turned into certainty.
But they didn’t even know how to talk to him.
He’d make it easier for them if he took the initiative and admitted being their dad, but he didn’t seem to have the desire to introduce himself first.
『A certain innocent goddess watches the scene anxiously.』
『A certain restless demonic god demands the situation to progress quickly.』
『A certain god hands out freshly made popcorn.』
『A certain eternal goddess binge eats popcorn while it’s still warm.』
Popcorn…
Though they were in an extremely serious environment right now, it seemed the deities only saw their predicament as a spectacle.
His first words to them opened up quite an unexpected topic.
“I heard you captured Noebius.”
“Blackie?”
“Blackie?”
It happened in the distant past, but the twins did defeat Festival’s previous owner by crushing him with their pillows.
Noebius, the Dragon King.
Everything changed after they slew him.
Their rights, interests, territories, and reputations…
But it was clear that wasn’t what he was interested in.
“Could you tell me why you hunted Blackie?”
People, including their mother and grandfather, ask the two how they defeated him, but he was different.
He questioned the reason behind their actions.
They answered honestly.
“He attacked our teacher.”
“He molested our teacher.”
… In times like this, as the eldest of the two, Selenis answered as their representative.
The evil Black dragon crushed their pet while resting in the yard, forcing their hand to punish him.
“Teacher?”
Even the man bearing the same smile as them seemed confused.
Their pet, fluffing around all day, was no ordinary slime.
“They’re talking about me… Kh?!”
Amid their conversation, she entered the scene and returned to her original form.
From slime to human.
However, before they could even react, the human before them had already grabbed her neck.
“Teacher?!”
“Teacher?!”
Surprised, the twins instinctively cried out, but it was already a tad too late.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any intention of harming her.
He slowly loosened his grip and gave her room to breathe.
“At least announce your presence first.”
“Oh… I thought you’d notice, but it seems to me you’re too focused on your daughters.”
“… Why are you here?”
“I’m keeping my promise to you, Kang Han Soo. You don’t need my training, so I’m taking care of your children instead. I was the one who cut the umbilical cords of Selenis and Selvenus.”
As she said, though she still treated them like toddlers, she taught them in her slime form. When asked why, she only said, ‘Because your father succeeded after being trained by one.’
In other words, she wasn’t certain either.
“Selenis, Selvenus, say hello. He’s the father you’ve been wanting to meet for so long.”
“Dad?”
“Dad?”
Though she was the one that introduced him, it still struck them like lightning.
They had already guessed that was the case the moment they saw him smile, but their teacher confirmed their speculations.
Dad.
“Feel free to say hello to him!”
The twins looked at each other upon being urged by her before finally greeting him.
“Ah, hello.”
“Good morning…”
He smiled righteously at them, allowing them to see the reason why their mom blushed whenever she talked about him.
Wasn’t he so cool?
“I’m happy to finally meet you two. This is a bit late, but I’m glad you were born so healthy.”
Hearing his praise as he acknowledged his position as their father, their lips curved to a bright smile.
They wanted to say that he was late with a coy expression instead of a grin, but he was mysteriously irresistible.
At that moment, they finally understood how their mother felt.
“I can’t correct that smile of theirs…”
Why correct it? Wasn’t it cute?
They couldn’t understand their teacher’s concern.
*****
“Saintess A, who volunteered to treat me free of charge for ten years to save the savage world of Fantasy, flirted with me while leaning against the railing of an aircraft that flew over a snowy field engulfed by a blizzard. However, since the deck was frozen and slippery, she paid the price for not paying attention to the Righteous Hero’s warning to be careful!”
“Then what happened?”
“How was Saintess A?”
The twins snuggled up next to their father as they listened to stories about his adventures.
Their slime teacher’s lectures weren’t bad, but his adventures contained numerous lessons.
Today’s lesson was to beware of ice!
“I couldn’t delay my journey because of her absurd disappearance. Every day that passes without me defeating the Demon Lord is another day the natives of Fantasy must live through in fear.”
“Oh…”
“Ah!”
His story was very rational and logical, and it allowed them to see how difficult the job of a Hero was in reality.
For his duty and cause, he had to turn his back on his loved ones, colleagues, and friends who cried and laughed with him.
It was too much…
“Deciding I can’t delay my journey, I shed tears and told my colleagues she had been kidnapped by the Fifth Great Disaster, Snow Queen Elsh.”
“So what about Saintess A?”
“Did she rejoin you later?”
He responded with his Righteous Hero’s smile.
“I never saw her after that. The environment she got lost in was far too harsh for someone like her, who only healed us from far behind our frontlines, to survive. However, that’s simply the price she had to pay for ignoring my advice to learn self-defense and opting to just play around! Selenis, Selvenus. You must always be prepared for the worst-case scenario.”
There was always a lesson in the adventures their father told them.
And through his words, they got to know who he was.
The Righteous Hero.
He sacrificed so much he couldn’t even take care of his beloved family.
“This is shameful of me to ask as your father, but be stronger than anyone else, my daughters. And with that power, protect your grandfather and mother from all threats.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
『A certain innocent goddess is moved by his righteous love for his family.』
『A certain innocent goddess clenches her fist.』
『A certain receptionist is troubled by a certain innocent goddess’s enthusiasm.』
『A certain eternal god feels very grateful.』
At that moment, they suddenly felt stronger.
… Was it just them?
They wanted to hear more of their dad’s exciting stories, but their mother stopped them.
“It’s time to eat!”
At her words, he gently put them down.
“Let’s go have a meal. The next story… I see. Let me tell you about Sword King Alex, my swordsmanship teacher. He’s also really annoying.”
“… That does sound like an arrogant title. Mom is good with using swords too…”
“Please continue~”
Selenis seemed to hate the title Sword King, but Selvenus just wanted to listen to their dad.
Hero Kang Han Soo.
The person with the hardest duty in the world.
*****
Big and small events occurred after their father left to tend to his busy schedule as the Righteous Hero.
The crisis their father warned them about also unexpectedly came around that time.
“Surrender now while you still—”
“Retribution!”
“Retribution!”
Numerous female androids came down from space. Amid their siege, a man tried to threaten them.
So they punished them!
The twins swung their pillows, keeping their attacks gentle since their teacher told them their power was enough to destroy the entirety of Festival.
Bang! Boom! Bang!
Even so, they easily wiped the androids from existence while their leader’s arms had been blown to smithereens.
“Ugh! Even his children are monsters— Kheugh!”
“His children?”
“You mean dad?”
“…”
As he was about to run out of breath, he shut his lips tightly, refusing to answer them.
The situation wasn’t great.
It was an opportunity for them to indirectly experience their father’s adventures, which they had only ever heard of.
But they couldn’t even make him talk.
“That man lying there is my half-brother.”
“Huh!”
“Oh?!”
Startled by the feminine voice behind them, they swiftly turned around, finding a female android standing with a gloomy expression.
Half-brother?
“… Don’t look at me like that. Even though I look like this, I’m still a man in my heart and soul.”
“Ah yes.”
“I see.”
At the very least, she didn’t seem to be against them.
If so, then why did she show up?
The android answered their question.
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Boris, and I’m currently cleaning up my country’s ghosts that were defeated by your father, Kang Han Soo. The one you just beat is the second prince, my ugly half-brother. In other words, I’m…”
“A princess?”
“You’re a princess.”
“A prince! I’m a prince!”
Furious, Boris boldly thrust a dagger into her half-brother’s throat.
Were they really brothers?
She showed no hesitation in killing him.
“You’re really coldhearted.”
“I agree. You didn’t even shed tears.”
The self-proclaimed prince replied, “Hey! Then what about your father who exterminated the women I loved?”
“Dad?”
“Dad?”
“Yes. He’s… a Hero who shows no mercy on his enemies.” She spoke very calmly for her beloved women that the Righteous Hero murdered.
As if reading their thoughts based only on their expressions, she continued.
“It was my fault. I treated war as a joke. Kang Han Soo killed them, but I was the one who brought them to the battlefield…”
“Be strong.”
“Cheer up!”
The pretty older woman smiled at their support.
“I’m not weak enough to need comfort from little kids, but… I don’t hate it. This isn’t a reward, but I’ll tell you about your terrifying father.”
“Wow!”
“You’re the best!”
Boris began to unpack stories about him while sitting on her dead brother’s corpse, effectively turning it into a chair.
“Call me oppa. If you don’t want to, call me uncle instead. Anyway, Hero Kang Han Soo’s slaughter! His adventure progresses on the other side of the universe even as we speak…”
“Oh!”
“The universe!”
Their dad’s journey was underway somewhere in the dark sky above them.
