< Chapter 110: This Is Not It (2) >
“…So this kid is also a survivor of that damn experiment?”
The evidence proving she wasn’t human hovered above the princess’s head. It seemed like this would make it easier for them to believe.
“Yes.”
Maiden looked at the growling princess behind me with misty eyes.
“Were there other survivors too? I don’t remember seeing any records of that.”
Maiden frowned as she thought about the reports from other labs.
“That’s because Rena underwent experiments in a place different from the four locations you’re familiar with.”
“…A different place?”
Her expression turned sinister.
“Are you saying that this wretched experiment was also conducted elsewhere?”
Her expression was devilish.
“Yes. Think about it, if one lab got exposed, it doesn’t mean all of them would. The four labs you know, including Sunlight Orphanage, were just from Group A. Rena was from Group B.”
“Ha.”
Maiden covered her eyes with her hand, closed her mouth tightly, and leaned back in her chair. She lifted her head as if to scoff at herself.
“What a goddamn world.”
Next to her, Yu Hwa also lowered her head with a woeful expression.
…I felt a bit guilty.
Rena wasn’t a survivor of the beastman fusion experiment; she was an actual beastman.
Still, it was true that there were more labs than the four Maiden knew of.
Silence stretched on for quite a while.
I decided to give them time to collect their thoughts.
After a moment, Maiden, having sorted out her thoughts, spoke first.
“So, kiddo. Did you rescue her from that lab?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About five years ago.”
That seemed about right, considering the timing of the project’s termination.
“….”
A deep sorrow settled on Maiden’s face.
“Her name was Rena, you said?”
“Yes.”
Maiden’s late daughter’s name was Leah Critines. Coincidentally, Rena was a very similar name. Given that both had been experimented on, it wasn’t strange to think of them together.
“What about language?”
She looked at Rena, who was still hiding behind me, full of suspicion.
“She’s still rough around the edges. She just started learning Korean.”
“And what did you do for those five years? …Never mind. Someone who’s been through such an experiment wouldn’t open up easily. I’m sorry, it was insensitive of me.”
Maiden gave a bitter smile.
“So, what was that about ‘daddy’ earlier?”
Yu Hwa cautiously broke the silence.
“Ah… that.”
I struggled to find the right words.
“Simple. She must have opened up to this kid,” Maiden stepped in before I could answer.
“And she must miss having parents. She’s probably equating this kid with her own father. Calling him ‘daddy’ isn’t so strange.”
“Ah….”
Yu Hwa’s face became sadder.
“I noticed she was speaking a language I’d never heard before. Is she from an indigenous tribe on the fringes of Europe?”
“Yes? Yes, that’s correct.”
Well, beastmen are indigenous, but not European.
“Kiddo, I have to ask. Are there other survivors?”
Maiden looked at me with utmost seriousness. Her eyes seemed to beg for the truth.
“As far as I know, no.”
I shook my head.
“I see.”
Maiden let out one last deep sigh and gave Rena a warm smile.
Rena hid even further behind my back. Whether it was her cuteness or something else, Maiden’s smile only grew.
She must be overlapping her late daughter with Rena.
“Anyway, kiddo. I get the situation now. …Jeez.”
Maiden abruptly stood up and approached me.
“You’ve grown up well, whoever’s son you are.”
Then she vigorously ruffled my hair. Her eyes, full of goodwill, pierced right through me.
“….”
It hurt a little.
What would happen to those eyes if she found out that everything I’d said was a lie?
That thought scared me a little.
“Let’s get going, Yu Hwa. Time to leave.”
“Ah, yes.”
Yu Hwa also rose from her seat.
“Are you leaving already? Why not stay for dinner?”
“No need. We came because you weren’t answering our calls and we were worried, and…”
Maiden looked down at Rena.
“It seems the little princess here isn’t too fond of us.”
I glanced at the still-growling Rena.
“…Haha.”
“Let’s plan for dinner some other time.”
“Alright, understood.”
Maiden waved her hand as she walked toward the entrance, followed by Yu Hwa.
“Oh, right.”
Maiden suddenly stopped.
“Kiddo, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
She gave one last wide smile.
“Don’t forget, I’m always on your side. Got it?”
* * *
After the two left, I felt my tension melt away and sprawled on the sofa.
“Phew. That was a close call.”
The princess grabbed me and shook me.
“I did keep as quiet as possible, just like you told me to…”
“Huh? Oh, good job. Thanks.”
“Who were those two women? They didn’t seem to have a friendly relationship with you from the looks they were giving you.”
The princess frowned.
“No, they’re close acquaintances. One of them even gifted me this house.”
“Then why did they look at you that way? The emotion in their eyes was clearly disdain.”
“Well, there seems to have been a misunderstanding.”
The princess tilted her head.
“A misunderstanding?”
‘Probably thought I’m scum for making a girl call me ‘daddy’ and even putting animal ears on her.’
“Well, anyway, they’re good people. They’re like benefactors to me.”
Since I couldn’t explain the misunderstanding in detail, I trailed off.
“Hmm. If you say so, then it must be true. In that case, I’ve been rude to your benefactors. Hmm.”
The princess sealed her lips in a serious expression.
“It’s okay. The next time we meet, treat them more kindly. That’ll do.”
“Is that enough?”
“Yeah, that’s sufficient.”
“Hmm. If you say so, then it must be true. Understood. I’ll do just that.”
The princess smiled brightly.
“By the way, you told me that in this world, my kind, the Beastmen race, only appears in legends.”
“Right.”
“So how did you explain my existence to those two? Even if you told them I’m a Beastmen being, they wouldn’t have believed it easily.”
“I didn’t say you were a Beastmen being.”
“Oh? So, what did you tell them?”
I bluntly said,
“I told them you’re a poor survivor of a biological experiment involving Beastmen genes.”
“What?”
The princess’ expression hardened.
“I told them you’re a poor survivor of a biological experiment who had closed off her heart for 5 years and only just opened up.”
“Huh.”
The princess was completely flustered. Her pupils vibrated slightly, clearly indicating her utter confusion.
“The next time we meet them, you’ll have to go along with that story. Got it?”
“Wha, what!”
The princess stormed at my words.
“You described me as such a being! It’s blasphemy! If this happened in the Kingdom of Beastmen Beings, your head would have been rolling on the floor long ago!”
“Hehehe, magic shield!”
The princess’ rage continued for quite a while.
* * *
That day, at 6:30 PM.
“Ugh, my head feels heavy.”
The dizziness had occurred due to the aftereffects of five hours of magical training. My mind felt fuzzy.
“Let’s call it a day.”
Princess Rena had said, smiling as she looked at me.
“What’s the matter, Spartan Princess?
“Physical training and magical training aren’t good just because you do a lot of them. There’s a reason why the word ‘efficiency’ exists.”
Wow. She had a point. Although she was right…
“You’re the one who trained me until 3 in the morning, aren’t you?”
“Well, about that… I got a little annoyed…”
Two days ago.
Because I was so unlucky, Rena’s patience had snapped.
As a result, I had to undergo magical training until 3 in the morning.
“Also, Princess, let’s be honest. I saw you peeking at the clock continuously from 6 o’clock. You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
She flinched.
The princess’s shoulders quivered.
“How could that be? I am not particularly gluttonous to begin with.”
“Really?”
“Yes. A wolf is noble by nature.”
The princess nodded her head with a stern expression. She seemed to want to maintain her dignity.
“Pizza.”
She flinched again.
“Chicken. Pork feet.”
Each time I spoke, the princess’s body trembled, and her silver ears waggled back and forth.
“Or perhaps… the hamburger steak we ate yesterday?”
“Ah…”
Now even starlight seemed to pour from her eyes.
“No, Koreans should eat rice. Considering our princess’s health, how about barley rice and a vegetable set meal?”
She winced.
This time, both ears seemed ready to pierce through her mantle and droop down.
This princess. She detests vegetables terribly. Last time, I jokingly ordered a barley rice meal full of greens, and she ate it with a sorrowful face.
Who would think she wasn’t a wolf? She was incredibly fixated on meat.
“Though, will you truly eat the barley rice meal again today?”
She sounded desperate.
I chuckled.
“Just kidding. After expending energy like we did today, who needs vegetables? Let’s go for pork belly.”
“Ahh! The one that feels as if it disappears the moment you put it in your mouth!”
Her ears perked up.
They even wiggled from side to side.
She seemed genuinely excited.
I lightly smiled and used a delivery app to place an order.
“I’ve ordered delivery. It should arrive soon. Probably in 30 to 40 minutes.”
Saying so, I put on my coat.
“Are you going out?”
“Yes, I’ll be back in a bit. I thought I’d get some fresh air. Would you like to come, Princess?”
“I’m fine. I’ll play with my ‘golden tigers’ here.”
The princess said that and pounced onto the bed where the gold and white tigers were playing. Soon, they were rolling around together.
Hmm. Every moment seemed like a perfect snapshot. I discreetly took photos with my phone.
“I’ll be back.”
In response to my Korean farewell, the princess replied in Korean as well.
“Take care~”
My Korean honorific education seemed to be going smoothly.
As I left the house, I sent a message to Yu Hwa.
[Attached Photo]
[Cute, isn’t it?]
It was a picture I had just taken of the gold and white tigers, and Rena.
No response.
I could see that she had read it as the ‘1’ notification disappeared, but there was no reply.
“?”
It was the first time Yu Hwa had ever ‘read but not replied.’
“Maybe she’s not able to reply?”
She could be in shock.
That’s possible. Yu Hwa isn’t very articulate when faced with such cuteness.
I had casually pocketed my phone.
“Oh my.”
A woman had approached me.
“Never thought I’d see you on the weekend. At this point, could it be fate?”
“…Shirakawa.”
Her charm at the corner of her mouth had become more pronounced. It was Lust.
Recently, whenever I went out, there was a high chance of encountering her.
As if she had been watching me or something.
“Hey, call me Ai. In Korea, you don’t address people as Mr. Kim or Mr. Kang, do you?”
Lust had said so and took another step toward me.
“Haha. That’s still a bit overwhelming for me.”
At my response, Lust’s expression had brightened even more.
“I really like how innocent you are, Seo-yul.”
I wasn’t sure if it was an illusion.
The more we met, the more the atmosphere seemed to change.
Initially, there was an intense, fierce energy, as if a ferocious beast wanted to devour me.
But now, there seemed to be a laid-back vibe, as if just having a conversation with me was enough to make her happy.
“Innocent? There’s no such thing as an innocent man in this world.”
“…Yes, that’s true.”
For a moment, a murky light flickered in Lust’s eyes.
However, that shadowy light vanished in an instant, as if melting away, and her eyes regained their clear brightness.
“Until recently, I thought the same way.”
Lust leaned toward me as she said that. Then she looked up at me, meeting my eyes directly.
“Mr. Seo-yul, what do you think when you see me?”
“Um, I just think you’re a pretty woman.”
I responded while directly meeting her gaze.
Lust laughed.
“Liar.”
She pulled away from me, still smiling.
“This is serious. I used to wish men wouldn’t fall for me, but now that there’s a man who doesn’t, it hurts my pride. I realize I can be a selfish woman.”
Hmm. Was my constant rejection of Lust’s advances the cause of this situation?
But I couldn’t just give in to Lust’s temptation, could I?
“Seo-yul, then I’ll see you next time,”
With that, Lust turned and walked away with graceful steps, distancing herself from me.
“….”
Alone, I blankly tilted my head.
After that, I took a short 5-minute walk and returned home.
I wanted to get some more fresh air, but it was soon time for the delivery to arrive, so I had to come back.
I used my card key to deactivate the security device and opened the door.
“Princess. Hasn’t the delivery arrived yet?”
The door swung open, and the moment I stepped in, my body stiffened.
Two women stood in front of the entrance.
“Seo-yul-ah?”
“Ancestor?”
Jia and Si-yeon glanced at Rena, then looked at me with a mysterious expression.
“….”
I was at a loss for words.
It felt like a scene I’d seen many times before.
Ta-da-da-da-!
The princess ran towards me, hiding behind me and shouting,
“Daddy good!”
Bad guy bad!
To reiterate, that was the only Korean slang insult the princess knew (because I taught her that way).
In the eyes of the princess, Jia and Si-yeon appeared to be intruders who had entered the house without permission.
“… daddy?”
“Ancestor?”
Both of their pupils dilated.
I sighed deeply inside and asked the princess behind me in the language of the beast tribe,
“Princess, did you think it was food delivery and opened the door?
“….”
The princess didn’t say anything.
But that silence was enough.
“You did open it, didn’t you?”
She must’ve been blinded by the allure of pork belly, hearing the doorbell and opening the door. Hadn’t I told her not to open the door carelessly? Ah, I hadn’t.
“…Ha.”
Someone once said,
What goes around comes around.
“Seo-yul-ah, what does ‘daddy’ mean?”
Whoever it was, they must’ve possessed true wisdom.
“Ancestor?”
But it’s not fair for what goes around to come around twice.
My head hurts.
< Chapter 110: This Is Not It (2) > The end.
