Family Relationships (2)- Humanity's treasure.- The great staple one must never be without.- An existence that makes this world feel like hell without it.

That was how I evaluated beer.

Whether I was living as a former college student or as a demon, I always, always loved beer.

When living as a demon, I only drank beer from Mewzealand, so I missed Earth beer terribly.

CaX, haXt, teX, asaX, tsingtaX.

Even after I became the Demon King, I tried all sorts of drinks I could get, but none captured the taste of Earth.

Not to say I was underrating drinks made in Mewzealand, it's just that I longed for the taste of Earth beer.

The taste of beer with chicken—it still made my tongue itch with desire.

How long had I endured that thirst?

Just when I was finally about to sate it...

Tsk—

A most ominous sound rang out.

"Oppa! Cheese~"

Accompanied by my damn little sister's wicked intent.

"Oppa, what are you doing? Hurry up and eat deliciously. That way it'll look good when I show it to Mom and Dad."

Yunhee was aiming her smartphone like she'd been possessed by a famous photographer.

She was two years younger than me, the little sister I got to have for the first time in my life.

Back in my college days, I'd often heard friends talk about siblings.

I never understood when they said their siblings weren't family, they were enemies.

Because I never had a family at that time.

But now, I could feel those friends' words deep in my bones.

"Yunhee, what exactly are you planning to show Mom and Dad?"

I asked cautiously, and Yunhee's eyes narrowed slyly.

I figured I could slip by with some smooth talking, since she was no more than a grade-schooler.

But that was my mistake.

Yunhee showed me her smartphone screen.

On it was already a photo, with the message ready to be sent to our parents.

"My cute little sister, please don't do anything strange."

"Excuse me, but you're the one doing something strange, oppa."

Yunhee pointed at the beer with her chin. I couldn't really refute that.

But I couldn't throw away this hard-won opportunity.

Whether in my previous life or in my Mewzealand life, whenever I was down, beer always comforted me.

It was what cheered me up even when I was betrayed by the natives I trusted.

I could never forget that variety of flavors tormenting my tongue.

And the can was already open.

"You're not planning to send that to Mom and Dad, are you? Right in front of me?"

"What? I'm just being honest."

"What do you get out of this? At most, you get a pat on the head from Mom and Dad, and that's it. Are you really willing to crush your big brother's hopes for that?"

I put on my best pitiful look and acted.

Grade school kids are really naïve. If you look all sad and about to cry, they get flustered and can't say anything.

"Crush your hopes? Then what about the chicken and fries you're holding, oppa!"

But Yunhee started to tear up too.

Come to think of it, those were what she had saved for herself.

Trying to sneak some meant that being her brother was meaningless.

"Yunhee, my cute little sister. Please don't cross the line. Are you really going to sell out your oppa?"

"You're the one who crossed the line!"

Completely enraged, Yunhee was about to press the send button.

You might think it's silly to make such a fuss over food, but she was still in grade school.

At that age, it's natural to be self-centered.

In other words, reasoning wouldn't work.

"Monster Bread! I'll buy you Monster Bread!"

"...!"

Yunhee's hand hesitated.

Monster Bread. Like the old Pokémon Bread, it comes with collectible sticker seals inside the packaging.

They were bread featuring stickers of monsters mainly appearing in gates.

Such products always remained popular with kids.

So much so that they were always sold out.

"You like those, right? Oppa can get you loads."

As I expected, monster Bread had Yunhee hooked.

But...

"I've already collected a bunch of sticker seals."

And with that, Yunhee moved to press the [Send] button.

I had to forcibly stop her once again.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Then, B-rank monster! I'll get you a B-rank monster sticker seal. You've been having a hard time finding one—they're super rare these days."

"..."

Even sticker seals had grades.

Their grades depended on the strength of the original monster.

You could easily find D- or C-rank monsters in any bread, but it was much harder from B-rank up.

"I can just bug Dad to get one."

"Hey hey hey! Then let's do this. I haven't touched the chicken or fries yet, so I'll give them back. And I'll get you an A-rank monster seal... if you delete the photo, please?"

"..."

That offer piqued Yunhee's interest, and she hesitated.

Should she send this message and get praised by Mom and Dad, or should she hide her rotten brother's dirty secret and get something out of it?

"A-rank... A-rank, huh..."

"I can get it quickly by calling in my connections."

"Hmm..."

For beer, I'd have to sacrifice the chicken and fries. It was now all or nothing.

Just as Yunhee kept agonizing, she put her finger back on the [Send] button.

"Heyheyheyheyhey! Wait! Wait! Wait! Then S-rank!! I'll get you an S-rank sticker! And I won't drink the beer! I'll throw it away!"

As I protested hastily, Yunhee stopped again.

This whole thing made me feel like the leader of an evil organization groveling before a mercilessly ultimate hero.

"S-rank... S-rank?"

The S-rank monster sticker seal was known to be truly hard to get.

As soon as I brought that up, Yunhee's hand trembled even more.

They were literally the stickers for monsters appearing in S-rank gates.

Recently, S-rank gates worldwide were becoming rare, making those stickers even more valuable.

"Ummmm..."

"If you want, I can get an elite monster from an S-rank gate!"

"Can you really do it?"

"Of course! Do you think your oppa is an ordinary human?"

"And if you can't?"

"Then... I'll grant you any wish you like."

"Hmm... fine."

Brightening up, Yunhee pressed [Delete] instead of [Send].

Thanks to my little sister's mercy, my heart felt lighter.

Beep beep beep beep—

Then, the sound of the apartment passcode being entered rang out by the front door.

Sensing mortal danger, I moved at invisible speed and dumped the can of beer.

All of that happened before my parents opened the door.

"Dad and Mom are home."

"Welcome back!"

I tossed the can and rushed to greet my parents.

Yunhee stuck out her tongue at just how two-faced I could be.

Even I wondered if I was someone with two personalities.

"We bought chicken and fries."

"Really?"

Dad was holding a bag radiating that crispy aroma.

Yunhee lit up as soon as she caught a whiff.

Even though there were snacks I'd microwaved on the table already...

"Those are yours, oppa."

They no longer even registered to Yunhee.

Considering how she'd acted moments ago, it was almost comical.

But, on the bright side, the new batch from my parents meant the old stuff could be dealt with too.

As Mom came to the table and opened up the bags, dad went to the fridge and took out some beer.

"Huh?"

Dad made a strange face, so I went over to ask.

"What's wrong?"

"We're missing a beer."

The moment I heard that, my body stiffened.

He noticed that one can was missing from a pack of twenty?

"Missing? Seems fine to me."

"No, one's definitely gone. I remembered the number."

Why go through the trouble of remembering so many?

It's not like I count every box of soy milk or anything.

"Was it you?"

Suddenly, dad gave me a look that was anything but ordinary.

The fact that he smiled as he did so gave me the chills.

All the effort I'd spent negotiating with my little sister vanished in an instant.

"Seongjin."

"Yes."

"Get down."

Dad was a prosecutor.

Naturally, he was strict about students drinking alcohol.

But that was a good thing.

He never overlooked his own child's mistakes.

Even as I got punished, I thought to myself:I was lucky to have found a good family.

"Seongjin, don't eat any chicken."

"Yessir."

Of course, strict when he had to be.

****

Thud—!

A pounding sound echoed from the basement of a mansion.

As the home of the leader of Korea's top four guilds—the Hwasan Guild—the facilities were vast indeed.

Among them, a training facility was set up without issue in the basement.

Smash—!

Someone was hitting a sandbag, as if practicing their strength—but that wasn't the sound of striking equipment.

Nor was it simply a matter of training for stamina.

"Ugh!"

A groan of pain came from someone.

The true origin of the noise in the training hall was none other than a one-sided beating.

And the victim was a girl not even 14 years old.

"Get a grip! Stand up, right now!"

"..."

Leaning against the wall after being hit, Kwon Sang-ah quietly looked up at the man who struck her.

It was Kwon Yongjun, son of guildmaster Kwon Yongha, and the second-in-command of Hwasan Guild.That is, Sang-ah's older brother.But despite their blood relation, he never once thought of Sang-ah as his sister.

"Just be honest. You lost control again, didn't you?"

"..."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to lose it?!"

After Sang-ah returned home from completing her hand registration, Yongjun immediately noticed something was off.

Realizing she'd lost control, Yongjun dragged her to the training room, using 'training' as an excuse for a beating.

"You damn brat, why are you always causing trouble?! You know the guild rats pile on every time you make a mess!"

On the matter of losing control, Sang-ah had no real defense.

If she hadn't met that boy earlier today, she surely would have gotten into trouble.

But Yongha had no right to talk about "causing problems."

He, too, had repeatedly caused scandals for the Hwasan Guild before.

"Were you just excited about entering Hand? Or did you lose it again because of those scraps of paper in your wallet?"

Yongjun also knew about the existence of that photo in her wallet.It was the only photo Sang-ah had of her and her mother.

"Just give up on that trash! Then you won't lose control anymore!"

"...!"

Sang-ah's blood almost boiled right then and there.

She wanted to shred him to pieces, but she restrained herself.

Even if she lost control, she couldn't beat Yongjun, whose magic power level was 135.

"Are you losing it again? Go ahead, do it."

Suddenly, Yongjun grinned confidently. In truth, this was exactly what he wanted.

If Sang-ah lost control, he'd have an excuse to beat her down further.

Word was that Yongjun had been humiliated by a foreign hunter at a gathering today.

This was just him taking his anger out on her.

Knowing that, Sang-ah didn't fall for his bait.

"The more I think about it, the stranger it is. You've got a high-tier trait—so why are you like this?"

"..."

"Look at me! I was born with a great trait too, but I turned out just fine!"

Unlike Sang-ah, Yongjun had no risk of losing control.

He took every chance to show off his superiority.

But that was all. Sang-ah knew her brother's fatal weakness all too well.

"Except your humanity is garbage."

"What...?"

He was human trash who didn't even treat his subordinates like people.

She'd long since realized it was a disgrace having someone like that as an older brother.

Add to that a stepmother who only spoiled her biological son and neglected Sang-ah because she was a Mutamit.

And a father who favored her brother simply because he was strong.

Always stuck by their side, Sang-ah often thought to herself:

She'd ended up with the worst family possible.

"You'll see."

As time went on, a burning rage settled in Sang-ah's heart.

So quietly did it grow that even she didn't notice it, until it was strong.

"One day... I'll kill you."

That rage was as powerful as an erupting volcano.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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