Summer Vacation (5)

They knew very well what kind of person Kwon Yongha was.

Of course, Kwon Sang-ah, who had been neglected for being weak, was out of the question, and even Kwon Yongha and Kang Minji, who had always received preferential treatment, couldn't simply smile at him.

That special treatment was only extended because he possessed power or authority.

It was the same when the guild quickly glossed over the disadvantages caused whenever Kwon Yongjun caused an incident.

The same was true for why they accepted Kang Minji's discriminatory Mutamit policies from behind the scenes.

They judged everything by power.

The strong were considered human, everything else mere stones by the roadside.

That was why they simply couldn't understand this situation.

"If I gather information, I'll contact you. Take care until then, my friend."

"You take care of yourself too, Guildmaster. Otherwise, I'll be upset."

"Hahaha! The more I see you, the more I like you!"

Kwon Yongha patted the boy Ma Seongjin on the back and laughed heartily.

At the sight of them acting as if they were true friends, Kwon Yongjun and Kang Minji looked even more dumbfounded.

But this was only the beginning.

"Oh, right! Since we've already met, should we take a selfie together?"

"That sounds great! Parting so abruptly would be sad, so let's leave something behind."

'What...?''A selfie...?'

Something even more absurd occurred.

They were so dumbfounded that it felt as if their souls were leaving their bodies.

Just what was it about this boy named Ma Seongjin that elicited such a reaction?

Normally, someone like him—a regular person—would be treated as nothing but a stone, ignored.

No matter if he was a Handu student, no matter if he came from a wealthy family.

In the end, he was just a student skilled in nothing but immature magic power.

"One, two, three!"

Tsk—!

Most of all, what made even less sense was that Kwon Yongha was treating this boy like a real friend.

Even thinking about it rationally, there was not a single reason for Kwon Yongha to favor him... Could this situation even be real?

"See you next time, my friend!"

"Goodbye~!"

Even as the two exchanged farewells, their minds were spinning.

It was rare for that man, so insensitive to human emotions, to wear such an expression.

It was so strange that it felt like watching a wild animal perform tricks at the zoo.

"Why are you just standing there spacing out?"

"Huh...?"

"Oh, um..."

When Kwon Yongha spoke to them just then, the two were startled.

"Don't you want to go back?"

"N-no, sir!"

Snapping out of it, Kwon Yongjun hurriedly pressed the elevator button.

Though he still didn't know what was going on, he knew he shouldn't irritate him.

As the elevator rose from the 1st to the 20th floor, Kwon Yongjun asked his father a question.

"Um... Father. What did you just talk about with that kid?"

"Are you curious?"

"Of course I am. If you were that happy, it must've been a pretty big deal."

"..."

"I'll soon be inheriting the Hwasan Guild after you. It makes sense for me to know."

Kang Minji nodded as if agreeing with him.

Frankly, it made sense for both of them to be curious.

Kwon Yongha had trained to S-rank just to impress him, and Kang Minji had poured her strength into politics for the prosperity of Hwasan Guild.

Since they'd devoted themselves to him, he felt a certain attachment.

That's why he explained, at least a little.

"We agreed to share useful information with each other."

"Useful information?"

"There are such things. That friend isn't as ordinary as you think."

"Then what is he? He's just a student, what could—"

If he wasn't ordinary, what on earth was he?

Both Kwon Yongjun and Kang Minji wondered.

To them, Kwon Yongha gave a chilling smile.

"You two. Don't just go around calling him 'kid' or 'shrimp' anymore. From now on, address him properly as Ma Seongjin."

"What does that—"

"Why are you going so far for him? He just looks like some weakling, no matter how you look at it."

Ding—

As Kang Minji was about to argue, the elevator arrived right on cue.

The metal doors opened to reveal the bright, pristine elevator interior.Stepping inside, Kwon Yongha spoke.

"A weakling, huh... That's certainly how he must look to you."

Kang Minji, who also entered the elevator, frowned at his words.

Because Kwon Yongha, who had always called her 'you' as if they were a married couple, now addressed both of them as 'you two,' as if they were strangers.

"But let me tell you this..."

As he entered the brightly lit space, Kwon Yongha showed them one of his palms.

What they saw made both of them doubt their eyes.

"Even after seeing this... could you still call him that?"

It was the hand that had shaken Ma Seongjin's back in the hospital room just moments ago.

The skin, once flesh-toned, was now torn and reddened.

At a glance, it looked as if he had been burned with a branding iron, but there was something strange.

Kwon Yongha was a hunter who boasted the greatest strength and defense, wielding a greatsword.

〈Diamond Body (8-Star)〉

Kwon Yongha, who possessed this trait, almost never took damage.

He'd trained to the extreme since fifteen years ago, raising it to 8-star rank, and now it took at least an S-rank attack to even risk injuring him.

Even Kwon Yongjun, after countless bouts, had never managed to land real damage on him.

Even when Kwon Yongha stood still to take Kwon Yongjun's full-power attacks, he'd felt no more than a mild sting.

"No way... Father, your hand—!"

"A wound..."

Their faces twisted in shock as they confirmed his palm.

Kwon Yongha, an SS-rank hunter with both the highest offense and defense.

For him to be injured like this, unless it was self-inflicted, was unthinkable.

"I merely tried to test him a bit, and ended up on the receiving end."

Kwon Yongha had been curious about the extent of Ma Seongjin's power.

This was the result of experiencing that boy's magic power firsthand.

"It's embarrassing to say, but... I really thought my skin would tear."

"..."

"...."

Even Kwon Yongha himself admitted he had suffered an external injury.

The two could only fall silent.

But still, it was hard to accept.

What kind of damage could a mere student inflict on an SS-rank hunter, one of the few capable of standing up to him in Korea?

But now... wasn't the time for those questions.

"Yongjun."

"Yes..."

Emphasizing the wound on his palm, Kwon Yongha spoke to his son.

"Right now, someone like that is supporting Sang-ah with everything he's got. You get what I mean, right?"

"...!"

It meant Kwon Sang-ah had obtained an unbelievable stroke of fortune.

Like some wuxia novel he read for fun, paying by the chapter.

But the thought that it might actually be happening sent a chill up his spine.

"Of course... I don't really plan to stop that. If Sang-ah gets stronger, it's actually good for me."

"Yongjun's dad, how can you talk like that in front of your own child? What if that girl really overtakes our Yongjun?"

Kang Minji protested, saying words had power.

"Yongjun is your son—your precious child!"

As if trying to provoke Kwon Yongha about throwing away his own child.But she was foolish. Despite being his wife, she always forgot his principles.

"Yes, he's a precious child. It would be wasteful to abandon him."

"Of course! So..."

"So, you can't let it be taken from you, right? If you don't want to lose, then—"

If you don't want to lose, become stronger.

If you don't want to be wronged, protect yourself.

The meaning was clear enough.

That's how Kwon Yongha always was.

Kang Minji and Kwon Yongjun had always agreed with his views and eliminated their thorns so far.

If they now begged to be protected, Kwon Yongha would just see them as weak and throw them away.

"So, I wish you luck. Yongjun."

In the enclosed space, Kwon Yongha wore a devilish smile.

****

"Finally, I can talk to Mother."

"Yeah."

Only after the uninvited guests left could Sang-ah properly face her mother.

Although they couldn't really converse, just having this time alone meant a lot to her.

"..."

"...."

But Sang-ah kept her mouth shut.

She'd spoken to her mother even when she was unconscious, but now she was quiet.

Moreover, Sang-ah wore a more contemplative expression than before.

"The truth is..."

And then she spoke to me.

"I heard it all. The conversation you... and that damn father had."

My eyes widened in surprise.

But with a little thought, it was an easy question to answer—she possessed superhuman hearing far surpassing ordinary people.

"Now that I think about it, you did have really good ears, didn't you?"

It was an oversight on my part, but not a bad one.

Sang-ah, her daughter, would find out soon enough anyway.

"Is it true that my mother... is not from Earth?"

"It is. Then, you must have also heard what kind of contract I made with your father?"

"Yes."

I agreed to Kwon Yongha's proposal for a give-and-take arrangement.

Because I needed information about Mewzealand, which he knew.

"So that place called Mewzealand is my mother's homeland?"

"Right. Which makes you a half-blood, strictly speaking."

"Is it really that dangerous there?"

"At the very least, it wasn't safe."

Fifteen years ago, Sang-ah's mother fled for her life and barely made it to Earth.

And that was even before I'd returned to Earth.

The fact that someone from Mewzealand set foot on Earth even before I came back still puzzles me.

But investigating the cause was a matter for later.

What mattered was... the enemy had already come to Earth.

"They're the kind who pathologically hate Mutamit like us. If their ideology spreads on Earth, you know what'll happen."

After all I'd done to barely realize justice and return to Earth.

For fifty years, I risked my life fighting them.

I spent 90% of my remaining lifespan in the battle, exhausted in every way.

At least, I thought I'd have a peaceful rest on Earth.

That's what I believed.

But...

'Damn.'

It was already absurd enough that the world was now full of gates, but now the Mewzealand bastards were swarming in on top of that?

'So much for a peaceful life—now you're trying to mess that up too?'

Well, then the answer was clear.

'Before that happens, I'll hunt them down and root them out, every last one.'

To find out where those guys were hiding, I definitely needed information at the highest level.

With only the power of my father, who was merely a prosecutor at best, it was impossible.

Coincidentally, Kwon Yongha was interested in that world too, so he was already investigating.

"Sorry for relying on the strength of the father you hate, but don't expect me to take his side. He just left your mother like this."

I was only going to use his power.Sang-ah, realizing that, nodded.

"My mother... she was fine without her horn. Even when I was in kindergarten."

"..."

"So then why..."

Her losing the vital horn was the cause of her magic power loss syndrome.

If that was the case, she should have collapsed much sooner—how did she stay fine until Sang-ah was in kindergarten?

"That just means there was a lot of preserved magic power inside her. Enough to last through your birth and up to your kindergarten graduation."

Some incident had caused her horn to go missing, and she raised Sang-ah in that state.

Since magic power continuously leaks, she couldn't use any magic power for anything else.

Eventually, she became no different from a normal human.

But by the time kindergarten ended, like a battery running out, she collapsed.That's why she was in such a state now.

"It was a full seven years. She kept you raised until you turned seven, using up every last bit of her own magic power. I'm sure she tried all sorts of supplements to replenish it, but..."

That was just a stopgap measure.

The rate of magic power loss would not have slowed much.

"She must have reached her limit and squeezed out even her remaining life force to keep going."

If she was to wake up again, her horn would need to be reattached.

But no one knew where it was.

Except Kwon Yongha.

Drip—

"Ah..."

It wasn't as if there was an onion in her eye.

Sang-ah's tears flowed before she knew it.

She'd always known it was because of magic power loss syndrome—but this was the first time she'd heard about the truth regarding the horn.

On top of that, not knowing about her mother's hidden struggle made her want to burst out sobbing.

"That's why you have to wake your mother up."

In exchange for the information I received from Kwon Yongha... there was something I had to do for him as well.

"And drag down that so-called older brother who doesn't even deserve the title."

"Yes."

"So I'm going to ramp up your training from now on."

The few tears that had been dripping suddenly stopped.

Along with her anger toward her father and brother... a new determination had arisen.

That determination was now directed at her fallen mother.

"And one more thing..."

I grabbed the bracelet that was placed atop the hospital room drawer.

It looked like something Sang-ah's mother used to wear, but I could tell it wasn't just a simple ornament.

"That... that's the bracelet I'm supposed to inherit when I grow up. Why...?"

"It just looked really familiar."

The flower-shaped, flame-mark emblem on the bracelet.

I'd glanced at it once before in Mewzealand.

And seen it many times at church on Earth.

The church I attended during elementary school.

"We'll find your mother's people in no time."

Going to church was the right decision after all.

Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Buddha.

With all three on my side, what misfortune could possibly befall me!

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=MC sure is religious...【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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