Chapter 8: About the fact that wives want to attend the academy

A short while later, Liera woke up.

Thankfully, she didn’t go on another rampage.

Knowing her, she was probably biding her time, waiting for a better opportunity.

I needed to be cautious.

‘It’s a pitiful situation…’

I felt sympathy for them.

Imagine your husband vanishing on his 30th birthday, you sacrificing everything to find him in another world, only to discover he has no memory of you.

I would be heartbroken.

Knowing their circumstances, I couldn’t help but feel for them.

But I wasn’t sure if it was love.

Frankly, I would find it strange to fall deeply in love with someone I had just met.

While I knew that kind of love existed, it wasn’t for me.

My relationships with my ex-wives had developed over time, culminating in marriage.

While physical intimacy was important, emotional connection mattered more.

Liera had resorted to drastic measures, but she had done so because of the deep feelings we had cultivated.

She wouldn’t have acted that way with just anyone.

“Let’s eat first. Isn’t everyone hungry?”

I sat my ex-wives and Seung-ah at the dining table and looked at the chicken Shin-woo had brought.

He had bought one box from my favorite brand and one from Seung-ah’s, even though he had his own preference.

He was being considerate.

‘I should treat him to a meal later.’

He hadn’t even had a single piece.

I should take him to a nice restaurant.

I put the chicken in the microwave.

Beep. Beep.

Since it was fresh, it only needed a short burst of heat.

I placed it on the table and handed everyone plastic gloves.

“Wear these and eat with your hands.”

I sat down in the empty seat between them and started eating.

“It’s just chicken coated in flour and fried, but it’s delicious…!”

“Even the imperial chefs can’t make anything this tasty!”

“Delicious…”

Shin-woo’s imagined reactions of otherworldly beauties trying K-chicken had come true.

Seeing such beautiful women raving about fried chicken, I had to agree; it would be a viral hit.

After satisfying our hunger, we gathered around the living room table.

In the awkward silence, I spoke first.

“Ha-yeon, can you tell us how you got here?”

I figured it would be best to start with the world I had visited first.

“Right after you disappeared that night, I summoned all the spellcasters in the sect. I believed crossing dimensions was the realm of magic, not martial arts.”

I agreed. Dimensional travel seemed more magical than martial.

“But they had only studied spells for enhancing power or causing harm. No one specialized in interdimensional magic. So I ordered them to search every spellbook in the sect.”

That must have been a nightmare for the spellcasters.

They were already overwhelmed with their usual research, and now they had to explore a new field.

Of course, no one dared refuse a direct order from the Heavenly Demon.

Their heads would have rolled.

“After searching and searching, we found a method. A spell for dimensional travel. I ordered the sect’s masters to gather the necessary ingredients: Ice Crystals from the North Sea Ice Palace, Transcendence Herbs from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, and other rare items.”

Now it was the field operatives’ turn.

The Demonic Sect’s masters scoured the land for the ingredients.

“We gathered everything except one thing: your coordinates. It simply wouldn’t lock onto your location. The spell warned of significant power loss as a side effect, but that didn’t matter.”

That explained why she was now only C-rank. Losing most of her power, coupled with abandoning everything she had built… the risk was enormous.

“After three years, your coordinates finally appeared. I immediately relinquished my position as Heavenly Demon, along with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, to one of the elders, and crossed dimensions.”

“Wait, so… it took you three years to get here after I disappeared?”

‘My 77 years… were only three years for her?’

“Yes… is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I didn’t want to worry her.

And honestly, the time difference wasn’t that important. It was better that it was shorter rather than longer.

“So, Estelle, how did you get here?”

How did Estelle, the Saintess of Luntara, the next world I had visited, cross dimensions?

“After oppa disappeared, I asked the Goddess. I told her that Yu-won oppa had reincarnated into another world using another god’s power, and asked if she could send me there.”

I had heard that communication with the Goddess became easier after the Demon King’s defeat.

Perhaps the Demon King had been interfering with the connection.

“She said it was possible if I offered most of my holy power, but she couldn’t pinpoint oppa’s coordinates. I tried to find other methods, but there was nothing I could do.”

My coordinates had been the issue here as well.

“After two years, the Goddess said she had finally located oppa. I contacted my former companions through a crystal ball and came right away. Oh, Ludric sends his regards.”

Ludric, the Hero. A master spearman, known as the Hero of the Holy Spear.

He had married the Imperial Princess, if I remembered correctly.

“So you waited two years after I vanished?”

“Yes. I counted every day, so I’m sure.”

It took Estelle two years to get here.

“And Liera? How did you get to our world?”

“After you disappeared, honey, I asked the Demonic Empire, with whom we had a blood oath, for help. I offered them anything in exchange for information on dimensional travel.”

Her world consisted of two empires and ten kingdoms.

The Demonic Empire had a close relationship with the kingdom we had built.

Liera and I had solved a major problem for them before founding our kingdom.

They were pragmatic and had provided us with substantial support.

“The Demonic Empire had been researching dimensional travel for a long time, and it was almost complete. I assisted with the research and we finally finished it.”

I could guess what she would say next.

“All we needed were your coordinates, honey. But we couldn’t find them. I was going crazy, but then, on the first anniversary of your disappearance, they suddenly appeared. I abdicated the throne to Belheim and used the dimensional travel spell immediately.”

It took Liera one year to find me.

Three years for Ha-yeon, two for Estelle, and one for Liera.

Was the time difference simply due to the timing of my reincarnations, or had the god who gave me the Five Lives Trait orchestrated it?

It was a question I couldn’t answer now.

“Now, let me tell you my story.”

I recounted my four past lives and my current life in detail.

Seung-ah, who knew nothing of my past, listened intently, her eyes wide.

“So, Yu-won, you’re not an adult yet, and you’re taking the academy entrance exam soon?”

“Yeah, it’s in a week.”

“So you’ll be spending at least three years at the academy?”

“Probably. I need to graduate to become a Hunter. And I want to make some friends.”

I had two close friends, but my other relationships were lacking. My contact list consisted of Shin-woo, Seung-ah, their parents, and my middle school teachers. That was it.

“I want to go too…”

Liera said something strange.

“Huh…? Liera, you want to go to the academy?”

The other two reacted.

“Then I want to go to this academy too.”

“Me too!”

Now Ha-yeon and Estelle also wanted to attend the academy.

The exam was a week away, and the Special Act for Otherworlders allowed them to enroll, so it wasn’t impossible.

‘But that’s only for Otherworlders under 17…!’

My wives were at least 29 years old, and they wanted to go to high school.

“But your ages…”

They glared at me as if they would kill me.

I had never received such looks since our marriages.

I immediately backed down.

“We can just lie about our ages when we register as Otherworlders.”

“Honestly, I could easily pass for 17…”

“Academy… I want to go.”

They were determined to attend the academy, even if it meant lying about their ages.

I couldn’t think of a way to stop them.

Then, Seung-ah placed a hand on my shoulder.

‘Seung-ah, you must have a solution, right?’

I looked at her expectantly.

“Give up… it’s easier that way.”

She couldn’t think of a solution either.

My last hope was that the academy entrance exam wasn’t easy.

They would ace the practical portion with their combat skills, but the written exam was a different story.

It was impossible to master Korean and acquire the necessary knowledge for the exam in a week.

‘Impossible… right?’

It had to be.