Episode 383. Father-in-Law.

‘Did I tease her too much?’

Because Alice was so cute, I played around a bit, but in the end, I was practically kicked out of the house.

Well, she seemed happy, so it’s probably fine.

When I mentioned the wine was delicious, I even received a high-quality wine as a gift.

Let’s share it with the kids later.

“Look at this. Liliana unnie.”

“Yeah. Sure, sure.”

As soon as I entered the house, I saw Liliana playing with Nam Dahee, and in the back, Scarlet and Rebecca were talking.

Daeun wasn’t visible, so it seemed like she might have gone for training.

As expected of an expensive house, there was plenty of space, so they even made a training ground.

“Welcome. Hoyeon-nim.”

“Oh? The baby’s dad is here.”

“Yes. I also brought back some information.”

“Information…? You had sources too?”

Scarlet looked at me, seemingly surprised.

It’s not like you need to be that surprised.

“Of course. I now have the information network of the industry’s best, the Iris Guild.”

“The Iris Guild? Isn’t that where Scarlet-yang was kicked out from?”

“…I wasn’t kicked out. If it’s the Iris Guild, it seems you received help from Miss Alice.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“Ah, the blonde young lady who stole your underwear? The baby’s dad’s girlfriends are all quite something.”

Why does Rebecca remember all my women so strangely?

I naturally sat down at the table and brought Scarlet’s coffee to my mouth.

Now that Scarlet was used to my actions, she didn’t say anything in particular.

Ah, bitter.

“What did you two do? Gather the information you got?”

“I reached out to my personal connections… but it seems I won’t be much help. It looks like Maestro has already figured out all my contacts.”

“I’ve been investigating in my own way, but apparently, the informants I placed among the demons have all cut off contact and gone into hiding.”

“Cut off contact all of a sudden?”

“I heard they’re hiding because of the terror attacks targeting demons… perhaps it’s due to the recent conflict among the demons?”

Scarlet tilted her head.

Right, if they don’t know about Moon Sung-min’s existence, it might not make sense.

Wait a second.

So, did neither of you get any information?

“…So, neither of you got anything?”

“Hmm… I’m a fugitive, you know. Please understand.”

“I will need some time.”

“Oho.”

Maybe Alice will figure it out first.

Finally, I can do something as the head of the household.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it quickly.”

“You’re quite confident.”

“The Iris Guild is invincible.”

“I’ve been there, and it’s a mess.”

I chuckled at Scarlet’s reaction and smiled.

It’s natural to dislike the place you work.

Let’s stop worrying about information gathering and focus on fighting, which we’re good at.

Since there are experts, there’s no need for me to step in.

“As Scarlet-yang said, even the Iris Guild would take quite some time, right?”

“Probably. Shall we call Daeun-yang over for a meal?”

“Shall we?”

Information should come out in a few days, so we can just increase our strength until then.

Maybe I should eat and train with Daeun too.

Ttiring-

Just then, my smartwatch rang.

Alice’s name was displayed on the screen.

• Alice: Check the file I sent.

“File?”

When I tapped the smartwatch, the file Alice sent appeared.

The file contained a map and a few photos, and below them was information about the demons in the photos.

I looked up and glanced at Scarlet.

“Scarlet.”

“Yes?”

“I think she found them already?”

Is this the successor of the Iris Guild?

It’s only been a few hours, why so fast?

• Me: Alice, did you send the investigation process, or is this the end of the investigation?

• Alice: Of course, it’s the end. I gave the order as soon as you asked me to.

• Me: Wow… Thanks. Next time, I’ll bring prettier panties.

• Alice: Give them back. Give them back!

Tak-

I turned off the smartwatch and looked at the two of them, blinking and still not grasping the situation, and smiled.

“Shall we call Daeun and get ready?”

---

Shielding my eyes from the bright sunlight with my hand, I walked through the middle of the city.

There were three women next to me, and the three of them were chatting excitedly.

“Wow, to leave such a great job for love, Scarlet-yang, you’re amazing.”

“That’s right. Scarlet-ssi is also sincere towards Hoyeon.”

“…No. If I had known it was such a great job, I wouldn’t have left. I regret it immensely.”

“Scarlet-yang is a liar.”

“…”

Watching Scarlet being teased, I walked ahead.

The destination was the largest Pandemic hideout nearby, which Alice had told me about.

The data Alice gave me included the hideout’s structure and the combat power of the executives inside.

Currently, there are three executive-level demons in the hideout. That means three S-class demons.

It wasn’t originally a place with such weak defenses, but apparently, many executives left for other places due to Moon Sung-min’s terrorism.

In other words, now, just before new executives are added, is the best time to fight.

“Liliana-ssi will be okay, right?”

“Yeah. The house should be safe. I’ve placed a spell on Liliana, so I’ll return immediately if anything happens.”

Liliana agreed to look after Nam Dahee at the house.

I considered leaving Nam Daeun behind, but since Nam Daeun is much stronger than Liliana, it couldn’t be helped.

“But if we attack the demons, will Rebecca-ssi be safe?”

Nam Daeun asked me about the purpose of the operation.

Good question.

“First, reducing Pandemic’s strength has meaning. Pandemic can’t invest all its resources solely in Korea.”

“What if incredibly powerful demons just show up?”

“At that point, the Hunter Association and the Academy will notice too.”

It’s not that they can’t catch demons and therefore don’t catch them.

Investing too much power in dealing with demons could leave them vulnerable.

However, if the opposing side increases their strength first, the Association and the Academy will change their stance.

“But baby’s dad. What’s the plan? Can we just barge in like this?”

“Of course.”

Actually, our strength was overwhelming. There were three S-class demons, but not all S-class demons are strong.

The executives guarding the hideout are low-tier among the S-class.

We have four combat personnel capable of crushing S-class demons, so dealing with a hideout like this is easy.

“First, let’s use the password and go inside.”

“With the password Hoyeon mentioned earlier?”

“Yep. And then we just kill every demon we see.”

“…”

Nam Daeun gaped at my perfect plan, while Rebecca shook her head.

“Baby’s dad. Don’t say such scary things. It’s bad for the prenatal education.”

“Leaving the Pandemic bastards in the world would be worse for prenatal education.”

“Hmm, maybe so?”

Rebecca finally nodded in agreement with my words, but the others didn’t.

“Hoyeon-ah, wouldn’t that be too dangerous?”

“Really? Our strength is overwhelming, though.”

“…Frankly, that’s not even a plan.”

I thought the plan was perfect, but the reaction wasn’t great.

Scarlet, in particular, spoke up, sounding frustrated.

“The map even shows the location of the executives’ offices. Let’s each take one and deal with them quietly. Then, we block the exit and clean up the remaining demons.”

“…That sounds reasonable?”

“Even if our strength is overwhelming, there’s no need to make a racket. We don’t know what might happen.”

“I see. There are four of us, so how should we split into teams?”

“Since three of us can use stealth, I, lacking in that area, will take Daeun-yang. Rebecca-nim and you should be able to handle yourselves.”

“As expected of someone with experience.”

Scarlet, with her experience working at the Iris Guild, proposed a decent plan.

Looking at it now, what I came up with wasn’t even a plan.

“Then you two go to the closest location. Rebecca-ssi and I will take the farthest one, so let’s deal with them first and then rendezvous.”

“Okay. Baby’s dad.”

“Understood.”

“Yes. Please take care of it. Scarlet-ssi.”

We entered the alleys of the street and headed towards the Pandemic’s hideout.

It was a place so dark, I wondered if such a space existed in the city.

Passing by homeless people sleeping in broad daylight, we saw our destination: a huge, rusty iron gate.

“Is this it?”

“Yes. Just a moment.”

Knock knock-

I knocked on the rusty iron gate.

There was no answer, but I could sense movement inside.

If the password is correct, they’ll probably open the door.

I recited the password that merchants used in the original game.

“Arma ja maestra.”

Cheolkeodeong. Ggiik-

Along with the sound of the lock disengaging, a giant inside opened the rusty iron gate.

The giant glanced at us, lowered his voice, and pressed himself against the wall.

“Leave the goods and return immediately.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Bowing subserviently, I passed the giant.

Since we were hidden by a rune barrier, the four of us probably looked like delivery drivers.

As soon as I turned the corner and straightened up, Rebecca subtly approached me.

“How does baby’s dad know even the password merchants use? I don’t even know that.”

“I heard it from a demon I caught before.”

I made a vague excuse and went inside.

Following the ant-hill-like paths of the hideout, we started seeing demons.

The inside looked just like the lobby of the Iris Guild.

Some demons were seen resting, while others were diligently working on something.

I made eye contact with the women.

“…Everyone remembers the locations, right? Let’s split up now.”

We silently dispersed, like merchants delivering goods to the executives.

Now, we just need to go into hiding somewhere secluded and assassinate the targets.

‘I just need to do my part well.’

Because not only Rebecca, but Scarlet and Nam Daeun are also trustworthy.

I slowly walked towards the executive’s office I was assigned.

But the interior and the way people look, it’s believable enough to be a real company.

Except for the occasionally scary-looking demons, everyone seemed human.

While observing the passing demons, I soon reached the target location.

The office was sealed with a barrier made of the unpleasant magic characteristic of demons.

It must be the security device in the executive’s room.

Confirming no one was around, I shattered the barrier with my magic and kicked the door open, entering.

I intended to deal with it without giving it time to react, but the scene inside was different from what I expected.

A broken reception table and a sofa torn to shreds, spitting out stuffing.

And a middle-aged man breaking a demon’s neck.

Kwadeuk- Kwadeudeuk-

“…What is this? There was supposed to be a barrier.”

The middle-aged man holding the demon looked at me and frowned.

The demon in his hand was one of the executives I was targeting.

“You’re not a demon, so you can’t be a subordinate, are you human? Looks like there’s a hideout raid operation. Bad timing. Ah, I don’t bother humans, so don’t worry.”

The middle-aged man threw the dead demon’s corpse onto the floor.

And walked slowly towards me.

Seeing no hostility, he probably intended to pass by me and leave through the door.

‘…Why did I have to run into him?’

Anyway, since we’ve met, I can’t just let him go quietly.

“Mr. Moon Sung-min. Hello.”

“Who are you? No one in the Association should know my name.”

Hearing my words, Moon Sung-min stopped in his tracks and looked at me.

Seeing him burning with hostility, I regretted speaking up unnecessarily, but…

“I’m your daughter’s boyfriend. Father-in-law.”

I met Surin noona’s father, I can’t just let him go.

I sighed and took a defensive stance.