Episode 508. Lucifer (5)

In a typical relationship, there are hardly any guys who genuinely hurt from a punch thrown by their girlfriend.

Of course, there are occasional exceptions, and Lee Hoyeon had seen a picture like that once.

A photo of a guy whose girlfriend was a volleyball player, showing his back covered in a large, bright red, swollen handprint.

He clearly remembered chuckling while looking at it.

‘Why didn’t I think of that sooner?’

Alice’s fist, capable of using magic, was incomparable to that of a professional athlete.

“Oof… Ooooh… Kghh….”

Lee Hoyeon clutched his stomach and knelt on the floor.

Being hit in the stomach while completely defenseless, it hurt more than most battles.

‘Haaah… Hitting you once makes me feel a bit better. I really need to steel my resolve.’

‘H-Hey, Alice… I-I’m gonna die….’

‘To be honest, I already knew you were living with other women. Still, I appreciate you telling me before I had to pry.’

‘….’

Lee Hoyeon’s body broke out in goosebumps.

He’d taken a punch like this even after telling the truth; he shuddered to imagine what would have happened if he’d lied.

‘And seeing you do this at the entrance, not the living room or my room, means she’s here, doesn’t it? Did Unnie call you about Lucifer?’

‘… Yeah.’

‘Hmm… So there was a lot I didn’t know.’

Alice lowered her head and whispered to Lee Hoyeon.

‘Hoyeon-ah. Between the women over there and me, who’s prettier?’

‘You are… prettier.’

Lee Hoyeon spoke, suppressing his trembling voice.

He knew honesty was best, but he wasn’t so clueless as to be honest to this extent.

Hearing Lee Hoyeon’s words, Alice almost giggled but merely lifted the corners of her mouth slightly, as if it were only natural.

‘Well, fine. Shall I go say hello then?’

‘Before you do, let me explain briefly. You’ve seen some of them before.’

‘No need. I prefer to figure things out myself.’

Alice confidently headed towards the living room.

‘… She doesn’t seem okay.’

He wondered if Nam Daeun or Scarlet would be quite surprised.

But it felt ridiculous to force someone who didn’t want an explanation to listen.

Lee Hoyeon followed her, still feeling the throbbing pain in his stomach.

*

Just as Lee Hoyeon stepped out to greet Alice.

The women remaining in the living room were having a serious conversation.

‘Daeun-ah. If we meet Lucifer again, do you think we can win?’

‘… I think it would be difficult.’

Nam Daeun shook her head at Rebecca’s words.

She had a clear grasp of her own level.

Although she had become much stronger after fighting Lucifer, she was still lacking significantly.

Especially the magic of the Underworld.

She was training as Rebecca suggested, but she still couldn’t get used to it.

‘This won’t do. It’s special training starting today. I’ll even draw magic circles for you, so let’s have a training camp in my room to get accustomed to the magic.’

‘If there were time, that wouldn’t be a bad idea… but with Lucifer appearing, we don’t know what might happen.’

Even Liliana was serious today, and Scarlet was deeply contemplating their future course of action.

If a battle with Lucifer didn’t break out immediately, they might gain some time.

Then they could devise a better plan.

‘This seems like the perfect timing.’

Irene thought as she watched the women conversing.

The reason she gathered the women today wasn’t just about Lucifer, but also to share the shocking fact she’d heard from Alice.

‘Scarlet. Is now a good time?’

‘Yes. You mean what we talked about earlier.’

Scarlet, having received a signal from Irene beforehand, immediately caught on and clapped her hands twice.

‘Everyone. Irene-nim has something to say.’

‘Right. Everyone, focus. I have something important to say.’

Irene’s serious demeanor made everyone stop talking and pay attention. Seeing them all looking her way, Irene slowly began.

‘Don’t be alarmed, but listen. Lee Hoyeon… is likely under a curse right now.’

‘A curse? Irene. What are you talking about?’

‘To be precise, it’s something like a curse. A curse that compels him to remain involved with women.’

The reason Irene had gathered the women was to talk about the curse affecting Lee Hoyeon.

Since it wasn’t a trivial matter, she had intended to tell those close to Lee Hoyeon from the day she heard it from Alice.

‘I’ve heard of magic similar to curses existing… but I thought Hoyeon-nim could easily block it. Is the source of your information reliable?’

Scarlet, unfazed by Irene’s sudden statement, sought to verify the information.

She, too, knew Lee Hoyeon’s every move. Besides, despite his naivete, he wasn’t the type to leave such openings.

‘I was surprised when Alice first told me too. But the reason is logical, and Lee Hoyeon’s actions make sense when you consider it.’

‘What reason? This is the first I’m hearing about the baby’s daddy being cursed.’

‘Well… he’s dating the most beautiful woman in the world, Alice, yet he’s also seeing other women. That doesn’t make sense unless it’s some kind of curse.’

“””…?”””

Seeing Irene speak with such utmost seriousness, Rebecca, Scarlet, and Nam Daeun simultaneously had question marks pop up above their heads.

They couldn’t comprehend why Irene’s statement was considered a logical reason.

Among them, only Liliana nodded her head.

‘As expected, Lee Hoyeon must have inherited Incubus blood. There are many such curses in the Underworld.’

‘Wait a minute. Incubus? Liliana. What are you talking about?’

‘Irene-nim. Please take whatever Liliana-nim says with a grain of salt. More importantly, what does Alice-yang’s beauty have to do with the curse Hoyeon-nim is under?’

‘Are you disrespecting Alice right now?’

‘I’m just saying, I don’t understand how that connects.’

‘….’

Nam Daeun sat blankly, sipping her tea.

She couldn’t keep up with the pace of their conversation.

Irene wasn’t usually this unreasonable, so she wondered why she suddenly changed like that upon hearing Alice’s name.

‘The evidence is weak, but… I always suspected something about the baby’s daddy’s player tendencies. It’s worse than normal.’

‘It’s beyond ‘worse’ to describe it.’

‘Actually, thinking about the baby, it might be easier on the mind to consider it a curse…’

‘Hmm.’

Rebecca, who had been listening quietly, nodded, and Scarlet agreed.

Although the evidence was flimsy, the ‘situation’ of Lee Hoyeon being cursed was persuasive.

His obsession with women was unusually intense.

‘Irene-nim. Could you please explain more about that curse?’

‘According to Alice’s assessment, it’s a contract or vow that requires him to increase the number of women. There’s probably a reason why it can’t be revealed.’

‘Curses usually have safety measures. I know a thing or two about curses myself.’

‘Yeah. Anyway, I felt I needed to tell you all. Apparently, Lee Hoyeon was incredibly shocked when Alice brought up the curse.’

‘… That actually sounds like a more logical reason.’

‘Thank you, Irene-nim.’

Nam Daeun bowed her head slightly and pondered what Irene had said.

Nam Daeun didn’t know much about magic.

All she knew was that Lee Hoyeon wasn’t a bad person.

If he was under a bad curse, she wanted to save him.

‘Right. And remember Victoria Park I mentioned last time? He used to visit every day, but he hasn’t been for a few days. Does anyone know why?’

‘Isn’t it because Hoyeon-ah is sick?’

‘That can’t be it. He visited on the first day he was hospitalized, when he was likely feeling the worst.’

‘Or perhaps he accomplished all the objectives he had there?’

‘Objectives…? I might need to investigate again….’

Irene nodded.

Nothing was resolved, but she felt they were getting closer to Lee Hoyeon’s secrets.

She had to put in the effort, especially for Alice’s sake.

‘Anyway, the curse is almost certain. If any of you notice anything suspicious yourselves….’

Knock knock.

Just as Irene was about to emphasize the curse.

A light knock sounded, and the door opened simultaneously.

In stepped Alice, dressed in a neat suit.

She had the corners of her lips slightly raised, perhaps holding back a smile, and beside her was Lee Hoyeon, his face pale.

‘… Did I handle that well?’

Maybe I should have just let them all go.

Irene cautiously addressed Alice.

‘Alice. These people here are….’

‘It’s okay, Unnie. I heard the explanation.’

Alice smiled and bowed politely.

Her face was filled with confidence.

‘It’s nice to meet you all. I am Alice, Hoyeon’s lover.’

‘Oh. It’s been a while since I’ve met a human woman with such strong energy.’

‘… It has been a while. Alice-nim.’

‘Hi. Alice.’

‘Nice to meet you. Alice-yang.’

‘Yes. Scarlet and Nam Daeun… and Rebecca-ssi, wasn’t it? I think I saw you in France.’

‘Why aren’t you calling my name? I’m Liliana.’

‘… Please take care of me. Liliana-ssi.’

Alice was taken aback seeing the familiar faces but mustered all her concentration to hide her expression.

It was a subtle power struggle, and she was slightly surprised by the formidable opponents who didn’t flinch.

Alice made eye contact with each of the women.

The black-haired, seemingly naive woman, Liliana.

Nam Daeun, whom she often saw at the Academy.

Scarlet, a former member of the Iris Guild.

And Rebecca, the red-haired woman from the Centaur capture operation.

‘… I’m still the prettiest.’

For now, she had won in terms of appearance.

She had worried someone might lash out, but none of the women were that ill-mannered.

‘W-What are we going to do about this? Lee Hoyeon, you said you’d take responsibility…!’

Irene panicking, hitting Lee Hoyeon.

‘I’m really hurting right now… Please don’t hit me.’

How many times was he going to get hit by these sisters today?

‘What are we going to do about this atmosphere! This is why I told you to run away!’

‘… Don’t worry. Everyone seems fine.’

Although Irene was overreacting, it wasn’t a fighting atmosphere, just awkward.

The women living with him were generally lenient about his relationships, and Alice apparently knew from the start.

Still, he felt he needed to sort things out.

It was like a ticking time bomb, even if things seemed okay for now.

Lee Hoyeon stepped into the silence among the women.

‘Now that you’ve exchanged greetings, Alice, have a seat. We were just discussing Lucifer. Irene-ssi mentioned you came back from something important, can you tell us?’

‘… It was originally something I should tell Unnie, but I’ll just say it here. I succeeded in securing the Academy’s cooperation. Other organizations will likely give positive responses soon too.’

‘So what changes?’

‘They’ll likely form an investigation team or seek help from other countries.’

‘Can’t we join the investigation team?’

‘There’s no need to. It’s too dangerous.’

‘Still, just watching feels….’

Lucifer’s appearance in Korea was definitely partly due to her influence.

Sending an investigation team first felt like a breach of conscience.

‘Baby’s Daddy. It might sound cruel, but it’s their job. Frankly, if we went and were wiped out instantly, that would be a bigger disaster.’

‘I understand that too, but….’

‘Rebecca-ssi. Excuse me, but what is this ‘baby’s daddy’ title?’

‘What’s wrong with calling the baby’s daddy ‘baby’s daddy’?’

‘… Alice. It’s not like that, so don’t misunderstand.’

It seemed they would need to have a deep conversation later.

But for now, Lucifer was the priority.

‘Irene-ssi. If you’ve secured cooperation, when will the investigation team be formed?’

‘… Probably a few days at shortest, maybe a week. This matter is urgent, so even more so….’

Ttiririri. Ttiririri.

Just then, Irene’s smartwatch beeped.

‘Yes. This is Irene from the Iris Guild. Yes… Eh? No, we just finished… how? Yes. Anyway, understood. Thank you for your cooperation.’

Click.

Irene hung up, tilting her head with a look of disbelief.

‘No… they’re saying the investigation team has already departed?’

‘What? Didn’t you just finish negotiating?’

‘That’s why… this makes no sense….’

While Irene was puzzled, Scarlet nodded with relief.

‘It seems both the Hunter Association and the Academy are taking Lucifer very seriously.’

‘If that’s the case, that’s fortunate….’

‘Right? Sometimes public institutions can be helpful.’

‘Irene. Will we be able to get information right away?’

As everyone struggled to grasp the situation.

Alice let out a hollow laugh.

She could sense how much effort the student council president of Victoria Academy must have put in.

‘How much of a fuss did she make to get an investigation team formed in just one day?’

Recalling Moon Surin, who had been yelling until she left the student council room, Alice smirked.