Chapter 320

Chapter 57: Daily Life During War (6)

“Stop it!”

The stubborn brat had absolutely no intention of following my wishes. Instead, he just insisted on his own way.

I really had to get things done, so I tried my best to reason with him in a nice way.

“Play later, next time.”

“Noo! It’s always a lie! Take me with you! Take me!”

“Ah, ah! Hey! My hair!”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute. Berta, I’m busy today… aagh!”

Berta grabbed my hair and even scratched Kim Yul, who had come to help me.

“It’s starting again… my ears…”

Breche just shook his head, watching us.

Ahel seemed completely determined not to get involved in the commotion, turning his back on us as if ignoring our presence.

“Berta, stop it and come here. You’re making it difficult for everyone with that stubbornness.”

Rashar approached, trying her best to separate Berta.

“I’m going! I’ll go too!”

But he was no match for Berta’s stubbornness. This scene deliberately reminded me of when I tried to leave without Berta when we first visited Bennett’s mansion.

As I was half-resigned to the situation, the reactions of the viewers, who hadn’t predicted this uproar, began updating gradually.

– This is another kind of chaos.

– Is this a comedy sketch now? lolol.

– He’s got a good grip on his hair, doesn’t he? lolol.

– Berta is so cute T. T

– Can’t control one Beastfolk? Haha, Berta the little gangster.

For some reason, the more I hadn’t seen her, the stronger her stubbornness seemed to have gotten.

Or maybe, it’s just that he’d held back until today and finally burst.

‘I haven’t been able to play with her recently.’

I couldn’t help but feel a guilty conscience.

After all, ever since the Biharin crossed over to Earth, I had been busy every day without a single day off.

So it had become my habit to put her off with “Next time, next time” and then forget my promises.

Given the situation, it wasn’t something I had been able to make time for, so I just kept postponing it.

‘I don’t think I can get out of this today.’

And just as I was on the verge of resigning myself to my fate with a sense of resignation, someone shouted before I could speak up.

“Berta, what is this disrespectful behavior!”

It was Rashar, who had approached to try and dissuade Berta. With a stern expression, she quickly grabbed Berta by the tail.

“Come down right now, or I’ll go straight to Ramon and tell her about your mischief!”

And with a terrifying warning to Berta, who was afraid of her mother, she issued an ultimatum.

Berta, having known her for a long time, couldn’t simply ignore a warning like that.

As a result, even though it was unfair to do as Rashar said, he attempted a passive defiance.

“B-but I… I… K made a promise with me…”

“Come down immediately!”

In the face of Rashar’s even sterner ultimatum, Berta completely crumbled.

“Ugh…”

This eventually led to Berta bursting into tears.

– Oh dear, there she goes.

– Made her cry, made her cry.

– Five adults can’t handle one kid.

– Yul, he’s still a minor.

– K is amazing. Not getting mad in this situation. If it were me, I’d really be annoyed.

– He’s busy, he said. Why try to make him the bad guy?

– Do you really want to argue with a kid?

– Look at their sense of humanity.

– Rashar, apologize!

– Berta, don’t cry T_T

– How much must K mean to her?

– Just play with him a little. He wants it so badly!

Berta seemed to have quite the fanbase, as the chat was filled with messages comforting her.

I had already been about to give up on separating from him.

Before Rashar could say another word, I shook my head and swooped Berta up into my arms.

Berta, evidently frightened by Rashar’s scolding, willingly came off my shoulder.

This allowed me to comfort the crying child by patting her gently on the back.

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have said I’d go when I won’t…”

I had so much work like dealing with the spirit stone mine and checking the application for borrowing legendary items. But they weren’t urgent tasks.

‘I’ll do it at night.’

It seemed necessary to make up for breaking the promise with Berta this time.

“Sit quietly here, and stop crying.”

Snuggled into my arms, Berta was still sniffling as she looked up at me.

“Aren’t you going?”

In that short moment, the poor child must’ve cried so hard her nose was stuffed up. I reached for the tissue on the table and helped her blow his nose.

“Yeah, I’m not going.”

My hair was a tangled mess, and my face had scratches from Berta’s nails. But at least she stopped crying, which was what mattered most, wasn’t it?

Taking a deep breath, I nodded for Rashar to sit back down.

Unlike me, Rashar sighed heavily before quietly sitting down next to me.

It used to be where Breche had sat, but as soon as Berta burst into tears, he and Ahel had quickly moved far away.

In hindsight, Ahel was fragile enough that a light tap could kill him. But even Breche had fled.

‘That one’s really been through a lot.’

After the commotion subsided, Kim Yul handed Berta a bottle of water.

Berta was still clinging to my neck without moving, so I took it instead. Even after opening it for her, she didn’t seem inclined to drink.

Berta just continued clinging to my neck as if she was holding on to a beloved toy that she didn’t want to let go.

There was no need to force-feed her if he didn’t want it, so I was about to just drink and put it away myself.

“But why does Berta like you so much?”

Kim Yul asked, out of the blue.

“Well? It seems she took a liking to me from the start… Maybe she liked the scent of the basic skincare I use.”

Before I could finish answering, Berta himself chimed in instantly.

“K, I like!”

It was funny for me to keep answering when the person in question had already spoken up.

As I chuckled, taking a sip from the bottle, Berta dropped a bombshell.

“I’m going to mate with him someday!”

“Ugh, guh! Gak!”

I wouldn’t have drunk it if I’d known all the water that went down would come flying back out.

“Cough, cough!”

In the midst of my violent coughing fit, a peculiar silence fell over the room.

All those in the studio fell silent.

Amidst this, as my coughing began to subside, a chilling silence shrouded the studio.

And then, Breche, with a leisurely face, dropped another bombshell.

“Horfe approved. Because you are a strong male.”

The bombs dropped by two Beastfolk were enough to leave the humans present flabbergasted.

– Why, why, what’s going on?

– What did Berta say?

The viewers, oblivious to the situation, clamored for an interpreter.

“Uh… So, Berta said…”

Caught off guard, Kim Yul quickly answered.

Thanks to that, not only the people in the studio but also those watching through the cameras went silent.

As evidence, the chat, which had been bustling moments before, came to a halt for over a minute.

Still half-hanging there, I turned quickly towards Rashar’s direction.

As soon as I met eyes with the now paler golden pupils, the still chat started moving again.

– Berta had a plan all along.

Wiping the water that had spilled down my chin, I took action.

“This ridiculous… Just who’s trying to get thrown into jail?”

I attempted to pry Berta off my neck.

“Nooo!”

“This cheeky brat, do you want to block someone’s marriage prospects? Get off me now!”

– Is that mischievous K being utterly flustered? hahaha.

– From the last livestream till today lol, it’s been a series of hardships.

– I thought he was a terrifying man, but he’s got an unexpectedly human side.

– He’s just a normal young guy after all. Always grateful to him for protecting Earth.

– Marriage prospects… Sir, what era did you come from?

– He seems rather old-fashioned.

– Orthodox man K?

– Is today a public proposal then?

– Moving past consortia with Beastfolk to wedding alliances?!

– Exclusive, K is getting married!

Rumors of all sorts were already spreading.

I hurried more frantically to pry Berta off than before.

“Will you stop clinging? You’re banned from getting near me in the future!”

But it was too late to respond after the bomb had been dropped from Berta’s mouth.

The video of Berta and me shouting at each other was uploaded, reaching 700 million views in no time.

For a while, I had to endure the suffering brought on by the rumors.

Damn it.

* * *

On the way home from visiting the dwarven workshop.

“You know it’s safer to have than not.”

As the vehicle smoothly turned, a calm voice resonated over the smartphone.

「But Hyunwoo, leaving an unidentified creature next to the children is…」

The voice belonged to the principal of the school the twins, Yeonwoo and Jinwoo, attended.

He had also been my homeroom teacher in my first year of high school.

“Do you really think I’d send a dangerous guy near the twins?”

「That’s…」

“Just treat it like you’ve decided to keep a wandering dog at school. There’s no way that guy’s going to cause trouble.”

If a Hole were to suddenly burst in or near the school.

Then there should be a way to protect the twins.

‘I’ve already given them protective magic tools and potions.’

But even that didn’t give me peace of mind. Hence, the idea was to have close protection.

‘The association has already placed players near the school.’

Though not noticeable, the twins’ commute was already being guarded by players. But they couldn’t enter the school premises.

So a guardian who could watch over the twins more closely was needed.

With preparations complete, all that remained was the school’s permission.

“You know as well that if something happens to the twins, I’d be completely alone.”

「Hyunwoo…」

“This also guarantees the safety of other students, so please allow it.”

「Haa, alright… But I wish to see for myself that there’s no trouble. Is that alright?」

Not shying from playing the emotion card, I managed to secure permission.

“Of course. I’ll visit soon.”

「Alright, take care.」

Ending the call, I headed home.

The first to greet me was Rice Cake, who had come out into the living room, lowering its large body while watching the front door.

Seeing me return, Rice Cake must have sensed my arrival.

The primary reason I returned home was because of Rice Cake.

I immediately reached out to it.

Click.

Moments later, a magic tool picked up from the dwarven workshop was placed around Rice Cake’s neck.

As soon as mana was infused into the tool, Rice Cake, which barely fitted in the living room, shrunk back to the size of a Pomeranian.

Seeing him small again was a touching sight.

‘Though his snout and ears are longer than a typical dog’s…’

But this way, anyone would just see him as a pet.

‘Even if he prowls around the twins, no one would pay much mind.’

Yes, my chosen one to guard the twins was Rice Cake.

There wasn’t a more suitable candidate than him, with whom I shared my vision.

The moment I decided to deploy him as the twins’ guardian, I began constant training.

He learned how to appear as a typical dog from every angle.

“You’ll do well, right?”

“Woof!”

Rice Cake responded confidently when asked for confirmation, picking up its head.

Its proud demeanor was so endearing that I patted it on the head.

And then the message window updated at an unexpected moment.

「The Trait, Rogue, activates.」

「The System switches to support type. Support target: Player Kang Hyunwoo.」

It seemed like the moment had arrived to resolve the things I’d kept delaying.

“Wait here patiently.”

“Woof, woof!”

After cautioning Rice Cake, I took out the communicator and called in.

Damn System.