Ch.143Season 2 – You Don’t Look Like a Mom!

At the entrance to the underground village stood Han Shinwoo’s children.

One was a girl dressed in an extremely sleek outfit with mint-colored hair and a magician’s hat.

She carried what looked like a luxury bag, and on her back was a single dove wing, which Shinwoo thought looked rather peculiar.

And the other one.

She had black hair, but otherwise…

“Oppa…”

“Yeah…”

“I think that one’s my daughter…?”

“Seems like it…?”

She looked remarkably similar to the current Lia… no, she was Lia’s daughter who looked exactly like the current Lia except with black hair.

“But how on earth are those two even at this location?”

“Jaewon. Do you suspect something? Like information about your underground village entrance being leaked…”

“That’s impossible, Father. If information was leaked, that would mean…”

A traitor in this small underground village.

It would mean someone had turned their back on humanity.

In a world overrun by monsters, the humans who could go to the surface were extremely limited.

Which meant, in other words…

“If someone intentionally leaked information about the underground village to the outside, they could only be from the ‘Hunting Squad.'”

“Among the Hunting Squad…”

“You mean there could be a traitor, Jaewon-nim?”

“Nothing’s confirmed yet. So let’s not jump to conclusions.”

…Imagining the worst-case scenario, we all fell silent for a moment.

But we quickly regained our composure.

Right now, there were things to do before worrying or feeling disheartened.

“Fortunately, the entrance to the underground village is created using Xiaoling’s ability.”

“Is that so?”

“I didn’t know that Chinese National Authority-Level Hunter had such an ability…”

“So even if they find the entrance, they won’t be able to use it. However…”

However.

Nothing in this world is perfect.

That’s why, to end things quickly before any unforeseen situation could arise, Jaewon looked at the people from the past and said:

“Just to be safe. Let’s quickly take care of them.”

“Those two…”

“Take care of my daughters?!”

But as we were steeling our resolve.

Shinwoo and Lia stood there with expressions that seemed to ask, “Is this right?” They looked like people being forced to do something they didn’t want to.

And that was actually the case.

“…? Why are you both reacting like that?”

“Well, they’re still my kids after all…”

“No, Father! If those two enter our underground village, humanity is finished! Only bandits and the like will remain on the surface. Is that the future you want to leave for our children?!”

“But fighting your own daughter feels wrong, doesn’t it? …Right, Oppa?”

“Jaewon, there are cases like Leon or Shina who are waiting for us in the underground village right now.”

“So you’re saying you can’t fight because of that?”

Han Jaewon spoke with disbelief.

But despite that, the two really did seem conflicted.

Even though the enemy is clearly the enemy…

Shinwoo had actually managed to recruit such children and make them allies before.

Maybe that’s why.

Thinking he could do it again, since he’d done it once before.

“Jaewon.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Let’s try talking before fighting.”

“Sigh…”

“I want to talk to my daughter too!”

“Daughter my foot… How can a bachelor father who’s younger than his daughter create such a miracle not once, but twice?”

“But the possibility isn’t completely zero.”

“Hey! Who are you calling a kid! And according to human genealogy or whatever, I’m above you in rank!”

Shinwoo pleaded for just one chance, just this once.

“Sigh… Father…”

“Shinwoo-ssi, do you think you can do it?”

“We have the numerical advantage anyway. And that child who looks similar to Lia-nim is clearly emitting the weakest aura among all of Shinwoo-nim’s children we’ve met.”

“We can subdue her if necessary… but there might be an ambush nearby.”

Jaewon said he was still uneasy despite it being a worthwhile attempt.

Nevertheless, Shinwoo wanted to “talk” with those children, guided by his maternal instinct.

“I’ll take responsibility if anything happens.”

“…Then I’ll wait here.”

“Thank you, Jaewon.”

“It’s fine. Knowing the entrance to our underground village means this place will be a sea of flames soon anyway.”

Having received permission from the three who had come to the surface with him, Shinwoo then took Lia’s hand.

“Shall we go, Lia?”

“Yes, let’s go, Oppa.”

Together, they walked toward the entrance to meet their respective children.

***

The mint-haired half-dragon.

Karune was the 11th princess, born between Han Shinwoo and Kersy, who was the servant monster of Lee Seokgyu, the 7th empress of the Empire.

For Kersy, she was her first child.

And Laira, the 39th child born between the 2nd empress Lia and Han Shinwoo.

As the youngest in the Lia family, she had joined her sister Karune on this mission to show her presence, as she was currently the least noticeable member of the “Lia Family.”

Of course, following Princess Karune, who was much older than her, was quite difficult.

But with half-dragon blood mixed in, sister Karune was a girl full of clumsiness, just like her mother.

“Laira, I would have gotten lost so many times without you!”

“Really?”

“Yes! All my siblings are terrible with directions, so I’m glad you came along! Thank you!”

“Hehe, I was comfortable riding on Kirune unnie’s back the whole way here. It’s what they call a win-win situation, isn’t it?”

“Hihi. I guess so!”

A combination of insufficient strength and insufficient brains!

The two sisters, who supported each other’s weaknesses, were developing a better relationship than with their direct siblings.

However, during this time.

“…! Laira, I think this is definitely the entrance.”

“Huh? Really? But it doesn’t look like anything’s here?”

“Yes. You’re right. There’s no visible trace. But the ones who will provide us with information have appeared on their own.”

“!!”

Two figures slowly walking toward them.

Karune and Laira began to take combat stances at the sudden presence.

But.

“Oh, hello?”

“…Huh?”

“Oh! Up close, you really do look exactly like me.”

“Huh?!”

As they realized the identity of the two people approaching them, the sisters’ faces, which had been somewhat tense, filled with surprise.

One was unmistakably their father.

More precisely, it was someone much younger than their father but emitting exactly the same aura, and the other one clearly looked like Lia’s “child.”

“You, could you be…?”

“Fufu. That’s right. I am your moth—”

“You must be my younger sister! Right?”

“…Huh?”

Lia, who was proudly trying to introduce herself, was stunned when her daughter treated her like a sister.

Meanwhile, a strange expectation was growing on the face of Lia’s youngest daughter, Laira.

After all, she had finally escaped from being the youngest!

She always believed that since her mother and His Majesty had such a good relationship, there would be more children someday.

But to think another one had been born without her knowing!

As expected of Mother!

The 2nd empress, who was more fertile than barren, lived up to her reputation!

“Sister. What’s your name? I’m Laira.”

“Ah, no, I’m…”

“I know. You’re surprised to suddenly meet your older sister. Fufu. Well, since Leon oppa is away on a mission right now, there was no one to tell you anything when you were born.”

Lia wanted to clear up this ridiculous misunderstanding as soon as possible.

But the current Lia was slightly younger than her youngest daughter Laira.

In other words, she really didn’t look like a mother who would later lay eggs like a hen.

“Don’t worry. I, your sister Laira, will kindly teach you everything from A to Z.”

“Uuugh… Oppa! She’s not listening to me! She’s my daughter! But she’s not listening to her mother and calling me her younger sister!”

“Haha, well… that’s an unavoidable misunderstanding.”

“Oppa! Whose side are you on?!”

“…Oppa?”

“Hey, you human.”

And Shinwoo, who had been comforting the increasingly depressed Lia, eventually became the subject of the two children’s attention.

Karune, fluttering one wing strangely while pointing at Shinwoo who was standing awkwardly.

“You… how are you emitting an aura similar… no, exactly the same as Father’s?”

“That’s right! Now that I think about it, it’s strange! Who are you? You don’t seem to be Mother’s child, but are you our sibling?”

Shinwoo was truly at a loss for how to answer Laira and Karune’s questions.

Should he tell the truth?

Of course, that would be the best approach.

But would those two children believe him if he suddenly told them their father from the past had come to the future?

Such thoughts briefly crossed his mind, but.

‘If it’s my own children, of all people.’

Surely the bond between parent and child would make such an inexplicable thing possible.

Thinking this, Shinwoo…

“Well, I am…”

He was finally about to reveal his identity to his two daughters when.

“Actually, I’m your…”

“No, whatever your identity is, it doesn’t really matter.”

…?

It should matter a lot, but why is she suddenly acting like this?

Karune, who cut off the words of her past father as if they were unnecessary, should know that in Korean, it’s polite to listen until the end.

“Anyway, you’re human, right?”

“Ah, yes. Well, I guess so?”

“Yes. So we’ll just capture you first and then talk!”

“As expected of Karuna unnie! That’s a great idea!”

“…Huh?”

Something about the situation was going in a strange direction.

Thinking this, Shinwoo tried to quickly calm down the two excited people.

But by then, it was already…

“Now, let’s start by cutting off one of your arms!”

…too late, as his two daughters were already charging toward him.