Ch.264264. A Moment of Realization

“So this is Ohwa.”

Soho looked around the capital of the Han Empire, Ohwa, with her mouth open in a “heh” expression.

She looked like a young girl on a trip to the city with her parents.

Perhaps liking that, Unyeop bought a large steamed bun from a nearby street vendor and handed it to Soho.

“Here, eat this.”

“Th-thank you.”

On the way to Ohwa, Soho had been in a somewhat confusing situation.

Originally, she should have hated Unyeop for killing the dragon, but instead, he was treating her too well.

He was so kind to Soho that he seemed like a different person, and it went beyond simply liking children.

Personally, I could only guess that there might be some story behind it.

Our relationship wasn’t deep enough to ask about such things.

“First, I’m going to enter the imperial palace to report and handle some business. If you go to the end of that street, there’s an inn. Tell them my name, and they’ll give you a room.”

“When do we leave again?”

“We’ll depart at dawn tomorrow. So don’t overdo the sightseeing.”

After handing Soho the bun, Unyeop left. He must have been matching our pace before, because once he moved alone, he quickly disappeared into the crowd.

“Let’s go to the inn first.”

“Y-yes.”

Soho looked meaningfully at the bun in her hand before finally taking a big bite. Though steam rose from her mouth because it was hot, a faint smile appeared on her face as if it was delicious.

She’s a child who finds it difficult to hate people by nature.

Thinking this, we arrived at the inn.

I had no luggage, but Soho had quite a lot, so it took some time to unpack.

“What would you like to eat for dinner?”

“Um, can I look around a bit?”

“As you wish.”

I would only pretend to eat anyway. Since I couldn’t properly taste food, I naturally yielded such choices to Soho.

Downtown, where we went for dinner.

Perhaps because it was a big city, the energy continued unabated even as the sun was setting.

Probably even at night, bars would hang lanterns and welcome customers.

It wasn’t a bad street.

“I think meat would be good!”

“Sure.”

It really felt like I was taking care of a child.

Following behind Soho, we entered a restaurant where you grill your own meat over a brazier, and suddenly…

I thought of Aria and Elenoa.

I wondered how those two were doing.

Compared to Soho, they were both a bit older, but their behavior didn’t feel much different.

‘I hope they’re not doing anything foolish.’

Since I had disappeared, I thought many people might be feeling confused.

It would have been nice if I could have left a letter, but unfortunately, I hadn’t anticipated this situation either.

Robern Academy was still in session. If those two knew me well, they would surely be living proper student lives.

“What are you thinking about?”

As the side dishes arrived, Soho stared at me blankly and asked.

Could she see that my mind was elsewhere?

“Just thinking about some kids I know.”

When I answered vaguely, the corners of Soho’s mouth turned up slightly. Thinking she had caught some weakness, the little one smirked and asked again.

“You’re thinking about someone you like, right?”

“Not really.”

Aria and Elenoa.

Both had shown me affection, but… the truth is, they were still too young.

Me at 29 and them at 18. King Orpheus of Griffin had told me that Elenoa was now of marriageable age, but…

With an 11-year age gap, no matter how I looked at it, I felt more like I was looking at small children than feeling romantic emotions.

As I answered calmly and started grilling the meat for her, Soho scratched her cheek awkwardly.

She apparently hadn’t expected me to deflect so easily.

“Th-then do you have someone you like?”

Why was the conversation suddenly going in this direction? When I didn’t give any particular answer, Soho snapped her fingers and exclaimed spiritedly.

“You do! What kind of person are they? Are they pretty? How old? How tall? How did you meet?”

I wonder if this child has forgotten why she’s following me around.

The child who had been grinding her teeth about getting revenge for the monsters seemed to have softened considerably after just a few days of traveling together.

“Just eat your meat.”

I put the meat that was cooked enough on the plate in front of her. After eating a few pieces, Soho made a subtle expression.

“It’s not that it doesn’t taste good, but could you cook it a little less?”

“…”

“Like, still a bit red? Just barely touched by the brazier?”

As if anyone would doubt she was a monster. Soho most enjoyed eating meat that couldn’t even be called rare—it was practically raw.

But she didn’t forget, and immediately asked again.

“So! Where is this person you like?”

“Sigh.”

“I’m kind of an expert in this area. Tell me!”

I don’t know what this little one thinks she knows.

But Soho seemed determined not to let go, so…

Ironically, because she was a girl who wasn’t important to me, I could reveal the most important thing.

“There is a woman I hold in my heart. But I’m not sure if I can call it love.”

“Wow! Wow! Wow!”

It might sound ridiculous.

Several women have made my heart beat with excitement.

But I can’t have them all, nor do I deserve to.

“I’m in the process of finding my own answer.”

“Wooow!”

Soho kept making a fuss, excited about who knows what. Even while listening to the story, she couldn’t give a proper response and just kept making encouraging sounds.

“…Just eat your meat.”

No matter if she’s a monster, she’s still just a kid. I wonder why I even told her such things.

Was it because I was speaking as Shinwoo Kim rather than Deus?

I started grilling the meat again, but…

“But you know. That means you’re in ambiguous relationships with multiple people, right?”

Soho didn’t seem to have any intention of ending this conversation.

“Do they all know about each other?”

“…Yes.”

I answered without thinking, but…

It was an answer that made me dislike myself even after saying it. Isn’t what I’m doing not much different from playing with the hearts of multiple women?

As I was about to face the self-loathing that came over me without avoiding it…

“That’s amazing.”

It wasn’t sarcasm.

Maybe because she’s a monster, or perhaps because her sensibilities differ from those of Griffin.

She looked at me with pure admiration.

“Amazing?”

“Yes, it means there are people who like you enough to put aside even their pride as women.”

“…”

“Given your personality, you probably rejected everyone who confessed, right? Or you deflected like you did with me, saying you’re not sure about your feelings yet.”

She has quite a sharp intuition. I nodded silently.

“But they all said they’d wait, so that’s why you’re troubled like this, right?”

I felt like I was consulting a fortune teller. The girl who had seemed so small just a moment ago had somehow become an expert in this field.

“Why not just not reject any of them? Just accept them all!”

That was like sweet candy. Something I had thought about but shouldn’t dream of.

“I can’t do that.”

I only have one body.

Saying I love everyone equally would just be lip service.

Even if I accepted everyone that way, though it might be peaceful at first, cracks would inevitably form at some point.

“Really?”

Soho put a piece of meat in her mouth with a “nyam” and, having returned to her original demeanor, casually dropped a comment.

“Then it must be painful when you reject them.”

“…”

“For both you and the person being rejected.”

It was a meaningful statement.

After pondering for a moment, I glanced at Soho. The conversation had become quite heavy, but that was something for me to worry about personally.

What I was curious about was…

“Soho.”

About her.

I know Soho isn’t an ordinary monster. Unlike other monsters, she eats meals and lives normally.

But seeing her like this now…

“You are probably…”

“Ah, please don’t try to seduce me.”

I was going to talk about her identity, but Soho slightly raised her hand to indicate refusal.

I was going to correct her, but since it wouldn’t make much difference whether I spoke or not…

I just silently continued grilling the meat.

* * *

On top of a collapsed castle wall under the moonlight.

A man standing alone.

His dull blonde hair, pushed back, was long enough to touch his shoulders.

The muscles firmly set on his body writhed as if they were breathing.

From his hair to his appearance.

He resembled a great lion.

Screech.

A hawk flew to him.

Landing right in front of him, the hawk had something tied to its leg.

The man untied it and took it out.

Along with a letter sent by Unyeop was the dragon’s most vulnerable scale, its reverse scale.

Without even reading the letter, the man roughly bit into it.

His sharp canines chewed it thoroughly, and finally, the man swallowed the dragon’s trace.

“Huff.”

With a heavy breath, a faint light flared up inside the man’s body and then disappeared.

The enormous power building up in his body growled as if wanting to be released immediately, but he forcibly held it back.

Unyeop would be coming soon.

The time to depart for the Norsweden Mountains of Griffin was approaching.

The man’s name was Ranhart.

He was the leader of the hunters, a mercenary known as the Lion of the Valestan Duchy, and…

Also.

A vampire who craved both humans and monsters.