Episode 610. The Culprit Was Lee Hoyeon.

Warm sunlight streamed through the window.

“Ughh….”

The darkness behind my closed eyes brightened.

Baek Ahyoung curled up and slowly opened her eyes.

Even for a saintess, waking up in the morning was tough.

Especially shaking off the fatigue weighing down her entire body was difficult.

She had already overused her magic power for several days straight.

Every time she opened her eyes in the morning, her bones felt chilled.

At least thanks to Baek Ahyoung’s healing magic power, she could maintain a minimal level of vitality.

“Haaah, I fell asleep…. Huh?”

As Baek Ahyoung slowly regained consciousness, the first thing she felt was the softness of the bedsheets.

Baek Ahyoung’s last memory was definitely the table.

She had been dozing off, waiting for my darling, when she must have dozed off, so why was she in bed?

Did I walk to the bed without realizing it?

“… Huh?”

Baek Ahyoung, now fully awake, blinked upon seeing the man lying next to her.

Lee Hoyeon.

The man she had waited for and fallen asleep next to last night was sleeping beside her.

“….”

Baek Ahyoung frowned.

Her last memory was definitely the table.

But why was darling lying here?

Could it be that something happened after that?

Shaking off the sleepiness clouding her mind, Baek Ahyoung caressed her abdomen.

There was no peculiar soreness one felt the morning after a passionate night.

Thankfully, it wasn’t that they had done something naughty and she couldn’t remember.

Phew. What a relief.

How much of a waste would it have been to have sex without remembering it.

“Then why is darling here?”

Baek Ahyoung looked down at Lee Hoyeon’s face.

Sleeping with a small smile on his lips, he looked peaceful.

Thankfully, it seemed he wasn’t suffering from nightmares today.

“… My darling. Hoyeon.”

How could he look so adorable even while sleeping?

Baek Ahyoung stared blankly at Lee Hoyeon.

Poke.

Unable to resist the temptation, she gently poked his cheek.

Lee Hoyeon flinched slightly but didn’t wake up.

“I should have had a more touching reunion instead of just seeing him like this….”

A hug with darling, who waited after I finished work.

Introducing darling, who visited the emergency room, to everyone with a happy smile.

Going to the office with a tired body, only to have a passionate night with darling who was waiting.

There were various other plans, but meeting him after falling asleep from waiting wasn’t part of the plan.

‘… I should just go back to sleep for now.’

Since Lee Hoyeon wasn’t waking up, she decided she’d sleep a bit longer.

Waking up first felt like a newlywed thing, which was nice, but today she wanted to greet the morning together with him.

“Haaum.”

Baek Ahyoung carefully lay back down in bed and snuggled up to Lee Hoyeon.

His warm body temperature felt right beside her.

To feel that warmth a little more, Baek Ahyoung wriggled closer, burrowing into Lee Hoyeon’s embrace.

*

Swoosh-

“….”

His eyes fluttered open naturally.

Lee Hoyeon, waking up in bed, felt unusually refreshed today.

He yawned and was about to stretch when something brushed against his arm.

He turned his head to see a sleeping Baek Ahyoung clinging to his arm.

Her mouth was moving, munching away. Was she eating in her dream?

“The sun is high in the sky, and she’s still sleeping.”

“Ahm-nem-nem….”

He slipped a finger into Baek Ahyoung’s slightly open mouth.

Every time he touched her plump tongue inside her warm mouth, she mumbled and chewed, making him chuckle.

Watching her cute reaction, he couldn’t help but tease her a little more.

“Ahm-mhm… Slurp. Gasp.”

Baek Ahyoung, who had been wriggling while hugging Lee Hoyeon’s arm, suddenly snapped her eyes open.

Blinking and looking around, Baek Ahyoung’s face crumpled the moment her eyes met Lee Hoyeon’s.

“Darling, I missed you. Sob.”

“I missed you too.”

Baek Ahyoung buried herself in Lee Hoyeon’s chest.

They were greeting the morning together.

Being held right after waking up made her chest feel calm.

“You must have had a hard time going all the way to France.”

“Thanks to you packing my medicine, Ahyoung-ssi, I could go with peace of mind.”

“The medicine ran out, didn’t it? Sob. I should have packed more. I’m sorry….”

“I didn’t know it would take this long either.”

Pat pat.

Lee Hoyeon stroked Baek Ahyoung’s hair.

Sobbing sounds could be heard, and moisture could be felt near his chest.

It seemed she was really crying.

‘But why isn’t she surprised?’

Wouldn’t someone normally jump in surprise if they woke up next to someone?

Or maybe she was so shocked she started crying.

‘Whatever.’

It wasn’t a big deal.

Seeing Baek Ahyoung happy made him happy too.

“But is it okay not to go to work today? It’s already 10 AM.”

“Nnngh. I worked late yesterday, so I’m going in this afternoon today. Darling.”

“Aha….”

Then we can take our time a bit more.

Lee Hoyeon hugged Baek Ahyoung, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes.

Even without sleeping, closing his eyes while being held by someone brought him peace.

“Seeing the emergency room yesterday, you looked busy with work. Are you okay?”

“Ah… Nnngh. I’m okay. Darling.”

“Your face looks tired, though… Don’t push yourself too hard. I know best how hard you try, Ahyoung-ssi.”

Baek Ahyoung was still beautiful, but somehow looked haggard.

Knowing her personality, she was definitely overworking herself.

“Darling… I love you. Nnngh. Hold me.”

Baek Ahyoung rubbed her face against Lee Hoyeon’s chest.

With every word from Lee Hoyeon, her fatigue melted away like snow.

“Mhmm, mhmm. Where else can I find someone as beautiful and kind as my darling?”

Seeing Baek Ahyoung rubbing her face like a puppy at a single compliment filled him with gratitude.

Since he was the last one to visit, he should at least give her more praise.

“Hnggg.”

“You’re cute, and mature sometimes too. And you always take care of me; Ahyoung-ssi is the best.”

No matter how hard you try, some things just don’t work out.

It’s because the heroines are there beside me whenever that happens that I can keep going.

Especially Baek Ahyoung, who seemed greedy at times but always did her part well, was truly pleasant to see.

“Hehe. Darling….”

Lee Hoyeon watched Baek Ahyoung cling to him even more, a fond smile on his face, but then his expression hardened.

The Gates of Hell were expanding their territory even at this very moment.

This peaceful daily life wouldn’t last much longer.

Suddenly thinking that made him feel bad.

“… Ahyoung-ssi.”

“Nnngh. Darling.”

Baek Ahyoung could sense the shift in Lee Hoyeon’s mood.

Still held by Lee Hoyeon, she focused on his words.

“You know about the Gates of Hell, right? There’s a high chance of tremendous events unfolding. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you, Ahyoung-ssi. So please focus on what you can do.”

Baek Ahyoung wasn’t a combat-type ability user.

Since she couldn’t protect herself with her own power, Lee Hoyeon had to be the first to look after her in dangerous situations.

“Darling…!”

“I’ll explain it all slowly later.”

Baek Ahyoung’s heart pounded as she listened to Lee Hoyeon.

No matter what hardship came, she felt she could overcome it with darling.

Such confidence surged within her.

And the first step was to have a passionate night with Lee Hoyeon, whom she hadn’t seen in two weeks.

“Daaarling. Hnggg. As long as I have you, I can do anything.”

“Mhmm, mhmm. Thank you. Darling.”

“Words aren’t enough. I need your love, darling….”

“… Won’t I be late?”

Glancing at his smartwatch, the time showed around 10 AM.

She said she was going in this afternoon, but would she make it to work on time?

“Darling. Give me your love….”

“….”

It was clear words wouldn’t work anymore.

Lee Hoyeon let out a wry chuckle and manipulated his magic power to draw the curtains, blocking the sunlight.

*

Dangle dangle.

I was heading home with the medicine pouch Baek Ahyoung had prepared.

Sex with Baek Ahyoung right after waking up was tough, but I couldn’t just leave her after meeting her for the first time in two weeks.

‘I gave Ahyoung-ssi a rough explanation, so… I need to focus on destroying the black pillars.’

Since I finished explaining about the black pillars, Baek Ahyoung should understand the situation to some extent.

“Is anyone home?”

Even after opening the front door, I couldn’t sense anyone.

It was already past lunchtime, so I thought everyone would be up, but all that greeted me was an empty living room.

Just in case, I checked the other rooms, but sure enough, no one was sleeping.

“They must all be busy.”

They probably went out for personal matters or are at the training grounds.

Having just been intimate with Baek Ahyoung, being alone wasn’t so bad.

Gulp gulp-

After getting water from the dispenser, I plopped down on the sofa.

I opened the window, took in the fresh air filling my lungs, and opened a pouch of medicine.

Although the frequency of my nightmares was decreasing, the ones I did have were still agonizing.

I guess I should take something like this.

Still, I was glad Baek Ahyoung was there.

Gulp.

After swallowing the medicine, I wiped my face with my hand.

Feeling the cool breeze in the empty living room, my head felt refreshed.

‘Destroy the black pillars. Deal with the monsters from the Underworld. And then… I have to defeat the Demon King.’

I recalled the memories one by one.

The final episode of the original game, the Demon King’s Assault.

Monsters from the Underworld rampaged, Archdukes of Hell attacked various countries, and the game ended with stopping the Demon King who descended upon Korea amidst the chaos.

‘I wonder if it even matters now… Should I increase my training time?’

I shook my head.

Destroying the black pillars is training anyway.

Even now, if there’s no unavoidable circumstance, I spend several hours a day meditating and practicing mana control.

‘It would be better to increase meditation time and devise new magic instead.’

Tsk. I smacked my lips.

The ‘Hall of the Moonlit Palace’ I devised in France.

A magic that could cover the surrounding space with dreams.

If only I could use that magic, the situation would be much better.

Although I achieved magical success, it was a shame I couldn’t use such magic.

‘Speaking of which, I need to try the magic I used during sparring with Professor Im Sol again.’

A magic that erases the opponent’s magic power.

That also needs some consideration….

“Hey! Why aren’t you answering when someone calls you!”

Just then, a sharp voice broke my meditation.

I turned my head and saw Liliana standing there, hands on her hips, frowning.

“… Liliana?”

“How many times did I call you? Why are you ignoring me! When someone calls you! No, when a succubus calls you, you have to answer! That’s only natural!”

I turned my head and checked my smartwatch.

I thought I had just closed my eyes for a moment after taking Baek Ahyoung’s medicine, but 30 minutes had already passed.

“Sorry, Liliana. I was lost in thought for a moment.”

“Hmph. Even so. This is an act of disrespecting a succubus.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll buy you chicken, so calm down.”

“Kuh-hmmm. Hnggg…. In that case, I might forgive you this once.”

I must have been too focused on my meditation.

I did some light stretching and got up.

Poke. Poke.

“What is it? Just say it.”

Liliana seemed to still have something to say, as she kept poking my side.

“Sit on my lap.”

“… Why?”

“Can’t I?”

“It’s not that you can’t.”

Actually, I’m grateful.

It feels good when Liliana’s light body rests on my thighs.

“Hmm. Come to think of it, Rebecca and Scout were training.”

“Again? I guess I should go check on them later.”

“Play some games with me first. You haven’t played with me lately!”

“Sure, sure. But if you sit there, I won’t be able to see the screen.”

“You’re too good, so you have to do it this way.”

Instead of complaining, Lee Hoyeon put his hands around Liliana’s waist.

The soft feel of her buttocks pressed directly against my thighs.

Yeah, having her sit here feels good.

“Okay, I’m starting now. It’s a fair match, so I’ll record it.”

“Do whatever you want.”

No matter what I say, if Liliana makes up her mind, I have to go along with it.

If I let her win a few rounds, she’ll probably stop.