episode_0099

“Congratulations on winning~~~!“

“Congratulations on winning the competition~~!“

“Congratulations on winning.“

“My little brother is cool!!! Woohoo~~!“

braided—!

The glass glasses clashed together and a cheerful sound rang out.

The firecrackers launched by Jia Han exploded spectacularly, adding to the festive atmosphere.

Luxurious Korean beef beef ribs were sizzling in a private room.

There was a lively dinner atmosphere as everyone congratulated us.

“Hey… Jia, you said you saw it with your intuition. Is it really the same as in the video?“

“Ah~ Say something. It was so bad that I couldn’t capture it all with a real camera. It wasn’t a joke.“

“If I had time, I would have visited this body in person, but it was a shame.“

“Haha… I am grateful at least from the bottom of my heart. I heard you are very busy these days.“

I grabbed the meat tongs and tried to grill the meat,

Soon Ji-ah Han quickly snatched it and stopped me.

“Hey, you’re the star today, but I can’t make you grill meat.“

“That’s it. I’ll cook it deliciously for you. Give it to me.“

“Heung… They say that well-mannered men are popular, but your sister is also good at grilling meat, right? Look carefully…“

Jia Han hummed and began grilling the meat with great enthusiasm.

I chuckled and took a bite of the ribs she handed me.

They say money can’t buy happiness, but I think that depends on how you use money.

Unlike that day when I consoled Yuri with my hands shaking,

Now that I’m overflowing with money, I’m a little less afraid of eating Korean beef like this.

“Mumble…Sister, so what happened with the lightsaber modification?“

“Oh, that? It’s over soon, come on. Do you see the fingerprint device here? Now, no one else but you can turn it on.“

“Hmm…that’s fun. I never thought we were developing weapons with Joohee.“

“Mom, I heard that the stock listing this time was a big hit? Now Seojin, me, Minhee… and Catherine. Make everything pop dozens of times…”

The matriarch looked at me and Joohee in turn with a smile.

Kim Hye-jin looked at her family sitting around with a much calmer expression than before.

Although I am not part of her family, I was invited to this friendly atmosphere and we all felt warm.

There were many times when I ate together with Surt and other children,

Although I borrowed Han Seo-jin’s body, this was almost the first time I ate together with my real ‘family’.

‘If I had been born in a normal home… I wonder if I would have lived in harmony like this…’

With a lonely heart, I started to quench my thirst with cola.

“Brother, so what was it like when you got together with Chairman Xiao? When I watched it on YouTube, it was really exciting…“

“It wasn’t easy… To be honest, it was really close. I knew what would happen when he awakened to level 5 right in front of me.“

“Hehe…you’re humble, Seojin. I’m really proud of you…to think you’ve grown this far. A level 4 awakened person reaching level 5…and defeating Xiao is definitely a great achievement.“

She smiled softly and poured me a glass of water.

I felt like everything was going well.

It was my first time seeing the matriarch eating a meal so harmoniously with her family.

Ji and Yoon-seo, who attended, were alive and well without any injuries.

Han Tae-woo died a long time ago from poisoning in solitary confinement, to be more precise, from eating a poisoned lunch box.

Joo-hee was sober and immersed in all kinds of research, earning a reputation as Times Magazine’s Scientist of the Year.

‘…Not much time left now. I have to keep my wits about me until the end…’

“Now, little brother! Ah~“

Jia Han was wrapping a wrap and putting it to my mouth.

“Okay…I’ll eat it myself.“

“Uh huh…how dare you ignore your sister’s sincerity? Or are you rebelling now that you’re level 4?“

“That’s not it…sigh…“

I ended up throwing up my hands in response to her persistent fawning.

So I chewed the meat wrap with my mouth and swallowed it.

There is only one thing left to do.

Reporting to the head of the family what has happened so far and what will happen in the future.

A revelation about the future and everything I had heard, seen, and felt.

I even told the truth to the woman who had protected me reliably until now.

It was face time.

——–

Again…

After the banquet was over and my stomach was full.

After listening for a while, Jia went out to buy ice cream with other family members.

After taking a moment, the matriarch and I sat side by side on the sofa.

We slowly chatted while holding warm coffee.

“Those gloves…are you still using them well?“

“Of course, it was given to me by the head of the family. I have been using it well ever since it was given to me at the New Year’s party.“

“…Your father will be happy too. Because it is one of the keepsakes he left behind.“

“I didn’t know that.”

She looked at the coffee cup with an amused expression for a moment, then

He soon cleared his throat and looked at me intently.

“But today is a happy day, so I guess I should put aside the gloomy stories for a moment.“

“What I was trying to say earlier is… Seojin, you are a really special child. It must not have been easy for a man to display his spirit in a society like this… You proudly became an awakened person, and even surpassed the other students.“

“Ahaha…thank you.“

“These are absolutely not empty words. You are one of a kind, just like the world of martial arts, I know this through my intuition. To have become a Level 4 Awakened at your age…and to have led the battle in such a versatile manner…is truly a great feat.“

“Even though you are not my child… I think you definitely have his blood mixed in with you. Sometimes, when I see your back or the way you fight with gloves on… it makes me miss my husband… “

I looked at her fiddling with her coffee cup.

Her empty appearance, as if she had lost something, was empty.

Sometimes I see her sitting blankly in the commander’s office,

Although it was a sad day when I was out of my mind due to taking the lethal medicine given to me by Han Tae-woo.

Today it looked particularly similar to her appearance that day.

‘…is it time to bring up the story?’

I carefully fiddled with my gloves and opened my mouth.

You have always been by my side,

Even in a situation where he lost his senses, he fought against the church without saying a word.

And the past situation where I had to sadly say goodbye to him, sacrificing his life for me like other children.

One by one, I planned to slowly reveal it to her.

“Matriarch, I have something to tell you seriously for a moment.“

“Okay, I’m curious what the story is.“

“Ha… where should I start explaining this? Hmm…“

“I want to take it slow. Because we have many perspectives, and I will listen to your story.“

“The beginning goes back 5 years ago. At that time, I was…“

Tiririririn—-♬

At that moment, my phone started vibrating and ringing like crazy.

I slowly stared at the screen on my smartphone,

It seemed like I had received a call from Azur.

“Um…I’m sorry, I should have put it on vibrate mode.“

“No, you can answer the phone.“

“No, it’s not urgent…“

“Take it.“

For a moment, a chill went down my spine and I felt a chill.

For a moment, I looked at her, wondering if I had heard wrong.

However, she was not threatening and was just leisurely savoring the scent of coffee.

As if he doesn’t have to worry about himself, so he can talk on the phone comfortably.

‘I guess it’s because I’m so tired these days… I think I’m even hearing auditory hallucinations…’

“Then excuse me for a moment.“

“Yes, take it slowly.“

Rattling–!

I closed the door and entered Han Ji-ah’s room for a moment.

Then, I slowly pressed the call button and held it to my ear.

“Hello? What’s going on?“

“Ugh…black…heart…interrogator…“

As soon as I answered the phone, I could hear Azur sobbing sadly.

I was embarrassed for a moment and spoke to her to calm her down.

“Azur? What happened? If it’s dangerous, I…“

“How…How could you do this to me…?“

“What…?“

“…Ugh…black…“

“…?“

For a moment, a small snoring sound was heard on the other end of the receiver,

Afterwards, her tear-filled, high-pitched scream was heard.

“How…how could you do this to me!!!!!“

“Continued…you followed the script well…with what you said all along…! How…me…ugh…“

“Just calm down and find out what’s going on…“

“Don’t pretend not to know…!!!!“

When she switched to video calling,

Azur’s face, covered in tears, was visible there.

Her believer was kneeling on the floor and screaming.

The church emblem drawn on the back of Azur’s hand was slowly fading away and disappearing.

In one of her hands, she held a piece of insidious-looking black paper.

“The crime of betraying the church and failing to faithfully fulfill the obligations of the script. For these sins, all of the believers who were with her, including Azur, are excommunicated from the church. -Heresy Inquisitor-」

“Ugh…Ugh…What did I do so wrong…? Since he didn’t show up to the company dinner that day, I contacted him several times…I deliberately ate expensive food and ate pork belly instead of beef…!“

I said nothing and looked closely at the paper on the screen.

A golden, proud handwriting embroidered on black paper.

Moreover, with a gloomy energy that can be felt even beyond the screen,

Even the one and only tentacle symbol stamped in the lower right corner.

‘No way… no, it can’t be…’

The existence of a heretic inquisitor that has never been seen before.

He always played that role and led Azur,

It was as if that being had appeared in the world in person.

It was as if a sign of destruction had suddenly appeared on me.

“Well…I wasn’t good…It’s all my fault…Please look after my church members…and my subordinates…Please…“

“Azur… Just calm down and I’ll go there. Just wait a moment.“

“Ugh…black…“

I hung up the phone and immediately opened the door.

The matriarch was looking leisurely out the window with her legs crossed.

Then he turned his head to me and smiled brightly.

“Oh, I guess the call has ended. Rachel just said congratulations to you…“

“I’m sorry. Something urgent has come up, so I think I should go first.“

“Hmm…? Is it that urgent? Jia and Yunseo are probably on their way to pick up a bunch of desserts for the second round.“

“Haha…I’m sorry, it’s a bit serious. What I was going to tell you…I’ll tell you later. I’m really sorry.“

She waved her hands gracefully and smiled.

“Don’t worry about me. Seojin, you have to do your job. I’m going to be busy for the time being, but… I can always make time if you call me.“

“I’m really sorry…! Eating ice cream with your sister and Yunseo…! I’ll finish it soon and come back…!“

“Yes, I guess so. Be careful with the car.“

Tad-dak—!

I quickly put on my shoes and ran straight outside.

The existence of a heretic inquisitor I have never seen in my life,

And even the notice of excommunication delivered to Azur.

I started to think as fast as I could and started to figure out what to do next.

Whatever it was, I had nothing to fear after defeating Xiao.

As the situation changed and the presence of destruction approached, my head began to hurt like crazy.

‘The sudden appearance of the Heretic Inquisitor… seems like the high priest has returned to Korea… Damn… he came back much faster than expected…!’

I quickly called Lapis and pressed the elevator button.

One o’clock was an urgent situation.

——

Click…

Kim Hye-jin drank the remaining coffee and then stood up.

At the spot where Han Seo-jin left, there was still a cup of coffee that had not been taken even a sip.

She smiled and walked slowly toward the veranda.

Wow…

When she slowly took out her cell phone, a text message from the head of the security team appeared there.

“Matriarch, I have entrusted you with the request for a paternity test. “We will report the results as soon as possible.”

The matriarch closed her eyes and turned off her cell phone.

She just closed her eyes and let the words slip out of her mouth.

“You’ve grown up… Seojin too…“

So she left herself to the cold night wind,

I was silent for a moment and was mentally reviewing my future plans.

Now all that remains is,

All I could do was wait.

Waiting to take a bite of the spread rice cake,

Like the patience of a benevolent fisherman.