Side Story 52. The Story After (52)

“…Ah.”

My whole body felt hot, and my joints were stiff.

Lee Hoyeon opened his heavy eyelids and turned his head.

Alice was hanging on his left arm like a sloth.

‘My arm hurts so much.’

He tried to put a little strength into it, but Alice was clinging so tightly that he couldn’t pull her off.

His legs were also uncomfortable, so he lowered his head and saw Irene.

Irene’s legs and his legs were intertwined like cobras.

He couldn’t move this way either.

‘Why did we fall asleep like this?’

The last thing I remembered was having sex like crazy and grinding against each other.

I guess we ended up like this after doing that until we fell asleep…

Ttak-

Feeling like his joints would break if he stayed like this, he activated his magic.

Alice and Irene’s bodies slowly floated up and flew to the corner of the bed.

“Euum…”

“Hwaaam…”

Alice and Irene also opened their eyes then.

They yawned, got up, and made eye contact with Lee Hoyeon.

“Good morning.”

“….”

She offered a cheerful morning greeting, but the reaction was quite poor.

Alice and Irene looked at Lee Hoyeon, then at each other.

Alice moved first.

“…Aaaak.”

Alice’s eyes widened, she let out a strange noise, and then fled out of the room.

Her face was bright red; she seemed incredibly embarrassed.

Kkiik-

However, after about 5 seconds.

The closed door was carefully opened, and Alice, covering her chest with one hand, came in and gathered the clothes from the corner of the bed.

She made eye contact with Lee Hoyeon and growled like a cat.

“Don’t look.”

“What am I supposed to do if you’re visible?”

“You crazy pervert.”

“….”

Kung-

Lee Hoyeon blinked, looking at the closed door.

‘What did I do wrong to deserve being cursed at this early in the morning?’

“Being shy is one of Alice’s cute points, too,” Irene said.

She was getting dressed with a satisfied smile.

She seemed completely awake now, having apparently used Clean Magic.

“That might be true… but Ms. Irene, when did you get ready?”

“You hurry up and get ready, too. You’re coming to the Iris Guild today, right? I have something to discuss with the Guild Master.”

“Oh, understood.”

The person who had been moaning under Lee Hoyeon just yesterday suddenly changed her attitude.

‘Is this the professionalism of a pro?’

“…And yesterday was great. Try pushing for it again next time with Alice.”

“What?”

“I can’t be the one to bring it up first. Alice will listen to you, too. Okay?”

‘…So she’s only back to normal on the outside. Inside, she’s still pure Irene.’

“Alright. I’ll try my best.”

“Great. See you later, then.”

Lee Hoyeon smiled as he watched Irene trot out of the room.

‘I should start getting ready to leave soon.’

*

[Hero Lee Hoyeon the Mage Who Stopped the Terror. Now Standing at the Center of the World.]

[Magic That Subdues Thousands of Demons With a Single Gesture. Analyzed by the Mage Guild.]

[Iris Guild and Mage Lee Hoyeon’s Close Friendship Showcased.]

[Mage Association President Arthur Confirms Lee Hoyeon as the Next President…]

“What is this old man talking about? I never said I’d do it.”

Lee Hoyeon frowned, looking at his smartwatch.

He had made an empty promise at the terror site, saying ‘do your best,’ but he wanted no part in the hassle of being an association president or anything similar.

‘I couldn’t even do a proper job of it anyway.’

It took him less time to break the magic-blocking barrier from the inside than it took him to clean up the outside.

With that level of difference, even if he became the Mage Association President, he’d probably spend his entire term just fielding questions.

“I guess I’m getting used to being in the news now.”

I’ve seen articles like these so many times that they don’t even faze me anymore.

They were writing about me even when I was a promising prospect at the academy; it’s too much trouble to care now.

It’ll probably blow over in a few days anyway.

Lee Hoyeon looked at his smartwatch and entered the Iris Guild building.

The inside of the guild was bustling as usual, and strangely, his name kept coming up.

“You’re here?”

“Ms. Irene?”

“Perfect timing. It’s time to see the Guild Master. Let’s go together.”

In the midst of the busy Iris Guild, Irene approached me.

She stood beside me with a pleasant smile.

Her skin looked even better than yesterday.

“Everyone seems busy.”

“The terror just ended yesterday. Besides, half of it is your fault. Everyone trying to contact me is contacting the Iris Guild.”

“Me? Oh, now that you mention it, there were a lot of news articles.”

“Yeah. The whole world is talking about you. It’s way more chaotic than during the war.”

“…Is it that bad?”

“Of course. Lee Hoyeon, do you know how incredible what you did was?”

Irene looked at Lee Hoyeon with an incredulous expression.

This man sometimes says things that are hard to understand.

“It was incredible, sure… but the Demon King was much stronger than the demons we captured alive this time?”

Honestly, even if tens of thousands of demons attacked, they couldn’t kill the Demon King.

The level of combat and tension was much higher back then.

This time, the difference in firepower was overwhelming, so I could subdue them all with a single spell.

Besides, the Demon King was a god of this world, someone in the divine realm. He couldn’t even be compared to common demons.

Lee Hoyeon knew that fact very well, so he couldn’t understand why everyone was making such a fuss, even more than last time.

“That might be true… but ordinary people know how terrifying demons are.”

Back during the Pandemic.

There was a time when a single demon appearing in the city and killing dozens or hundreds of people was commonplace.

Even though monsters from the Underworld attacked the whole world, causing great damage, demons had been steadily tormenting humanity for a long time.

“I guess. A dinosaur you can’t meet is scarier than a cockroach right in front of you.”

“That seems like a slightly different analogy… anyway, I’m glad you understand.”

In fact, the public’s reaction to Lee Hoyeon was surprising even to Irene.

The whole world was ecstatic, so the Iris Guild didn’t even need to do any PR work.

‘As expected, being handsome is the best….’

A psychologist once said that the biggest factor in persuading people is appearance.

Alice and Irene benefited greatly from their looks, but Lee Hoyeon seemed to gain universal favor with just that face alone.

The world’s strongest mage is the most handsome man? What kind of absurdity is this.

‘…If I threatened to expose his relationships, would he be loyal to the Iris Guild?’

Irene chuckled at the sudden thought.

He was already practically one with the Iris Guild, so there was no need for such a foolish act.

‘And if it falls apart, we’d be the ones losing…’

It would be a painful loss for the Iris Guild, and a heartbreaking loss for Irene personally.

There was no way she’d do something that would result in a loss, both publicly and privately.

Tok-tok-

Just then, a blonde beauty approached from the front.

It was Alice, wearing a neat uniform.

She approached with an expression as if nothing had happened last night, looking back and forth between Irene and Lee Hoyeon.

“Why are you two walking together? Have you been together this whole time?”

“No. We met at the Iris Guild building.”

“…Really?”

Alice nodded and stood next to Lee Hoyeon.

She looked inexplicably satisfied.

“My dad is waiting, so let’s go to the Guild Master’s office.”

Looking at her profile, Lee Hoyeon’s lips curled up as he offered his hand.

“Yeah. Alice, want to hold hands?”

“Stop saying weird things.”

“Alice. If Lee Hoyeon is not okay, shall we hold hands, Unnie?”

“Please, both of you, just be quiet.”

Enduring the teasing from both sides, Alice walked towards the Guild Master’s office.

*

The Guild Master of the Iris Guild, the Emperor of the Night, Isaac.

He sighed today, looking at his overflowing schedule.

The matter of the party terror was reported by every media outlet in a single day.

Since it was a party attended by dignitaries from all over the world, the entire globe was in an uproar.

The magic recording that captured the outside of the barrier, showing Lee Hoyeon’s magic, struck the world once again.

His decision to direct all inquiries to the Iris Guild also greatly helped.

As a result, the Iris Guild’s position became not just solid, but unassailable.

Considering the future economic effects, they had earned an astronomical amount of money with just one spell from Lee Hoyeon.

“Kkeuk…”

“Darling. What’s wrong?”

“Why does my chest hurt so much…!”

But what was this feeling, like he had lost something more precious than money…?

Isaac, held in the arms of his beloved Vice Guild Master, Sophia, furrowed his brow.

The Emperor of the Night believed his instincts were not wrong.

Knock-knock-

‘Come in.’

The bad guy who took away my precious thing…

“Greetings, Guild Master-nim.”

Lee Hoyeon, with Alice and Irene flanking him.

Their strangely good expressions were quite bothersome, but there was no evidence.

Isaac greeted Lee Hoyeon with a bitter feeling.

“…Yes. Mage Lee Hoyeon. Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes. Thanks to you. I have things to do, so I plan to leave for Korea right away.”

“I see. Thanks to you, I’ve become much more comfortable, too. …Kruuuk!”

“Darling. Calm down.”

“….”

Lee Hoyeon stared blankly at Isaac, who was shaking his head in Sophia’s embrace.

‘Why is that guy acting like that?’

He’s started doing strange things in front of people again.

‘It’s an inherent trait of the Iris Guild.’