◈ Episode 389. Declaration of Departure (1)
“Unni... I heard Hoyeol is coming home?”
“What?!”
At Lee Yerim’s words, everyone sprang into action as though fire had broken out at their feet.
President Lee Junwook and Madam Choi Kanghee bustled about.
Lee Yerim cautiously poked her head into the hectic master bedroom.
“Mom. Why are you making such a fuss?”
“Quiet. As if I don’t already have enough on my mind.”
“I suppose it really is nice having your one and only son home... Ow!”
Screeech─ As Lee Yerim added another inane remark, her ear stretched out like a donkey’s. The one tugging on it without the slightest concern for her protests was Number Two, Lee Jiyoon.
“Hey, come on!!”
After dragging her immature little sister into the living room, Lee Jiyoon said,
“Yerim, do you think Mom and Dad feel the same way as we do?”
“Why? Did I say something wrong?”
“You did. We’ve at least seen Hoyeol’s face and gone in and out of his studio apartment. For Mom and Dad, this is their first time properly seeing Hoyeol since he became like that, isn’t it?”
“It’s not the first time. That Lee Hoyeol stopped by last time at five in the morning like a sneaky little opportunist, and he didn’t even look at my face before leaving right away...”
“Exactly. So this is their first time seeing him ‘properly.’”
“Well, that’s true, but...”
Perhaps because their parents always had Hoyeol’s name on their lips.
She had felt that they were being especially excessive today.
But now that she thought back, they really were.
Lee Yerim’s eyes widened.
“Wait, now that I think about it, the whole Lee family is getting together for the first time in ages?!”
Lee Jiyoon clicked her tongue at the energy that had returned to Lee Yerim.
“...I can see exactly what you’re plotting.”
She handed Lee Yerim the cordless vacuum cleaner she was holding.
“What? Why the vacuum cleaner?”
“Clean up before Hoyeol arrives. And put the clothes on the sofa in the washing machine, too.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Me? I have to go get our Arang.”
“Arang? Big Sis went to work today, didn’t she? Is it okay to bring her?”
“She said she was going to take a half day. I’ll pick her up, then go get Arang from kindergarten.”...
So Little Sis had everything planned out?
Lee Yerim suddenly found herself holding the vacuum cleaner and felt somewhat aggrieved, but she had nothing in particular to say. Just as she reluctantly clamped her mouth shut and was about to switch on the vacuum, Lee Jiyoon added,
“And you, don’t say anything useless to Mom.”
“Why not? What did I do?”
“Are you asking because you really don’t know?”
Swish.
After putting on her outerwear, Lee Jiyoon approached and whispered.
Quietly enough that their mother and father in the master bedroom could not hear.
Lowering her voice, she said,
“Don’t spout nonsense about how Hoyeol has changed or whatever.”
To the three Lee sisters, their youngest brother Hoyeol?
To put it nicely, he was the object of their concern. To be honest, he was like a child they had set down beside a river. Hoyeol might be extraordinary, but he was still a Player. The fact that he was exposed to the dangers of rifts, monsters, and demons remained unchanged.
Lee Jiyoon issued a stern warning.
“Just try bringing up that ‘Demon Emperor’ nonsense again.”
“Unni, these days, the trend isn’t just being nice. It’s about going wild like the Demon Emperor...”
“Don’t give Mom and Dad another reason to worry.”
Of course, the two of them had never honestly revealed those feelings to Hoyeol. After bickering with him for nearly thirty years, it would be embarrassing to suddenly change their attitude now.
In that regard, their eldest sister, Lee Eunhye, and Hoyeol were incredible.
Was she not as worried about Hoyeol as their mother?
Did she not use the excessively respectful title “Nuna” every single time, with no shame whatsoever?
“I worry too, you know? Even if I don’t show it.”
Lee Yerim pouted.
“Anyway, I get it. Do you think I don’t know that?”
We were worried too, so their parents’ feelings went without saying.
They were the sort of parents who refrained from asking about their son even when they wanted to, afraid they might somehow hinder him. Lee Yerim lowered her tail, but Lee Jiyoon continued to nag as she put on her shoes.
“Especially if you even mention a single syllable of ‘Demon Lord,’ you’re going to—!”
“I said I get it?! And it’s just a baseless rumor anyway.”
Our youngest brother, a Demon Lord?
“Where have you ever heard of a Demon Lord who writes letters every dawn?”
Unless filial piety was a required qualification for being a Demon Lord, she knew from having watched him that it was ridiculous nonsense. Well, judging by the news, it seemed the world had finally come to its senses.
Lee Yerim smacked her lips and continued,
“I know how to read the room, too.”
Whoosh.
Lee Yerim’s gaze turned toward the master bedroom.
Even if the misunderstanding had been cleared up and the baseless rumors had died down, their parents’ worry could not simply disappear. Lee Yerim had no intention of merely teasing Hoyeol when he had come home for the first time in ages, either.
She suddenly remembered Hoyeol’s stark studio apartment.
Whenever they had made a silent surprise visit, Hoyeol had never been there.
Aside from the dwindling supply of green tea bags, there had been no trace that he had stayed there.
He must have been so busy that he had not even had time to rest at home.
“If he’s come home after so long, he should get plenty of rest before leaving.”
Only then did Lee Jiyoon shrug.
“Yeah, please just stay that way and behave yourself, little sis.”
It was at the moment Lee Jiyoon checked her car keys and reached for the front door handle.
Suddenly.
The light returned to Lee Yerim’s eyes.
“But it’s okay to ask about his social life, right? The way he talks makes me wonder whether he’s actually made any friends, and whether he’ll ever be able to bring home a proper sister-in-law. As one of his only three older sisters, I’m just worried in the purest sense of the word...”
Lee Jiyoon’s gaze sank coldly.
“Hey.”
The habit of teasing Hoyeol since he was three years old had not gone anywhere.
“Stop talking nonsense and take Seolgi for a walk before Hoyeol gets here.”
“...Take Seolgi for a walk?”
There was no chance for her to protest.
Bang!
The front door slammed shut. Seolgi came running over at the word “walk,” wagging her tail, and gazed brightly at Lee Yerim. Lee Yerim hugged the innocent dog and lamented her fate.
“...Why do I feel like I’ve become the youngest? Hoyeol suddenly became so mature, you know? Right, Seolgi? You think so too, don’t you? Huh? You bark just fine normally, so why are you suddenly quiet?”
*My deliberation over my attire is lasting longer than ever before.
“Hmm.”
Even now.
One need only look at the body that refused to leave the mirror to know.
This was an emergency.
“This would not be suitable.”...
Yes, depending on the time and place.
Choosing one’s clothes carefully was quite important.
It was fortunate, at least, that I had taken off the glittering Dawn jacket.‘That doesn’t mean this is an appropriate outfit, either.’
It was not as though I was returning to my roots. I had simply put on a suit for the first time in ages.
I was not returning home in triumph, so there was no reason to dress up this much.
Then again, even while devoting myself to physical training,
Grandfell’s stubbornness had refused to give up leather shoes.
Swish.
In the end, I could only step away from the full-length mirror after properly tying my necktie. Let us see. Once I manifested a portal, reaching my family home would be no different from taking a single step. That meant getting there was not the problem.‘It is what comes after I stand face-to-face with them that concerns me.’
I could already feel my cheeks growing hot with shame...!
This was not the first time I had come face-to-face with those loathsome enemies whom I both loved and hated.
My sisters had visited my studio apartment without permission after I began appearing in the media. Of course, considering the conversations that had taken place in the group chat... Even knowing the circumstances, I could not let my guard down around them.
There was an even bigger problem.
“Father. Mother.”
Our Mr. Lee Junwook and Madam Choi Kanghee were the real problem...!
Every dawn, I had faithfully fulfilled my filial duties by writing letters with the utmost sincerity and sending them through magic. One day, I had even gone to see them before sunrise, evading Lee Yerim’s eyes.‘But having the whole family sit face-to-face is an entirely different matter.’
I was especially concerned about my father, who had clipped and kept every single article about me. I still remembered the message one of my loathsome enemies had relayed.
-Stop becoming so famous
-Dad says he’s spending too much on newspapers
-It takes him hours just to cut out your articles with scissors -_-
Knowing that, I murmured,
“To have become the subject of unnecessary gossip... I have no face to show.”
That was why I could not help but worry.
Grandfell, the last survivor of the Cloudy Family.
A setting in which he could not help but care terribly for his blood relatives.
How would that setting manifest in this situation...!‘For now, I cannot make anything up.’
If they asked how I had become the Demon Lord,
I would have no choice but to answer honestly.
That alone was troublesome.‘It is not enough that I have set foot on the Arcana Continent. Now I am about to step into the Demon World as well.’
The Demon World.
Just hearing the name was unsettling. If I were a parent, I could not help but worry about my child.
If only this damn mouth could tell even a well-intentioned lie.‘The Arcana Continent and yet another world.’
The effect of [The Last Adventurer] would not activate in the Demon World. That meant I could not be confident of returning safely as I had from the Arcana Continent. Consequently, I could not dispel my worries even as I adjusted my clothes.
And yet.
“It is contrary to etiquette to arrive empty-handed.”
I brought along the Aria moss of the Holy Land Muon, known as the Elixir of Youth.
Normally, I might have hoped to ease their worries with what was, if not quite a bribe, then at least something close to one.
But this time, I should not get my hopes up. No matter how I considered it, this was not something I could gloss over.‘This situation is different from usual.’
If I had merely fought monsters or demons, perhaps things would have been different.
But in this incident, I had opposed the United States.
Raymond Sean had been behind it all, but the world only remembered the strongest afterimage.
-......
What are we supposed to call this?
-To be honest, isn’t his presence even more overwhelming than the Demon Lord’s? ㄷㄷ
-For real, at first I thought Lee Hoyeol had created the rift;;;
-The way he even reversed the meteor was just insanely majestic, for real
In particular, this incident had only come to an end with the death of the President of the United States.
I had not hunted down the mastermind, Raymond Sean.
It was only natural that the world would react with confusion.‘That is why I said I would come to see them as well.’
Grandfell cared nothing for the world’s opinion.
But even the great Grandfell seemed unable to ignore the worries of his blood relatives. I was the same. This time, there was no room to make excuses, so I chose to confront the matter head-on.‘Even so, I have no confidence. No confidence that I can endure a family gathering...’
As always, I could not let these complicated feelings show.
Gooooo.
In the end, I manifested a portal while standing as straight as ever.
I stepped through it.
I wondered if this was what it felt like to be an animal being dragged to the slaughterhouse...
How cruel.
My miserable fate.
The sound ringing in my ears was nothing if not cheerful.
Click-clack─*
“Whew. Seolgi, don’t you ever get tired?”
Woof woof!
Despite her complaints, Seolgi showed no sign of loosening her leash. Lee Yerim was practically being dragged around by Seolgi on their walk. Perhaps it was because they had taken a different route. Her propeller-like tail showed no intention of stopping.
“You’re not really a Maltese, are you?”
“One of your ancestors definitely had to be a hunting dog, Seolgi!”
“How did our frail eldest sister ever raise you...?”
In the end, Lee Yerim arrived home utterly exhausted.
“Huh?”
And came face-to-face with him.
Though she was looking at his back, she recognized him at once.
It was Hoyeol.
His impossibly flashy silver hair.
His suit, dressed to the nines.
Her one and only little brother, who suited it rather well in his own way.
“...Ahem.”
First, Lee Yerim cleared her throat.
Her little sister had repeatedly warned her not to say anything useless.
But she could not stand the itch in her mouth.
Why, he was Beyond the Heavens.
He was one of the Ten Seats’ Demon Lords.
She had been giving serious thought to what she should save Hoyeol’s name as in her contacts.‘Let’s see, what should I call him?’
Gently.
Hugging Seolgi, she cautiously approached. But Hoyeol remained standing stock-still, staring at the house. Was he feeling shy because it had been so long since he had come home?
If not...
Did he know about the ordeal awaiting him?
Lee Yerim feigned innocence and spoke plainly.
“You’re here?”
Hoyeol turned around.
What appeared in his view was—
The pouring sunset.
Lee Yerim and Seolgi beneath it.
A face brimming with delight and a wagging tail.
To describe that peaceful scene in Grandfell’s manner of speech:
“...!”
A living sister and the loyal hound of the family.
Before he could even reply,
Lee Yerim spoke first.
“...Lee Hoyeol, are you crying?”