HBSHF | CH 07

Posted by Resider01, Released on October 7, 2025

Episode 7 — “A New Home”

“Waaah!”
Eire’s eyes sparkled like stars as she looked around the amazing new place.

“Eire, remember what we do when we visit someone’s house?”
“Hello! Eire came to visit! Thank you for inviting us!”
Eire gave a polite little curtsy to Harin. Michael nodded proudly, looking pleased.

‘How did this even happen…’
They were now in Harin’s apartment — a high-end place in Hannam-dong, overlooking the Han River.

And the reason they were here was simple:
Michael had said one sentence.

“We don’t have a house.”

Whoosh—
In the middle of Seoul, white dust still blew where a big hole had been left in the ground.

Harin had originally wanted to send the father and daughter home safely, maybe even pay for a taxi since they looked like they didn’t have bus fare.
But when she asked for their address, the answer was:

“We don’t have one.”
“Didn’t you used to have one?”
“Nope. Never did. Just… don’t have one.”

Harin looked at little Eire, who was clutching a small blanket, and sighed.
Those innocent eyes that looked like they held all the world’s jewels blinked up at her.

If Harin turned her back now, she could already see what would happen — the father and daughter would probably end up sleeping under a cardboard box near Seoul Station.

‘No way. My conscience can’t allow that.’

And that’s how Harin ended up bringing them into her home.

***

“Hmm. Why is your house built so high? If that octopus monster from before hits it once, won’t it all collapse?”
Michael asked while looking around the spacious, clean apartment.

“This building is made from a special mixed stone material. It can withstand strong attacks — it even has built-in mana shock absorption.”
Michael nodded, seeming to understand.

While the adults were talking, little Eire wrapped herself in her father’s golden cloak and spun in circles.

“Hiya! Tiger Strike! Babara, it looks the same, right?”
“Oh, that’s my girl.”
“Hehehe, Eire’s got five special moves now!”

Harin sighed quietly as she watched them.

She had thought about sending them to a hotel, but quickly realized she couldn’t. Their sense of “normal” was just too off.
They had never even ridden an elevator before, and Michael had pulled out a sword at the cleaning robot in the lobby.

It really felt like they had come from another world.

“Where are you two from? Your Korean is perfect, but…”
Harin finally asked, unable to hold her curiosity.

“Asteria,” Michael answered.

Asteria? She had never heard of such a country.

Even back when she was young and could memorize every flag and national anthem, she’d never heard of that place.

“Asteria? That’s a new one.”
“You’ve never heard of Asteria? You should study history more.”

Crunch.
The plastic cup in Harin’s hand crumpled a little, but she kept her polite smile. After all, there was a child watching.

“Oh ho, I see. My bad. So, what did you do there?”

“My dad’s a Holy Knight!” Eire shouted proudly.
“To be exact, I was the Captain of the Holy Knights,” Michael added.

Harin stared at him blankly.

A Holy Knight Captain? That wasn’t even a real job.

Sure, after the Gates appeared, some crazy hunters went around claiming to be “God’s messengers,” but this man didn’t seem delusional… just different.

“And I’m a Saint!” Eire declared, jumping onto the sofa.

Harin’s expression darkened further.
‘Is their family motto something like “Live your fantasy”?’

She looked at Michael again.

Now that she thought about it, the power he’d used earlier wasn’t like fire or wind. It had felt like light.

Could he really be a Holy Knight?
No… impossible. There was no such thing as divine power in a world without gods.

‘Maybe it’s just a high-level hunter skill. Something only S-ranks can use.’

Still, she found it hard to believe Michael was truly S-rank.
But the breaking news said otherwise:

[Who is the mysterious hunter who defeated the A-rank Deep Sea Kraken in one minute?]

He had disappeared before the reporters arrived, so all the news headlines were filled with question marks.

‘To kill an A-rank monster that fast… he’s definitely above A-rank.’

Harin sighed and massaged her neck.

‘No point overthinking it. What matters now is I let them in — so they’re my responsibility for now.’

“Um, my house isn’t super fancy, but I do have a cozy guest room. You can stay there for a while, if you have nowhere else to go.”

“Okay,” Michael said flatly.

Harin’s eyebrow twitched.
‘Excuse me?’

Michael yawned and smacked his lips.
Not even a thank you! Just pure audacity.

‘Are all S-ranks this shameless?’

“Daddy! You’re supposed to say, ‘I hope we’re not troubling you!’ Like this!”

Michael turned his head slightly and repeated, tonelessly,

“I hope we’re not troubling you.”

It sounded like a robot reading from a script.

For a brief moment, Harin really considered kicking them out.

Then little Eire came running up, tugging on her sleeve.

“Princess Harin, can Eire and Daddy stay here just for a little while?”

Harin felt her heart explode.

All her irritation vanished in an instant as she looked at the little girl’s innocent face.

She tapped Eire’s cheek softly.

“Of course you can. After all…”

Her gaze moved to Michael — not quite friendly, but thankful nonetheless.

“You saved my life.”

Even if it hadn’t been on purpose, she owed him. If Michael hadn’t shown up when he did, she might’ve been dead.

Michael nodded seriously.

“Hmm. I did do something big, didn’t I? I’ll gladly accept your hospitality.”

“….”

Harin’s polite smile froze. This guy… really didn’t know the meaning of modesty.

***

That night, the father and daughter settled into the guest room.

“Saint, huh? ‘Cutest girl who’ll save the world’? That’s what it said?”
“Yup!” Eire replied, babbling as she told her dad everything that happened that day.

After listening quietly, Michael sighed.

“I guess Dal-yong was right. A person’s face really shows their nature. That bastard—calling himself an angel when he’s the real demon.”

“Huh? What’s ‘face reading’?”
“It means people act the way they look.”

Eire didn’t fully get it, but nodded anyway — because her dad suddenly looked serious.

‘Daddy looks… sad.’

Michael didn’t speak for a long time, just staring out the window, lost in thought.

Then Eire whispered,

“They said I have to save the world. Does that mean Saints save the world?”

She was only four.
At that age, you still have to bend your thumb down to show your age on your fingers.

Saving the world sounded way too big.

‘I can maybe save Daddy… but not the whole world.’

Her tiny lips drooped sadly.

‘And why does the world even need saving? Is it sick?’

Eire stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought, but of course couldn’t find an answer.

Then Michael pinched her cheek gently.

“Don’t worry, Eire. If you ever have to save the world, Daddy will save you.”

Eire’s big eyes turned toward him — and then he kissed her forehead softly.

“So stop thinking and go to sleep, my little girl. Tomorrow we’ll eat strawberry cream bread.”

“Strawberry cream bread!”
Eire giggled, already forgetting all her worries.

To a four-year-old, strawberry bread was much more important than saving the world.

There was plenty of it in the kitchen — Harin had bought lots, saying cute Eire could eat a hundred if she wanted. (Michael said maybe not a hundred.)