Chapter 6 …
Even when eating, he always had to have me tucked right by his side. When on patrol, I was tucked by his side. During meetings, I was tucked by his side…
“Are the statements from the soldiers who regained consciousness all the same?”
“Yes. They all say they have no memory of anything.”
Why is he listening and reporting with such a serious face while still keeping me tucked under his arm…?
‘Is this really okay?’
No matter how I look at it, this can’t continue!
Dinnertime.
I firmly held up my palm toward the Lord, who was personally holding a spoon to feed me.
“Enough, enough!”
“Why? Don’t you like this side dish?”
“Lord, why have you been acting like this since earlier?”
“Huh?”
“You keep following me around, keeping me tucked by your side…”
At my question, the Lord looked at me expressionlessly for a moment, then turned his head away. What’s this about?
“…I was worried you might have been scared.”
“Eh?”
“No, actually, maybe I’m the one who’s scared, which is why I’m acting like this.”
The Lord, who had put down the spoon he was holding, looked at me and spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For letting you experience… something like that while you were here.”
“How is that your fault, Lord?”
Why is he like this? The Lord’s face suddenly darkened.
It seemed he was quite concerned, thinking I must have been frightened.
‘But I’m really completely fine.’
Of course, I was a little startled when the demon creature suddenly appeared, but compared to what happened at the Cheonsugwan, this was nothing.
“I told you I would protect you.”
“And you did! At that critical moment, you appeared with a—whoosh! And then, chop!”
I mimicked the Lord’s cool sword-swinging pose. He let out a slight laugh and patted my head a couple of times.
Then he cautiously opened his mouth.
“You weren’t very scared?”
“Not really.”
“Oh. You’re brave.”
When I answered with a shrug, the Lord raised an eyebrow. But the way he looked at me with his chin resting on his hand seemed a little bitter.
“…I was scared.”
“Eh?”
“It felt like my head was going completely blank, turning pure white.”
His black pupils, fixed on empty space, sank deeply.
Those sunken eyes seemed to be looking at some far-off place. Eyes yearning for a distant somewhere.
They looked a little lonely, and somehow, a little sad.
‘Did something happen to him here?’
While I was curious, his expression looked so forlorn that I fidgeted and wiggled closer to him.
“When I saw you were gone and was searching around this area, that thought occurred to me.”
“What thought?”
“This wasn’t what I intended. I shouldn’t have brought you to this dangerous place. I was too careless.”
“…Huh?”
Something about the content felt a bit off.
“I was arrogant, thinking I could keep you safe and sound without any incident, and then this happens right after we come out. It was all my arrogance.”
“No…”
Why is he blaming himself so much all of a sudden?
“Perhaps if we had just stayed at the Cheonsugwan, you wouldn’t have faced such danger.”
“Whaaat?”
Why is the Cheonsugwan coming up now? A foreboding feeling made goosebumps rise on my skin.
“Even now, I should take you back—”
“Wait, wait, wait! Stop thinking! Stop those thoughts!”
What on earth is this man saying!
Startled, I quickly cut him off.
It would have been safer if we’d stayed at the Cheonsugwan? What nonsense!
‘That place is the most dangerous one for me, mister!’
Now that I think about it, with his quiet, ongoing self-blame, the Lord was building my road to hell, brick by brick!
‘This won’t do.’
It seems the Lord was quite shaken by this incident.
If this continues, he might really scoop me up and take me back to the Cheonsugwan to knock on that broken door!
I got up from my seat and went to sit directly opposite the Lord. I clenched both my fists.
“Huh?”
Then, I grabbed the Lord’s broad shoulders firmly with both hands as he looked at me with a puzzled face. I spoke with a serious expression.
“As for me. I really, really, REALLY do not want to go back to the Cheonsugwan.”
“But…”
“Mmh!”
I shook my head gravely and covered the Lord’s mouth as he tried to say something. No objections allowed.
“…”
“So, I want to go to the fortress with you, Lord. If this place is dangerous…”
I looked at the Lord with sparkling eyes.
“…then please quickly defeat all the dangerous things. Because you are the strongest person in this country.”
And then I gave a ‘hehe’ laugh and flashed a double thumbs-up.
A few days later, Pacheonsan Mountain.
All of Doha’s soldiers were fed up with his pace.
Starting the day after the demon creature invasion incident, their superior had been sweeping through the mountain like a madman.
As if he intended to clear out this vast mountain range in just a few days.
“Let’s finish it all today and return to the fortress.”
Yes, just like that!
The soldiers shuddered at the murderous schedule.
‘Is that even possible?’
But the problem was, with their superior, it was actually possible…
Doha had already been cutting down demon creatures left and right for days, showing no signs of fatigue. It was only his subordinates following him who were feeling dead on their feet.
“Why, why the rush?”
At that question, Doha clicked his tongue and answered.
“It just feels too unstable to have the kid here. But the kid insists on staying with me.”
“Eh?”
Although he sounded annoyed, the corner of his mouth was subtly turned up. His broad shoulders were raised as well.
“Says they absolutely won’t go anywhere else and will only stay by my side, saying I’m the coolest in the world and to please protect them. What else can I do?”
“Ah, yes.”
“So let’s hurry up and finish. I need to go see the kid.”
“Ah, yes.”
With that, he headed off into the distance again, leading the way to slice up more demon creatures.
At that moment, inside the encampment.
“Your age?”
“Nine years old. I’ll be ten after winter passes.”
“…Your parents?”
“I don’t have any.”
“I’m sorry.”
I was with Lord’s adjutant, Mr. Taewoo.
Because the Lord said he was anxious and had assigned me his own adjutant, no less.
‘It was even worse before.’
I recalled the moment earlier when the Lord and Mr. Taewoo were bickering.
“Taewoo.”
“Yes?”
“I trust you. You take command of the subjugation unit.”
“And you, my Lord?”
“I will stay here and protect the remaining personnel.”
The ‘remaining personnel’ referred to one soldier injured during yesterday’s subjugation, one medic, and me. So, exactly three people.
Without hesitation, Mr. Taewoo responded to the Lord’s words.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“No.”
“Then why are you talking nonsense? Please stop slacking off and come out.”
“I’m making you the captain.”
“Oh. I’d like to decline a position that’s all responsibility.”
Mr. Taewoo was firm…
After a long exchange reminiscent of a spear and shield clashing, the Lord finally ended up leaving Mr. Taewoo here instead of going out to subjugate. Telling him to keep an eye on the kid.
And now, the left-behind Mr. Taewoo was…
“Place of birth?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been at the Cheonsugwan since I was a baby.”
…conducting a census-style survey on me.
No, with his narrowed eyes looking at me and his arms firmly crossed, the atmosphere was more like an interrogation.
“Were you and the Lord acquainted before?”
“No. We first met at the divine hall a little while ago.”
“Hmmm, but then why…”
It seemed he was somewhat suspicious of me. To be precise, about the secret of my birth…?
Perhaps due to the Lord’s excessive behavior, he seemed to suspect I might be a hidden child or something.
Just when I thought the census was over, he started scrutinizing every corner of my face with a meticulous gaze.
“You look a bit alike, but also not…”
“Whatever it is, I don’t think so.”
“Ah, I don’t know.”
Mr. Taewoo flopped down onto his back and muttered.
“Well. That couldn’t be. He never showed interest in anyone besides his wife.”
Wife?
‘Is he talking about the Lord’s wife?’
It was a character not really described in the original story.
What kind of person was she? I cautiously asked.
“The Lord has a wife?”
At my question, Mr. Taewoo seemed to think for a moment before speaking.
“…Yes. He did.”
“He did?”
Past tense. So, she’s not around anymore?
“She went missing a long time ago. Here, in Pacheonsan. The Lord still seems to be looking for her…”
Mr. Taewoo said in a bitter voice.
“…but she’s probably passed away.”
“…What? How?”
The reclining man turned his body to look at me.
“Tch, you seem very curious? Maybe there really is some birth secret—”
“Ahht, I said no!”
“His wife went missing 10 years ago…”
[That’s not in the original story.]
By the time night had fully fallen, Mr. Taewoo had gone out, saying he was going to check on the injured soldier.
The story I heard from him was unexpected.
The Lord’s wife, who had gone to the Cheonsugwan to pray, disappeared from this place 10 years ago.
No trace of her had been found to this day, and everyone except the Lord had concluded she must have met a demon creature and died.
“Thinking about the Lord back then… Ugh, it was no joke.”
Misfortune struck all at once.
The wife’s disappearance happened not long after they had lost their child in the womb.
Having lost both his child and wife in succession, the Lord at that time seemed like a man not in his right mind, they said.
He claimed there was something suspicious about the disappearance and had stormed into the Cheonsugwan, his wife’s last known location, multiple times in a frenzy.
‘Is that why he had such a bad relationship with Gwanju Baekri?’
It seemed this incident was the root of the ill will between them.
As time passed, people suggested he remarry several times. He was still young and had no heir, after all.
But the Lord ignored all advice.
He left his wife’s room exactly as it was and only adopted a male child from a collateral branch of the Seol family.
[That part is in the original.]
‘Yes. That’s right.’
The adopted boy was Seol Hohyeon.
He was the character who would succeed the Lord as the head of the Army of Total Destruction and later become the protagonist’s companion.
The protagonist, ‘San’, and Hohyeon would be together from the middle part of the novel onwards.
All the way until right before the final battle between the protagonist and the evil spirit trying to destroy the world.
