The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Chapter 172 : If you pity them, you should give them a chance. Don't you think? (1)

If you pity them, you should give them a chance. Don't you think? (1)Others hadn't noticed, but I could sense a faint flow of magic power emanating from inside the giant silver lid.

Thanks to that, it was clear someone was inside.

However, it wasn't magic power being intentionally released.

It was more like when kids spill water while fooling around—something leaking out accidentally, not by will.

And that magic power... was very familiar.

Just sensing it was enough for me to figure out who it was.

'I don't know why she's in there, but...!'

Now wasn't the time to question that.

A giant dish covered with a lid, said to contain food for a hundred people—if there was 'someone' inside, the outcome was obvious without even having to see it.

Surely, arrows of blame would soon fly toward that 'someone's' guardian.

〈Soul of Illusion〉

The moment the lid opened, I manifested Demon King's Power.

After the Golden Gate incident, I had become able to use some 'soul-type' skills even without being in demonkin form.

The skill I activated now was one that completely erased a single target's recognition from others.

Basically, it was the ability to cast an illusion that made the person invisible to everyone else.

'There are quite a few awakeners nearby, so it'll consume some magic power, but...'

Since Demon King's Power was involved, no one was left unaffected.

Thanks to that, even after the lid fully opened, nobody witnessed 'her'—except for me.

—Except for myself.

However, as the dish was uncovered, everyone else reacted in shock.

"What the—? There's nothing to eat in here!"

"What meat did they say was in here? There's only bones."

"Who is it? Who ate it all?"

"Did anyone else feel like a girl was just inside, or was that my imagination?"

With only bones left in the dish, complaints erupted from the crowd.

It seemed the juvenile girl who had snuck inside had eaten everything clean.

"..."

"..."

Sang-ah met my eyes and could only stand there, speechless.

She was frozen, like a private suddenly running into a two-star general while slacking off during work hours.

To Sang-ah, I sent a telepathic message in my head.

― Sang-ah.

"...!"

― I don't know how you ended up here, but let's talk about it later.

As my words reached her through the 'Telepathy' skill, Sang-ah was startled.

Since she couldn't speak out loud right now, this was the only way.

― Get out of the event hall, now. While people can't see you—hurry.

"They can't see me?"

― I said we'd talk later, didn't I?

"..."

Sang-ah got up from her seat, left the dish, and dashed out of the event hall.

Thanks to that, I was able to conceal her safely.

Still, there was someone who was suspicious.

"Hey, kiddo. Didn't you feel it too?"

"What?"

Kwon Yongjun, the son of Kwon Yongha, asked me with a confused look.

"You know what I mean! I'm sure I felt magic power coming from in there! And it felt strangely familiar too..."

It seemed he had sensed a bit of Sang-ah's magic power inside, though not as much as I had.

Maybe that was because they were related by blood. Still, you could say he was worthy of being called an S-rank hunter.

"Did you really not feel anything?"

My answer was simple.

"I didn't feel a thing."

****

A commotion broke out in the event hall.

In the blink of an eye, the meal prepared for the invited guests had disappeared.

Naturally, the guests voiced one complaint after another, and Choi Seungjin and the other hosts scrambled to handle the mess.

Not only had there been a prank involving the food, but it looked as though the guests had been deceived.

During this confusion, having been separated from his father for a moment, Choi Seungcheol stopped by the restroom.

A brief moment as he poured water in the restroom.

In that short span, many thoughts came to him.

He'd seen his father's expression while the guests were rebelling.

So unlike the tyrant who ruled at home—now shrinking and bowing his head amid the guests' outrage.

It was a complete reversal of the image he'd had of his father.

He remembered something a certain man had once said.

[Your father is just a weak 'human' after all. Just like the rest of us.]

What had just happened seemed to give those words weight.

Even if his dad was a tyrant at home, a top lawyer or even a prospective congressman—he was still human in the end.

But... even knowing that, resisting his father was impossible.

Choi Seungjin was someone who overcame a complex over his impoverished past to reach his position.

He, therefore, had a solid justification to drive his son hard.

The pain his son felt was insignificant to him.

In the end, Choi Seungjin simply couldn't sympathize with his son's feelings.

Trying to have a conversation with him was like playing music to a cow.

― Why can't you do it when I taught you? Are you really my son?

― Please, just look at the first-place kid in the next class and try to follow his example.

― Geez, did you really bring this to me as a test score?

― How badly could the kids be bullying you? If you just do well in school, those kinds of kids will quickly go away.

― You're not thinking of abusing your dad's power now, are you? Don't even think about bothering weaker kids, just behave yourself!

His dad wanted a child who met his own standards.

But Choi Seungcheol simply couldn't measure up.

What were those standards in the first place?

He had lived as his father's son for so many years, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure it out.

'I just asked for help, that's all...'

But when he did, his dad only got angry.

It was as if he were watching a brute wielding family power.

His dad once said it was to prevent himself from becoming a brute like that.

And yes, it was certainly possible that he might someday become one.

So Seungcheol believed.

Again and again.

'But...'

Nothing was ever resolved.

He'd put up with it, put his faith in him, and held on... but all he could see in the mirror now were his own dead eyes.

If someone like his father, who could only tell his son to endure, became a congressman, what kind of country would he create?

Ssshhhhhhhhh (water running)—

Even as he finished and washed his hands, those thoughts wouldn't leave.

"Ahhh~ that was refreshing."

Then, a huge man came out of another stall, washing his hands at the neighboring sink.

Choi Seungcheol froze upon seeing him.

"Hello?"

"Ah, hi..."

Kwon Yongha, the guildmaster of Hwasan guild, greeted him cheerfully as he washed his hands.

Just his presence was intimidating.

Feeling as though trouble would follow if he stayed longer, Seungcheol tried to wash up and leave quickly.

"You don't look happy."

"...?"

"Not happy with your dad?"

In the midst of Seungcheol's haste, his hands stopped.

But Yongha didn't stop there.

"If you're not happy, why do you stay by his side?"

"That's... I have nowhere to go except home."

Before he knew it, he found himself answering Kwon Yongha's question.

He'd originally wanted to avoid Yongha out of fear, but hearing his words somehow made it impossible to leave.

"Haha, I get it. If your father is strong, it's wise to stick close. My kids did the same, actually."

"..."

"But do you know what you mustn't forget? That your dad is still just a human."

The words sounded familiar, as if he'd heard them before somewhere.

Yongha turned off the water, shook his hands dry, and continued.

"Of course, compared to this old man, your dad is nothing. Still, even I have a daughter. She's the child of my concubine, so I never really cared for her much."

Because of that, his daughter was poorly treated in the family's history.

It was routine for her to be pushed around by the son of the legitimate wife or ignored by guild members.

Yet, the reason she never seemed bothered by it was simple.

"Actually, this old man can't empathize with anyone else's feelings."

"Huh?"

"No matter what your face looks like right now, I just find it amusing."

Is someone who can't empathize truly human?

It reminded him so much of his father, who only told him to endure.

"But my daughter kept resisting me. Even though she was in the palm of my hand, she never backed down."

Kwon Yongha didn't feel her resentment, but he was greatly interested by the fact that she dared bare her fangs at him.

"Watching her refuse to give up—she looked like a brightly glowing jewel."

"But I..."

"You can't shine like that. Just because my daughter can doesn't mean you can."

After all, his daughter was a top student at Hand.

Even comparing Seungcheol to her was almost an affront.

"But the same goes for your dad and me. Even if my daughter stands up to me, I won't bat an eye..."

—But your dad might be different.

"Aren't you curious? What your dad would do if he saw you bare your sharp fangs?"

Kwon Yongha was no ordinary person.

But if someone as ordinary as Choi Seungjin saw his child's fierce rebellion...?

"So, sir... would you be okay with being 'eaten' by your own child?"

Seungcheol's question came out instead of a reply.

Yongha answered with a thin smile.

"We'll find out when the time comes."

With those words, he left the restroom.

It was advice from a man who felt nothing even when his own wife went into a coma.

****

'That was a close call.'

Choi Seungjin had managed to calm the disgruntled guests.

Here, the help of party leader Congressman Yoon Hongseok had been significant.

Since there had been an incident with the food meant for the guests, he'd agreed to compensate in other ways.

'Who the heck ate it all, though?'

Could it be the Holy Church trying to betray him?

Many suspicions were raised, but he set them aside.

For now, a key ceremony to appoint him to his new office was about to begin.

With that preface, party leader Yoon Hongseok was now giving a speech from the podium.

"The nation we are striving to create is a country for young people. You all must have seen that film depicting the struggles of unfortunate youths!"

The 'Kind Gangster'.

There wasn't a person here who hadn't seen it.

"Even now, there are countless young people forced into poverty and then forced onto the wrong path—just like the main character in that film."

The movie itself was about the redemption story of a poor juvenile.

It even began with the scene of the protagonist's parents dying.

"Children are not bad by nature. That's why we must protect them. If we do that! Many kids can grow up like the main character in that film!"

Not merciless punishment, but opportunities for rehabilitation.

Assuming all kids are monsters by nature was the worst possible thinking.

That was the true meaning of law.

As the guests cheered the speech, Choi Seungjin stepped up to the podium.

This was the moment he would step above the law itself.

Crash—!

Suddenly, something smashed through the event hall wall and burst in.

With a deafening sound as the wall was destroyed, screams rang out.

"What is that?!"

"A bike?"

It was a mystery figure riding a motorcycle.

Wearing a helmet, the figure raced through the hall and stormed the podium.

"Aaahhhhh!"

The motorcycle revved and flew up to land on the stage.

Surprised, Choi Seungjin fell to the ground with trembling legs.

"Se-security! What is security doing?!"

With an intruder like this, security should have stepped in.

But when he looked to the entrance, the guards who'd been posted there moments ago were gone.

Was it the same outside?

Just as an uneasy thought crossed his mind, the intruder spoke up.

"Hello there, sir~"

"Eh?"

It was a child's voice.

Now that the figure was closer, he looked quite petite as well.

Just as everyone was wondering—someone else crashed onto the podium and smashed the motorcycle.

Crash—!

With a punch full of Kwon Yongjun's magic power, the motorcycle exploded and the intruder was hurled to the floor.

Even wearing a helmet, the force slammed him down hard enough that he should have died.

Yet the intruder calmly stood up, smiling.

"Heeheeheehee~"

"That brat!"

Kwon Yongjun rushed over, pinned the intruder down, and subdued him.

Unmasking the helmet, he frowned.

"Hyung, you're so cool!"

"Who are you?"

It was a kid who seemed to be in the first year of middle school.

His eyes were sparkling with innocence.

That expression made Yongjun instinctively recoil.

"Thank you so much! Hunter Kwon Yongjun!"

"What should we do?"

"Do what? Take him to jail immediately..."

Expressing his thanks, Choi Seungjin quickly pulled out his phone.

Now that the security guards had vanished, he had no choice but to call 112 himself.

"Let's wait a moment."

At that, Kwon Yongha stepped onto the podium.

At his appearance, both those who were angry and those terrified froze.

"Are you really going to lock him up?"

"Of course. This is a serious crime..."

It wasn't wrong.

Storming into the event hall on a motorcycle was indefensible.

But, as if mocking Seungjin's resolve, Kwon Yongha spoke.

"Do you remember what you said during your speech just now?"

"Well—right, that we'd build a nation for young people..."

"No, what else?"

What did the speech have to do with this?

As they wondered, Kwon Yongha leaned in with a pointed look.

"You said there are no 'bad children,' right? Isn't that so, representative Yoon Hongseok?"

"Ah..."

Yoon nodded.

Only then did Choi Seungjin sense an ominous premonition.

"With things as they are, it seems difficult to proceed with the event. Let's postpone the inauguration to a smaller, later occasion."

"Impossible!"

"But! A crisis is just an opportunity!"

Kwon Yongha cut Seungjin off, raising his voice.

It was the roar of a man at the peak of Korea's hunter world.

Not a single soul dared find fault with the words of a man with absolute authority.

In fact, what Kwon Yongha said wasn't exactly wrong.

"Attorney Choi Seungjin. Long ago, you rehabilitated my son. Thanks to you, he grew up to be a proud S-rank hunter."

Out of the blue, Kwon Yongjun was embarrassed to be mentioned.

But Kwon Yongha's intention was obvious.

"That's why this boy, too! He can be rehabilitated, just like my son!"

"What...?"

"Didn't you always say, attorney, that giving 'opportunity' to unfortunate children is the right kind of education?"

"..."

At those words, Choi Seungjin was left speechless.

Not just him—the other guests agreed with Seungjin's stance as well.

"Hey, kid. What's your name?"

Kwon Yongha kindly asked the boy who had been the troublemaker.

The boy answered with a dazed smile.

"Jade—no, Kim Jae!"