CH 46

“Kirrk!”

Holding a rare steak with both of his hands, Spotty took a bite and widened his eyes. Oh my! What kind of meat is this? It melted in his mouth. He rushed to shove the rest in his mouth lest someone stole it from him.

“Ke, Kerung.”

It felt so good that he unknowingly let out a trill. He also tried to eat the white meat on the side of the plate. It wasn’t as good as the red meat, but it was also quite tasty.

“Kerruk.”

Spotty ate so much food that his little stomach was left bulging. Even though it was enough to feed 5-6 people, it all went into Spotty’s stomach.

“Krruk krruk.”

After eating all the food, Spotty climbed into the bed and stretched his legs out. Then, he began to suck his front paws, coating it in saliva.

Kero looked at him displeased, but he didn’t make a move — Hyeon-woo was still there.

“He looks so cute, right?”

Hyeon-woo gently rubbed at the bloated belly with his hand.

“Whew.”

Spotty flapped his short, spotted paws a few times before falling asleep.

A few days passed like that. Life was heaven, and Spotty started gaining weight from the copious amounts of food he constantly consumed. Even though his body was small, he seemed to eat as much as he would in his large state. What would they have done if Seon-woo wasn’t rich? Just thinking about it made him shiver.

After resting and eating well, Spotty more readily cooperated in gathering materials for research. When the researchers tried to remove the flesh excessively, Hyeon-woo stopped it. So, the lab was no longer greedy and acted much more appropriately.

After that, all that was left was a conversation with Leon. They chose a cafe with a private environment on the lower floor of the hotel. Leon and Hyeon-woo were seated by the window, with Seon-woo and Do-jin seated nearby. And thus the conversation between them began.

“The cafe is so big, but there are no customers.”

“Oh, that’s because we’ve rented it out for a while. How are Kero and Spotty doing?”

“They’re doing well.”

Hyeon-woo decided not to elaborate on the damages the two monsters had caused. He had argued enough with Seon-woo about it already. Instead, he changed the subject.

“So what do you want to know?”

“Drink some tea first. The tea here is particularly good. The tea food was also quite sophisticated.”

Certainly, as Leon said, the tea and the tea food that came with it were delicious. After enjoying it all, Leon finally began his questioning.

“Isn’t Spotty from the Demon Realm?”

“He is.”

“Then, that means the Demon Realm and the Earth are connected.”

“I don’t know to what extent, but it seems so.”

Leon only tapped the teacup with his finger. Then he began again.

“Have you ever met a demon in the Demon Realm?”

“A demon?”

“Yes, demon. Fairies have talked about demons several times, but we never actually came across one.”

Hyeon-woo hesitated for a moment. Should he tell the truth or hide it? Leon, the Guild Leader of the Guardian Guild, was a righteous person who had taken the lead to protect the Earth from external threats. If so, wouldn’t he be able to solve this problem as well? In order to do that, some information sharing would be necessary.

Coming to this conclusion, his hesitation disappeared.

“I’ve met them before.”

“What was it like?”

The first demon that came to his mind was Alberg.

Al. But he was reluctant to talk about him for some reason. So, the next one he thought of was Tiamat, a 9th rank demon.

She was a female demon with long purple hair. Tiamat was a little different from the other demons who broke under Hyeon-woo’s relentless attacks. She had watched him calmly without directly engaging. Instead, she utilized a lot of indirect methods.

Hyeon-woo knew Tiamat as the one that handled with poison.

“It was a demon that handled poison.”

At first, he didn’t have any poison resistance, and so suffered a lot. At the same time, he also became really good at escaping. After a successful get away, he once decided to catch her and chase after her. Those who played a major role at that time were Bike no. 1, Bike no. 2, and Bike no. 3.

“Was it beautiful?”

“Aren’t most demons?”

“So it’s true then.”

Hyeon-woo slowly unfolded the story. As he spoke, he added and subtracted details. Leon drank all the new information, nodding occasionally.

“Thank you. I wanted to know more about the Demon Realm.”

“Are you preparing for future dangers?”

“Probably. To say that such a monster has crossed over from the Demon Realm means that other things might also come over. The fairy had said that creatures from the Demon Realm could never come to Earth, but maybe that’s not true.”

Lies. Hyeon-woo remembered the fairy who he had beaten up in the Demon Realm. She used to shout out that she would never lie, but was it really all a lie? He didn’t really believe in the fairies, but he felt a little uncomfortable.

“Then, today’s teatime ends here. Are you planning to return to Korea after this?”

“Probably.”

“I’m sorry. There are so many things to see and eat in New York, but you only stay in hotels before going.”

“It’s poor timing right now, but it’ll get better. I can enjoy it next time when I come to visit?”

“Sure. Then, tell me when you leave. I will drive you to the airport.”

Leon acted like a gentleman until the very end. Even so, some parts of the conversation kept bothering him. However, Leon is a person with a certain identity.

‘Acting nice to get whatever out of us seems to have been in vain.’

Hyeon-woo thought so at least.

“Are you done?”

As Leon got up from his seat, Do-jin and Seon-woo approached.

“Yes, we finished.”

“Then will we go back home now?”

“Yes.”

Now he will go back home and continue his lazy life as usual. Thinking of it, Hyeon-woo stretched out.

Leon had not disclosed where the Koreans were staying to the public. He gathered and told only a few guild leaders from other strong American guilds. It was thought that it would only incite anxiety if it were reported to the citizens right away. So, only a small fraction of the information was released to the public.

[Korea’s First Generation Awakened of the Seon-Hyeon Guild is taming monsters.]

That information.

***

“Wow!”

Leon also lent his private plane back for their return trip. Thanks to this, Hyeon-woo was able to return to Korea comfortably. Their first meeting hadn’t gone well, but Leon seemed like a better person than he had expected. He slept soundly and got off the plane with a smile, but the airport was strangely noisy.

“What’s going on?”

When Hyeon-woo asked with a puzzled expression, Seon-woo quietly handed his phone. There was a screen floating on it.

「Ji Hyeon-woo shows the spirit of Koreans in New York.」

What did I do in New York? Hyeon-woo looked down at the screen with his finger. And gradually his face began to wrinkle.

The famed brothers of the Seon-Hyeon Guild went to New York and caught the monster wreaking havoc on the city — and even taming it.

“Isn’t that too much of an exaggeration?”

It was Kero who actually caught the Black Drake, and Seon-woo stood by Hyeon-woo’s side without lifting a finger. Hyeon-woo didn’t do anything special either. To put it bluntly, he just ate and rolled around in the hotel. And Do-jin was beside him the entire time, yet that was omitted.

“No, more importantly, how did the public find out?”

“The Guardian Guild Leader must have released it.”

Seon-woo gritted his teeth as if he didn’t want to even say Leon’s name. It didn’t solve the situation in the slightest, but it helped him feel better.

Hyeon-woo handed Seon-woo’s phone back and looked at the airport again. The crowd was churning as to welcome a celebrity.

“For now, the airport officials have decided that we will exit through the back door.”

That’s right. They wouldn’t be able to make it through the front door.

“Let’s go, Hyung.”

But they thought too lightly of the reporters, who were like leeches. They infiltrated the back door and were arguing with the airport security guards and drawing the crowd’s attention to the commotion they caused.

‘Why.’

Seon-woo made a tired expression on his face while Do-jin blocked the people from approaching them.

“Hyung, let’s go home first.”

“Seon-woo?”

“I’ll get you out of here.”

“If that’s the case, let’s go together!”

The moment Hyeon-woo said that and stepped forward; they were suddenly surrounded by darkness. When it brightened again, they were already outside the airport.

“Seon-woo!”

“He’ll be fine.”

“But there were so many people!”

At that, Do-jin smiled a little. In front of his Hyung, Seon-woo acted meek and appeared weak. It was a different story when Hyeon-woo wasn’t there. So, as long as his Hyung was removed from the vicinity, he would be fine.

“Ji Seon-woo is an S-Class Awakened, you know.”

“Yes, but–”

He was worried because he’s his Hyung. It was inevitable.

“Look, he’s exiting the airport now.”

Seon-woo confidently strode out of the airport. There were no reporters behind him.

“Have you been waiting for long, Hyung? Let’s go home now.”

Seon-woo smiled and put Hyeon-woo in the car first. Then, before Do-jin could get on, he quickly closed the door.

“Can you find a different ride?”

Seon-woo flashed his vicious side. He truly acted differently when he was with his Hyung and when he wasn’t.

“Why don’t you just act like your normal self when you are with your Hyung?”

“I don’t want to.”

Seon-woo spoke firmly, opened the door, and got in. Do-jin watched, full of disappointment, as the car drove away.