Book: 2: 104

Book 2: Chapter 104

The Communications room.

Min Ha-rin operated the communications equipment while sitting across from Joanna.

It was nothing special. All she had to do was enter the password for the confidential communications line that she knew and wait for a response.

“When was the last time you were in Korea?”

“About three years ago? I think it’s been about that long.”

“That’s longer than I thought.”

“Yeah. The damage to Korea wasn’t that great. As my performance improved, I was dispatched to China more often. Later, I moved to stay there.”

“Hmmm.”

Joanna nodded slowly before asking in a slightly cautious tone.

“What about your family?”

“I have two younger siblings in Korea.”

“I guess they’re not hunters.”

“Yeah.”

Joanna smiled softly.

“That’s good. Having a family, I mean.”

“...what about you, Miss Joanna?”

“You can just call me Joanna.”

Perhaps it was because she was American, but Joanna was much more open than she expected.

While having that thought, Min Ha-rin repeated herself.

“What about your family...”

“I don’t have one. I’m an orphan.”

“Ah.”

That was a bit surprising.

From her attitude, Min Ha-rin had thought that she was born and raised in a wealthy, or at least a well-off family, but that wasn’t the case. In other words, she felt and behaved like a scioness of some major ‘family’ or ‘force’.

Joanna seemed familiar with this reaction.

“That’s why I call the Association President my father. Because he brought me up as a child and showed me my path.”

A tender light shined in Joanna’s eyes as she said that.

Min Ha-rin could understand her feelings to an extent. Perhaps the same respect and admiration that she now had for Lukas, Joanna had for Neil Prand.

Joanna’s expression became earnest as she met Min Ha-rin’s gaze.

“So... please. Please save the Association President.”

“...yes.”

Just as Min Ha-rin’s determination was renewed, she finally got a response from the screen in front of her.

“I think the line has been connected.”

“Yeah. Wait a moment.”

Pit-

Suddenly, the screen lit up.

“...”

Min Ha-rin blinked.

The person on the screen was obviously someone she knew, but it took her a moment to realise that.

No. She still wasn’t sure even though she was looking at them with her own eyes. She licked her lips a few times before hesitantly opening her mouth.

“...Uncle Min-chul?”

[As expected, it’s Ha-rin.]

The man behind the screen smiled brightly. Min Ha-rin couldn’t help but feel a hint of disbelief as she saw this.

“Why is it you, uncle...? What about big brother Sung-hyun?”

[He’s dead.]

“Huh?”

Min Ha-rin’s eyes widened.

[A lot has happened. There is so much that I want to talk to you about. Since you contacted this communication line, it should mean that you’re coming back to Korea, right? When will you return?]

Those words made Min Ha-rin speechless for a few moments.

She did intend to go back to Korea, and she was confident that they would let her in, but she thought it would take some time to persuade them.

But Kim Min-chul’s attitude made her hesitate.

It felt like he wanted her to return to Korea as soon as possible.

* * *

He took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

The doctor’s words floated in his mind in a loop. There was nothing wrong with his body.

In truth, he knew it better than anyone.

“Hup.”

He took another deep breath and prepared his mind. Then, he closed his eyes and relaxed his body as much as he could.

It wasn’t hard for him to remember ‘that time’.

“...the time of... blooming...”

“It’s just a difference of timing. Just because a flower blooms later doesn’t mean it’s any less beautiful. And I...”

Lukas smiled.

When Leo saw this smile, he felt his heart swell and his throat close.

He could feel it just from looking at this smile.

Just how much this person in front of him believed in him. And just how high his expectations for him were.

“I believe that you will bloom into a flower that is more brilliant than any other flower.”

Gulp.

Leo was unable to stop his hot tears from pouring out. There had never been someone who had so much faith in him in his entire life.

He was someone who couldn’t even lift a finger in front of a Demon. How ridiculous was this for someone who wanted to become a hunter? Someone who would risk their life on every mission.

“...why do you have so much faith in me?”

“Because I am your master.”

Lukas’ smile widened.

“Do you trust me?”

“...yeah.”

“Then trust in my eyes too. The Leo Freeman I have seen and judged is by no means a man who would bow down to this level of frustration.”

“...Master.”

“I look forward to the flower you will bloom into.”

* * *

When Lukas stepped out of the hospital room, he encountered a black-haired girl with a sour expression.

Sedi Glaston.

...No. It should be Sedi Trowman now. She had become strangely attached to Lukas since becoming a mortal.

Sedi pointed at the hospital room, her expression still sullen.

“Is he your disciple as well, Father?”

“Right.”

“He’s really weak.”

Lukas looked down at Sedi for a moment.

“What?”

“Sedi, what do you think a father should be?”

“Someone bigger and stronger enough than me?”

“...then you call me Father because I am stronger than you?”

“Right. There are only four people in this universe right now that are stronger than me.”

She was referring to the four Absolutes.

Nodiesop, Letip, Lukas. And Kasajin.

Naturally, Lukas was the only one among them who was kind to Sedi.

There was no need to mention Nodiesop, who she seemed to have a bad relationship with, and Kasajin, who made her the way she was. Letip, who appeared to be neutral, was a wild card, and no one knew what he was thinking.

“I’ve never had a daughter.”

“I know. You never did it.”

“...right. That’s not really the point right now, but anyway, I know that you and I don’t have a normal father-daughter relationship.”

“A normal father-daughter relationship?”

Sedi tilted her head to the side.

It had probably not been intentional, but her action was filled with innocence that matched her apparent age.

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“...what are you talking about? Are you trying to crack a joke?”

“No. As I said, I’ve never had a daughter.”

He knew about the bonds between friends, masters, and parents.

Just recently, he’d learned how to treat a disciple.

This was Lukas’ first time having a child. Though the origin of the relationship was a bit strange, he did not want to treat this bond carelessly now that it had been formed.

Even if she wasn’t his child by blood, he still wanted to treat their bond seriously and form the most desirable relationship for the both of them.

As he had this thought, Lukas looked down at Sedi.

“So I’ll think about it from now on.”

“Think about what?”

“How a father should treat his daughter. What I can do for you. And what an ideal father-daughter relationship should be like.”

“...”

Sedi looked at Lukas with a blank expression for a moment.

She felt strange.

She didn’t know why, but Lukas’ words touched her heart deeply. For the first time, Sedi felt like that missing part of her was being temporarily filled.

“So you should also think about it seriously... about what you want from a father.”

For some reason, she could no longer look at Lukas.

Sedi turned her head away and said.

“I, I see.”

She didn’t know why, but her face was burning. Unable to contain her nervousness, Sedi tapped her foot on the ground.