SSS-Class Suicide Hunter

Chapter 267: Family Discussion (4)

6.

-Mother?

A mermaid said to the Crusader.

The Crusader had cast her gaze in a certain direction. Flapping their tails and splashing water onto the rock with their fins, the mermaids also looked in the same direction.

-Mother, why are you so interested in the place where the elves are…?

"No. I was just so flabbergasted that I was speechless. After talking between parent and children for a while, that person really couldn't help herself."

-…

A bitter smile hung from the Crusader's lips. This seemed to stimulate the anxiety of the mermaid race.

-We know a lot about Mother, but we don't know that person. Is she a good person?

"She's a sad person."

The Crusader simply… defined the Count like that.

"And a pure person."

Then the Crusader got lost in thought. It seemed like she was lost in thought for a moment.

It wasn't for long.

"Mm."

The Crusader picked up the helmet she had placed on the rock. Clank. Without a word, she put the helmet back on her head.

The inside of the helmet filtered out the small chatter that came in from the world. The deceiving colors in the world narrowed. This filtered and narrowed field of view was small enough that she only recalled the things she had to do.

"Mermaids."

Standing, the Crusader looked around.

In the river where the rock sat, mermaids swam or stayed still, without exception, tens of thousands of mermaids looked up at the Crusader.

"Thank you, for comforting the simple-minded me, and praising my mistakes as pretty. I will keep the things you told me tonight, and the scene of your cross the dark water, in my heart for the rest of my life."

-Are you leaving, mother?

"Although I will come visit you from time to time."

The Crusader nodded.

"I also have a lot of work to do. It can't be helped."

-…

There was a pause.

The river water and seawater where the mermaids floated swelled irregularly at times. The mermaids had a habit of holding each other tightly and whispering in each other's ears. This time too, they gently grasped the shoulders of their conspecifics, and the whisper spread from one to one, and again from one to ten.

-Mother.

After the whispers ended.

A mermaid spoke on behalf of the entire race.

-Will you not take us with you?

"…"

-We were told about a place called the Tower. And we were told that it was a place we would soon see. If that place is Mother's homeland, wouldn't it be fine for us to follow Mother there?

-We love the water. But we love the land that we can't swim on a bit more. And if it is the land our Mother lives, we'd love it even more.

-Please take us with you.

The Crusader had nothing to say.

She adjusted the hilt of her sword without a word.

"In the Tower, there are many ignoble people. I don't want you to be hurt by those people."

-What ignoble people?

"They will call you fishes simply because you have tails. They won't do it as a funny joke either, they will call you fish simply to make you feel bad."

-…

"There are many, many people who live like they don't care about anything other than ruining other people's moods. That's why…."

-Mother.

The mermaids looked at each other before looking back up at the Crusader.

-People like that are common in this place too.

The Crusader closed her mouth.

-There are many among us too.

-Weak people.

-Sick people.

-There are many people in the world who torment people simply because they are irritated.

-There have always been people like that, and there will always be people like that.

-Not beyond them.

-Among us.

The mermaids spoke in unison.

-So that can't be a reason why we shouldn't see Mother's world.

"I…"

The Crusader hesitated for a moment.

"Wait a minute."

Someone grabbed the Crusader's shoulder.

Although it was a gentle and considerate grip, it was covered with firm will.

The Crusader knew only one person who could grab her shoulder like that.

[The Death King(死王) has descended.]

7.

"You don't have to be scared, senior."

"…Death King."

Turning her head, the Crusader looked at me.

"What do you mean, scared?"

I didn't answer.

I didn't say, for example, that she was scared that the day might come when the mermaids found out that the Crusader herself was an 'ordinary' person.

I just cheerfully said.

"How about this?"

"About what?"

"Instead of inviting the mermaid children into our Tower from the beginning, you can send them past the 11th Floor, to study in the Aegim Empire. There are mermaids living there too."

"Ah."

The Crusader's eyes widened.

I nodded.

'It's unlikely that she thought about that. After all, the Crusader hadn't participated in the attack at that time.'

Something had happened.

At that time, I had taken the Hungry Ghost as a soldier. However, the Aegim Empire hadn't known that fact yet. Therefore, they established a multi-race alliance to chase the witch, and among them were also such characters.

『"In the eyes of this young one, the problem was simple after all. I…",』

『Whether this young man really is the emissary of the Founding Emperor, or if that woman was really the witch. Whether or not the emissary really defeated the witch and brought her under his reign. It'll all be solved as long as we can confirm this.』

『This is the Soul Jewel that the Queen of Mermaids gave me.』

『If you drip a drop of blood here, you can determine whether the owner of the blood has a [Good-Natured Soul], or a [Evil-Natured Soul]. If you have a good-natured soul, the jewel will emit white light, and if you have an evil-natured soul, a black light will emerge!』

As everyone knows, I coolly sprinkled my blood on the jewel.

『Ah? Uh, huh…?』

『Ho-, how can this… how can his soul be so… how many lives have you saved, such a pure white, this is… This is simply…!』

『This person is...He's light itself…!』

Shining Gong-ja.

That was the moment I was crowned.

"The mermaids living on the 15th Floor are very friendly to me. They think that I really am an Apostle of God. No, well, the god in that place is the [Goddess of Protection], and this Goddess of Protection is Shiny, who is now my hip-hugger, so that analysis isn't exactly wrong, but…"

Said hip-hugger shook in her sheath. It felt like a protest demanding I take better care of her.

Between meeting the Tower Master, raising children well, mediating between my colleagues, and joking around with Bae Hu-ryeong, I still had a lot of things to do. Shiny. Please wait a little longer. Maybe someday you'll get the lead role in a spinoff gourmet travelog 'The Meal Diary of the Tower's 1st Floor by Goddess Shinyshiny'.

In any case.

"The point is that there are mermaids friendly to me living in another world."

"…"

"It could be like some kind of tutorial. Wouldn't that be a suitable destination for the mermaids to study?"

The Crusader looked me in the eyes.

"Can you let go of my legs?"

"Naturally. Don't you think personal connections are meant to be used at times like this, instead of other times?"

"Death King… No, Kim Gong-ja."

The Crusader's expression changed.

Because the change of expression was so small, even I could only read whether she was [in a good mood] or [in an unfriendly mood] from her expression, but the expression the Crusader was showing this time was easy to read .

"Show manners."

"No no. There's no need to be thankful. I'm just doing what's natural."

"Kim Gong-ja. No, Light Gong-ja. You are really kind-hearted."

"Ahaha… I am pretty kind-hearted. Um, anyway-"

"Kind-hearted and good-looking too. It is said that a person's life is reflected on their face, it seems to be true."

"No… I'm certainly brimming with life, but I don't think it's necessary to-"

"Even your voice is beautiful. I think it would work even if you were to become a singer right now. Is this what a natural born singer is? Sing Gong-ja."

"Sing Gong-ja? Um… uh… senior. Excuse me?"

"You're kind-hearted, good-looking, and good at singing, so it should be fine for you to avoid military service. I heard there's compulsory military service in Korea. Military Gong-ja."

"No, it was changed to voluntary military service when I was young!? And the story of celebrities skipping military service is really old already. Moreover, since I'm a top ranker, even if there was still a conscription system, there's a high chance that I'd be exempted from military service due to my promotion of national glory, or something like that…"

"I'm sure that would be the case. National Prestige Gong-ja*."(*:'국가유공자-Guk-ga-yu-gong-ja' actually means 'a person of national merit', which refers to a person who sacrificed for or contributed to the country.)

"Huh, National Prestige Gong-ja… no, anyway, senior! You're making fun of me, right!? Just like when you made a fire play for the first time, right!?"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

The Crusader feigned ignorance.

I sighed. Smiling slightly, the Crusader turned towards me, grabbed my shoulder.

And pulled.

"Uht,"

Naturally, my waist bent.

With her arms around my neck, the Crusader showed my face to the mermaids.

"This is the Death King. He is the god of the goblins, and a ranker in our Tower. As you can see, he is my junior, and also my buddy."

The mermaids chattered.

-Death King!

-God of the goblins!

-Mother's junior!

-Mother's buddy!

-National Prestige Gong-ja!

Goddamn, my face felt like it was going to catch fire…

"So, Death King."

The Crusader loosened her grip around my neck. A soft smile hung from her lips.

"I would really like to thank you for your good suggestion. Mm. Let's plan it according to what the Death King said."

Then, the Crusader quickly put together a proposal.

She would select a few foreign students to study at the [Aegim Empire's Mermaid Falls].

The plan was to observe the problems and conflicts that might arise there, formulate solutions, and then increase the number of foreign students.

Then, while gradually increasing the number of students, she would ultimately introduce the mermaids to [Babylon], the city on the 1st Floor of our Tower.

"Huhu."

The Crusader chuckled. It seemed that the mermaid race had been fully convinced by the proposal, as they chose to follow the Crusader without hesitation. Excitedly, they said things like 'What do mermaids from another world look like?', 'They live in an enormous lake, not in the sea.', and 'Is that lake really that big?'.

Just like children going on a school trip.

"You really don't know how life goes."

"Huh?"

"Although it's just a figure of speech, I put myself in the position of a parent to raise children, I made up with the Black Dragon Master and became friends again. Even my relationship with the other guild masters…"

The Crusader looked at me with a smile. However, it seemed like her gaze was not directed at me, but somewhere else.

"…seriously. Things like that happened."

The Crusader's voice suddenly faded.

It was as if she was reminiscing about the stories of the past.

"…"

I kept my mouth shut this time too.

Before reaching the 15th Floor where the mermaids' lake was. When I had climbed to the 13th Floor of the Tower for the first time, we became divided because there was a traitor among us.

We were divided.

"…"

I had guessed who the traitor was. However, instead of trying to uncover the traitor, I buried it deeply by changing the stage itself in order to prevent it from happening.

At that time, I had sometimes wondered whether not investigating the traitor's identity was the right thing to do or not, but the moment I saw the Crusader's side profile, I was able to think without wavering.

'Right.'

That was a good thing to do.

'And it was enough.'

Bit by bit, the fog of dawn rose in the forest. Beneath the palm trees, the Heretic Questioner continued to talk about something with the snails. Although the Heretic Questioner's expression was serious, at times he would smile like he usually did.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Count was stroking the elves' heads. Perhaps it was some kind of oath of loyalty. Or perhaps it was a parent showing affection to her children for the first time. Perhaps it was both, nevertheless, the Count was smiling, and the elves looked happy.

"Thanks."

The Crusader said.

And looked at me.

"You're a good friend. Kim Gong-ja."

"…"

"Patricia."

Silence fell.

"That's my real name. Patricia. In the future, if there's no one else around, you can call me Patricia. If the Civil Militia were to hear, there might be a dispute over favoritism."

"…"

"I'm sure the children you raised will understand you too. Mi amigo."

The Crusader walked up to the stream where the mermaids were splashing around in the water. Then, she took off her heavy armor, helmet, and gauntlet before diving in among the mermaids.

[Quest Progress.]

[Beginning the Mermaid Race's vote.]

Splash!

[Vote counting completed.]

[Option 2 Number of Votes: 01.32 percent]

[Option 1 Number of Votes: 98.68 percent]

[Please note that Option 1 received more than half of the votes.]

In the distance, the sound of the mermaids laughing could be heard.

I could hear stories of their god walking with them, stories of their them carrying their god on their backs, and even stories of their god dancing with them…

Having their god swim with them was a happiness that only the mermaid race could experience.

[Stage Clear.]

[The 42nd Floor Stage has been cleared!]

I watched the sight of a god and their race, a parent and their children swimming together for a long time.

Then.

"Ugor."

I heard the familiar voice of a familiar child behind me.

"Daddy."

It was Uburka.

I nodded.

'Right.'

The Heretic Questioner, Count, and Crusader had all cleared the stages one after the other, and now it was my and the Black Dragon Master's turns.

As we left the waiting room, the Black Dragon Master made a promise to me, saying, 'Don't you dare peek, Kim Gong-ja! If you peek, I will poison you!'. She said she didn't want anyone to see her in parent mode talking openly to the vampires, or something like that.

The fact that she mentioned the specific method of 'poisoning' rather than just saying she would kill him, highlighted just how serious Anastasia was.

How would she do it?

It wasn't like I was a rookie who didn't even have an immunity skill.

"Huu…"

However, unlike Anastasia, I was not embarrassed at all. How close I was to the children? Instead, I hoped that everyone would, while watching me chat harmoniously with the children, and seeing how strong our children-parent bond was, feel envious. I would be grateful if they were jealous.

"Come, Uburka-."

Turning slowly and opening my hands, I planned to hug Uburka.

The Heretic Questioner had shown off his mental growth by showing pity for his children, the Count had shown off her capitalist virtues by personally providing them with employment for her children, the Crusader had shown off her moral mind by prioritizing her childrens' hearts.

I, Kim Gong-ja was simply the sky.

I was confident enough to not show any mental growth, capitalist values or even my moral mind.

If you knew yourself and your enemy, you could win every battle.

In a way, the biggest enemy in someone's life was their own children, and in that regard, those goblin children were no match for me, who already had an insight into everything.

'Ugor! Even when your colleagues mocked you and questioned you for choosing goblins, Daddy still firmly chose our goblin race…!'

Something like.

'I knew the legend of Daddy teaching us about characters and tattoos, but seeing it for myself in my head was so touching! Ugor! It cannot be said that Daddy hasn't given us everything!'

Or something like.

'Daddy's grace is like the sky, so there is no way for us to repay it… If it wasn't for Daddy, we wouldn't be the Overlords of the Continent, and we would be more disgusting than we are now. Daddy really is a true friend.'

Thud, thud.

In my ears, I could hear hundreds of thousands of goblins, including Uburka, singing 'Daddy, Daddy' like a hymn.

Of course, facing this praise, I…,

'Ay. What are you talking about? It's because you all are so amazing.'

'It's enough for this Daddy to watch you all grow up…'

'I love you, my children…!'

Was ready to be humble.

It was perfect.

From now on, I was no longer the light. I was the light filled sky.

Not Shining, but the Sky.

The glorious moment, in which Gong-ja was reborn as the True Sky, was now unfolding.

As I turned around, widening the business smile I'd learned from the Black Dragon Master,

Anticipating my child's passionate embrace,

"Now, come give me a-."

"Daddy."

I got something passionate.

"You're wide open."

A huge ax flying passionately towards my chest.

"-huh, the fuck!?"

Tiht!

It was only thanks to my high stage that I was able to avoid the blow. Maybe it was because I received some kind of premonition from Bae Hu-ryeong who had been looking at me with an overwhelmingly pitying expression, but had it not been for my profound step technique, I would not have been able to avoid it.

"Ugo."

The ax-wielding Uburka frowned.

Then he spat on the ground.

"Daddy's movements are like a squirrel running through the forest. I thought I'd executed my attack perfectly."

"Wh-, what do you think you're doing, Uburka!?"

Flustered, I looked over Uburka's shoulder. The children following Uburka, who now had skins as red as their hearts, stood in a crowd.

Unless my eyeballs were seriously damaged, they all also held weapons in their hands.

They could only be described as very inappropriate types of equipment to use when greeting your parents.

"Where is the touching reunion!? Didn't you all see the video of me taking care of you for thousands of years!?"

"We saw it."

"If you saw it, then why are you swinging your ax!?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Uburka bared his fangs.

"We've known for a long time that Daddy cares for us, so we weren't particularly impressed while watching that video."

"Wh-, what?"

"Think about it. Ugo. We go to theaters to watch fire plays whenever we're bored. Every day, the topics that appear in fire plays are all Daddy's love, hardship, and friend story. Fire plays where Daddy is the main character are so overplayed now that most goblins can probably recite them with their eyes closed."

"…"

"Daddy, you seem to have forgotten that people have a threshold."

I couldn't believe it.

Was this, that?

A phenomenon where if you show too much love on a daily basis, your love would be taken for granted, and filial piety would no longer be felt?

"N-, no way!"

"Yes way."

Whoosh.

Uburka swung his ax yet again. This time, he even carefully wrapped it in aura. It seemed that the stage of his aura had grown after absorbing the Energy Dragon, causing his attacking power to shoot to the top.

"Hiik! Spare Daddy!"

"Ohh! I've been waiting so long for this day to come!"

Uburka's biceps throbbed.

"I was beaten up in an unseemly manner the first time I met Daddy! Even after becoming a Constellation, I was still beaten up by Daddy! But, but, today! Today, after eating that turtle's head, I will finally teach Daddy a lesson!"

"You crazy bastard! You lost twice and you're still holding it in your heart!?"

"Ugor. Who do you think I am, Daddy!?"

[The Musclehead Who Dreams of Sinning Against Heaven roars.]

"I am Uburka, the Chairman of the Fire River Council, Warrior Commander of the Death King Family, Child of Daddy, and the one who dreams of teaching Daddy a lesson!"

Was this brat showing me his name value?