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Chapter 121

‘Ugh, my head hurts…’

Before I knew it, my son had made an alien god his friend. The Stigmata was a gift that Tae-oh had rejected, and it was thrust upon me instead.

Of course, since it was a gift I had been hoping for, I had no intention of complaining about that…

‘Is it possible that this is a way to slowly invade my mind or something?’

[If that were my intention, I wouldn’t bother explaining it to you. As for whether it’s a good or bad item, you’ll have to figure that out yourself. I’ve done my duty, but I’m not obligated to explain.]

That was such a perfect reasoning that Yeon-woo had no choice but to keep quiet. Rather, considering that it was a god speaking, this level of kindness was quite remarkable.

However, the cold voice declining to explain brought comfort to Yeon-woo, reminding him that pure goodwill was, if not nonexistent, extremely rare in this world.

If they hadn’t killed anyone and had shown goodwill from the start, he might have been able to charm them somehow. In that case, something akin to a safety mechanism would have been necessary.

‘What a shame.’

[I think so too. Take good care of Tae-oh.]

There was no further discussion. Perhaps it was just a short time granted for them to converse, but the gray, hardened time began to move again.

A golden sword swung down at the squirming mass on the Altar, resembling a column connecting the ceiling and floor.

Yeon-woo closed Tae-oh’s eyes. He embraced the child in his heart. The crying showed no signs of stopping.

Tae-oh had made a friend for the first time without borrowing anyone’s strength. Who could stop crying when such a friend was facing death?

‘I’ll see you again, Tae-oh.’

Slash.

*

At first glance, Yeon-woo’s words sounded incredibly irresponsible.

A god without a god dies in this world the moment their main body meets death. There’s no resurrection or reincarnation.

Let alone being killed by someone like Claire, there wouldn’t be any chance of survival even in the slightest.

Even though it had become infinitely weaker, it was an alien god that had destroyed a world. It was a god confirmed to have killed people even after coming to Earth.

Even if they managed to charm it, their followers wouldn’t increase. People are just too scared.

So, Yeon-woo had taken out an insurance policy.

After all, as long as it wore the facade of a god who was an alien and had killed people, it couldn’t live a normal life as a god. No one would give power to a god that might destroy Earth.

Before the rewind, there had been an incident.

The main body of a god from a small-to-medium-sized cult had been destroyed while its followers were still present, by a Demon King.

I don’t know how the main body, which should have gone unnoticed, was destroyed while the followers were still there, but anyway, the Demon King accomplished what seemed impossible, and the cult’s followers fell into despair. They lost their beloved god overnight.

However, a few days later, there were rumors that the god had been resurrected.

Later, after investigation, it was found that the divine essence stemming from the deep sorrow of the believers had given birth to a god with the same nature.

No matter how divine one might be, reversing one’s own death is a difficult task. Even though they possessed the same power and memories as before, it should be viewed as a rebirth rather than a resurrection.

The followers maintaining that god were external attachments parasitizing a Golem.

According to the story, the purpose of those external attachments was to mimic a brain to produce a little faith from Golems, which did not serve any function of faith. They also mentioned that it was installed to instill a sense of disgust in outsiders.

The only means of resurrecting the god that had taken its own life, and the only means that had become unique after the Stigmata was bestowed upon him.

That was the Golem Yeon-woo had sneakily stored for investigation.

Even if something went wrong, resurrection would take time. In the meantime, it would be possible to destroy the Golem and convert to another cult to negotiate with a god and change the divine properties borne by the Stigmata.

In summary, from the moment Claire was involved, this alien god was already mine, allowing me to handle it as I wished.

Well, since it was confirmed that it was a friend of Tae-oh and not a hostile god, I’d have to talk various things after resurrecting it.

In fact, Yeon-woo hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly.

Typically, when it comes to alien gods, they are often the type that induces hallucinations in humans, or they burrow into any cracks in the mind to drive people insane.

‘I’ve worried less in various ways.’

The job was finished quickly, and the alien god, which he thought was an unprecedented threat, could now be taken care of. Now, all that was left was to exit this Ruins.

“Thank you for your hard work, Killian and Sister.”

As the god turned to ash, Claire scattered the Aurum into the air with a frown on her face.

“I didn’t do anything, though.”

“No, if you hadn’t protected us, there were several instances where we might have died here.”

Yeon-woo said this and gave a glance to Killian. Understanding Yeon-woo’s intention, Killian suddenly bowed politely.

“It’s only my duty to protect your son.”

The two exchanged such theatrical dialogue while glancing at Claire for approval. Claire, who had been listening intently, raised an eyebrow.

“Hmmm, looks like you’re keeping your wits about you, Killian.”

“Before being a candidate, isn’t he your son first?”

“Of course not. He’s extraordinary, Yeon-woo is.”

“Yes, indeed. I heard you’re skilled not only with swords but also with a variety of weapons. I could easily imagine your swordsmanship would be outstanding, just like your sister’s.”

Claire seemed to brighten up at Killian’s natural flattery.

Thank goodness. It seems we’ve avoided hellish training. It was only natural that the two let out a sigh of relief.

While Claire chuckled, her gaze lingered sadly on the Altar where the god had been, and she suddenly turned her head sharply to the other two, saying, “Alright, let’s go!”

They exited the turned-over sanctum and met Rudiger, who had been guarding outside for a whole day.

When Claire and Yeon-woo returned to the Orphanage after briefly finishing their reports to the guild and various post-tasks, it was already dawn.

“Rest now, Yeon-woo. Don’t forget to wash up before bed.”

“Yes, Sister, you worked hard too.”

Despite the possibility of chatting, Claire was fine, but Yeon-woo had no energy left for it. After all, even awakeners only had the bodies of children in their growth periods.

‘I need to go to bed before 10….’

Before the rewind, I hadn’t been in good shape either.

In this life, my goal was to grow tall and into a handsome guy, so I was trying my best to sleep before 10.

With heavy steps, Yeon-woo dragged himself towards his room and threw himself onto the bed without even washing. He was glad he spent money on the Orphanage. The previous bed wasn’t so soft.

“Ugh.”

I don’t think I did anything particularly tiring, but it seems my body was still tense due to being involved with a god.

As he lay there, groaning, Shar and Tae-oh appeared.

“Daddy, you have to wash up and go to bed!”

“Yeah… I need to wash up and go to bed… Daddy has to get up…”

Tae-oh, tired from crying too much, and Shar shook Yeon-woo’s body, which lay sprawled.

Who taught them to be this persistent?

It was me.

Whoever that was, they trained them really well. Even while thinking that, Yeon-woo strained his voice.

“Alright. That’s right, but how about I rest a bit and then wash up…?”

“Daddy knows that every time you say that, you just fall asleep!? Get up already!”

Defeated by Shar, who threatened by pounding the bed, Yeon-woo reluctantly got up.

“I could skip washing up once a week….”

“Mom said to wash up well!!”

“If Nea said that, then I suppose I must.”

Suddenly regaining his composure, Yeon-woo grabbed his travel toiletry bag and headed to the bathroom with the kids.

Even though Claire had vacated the place, it was already bedtime for the kids, so the three of them could use the entire bathroom as if it were reserved just for them.

Standing in front of the children’s sink, watching Shar proudly brush her teeth and Tae-oh awkwardly but eagerly following suit, brought a smile to Yeon-woo’s face.

“Since I’m all fired up, I might as well take a bath.”

“Were you really planning to not bathe after getting covered in dirt and blood like that!?”

“Hey, hey, don’t shout in the bathroom. You’ll wake the kids.”

“Ugh, fine.”

Well, if it was bothersome, he sometimes skipped it. It was somewhat tedious to deal with dirty covers and bedding, but that was something that could be handled by sending them to the laundromat.

“…Oh wait, there’s no laundromat.”

I remembered that the only place to find a laundromat was far down in the city, and I expressed my gratitude to Shar, who had pushed me to wash. Naturally, she puffed up her chest in pride instead of being downcast.

After all, the clothes were stored in the warehouse and wouldn’t ruin if they got wet, so the three of them tossed off their clothes and jumped into the warm bath.

This was probably the most money spent on the Orphanage renovations, aside from the general remodeling costs.

“Glad I did this…”

Although I had a tendency to be like an uncle, Tae-oh liked warm things from the start, while Shar seemed to be a bit reluctant about overly warm baths. She initially entered with Yeon-woo and Tae-oh but eventually moved to the side tub filled with water at her preferred temperature, turning bright red in the face.

“Why did you like hot sand but cringe at hot water?”

“I don’t know, it feels constricting…”

I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t like public baths much when I was a kid, but didn’t I end up liking them as I got older?

In a way, it was a surprisingly child-like response, and Yeon-woo chuckled softly.

While enjoying a leisurely bath like that, Yeon-woo was startled when he saw Tae-oh’s face almost submerged in water as he was splashing around.

He wasn’t asleep. He just seemed to be lost in thought.

“Tae-oh, why so quiet? You scared Daddy just now.”

“…Really, can we really meet the god again?”

Well, it was something a child wouldn’t shake off so easily after only half a day.

He had covered his eyes and ears, but it was easy to imagine what had happened beyond the darkness blocking his vision.

In essence, Yeon-woo and Claire had seen their son’s friend die right in front of them and had essentially abetted in it.

Still, Tae-oh didn’t think badly of either of them.

He merely missed his dead friend.

Knowing the depth of his child’s sorrow, Yeon-woo, as if swearing to himself, spoke reassuringly to Tae-oh.

“Of course. Daddy will make sure you meet again. When that time comes, we’ll give your friend a name. While giving a name, we’ll become friends.”

No matter how much power he possessed, referring to an entity as a god was a harsh reality.

No matter what, calling a child’s appearance “Sin” just because it seemed to symbolize the crime they had committed was not something a parent should do.

So let’s give the newly reborn god a new name. A name that anyone could recognize as a name. A name that made others feel that the parent loved the child when they heard it.

“…Okay, I’ll wait.”

Could it be that he understood his father’s heart? The child was able to smile just like his name. Though sad, he could wait for the day they would meet again.

(Continued in the next episode)

 

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