Wearing pajamas, Menelapie was having a lecture time with Yane, who also wore baggy pajamas, right in front of her.
Of course, it was a given that for beings who were far removed from the ordinary human body, underwear was nothing but a nuisance. So today, they were both just casually draped in their pajamas.
“Do you understand, kid? One must speak to convey one’s thoughts… Not just you, but anyone.”
Chirp…
Listening to Menelapie, Yane cocked her head.
Menelapie was likely lecturing her about what happened earlier. How Yoonjeong had worriedly searched for her after she wandered off without a word.
However, just because Menelapie was speaking didn’t mean Yane understood everything.
“Why must I talk at all? People have senses like mine, right? Why must I say where I’m going?”
“Ordinary humans don’t have senses as keen as yours. The smells in front of them, the vague sight they can see, the fleeting noise. There may be discrepancies among individuals, but that’s all there is to it.”
Chirp… Sense, different… Ah… Chirp… I, stronger than human…
“That’s right. Plus, Yoonjeong is one of your guardians. You’re still young, so you must always-”
But… I don’t understand… Yoonjeong is weaker than I am… Chirp… I’m stronger than Yoonjeong… So why, guardian? Why?
Yane’s argument wasn’t entirely wrong.
She had never fought, but even before taking on a human form thanks to Sia, she already possessed the abilities of an A-grade monster, and now, having evolved through ascension, she was much stronger than before.
She had strength that far surpassed Yoonjeong, who was just a D-grade Hunter. From Yane’s viewpoint, it made no sense that Yoonjeong would protect her.
“Is that right? If so, kid. Does that mean Yoonjeong… No, that guardian doesn’t have to concern herself with you anymore?”
Chirp…?
Yane tilted her head even more, not understanding.
“It seems you don’t get it. Well, that’s okay. Let’s make it simpler. If someone offered you tasty food on the street and told you to follow them, what would you do?”
…Follow! I love tasty things!
“Yes, tasty things are good. But usually, someone who offers tasty food for no reason often has bad intentions.”
Intentions, bad? Bad intentions!
“Yes, twisted intentions.”
Hoo…!
Menelapie brushed Yane’s flowing hair, leaning in close as if trying to hypnotize her, whispering in Yane’s ear.
Yane’s eyes widened, startled by the sudden intimacy, shaking erratically.
“What if someone suddenly hugged you while offering you food?”
Hii, Iie… I, no…!
Oh no, that wasn’t the right reaction…
“Cough! Now, what if someone else suddenly hugged you instead of me or Yoonjeong?”
Someone else?
“Right. Let’s say… if it’s a rough-looking man from that strange box called a television…”
Eeeek!!! No! No! No! I don’t want it!
Yane, with her rich imagination, immediately shuddered at the thought of being hugged by someone other than Menelapie, Yoonjeong, or even her owner Sia.
She felt the chills all over her body.
She disliked it.
Without knowing why, without being able to explain it… she simply hated it.
“There are many more scenarios. Innocent, naive kids might be lured in with food, only for their skin to be sliced open, their insides gutted, and their bodies used as toys before being discarded by wicked humans.”
Hiiii…!
Human society is terrifying…!
Understanding Menelapie’s words, Yane began to tremble.
“Yoonjeong was worried sick that some rascal had kidnapped you after you vanished without a word. Thanks to that, he spent the whole day searching for you and got exhausted. If you had just told Yoonjeong that you were going to see Sia on a drone, that wouldn’t have happened.”
…My fault… Chirp…
What good is being stronger than Yoonjeong?
Yane still lacked experience, knowledge, and perspective regarding humans and human society.
As Menelapie said, it wasn’t simply about strength.
Even without power, Yoonjeong was a guardian who supported her life, taught her things, informed her about the ignorant, and protected her from unseen threats in human society; someone akin to a mentor.
“Now then, it’s time to apologize to Yoonjeong, isn’t it?”
Okay… I will. I understand…
“When you say you understand, it means you’re ready to do it.”
At Menelapie’s words, Yane nodded and got up to enter the room where a tired Yoonjeong was sleeping.
“Yane? What brings you here?”
Chirp, chirp…
Yoonjeong was lying in bed, exhausted from searching for Yane all day, letting out quiet sounds.
Despite being a D-grade Hunter, he must have been running to and fro worriedly wondering if something bad had happened to innocent Yane, exhausted from hours of searching.
As Yane walked in, Yoonjeong raised a handkerchief he had set on his forehead, smiling as if to say he was okay.
Chirp.. chirp… Sorry…
“It’s alright. It’s alright.”
Chirp…
“Oh dear. This will heal quickly… Want to sleep with me?”
Chirp…
Although her body looked like a fully-grown adult and her intelligence was close to that of an adult, her mind was still that of a child.
Yane thought about whether she was the cause of Yoonjeong’s feverish state.
“I definitely messed up.”
Yane was someone who could learn if guided, disciplined, or taught.
Even though today was her first day making mistakes while trying to live as a human, she decided it was okay to let it slide this time, but if such a thing happened again, appropriate punishment might be dealt.
“Ugh… Can I stop holding my hand up now?”
Next to Menelapie, Sia was also standing like an elementary school student for punishment, dressed in her pajamas.
You might ask what was so hard about holding her hand up for a long time for the Saint of the Dead, but the mere fact of administering a punishment made Menelapie’s heart ache as well.
How could she make Sia, whom she had just met after so long, suffer like this…
Of course, one might query what right Menelapie had to punish Sia.
However, in the previous world, Menelapie was Sia’s protector and agent, teaching her all the manners of the highborn living in the royal palace, as well as being the emperor’s right hand.
Yet, this small incident that caused Sia’s mother to suffer was ultimately a responsibility that Menelapie, who had taken care of Sia for over 60 years, bore.
Even though she wasn’t an emperor, Menelapie still held superiority over Sia in their Warrior-Saint dynamic.
Though, objectively speaking, Sia hadn’t done anything terribly wrong, the fact that the saint caused her mother distress alone warranted her to at least hold her hand up for a bit.
“Have you reflected?”
“Yes…”
“Then you may stop.”
The saint never tells lies.
If Sia says she has reflected, then she has indeed reflected.
“Now, there’s one last thing you need to do, isn’t there?”
“Do I have to?”
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”
“…Alright. I’ll do it. Cough… Ahem! I, Isia, lost track of Yane because I was too engrossed in food and made my mother worry!”
Technically, it was Sia’s responsibility to manage and educate Yane, but she didn’t really show much enthusiasm in teaching anyone.
Thanks to that, Yoonjeong had naturally stepped in to teach Yane language and human social skills. So any arising issues could indeed be said to be Sia’s responsibility and fault.
“I’m sorry, Menelapie. You all manage just fine. There are plenty of servants… I guess I’ve gotten into the habit of living freely all by myself.”
“That’s not it. If you make a mistake, you must find what went wrong and avoid repeating it again. If you reflected, then that is enough.”
Menelapie held up a blanket as if inviting Sia over.
Sia, seeming familiar with the gesture, crawled over to Menelapie and felt her warmth.
For the record, the body of the Saint of the Dead might seem no different from a human, but while fine when full of nourishment and malice, if starving or hungry, her body temperature would drop significantly, usually lower than that of an ordinary person.
It was to the extent that even in the middle of summer… no, even in the desert, she wouldn’t feel hot at all. Owing to that condition, Menelapie’s body felt incredibly warm to Yane.
It was the same at the royal palace in the previous world.
There were always three beds: mine, Menelapie’s, and Teresa’s. Yet, there was always just one bed being used.
Since the bed itself was spacious and I sometimes had nightmares overflowing within, I felt the need for someone else’s warmth while sleeping.
“Good job today.”
“What’s that? You’ve had it worse.”
Though Menelapie didn’t explicitly say it, she actually harbored an intense desire to dismember those who wrote crossing lines in the chat, not joking at all.
In the previous world, she would have killed them all without listening to any excuses.
If I hadn’t begged her to spare them, the Hero’s sword would be stained with blood.
Even though I wore bear-printed baggy underwear instead of luxurious nightgowns or expensive silk undergarments reserved for royals, the sentimental feelings remained unchanged from when I was in the previous world.
“By the way, did you practice the soup separately?”
Menelapie opened her smart watch as if reading a book, flipping through the history and records of Earth and Hunters while stroking my head.
“Hehe, it was delicious, right?”
“It tasted similar to the lobster bisque. However, the bitterness harmoniously felt different this time.”
“That’s a relief.”
“If I have the chance, I’ll try cooking something myself next time.”
“Eh, but you can’t cook.”
“Ah, Sia, I made you the Alraune pollen pilaf, right?”
“Wasn’t it Teresa who did that?”
“Not at all. That was me. The witch only contributed about 30% to it.”
“I must ask Teresa when she comes over.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“Teresa said she did it all.”
“Ah, it seems the Saint can’t trust the Warrior, what a dire time.”
Hehe…
Actually, this very reality felt lavish and unbelievable to me.
To casually share time with Menelapie, whom I thought I’d never see again, right before we fell asleep…
It felt like a dream.
The 60 years spent with her resurfaced like a memory, and although I didn’t have any particularly important words to say… it was just nice.
Simply nice.
In the room across, my mother was there.
Beside me was Menelapie.
Just the gentle act of Menelapie stroking my head seemed to wash away all my worries.
“I wish Teresa was here too…”
“…Don’t worry.”
That witch…
Or rather, the black cat lady wouldn’t take long.
“Speaking of which, Menelapie… you know, right?”
“Yes.”
Menelapie would have sensed what I meant swiftly.
The glorious Golden Eye of the Hero undoubtedly understood what I was implying without needing to elaborate.
“There are many filthy, sinister shards of the Demon Lord in this world.”
“…Yeah, far more than I expected.”
The Demon Lord. Even though I had once defeated it, I still didn’t fully grasp its essence.
Not an ordinary living being, it wasn’t confined only to our “previous world” but simultaneously invaded countless dimensions filled with Returnees.
Always malicious, vile, and hideously hateful.
Now, it was reaching for my hometown, Earth, how could a saint leave it be?
Normally, I would have faced it alone.
I would have felt lonely.
I would have been furious.
I would have felt extremely annoyed.
“But now, you’re here, and with Yeonseo Unnie and Yeonhwa as well. It really reassures me.”
“That’s good to hear. Is ‘Yeonseo Unnie’ the hero from Earth who helped you earlier today?”
“Did she look like a hero even to you, Menelapie?”
“Well, I can’t be sure, but she seems to be a hero in your eyes.”
“From where did you see that?”
“I’m not a fool. The woman named Yeonseo has been protecting this world for over 60 years, and if she still intends to do so, wouldn’t that make her a hero?”
“That’s pretty straightforward.”
“However, that’s the most solid observation.”
The thought of Sia considering Yeonseo a hero hadn’t been long.
Whether Yeonseo actually was a hero in this world is uncertain.
Being a hero isn’t necessarily bestowed by some god or definite being saying, “You are a hero.” It’s about those who are renowned as heroes holding the mindset of one; that is the essence of being a hero.
If there’s a hero, there must be companions like a ‘Saint’ or a ‘Witch’ who can act as their allies.
In Yujin’s case, there was a saint in the previous world, as well as strong allies like Olgania the warrior, a wizard, a knight, and an archer, so it may be a little different. But it’s only natural for a hero to have companions, including a saint.
However, as far as Sia knows, it seems Yeonseo doesn’t yet have anyone she could call a companion… well, so far anyway.
Of course, Sia doesn’t have accurate knowledge about the actual hero selection rules, but for now, she decided to believe that way.
“Yawn… Actually, I wanted to talk about something important with Yeonseo Unnie too…”
“Was it related to the Demon Lord?”
“Uhm, actually, before you arrived, there had been many humans in a near country called China trying to use shards of the Demon Lord. The dungeon that brought you to Earth was also created from a shard that the Demon Lord had created havoc with.”
“A classic case of corruption or erosion.”
“But it’s alright. So far, the shard of the Demon Lord hasn’t…”
Crack!
“…Huh?”
“Sia?”
Just as I was about to drift into sleep beside Menelapie, a shock struck my heart, spreading throughout my body.
It wasn’t painful.
If I had to describe it, it felt more like being surprised, as if I had a cramp, but the problem was that normally I would have brushed it off, but this time wasn’t valid.
Crack, crack, crack, crack…
Crash!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
…
Shatter!
“It broke.
Shattered…”
“Wh-what?”
