Lee Jun-woo's Future Series (8)
After the old man left, Hare was holding onto Estia's arm, who was muttering to herself. In that situation, Saten was...
"Saten... can you stop reading that book by yourself and help me hold her...?"
"Do I really need to? You seem to be doing fine on your own."
"She might suddenly bolt... Are you saying you're going to disobey what the old man said...?"
That's rebellion.
You ungrateful bad girl!
Hare glared at Saten with sharp eyes.
However.
Saten read her book with an expressionless face, as if it had nothing to do with her.
It was complete disregard.
"I, I was ignored...? Did I just get ignored...?"
As expected, I can never get along with Saten.
Hare found Saten infuriating.
With a sullen face, she looked in the direction the old man had left and muttered to herself.
"...Why did the old man believe Luna's lie...? That was a complete lie."
Just because she dreamed the old man died, would that actually happen?
The voices were also a lie.
It must be a scheme to get the old man's attention.
"Luna's a bad girl too... A bad girl who lies to the old man..."
"The old man who falls for those lies is stupid too."
"...What? Sa, Saten...? Did you just call the old man stupid...?"
"Yes, I called him stupid. But normally, the old man isn't stupid."
Rather, he's on the smart side, someone who thinks before he acts.
He's just being stupid today.
"I don't understand. Why would the normally smart old man fall for such a lie..."
"Apologize...! Apologize for calling the old man stupid...!"
"Why would I apologize to you? If the old man's words turn out to be right, I'll apologize to him directly then."
"..."
Ugh, Saten is so annoying anyway...!
Hare couldn't argue back and closed her mouth.
*'But...'*
If.
If the dream Luna saw was real...
If the old man were to die...
What should I do...?
Hare's contemplation wasn't very long.
"If the old man dies... I'll die too..."
If someone killed him.
I'll definitely kill that person.
And then I'll take my own life too.
By the old man's side...
Hare looked in the direction the old man had left and nurtured deep emotions.
Should I say it was fortunate?
I couldn't find the Grimoire gang at Luna's house.
The entire family still had their heads attached, and Luna embraced them tightly in reunion.
"Huaaa... M, Mom... D, Dad... Siblings...! Y, you're alive-!!"
"What nonsense is this girl spouting-! Let go and talk, you wench! And why have you gotten so strong!"
"Huuk, Mom..."
Luna hugged them tightly and shed sorrowful tears.
Having witnessed her parents' deaths, that level of reaction was natural.
The family I had seen were all dead in a gruesome state.
I understood Luna's intense reaction.
As I watched the emotional reunion.
"Ahem, more importantly..."
Luna's father glared at me and asked.
"Who is that person? With that black hair, he almost resembles our village's Guardian..."
"What do you mean the old man is the Guardian! Don't insult the Guardian! That old man is just, an old man... Wait, how should I explain this?"
...Right.
How should I explain myself to her family?
Probably explaining as an adventurer would be best.
However, now wasn't the time for that.
The smell of Grimoire was wafting from nearby.
Knock knock-
Along with the sound of knocking on the door, Luna cried out in terror.
"N, no, this isn't the time... E, everyone run...! Y, you'll die... If you don't run, you'll die...!"
"What are you saying, girl? Why would we die?"
"I, it's true...! Q, quickly escape through the back...!"
Luna finally seemed to grasp the situation and began shouting frantically.
There was no real need for that, but to keep her from wasting energy, I flicked her forehead.
"Ow-!! Th, that hurts-!!"
"Stay still. You're making a fuss."
"Th, then are you telling my family to die again?!"
"...They won't die."
"What?"
Your family won't die.
Declaring in a firm tone, I walked toward the door that kept making knock knock- sounds.
The closer I got, the stronger the smell became, so several must be waiting at the door.
I carefully opened the door so as not to break the house and faced those guys.
Luna's father seemed to witness it too.
"Wh, what?! Wh, what are those bizarre things?"
"Luna, take your father away."
They'll only get in the way of the fight.
I walked out among the uniformly expressionless puppet-like guys.
At the end of them stood a red-haired man with an arrogant expression.
That guy must be the Demon King.
The Demon King who had killed me once.
Just as I was about to close the door to properly begin combat.
Luna's urgent voice was heard.
"O, old man...! D, don't go...! You'll die if you go...!!"
"...Luna?"
Luna was holding the door, preventing it from closing.
As she showed herself, the red-haired Demon King revealed greedy killing intent.
That kind of gaze wasn't something Luna could endure yet.
Blocking the killing intent directed at Luna, I conversed with her.
"D, don't go...!! Y, you can't die, old man...!! Y, you taught me swordsmanship... gave me money...! You have to live and do everything...!!"
"...Luna, let go of the door."
"I don't want to!"
Luna gripped the door tightly, as if she would never let go.
Her stubbornness is really damn strong.
I spoke to her in as gentle a tone as possible.
"Luna."
"...Yes."
"What did I say last time?"
"You told me to close the door and run away..."
"Then this time, don't run away."
"...What?"
"Close the door and wait. I'll come back."
That should be enough.
Luna seemed to hesitate, her hands trembling as they held the door.
Then she made eye contact with me through the gap in the door.
Luna's pupils trembled with worry, clearly showing her anxiety.
So.
"I won't die this time, so trust me."
Someone has to fight.
While the Hero grows, I must protect her.
Perhaps confirming my determined eyes, Luna slowly released her grip.
"Good girl. When I come back alive, I'll praise you for the first time in a while."
"Yes... Please come back safely, old man..."
With those words from Luna as the last.
Bang-!
I closed the door.
When I turned around, six gazes pierced through me.
The red-haired man was looking at me with murderous intent.
[The time for revenge has come. Information about the Demon King has already been recorded. What choice will you make?]
[1. Fighting is bothersome, so open the door for the Demon King.]
[2. Use the recorded information to defeat the Demon King.]
"Number 2."
I check the future.
It wasn't really a future worth discussing.
The pages that had been burning with black flames greeted me as clean pages, as if nothing had happened.
At the end, my victory was foreseen.
Information about Greed had already been recorded in the book.
*'Then, now...'*
The time for revenge has come.
Without needing to exchange names, I pulled out my magic staff from subspace...
Kwang-!!
"My attack didn't work again...?"
Demon King Greed let out a cry at this unreasonable situation.
"Damn it."
How is he grasping all my movements?
Greed couldn't understand.
He was aware that his abilities were inferior compared to other Demon Kings.
However, he never once thought he would struggle this much against a mere dog of the Goddess.
No, as a Demon King, he shouldn't have.
"Fu, fuck... For this Demon King Greed to struggle like this..."
It's humiliating.
That gaze of the Goddess's dog looking down on me is irritating.
Clearly, my Grimoire's prophecy should have been perfect.
Greed knew it wouldn't work, but he launched an attack at Lee Jun-woo anyway.
"Devour him... Mouth of Greed...!!"
The giant mouth rushed forward as if to devour Lee Jun-woo.
Red currents flowed, unleashing explosive power, but it didn't work.
With just one light movement of raising his staff, the Mouth of Greed collapsed to the ground and was neutralized.
Greed spat out an angry voice.
"Fu, fuck. How-!! How are you dodging-!! You damn dog of the Goddess-!!"
"...There was too much information."
"What?!"
"I'm saying you showed all your cards."
Fuck, what kind of bullshit is that?
It was an attack method he was using for the first time.
Greed felt wronged.
Splitting the mouth, attacking with the tongue.
He acted as if he knew everything, and no more attacks came to mind.
Truly 'powerlessness'.
He felt powerlessness for the first time since becoming a Demon King, something he couldn't have felt before.
His patterns were all recorded and analyzed by Minerva.
The solution and interpretation of the problem were perfectly completed.
Thud-
Having revealed all his cards, Greed knelt to show his last card.
Seeing this, Lee Jun-woo said emotionlessly.
"...Are you begging for your life?"
"Y, yes. I can't beat you. I admit it... Just spare my life..."
Greed had great greed for life.
He didn't want to die, and 'eternal life' was his goal.
However, such a pathetic reason wasn't important to Lee Jun-woo.
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"...What?"
"Are you asking me to spare you now?"
A Demon King who threatens world peace?
Having solved all the problems and presented the perfect answer.
Only a fool would fail to write the answer in the answer box.
"When other people begged for their lives, you ignored them. When they pleaded for mercy, you laughed it off."
So you deserve to die.
There's no need to discuss a future where the answer has already been determined.
I deployed magic toward Greed, who was kneeling.
Magic formulas appeared in the air, and fierce magical power pressed down on him.
"Da, damn it...!!"
Greed reacted quickly and moved toward the Mouth of Greed to avoid the magic.
"I told you. All your cards have been shown."
Of course, Greed's movement was within Lee Jun-woo's expected range of actions.
In a situation where they knew nothing about each other.
The victor was only decided after revealing all the cards they had.
And.
*'Now, only I know the information one-sidedly...'*
There's no way he can compete.
Greed tried to throw himself into the giant mouth to escape.
Having seen that in the recorded information, Lee Jun-woo's magic was already cast in that direction.
He slowly began to disappear, turning to dust.
"Now disappear, you trash Demon King."
"...Da, damn it. Ne, next time... we meet... I'll kill... you..."
"It's unfortunate I can't completely annihilate you."
Since I'm not the Hero, I can't make him disappear completely.
But that guy won't show himself for several years while recovering.
Greed scattered like dust along with the Mouth of Greed and disappeared.
Nothing differed from the answer key's contents.
I had presented the perfect answer.
So...
*'Now there's no threat, so I can go back in.'*
Toward Luna, who had turned the page.
Lee Jun-woo moved.
"Hy, hyaaa-!! Die, you monster-!!"
"It's me, Luna."
"Eh...? O, old man, you're alive...?! L, last time you lost...? How...?"
"...First, put down the knife."
Luna, who had been trying to stab me with a kitchen knife, put it down in relief.
Did she expect I would lose this time too since I lost last time?
I stroked Luna's head and said.
"I told you to wait. I don't lie, Luna."
"Eh... Lie..."
Is she dismissing it as a lie right after I say I don't lie?
Anyway.
Luna stood still looking at me, then finally seemed to grasp reality.
With a joyful smile, she shouted at me.
"Then...! The old man came back alive...! A, and my family didn't die either...?! Right!? Tell me I'm right! Right now!"
"...You're right, Luna."
"O, oh... Old man...!!"
Whoosh-
Luna suddenly rushed over and wrapped her arms around my waist.
Huuk huuk- sounds came as she began to shed tears.
"Th, thank goodness... Huuk... I, I was so scared... B, back then the old man died... Huuk, everyone died..."
"That's something that didn't happen now. Forget it, Luna. Reality is what's important to us."
"Huuk... Th, thank... you... For saving... huuk, my family... thank you..."
Luna poured out waterfall-like tears while held in my arms.
I hope she doesn't get snot on me.
But that's probably not something she can control herself.
Patting Luna, who had experienced a terrible future, to comfort her, I met the gaze in front of me.
Luna's family.
They were focusing their attention on me.
*'What had to come has come...'*
Among them, Luna's father asked me.
"Um, excuse me... May I ask one thing...?"
"...Yes."
"If I may ask, what is your relationship with our daughter... and what kind of person are you...?"
His tone had become much more polite.
He was already looking at me with what seemed like near certainty.
And I pondered while feeling Luna's father's gaze.
*'Should I explain myself as the Guardian... as a kidnapper... as an ordinary adventurer...'*
This question, which has no perfect answer.
Was the biggest problem from my perspective.