The Reason for Despair (3)

At first, my father considered running away.

Given that we had caught the attention of a large guild, facing them head-on was impossible.

Not only were they stronger, but we couldn’t defeat them by legal means either.

For a mere prosecutor to fight the entire Sura guild would be suicide.

‘Even those punks who were held in that juvenile detention center got released thanks to those guys.’

Of course, my mother and Yunhee felt just as wronged.

What had they done to deserve being targeted by such people?

Did we really have to spend our lives on the run, dodging these guys?

If so, it would be no different from being war refugees.

But….

‘Is there really a need for that?’

There was absolutely no reason for my father to quit his job, for Yunhee to give up her academy and school, or for me to stop working with Hand.

If I just said a few words, excellent bodyguards would rush over in no time.

Srrr—

In the back alley behind our apartment, where no one was watching, a shadow began moving on its own and approached me.

“Seongjin, what is that…?”

Ah-rin, who was beside me, flinched in surprise.

A shadow moving without its owner was clearly the ability of an awakened.

Ah-rin was on guard, wondering if it was another enemy attack.

“You finally arrived.”

“Huh?”

“Come to think of it, Ah-rin, I haven’t shown this to you yet.”

My hair turned completely white. Wings emerged from my back, resembling those of a devil or a bat.

At the same time, horns appeared on my head. Seeing me change into this form, Ah-rin was extremely startled.

“This is the first time I’ve shown you my demonic appearance, right?”

“So this is….”

Ah-rin also knew that I had lived in Mewzealand for fifty years.

She even knew what position I had ruled there.

So showing her my Demon King form was inevitable.

Besides, I wasn’t transforming just for Ah-rin’s sake.

Srrr—

The three shadows, having seen my transformed state, writhed even more violently.

The shadows lifted off the ground and began to take on human form.

Fully revealed, these people wore black masks and had crow wings on their backs.

At the same time, they knelt before me in respect.

“Fettel of the Akura Unit. I greet the Demon King!”

“Giuss of the Akura Unit. I greet the glorious Demon King!”

“Ferris of the Akura Unit. I pay respects to the Demon King!”

Fettel, Giuss, Ferris.

They are members of the third legion, led by Akura, called the King of Monstrous Birds.

Among them, this trio was famed as the strongest shadow unit.

“How is Akura doing these days?”

“After coming to Earth, Unit Commander has been focusing on international organization work.”

“He wishes to meet the Demon King as soon as possible….”

“Unfortunately, there are many matters to handle, so he is delayed.”

It seemed Akura was doing well too.

I once told him his hair was blindingly bright—I wonder what happened about that.

When I pointed out Vern’s bad breath, he fixed it right away, but how about that guy?

“Yeah, it’s been a long time since I last saw you too.”

“We have never forgotten the Demon King, not for a moment in our lives.”

“We will accept any order.”

“We are always prepared for your command!”

Even after countless years, their loyalty hadn’t changed.

Given that I had saved the demonkin from the wretched guardian deity, perhaps this was only natural.

“…”

Ah-rin was at a loss for words at the devotion of this shadow unit.

It was the perfect sight of subordinates dedicated solely to their king.

Seeing this, Ah-rin seemed to once again realize what kind of being I was.

“I’d like to talk with you more, but we’re in a bit of a hurry right now.”

I explained the recent events to the shadow unit.

As expected, they were surprised to hear about the Sura guild.

“So, the Demon King has gained a new family….”

“Can you do it?”

Hearing this, the shadow unit beamed confidently.

“Huhuhut, you only need to ask us.”

“We’d lay down our lives….”

“We will protect your family.”

These three all share the ability to turn their bodies into shadows and hide.

As bodyguards, they would be inconspicuous and not draw attention.

“But….”

“Who’s that girl?”

The shadow unit belatedly asked about Ah-rin.

Seeing her calmly witnessing the Demon King’s true form, she was no ordinary girl.

I gave them a brief, simple explanation about Ah-rin.

“She’s a friend of the Demon King?”

“And she knows his true identity?”

In short, she was not an enemy.

Hearing that, the shadow unit smiled with relief.

“But Seongjin, are those people really strong?”

Ah-rin, curious, spoke up then.

In response, Fettel, one of the unit, said,

“Hehehe, my friend.”

“Huh?”

As he spoke, Fettel was suddenly behind Ah-rin’s back.

When did he move behind her?

Ah-rin was startled—she hadn’t noticed Fettel’s movement at all.

“You had something on your head.”

“…”

Fettel brushed off some lint that had been on Ah-rin’s head.

That alone left Ah-rin speechless.

In fact, these three held the same status within the Demon King’s army as Karen.

It was no coincidence they were chosen as bodyguards.

“We’ll now begin our mission.”

“Don’t ever take your eyes off my family, no matter what. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

The shadow unit that received my order started to become shadows again and vanished.

My father was at work, my mother was at home, and Yunhee would soon be heading to the academy.

With these guys around, I told everyone they could relax.

“Oh, right! Before you go….”

“Hm?”

Just as they were disappearing, the three called out to me with sparkling eyes.

“For the last time! We want to hear the Demon King’s great speech!”

“We’ve long waited for the day we could hear those noble words!”

“I always dreamed… of hearing the Demon King’s speech.”

—So please…!

Yeah. Get lost, would you.

****

With the shadow unit deployed, I could finally relax.

Now my father could head to work safely, and Yunhee could keep going to the academy during her break.

Only my mother still felt uneasy and stayed home.

For her sake, Sang-ah stayed with her.

After ordering the shadow unit, I went grocery shopping at the market with Ah-rin.

As I took a bite of fried dumpling at a tasting corner, Ah-rin asked me,

“But Seongjin, what did those people say earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“That great speech or whatever….”

“Pfft!”

I almost spit out the dumpling I was eating.

The worker in charge of the tasting looked shocked, and the nearby kids and parents sampling the food were startled too.

Cough! Cough!

I started coughing at the same time.

“You okay?”

Nope, not at all.

Just thinking about that ‘great speech’ nonsense was enough to make my chest tighten.

They dreamt of hearing my speech? Are those idiots sane?

Vern wanting to publish them in a book was beyond me, too.

“Ah-rin.”

“Yes! Seongjin.”

“Do you really want to hear those great words?”

“I’m super curious.”

Ah-rin’s eyes sparkled like stars.

Her innocent, doubtless expression made me chuckle unconsciously.

“Just… don’t be too shocked when you hear it.”

Since she wanted to know so badly, I decided to share, though it was something I never wanted to reveal.

Just like I did with Sang-ah on the bus before, I mimicked my Demon King tone.

“…”

Almost immediately, the atmosphere turned icy.

The noisy kids fell silent, their mouths shut.

Only the background music in the supermarket played on.

The first to break the silence were the kids nearby.

“Mom, what was that just now?”

“What did that guy say?”

“Don’t listen! Forget it right away!”

“You didn’t hear anything.”

Their parents, flustered, quickly left the area.

It was almost like fleeing a crime scene.

“You there, student. I think you need medicine more than you need dumplings.”

Even the tasting lady abruptly scowled and advised me sternly.

“My husband runs a pharmacy, you know? I can recommend it—go get checked out.”

See that? That’s how normal people react.

Now, I was curious about what Ah-rin’s reaction would be.

“What was that just now? That was so cool!”

“… What?”

“Could you teach me to do it too?”

I doubted my ears for a second.

What could possibly be cool about such a cringey line?

Maybe it was because she was a second-year in middle school? Even so, it didn’t feel right.

“You seriously think that was cool?”

“Yeah! Yeah!”

She’s nuts.

She must be.

She might look innocent, but I was sure something was off.

Honestly, Ah-rin wasn’t even fazed watching someone end their own life in a blood fountain.

At this point, she definitely didn’t have a normal mindset.

“You… you should probably go visit that pharmacy with me.”

In the end, Ah-rin just ended up being seen as another weirdo by everyone, and got offered the pharmacy referral as a bonus.

…

…

I carried the groceries on the way home.

We were planning a pork belly party tonight, so the bag was full of meat.

With the bodyguards around, there was no need to worry.

If anything, the ones coming to attack should be worried. The shadow unit would never leave an enemy alive.

“Snhff… I feel like I can already smell something delicious.”

“You’re that hungry? It’s only 2 PM.”

“Sorry. My nose is just really sensitive.”

If Sang-ah was specialized for hearing, then Ah-rin was for smell.

No matter where I hid or disguised myself, Ah-rin would recognize me instantly.

It was even uncanny how she could distinguish Sura guild members from regular people using just her nose.

Even among regular canid Mutamit, this level of scent tracking didn’t exist.

Was it because she was chosen by Sura and became special? Or was she chosen because she was already special?

‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg.’

I was thinking that, when—

Honk honk—

Suddenly, a car honked in our direction.

It pulled up beside me, the window rolling down.

“Are you Ma Seongjin?”

The driver’s seat held a tall woman with brown hair.

Judging by the horns on her head, she was likely a demonkin Mutamit.

And….

“I’d like to ask about your family’s case from before.”

She wore a coat signifying membership in the national special task force, Qiongqi.

It was natural they’d visit.

Since it was an incident involving an awakened, they had reason to be involved.

“Could you spare a moment?”

“How long will it take?”

“Around an hour. How about that?”

Not a bad amount of time.

As long as I didn’t miss the pork belly party, it was fine.

Before that—

“Ah-rin, is it okay?”

“Um….”

Ah-rin stared intently at the woman.

More precisely, she leaned in to sniff and check the scent.

“It’s fine?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She has the smell unique to Qiongqi members.”

Luckily, there was no scent of Sura guild.

There was no doubt about Ah-rin’s sense of smell.

Frankly, I was the only one who could properly explain the current situation.

“Ah-rin, head home first.”

“Okay! Come back soon.”

I handed Ah-rin all the bags and got in the car.

The woman then looked at Ah-rin.

“And who are you? His girlfriend?”

“Ah… um…!”

“Sorry to interrupt your date. Well then….”

As the car drove off with me inside, Ah-rin was left stunned.

Frustration welled up at not being able to reply properly.

****

Returning to Seongjin’s house, Ah-rin set the groceries on the kitchen table.

‘No one’s here?’

It was almost time for Yunhee’s academy to finish.

Ah-rin didn’t know that Sang-ah and Ma’s wife had gone to pick her up.

Seeing the opportunity, Ah-rin took out a tablet from the table.

‘I’m still Sura.’

She still held her rank, so she could boss subordinates around.

If she only asked, there were guild members who would listen.

Until the Sura despaired, those requests couldn’t be ignored.

Those targeting Seongjin’s family were only those obsessed with top executive seats.

Everyone else was different.

Especially in the intelligence department.

‘Might as well use them as much as possible….’

Ah-rin asked the intelligence department for a roster of Sura guild members stationed in Korea.

The tablet displayed the list as provided by the intelligence team.

There were quite a few names, but she had no intention of checking them all.

What Ah-rin wanted to see was which guild members were disguised in various professions in Korea.

She filtered the roster accordingly.

‘Especially the most suspicious ones…’

Police and other public officials.

She needed to recognize their faces.

Not only police and courts, but even the national special task force, Qiongqi, had Sura guild members infiltrated.

Ah-rin selected the Qiongqi entry and looked.

It wasn’t easy to get into Qiongqi. Perhaps that’s why there were only five members.

Three women, two men.

“Huh…?”

Ah-rin was startled to see the face of one of those women.

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