The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Future Dreams
― Humans are more like monsters.
― Satan would be out of a job.

I'd heard those kinds of remarks plenty, even before I flew off to Mewzealand.

Since they were mostly jokes on the internet, I hadn't taken them seriously.

But after rolling around in Mewzealand for 50 years, I could truly feel that they were anything but a joke.

"Humans are evil."

When you think about it, even eight-year-olds are used as bullet shields just for being a different race.

That's actually a pretty sanitized way to put it.

I, too, was treated like that and lost something precious because of it.

After that...

'I lost the ability to have an heir.'

No matter how much power I gained as the Demon King, and no matter how much I could dominate others, I refused to live in that kind of hellish world.

I fled to Earth in a flash, hoping to forget even for a second all that I experienced in that world.

The Demon King's army had grown strong enough that the generals could rule without me.

Comforted by the thought that the army would never collapse, I returned to Earth, but...

'How could things be exactly the same here?'

At times it made me think maybe I shouldn't have come back after all.

Here, too, the virtual world like the internet was highly developed. Bullying could happen online as well as physically.

Only the living environment was different...

But people were the same everywhere.

"Have you ever thought about what you want to be when you grow up?"

"..."

Ah-rin and I were sitting at the desk, opening a sketchbook and deep in thought.

Since there was only one chair in the room, I had brought a dining chair a moment ago and sat Ah-rin on it.

But she still couldn't come up with an answer.

From my perspective, it felt like I was tutoring an elementary school student.

"I want to be someone who lives life comfortably. It's not a specific job, but I can at least draw what that looks like."

Saying so, I showed her the drawing I'd done myself.

She was only in first grade anyway, so it was just a rough sketch, but the background and my expressions were easy for kids to understand.

"A flower field?"

"Yeah. I drew my future dream: living happily forever in a field of flowers."

"What's your job?"

"There isn't really any."

"Unemployed?"

"..."

I ended up being misunderstood as someone whose dream was to be unemployed.

The drawing was of myself lying in a field of flowers, enjoying the whispers of nature.

It wasn't like I actually intended to be a freeloader and live off my parents, though.

"Oh, right. What do your parents do?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, a lot of kids choose their dream by looking at their parents."

Now that I thought about it, I realized I knew nothing about Ah-rin's parents.

Even the bully Ahn Jaewook's parents had raised a ruckus, so how come Ah-rin's hadn't shown up even though their child was in this state?

"Grandma said... they went to heaven."

"Oh."

I was relieved her parents weren't deadbeats, but this was actually a more serious problem.

With no parents in the world, it made sense that she might lack social skills.

"Then should I draw my grandma instead?"

"That's a bit..."

Drawing her grandma as her future self felt a little wrong.

"Then... should I draw an angel?"

"Why an angel, all of a sudden?"

"Because Mom and Dad are angels."

No, that's not what I meant...

How can a kid make such a dark joke about herself?

"Grandma and Grandpa told me. They said both my parents are angels... so if I draw myself as an angel..."

"No, you can't do that."

That would come off as saying she wanted to follow her parents to heaven.

Later, she's going to have to present her drawing. If she says, 'I want to go to heaven with Mom and Dad!' it'll only make her another laughing stock and lead to another bully like Ahn Jaewook appearing.

"Seongjin."

"Yeah?"

Ah-rin stared quietly at my drawing and asked.
This was the first time she'd ever called me by my name properly.

"Seongjin, are you going to live in the flower field all by yourself? Don't you want anyone else there with you?"

Her suddenly deep question surprised me a bit.

She didn't stutter anymore, and there was genuine feeling in her voice.

It was similar to the tone she used when she said thank you while following behind me after school.

"I don't mind if someone else is there. As long as they're not too much of a bother."

"Then..."

From then on, Ah-rin no longer fumbled her words.

In front of me, she started expressing intentions she'd never been able to communicate to anyone else.

****

Ah-rin's memories of her parents were faint.

She'd been held by them up to age three, but she didn't recall their faces.

Whenever she asked about them, her grandma and grandpa would always cry for some reason.

They told her they were resting peacefully in heaven, but she couldn't understand that was just a euphemism for their passing.

Her parents had been Hunters. They had been alive and well up until five years ago, before their sudden deaths in a Gate.

Of course, for a life as a Hunter, that was expected. But nobody mourned their deaths.

That was because of testimony claiming they betrayed their fellow Hunters for exclusive rights to loot.

It was the account of the last surviving Hunter who'd entered that Gate.

Coincidentally, the Gate was known for yielding lots of items in a single run, lending credibility to the story.

He insisted the couple killed everyone and he alone survived.

That Hunter, under the guise of a 'settlement,' took all the couple's assets.

Their daughter, Kang Ah-rin, was left to be raised alone in her paternal grandparents' care.

Thanks to grandma and grandpa, at least she hadn't grown up without guardians.

After five years, as Ah-rin entered elementary school, the case slowly faded from memory.

But then, unfortunately... the Hunter who'd given that testimony ended up being assigned as her homeroom teacher.

Retiring due to an injury, the Hunter-turned-magic instructor recognized Kang Ah-rin.

He deliberately isolated her.

Conveniently, as a Mutamit, she was an easy target for bullying, and so—under the pretense of revenge for what happened—he tormented Kang Ah-rin.

Of course, to avoid suspicion, he focused on bullying her online.

[You're the daughter of sinners.]
[So you don't deserve to talk proudly with your classmates.]
[You have no right to eat something as nice as spaghetti.]

Even after she transferred schools, the trauma lingered.

She was isolated again, and then bullied regularly by another student, like Ahn Jaewook.

—I really have to live like this for the rest of my life, huh.
—Bad kids can't even dream, can they.
—I can't even have a dream for the future.

But someone pulled her out of that negative whirlpool.

That boy, Ma Seongjin, was the only one in class who took her side.

For Kang Ah-rin, who was beginning to lose trust in others after being so ostracized, he was a totally foreign presence.

Thanks to him, she, who thought she would spend her life apologizing, was able to receive an apology for the first time in her life.

Naturally, she was drawn to Ma Seongjin, the boy who made that possible.

She wanted to tell him personally.

Her first heartfelt thanks to someone of the opposite sex.

As a Mutamit with canine traits, Kang Ah-rin had an excellent sense of smell.

People who rejected her gave off an unbearably foul odor.

Except for her grandparents, Ah-rin had always lived surrounded by nothing but that stench—
—until Ma Seongjin, who alone smelled fragrant, appeared in her life.

'Follow me.'

The home she visited with Ma Seongjin was on a completely different level than school.

Unlike the chilly, foul-smelling classroom, it was filled with fragrance.

But when his parents served her spaghetti, she hesitated.

Was it really okay for her to accept and eat something like this?

But it tasted good.

She even ended up emptying her plate—something she'd never done even with school lunch.

Their praise for her good appetite was enough to move her to tears.

If there's a heaven, it must be a place like this.

It felt as if she'd grown wings.

Ah-rin thought it might not be bad if her dream for the future was to live as an angel in a place like this.

But even then, a question lingered—
—would Ma Seongjin, who made her realize all this, stay by her side?

What would she do if they were separated?

"Seongjin, are you going to live in the flower field all by yourself? Don't you want anyone else there with you?"

That's why she could ask with genuine feeling in her voice.

Luckily, seongjin said he didn't mind having someone else there, as long as it wasn't a nuisance.

"Then... could I stay by your side?"

This time, too, her voice was filled with sincerity.

As soon as she asked, Ma Seongjin's face took on a pensive look.

But it didn't take him long to answer.

"I don't really mind... But we can't stick together forever. We'll even get split up as soon as we move to second grade."

"Even so... we can still see each other even if we're in different classes."

"Then, would you be able to come to the same middle school as me after we graduate?"

"Ah..."

Kang Ah-rin looked very flustered and troubled.

For some reason, it felt like she was determined to stay close to me.

Still, I couldn't see it as mere childish stubbornness.

It was as if Kang Ah-rin was starting to form a goal of her own.

"Wait, I need to go to the bathroom."

"Okay."

.
.

Maybe it was because I'd downed all the sports drink my mom had set out on the desk.

I left the room and headed for the bathroom.

Holding back the dam about to burst from a desperate bladder, I opened the bathroom door but—

"Dad's in here."

"Damn it!"

I clicked my tongue at having lost the seat.

The way Dad was holding onto the toilet, it looked like he was in for the long haul.

My luck couldn't be worse.

"All you ate was spaghetti, so why...!"

"I don't know, either. I'm an adult—there are complex things happening in my belly."

Since when are bodily functions some kind of adult problem?

Fine, go ahead and call earthquakes or Gate disasters 'adult circumstances' too.

"Oh, by the way. I have some news for you."

"Huh?"

"I got a call from the principal..."

Dad spoke as he strained his stomach.

"You've now been assigned as a HAND special admission student."

"What?"

It was hard to hear him with my bladder screaming urgently.
Dad raised his voice happily.

"You've now been decided as a HAND admit. That means after graduation, you'll go straight to HAND."

"Hmph."

On reflection, maybe it wasn't all that surprising.

Since Ahn Sungwook's admission was revoked due to his misbehavior, a spot opened up.

Of course, another ace could've taken it, but that usually applied only to current sixth-graders.

Admission spots could be filled by younger students like me as well.

Plus, I'd blocked Ahn Sungwook's magic punch with my bare hands.

With Teacher Choi Sangbaek watching, there was nothing strange about the decision.

"But you have to maintain excellent grades all the way till sixth grade. Can you manage?"

"There's no reason I can't."

I'm not the type to intentionally ruin my grades and make my parents worry.

In fact, if I graduate HAND's high school department, I'd be certified as highly educated and could get called anywhere.

"But Dad."

"What is it?"

"How long are you going to sit there?"

"Just wait a bit. I just got in."

"Okay, but please hurry."

"Why you little... I said I just got here! Should I just not come out?"

"I-I'll be quiet!"

Should I just barge in and do it on the bathroom floor?

No, that wouldn't work either.

If I did, my mom would go ballistic over the smell and unleash her terrifying punches.

Bladder, please... don't start counting down. Please...

.
.

Meanwhile, Kang Ah-rin had overheard the entire conversation between Seongjin and his father just now.

Thanks to Dad's loud voice, she could make out exactly what was being said.

Generally, there was a perception that anyone admitted to HAND would become a Hunter.

So, Ah-rin naturally thought Seongjin would become one too.

"Then I..."

Ah-rin was starting to get an idea of what her own dream for the future should be.

****

Two weeks later, the following Friday—

The elementary school Ah-rin used to attend, byeonghak Elementary, was buzzing with unusual tension.

Several police cars were parked on the school field.

They disrupted all classes, but the teachers couldn't stop them.

---------------------------------
Suspect – Choi Suyong
Profession – Teacher
Charges – Child abuse and cyberbullying, false testimony
---------------------------------

The person named in the warrant was Ah-rin's former homeroom teacher.

Because he was a former Hunter, they brought handcuffs designed to restrain Awakeners of B-rank or lower.

The vice principal, principal, and children who had bullied Ah-rin were also unable to escape responsibility for leaving him unchecked.

Through online investigation, they uncovered the teacher's monstrous actions.

The incident went public, made the news, and even the details of the relationship between the victim and the accused became public knowledge.

Now people began to doubt whether Ah-rin's parents were really guilty—
—since in a Gate, a death could be written off as a 'disappearance.'

The online investigation that brought all this to light was carried out by one prosecutor.
However, teacher Choi Suyong was nowhere to be found at Byeonghak Elementary or his home.

Seeing the case make headlines, he had already fled.

He was now headed toward the prosecutor's apartment...

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
I like it when I read supportive parents in novels...
Jun-sang worked on Ah-rin's case surprisingly...
It sucks that adults are the ones perpetuating the bullying...
I hope the teacher gets what he deserves...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】