Chapter 181 - Chapter 177: Episode 175 - Happiness in Daily Life
Ever since Yena returned from the Demon World, my life has finally felt 'normal' again.
My mother and my daughter, Yena, together in our new home.
And the days spent with my lover, Sophia.
The pain of the past felt like nothing more than a distant memory.
However, Sophia seemed to have a bone to pick.
"Why... do you say we can't sleep together... Lee Seon-ah?"
"Sophia. You're in Yena's body. How could a parent share their body with their child? That's not something family does."
I hadn't fully shaken off the effects of the aphrodisiac yet, but I was determined never to cross that line.
Even if I had unintentionally shared my body with my mother, that was in the past.
Now that we were back to a parent-child relationship, I had drawn a clear boundary, which was why I spoke to her so firmly.
I knew I'd lose my mind if I heard moans coming from Yena's mouth while she explored my body.
The thought alone was so horrific that I had to persuade Sophia to drop it.
"..."
Sophia couldn't even get a word out.
She looked between Min-ah and me, weighing my logic. After a long silence, she let out a deep sigh and apologized.
"I'm sorry. Fine... if that's how you feel, then it can't be helped. I'll give up."
'For now, at least.'
"I'm sorry, Sophia... I don't think there's any other way right now."
Even though she looked crushed that she couldn't share a bed with her husband after finally getting him back, she seemed to have decided to endure it. I hugged her, feeling guilty.
Sophia had plenty of ways to force me to take her.
Countless methods crossed her mind—from corrupting me until I abandoned all moral laws between parent and child, to showing me illusions and false appearances. But she knew that if she chose those paths, she wouldn't be able to stay by my side as she was now.
'If that happened, he would come to hate me.'
Furthermore, if I were to become corrupted, there was a high chance I'd end up sleeping with anyone, and she didn't want to see that.
Even if she couldn't have me, the idea of handing me over to another woman was unbearable.
Seeing me—someone who felt like a delicious rice cake—sleeping with another woman would make her blood boil.
It was a feeling she'd experienced before, back when she regretted forcing me to mate with Miel while Miel wasn't in her right mind.
If that was the case, the only way to sleep with me was to move into the body of a woman who wasn't my relative.
However, the only bodies capable of holding her soul were those of women with high-purity magical power.
But there was one other way.
'What about finding my original body...'
That, however, was an incredibly difficult task.
Those who had sealed her original body before she came to the Demon World were beings who ruled that world with strength equal to hers. If she acted rashly, something irreversible would surely happen.
It was safe to say there was no way to find her physical body without being noticed.
As Sophia was lost in thought, I noticed her expression and asked out of curiosity.
"Sophia, is something bothering you?..."
"No... it is nothing, Seon-ah..."
She desperately tried to hide her heart, wishing I wouldn't know of such worries.
'The happiness of the present is more important... I must not take Seon-ah to such a dangerous place... That is only natural.'
Contrary to those thoughts, Sophia recalled memories of the past.
The things that happened in that world before she came to the Demon World and abandoned her body...
Her old memories of ruling the Demon World as the Demon King were quite eventful.
A very long time ago, in the world before she was exiled, she had reigned as a god, revered by others, leading countless believers and exercising numerous powers by feeding on the faith they offered.
However, after her physical body was sealed in a battle with other gods, Sophia, who could only possess a tiny bit of divinity, had no choice but to flee to another dimension.
Sophia looked around that barren dimension and simply despaired.
Resources were extremely limited, and most of the plants were poisonous, so there wasn't even decent food for the intelligent beings she had brought with her.
They named the dimension where they stood, having been defeated and exiled, the Demon World.
Desolate plains. Toxic plants growing in the ground.
The only resources found in the Demon World were ores that were stupidly hard.
Sophia was only able to terraform that dimension after finally draining the last of her remaining divinity.
She had used up all her divinity to turn it into a land where the intelligent beings she brought could live, reducing herself to a mere spiritual entity, but she had spent countless years sharpening the blade of revenge while building up her power there.
However, as time passed, that revenge became meaningless.
Having lost all her divinity, she wasn't ruling the Demon World as a god, but rather as a 'King', so almost no faith was gathered, and she could only possess a tiny amount of faith to exist as a spiritual entity.
Propaganda to deify the existence of the Demon King was also never easy due to the image of 'King' that had already solidified over thousands of years.
There were always those who doubted she would return every time she died, which was why the rebel forces existed for no reason.
It was obvious that those who exiled her were still leading countless believers and ruling that world as gods, so no matter how many soldiers she led to try and conquer various dimensions, it would surely be useless in front of a real 'god'.
'It's useless to recall the past... because I am no longer a god.'
Even though it had been thousands of years, Sophia did not want to think about that anymore.
Because constantly recalling past glory was only painful...
.
.
.
There was a knock at the front door of the house where three... or four people were living.
She looked very expectant as she knocked on the door with a wide smile.
When someone opened the door and welcomed her, she greeted them with a cheerful voice.
"Hello Seon-ah, I'm here! Here is a housewarming gift!"
The owner of that voice was Miel.
What she handed over, calling it a housewarming gift, was not a daily necessity, but a paper bag with the logo of a famous clothing brand.
"Thank you, Miel..."
Seeing the items Miel had brought, it seemed she didn't quite know what a housewarming gift was supposed to be.
However, I was looking at her with a slightly flustered expression, so she spoke as if making an excuse.
"Um... I heard that a housewarming gift should be something helpful to the person receiving it, so I prepared clothes for you to wear."
"Ah... that's right. Now that I think about it, that's correct."
Thinking about it, that was correct.
Whatever one gave, the heart was what mattered, so it was only natural to be surprised to hear that from Miel, who was a demon, not a human.
'Miel... you've become quite accustomed to life on Earth now.'
After creating a new identity to use on Earth, Miel was working in the psychiatry department of the National Medical Center by utilizing the succubus's mind-control abilities little by little.
That center, which specialized in treating post-traumatic stress in hunters, allowed Miel to fully demonstrate her abilities.
Miel, having proven her worth, often posted photos on social media that seemed to show her work life, and it seemed to be going quite smoothly.
'To think she's living more normally than me, who became unemployed...'
Thinking about it, it did sting a little.
But the feeling of celebrating the new start and success of Miel, who had become a friend, was even greater than that.
"First, come inside. Have you eaten?"
"Um... not yet. Then I'll have a little."
Miel had actually already eaten, but she followed along as I said, looking forward to the thought of being able to eat the food I made for the first time.
Miel, who had started walking in very slowly, saw something unbelievable in the kitchen.
A woman wearing an apron, frying pancakes.
It wasn't such a surprising sight, as these days, women also cooked.
The person who took the pancakes out of the frying pan with very skillful hands, placed them on a paper towel to remove the oil, and then poured a thick, starchy white liquid into the pan again was none other than the Demon King.
It was a fact that any demon would be shocked by.
Because there would be no one who wouldn't be surprised by the fact that the ruler of the Demon World was frying pancakes at home.
'No... wait, maybe it's Yena.'
"Hmm? Did Miel come for the housewarming? Sit at the table over there and wait, I'll bring it to you soon."
However, judging by the tone of voice used toward her, it was clear it was not Yena.
Since it was clearly the Demon King no matter how much she rubbed her eyes and stared, Miel huddled at the table and sat blankly until the plate with the pancakes was placed in front of her.
"Miel, how have you been lately?"
I asked Miel, who was staring blankly, how her life was these days.
When Miel started living alone, we exchanged phone numbers and messages, and we talked about many things.
Among them, Miel often confided difficult worries to me because she didn't know the common sense of Earth well.
However, since Sophia also asked me questions from time to time, I was able to understand and help with those worries without difficulty.
Now that Miel was able to do even her work life perfectly, such things rarely happened, but I wanted to hear many stories from my friend.
"How I've been lately is..."
She talked about many things, from backbiting about the difficult hunters who came with PTSD to the YouTube channels she was interested in these days.
Then, Min-ah, having smelled the pancakes, opened the door and came out stretching, then discovered Miel and rubbed her eyes.
"Seon-ah's friend has come. Miel, have you gotten used to life on Earth lately?"
"Yes, Min-ah-ajumoni... how I've been lately is..."
She looked comfortable, as if treating her son's friend.
After my countless persuasions, Min-ah had also forgiven Miel.
When the sound of knocking on the door was heard again, I prepared to go out to greet them.
There were more people coming to the newly acquired house for a housewarming.
'Who could it be?'
"Miel, please wait a moment. I'm going to go greet some guests."
"Okay!"
Miel, who was shoving pancakes into her mouth, answered me while eating as if they were delicious.
I moved quickly with an expectant expression to find out who had knocked on the door.
'Who could it be? Is it Aunt Shin-ah and Ji-ah?... Or is it someone Mother knows?'
I opened the door with an expectant expression.
Two mother and daughter with cat-like faces were visible.
In front of the entrance where the door was opened.
Yu-rin and Yu-ra were standing there.
Seeing Yu-rin, I felt a cold sensation in my heart, as if it were freezing.