[Chapter 205]
[Resentment and Deprivation(2)]
There were no elixirs left in the clan.
It couldn't be helped.
They were used on people who were seriously injured while fighting Maegu.
As a result, Eun-ha was relying on natural healing power.
The burden of Priscis Memory's magic and other burdens had gone beyond the stage that could be resolved with healing magic.
If he used an elixir, he could recover from injuries in a few days, but it can't be helped.
Thanks to that, Si-hyeong and other clan members survived without dying.
Though the majority were injured.
Pandora Clan members didn't lose a single person in this battle.
That alone was something to be happy about.
So Eun-ha decided to leisurely enjoy rehabilitation treatment life.
Moreover, there wasn't much to do after subjugating Maegu.
At most, it was just attending northern Gyeonggi attack meetings.
"Tun-tun, are you growing well in mom's belly?"
"Didn't you say that yesterday too?"
"So is it growing well or not?"
"Yes, dad."
As a result, Eun-ha's recent daily routine was mainly fooling around with Han Seo-hyun.
Coincidentally, Han Seo-hyun was also handing over work to administrative staff including Shakira.
She had little work too.
So if you visited her office, you could find the two sitting on the sofa not working and playing.
"If the Administrator is going to be like that, she should just rest comfortably at home."
""""Sigh....""""
Shakira and administrative staff who saw that scene every day often sighed.
However, regardless of their reactions, Eun-ha didn't hesitate to touch Han Seo-hyun's belly.
And his thoughts changed a lot after fighting a fierce battle with Maegu.
In a situation where victory wasn't in sight.
At that time, Eun-ha thought of people who would be saddened if he died.
There had always been crises.
But it was the first time he recalled only that present moment, not memories from before the regression or the future he was aiming for, while falling into a life-or-death crisis.
Maybe my gift changed because where my heart is facing, that changed.
It might be like that.
Anyway, after fighting Maegu like that.
Eun-ha felt like living faithfully in this moment now.
Especially for Han Seo-hyun and the child in her belly who he kept worrying about even while fighting Maegu.
If my thought conditions are correct, it seems I could change gifts anytime in desired situations....
Controlling the heart would be difficult.
Eun-ha smiled bitterly while stroking Han Seo-hyun's belly.
He still couldn't use mana properly so he couldn't test his gift either.
Even if he tested, is it possible to change the heart?
The gift would see through everything.
Otherwise, how could he have used
Where is my goal?
If that's the gift's trigger....
In a way, am I thinking I want to settle in the present more than the future now?
Then such a thought suddenly occurred.
26 years after the regression.
In 6 more years, he will become the age he ended his life in his previous life.
The gap between the 32 years spent in the previous life and.
The 26 years spent in this life was about to be filled.
Well.... Even memories from before the regression are now only vaguely remembered.
A life that was dominated by the past.
After regressing, he came to live a life looking to the future using the past as a stepping stone, and as a result came to have a self where past and present were mixed.
And now the self that was like chaos was almost becoming one and connecting to the present.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Thoughts about the child that will be born soon."
"Have you decided on a name?"
"I'm still thinking about what name would suit a son. How about asking our parents or your parents?"
"No. You must name the first child no matter what. That way you'll become more attached to the child, right?"
"Really.... I can't win against you."
Perhaps the reason he came to look at the present was also because of Han Seo-hyun.
A life bound to the past that was Lee Yu-jung.
A life that was about to be bound to the future that was Ha Baek-ryeon.
Han Seo-hyun whom he met in this life taught him to live for himself, not for anyone else.
She made him look at this moment now in this way.
Have I been completely dyed by Seo-hyun without even knowing?
Eun-ha couldn't help but smile.
Soon he met her eyes while resting his head on her belly.
She was smiling.
"Ah, come to think of it, Eun-ha."
"Yeah."
"I'm wondering if something might happen using your weakened body as an excuse. This is the first time your injury has been prolonged like this, right?"
"Hmm...."
She also made Eun-ha look to the future while making him faithful to the present like this.
Eun-ha's eyes narrowed.
He listened to her words.
"So I think...."
"Ah, did it just kick?"
"It seems Tun-tun is saying not to talk about boring things."
☆
Meanwhile, Eun-ha didn't forget to care about Ha Baek-ryeon's safety while fooling around with Seo-hyun.
With Lee Jung-hyun becoming the head of the Special Affairs Bureau and clan members injured this time, Baek-ryeon's security is a bit unstable.
The person currently in charge of Ha Baek-ryeon's protection in place of Lee Jung-hyun was Gong Baek-gi, Han Seo-hyun's exclusive player.
He and trustworthy clan members were helping with her middle school commute.
Nevertheless, Eun-ha was anxious.
Since I still can't use magic, I can't use doppelgangers either....
Though Baek-gi's skills are reliable, I'm still uneasy, what should I do?
Originally, Eun-ha had used a doppelganger disguised as a middle school student and sent him to the same school and class as Ha Baek-ryeon.
Though a chunk of mana would be drained when using the doppelganger magic once, he just had to recover again.
And Jean Valjean would protect Baek-ryeon's side until his designated mana disappeared.
But as Eun-ha became injured, he couldn't summon Jean Valjean who had disappeared after consuming mana.
"Baek-ryeon is worrying a lot too, we need some countermeasure...."
Currently, Jean Valjean was giving an appropriate excuse and not going to middle school.
The school receiving support from Alice Foundation was now taking it for granted.
The problem was Ha Baek-ryeon.
Bwoong
As Jean Valjean stopped going to school.
Ha Baek-ryeon occasionally sent messages to Jean Valjean.
"Baek-ryeon": Val-jang! Are you doing well? I'm jealous you're studying at the ecological park ㅠㅠ (1:13 PM)
"I wonder how I should reply. I can send pictures appropriately since Twenty-five prepared a lot.... By the way, is this kid Baek-ryeon not even listening to class and using her phone?"
Each time, Eun-ha had to send messages directly on behalf of Jean Valjean.
At first, he felt guilty.
But after exchanging messages a few times, the guilt lessened.
If Baek-ryeon finds out later, I'm dead?
Sometimes he felt a sense of crisis.
Eun-ha decided to hide it for life.
He planned to send Jean Valjean to transfer schools somewhere at an appropriate time.
It's gotten a bit precarious now.
Baek-ryeon is unsure now, but if Jean Valjean gradually ages, she'll notice.
Or should I make him wear glasses....
He's been thinking a lot these days.
Still, there was quite some time left to use Jean Valjean.
Eun-ha decided to postpone thinking for now and think about how to handle Ha Baek-ryeon's security.
There was a suitable person by chance.
Eun-ha picked up the phone.
[Yes, this is Jin Seo-na, Pandora Clan telepath and administrative staff. What business do you have...]
"Oh, Seo-na. It's me."
[...Can't you just speak quickly? Huh? Do you have to make me speak at length?]
Jin Seo-na's pouting voice was heard over the phone.
As Pandora Clan members fell ill, she was currently swamped with work.
She was even doing administrative work as Han Seo-hyun became pregnant.
Eun-ha decided to use her.
"Can you come to the office right now?"
[Sigh.... Alright. I'll come after finishing what I'm doing.]
"Oh, come slowly."
30 minutes later.
Jin Seo-na came with her arms folded.
Her gaze was sharp.
It was as if 'Just try to give me work again.' was written on her face.
Eun-ha smiled and pretended not to notice.
"Why, what's the matter?"
"You came well. Is it hard with a lot of work? Just endure a little. Clan work will return to normal once the kids recover from injuries."
"So what's the matter?"
"...You seem to have gotten much prettier lately?"
"Don't change the subject. I know I'm pretty too, you know? Tell me quickly."
"Look at you liking it while saying that."
Jin Seo-na's mood seemed to have improved.
She wagged her tail.
Eun-ha burst into laughter.
He decided to get to the point.
"It's nothing else but...."
From here, Eun-ha explained the situation.
Not many people knew the story of disguising Jean Valjean as a middle school student and sending him to the same school as Ha Baek-ryeon.
At most, Han Seo-hyun, Jung Ha-yang, Lee Yu-jung, Noh Eun-ah, Cha Eun-woo, Mok Min-ho, Jin Seo-na, Kim Min-ji.
So Jin Seo-na wasn't surprised by Eun-ha's story.
Instead, she was shocked by another part.
"So you're saying you want me to replace Val-jang by Baek-ryeon's side? Are you telling me to attend middle school now?"
"It seems like you just need to do it until I can summon Jean Valjean again...."
"So you're saying you'll put a middle school uniform on me until then?"
"...You have just the right gift."
Infiltrating Jin Seo-na into middle school.
The person in question was appalled and clicked her tongue.
Eun-ha closed his eyes tightly.
But there was nothing more appropriate than her gift
She could change into a middle school student's appearance by adjusting growth hormones.
Moreover─.
"─I'm not telling you to transform into a middle school student. Since it's too much to forge your identity too, I'm just asking you to use
She could use transformation magic using
It was thanks to the principle of the monster she was using as a base.
"It's the same thing to me. You're still telling me to go to middle school."
Nevertheless, Jin Seo-na sulked.
She didn't like either option.
But Eun-ha knew.
There's room for negotiation.
Look at her turning her head now.
If she really disliked it, she could just get up from her seat, but she's still sitting.
Depending on how he handled it.
He could persuade Jin Seo-na.
Eun-ha racked his brains.
Nothing much came to mind.
Unfortunately, Jin Seo-na had the pickiest personality among his friends.
There was no choice.
"What do you want?"
He had to ask directly.
Then her eyes changed.
She crossed her legs the other way.
"Give me shares in this clan, a lot."
"..."
"Well, that's a joke. Hmm, let's see.... What do I want?"
With a playful face.
The fox raises the corners of her mouth.
Seeing her tail slowly wag, she seemed lost in thought.
Eventually she opened her mouth.
"Ah, that would be good. You, give me your phone."
"Phone? Why that? Here."
"You should unlock it too. No. You probably set an obvious password anyway. Aha, as expected."
"So why the phone?"
"Wait a moment. Let's see.... Hmm, as I thought. You saved my name as 'puppy'?"
"..."
"Look at you doing this behind my back again after saying you'd change it to Jin Seo-na last time."
"So? Are you going to change the name?"
"Yeah. Don't ever change it this time. If you change it, know that I really won't listen to you next time."
"Alright, I'll do that."
"It's done. Here, take it."
Jin Seo-na returned the smartphone.
Eun-ha checked the contacts.
Jin Seo-na's name had changed.
"Seo-na Nunna"
"Isn't this a typo? What's with 'nunna'..."
"It's an intentional typo. Isn't that more affectionate and nice?"
"Hah.... Okay, I got it. Then with this, you'll transform into Jean Valjean?"
And so Ha Baek-ryeon's security issue was neatly resolved.
☆
His body was gradually recovering.
Now he could even manifest mana little by little.
So Eun-ha has been focusing on absorbing Maegu's skill stone these days.
"Hah...."
On the way back to the clan hall after finishing a meeting at the Mana Management Organization.
Eun-ha was absorbing the skill stone in the back seat of the vehicle.
Bruno drove silently to not disturb him.
It's not absorbing as well as I thought.
Is it because my body isn't fully healed?
Still, I've absorbed almost all of it.
The skill stone that fit in his hand now only had about one finger joint left.
Though it took a long time, he had now absorbed almost all of it.
Soon Eun-ha withdrew his mana.
If he tried to absorb more of the skill stone, his mana circuits might break.
He had to think of his health first.
It was then.
"─Eun-ha."
"Yes, ahjussi."
"There are more than yesterday."
Bruno opened his mouth.
His face was reflected in the rearview mirror.
His gaze was directed towards the back of the vehicle.
"How many?"
"10 more than yesterday."
"That's quite an increase."
There were people chasing.
It had started recently.
He who couldn't properly handle mana had to rely purely on Bruno's intuition.
Nevertheless, Eun-ha was composed.
"Let's wipe them all out today. Ahjussi, please go there. The abandoned factory."
"Understood."
"I'll get off in the middle. That way they'll think 'ah-ha' and chase after me."
When you gain people's admiration, you naturally gain many enemies too.
Han Seo-hyun's advice was right.
Eventually, the vehicle carrying Eun-ha headed towards a nearby abandoned factory.