Chapter 32
Chapter 32
『 Translator – Divinity 』
The words that followed were like a hard smack to the back of Seo Hyo-eun's head.
“It's alright. There is nothing to worry about. This father will fix everything. Whatever the illness is, no matter how precious the medicine required, this father will go and get it himself, so do not you worry.”
“…Yes?”
Wondering what he was talking about, Seo Hyo-eun looked at Cheon Ha-seong, and he had an even more flustered expression. He couldn't understand how on earth he had heard his words to misunderstand them like that.
“Cult Leader, what are you saying? I said that Head Instructor Seo seems to be with child.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
He couldn't understand what had been said to cause such a misunderstanding. The Cult Leader seemed bewildered for a moment, but it was only an instant before the worry and concern vanished from his face and were replaced with joy.
“Son-in-law! My son-in-law! Admirable. Thank you! From now on, I will carry my son-in-law on my back!”
The Cult Leader had a face that could not hold back his emotion.
He was so happy that Cheon Ha-seong didn't know what to do. It was good that he was liked, but it was even better that the child was being celebrated.
“Isn't your body tired, Hyo-eun-ah? Why don't you rest? Why are you sitting up? Is there nothing you want to eat? Whatever it is, this father will get it all for you, so just tell me what you want.”
Hearing those words, Seo Hyo-eun smiled.
“I'm fine, Father. It was tiring, but Head Instructor Cheon infused me with his energy. So now my body feels light and comfortable.”
At that, the Cult Leader looked at Cheon Ha-seong with strange eyes. It was as if he wanted to ask what she meant.
“Are you saying my son-in-law infused our Hyo-eun with his energy? Did you inject your internal energy into Hyo-eun?”
“I… think so. She seemed to be having a hard time, so I just tried it once, and it seems to have gone well. I had never done it before either, so I did think it was fascinating that it worked so well.”
The Cult Leader stared at Cheon Ha-seong with a blank face. This man was definitely a monster. Otherwise, how could this be? To say it's fascinating that it went well when he's never done it before.
If Cheon Ha-seong really wasn't his son-in-law, it seemed he would have disliked him so much that he wouldn't ever want to see his face.
He could also guess that he would be hated by countless people in the future. Since he himself would probably feel that way, it seemed he would have to understand them.
Who would like it if they were told that Cheon Ha-seong nonchalantly reaches a place that they themselves could never reach even if they used their full power without rest? That was not something to blame others for.
“Aren't you busy, son-in-law? I will look after Hyo-eun, so you can be on your way.”
For some reason it seemed like he was trying to keep him in check, but Cheon Ha-seong liked that side of him.
He himself had almost no memory of feeling such affection from his parents, but it was nice that at least Hyo-eun seemed to receive an overflowing amount of love.
Cheon Ha-seong was about to leave, feeling awkward, when he heard the Cult Leader speak to Seo Hyo-eun.
“You will need handmaidens, won't you? And I will bring trustworthy martial artists to guard the front. I will give you this father's Captain of the Honor Guard as well. This father can protect himself just fine. It would be good to call the Demonic Physician to be certain, wouldn't it? What are your thoughts, Hyo-eun-ah? Do you think it would be bad for you and my son-in-law if rumors were to leak? I will do as you say. The Demonic Physician seems to be a trustworthy person, though.”
Every single word was filled with devotion and affection for his daughter. Watching such a Cult Leader, Cheon Ha-seong felt an emotion that was difficult to put into words.
He had liked Seo Hyo-eun before, but now it was not a simple emotion. She had now truly become a person he had to risk his life for. Seeing the Cult Leader cherish such a Seo Hyo-eun so dearly, Cheon Ha-seong's heart also completely opened up.
“As you said, Father, it would not be good if rumors were to leak. I don't know about later, but I don't think we need to say anything in advance. In the meantime, please train Head Instructor Cheon a lot. And please do not spare any spiritual elixirs or martial arts. Head Instructor Cheon has to become strong to be able to protect me and the baby, doesn't he?”
“What is there to say? As it is, I am already thinking about what the best spiritual elixir for my son-in-law would be. You must not feel upset, thinking this father is giving you nothing. The first elixir one takes is important. Because of the first elixir one takes, one might not see the effects even after obtaining something better later on. We also have to see what suits my son-in-law well.”
Knowing that he had already been thinking about such things, Cheon Ha-seong approached the Cult Leader.
“Cult Leader, I have something I would like to tell you.”
“Speak.”
“Actually.”
Cheon Ha-seong no longer hesitated to tell the Cult Leader about the commentary on the Heaven-Shattering Will Art.
“I found something at the Martial Arts Academy.”
“What is it?”
“First, I would like to be able to see the original copy of the Heaven-Shattering Will Art in detail.”
“That is not difficult. As it happens, I had it with me.”
The Cult Leader took out the martial arts manual without the slightest hesitation and handed it to Cheon Ha-seong. As he received it, he became even more certain of the existence of the markings on the wall.
“Please wait a moment.”
Cheon Ha-seong went to his room and returned with what he had written down in the meantime.
“Where did you get this? This must be stored very well. Just because you know all the mnemonic verses of the Heaven-Shattering Will Art doesn't mean you should let just anyone know about it.”
“Yes, Cult Leader. I will be careful and store it well.”
The Cult Leader, as if thinking that would be enough, began to read what Cheon Ha-seong had handed him from then on.
As he did, he looked at Cheon Ha-seong several times.
Seeing as he could already execute the Heaven-Shattering Will Art so skillfully, it was rather not strange that he knew all the mnemonic verses. But he too was looking at the markings in between.
“What is this?”
“These are the markings that were on the wall. I recorded them by recalling the mnemonic verses that were there after the wall was destroyed and the verses were erased. I have looked at the verses carved on that wall every day for nine years, and because of that, I think I have seen even the detailed flaws that others did not.”
“Speak in detail. Do you remember all of the content that follows as well?”
“That is correct.”
As he showed the Cult Leader, Cheon Ha-seong once again realized the regularity with certainty.
The Cult Leader was looking at it from a different perspective than Cheon Ha-seong. Then he opened the original copy, pointed to various spots, and asked if the markings had been there.
“They were.”
Seeing the Cult Leader ask, it seemed he too had discovered the rule.
“In this part, doesn't it mean that the flow of internal energy must be made even faster? It seems that by doing so, the might becomes stronger.”
Cheon Ha-seong, wondering if that could be right, tried quickening the flow of his internal energy at the part with the marking.
The Cult Leader, knowing Cheon Ha-seong was attempting it, watched him with a serious face. And seeing his expression change, he knew that his words had hit the mark.
“Did… it work?”
“I believe so, Cult Leader.”
From then on, Cheon Ha-seong wanted to find out about it with certainty. But before that, there was something he had to tell the Cult Leader first. It was about the commentary.
He had already spoken with the Cult Leader about the commentary and had passed it off with a vague lie in response to his question. Therefore, he would have nothing to say even if the Cult Leader got angry. But he couldn't just keep pretending not to know because he was scared.
“Cult Leader, I have something for which I must apologize to you.”
At that, the Cult Leader looked at him with a grave face. Seeing him suddenly act like this in the middle of a completely different conversation, only one thing came to mind.
“What is it now? Is there perhaps a woman you were seeing before? You're not married or have a child, are you? Such a thing must never happen. If you say you coveted our Hyo-eun in such a state, don't even dream of being forgiven!”
It seemed the Cult Leader really had bad intuition. Cheon Ha-seong thought it was fascinating and hurriedly said that wasn't it.
“Compared to that, this is nothing. I am only trying to tell you that I am in possession of something whose existence was unknown until now.”
Then, thinking there was nothing to be gained by dragging it out, he handed over the Pattra Leaves on which the commentary was written. The Cult Leader, who received them in a daze, thought, 'No way,' and looked at Cheon Ha-seong.
It had been a series of surprises ever since meeting Cheon Ha-seong. It wasn't just once or twice that he had heard a story so surprising he couldn't close his mouth, but this was the most surprising event since the news of Hyo-eun's pregnancy.
The Cult Leader's mind was a complete blank, and he took it and immediately sat down in a chair.
“Hyo-eun-ah, do something about these.”
He said, astonished that his daughter's writing desk was so messy there was barely any space to put down the Pattra Leaves. At that, Cheon Ha-seong quickly cleared the top of the desk. In the meantime, the ink on the characters had dried enough, and once he organized them, the desk quickly became neat.
Seo Hyo-eun, listening to the two of them talk, also focused her attention on it and her eyes lit up.
“This is the commentary on the Heaven-Shattering Will Art?”
When Seo Hyo-eun asked, Cheon Ha-seong quietly said that it seemed so. Then, while the Cult Leader was looking at it, he began to try executing the techniques by changing the flow of his internal energy according to the markings from the wall.
Because of that, the Cult Leader was robbed of his time to be angry at Cheon Ha-seong.
Seo Hyo-eun looked at what she had been writing down as if it were pathetic. It was because she was thinking that she didn't even know what kind of person Cheon Ha-seong was and had been treating him like a small fry.
It was pathetic that she had been agonizing over countermeasures against such trivial people and ways to break their martial arts when Cheon Ha-seong was this kind of person.
“Father, I don't know what I've been doing. When your son-in-law is such an amazing person.”
“Indeed. It is truly dumbfounding and infuriating. But could you please be quiet so your father can concentrate?”
“You're too much, Father.”
However, Seo Hyo-eun didn't bother him any further and now focused on organizing the genealogy. It was because she thought that at least would still be necessary for Cheon Ha-seong.
Before long, the book Seo Hyo-eun was checking had moved on to the section about the Second Demonic Marquis's So Demonic Clan.
Seo Hyo-eun had been trying to find the martial arts of the So Demonic Clan's master, So Yu-yang, and their counter-methods, but feeling that she didn't need to, she just organized the genealogy.
If she had known that the So Yu-yang she had been checking on was the Second Demonic Marquis's lover and the biological father of the son the Marquis had adopted, she would not have been able to just move on like that, but there was no way for Seo Hyo-eun to know that fact.