The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

From now on, call me Master (1)

Absorbing a person alive, along with their magic power.

If you interpret it in a different way, it could be considered cannibalism.

The mechanism is the same in that someone is consumed into your own body.

And the person who gets consumed always dies.

Naturally, this is something even a child can easily understand.

'Murder, huh...'

I absorbed people and made them my own nourishment. No matter how you look at it, it's clearly murder.

It's the act of taking a person's life and staining your hands with blood.

'Come to think of it, I've been doing that kind of thing over and over again.'

Of course, I burned people to death, and I also repeatedly absorbed them to use as nutrients.

The scale of it can't even be compared to what Eunseol did. Yet, I never felt any guilt.

After all, it was always justifiable self-defense against those Mewzealand bastards.

'I would have died if I didn't kill. What's there to feel guilty about?'

From the beginning, humans and different races were always in a state of war, so it wasn't strange no matter who died or how.

In that battlefield, all I did was fight for the lives of myself and my legion—anyone who nitpicks that is just an idiot.

'Most of those Mewzealand guys were exactly those kinds of idiots.'

Now, let's see... what did they say to me, again?

'Life is precious!'

'Revenge is wrong!'

'Justice gained through such filthy acts is meaningless!'

The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it was.

The ones who said life was precious killed others indiscriminately, and the ones who claimed revenge was wrong considered demonkin as targets for revenge for their families' sake.

What's more, the ones who couldn't tolerate "filthy acts" would frame other humans and use them for human experimentation.

Most of these things were said before they died at my hands.

'They were bastards who deserved to die.'

They thought their justice was absolute and right, and under plausible justifications, they committed all sorts of atrocities.

The mere fact that such people existed on Earth was horrifying.

If there's a giant spider hiding at home, would you just sit there and do nothing?

Of course, you'd call pest control to wipe it out immediately.

That's how it has always been: the ones I killed were never really "people" at all.

'Compared to that...'

But what about the people Eunseol killed inside the Gate?

If those people were all evil as well, few would blame her.

But what are the odds of that, really?

Even if they were evil, it wasn't self-defense—she attacked and killed on sight.

Would that really be forgivable?

The possibility they were all evil is just wishful thinking at best.

She simply killed innocent people.

That's too heavy a sin for a middle schooler to bear.

"The guilt of having killed someone. That's Baek Eunseol's nightmare. As the memories you erased begin to gradually return, so too does that nightmare."

"She hasn't remembered everything yet, has she?"

"No, only a very small part so far."

Of course, what Eunseol did wasn't because she wanted to.

She was kidnapped by someone, dragged into the Gate, experimented on, and as a result of brainwashing, began killing people who trespassed.

To make it worse, her real parents had already been murdered when she was kidnapped.

It was an unfair and tragic thing for Eunseol.

But once she becomes aware of what she's done, she won't be able to handle it sanely.

"For now, it's just agoraphobia. Because of the guilt, she can't interact with others at all."

And the way she killed wasn't just a simple matter—she absorbed living people into her body.

At a glance, it might seem less gruesome since there's no blood spatter.

But the victim loses their life, and their magic power writhes inside her body.

No one could stay sane under those circumstances.

"If she regains all those memories..."

"..."

Even now, she's suffering from PTSD and agoraphobia; if she remembers it all, it'll be nothing short of hell.

At the moment, she only realizes she committed murder. If she remembers the entire process as well, the result is obvious.

"Guilt like that is hard to endure even for an adult."

"Should I erase her memories again?"

"That won't work. Erasing the same memory over and over will only make her resistant. Besides, Baek Eunseol has somehow managed to recover even the memories you erased, Demon King."

Now that I think about it, that was suspicious. It isn't common for someone to recover memories that I manipulated.

"What will you do, Demon King?"

"..."

I tried arranging my thoughts.

Because her lost memories returned, Eunseol was on the verge of ruining her school life.

Part of it was due to her immaturity, but the biggest reason was that the magic power, which didn't match her, was flowing through her body.

Considering that one's trait is linked with magic power, the side effects would be worse than for others.

It's entirely possible something worse than what happened with the painting today could occur.

"For now, since Baek Eunseol is also a friend of yours, I won't give her a severe punishment..."

"No, keep the punishment."

"What?"

"Don't you know what regulations Hand follows these days? You approved them, didn't you?"

Firm punishment for violations of school rules.

Vern would know this, since as chairman, he would've signed those documents.

"The entire second campus already knows about this. If we give her just a slap on the wrist and contradict the rules, how do you think the students will react?"

If all the other students were punished strictly, but some middle schooler was let off the hook?

That kind of contradiction is ridiculous even to me.

"Even if it's because of a trait's side effect, it can't be an excuse for her to escape punishment."

It might sound a bit cold, but I felt sorry for Eunseol.

But there have been many who've tried to get off with that excuse—it can't be helped.

"But if we do that, Baek Eunseol's advancement to the high school division could be disrupted..."

"That's nothing to worry about. You can handle any issues with the high school division later."

"... That's true."

"The punishment is just to make sure she learns to respect the law."

As long as Vern and I back her up, she won't be expelled.

But we need to give her a serious punishment, so she'll recognize that the world isn't easy.

Juvenile crimes happen because kids take the law lightly.

According to my father, there are more than a few judges who hand out careless punishments.

If kids end up being released quickly from the police station or court because of that?

Then what will they think?

'Cops aren't a big deal.'

'Law is easy.'

The heavy iron mass of the law, which should be burdensome, will just seem like cheap fluff.

"And there won't be any problem with Baek Eunseol advancing to the high school division."

"How?"

"I have my ways."

****

A few days after the painting incident.

Eunseol's punishment was confirmed: 30 days of suspension for causing a disturbance and transfer to a recovery center.

The rumors had already spread everywhere, and she'd become famous at the second campus.

A student who got punished only a week after the semester started.

And since the reason for the punishment was so absurd, she'd become the go-to topic whenever students needed amusement.

― Do you know who's the best artist at our school?

― Who else! Baek Eunseol. Kekeke!

― Picasso or Leonardo da Vinci would bawl and beg to become her student if they saw her drawings.

― Just like the legendary pirate king Gold Roger among pirates, or legendary Hokage Naruto among ninjas, our school's legendary artist is Baek Eunseol.

― What the heck are you talking about, you nerd.

― By the way, I want to see that picture so bad. Any way to get a look?

― How could you? Teacher Regina already burned it.

― Puhahahaha! Not even shredded, she burned it?!

― But didn't Teacher Regina secretly take a photo? Maybe she enjoys it at night.

― Eunseol's gonna make a fortune someday, right? If she publishes an illustration collection, she'll get rich, don't you agree?

― What kind of artbook, you lunatic. Kekekekeke!

How would Eunseol have felt if she'd overheard this at school?

Being dragged off to the recovery center was a stroke of luck.

But even there, people knew exactly why she was brought in.

Understanding the reason, they couldn't help laughing.

There had been plenty of students brought in for adult material, but never before had someone been punished for drawing it with their own hands.

'It's all my own doing.'

Eunseol really had no one to blame.

She'd become infamous throughout the entire second campus for bad reasons, and her social life was basically ruined.

Even after those 30 days, what would be left for her when she left?

The dream school life she'd hoped for had already flown past the horizon, long gone.

'Even if this incident hadn't happened... would I have been able to get along with the kids?'

Even before this, Eunseol had suffered severe agoraphobia.

Her body instinctively refused to communicate with others.

Even when students came up to her on the first day, she'd missed her chance.

Maybe it had been hopeless from the beginning—like how a turtle doesn't run faster without its shell.

Just attending school doesn't automatically bring you friends.

"I wonder what he's doing now?"

Suddenly, that boy popped into her head.

Ma Seongjin.

She'd learned his name for the first time after coming to Hand.

He was almost infamous as a tyrant in the middle school division.

Would such a strict Seongjin ever forgive her for her misbehavior?

'Wait. Come to think of it, Seongjin himself...'

Didn't Ma Seongjin also pull out a long stick in front of her?

In the chairman's office, no less.

Did he really think he wouldn't get caught?

That crazy image stuck in her mind and wouldn't go away.

The prince on the white horse she'd been hoping for... took off his pants and threw a drinking party.

'Give it back... Give me back my ideal!!'

Having her innocent dreams shattered, Eunseol pulled her blanket over her head on the bed at the recovery center.

The soft material tickled her nose.

Life at the center wasn't actually bad.

The facility focused on the reform of children, teaching mostly morals and manners.

This kind of gentle environment actually suited her pretty well.

"Baek Eunseol."

"Yes...?"

At that moment, the facility staff opened the door and entered.

"You have a visitor."

Who would come to see her?

Maybe someone from the Angel guild had come directly?

If so, she'd given them quite a bit of trouble—she'd boasted about joining, then ended up in disgrace.

But outside, it turned out someone else was waiting.

"Who...?"

There were two people, whose presence felt very familiar.

One had a beard on his chin, a hunched back, and would clearly be taken for an old man at a glance.

Dressed in white clothes worthy of a mountain spirit, his face covered by a Hahoetal mask, and a staff in his hand.

At first glance, he looked like an old man... but in reality, it was a boy pretending to be one.

And as for the other one...

"Hi?"

"Oh? Sang-ah."

Kwon Sang-ah, her classmate, gave her a wave.

Smiling at her, Sang-ah was wearing a martial arts uniform with a white jacket.

Both were dressed perfectly for training in the mountains.

As for the boy acting old, Eunseol recognized who he was through his aura.

"You... are you Seongjin? What's with the outfit?"

Anyone could tell it was Ma Seongjin.

But disguised as an old man, Ma Seongjin pointed his staff at Eunseol and said,

"Ye, you wretch! How dare you speak so rudely to your master!"

"... Huh?"

"Do not keep this old man waiting."

Seongjin then swung the staff away and threw some clothes to Eunseol—just like what Sang-ah was wearing.

"What are you doing? Hurry inside and change your clothes!"

"Um... Seongjin, why all of a sudden..."

"Ahem! Rudeness to your master again! Looks like I have to teach you proper disciple etiquette!"

What on earth is he talking about? Master? What's this disciple etiquette nonsense?

"You have ten minutes to change! I shall wait over there. For every minute you are late, I'll raise the intensity of your training!"

"..."

Watching Seongjin disappear for a moment, Eunseol had no idea what was happening.

Seongjin's sudden arrival was just too weird.

And the way he'd been in the chairman's office that time, too...

The more she thought about it, the dizzier she got.

"Don't worry."

"...?"

Sang-ah gently placed her hand on Eunseol's shoulder. Giving her a sympathetic look, she said,

"You'll get used to it with time, junior sister."