Chapter 37 – Found Family
The backstory was simple.
Evandel was small, so Lee officially said she was two years old.
If anyone did the math, that meant that when Evandel was conceived, Lee would have been 13.
And because of that fact alone, compared with the timing of everything and how insensitive it would be to ask... especially since Lee was great at putting on a serious expression, something he put to great use when Instructor Soohyuk asked about Evandel's mother...
Lee didn't give concrete answers. But everyone who met Evandel was under the impression that Lee had been involved in a reckless whirlwind romance ending with Evandel's mother dying during childbirth, leaving him to raise Evandel in secret and by himself.
Considering his inhuman focus and history at the Agent Military Academy along with his frequent leave (which happened to also be to do dangerous things for money), things lined up perfectly. A simple and neat answer.
It was completely wrong, of course. But Lee wasn't about to correct it.
People didn't doubt that Evandel was his. She looked too much like him to not be his daughter. And while they were curious about why she looked like a half-Korean and half-European, and also why she looked a lot like Rachel...
Lee's response was just to go extremely quiet and serious, something that Evandel copied.
Because of that, people filled in the details for him.
And like that, Lee got a pass to carry his two-year old daughter around with him to and from classes, as well as free up time to take care of her.
===
Nayun stared at Lee with a blank expression.
Rachel looked at Lee in disbelief.
Hajin... seemed like he wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
Yeonha was actually laughing, covering her mouth in a silent laughing fit.
And Suho, who had stopped by since he was teamed up with Hajin for the day trip for the traveling club... he looked at Lee with understanding eyes. "So that's why you train so hard, Lee."
Lee adjusted Evandel in his arms and said, "Something like that."
They had all gathered at the cafeteria for an early lunch since Nayun, Yeonha, Hajin, and Suho were heading off for the traveling club trip to Seoul today.
Lee was seated at the middle of the table with Evandel in his lap, cutting up pieces of an omelet for her.
Rachel was seated at his right, and Nayun was seated at his left.
Meanwhile, Hajin was sitting across from Lee, with Yeonha on Hajin's right and Suho on Hajin's left.
Of course, they weren't the only cadets around.
Considering how unprecedented having a toddler was on Cube's campus...
"I heard the poor girl's mother died in childbirth..."
"To think that Rank 999 had a story like that..."
"No wonder he trained until he was bleeding from every pore..."
...The rumor mill was putting in all the work in the world.
But Lee ignored it and just kept feeding his daughter.
And biological daughter too.
Huh.
Strange thought. But he was up for it.
Evandel happily munched on the spoonful of omelet that Lee gave her, then she smiled at Yeonha, Hajin, and Suho. "Are you my uncles and auntie too?"
Yeonha visibly flinched. Then her eyes flitted in rapid calculation before she nodded. "That's right, Evandel. You can call me your auntie."
Suho laughed and said, "Sure, Evandel. You can call me Uncle."
As for Hajin...
He let out a long suffering sigh and murmured, "Why is my life this complicated?"
Lee shrugged and then cheekily said, "Blame your creator."
The author DID keep Hajin from being too creative... maybe since Lee was here and the world 'technically' wasn't a novel anymore, it would be different.
Hajin shook his head. "I don't think blaming god helps here... and aren't you supposed to be an American? Can you say that?"
Lee chuckled. "If you ever visit, I'm sure you'll find that America runs the entire extreme spectrum of about every belief in existence."
Rachel rolled her eyes and then pulled Evandel into her arms, feeding the toddler some grapes. "Here, Eva. Eat some fruits too."
"Kay~" Evandel smiled and nibbled on the grapes. Meanwhile, she played with a squishy blue blob.
Hajin noticed and his eyes widened.
Lee noticed Hajin's reaction and said, "Something wrong?"
"N-No. Just, uh..." Hajin kept looking at the blob in Evandel's hands and said, "...Where did your daughter get that?"
"Oh, that?" Lee looked at the blue blob that Evandel was playing with. "It's kind of like a stress ball. Eva gets fidgety so I gave that to her to play with. It's kind of like those squishy erasers."
It was actually Aether, something that Hajin clearly picked up on.
But Lee played dumb.
Mostly because Aether had always been Evandel's from the start.
...Which made Lee wonder what exactly Aether WAS.
It kind of felt like the mana he had. The transparent blob that he could manipulate without exhausting it or burning it up.
But it was also different...
'Something to look into when there aren't so many people around.'
He would need to make a day trip with Evandel sometime to see exactly what she could do so he could find out how to keep her safe.
After all, the best way to protect someone was to make them be able to protect themself first.
And Lee had a feeling that his new adopted biological daughter... which was a weird sentence to think about.
But anyway, since Evandel had both his blood and Rachel's, she would definitely not be ordinary. Not to mention the fact that she was still technically a witch-
Wait.
'Is she still a witch?'
...Evandel wasn't going to be this world's first sorcerer who could use cursed energy or something, right...?
Because, now that Lee thought about it, wasn't his current situation similar to a heavenly restriction-
...
'OH MY GOD. AM I TOJI?'
Lee hadn't watched too much of that Anime... mostly because he enjoyed My Hero Academia more, but...
Anti-magic physique, using weapons to make up for magic, using raw battle tactics and techniques...
Before Lee popped in and started figuring out a way to use mana, Lee Shin was clearly already tooling up for anti-magic user combat...
And considering that a lot of monsters used mana too...
Evandel tilted her head to look at Lee and said, "Daddy? Eat?" She held out a grape.
Lee blinked and then immediately cut off his train of thought, focusing on Evandel instead. "Of course, Eva." He smiled and leaned over to nibble the grape that Evandel held out.
Evandel giggled and then grabbed another grape from Rachel's tray to hand over.
Nayun sighed, shaking her head.
Yeonha glanced at Nayun, clearly already sensing some sort of story.
Hajin was staring off into space... at least, it looked like he was staring off into space.
But Lee figured Hajin was probably just reading a flurry of messages popping up.
As for Suho...
"So." Suho glanced at Shin Jonghak hanging back in the distance and staring at Lee and Evandel like he had swallowed an entire lemon. "...You planning to challenge Jonghak to a duel any time soon? Just curious. Because you know, he seems a bit put out with you. Preemptive strike and all..."
Lee finished eating another grape and then said, "Why don't you challenge him to a duel if you want to see a fight that badly, Suho?"
"I would, but he's beneath me in rank. Can't lose face, you know? Plus, it's funny."
Nayun burst out laughing. "Oh my god, is THAT why you keep provoking him?!"
Yeonha blinked, looking mildly upset. But then she paused to consider it, looked at Jonghak, then at Hajin... then she chuckled and said, "Well. I suppose if a guy is so focused on their image like that, they probably aren't a good person..."
Nayun let out a dramatic gasp and said, "Is our Yeonha finally moving on from Jonghak?"
Rachel's eyes lit up and she smiled at Yeonha. "Did Kim Hajin finally win you over?"
Yeonha and Hajin both turned a bright red.
Suho laughed and said, "Oh, right! You guys missed it!"
Yeonha immediately rounded on Suho and said, "Do NOT say it-"
"Hajin swept in like a hero to save Yeonha on Friday. There was a whole incident, you know? It turns out that the Academic Club leader was a djinn who was seducing female cadets. But he just happened to try and get Yeonha while Hajin was there and then BAM." Suho mimed a gun. "Out like a light."
Hajin turned an even darker shade of red and said, "I-It wasn't like that. I got lucky."
Yeonha nodded. "Th-That's right. And it isn't like I love Hajin or anything-"
Nayun leaned in, a mischievous smile on her face. "Hajin, huh~?"
Yeonha's eyes widened. "I-I mean Kim Hajin!"
Rachel giggled and nudged Lee's arm. "I think you might win the bet, Lee..."
Nayun leaned back and laughed. "Yeah, I think the drama developments are unfolding just like we thought..."
Suho chuckled and said, "Alright, alright. Enough teasing the new couple-"
"I-I'm not dating Yeonha!"
"Hajin is just a friend!"
"...Let's just chat a bit." Suho checked his smart watch and said, "We're heading out at 11 AM to meet the seniors and it's 10:30 AM now." He glanced at Nayun and Yeonha. "Nayun, you missed the draw since you were out having fun with Lee and Rachel, but Yeonha's your partner for the trip."
"Huh?" Nayun blinked. "There was a draw?"
Yeonha nodded. "Yes. That's why I said to be back on Saturday."
"YOU DIDN'T SAY THAT!"
"...Didn't I?"
Lee chuckled. "Definitely not. Hajin was on your mind, so you forgot."
Yeonha turned a bright red and said, "S-Stop with that! You're so shameless!"
Evandel squirmed out of Rachel's arms to sit back in Lee's lap and nodded. "Daddy is the best!"
Lee laughed. "You heard my daughter."
Suho shook his head and said, "Focus, guys." He nodded to Hajin and said, "Hajin and I are going to be checking out the National Weapons Museum. What about you and Yeonha, Nayun?"
"That's... Hm." Nayun tilted her head and looked at Lee.
Lee blinked. "What?"
"...You lived in Seoul for a bit, right?"
"Yeah? Why? ...Oh, did you need a place to stay? I still have my lease at my apartment if you need a place to crash."
Lee was technically still paying for that until next year since he had a yearly lease, so it was mostly just sitting there anyway.
Yeonha's eyes lit up. "You have an apartment in Seoul?"
Rachel's eyes lit up too. Then she tugged Lee's sleeve. "Lee. We should go too."
"Huh?" Lee blinked. "Go where? To Seoul? I mean, I guess we could take a day trip... it's not like we have much else to do on campus."
Evandel smiled and said, "Trip! With Daddy and Mommy!"
Nayun laughed at that and said, "Oh, she's got you two wrapped around her finger already, huh?"
Suho glanced at Lee. Then Evandel. Then Rachel. And then his eyes widened in recognition. "Wait a minute..."
Nayun rolled her eyes and said, "It's not that, Suho."
Yeonha caught onto what Suho realized too... mostly the fact that Evandel looked a LOT like Rachel. But then she tilted her head and realized the numbers didn't match up, so she looked at Nayun.
Nayun sighed and looked at Lee. "See? This is why I said it'd get troublesome, Lee."
Lee fed Evandel the rest of his omelet, spooning it up for her to eat. Then he said, "How is it troublesome? Evandel is my daughter, and she thinks that Rachel is her mother. We'll sort it out when she gets older."
A deliberately ambiguous phrasing for people listening.
For those who didn't know better, it sounded like Lee was saying that Evandel was mistaken and that he was humoring Evandel until she got old enough to understand.
But for Nayun and Rachel, who knew exactly who Evandel was...
It was a declaration that Lee would make sure the world knew who Evandel's real mother was later.
Which made Rachel immediately turn a bright red with a soft smile on her face...
And Nayun letting out a long suffering sigh. "...I swear, you're just like Oppa. Causing so much trouble..."
Yeonha paused and looked over at Nayun. "...Are you fine with talking about it now?"
Nayun smiled. "Well, yeah. It's still bleak... but since SOMEONE here showed me that you can find a solution for anything if you do enough and think outside the box... I'm sure it'll be fine."
Lee nodded and said, "We'll look into a cure for your brother together, Nayun. Don't worry." He smiled and gestured around the table. "Between all of us, we'll figure something out, right?"
At that time, Hajin looked super confused.
A fact that Suho didn't miss.
"Huh?" Suho tilted his head and said, "What's with that expression, Hajin? Don't tell me you're not going to help Nayun out?"
"What? No. It's just..." Hajin hesitated. Then he said, "...Is something wrong with Nayun's older brother?"
A deep silence fell across the table.
Yeonha's eyes widened.
Rachel tilted her head, looking genuinely confused.
Suho's eyes narrowed.
As for Nayun...
She slowly blinked. And then she burst out laughing.
Hajin turned a deep red and he said, "W-What? Did I say something-" He cut himself off, his eyes staring into space. No doubt reading a new pop up.
Suho looked over at Nayun and said, "Nayun... are you okay?"
Nayun wiped some tears out of her eyes and said, "I'm fine. It's just funny..." She smiled and said, "I forget, sometimes. This really is a big world, huh? Some people just miss things that should be obvious..."
Hajin hesitated. "...Sorry?"
Nayun waved her hand and said, "It's fine. You're not a genius like Lee, so I forgive you. This time."
"Hey." Lee pointed at Nayun. "I resemble that statement."
Evandel giggled and raised her fist in the air. "Daddy, genius!" And then she paused and held up Aether, letting it shift into a mini knight. "Hero!"
Yeonha saw that and then let out a warm smile. She reached over the table and lightly pinched Evandel's cheek. "Well aren't you a little prodigy?"
Rachel immediately grabbed Yeonha's wrist and pulled it back. "No touching Eva."
Yeonha's eyes widened. Then she let out a calculating smile. "Of course, Lady Rachel."
Nayun rolled her eyes. "Whatever you're thinking, Yeonha, don't do it. Rachel carved through hundreds of monsters yesterday to keep Eva safe, all while carrying her in one arm. Essence of Strait might be first right now, but I don't think it's ready to go against a princess ready to burn everything to protect her found child..."
Hajin tilted his head at that and said, "Huh? Essence of Strait is first? Isn't it second?"
Yeonha paused and then gave Hajin a blank look. "...Hajin."
Hajin turned a bright red. "W-What? M-My information is a bit outdated, okay...?"
Yeonha let out a deep sigh. "...It seems we will need to do a proper introduction. I will send you the standard orientation packet later. Of course, recruitment attempts are illegal at the moment, but since you are both my teammate and being sponsored with my personal funds, you should at least know the minimum about my background..."
Nayun perked up at that and said, "OH RIGHT!" She pointed at Yeonha and looked smug. "Yeonha! I win!"
Yeonha paused. "...Win what?"
"Our old bet! This weekend, I made over 100 million won on my own!"
"...No. You're joking. There is no way that our air-headed Nayun could have made that much from just hunting..."
Lee chuckled and said, "Hey, Nayun's not THAT air-headed. She just needs to be pointed in the right direction."
Evandel paused in the middle of playing with her little knight and nodded. "Yes! Auntie, fighting! Strong!"
Nayun let out a warm smile towards Evandel and said, "Aw... you're alright, you little brat."
Rachel bristled.
Nayun rolled her eyes. "Relax, Rachel. It's affectionate."
Rachel pouted and said, "My daughter is not a brat."
Suho chuckled. "Really committing to the daughter thing, huh? But..." He looked at Evandel and Rachel before saying, "...I guess that's good. A child needs their parents, even if they aren't the real ones."
Hajin glanced at Suho, mixed emotions in his eyes.
As for Lee...
While he watched the chaos unfold, he just quietly stole food off the trays from everyone else to feed himself and Evandel.
Macros were necessary for proper growth, after all. And it wasn't like those guys cared about it...