Book 2, Epilogue 2 - Return of the Hero(?) (2)
“Oh my! Lee Gun-nim is sleeping very well today.” Chun Jiwoo looked at the baby Lee Gun with surprise. “Normally, he would be hungry by now. He would be awake, and…”
If one observed Lee Gun’s actions, it would become clear that Lee Gun wasn’t human. The size of his stomach was inhuman. He frequently woke up because of hunger.
This time, it was different. Four hours had passed, yet Lee Gun kept sleeping without becoming fussy!
Hugo was surprised.
‘Whenever I looked at him, he would wake up every thirty minutes and torment me.’
The Chun siblings commented as well.
“Uncle is sleeping well thanks to me. That’s why you should let me change his diapers.”
“Stop lying, Noona. This is all thanks to my special massage. That’s why you should let me be in charge of educating him.”
“….” Hugo looked at his children, dumbfounded.
His reaction was understandable since each of the Chun siblings was holding half of Lee Gun.
The head of the baby Lee Gun was resting on Yooha’s thighs, and his short legs were placed on top of Sungjae’s knees. The siblings were roughly sharing half of Lee Gun as they allowed Lee Gun to sleep.
Hugo realized his children were scary. They looked for every opportunity to pounce on Lee Gun. When he saw them each hold half of the sleeping Lee Gun, he said, “I’m just throwing this out there just in case. If you take half of him, not even Gun would be able to survive. You guys can’t do it because he will really die.”
“What are you saying?”
“Why would you tell us such an obvious thing?”
What do they mean “why”? Hugo had said it because they really looked like they would split Lee Gun in half!
Hugo pretended as if it didn’t bother him, but he was anxious.
Chun Jiwoo burst out laughing. “Still, it’s a relief. At one point, I wondered what would happen.”
“….”
Hugo still seemed appalled as he looked at Lee Gun. The events of that day were still vivid in his mind.
* * *
It was around half a year ago.
“Get out of the way, Hugo!”
Alongside the monster alarm, a baby had appeared on the earth and destroyed Hugo’s home. To make matters worse, a big fight had erupted because of the baby. It was enough to mobilize forces from all over the world.
“Hugo! Get out of the way! Didn’t you hear the Red Zone alert?”
“That’s right. That child is a monster!”
The monsters had been finally pushed out of this world, yet the monster alert system had run once again. Naturally, it caused great tension around the world.
In fact, several hundred armed disciples were gathered in front of Hugo’s house. High-ranking officials from various countries had appeared alongside the Zodiac Saints.
“We finally found peace. If we don’t get rid of the baby, it might be the situation with the monarchs all over again…!”
They raised their blades against Hugo and his household, who held the child. They wanted Hugo and his household to hand over the child.
Moreover, Hugo and his household were the only ones trying to protect the baby of unknown origin. If Hugo hadn’t protected the baby, the nations would have already given the order to get rid of Lee Gun.
Stevens and the disciples from various countries tried to go after Chun Jiwoo, who held the baby in her arms.
“Give us that child, Hugo.”
“No, I can’t let you have him. That child is Gun”
“What?!”
“Hugo-nim!”
After sending his wife toward the back, Hugo glared at the others. He was warning them to stand back.
Stevens sighed as he confronted Hugo. “I know you were the closest to him, so I understand the emotions you must be feeling right now. However, there is no proof that this infant is Lee Gun. Also, don’t we have the duty to protect the earth instead of Lee Gun? What if that child is an intelligence-type monster pretending to be Lee Gun?”
“It is Gun.”
“Do you have proof?”
“I doubt you guys will believe me even if I did tell you.”
“Then…!”
“If you come any closer, I’ll kill you.”
“!”
Hugo’s eyes flashed. “You’ll have to face me before you try to get rid of this child.”
“Wait…!”
Kwahng!
“!”
The Zodiac Saints and the disciples flinched as Hugo didn’t hesitate to release the power of Eternal Change. The chaotic energy of a monarch fiercely emanated from his body.
In front of the power of a first-generation monarch, everyone naturally became guarded.
‘Is he willing to put his life on the line for this fight?’
‘He has finally lost his mind thanks to Lee Gun!’
Since they had faced off against the old monarchs, they gulped. Hugo had previously been charged with betraying humanity before.
It had all been an act to dupe Wind. He had done it to drive out the monarchs. When this truth had come out, the suspicion toward Hugo had dissipated, but…
‘You still haven’t moved public sentiment to your side, yet you’re trying to protect a monster.’
‘There is no way the people around the world will believe you.’
At that moment…
“If you don’t plan on contributing to the money needed to buy powdered formula, you guys can buzz off.”
“!”
Kwahng!!
In a flash, Yooha’s spear brushed past their faces.
The Zodiac Saints flinched.
“If you plan on taking Lee Gun-nim, all the members of the Sagittarius temple will declare war on you.”
Lee Jaewon and the Archer disciples had their bows aimed. Even Chun Sungjae was letting out flames from his body.
A terrifying air of tension hit the people gathered there. Amid this tension, murderous intent emanated from some of them.
However, before a war could break out, unexpected figures stepped forward.
“Let’s leave it at that.”
“Hey! Virgo Saint!”
“Right. Let’s just say Hugo is right.”
“Heiji!”
“It probably is Lee Gun.”
“Liv!”
When the three of them sided with Hugo, Sophie looked shocked. These three were the ones who had the worst relationship with Lee Gun and Hugo. Now that they had decided to take Hugo’s side, Sophie had no idea how she should respond.
Kevin spoke as if he found all this tiresome. “There is no way that idiot pushover will fail to recognize his own god. Above all else…”
Kevin shook his head from side to side as he looked at the Chun siblings, who were literally panting in joy as they looked at the baby.
“Also, they won’t be forgiving if it’s found out that he’s a fake.”
“…”
They immediately agreed with that take. The Chun siblings were already saying things like, “Ha! His nostril looks the same as Uncle’s,” “His eyebrows and ears look the same too,” and “Let’s try counting his eyelashes!”
When the Chun siblings started to geek out, the conversation was over.
Of course, there were conditions to the retreat.
Kevin said to Hugo, “If he’s really Lee Gun, the world will be happy. However, it’s as you’ve acknowledged. Lee Gun doesn’t possess his memories. There is no way we’ll be able to really confirm if he’s Lee Gun or not.”
“…”
“The energy of a monster can be sensed from him, and we have no idea if he’s an ally or not. That’s why you’ll keep watch on him and give us periodic reports. Those terms are a must, and if he becomes a being that threatens humanity…”
Hugo sighed when he heard Kevin’s cold words. He knew why Kevin was saying them.
While Kevin might be speaking like this, Hugo knew Kevin was working to save them. Hugo was already being monitored by the world for being a traitor. So those next words were inevitable.
“Alright. If that child becomes a monster, I’ll take responsibility. I’ll get rid of him. You guys won’t have to do anything.”
As if he had heard an answer that was 100% correct, Kevin turned around after patting Hugo’s shoulder.
“Did you hear that? If something bad happens, the Sagittarius temple will take responsibility for it. We won’t have to do anything tedious. Let’s head back.”
“What?! This is a bit…!”
“That’s right. How can we let someone still under suspicion— Kuhk!”
Kevin roughly grabbed the necks of the disciples who protested. He let out murderous intent, as though he was ready to wring their necks. “Zodiac Saints are busy people. Do you plan on blowing this out of proportion? Do I need to shed the blood of idiots like you guys?”
“N…No. I’m sorry. Kuhk!”
In the end, the order to retreat was given.
Stevens discreetly moved toward Hugo. “We’ll be monitoring you in name only. Everyone will be happy if you’re right about him not being an enemy. I hope he’s Lee Gun. Just don’t forget to send a report. I don’t mind if you send it in private.”
“What? Report?”
Stevens had a serious expression on his face as he placed his hands on Hugo’s shoulders. “That’s right. Above all else, let me know if he still has his memories! That’s the most important part!”
“…??” Hugo looked at Stevens as if the latter were speaking nonsense.
Stevens was grabbing Hugo’s shoulders hard enough to break them, and he was sweating. He looked afraid of something.
When even Stevens went along with it, his subordinates shouted in surprise.
“Why are we handing him over? We have to ascertain his identity!”
“Also, Hugo Otis is still under watch!”
“That’s right. What if Hugo Otis is trying to raise a monster in secret from humanity…!”
“No, we are handing him over.”
“What?”
“Do you guys not see that?”
“W-What? What are you…”
Stevens felt a chill run up his spine as he looked at the baby. He couldn’t see the baby’s face, but the baby was letting out the aura of a monster.
For some reason, it felt as if they would all be killed if they didn’t agree to hand him over to Hugo.
Anyway, this was the situation that Hugo found himself in. The baby hadn’t been recognized as Lee Gun, and they were under surveillance. This was why Hugo couldn’t take steps to adopt the baby. It was also the start of Hugo’s happy(?) days of child-rearing.
Anyway, Hugo had thought he would be able to have a happy time geeking out about Lee Gun, but…
Kwahng!!!
“Ahhk!!”
Happy time, my ass! Hugo was woken up at dawn when he heard the sound of his house breaking. He ran toward the room that Lee Gun was in.
As soon as Hugo entered the room that had the sound-dampening skill placed over it, he clasped his ears shut. The sound of the baby crying was destroying the room.
“Weh! Weh! Wehhhh!”
Lee Gun’s wails were loud enough to almost destroy the eardrums of a Zodiac Saint! It was like watching a monster cry, but Hugo acted as if he was used to this. He picked up a new diaper.
“Woah, woah! That’s right! Your cool and awesome dad will change your diaper right now!”
Kwahng!!!
“Ahhk!!”
It seemed the baby disliked what Hugo had said. He slammed his cute little hand against the ground, making the floor crack.
Hugo changed Lee Gun’s diaper and said, “You’re all clean now. Now you can go back to sleep— Huh? Ahhhk!!!”
Hugo screamed. “Damn it! You should go all at once!!!”
As soon as he had cleaned number 2, the baby had peed. Hugo was a clean freak, so he grumbled as he changed diapers again.
Bboo-jeek!
“Ahhk!!!!”
In the end, the baby alternated between peeing and pooping. The process repeated around ten times.
Moreover, Lee Gun kept staring at Hugo as if he expected Hugo to change him again.
“Not yet. I won’t change it until you go again. This time, you can go all at once! Go on and do it! Diapers these days have good absorbent material. You can go number 1 again!”
“….”
The baby held his rattle and looked at Hugo as if he was unsatisfied.
“Ha ha ha. Once you go around ten more times in there, Dad will change it tomorrow! Ha ha ha ha! You can’t change diapers on your own, right? Uh?”
At that moment, Hugo almost fainted from surprise.
“Ahhk!!”
As if he was calling out Hugo’s nonsense, Lee Gun was about to slam the small rattle against the ground.
For some reason, Hugo’s face turned pale at this. “Alright! I’ll change it, my dear Gun! Dad was wrong! I was wrong!”
It didn’t take long for the floor to crack, and the second floor cratered.
Kwahng!!
In the end, a single strike was enough to destroy the floor, and Hugo fell to the first floor.
It didn’t take long for Chun Jiwoo to come running in surprise. “Husband! Are you ok? Dear!! What happened?”
Hugo felt like dying. He let out a hollow smile. “I…I’m fine. Do you mind changing Gun’s diaper for me? He’s having a hard time falling asleep because of it…!!!”
“What? What are you talking about? Lee Gun-nim fell asleep… He’s sleeping like an angel…”
It seemed the baby didn’t want Chun Jiwoo to take his diapers off and had run away. However, Chun Jiwoo was experienced in child-rearing. She just had to touch the diaper to realize something. It puzzled her.
“His diaper is fresh. Did you change it?”
“What? There is no way….”
At that moment…
[Ah! I changed his diaper, servant.]
“!”
A female Construct appeared next to Hugo. It was Disinfectant (Iaso).
[Lee Gun-nim tasked us to take care of his business.]
“W-What? What do you mean take care of his business?”
[He put me in charge of changing the diaper.]
“?!!”
Until now, no one other than Hugo had to change Lee Gun’s diaper. The answer to this mystery was solved now.
[While he may not remember us, he instinctively knows that we will take care of him if he is in discomfort.]
When Iaso said that, Eeny, Meeny, and Miny made their appearance. They wailed in joy.
[That’s right! It just took a couple of times for him to see us! He caught on that we would change his diaper if he signaled with his hand! As expected of Master, he’s smart!]
[We are usually scattered conducting missions. However, he just has to give the signal, and we’ll come running to him!]
[That’s right! We even bring him food! He does make a fuss if anyone other than Iaso changes his diaper, but anyway, we take care of all the other things he needs!]
“…?!”
Hugo’s pupils shook.
‘What? He just needs to signal with his finger, and his Constructs will come to him?’
‘They were changing the diapers already? I didn’t need to change it?’
That meant the baby had been tormenting him despite having his Constructs…
The Constructs didn’t know what Hugo had been going through, so they spoke proudly.
[We’ve been looking after all of Master’s needs. You must have had an easy time since you had nothing to do, right?]
[Hurry up and bow to us in thanks. We made it so that you wouldn’t have to do much.]
“What did you just say!!!”
[???]
Feeling aggrieved, Hugo pounded his chest. Bow down in thanks, my ass! Do they not realize how much he…! How much he….!!!
Hugo grabbed the back of his neck. At this point, Hugo realized something was off. He looked at Lee Gun. He was raising the young Gun as an amazing dad(?), but…
‘That bastard, Gun’
What was going on? The baby was acting like Lee Gun in messing with him. No, this surpassed whatever had happened in the past.
Hugo looked at the kid with suspicion in his eyes. There was no way Lee Gun had his memories since he went through inheritance…
Was he doing all of this on instinct…?
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