Chapter 221. Why Only Me
"Ah... You mean Suhyeon."
I asked about the situation when she first took in Cheon Suhyeon at the director's office.
"I was wondering if there was a red-haired man with him. He must've been around my age."
I don't know where the Rune Clan was based, but a kid that age couldn't have made it here on his own.
An older man must have helped him.
"I don't know how you knew, but yes. There was a red-haired boy. If he were still alive, he'd probably be around your age, Cadet Hoyeon."
"...What?"
I couldn't believe what the director just said.
That meant the survivor Rebecca had been searching for was dead.
"Tsk... It was a few years ago. It was snowing heavily, and I went out because I heard a knock. There he was, a red-haired boy holding a small child, begging me to let them stay just one night."
"...."
The director closed her eyes, as if recalling the moment.
"The boy was in terrible shape. His whole body was burning up. He was so hot we tried to send him to the hospital immediately, but he kept refusing, saying he couldn't go. We secretly called an ambulance anyway."
"I see."
"But his malnutrition was severe, and his body was falling apart. On top of that, his feet were frostbitten from walking barefoot for so long. He was too weak. It was too late to save him."
"Ah. So...."
"Yes. A few hours later, we got word from the hospital that he had died. Fortunately, the child he was holding—Suhyeon—was in decent condition. We've been taking care of him since."
"...."
How was I supposed to describe this situation?
I glanced at Rebecca. Her face looked like she'd just lost her entire Kingdom.
Well, yeah. She had to revive the Rune Clan, and the only survivor left was just a kid.
No wonder. Considering that crazed expression she'd had about the clan—it probably did feel like losing a nation.
Creeeak—
"Huh? Why did the door open by itself? Was it the wind?"
Rebecca opened the door and trudged out.
The director, still maintaining the Rune Barrier, widened her eyes at the suddenly opened door.
"...Thank you for the story. I'll get going now."
"Alright. Thank you for coming, Cadet Hoyeon."
I followed Rebecca outside.
She stood in the empty back yard, staring blankly at the sky.
As I approached, thick tears like chicken droppings were dripping from her cheeks to the ground.
"Rebecca... Miss?"
I called her name for the first time.
Only then did Rebecca turn her head toward me.
Drip. Drip.
Like a leaky faucet, tears fell from her eyes.
If she were sobbing, I could at least try to comfort her, but she looked like someone who had completely given up on everything.
Ha.
I seriously have no idea what to do when girls cry.
I guess comforting her is the first step.
"Don't cry. Umm... Eight years old is still young, but he'll grow soon...."
"...It's meaningless."
"Huh?"
"That child hasn't received proper succession education... He missed the most important years. Without that, he's only half a Rune Clansman."
"Ah...."
"And by the time he grows up, it'll be too late. I'll be older too."
"...How old are you?"
She looks about the same age as Im Sol. Maybe she's using magic to hide her age?
Hiding your age is a classic witch trope.
If she turns out to be an 80-year-old grandma... that's a bit much.
"...In two years, I'll be out of my twenties."
"Wait, what? You're still young."
"...You have to have kids while you're still young!"
Sniff.
Rebecca sniffled as she cried. She looked truly pitiful.
"There'll be a way. I'll help you. Let's find a way together."
Rebecca looked at me and wiped her tears roughly.
"Snrk... Fine, I'll just do it with you."
"Wait, hold on. How did we get here?"
"You're the only male who can use the Rune Barrier."
"I mean, that's true but...."
"And you're handsome. My type. If the survivor had been an ugly pig, I was ready to endure and push for 50 kids. But with you, I could have them until I die."
"...."
Rebecca clutched my collar with eyes full of desire.
Honestly, I didn't hate it.
If sleeping with a beauty increased my heroine count, why not?
You'd think I'd have no reason to refuse, but actually, I had plenty.
First, the revival of the Rune Clan.
The talent inside this body is a divine blessing—God's authority.
Would that be passed on to my children?
I mean, it'd be great if it did. But what if it didn't?
"...Help me."
"...Rebecca."
"I've prepared everything. I'll give you money if you want. I'll raise the kids. I'll make sure you don't have to care about anything. Just... just give me your seed. Please...."
Rebecca's posture crumbled more with every word.
By the end, she was almost kneeling on the floor, shaking my clothes.
A complete reversal from the forceful attitude she had before.
Probably because back then, she thought I was also a Rune Clansman.
Rebecca was staking her life on reviving the clan.
And the man who brought Suhyeon to the orphanage tried to protect the younger Suhyeon at all costs.
Considering these facts, she was probably educated within the clan from a young age.
Taught repeatedly about the importance of preventing extinction and continuing the bloodline.
Naturally, she thought I'd accept my duty as a fellow clansman.
But I'm not the same person now.
I'm not of the Rune Clan, so I have no duty to continue it, but I also can't just force myself into it.
Because I might die.
There are forceful ways, but honestly, I'm not completely defenseless.
If I tried to resist seriously, I could easily create an opening to escape.
'Of course, I won't die... but Rebecca doesn't know that.'
In a way, I've become something Rebecca can't control—but also her last hope.
"I'll do anything. Just please...."
I grabbed Rebecca's shoulders and lifted her up as she tried to bow her head to the floor.
"...Get up. I don't want that kind of relationship."
A woman with decadent charm shouldn't fall apart like this.
They're prettier when they're confident.
"Then will you get me pregnant? Are we making a baby or not?"
Rebecca looked at me with eyes full of hope.
"...I can try. But on one condition. You have to follow everything I say."
"I've practiced enough. I can handle anything."
Rebecca misunderstood, steeling her resolve, but that wasn't the point.
There was a much bigger problem why I couldn't accept her right away.
I had to solve that first.
We left the orphanage.
We couldn't carry out this matter there.
"We need a secluded place. Do you know one?"
"Follow me. I have a hideout in the Korean branch."
Surrounded by Rebecca's Rune Barrier, I followed her out to the suburbs.
I observed the Rune Barrier along the way, but it still looked the same.
'Why can't I analyze it?'
Unlike other magic, Rebecca's Rune Barrier couldn't be analyzed.
More precisely, even if you analyzed it and replicated it, the result wouldn't be the same.
I don't know what principle it's based on, but it definitely hides something extraordinary.
"By the way, what about Suhyeon?"
The Rune Clan survivor.
Cheon Suhyeon at the orphanage would live an ordinary life if left alone.
"I'll bring him. Even without the education, he's still a Rune Clansman. I'll build a bond with him slowly, adopt him, and... make him part of the Rune Clan."
Rebecca's voice showed genuine love for the Rune Clan.
The word 'education' stuck with me.
"What exactly is that education? Is it something special for the Rune Clan?"
That special Rune Barrier probably came from that education.
"Hmm, simply put, it's living inside the Rune Barrier from a young age. There's a special training method to forcibly match your magical nature to the Rune Barrier."
"Oh...."
"If you focus on the Rune Barrier for years, your magical circuit changes. Then you become a true Rune Clansman."
So my Rune Barrier was a half-baked version.
No wonder it was so easy to break.
"Come inside."
Rebecca entered a dreary building tucked away in a corner of the city.
After passing a dark hallway where bats might fly out, we arrived at a fairly bright living space.
"There's a bed and bathroom in this room. Follow me."
Rebecca started taking off her coat and headed into the room.
She was ready to get started right now.
"Hold on, Rebecca. Just a second."
"...Weren't you going to help me make a baby?"
Rebecca looked disappointed as I held her coat.
"There's something I need to check first. Let's go into the room."
Rebecca frowned, a little scary, but I managed to bring her inside.
The room looked like a witch's lab. I sat her down at the table and took a seat across from her.
"Um... You were affiliated with Pandemic, right? I need to confirm something because of that."
"...I never killed anyone."
Rebecca looked slightly tense.
I hadn't even planned on asking that.
"That's not it. The boss of Pandemic, Maestro, has mind control magic. I have to check if you've been brainwashed."
That's why I hadn't accepted Rebecca right away.
Maestro's mental domination.
I can't trust someone unless they're clearly on my side.
Rebecca smiled with relief after hearing me.
"Ah, that. Don't worry. I know about Maestro's mind control."
"Huh? Really?"
She knows about the mind control?
"Yeah. Every time I met Maestro, I activated the Rune Barrier. So, no problem there."
"...Maestro's magic is pretty strong. You never know."
"My Rune Barrier is strong too. I can block it perfectly. Even Maestro didn't realize I wasn't brainwashed."
"...."
I tilted my head slightly at Rebecca's confident response.
It was different from what I knew.
'Rebecca should definitely be brainwashed.'
In the original story, she was under Maestro's mind control.
There was even a scene where it broke right before she died.
Obviously, this Rebecca wouldn't know that, so I phrased it carefully.
But she's so confident that I'm starting to doubt myself.
'Is this before she got brainwashed?'
Maestro usually brainwashes people on the first meeting, so that seems unlikely.
Then I recalled something Rebecca just said.
'I've never killed anyone.'
"Rebecca. Are you saying you've never been on a mission to kill anyone?"
"Yeah. Of course. I only gave minimal help. It was the price for Pandemic helping me trace the Rune Clan."
"...."
Rebecca said that, but....
'No.'
That can't be.
Because her Rune Barrier definitely appeared at the terror incident during the association's social gathering.