Chapter 17 : You Didn’t Come, So I Came (3)

Void was incredibly flustered at the moment.

It wasn’t because Minho had brought over a game Void had never seen before and asked to play it.

The game, which Minho seemed to have created on her own, had clear rules, proving how smart and capable she was.

She had even explained the rules thoroughly, so there wasn’t any difficulty in playing the game.

“…Ugh.”

“Sniff.”

“?”

The reason for Void’s fluster was Minho’s behavior—pouting and sulking the moment she started to lose, looking utterly downcast.

As a result, Void had already racked up an unbelievable record of 99 consecutive losses since the game began.

“M-Minho, your sister is exhausted.”

Void was indeed struggling.

She knew kids had boundless energy, but the fact that Minho could play this simple game 99 times without tiring was astonishing.

Void, overwhelmed by the stamina she experienced firsthand, tried to call it quits with Minho.

“Ahh! Just one more round!”

“R-Really, this is the last one, okay?”

“Yep!”

But breaking Minho’s newfound addiction to winning was an impossible feat.

“Should I go easy on you since you’re not good at it, sis?”

“…What?”

“Hehe.”

Minho’s pure, adorable smile was the epitome of innocence.

However, the words that came out of her mouth severely tested Void’s patience.

It was the kind of irritation one feels when provoked.

Yes, that was it.

Void had just been provoked by a baby—an actual baby less than a month old.

The girl, 800 years old and nearing the end of her adolescence, was sensitive to even the smallest things.

And the result?

“…Let’s play again.”

“No.”

“…Ugh!! That’s mean! Evil, even!”

“Right! Sis is mean! Sis is totally evil.”

Void ended up showing the little one what the Demon King was truly capable of.

As Minho puffed her cheeks and looked on the verge of tears, she appeared so cute that Void had to hold back her laughter.

“Hey, you crazy fool!!!”

“C-Calm down, sis!!”

“Lavender!”

“Sigh.”

“Elders, please calm down!!”

Surtr, Albinus, and Baal tried to stop Lavender, rushing toward her.

But calming Lavender, who resisted by unleashing her breath attacks, was no easy task.

“Argh! Anuket!”

“…Yes?”

“Thank you!”

Lavender’s breath threatened to destroy the building as it erupted everywhere.

Watching this, Surtr asked Anuket to block the breath attack.

With an air of annoyance, Anuket created interdimensional portals in every spot the breath reached, swallowing it all up.

Damian, the imperial archmage’s prized pupil, could only gape in amazement.

He had no idea how it worked—he couldn’t even begin to guess.

“Hey, you sparkling bastard! Are you kidding me?! First the Demon King, and now a Hero?! And not even a human?!”

“For now, calm down. I knew they weren’t human before they even arrived.”

“Doesn’t it look obvious?!”

Even as Lavender blurted out that she wasn’t human, no one in the room was surprised.

Not the King, nor the other Elders, nor even the mage Han Yuri trusted.

No one found it shocking or strange.

Only Han Yuri wore a perplexed expression, unable to comprehend the situation.

At some point, the heated atmosphere in the meeting room had somewhat cooled.

Whether it was due to Lavender’s breath attack or her icy glare, no one could tell.

Just moments ago, everyone was debating whether or not to save the Demon King.

Now, they were deep in thought again.

The reason was none other than the first non-human Hero standing before them.

“…What did you say your name was?”

“Y-Yuri. Han Yuri…”

“Is that so? Your name is Han?”

“N-No… My name is Yuri, and my surname is Han…”

Although Han Yuri was still confused, she decided to answer the dragon’s earlier question earnestly.

She was quite nervous, but at least the comforting part was that the blue dragon in front of her seemed to pity her.

Damian, standing beside her, whispered in her ear not to be nervous, giving her the courage to try a bit harder.

“I want to live here!”

“I wish to seek asylum in the Dragon Kingdom.”

Han Yuri shouted confidently, though her words faltered slightly, while Damian, bowing politely, made his request with a touch of dignity.

Lavender’s expression twisted as she looked at the two.

‘…The king is right there. Why are you asking me?’

With that thought, Lavender turned to Albinus, who seemed to be lost in deep contemplation.

Startled by the sudden attention, Albinus composed himself and spoke.

“You wish to seek asylum in my kingdom?”

Both Yuri and Damian, who had been looking solely at Lavender, turned their heads in unison.

They seemed slightly shocked to realize that Lavender wasn’t the king.

“However, I must apologize.”

“We are quite busy at the moment.”

The king’s words were followed by the dragons around him flapping their wings in agreement.

“You may need to stay somewhere else temporarily until we resolve an ongoing matter.”

Han Yuri nodded as if entranced by Albinus’s words. It didn’t matter to her.

As long as the place wasn’t the living hell that was the Empire.

As long as these people didn’t perform inhumane experiments on her.

“How could such a young lady endure such hardships…?”

“…To change species… Humans are…”

Han Yuri tilted her head in confusion and shook it.

Change species? What were they talking about?

From earlier, their words didn’t make much sense.

Her hair color had changed a bit, but wasn’t that the only difference?

“Child,”

Just as Yuri was racking her brain trying to understand, the blue dragon in front of her frowned slightly as if he pitied her.

“Right now, the accommodations aren’t the best. Will that be okay?”

“As long as it’s not a laboratory.”

“…Even if it’s a dungeon?”

Yuri glanced cautiously at Damian beside her, thinking that while she didn’t mind, the young master, who had been raised with care, might have a different opinion.

But it turned out to be an unnecessary concern.

“We’re not in a position to be picky. We just hope you’ll seriously consider granting us asylum.”

“Y-Yes, that’s right.”

With a faint smile, Damian spoke, and Yuri quickly chimed in.

“That’s why…”

The elders and the king whispered amongst themselves before speaking to Yuri and Damian again.

“It seems we’ll only be able to start reviewing your request once the ongoing matter is resolved.”

“Apologies, but you’ll have to stay there for now.”

After Albinus finished speaking, he glanced at Baal.

“Don’t be nervous, it won’t hurt.”

“Y-Yes…”

Baal approached Yuri, closed his eyes, and muttered something under his breath.

Soon, green winds enveloped Yuri.

“Ta-da! It doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?”

“Yes… yes, it doesn’t!”

The pain and scars on Yuri’s body disappeared in an instant.

As Yuri and Damian bowed their heads in gratitude and prepared to leave, a deep voice called out from behind them.

“Hey, you shiny one.”

Surtr’s voice, low and steady, stopped Damian in his tracks.

“We’re not pitying you. The one we pity is that kid, not you.”

With that, Surtr’s red eyes glowed fiercely as he roared.

[Magic Seal.]

The voice echoed directly in Damian’s head, almost making him fall to his knees.

Yuri barely caught him in time, preventing him from hitting the ground.

“Go.”

Having had his magic sealed by the dragon’s words, Damian nodded to Surtr and left with Yuri’s help.

As Yuri and Damian left the meeting room, all the dragons remaining inside had the same thought.

‘Damn it, if it weren’t for that Demon King brat, we’d take care of them right away.’

Bringing a Hero into the kingdom as a citizen was bound to face backlash.

Proper paperwork and winning over public sentiment were crucial.

Without resolving the current issues, they couldn’t even begin to address public sentiment, let alone prepare the necessary documents.

“Let’s resolve this quickly before a rebellion breaks out among the people.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Under the leadership of the young king, the Elder Council unified their efforts.

Void and Han Yuri—fate seems to be deciding their future quicker than expected.

“Minho~ Your sister already said she’s sorry!”

“Hmph!”

Right now, I am thoroughly sulking.

Even my tail reflects my feelings, thumping on the ground to make my displeasure known.

Thud! Thud!

My tail hit the stone floor with force, and though it hurt a little, my sulking didn’t subside so easily.

How could she keep losing until the very end like that?

It wasn’t fun at all.

“U-uh, since I’m sorry, how about we do something else?”

“…Something else?”

“Yeah, doesn’t Minho want to learn magic?”

Magic.

That one magical word melted the ice-cold sulk that had frozen my heart.

“I love magic!”

I didn’t know how it worked, but I’d always wanted to try it.

There had to be a difference between skills and magic, after all.

“But what’s the difference between skills and magic?”

“Hmm… I guess I’ll have to explain that first.”

Void unnie seemed to ponder seriously for a moment before clapping her hands with an “Oh!”

“Magic is something you create yourself!”

“And skills are things that are already made!”

Huh? I didn’t understand a single thing.

“…I don’t get it.”

“Really? Is it still too hard for a baby to understand?”

Without thinking, I nodded.

Wait, no, I’m not a baby!

I’m a strong adult man…

“…ot.”

“Hm?”

I looked down at my body and fell into a gloom.

I wasn’t an adult or a man anymore.

To be honest, I couldn’t even call myself strong with a clear conscience.

“…Minho?”

“Yes!”

“Are you okay?”

Void unnie looked at me with concern, asking about my well-being.

“I’m fine!”

“I-Is that so? That’s good, then.”

I forced myself to act okay.

As I listened to the detailed explanation of magic, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

Click-clack, click-clack.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Who knows? Someone’s coming down here.”

Someone was descending toward the underground prison.

“…The flow of magic feels strange. It’s neither human nor demon… It feels almost dead…”

Void unnie muttered to herself, but I didn’t pay much attention.

Right now, I was more curious about who was coming.

Soon, I was hit with a massive shock.

“Are you alright, Damian?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just lost all my magic at once, so…”

The mage awkwardly scratched the back of his head while smiling, supported by a woman.

Soldiers surrounded them both.

And when I made eye contact with the woman,

My body reacted.

My mouth opened involuntarily.

“…Sis?”

In a voice so small that no one else could hear, my words quietly spread through the underground prison.

Damian.

And the experimented Han Yuri.