Side Story 16
Yeon Ji-ho paused momentarily at Hadad’s unexpectedly straightforward answer. Go meet Gliese, he said.
Hadad wasn’t trustworthy enough for Yeon Ji-ho to readily believe his words, but he also had no alternative path. After careful consideration, Yeon Ji-ho decided to follow Hadad’s instruction, judging that he had nothing to lose.
Besides, he was curious about how Gliese, whom he had met before, was doing.
Without needing to go far, Yeon Ji-ho approached the door right next to the corridor where they were standing. Mentally repeating that he wanted to meet Gliese, he could arrive at her location by opening the door.
It was before he departed that Hadad suddenly called Yeon Ji-ho’s name.
“Ji-ho.”
“…Hmm?”
“Are you happy?”
Yeon Ji-ho blinked at the rather ordinary question. Happy?
“Yes, of course.”
“I see. I’m… sorry.”
At this utterly calm apology, Yeon Ji-ho finally looked at Hadad properly. Was his haggard appearance due to his significant weight loss?
Upon receiving Hadad’s apology, Yeon Ji-ho suddenly recalled the children who had bullied him when he was young because he was an omega. Sometimes, Yeon Ji-ho would imagine those children coming to find him later and apologizing.
In that imagination, Yeon Ji-ho never accepted their apologies. Not because he was still angry, but because he felt no need to do so.
“It’s done.”
So Yeon Ji-ho chose the word “it’s done” instead of “it’s okay.” It didn’t matter how much this might hurt the other person.
However, while he couldn’t accept Hadad’s apology, there was something he wanted to say to someone he would likely never meet again.
“Hadad, you were also manipulated by the god.”
“…!”
“The Hadad I met in the novel wasn’t meant to degrade into just another villain.”
Yeon Ji-ho spoke with a sigh. He now knew that “The Star of Hadad” wasn’t merely a story of printed text. The fact that the author was a god, someone Yeon Ji-ho couldn’t even look at.
But Hadad, who had written his heroic tale in “The Star of Hadad,” was a perfect protagonist. Even if he had been a unique villain to Yeon Ji-ho and Set, to another reader somewhere who read The Star of Hadad, he would have been a one-of-a-kind protagonist.
No matter how much he had wished for it at the beginning, he too was just a human swept up in the god’s play. So Yeon Ji-ho decided not to forgive Hadad but also not to be angry with him anymore. If not for Hadad, then for himself.
Hadad’s eyes widened at Yeon Ji-ho’s words. His face showed he hadn’t even imagined getting a response to his apology. Hurriedly, Hadad added before Yeon Ji-ho could leave:
“Ji-ho, then, someday I too could be by your side…!”
“Don’t cross the line.”
Yeon Ji-ho coolly cut him off before Hadad could finish. Then Yeon Ji-ho grasped the door handle and flung the door open with a click. Simultaneously, wind rushed in from inside.
Yeon Ji-ho sent Shango and Ganesha ahead first, then finally took a step toward the door himself. Just as he was about to leave, Yeon Ji-ho suddenly poked his head out beside the door and said to Hadad:
“If I ever come back to Asterra before I die, I’ll show you our son then.”
“A, a son? Whose… son? Could it be Set and Ji-ho’s son? His name? Ji-ho, what’s his name…!”
Slam!
Yeon Ji-ho closed the door and disappeared before Hadad’s questions ended. Left alone in the imperial corridor, Hadad stared blankly at the corridor where he had vanished and muttered:
“A son…?”
As Hadad repeated the words “Set and Yeon Ji-ho’s son” to himself, his face gradually brightened. Since Yeon Ji-ho had said he would show their son if he ever returned to Asterra before he died, perhaps in the distant future, he too might…!
But as he continued his train of thought, Hadad’s expression grew gloomy again. He belatedly realized what Yeon Ji-ho meant by the prefix “before I die.” In other words, if Yeon Ji-ho never had reason to come back to Asterra, there would be no occasion for Hadad to see their son.
“Still… as cold as ever.”
When everyone showed unwarranted kindness toward him, Yeon Ji-ho was the only one who disliked Hadad. Smirking at this unchanged aspect, Hadad shook his head and turned around.
It was time to focus on state affairs again. With so many ongoing matters, even a brief absence would result in work piling up like a mountain.
Hadad no longer dismissed his imperial duties as merely “boring tasks.” Though he still suffered from infinite tedium and boredom, occasionally tormented by the god’s mischief, he now knew that this was his lot. He was no longer the protagonist chosen by god, but in a way, he was still the protagonist of his own life.
“Time to go back.”
To his place.
Just as Hadad turned and took a step toward his office, a tremendous noise echoed behind him.
Though Hadad had become an emperor with few dangers, he was still once a Sword Master. With the sound and the sense of presence he felt, Hadad drew the decorative sword standing next to him with his one remaining arm.
But the opponent moved first. By the time Hadad had drawn his sword, the opponent’s blade was already at his throat. As far as Hadad knew, only one person could handle a sword this well.
“…Set.”
“Hadad, where have you hidden Ji-ho?”
Meeting Set after a long time, Hadad felt more delighted than surprised. But it didn’t seem like an appropriate situation to express that delight, as Set pressed the blade in deeper and asked again:
“If I judge what you say to be a lie, I will kill you on the spot.”
“That… just means you’re going to kill me regardless, doesn’t it?”
The implication was that even if he told the truth, he would die if Set deemed it a lie. As Hadad spoke in a troubled voice, Apophis standing nearby added spitefully:
“Well, isn’t this still a place where murder happens publicly? It’s not even illegal.”
“Killing the emperor is illegal…!”
“Ah, was it? But this is a place where status matters more than law, isn’t it? Haha.”
Apophis spoke of frightening things so casually.
Faced with a posture that suggested Set would literally move his sword if he didn’t tell the truth immediately, Hadad threw down his sword and raised both hands. Then he hurriedly said:
“Ji-ho isn’t here!”
“…What?”
“He went to meet Gliese. Really, I swear. Just now, he opened that door and suddenly disappeared.”
Set, who had been about to perfunctorily behead Hadad, paused at this fairly plausible story. Carefully examining the face of Hadad, who had raised both hands in surrender, he asked:
“Was Ji-ho alone?”
“No, he had a fox and a bear with him. …Weren’t they your knights?”
“It seems he really did meet Master Ji-ho, Your Excellency.”
Despite hearing Hadad’s honest words, Set didn’t lower his sword. Apophis, watching from the side and realizing that Set’s desire to kill Hadad was no joke, carefully said:
“Your Excellency, while I don’t particularly mind if you kill him, there’s currently no heir. That would likely throw the Asterra Empire into great chaos.”
“…Why does that matter?”
Set’s future was solely about living happily with Yeon Ji-ho in Korea. Whether the Asterra Empire perished or not was irrelevant to him. When Set finally asked with an attitude suggesting it was not a problem, Apophis stroked his chin and muttered in passing:
“Master Ji-ho would probably dislike it.”
“…”
Even before Apophis finished speaking, Set’s blade dropped from Hadad’s neck. This made sense because if the tender-hearted Yeon Ji-ho heard stories of innocent victims amid the chaotic imperial situation following the emperor’s death, it would be terrible.
Set always wanted Yeon Ji-ho to have infinite compassion for him, but he disliked Yeon Ji-ho pitying others. He feared Yeon Ji-ho might hold someone else more dearly in his heart than him.
Eventually, leaving Hadad as he was, Set’s group began preparing to leave. The teleportation magic required substantial mana to move three people, but fortunately, Gliese’s location that Apophis had found wasn’t far from here.
“Your Excellency, the distance isn’t far. We will move immediately.”
As Apophis finished speaking, the three figures gradually began to fade. Just before their departure, Set quietly warned Hadad, who was still standing in a daze:
“Don’t call him Ji-ho.”
“What…?”
“Those who can call him Ji-ho are….”
Before he could finish, their figures disappeared transparently. After the three had left, Hadad, left alone, burst into a hollow laugh. Then he quietly muttered:
“Crazy bastard.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Wtf is he hoping for lmao. If jiho showed you his son(though it won’t ever happen), what were you hoping would happen?! Huh? “Then i could too-” what? Huh? You could do what?
Omg this disgusting bastard still hasn’t changed.