The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably Chapter 120 : From now on, call me Master (1)

From now on, call Master (1)

Absorbing a person alive, along with their magic power.

If you interpret it in a different way, it could be considered cannibalism.

The chanism is the sa in that soone is consud into your own body.

And the person who gets consud always dies.

Naturally, this is sothing even a child can easily understand.

'Murder, huh...'

I absorbed people and made them my own nourishnt. No matter how you look at it, it's clearly murder.

It's the act of taking a person's life and staining your hands with blood.

'Co to think of it, I've been doing that kind of thing over and over again.'

Of course, I burned people to death, and I also repeatedly absorbed them to use as nutrients.

The scale of it can't even be compared to what Eunseol did. Yet, I never felt any guilt.

After all, it was always justifiable self-defense against those wzealand bastards.

'I would have died if I didn't kill. What's there to feel guilty about?'

From the beginning, humans and different races were always in a state of war, so it wasn't strange no matter who died or how.

In that battlefield, all I did was fight for the lives of myself and my legion—anyone who nitpicks that is just an idiot.

'Most of those wzealand guys were exactly those kinds of idiots.'

Now, let's see... what did they say to , again?

'Life is precious!'

'Revenge is wrong!'

'Justice gained through such filthy acts is aningless!'

The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it was.

The ones who said life was precious killed others indiscriminately, and the ones who claid revenge was wrong considered demonkin as targets for revenge for their families' sake.

What's more, the ones who couldn't tolerate "filthy acts" would fra other humans and use them for human experintation.

Most of these things were said before they died at my hands.

'They were bastards who deserved to die.'

They thought their justice was absolute and right, and under plausible justifications, they committed all sorts of atrocities.

The re fact that such people existed on Earth was horrifying.

If there's a giant spider hiding at ho, would you just sit there and do nothing?

Of course, you'd call pest control to wipe it out imdiately.

That's how it has always been: the ones I killed were never really "people" at all.

'Compared to that...'

But what about the people Eunseol killed inside the Gate?

If those people were all evil as well, few would bla her.

But what are the odds of that, really?

Even if they were evil, it wasn't self-defense—she attacked and killed on sight.

Would that really be forgivable?

The possibility they were all evil is just wishful thinking at best.

She simply killed innocent people.

That's too heavy a sin for a middle schooler to bear.

"The guilt of having killed soone. That's Baek Eunseol's nightmare. As the mories you erased begin to gradually return, so too does that nightmare."

"She hasn't rembered everything yet, has she?"

"No, only a very small part so far."

Of course, what Eunseol did wasn't because she wanted to.

She was kidnapped by soone, dragged into the Gate, experinted on, and as a result of brainwashing, began killing people who trespassed.

To make it worse, her real parents had already been murdered when she was kidnapped.

It was an unfair and tragic thing for Eunseol.

But once she becos aware of what she's done, she won't be able to handle it sanely.

"For now, it's just agoraphobia. Because of the guilt, she can't interact with others at all."

And the way she killed wasn't just a simple matter—she absorbed living people into her body.

At a glance, it might seem less grueso since there's no blood spatter.

But the victim loses their life, and their magic power writhes inside her body.

No one could stay sane under those circumstances.

"If she regains all those mories..."

"..."

Even now, she's suffering from PTSD and agoraphobia; if she rembers it all, it'll be nothing short of hell.

At the mont, she only realizes she committed murder. If she rembers the entire process as well, the result is obvious.

"Guilt like that is hard to endure even for an adult."

"Should I erase her mories again?"

"That won't work. Erasing the sa mory over and over will only make her resistant. Besides, Baek Eunseol has sohow managed to recover even the mories you erased, Demon King."

Now that I think about it, that was suspicious. It isn't common for soone to recover mories that I manipulated.

"What will you do, Demon King?"

"..."

I tried arranging my thoughts.

Because her lost mories returned, Eunseol was on the verge of ruining her school life.

Part of it was due to her immaturity, but the biggest reason was that the magic power, which didn't match her, was flowing through her body.

Considering that one's trait is linked with magic power, the side effects would be worse than for others.

It's entirely possible sothing worse than what happened with the painting today could occur.

"For now, since Baek Eunseol is also a friend of yours, I won't give her a severe punishnt..."

"No, keep the punishnt."

"What?"

"Don't you know what regulations Hand follows these days? You approved them, didn't you?"

Firm punishnt for violations of school rules.

Vern would know this, since as chairman, he would've signed those docunts.

"The entire second campus already knows about this. If we give her just a slap on the wrist and contradict the rules, how do you think the students will react?"

If all the other students were punished strictly, but so middle schooler was let off the hook?

That kind of contradiction is ridiculous even to .

"Even if it's because of a trait's side effect, it can't be an excuse for her to escape punishnt."

It might sound a bit cold, but I felt sorry for Eunseol.

But there have been many who've tried to get off with that excuse—it can't be helped.

"But if we do that, Baek Eunseol's advancent to the high school division could be disrupted..."

"That's nothing to worry about. You can handle any issues with the high school division later."

"... That's true."

"The punishnt is just to make sure she learns to respect the law."

As long as Vern and I back her up, she won't be expelled.

But we need to give her a serious punishnt, so she'll recognize that the world isn't easy.

Juvenile cris happen because kids take the law lightly.

According to my father, there are more than a few judges who hand out careless punishnts.

If kids end up being released quickly from the police station or court because of that?

Then what will they think?

'Cops aren't a big deal.'

'Law is easy.'

The heavy iron mass of the law, which should be burdenso, will just seem like cheap fluff.

"And there won't be any problem with Baek Eunseol advancing to the high school division."

"How?"

"I have my ways."

****

A few days after the painting incident.

Eunseol's punishnt was confird: 30 days of suspension for causing a disturbance and transfer to a recovery center.

The rumors had already spread everywhere, and she'd beco famous at the second campus.

A student who got punished only a week after the sester started.

And since the reason for the punishnt was so absurd, she'd beco the go-to topic whenever students needed amusent.

― Do you know who's the best artist at our school?

― Who else! Baek Eunseol. Kekeke!

― Picasso or Leonardo da Vinci would bawl and beg to beco her student if they saw her drawings.

― Just like the legendary pirate king Gold Roger among pirates, or legendary Hokage Naruto among ninjas, our school's legendary artist is Baek Eunseol.

― What the heck are you talking about, you nerd.

― By the way, I want to see that picture so bad. Any way to get a look?

― How could you? Teacher Regina already burned it.

― Puhahahaha! Not even shredded, she burned it?!

― But didn't Teacher Regina secretly take a photo? Maybe she enjoys it at night.

― Eunseol's gonna make a fortune soday, right? If she publishes an illustration collection, she'll get rich, don't you agree?

― What kind of artbook, you lunatic. Kekekekeke!

How would Eunseol have felt if she'd overheard this at school?

Being dragged off to the recovery center was a stroke of luck.

But even there, people knew exactly why she was brought in.

Understanding the reason, they couldn't help laughing.

There had been plenty of students brought in for adult material, but never before had soone been punished for drawing it with their own hands.

'It's all my own doing.'

Eunseol really had no one to bla.

She'd beco infamous throughout the entire second campus for bad reasons, and her social life was basically ruined.

Even after those 30 days, what would be left for her when she left?

The dream school life she'd hoped for had already flown past the horizon, long gone.

'Even if this incident hadn't happened... would I have been able to get along with the kids?'

Even before this, Eunseol had suffered severe agoraphobia.

Her body instinctively refused to communicate with others.

Even when students ca up to her on the first day, she'd missed her chance.

Maybe it had been hopeless from the beginning—like how a turtle doesn't run faster without its shell.

Just attending school doesn't automatically bring you friends.

"I wonder what he's doing now?"

Suddenly, that boy popped into her head.

Ma Seongjin.

She'd learned his na for the first ti after coming to Hand.

He was almost infamous as a tyrant in the middle school division.

Would such a strict Seongjin ever forgive her for her misbehavior?

'Wait. Co to think of it, Seongjin himself...'

Didn't Ma Seongjin also pull out a long stick in front of her?

In the chairman's office, no less.

Did he really think he wouldn't get caught?

That crazy image stuck in her mind and wouldn't go away.

The prince on the white horse she'd been hoping for... took off his pants and threw a drinking party.

'Give it back... Give back my ideal!!'

Having her innocent dreams shattered, Eunseol pulled her blanket over her head on the bed at the recovery center.

The soft material tickled her nose.

Life at the center wasn't actually bad.

The facility focused on the reform of children, teaching mostly morals and manners.

This kind of gentle environnt actually suited her pretty well.

"Baek Eunseol."

"Yes...?"

At that mont, the facility staff opened the door and entered.

"You have a visitor."

Who would co to see her?

Maybe soone from the Angel guild had co directly?

If so, she'd given them quite a bit of trouble—she'd boasted about joining, then ended up in disgrace.

But outside, it turned out soone else was waiting.

"Who...?"

There were two people, whose presence felt very familiar.

One had a beard on his chin, a hunched back, and would clearly be taken for an old man at a glance.

Dressed in white clothes worthy of a mountain spirit, his face covered by a Hahoetal mask, and a staff in his hand.

At first glance, he looked like an old man... but in reality, it was a boy pretending to be one.

And as for the other one...

"Hi?"

"Oh? Sang-ah."

Kwon Sang-ah, her classmate, gave her a wave.

Smiling at her, Sang-ah was wearing a martial arts uniform with a white jacket.

Both were dressed perfectly for training in the mountains.

As for the boy acting old, Eunseol recognized who he was through his aura.

"You... are you Seongjin? What's with the outfit?"

Anyone could tell it was Ma Seongjin.

But disguised as an old man, Ma Seongjin pointed his staff at Eunseol and said,

"Ye, you wretch! How dare you speak so rudely to your master!"

"... Huh?"

"Do not keep this old man waiting."

Seongjin then swung the staff away and threw so clothes to Eunseol—just like what Sang-ah was wearing.

"What are you doing? Hurry inside and change your clothes!"

"Um... Seongjin, why all of a sudden..."

"Ahem! Rudeness to your master again! Looks like I have to teach you proper disciple etiquette!"

What on earth is he talking about? Master? What's this disciple etiquette nonsense?

"You have ten minutes to change! I shall wait over there. For every minute you are late, I'll raise the intensity of your training!"

"..."

Watching Seongjin disappear for a mont, Eunseol had no idea what was happening.

Seongjin's sudden arrival was just too weird.

And the way he'd been in the chairman's office that ti, too...

The more she thought about it, the dizzier she got.

"Don't worry."

"...?"

Sang-ah gently placed her hand on Eunseol's shoulder. Giving her a sympathetic look, she said,

"You'll get used to it with ti, junior sister."