Chapter 900. Holy Sword Warrior and the Honorary Cardinal (3)

The children had long grown into Epic-rank adventurers. Actually, Cherubim and Thronus were strong enough to be considered Legendary-rank adventurers.

Meanwhile, Dominions was exceptionally talented in many fields. Ji-Hye noona had been teaching her many things, so she was a bit better than Cherubim and Thronus overall.

Cherubim was the so-called party leader, but Dominions was contributing a lot to their decisions. As I expected, Seraphim showed the least amount of growth, but he was competent as well. Their race wasn't human, so they grew and learned fast. Sometimes, they'd act childish, but each child was different from the other.

‘Cherubim is all grown up.’

The first child would often mature first, so I felt like Cherubim had matured a lot, and it was probably because he felt responsible for Seraphim.

Regardless, I wanted to applaud him for the fact that he was helpful to me.

Even though they were fundamentally designed to crave the love of their creator, Cherubim's self-restraint was pretty high. I realized that when I saw him greeting me quietly while looking down at the ground.

Meanwhile, Thronus had always been struggling to hide his true feelings. He didn’t behave all that differently from Cherubim, but the way he looked at me was different.

His face was kind of flushed, and his eyes were telling me that he was craving my affection. It was like he was telling me to look at him, to talk to him, and to compliment him. Although they had no memories of their past life, it wasn't like their soul had changed, so I was sure his soul was affecting his personality.

Surprisingly, Dominions was the most aggressive one.

‘But I think she’s doing that on purpose.’

Perhaps it was because she resembled Ji-Hye noona, but I couldn’t read her at all. It was like she knew how she needed to behave to receive affection and love. Obviously, I didn’t hate it. She actually looked cute, and I wanted to pinch her cheeks whenever she puffed them. She was just so different from Seraphim.

Lastly, the blond-haired child greeted me, but I couldn’t tell whether he was crying or smiling. He looked cute whenever he stuttered like Ha-Yan, but I still couldn’t get myself to like him. For some reason, he always looked dispirited. He'd smile forcefully whenever our eyes met, but I'd look away from him intentionally.

“You mean these children?” Rafael asked.

“Yes. They’re reliable, so you can trust them,” I answered.

When I gave the signal, a pair of wings spread from Cherubim’s back. The remaining children showed their wings as well. The light coming from their tiny wings briefly illuminated the dark camp.

“

Ah...

” Marian gasped and quietly clasped her hands in disbelief.

I had an idea as to what they were thinking.

“T-They’re angels. H-How... should we greet...”

“You don’t have to be so formal. They’re just ordinary children right now,” I told them.

“But...”

“Marian, stand up. Think about the reason why their existence has yet to be revealed to the continent...” Lee Jo-Hyuk muttered.

The Miracle Priest stood up.

The truth was kind of different, but I understood why he thought that way. The God of Sacrifice and Revival pitied the baby angels and wanted them to grow like other human children.

'That’s what you’re thinking, right?'

“Looks like we got caught up in something ridiculous,” said the hunting dog, but it was like him to say such words. He probably thought that the situation was so bad that even angels had decided to show up. I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to resolve the misunderstanding a bit, but I decided to give them some time to think for now.

“I brought the children here so that they can experience many things. They've been spending the majority of their time learning, so they rarely have the chance to go outside... Of course, I hope what I’m thinking doesn’t happen...” I explained.

“I knew it... Rafael, what’s your plan now?” Lee Joo-Hyuk asked.

“It doesn’t change the party’s policy,” Rafael replied.

“Just as I expected,” Lee Jo-Hyuk remarked.

‘Looks like they’re misunderstanding the situation, but it's in the right direction. Well, I’m not sure if this can even be called a misunderstanding...’

Obviously, I didn’t want the continent to be in danger either.

It was also a really big assumption to think that people’s daily lives would be ruined by an unranked dungeon.

The Rift Museum was an unranked dungeon and was quite dangerous as well, but today's continent was different from the continent at the time.

I had no idea what was going to happen in the dungeon, and I also had no idea how to clear it. However, I thought it was possible to clear it.

‘I think I need to look into this as well.’

If the Holy Sword party was not enough, we could make the Blue Guild join the expedition. Our first task was to find the dungeon before it affected the Sacred Democratic Country. The children, who understood the system and were sensitive to holy power, would definitely be helpful to this expedition.

“Then... what do we need to do now, hyung?” Rafael asked.

“You’re the leader of the party...” I pointed out.

“

Ah...

”

“But if you need my advice, then I’ll tell you this...” I trailed off.

“Okay.”

“Relax. It’s already late today and it doesn’t matter if we start tomorrow,” I told him.

Everyone was too tense.

“How about we talk over some rum?” I suggested.

“Okay!”

It felt like it suddenly turned into a family camping trip. Many people immediately sat around the campfire and of course, Jung Ha-Yan sat on the left side. She came here as a guardian, but there was no way she was going home at this point.

“O-Oppa... o-over here,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

Han Sora sat next to her and Seraphim sat next to Han Sora. Cherubim sat next to Seraphim and Thronus sat on the right side of me. He had been wary of me since he came here, but he seemed to have won the meaningless battle for a seat.

Rafael was sitting across from me, but since there were a lot of people, he seemed far away from me. He seemed kind of sad about that, but the overall mood wasn’t bad. We started chatting with each other as the fire of the campfire crackled.

Of course, we were talking about the past.

“T-T-This... reminds me of the past. Right, oppa...” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

“You’re right,” I said.

'I’ve been thinking about that for quite a while now.'

“T-The tent was really small... back then...

Ah!

I-I went to the mall with Sora recently,” she said.

“Really?”

“I-I thought this would look good on you, so I bought it... D-Did you bring it, Sora?” she asked.

“Yes, of course,” Han Sora replied.

Obviously, Jung Ha-Yan was the most excited out of everyone here.

We hadn't been able to spend that much time together recently, not to mention spending time like this. Honestly, I was having fun as well. Spending time with the children like this wasn’t so bad, and we seemed like a real family.

It had been a while since I thought of Yul-Ha, but it would be nice if she were here. Wait, perhaps she wouldn't like this place.

“We haven't been able to spend time like this. So many things have been happening these days...” I said.

“I-It’s okay... I-It can’t be helped. Many things are happening, and I-I’ve been really busy as well. A-Also! T-Try this!” Jung Ha-Yan offered.

“You should try it, too,” I said.

“Okay...”

“I-I want to go on an adventure like we did a long time ago. S-Since everyone is busy, maybe you, me, and S-Sora can go... M-Maybe we can go to that magic spot... once everything is over...” Jung Ha-Yan suggested.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan, how about... taking Sera with us... as well?” Han Sora suggested.

“

Ah!

O-Okay. S-Sera as well...” she agreed.

I had no idea why, but I started patting Thronus’ head.

He moved a bit closer to me like he was asking for more head pats.

“Father...” Thronus said.

“Yeah?”

“It’s nothing...” Thronus replied.

'Maybe he has no idea what to talk about with me.'

“How’s your training these days? Come to think of it, I don’t think we really talked about your last quest. Of course, I read all of your journal entries...” I said.

“Master went to the Republic, so Miss Cha Hee-Ra has been training me,” Thronus replied.

“You’re doing well,” I complimented him.

“It’s nothing. I’m just doing my job,” Thronus said.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

He was trying to talk in a mature way, but he was wriggling his fingers in an adorable manner, which meant that he wanted me to compliment him.

I could easily deduce his thoughts. I had no idea about what our topic was supposed to be, so I decided to say things a son would want to hear from their father, and it was pretty effective.

When our eyes met, I grabbed his hand and sincerely said, “I’m proud of you.”

'This...'

“I love you, Thronus.”

'And this...'

“I-I... love you as well, Father,” Thronus said.

'We’re raising them with love. I should have called our first and second child.'

“What about me? What about me, Father?” Dominions chimed in.

I patted Dominions’ head as well, even though she was sitting a bit far away.

I told her the same thing, and she smiled brightly at me. At this point, I would say we were doing well acting like a happy family. The Holy Sword Warrior party definitely felt the same way because they were smiling warmly.

And that was when Rafael said, “Hyung.”

“Yes, Mr. Rafael?” I answered.

“What are you going to do about the children’s training while we’re here? We’ll probably have to stay here for quite a while...” Rafael asked.

“It might be kind of tiresome, but Lindel...”

“If it’s okay with you, I can take care of them during my spare time,” Rafael offered.

It wasn't a bad idea at all. I couldn't say for sure about the others, but I could trust him.

Rafael had also become a Transcendent, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn from him.

Rafael was an expert in his exclusive gray magic, and he was also quite skillful at strength manipulation. The children would definitely learn a lot from them, and I was sure Cha Hee-Ra and Lee Ji-Hye would tell me to accept his offer if they were here.

It was a great idea, and I also believed that both angels and human beings had to keep learning forever.

“I should be the one making that request,” I said.

“Really?” Rafael asked.

“Yes. Looks like you’ll be busy starting tomorrow. You need to find the dungeon and train...

Ah!

I’d like to participate in the training once in a while. Do you mind?” I asked.

“That’d be great, hyung,” Rafael replied.

The mood was great.

“In that case, I’ll join, too. Are you okay with that, Father Lee Ki-Young?”

'You’re a great candidate as well, Joo-Hyuk. You’ll get along with Cherubim.'

“Sure.”

The atmosphere became a bit warmer. Earlier, there was tension between their group and our group, but now, everyone was getting along. Seraphim was still in Han Sora’s arms, while Cherubim was talking to Lee Joo-Hyuk. Thronus and Dominions were talking to the party along with Jung Ha-Yan.

“I think it’s best if we put the children to sleep...” I suggested.

“

Ah

, I’ll take them, sir,” Han Sora offered.

It was already late, so we sent the children to sleep so the adults could talk.

I took pictures, uploaded them to Benigoagram, and before I knew it, it was 3 a.m. It was late in the night, so people became emotional and started talking about the continent. They started talking about serious topics, too.

Even I was getting drunk in the late-night feelings.

Bzzz.

My hand mirror vibrated. I opened it and immediately frowned.

[I drank...]

The length post started with those words.

‘You should have done well while you had the chance to do so.’

It was Kim Hyun-Sung’s first-ever post on Benigoagram.

‘You’re terrible. Just terrible...’