Player who Returned 10,000 years Later
chapter-216

Click-

The door opened.

KangWoo, who was reading a report about Guardian that he received from Gaia, turned his head.

A pure-looking woman was smiling and looking at him.

Her expression went from pure to mischievous with a simple smile.

"What happened?"

"There's something I want to report."

He turned and looked at Lilith.

"I finished brainwashing three Cardinals, so I sent them back to the enemies."

"Already?"

KangWoo looked at her in surprise.

It had been only a week since that disastrous fight against Satan and Lucifer had ended.

They were cardinals of the Demon Cult, and he didn’t think they would surrender so easily.

A deep smile appeared on Lilith's face.

"Fufu. Mr. KangWoo, you know how good my honey-trapping techniques are."

"You used honey-trapping techniques...?"

He couldn't understand it.

In the case of Lucis, he had the same sense of beauty as a demon, but that wasn't the case for the Cardinals.

Even if they had accepted demonic energy into their bodies, they were still normal human beings.

No, even if they accepted demonic energy and their bodies became more demonlike, their values and tastes shouldn’t have been that different from a human's.

'I'm like that, after all.'

"Yes. Fufu. As expected, my appearance worked very well, even among humans."

"...?"

What kind of nonsense was that?

"I created a copy of my body and locked them away with tentacles for three days."

"..."

"Aah, to think they'd fall so easily with just a copy... Humans are so simple."

Lilith flicked out her snake-like long tongue and licked KangWoo's cheek.

"Still, my real body and feelings are only directed toward you, Mr. KangWoo."

"Ugh..."

KangWoo covered his mouth.

Most of the Cardinals captured that time were old men full of wrinkles.

Thinking about what they had to go through made him want to puke.

'I'm glad I left this to Lilith.'

He might have seen something horrifying if he wanted to check things out and see how they were doing.

"Did they reveal anything?"

"I still don’t know Satan’s exact location, but..." Lilith stroked her chin, "Every Cardinal that was brainwashed was sent to the same base."

"Same base? Where?"

"It’s in Russia, and it’s the biggest one yet. It's a giant base with at least ten thousand cultists."

"Ten thousand, huh?"

It was the biggest branch of the Demon Cult they'd found until then.

"If it's that big, shouldn't it be the main base?"

"No. Based on the information I got from the Cardinals, that doesn't seem to be the case."

"I see."

He nodded.

'Does that mean Satan is in the main base?'

He still didn't know for sure.

"Keep track of Satan's movements for the moment."

There was no way he'd remain still—he was definitely going to move.

'I must wait.'

If he rushed things, there was the possibility of Satan running away like Lucifer did.

He couldn't let that happen.

He had to catch him when he showed his full self.

"Is that all?"

"Yes. I'll let you know immediately when I learn something new."

"Good job."

"Fufu, it's for my King, after all."

Lilith laughed.

KangWoo gulped.

He couldn't hate her despite everything she did to him.

'She's not only good at doing her job, but she's also loyal.'

Wouldn't it be weird if he hated her?

KangWoo smiled bitterly and turned around.

"Ah, you didn't forget tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, of course. I also contacted Balrog before coming here."

KangWoo decided he would make a connection between the people he'd met on Earth and those he'd met in Hell the next day.

A friendly meeting…

In reality, it was just a day they would use to eat and drink.

"Then let's meet again."

"Hmm?"

Lilith tilted her head, and the tips of her mouth went up.

Her hair started to turn into tentacles.

"W-wait…"

"Oh, it would be disappointing to return so soon."

"Save me."

"You know that it's the job of the King to reward the achievements of his underlings... right?"

"Ugh."

Squeak-

A long tentacle stretched out and closed the door.

* * *

Tang, Tang, Tang-

The sound of a kitchen knife hitting the cutting board was heard, and the ingredients were cut so precisely that it looked like a machine had done it.

"Ugh..."

Han Seol-ah looked at the closed door.

'I wonder what they're talking about.'

Lilith had entered the room, and she wanted to know what she was talking about with KangWoo.

"Haa."

She sighed.

She sadly lowered her head and kicked the ground.

'I feel like, recently, I haven't been able to talk with Mr. KangWoo.'

After Archduke Mamon appeared, KangWoo became even busier than before.

Their chances to talk had gone down due to his Guardian job, personal training, and the many people he had to take care of.

'It’s a bit...'

She felt lonely.

Although they lived in the same house, she felt they were drifting apart.

"..."

Han Seol-ah put the ingredients she'd just cut into a pot.

The kimchi stew she could prepare with her eyes closed was boiling while emitting a delicious smell.

She sat on the chair and fell into thought.

She thought about KangWoo.

'I wonder what Mr. KangWoo thinks of me.'

They'd been living together for two years.

It was enough time to make even enemies fond of each other.

Not only that, but she had been interested in him from the beginning.

It would be weird if she weren't—he'd saved her from a life that would have been hell.

Despite that, he never asked anything of her and just wanted her to stay with him.

On one hand, she thought it looked like a bad TV drama when the girl fell in love just because her life was saved, but he'd done so much for her that it would've been weird if she weren't moved.

'No…'

She shook her head.

Maybe she liked him just because he’d saved her?

It wasn't that simple.

She pictured his sharp eyes.

He was someone who didn't hesitate to do what had to be done.

He exuded such confidence that everything seemed like it would be ok if you stayed by his side.

'But…'

At the same time, his eyes sometimes looked too dark.

He looked so desperate and miserable that it looked as if his body would break, and he looked extremely lonely.

They were two completely different appearances.

It was as if he were forcing himself to run with a bearing that didn't move.

On one hand, she trusted him, but she also wanted to look over him.

She had been sure of his feelings for some time.

She wasn't sure if KangWoo knew, but he'd made it obvious.

Thanks to that, they were as close as family.

"But..."

She wasn't able to close the gap between them any more than that.

It seemed like the situation would end if only she took a step forward, but nothing was happening.

Han Seol-ah pouted and angrily kicked a cushion that was at her feet.

"H-he even asked me to marry him."

Her face turned red.

The first day they met, he grabbed her hand and asked her to marry him.

At first, she thought he was quite a unique person, but after hearing about his past, she understood everything.

He'd met a person for the first time after spending ten thousand years in Hell.

'It… it kind of feels like destiny?'

He'd been locked away in Hell for ten thousand years, and the first person he met when he crossed dimensions to Earth to protect it from the Demon of Prophecy, Satan, was her.

If that wasn't destiny, then what was it?

Boil-! Tsss!

"Kyaa!"

She heard something flowing out of the pot.

Han Seol-ah ran toward it and turned off the fire.

"Haa, haa. C-calm down."

She tried to calm down, bit her lips, and tried to get herself together.

Seol-Ah turned her head to look at the door again.

It was still closed.

Although it had been an hour since Lilith entered, they still hadn't come out.

She suddenly began feeling anxious.

- If you don't become more active, that guy will probably realize your feelings.

She remembered what Chae YeonJoo had told her a few days prior.

'More active...'

Han Seol-ah clenched her fist.

She'd never dated a man, so she wasn't sure about what to do. but she wanted to challenge it at least.

Click-

"Fufu~ I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. KangWoo~!"

At that moment, Lilith walked out of the room.

"Oh?"

Her eyes met with Han Seol-ah’s, and a deep smile appeared on Lilith's face.

Seol-ah's body stiffened.

Her eyes looked as if she knew everything.

She walked toward Han Seol-ah and whispered in her ears.

"Swaying the Demon King's emotions won’t be easy," she said in a bittersweet tone.

"I tried for a very long time... but failed."

"Ah..."

Lilith wiped her wet eyes and made a bright smile.

"If you succeed, tell me your secret."

"Th-that…"

How should she answer?

Han Seol-ah hesitated.

Her relationship with Lilith was still awkward.

No, even if they were close, it would be hard to answer.

It was obvious that they both wanted the same man.

'Ms. Lilith spent almost a thousand years with Mr. KangWoo.'

She felt envious and took a glimpse at Lilith.

She had a neat appearance and a bit of sexual energy emanating from her.

Although they were both women, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

She had seen Kurosaki Yurie before in the news, but she looked more beautiful than before.

'She said her real body is more beautiful.'

It was hard to imagine a more beautiful appearance than that.

'To think that she failed to move Mr. KangWoo's feelings despite being so pretty...'

His self-confidence vanished.

"Then, I'll be rooting for you."

She waved her hand and turned away.

Although she said that, she seemed sure that Han Seol-ah would fail.

As Lilith walked out of the house, Seol-ah anxiously bit her lips.

Clack-

"Mr. K-KangWoo?"

"..."

She saw KangWoo sitting on the bed when she opened the door.

His eyes looked blank, and his cheeks were hollow.

Did a soldier that had gone through war look like that?

He looked like a broken watch or a wooden doll that was so messed up it could barely move.

'He's probably tired.'

He'd really been busy lately, so it was obvious he'd look like that.

Han Seol-ah looked disappointed.

It didn't matter how much she looked at him—it didn't seem like he could talk at the moment.

'How... can I sway Mr. KangWoo's feelings?'

She sighed and quietly closed the door.