Bye-bye.
After waving goodbye to the departing guild mbers, I turned to look at Saebyeok.
Her expression seed off.
"Saebyeok, is sothing wrong?"
"Yeah. I've made a decision."
"A decision?"
What kind of decision could have changed her behavior so much?
It was strange, but I didn't worry since it felt positive.
I simply watched Saebyeok along with the children.
"I'm going to punish the bad people myself."
"You, Saebyeok?"
"Yeah. I'll scold them fiercely and give them a good knock on the head."
Saebyeok spoke with overflowing confidence.
It was a scary statent, but I knew Saebyeok wouldn't go too far.
"If that's what you want to do, go for it. Let's give them a good scare."
"Thanks."
I wrapped my tail around Saebyeok's as a show of support.
Seeing this, Gaeul placed her tail on top of ours.
This was when Levinas should join in.
Why was she so quiet?
The children seed to share my thoughts, as they looked towards Levinas.
Levinas was fidgeting, twiddling her fingers nervously.
"Dark King, are you going to get really angry...?"
"Yes. It'll be very scary."
"I... I see..."
She kept looking at the ground, then at Saebyeok.
Levinas repeated this behavior before mumbling cautiously.
"Can Levinas maybe stay outside when that happens...? It might be too scary for Levinas..."
"Of course. That's fine."
"Mm..."
Even though Saebyeok said it was okay to stay outside, Levinas was still watching her warily.
Did Levinas not want Saebyeok to get angry?
To prevent conflict between the children, I decided to ask directly.
"Levinas, do you not want Saebyeok to get angry?"
"No! Levinas feels bad for not being able to stay by Dark King's side when she's angry..."
"Ah..."
Getting angry ant emotions running high.
It made sense to feel sorry for not being there in such a situation.
I understood why Levinas was acting this way.
"...Then give a big hug when I co out after getting angry."
Saebyeok, who had been thinking, suggested a new solution to Levinas.
Levinas's ears perked up at this.
"Will that work?!"
"Yeah. A hug from Levinas will calm down completely."
"......! Understood! Levinas will give you a big hug when you return! Go and scold those bad people hard!"
Levinas raised her eyebrows as if nothing had happened.
It was nice to see her excited state, reminiscent of her usual self.
"Okay. I'll be back soon."
I moved with Saebyeok to the room where the lab staff was.
The entrance was guarded by none other than Argo.
Seemingly bored with standing still, Argo let out a big yawn.
"Argo."
"Boss!"
Thump! Thump!
Argo's tail wagged happily upon seeing us, hitting the wall.
As always, it was an incredibly powerful tail.
"Argo, can we go inside?"
"Of course! But it's dangerous, so I'll co with you!"
"Okay. Thank you."
We entered the room with Argo.
There, we faced the lab staff mber.
She watched us with empty eyes.
The children's drawings were still on her, unwashed.
"......"
In the brief silence, Saebyeok approached the lab staff.
I held my breath, tensely watching their encounter.
"Eiva One."
"...You know ?"
"I do. I rember all the lab staff."
"......"
Eiva's mouth fell open at hearing her na.
Recognizing lab personnel ant she had been in that lab.
It implied she was either a test subject or a staff mber.
"Eiva One, you're a really bad person."
"...Eiva One is my lab na. My real na is Im Se-hee."
"Do you want to call you by your na?"
"No... Seeing you use a code na, I figured you weren't staff."
Eiva, or rather Im Se-hee, deduced Saebyeok's identity just from hearing her code na.
Yet Saebyeok didn't tense up and continued to confront Im Se-hee.
"Why did you suddenly turn yourself in? Trying to act good?"
"Yeah... I thought if I didn't at least pretend, my life would really be over."
"Really over? You thought you still had a chance?"
Saebyeok's voice was fierce.
She seed very angry, but I didn't try to stop her.
I simply trusted Saebyeok.
"A chance is..."
"There are no chances. Many people resent you. You're the worst woman in the world."
"......"
Im Se-hee looked down at the floor.
Though she lowered her eyes, Saebyeok's harsh words didn't stop.
"Did you think we'd forgive you if you ca late and acted sorry after doing everything you wanted?"
"No... I didn't think I could be forgiven..."
"You're truly pathetic. That's why you're on the bad side."
Crack-!
Saebyeok raised her clenched fist high.
Then she brought it down hard on Im Se-hee's head.
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
There was a sound like a lon splitting.
Im Se-hee, who had only been muttering until now, let out a loud scream.
"W-wow..."
That must have really hurt.
I hope her skull didn't crack.
I worriedly examined Im Se-hee's head.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to be broken.
"Even if we don't forgive you, you should live with the mindset of seeking forgiveness."
"That's..."
"Are you going to half-ass it because you know you won't be forgiven?"
"N-no, absolutely not...!"
Im Se-hee's pupils trembled.
It was the strongest emotion she had shown so far.
"Then do it properly. Stop acting like a victim and move quickly. We'll be watching from behind."
Hmph.
Saebyeok snorted.
Having vented her anger, she seed to have cald down sowhat.
"O-okay... I'll cooperate as much as I can..."
"Good. And don't wipe off those drawings on your face and body. That's the punishnt I'm giving you."
"Okay..."
Im Se-hee nodded.
I approached Im Se-hee.
Squeeze-
Like Saebyeok just before, I clenched my fist and raised it high.
Then I brought it down on Im Se-hee's head.
Tap-
I thought I hit pretty hard, but Im Se-hee didn't even blink.
"......"
This wasn't right.
She should at least show a little pain.
I scratched my cheek and then glared down at Im Se-hee with fierce eyes.
"O-our Saebyeok is being nice, so she's letting you off easy."
I hit Im Se-hee's head deliberately to help reduce Saebyeok's burden.
It would be better if two people hit her rather than just one.
But Im Se-hee didn't even rub her head where she was hit.
"Sae-Saebyeok...! It was you, Saebyeok...?!"
Im Se-hee's face filled with shock.
I could see a faint glimr of hope in her eyes.
Perhaps they had known each other closely.
"...Hmph."
Saebyeok turned her head and left the room.
Without asking anything, Argo and I followed behind her.
"You were alive..."
We closed the door, hearing Im Se-hee's mumble.
At the sa ti, Saebyeok gave a hug.
"I'm sorry for showing you that side of . Were you scared?"
"No, I wasn't scared at all. I've never been afraid of you in my life."
"...Thank you."
Pat pat-
Saebyeok patted my back.
As I patted her back in return,
Argo swung his tail with a thump thump.
"Boss! I was scared of the black boss!"
"I'm sorry. I won't show that side again."
"No! It's okay to show it! You need to let out your anger when you're mad!"
"Um, okay..."
We chatted with Argo about various things.
Then, rembering the worried children, we headed ho.
**
Click-
I opened the front door and entered the house.
Levinas and Gaeul were waiting for us right in front of the shoe rack, looking worried.
"Y-you're back...?!"
"You're back...!"
"Yeah."
Just wait in the living room.
They were uncomfortably waiting by the shoe rack.
Knowing how worried the children were, I just patted their heads.
"King, is Dark King okay...?"
"Well... Saebyeok is..."
Before I could finish speaking, Saebyeok entered the house behind .
Levinas's ears perked up when she saw Saebyeok.
"Um, Dark King, are you oka-"
Levinas clamped her mouth shut upon seeing Saebyeok.
It was because Saebyeok, who she expected to be in a heavy mood, had a refreshed look on her face.
From Saebyeok, who had released all her inner turmoil, no negative emotions could be felt.
"It's the Light King...!"
Levinas opened her horned rabbit eyes wide.
Saebyeok certainly did seem to be glowing right now.
She had let the woman who ruined her life off with just a single knock on the head.
And it was an incredibly restrained knock at that.
This wouldn't be possible without being a great sage.
"Light King! Light King!"
Spin spin-
Levinas circled around Saebyeok.
Gaeul followed behind, spinning around too.
There was no worry in the children's eyes.
That's how radiant Saebyeok was right now.
---
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