Episode 300 Epilogue (Complete)
Sky blue hair spread out over a desk full of documents. In the office, where a deathly silence flowed, only the sound of breathing could be heard.
Dalgrak.
The sound of something hitting something woke Ryojo from his deep sleep. When he suddenly raised his head, all he saw was a pure white field of vision.
“… … ?”
After a moment of wondering, Ryojo let out a deep sigh. His breath hit the paper stuck to his forehead and it fluttered. When he removed the paper, all he could see was steaming hot coffee and a beautiful, white hand.
“Principal… … .”
“Oh my, did I wake you up?”
Media had an innocent smile on her lips. Ryojo smiled bashfully, then quickly brought the coffee cup to his lips.
“I don’t think that’s something that someone who brought me coffee just to wake me up should be saying.”
“Haha, sorry. But the situation is what it is. Please understand a little. The ‘next’ principal, Saki Ryoujo.”
Ryojo quietly put down his coffee cup. He just rubbed the lipstick-stained cup with his thumb.
“I don’t want to work my students like this either, but please bear with it until the handover. The succession ceremony for the head of the academy is coming up soon, right?”
“Yes, well… … .”
“But Ryojo, you learned everything in just one month. In my case, it took me half a year just to handle the handover.”
“…Why is it that I can get what the principal took half a year in just one month?”
Ryojo said as if he felt wronged.
“The smarter you are, the harder it is for your body to suffer!”
“Isn’t it the opposite?”
“My heart~”
Media smiled and sank deep into the sofa. The leather was worn and peeling, but the cushioning was still intact.
‘There’s only one week left for me to sit on this sofa.’
Media closed her eyes and stared at the quiet ceiling.
‘Seven years from that day.’
Seven years have passed since that day when humanity and the demon race fought for their survival, and when the world might have been completely destroyed.
‘At that time, I really thought the world was falling apart.’
Memories of the past flicker beneath my eyelids.
That day, there were numerous casualties. Not only the casualties of the heroes who participated in the war, but also the civilian casualties were severe. Media closed her eyes and frowned. She had estimated and written the casualty list herself. Tears and nausea welled up as she wrote each letter, but she had written the names one by one.
‘It wasn’t just casualties. Joaquin Academy was also on the verge of collapse.’
Immediately after the war, the Academy was in ruins. Although the site was the size of a small city, about two-thirds of it had been literally ‘deleted’. The remaining buildings were also in poor condition.
‘At that time, really… … .’
Just thinking about it makes my throat ache. She is the head of the academy. And during her tenure, the academy almost collapsed. Guilt weighed on my shoulders.
‘Everything was hopeless.’
Media smiled bitterly. Then, she opened her eyes slightly at the sound of a rustling sound. A warm smell tickled the tip of her nose.
“It seems like it’s the principal who should be drinking coffee, not me.”
Before I knew it, Ryojo, sitting across from me, was pouring coffee. He dropped three cubes of sugar into the cup and stirred it with a teaspoon.
“Does the principal enjoy it?”
Ryojo rolled the teaspoon in his mouth, tasted the liver, and then pushed the glass in. It had been a month since he had started receiving handover from Media. If you count back to when they were cadets, they had already known each other for eight years. They had become close enough to share not only their tastes but also their intimate family history.
Media looked back and forth between the mug and Ryojo’s face. When she first saw her, she looked like she was dripping with emotion, but now she had grown into a mature lady. Even among her peers, Ryojo was particularly mature.
‘Kojima, since he died, he’s the one who actually took over the administration of the Saki family.’
As if he had foreseen my death, the palace had written a will in advance, and the eldest daughter, Saki Hina, was named as the next head of the family.
However, inheriting the Saki family meant something completely different from inheriting a noble family. It was no different from taking on the entire nation of Japan. It would have been overwhelming for Hina alone.
So Ryojo helped his sister. Ryojo took charge of the actual administration and processed and reviewed it. I don’t know what the change in his feelings was. The death of the palace may have contributed to the change. Media pretended to guess but didn’t ask.
‘No matter how much I think about it, he’s an amazing kid.’
Ryojo was a second-rate genius who maintained the Saki family and the glory of his country. After finishing his work, he handed over all authority to Saki Hina without any regrets. He could have swallowed up the family if he had wanted to, but he did not abuse his authority.
Media, who valued this point, offered Ryojo the next principal position. They chose Ryojo as the new principal who would rebuild the academy and bring about a wave of reform.
Ryojo flatly rejected the offer. He didn’t want to get involved in such matters any more. He was busy preparing for his wedding.
‘I was really sleepy.’
Media was persistent. After working day and night to get Ryojo’s approval (although he himself forgot about it), he was able to get Ryojo’s approval. Since people knew Ryojo’s competence, there were few who raised objections. Of course, some people were angry, saying that twenty-five was too young, but when ‘someone’ supported him, the voices of discontent melted away like snow.
‘If ‘that guy’ comes out and supports it, who can oppose it? If they even make eye contact, they’ll start to leak.’
Media smiled as she looked down at her coffee cup. Her smile was reflected in the cinnamon-colored water.
“Oh, right. How’s your relationship with Abel? You live under the same roof.”
Ryojo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at the teasing question. She coughed and pretended to be calm.
“It’s a little unfamiliar, but I can get by just fine.”
Five years ago, Korea, the land of courtesy in the East, made a bold decision. It was double marriage. It was one of the solutions to overcome the population decline caused by the Great War.
“Oh~ This is the dignity of a senior’s wife?!”
Media chuckled, holding the coffee cup to her lips.
“If you’re going to tease me, I won’t be the principal.”
“sorry.”
Media lowered her head. Her movements were as natural as flowing water, having been practicing dogeza for a month. Her forehead was hard and shiny.
“Can I ask you one more question, Ryojo?”
Media’s nature is such that she can’t stand being curious. In Ryojo’s eyes, that pathological curiosity was just lust no matter how much she looked at it.
… What can I do?
“Ask me. If you don’t answer, I won’t let you go home from work.”
Ryojo raised his index finger and spoke as if warning.
“But there’s only one. If you don’t keep your promise, then for real, for sure.”
“I wonder if that’s the case, hehe.”
Media drank the entire glass in one gulp. She licked the coffee off her lips with her tongue and opened her mouth again.
“Hey, what’s that… … . If there are two wives, how do they share a room… … ?”
Ryojo’s eyes grew cold. They looked like a sky covered with dark clouds.
“Me on odd days, Abel on even days. Okay?”
Ryojo jumped up and left the office. Bam! The sound of the door closing was loud.
“Hmm.”
Media crossed her legs and thought. She calculated which day was more common, odd or even.
‘But come to think of it… Ryojo and Abel share it half and half, but for him, it’s every day.’
A chill ran down her spine. She hugged herself with trembling hands. It was early summer. It was the time when the spiders were late in their twilight and the plants were late in their nutritious diet.
* * *
Crunch, crunch.
Ryojo’s quick steps paved the pavement. The pavement blocks were newly laid. There weren’t even any weeds growing between the gaps.
Boohoo, his pocket vibrated. Ryojo took out his cell phone. For the first time in a while, the travel club group chat room was noisy.
[Weapon: Ryojo, are you getting off work? When are you coming back? If I recall because of you, you’ll take responsibility, right?]
The one who opens the group chat room is always Speed Weapon. He works for the association. He is constantly working under Chang Sung, who became the association president after Victor Poison retired. However, his head is still going strong, and he is known as a promising young man within the association. The vice president of the association (former vice president) is his direct superior.
[Rachel: (Picture of drinking beer.)]
In fact, Changseong’s niece joined the ‘Lancelot Company’, which has all-mute. Rachel’s job satisfaction was the best. The company’s free spirit suited her lively personality well.
[Sanhana: Oh no, I’m the only one who can’t attend today… … (ㅜ△ㅜ). Enjoy your share too~]
She pretends to be in her twenties, but it’s hard to lie about her age. Meaine Poison. She will soon become the head of the Jeonjeon University academy, and is currently in charge of the Gehenna Demonic Realm. There’s no one there who’s as knowledgeable as she is.
In addition, Meaine was secretly helping Leon and Metatron in their retreat. Originally, Leon should have been locked up in the brain prison. However, due to his performance at the end, he was compromised to be exiled to Gehenna. Here too, ‘he’s’ influence played a part. This is a secret known only to those who know.
[Hontail: I, I… … .]
Humanity and the Demons have declared an end to the war. It is not a ceasefire, but a ceasefire. If there were any more bloodshed, it would surely lead to mutual destruction. However, the conflict between the two forces is deep. If it had been possible, the relationship would have been smoothed out long ago.
[Hontail: I can’t stand it anymore!!!]
[Weapon: (Picture of Horntail inhaling the sashimi.)]
[Weapon: It looks like a lake will disappear today.]
A bridgehead was needed between the two, and the Dragon Clan volunteered to take on the role. They were a deeply rooted neutral force, and had not even participated in the Great War of the Inma, so they had a good cause. Hontail is still living in Inse, or more precisely, in Choi Seol-ah’s, as their representative.
“The hurricanes have gathered too.”
Ryojo chuckled and put his phone back. The towering main building and the stone sun next door were spilling a crimson tint on the academy.
Suddenly, he looked around. There was a memorial stone engraved with the names of the soldiers who died in the war. Ryojo’s eyes lingered on one spot for a while.
“The Palace, Saki Kojima 1973. 02. 23. ~ 2035. 01. 27.”
Instead of the chrysanthemums on the beach, Ryojo picked some wild chrysanthemums from the lawn and threw them in front of the monument. Then, with an indifferent expression, he continued on his way.
Korean sushi was bustling. It was filled with happy faces. Geumje, Changseong, Cheolgak, Olmute, Sung Bu-hyeop-jang. Everyone was there except for those who couldn’t come because of work.
“Oh, you’re here?”
The first to greet Ryojo was Abel. She greeted the guests while holding a tray in her arms.
“You’re here, the next principal!”
Following this, the others also found Ryojo and spoke to him one by one. They were all already slightly drunk.
Knox and Chloe are working hard to open the fish belly while sitting at the counter with them. Behind them are various awards and trophies. The Auditore siblings are well-known in the culinary world as knife wielders. It was thanks to their training under the ‘good boss’.
“What about the kids?”
Ryojo asked, hanging his coat on a hanger. Abel nodded.
“In the room.”
“How much did you eat?”
“Maybe two million won? Most of it went straight into my mouth, you know.”
“Oh my, put it in the ledger. Two million won is too much.”
“Of course. Since it’s come to this, should I throw in some expensive alcohol and throw it on you?”
“call.”
The Korean sushi hostesses chattered among themselves. Their speech was not gentle, but it was not sharp either. Although it was awkward, the two were women who had the same husband. Hating each other would only leave scars.
Step, step.
Someone is coming down the stairs. The sound stops and everyone’s eyes are focused on one place. The classmates who were drinking in the room also opened their doors and looked at the same place.
“did you sleep well?”
Ryojo laughed. Kang Geum-ma yawned and sighed.
“If you’re here, wake me up. The upstairs is so soundproofed that I didn’t even realize you were here.”
“I was sleeping so soundly that I didn’t even notice if someone picked me up. So, change the day and night. What if I get sick during my vacation?”
Abel grumbled. Kanggeomma scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Beep! Beep!
The cell phone of the Sung Bu Association Chairman rang. He answered the phone after asking for the understanding of the star-like heroes.
“what?!”
The expression on the face of the chairman of the Sungbu Association turned grave in an instant. His urgent gaze slid towards Kanggeomma.
“What’s going on?”
“That’s… It seems like there’s been friction between the standing army near the gate and the camped demons. They’re still just raising their voices, but if we leave it like this, the situation could get worse… … .”
The prosthetic hand of the chairman of the Sungbu Association was covering the screen of the mobile phone. This cautious nature was the reason why he sat there.
Kang Geum-ma nodded.
“I’ll go and take care of it.”
The Vice President of the Holy Association was about to ask something back, but then closed his mouth. If that person steps forward, the situation will be resolved perfectly. He is the only person who can encompass both humanity and the demon race.
Kanggeomma passed everyone and headed towards the door. Then he turned around with an expression of “Oh no.”
“Did you forget this?”
Ryojo held out two sticks of sashimi. They were her husband’s clones.
“Today, July 7th, is your birthday.”
“That’s why we all gathered here.”
“It’s also an odd day.”
Kanggeomma grabbed Ryojo’s hand and the hilt of the sword.
“I’ll be back.”
-Complete-
