Chapter 45

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Winter Princess
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The human vessel that Aldebaran had descended into began to scatter, turning into ‘polygon shards’.

In that instant, Kang-jun sensed the intervention of an absolute power, something beyond description.

“Aldebaran.”

There was no reply.

“Intervention…”

Aldebaran, who had foreseen his own demise, had clearly called it ‘the Creator God’s intervention’.

What kind of enlightenment had Aldebaran attained upon becoming a god, and what had he been trying to tell him?

What was the secret of the epithet ■■■ that Aldebaran mentioned, and what in the world was the ‘truth of the Abyss’?

Swoooosh—

Just then, he felt the special power Aldebaran had possessed slowly begin to flow into him.

[Absorbing a portion of the divine power of the god, Aldebaran.]

It was the divine power the system message spoke of. A power whose ‘class’ and ‘texture’ were different from mana… a power that felt sacred and sublime.

“Divine power…”

Didn’t he already possess an immense power that transcended common sense and rules, a power no one could dare to challenge?

And yet…

The moment the divine power began to flow into his body, he could sense that he was once again surpassing a ‘set limit’.

“Could I possibly get even stronger from here…?”

Along with the feeling of his muscles growing firmer, he could clearly feel a power, distinctly different from mana, coiling within him.

If he continued to accumulate this divine power, could he, too, become a god?

If he were reborn as an omnipotent being called a god, could he bestow grand ‘oracles’ or inflict ‘divine punishment’ on others?

If even the speck of divine power possessed by a weakling like Aldebaran could inspire and excite him to this extent…

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how much stronger he could become if he were to seize all the divine power from those great and mighty gods.

“Interesting…”

He imagined this must be how humanity felt when they, who had lived knowing only Earth as their entire world, first realized the existence of the universe.

It felt as if he had just taken his first step into a ‘new world’—an unknown territory he had been completely unaware of.

On the other hand, he was anxious.

If the gods of the great constellations, including ‘Asgard’ which was said to be after his life, possessed this power in abundance…

*‘Facing them all alone might be too much...’*

Then, the meaningful and cryptic words Aldebaran had left just before he vanished suddenly began to surface in his mind.

*‘As long as you hold the epithet of ■■■, you bastard will never know peace or happiness—!’*

*‘Be-behind that oh-so-great epithet, hardship and adversity, cri-crises and the like, are bound to follow like a shadow...’*

*‘Th-those who possess the epithet you have do not die easily, and even if they do, they are bound to be revived...’*

One after another, a mysterious voice imbued with the ‘absolute power’ he had felt when Aldebaran vanished rang in his ears.

*‘O chosen one, face the destiny you have been given.’*

*‘Do not succumb to fate; only repeat your victories.’*

*‘Do not disappoint the eyes that watch you.’*

*‘Complete your epic and satisfy the watching eyes.’*

It was a ringing in his ears, accompanied by a pain so excruciating it made his perfectly fine mind grow distant.

“Kugh…”

As Kang-jun gasped for breath and collapsed to the floor, Crabslie rushed over.

“M-My Lord!”

Kang-jun forced himself to appear calm, nodding his head with a nonchalant air as he replied.

“I'm fine…”

Crabslie, who had been watching Kang-jun with worried eyes, swallowed dryly and cautiously asked again.

“Perhaps you overexerted yourself…”

“Honestly, I said I'm fine.”

Crabslie reluctantly nodded, then glanced around the chapel and added.

“Now that we've finished wiping out Aldebaran's followers, it would be best to prepare for our return. How about promptly returning to the Imperial Family to rest and recuperate…?”

Kang-jun replied as if he had been waiting for the suggestion.

“Yes, it's time to go back.”

It felt like unwelcome events would soon unfold.

Everything was vague, leaving his mind in a state of utter complexity…

But he didn't particularly want to know the detailed truth either.

“Let's go home.”

For now, he just wanted to go home.

The next morning.

Lee Su-bin was sitting on the living room floor, humming to herself as she neatly folded the laundry.

“Where should we move to…?”

She planned to move to a slightly larger, safer place as soon as she collected the lottery winnings.

“Our family has grown, so it'd be nice if we could move to a house that's even a little bigger than this one…”

For now, the house was too small, so she, Iriel, and Seol-i had no choice but to share a room.

Kang-jun used the small room he had always used by himself, while Crabslie lived in the room that had previously been used as a closet.

“If we move to a cheap, spacious house in the suburbs, everyone could probably have their own room…”

Then, Lee Su-bin's gaze turned to Marbas.

“It would be wonderful if we could move to a house with a yard, where our Gaettongi could run around and play.”

Just then, Seol-i, who had just woken up, came toddling out, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she spoke.

“Seori wants to watch *Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten*.”

At her words, Lee Su-bin replied, “Just a moment,” and immediately picked up the remote to turn on the TV for her.

Seol-i's day always began with watching her favorite show, *Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten*.

But for some reason, instead of *Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten*, only breaking news was on.

[ Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol announced in an emergency press conference early this morning that the Anti-Bureau Alliance has been completely eradicated. ]

[ The Anti-Bureau Alliance was revealed to have been operating out of a ‘large church building’ that had been abandoned in a deserted city… ]

[ Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol stated that the leader of the alliance, along with seven executives and hundreds of wanted individuals, were killed… ]

[ In response to reporters' questions, Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol maintained that specific details could not yet be revealed and that another announcement would be made at a later date… ]

Lee Su-bin, who had been staring blankly at the TV screen, muttered with wide eyes.

“Oh my, what in the world happened…?”

The news reported that the Anti-Bureau Alliance, which had been committing heinous crimes like terrorism, had somehow been wiped out overnight.

“Seol-a, it seems like the world is becoming a better place to live.”

At that, Seol-i asked back, “The wowld?” and Lee Su-bin nodded in reply.

“By the time our Seol-i is all grown up, maybe everything will have gone back to the way it was?”

Then, Seol-i asked again in a very serious tone.

“But why isn't *Ding Dong Dang Kindewgawten* on…?”

Tears began to well up in Seol-i's eyes, and then she suddenly burst into tears.

“What's wrong?”

Kang-jun rushed out of his room, swiftly scooped Seol-i up in his arms, and gently asked.

“Dada, Seori wants to watch *Ding Dong Dang Kindewgawten*…”

When Kang-jun repeated, “*Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten*?” Lee Su-bin shrugged and replied.

“You know, the kids' show Seol-i watches every morning. It seems like it's not airing today because of the breaking news…”

At her words, Kang-jun furrowed his brow slightly and muttered.

“Tch, those bastards are useless even in death…”

When Lee Su-bin asked, “Hm?” Kang-jun gave a dismissive wave and spoke to Seol-i.

“Seol-a, how about we go outside and play today?”

At that, Seol-i stopped crying and asked.

“Outside?”

Kang-jun nodded once and replied.

“Yeah, we can go to the playground or something…”

Just then, Lee Su-bin chimed in.

“Then while you're at it, how about taking Seol-i to the movie theater?”

“The movie theater?”

“The movie version of Seol-i's favorite animation was just released.”

Finishing her sentence, Lee Su-bin looked at Seol-i and asked.

“Seol-a, you said you wanted to see *Winter Princess 2*, right?”

“Uh-huh, dat's wight!”

“Ask Dada to take you to see *Winter Princess 2*.”

Seol-i then looked at Kang-jun, her bright eyes shining as she clasped her hands together as if in prayer.

“Dada, can we go see *Wintew Pwincess 2*?”

Then she quickly added, pleading.

“Pwease…”

Kang-jun replied.

“Alright, let's go see it.”

Then, as if mesmerized, he added.

“Let's see it a hundred times…”

Not long after, the father and daughter arrived at a movie theater not too far from their house.

“Let's see…”

Kang-jun held Seol-i's hand tightly as he headed to the ticket booth and bought tickets for the earliest showtime.

“It's the very back row…”

According to the ticket agent, *Winter Princess* had such high ticket sales that getting good seats at the door was like plucking a star from the sky.

“We should probably book in advance next time…”

Just as Kang-jun was muttering to himself while looking at the tickets, Seol-i suddenly tugged on his sleeve.

“Dada, Seori wants to eat something yummy too.”

Then, Kang-jun's eyes landed on the ‘snack corner’ selling various treats.

“Right, you can't go to the movies without getting popcorn…”

Memories he had long forgotten seemed to be resurfacing.

After buying popcorn and an orange juice for Seol-i.

The father and daughter sat on a bench, waiting for the movie to start.

“Dadaa, will you watch *Wintew Pwincess 3* with Seori later too?”

“Should we?”

“Den we can watch pawt 4, and 5, and 6, and 7 together too.”

Kang-jun hummed thoughtfully before replying.

“By the time *Winter Princess 7* comes out, I think Seol-i might not like these kinds of animated movies anymore.”

“Why? Seori wikes *Wintew Pwincess* the most in the whole wowld…”

“By then, my princess will be a proper adult, and adults usually don't like animation, do they?”

At his words, Seol-i looked deeply shocked and asked weakly.

“Dada, you don't wike *Wintew Pwincess*…?”

“Huh?”

“You're a gwown-up too…”

At that, Kang-jun waved his hands dismissively and replied.

“It seems you've misunderstood something. I'm one of the few adults who loves animation.”

“Weally?”

“Of course. In fact, out of all of them, I love the *Winter Princess* animation the most in the world. Let it go, let it go…”

Seol-i let out a sigh of relief, popped a kernel of popcorn into her mouth, and replied while munching.

“Den Seori will be a gwown-up who wikes *Wintew Pwincess* too, so we have to come watch all of them together later.”

Just then, a message appeared on the theater's digital display, announcing that seating for *Winter Princess* had begun…

“Let's go in.”

“Yay!”

The two of them entered the theater and were just settling into their assigned seats.

Perhaps because of the soda he'd been drinking while waiting for the movie, Kang-jun suddenly needed to use the restroom and asked.

“Seol-a, want to come to the restroom with Dada?”

“Seori will stay here.”

“Are you sure you can wait by yourself?”

“Uh-huh, 'cause Seori is a big giwl.”

At that, Kang-jun mumbled, “Hmm,” and reluctantly nodded a few times before replying.

“Alright, I'll be right back.”

If his sister found out, she'd probably smack him on the back and scold him, “Are you out of your mind?” but…

*‘A child should be raised like a lion cub.’*

Kang-jun had once been greatly inspired by the lion's method of education (?) that he had heard about somewhere.

It might just be a rumor, but they say a lioness pushes her cub off a cliff and makes it climb back up…

Of course, he couldn't possibly push Seol-i, the apple of his eye, off a cliff.

*‘Still, waiting while I go to the restroom should be fine...’*

And so, Kang-jun headed straight for the restroom, relieved himself, and was hurrying back to the theater.

“Oh, it hasn't started yet.”

Thankfully, the movie hadn't begun; commercials were still playing on the screen.

Just then.

He saw Seol-i, sitting far away in the back row, shouting at the top of her lungs toward the projection booth.

And…

The other audience members around her were watching with fond smiles.

“Oh my, how cute…”

“I know, right.”

“She's so adorable…”

Kang-jun extended his senses and focused on what Seol-i was shouting.

“Don't stawt yet! Pway mowe commewcials!”

Then she shouted again, as loudly as she could.

“My dada went to the potty!”

Watching her, Kang-jun suddenly groaned, “Ugh,” and clutched his chest.

“T-Too cute…”

She was unbearably cute.