Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 42: Home

A low, nameless hill near Gyeonggi Province.

It was a barren land close to wasteland, with no proper roads.

However, the red truck that Jin Beom-Min purchased moved forward relentlessly, regardless of the path, as its owner commanded.

After driving for a while, Jin Beom-Min got out of the car, convinced that there was no one within a few kilometers.

The newly bought truck was covered in dirt and dust, making it look messy, but it seemed more reliable and sturdy.

Jin Beom-Min, standing on a suitable rock away from the car, turned the Ring of Necromancy to summon Kuen.

Drrrrrrrrrrrrr

Clank

Kuen’s form emerged as if rising from the ground, his shield and sword springing forth from his fingertips.

In reality, Kuen was practically recreated every time he was summoned. It was a characteristic of the undead bound to the Ring of Necromancy.

Thanks to this, Kuen could be summoned back in perfect form even if his body was broken or cut.

Of course, he couldn’t be resummoned indefinitely. There was a limit of twice a day, and a certain amount of magic power had to be consumed each time.

Despite these drawbacks, it was clear that he was a very useful companion.

The fact that his mind and memories remained intact even after being resummoned multiple times was also an advantage.

And today, he intended to make good use of that advantage.

“……What… bothersome task… are you going to… give me this time…?”

After being summoned, Kuen grumbled without even a greeting.

“Nothing special today. I just wanted to talk to a fellow countryman after a long time.”

“……Here…?”

Kuen looked around and asked again, puzzled.

“We can’t be seen by others. Well, and we can enjoy the fresh air.”

“……Hmph, compared to Jindar… it’s not exactly… fresh air.”

Kuen placed his shield on the ground and plopped down on it. Then, he turned his half-rotten face towards Jin Beom-Min. It was a signal to start talking.

Jin Beom-Min paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully before speaking.

“……How are things in Jindar?”

“……What… are you talking about…?”

“It’s been almost 20 years since I left Jindar. I want to know what happened during that time. How did the war go, who won… Are there any survivors?”

Kuen tilted his head and replied in a weary voice.

“……I was brought back to life in this state… only 5 years ago… I don’t know… what happened in the meantime…”

“Hmm… Let me see. Kuen, the ‘Blue Wall,’ died when I was thirteen, right…?”

“……What year were you born?”

“Delphin year 345.”

“……I died in… 359.”

“Then I was fourteen. I came here when I was seventeen, so… it’s been about 23 years.”

Jin Beom-Min shook his head. He had wanted to ask Kuen about the situation in Jindar for a long time. However, he had been putting it off because there hadn’t been a suitable time to ask.

No, that wasn’t true.

He was afraid.

He was afraid to hear the worst news, that the monsters had won the war.

He was afraid that the war might have been lost because he, who had undergone intense training to defeat monsters, had suddenly disappeared.

He was afraid that his comrades, and his parents whom he had been separated from in his childhood, might have died resenting him.

But the reality was that the monsters of Jindar were invading Earth.

So, he had to know someday. What was the current situation in Jindar? Why were the monsters invading Earth?

And did he have to go back?

While Jin Beom-Min was lost in silence, Kuen slowly opened his mouth.

“……But while I was active… as that… disgusting necromancer’s servant… I did hear… a few stories…”

“Tell me what you know.”

“……What… do you want to know…?”

“How did the war… go? Are the humans alive?”

Kuen slowly nodded. His neck bones rattled, making an unpleasant sound.

“……If being alive… means having a breath left… then yes.”

“Please be more specific.”

“……There are still humans… fighting… I… killed a lot of them…”

Guilt seemed to flicker in Kuen’s hollow eye sockets.

Necro Guardians cannot refuse the commands of the one who possesses the Ring of Necromancy.

Kuen had to harm countless humans under the necromancer’s orders.

That’s why he hated the monsters more than anyone else.

He, who became a knight to protect humans, was forced by them to kill humans.

“……They were in a sorry state… but their will to fight… was strong…”

“Is the war still going on…? For over 30 years…?”

“……Officially… the war is over… Humans lost… But there were still… many humans… resisting…”

“I don’t quite understand.”

“……They call themselves… the Resistance…”

“Resistance…”

Translated into the words used on Earth, that’s what it meant. Anyway, the meaning was similar. Resistance army.

Even though they lost the war, the humans hadn’t stopped resisting.

And a war fought by secretly hiding underground and carrying out resistance activities… Jin Beom-Min, who had studied Earth’s history, could understand its form.

“……But…”

Suddenly, Kuen asked Jin Beom-Min.

“……Leaving me aside… how did you… end up in a place like this…? You seem to be… quite a skilled knight…”

Jin Beom-Min chuckled, as if he himself found it absurd.

“I don’t know.”

“……How can you not know…?”

“I don’t know. I was trained at the Hero Academy… and selected as the last hero, preparing for battle. But then… I suddenly woke up here.”

Kuen flinched as if in shock, staring at Jin Beom-Min.

“……You mean… you were the… Hero…?”

“There were two other graduates besides me.”

“……I see… I remember seeing… the students of the Hero Academy… before I died… You were one of them…”

“That’s right. I also saw the ‘Blue Wall’ from afar.”

Kuen shifted uncomfortably for a moment. An undead wouldn’t actually feel physical discomfort, so it was probably his mind that was uncomfortable.

After a while, Kuen spoke hesitantly.

“……I heard a rumor… The necromancer’s subordinates… were talking…”

“What…?”

“Twenty years ago… there was a huge battle between monsters and humans…”

Kuen continued in a slow, monotonous tone.

“……In that battle… they said they killed… the three heroes who were the last hope of humanity…”

“……Is that so…”

“……But in return… I heard that the monster army… also suffered near-annihilation…”

“……It seems my other two friends did their best…”

Jin Beom-Min’s voice was bitter. If he had been there… the outcome might have been different.

“……I don’t know what happened after that… However, it’s true that… monsters now control… almost all of the continent.”

“And there are still humans resisting.”

“……That’s right…”

“Sigh…”

Jin Beom-Min let out a long sigh. It didn’t seem to be the worst-case scenario he had imagined. At least there were still humans resisting.

But back then… if he had been there…

“Why… did I come here? Who… why…?”

Kuen couldn’t answer and remained silent.

The sun set beyond the mountain, and the mountain’s shadow enveloped the surroundings. A chilly wind blew over the ridge, brushing against Kuen’s bones.

“……Are you going back? To Jindar…”

Kuen, who had been silent for a long time, asked abruptly.

“……I don’t know.”

Jin Beom-Min shook his head, as if he really didn’t know.

He wanted to go back. He wanted to take responsibility, even now, for the battle he couldn’t fight 28 years ago, the battle he had to fight.

But… the people most precious to him were here, on Earth.

If he couldn’t come back, he couldn’t go.

“……The choice is yours… but here… well, I don’t know what you call it…”

“……It’s Earth.”

“……What a strange… name. Anyway, now that monsters have appeared… even on Earth… you will eventually… go back…”

Under the darkening sky, Kuen spoke as if prophesying.

“……Because that’s your destiny… And I… am also destined to return…”

“……Do you want to go back, Kuen?”

“……The necromancer who turned me… into this state is dead, but…”

Kuen bowed his head as if expressing gratitude to Jin Beom-Min and continued.

“……I want to kill… as many… of those bastards… who used me… to take countless… lives… as possible…”

Kuen’s will seemed firm. Jin Beom-Min was a little envious of Kuen’s attitude.

“……What about you…? Don’t you have… unfinished business…?”

“……I don’t know.”

Jin Beom-Min sighed.

It was so long ago. So much time had passed.

While he spent time on Earth, the monster invasion of Jindar became a distant childhood dream, and as he had a wife and children, Earth became a solid reality.

But even so, to simply focus on his life on Earth and ignore Jindar… he felt too indebted.

The people he couldn’t protect, the comrades he couldn’t fight with.

The people who unhesitatingly sacrificed their lives and possessions for the three graduates of the Hero Academy…

He couldn’t repay the debt he owed to all those people without going back.

“……Don’t think too hard… Destiny is… inevitable. Even if you don’t worry about it… it will naturally unfold… in its own way…”

“I wish that were the case… but fate always screws me over.”

Jin Beom-Min smiled bitterly.

“After going through hell to graduate from the Hero Academy, I suddenly end up in another world… I meet my destined partner and get married, and then she suddenly dies… And after finally deciding to live my life… what now? Monsters?”

The corners of Jin Beom-Min’s raised lips twisted sarcastically.

“If there really is a goddess of fate, tell her to be careful. I’ll wring her neck if I ever meet her.”

Kuen couldn’t say anything more. His life had been quite turbulent, but compared to Jin Beom-Min, it was nothing.

Moreover, he had died young. He couldn’t say he had more life experience than Jin Beom-Min, who had been through all sorts of things in society until middle age.

Nevertheless, Kuen added a word. It was out of a desire to help, even a little, the man of unfortunate fate who was smiling bitterly in front of him.

“……Still…”

“……Yes.”

“……It’s good to see… a fellow countryman… after so long…”

Jin Beom-Min burst into laughter. This time, it wasn’t a bitter laugh, but a genuine one.

“Well… That’s true. It’s been almost 30 years… since I’ve spoken in Jindar Common Tongue for so long.”

“……I also prefer… this over Dark Elf language…”

Jin Beom-Min dusted off his pants and got up from the rock. Darkness had already fallen around them.

“Let’s go. Home.”