Chapter 144 – Chapter 138 – Balancing (2)

Hernan met Marina’s eyes and opened her mouth.

“Especially when you talk to the saintess, you deal a lot with who should be the queen.”

It must be because this is the king.
For some reason, I have never been happy with this title of king.

After Karine ascended the throne, would she be like this even if he became her consort and king?

While Hernan feels that he just wants to be faithful to her father role, Marina opens her mouth.

“It is.”

The saintess added her awkward smile to her face.

“Maybe I’m the most power-minded here.”

Self-deprecating speech.
She muttered, still unsure.

“I may be more greedy than I thought. Even when you are lying down in pain, you still make suggestions like this.”

Marina is said to be a saint, but she is basically a priest of the Mercy Church.
There are denominations that affirm becoming wealthy, but the Mercy Church places great emphasis on helping the poor and providing medical services.

A group of poor people who hardly acknowledge what might be called the private property of the individual priest.
Considering that priests are also forbidden from marrying, it can be said that most of the pleasures that humans can obtain most easily are suppressed.

However, human desires are not limited to those directly felt.

“During our adventure together, I didn’t feel that the saintess was greedy for power.”

“Then did you come here and find out that I am such a greedy woman?”

Looking at Marina’s bitter smile, Hernán lightly shook her head.

“It’s a bit ambiguous to say that wanting what you really need is called desire.”

“What do you really need?”

“Isn’t the saintess trying to become queen because she wants to do something with her power rather than her power itself?”

For example, here is an early Sharpie.

If the demon king had not quickly become pregnant and had not attained a high rank, her position would have been even more precarious.

A hero who only sees the dream horse as a means of escape.
The elf wants to kill him right away and get the mana stone.
The rest of the people showing vigilance.

Since it was a party of warriors who came to kill the demon king in the first place, there is no guarantee that Sharpie will be fine even after escaping when the demon’s protection is removed.

From the position of the demon king, it is necessary to somehow build up power and establish close relationships with others to ensure safety.

In that sense, it would be hard to see it as a particularly greedy act for Sharpie to somehow join the ranks and people close to power.

And Marina, like Sharpie, needs power for obvious reasons.

“Isn’t the saintess’ reason for wanting to become queen because she wants to control all her wishes?”

“… I won’t deny it. Hernan, who has seen me up until now, would of course be able to deduce that.”

The saintess on her bed continued her words while moving her fingers.

“I am still against using the right of wish. Because you don’t know what’s going to happen out there. And since we don’t know what the outsiders will do when they find out that we are the cause…”

Her voice was calm, but saturated with melancholy.
If she was in good health, she could hide those feelings as much as possible, but Marina, who had been convalescing in her room for over a month already, seemed to have weakened her heart.

“It may be difficult to return to human society. Even if I go back, I’m confused whether I’ll live with criticism for the rest of my life, or I’ll live in hiding forever…”

Hernán wondered if Marina was revealing a little bit of the depths of her heart through the cracks in her flaccid mind.

Originally, he was going to push right into fixing Silnia’s son’s leg, but he carefully decided to peek at the gap.

Because opportunities like this don’t come often.

“Are you afraid of that kind of situation? What about living in seclusion, avoiding situations where others criticize and swear at us?”

As Hernán’s words came through, Marina gently closed her eyes.

“Who would enjoy a situation like that?”

“I’m not asking for anyone’s opinion or feeling. I’m asking how you feel, Marina.”

“… ?”

The saintess opened her eyes again at the first name she had heard from Hernán.
She stayed still, her warm chestnut eyes turned to the man next to her.

Hernan also felt embarrassed for a moment because it was a title that came out unconsciously.
He wondered why he called him by his first name instead of honorific.

But instead of sinking in bewilderment, he leaned toward Marina, managing her expression.

“Are you afraid of situations like that?”

Marina wiggled her fingers as if she didn’t know how to answer, her gaze fixed on Hernán.

Hernan slowly pulled her hand.

Moaning lightly from the pain in her back for a moment, he wrapped her bandaged hand around her bandaged Marina and gently slipped his own fingers between her stiff fingers.

He asked again, not as a king discussing her future powers, but more like the man who raised her child with her.

“Marina… Are you afraid of being criticized or silently forgotten by others?”

Saint Marina looked at Hernan with her blank face.
Hernán did not rush and waited for her to answer.

This time, this moment, it is not between confrontation over the treatment of the leg of the son born to another woman, nor is it the relationship between the party members of the warrior party, which has already collapsed.

“Hernan…”

Marina said the name of the man she had impregnated her with.
And she saw a man who threw himself to save him, and who still suffers from back pain in the aftermath.

“I am… I am…”

She even stuttered her words in situations where she would normally have diverted her words or passed them off with appropriate words.
She then lightly moistened the corners of her eyes and struggled to compose her sentences.

“Wow, isn’t it scary? To be criticized and forgotten by people?”

Having been confined to her bed for over a month, she continued to speak while holding Hernán’s hand.

“I am from an orphanage. If I hadn’t walked the path of a priest, I would have become a street prostitute, or I would have died lonely after doing odd jobs all my life.”

Without waiting for Hernán’s answer, the conversation continued.

“Maybe I managed to get out of that situation and go to a place that everyone will remember. But.”

She tightened her hand.
It was as if he wanted to crook Hernán’s fingers.

Of course, since the injured side of her was a saint, only Marina would feel the pain.

Marina actually looked at Hernán with painful eyes.
For some reason, she felt that the resentment that had been buried deep in those eyes could be seen.

“The hero and you… No, you had Karine’s brainwashing magic, so you might not have any reason to blame…”

But she tried to put those resentful eyes in her eyes.
Seeing that, Hernán grabbed her hand a little tighter.

“I’m sorry.”

Hernan pulled out her apology again, which she had already done several times.
Even though she was a saint, since she had heard her words many times, she would have been able to ignore them.

Maybe she could say she didn’t need that kind of apology.

“Marina… I’m really sorry for my actions then. If you want to criticize, feel free to criticize.”

But she shed a tear at the apple.
After wiping her tears on her pillow, the saintess applied force to Hernán’s hand that was holding her grip.

“I hate it. You who forcibly violated me. You who pushed me into the abyss and made me forget from others.”

Twist the opponent’s joints as much as possible, grab and pinch the skin.
Her shaggy fingers pulled and crushed as if they were about to break them too.

“And the plan you revealed when Carine was pregnant. If you’re lucky, you might be able to come back. But what would that mean if the demon gained power? The world will be in chaos and we will be stigmatized as the culprits…”

Marina trembled her hands and drove her fingernails into the back of Hernán’s hand.

“So no matter how sick the child is, I hate you for trying to use a dangerous wish ticket… Ugh!”

But she soon stopped acting.
There are some things that can’t be done for a long time because they’re already injured, but I think the big thing is that they’re so deeply attached to each other.

Because if you want to hurt one, you have to hurt the other.

Marina said, pressing her sore finger closer to Hernán’s.

“I don’t want to be forgotten by others. I don’t like being hated either. That is why I wanted the position of Archbishop.”

As if it was hard for her to hold her hand any more now, she slowly began to release her overlapping fingers.

“So, I will continue to interfere with other people’s use of the wish…”

“Do you really want to be remembered by many people, Marina?”

“Yes?”

Hernan grabbed Marina’s hand as she tried to escape.

“I’m asking if being remembered and recognized by many people is the only thing that fits your goals.”

Marina didn’t answer right away and she only looked at Hernán’s hand wrapped around hers.
After a while she opened her mouth.

“It is not. However, humans are naturally forgetful creatures.”

As if she had already thought about it to some extent, Marina spoke her words without hesitation.

“No matter how much I heal people and work miracles, the public will soon forget me. When I get old and can’t do my job properly, I’ll slowly be forgotten. That’s why I need to make as many people as possible remember me.”

That’s right.

There have been several warrior parties in history.
All of them left behind achievements that will be forever engraved in the world.

But do people remember all of them?

Except for those who have unusual anecdotes and are easy for people to remember, their whereabouts can only be known by looking for them separately.

Therefore, saints who are more common than warrior parties will surely be forgotten.

“Marina.”

However, Hernán remembered her Marina until the moment she died, someone who would remember her even after her death.

“Don’t we already know someone like that?”

“We?”

Marina had an expression that she didn’t understand for a moment.

Seeing that expression, Hernán felt a bit bitter.

“Our child. Lenny will remember you until the end.”

The intense emotion on the saintess’ face gradually disappeared.
She released her hand from Hernán’s and looked at the end of her bed where Lenny had always been.

“Unless you really need more than one person. If it’s okay with just one person, Lenny and his younger siblings will fill that role.”

Marina, her face white, stammered at her.

“I’m sorry, but I seem to be overdoing it today. Since Hernando’s back is going to be hard, why don’t we just stop talking?”

She pulled the blanket over her and pulled it under her chin.

“And Darigan, Silnia’s son…”

“What about Ethan’s legs?”

Ernan looked at her silently.
Marina tried to avoid his gaze and answered.

“That… I will cooperate. If Silnia writes her wish ticket, I will grant it. Hernan now only has to coax Potty.”

She replied, and with her blank eyes fixed her gaze at her feet.
Hernán, who was about to get up right away at the sight, sat down on her chair again and opened her mouth.

“Saint Marina.”

The saintess flinched at that title.

“I’m sorry, but I’m too tired to talk to Hernan anymore…”

“Could you tell me how to braid your hair like the saintess normally does?”

“You mean braiding your hair?”

Marina looked at Hernán with her dumbfounded face.
Hernan nodded her head.

“Before Lenny goes to bed these days, he often asks Karine to do a similar hairstyle to her mother. Wouldn’t it be better for me, the father, to do it for you?”

In fact, braiding her hair isn’t too difficult, so Hernan can do it without any special instructions.
If Jung needs to learn, she can learn from Karine.

But he wanted to say that he had been taught directly by her mother.
It will definitely be a good gift for your child.

“Are you tired? If you are too tired, I will come next time.”

But when Marina’s answer was delayed, Hernán thought she was overburdening her and she tried to get up.

But Marina stopped him by raising her hand.

“Would you like to grab my hair? It’s hard to show it in person with this body.”

Hernán lifted her neck slightly and held a handful of her blonde hair in her hand.
Marina saw her hair shining in Hernán’s hands, and she began to dictate slowly.

“Hold one strand in each of her hands, and cross them from the scalp…”

The two parents of the child practiced it longer than expected.

* * *

Carine put down her paintbrush in annoyance.

“Why are you here?”

At the tip of her gaze was a Sharpie wagging her tail.

“Caliber!”

“Under…”

Thinking that she let out a sigh, Carine looked back on the current situation.

In the afternoon, when most of the children were napping, Hernán asked the two women to rest for a while.

It seemed like it meant that the two of them, who were getting hit by parenting, should take a break as 4ty was also under them.

As Karine, who wanted to be with Ernan a little longer, she offered to help him braid her Lenny’s hair, so she tried to stay.
However, Sharpie quickly said thank you and dragged her this way.

In fact, up to that point, Carine was also a little disappointed, but she wasn’t bad.
I’ve been so busy lately that I really can’t do anything besides babysitting and housework.

“Karine’s studio is really cool! While working as the Demon King, she also liked to appreciate works of art.”

“It’s annoying…”

But it was something I didn’t want to be followed by this clumsy dreamer.
She goes to her special room alone and masturbates as she likes, so why would she follow someone else’s special room?

Are you asking me to finish painting his garden?

“What are you drawing, Karine?”

Sharpie approached Carine, who was standing in front of the canvas.

A distance that is neither too close nor too far apart.
Sharpie, who stopped just within a distance where Karine wouldn’t be deeply displeased, looked at the painting on the canvas.

“Oh…”

A picture of a woman sitting in an alluring position on a bed.
He is staring straight ahead with his clothes half-naked.

She doesn’t really look like a picture of a person here, but she’s a woman with long limbs and a slim figure.
You could say it’s roughly similar to Carine.

“This woman and man must be very hungry.”

Sharpie smirked at the picture.
Karine came out in front of her canvas feeling displeased with that smile for some reason.

She said as she went to where her cloth was lined.

“It might only look like that in the eyes of the dreamer.”

“Is it? Hmm…”

The demon king, tilting his head, watched the painting still more.

In the meantime, Karine sighed and placed the scissors on the colored cloth.
Started off with no preparation, she cut her fabric to a certain size.

With about two of her separate pieces of cloth laid in front of her, Karine pulled out her needle and thread.

“My kids are about this height now…”

Karine, whose eyes were slightly tired, quickly opened her eyes.
Make her twins new clothes for her and show them to Hernan, who will be happy.

If he asks the other kids to make this too, ask them to help.
Then we can be together a little longer.

“Looking at it again, she seems a bit tired…”

Ignoring Sharpie’s voice, Karine quickly continued her tailoring.

Lately Marina Silnia is only in her own room.
Plus Potty.
Since the crazy rabbit was confined to the burrow, there were fewer adults wandering around the facility.

Virtually Hernan and himself.
And it seems that there is no one except for that dream horse.

Considering that the Demon King is often forced to leave his seat due to childcare, it is safe to say that the time spent with Hernan is almost at its maximum since he was deprived of his new blood.

It would be nice if we could just sleep together now.

“Carine.”

“Ugh!”

Carine was frightened at the approaching demon king and grabbed her needle.

“Why?”

She felt a tear, but she forced herself to hold back and stared at the demon lord.

“Isn’t it time for Hernan to come out of Silnia’s room?”

Has it already happened?
Well, it’s been quite a while since the baby was born, so postpartum care is probably almost over.

That elf in the first place.
Do you need postpartum care?

“However?”

“Hernan is sleeping with us now!”

That’s right.
But I don’t want to share that joy with this dreamer.

Karine tried to tell her to stop interfering with making her clothes.

“Under… Then you’ll probably sleep with the saint and the Forty kids, right? I will lead five people every day.”

Unexpectedly, Sharpie even sighed and put on a tired expression.

“It would be nice to get some rest…”

“Do you hate seeing the kids come?”

The hero showed doubts about the demon king’s actions and continued his sewing.

“Rather than hate… Wanna get some rest? Pregnancy is not urgent.”

Carine didn’t even feel that Sharpie was gradually closing the distance from her.
That’s because the meaning of Sharpie’s words came to her mind at once.

“Devil. Shall I sleep with the kids then?”

“Huh?”

Sharpie looked at Karine with her eyes shining.

Carine continued her words in a tone that could not be helped.

“If it bothers you, I will take care of it. Because I’m low rank anyway…”

“Thank you!”

Sharpie grabbed her carine by the waist.

“Huh!”

Karine, frightened by the unhesitating touch, dropped her needle.

Sharpie thanked her, covering the needle with her foot.

“Then I will tell Hernan. For the time being, go to Carine’s room and sleep.”

With a happy voice, the demon king smiled.

“Thanks for making it easier. Shouldn’t this body repay you later?”

It was a bit overly friendly than usual, but Karine was so lost in her thoughts that she was sleeping with Hernán, so she didn’t notice it properly.

“That, yes. Either way. Then, starting today, I will be with Hernan…”

“Sleep together! Of course, I can’t help it when I have to receive regular treatment.”

It doesn’t matter how much.
In the first place, sleeping together is so rare that this side is in a state of being sensitive even if only one increases.

“And Carine.”

Sharpie stood right next to Carine and held out her hand.

“From now on, the two of us will be doing most of our childcare here, so please take good care of us. I don’t know how I’ll get back here without you!”

A demon king asking for a handshake.
The hero looked at the hand and hesitated.

“Tell me if you have a hard time because the kids are too crowded. I will sleep with a few people.”

However, when the demon king spoke a little more, he quietly grabbed his hand.

The demon king smiled similarly to the woman in the picture I saw earlier.

Karine, the person who drew the picture, felt that this dream horse’s expression was more alluring than the picture.

“Please take good care of me, warrior.”