The Desire to Hide (5)

“Everyone, please step aside! Please don’t block the road!”

People continued to flock on the way to the mansion.

As the year went by, the number of people decreased slightly, but many eyes still focused on us.

Colin tried to control people by raising his voice, but it was no use.

There were many people who shouted or held out their hands, and sometimes there were people who ran towards them in a dangerous manner.

I could understand why Colin and Schnella were waiting with servants.

“Seohyun. You must never leave my side…!”

“Erina. Calm down.”

It was unsettling to see him trembling as if he was about to have a seizure.

Even though I was calmly walking down the street, my anxiety did not stop.

For Erina, who despises people’s gaze, it was nothing short of the worst.

Likewise, Kayla was next to me, wearing her robe deeply pressed down.

He was cowering in fear of seeing his face or horns.

The same goes for Tyria and Celica. Both of them didn’t know what to do with their burdensome gaze.

“Everyone, make sure you block it well. Don’t let them approach you carelessly.”

Fortunately, thanks to Schnella leading the servants, no one laid a hand on us.

I couldn’t stop the voices they uttered.

“He said he was a hero! “My dead husband…!”

“They are not even knights of the kingdom…!”

“When are you planning to invade the Demon King’s Castle…!”

There were certainly many people who blessed and praised us, but on the other hand, we could clearly hear voices of jeers and resentment.

The enemies who tormented the protagonist and party terribly in the first episode were not the Demon King’s army, but the people of the kingdom.

The ever-increasing sense of responsibility and resentment toward the warrior.

Even if they suffered because of the war, it was unfair to place the blame on me.

But there was no way the world could run as it should.

If we subdue the demon lord, wouldn’t it get worse than this?

‘Should I really leave the capital?’

After everything is finished, should I move to a small country town?

I have no intention of cutting off ties with the kingdom, but the capital was severely restricted.

While I was walking down the street and lost in thought, Catalina suddenly screamed.

“What are these people? “Why are you criticizing us?”

“Nu, sister…!”

“Do you think I went to the demon world just to hear those things? Anyone who is dissatisfied, come out immediately!”

The surroundings suddenly become quiet due to her yelling.

The people who were making bad comments kept their mouths shut and avoided eye contact.

As the air around her froze, Catalina looked around at the people with a sneer.

Everyone was frozen with embarrassed expressions. She laughed.

“Okay. Just shut up and be quiet. “We will definitely kill the devil.”

He then refused security and pushed away the attendants.

Malcolm hurriedly followed and tried to stop him, but he was unable to move.

“I don’t need an escort. “We’ll go separately.”

“Sorry. Everyone, please get out of the way…”

Later, Malcolm seemed to have given up and started to step forward and fight people off.

I burst out laughing when I saw that.

Catalina’s reckless and impulsive nature helped at least for now.

“Let’s stop by the mansion for a moment.”

“It’s okay. See you tomorrow. Julia will call anyway.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

Catalina pushes people away and heads in the other direction.

Thanks to her, the noisy streets became quiet for a moment.

In particular, all those who were shouting from afar ran away.

“Everyone, let’s go quickly. Before more people flock.”

But while heading to the mansion, people still followed.

When I reached the entrance to the mansion, I was again surrounded by a crowd of people.

When we reached the mansion, there were even people waiting near the house.

“It’s been a while. Seohyun.”

The guards who protected the mansion and the children while we were away.

They were unperturbed by the noise due to the crowd of people.

As if they had already anticipated the situation, more people than usual were deployed, heavily armed with armor.

“Can you stop people? “It’s been a while since I last saw you, but I can’t even say hello properly.”

“Don’t worry, go in. From now on, this is what we have to do.”

I said it as if it was nothing, but it won’t be easy to block the large crowd.

I should ask Yulia to raise my salary later.

With that in mind, I opened the front door of the mansion and the children came out to meet me.

“You’re back!”

“Sister! “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Celica reunited with her children after a long time and smiled as she hugged them one by one.

Fortunately, the children seem to have had a good time.

The mansion I returned to after a long time was cleanly maintained.

It is said that sometimes people snooped around the mansion, but other than that, nothing much happened.

“Thank you all for your hard work. “Let’s eat dinner first.”

Although I went to a banquet at the royal palace, I was quite hungry because I left without even eating proper food.

And so did Colin, Schnella, and the servants who were waiting for us.

When I invited them to have dinner with me, they accepted right away.

“I will ask the servants to prepare dinner.”

“No. “I had a hard time escorting…”

“This is what we have to do. “Please give permission.”

On the contrary, the servants came forward and said they would prepare dinner, so there was no reason to refuse.

After allowing them to use the kitchen and ingredients as they please, they decided to wait for dinner.

Tyria headed to the bathhouse, saying she wanted to take a bath, and Celica went into the room with the children.

Kayla also went back to her room to pack up, and Erina followed me to the bedroom.

“Erina. “Thank you very much.”

“…”

“There’s nothing to do for the time being, so let’s take a rest. Do you understand…?!”

As soon as the bedroom door closed, Erina grabbed my waist and hugged me tightly.

For a moment, I almost screamed, but I barely held it back and tried to push Erina away.

But she didn’t let me go.

Instead, he tightened his arms even harder and snuggled into my arms.

“Finally we are alone…”

When I heard the crying voice, my arms became weak.

Erina barely continued speaking while holding back tears.

“Why are other people swearing at Seohyun?”

“…”

“You always did your best. “He overcame the danger of death and became a hero despite being seriously injured!”

“That’s…”

“But why are those people cursing Seohyun…?”

I could understand why she was angry.

Even though I have overcome numerous crises and killed all the Four Heavenly Kings, some people have complained and cursed at me.

Erina was so angry that her body was shaking.

I was able to understand her mind.

If, on the other hand, Erina hears complaints from people, I won’t stay silent either.

And Erina would have gone through the same situation as before.

In the first round, he became a knight commander early on and jumped into the front lines.

He must have been weighed down by the gaze of more people than me.

So I could understand why Erina was angry.

Still, I had no choice but to stop her.

“Erina. I’m fine.”

“Why…? “Are you okay with such insults?”

That’s not it. Of course, I felt angry and resentful.

Still, I decided to endure the expected situation.

It might be frustrating if other people see it, but it’s the choice I made.

“Erina. It will be quiet when everything is over.”

“…”

“Until then, let’s just be patient. “There is not much time left until we defeat the Demon King.”

Erina still looked like she didn’t understand, but kept her mouth shut.

I thought he would cry, get angry or make a fuss like before, but he was surprisingly quiet.

“…I understand.”

Erina held back her tears and relaxed her arms.

Even though I wasn’t convinced, did he understand my feelings?

She, who always acted like a child, showed a bit of maturity.

Since we’ve been together for such a long time, it seems like we’ve grown a bit.

Feeling sorry for not being able to do it, I hugged Erina this time.

“Thank you for understanding. Erina.”

“Yes…”

After hugging her for a long time, the tremors subsided and her eyes softened.

I smiled when I saw Erina melting in my arms as usual.

“Now that you’ve calmed down, let’s go have dinner.”

“Over there…”

“Huh?”

Erina was wondering if she had something to say, then came closer and whispered in her ear.

“I think I’ll calm down if we take a bath together later… “

In the meantime, were you waiting for an opportunity to take a bath together? I really couldn’t let down my guard.

He answered by calmly stroking her head.

“That’s not possible. “I have to take a bath alone.”

Erina immediately became tearful at my answer, but the line had to be maintained.