Chapter 78 – Doesn’t ring a bell

When Lee woke up in the morning, the first thing he noticed was something warm pressed against him and the soft scent of vanilla and roses.

The next was Rachel's clear blue eyes staring at him, along with her soft smile. "Finally awake, mm?"

Lee chuckled and stole a kiss, making Rachel blush and quickly scoot away. Seeing that, he said, "Morning to you too?"

Rachel giggled and said, "You're a terrible flirt."

"In the good way or the bad way?"

"Both!"

Lee smiled and got out of bed, idly folding the blankets and making it. But before he could even talk more with Rachel, he heard footsteps running down from upstairs, followed by Evandel's voice.

"Mommy! Daddy! Auntie! Uppies! Brekkie time!"

Lee laughed. "Well, guess it's time for the day to start already. Our little princess decreed it."

Rachel chuckled and said, "I suppose so... We should get Eva before Nayun wakes up in a grouchy mood."

===

"Pamcakes, pamcakes~" Evandel giggled as she watched Lee make some pancakes in the kitchen.

Nayun sat next to Evandel, rubbing her bleary eyes. "Kids really have infinite energy, huh? Maybe we should find a way to bottle it up..."

Lee flipped a pancake and said, "We are not doing a Monsters Incorporated."

Evandel's eyes sparkled and she said, "Mike Wazowki!"

Lee burst out laughing and said, "Okay, who showed you Disney movies?"

"Shadow friend! Boo!" Evandel giggled and then pulled out Kerny and Richie, babbling with them again.

Rachel smiled as she sat down next to Nayun and Evandel. Sliding a cup of coffee to Nayun, she said, "You just need to sleep better, Nayun, and to stop scrolling through your phone at night."

Nayun's ears turned red. "I-I do NOT doomscroll!"

Lee slid the pancake to a stack of them on a plate before starting to make a bunch of smaller ones for Evandel. As he did, he said, "The fact that you call it doomscrolling means you DEFINITELY doomscroll."

"...Okay fine." Nayun sipped on her coffee and said, "I've been reading the fanfictions people have been writing about Hajin and Yeonha. And the bets. It's funny, alright?"

Evandel looked up and said, "Uncle Haji and Rich Auntie! Baby!"

Everyone paused and slowly turned to look at Evandel.

Evandel tilted her head. "What?"

Rachel slowly said, "Eva, sweetie. What do you mean baby?"

Lee, Nayun, and Rachel had been extra careful to not mention anything about it. At least explicitly. And there was nothing that would imply it either.

So...

Evandel let out a bright smile and said, "Uncle Haji and Rich Auntie baby say hi!" She puffed her chest out and say, "I Auntie too!"

Lee slowly blinked. Then he tilted his head, thinking. "...Oh, right. Evandel WAS a witch that could manipulate spirits before she was our daughter- Hold on." He paused. "They're in Korea though?"

Rachel knelt down to look Evandel in the eye and said, "Sweetie... What do you mean the baby said hi?"

Evandel tilted her head and said, "Baby say hi!" Then she shrugged and went back to playing with Kerny and Richy.

Nayun shook her head. "I don't think you're getting a clearer answer out of her than that..."

Lee placed his hand on his chin. "...People do say that toddlers can see the world clearer than adults... Though the implication that the baby girl came by to say hi when she's just a fledgling soul is weird..."

Nayun paused and looked at Lee. "What do you mean 'baby girl?'"

Lee blinked. Then he laughed and said, "Do you honestly think Hajin would be spared from having a baby girl after all he's done?"

Evandel nodded. "Uncle Haji, baby girl."

"See?"

Rachel rubbed her temples and said, "...It is far too early for this." Then she grabbed her cup of coffee and sipped it before immediately grimacing, eyes snapping wide. "...This is not tea."

Nayun laughed. "Of course not. Wow~" She let out a teasing smile and looked between Rachel and Lee. "You're out of it. Did you two stay up late last night~?"

Lee rolled his eyes. "I'm not Hajin. That guy's triggerhappy. I'm fine leaving my spear at home until the time's right."

Evandel tilted her head, confused. "...Uncle Haji pew pew? Daddy spear?"

Rachel turned a beet red and shouted, "LEE!"

"What? You just know he's trying out machine gun pistoning-"

Nayun gasped. "OH MY GOD, LEE! NO!"

Lee laughed. "Fine, fine." He stacked a six-high pile of mini pancakes in front of Evandel and drizzled it with maple syrup. "Here you go, Eva. Enjoy your nom noms."

"NOM NOM PAMCAKE!" Evandel gasped and grabbed the plastic fork and knife that Lee handed her before tearing into the pancakes, getting her face and her plushies covered in syrup.

Rachel opened her mouth to tell Evandel to clean up.

And then Evandel held up her hand, making a bubble appear before wiping the mess clean.

Rachel paused and slowly turned towards Lee. "...Lee."

Lee whistled and continued making pancakes.

Nayun suddenly focused, staring at Evandel. "...Huh. That saves time. Maybe I can... WHOA!" Nayun giggled as she held up a glowing green bubble. "I am NEVER going to be covered in grime out on the field ever again." She held out her hand towards Evandel and said, "Good job, Eva!"

Eva giggled and high fived Nayun. "Welcome, Auntie Nayn!"

Rachel sighed.

===

Although Lee kind of wanted to go exploring around the Irish Sea a bit more since there were other weapons that could be laying around like Lugh's spear, Noralltach, and Gae Dearg, Nayun's brother took priority.

So, after cleaning up the house and then asking Droon to housesit (which he gladly did since Lee had installed high-speed internet), Lee, Rachel, Evandel, and Nayun headed back to Korea at around 10 AM local time in Brighton.

The moment they stepped out of the portal in Seoul, they were met with a crimson sky, the sun already setting due to the timezone difference.

Sitting in her stroller, Evandel noticed and gasped. "Sky red?! Richy, Kerny! Look!"

Rachel chuckled as she rolled Evandel's stroller away from the portal area and towards the exit gates. "Yes, Eva. It's a different time here in Korea."

"TIME TAVEL?!"

Lee chuckled and said, "Time travel, Eva. And technically yes, but actually no. Since we're in a different part of the world, the sun already said bye bye to meet other friends."

"Oh!" Evandel's eyes lit up in understanding. "Mister Sun visit other friends?"

"Yep." Lee nodded. "And Miss Moon is coming to say hi."

"Ooooh!"

Nayun trailed after the group and said, "You are concerningly good at translating things to children, Lee..."

"That's because I'm a child at heart. Plus, my mom did some Disney stuff."

Rachel paused and glanced at Lee. "...You never mentioned that."

"Long story." Lee shrugged. "I'll explain it some other time. It's better with wine."

Rachel's eyes softened in understanding. "...Okay. I'll talk about my mom too then at that time."

Nayun glanced between Lee and Rachel before saying, "Are we all 'tragic parent backstories' here or what?"

Lee hummed as he walked beside Rachel on the way out of the portal gates. "Unironically yes. In fact, I think the only ones who had a relatively normal childhood among our whole group of friends, even including Jonghak, is Yeonha."

Rachel giggled. "That is quite ironic considering... Well."

Nayun laughed. "Oh my god, I wonder if they've told Uncle Jinwoong yet."

Lee's eyes sparkled. "I can see the plot event already. Hajin, walking with Yeonha in hand and showing up at the estate. But the moment he walks in, Yeonha's dad jumps out and says, 'You dare court my Yeonha?!'"

Rachel nudged Lee's arm and said, "Be careful what you say, Lee. You might be doing that yourself when Eva is older."

Lee paused, seriously considering it. Then he said, "Nah. That'll be Nayun."

"Excuse me?!" Nayun looked over and said, "Are you offloading the scare the boyfriend duties to me? ...Because damned straight I'm doing that."

Evandel gasped and pointed at Nayun. "Auntie Nayn, curse!"

Nayun handed Evandel a piece of chocolate and said, "Okay. Another candy for the curse jar then."

"Yay!"

Rachel blinked and looked at Nayun. "...Nayun."

"What?" Nayun shrugged. "It teaches Eva that curses are bad, and makes me be careful to not curse around her."

Lee looked amused. "Now who's the one who's unnaturally good with kids?"

Nayun tucked her hands in her pockets and said, "Well, Oppa used to do that with me. When I was younger, I liked cursing a lot, so he made me do a swear jar."

"...Ah." Lee blinked. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Nayun waved her hand, smiling. "Oppa used to be a sore spot. But it'll get resolved. Right?"

Evandel nibbled on her chocolate and nodded. "Yeah! Auntie Nayn Oppa, big heal!"

Lee looked concerned and poked Evandel's cheek. "No doing anything until Daddy says so, kay?"

"Kay~"

"Good girl."

Rachel blushed.

Nayun noticed and smirked.

Lee noticed too and chuckled.

Rachel coughed and said, "L-Let us be on our way. People are staring. And also, we should remember to switch back to Korean..."

Nayun blinked. "Oh, huh. Forgot. Guess I've been getting too good at English."

Evandel nodded. "Auntie Nayn, Eigo jozu."

Nayun burst out laughing. "That's Japanese, silly. But thanks."

Evandel giggled.

Lee clapped his hands, noticing people staring. "Alright, alright. Let's get going. It's already late, so let's go have some fun and hang out at my apartment later. Then we can visit Nayun's brother first thing in the morning."

Nayun paused and said, "...Wait. If it's late here in Korea anyway, why didn't we just stay in Brighton until it's morning here?"

"Because it would be Sunday and no one runs the portals on Sunday in Brighton."

Rachel blushed and cleared her throat. "...The Kingdom of Britain is still in a deficit, you see..."

"Oh. Right." Nayun nodded. "...Well, if it's like that. Wanna go visit Yeonha's parents and casually ask if they've got the news yet?"

Rachel gasped. "Nayun! That's evil! ...But let's do it."

Evandel gasped too. "Evil! But fun!"

Lee quickly interrupted and said, "Evil is not fun, Eva."

"Oh! Kay~"

Rachel blushed, realizing her mistake.

Nayun rolled her eyes. "Let's just get going..."

As they walked out of the portal building and onto the streets, Lee paused when he noticed a girl with navy hair standing in the crowd next to a handsome man with black hair and golden eyes.

Something about them seemed odd... But he just shrugged it off and kept going with the others.

===

Bell watched Lee Shin walk off with the Princess of the Kingdom of Britain. Then he glanced over at Jin Sahyuk, the young girl that Bell was personally training.

Since Jin Sahyuk had been growing quite a bit, and since Lee had made a splash after the mid-term exams, Bell had arranged a brief encounter for Jin Sahyuk to at least get a glimpse of Lee. Especially since Lee Shin had publicly humiliated Kim Suho (in Jin Sahyuk's eyes at least).

But...

To Bell's surprise, Jin Sahyuk was frozen in shock.

"...Sahyuk?"

Jin Sahyuk watched Lee and the others leave. Then she said, "...What is that, Bell? That... thing."

"Thing?" Bell blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Jin Sahyuk slowly placed her hand over her heart, sweat forming on her brow. "...Is this... fear? No, it can't be, right?"

Bell's eyes narrowed in focus.

'Sahyuk? Being afraid of someone? Sahyuk, that haughty girl?'

He glanced back towards Lee walking with the others.

Next to him was Rachel, the Princess, rolling an empty stroller-

Empty stroller?

Bell narrowed his eyes. And the moment he did, Lee paused and turned to look right back at him.

It should be impossible.

There were plenty of people around and they had gotten far enough to where Lee shouldn't have been able to sense Bell. Even then, Bell had restrained his presence.

And yet...

'Do we have a problem?'

Lee tilted his head and quietly mouthed those words Rachel chatting to an unseen child in the stroller ahead of him.

Bell put on a warm smile and shook his head before averting his gaze.

But as he did, thoughts raced in his head.

"Bell." Jin Sahyuk spoke up again, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. "...We should go."

"...Yes. Let's leave."

Bell started walking off, Jin Sahyuk obediently following behind him for once.

But as he did... He couldn't stop the smile on his face.

'Byul. You finally found someone who can kill me.'

A sense of certainty from deep within.

It was still a bit soon.

The fact that Baal hadn't gone berserk meant that the demon didn't recognize Lee Shin as a threat.

But Bell did.

Because, just like when he first saw the footage of Lee Shin training beside Rachel, Bell was sure of it.

That guy had a Physique that was the exact opposite of Bell's.

Where Bell's Physique made him functionally immortal because he was practically one with mana, Lee Shin's physique fundamentally rejected mana.

That was probably why Baal didn't register it as a threat. To that haughty demon who ruled over the Demon Realm, a physique that displaced mana was just an annoyance, not a threat.

But...

'It's gotten stronger.'

It wasn't to the point of unraveling Bell just yet. There was still too much of a difference between their stats.

But it was only a matter of time. Especially if his very presence terrified Jin Sahyuk, who had the potential to awaken to the authority of Reality Manipulation-

Wait.

Bell glanced at Jin Sahyuk, who still seemed shaken up as they walked away.

Jin Sahyuk noticed and glared at him. "What?"

"...What did you see, Sahyuk?"

Jin Sahyuk flinched and averted her gaze. "...Nothing."

"Nothing? It's not like you to just-"

"No, you idiot. I mean... I saw 'nothing.' A void- No. Erasure." Jin Sahyuk pursed her lips and then rubbed her arm. "...If I fight that guy, I'll lose everything. I just have that feeling. I hate it. But... I just know. He's not someone I can fight."

Bell came to a stop, mulling over that fact and its implications. "...Is that so?"

Hearing Jin Sahyuk talk like that about Lee, Bell had a few thoughts come to mind.

Specifically...

'Does he possess a second Gift on top of his Physique?'

There were rumors that people with opposing Gifts could sense each other. And that Gifts which were natural predators to other Gifts could be sensed too.

Although not quite the reason, it was partially why Boss from the Chameleon Troupe naturally instilled fear in people who met her. Her <Infinite Shadow> Gift had few counters, if any.

It was also why most people who met Jin Sahyuk were immediately cowed. It wasn't just her natural presence, although her past life as a tyrant king played a part of it. Instead, it was because her <Magic Arms> Gift was so overwhelming that most people didn't have a counter for it, and they instinctively sensed it.

So.

'What would make Jin Sahyuk this terrified?'

It was curious.

Very curious.

Someone who Bell intuitively sensed could kill him.

Someone who Jin Sahyuk swallowed her pride to say that she 'could not win.' And not that she 'would lose.'

'Perhaps I should send him a present?'

Bell had made a faux pas, after all. And by all accounts, Lee Shin appeared to be an easy going man...

===

Nayun glanced over at Lee, noticing him look back. "Something wrong, Lee?"

Lee smiled. "Nope. Just some weirdoes staring at us. Anyway... To Yeonha's parents, right, Nayun?"

"Yep~" Nayun laughed. "I should greet Uncle Jinwoong since I'm back."