To me, the Demon Queen was like a mother figure.
After all, it was thanks to the Demon Queen that I became a follower of the New Religion.
For some unknown reason, I had fallen into the Martial Forest and regressed to the state of a 6-7 year-old child, as if afflicted by a strange ailment.
It was truly an absurd situation. Falling into the Martial Forest was bad enough, but turning into a child was the icing on the cake.
In a desperate attempt to survive, I ended up doing odd jobs at a small inn by the Divine River. To be precise, I was essentially exploited as free labor by the innkeeper.
Though it initially seemed unpleasant, I had no other options.
The one who found me in that state and brought me to the New Religion was none other than the Demon Queen.
She must have been fond of how plump I appeared.
It was also the Demon Queen who appointed me as the attendant to Heavenly Demon, or rather, Young Heavenly Demon, Heavenly Yuah.
The one who enabled me to enroll in the Small Horse Pavilion, which functioned akin to an academy for the New Religion, was also the Demon Queen.
Even though I complained that the New Religion was a terrible black company, compared to the worst 3D jobs (Dangerous, Dirty, and Demanding) in the Martial Forest, working for the New Religion was akin to being a celestial maiden.
In that sense, the Demon Queen was nothing less than pure radiance to me.
The Demon Queen was always kind to me, and I deeply respected Her.
“Such a Demon Queen…”
When Heavenly Demon turned twenty-four, the Demon Queen passed away due to an illness.
Even now, I do not know what kind of illness it was, since even the mysterious doctors of the New Religion could not determine the exact cause.
Given that even their medical arts were powerless against the Demon Queen’s condition, it was evidently not an ordinary illness.
And I was one of the few people to witness Her final moments.
“Siwoo, you… Please stay by Yoo-a’s side until the end. Do this for me, even in my stead… Can you do that?”
Even in Her last moments, the Demon Queen was concerned for Heavenly Demon, and entrusted Her successor to me.
In that regard, I believe I repaid the Demon Queen’s kindness. For over thirty years, I followed Heavenly Demon and ultimately sacrificed my life to ensure Her escape during Her final moments.
Truthfully, at this point, I believe I’ve done all I can. Nevertheless, the fact that I couldn’t prevent the Demon Queen’s passing still leaves a deep scar in me.
Although Heavenly Yuah’s mother isn’t the Demon Queen, I still wish for her to live happily for as long as possible.
“Your mother doesn’t seem to take good care of her health, does she?”
“Yes, that seems to be the case. She’s young, so she doesn’t seem to care about that.”
“Does she at least have regular comprehensive check-ups?”
“Pfft, if she did, I wouldn’t be worried. She always skips her regular check-ups, claiming she’s busy.”
“…Is that so?”
The former Demon Queen of the Martial Forest was a frail woman who always wore mysterious medicine around her neck, but it seems that Heavenly Yuah’s mother isn’t like that.
The more we talk, the more worried I become.
If only this were just a baseless worry, it would be great, but typically, these kinds of bad things suddenly become reality when you say ‘ah’.
Given that the time when the Demon Queen fell ill is approaching again, I have no choice but to take a more active stance.
Frankly, if nothing happens, this will simply end with me saying, “Sorry, it was a false alarm.”
But if my concerns are validated, then this seemingly excessive concern might save someone’s life at the eleventh hour.
“The pale complexion could be due to mere overwork, but don’t you think otherwise, Senior Yoo-a?”
“Indeed… There’s something…”
“In that case, I believe it’s worth having her undergo some tests.”
“Perhaps… But she’s not the type to listen to advice. If she did, she would have gone to the hospital by now.”
“Is that true?”
“We have a family doctor at home. Even the tests recommended by the family doctor, she avoids. Do you think she’ll listen to me?”
Sure enough, it’s her indifference to health that’s the problem.
Apparently, Heavenly Yuah’s mother is only in her early forties.
Considering Heavenly Yuah’s age, twenty-three, this seems suspiciously young, and it’s almost certain that Heavenly Yuah’s father was a thief.
But that’s not important here.
Despite being affluent enough to have a personal doctor, why she lives this way is beyond me.
Still, at her youthful age, she seems to rely solely on her health and disregard it.
In this case, there’s only one way: We must admit her to the hospital.
And if anyone can convince her mother, it would be Heavenly Yuah sitting before me.
Because, come on, regardless of excuses like being busy or it being expensive, parents tend to follow if their children insist seriously.
“I’ve made a decision.”
“What is it?”
“Senior Yoo-a’s unease should be taken seriously. You have a good intuition, after all.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“In that case, it’s worth investigating.”
“How?”
“Have her admitted to the hospital. No matter what.”
“Hmm…”
“Can you do that, Senior? Somehow, it seems like you could.”
“I’ll give it some thought.”
After some deliberation, Heavenly Yuah nodded as if she’d resolved something.
“I’m confident.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, now I understand why I’ve felt off lately. Alright. Let’s head back to the company.”
“Alright.”
Heavenly Yuah’s decisiveness was truly remarkable.
Upon returning to the company, she immediately gathered her guards and promptly departed for the US with twenty of them.
Her serious expression suggested that she was determined to accomplish her mission.
Of course, it was my intention to encourage her to act this way.
“Still, bringing twenty guards… isn’t that overkill?”
I do think hospitalizing her is the best course of action.
But I didn’t expect her to bring so many guards. Is she really planning to force the hospitalization?
Isn’t it normal to try persuasion first?
Regardless, the arrow has been shot, and all I can do now is wait for the result.
Flame was enveloped in an unusual atmosphere in Heavenly Yuah’s absence.
Naturally, the core of this company is Heavenly Yuah.
Thus, this situation feels like the Yoo-a Team without Yoo-a herself.
Moreover, the departure of a large number of guards amplifies the vacuum.
After all, more than half of the guards are gone. Of course, it feels empty.
But more striking than that are the reactions of those who remain.
Particularly notable are the guards who have been closely associated with Heavenly Yuah and employees from Cheon Entertainment, who appear unable to fully grasp the gravity of this situation.
“Good grief, miss is going to the main house.”
“Is that such a big deal? It’s just her going home.”
“It’s not that simple, friend. It’s been a full nine years since the miss has visited the main house.”
“I see, that’s right.”
“Exactly, it’s not simple. You wouldn’t understand the atmosphere there. Anyway, if the miss has returned home, there will be a significant upheaval at headquarters.”
“Headquarters? S & M?”
“Yes. Just wait and see.”
Hmm, I’m not entirely sure what all this means.
It’s just her going home to convince her mother to go to the hospital, right?
Is there really a need to attach special significance to this?
Oddly enough, even CEO Ju, who has been assisting Heavenly Yuah, seems to be taking this situation very seriously.
These people are really overreacting.
Anyway, when Heavenly Yuah returns, I assume the atmosphere will return to normal.
“Hmm, getting mother to the hospital…”
“Yes, it seems so.”
“At least that woman has family, huh?”
“…Does she…?”
“Having family, those people who are always on your side—that’s kind of enviable.”
“…Yeah, whatever.”
But more importantly, Moon Suyeon’s condition seems troubling.
Upon learning that Heavenly Yuah’s absence was due to family matters, Moon Suyeon began emanating an ominous dark energy.
“Families… they’re those people who are always on your side, right?”
“…Well, generally speaking, that’s true. But there are exceptions sometimes.”
“So, like uncle here?”
“…Ms. Moon was definitely someone like family to me, especially to Senior.”
“So, is Mr. Moon one of those exceptions you mentioned?”
“Wasn’t he more like a parasite from the start? Comparing him here seems a bit…”
“Is that so?”
Moon Suyeon looks even more gloomy than usual as she stretches lazily and complains.
“I want a real family, too.”
“…Is that so?”
“So, I’d like to be consoled by Siwoo tonight. Because I can’t sleep.”
“…Still, you need to get some sleep. Look at the time.”
And it almost feels like she’s using that as an excuse for some inappropriate antics…
“Tch.”
Moon Suyeon, who’s been diagnosed with an obsession with family, is now mentioning family, which makes her even more unsettling.
Surely she’s not seriously considering making me a part of her family?
It seems Heavenly Yuah needs to return soon to prevent Moon Suyeon from spiraling out of control.
That I’m leaning on Heavenly Yuah in this regard is a bit disheartening.
The world seems to be going mad.
Heavenly Yuah returned about two weeks after she had departed.
It was reported that she immediately achieved the extraordinary feat of forcing her mother into the hospital upon arriving in the U.S.
And regrettably enough, her fiery filial piety did result in a rather significant discovery.
“Mother… has leukemia.”
“…Is that so?”
Leukemia… I now understand why even the mysterious doctors from back then were powerless if the Demon Queen had this condition.
After all, for all its advances, the base is still rooted in traditional medicine—how could they possibly understand this?
Even if they had somehow diagnosed it, there would be no easy cure by traditional means.
Still, the mysterious doctor’s greatness lies in the fact that they had suggested the only viable treatment attempt at the time: ‘Forced Rebirth.’
While it’s questionable whether Rebirth can reset the bone marrow, theoretically, it seemed plausible enough.
Unfortunately, there were no super-masters capable of performing that procedure at that time, and everything fell into disarray.
“For now, I don’t match. The situation isn’t too severe as of yet since we caught it early. But apparently, to achieve a complete cure, a bone marrow transplant—rather, a hematopoietic stem cell transplant—is essential.”
“Transplant…”
The past is the past, and now the priority should be treating Heavenly Yuah’s mother.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplant…
It’s a relief that it was caught early, giving us some time, but the situation remains serious nonetheless.
Judging from the atmosphere, it seems there’s been no suitable donor found yet.
“The first choice would’ve been siblings, but unfortunately, my mom… she has none.”
“Then what do you intend to do?”
“We’ll keep looking while starting initial treatments. First, within our company.”
“I see.”
Even though we know the disease, we lack a solution, creating tension.
At least it’s fortunate that S&M has many dedicated personnel willing to offer their stem cells.
They’re loyal, and their numbers are vast.
Our guards alone would offer their stem cells without hesitation if they match.
Despite that, there is still the pesky matter of probability looming.
Though it’s said to be odds of one in hundreds of thousands, depending on luck, it could be within ten people—or if the odds are truly cruel, not even within millions.
And in my experience, these kinds of situations often lead to the worst outcome.
“In any case, I need to get tested first.”
One way or another, the more samples we collect, the better.
…
