Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 202

Ultimately, Yuri’s father could only come to terms with it and leave the next day.

It wasn’t like he had to stay here forever; it was just for a year.

Of course, I understood the parents’ feelings of wanting to retrieve their missing daughter immediately.

Still, if he got hit by the TS beam right in front of him, he would eventually have to accept it.

“I’m going to take my leave now. I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry for not contacting you sooner.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Of course, you should understand. It’s only natural.”

Seeing him repeatedly deny my words with a wave of his hand, he seemed quite shocked. Well, I could understand that.

“It’s shocking, but seeing it with my own eyes, I have no choice but to accept it, whether I like it or not. Still, I thought it would be reasonable to wait since it seems like I might be able to return to my family next year.”

It’s not that it couldn’t be fixed entirely; there was hope that just a little more waiting would suffice.

“I hope you take good care of our daughter until then.”

“Yes, please don’t worry. With the contact info I gave you earlier, you can talk to Yuri anytime, so don’t hesitate. If anything happens, I’ll contact you separately.”

“Thank you. Really, thank you.”

As he seemed to be wrapping up, I bowed my head quietly towards him.

Well, this should suffice.

Once he finished talking to me, he turned to ask the other heroes to look after Yuri before finally facing her.

As he gazed intently at his daughter, he soon raised his hand to grasp hers.

“Yuri, your mom and I will handle everything. Just hang in there for a bit, alright?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’m doing well.”

“Alright. By the way, I saw something strange yesterday. A frog with wings was flying around. Could I have been mistaken?”

At his words, we all jumped in surprise.

A frog with wings? Isn’t that Beibe?

As we held our breath, Yuri chuckled and shook her head.

“I don’t know about that, but maybe Dad was just so tired that he had a nightmare. He kept mumbling in his sleep yesterday.”

“Oh, that could be it? It was so shocking that I thought to myself, ‘Wow, Dad has gone through everything in life.’ Hahaha!”

Ah, thankfully, it seemed he hadn’t witnessed it while sober; a sigh of relief escaped me.

And so, Father returned home.

Maybe it was because finding a missing child brought more relief than the absurdity of a daughter turning into a son.

The back of Father, confidently marching on, didn’t appear to be in any precarious situation, and we, who saw him off, felt that way.

“Yawn!”

Jihee stretched and let out a languid sigh as she looked around.

“Oh, that solves another crisis. I wonder what will happen next?”

“Um, I just hope… that nothing happens and everything goes smoothly.”

“Ah, maybe it’s because I’ve been outside, but your speech is weird again. You’ve been through a lot, huh? You said it would be a year too, right?”

“Ugh, ugh! Please, don’t hug me so tightly….”

“Speaking of which, what excuse did Ahjin give to her family?”

“Um, I just said I was feeling lost… that I ran away….”

“Pffft! What’s that supposed to mean!”

Well, even if she said that, it must have been quite tough on her.

After all, she’d probably faced all kinds of inquiries from her family after entering that so-called Ahjin mode.

Considering she could even become independent after having lived alone before, I thought that was quite impressive.

Leaving the two of them to bicker, I approached Yuri.

She may no longer be visible on the road, but she still gazed wistfully into the distance.

Reuniting with her family only to part ways again must be quite unsettling for her.

No matter how much of a hero she is, a hero is still human.

“You did well. Really, you did well.”

So all I could do was encourage Yuri.

She wiped her eyelids and soon regained her bright smile.

“It’s okay. In fact, it worked out well. Since Dad has come to terms, he’ll convince Mom when he gets home. I was really worried about how to tell her if I went straight in, hehe.”

“Yeah, as long as it all ends well, that’s good. By the way, what’s this about the frog? Did it really happen?”

“Oh, that?”

Given the detailed description, it seems like she couldn’t deny it.

Recalling that moment, Yuri broke into giggles.

The joyful laughter reminiscent of a sitcom must mean the situation wasn’t too grave.

“It seems Dad came to his senses in the middle and thought he saw Beibe. Thank goodness he fainted right after.”

“Wow, he really got lucky.”

After hearing that, I was thankful it passed without issue; luck and circumstances seemed to have favored us this time.

If he had caught on, the excuse about divine possession would have become even more convoluted.

Well, the most ideal scenario would be if that frog stayed put, anyway.

“By the way, where’s Beibe?”

“Oh, him?”

Yuri brought her finger to her lips and whispered.

“He’s being punished.”

“Punished?”

“Yep.”

Nodding, she leaned closer to my ear.

“It’s a very hot punishment.”

Having so much on my plate with the broadcasting work and the affairs in the galaxy, I decided to put aside thoughts of that frog’s situation.

Well, Yuri would handle it well.

*

*

*

— Creak.

The door opened, and the dry creaking of the hinges echoed sharply.

Should I have oiled it? Yuri’s forehead wrinkled as she particularly hated this metallic wail.

Everyone went back to their rooms.

Sehee and Dayoung seemed to be preparing for the next stream content. Ahjin headed for board management.

Jihee, busy preparing for her return to campus in a virtual world, looked equally occupied.

However, Yuri felt a sense of isolation, as if she were the only one cut off.

“Well, it’s boring.”

Boredom. Yes, that sounds right.

Given the circumstances, I couldn’t see my friends.

Besides, would there even be friends ready to greet someone who had just gone missing?

After mulling it over, even if I met them a year later once the curse was lifted, I doubt I’d feel the same about them.

Instead, I might be disappointed and think how fortunate it is that they wouldn’t whine about why I showed up.

To be honest, I felt I might not be able to treat others as comfortably as before.

Unless they were family, forged relationships born out of necessity felt more significant right now than forcibly resetting the old ones.

And…

“That includes you in that relationship.”

With a smile towards the kitchen, I saw Beibe, bound by strings of light, helplessly squirming in a large pot filled with water.

Below, the induction stove was switched on, and the steam rising from the now-boiling water seemed more merciless than any suffering.

As Beibe barely gathered his consciousness amid the endless agony, he cried out:

“Y-Yuri, please… save me….”

“Don’t worry. You won’t die from this.”

Beibe’s condition wasn’t as miserable as I had expected, which brought a satisfied smile to Yuri’s face.

‘These induction stoves are pretty advanced now.’

The ability to finely adjust the output via a timer was incredibly useful for training Beibe like this.

“I’ve heard a lot about slowly boiling frogs in water. I was so curious if frogs could really withstand it. Others might be horrified, but I think I have a lot of curiosity. Don’t you think? By the way, what do you think would be a good next dish to prepare for the sisters? Let’s brainstorm some ideas.”

“Sehee… Dayoung… please, anyone help me….”

While Yuri rummaged through the fridge to decide what to cook for her sisters, Beibe inwardly wept tears of blood.

Longing for Sehee and Dayoung, who would have normally ended things by smashing his skull in the shape of a V or spinning his neck 720 degrees, was palpable today.