The Saint Wants to Rest - vanish into fiction

Normally, Hong Seo-yun would have walked inside regardless of whether Choi Jae-heon gave permission, but today the situation was a bit different. Since the family had finally reunited after a long time, he intended to show some consideration.

“See you next time.”

Unaware of his friend’s noble intentions, Choi Jae-heon slammed the gate shut right in his face with a loud bang.

“Ha, look at this guy?”

Hong Seo-yun was annoyed, but he was the one who usually spoke up first every single day. Let’s just endure it this one time, just once. Soothing himself by repeating those words internally, Hong Seo-yun spun around. He figured Yoon Tae-gyeom would be finishing up his work soon, so he planned to head over to him.

He was incredibly happy to have met Ian , but as much as he was joyful, he had to prepare thoroughly. He needed to find out why Ian, who had been missing for five years, appeared in a Gate with a fluctuating rank, and if there was a reason why boss monsters that spoke human language had started to appear. There was a mountain of work to uncover.

“I’m not exactly that dim-witted, you know.”

The “Water-user” called him an unintelligent beast every day, but if he were truly a beast, he wouldn’t be able to live like this. Hong Seo-yun walked away, twirling his car keys around his finger. He thought he might even have to work overtime today.

***

After opening the door, Choi Jae-heon waited for Ian to enter. Returning to a home that hadn’t changed at all in five years brought a few tears to Ian’s eyes.

“I’m home!”

Ian shouted bravely and stepped into the house. Just like the exterior, the interior was similar to the past, but there was one thing that had changed. The number of trophies inside the glass display cabinet in the living room had increased.

Most of them were awards related to being an Awakened and for management. ‘Thank you for saving the citizens, the city, and the country in danger.’ Looking at the inscriptions carved into the trophies made Ian feel a sense of pride. Choi Jae-heon was still as righteous and wonderful as ever.

Unlike a certain madman.

Ian looked at Choi Jae-heon with a gentle smile.

“Do you want to wash up first? Or eat first?”

“I want to wash up!”

When Ian shouted while raising his hand high, Choi Jae-heon naturally headed into the bathroom. Although the house was old, the bathroom was quite spacious and even had a bathtub. It was a tub that showed its age, but it was sufficient for an adult man to soak his body.

“Wait a moment.”

Once the tub was half-filled with water, Choi Jae-heon approached Ian to help him undress.

“I can do it myself!”

“But it’ll be faster if we do it together, right?”

Ian hesitated and stepped back. It was because there was something he didn’t want to show Choi Jae-heon.

That damn Regnasia! While appointing Ian as a Saint, she had engraved her symbol onto his body. That symbol was etched right above his heart, and unlike a simple tattoo, it always shimmered.

The closer the mark was to the heart, the more superior the cleric was said to be. Of course, rather than Ian believing in Regnasia that much, it was simply something the Goddess had forcibly engraved while thrusting the position of Saint upon him.

Even though Ian showed such resistance, Choi Jae-heon did not back down, maintaining a gentle expression.

“Ian. We are the only family each other has in this world. I’d like it if you didn’t hide anything from me. You promised me before.”

They had indeed made such a promise while hooking their pinky fingers. Even so, he couldn’t tell him everything that had happened until now. For the time being, there were many things he had to hide. Yet, as long as they lived together, he wouldn’t be able to hide the tattoo forever.

In the end, Ian took off his clothes in front of Choi Jae-heon. The small, soft body from five years ago had grown significantly and was now the body of a proper adult. However, it wasn’t just his physical size that had grown.

No matter how much he had been protected, there were times when Ian had to step onto the battlefield while fighting the Demon King’s Army. The problem was that a Saint could not be affected by the divine power of other clerics. Furthermore, since he couldn’t perform self-healing, scars remained all over his body. Ian’s pupils darted around nervously.

“Ian.”

Choi Jae-heon’s voice calling his name grew a notch deeper. His fingers gripped Ian’s shoulder before sliding down to his chest, tracing the Goddess’s symbol engraved over his heart.

“…What is this?”

A frozen voice echoed in Ian’s ear. He had to explain, but even telling the bare minimum seemed like it would take a long time. Ian, who was debating how much to say, closed his eyes tightly before opening them. It was just as he finished organizing his thoughts and was about to speak.

“For now, let’s warm up your body since it must be cold.”

His brother’s voice had returned to being soft, just like at the beginning. Choi Jae-heon nudged Ian’s back into the tub and poured warm water over his cold nape.