The World’s Strongest Daughter.

Association Employee’s POV

A dim chapel.

Due to the artfully cast shadows, faces weren’t visible.

“Well then, let’s begin with a prayer.”

A man’s voice resonated softly.

Following his voice, everyone simultaneously bowed their heads and covered their eyes.

Shortly after,

The prayer began.

“Our thankful and gracious ‘Father.’ On this holy day…”

The moment the prayer started, the man’s voice bore into my ears as if using some ability.

“…Until now, many prophet apostles have departed to your side…”

The man’s voice hammered into my mind.

Just then, the sound of people crying could be heard from various places.

“…Though we may not shed blood, we wish to become living martyrs and fulfill Father’s purposes before entering true rest…”

I thought the content sounded familiar–it seemed like a patchwork of prayers from extinct religions.

However, it was enough to move the believers’ hearts as people began to weep sorrowfully.

“…Ah… Do you hear? ‘Father’s’ children are crying so sadly…!”

His skill at controlling the atmosphere with quick feedback was extraordinary.

After the frenzied prayer ended,

The man passionately recited the prayer, let out a heavy sigh, and slowly began speaking.

“…Now, let us begin our regular meeting.”

Finally, the main point.

“This time, the prophet apostles’ sta–”

“Just a moment.”

Just then, a delicate female voice interrupted the man.

This…!

I could only be shocked at this sudden development as I held my breath.

I wasn’t the only one surprised – other believers also started looking around in shock, trying to locate the source of the voice.

Then, the woman’s voice echoed through the chapel again.

“I stopped the meeting because there’s something I need to check.”

Which woman would have enough power to stop a regular meeting among the Rescue Religion’s executives?

It must be the ‘Young Lady.’

I looked around excitedly, thinking I had finally found the Young Lady.

If I could just identify her, I could…!

“There’s a little rat among us.”

…A rat?

Huh?

By the time I understood the ‘Young Lady’s’ words, it was already too late.

Every believer in the chapel stared at me, and it felt like facing soulless corpses.

“Kugh…!”

My identity had been discovered.

Wh-where did the information leak from…!

At this point, I hadn’t expected to survive.

But I never thought I’d be discovered in such an anticlimactic way.

“Catch them.”

At the ‘Young Lady’s’ echoing voice, an ominous mana emanated from the believers’ bodies.

There was no way for me to survive among so many ability users.

“You cult bastards…!”

Since it’s come to this, I won’t go alone.

If I pour out all my mana, I can take at least half of them with me.

It’s essentially a suicide attack, so I probably won’t survive either.

…Can’t be helped, this too is my choice.

Just as I quickly gathered mana to cause an explosion…

“Ugh…!”

A stream of blood trickled down from the eyes of the believers who were watching me.

***

Yoo Ji-Hwan’s POV

Where should I start looking…

Recently, every time I come to the mart, I struggle with happy concerns.

Products are everywhere, and there’s nothing I can’t afford to buy.

As a result, I’m actually having difficulty choosing what to buy.

…Should I start with snacks?

If I buy them now, they’ll get eaten eventually.

So, I slowly pushed my shopping cart deeper into the mart.

Today is Friday.

The weekdays had already passed before I knew it.

During that time, I’ve spent quite fulfilling days.

In the mornings, I have breakfast with the bread Kong Hye-sun bakes, then attend classes together.

Naturally, studying with her has led me to develop my own study methods.

In the afternoons, I practice practical skills with Min So-yeon, and after school, I go grocery shopping with her.

Recently, Min So-yeon started learning to cook, so we’ve been making dinner together. I’ve learned how fun it is to teach cooking to my daughter.

After having dinner together, we play some games to help with digestion before settling down to study.

…Well, we barely study at all, but isn’t it important that we’re trying?

Until now, I’d just been cooking bean sprout rice alone and falling asleep browsing the internet…

These days, I exchange messages with Kong Hye-sun before falling asleep, so I never have time to feel lonely.

Living each day so fully, I didn’t even notice time passing.

I had something to do today, so I didn’t stop by Min So-yeon’s house.

Though it might be my imagination, So-yeon seemed a bit disappointed.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Tomorrow is the day I go to meet my wife.

I need to leave early in the morning and receive the handover, so I won’t have time to buy the necessary items by then.

The place where my wife is staying is so deep in the mountains that there isn’t even a convenience store nearby…

So I have no choice but to prepare everything in advance.

Wouldn’t it be enough to just bring some fruits and snacks my wife used to like?

“Here it is.”

While browsing the snack aisle, I spotted a snack my wife used to love.

It was a chocolate-studded cookie that she used to buy occasionally.

Since it’s individually wrapped, it should stay fresh even if I store it for a while.

I picked up two boxes and continued pushing the cart.

My wife’s palate is thoroughly adjusted to my cooking.

Or should I say my cooking was adjusted to my wife?

After living together for over 10 years, it’s natural that we became accustomed to each other.

She preferred my cooking over eating out, but I wonder how she is now.

Maybe she’ll recognize my identity after tasting my cooking?

…If that really happened, I think I’d be quite happy.

I left the mart with an enormous amount of groceries and returned home in the car Jeong Nan-do sent.

When I got home, the travel carrier I ordered online had arrived.

“Perfect timing.”

After quickly changing clothes and showering, I started packing immediately.

While putting in the clothes and underwear I’d laid out and packing the toiletries I’d bought in advance…

Ding-

A message arrived on my phone that I’d left on the desk.

Ah.

Is it already that time?

Abandoning the carrier, I checked my phone, and sure enough, it was Kong Hye-sun.

A message asking what I was doing, with a cute questioning emoticon.

I replied to her with a warm smile.

[I was packing.]

Her read receipt appeared a moment later, followed by an immediate reply.

[That part-time job you mentioned before???]

I’d mentioned it briefly, but she remembered.

[Yeah. I need to leave early in the morning, so I’m packing in advance.]

[When do you leave???]

[Tomorrow at 5 AM.]

[Wow! That must be tough….]

Then she sent an emoticon expressing surprise with “Heol-raeng-gu~”

Chatting with Kong Hye-sun, you can tell how much love she grew up with.

If I hadn’t died, would our So-yeon have grown up to be such a lovable child too?

No, of course she’s lovable now too…

Just then, Kong Hye-sun sent a photo.

Huh?

A picture of her with a cute cat sticking out its tongue.

And then another photo followed.

Kong Hye-sun holding the cat’s paw while smiling brightly.

[Fighting! Make sure to contact me when you get back!]

Could there be more encouraging support than this?

After ending the conversation early thanks to Kong Hye-sun’s consideration, I stared blankly at the photos she sent and somehow found myself wanting to hear Min So-yeon’s voice.

Though Kong Hye-sun’s support was great, I felt Min So-yeon’s support would be incredibly encouraging.

However…

[The number you have dialed is not available. After the beep-]

She must have been busy, as she hadn’t answered the phone.

*

Drrrring- Drrrring-

My eyes opened slightly at the alarm sound assaulting my ears.

“Ugh…”

For someone weak in the mornings like me, waking up at dawn is extremely difficult.

I fumbled around to grab my phone and quickly turned off the alarm.

The house became instantly quiet.

Though I felt like I could fall asleep right away, I had to get up somehow.

Barely waking up, I dragged my stumbling body to prepare for going out.

After finishing preparations,

I got into the car Jeong Nan-do sent and promptly fell asleep.

I had planned to familiarize myself with the route, but forget familiarizing. When I came to my senses, we were already passing through Gangwon-do.

After passing through Gangwon-do’s city area, we gradually went up into the mountains until we reached a point where no buildings were in sight.

…No, really, there’s nothing here?

Not even a convenience store, and barely any signs of human presence.

“It might get a bit bumpy.”

“Pardon?”

At that moment, the car started shaking.

Startled, I looked out the window to find we were deep in the mountains.

Did she want to live in such an isolated place?

After following the winding road a bit further, a single house standing alone in the dense forest came into view.

“…”

After parking in front of the house, the driver made a phone call somewhere.

Shortly after, two housekeepers emerged from the house to welcome us.

“Ah, so you’re the one who’s coming this time!”

“My, how handsome… Madam will be pleased!”

I exchanged brief greetings with them and started carrying in the luggage I’d brought.

After entering the house, I quickly familiarized myself with the layout while looking around.

“The food storage is this way, kitchen’s that way, Madam usually eats upstairs, so we just use… And… Ah, the bathroom’s over there, with a bath next to it…”

I’d been worried because everything was in such terrible condition, but Jeong Nan-do must have put in considerable effort, as it was a fairly livable house.

“Here’s your work uniform! The size should fit roughly… We only have one set, so wash it well!”

“…Thank you.”

After being shown to my room, I changed clothes and headed to the kitchen.

“Oh, you’re here, now let’s go greet Madam!”

“Oh my… our Madam will finally have something to smile about!”

Jeong Nan-do said he carefully selected people to send, and these aunties had great personalities.

On the way up to the second floor following them,

Creak- Creak-

The floor must be worn in places, as creaking sounds came from beneath.

Step by step…

As we got closer to the second floor, my heart started racing for some reason.

Due to my pounding heart, I couldn’t properly hear the explanation of the second floor’s layout.

And finally…

“…There, that’s Madam’s room. We’ll wait downstairs, so come down after greeting her!”

The time to face my wife had come.

Standing before the door, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heart, but my pounding chest wouldn’t settle easily.

Even after living together for so long, I should be past getting nervous, but I don’t know why my heart is racing like this.

…Stay calm…

I am not Min Sung-jae.

Not Ju Yeon-hee’s husband, but Yoo Ji-hwan, Min So-yeon’s friend.

A poor student who came here through an introduction.

Min Sung-jae is dead, and I am a complete stranger.

“…”

Maybe the self-inflicted pain of touching that wound helped, as my wildly beating heart calmed slightly.

…Let’s go.

Taking one final deep breath, I slightly raised my hand and knocked on the door.

Knock knock-