The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably-Chapter 97 : Is It Innate, or Just Missing a Screw?

Is It Innate, or Just Missing a Screw?
After letting out a bout of yelling, my body felt hot.
Even though it was the cold of winter, I had moved around so much that it felt like my body was heating up.
Of course, I couldn't risk catching a cold breeze, but just in time, a good facility caught my eye.
I guess it's because it's winter, but even in this neighborhood, bathhouses were in fashion.
Sang-ah, who was accompanying me, gave a disapproving look and refused to go in.
She said she'd go back to the church first and left.
'What's so wrong about taking a bath?'
Since I was in a nice neighborhood anyway, I couldn't just pass by, so I entered the bathhouse and undressed.
Inside, there was an outdoor hot spring, so I immersed myself in it.
"Ahhhhh! This is the stuff!"
As the warmth of the hot spring touched my skin, my mind automatically cleared up.
I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of moisture soaking into every corner of my body and the unique scent of the hot spring.
Even though it was just an ordinary neighborhood bathhouse, it felt like I was soaking in some paradise.
Dripdripdripdrip—
Then, someone came into the bath and immersed themselves.
Were there any other customers besides me?
I opened my eyes to see, but because of the thick steam, I couldn't secure a good view.
The person, only distinguishable by silhouette, had a rather robust body.
He seemed sturdy enough to beat a bear barehanded, and he slowly approached and sat beside me.
"Do you like this water too?"
"Huh?"
It was a somehow familiar voice.
I used my wind skill to blow away the steam and saw Kwon Yongha soaking in the tub.
"It was you, uncle?"
"This is my regular spot. Is there a problem?"
"..."
Hearing that this was his regular place, I could understand why Sang-ah avoided it.
She must have hated the idea of running into this guy if she went in together.
"How has Sang-ah been lately?"
"Why are you suddenly asking about that?"
From the tone alone, he might sound like an ordinary father worrying about his daughter.
But considering how he'd treated Sang-ah so far, it definitely wasn't that.
"I'm just curious how much she's grown."
"Normally, if you're a father, you'd ask whether your daughter is healthy, or if she's sick somewhere."
"Well, that's true."
Even as he listened to my words, Kwon Yongha kept smiling.
It was a face expression that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"But there's something I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"Why are you so obsessed with the other world?"
Strangely, most of Kwon Yongha's actions had something to do with Mewzealand.
A prime example was that Sang-ah's mother was from Mewzealand.
And even Kwon Yongha's legal wife, Kang Minji, couldn't be considered unrelated.
The Poison Guild, which she originally belonged to, was a subsidiary of the Holy Church.
"Have you ever found life boring?"
At that question, Kwon Yongha finally spoke up.
Anyone can get bored at times.
When a game you were once interested in suddenly feels dull, or when you realize you can no longer relate to things you used to enjoy.
Boredom is directly tied to interest, and interest is directly tied to empathy.
"Basically, the moment you can't relate to anything is when life is most boring."
That was similar to the feeling I had when I accomplished all my goals in Mewzealand and returned to Earth.
But these days, since I have new goals, I haven't been feeling that way.
"Yeah, exactly like you said, it's when you can't relate."
"What does that have to do with being obsessed with Mewzealand?"
"Didn't I just ask? If you'd ever felt bored living your life."
Kwon Yongha opened his eyes, which he'd been squinting like slits.
"I've never once found anything interesting in my entire life."
No matter how well he studied or fought, he didn't find anything interesting.
Praise or punishment made no difference.
It was as if there was no real stimulus to anything—everything just passed him by.
"Is it even possible to never feel that way in a whole lifetime?"
"Of course not. If you don't feel it, you're not human."
"..."
"But when I was young, everyone around me kept praising me, saying I seemed perfectly fine."
Parents and teachers at school—all of them knew about Kwon Yongha's true nature but never gave him a hard time for it.
You might wonder if they were in their right minds, but after the arrival of the era of awakeners, there were plenty of people who took such things lightly.
"Powerful traits always affect the owner's personality. You must have seen it a lot in Hand."
Just like Kwon Sang-ah's rampages, there are always so-called 'missing a screw' awakeners in the world.
Some people's traits devour their nature, making them monstrous.
Maybe Kwon Yongha's innate disposition was discovered because of that.
"So, to overcome that nature, I've been making an effort since I was in middle school."
The hope that if only he could fix his nature, he'd find the world interesting, became his driving force.
If only the screws were tightened, everything would go back to normal.
"But... even so, nothing changed."
Once he graduated from middle school, Kwon Yongha became able to control his trait at will.
The screw had basically been tightened since then.
He worked himself to the bone to clamp it even tighter, but it didn't make any difference.
"Even after assembling everything perfectly, I still had to live in boredom."
It felt like being trapped forever in a game you're sick of.
Was the world rejecting him, or was his own nature rejecting the world?
Even Kwon Yongha couldn't answer that.
"But the more I thought, something came to me. About what I'd actually done to tighten those messed up screws."
At that moment, Kwon Yongha recalled the feeling of bleeding from his entire body.
Finally, he could feel his heart pounding inside.
Why hadn't he realized it before?
When a game becomes boring, you just make new content for yourself.
So he craved power.
—To fight stronger enemies.
For that, he used any means necessary.
—It's not like morality interested me anyway.
In the end, he came to know about the Holy Church, and, after that, about the other world.
"That's how I came to know of Mewzealand."
The reason was simple.
To feel stimulation. To empathize.
"If there are no enemies to fight, you just make some."
"You're absolutely insane."
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
"..."
"But thanks to my case, I learned something important."
What it means is that even though Kwon Yongha could control his trait, he remained an abnormal existence.
Which meant—
"Even if you control your trait, if your nature isn't good, it's no use."
Trait and nature are treated separately.
Kwon Yongha was someone who cared nothing for means or morals, as long as he could feel excitement.
A man born as chaos itself.
His children were born just for that reason.
'But because of that personality...'
It actually made it easier for me to use Kwon Yongha.
He's the kind of person with a monstrous nature beneath the skin of a human, but that meant he became interested in me.
An oddball like me would be an endless source of excitement for him.
That's not bad, but...
"Any more questions? Feel free to ask."
"No, I'm good."
"Hahaha, don't be like that."
Kwon Yongha slowly drew closer until our shoulders were touching.
The angelic look he gave me was downright creepy.
"Get away from me! Gross."
I scrunched up my face and pushed him aside.
Then Kwon Yongha made a disappointed expression and spoke.
"Hm... If you keep that up, I'll get upset."
"And what if you do?"
"I might sulk because of you."
A bearded man in his forties, saying things like that with a sad face.
It was like he was going, 'Hmph! I'm sulking!'
I thought I was going to puke.
"You f***ing..."
"Why? I just feel a liking toward you."
"Take that absurd liking somewhere else! F*** off!"
"Boo hoo hoo hoo..."
He suddenly covered his face and started sobbing.
Wait, is he seriously crying?
Just because I told him to get lost?
It's like he's saying, 'You stole my heart, how could you treat me like this!'
Like watching a girlfriend get hurt by harsh words from her boyfriend.
Not that I've ever had a girlfriend...
'What the hell am I even talking about?!'
The more I look, the sicker I feel, but I understand why he's like that.
I must be his number one source of excitement right now.
But why express your excitement in this way, you psycho?
A married man with two wives, shouldn't he be ashamed?
'Please. Stop the loss of faith in humanity!'
After losing my genitals in Mewzealand, this life was precious to me.
Now that I was starting over, I wanted to live it meaningfully.
I couldn't let this regrown purity be taken away by some middle-aged psychopath!
"I'm just going to leave."
"Wait, already?"
When I stood up in the bath, he suddenly looked at me with desperate puppy eyes.
For god's sake, stop making that face!
Why are you making puppy eyes at me like some jilted girl?
"Just... you seriously scare me, that's all."
"What's so scary?"
"You! You, dammit!!"
Now I was scared to even be in the same tub.
Losing faith in humanity is at least something you do for a pretty boy; this guy's a middle-aged married man.
And that means I'd basically be NTR'ing his wives—and he's a total psychopath.
'What the hell kind of nightmare hybrid is this?!'
Just one of those things would make my head spin, but all of them together—it's horrifying.
If Sang-ah saw this side of Kwon Yongha, she'd probably break down screaming for a totally different reason.
VVVRRRMMM—!
At that moment, the towel around Kwon Yongha's shoulder started vibrating.
There was a phone inside the folded towel, and the caller screen popped up.
"What is it?"
His previously nauseating face turned suddenly serious.
As soon as he answered, the scattered atmosphere turned grim.
Just his eyes made the situation calm—I could tell why he was one of the four great guild leaders.
"I see."
After a five-minute call, he suddenly got up.
"Where are you going?"
"Something came up. I just got a call from the Angel Guild."
"Why there?"
"I was going to ask for the Angel Guild's help in the clash against the Sura Guild. But thanks to you, we don't need their help now."
Meaning, I ended up taking that spot.
"But why would the Angel Guild help Hwasan anyway?"
What's in it for them, helping Hwasan?
I asked, and Kwon Yongha answered.
"Do you know how old the Angel Guild's leader is this year?"
No confirmed info, but it should be at least some old man over eighty.
Much older than Kwon Yongha.
"It's not public, but Guildmaster Baek Soo-hyuk doesn't have long to live."
A leadership vacancy due to the guildmaster's death.
Plenty of forces are waiting to pounce on the Angel Guild once he's gone—including the Sura Guild, who'll be in this war.
"So they're fully cooperating with us to attack the Sura Guild together."
But if I'm here, there's no room for the Angel Guild to step in.
All the temporary alliances made now fall apart because of me.
"But that's fine. Working with you is more profitable than teaming up with the Angel Guild."
Laughing heartily, Kwon Yongha stepped out of the bath.
"That...?"
I noticed something odd about one of Kwon Yongha's legs.
"Oh, this?"
His right leg was made of iron, unlike his skin-colored other parts.
A clear prosthesis covering a severed leg.
He looked at that and grinned.
"Pretty cool, eh?"
"..."
"If this battle can give me the same thrill again as before, I'll be satisfied."
He said, as if he liked the severed part—and strode right out.
Definitely not a normal person.
****
"Mom, why are you so out of it today?"
In a large room at the Hwasan Guild estate, a mother and son sat talking.
Because of Ma Seongjin's recent deeds, Kang Minji felt like she'd barely escaped death.
Kwon Yongjun, unaware of the truth, just worried over his mother's pale complexion.
"Did that bastard Kwon Sang-ah talk back to you again? That rude brat, I should just...!"
"Settle down, Yongjun. It's not that."
Kwon Yongjun bolted upright, ready to storm out and give Sang-ah a piece of his mind in front of his mom.
But Kang Minji needed to stop him.
Yongjun just got back, so he didn't know—but Sang-ah was currently being treated like a princess by guildmaster's orders.
If he messed with her, he'd be the one left at a disadvantage.
"Why are you stopping me? Anyone can see it's that brat stressing you out."
"..."
"And lately, dad's been really weird. He keeps sticking with that Ma Seongjin brat and even kicks me out of the room so he can hang out with him!"
Fuming with annoyance, Yongjun couldn't stand any of it.
Kang Minji wanted to do something, but since Kwon Yongha was taking Ma Seongjin's side, there was nothing she could do.
"This is nuts. If this goes on, dad's only going to side with that Kwon Sang-ah!"
"..."
"You know it too, mom. I'm normal. Even though I have a great trait, I didn't turn out weird. She and I are on a different level."
Kang Minji looked at her only son, visibly anxious.
He might act cocky on the surface, but beneath the table, his legs were shaking.
VVVRRRMMM—
Just then, a vibration came from Yongjun's pocket.
On the shaking screen, the name 'Lee Se-jung' was displayed. One of the many women he met up with every night.
"Mom, excuse me a sec. Gotta take this. That woman's causing trouble—again."
Yongjun took his vibrating phone and went outside.
Judging by how worked up he looked at the caller ID, it was probably going to be a long call.
Left alone, Kang Minji recalled her son's worried face from moments earlier.
'It can't go on like this.'
If things stayed this way, that brat Ma Seongjin would take everything.
These days, Kwon Yongha was basically a puppet, doing whatever Ma Seongjin said.
The thought that she might even have to kneel before that annoying Kwon Sang-ah someday sent chills down her spine.
'And it's not just me.'
Her only son Kwon Yongjun might end up the same way.
Just look at how Kwon Sang-ah, always looked down upon, was now being treated like a princess because of Ma Seongjin's influence.
'If only Ma Seongjin... if only that bastard disappeared...!'
With a grim resolution, Kang Minji made a call somewhere.
The number she dialed was not a Korean one.
Soon, Chinese words began to come through the phone.