Chapter 148: Why So Handsome

Originally, they had planned to eat quickly and move on. That was, of course, until the “Sudden Midnight Appearance of a Naked Handsome Man in a Restaurant” incident. The group hurriedly rented a room and went upstairs.

“My clothes should roughly fit him.”

Since the naked man’s height was similar to Jin Seongha’s, they dressed him in Seongha’s clothes. The sleeve and pant lengths were adequate, though the fit was a bit loose around the torso. Even so, the shoulder line fit perfectly.

Pururu…

Puru floated around the man, who sat with his legs crossed—a man who, until moments ago, had been a bat of a similar size to himself. Because the appearance was so foreign, Puru couldn’t bring himself to approach.

Purung!

When the man reached out a hand, Puru was startled and fled to Jin Seongha’s side. The man watched the scene expressionlessly.

He looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s. He had long, jet-black hair and eyes as dark as the cosmos. His features were placed with perfect balance on a small face. His slightly sharp eyes curved gently when they met Ion’s.

While he seemed unapproachable when expressionless, once he smiled… it became even harder to talk to him.

If Jin Seongha was a masculine and charismatic beauty, and Haidion was an aesthetic and flamboyant beauty… this man was best described as noble, elegant, and dignified. He was a handsome man with an aura that felt difficult to trespass upon.

“To be honest, he’s so handsome it’s surprising. It’s a shame Assistant Dam isn’t here.”

“Ah, you mean the Earthling Dam Daon? If he were here, no conversation would have happened. He’d still be staring at him while keeping him naked.”

Ion clenched his fists. Exactly my point.

What is this? Why is Baba’s human form so handsome? Why does he look like a cold, northern aristocrat as sharp as frost? Why isn’t he a child? Why is he a handsome, well-built adult man?!

“Damion.”

The voice wasn’t drastically different, just a bit deeper in tone.

“……Uh, Baba.”

“Yes. I am Baba.”

“Why did your way of speaking change?”

“I don’t know. I naturally began to use this tone. If you prefer the way I spoke as a bat, I will do so.”

“No, don’t. Never use that tone. Use a different one. The one you’re using now is fine.”

Ion wanted to distinguish between Bat-Baba and Human-Baba. If he thought of the bat he had squeezed and petted to his heart’s content as the handsome man before him… he felt like he would never be able to touch Baba again.

“Very well. If you wish, I shall continue to use this tone. Can I enter the Heavenly Realm now?”

“Uh… probably. Since you’re human… and can wear the vest… and get smaller… and since you’re a northern aristocrat…”

“Northern aristocrat?”

“It seems our Team Leader is quite flustered. I understand.”

Ion accepted the hot tea Jin Seongha handed him. While he gulped it down, Blan asked:

“Lord Baba, since when could you use polymorph magic?”

“It is not magic. As I explored my memories, the limits of my abilities expanded.”

“Wow, impressive. But why did you stay as a bat until now without telling me?”

“There was no need to take this form. Maintaining this shape requires consuming large amounts of Mana Sulfur—at least three bottles a day. Doing so leaves me with an unpleasantly full sensation.”

“We might have to stay in the Heavenly Realm for a long time… what then?”

“I will endure the unpleasant sensation and continue to consume it. To stay by Damion’s side, I have no choice. Since Sanse cannot go, I must accompany him.”

Even in this situation, Ion felt that this noble youth was indeed Baba.

“However, Damion. You haven’t looked me in the eye for a while now.”

The nobleman spoke with a hint of disappointment. If anyone in the medieval era had heard this, they would have knelt immediately, crying, ‘How could I have caused such a noble being to feel disappointment!’

“Uh… it’s just a bit unfamiliar.”

“Are you confused?”

“No, rather than confusion, my mind feels… lightheaded.”

“Damion, do not be lightheaded. I am the same Baba you know. Gyu.“

The nobleman puckered his lips into a “Gyu” and tilted his head cutely. Ion’s mind felt even more faint.

“How about changing your appearance for the Team Leader’s convenience? If you looked closer to his age, or smaller and cuter, he might not find it so strange.”

“Yeah, Lord Baba. That face right now is a bit overbearing and annoying.”

“I can transform into various forms if they are non-human, but for a human shape, no other form is possible except this one.”

Jin Seongha stroked his chin at those words.

“Hmm, interesting. Whose appearance is that modeled after? Did you happen to see a celebrity in Korea and copy them?”

“No. When I thought about wanting to take human form, this appearance naturally manifested.”

Jin Seongha wasn’t the only one interested in the nobleman’s words. Ion had also deduced something from this conversation.

“Could it be…?”

“Yes, it seems that ‘could it be’ is correct.”

“What? Did you two exchange looks without me knowing?”

Ion explained to Blan, who couldn’t follow the progression.

“If Baba can transform into a human, then the Demon King’s ancestral bat likely could too. The Demon King probably granted the bat that ability. And that bat would have mimicked the person it saw most frequently, the person always close by.”

“……No way.”

“Yes. This appearance is modeled after the Demon King himself. It’s just our speculation, of course.”

No one knew what the Demon King looked like. Not through paintings, nor writings. Not even a single word of description in poetry remained. In the portrait the Idean hybrids had cherished for ten thousand years, the paint of the Demon King’s face had flaked away, leaving only the bat. Pi also said there were no portraits left in the Demon Realm.

Even if they went to the Heavenly Realm to find the missing Demon King, they couldn’t hand out flyers without knowing his face. Since they didn’t even know when the Demon King settled there, they were in a position where they had to vaguely look for suspicious people.

But now, thanks to Baba, they could draw a montage of the person presumed to be the Demon King.

Click, click.

Ion quickly took out his phone and snapped photos of the nobleman. He took several pictures and even recorded a video. Blan made a fuss beside him.

“Crazy, crazy! So the Demon King looked like this! Our Great Demon King was indeed the most elegant, noble, and sophisticated person in the world!”

“Didn’t you say he had an overbearing and annoying face?”

“When did I?! Do you want to die, human? Want to fight?”

The nobleman sat quietly as a subject, maintaining the posture of a bored aristocrat.

“If you have recorded enough, I wish to return to being a bat.”

“Why, Lord Baba? Already hungry? Your duration is really short.”

“It is not that. I can maintain this for five or six more hours. However.”

The man stared directly at Ion.

“Damion continues to be shy around me.”

“…….”

Ion silently averted his gaze.

“You even avoid my eyes. Damion, you are more affected by appearances than I thought. Why don’t you pet my head and scratch my neck as usual? That might help with the shyness.”

The nobleman stood up and approached. The man, who looked like he could easily lift Ion and spin him around, tried to sit on Ion’s lap. Startled, Ion pressed himself against the wall.

“D-don’t. Don’t come here. Don’t get close.”

Ion looked toward Jin Seongha and Blan, but…

“Haha, I’ve never seen the Team Leader like this before.”

“You know it’s Lord Baba, so why are you so awkward? Ridiculous guy.”

The two of them just watched with amused faces. There was only one thing left to rely on.

Shhh!

Vines grew in an instant. The eyebrows of the nobleman, who had approached right in front of him, twitched.

“You even summon vines…?”

Snap, snap!

The vines spread their leaves wide in a threat. The nobleman considered reaching out to grab the vines, but after seeing Ion’s tense face, he took a step back.

“…….”

The man’s gaze fell upon the Sansevieria Ion was holding. After watching it for a moment, the man let out a light sigh.

“Stop laughing at me, Sanse.”

“…….”

Absurdly, Ion’s shyness subsided slightly at those words. Because the only being who could communicate with Sanse was that tiny bat.

“Baba.”

“Yes, Damion. It is I. If you wish to put your finger in my mouth, I will yawn for you.”

“Forget it… change back into a bat.”

Poof!

The nobleman immediately returned to his bat form.

“Damion!”

“……Baba.”

Ion cupped the tiny, fluffy bat flying toward him. Baba rolled around in Ion’s palm. When Ion scratched him with a finger, Baba made sorrowful gyu- gyuuuu sounds and rubbed his head against the finger. Even with the soft fluff touching his fingertips, Ion found it deeply regrettable that the image of the dark-haired man wouldn’t leave his head.

Just as Baba rubbed against Ion’s finger, Ion rubbed his cheek against Sanse’s long leaves.

‘I’m glad Sanse is Sanse.’

When Sanse eventually finished its spiritualization, it definitely wouldn’t be a dark-haired man. Of course, even if it were a dark-haired man, Sanse would still be his lovely Sanse, but…

“Damion, are you not shy now?”

“Yeah. Stay in your bat form as much as possible. At least until we cross over to the Heavenly Realm.”

“Understood. But do not be afraid even if I take human form. I am the same Baba. Even in human form, I am cute Baba.”

“I wasn’t afraid. I was just shy.”

“No. Damion was afraid. I understand. I looked too big and cold compared to Damion. But I am sad. Do not be afraid of me.”

“……Alright. Sorry.”

Baba sensed Ion’s emotions with incredible sensitivity. However, the reason Ion was “afraid” was something else entirely. Because of that reason, Ion still had goosebumps on his skin.

“This is a scene one cannot watch without tears. Now, let’s distribute these Demon King portrait flyers. Should we send them to Assistant Dam first?”

Jin Seongha took out a communication item for Earth and handed it to Ion. His index and middle fingers were raised, while his other fingers were folded. It was the hand signal they agreed to use when they felt the “Gaze of the Apostle.”

Jin Seongha had been holding that hand signal ever since Baba took his human form.

The Gaze of the Apostle only disappeared much later. However, as if by unspoken agreement, neither Jin Seongha nor Ion brought up the Apostle. The group moved toward their destination as if nothing had happened.

“The Age in Idea hasn’t gained as much power as the Age on Earth.”

“That’s right. Idea has the powerful order known as the Elida Church.”

As they traveled through portals, they checked the religious facilities of System Age in Deand. Sometimes they entered disguised as believers; sometimes they broke into closed facilities in the middle of the night. There was nothing noteworthy, only confirming that foot traffic was sparse.

Other countries in Idea were said to have successfully suppressed System Age early on. As soon as the Human-Giant War ended, a massive crackdown led by the Holy See had taken place. They searched everywhere, even altars built in the basements of mountain huts, and as a result, Age followers were nearly wiped out in countries other than Deand.

Deand, having already expanded its influence with the support of Klerdis Sinjak, became a refuge for Age followers fleeing from abroad. It was said the main headquarters still remained here under the strong protection of Klerdis Sinjak. It was a task that the young, newly crowned King of Deand had to deal with first.

Regardless, the group moved without rest, gathering information that Age had failed to grow its power.

When they finally arrived at the Holy See, the date was January 3rd.