Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 180

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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180
Trapped in a black box by Brixel, most of the released nation’s citizens had returned to their homeland and begun reconstructing and resettling their shattered cities.
They had completely abandoned their territory and fled to the Ark. Returning now meant reconstruction would prove even harder than reaching the Moon, but it was reaping what they had sown.
Japan’s situation was far more dire than any other nation.
The politicians and Hunters who had boarded the Ark first among the Japanese already had their spirits departed,
their bodies reduced to ash without a trace during the battle.
This created a massive void in Japan’s command structure and main forces, placing them under the World Hunter Association’s administration. Since the Association’s President was the Korean Baek Young-shin, it was effectively placing Japan under Korean control, but all those who might have objected were already dead.
In truth, they lacked even the strength to object. Japan could no longer defend itself with only its own people.
“Hunter Akiko, I’m entrusting this to you from now on.”
Director Baek Young-shin appointed Akiko as the supreme leader of Japan’s reconstruction.
“…Thank you.”
“I won’t spare any support, so please dedicate yourself to the reconstruction.”
Even having recovered her nation’s people under these circumstances, Akiko couldn’t bring herself to smile.
* * *
I had delegated everything—Telus, the Moon, the World Tree—to capable hands, and finally returned to my house at the World Tree with a peaceful mind.
But the moment I arrived home to rest, what I heard shattered every mental barrier I had and left my mind blank in an instant.
“Oppa? Oppa?”
Bae Na-young shook me.
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“I’m pregnant.”
My mind went blank again.
“Oppa!”
“Huh? What did you say?”
…
I knew I should be happy in this situation, but I couldn’t understand how she had become pregnant. Of course we had been intimate, but I could control the toxicity of my blood well enough to regulate it and prevent pregnancy.
So how?
Thinking for a moment, the World Tree’s blessing came to mind.
Not long before going to the Moon, the World Tree Spirit had blessed me, and I had felt my body grow warm.
“…Oppa, aren’t you happy?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. Of course I’m happy.”
I held Bae Na-young close, seeing the worry and resentment in her eyes.
“Based on the timing, I think I got pregnant before going to the Moon. I didn’t want to say anything until I entered the stable period.”
“You…did something that dangerous while pregnant?”
“Everyone was risking their lives. I couldn’t sit it out. If Earth disappears, there’s nowhere for me to be either.”
“From now on, no physical exertion for you.”
I hadn’t wanted to create a child in a world destined for destruction. But now that it existed, I would absolutely protect this world for this child’s sake.
Holding Bae Na-young, I steeled my resolve.
* * *
“My goodness! This is wonderful, just wonderful!”
I told the mothers about the pregnancy. I was quite nervous when telling Bae Na-young’s Mother since we weren’t married yet, but she simply rejoiced, perhaps because we were essentially a couple.
“When are you planning to hold the wedding?”
Mother was equally thrilled.
With the child already keeping me occupied, the thought of planning a wedding made my head throb.
“We’re planning to keep it simple.”
Bae Na-young gripped my arm tightly as she spoke. Fortunately, she harbored no grand fantasies about an elaborate ceremony either.
However, things didn’t unfold according to Bae Na-young’s wishes.
Though we held a modest, intimate wedding, word spread somehow, and guests arrived from all corners to offer their congratulations—Director Baek Young-shin from the Awakener Management Bureau, Alex from Tellus, Hunters from the Association, Yang President from Rigen, and even representatives from both Earth and Tellus.
Unable to turn away those coming to celebrate our marriage, we held a grand banquet before the World Tree.
“Congratulations on your wedding!”
I clinked glasses after receiving felicitations from the kings of the Newus Union of Tellus.
“Thank you.”
After the greeting, I glanced behind him and saw the line stretched endlessly into the distance.
My face had begun to cramp from smiling continuously. I’d never trained these particular muscles before. In contrast, Bae Na-young smiled with effortless grace.
Since Bae Na-young was still in the early stages of pregnancy with barely a visible bump, she wore a form-fitting white one-piece dress. Though she typically favored darker clothing, the white suited her beautifully.
After days of festivities, the banquet finally concluded, only for wedding gifts to arrive in an endless stream.
“I can’t even open them all….”
Since Mother’s House wasn’t particularly spacious, we sent the gifts to a Rigen warehouse, but even after filling the massive storage facility, the procession of presents continued unabated.
“Brother, now that I think about it, we don’t even have a house….”
Bae Na-young murmured from the sofa where she lay sprawled.
“…I’ll look into it.”
Until now, we’d lived with our mothers, but with so many people under one roof, we genuinely needed a newlywed home.
“Okay~”
While we couldn’t fit all the gifts into a house, even storing just a portion required finding a considerably large residence. And safety—safety was paramount.
Earth seemed preferable to Tellus as a location. Our mothers were here, after all.
A candidate property came to mind, so I immediately set out.
“You came?”
The World Tree Spirit, now grown into a young man, waved his hand in greeting.
Smack!
I struck the World Tree Spirit’s head.
[Ow! Why did you hit me?!]
Seeing him glare, I landed another blow.
[Aaaah! My head!]
I sat down on a wooden chair behind the World Tree Spirit, who writhed in pain.
“What did you do?”
[What…. What do you mean?!]
“Bae Na-young got pregnant because of the blessing you gave, didn’t she?”
[Huh? She’s pregnant? That’s great. Your reproductive ability was lacking, so I unlocked it for you. Huh?! But why are you hitting me?!]
I struck the oblivious World Tree Spirit again.
[Kyaaaah!! If you keep this up, I won’t just sit here either?!]
The World Tree Spirit’s branches and roots writhed as if in anger.
“What if you just stay still?”
I deployed my domain in a compact form, and the leaves and branches touched by it withered and crumbled to dust as their life force was drained away. Ever since my battle with Morax, I’d practiced whenever I had the chance, so manipulating my domain had become second nature.
[…If you didn’t want a child, you should have said so.]
The World Tree’s branches and roots quietly retreated, and I withdrew my domain as well.
“I did want a child. Just… not now.”
[Why?]
“Because I don’t know when the world will end.”
[…What can I do for you?]
The World Tree Spirit asked, its voice tinged with contrition.
“Build a house within the World Tree. And if I’m not around, protect my family.”
[Leave it to me.]
The World Tree Spirit looked upward, and a gentle breeze swirled around it.
Its gaze was directed at the space directly above the World Tree’s trunk, densely packed with branches and leaves.
The densely grown branches curved gracefully, creating a space the size of a soccer field, and around the perimeter of that space, the branches clustered together again to form walls.
[I’ll create a passage leading outside as well.]
Coming and going might be a bit inconvenient, but if it becomes too bothersome, I could always open a dedicated Gate.
It would consume a lot of mana or money, but money is something I have in abundance.
“The house is complete atop the World Tree. Want to see it?”
I informed Bae Na-young once the house was finished.
“Sure~”
The World Tree house was flooded with sunlight and felt warm, as if it regulated its own temperature.
The interior was more finished than I’d expected. I’d planned to just create the basic structure and handle furniture and details later, but there was even a kitchen and bathroom.
Everything was made of wood, warm to the touch, yet harder than marble.
“How do you know how to do this when you only play games?”
[I felt sorry, so I researched and put in some effort. I didn’t want you to not have the child… Ugh…]
Bae Na-young elbowed the World Tree Spirit in the ribs before it could say something wrong in front of her.
Bae Na-young had accessed my consciousness and observed the World Tree Spirit multiple times, and now she could see the spirit with her own eyes and converse with it.
[Why… Why?!]
“Haha… There was a bug.”
[There’s no way there could be a bug near me!]
The World Tree bristled indignantly.
“You… You’re the one who made us pregnant?”
Bae Na-young stared at the World Tree Spirit with an expressionless face.
[U… Uh… That’s…]
The World Tree Spirit, nervous from being cursed at so much by me, couldn’t say a word.
Bae Na-young extended her hand and approached the World Tree Spirit.
[Ahhhhh!]
The World Tree Spirit thought it was being attacked and flinched. Though it was a spirit entity, Bae Na-young’s abilities were potent enough to inflict damage.
“Thank you.”
Bae Na-young smiled gently.
[Did I do well?]
The spirit peeked its head out cautiously.
“Yes.”
[Thank goodness. I didn’t just give the blessing to her alone.]
“…What?”
[I thought everyone would like it, so I scattered it all over the village.]
At the World Tree Spirit’s cheerful words, Bae Na-young and I exchanged glances.
* * *
I took Bae Na-young to the World Tree Hospital Obstetrics Department.
“There are… so many people….”
The population around the World Tree had been growing, but since minor illnesses healed naturally, the hospital was usually quiet except for critical cases.
However, the obstetrics department now had a line of visibly pregnant women stretching to the door.
“Brother, is this the World Tree’s….”
“Shh….”
I had wanted a child. The timing was simply different from what I’d anticipated. But others might not see it that way.
“Let’s keep this between us.”
The World Tree Spirit learned through a fist-accompanied lesson never to bestow any blessing without my permission again.
“Ah…. Chairman?”
Hyung-bin was sitting in the obstetrics waiting room. Behind him, Ye-seul’s face flushed as she bowed in greeting.
“…Congratulations, brother.”
“Congratulations to you as well, Chairman.”
“Ahem…. Brother came too?”
Yang Sang-heon and Akiko were there as well. Since her belly barely showed, the pregnancy seemed recent.
“…Weren’t you busy rebuilding Japan?”
“Hahahaha….”
Yang Sang-heon laughed awkwardly, and Akiko’s face turned red. The nation had collapsed and looked depressing, but… it seemed things weren’t as gloomy as expected.
Ye-seul offered Bae Na-young the seat beside her. With Akiko, the three women sat together discussing how many months along they were, whether their bodies were swollen, and such.
Hyung-bin, Yang Sang-heon, and I sat awkwardly beside them.
I spotted many Hunters I knew among the crowd. These people were told to train—did they still have energy left?
When it was our turn, Bae Na-young went into the examination room for an ultrasound and checkup.
“Fifteen weeks of pregnancy…. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“It seems the dates might be miscalculated….”
“They’re correct. Why?”
“The development is remarkably advanced for fifteen weeks. But the baby is developing beautifully. I suppose it’s because both parents are so healthy~”
The obstetrics doctor brushed it off casually. Miscalculating pregnancy dates happened often, so she seemed to regard us as another such case.
Bae Na-young had frequently endured criticism from her mother-in-law before, but now she had become the highest-ranking member of the household and didn’t need to lift a finger.
Alice, who had lost some weight from traveling the city diligently, also tenderly looked after Bae Na-young beside her.
Hee-chul was earnestly massaging Bae Na-young’s swollen ankles.
“She’s like a complete queen.”
“Won’t you massage my feet too, oppa?”
“Your ankle isn’t even swollen.”
She was already beneath the World Tree’s shade, and Bae Na-young had transcended humanity long ago. There was no reason for swelling to occur from poor circulation.
“So you won’t do it?”
“…Hee-chul, move aside for a moment.”
I pushed Hee-chul out of the way and began massaging her legs.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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