Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 105
#105. The Corps' Tears
2022.11.13.
"Unnie... I'm upset."
On the way to watch a movie.
While walking through a park near the movie theater, Ayeon said with a dejected face.
Eunha, who was walking half a step ahead, sharply turned around.
Ayeon, who had stopped walking, was looking at her with downturned eyebrows.
"Furry... No, that Monkey King ahjussi, you didn't even tell me you were close with him."
"Close?"
"I heard everything. That furry... no, no, the Monkey King calling Unnie his younger brother."
The moment Eunha came out of the Immortal headquarters, Ayeon had seen it.
The sight of the hairy man following her to the headquarters entrance, waving both hands, and seeing Eunha off.
'Then, fare thee well, younger brother—!'
See you again!
The hairy man laughed heartily and waved his hands until Eunha was far away.
Beside him, burly guild members in doboks bowed their waists 90 degrees and greeted her, "Goodbye, Hyungnim!"
It was a scene one would only see in a noir film.
Depending on how the Monkey King treated the Princess of Dark Flare, the guild members' attitudes also changed.
Anyway, in that regard, Ayeon felt an inexplicable sense of alienation.
What should she say, it felt as if her best friend, who used to eat lunch only with her every day, had gone to the cafeteria with someone else without a word.
"I don't need any of that, Unnie, don't go to such a smelly place."
"Smelly?"
"It's awful. Just standing at the entrance, the smell of sweat and alcohol was overwhelming."
Ugh, really.
Ayeon fanned herself with her hand, her face contorted in disgust.
There was someone who vehemently agreed with her words.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' nods repeatedly, saying, "Wow, it's been a while since I've seen a human who makes sense."]
[It says it can't stand the pungent smell that pierces its nose every time you go there, and opposes your revisit to the Immortal Guild.]
The cat disliked most of the people around Eunha.
Strangely enough, that cat was somewhat lenient towards Ayeon.
Perhaps the two of them just clicked.
Ayeon, unknowingly backed by the cat's support, began to pour out her pent-up complaints like a waterfall.
"You said it was important, so what? So what if a gate opens on the South Coast? No, are they even going to pay you for doing that? Absolutely not. I know the Association well; they'll suck you dry, make excuses like patriotism or whatever, toss you a medal, and that'll be the end of it."
Hunters were not volunteers.
Ayeon didn't want to be a hero, nor did she desire honor.
Some might curse her as selfish and immoral.
But it didn't matter.
Because she had no intention of being a pushover.
Besides...
"I have no intention of believing those guys who play hero while hiding behind GIA or CIA in the first place."
Ayeon kicked a pebble on the sidewalk.
The stone, falling into the park's small pond with a plop!, created round ripples on the water's surface.
And...
"..."
"..."
A strange silence hung in the air.
'Oops.'
Ayeon, who had been staring at the rippling water, suddenly lifted her gaze with a look of realization.
Eunha was staring intently at her.
Her pitch-black pupils seemed to be asking this.
—How do you know that.
Currently, the Association had not informed the public about the South Coast Gate operation, so as not to sow unnecessary seeds of anxiety.
It wasn't just the public.
Even among the hunters active in Korea, it was a matter known only to a select few, including the four major guilds.
Ordinary hunters were unaware of this fact, and even those who knew were keeping it quiet...
"Uh... um... Actually, I got a call too."
"...You did?"
"Ahaha. Didn't I tell you? I'm actually a dark attribute hunter."
Smiling awkwardly, Ayeon glanced around.
"You heard too, right, Unnie? That the Association is desperately looking for fire and dark attribute hunters."
Ayeon whispered.
And only after meticulously checking that no one was around, she lightly snapped her fingers.
Then.
Sss...
Ayeon's shadow, cast on the sidewalk, began to gradually grow larger.
Ayeon's shadow, now as long as a streetlight, waved its hands around and then suddenly plunged into the pond.
The owner of the shadow, Ayeon herself, remained standing still here.
Silhouette Trap.
It was one of Ayeon's unique skills.
"I have some shadow-related skills, and this one is dark attribute."
Though it had the drawback of being unusable in completely dark spaces or when it rained, it was a 'perfectly cherished skill' optimized for Ayeon's combat style.
Eunha lowered her gaze and stared at Ayeon's shadow swimming in the pond.
Watching it move freely as if it had a will of its own, Eunha parted her lips.
"Then are you participating in the operation too?"
"No way."
As Ayeon gestured vaguely in the air, the shadow swimming in the pond quickly returned and reattached itself to her feet.
"Even if the Association offered a hefty sum for life allowance and danger pay, I'd still be hesitant. I don't even start deals that are at a loss from the beginning."
Having said that, Ayeon looked at Eunha with suspicious eyes.
"Unnie, I'm asking just in case, but are you planning to participate in that?"
"..."
Eunha didn't answer.
No, really?
Ayeon blinked, unable to believe it.
"You didn't just ignore what I said, right? Why would you go there? Did that hairy guy perhaps persuade you?"
That's right, that's right!
Ayeon huffed and put her hands on her hips.
In Ayeon's view, Eunha had a side that was surprisingly ignorant of the ways of the world.
The Monkey King must have put ideas into her naive unnie's head.
"Why don't you just quit. It'll surely be more troublesome to conquer than other gates, and the pay will be lousy too."
Though she couldn't say it outright to Eunha, there was something that worried her.
Ranking by class was practically an unwritten rule among hunters.
Regardless of her true skill, they would surely ridicule an F-Class hunter in a dress.
I can't let my unnie be treated like that.
Ayeon was determined to stop Eunha at all costs.
"It's much more efficient to just win a bid for a decent B-Class gate during that time and grab at least one more Heroic-grade item."
However, Eunha, who had been quietly listening to Ayeon's words, spoke shortly.
"I'm going."
Eunha, without a change in her expression, added this.
"I'm a hunter."
"No, why is that..."
Ayeon gaped at Eunha with an incredulous expression.
Because I'm a hunter, I have to respond to the Association's summons?
That was how it was in the old days.
Is this unnie still new to being a hunter?
If so, I need to firmly set her straight.
"Unnie, in this day and age, being a hunter is a professional job. Just like doctors don't treat patients who have no money, hunters also don't need to risk their lives for unprofitable work."
Being a hunter is a profession.
In other words, the purpose is to make a living, not to contribute luckily obtained abilities to society, she argued.
Does she think the world will recognize her for doing that?
No, absolutely not.
If anything, she'd be lucky not to be swayed by public opinion, let alone taken for granted.
Especially if an F-Class contributes to an operation.
"Why are you trying to do something you don't have to? You don't want to be a volunteer, do you?"
As she asked, truly unable to understand, Eunha spoke calmly.
"There are things in this world that money can't do."
Her pitch-black eyes, as if recalling a faint old memory, sank deep.
"When the gate opens, monsters will pour out. And—"
Eunha stared blankly at her own hands, then clenched her fists tightly.
"I can kill all those monster bastards."
For a brief moment, Ayeon saw her eyes turn sharp.
What flickered past her pitch-black pupils?
Anger?
Disgust?
No, perhaps, eager anticipation (苦待).
"I couldn't do it before, but now, I can protect something."
Her pitch-black hair fluttered in the blowing wind.
Eunha's eyes, revealed again, curved faintly.
"That's the reason."
"..."
Ayeon slowly closed her agape lips.
There was no longer any need to persuade her.
No, she couldn't.
Ayeon, blinking slowly, moved her gaze towards the park pond as if drawn.
Their reflections on the water's surface.
Her own face wavered undulatingly on the surface, gently rippling in the wind.
—But it was strange.
Eunha's reflection beside her, for some reason, seemed not to waver at all.
"Master?"
Suhyeon, who had visited the hospital, immediately asked about Minju's condition upon seeing Junhwan.
A few days ago, Minju had briefly opened his eyes.
However, by the time everyone arrived at the hospital after receiving the news, Minju had lost consciousness again.
Though they had succeeded in removing the curse with Pixie Powder, remnants of the curse still remained in his body, specifically in his blood vessels and blood.
From here on, it was a matter of time, Doctor Plant had said.
Junhwan, instead of answering Suhyeon's question, glanced at Minju, who lay on the hospital bed as if dead.
Though he still hadn't opened his eyes, fortunately, the black spots that had covered his small body had completely disappeared.
"According to the nurse who came in to change his IV last night, he's even talking in his sleep now. You know, right? Master talks a lot in his sleep."
Suhyeon stared blankly at Junhwan's profile, then weakly curled her lips.
Right, why wouldn't you be worried.
He was surely anticipating Minju's full recovery more than Suhyeon, more than anyone in the family.
She couldn't show a gloomy face in front of him any longer.
As it was, Junhwan was handling various large and small tasks alone, such as attending Association meetings in place of the bedridden Minju.
Suhyeon, sitting quietly beside Junhwan, began to speak in a much calmer voice.
"...Of course, I know about that nasty sleeping habit. Until recently, I was the one putting Master to sleep, so how could I not know."
Being a middle school boy, he wasn't at an age where he couldn't sleep alone.
However, Minju particularly disliked confined and dark places.
Of course, he could just sleep with the lights on, but then he would often stay up all night making weapons or figurines.
But recently, Master had been able to sleep soundly even with the lights off.
Perhaps it was simply because he had become more mature than before, or maybe there had been some positive trigger for Minju.
Suhyeon, gazing at Minju on the hospital bed, spoke.
"Anything from the Association?"
"Well, same old. Asking how Master is doing."
The Association probably wanted a definite answer.
Regarding Corps' participation in the South Coast Gate operation.
"They seem quite anxious too. For now, the 6 of us, excluding Master, have clearly expressed our intention to participate in the operation, but—"
Junhwan scratched his head and added.
"Well, it's probably not enough for them. What they really need isn't B-Class or A-Class, but S-Class Trickster. Besides, our Master is a fire attribute hunter. They must be desperate."
Such important matters are not something I can decide as a representative, so I'm putting it on hold, Junhwan added.
Meanwhile, Suhyeon, who had been quietly listening to his story, slowly lifted her head.
"...I'm still against it."
A firm voice.
Junhwan turned his eyes towards Suhyeon.
Suhyeon, her gaze fixed on Minju lying on the hospital bed, parted her lips again.
"This happened because of the Pohang Unknown Gate. Even if the curse was removed with Pixie Powder, since it's a curse of unknown origin, we need to monitor him for the time being."
Pixie Powder was an item that could remove curses, but as the name suggested, it only removed them and wasn't for analyzing the curse itself.
Therefore, Doctor Plant and the Corps family still didn't know what Minju's curse was.
Suhyeon's gaze landed precisely on Minju's neck.
A red, swollen mark was clearly visible on Minju's slender neck.
It looked like a bee sting, or perhaps a snake bite.
However, according to Junhwan, Minju hadn't been stung or bitten by a monster during the Unknown Gate subjugation.
Perhaps that peculiar scar was a hint to the curse.
"Anyway, Master needs rest. Even if he wakes up tomorrow, participating in battle immediately after getting out of bed is harsh for both a middle school boy and a patient. Even if it's a request from Doctor Plant, not the Association, I'm strongly against it this time."
Seok Gyeongho and the other family members share my opinion.
Suhyeon averted her gaze from Minju and turned her head towards Junhwan.
"What do you think, Bae Junhwan?"
"I—"
It was the moment Junhwan parted his lips.
"Ugh, ugh... So noisy..."
A complaining voice came from the hospital bed.
The two of them sharply turned their heads in the same direction!
"Master...?!"
"M-Master!"
And they shouted simultaneously, as if by agreement.
Minju, rubbing his eyes as if just waking from a deep sleep, looked this way, startled by their voices.
His messy hair, like a bird's nest, stuck up like antennae.
"Ah, that startled me. What? What are you two doing there?"
Minju frowned slightly at the sensation of his head throbbing.
Junhwan's lips moved like a goldfish's.
Surprise, joy, relief, longing—all sorts of emotions welled up, and he couldn't speak properly.
"M-Master... y-your body..."
"Body?"
Minju, springing up from the bed like a spring, stood barefoot on the floor and rotated both his shoulders.
"Uuuuugh, feels heavy, but also feels fine—"
Wham!
Before Minju could finish his sentence, a massive body loomed before him.
Junhwan, two heads taller than Minju, hugged his small master tightly.
"I, I really thought Mas... sob, Master was going to dieeee..."
"Ugh! Why are you being so gross?!"
"I'm so glad... hic, really... really..."
A grown adult began to cry his eyes out.
A wave of bewilderment washed over him at the unprecedented sight.
"Uwaaaaaah, Masterrrr..."
A hot liquid, indistinguishable from tears or snot, touched the top of his head.
Minju jumped up and shrieked.
"Suhyeon noona! Why is Junhwan hyung being like this? Ah, c'mon! I said let go?!"
