Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 92
"Kyaaaaaaaaaak! A-a person! A person!"
Thud.
The moment she landed on the ground, someone's scream was heard from behind her.
"Ms. Yura, are you crazy?! Ah, no, are you okay?!"
Soon after, a student, peeking her head out from the 4th-floor window, yelled.
She wasn't the only one.
Other students, who had run over upon hearing her scream, were also crowding the window, checking on Eunha's well-being.
All of them had pale faces.
It was understandable.
Jumping from the 4th floor to the 1st floor at once—it was a height ordinary people wouldn't even dare to attempt.
"..."
Eunha, instead of answering, lightly brushed herself off, unharmed, and stood up.
The loud sound of sirens covered the road.
Police cars and fire trucks, just dispatched, lined up.
Just as she was about to cross the crosswalk with its blinking lights.
"Ms. Yura!"
Someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"N-now... where are you going? That's where the gate appeared."
It was Yoonho.
He seemed quite surprised to see Eunha unhesitatingly trying to run towards the gate.
"I know."
Eunha pulled her wrist free from his grasp without any effort.
"That's why I have to go."
"Go? What are you going to do if you go, Ms. Yura?"
Yoonho looked at Eunha as if dumbfounded.
"You just jumped from the 4th floor, right? I know you're Awakened, but that doesn't mean you're a hunter, Ms. Yura."
At Yoonho's words, Eunha was at a loss for words.
The era where Awakened were automatically hunters had ended.
Now, it was an era where even if one awakened, they were guaranteed the freedom to choose professions other than hunter.
Eunha knew that well too.
"..."
Eunha slowly lowered her gaze to the apron she was wearing.
<Kang Haengwook Dog Grooming Academy>
The academy logo, conspicuously printed in the middle of the apron.
To Yoonho right now, Eunha would just be an ordinary woman of similar age attending the same academy.
And Eunha was indeed living such a life.
To find that 'my life' her mother had spoken of.
Yoonho, who had been watching the silent Eunha blankly, sighed softly and said.
"I understand how you feel, Ms. Yura. But even if you don't do such a reckless thing, hunters will be dispatched soon. We just need to take shelter until they arrive."
'Even without Hunter-nim, there are so many hunters in the world. There's no need for you to go out of your way to suffer. As Hunter-nim said, the contract is already over, isn't it?'
Suddenly recalling Jehwi's words, Eunha hesitated on the spot.
Eunha, who had never once hesitated in front of a gate, for the first time.
"Let's go quickly. There's nothing for us to do here."
"But I—"
The moment Eunha, taking her eyes off her apron, parted her lips,
Beep beep beep—
Amidst the loud whistles and sirens, the police cars stopped nearby began to part like the Miracle of Moses.
"W-wow! Hunters! The hunters are here!"
"Where? Gasp! It's the Storm Guild, isn't it?"
"What? Awesome! Storm Guild? Could 'Guardian Ray' be here too?"
Click, click!
People who had stopped evacuating took out their cellphones, filmed the hunters, and uploaded it to their SNS.
Some even started live broadcasting.
Besides them, Association agents who had arrived after receiving reports, and rival guilds that appeared as the gate auction intensified, began to gather one by one.
"See? I was right, wasn't I?"
Yoonho stood beside Eunha.
Eunha, without answering, stared blankly at the scene before her.
Like a parade at an amusement park, the people who had been trembling in fear were now cheering and applauding as if nothing had happened.
No sense of urgency or anxiety could be found there.
Eunha stood motionless for a long time, as if rooted to the spot.
Even after Yoonho left that place.
About 5 hours later.
The surrounding scenery had returned to normal, as if it were all a lie.
The rift that had distorted the atmosphere had vanished without a trace, and the police officers who had been controlling the area also began to leave one by one.
Yoonho was right.
Even though Eunha had done nothing, nothing particular had happened.
A scene that returned so quickly and naturally, as if everything had been an illusion.
Returning to the academy building, Eunha rested her arms on the windowsill, cupped her chin, and gazed down at the scene blankly.
She was still wearing the dog grooming academy apron she had intended to take off.
"Wow! It's the Storm Guild hunters!"
"Kyaa, seeing them in person for the first time."
The Storm Guild hunters, who had succeeded in closing the gate, were being showered with camera flashes amidst the crowd of reporters and civilians that had gathered like a cloud.
"Could you perhaps reveal a little of the spoils obtained from this gate to our viewers?!"
"Haha, well. I can't reveal everything... but we obtained about 3 Heroic-grade items. Besides that, the porters brought back bags full of monster corpses and horns that weren't too damaged."
He added that the acquisitions, excluding the Heroic-grade items, would be supplied to 'Hammer', their cooperative partner and an excellent crafting guild.
The reporters meticulously jotted down their answers in their notebooks, lest they miss a single word.
Even amidst that, the cheers of the surrounding civilians didn't stop.
Eunha watched them for a long time.
Street trees, tinged with autumn colors here and there.
Vehicles passing through the intersection in an orderly manner.
A child, holding their mother's hand, toddling across the crosswalk.
People at the bus stop, fiddling with their cellphones with earphones plugged in.
All of it, just an everyday scene that had naturally returned to its place, yet why did it feel so unfamiliar?
"..."
She didn't know.
The next day, the sun rose as if nothing had happened, and another peaceful day began.
The scenery was so unchanged from usual that it was hard to believe a gate had opened yesterday.
While waiting for the next class, Eunha, who had gone down to the academy building's 1st-floor cafeteria to quench her thirst, received a call from Bae Junhwan, the deputy guild leader of Corps.
Eunha sat alone on the terrace, sipping her drink, and continued her call with him.
「Master is gradually recovering. The spots on his body have almost disappeared, and at this rate, he seems likely to open his eyes soon.」
Junhwan's voice, heard through the speaker, was much brighter than when they last spoke.
"That's a relief."
Eunha replied, stirring her drink.
Clink, clink.
The sound of ice hitting the cup was clear.
「How are you, Ms. Yura? The gate that appeared yesterday, it seemed to be near your academy, is that correct?」
"Yes, it was the building right across."
Eunha, having answered so, immediately added.
"It's fine. Nothing particular happened."
Nothing happened, to the point of feeling empty.
Eunha indifferently swept her hair back.
「I thought you'd be safe, Ms. Yura, but aside from that, it must have been quite chaotic. When a gate opens in the middle of the city, the subways and everything else stop.」
Hearing him worry about traffic congestion first upon mentioning a gate appearance, Junhwan, he too was undoubtedly a modern person.
Perhaps Eunha herself was the only different one.
Because she would be the only one who still remembered the world of 30 years ago as if it were yesterday.
It felt as if she were left all alone in this vast world.
The very feeling she had experienced after escaping the Unknown Gate.
「Anyway, I'm relieved. It was a gate that appeared in the middle of the city. I was worried you might have recklessly jumped in again if you saw civilians getting caught up in it.」
「Because you're that kind of person, Ms. Yura.」
Junhwan said, his voice tinged with laughter.
"There was no need for that."
Clink...
The ice in the cold drink glass clinked.
Eunha slowly traced the condensation beaded on the surface of the glass with her fingertip.
"Because even if I didn't intervene, nothing happened."
「Huh? What do you me—」
「Let me talk to her for a sec.」
「Ugh...!」
While Eunha took a sip of her drink, it seemed the speaker had suddenly changed.
It was a familiar female voice.
「Hello? Ms. Yura? It's me, Ham Suhyeon. When are you coming to the hospital? Are you very busy these days?」
The voice that had barged through the speaker belonged to Suhyeon.
Before Eunha could even reply, multiple voices began to overlap one after another.
「Ham Suhyeon! Move aside! Ahem, Ms. Yura, hello. This is Seok Gyeongho. No, I mean, this bastard Bae Junhwan told us yesterday that Ms. Yura got us the Pixie Powder—」
「Hey, you move! I'm talking to Ms. Yura on the phone!」
「Ugh! Are you crazy!」
「What? You bastard, did I tell you not to run your mouth carelessly or not, X damn.」
@!%%^$*[email protected]^#──.
Clatter, bang!
"..."
Eunha held the receiver about 3cm away from her ear.
Slurp.
As she sipped her straw, savoring the deep aroma of Americano, a solemn coughing sound was soon heard, as if the situation had been resolved.
「Ahem, I apologize. It seems the guys got a bit excited because they heard I was talking to Ms. Yura. Um... Just a moment.」
It was Junhwan again.
After asking for a moment, a sound was heard as if he were covering the bottom of his phone with his palm.
And then, a shout followed, "Shut your mouths!"
"..."
Eunha, taking her lips off the straw, smiled faintly.
The image of them appeared vividly in her mind.
Even at this moment, the boisterous atmosphere of that place was being conveyed very well through the receiver.
「My apologies, haha. It's quite noisy, isn't it?」
"No, it's fine."
「Um, what were we talking about?」
The bewilderment in Junhwan's voice seemed to reach even here, and Eunha eventually let out a small laugh.
"...No, it's nothing."
That wasn't important right now.
No, it seemed she had forgotten because they were being so disorderly.
Eunha, shifting the phone from her left ear to her right, spoke again.
"By the way, aren't you at the hospital?"
Eunha too knew very well how loud their voices could be.
An incredible decibel level conveyed even through the receiver.
Though it was a relief they seemed brighter, was it really okay for them to be like that in a hospital?
「Ah, please don't worry. Master's condition has improved a lot, so we've left that side to the Rose Guild, and we're currently at the Association for a bit.」
"The Association?"
「Yes. There was an emergency summons from the Association recently...」
Suddenly, Junhwan stopped talking mid-sentence.
"...Hello?"
Had the call been disconnected?
Just as she was about to check the receiver, Junhwan's urgent voice came through a moment later.
「Ms. Yura. Your specialty is Dark Flare, isn't it? Darkness and flame. Is that right?」
"...? Yes, that's right."
「Have you perhaps heard the news that the Association is currently gathering hunters with dark and fire attributes?」
"No."
「It seems you haven't been contacted yet. This isn't something to discuss over the phone, but... there's talk that a national-level disaster might occur in Korea soon.」
"A national-level disaster... you say?"
「Yes, perhaps—」
Junhwan's voice grew even heavier.
「It might be an Unknown Gate.」
"..."
Eunha closed her mouth.
An Unknown Gate.
If his words were true, this would be the third time since Eunha came to the modern era in 2031.
It was strange.
Back in the early 2000s, when Eunha was actively engaged in hunter activities, Unknown Gates weren't something seen so frequently.
「For Unknown Gates to appear consecutively like this in less than a year is itself an ominous sign.」
It seemed to be the same for modern people as well.
Eunha, who had been lost in thought, asked in a calm tone.
"Is the Association looking for dark and fire attribute hunters related to that as well."
「Probably. We'll hear the detailed story from the Association from now on.」
Junhwan hesitated for a moment, then added.
「Ms. Yura, if you don't mind, how about coming to the Association with us?」
At the unexpected suggestion, Eunha, who had been stirring her drink with a straw, suddenly stopped moving.
"...Me?"
「Yes. It would be very reassuring if Ms. Yura came with us.」
"But my rank is..."
「Rank?」
Haha.
A hearty laugh was heard.
「Do you remember the pledge I made to you that day, Ms. Yura?」
The day Junhwan had visited her officetel recently.
Eunha recalled the memory of that day.
'On behalf of Corps, I offer you the pledge of our 60,000 strong.'
'It is a vow that from this moment on, our Corps will never hesitate to be your sword.'
Placing his clenched fist on his left chest, he had clearly said so.
「No one will be able to ignore you.」
His voice came through the receiver once more.
「Because we, will not let that happen.」
"..."
...
After that, Junhwan said nothing more.
The boisterous shouts that had been heard through the receiver just moments ago had also quieted down.
It seemed they were silently waiting for Eunha to answer.
The 60,000 strong on the other end of the receiver.
