RG 155

Honestly, there was no intention to explain things to Song Ji-un and the King. These two didn’t know about Cha Sahyeon’s previous state, so there was no need to involve them. The plan was to put the choker on Cha Sahyeon to stabilize his energy and just come up with a plausible excuse only for Ryu Seonghyeon.

‘Who would’ve thought he’d turn into a child at a time like this.’

If only I had known, I would have put the choker on after we left the mountain. But thanks to the energy storm drawing attention, there was no way out of the situation.

‘If it had such an important effect, you should’ve said so earlier…!’

Grinding my teeth, I glared at Cha Sahyeon, who was nestled in my arms. He only tilted his head with a pure, innocent expression. Even when I tried to put him down, he resisted, clinging tightly. He was fully grown, and yet so unbelievably shameless. But I couldn’t just throw Cha Sahyeon, who now looked like a child, in front of everyone, so I had no choice but to keep holding him as I opened my mouth.

“For now… my little brother turning into a child is the effect of an item. His real appearance is the one you saw earlier.”

“There are items like that?”

Song Ji-un, who had been living deep in the mountains for a long time, asked in confusion. The King, who similarly had little interest in types of items, also looked fascinated. Only Ryu Seonghyeon stared quietly at me and Cha Sahyeon without any particular reaction. When he looked so expressionless, it usually meant he was deep in thought or hadn’t reached a conclusion yet.

Swallowing dryly at the rising tension, I continued explaining, “It’s not a common item. I had a hard time getting it.” Thinking that this might not be enough, I glanced at Ryu Seonghyeon and added, “Cover got it for me.”

I conveniently shifted the responsibility onto Cover, who kept a mysterious air. Future me, you deal with the fallout.

“Hunter Cover…” Ryu Seonghyeon’s eyes flickered briefly as he stroked his chin with a serious face. I had thrown it out there, thinking whatever happens, happens, but surprisingly, it seemed to work.

“Originally, it was a necklace hidden under clothing, but it was damaged during the last attack, so I had to get a new one. The choker around his neck now is that item.”

Since the item’s distinct energy would be radiating from the choker, giving a rough explanation like this would keep suspicion away.

Turning my head toward Song Ji-un and the King, I said, “I mentioned earlier that we escaped after being subjected to human experimentation at the research lab. To elaborate a bit more, my brother and I were kidnapped together. Since I’m a physically weak Support, they only drew blood from me, but my brother…”

“Ah…”

I deliberately trailed off with a bitter voice, and Song Ji-un and the King furrowed their brows in sympathy. After a brief silence, I spoke again, feigning difficulty. “After that, my brother’s energy changed drastically compared to a normal person. He became much stronger than before but lost the ability to control it.”

“…The side effects of the experiments, then.”

“Yes. Even using a little bit of a skill makes him lose control, as if he’s going berserk. I’m not sure whether the problem lies in his heart, which manages the energy flow, or in the skills themselves.”

“Can’t it be healed with healing skills? Like how my disciple was cured.”

“We already tried, but it didn’t work.”

“That’s…”

“Those connected to the research lab are still after us. More accurately, they’re targeting my brother. And I… I’m trying to gather information from them. Since they’d know his body best.”

This was true. While running and hiding to avoid getting caught by those cult bastards, they also had to be hunted down. They were connected to the “Great Calamity,” after all.

“The item helps suppress the rampaging energy a little and makes him appear as a child on the outside.”

“So, since you’re being pursued, you disguised yourself as a child.”

“That’s right.” At this point, I let out a small, weary sigh. “A little while ago, the place where my brother and I had been hiding was discovered, and we were attacked. We had no choice but to separate temporarily. After that, my brother repaired the broken item and came to find me.” I forced myself not to blink as I explained, and naturally, my eyes grew red and watery. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. Given our situation, it wasn’t an easy story to bring up…”

Pretending to be overcome with sadness, I covered my mouth with my hand—and then unexpected support came.

“Brother, don’t cry…”

Cha Sahyeon, who was nestled quietly in my arms, leaned his small head against my shoulder with a tearful voice. At that moment, my eyes met Cha Sahyeon’s. Despite his wavering tone, his face was completely calm.

‘This little punk, seriously?’

Was he helping me? Jumping into this scam, just like that?

As I was internally dumbfounded by Cha Sahyeon’s sudden performance, the King offered some words of comfort. “Do not trouble yourself over it. Who among us doesn’t have a sad story? Moreover, this is not just about you, but also your brother’s life—it’s only natural to be cautious.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Song Ji-un, with a wistful look in his eyes, also seemed to share the King’s opinion. Truly, like teacher, like disciple. They’re so innocent, it’s a wonder they haven’t been scammed before.

Now that Song Ji-un and the King were convinced to some extent, the only one left was Ryu Seonghyeon.

Sneaking a glance, I saw Ryu Seonghyeon crossing his arms with a complicated expression. After a moment, he let out a quiet sigh. “…Alright, I understand for now. Once we leave the mountain, we’ll need to find a place to stay.”

“Exactly. It wouldn’t feel right to keep relying on the Circle Guild either.”

Ryu Seonghyeon’s words reminded me of the office I had forgotten about. I hadn’t visited it since then, so it must still be wrecked.

I wasn’t too keen on using the office again.

Even if Cha Sahyeon was stronger now and could better defend against attacks, it would be impossible to live in peace at a place that enemies could raid at any moment. Maybe it would be better to give up the guild and rent a small house instead. But without a guild, entering dungeons and working as a Hunter would become a huge hassle.

The problems I had pushed aside to deal with Song Ji-un’s situation were now right in front of me. Until I found a good solution, it looked like we’d have to bounce from hotel to hotel.

‘Or should I try asking Kwon Taehyeok for another favor?’

I didn’t know if he would agree again, but considering his nature—unable to ignore someone in trouble—he probably wouldn’t outright reject me.

While I was lost in thought, weighing possible options, Ryu Seonghyeon, who had been watching me, hesitated before speaking, “Hunter Cha Seohu, if you don’t mind…”

“Yes?”

“…No, it’s nothing,” Ryu Seonghyeon awkwardly cut himself off.

What was he about to say?

Curious, I looked at him, but Ryu Seonghyeon kept avoiding my eyes to the end. He didn’t seem like he would answer even if I asked, so swallowing my disappointment, I turned to Song Ji-un and the King.

“Nothing changes. We’ll leave as scheduled, two days from now. So, it would be best to prepare in advance.”

***

When I opened my eyes, the room was still steeped in deep darkness.

It was just past 5 a.m. Cha Sahyeon was sleeping beside me.

Because he insisted on sleeping with me, we had no choice but to borrow an extra room on the second floor. Originally, Ryu Seonghyeon was supposed to share a room with me, but he ended up getting a room to himself.

‘Honestly, it was a bit uncomfortable.’

Knowing that he wasn’t the same kid from before made me uneasy, but after everything that happened yesterday, I had fallen asleep without even having the time to feel uncomfortable. It seemed Cha Sahyeon was the same. Despite being something as terrifying as the Great Calamity, he was sleeping soundly, even breathing noisily in his sleep. He wouldn’t even notice if someone carried him away.

Clicking my tongue, I slipped out of bed and left the room.

A calm silence flowed through the second-floor hallway and living room. Everyone must have been fast asleep like Cha Sahyeon. After all the events of the past two days, they must be exhausted.

After confirming that even Eunbok was sleeping soundly on the sofa, I stepped outside.

Thanks to the purification I had performed, the sky near the temple was clear, with the stars twinkling brightly. But taking just a few steps away revealed the chilling cold that pierced to the bone, and the swirling snow of the snowy mountains.

I walked a good distance from the temple before coming to a slow stop.

The icy wind brushing past my head, the delicate snowflakes falling gently, the snow piling up on the ground, and the snow blossoms blooming on the trees—I took in each of these sights one by one. Only after confirming once more that there was no sign of anyone nearby did I open my mouth.

“I know you’re watching.”

Of course, nothing changed. The words I had just spoken vanished into the air without finding a destination.

No—it felt like they disappeared.

The opponent didn’t react to a provocation of this level. Expecting that, I didn’t panic and spoke again immediately. “System.” I stared into the empty air and made a bold demand, “I want to have a conversation with you.”

Whooosh—

It was at that moment.

As soon as the words left my mouth, the flow of the air changed. The sound of the wind brushing past my ears disappeared, and the snowflakes scattered in the air came to a halt. It felt like space and time had been sliced away. I stopped breathing and slowly raised my head.

“…”

A gaze. I felt a gaze from somewhere far, far away. It was so immense and high above that no mere human could ever reach it. Someone—something—occupying that place was looking down on me.

Realizing this, I couldn’t even blink. Frozen stiff, I bore the unknown being’s gaze without resistance. In a moment, not even a full second, a mere fleeting instant, I shared a gaze with that being.

Ssssss—

“Huff…!”

Space and time, which had been frozen, began to move again. The snowflakes that had been suspended in the air like a photograph began to fall, and I bent forward, gasping for breath.

The gaze that had been weighing down the world and my body disappeared. Panting heavily, trying desperately to pull myself together, I saw a cheerful notification sound and a window pop up in front of me.

Ding!

《Would you like to use the Divine Power (Class S) skill?》

“Ha.” I let out a hollow laugh at the content of the status window. Were they kidding me? “So that’s how you’re going to play it, huh?” As if the freezing cold surrounding me wasn’t already pushing me to my limit. 

If I didn’t purify it using the Divine Power skill, I would surely freeze to death—but instead of using it, I plopped down on the snow-covered ground.

“Sorry, but I didn’t come all the way here to pull some prank.” This was the only time to talk to the system—while everyone else was worn out and sleeping. I grinned up at the empty air where the status window had appeared. “If you really want to talk, send a proper sentence. Don’t just throw up some pathetic status messages.”

With that, I crossed my arms and leaned my back against a tree.