Chapter 281

Chapter 281

A few days ago, a request for an interview came in from Justitia’s side.

“Emergency!!! Emergency—!!!”

Naturally, Collection went on emergency alert.

“What the fuck is it, all of a sudden?! Did the Black Cloak finally summon Cthulhu?!”

“Wasn’t Mr. Seo Gio himself Cthulhu? Did he suddenly reveal his true colors or something? No, he’s a really gentle person though? He said the meat gift last time was pure goodwill. Then there’s no way he’d suddenly do that, right?”

“I’m terribly sorry, but could everyone shut up for a moment so we can at least hear what’s going on. So what is it?”

The employee who had brought the shocking news summarized it briefly.

“Hunter Seo Seohui wants to meet Hunter Seo Gio.”

“...Emergency—!!!”

They tensed.

“Ah, these days the Black Cloak’s condition isn’t good.”

“He went through a big thing once, so he probably hasn’t fully recovered his energy yet...”

“Wasn’t that why he was resting right now?”

It was because they knew very well what state their portrait was in lately. Before, he would at least loosely imitate being human, but recently, whether because it had become bothersome or because he had no energy, he didn’t even do that.

“Does anyone know in detail what Mr. Seo Gio’s condition has been like recently?”

The witnesses quickly squeezed out testimony.

“He walks around with holes in his shadow—if you don’t tell him, he just goes around without one. If you point it out, he doesn’t get angry, so if that’s fortunate, it’s fortunate.”

“But it’s not like it gets fixed just because the hole is solved. Sometimes he does have a shadow, but it’ll be some random deer or sheep’s shadow. A mermaid-like thing often ripples inside it too.”

“Lately he doesn’t pay much attention to presence either. You can hear grass rustling or hooves touching, but no matter how you think about it, it’s not human presence.”

“He has no sense of weight either. His rank is pretty high too. Maybe it’s bothersome to rein it in, or, um, yeah, maybe he really has no energy. I heard he’s an introvert...”

“I do think the word introvert is pretty funny, but I also heard that from Mr. Yoo Seongun and Ms. Juhyeon. His stiff speech is just a bit of charm.”

It was a bit of an awkward situation.

“Ah, our precious house flowerpot, why is it so wilted like that...”

“Even so, how can you call someone who even interacts with us a flowerpot, a flowerpot.”

“This is a headache—if the Symbol of Eternity requested it directly, it’s awkward to refuse.”

“Can’t we refuse?”

“If this news leaks, our Hunter Seo will get even more famous, so we can’t.”

“True, she’d hate that...”

Juhyeon, caught in the middle, looked very awkward.

“I’m sorry to bring you news like this so suddenly. I don’t think I’ll be of great help, but is there anything I can do to help anyway?”

“There is.”

“Ah, if you tell me, as much as possible...”

“Please give Hunter Seo Gio some human lessons.”

“I’m sorry, but that will be difficult.”

“Damn it.”

They agonized, doing their best to try to restore their portrait’s condition.

“What if we try a crash course? He might get angry, but it seems like it might be worth trying...”

“Can’t we just send him back saying he’s sick? He’ll get more famous, but still, it’s kind of hard to let the Black Cloak out in his current state.”

“It’s not like it’ll work just because we don’t let him out. It’s what the Black Cloak himself wants, so isn’t that why Ms. Juhyeon came to tell us? Then how about giving him a human user manual?”

“Ha, this is really awkward...”

Around then, Juhyeon told them the cruel truth.

“As you already seem to be thinking, we can’t cancel this interview outright. It’s true we haven’t set an official schedule yet, but, um, Gio is right now... preparing to make braised short ribs.”

“Is he planning to butcher something again?”

“This time he’s making it using Earth’s ingredients. Maybe because the storeroom is already full of meat, it doesn’t seem like there’ll be any butchering for a while.”

“Whew, for a second I thought he butchered a person.”

“Gio doesn’t eat people.”

“I know that, but when words like butchering come up from your side, it gives me chills... anyway, if he’s already in the middle of making a gift, then we really can’t stop it. Too bad.”

A mystery bound by rules was preparing a “gift,” and a gift to give to humans at that. They didn’t know what kind of uproar might come if they tried to stop it. The mystery itself would also become quite displeased.

“Yeah, can’t be helped.”

The conclusion came quickly.

“If Mr. Seo Gio doesn’t want to end his human life, he’ll handle it well on his own.”

“It feels pointless since he’s not someone we can pressure even if we try.”

“Let’s just send him. If it’s a Symbol of Eternity, wouldn’t they already know about our portrait anyway? As long as there isn’t a major issue on the way there and back, it’ll end quietly.”

“Still, how did such a request come in... is the reaction you mentioned last time, Ms. Juhyeon, related to this?”

Juhyeon nodded.

“Yes, I understand she also showed a very friendly attitude last time. I didn’t think she’d go as far as to set an official schedule like this... but if what Curator Yoo Seongun said is true, she’s someone who knows Gio’s circumstances well, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

Of course, even Juhyeon, who said this, hadn’t expected Gio to bring a huge jar over his shoulder. Juhyeon had to bring countless cases and hypotheses from the human world to limit it to a realistically sized braised short ribs.

It was a meeting made possible through everyone’s efforts like that.

* * *

“...”

“...”

And on the day of the interview, Hunter Seo Seohui had her gaze stolen by a wondrous sight.

“...So you’re saying this is braised short ribs?”

“Yes, I wanted to bring a bit more, but since everyone stopped me from all sides, I reduced the amount.”

“It does seem like plenty, but, no, that’s not it.”

What stole Seo Seohui’s gaze was the silk and the container that packaged the braised short ribs.

“Why do I feel an aura of regeneration from this silk?”

“Regeneration. Come to think of it, it was silk woven from wool plucked from sheep with the power of regeneration.”

“Did you perhaps make it yourself? The nuance kind of...”

“Since the amount was reduced, I wanted it to look at least a bit more splendid, so I wove it myself.”

“Then what is this container? Mother-of-pearl lacquerware? It’s a bit different.”

“When I stopped by the sea last time, there were pretty shells, so I tried using them.”

“Yes, so you made this yourself too.”

Even this container that carried the aura of the moon and the sun.

“...?”

Seo Seohui felt a faint confusion for the first time in a very long while.

“Um, excuse me, but Justitia’s policy is not to accept bribes...”

“I have nothing I wish to obtain from Hunter Seo Seohui.”

“Then is this a gift arising from pure goodwill?”

“I am very pleased that you seem to have understood my feelings.”

“This is a question I’m truly sorry to ask, but, um, we...”

Hesitating, Seo Seohui asked carefully, something rare for her.

“...Were we this close?”

“To have forgotten our thick friendship.”

“I can see you pretending to cry and all. Still, don’t cry. It’ll be awkward.”

“If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”

Hunter Seo Gio spoke with a gentle smile, as though he had never pretended to cry.

“My heart was excited at the thought of meeting Hunter Seo Seohui after so long. When I saw you last time, I was bothered by how thin you were, so I wanted to prepare a simple side dish, but since I was told the amount seemed too much, I reduced it like this... it seems I tried to make up for it in other ways.”

At those words, Seo Seohui looked at the pentagonal container.

“...”

And then looked at Seo Gio again.

“I have a lot I want to say right now.”

“No one is stopping you.”

“Then first, I’m not thin...”

Seo Seohui’s smile was hollow.

“Isn’t that something you can tell just by looking at my muscle mass? In every way I’m managing my body within reason, and I took pride in being above average, but hearing that I’m thin is a bit embarrassing.”

“...”

“...Hunter Seo Gio also looks like you have a lot you want to say, but I won’t stop you. Whatever you say, I’ll take it into account and listen. Please speak. I’m listening.”

“You are nothing but bones.”

“Do you have X-ray vision?”

Unless it was literally that only her bones could be seen, this was impossible. No one in the world would call Seo Seohui thin. More than anything, Hunter Seo Gio’s nuance was, somehow, a bit...

Like something you’d say while looking at a terribly emaciated child.

“I eat my meals well.”

It was enough to make an excuse come out on its own.

“To be healthy, you have to eat three meals a day properly. That’s how I’m living. I eat well, sleep well, exercise hard, and study hard too. No, I don’t know why I’m making excuses like this, but... I wanted to tell you I’m really living well.”

Seo Seohui suddenly had an intuition that the old “connection” he had forgotten had been like this.

“...Was I, unexpectedly, the one being cared for?”

“Do you remember even that much?”

“Ah. It’s not that, rather, it’s because the data has piled up in many ways. There have been times when I forget good and bad ties like this... and times when I meet them again.”

“I understand.”

“Yes, I’m not having trouble accepting this situation either. Strange. Why does this feel familiar? I didn’t think I was the type to hear something like that wherever I went.”

Seo Seohui’s expression became a little awkward.

“Or maybe I met you at a time when I wasn’t taking care of my meals...”

“...”

“...I see.”

It was indeed embarrassing.

‘It must have been quite a long time ago.’

She felt sorry and uneasy.

‘I don’t know exactly what point in time it was, but me, when I wasn’t taking care of my meals... I don’t think I was a very okay person.’

Seo Seohui hadn’t lived this life with this personality from the beginning. When Earth had a lot going on, she was more worn down. She figured she must have met Hunter Seo Gio in that kind of period.

“Forgetfulness really is a troublesome thing.”

“I believe there must have been a good reason for it.”

“Thank you... for understanding it like that.”

It was a restless feeling.

“...”

Were they in a relationship where even a gift like this was no big deal?

‘N-no, of course, even if that was the case, a gift like this is still surprising.’

Still, it must have been a gift within the bounds of goodwill that could be understood. Hunter Seo Gio had said, “I was excited to see you again after a long time,” so considering that, it was. That meant they must have been very close indeed.

She couldn’t do anything about this anxious feeling that slowly tickled the tips of her toes.

‘It must have been a promise worth that much, but I don’t really know.’

After finishing a promise, you usually don’t remember its contents.

‘What did I use this good tie for?’

She could only hope it had been one of the precious pillars that supported Earth.

“...And there’s something else I want to say.”

“I am listening, Hunter Seo Seohui.”

“You said you reduced the amount, but it doesn’t look small at all.”

“Yes, since long ago your portions were so small that I was worried, but could it be you still...”

“Who has small portions? Don’t pin this on me, Hunter Seo Gio.”

Seo Seohui let out a strange laugh.

“It seems you must be a big eater, Hunter.”

“Yes, I often hear that.”

“Then most people in the world must look like they’re starving to you. I eat above average too, but this is a bit more than that.”

“I will keep it in mind.”

“You really look like you’ll only keep it in mind...”

Aside from the self-reproach packed inside her lungs, this kind of conversation was awkward in a way that didn’t feel bad.

“And you made this yourself? This silk and the container too? Putting aside how it’s possible, even if you’d bought it, I’d feel sorry. It’s too big a gift.”

“I say this out of worry, but it truly was not a bribe...”

“Yes, I know you’re not lying. Then it must be one of two things. Either we were that close, or Hunter Seo Gio’s perspective on the world is too different. Maybe it’s both...”

Daring to say it, it was a little pleasant.

“...Ah, this is fun.”

It had been a very long time.

(To be continued in the next chapter)