Chapter 282

Chapter 282

After the visit ended, the vice guild master approached and asked.

“Will you be all right?”

“In what sense are you asking?”

“...I’m asking because it seems you like Hunter Seo Gio more than expected. You ate the food Hunter Seo Gio gave you without even an inspection, and you accepted even an excessively splendid gift.”

“Because it wasn’t like me?”

“Honestly speaking, yes.”

The vice guild master—Hunter Kang Eunsung—had supported his superior for quite a long time. He had the face of someone with a good personality, but he was a person with strong wariness. The Symbols of Eternity did not trust anyone except each other.

They said the elders who had lived through the Great Calamity were all like that. Kang Eunsung understood. But in the midst of that, Hunter Seo Gio cut in. It would be a lie to say it wasn’t flustering.

“It’s because it seems you’re treating him as quite an exception.”

“I didn’t intend to go that far, though.”

Seo Seohui laughed and shrugged.

“I let my guard down because he was too fun.”

“What nonsense...”

“I’m telling you the truth. His way of thinking is really unique.”

And, how should I put it.

“He also seems like someone who really likes people.”

His goodwill toward the world could be felt strongly. No matter what form or direction this world took, it didn’t seem like that affection would change.

“It’s separate from sociability. He just likes people themselves. And he wants to give that much.”

“I held back because the atmosphere seemed like you were brushing it off as a joke, but it really could be a bribe. Guild Master, you are human too, aren’t you? If you receive gifts like that, your fairness could waver.”

“He didn’t look like someone so calculating as to be aiming for that... and don’t look at it like that. Even if I receive a good gift, I’m not someone whose fairness would waver, right?”

A lot of it was because the other party was the other party.

“And Hunter Seo Gio has nothing to gain from me.”

“That is something we can’t know, Guild Master. You are a Symbol of Eternity.”

“Of course I am. One of the Symbols of Eternity, the head of Korea’s number one guild, and a powerful hunter ranked number one in the world too. I have a lot of money, a lot of friends, a lot of power...”

“Do I have to keep listening to this?”

“But for Hunter Seo Gio, they’re all things he doesn’t need.”

Isn’t that so?

“Since he’s receiving affection as the collector’s son, of no one else, there’s absolutely no way he’d ever be strapped for money. He likes people, but Hunter Seo Gio, who prefers narrow and deep relationships, wouldn’t demand a wide network of connections. Power? Did he look like someone who would like that?”

The only time Hunter Seo Gio revealed himself to the world was exactly once, at the beginning when he had to be introduced. After that, Hunter Seo Gio did nothing but try to hide himself whenever possible.

“Above all, he’s a priest.”

“There was talk that he’s a saint, but it isn’t a part that’s been officially recognized. And a holy person has a great vessel and won’t harbor petty greed, but for the sake of a grand cause, he might try to violate the Guild Master’s authority as much as he likes.”

“Wouldn’t that be something I should be grateful for, instead?”

“Who knows whether that would truly be the right grand cause? No... yes, that’s right. From Justitia’s standpoint, it would be something to discuss with open arms. To be frank, it’s because your attitude of making an exception to this extent makes me uneasy, Guild Master.”

What on earth did you see in him?

“...You wouldn’t be this friendly just with ability or character alone, so he must be someone among the ties you forgot. But what if he tries to exploit the memories you forgot?”

“Haewoon was worried about that too.”

“There have been so many such cases. Guild Master, you especially put your heart into those ties, so haven’t you almost been taken in several times already? The only reason we were able to block the danger in advance was thanks to the help of your other friends.”

“I should do at least that much for them—thanks to those forgotten people, Earth can be maintained to this extent. Compared to that, being deceived is a cost-effective price to pay.”

“Every time you say that, Guild Master, my heart drops. If something happens to you, what will Justitia do? And Earth?”

“I won’t die.”

Seo Seohui said it leisurely, but firmly.

“I won’t die, I won’t age, and I’ll stay like this until the day Earth ends.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“It’s not something you should be sorry about, Kang Eunsung.”

It was simply that the most cost-effective price they could offer was our fate. The fate humans ought to have had. Time, memories. They offered those up and obtained a precarious peace.

“But you know, Hunter Seo Gio. How old do you think he is?”

“...I heard he was 29. Since the year has turned, he’ll be 30 now, right? Even if he lied about his age, he’d be in his mid-to-late twenties to early thirties.”

“Did Hunter Seo Gio look like an ordinary person to you, Kang Eunsung?”

“...It seems there is information I don’t know...”

“That person probably died once. Now it seems he was revived as an apostle after being chosen by the Black Cloak, so thanks to that, he might not even be half human.”

“...”

“So I’m curious—when on earth did we meet?”

To the vice guild master, who couldn’t continue his words and only opened and closed his mouth, Seo Seohui muttered while stroking the soft silk.

“I think I met him quite a long time ago.”

That could have been certainty.

“He remembered the time when I didn’t eat well. He might just have been guessing, but you can tell at a glance if you look at someone’s eyes. They were the eyes of someone who truly pitied me.”

“...To live long enough to see someone pity the Guild Master, too.”

“It was closer to fondness than pity. Kang Eunsung, you don’t feel good when I run out and come back hurt, right. That kind of face? That kind of gaze? But he talked about friendship, and it doesn’t seem like he thinks of me as a friend.”

“Ah, no way.”

Kang Eunsung was flustered.

“Did you acknowledge him as a friend?”

“Mm... honestly, he’s someone I find tempting, so I ended up thinking that way.”

Seo Seohui nodded.

“The food he made me was really delicious.”

“...Shall I book a restaurant?”

“It had a grandmother’s touch you can’t match with something like that.”

“Grandmother? You’re going that far? You’ve gone too far.”

“He knew everything I liked too...”

“You shouldn’t be certain based on things like that—how many skilled chefs are there?”

“Did he know I like braised short ribs?”

“...”

Kang Eunsung shook his head.

“...No.”

“Really? I like braised short ribs.”

“Guild Master, you don’t show your likes and dislikes.”

“He knew even that, I’m telling you.”

“Even if it’s a bad tie, a once-good tie that turned sour, or a tie that came to exploit you after falling—those are facts they could know. Aren’t you worried?”

“Even if I try, I’m not worried.”

Seo Seohui said quietly.

“There were quite a lot of ginkgo nuts in the braised short ribs. It wasn’t reduced much at all, so it was closer to broth than sauce. Do you know? Nutty and clean like ox-bone soup... yeah, it really was like ox-bone soup. Like a slightly rich galbitang, I guess?”

“...”

“It wasn’t too sweet. And it wasn’t salty either. And there were about six candied chestnuts soaked through in the broth, probably. The sweetness of the chestnut remains, but the braised short ribs sauce flavor was sharp in it—those chestnuts. Put one in your mouth and it crumbles softly.”

“...”

“There were exactly two big jujubes, just enough to give fragrance, and the white part of the green onion stalk was left whole and cooked. Not for broth—maybe it was meant to be eaten—so it was lightly grilled and then simmered only enough for the broth flavor to seep in. I quite like eating green onion stalks.”

He smiled.

“Do you get what I mean?”

That wasn’t something you could make just because someone told you.

“It was food tailored to my tastes, one by one. It wasn’t a taste that was that universally shareable for eating with someone. Mild like an old person’s palate, and the ribs were cooked until they were very soft.”

“Mm...”

“Kang Eunsung, you know too, right? That I eat well without being picky if food is given to me. I don’t obsess over gourmet things. But Hunter Seo Gio knew all of that. If we weren’t very close, how could he have known even such small things?”

“...What if it was a skill?”

“I’m not such a fool that I wouldn’t notice something like that. If that were possible, it would mean he’s more capable than a Symbol of Eternity—then I should just let myself be deceived. What kind of calamity would he be trying to cause on Earth?”

“I was forcing it.”

Kang Eunsung let out a low sigh.

“Excuse me. With that much, there’s no way it’s a bad tie. It also didn’t seem like he came with bad intentions. He didn’t look like someone who would offer you a bribe, Guild Master, and he didn’t look like someone so desperate he needed to cling to you.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Seo Seohui smiled with her eyes lowered.

“This is just a gift from a friend who couldn’t contain his happiness and pity.”

But a question still remained.

“So... how old do you think Hunter Seo Gio is? His homepage profile still says 29, but that’s probably Guild Master Visabel playing a prank. It must mean he’s someone who already died.”

“...Then there’s no need to count his effective age. What you’re curious about, Guild Master, is exactly when that tie was, when you forgot it, and what you gained in exchange... things like that, right?”

“That’s right. I don’t know what exactly I owe and how.”

Seo Seohui began thinking in earnest.

“Hunter Seo Gio’s words make it look like he never agreed to being forgotten, so it seems the promise proceeded after he died... then when was it?”

“The time when you really began to take care of your meals, Guild Master, would have been around when the system had harmonized well with Earth. And the collector is fairly... advanced in age, so... mm, if he has a son...”

“Let’s assume he had him when he was younger. How old is Guild Master Visabel now, about eighty? Before the Great Calamity he wasn’t known, but he might have been married. Isn’t that so?”

It was a world where almost all records from before that day had vanished. Even if it was about a famous collector, unless he said it himself, you couldn’t know whether he was married.

And the Great Calamity broke out 32 years ago. Visabel’s exact age wasn’t known, but if we put him around his eighties. When the Great Calamity broke out, Visabel would have been in his late forties to early fifties.

“What are the ages of children of parents in their forties to fifties, usually?”

“...By standards from before the Great Calamity, I don’t really know...”

“I slipped up. Wait a moment. Let me think. Around then, if I go by the people around me...”

“...”

“...Around their twenties?”

Whether early or late twenties depended on assumptions. But the children of parents in that age range would have been around then. Anyway, around their twenties.

“...Ah...”

If you counted it like that, you could also guess Hunter Seo Gio’s situation.

“He might have been older than me...?”

“My goodness.”

“This is a bit surprising.”

Even Seo Seohui herself couldn’t hide her surprise. He acted so adult-like that she thought he wasn’t an ordinary person, but she had never even imagined Seo Seohui might be the younger one.

Because he had become the world’s adult.

“...No matter how much Guild Master Visabel enjoys the world, he’s not someone who would have a child during the Great Calamity. And after stabilization, Guild Master Visabel said he absolutely wouldn’t start a family.”

“It could have been a lie, couldn’t it?”

“But Hunter Seo Gio himself said he’s 29. With high probability, it means he died at 29. And the Great Calamity happened 32 years ago. It was Guild Master Visabel who declared with his own mouth, ‘I won’t start a family because I’m not confident I can protect it.’”

“Then he really could have been a child from before the Great Calamity...? Hunter Seo Gio, a son of Guild Master Visabel?”

“And if Guild Master Visabel had a child at a common age before the Great Calamity, then Hunter Seo Gio would have been older than me. On the day the Great Calamity broke out, I was 19...”

Her mind was blank, but on the other hand it made sense.

“So that’s why he didn’t think of me as a friend.”

“...Because you were the younger one?”

“Somehow, it did feel like I was the one being taken care of.”

“You, Guild Master, were the one being taken care of...?”

“He looked too used to taking care of someone.”

And her breath grew heavier and heavier.

“...Ah, what do I do.”

Seo Seohui at that time was absolutely not a good person.

Back then, he—no, they—were not in their right minds. The world was even more insane. The only ones they could trust were a few friends, and even if you were lucky enough to have good ability, it was harder because of it. The world was resentful.

And in that time, an older adult who took care of me, of us.

“How can you really forget someone like that.”

“...Guild Master.”

“I don’t even remember what kind of care he gave.”

The guilt she had held back surged up.

“...I don’t even remember what I gained in exchange for him...”

Why had he died in the first place?

“...”

“...”

Only then did she feel truly suffocated.

“...It’s an ugly look, isn’t it? Just a moment ago I was happy like I’d regained a good friend, and now the mood has sunk like this. This is why I also feel sorry to you, Kang Eunsung.”

“...I understand your feelings, Guild Master, and sometimes you need days like this. I tried to dissuade you because I worried he might be a threat, but if it’s such a good tie, I have no reason to stop it.”

Hesitating, Kang Eunsung asked.

“Should we ask for another visit soon?”

“No. He’ll be busy too. I can’t do that just for my sake.”

“Looking at his expression when he brought the gift, it seems Hunter Seo Gio was also looking forward to today’s visit. Even when he went home, it was as if he was happy you ate it well... that kind of face.”

“Let’s not be selfish.”

“...I overstepped. I’m sorry.”

He couldn’t call a busy person just to ease his superior’s heart. That would be excessive selfishness. Kang Eunsung knew that and still suggested it, but he was refused. As expected, there was no way Seo Seohui would allow it.

“If there’s a request for cooperation or a request for a visit, how about considering it as positively as possible. There won’t be any harsh talk going to the collector or elsewhere.”

“If it’s that much, I’d be grateful.”

Seo Seohui, rubbing her face, laughed hollowly.

“Wow... am I really going through menopause?”

“To say menopause with such a firm face...”

“My emotions are suddenly bouncing all over the place.”

“As I said earlier, you need days like this too.”

He felt sorry for his superior.

“...Guild Master, you are human too.”

Someone too strong couldn’t even show signs of being human. That was the price they had to pay to keep this world. The price the few strong people called Symbols of Eternity paid.

Kang Eunsung thought to himself.

‘At this rate, I really hope he becomes a good tie.’

Kang Eunsung wanted Hunter Seo Gio to meet his superior often. For someone with few people he could trust, it was rare for him to make exceptions to this extent, and among them, wasn’t this one someone he owed a debt of the heart to?

‘We hardly ever have dealings with the collector, so this is...’

He felt regret that he had kept his distance for no reason because of Visabel. If the guilds had been close, there would have been many collaborations, and the two would have had chances to meet often.

But now, he couldn’t make that happen.

“...”

Still, he hoped there would be many days when Seo Seohui could smile in relief.

Living beneath his cozy shade—was that too great a selfishness?

* * *

“...?”

This time, Gio, who had been making tofu, lifted his head.

“I hear the sound of someone digging at my student somewhere.”

“Ah, you can hear that? Your ears are good.”

“The tofu will be finished soon.”

“It’s been so long since I had hand-made tofu, I’m really looking forward to it.”

“The aged kimchi was ripening well too. If we grill pork belly on the pot lid and eat it together, it’s paradise—please look forward to it.”

“I was already looking forward to it. This is a splendid view, right?”

Gio and Yoo Seongun, and Juhyeon were preparing a tofu party inside the portrait.

“...”

“Mr. Gio, what are you thinking about?”

“Thinking about feeding them...”

“Ah, the thought you always have.”

“That’s right.”

At the thought of his disciple who seemed like she would be digging somewhere, Gio came to an internal conclusion.

‘...Well, one time wouldn’t fill her up, would it?’

That was all because she wasn’t full.

‘Become a pig, hya.’

Gio was prepared.

(To be continued in the next chapter)