episode_0091

『You’re here again.』

“……hello.”

Eunha came to her senses at a small fortune telling shop she had seen sometime ago.

It’s a small fortune teller shop where if you stand up and stretch your hands above your head, your palms will almost touch the ceiling.

Magatama and round jade beads are hanging in a long silk room that stretches from ceiling to floor, and numerous ghostly lights meander through the pitch-black sky seen beyond the only window.

In a world full of darkness, there is only one fortune-telling house standing there, making it extremely desolate.

This extremely ambiguous place, neither the afterlife nor this world, is perhaps a more mysterious and difficult place to understand than the [Black Book].

‘Here again… It’s unconditional if you enter the blood donation bus.’

It’s a familiar scene.

Eunha caressed the area around her carotid artery and tasted it with regret.

I donated blood once to make myself feel better, but now I’m going between life and death.

It’s true that I drew blood with the intention of coming here from the beginning, but it still hurt terribly.

The feeling of blood slowly escaping.

I gradually feel cold starting from my fingers and toes.

When the unavoidable cold crawled up my limbs, I felt dizzy and suffocated, and the rapidly dropping blood pressure brought pain that cringed my entire body.

My heart ached.

My heart beats in an irregular rhythm as I wanted to live even just one second longer. My skin was damp, as if trying to squeeze water out of the cells of my body, and a burning thirst burned my esophagus.

My skin is cold, but my neck is hot.

However, due to the heavy suffocation that followed, Eunha moved her blurry eyes around, searching for oxygen and water.

So dark.

She slowly burned to death in suffocating thirst.

Eunha placed her hand on her left chest and took a deep breath.

This is because the fear of death came too late and grabbed my heart, asking if I had forgotten myself.

Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since I donated blood, but the fear doesn’t go away easily.

Even on the blood donation bus, I would have looked ugly if my doctor sister wasn’t there to hug me.

『Calm down. Because you are safe now.』

“……Not at all? It’s nothing.”

At that time, the [black person] sitting across from me spoke.

A voice of unknown gender. There is so much darkness under the black hat that it is difficult to even see the facial features.

However… that indifferent voice put the listener’s mind at ease.

Eunha slowly took a breath and straightened her disheveled posture.

The upside-down cross that hangs like an accessory on the [Black Man]’s hat sways from side to side.

『What makes you afraid?』

“……Iknow, right.”

My back pain calmed down.

Like being hypnotized.

Grumbling…

Eunha scratches the back of her head and pulls a chair closer to the table and sits down.

The distance from the [black person] has become very slightly closer.

… … The cross of the [Black Man], which was swinging from side to side, suddenly stops.

『He acted as if he had multiple lives.』

“I never thought you’d say that now.”

The [person in black] sitting across from the table gently held out a plate filled with snacks in front of Eunha.

many.

Eunha smiled vaguely as she looked at the pile of snacks piled up on her plate.

A food that looks like buckwheat dough mixed with honey and fried. A tray-sized plate is piled full of snacks that people in BC would have eaten.

There are not that many cakes ordered by groups of customers in cafes.

Is this how a grandmother listens to her grandson saying he is hungry?

If you have a family, this is what it feels like.

Eunha reached for the generous pile of snacks.

“……It’s delicious.”

『He was doing something strange.』

“What?”

At that time, [the person in black] taps his fingers on the table and speaks.

Thick black gloves attract Eunha’s attention.

『Bugs in the stomach. What is it for?』

“That’s it… because of the promotion exam…”

『Is there a need for that? It appears that he is also training in the magic art of ‘body strengthening’ without any problems.』

“…….”

『Why do you take on yourself pain that can be avoided?』

[The person in black]’s question has a sharpness that catches people off guard.

Eunha put down the snack and faced it.

That thing asks a question.

Maybe it’s the first time.

Rather than asking for an answer, [Black Man]’s question asks about Eunha’s intentions…

It was as if they were checking whether she was crazy or not…

An inexplicable feeling of self-destruction passes over my cheek.

Why are you asking such a thing?

Did I look like a crazy person?

(『Child, give back the people of Lu.』)

(I don’t like it. They are my babies.)

Eunha also thought.

Now I’m thinking about sending ‘Fly’ out and bringing him back the day before the test.

There is no need to suffer in pain for more than a week just because you want to lose weight during the promotion exam.

[Bug Princess] is not a picky person, so she will help you if you ask her.

But why, even though there are still 5 days left until the promotion exam?

If you ask me if I call the insect babies that ‘sing’ in my stomach ‘my babies’ and leave them alone…

“……Once I spit it out… I’m so scared I don’t think I’ll be able to swallow it again.”

With her usual languid smile, Eunha answered like that.

The old cookie in your hand drops crumbs on the table.

“You never know. The more tools you can use, the better. And if you don’t adapt in advance, you’ll be stuck holding your stomach without being able to do anything on the day of the test.”

『… … .』

“I know it doesn’t hurt, right?”

I took it out.

If you try to figure out anything, you will find the answer in the thin thread that passed by.

Eunha expressed some of the complaints she had been unable to share with anyone.

Because it was difficult.

『… … You asked a pointless question.』

“I’m sorry for suddenly saying something strange.”

『It’s not strange. Because it’s proof that you’re still human.』

“When did you stop being human?”

Eunha leaned back in her chair with a bitter look on her face.

The blunt voice of [the person in black] brings an unknown sense of relief.

I only uttered a few words, and a bunch of the accumulated stress went away.

I feel like I am doing penance in a cathedral.

As I chewed the old snack, I looked at the [black person] with wistful eyes.

I guess you didn’t get angry because you took out your anger for no reason.

It’s not bad. The only good things to accumulate are connections and lots of money.

Since I was in a position where I couldn’t tell anyone about the [Black Book], it would be beneficial to shake off unnecessary stress whenever I had the chance.

Eunha looked at the window with her usual smiling face.

Numerous ghostly lights flow in the pitch-black sky.

『Some people say that ‘patience’ is one of the virtues that distinguishes humans from animals. However, someone felt broken because they persevered.』

“Can’t I explain it easily?”

『… … If you want to vent your worries that you can’t tell others, do it here.』

“It sounds like you’re telling me to die from fire.”

『It’s not wrong.』

“Ohh.”

Eunha nodded, saying she understood.

Mutter…

The conversation stopped, and Eunha sat down on a hard chair and ate a snack.

No matter how much you eat old food, which is closer to a meal than a snack, it shows no signs of diminishing.

widely!

Is it because Eunha ate so happily?

[The person in black] takes out another plate from under the table and puts it down in front of Eunha.

『There are many, so don’t hesitate.』

“…What happens if I die here?”

『Why do you ask that?』

“I feel like my stomach is going to explode and I’m going to die.”

Startle.

That moment. [The person in black]’s body became stiff.

He looked down at the snacks piled so high that the table broke, and stroked his chin with a leather gloved hand.

Although the [black person’s] features were not visible due to the darkness, Eunha was somehow able to feel his emotions.

I am feeling sad.

『… … Isn’t it delicious?』

“No, that’s not it… It tastes so old that it bites me.”

『Old taste…』

[The person in black] was in trouble, stroking his chin like a human.

I couldn’t help but laugh, as she seemed like a grandmother trying to wrap her head around to suit the tastes of kids these days.

Surprisingly, I think I can become friendly with [black people].

He doesn’t seem to be a bad person. Above all, you can trust the person who gives you food.

『… … Next time you come, I will prepare something for you.』

“Can I look forward to it?”

“no.”

Clap clap!

[The Black Man] clapped his hands.

At that moment, the lights in the fortune teller went off and pitch black darkness came.

Darkness, as always,

there was nothing.

… … .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“…I received mental counseling.”

Eunha came to her senses and looked around blankly.

Dented neck, bloody top…

There was something quite charming about looking up at the reddish evening sky while buried in a pile of trash in the back alley of a convenience store.

If you carry it home like the old man in the park, what will happen?

“Ugh…! Hello, guys. How are you?”

Saga-gak…

I patted my stomach in a dazed state.

A familiar stomach ache creeps in and ‘Fly’ greets you. Eunha’s movements are rough, probably because she’s worried that she’s not breathing.

Eunha tapped her temple and lifted herself up from the pile of trash.

A suitcase containing a [Black Book] was placed on a nearby streetlight, and she staggered over to the suitcase and opened the zipper.

Fortunately or not, there is no sign of popularity in the dusk-covered back alley.

Eunha took out a loose box tee from her carrier, looked around the quiet alley, and carefully took off her blood-stained top and put it in her carrier.

‘I’m glad I brought spare clothes… Do I still have to wear a bra? It’s annoying…’

She quickly changed into a box tee and left the back alley, easing her sore body. Except for severe anemia, there are no problems with walking.

Eunha frowned because of her dizzy vision and headed toward her apartment.

“Eunha. I was looking for… Here’s something I left behind at the park.”

“Ah, Mr. Banharin. Thank you.”

At that moment, Ban Harin approached me, holding a cow-patterned handkerchief in his hand.

The handkerchief that Baeul gave Eunha as a gift, saying it was perfect… Did she drop it during training?

Ban Harin moved silently and linked arms with Eunha.

Thanks to this, Eunha was able to return to her apartment without falling due to anemia.

Banharin’s face was as cold as always.

“…If you need any help, please let me know. I’ll be there at any time.”

“Thank you… I’ll go alone from here. Be careful when you go back.”

My body became clean after donating blood.

Thanks to [Black Person], I feel a little relieved.

My baby still sings.

Conditions couldn’t be better than this.

After living a hectic life for the past few days, it feels like her mind and body were rebooted overnight.

‘Okay, now let’s just focus on the exam.’

5 days until the promotion exam,

I decided to try a little harder.

Since I can’t sleep well because of ‘Fly’ anyway, I plan to practice ‘Body Strengthening’ until I pass out.

Eunha returned home, dragging her suitcase.

End the day

… … .

… … .

‘But… why were there only [black people]? What about [the beast]?’

Suddenly, I feel a slight sense of discomfort.

What is missing?