Ch.4817. The Glass Room (1)

“Mmm…”

After letting out a sleepy moan, Soso closed her eyes again. And for some reason, she hugged me tighter.

‘Huff…’

As if struggling in her sleep, she moved her body more. Before I knew it, Soso had shifted on top of me, practically pinning me down.

Soso nestled in my arms. No, it was more like I was nestled in hers. She whispered something that sounded like sleep-talking.

“Mmm… Minsu… like… won’t let go… like this… stay with me…”

I wasn’t sure what she meant by “stay,” but in this closer position, more skin was visible through the gaps in her loosened robe.

Of course she was wearing underwear, but this situation definitely couldn’t continue. For a moment, her face almost dangerously touched mine.

If a full day hadn’t passed yet, I would have remembered that intense kiss from this morning. I quickly dodged her face as it descended toward mine.

As her breath briefly brushed against me, I thought I caught the sweet scent of peaches. That morning kiss had that same scent and taste.

‘She couldn’t be… pretending to sleep, could she?’

I immediately dismissed that thought. I knew Soso had feelings for me, but right now this was definitely Soso, not Blood Demon.

She looked so defenseless. Maintaining my composure in my lower half as best I could, I continued whispering to Soso, whose face was right next to mine.

“Team Leader Yeon! Wake, wake up!”

“Hmm… even if you tempt me with food… no. For such macarons… I shall grant your wish.”

Her sleep-talking was getting more nonsensical. To prevent an even more dangerous situation, I had no choice but to gently bite her earlobe.

“Hyaang!!!”

She let out a startling cry—or rather, an ambiguous sound—and sat up. The sudden movement caused her upper body to shake, but I consciously averted my gaze.

“Hmm? Where is…”

Finally, Soso seemed to wake up. And a moment later, she found herself in an embarrassingly awkward position, sitting on top of me.

“W-what are you doing?!”

Even though she was the one who had pinned me down, she was more startled than I was. Soso hurriedly got off me. It was fortunate timing, as my lower body had been just about to react.

Wrapping herself in the blanket, Soso belatedly looked around. When our eyes met again, her cheeks turned bright red.

“Um, Team Leader Yeon. Nothing happened.”

I quickly said that. Realizing that this was my hotel room, Soso immediately bowed her head to me.

“I-I’m sorry! I just lay down for a moment and fell asleep without realizing… and… really… really nothing happened!!”

Though she was flustered and rambling, I could understand the general situation.

She had overused her mana to capture Jang Gye-shin. The resulting mana overload in my mana road—or in Muguk terms, the distorted qi and blood—had required Soso’s direct intervention to correct.

“Are you… feeling alright now?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Thanks to you…”

And the reason we were both wearing robes was, like at Elder Yeon Mun-woo’s hermitage, because skin-to-skin contact increased the calming effect on mana.

According to Soso’s explanation, it had been an innocent process, but she was unusually embarrassed.

“I’m glad you’re alright. I was… I was very worried.”

Seeing Soso brighten at my words, I felt guilty for being indebted to her.

Trying to hide my feelings, I changed the subject.

“It’s all thanks to your efforts, Team Leader Yeon. Oh, by the way, about the Wind Cutter…”

“The Wind Cutter will be received tomorrow. Since you played a major role in capturing the villain, it’s practically decided who the Wind Cutter will choose.”

It seems Dmitri had cleanly given up. He must have sensed the Wind Cutter’s will too and didn’t want to embarrass himself unnecessarily.

Looking at the time again, it was already midnight. Given the late hour, I said to Soso:

“Then, Team Leader Yeon, since it’s late, you should go back to your room to sleep…”

She shook her head firmly at those words.

“That’s not possible!”

I was speechless at her surprising response. Soon after, she bowed her head shyly and said quietly:

“That Jang Gye-shin… after seeing what that evil person used… I… I can’t… sleep alone.”

I understood what she meant. Soso is very afraid of ghosts and spirits. Moreover, Jang Gye-shin had emitted enough magical energy from the Evil Dragon’s horn to dominate the entire rooftop.

Because of that subconscious influence, Soso seemed to keep sensing ghosts. Even in this luxurious hotel, it might feel eerie to sleep alone.

“The bed is wide… shall we sleep together? If you’re uncomfortable, I can sleep on the sofa.”

“That won’t be necessary! Nothing will happen.”

“I see.”

A moment of silence fell between us. But it was already late, and I felt saying anything more would make the atmosphere even more awkward, so I lay down, keeping my distance from Soso.

“Then I’ll turn off the lights. No, would it be okay if I leave the mood lighting on?”

“Mood lighting?! Y-yes, let’s do that.”

And so the room dimmed.

***

The next day.

In the end, I didn’t sleep for very long.

‘Maybe about three hours.’

I’ve always suffered from insomnia. And although we hadn’t turned the lights completely off, in the dim night, many thoughts surfaced unbidden.

No, they weren’t just simple thoughts. Those contemplations became like entities with physical form, a horde of specters staring vacantly at me from behind my eyelids.

‘How contradictory.’

Unlike Soso’s fear, because of Hong-ok, no undead or specter could affect me.

But in the deep darkness that unfolds when I close my eyes, the specters of Aince’s tragedy, those victims, become even more vivid.

In the end, I know that all those specters are created by my own guilt.

‘That’s why. I can’t forget.’

What I need to do. And why I survived instead of dying. That’s why I couldn’t easily fall asleep and just lay there quietly with my eyes closed.

And all night, Soso embraced me from behind.

As an A-rank awakener who had mastered the Cheonma Divine Technique, she must have known I wasn’t sleeping. But just like when she held my hand on the plane…

And just like when she firmly held my hand under the table at the auction house, she seemed to have no intention of letting me go.

‘Now… I’ll never let you go.’

In that drowsy state between sleep and wakefulness, I heard Soso whisper. In her own voice, not the Blood Demon’s.

And until I fell asleep, she once again calmed my mana road. That’s why I was able to sleep even for those three hours.

Just before falling asleep, I recalled the sensation of Soso’s lips touching my hair. Not just that, but the softness of her body too.

I deliberately pushed those thoughts away. And to receive the Wind Cutter, I left the hotel and headed back to the VIP trading house.

“You’ve arrived. Let me guide you.”

The security leader I met yesterday bowed his head again. Although his leg was bandaged, his expression seemed fine.

And the way he looked at me had changed. Yesterday, he had clearly been mindful of Soso, the daughter of Cheonma.

Now he was clearly attentive to me.

‘Is it because I captured Jang Gye-shin?’

I followed him to where he was guiding me. It wasn’t the banquet hall-like trading house from yesterday. Instead, it was a restricted area specially prepared behind it.

He guided the two of us to that area where only staff members were allowed.

“Since Dmitri has given up, there’s no need to receive it through an auction like yesterday.”

However, just like yesterday, the metal box containing the sealed Wind Cutter remained the same. The host standing next to it recognized me and greeted me.

“You’re here. You can receive the Wind Cutter right away. However, when the seal is broken, a large amount of mana will temporarily envelop you, Minsu Lee. As an A+ rank gear, it won’t be easy.”

But he didn’t look particularly worried. As a hunter who had captured Jang Gye-shin, my reputation at this trading house seemed to have risen considerably.

The host placed his hand on the box. As it opened, just as he had said, a strong wind began to blow in this indoor space where no wind should be possible.

It was like a typhoon. I reached into the center of that gale and grabbed the Wind Cutter.

“Respond to your master’s call. Wind Cutter.”

And that storm fiercely enveloped me.

***

Yuri Tarkovskaya was at her home.

It was an apartment overlooking the Han River. With the wealth of the Tarkovsky family and her position as the guild leader of an S-rank guild, she could have lived in the penthouse of that apartment if she wanted.

But Yuri didn’t do that.

‘If I had that money, it would be better to add it to our guild’s operating funds.’

In fact, even her current home was provided by a collateral relative of the Tarkovsky family. She had no intention of living in such an expensive place, but…

She liked looking at that unusually large river cutting through the city—the river called Han River.

Especially in cold winter, when harsh cold swept in and the river froze over. But right now, Yuri’s gaze was directed elsewhere.

“The photo is… too small.”

Yuri was currently printing an internet article. After the printing was complete, Yuri looked at the paper.

Using sticky notes and stickers appropriately, she left only the parts she wanted on the printed paper.

“Even if Soso is the daughter of the Five Great Celestial Sages, writing such a sloppy article…”

The article covered the villain attack and robbery that had occurred in Pyongyang a few days ago.

An A-rank villain named Jang Gye-shin had broken into a famous trading house, tried to steal a very expensive item, but was stopped and arrested.

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“Precious Jang Gye-shin, Finally Arrested”

On February 20th, at XX trading house in Pyongyang…

…but guild members belonging to the S-rank guild Flame arrested Jang Gye-shin and his accomplices.

Especially A-rank hunter Yeon Soso, daughter of Cheonma Yeon Se-hwi…

========================

This was the content of the internet article. But unlike what Yuri had been reported by the Association and Minsu, the article prominently featured Soso’s photo and achievements.

‘That would be better for increasing views.’

Because Soso is beautiful. And she’s the only daughter of Yeon Se-hwi of the Five Great Celestial Sages. An article about Soso’s achievements would guarantee views.

‘It’s not that Soso didn’t contribute, but still…’

However, Minsu was the one who made the decisive contribution in that incident. Perhaps because of that, there was a very small photo of Minsu.

It called him “Lee Min-woo,” Soso’s collaborator.

“They even got his name wrong.”

She muttered coldly to herself. Thinking about it made her even angrier, but she calmed herself by looking at Minsu’s photo.

Yuri corrected the name in the article to “Minsu Lee” and then attached it to one wall of her room.

Of course, she covered all of Soso’s photos.

“Good…”

The wall was densely covered with photos. All of them were photos of Minsu Lee.

And on the display cabinet on another wall, items that Minsu had given her since the Aince days were carefully preserved in glass cases.

Yet another wall was densely covered with letters that Minsu had sent to Yuri. Reading those letters before sleeping and after waking up was part of Yuri’s daily routine.

Caressing the newly added photo of Minsu, Yuri said: