Ch.64The Returnee Shin Doyun (2)

The Cheongbaek Guild is undoubtedly one of the top guilds in South Korea.

Though relatively recently established and generally ranked third among experts and the public, that’s still enough to be considered one of the best guilds.

And Seoha was one of the main forces competing for the top position within the Cheongbaek Guild.

In short, he was extremely popular.

Murmurs spread.

As Seoha and I entered the guild building, I immediately felt countless gazes upon us.

Fortunately, thanks to the clothes wrapped around me, it was bearable as long as I maintained some distance. I shifted my gaze away from the ring I had glimpsed and hid behind Seoha as we headed toward the center of the building.

“You’re early today.”

“Seoha, you’re here?”

Several guild members came over to greet Seoha directly.

Most were famous people I’d seen once or twice through media. Though not surprising, I could once again sense Seoha’s status.

“Is this the sister you mentioned on the phone?”

“Yes. I brought her along to give her a tour as well.”

I bowed my head slightly in greeting from a distance.

Being surrounded by celebrities made me feel uncomfortable from the start.

Noticing my expression, Seoha scanned the lounge and quickly continued.

“Shall we move somewhere else for now?”

The place we moved to was an observation room attached to a massive space that appeared to be a training or testing area.

Click.

Squeak.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“…No, that’s, that’s okay.”

As our unremarkable conversation continued, one of the guild members who had been studying me intently suddenly made a puzzled expression and began looking at the other guild members.

“Umm…”

“What’s wrong? Did you drop your wallet again?”

“No, that’s not it. Are you perhaps Baek Eunha? That necromancer?”

At those words, all three guild members present stared at me.

I averted my gaze from this somewhat expected reaction, and the guild members looked back and forth between Seoha and me in confusion.

“Come to think of it, your surnames are also…”

“Are you really that Baek Eunha? So you two are family?”

“You never mentioned this, Seoha!”

“There was no need to create unnecessary commotion.”

At Seoha’s calm response, the guild members could only exclaim in amazement with dumbfounded expressions.

Until now, the fact that Seoha and I were family had been kept secret from the public, but now that I had regained at least some of my power, there was no particular reason to hide it anymore.

The Association had also approved this since they confirmed I had no intention of seeking asylum abroad.

I lowered my gaze unnecessarily and let the awkward atmosphere pass.

“Oh? I think they’re coming now.”

With perfect timing, the returnee finally appeared with one of the guild members.

And simultaneously, a small resonance occurred from within the Book of Death connected to my soul.

Whoosh.

‘…’

It wasn’t because of the returnee. It was because of the other person beside him.

‘Chae Hwaryeon.’

One of the two reasons I came here today.

She’s the vice guild master of the Cheongbaek Guild and an A-rank mage responsible for firepower in raid parties.

And she was the younger sister of Chae Hwain, a former S-rank hunter who is now my Death Knight.

#

I thought that as his family member, she might help restore Chae Hwain’s memories.

With that in mind, I deliberately stayed close to her and occasionally tried to engage in conversation, but unfortunately, Chae Hwain showed no further reaction.

‘Is this stimulus not enough?’

Or perhaps most of his memories were permanently lost during the period when his soul was in hibernation.

Swallowing my disappointment, I focused my attention on the male returnee, my second objective.

‘Shin Doyun, was it?’

After conversing with Seoha and other guild members for quite some time, Shin Doyun went to the center of the training area and activated some equipment as if to test something.

What appeared was a barrier created through magic stones.

It looked similar to what I had used during my previous hunter registration test.

Shin Doyun attacked the barrier as if demonstrating his power, and most of the guild members expressed admiration.

And I watched the scene from the observation room, deep in thought.

‘…Interesting.’

I was intrigued by this Shin Doyun. Waiting for an opportunity, I approached him when he was briefly resting alone.

“Hello.”

“…Who are you?”

“Something like an observer.”

Even face to face, I felt not the slightest discomfort. It was the same phenomenon as when I encountered other returnees.

However, I had been catching some small sense of déjà vu since earlier.

And after meeting him up close, I realized what that feeling was.

“You’ve already become someone’s dog, haven’t you?”

“…”

“Before returning to Earth? Or immediately after?”

His soul, simply put, was already completely subordinated to some entity.

When I pointed this out, Shin Doyun’s gaze, which had been feigning calmness, suddenly sharpened.

“…That’s unusual. The others didn’t notice at all.”

“I’m sure they didn’t.”

“Who are you?”

To that question, I smiled slightly and answered.

“What good would knowing do you?”

Shin Doyun frowned and quickly drew up his magical power. However, he soon stopped as if considering something.

“Do you also know about those beings?”

That was quite an unexpected statement. As if my brief reaction had given him his answer, Shin Doyun sighed and turned his head.

“…I guess not. Then we have nothing to discuss.”

As he turned to leave, I didn’t hesitate to grab him by the hair.

Whack.

“…What are you doing?”

“Where do you think you’re going? I have a lot to talk about.”

“Heh, this kid is really something.”

Shin Doyun smiled with irritation and immediately drew up magical power throughout his body.

Whoosh.

It was quite an intense aura. Just drawing up his magical power made the surrounding terrain shake, and startled guild members began looking in our direction.

“Let go while I’m still asking nicely.”

“No.”

Thud!

Finally, the enraged Shin Doyun shook off my hand and turned to face me again.

“You don’t seem to value your life much, getting cocky with that pathetic power.”

“…”

“Hunter? Awakened? How ridiculous. Blindly believing that power suddenly placed in your hands is actually yours.”

After briefly showing his returnee pride, Shin Doyun glanced at me contemptuously and then shifted his gaze to the guild members behind us as he continued.

“Stop bothering me. I’m only holding back because people are watching.”

“That’s, that’s my line!”

As Shin Doyun turned to leave again, I hastily crumpled up a note I had written and threw it at the back of his head. The note contained my phone number.

Thok.

“…”

“Let’s meet again sometime. Without any interference.”

I couldn’t let him just say what he wanted and leave. At my provocation, Shin Doyun smirked and replied.

“Come back when you’ve grown up a bit more.”

“This is really…”

As I was about to rush forward and grab his hair again, someone held me back. It was Seoha.

“…Brother. Didn’t you say you would behave?”

“Ah, no, that’s not it. He—”

“If you cause more trouble, I’m taking away your computer.”

At those words, I returned to the observation room with a dissatisfied expression.

There are many ways to meet him anyway. I can think about it slowly when I get home.

“He’s scheduled to meet with the guild master now. Is there anything else you’d like to see?”

In the end, I finished the day after just touring the guild facilities with Seoha’s guidance.

And that night, I received a message from an unknown number. It was Shin Doyun.

Ding.

[I’ve changed my mind. Let’s meet tonight.]

#

Late at night. I asked Goden to stand in for me and left the house without Seoha knowing, heading to the agreed location.

Crunch.

Rustle.

On a quiet mountain path with no people around, Shin Doyun, who had been waiting, spotted me and spoke.

“…You really have no fear.”

“I don’t need to.”

As I brushed fallen leaves off my clothes, Shin Doyun said:

“I heard about you from the Association. You’re a returnee too.”

“…”

“Follow me.”

Crunch.

Rustle.

Following Shin Doyun as he fearlessly made his way through the mountain path, I soon began to see treacherous terrain where people clearly didn’t travel.

After walking for tens of minutes, Shin Doyun suddenly stopped and pointed somewhere with his finger.

Looking where he pointed, I saw a strange light flickering at the bottom of a small ravine. It was a dungeon portal.

“Come in.”

I don’t know how he found it, but it was the perfect place to conduct our business. There was no reason to back down.

Feeling my heart begin to race slightly, I followed Shin Doyun into the dungeon.