Chapter 57: Princess nogu

30 minutes before Sihyun left Bosingak with Luna via Shadow Travel,

–Tatadat.

“Elissa, where are you suddenly taking me by carrying me like this?”

“Sister, for now, moving quickly is the priority. I’ll explain as we go, so hold on tight so you don’t fall.”

Elissa was moving towards the location of the black orb while carrying Victoria.

“To just kidnap and carry a cute girl like me, Elissa, that’s too much.”

“Sister, you know those sparkling eyes won’t work on me.”

“Tch, boring. But seriously, where are we going? We’ve come this far, can’t you tell me? I left my sword behind because I came in such a hurry. What if we’re going somewhere dangerous?”

“You won’t need weapons. The place we’re going to now might be… perhaps the safest place in Seoul.”

“That doesn’t sound like something you’d say while rushing to a place where the Collector was annihilating everything just minutes ago. What exactly did you sense earlier to make us run so urgently?”

“It’s because the emotions I felt from the black orb changed in an instant. It’s already strange enough for emotions to flip completely in a moment… but the changed emotions are 180 degrees different from the original. From sorrow to joy, from despair to happiness. And there was one last thing I felt… honestly, I’m still unsure about it. Whether I misread it or not.”

“What kind of emotion is it, then?”

Elissa paused for a moment to catch her breath, then lightly tapped Victoria’s nose.

“The only emotion I felt from the Bosingak area after the orb disappeared… that was love. And a very, very big and intense feeling of love at that.”

“Love…? What, is someone shooting a romance movie where a ghost story just vanished?”

“I don’t think so, but… anyway, let’s move quickly first. I don’t know what’s there, but I need to satisfy this curiosity faster than anyone.”

Elissa seemed to answer Victoria’s question vaguely, then quickened her pace again.

She was deliberately holding back the answer she wanted to give Victoria.

‘For now, since she’s in the form of a young girl, telling Sister about the emotions I sensed wouldn’t be good for her emotional development, would it…?’

What Elissa sensed was clearly the emotion of love.

However, it wasn’t a light and joyful love like those in common romantic comedy anime or dramas, nor was it a sad and poignant love.

The emotion of love emanating from Bosingak was,

Obsession.

Possession.

Exclusivity.

Domination.

Restraint.

Confinement.

Longing.

Addiction.

It was a love so heavy and clingy that it would send shivers down one’s spine just hearing about it. Even setting aside whether such a thing could truly be called love, Elissa had never experienced such a sticky, bog-like emotion in her life.

‘I can’t tell Sister about this. If Sister, who has no experience with men whatsoever, were to learn about these kinds of emotions… it would be a disaster.’

Although Elissa herself was a maiden who had never even held hands with a man, let alone dated, so she wasn’t sure who was worrying about whom.

For now, she was completely preoccupied with worrying about her sister, Victoria.

‘But… there’s one thing that bothers me. The closer I got to Bosingak, the more certain I became that this isn’t one person’s emotion.’

When she first sensed these emotions, she thought it was one woman’s feelings for one man.

However, as Elissa got closer and closer to Bosingak, she realized she had misread it.

‘This isn’t from one person. At least two people’s emotions are mixing and flowing out…’

It was the result of two women’s clingy emotions mixing and merging.

What kind of man could he be to receive such love from two women?

‘Most men would probably envy a man who receives love from two women… but I’m actually worried about the man receiving this kind of love…’

Because if he received such dark and deep emotions of love and couldn’t properly reciprocate, it was obvious what his fate would be.

As Elissa was inwardly worrying about a man whose face she didn’t even know,

“E-E-Elissa… L-Look at that…!”

Victoria, who was in her arms, began urgently calling Elissa, poking her cheek.

Her eyes were wide with surprise, as if she had seen something unexpected.

“Someone’s standing at Bosingak… Their back is to us, so I can’t see their face clearly, but that’s… definitely…!”

Elissa, looking in the direction Victoria was pointing, also couldn’t hide her surprise.

Because she had never expected to encounter ‘that being’ in such a place.

“It’s hard to mistake him for just the back of a tall, handsome man… because there’s only one man in the world who cloaks himself in such swirling black energy…”

Hair like the black night sky itself.

Cold, emotionless eyes where an endless abyss lurked.

A being who always looked down on everyone with an aloof posture.

“Codename… Phantom.”

He, who had saved humanity by annihilating countless ghost stories, had appeared again.

–Whoosh!

However, the moment Victoria and Elissa recognized him, as if they shouldn’t know any more, he scattered his black energy and vanished from the scene.

“Ah…! W-Wait a moment! Phantom…!”

“Shhh! Sister, no matter what, he’s a ghost story. You shouldn’t try to grab him so rashly.”

“Ah… he’s already gone. But Elissa, you know me. I can’t stand not knowing something.”

Victoria sighed deeply, as if greatly regretting having missed him right before her eyes.

After Phantom left, only a faint silence remained in his place.

“Why does he always appear without a word and then vanish so suddenly? I wish he’d say something…”

Victoria got down from Elissa’s arms and touched the spot where Phantom had stood.

–Swoosh.

The floor, with a faint bloodstain and lingering warmth.

“Phantom… are you a ghost story, yet you bleed red like a human?”

“Sister, it might not have been Phantom’s blood.”

“That’s possible, but… seeing that warmth is still lingering, I somehow feel like… he’s the one who bled it.”

“If Phantom was indeed injured, then it seems what you predicted on the way here was correct. You said, ‘Phantom was probably the one who defeated the Collector,’ didn’t you?”

“Honestly, there’s no other way to explain why the Collector’s underworld and the black orb suddenly vanished in an instant.”

Victoria pictured Phantom confronting the ghost story alone.

His footsteps, silently moving forward even as he faced the dark red energy.

His will to definitely defeat the ghost story, even while being wounded, could be felt from the bloodstain.

“Phantom… why do you go to such lengths…?”

Victoria felt an inexplicable, faint emotion rising within her chest.

Phantom, a being who silently carried out his will even if no one recognized it.

Was it just her imagination that his always aloof back looked slightly lonely?

“What exactly is your reason for confronting ghost stories, even getting injured like this, for us… for humanity…?”

Victoria wanted to know Phantom’s true intentions, which she couldn’t even begin to predict with her own insight.

Was he harboring a purpose so grand that she couldn’t even dare to imagine it?

Or was he truly a ghost story who pitied humans?

Blue flames flickered in Victoria’s blue eyes once more.

“I want to know… Phantom, what exactly are you…? What in the world is a man like you thinking…?”

****

“Ah~~~ Luna’s scent is so sweet, truly.”

Swooosh—!

I was currently enjoying Luna’s scent to my heart’s content, with her in my arms.

Sniff, sniff.

“It’s really amazing, you know. Sweet yet soft, light yet rich. The body odor of a beautiful girl is truly in a different class.”

“U-Um… S-Sihyun…”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Luna?”

“I-I belong to Sihyun… so you can s-smell my scent as much as you want, but… I feel a little e-embarrassed…”

“Haha, sorry, sorry. Was I too obvious with my sniffing? Did I seem a bit perverted?”

“S-Since it’s you wanting me… I actually like it, but… I was a little embarrassed… Hehe.”

Luna and I, having arrived home via Shadow Travel, were lying on the bed, chatting idly.

We had only been apart for about a day or two, but it seemed Luna had many questions for me.

“Sihyun, Sihyun, I have another question.”

The girl continued her questions, gently touching my cheek with her small hand.

We had already been lying on the bed doing Q&A for over 3 hours, but Luna’s questions showed no sign of ending.

‘Phew… Honestly, I’m exhausted, but I have to endure it today!’

–Pinch.

I pinched my thigh to drive away sleep, so I could answer Luna without looking tired.

I shouldn’t fall asleep first today, using fatigue as an excuse.

Luna was in a state where she had just blossomed with countless past memories, forgotten truths, and most importantly, emotions.

It was my role as her guardian to accept such a fresh, budding emotion from this girl.

‘If I can’t even do this, I don’t deserve the love of a beautiful princess like Luna.’

I smiled gently and softly took Luna’s hand, which was resting on my cheek.

“What else is our princess curious about?”

“Hey, hey, Sihyun, how did you know that my mom and dad were collecting treasures for me…? The old story you told me before was true. I’m curious how you knew something even I didn’t know.”

Luna, with her golden eyes shining brightly as she spoke of her curiosity, reminded me of a certain anime heroine.

‘That… what was it? ‘Watashi kininarimasu!!’ Was it? She was a unique heroine who always shouted that she was curious, I think.’

Luna, who had been asking all sorts of questions for over 3 hours, was no pushover either… Anyway, that’s not the important thing.

First, I absolutely must not tell Luna the truth about her question.

‘It was just a made-up story that I stumbled upon by chance’ — saying that would be so uncool!

I, the man Yoon Sihyun, will take this secret to my grave.

After stroking Luna’s cheek a few times, I looked at her with the most affectionate expression I could muster.

‘In times like this, I have to act shamelessly, as if it’s nothing.’

“Luna, wouldn’t it be stranger *not* to know?”

“Huh…?”

“Luna’s hair is more beautiful than jewels made of real silver, and her golden eyes sparkle more than real gold. With such a pretty and cute daughter, how could they possibly care about other treasures? I clearly thought there must be another reason.”

……

As soon as Luna heard that, she buried her face deeply and snuggled further into my arms.

“Sihyun… I hate you…”

Huh, was that not it?

I wondered if I had made a mistake, but the moment I saw Luna’s cheeks flush with a light pink, I quickly realized she was hiding her face out of embarrassment.

‘She’s really cute, though.’

I gently stroked Luna, who was curled up in my arms.

“Luna, are you that embarrassed?”

……

In response to my question about her embarrassment, Luna slightly lifted her head and stared intently at me.

She was pouting slightly, as if something displeased her.

‘Ah, this is cute too. A new expression.’

While I was idly admiring Luna’s sulky expression, the girl, with her golden eyes shining, slowly moved closer.

“I want to make Sihyun embarrassed too.”

“Huh? What do you mean, Lu—”

–Whoosh.

The next moment, accompanied by a sweet scent, something soft and warm began to explore my neck.

And at the same time, a notification sound chimed in my ear.

Dding!

[Ah……?]