Otherworld Constellation Gallery
Chapter 55.
Each time I handed them a cigarette, the men’s eyes opened clearly. To be precise, life returned to their dying pupils, and one of them had an expression close to tears.
“This, this precious thing… Are you really giving it to us?”
“Of course.”
I raised the corners of my mouth slightly. But making an appropriate show of generosity is essential.
“It’s a worthy gift, a token of gratitude.”
At these words, all three men let out sighs almost simultaneously. Faces that understood the meaning cigarettes held for smokers.
[Title: Unbelievable; First Hunter is giving away cigarettes?] Even for a non-smoker, is he really giving that away? They already gave permission, so why is he giving that?
ㄴ Don’t question First Hunter’s judgment.
ㄴ Ah, First Hunter always has a plan.
ㄴ No idea what it is though.
ㄴ He’s actually pretty generous with things he already has? Remember last time when he let someone have a drag of his cigarette?
ㄴ That time he was just investing to win them over, right?
ㄴ Exactly… that was more like an investment…
At that moment, Kang Ha-rin spoke up beside me.
“Ju-han, did you use to smoke?”
As I was about to consider my answer, Tulip tactfully cut in.
“In a world where they’re hard to come by, you saved and treasured them, right?”
At those words, the men’s faces changed dramatically. As if they weren’t precious enough being called ‘worthy gifts,’ they were actually cigarettes that had been saved and treasured. Such recognition poured out from their eyes, their breaths, their sincerity.
“How… how can we accept something you’ve been saving so preciously…?”
“One cigarette is enough for us.”
“Yes, yes. We can share one between us. In a world like this, what’s wrong with sharing a filter?”
Gestures attempting to return two cigarettes. Seeing such attitude, I deliberately put on a generous expression and gestured for them to accept them comfortably.
“Don’t feel burdened.”
“Oh my, thank you.”
Heads bowed repeatedly. I brought my hand behind my back.
‘Summon lighter.’
Bringing my hand forward again, I flicked my thumb.
CLICK CLICK-
As the small spark touched the end of the cigarette, grateful eyes focused on me.
“Even fire… oh my…”
“Thank you, truly.”
One puff, two puffs.
As smoke dissipated into the air, tension eased, and the corners of the men’s mouths gradually lifted.
‘Good, this should be enough.’
Now is the time to bring up the main point.
“Actually… I have one more companion, would it be alright if they joined us?”
The three looked at each other, then back at me, nodding.
“Oh my, of course, of course.”
“Well… not everyone in our group knew each other from the beginning either.”
I turned my head back.
“Elder!”
The Elder Goblin came running from the distant street.
The one I’d positioned to provide cover just in case.
‘He was quite far away, but communication works fine even at this distance.’
The reason I kept him at a distance was simple. To check if my influence worked well even at a distance, and to avoid all of us being subdued together.
‘Even if they were good people, bringing him along would have made them much more wary.’
‘Even if I covered him up to make him look like a child, I couldn’t have hidden the frost emanating from his clothes in this weather.’
And most importantly. The creature specialized in ranged attacks rather than close combat like Tulip, so I had planned to have him fire freezing bullets if things went south.
“COUGH! COUGH!”
“GUH! HACK! KUHAK!”
The sound of men choking on their cigarettes.
Their faces colored with shock, tension, and anxiety.
“Is… isn’t that a monster?!”
I raised both hands to calm them down.
“Ah, I managed to tame it somehow, so don’t worry. This one doesn’t bite.”
Despite my explanation, their wariness wasn’t easily erased.
“Really. It’s extremely docile and even understands words.”
I turned my head toward the Elder Goblin.
“Sit.”
With a blank expression, the creature lowered its posture.
“See? I promise it won’t harm anyone inside.”
After a long silence, one of them finally spoke.
“Yes… O-okay…”
It was a reluctant approval, given after struggling between fear and trust. Even after giving them cigarettes, it was still hard to get permission. If I hadn’t done that, they looked ready to foam at the mouth.
“Thank you.”
[Title: OH SHIT So that’s why?] He’s crazy Just force your way in.
ㄴ Looking at First Hunter now, he’s a gentleman.
ㄴ Giving a whole cigarette to each person, how generous.
ㄴ This guy is so romantic trying to smuggle in one goblin by convincing them with cigarettes.
ㄴ It was a bribe to bring in prohibited goods.
***
“But how are you going to check if a house is empty?”
“Intuition.”
“Intuition?”
“I’m kidding. It’s difficult because I might not be able to sense it with just my energy perception.”
Energy perception is the most likely method.
But what if someone is hiding, holding their breath in a structure with layers of walls like an apartment? What if their energy is too weak to register on my senses?
‘I need another method.’
First, I checked the water meter. Inside a metal box attached to the side with a transparent glass window. The needle inside was trembling slightly.
“It’s moving. Let’s pass on this one.”
“But… with that method, they could just not be using water at the moment.”
“That’s right. Still, it’s a useful filter.”
Moved to the next house. The meter was stopped. I put my ear to the door.
‘It’s quiet.’
And I couldn’t sense any presence either.
“Let’s keep this one in mind.”
“Is it empty?”
“Not confirmed yet. Need to check more.”
“But how can you be absolutely sure a house is completely empty?”
Tulip asked again.
“The smell.”
“The smell?”
“Empty houses have a distinct smell. Human scent gradually disappears, and its place is filled with dust, dampness, and mold.”
The unique air of a place that has furniture but no people. That only accumulates with time, not after just two or three days of vacancy.
But Daegu is different.
A place with weather that’s on another level.
‘Mold would have spread much more easily.’
“This place definitely has the smell of emptiness. No presence either. And the meter has stopped.”
“Really?”
“Now we just need to open it.”
I nodded.
“Since we’re only staying for one night, should we just break in?”
“No!”
Tulip and Kang Ha-rin reacted with alarm.
“Then everything we’ve done to avoid causing trouble would be for nothing.”
“Can’t help it. We have no quiet way to get in.”
“Let me try.”
Kang Ha-rin’s eyes lit up as she summoned a car key. It soon transformed into a thin, long pin.
“Hey… that…”
“I can make another one if needed.”
Calmly countering, she inserted the pin into the keyhole and began to concentrate. And soon after.
CLICK!
The door opened.
“What the-?”
“Wow! Sister, your dexterity is amazing!”
“If it works like this, couldn’t you have done the same with the car?”
“Would that work?”
“If it would work or not, why didn’t you even try back then?”
Kang Ha-rin scratched her head.
“I didn’t know I was good with my hands back then…”
Did she gain confidence while making armor? Well, it’s good that she’s discovered her talent now.
“You did well.”
Kang Ha-rin blushed.
The interior we entered was indeed empty.
“But why would they lock the door if the house is empty? If they abandoned it, wouldn’t they leave it unlocked?”
“It might not be abandoned. Maybe they ended up in a situation where they couldn’t return, regardless of their intention.”
A silence fell after my answer.
“Don’t get depressed, everyone go wash up first. I noticed earlier that there are many places where the water meter is still running.”
“I thought the last time would be our final shower.”
“Yeah, we’re lucky.”
The two took turns washing up. The sound of water and the scent of shampoo coming through the door gap felt awkwardly peaceful.
For a brief moment, it felt like we had regained a normal life.
After the two finished their showers. I headed to the bathroom with the goblin.
“Are you seriously going to wash with that thing?”
“Yeah. I want to clean it up a bit.”
“It’s not a pet, if you care for it so carefully, you’ll get attached.”
“That’s right. If you get attached and it dies… what will you do if you get sad?”
“Just leave it. It doesn’t even smell bad anyway.”
Tulip and Kang Ha-rin spoke with one voice.
“It might not smell, but there could be germs.”
“There are no germs.”
Tulip cut in firmly. When a doctor who knows all poisons and diseases speaks so decisively, there’s nothing to say.
“Still, being clean is better.”
“What if your control breaks during the shower?”
“Then it dies.”
“No, mister, those kinds of jokes…”
“Whatever. Stop talking.”
I entered the bathroom with the creature.
[Title: Don’t go in with the goblin, go in with your companions, this is really infuriating] First Hunter you bastard, are you impotent?
ㄴ Lower your expectations and you’ll feel better.
ㄴ Don’t you know why he went in with the goblin?
ㄴ They eat you when they grow up.
ㄴ Something about racial discrimination.
Shortly after, when I came out after finishing the shower, I was already exhausted.
“Even though it stayed still, washing it was such a pain…”
When I returned to the living room, there was ramen again. I’d reminded myself more than a hundred times that we’re in no position to be picky about food in this world, but I was already tired of it.
Thinking that, I took a sip of the broth and my eyes widened without me realizing.
“…What’s this, it tastes different? What did you put in? You didn’t waste resources in this situation, did you?”
When I asked with a sideways glance, Tulip burst into laughter.
“Mister, you just noticed now?”
“Noticed what.”
“Even the orphanage kids noticed right away last time. Don’t you remember them asking if it was really ramen?”
“…I was too busy having a serious conversation with the orphanage director to taste it properly.”
“The broth is rich, right?”
“Stop changing the subject, what is it?”
Kang Ha-rin hesitated before speaking.
“…I put Craftlae meat in while boiling it.”
“PFFFFT!”
For a moment, I almost spat out everything in my mouth. It was so hard to hold back that I deserve credit for not wasting the broth.
“Ah, mister! You just showered.”
“Nothing splashed. More importantly, you put Craftlae in?”
“Yes. Tulip said it was safe to eat? No poison and no ill effects.”
“Hey.”
Tulip was eating her ramen with a smirk.
“You said you could never eat ghoul meat.”
“That looked like a corpse. Craftlae has a bit of a shrimp flavor and some lobster taste too. It’s better than I thought. It’s rich in protein.”
“You’ve lost your mind…”
“Mister, it helps us save our food supplies, you should be happy!”
“Right. Very thankful.”
Honestly, it was delicious. The tender flesh had melted into the broth, adding umami, and it neutralized the artificial saltiness typical of ramen.
After the meal was finished. We set the watch rotation for tonight. Ha-rin first. Me in the middle. Tulip last. The familiar routine wrapped my mind gently.
“Let’s sleep quickly.”
I lay down, melting into the calm air. Even the sound of running water had stopped, and the voices that had been chattering until just now had disappeared in this quiet moment.
I felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
‘…It’s chilly.’
It’s probably just needless worry. Being sensitive to such feelings will only cause insomnia. How long had I been asleep?
“Ju-han!”
My eyes snapped open at the urgent voice breaking the silence.
Ah, this is no longer just a worry.
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