episode_0075

My head feels refreshed.

It’s a refreshing morning.

‘Should I continue to live like this from now on?’

Eunha, who was patting her sore back as usual, looked up at the morning sunlight coming through the bedroom window and thought.

The rabbit sticker on her wrist winks at her.

Yesterday was a very difficult day.

He gave Kang Na-ri his blood as a gift to make a potion, received a package from the security office, and lay down in the apartment hallway for an hour.

Although it may not seem like a big deal if you put it in words like this, the fear of ‘things’ mixed in between work like impurities steadily eats away at your body and mind.

I picked up [The Black Book], and it’s already been a month and a half.

If you break the rules in the guide, you die, and even if you don’t break them, you’re mentally exhausted every day.

Why isn’t the frequency of ‘those’ appearing increasing?

I’m starting to worry that I might be losing my mind.

[Self-recovery] only recovers physical changes.

Once your mind is broken, you can never get it back.

If [self-recovery] had restored the mind… even the emotions and memories would have been returned to their ‘original state’, and the person would have had to live like a dementia patient.

‘… … Let’s think positively. This too will become a memory later.’

My head feels refreshed.

Eunha slapped her temple with her palm.

My vision shakes and I feel nauseated.

It looks like it will be a refreshing day.

“Today… Okay, let’s learn ‘body strengthening’ from Mr. Ban Harin. Since the promotion exam is just around the corner…”

Eunha got up from the soft bed and staggered out into the living room.

On the living room sofa, a stuffed cow that I had picked up in the hallway yesterday was placed neatly.

A stuffed cow with two round buttons for eyes.

I picked it up in the hallway. It was because he was distracted by ‘that thing’ that was standing upside down on the ceiling and trying to catch him.

Would it be okay if I put it back in the hallway now?

Eunha came out of the bedroom naked and holding only a towel to take a shower, and with a refreshed head, Eunha thought of the ‘Guide’.

​~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3. If a doll falls in the hallway.

– If it’s an animal-shaped doll, it’s probably an ordinary lost item. Please leave it as is or bring it to the apartment security office.

​~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That’s what it was about.

My headache hurt.

“Hmm… Well, let’s think about it in an easy way. Are you really going to die?”

Eunha, who was tapping her temple, simply came up with an answer.

Leave it as is, or take it to the apartment security office…

But since the doll has already been touched, the only solution left is to take it to the security office.

But… there’s no telling when to bring it back, right?

Drurrr.

Eunha picked up the cow doll and came out to the veranda.

The warm June wind hits her skin.

It’s getting hotter. But when ‘those’ appear, it will be as cold as winter.

Without [self-recovery], I would have caught a cold due to the ridiculous daily temperature range.

『… … .』

“Oh, hello. It’s been a while since I saw you.”

At that time, my eyes met ‘something’ sticking its head out from the veranda railing.

It’s something that comes into her house every night. It’s morning and you haven’t gone down yet.

Eunha greeted ‘something’ with her usual smiling face.

Because of this guy, I can’t lock the veranda, so I’m really worried.

The veranda door was wide open yesterday too… Who on earth opened it?

Was there really a thief?

『… … .』

“Would you like to clear your head for a moment? I have to throw a doll into the security room.”

Eunha motioned for [something] that was quietly looking at her to move to the side.

I don’t know what that [something] is.

You can say that you are seeing it with your eyes, but you cannot perceive its shape.

I feel that the information about ‘that’ conveyed through vision is rapidly volatilizing and disappearing.

Eunha frowned at the strange sensation and concentrated her mind.

Even now, I am facing [something] sticking its head out from beyond the veranda railing, but I cannot describe its face. A thick fog seems to be covering the face of [something].

The only thing I can remember… is that ‘that’ is a beautiful woman.

And, the fact that he was shedding tears while looking at the galaxy.

But those memories also break into pieces like grains of sand blowing in the wind and escape Eunha’s mind.

… … In the place where I left,

Only refreshing remains.

『… … milk cow.”

[Something] said.

Pointing to the galaxy with your finger.

Eunha looked down at the stuffed cow she was holding.

“Huh?… Yes, it’s a cow doll. But I picked this up in the hallway, so I have to send it to the security office. Can you clean my hair, please?”

“milk cow.”

[Something] disappeared from the galaxy’s sight after saying those words.

The sound of a person climbing the railing and going downstairs.

Soon, with the sound of the veranda door closing, the remaining presence completely disappears.

It’s the person downstairs.

I need to be friendly.

Eunha stuck her head out over the veranda railing where [something] had disappeared.

“Um… Ah! Old man!!”

When I looked down, I saw an elderly security guard who was cleaning the parking lot.

An elderly man who was sweeping the parking lot with an old broom looks up when he hears a voice coming from above his head.

Eunha greeted the elderly man warmly and waved the cow doll.

“This! I picked it up in the hallway yesterday! I’ll throw it to you, so take it!”

“Please put your clothes on and come out! Miss!”

The old man shouted something, but he couldn’t hear it because he was on the 9th floor.

Hoping that the old man would have good reflexes, Eunha threw the cow stuffed animal at him with all her might.

I could stop by the security office on my way to work at the cafe and hand it over, but I want to dispose of the doll as quickly as possible.

Whatever it is, shouldn’t you just report it to the security office?

The stuffed toy, filled with soft cotton, went down strangely lightly and fell right into the hands of the elderly security guard.

“Nice catch!”

“Hehe… this is true.”

Eunha returned to the living room, waving to the elderly security guard who burst into laughter as if he were dumbfounded.

I feel relieved.

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

“Eunha… wasn’t there a thief in your house last night?”

After going to work at the cafe.

Eunha scratched the back of her head while listening to regular customer Ban Harin’s question.

What happens again this time? Accidents never stop happening.

The new uniform hasn’t arrived yet, so I’m wearing only a cafe apron over a loose box tee.

Ban Harin continued speaking while looking down at Eunha’s chest as she pushed up her checkered apron.

“Yesterday at 5:35 p.m., I ‘accidentally’ witnessed an unidentified woman breaking into the living room through the veranda of Eunha’s home while taking a walk.”

“Huh? Really?… The veranda door was still open.”

Upright!

Eunbangul, who was listening to the two people’s story, clung to Eunha’s waist, raising her white rabbit ears high in the sky.

The girl checks to see if the rabbit sticker is properly attached to Eunha’s wrist and looks up at her with round eyes.

“What items disappeared from the house?”

“Everything was fine except the veranda was open.”

“……The intruder was a woman in her late 20s, wearing three daggers on her belt and a blue dragon symbol on her clothes. Have you ever met them?”

“No. I’ve never seen anyone like that.”

As Eunha continues to answer, Ban Harin’s expressionless face becomes subtly crumpled.

As if faced with an incomprehensible phenomenon, all I could do was mutter, ‘Then where did it disappear…?’

Soon, Ban Harin calmed his expression by wiping his face with one hand and approached Eunha with a cold face.

“I understand. I have already reported it to the association, so I will take care of the intruder.”

“I always get help. Thank you.”

“Thank you, please make sure you lock the door properly. Do you keep the veranda door open? It’s a shame the intruder left without doing anything, we almost got into big trouble.”

“haha…”

Eunha patted Jeongbul in her arms and burst into laughter half-heartedly.

The intruder who came into the living room through the veranda… is he alive? I don’t know.

Entering someone else’s house without permission is a shame, but I hope you’re safe.

That’s because it’s hard to clean up afterwards.

Even now, when I open the freezer, it is full of limbs that were cut off by the [Red Woman].

‘I need to organize the freezer soon… I’ll have to ask the security guard.’

Maybe they’ll ask you to bring it on the day you throw away your combustible trash?

Just in case, I’ll have to buy some pay-as-you-go bags at the convenience store.

Eunha thought positively.

The apartment security system is so great…

When you think about it that way, it’s surprisingly not that bad.

“Oh, Mr. Banharin. Please help me.”

“Is there a problem?”

“I have a promotion exam next month. I want to learn ‘body strengthening’, but I heard it’s difficult to study on my own.”

Since the atmosphere had calmed down with the story of the thief, Eunha changed the topic and asked Ban Ha-rin for help.

Then Ban Harin, who already had complicated thoughts about the Eunha promotion test, showed interest as if he had been waiting.

“Trust me, Eunha. I will do whatever it takes to get you passed.”

“You don’t have to go that far… Can you help me ‘strengthen my body’ just enough to properly wield a weapon? I’ll pay you for your trouble.”

“Private tutoring from a C-rank hunter is quite expensive. Do you mind?”

“There’s a regular discount, right?”

“of course.”

Ban Harin approaches Eunha without a sound and wraps one hand around Eunha’s waist.

The bell in her arms puffs out her cheeks, but she traces Eunha’s body as if examining something and then retreats like a ghost.

There really is no sound at all.

C-rank hunters are amazing.

“Hmm… But before ‘strengthening the body,’ let’s first awaken mana. I found the lecture material in advance from the association’s data room, so here it is…”

“Ah. I can now feel ‘mana’. All you have to do is teach me ‘body strengthening’.”

“……Mana? Since when?”

“It was the day after I got kicked out of Hunter Academy.”

“…Why are you saying that now?”

“I was busy so I forgot.”

“…….”

Ban Harin’s cold eyes stung today.