episode_0077

“Excuse me. Are you a resident of the apartment complex?”

“yes?”

Two men and women wandering around the entrance to the apartment. These are people I see for the first time.

Eunha, who was returning home, stopped and looked at them.

The weapons used by hunters hang from his waist, and the turquoise vest worn over his shirt has a beautiful blue dragon pattern engraved on it.

A blue dragon flying in the sky.

The symbol of [Blue Dragon Guild], one of the four major guilds that have risen to the top in the country.

In that case, this means that the man and woman in front of us are also hunters belonging to the [Blue Dragon Guild] that everyone knows… perhaps.

What brings people like that to such a peaceful apartment?

“Well… yes, hello.”

Eunha bowed her head and hurried to her apartment.

I plan to just say hello and pass by. Because they have nothing to do with her.

In her experience of living as a ‘promotion test master’ for three years, there are two types of people with whom you should not talk deeply.

One is a stranger who pretends to know someone on the street.

The other is an acquaintance who pretends not to know when in a hurry.

And what is in front of you is a stranger pretending to know you on the street…

I’m the type that always gets tired when I get involved. In times like this, it would be best to just say hello and quickly leave the place.

My body is still heavy because I am already on my way back from receiving private tutoring with Ban Harin at [Euncheon-gu Park].

Moving mana consumes stamina faster than any bodyweight exercise, so even Eunha, who had [Self-Recovery], often found herself out of breath. This is true even though the mana in the body is not moving properly yet.

Anyway, let’s go home quickly now.

Like a lizard hiding its tail from the ants following it, Eunha passed them by, holding on to the carrier it was dragging.

“Now, wait a minute~! Let me ask you something!”

However, a woman wearing a teal cap with a friendly face blocked Eunha’s path.

Eunha, startled by the sudden approach, took a step back, and, holding the carrier containing the [Black Book] in front of her like a shield, she tried to appeal to her harmlessness by raising the corners of her mouth.

A feeling of regret passes through the back of my head: ‘Should I have just kept quiet and passed on?’

I felt the urge to turn around and go back to the park right now, but I braced myself because I didn’t know when these people would return and I had no intention of sleeping out on the street without a plan.

I really wish that what was in front of me was the monster from [The Black Book].

At least they behave calmly as long as they follow the ‘rules’. Much easier to deal with.

Eunha, who missed [Red Woman], looked down at her little finger.

“……What happened.”

“Yes, actually…”

“Hello! [Blue Dragon Energy] has received a gas inspection!”

At that time, the male employee who had been staring at Eunha blankly came up to her with strides and answered.

As the stocky body, visible even through the turquoise vest, approached with the intention of embracing, Eunha, feeling uncomfortable with the excessive distance, took two steps back.

Soon after, the female employee, who stopped talking, grabs the man’s shoulder and pulls him back.

Is this how they check gas these days?

I don’t know.

“What are you doing! Don’t you do it right?!”

“Just take the number, just take the number, please.”

“Concentrate on your work. If you can’t draw blood this time, the director of the lab will…”

Eunha calmed her rapidly beating heart while listening to the whispers of the self-proclaimed [Blue Dragon Energy] employees.

Okay. Let’s not panic.

This is a problem that can be thought of positively.

‘Whoa… Okay, look at how popular he has become as an E-class hunter. ‘Bulli also told me to be careful of hunting on the road.’

Hunters with high ratings are more popular than most celebrities.

So, it is natural that now that he has risen to E-level, he is more popular than when he was an F-level soft fist.

Eunha touched the E-class hunter ID card she had carefully stored in her sweatpants pocket.

A nameless feeling of pride taps her shoulder and passes by.

I gained confidence.

Grumbling…

Eunha put the carrier aside and faced the two people who blocked her.

When I confidently straightened my shoulders, their eyes turned somewhere, but I decided not to pay attention.

A turquoise vest and a tightly worn cap.

The symbol of the [Blue Dragon Guild] emblazoned on their uniforms attracts attention.

Wherever you look, you can see employees coming out to check city gas.

I see

The gas check came out.

‘City gas inspection… in this apartment?’

I looked at the apartment security office, just in case.

But for some reason, the old security guard who always sat at his desk and made clay dolls is nowhere to be seen.

The dark security room with the lights off looked old and shabby, as if it hadn’t been used for over a month.

Eunha raised her head and looked up at the apartment.

The sound of leaves rustling in the wind.

The sound of a car engine coming from afar.

Today… the apartment is quiet.

“Well, it’s no different. We came to inspect the gas, and there were a lot of houses without people. By any chance, which room do you live in?”

After whispering among themselves, the female employee came closer and asked. Employee Nam keeps his distance a little and sends a passionate look towards Eunha.

The female employee slowly approached me and held a city gas checklist in her hand. There were quite a few empty apartments, so about half of the checklist was left blank.

Eunha glanced down at the checklist and frowned.

At this time, after 6 p.m., only half of the gas inspection was completed.

No… I did half of it.

Even on the 10th floor, some houses have a check mark.

… … How did you do it?

Why are these people alive?

It’s one of two things.

Either this checklist is false, or ‘those’ saved the hunters in front of us.

I feel like it is most likely the former.

“……Are you the ones who came to inspect the city gas?”

“B, yes. Of course.”

In response to Eunha’s question, a female employee points to a uniform with a blue dragon mark on it.

A suspicious smell stings my nose. There’s something suspicious and clumsy about it.

It’s as if the sadness of the clumsy, low-level employees who somehow have to follow the orders of their old-fashioned boss is glimmering before my eyes.

A sudden city gas inspection.

Suspicious. However, I don’t think it’s a threat.

“I live in room 904.”

[Blue Dragon Energy] Eunha was lost in thought for a moment while looking at the employees.

She then answered honestly, concluding that she should not think too deeply about it.

City gas inspection? Welcome.

Please come into the apartment.

That way, it’s safer for the galaxy.

Instead of doing this at the entrance to the apartment because my legs are hurting, let’s go in and talk.

“Room 904… Yes?!… Then maybe… Eunha? Are you Eunha? Wow, awesome. Why did the person change like this?”

“Do you know me?”

“……Ah! Well… of course I know~. What hunter doesn’t know the spirit of the promotion test? Hahaha…”

A female employee of [Blue Dragon Energy] who realized that the beautiful woman in front of her was Eunha from room 904 made a fuss, saying she was surprised.

Still, she gave a strange look to the male employee waiting behind her, who then ran to the car parked in the parking lot and returned with a large bag taken out of the trunk.

It is a large black bag that can easily fit one person.

Eunha, who had decided to take it easy no matter what happened, joined their conversation with a languid smile.

“I really don’t recognize you. Congratulations on being promoted to Class E!… Also, if you have time, can I go check the city gas right now?”

“Yes. Please come in.”

Eunha headed to ‘Saetstar Apartment’ with the two people.

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

“The apartment is very quiet. The hallway lights are off… It doesn’t seem like anyone is living there. It seems too shabby for a building in Euncheon-gu…”

“But the monthly rent was cheap.”

Eunha got on the elevator and talked to [Blue Dragon Energy] employees while going up to the 9th floor.

I don’t know if it’s a conversation worth having with the gas inspection employee, but I seemed to be able to communicate quite well with the female employee wearing a cap, so it was somewhat enjoyable.

“…….”

And, the male employee who had been giving me such a passionate look earlier didn’t say a word to me after realizing that Eunha was ‘Ji Park-ryeong for the promotion test’ who lived in room 904.

He just looked around the inside of the elevator as if he was worried, fidgeting with the large bag on his shoulder.

“By the way, Eunha, do you donate blood? I do it sometimes, and it’s more rewarding and better than I thought.”

“I do it sometimes too. Now that I think about it, it’s finally time to donate blood.”

“Uh! Then when are you going to do it?!… No, it doesn’t matter anymore…”

“……?”

Tiing ㅡ.

The elevator door opened, and Eunha walked leisurely down the eerily dark 9th floor hallway.

Sunset coming through the window. The ceiling is empty, as if it has been consumed by dark shadows.

It’s quiet and nice.

“Suuu…”

Eunha took a deep breath and walked down the dark hallway. It feels like cold air is hitting my lungs.

The hallway that was so scary yesterday is comfortable today.

No, should I say it is reassuring.

Maybe it’s the safest apartment in the world…

Eunha thought again.

“…Can you feel it? This apartment… I don’t feel any signs of popularity. It looks like an abandoned building.”

“…….”

Following Eunha, who confidently leads the way, men and women wearing [Blue Dragon Energy] uniforms walk carefully.

My breathing becomes faster, as if I am being weighed down by the excessively gloomy atmosphere, and the unknown cold gives me goosebumps.

Is this what it means to be consumed by the atmosphere?

The two people felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety as they watched Eunha walking down the hallway dragging a suitcase.

“Well… the apartment is a little cold. Haha…”

“I see. Is it because the sunlight doesn’t come in?… No, why is it here?”

Eunha, who was calmly answering the female employee’s words, found a cow doll lying in the hallway and touched her forehead.

It is a stuffed cow with two eyes sewn on with buttons.

“Don’t touch that doll, just come.”

Eunha gave a brief warning to the two people following her and opened the door to [Room 904].

The two people, shrugging their shoulders in the eerie atmosphere, simply nodded.

The beep beep beep sound of the door lock echoes through the quiet hallway.

Beep beep… beep.

The sound of a door lock.

A mechanical sound that resonates in your eardrums.

Beep… Beep…

Beep… Beep…

But something…

The sounds overlap.

What is it?

Pirroring~.

Pirroring~.

The sound of a door opening. No.2.

I had the illusion of cold air coming from behind.

“……What, here.”

“…….”

“Come on, come in.”

The self-proclaimed [Blue Dragon Energy] employees tried not to look back due to the sudden popularity…

[Room 904] I opened the door and approached Eunha, who was quietly gesturing with her hand.

Like a traveler possessed by a fox.

Dalkak-.

Pirroring~.

Just like that, the door closed.