episode_0298

a

It probably won’t be a big deal though.

Even when I first met Do Jong-ha,

‘The Mouse’ thought so.

( “The wise man wants you to tell this to the ‘Detective’.”)

A photo I received from the ‘chef’ of [Euncheon Restaurant].

Did you ask me to tell the detective?

It was an ordinary picture of an orphanage.

Since it was a photo of the ‘Hanbit Orphanage’ where Eunha was said to have lived, I thought I could learn about her past this time.

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‘Protected Object… F-rank Hunter with [Self-Recovery] skill.’

‘From Hanbit Orphanage. Family relationships unknown.’

‘A year ago, after the Hanbit Orphanage was burned down, it was protected by the Hunter Association.’

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Why… It’s like going to a friend’s house to play and opening up an album filled with memories of your childhood.

After seeing the cute baby galaxy, run to the cafe,

Everyone laughs and watches Eunha get embarrassed…

I thought it would be such a warm story.

That’s usually the case when adults bring up stories from their childhood.

therefore,

Galaxy, who never loses her smile,

I think I grew up surrounded by warmth,

I thought so.

– … …Star. Aren’t you lonely?

– What the… all of a sudden…

– If I come here every night from today and talk to you, will you be happy?

Oh, it’s not a bloody memory,

I thought there would be at least some warmth.

I should have done that.

… … .

“Wow…!”

Basement 7th floor. The past seen with Do Jong-ha’s [Secret Review] skill.

‘Mouse’ came to his senses at the sound of the Dark Dragon’s body retching from behind him.

My head hurts.

Maybe because I have a lot to think about,

Could it be because my head is dizzy from the sight before my eyes?

It’s just a past recreated with Do Jong-ha’s skills, but I even feel a hallucination where the pungent smell of blood stings my nose.

“Shh! Be quiet! If that guy comes again, there’s no answer!”

“Wow… No, what is that… Is that a person? Is it alive? ”

Captain Kim Yu-hee of the Dark Dragon Squad looks after her men and inspects the dark hallway.

[Blue Dragon Guild]’s secret task force appears to be soft-hearted and soft-spoken.

The people of the Dark Dragons are huddled together as if they have discovered something terrible… They look like frightened meerkats, so they are quite insignificant.

“… … .”

Nausea. A natural physiological reaction.

The ‘mouse’, with one hand covering its mouth, turned its head.

The end of the 7th basement floor.

A single iron door at the end of the hallway.

The girl Banharin is sitting in front of him, talking to ‘someone’.

– … … Why?

– I wanted to see Byulnim smiling.

A conversation from the past taking place across an iron gate.

However, the ‘mouse’ and the Dark Dragon members were able to see through the iron door that had been recreated with skill.

– … … Even if I laugh, what’s the use…

The galaxy of childhood.

‘That thing’ sits helplessly beyond the iron gate.

Knock knock… Knock knock…

If I had to describe ‘that’ in one word, it would be resentment.

A nauseating resentment is breathing beyond the iron gate.

Knock knock…

Strange sound.

‘Mouse’ did not necessarily depict the appearance of the galaxy.

Because he looked so sick and miserable.

– They say that if you laugh, good fortune will come. Even the stars laugh.

– Hmm… I’ll try.

Banharin and Eunha having a conversation.

Two people who used to be like that, one has lost his expression and the other is always smiling.

What on earth happened?

Rustle…

I took a photo out of my pocket.

This is a group photo from ‘Hanbit Orphanage’.

Children gathered together and laughing.

Behind them are nuns with warm impressions and young people who have come out to do volunteer work.

And, as if the coffee had been spilled,

Only the face of ‘one child’ in the photo… was blurred like paint and could not be seen.

As if erased by ‘something’.

It was as if pure white waves had swept across the sandy beach.

Only ‘one child’ was particularly blurry.

This is something I thought was strange even when I first saw the photo.

“… … .”

A child whose face has disappeared.

‘Mouse’ thought that the blurry ‘child’ in the photo was, of course, Eunha.

Because it was the orphanage where she lived, and she was the only one not in the photo.

– What’s your name?

– It’s Harin. My last name is… um… Since I fell in love with Byeolnim today, how about Ban Harin?

– That’s interesting.

However, the galaxy was always trapped in the basement,

There was an unexpected person here…

‘Team Leader Banharin, was it you?’

Was that blurry ‘child’ in the photo you?

The frowning ‘mouse’ raised its head.

Warm… warm, warm…

The sad sound of insect footsteps.

Passing by the ‘girl Banharin’ who was sitting in front of the iron gate,

The waddling pumpkin bee hugs the ‘Galaxy of Childhood’ tightly.

Purrr……

A delicate hand hugs ‘that thing’ tightly.

As if trying to return the warmth I’ve received.

Holding the young galaxy in her arms, she tries to convey her warmth.

Hot and cold…

However, the galaxy of the past did not embrace ‘Fly’.

Because it’s just a recreation of the past.

Unreachable.

Huh…

Nevertheless, ‘Fly’ hugged the galaxy tightly.

The reason I followed ‘Mouse’ and Do Jong-ha is,

As if the reason I brought [the Black Book] to Eunha without saying anything was right here…

“……mom…”

I wanted to hug you.

That’s it.

‘Fly’ hugged his mother tightly in pain.

“Ugh…!”

A sobbing voice from somewhere.

Kim Yu-hee, the leader of the Dark Dragons, wipes her eyes as she watches the scene.

What the heck are those guys?

Is this a secret operation unit of a large guild?

The ‘mouse’ sighs in a strange sense of dizziness and turns its head.

“Kekeke! Knock! Knock!”

Inside the iron gate,

Detective Do Jong-ha, who was inspecting the room of ‘Young Eunha’, is coughing and spitting up blood.

I have already used up all the ‘Mana’ needed for the skill, and am currently replenishing my vitality by drinking the [Silver Potion] given by the ‘Mouse’.

The ‘mouse’ hurriedly approached Do Jong-ha and supported her.

“Stop it, okay? Who will notice if you lose here?”

“Cough… Still, I have to engrave it in my eyes at least a little.”

Do Jong-ha looked around Eun-ha’s room with bloodshot eyes.

That’s why I came here. Is it my sense of responsibility as a detective?

He writes down the things he sees with his own eyes in a detective notebook he takes out of his pocket.

The view inside the room I looked around.

Meat stew eaten with your hands.

And then there was the picture.

Made by scratching the wall with a fingernail,

A picture soaked in blood.

“… … .”

He was a pitch-black human being.

Everything is painted black,

Black person.

Even in the blue world created by Do Jong-ha’s skills,

‘That thing’ was black.

“… … .”

A picture of [the black man] holding hands with a young galaxy.

Beneath it, the word ‘nightmare’ was written faintly,

Above the [black man’s] head was a dazzling Milky Way.

A strange picture.

Black person.

‘The Mouse’ imprinted the picture in front of his eyes into his memory.

… … .

… … thud.

at that time,

[The black person] in the picture moved.

Knock knock.

Drumroll.

A picture of [the black man] holding hands with the galaxy.

Move your empty hands,

Lift your index finger,

Take it by mouth.

“fizzle.”

The cold air brushes the back of my neck.

… … .

… … .

“Stop it, okay? Who will notice if you lose here?”

“Cough… Still… No, I understand.”

Do Jong-ha looked around Eun-ha’s room with bloodshot eyes.

But that was only for a moment, as he felt his limit and began to catch his breath and prepare to go back.

I took the detective notebook out of my pocket, wiped the blood flowing from the corner of my mouth, and went out into the dark hallway on the 7th basement floor.

‘… Huh?’

A feeling of discomfort.

But I don’t know exactly what went wrong.

The ‘mouse’ that had been wandering around for a while follows Do Jong-ha.

It’s almost time to go back.

If other guys come here after Amryongdae, it’ll be a headache.

“Phew… Then, I’ll just check on the fire that happened 4 years ago and then go back.”

“Are you still doing it?”

“A detective is someone who has to be tangled up and dirty to be a detective. Aren’t there detective comics that have been serialized for decades?”

I see.

Do detectives have to be dirty?

The ‘mouse’ touched his forehead.

Kiiing!

Meanwhile, the evil spirit Do Jong-ha used the [Secret Room Review] skill.

The blue particles surrounding it rippled,

A multitude of movements pass by in an instant, as if a video is being played in fast forward.

The ‘Director’ puts meat dishes under the iron gate and leaves every day.

The ‘Silver Bell Sister’ who occasionally loiters in front of the iron gate and then disappears.

And every night.

‘Girl Banharin’ approaches the iron gate quietly and talks to ‘Eunha’.

Kiiing! Kiiing!

Countless scenes flash by.

Kiiingㅡㅡ!

Yes, time passes quickly,

Years passed by in an instant,

‘Banharin’ comes every night,

As I grew up little by little and became closer to an adult…

– -Whooow!

One day, about four years ago.

‘Hanbit Orphanage’ was engulfed in flames.

… … .

Knock… knock…

It’s a sparkling night.

The 7th basement floor is littered with oil drums.

Smoke so thick it hurts your eyes that it turns the dark hallway red.

– … … If I had known this would happen…

There is ‘someone’ sitting beyond the wide open iron gate.

Pajijikㅡ, Banharin with golden sparkling eyes,

The ‘something’ in her arms.

『… … .』

Behind Banharin’s back,

All the ‘humans’ are pitch black,

I was looking into the burning basement.

Knock, knock…

The hallway on the 7th basement floor.

There, the orphanage director, stabbed in the chest with a long sword, lies quietly collapsed as if sleeping.

A pool of blood on the floor.

The sparks that had spread to the hem of the clothes warmly covered the ‘Director.’

Sudden fire.

Everything burns away,

One day four years ago.

“… … please.”

Bloody hands.

‘Banharin’, looking down at the palm of her hand, muttered with a blank expression.

Her expression was as cold as ice,

I couldn’t see into the emotions hidden inside it.

“Please let me forget. So that Eunha can be happy.”

『… … .』

[Black man] looking around.

Soon, a pitch-black hand caresses the ‘Galaxy’.

It seemed like they were having a conversation about something, but

It doesn’t sound right, like it’s being engulfed in blazing flames.

– “When life and death meet, the fates that were severed will also meet.”

It was a cold word, and a strange voice,

Because there is a longing there that shines like starlight.

Banharin closed her eyes weakly.

Hururuk…

Four years ago, only two people survived,

It was a memory of an orphanage that had burned down.

… … .

… … .

“Hey, are there any friends who would tear apart orphanage officials?”

“There is! There is!”

“Are there any friends who can find sponsors and catch them?”

“There! There!”

“That’s a good answer… Okay, now all that’s left is to jump around like a rat, right?”

Kiiing…

Time goes by.

The 7th basement floor is now empty, with Do Jong-ha’s [Secret Review] skill stopped and only the remains of the fire remain.

The blue past peels away like a lizard’s skin, leaving only the ruins of reality visible.

‘Mouse’ left Do Jong-ha, who was languishing due to ‘lack of mana’, in the care of two members of the Dark Dragon Corps, and ordered the withdrawal of the Dark Dragon Corps leader Kim Yu-hee, who was somehow brimming with energy.

“I hope you, Eunha, will be happy and not get sick from now on. I will help you as much as I can if you ask. The dirty things that [Blue Dragon Guild] covered up, our Dark Dragons have kept them safe, so they will be useful. ”

There is nothing more certain in persuading people than money and emotional appeal.

In that sense, there are few people who could be persuaded as easily as Kim Yu-hee, the Dark Dragon Commander, who was bribed by Do Jong-ha and indirectly witnessed the past history of the galaxy.

It’s suspicious that they’re being overly cooperative, but… since they’ve already recognized the monster, their life depends on the galaxy, so it’ll be okay.

Warm… Warm…

‘Fly’ crouching in the place where the ‘Past Galaxy’ disappeared, feeling around to find the galaxy.

Kim Yu-hee, the leader of the Dark Dragons, couldn’t stand to watch any longer and lifted the pumpkin bee while rubbing the corners of his eyes.

Purrr!

“Soft glutinous rice cake secured! Soft glutinous rice cake!”

A pumpkin bee flailing its limbs as it is suddenly caught by Kim Yu-hee.

Kim Yu-hee lifted ‘Fly’ high up to the ceiling as if welcoming a precious being and carefully held the girl in her arms.

Soon after, ‘Fly’, with his plump cheeks puffed out, climbs up Kim Yu-hee’s body and sits on her shoulder.

Purrr…

He shakes his head as if he’s really pissed off.

Kim Yu-hee, the female dragon commander who was attacked by a squash bee, perks up her orange cat ears with an ecstatic expression.

“Soft glutinous rice cake! Soft glutinous rice cake!”

“Shut up, sister.”

The grumbling of the people of Amryongdae is quiet yet noisy.

However, even in the midst of all this, the way they quietly erased any traces of fingerprints or footprints was befitting of a secret task force from a large guild.

The ‘mouse’ sighs as he picks up the [black book] that fell on the floor.

How many times will I sigh like this today?

It’s hard to even count now.

‘Hmm… When I get back, I should call Eunha first… How should I tell her that six people opened their eyes in one day?’

The orphanage held something that should not be known carelessly.

How should I tell Eunha?

No, what kind of expression should I have when facing her?

I’m not sure.

I think it would be better to meet up and think about it first.

As for the orphanage… I decided to keep quiet just in case.

It seemed like something big would happen if I touched it in many ways, and it seemed like neither Eunha nor Banharin remembered what happened ‘back then’.

I have that much insight.

It’s kind of like a guidebook.

If there is such a thing as a ‘Galaxy User Manual’ somewhere, it would definitely have rules like ‘Don’t mention the orphanage’ written in it.

The ‘mouse’ that changed the [black book] in its hand twitches its long tail.

The 7th basement floor where the past has disappeared.

The Dark Dragons take care of Do Jong-ha and ‘Fly’ and erase their traces.

The room of ‘Galaxy’ is empty with the iron door wide open and nothing there.

Dark hallway.

The corpse of the ‘Director’ collapsed in the hallway.

I took a look around.

No problem.

‘Huh… Then, let’s go out quietly…’

and,

The ‘mouse’ who treasured the [black book],

When I stepped onto the stairs leading to the ground with the Dark Dragon,

Thump… thump…

In the unknown pounding of the heart,

I looked around again.

There was something.

Something strange.

“… … .”

Dark basement level 7.

The Dark Dragons erase their traces and climb the stairs one step ahead.

The iron door was wide open, and the room of ‘Galaxy’ was empty with nothing in it.

Dark hallway.

and,

The corpse of the ‘Director’ collapsed in the hallway.

… … .

… … obviously,

Do Jong-ha’s skills must have ended,

Why not yet,

The body of the ‘Director’ remains.

“… … .”

Creepy.

A cold goosebumps runs up my spine.

The ‘mouse’ that had stopped breathing glared at the ‘director’ who was lying in the hallway.

1 second… 2 seconds…

… … 5 seconds…

Wiggle!

and,

Moved.

collapsed in a dark hallway,

The body of the ‘Director’ that was burned to the ground.

It definitely moved.

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4. I will leave ■◇◇■.

– □■●■□

– ◇■◇■◇◇■

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Crunch… Crunch…

Oddly twisted limbs move,

With long limbs like a blind spider, it touches the ground,

I get up on all fours in the blackened underground corridor.

“… … hiccup.”

Kim Yu-hee, who discovered ‘that’ too late, starts hiccuping.

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4. I will leave ■◇◇■.

– Leave●■□

– Keep ◇■.

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Blink… Blink…

The air gets cold.

Pure white breath escapes.

Blink… Blink…

A hallway where lights suddenly came on.

The lights are blinking.

Blink.

Every time that happens,

Blink.

The body of the ‘Director’ who got up on all fours,

Blink.

One step at a time,

One step at a time,

Come closer slowly,

Blink…

He pulls out the sword stuck in his chest.

『Ugh. Ah… Guys… Don’t go.』

The twisted thing speaks.

The sky is out of reach…

However, there was ‘something’ just a few steps away.

The terrified Dark Dragons hug each other like frightened meerkats.

“Neehee… will be here forever…”

A creepy grudge approaches.

What kind of obsession made ‘that’ like that?

Soon, the body of the ‘Director’ approached with a blinking light,

Approaching the frozen ‘mouse’…

At that moment, as I lifted the sword I was holding in one hand,

… … Hot and spicy!

“Ah… No! My soft rice cake…!”

A bee that had descended from Kim Yu-hee’s shoulder ran towards the ‘mouse’, stamping its feet.

Hot and sour.

The sound of the insect’s powerful footsteps.

The pumpkin bee ‘Fly’ approaches, swaying its plump butt.

Snap!

yet,

The girl who stole the [black book] from the ‘mouse’,

The soft pumpkin bee that loves the galaxy so much,

With indifferent eyes, he quietly watched ‘that thing’ approaching him, blinking the lights…

Sizzle!

[Guide to communal living at the orphanage]

I tore it out of [the Black Book] without hesitation.

“Soft hamster…!”

It seemed as if Kim Yu-hee’s exclamation of admiration could be heard from behind.