LV. 99 The Princess of Dark Flare

“What? The police station?”

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“Yes.
They say she’s a young woman in a black dress with a black parasol… She seems to be the master’s guest.”

When Siwoo heard the news that Eunha had been arrested at the police station, he doubted his ears.
He secretly kept someone on her just in case, and the first report was ‘police station’.
Why?

“I’ll go see her myself.”

Siwoo stopped what he was doing and drove to the nearby district.

When he opened the glass door and went inside, he saw Eunha sitting in front of a policeman.

“Oh, are you her guardian?”

“… Ah.”

Siwoo, who was momentarily speechless, hesitated for a moment, then nodded his head.

“Yes, I’m her guardian.”

“This woman here got a free ride—”

“I paid.”

It was two thousand won.
After cutting off the police officer’s words, Eunha raised her head.

2001.
At that time, the basic fare for a taxi was about 1,600 won.

“What time period do you think you are in? How are you going to take a taxi for two thousand won?! Lady, do you think this is funny?”

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ raises its claws, saying that it will pluck out all of the man’s remaining hair.]

[I’m sure I’ve been sharpening my claws for this very moment.]

“Come on, calm down and—”

While the police tried to stop the taxi driver, Eunha looked at the yellow message window with a dry expression.
It was crazy, so calm down.
That’s what it meant.

“I thought it was strange from the moment she entered the car! I’m sorry, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a rude customer in my 10 years of being a taxi driver!”

The taxi driver, despite the police officer’s efforts, screamed in frustration.

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ says that the man should—]

Meanwhile, Siwoo was able to barely grasp the situation.
As he looked at Eunha with stern eyes, she blinked.

“Why?”

“… No.”

Who should he blame? Since Siwoo knew that Eunha was from 30 years ago, it was not advisable to blame her.

Siwoo took his wallet out from his back pocket and handed out two sheets of paper to the taxi driver.

“Sorry.
My friend is a little… sick.
We ask for your understanding.”

“No, it doesn’t matter! It’s the first time I’ve seen a person without common sense like this!―”

The taxi driver’s eyes widened.

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<○○ Bank / Cheque>

₩1,000,000

The two pieces of paper that Siwoo readily handed over were cheques.

Siwoo had willingly given over two million won to the taxi driver.

“Ah, oh my… This…”

The taxi driver, who had a vein popping out of his neck, suddenly became calm like a gentle sheep.
After 10 years, or even after 30 years had passed, the worth of money still seemed to remain.

Eunha looked at Siwoo’s side with a sullen face.
It was a pity that she had suddenly become a sick friend, but he was still here to clean up Eunha’s mess.
He wouldn’t have interrupted and intervened for nothing.

“Your work hours must’ve been disrupted because you came to the police station, so please accept it.
My friend probably didn’t do that on purpose either.
If you have any additional fees, please contact us.”

The taxi driver, who was handed the bills and business cards, scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Well, when you live in the real world, all sorts of things can happen.”

Heh heh heh.

The taxi driver, who burst into laughter, luckily didn’t pursue Eunha anymore.

Thus, Eunha was able to leave safely from the police station.

“Sunbae, do you know? The basic fare for a taxi in Seoul is now 5,500 won.
If it is a night ride, then it’d be 6,100 won.
Sunbae didn’t pick up a knife, but it’s no different from committing a robbery.”

Just as Eunha gradually realized that 30 years had passed, Siwoo was also slowly realizing that she was a person from 30 years ago.

Eunha, who was sitting in the passenger seat, looked out the window with an expressionless face as usual.
There was no sign of remorse on her face.

“I said I didn’t know, but he suddenly took me to the police station.”

“Then call me—”

Siwoo, who was about to say something, paused.

Right.
Eunha didn’t have a cell phone.
In other words, it wasn’t possible for her to call someone and ask for help.

Siwoo, who had realised that point, turned his head awkwardly and grabbed the steering wheel.

“… No, nevermind.
So, where did you want to go?”

“The cemetery.”

Siwoo, who was speechless for a moment at her simple answer, stared at Eunha through the rearview mirror.

Eunha, who made a detached expression, gently touched her left wrist.

“My mom.
The day the gates first opened, she fell into a crevasse and died.
If 30 years have passed as you’ve said, I must have neglected my mother’s grave for 30 years.”

“…”

A brief silence passed.

Then, he changed his signal.
Siwoo held the steering wheel and did not release his foot as he stepped on the break.

Behind them, a horn sounded.

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“… Where is it?”

Taking his foot off the brake, Siwoo opened his mouth.
He suddenly felt Eunha looking at him.

“It would be difficult to be taken to the police station alone again, so I’ll take you there.”

***

A small cemetery was located at the foot of a low mountain.
It seemed that it had been a long time since people had stepped here, and the dirt road was overgrown with weeds.

At one point, the entire area around the mountain was the site of a cemetery.
Originally, her mother’s tombstone was erected in a remote place at the foot of the mountain.
Later, she moved her mother to the most scenic and spacious place she could afford with the money she had saved while working as a hunter.
At that time, Eunha was very active and was promoted quickly.

But, it was all useless.

Eunha crouched down in front of the tombstone, which was obviously old at a glance.

She had thought it would be 2 years, maybe 3.
However, she had neglected her mother’s grave for at least 30 years.

‘Even this place has changed.’

In Eunha’s memory, the place was more beautiful and clean.
Eunha stared at her mother’s tombstone with subdued eyes.

A swarm of ants was forming black dots on the cold stone.
Eunha slowly reached out her hand and gently wiped the surface of the tombstone.

However…

“…?”

Her fingers were covered in gray ash, similar to dust.
Almost-burnt shavings from incense candles suddenly came into view.
It was clear that someone had smoked incense here.

‘Who did it?’

Eunha stared at the scented candles with a curious gaze.
No one she knew could have visited her mother’s tombstone.

Behind the pondering Eunha, Siwoo quietly stretched out his hand.
White snowflakes bloomed on his broad palms.

“I haven’t prepared anything.”

He bent down on one of his knees and quietly placed a snowflake in front of the tombstone.
The glistening surface reflected the light from the sunset and shone brightly.

Eunha shifted her gaze from the ash on her hand to Siwoo.

“… Thanks.”

“It’s nothing.”

In front of the tombstone, Eunha put her hands together and closed her eyes.
As she did 30 years ago, Eunha repeated the words she wanted to convey but couldn’t say over and over again.

The hem of her dress, blown by the wind, fluttered.
Her long, dark hair brushed past her dry cheeks.

Eunha got up from her seat and turned her head.
The place where her black eyes settled was a small world that could be seen beyond the tombstone and under a quiet hill.

This was why Eunha had placed her mother in this cemetery.
She could see the town where Eunha was born and raised at a glance.

The road she used to walk on every morning.

A nearby park she used to go to every weekend.

The night view she watched while hanging laundry on the veranda every evening.

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Looking at those things, Eunha thought.

‘— I want to go back.’

She wanted to go back to the place where everything had changed but hadn’t changed.

She didn’t know if she had left it there somewhere.
What her mother said was her ‘life’.

At least, there was no ‘life’ at the Hunter Training Center.
It wasn’t in the gate, nor in the pile of monster corpses.

So, she wanted to go back.
Even if there was nothing left there, Eunha wanted to go back and check it out.

The villa where Eunha and her mother lived had long since collapsed, and a new apartment had been built in its place.
Eunha, who noticed the apartment, muttered softly.

“From that apartment, you can see the whole town.”

Siwoo, who was standing next to her, turned his head to follow Eunha’s gaze.

“Ah.
You mean that apartment? It’s newly built, so I know it’s quite expensive.”

At first glance, it was a high-rise apartment that looked over 30 floors.
If you thought about the flashy exterior and the wide river running behind the apartment, it would be odd if it wasn’t expensive.
There was no way that Eunha, who had no money to her name, could buy the apartment.

Her red lips moved slightly.

“You said you had an offer.”

The grand mansion where he lived.
The ability to be able to willingly hand over a large sum of money when they were in the police station.
Even the people in the mansion who called him ‘master’.
If you considered everything, he was definitely rich.
So.

“I would like to hear your proposal.”

Whoosh.

The wind blew.
Siwoo looked at Eunha.

The sun was slowly setting behind the mountain, making the shadows of the two lengthen.
Their half-shaded faces were dyed scarlet.

“The proposal I was talking about was for you to work as a hunter in our guild.”

“A hunter?”

“Just for a year.
Please act as a hunter for a year under a contract.
During that period, we’ll split the profits gained from your hunter activities 12:0.”

The eyes of the pair met.
12:0? Not 10:0? Reading Eunha’s strange eyes, Siwoo smiled softly.

“In addition to 100% of the profits, I’m saying that we’ll give you an additional 20%.”

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ says to only trust it and urgently advises you not to fall for the words of a stranger.]

Ignoring the pop-up window that appeared in front of her eyes, Eunha opened her mouth.

“… Do you gain anything by doing that?”

“Of course.”

Siwoo replied immediately.
His blue eyes stared at Eunha without wavering.

“A lot.”

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It was true.
Siwoo needed Eunha that urgently.
It was obvious since she was a ‘first-generation hunter’ with skills that surpassed his own.

Ding.

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ asks if money is what you need.
It opens its mouth as if crying.]

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ has donated 100,000 coins to you.
Would you like to put it in your inventory? ᐅ Yes / No]

A yellow message window popped up aggressively, as if the cat was afraid of losing its friend.

Coins.
Eunha, who saw the word, suddenly recalled her memories from before.

Come to think of it, the cat gave her coins last time too.
But, she didn’t know how to use them or what their value was compared to won.

‘I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.’

The only thing she knew at this point was that the currency needed to relive her memories wasn’t coins, but won.

“If you complete the contract for one year, you will get enough money to accomplish everything you want.”

“You know what I want?”

Eunha asked.
Siwoo smiled softly and pointed to the bottom of the quiet hill.

“Not just that one apartment, but the entire apartment complex.
I’ll let you buy the whole thing.”

Eunha’s eyes widened in surprise.

There was silence for a moment.
Siwoo and Eunha, who had been looking at the bottom of the hill, slowly opened their mouths.

“… Are you sure?”

Yeah.
If you think about it, the only thing the current Eunha could do was cut down monsters.

She could go back there in a year.
If that was already determined, she would cut hundreds of monsters’ necks and bring them right in front of him.

“If it’s not enough, I’ll help you.”

With a smile, Siwoo took out a business card from his pocket and pushed it towards her.

Shin Siwoo, CEO of Silver Moon Management 010-XXXX-XXXX

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ shouts, asking how much it is.]

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ has donated 100,000 coins to you.
Would you like to put it in your inventory? ᐅ Yes / No]

‘I’m sorry, but coins are different from won.’

… But money was still money.
It would be best to keep it for now.
After pressing the ‘Yes’ button, Eunha looked at the business card once again.
Wolf.
That simple word clearly came into view.

Under the darkened night sky, Eunha’s black eyes were fixed on Siwoo’s business card for a long time.

Eunha then raised her head.
Her lips moved a little.

“Alright.”

There was no reason to hesitate any longer.