Chapter 34

"Oh."

Yu Seongun looked pleased when he saw the fish-shaped bread young man's face.

"Aren't you the person who was doing business in front of the Collector building last time?"

"Ah... yes, that's right."

"I haven't seen you recently, so I suppose you moved spots."

"If I stay in the same place the whole time, I'll get caught in a crackdown."

Street food like fish-shaped bread was not policed all that harshly.

But he could not keep staying in the city without a citizen ID.

On top of that, if even a complaint came in, he would immediately be advised to pack up and leave, so Cha Eun-hyuk tended to move spots frequently.

While they were willing to let things slide amicably, it was wise for Cha Eun-hyuk himself to be careful if he wanted to keep doing business.

"Not that I've had any complaints recently."

"It's a shame, since word of mouth would spread better if you stayed in the same place."

"It can't be helped, since I'm not an officially permitted shop."

"True, they don't readily issue permits for fish-shaped bread carts."

"Still, I did get permission to stay for a few days at a time."

In ordinary cases, if someone stayed more than ten days without a citizen ID for the city, they were fined.

But in a world where people lived, how thoroughly could they really cut things off?

If one applied under various pretexts, it was possible to stay in the city for about a week even without staying at a lodging facility.

"... And, um, more than that..."

Cha Eun-hyuk's gaze landed beside Yu Seongun, on Black Cloak.

"..."

"... Hm?"

"... No, it's just..."

That thing was not human.

'... What is this? Does this person not know exactly what Black Cloak really is either?'

A male figure with his face hidden beneath a pitch-black hood, staring fixedly at the fish-shaped bread.

He was definitely the Black Cloak Cha Eun-hyuk had seen at dawn, but not only was his oppressive presence a little less intense than back then, the customer's reaction was far too calm.

'Was he really just a person...? I heard there are Hunters who don't keep their energy well contained, so maybe he was just one of those types...'

As Cha Eun-hyuk thought that, a honey-colored bird came into view deep inside the hood.

"..."

"Uh, is something wrong?"

"... I was just curious..."

Cha Eun-hyuk, who had been about to vaguely gloss over it because he did not want trouble, hesitated for a moment before asking.

"... Is the person beside you a trainer?"

If he tried to understand it with common sense, the chances were highest that he was a trainer.

"Since he's carrying a monster around."

"... He is a trainer."

"We have permission to bring it outside with us, so don't worry."

"Ah, I see."

In any case, hearing that they had permission made him feel at ease.

'Now even if someone dies, it won't be because I stood by and did nothing.'

Black Cloak's identity was still unclear, but no, hadn't that white-haired Hunter said with his own mouth that they had permission?

'And he said he was a trainer, too.'

Then Cha Eun-hyuk did not want to dig any deeper.

With family members he had to be responsible for, it was only natural that he did not want to attract the attention of "something" that looked as if his life would be hanging by a thread if he got even a little involved with it.

But Black Cloak seemed to have no intention of letting that happen.

"Thank you for earlier this morning."

"..."

"Huh? Dawn?"

Yu Seongun turned to look at Jio in surprise.

"You went out at dawn?"

At his horrified reaction, Cha Eun-hyuk felt his stomach grow uncomfortable again.

From the look of it, Black Cloak wandering the streets alone at dawn had been something the white-haired customer had not anticipated.

'In other words, he's an existence that shouldn't be left to act on his own...'

If a Grade 1 citizen who very plainly worked for a respectable guild was paying this much attention to him, just how dangerous did that mean he was?

"Yes, Honey disappeared, so I went out to look for him."

"I told you to tell me if you want to go out."

"I found him quickly."

"That's not the problem..."

The white-haired customer, who had been about to say something, soon calmed down.

"... Fine, it's not as if I can do anything about a natural disaster."

"I am not a natural disaster."

"A typhoon would probably think the same thing."

Yu Seongun felt a warm glow.

How could he be so lacking in self-awareness?

"..."

After taking a deep breath, Yu Seongun asked the fish-shaped bread young man.

"Nothing happened at dawn, did it?"

"... He bought fish-shaped bread."

"Was there anything else...?"

"..."

Cha Eun-hyuk hesitated, then answered.

"That bird..."

"Ah, yes."

"It chewed on my head twice before leaving."

"..."

Yu Seongun was at a loss for words.

"... Pardon?"

"Ah, it didn't actually chew on me, just nibbled like cats do when they're playing..."

"Oh."

Yu Seongun, speechless, turned to look at Jio.

"What do you think about that?"

"... I apologize."

"Say it like you mean it."

"I am sincerely apologizing."

His facial muscles had long since died, so it did not look that way, but Jio was also quite startled by the fish-shaped bread young man's words.

It was the dizzying feeling of having his household parrot scream "you fucking bastard" right in someone else's face.

"Are you hurt?"

"Ah, yes."

"It nibbled gently, so I wasn't hurt."

"Still, I apologize."

"My son..."

Perhaps it was a side effect of sleeping for thirty-one years, but words were coming out wrong in front of someone he was meeting for the first time.

Jio equipped himself with sociability and corrected himself.

"Our pet bird caused you trouble."

For him, the words had come out because he had always joked around in the cabin, saying things like "oh, my son" and "coo, coo-coo-coo," but to Yu Seongun and Cha Eun-hyuk, it sounded anything but ordinary.

'Son...? I heard he drew it, but does he see the things made that way as his own children? I'll need to be careful about this.'

'... He just said son.

It looks like a different species altogether, but if he naturally called it his son, then as expected, he really isn't human despite how he appears...'

Jio did not know what the two were thinking inside, but he sensed that their expressions had turned subtle.

Still, he ignored it.

'What's wrong with me and Honey being father and son?'

Even thirty-one years ago, there had been plenty of humans who called their pet dogs and cats "my baby" or "our little girl" and smothered them with affection.

Jio was confident that he was on the ordinary side.

"..."

"Would it be all right if I looked at your forehead for a moment?"

"I'm not hurt."

"I am a doctor, so I know how to look at wounds."

"I'm asking because I feel sorry, so I would appreciate it if you showed me just once."

Yu Seongun, who had been standing still, felt like he'd been smacked in the back of the head again.

"A doctor?"

"Yes."

"Uh... I see."

What part of you is supposed to look like a doctor?

'... Even if he has human memories, I didn't think he'd be a doctor.

If a doctor had such a heavy atmosphere, how many patients would mistake him for a grim reaper...?'

But unexpectedly, and very shockingly, Jio really had been a doctor.

"Excuse me."

And a priest.

"It is a little warm."

"Pardon? Uh, um..."

"I purified it, just in case."

"Purified?"

"Your scalp was scratched a little... if you caught some disease, it would be serious."

Looking at the bewildered young man and the portrait imitating the appearance of a young man, Yu Seongun simply resigned himself.

'Will the day ever come when I know everything about Jio's identity?'

He was an onion if there ever was one.

"... Um, ten fish-shaped breads, please."

"Thank you."

"No, and about what the pet bird did, I'm fine..."

"Ah."

Jio rummaged inside his cloak with a face that said, "Oh, right."

"This is compensation."

"..."

"... A gift?"

"The purpose you're giving it for isn't the problem."

He hadn't even bled, so why was Jio giving him a jewel?

"It's far too much for me."

"The jewel you gave me yesterday was already too much, so I was already at a loss over it."

"But it is fair payment."

"That's..."

As Cha Eun-hyuk tried to object, Yu Seongun shook his head wildly behind Jio.

"..."

"That's?"

"... No, I'll accept it gratefully."

Seeing Yu Seongun nod with a relieved face, Cha Eun-hyuk realized.

'If I don't take this, there'll be some kind of disadvantage...'

He had no idea what form that misfortune would take, but after seeing a face so desperate to save someone, he could not ignore it.

Cha Eun-hyuk gratefully accepted Yu Seongun's earnest advice.

But he was not as scared as before.

"..."

Cha Eun-hyuk, who had been fiddling with the sparkling tangerine-colored jewel, raised his head.

"I heard you were sightseeing."

"Ah, that's right."

"Is there somewhere you recommend?"

"There will be an event at the square in a few weeks."

"By event, you mean..."

"An initiation ceremony."

Yu Seongun nodded as if he understood.

"Ah, is it about time for that to start?"

"They usually do a lot of them in midwinter."

"Which temple's initiation ceremony is it?"

"If it's an event around here, the Moon?"

"Or the Sun?"

"The Temple of the Sun."

Cha Eun-hyuk turned to look at Black Cloak without realizing it.

"... I didn't know you were one of their believers."

"Trainers usually don't worship gods much..."

He had sorted things out in his own way.

'He must have been an extremely high-rank Hunter, enough for me to mistake him for a monster.'

When Black Cloak stroked his forehead and poured energy into him, Cha Eun-hyuk had felt a warm sensation he had felt before at the Temple of the Sun.

If Black Cloak was capable of performing a purification ritual on his own, perhaps he was an extremely devout believer.

'He said he was a trainer, so he probably isn't a priest, though.'

An Awakened could have at most one job.

The white-haired customer had clearly said he was a trainer, so he could not be a priest, which was a little regrettable.

With that level of talent, it would have been good if he had manifested as a priest.

There was no way a person who knew how to use such warm energy could be bad.

Most of all, he had never heard of a mere monster using holy power.

'I guess I got scared too soon because it was my first time seeing such a high-rank Hunter.

Priests don't usually keep their energy contained anyway, and they say that energy itself is very different from that of humans...'

It was obvious that Cha Eun-hyuk himself had been frightened by divine energy.

Cha Eun-hyuk, who was constitutionally sensitive to other people's energy and had no experience seeing ordinary priests or high-rank Hunters, judged it that way.

It was relief born of ignorance.

"My youngest awakened as a priest, so he's having his initiation ceremony this time."

"Oh, he got a job."

"And a priest among them, that's impressive."

"Even so, if a god doesn't choose him, I'm worried about what he'll do for a living."

"If he awakened as a priest, then his affinity for divinity is fundamentally extraordinary, so a clerical position at the temple should also be possible."

"I hope so."

Perhaps because he thought everything had been his misunderstanding, Cha Eun-hyuk relaxed a little and gave a faint laugh.

"They say they're making this one quite grand, so it should be fun if you come to watch."

"We'll definitely have to stop by."

"Thank you for letting us know."

"It's hard to learn the schedule for initiation ceremonies if you're not involved..."

"For me, the more people there are at my brother's initiation ceremony, the better."

Just as humans find it easier to look at ants gathered together than ants scattered all over the place, the more people gathered, the easier it became to receive a god's gaze.

And the more one was exposed that way, the higher the chance of receiving a god's grace.

"Enjoy."

"Let's meet again at the initiation ceremony."

"Yes, thank you."

When they had gotten some distance away like that, Yu Seongun asked Jio.

"Did nothing really happen yesterday at dawn?"

"As you heard, Honey caused trouble."

"Any other incidents besides that?"

"I am not sure."

A cry sounded from inside the hood.

"Coo."

"He says he is innocent."

"Right... I see."

Though Yu Seongun did not know whether the "innocence" spoken of by a Root entity was the same as a human's.

'Especially because Jio is sensitive about good and evil and manners, it bothers me.'

Honey was an existence Jio had created, and his son.

If so, Jio's tendencies must have influenced him greatly, and hearing that Honey had flown around on his own while Jio had his eyes closed made Yu Seongun's heart drop with a thud.

'He might have gone around killing people he personally considered evil.'

Seeing as there had not been any commotion so far, Yu Seongun could only hope he had not caused a major incident.

"And, um, about the jewels..."

"Yes."

"I was thinking, how about changing them to a different kind of gift?"

No matter how sorry he was, suddenly giving someone jewels was an absurd thing for a human.

"Ordinary people don't really exchange valuables like that."

"... They do not?"

"Whatever you were thinking, I'm pretty sure that's not the case."

"..."

Jio was shocked.

'This macho world is like hell itself made manifest, yet it doesn't even have that much toughness?'

Office workers hunted monsters, flowers made of cheese bloomed from the ground, elevated trains flew through the sky, and there was a stream where spring was vivid in the middle of winter, yet exchanging payment in jewels was strange?

"There were people who wore accessories all over their bodies like crows, so I thought it would be all right."

"That's just individuality."

"Or it's for the purpose of adding to their abilities, or they're artifacts that are a type of defensive gear."

"I understand what you mean."

Realizing that he had gotten too far ahead of himself, Jio decided to reflect.

'Because of the Synchronization, I may have been thinking too much with Giovanni's senses.'

In Giovanni's world, payments in valuables like that had been widespread.

Recently, he had been slowly securing memories as Giovanni, so he thought he had to keep himself centered.

Perhaps because he had been in the cabin for too long, his sense as a modern person seemed to be growing dull.

The same went for how he sometimes reacted in certain situations...

"... Ah."

"Why, is something wrong?"

"Or did you think of somewhere you want to go?"

"What is a trainer, and what is a priest?"

"... Well... uh... right..."

Yu Seongun had the face of someone making a resolution.

"Now that it's come to this, I have no choice but to say you're a Hunter."

"Am I a Hunter now?"

"Since things have turned out this way, I'll explain the Hunter system and ranks to you."

"Do you know anything about them?"

"No."

"I thought so."

"..."

Jio, who had lost consciousness for thirty-one years and been stuck inside a painting, felt a little sorry.