Chapter 407: Daily Life (3)
The funeral hall. Suddenly, a funeral hall.
“Then, if we want to et that Hunter, it seems we’ll have to go directly to the place written in the ssage.”
A few hours later, as the ti for work drew near, Seonwoo Yeon used a long-saved day off. And as soon as the sun rose, after passing through several tollgates, she arrived at the residence of Choi Jin, an A-rank Hunter.
A clean, endless stretch of road. Beyond the windshield, all that could be seen were low farmlands and a few container offices.
In fact, in today’s modern society, it’s hard to experience this kind of tranquility.
‘Unless you actually co to the funeral hall building like this…’
Seonwoo Yeon, who had been holding the steering wheel, parked right away, taking the quiet surroundings for granted. She had at least managed to confirm that Choi Jin was here—but how on earth had that awakened Hunter ended up standing guard at a funeral hall?
“Hunter Kim Giryeo had just confessed that his lungs had burst, and since he kept clutching his chest in pain, I couldn’t bring myself to ask about the finer details.”
It was not long after the question arose. Seonwoo Yeon, together with a man who had dyed his hair, walked deeper into the building in succession.
He had readily agreed to Kim Giryeo’s request to et—the number one among A-rank Hunters. However, once the guest had set out, Choi Jin suddenly beca difficult to reach. Left with no other option, they resorted to using the [Searcher] skill.
“Ah, so that’s why he couldn’t reply to the text asking where he was.”
But unfortunately, the ominous premonition she had felt with every step soon proved to be true.
“So that’s why. He must have been completely out of it.”
The A-rank Hunter they t was dressed in mourning clothes. And since a rather familiar portrait was hanging on the nearby wall...
It seed she had cherished her long, flowing hair since a young age. Her distinctive awakened trait could almost be mistaken for ordinary crooked teeth at a glance. And then, the red eyes—features that made her more renowned in Europe than here, a woman whose face in the frad portrait resembled that of a monster said to drink human blood.
[Deceased: the late Choi Jinhee]
[Mourner: Choi Jin]
The sudden passing of the B-rank ace from the [Faith] Guild.
“Ugh… what a ss. How old was Choi Jinhee this year? Had she already graduated from high school?”
“No, Hyung-nim. It’s already been several years since the kids graduated. Even the older sister over there is probably in her late twenties or around thirty.”
“Really? Their faces looked so young that I didn’t realize. I…”
A local morial hall. In a corner there, ordinary people without Awakening Levels had a brief conversation. But in a place like this, there were actually only a few topics worth discussing.
“Oh, by the way, how is her mother? How has she been recently?”
“What do you an, how is she? Don’t even ask! She’s quite old, and with such a shock, how could she not have collapsed?”
“Ah…”
“And on top of that, there’s that whole Ahn Ibook situation too.”
“Ibook Hyung-nim? What about Ibook Hyung-nim now?”
“He’s the only son in that household. Ahn Yoonsoung! Apparently, he got seriously injured sowhere, and suddenly called in the middle of the night. So everyone was in such a panic that they ca here, then had to drive back again…”
“Huh?”
“Hearing that news on top of everything else, my mother ended up being taken to the hospital. At this rate, it looks like our whole family might be facing a major tragedy.”
A rough tone, yet the two spoke quietly, careful not to disturb the other grieving family mbers nearby.
“Anyway, what kind of chaos is this? Ah, what on earth kind of unprecedented disaster is this?”
They weren’t direct relatives of the deceased, Choi Jinhee. However, with faces flushed as if from drinking, they wept, displaying the very human reactions expected at a funeral.
“Hyung-nim, by the way, would it be alright if you skip the al?”
“It’s fine. I’m not hungry right now, and more importantly, how could I leave this kid alone and step away?”
“Oh dear, even on the older sister’s side, they’re already adults…”
They hadn’t been in frequent contact anyway, too busy with their own lives. But hearing that a B-rank Hunter had suddenly passed naturally drew a reaction. Perhaps it was because they seen each other’s faces since they were crawling around at their relatives’ house. Or maybe it was the overwhelming sense of grief at the death of a young person from Korea who had been diligently going about their life, even in tough circumstances.
Mumbling.
It was a mont filled with various thoughts. The person who had been flipping through the guestbook suddenly perked up at a sound that reached their ears.
“What’s that? The neighboring morial hall should be empty.”
It sounded as if many people were whispering to each other. Could it be that new bereaved family mbers had arrived there? Or perhaps colleagues from the sa company who had contacted Choi Jin in advance?
‘Judging by the footsteps getting closer, it seems like a mourner has indeed arrived.’
The ordinary person’s guess was only half correct. The visitor who appeared before them was indeed there to pay respects, but they were a human who wasn’t from the [Faith] guild.
“Huh?”
A phrase that has been used for a very long ti and now feels sowhat old-fashioned. A young man, like the Grim Reaper in black clothes and on a black horse, appears at the door.
“H, Hunter Park Giryeo, isn’t it? Park Giryeo?”
“No, little brother. That’s the Kim family!”
“Ah! I knew, I definitely knew, but I got a little confused for a mont…”
Kim Giryeo. To have such a famous figure appear at a mont of confusion—this guest was, at this very mont, the center of countless speculations, truly a hot topic in South Korea. Moreover, on YouTube, videos about him were recording exceptionally high view counts.
[Korean Hunting Industry: On the Brink of Collapse?]
[The surrender of this S-rank license is likely a choice due to “severe post-hunting aftereffects” (paparazzi shots compiled insider leaks added)]
For now, the top-priority speculation revolves around the reason for retirent, and thanks to the bloody proxy defenses from industry colleagues, public opinion was fortunately favorable, but…
“Anyway, Hunter, how did you get here?”
“Ah, so I see there’s another Awakened person behind as well. Are you perhaps a friend of Jine’s?”
The man in the black suit then began to perform actions that, at first glance, seed utterly ordinary. He gave a simple bow to the grieving families nearby, bowed twice before the portrait of the deceased, and offered his condolences to the chief mourner. And, though it wasn’t originally intended for this occasion, he even settled the condolence money with cash he had kept on hand—banknotes prepared to suit the consumption habits of alien beings, of all things.
The advancent of the internet proves to be this useful. Even complex traditional etiquette — even without soone nearby to teach it — could be reproduced to a reasonable degree with just a quick search. Perhaps thanks to diligent preparation, the person showed little sign of being without a guardian, and likewise, little indication of being a complete outsider in this world.
“Ah, thank you for coming, Hunter…”
However, the man with the Sambagean eyes soon revealed other peculiar expressions.
“Hunter Choi Jin. As I ntioned in my earlier ssage, I’d like to have a conversation today.”
Because Kim Giryeo maintained a face as stiff as hardened plaster.
“This is a sensitive topic to discuss here, so shall we move sowhere else for a mont?”
Even when looking at the portrait of a hunter around his own age, he didn’t so much as blink. Moreover, this ti, an unexpected reaction ca from the opposite side. Soon, Kim Giryeo and Choi Jin ended up talking in a corner of the building, and once the conversation started, preliminary information was exchanged…
“First of all, to be clear, I ca to see you after confirming the death of A-rank Hunter Ahn Yoonseung.”
“…”
“This is a matter of serious concern. So, I’m sorry to bother you in such a hectic situation, but I need to ask you a few things.”
Choi Jin cried. A stark contrast to her younger sibling, who would burst into laughter at the slightest thing, she—a woman whose expression often resembled cold steel—began to shed tears as if a faucet had been turned on wrong. She cried silently, standing upright without making a sound. The scene felt almost unreal.
“I’m not asking back why Yoonseung died or anything like that.”
But such emotional displays only work among people of the sa kind. Kim Giryeo, without showing the slightest change, prioritized his objective.
“So, as expected, Hunter Choi Jin, you already had a rough idea of the situation. And on top of that, that Awakener Ahn Yoonseung, ended up like this…”
And then…
“No!”
Finally, Choi Jin, who had been silent, spoke.
“I never, absolutely never imagined things would turn out like this, even for …”
“Is that so?”
“I actually tried to make sure the situation didn’t get worse. I really tried stopping it right beside him. Ah… how… how could soone like Yoonseung end up like this…”
The sentences were almost a scream.
“Why did sothing like this suddenly happen…?”
The emotions conveyed in the other person’s voice were roughly shock, confusion, self-bla, and so on. By all appearances, these weren’t the reactions of a perpetrator, which made Seonwoo Yeon montarily any suspicious. Only the magician, who had skimd through the corpse’s mories, spoke with more certainty than anyone else.
“Did you really not expect Ahn Yoonseung to die?”
Choi Jin nodded. So she was truly innocent. The blonde alien then asked the questions he had prepared in advance.
“I’ll take your word on that much. Now, explain what happened between Ahn Yoonseung and your sister, Jinhee.”
“…”
“Of course, this isn’t a favor. Just, please, while I’m asking like a normal person… understand on your own…”
But the mont a na was ntioned, the atmosphere changed abruptly.
“Jinhee?”
Now a Hunter with a fairly damaged short-cut hairstyle, she suddenly closed her mouth and fell into deep thought. She pressed her fingertips hard enough for her skin to redden. Her neck muscles moved visibly as she swallowed hard. Anyone could tell she was extrely tense. In just a few seconds, tens of thousands of thoughts flashed through her mind.
However, in reality, Choi Jin had already decided what to say in this situation. More precisely, from the very mont she had sent the obituary to the S-rank hunter in the corner of her contacts.
“…”
Choi Jin, her entire face swollen from crying, looked at the man in front of her.
“Hunter.”
She studied Kim Giryeo’s eyes for a long mont, then slowly spoke.
“Actually.”
And just as it seed like crucial information was finally about to erge…
Tuk!
Suddenly, soone lunged at Choi Jin. It wasn’t so mysterious attacker, but rather the suited funeral guest who had been quietly observing until now, acting on impulse.
“Hunter Kim Giryeo!”
Grabbing Choi Jin’s face with both hands as if to choke the air out of her, Kim Giryeo startled Seonwoo Yeon, who hurried closer to them. She wanted nothing more than for her acquaintance’s case not to remain unjustly unresolved—she had no intention of using violence to extract information. After all, such a thod would hardly yield accurate testimony.
“Hunter. Calm down…”
“Don’t say a word from now on. Awakener Choi Jin. Listen to !”
But what was this now? Kim Giryeo, holding Choi Jin firmly, suddenly began to make an unexpected statent. After pressing her ear to reveal everything she knew, her face had a faucet as if a tear had been shed, leaving her looking utterly miserable.
“I should’ve paid more attention from the very beginning. So this is what the [Knight’s Oath] that was placed on you and your sister was all about?”
Choi Jin, her face had so tightly that she couldn’t move a muscle, listened quietly to what Kim Giryeo was saying. She broke down completely, crying so uncontrollably that her expression could no longer even be contained, leaving her looking utterly miserable.
“Don’t try to talk. Just from this, I can get a general idea of the situation.”
“…”
“Don’t risk your life just to say one thing to . If, in this ss, even you, Choi Jin, die there really won’t be any way to fix it.”
[The Knight’s Oath], and warnings beyond simply telling her not to risk her life. Having listened to everything from the side, Seonwoo Yeon slowly began to grasp the outline of the incident. By this point, Kim Giryeo had removed the hands that had been gripping Choi Jin’s face, but Choi Jin, having understood the warning, no longer spoke.
“Listen carefully from now on.”
They continued to communicate solely through glances and nods.
“Ah… Seriously, we don’t know what triggered the contract. It’s hard to speak rashly.”
“Has an artifact been used to impose silence on you, Choi Jin?”
“Probably, Seonwoo Yeon. So from now on we need to carefully avoid the bombs…”
But, having already confird the truth of the situation, is there really any need to push Choi Jin further here?
The hunter with the sambagean eyes briefly looked upward. Then, after gathering his thoughts, he spoke as follows.
“Hunter Choi Jin, I’ll start with so questions. If it seems like the contract is about to break, I’ll press your shoulder as a signal. When that happens, stop answering imdiately.”
“…”
“Excuse , but how did your younger sister co to have a funeral? More precisely, what was the cause of death?”
[The Knight’s Oath]. The mage, montarily focused on that almost mystical curse. Fortunately, the current question didn’t seem to violate any rules. Choi Jin barely stopped crying and then spoke.
“It’s brain death.”
“As expected.”
“And the first person to find my sister collapsed was Ahn Yoonseung. That relative was the one who called 119 first.”
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