Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Since the judgment was set to start at nine in the morning, and considering that follow-up procedures after a government-requested dungeon raid typically took a full day, it was highly likely that the next time I’d see Yoon Juyeong face to face would also be during the “judgment.”

I stroked Blackie, who was sleeping with its head resting on my lap, using my free hand, then carefully set it down so it wouldn’t wake up.

“Well, I’ll get up first. There are things I need to prepare for that. You said you’d be in the dungeon all day today, right, Jeong Seojin?”

“At least through today. Information came in about the item I’ve been looking for.”

Surely that “item I’ve been looking for” he mentioned now wasn’t the set item for triggering regression from last time.

I made an awkward expression, feeling an ambiguous emotion I couldn’t call good or bad. It was certainly desirable and fortunate that what Jeong Seojin wanted was coming together, but the fact that what he wanted happened to be regression…

“It’s not what you’re thinking, so don’t worry needlessly. It’s purely because there’s a consumable item I’ve been looking for on a regular basis.”

“Ah… I guess it showed too plainly on my face. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I’m well aware that what I want is an extremely selfish act. Not that I have any intention of stopping, though.”

That was a very Seojin-like answer. Especially the part about having no intention of stopping, even while being fully aware of what his actions entailed.

Instead of adding unnecessary words about Jeong Seojin’s actions, I smiled silently. It was a smile that carried both the meaning of support for what he longed for, and the meaning that I couldn’t support him.

* * *

It was a day when the wind was blowing particularly fiercely. The child gripped the edge of their blanket, following the wind’s hand tapping at the window, and stared at the TV hanging on the opposite wall.

“Yujin, it’ll still be a while before your sister comes on. Why don’t you lie down and rest while you wait?”

“No. What if my sister comes on while I have my eyes closed for just a moment? I want to keep watching.”

“So stubborn. Teacher will tell you when Seohee comes on.”

“Still… Teacher’s eyes aren’t very good, so you might not notice in time.”

The child tidied their brown hair, which was sticking up in various places from just waking up, using their fingers as a comb, but never once took their eyes off the TV.

The child had been waiting for a familiar face to appear on the TV screen from the moment they woke up this morning until now.

“It’s already been six months since I last saw my sister. I’m scared I’ll forget what she looks like at this rate.”

“This kid. You have photos.”

“Photos aren’t enough. I want to see my sister moving.”

As the child said, they hadn’t been able to see their beloved sister for nearly six months now. The child’s sister was someone who was always busy working to support the orphanage and to pay for the child’s own medical treatment.

And that always made the child unspeakably sad. If the child’s sister had gone off to have fun, or had at least abandoned them to do as she pleased, then they could have just cried and wailed, asking for her.

But that wasn’t why the child’s sister had left the orphanage. The child’s sister had left for the orphanage, and for the children in the orphanage; she was working, and she was earning money.

Even though they were barely past ten years old, the child could think and could see reality. So instead of crying and wailing that they missed their sister, the child turned on the TV early that morning as soon as they heard the news that their sister would be on.

“Oh my, that’s the person who’s been rumored to be with Seohee.”

“…That person? That man?”

“Yes. His name is Yoon… what was it. Yoon something-or-other. Anyway, he looks quite nice, doesn’t he?”

“Hmm… No. I don’t like him. I’d want the person who marries my sister to be a bit more dependable.”

“This kid. Marriage is still far off. Of course, Teacher would love it if our Seohee got married soon and inherited the dress I wore when I was young… Hehe, hehehe.”

The child’s teacher seemed to be dreaming again about passing on the wedding dress to the child’s sister.

The child thought about their sister wearing the white dress in the wardrobe in the orphanage director’s office, following the teacher’s lead. The sister in their imagination was truly beautiful and lovely. That only made the child feel even more sad.

‘Will my sister someday wear such a pretty dress and leave us?’

They said that people who get married usually live on their own.

Then the child’s sister, Yoon Seohee, would also live in the same house as someone she married, and maybe even have a child and raise it. And then the person Yoon Seohee loved most would probably be Yoon Seohee’s own child.

The child thought that far and then shook their head vigorously. They didn’t want to think about things that hadn’t happened yet and feel jealous of someone who didn’t even actually exist.

“Teacher, my sister isn’t going to get married. Even if she does, it’ll be way, way later. Definitely not now.”

“Huh? Yeah, the teacher doesn’t want Seohee to get married right this instant either. These days people get married later, you know. She can take it easy until her 30s, and if she meets a good person, then fine, and if not, she just lives her life… Still, I’d like to see our Seohee in a wedding dress at least once. Even if it has nothing to do with marriage, maybe I’ll ask her to wear one.”

If it really had nothing to do with marriage, the child did want to see their sister in a white dress too.

When their sister came back to the orphanage later, they’d definitely ask her to wear one.

The child thought to themselves secretly and looked at the TV screen. Just then, the alarm set for nine in the morning went off, and on the other side of the screen, people holding large cameras started running toward someone.

“Ah…!”

Following those people, the TV screen also moved quickly and began to focus on a specific person. The one the child had been waiting for so eagerly was on the other side of the screen, wearing a composed expression, their unique silver-gray eyes sparkling.

The child swallowed dryly and stared at the TV screen, at their sister walking toward the outdoor space where the “judgment” would take place, dressed in a suit.

“Teacher, I think I like my sister better in black clothes than a white dress…”

“I still like the white dress better, but our Seohee does look really good in a suit too.”

Yoon Seohee was already someone praised for having good proportions and being a good clothes hanger, but even so, today she looked especially impressive.

The child examined the jet-black suit their sister was wearing, the coat draped over her shoulders, and even the black shoes on her feet, then laughed broadly and grabbed the teacher’s sleeve.

“Teacher, your smartphone. Can I borrow your smartphone? I want to take a picture.”

“Oh my, sure. Here you go.”

“Thank you!”

The child took out the smartphone they’d received from the teacher and quickly aimed it at the TV screen. The picture quality wasn’t very good, as expected from a mid-to-low-end model that wasn’t very expensive, but the child didn’t mind.

They wanted to show the photo and shout loudly that the person walking more impressively than anyone else on the other side of the TV screen was their sister.

―For this second tutorial’s “judgment,” a total of three production-type hunters are entering… Can you see them? That woman with the deep curly hair is the “Golden Coin Blacksmith,” Hunter Kim Heesook. And the tall man right next to her is the “Alchemist,” Hunter Park Noeul. And finally, the one walking at the very front is—

Equipment Adjuster Yoon Seohee.

The child’s sister, shining brighter than anyone and more impressive than anyone, stared straight ahead with incomparably radiant silver-gray eyes.

* * *

It was a day when the wind was especially strong. I gathered my hair, which was flying in the wind, into one bundle and stared at the bizarrely shaped robot in front of me.

―Welcome, candidates for the judgment. In order, are you the Golden Coin Blacksmith, Hunter Kim Heesook, the Alchemist, Hunter Park Noeul, and the Equipment Adjuster, Yoon Seohee?

“That’s right, I am.”

“Y-yes, that’s me.”

“Yes.”

Even though it was just a simple identity check, the reactions from the various media outlets behind us were intense.

Click, click, click.

A barrage of flashes poured down on us and the robot in front, to the point where I wondered if my back might get hot from it.

―Thank you for cooperating with the identity check. I am AB Unit 2. When you address me, I would appreciate it if you called me “AB” or “Abi.”

AB Unit 2 displayed a smiling emoticon on the front panel, which I guessed served as its face. Compared to its master, the “Librarian,” it was an incredibly polite and friendly robot.

I watched AB Unit 2 bend what I assumed was its waist area, as if imitating a human bow, and then looked around again.

‘So this is the “Stage of Judgment.”’

The Stage of Judgment was a separate space created by that Administrator specifically for situations like this, where they had to personally deliver a “judgment.” Simply put, it was a dungeon with its entrance in the busiest area of Seoul, but with no monsters inside.

I kept my head fixed forward so as not to catch the media’s attention, carefully shifting only my gaze as I surveyed my surroundings.

Even within the space called the Stage of Judgment, this central hub resembled a pure white structure with wide-open sides, reminiscent of a certain Greek temple I’d only ever seen in photographs.

And at the center of this structure stood a white altar, towering high, engraved with a pattern that seemed like a strange fusion of flowers and stars.

‘So that’s where the strange flow of mana I’ve been feeling since earlier was coming from.’

Ever since I entered the Stage of Judgment, I’d felt like the mana drifting through the air was being pulled somewhere… and it seemed the culprit was that altar.