Chapter 99

A hotel in Seoul, South Korea.

A room so luxurious it could be considered five-star or better.

A young man with blond hair was sitting on a chair, humming happily. The white bird in the cage seemed to enjoy his humming, nodding off to sleep.

Until the door burst open.

“Wow, surprise!”

Andrea, the fortune teller, who had been leaning on her chin, shuddered and turned her head toward the door.

Lee Jun, dressed in a black suit, walked briskly up to Andrea without even taking off his gloves.

“Johan? Where have you been?”

Lee Jun didn’t answer immediately but plopped down in the chair opposite Andrea. As he casually ran his hand through his hair, a faint scent of perfume wafted to her nose.

But Andrea knew. He never wore perfume.

This was his natural scent. To be precise, it was his unique ability, his pheromone scent.

“Just to the Association for a bit.”

After unbuttoning the cuff of his tightly buttoned wrist, he rolled up his sleeve and answered briefly.

Maestro had signed a contract with the Korean Association months ago. So it wasn’t unusual for him to visit the Association.

“Hmm... I see.”

But Andrea averted her gaze as if she had something to hide.

“You did something unnecessary, Andrea.”

...Indeed. What was bound to happen has happened. Andrea blinked innocently.

“Unnecessary? Like delivering the prophecy to the Association?”

Lee Jun’s eyes darkened at his casual attitude. Though his expression didn’t change, Andrea knew he was in a very bad mood.

Andrea, the fortune teller, had used a messenger bird to deliver the prophecy to the Korean Hunter Association’s chairman, Go Dae-yoon.

Assuming the chairman trusted the prophecy, Korea would be able to prepare for the impending disaster in advance.

The specific measures were not something the GIA should be involved in. Or so it should have been.

“...Telling him about the attributes was just a service.”

“So? Did you get a tip for it?”

Lee Jun’s lips curled up, but his eyes didn’t smile at all.

“Didn’t you forget our agreement to keep the information about the attributes confidential?”

“Well...”

Andrea stammered.

“Still, thanks to that, the Korean Association can prepare more specific measures, and ultimately, more people will survive. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Isn’t it, Johan? Andrea looked at Lee Jun. But Lee Jun replied with a firm expression.

“Those who are meant to die will die anyway.”

A cold, irresponsible statement. Yet, his eyes were heavy with a deep, unspoken weight.

Lee Jun always had that look when he recalled the past. Andrea read the emotion in his eyes.

Grief. It was clear.

On the surface, Lee Jun was rational, calculating, and considered small sacrifices necessary to achieve his goals.

But Andrea knew. If Lee Jun were really such a person, he wouldn’t be working for the GIA.

He wouldn’t have left the guild Chaser, which his father had established, and decided to come to Korea as if possessed by something.

—Nor would he have tended to an unknown person’s grave for 30 years.

“Your prophecy can’t save everyone, you know that.”

Lee Jun shrugged in front of the silent Andrea.

The fortune teller’s ability to foresee the future was incredibly special. Among all the awakened individuals worldwide, there was likely no one else with a predictive ability.

However, Andrea’s ability had many limitations.

He didn’t know when his clairvoyance would open to see the future, and he couldn’t specify a particular day or time. If he could, Andrea would have become the world’s richest person by winning the lottery repeatedly.

The white tree he had seen in a fragmentary vision that opened by chance.

Inferring that it was a Holy or Wood attribute was almost a guess. After all, was there only one tree in that gate?

Moreover, whether that tree was a danger or not could only be determined once inside the gate.

Yet, Andrea had insisted on adding advice about opposing attributes to the chairman, specifically mentioning Fire and Dark attributes, as if baiting a trap.

“Just be honest. You had another purpose.”

The sharpness in Lee Jun’s voice made the air in the room chill. The white bird in the cage flapped its wings at the change in atmosphere.

Andrea, who had been staring at the cage, finally broke the long silence and moved her lips.

“...Johan, she is the savior.”

She couldn’t look at Lee Jun as she said this.

‘She.’ Though she didn’t mention the name, both of them knew who she was.

The Princess of Black Flames.

“This is just the beginning. A real disaster will soon begin, and humanity will need her.”

“...”

“When she grows through this, she will—”

“Stop right there.”

Lee Jun cut Andrea off sharply. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking disgusted, and spoke in a stiff tone.

“Last time at the party.”

There was no trace of a smile on Lee Jun’s lips.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know you invited her using my name?”

“Well...”

Andrea hesitated but then continued.

“Since you came to Korea, you haven’t sought her out on your own. Honestly, I still don’t understand. You came to Korea because of the Princess of Black Flames, didn’t you?”

Am I wrong? Andrea stared directly at Lee Jun. Their gazes met, and a silence fell. Lee Jun didn’t respond.

“...Why.”

Andrea moved her lips slightly.

“Why are you pushing her away so much?”

“...”

“Johan, tell me. I know. In fact, you still—”

Andrea stopped.

The look in Lee Jun’s eyes suddenly changed. Even Andrea, who had known him for a long time, had never seen such a sharp expression.

“...Andrea.”

Lee Jun called him softly and slipped off his gloves.

Just that simple action. But Andrea couldn’t move. It was as if invisible chains had bound his entire body.

The crimson aura that emerged from Lee Jun’s silhouette. The heavy scent that followed made Andrea’s mind hazy.

“I consider you a colleague. And to me now, colleagues are only the fortune teller and the GIA members, including you.”

“Ah...”

When Andrea opened his eyes, he was already standing, with his chin in Lee Jun’s hand. He hadn’t resisted at all, as usual.

“Whatever the real disaster is, we can handle it with just us. We don’t need anyone else. Right?”

The voice was close, as if whispered right into his ear. Andrea nodded slowly, as if under a spell.

Lee Jun smiled faintly, satisfied, and gently released his chin. Only then did the emptiness in Andrea’s eyes return to focus.

A slight, dizzying sensation, as if he had just woken from a drunken stupor. Andrea realized.

This was Enchantment.

A powerful status-altering skill that could turn any living being, whether a monster or a human, into a slave. Lee Jun used it to manipulate the chairman of the Association as he pleased. Thanks to this skill, Lee Jun could achieve his goals without much effort, such as making the Association stop investigating the Princess of Black Flames.

‘It was dangerous.’

If Lee Jun had wanted to, Andrea would have been licking his shoes in three seconds. The thought made him shiver. But he was lucky to be his colleague.

Lee Jun put his gloves back on and stood up. He walked steadily toward the door, making his suit flutter slightly.

Without turning his head, he added one last thing as he grabbed the doorknob.

“Remember, there won’t be a next time, Andrea.”

***

“Are you really going to quit?”

Kang Hyeong-wook’s Dog Grooming Academy, the principal’s office. The principal looked up with a regretful expression.

The person sitting opposite was Yura. A new enrollee who had recently joined the academy. But after only a short time, she had come to say she was quitting.

“You still have six months left, and according to the rules, refunds are difficult...”

“It’s fine.”

Yuna answered calmly. But the principal, hearing this, couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“Someone with Yura’s talent is rare... I really regret it.”

The principal trailed off, observing Yuna’s expression, hoping she might change her mind. But Yuna smiled faintly and said,

“Thank you for everything.”

Click.

Yuna stepped out of the principal’s office and stood still, gazing at the surroundings. The familiar academy corridor, the few doors leading to the training rooms, the occasional barking and the sound of scissors cutting fur.

Over it all, a man’s voice overlapped.

‘I’m not a Hunter or an Awakened, but I will live like my father. To me, my father was the best Hunter.’

Yuna recalled the man who had looked at her and smiled proudly. He had smiled like that in the empty funeral hall, where no one else was present.

The photo of the director also showed that same smile.

Before leaving the funeral hall, the director’s son had bowed to Yuna and said,

‘Thank you for coming.’

—Hunter.

“...”

Yuna slowly stroked her left wrist.

The new wish bracelet given to her by Je-hwi. Beside it, an old, similar-colored wish bracelet was overlapped.

After standing in place for a while, Yuna finally moved toward the elevator. But then,

“Yura! Yura, wait!”

Someone called out to her urgently. It was Yun-ho, who usually looked neat but was now disheveled.

“H-have you really decided to quit the academy?”

Standing in front of Yuna, his chest rose and fell rapidly. His hair was tousled, and he had run so fast that his eyebrows were flying.

“Yes, today is my last day.”

Yuna answered monotonously. Yun-ho, who had been trying to catch his breath, collapsed.

“I... I really...”

Thud. Yun-ho knelt down, covering his face with his hands. Yuna looked down at him with a dark gaze.

“Thank you for teaching me so much. I hope you pass the certification exam.”

Sure. Yuna turned away easily. Quitting the academy was already a decision, so there was no need to feel regret or hesitation now.

“Yura!”

After taking a few steps, Yuna heard Yun-ho’s urgent call from behind.

Turning her head, she met Yun-ho’s flushed face.

He took a deep breath and spoke.

“I like you, Yura.”

“...What?”

“I fell in love with you at first sight when we met at the academy. I know it’s sudden... but I felt I would regret it if I didn’t say it now.”

What is he saying? As Yuna blinked, a yellow message box appeared in front of her eyes.

The new character ‘Wandering Cat of Darkness’ is skeptical of the puppy’s current ramblings.

Sis, I know you wouldn’t, but are you seriously considering accepting? She worries and gnaws at her claws.