Chapter 147

Jio may have lived without thinking, but he was not a stupid person.

"..."

If anything, Jio's brain worked faster when there was something he wanted.

Seo Jio did not want his homeland to become any harsher. Giovanni wanted people not to commit sins without even realizing it, and Arjio did not want to do anything petty and vile, unworthy of a warrior.

"..."

How could he satisfy his own greed while protecting this precarious peace? How could things improve instead of growing worse? Jio suddenly recalled his memories from when he had been a priest.

He recalled the information he had encountered when he went out to Earth, and the faces of the heroes who had come to subjugate him. Because he was not merely "Seo Jio," he conceived and discarded countless plans in an instant.

"... Yes."

At last, his lips moved.

"That's good."

A plan he liked had emerged.

"I think it's good."

A clean plan, without any burnt offering.

A satisfied smile fell over Jio's face like an eclipse.

Meanwhile, Ju-hyeon...

"..."

Unlike the owner of the house, he had a great many worries.

"... This is confusing."

He was much better compared to the beginning, but unlike his body, which grew more comfortable with each passing day, his mind was not the same. Ju-hyeon's insides, noisy almost every day, sometimes loosened and sometimes knotted.

Sitting on the bed and staring blankly out past the terrace, Ju-hyeon murmured softly.

"Did he say we weren't having lunch?"

Because the conversation had run long, theirs had taken place between breakfast and lunch. Black Cloak had said Ju-hyeon seemed to need time to digest, and suggested they eat dinner afterward, and Ju-hyeon had accepted.

"... Really..."

Black Cloak, being a mystery, would not have any trouble with digestion, so that must have been consideration meant solely for Ju-hyeon, and even thinking back on it, he was a god who did not seem like a god.

When dealing with such mysteries, humans had to conform to their rules. No matter how Ju-hyeon thought about it, there had never been anything in history like a mystery yielding its rules for a human like this.

"..."

And so he fell into thought yet again.

"... Slowly, one thing at a time..."

Do not look narrowly; look at the broad line.

"Let's sort this out with some breathing room."

He already knew he was capable of doing so.

"I can do this."

He first sorted out the situation he had been placed in.

If he requested it, he might be able to transfer to another research lab, but a single research lab was no different from a single kingdom. It would take a long time to adjust and blend in.

'That said, staying at my current research lab would be strange too.'

Everyone who had painstakingly taken his side was gone. The only people left there now were those busy pushing Ju-hyeon out, so it would be an even worse move than transferring to another research lab.

'Should I aim for an administrative position at headquarters instead of a research lab?'

Ju-hyeon had grown used to researching mysteries, but precisely because of that, becoming an administrative employee at the Association headquarters would not be difficult. Since the Hunter Association President resided there personally, headquarters had an open environment.

"If it's there, I think even someone from one of the miscellaneous orphanages like me would be accepted without too much trouble."

As he had murmured without realizing it, Ju-hyeon was from an orphanage. And employees who came in through the orphanage special track were generally disliked, and Ju-hyeon was in a position where he was especially disliked even among them.

"..."

But this method did not greatly appeal to him either.

"... The Association may not be the only way."

He had grown up in an orphanage sponsored by the Association, and because he knew the Association, which cooperated with the government on equal footing, he had chosen that path. To create the world he wanted, he had thought the Association was the best option.

'But the Association may not have been as good an option as I thought.'

The Association was already in a state where many things had been settled.

'Which also means there may be that little room for someone like me to squeeze in and exert influence.'

The Association maintained a stable state, and it had to. Far more than Ju-hyeon had imagined, the Association was delicately structured like a spiderweb, and each institution maintained very close relationships with the others.

"So if I tried to create some kind of change in a place like that..."

It was only natural he would not be viewed favorably.

"..."

After thinking for a long while longer, Ju-hyeon soon opened his mouth.

"... Then would a private guild be better instead?"

He knew that it was called a suspension, but was effectively a recommendation to resign. In practical terms, Ju-hyeon had been driven out of the research lab, so he would have to find another path, but as things stood, there was no option he could be certain of.

"No, even a private guild would still strictly mean following orders. The possibility of the same thing happening would be much..."

Ju-hyeon suddenly thought of the people from the orphanage.

"..."

Deeply.

His heart ached.

'If only I had handled myself more properly.'

Perhaps his heart had been in too much of a hurry.

The ideal he pursued was vast, but Ju-hyeon was insignificant. He would have to move these small legs quickly to set foot on even the very edge of it while he was alive, but each step was far too slow.

Was that why he had failed to properly look around him? Or had he been bewitched by an evil god? Perhaps it had been both. As a result, because Ju-hyeon had been impatient, he had pushed his family and friends into death and suffering.

"... That..."

Ju-hyeon wiped his face.

"How am I supposed to atone for that sin?"

To people who were already dead, no less.

If he could not sort out the past, he could not move toward the future. But how could he pay the price for the people who had been sacrificed because he had failed to act wisely?

"I hope they at least find peace, but I don't know if I dare do that..."

A bitter smile came out.

He knew very well that the past could not be undone. From the moment humans were born, they had no choice but to move forward, and that remained true even after they had made an enormous mistake.

With the body of a mere human, he could not gather spilled water back up, so he had to at least clean up afterward thoroughly.

"... Mm..."

The problem was that human death was not something that could be cleaned up as easily as spilled water. Especially for Ju-hyeon, an unawakened person with no authority at all, that was even more the case.

'Would it have helped if I had been a priest of a religious order like the Sun Cult?'

He could not bestow rest upon the dead, and since he served no god, he could not beg for mercy.

'It would have been nice if I had been a little more diligent... but regretting that now won't mean anything.'

Ju-hyeon suddenly thought of Black Cloak, who must be somewhere in this cabin.

"... Mm, no matter what, this is..."

Ju-hyeon gave an awkward laugh.

"Far too shameless."

For a brief moment, he had wondered if he could ask Black Cloak to grant rest to his family and friends, but Ju-hyeon quickly erased that assumption.

The fact that the other party was an evil god bothered him too, but above all, Ju-hyeon was not shameless enough to demand such a privilege. How could he ask him to bestow the mercy of peace when he was not even one of his believers?

'That kind of privilege is something even a priest who has served a god for a long time can only rarely receive, not something an unbeliever like me can demand lightly.'

Unless Ju-hyeon suddenly awakened as a priest at this late age, it would probably be difficult, but he decided to do his utmost for the souls of those who had died because of him.

"If I do not forget my mistake, reflect on my sin, and live always with gratitude and apology toward them..."

He thought that perhaps it might reach his already dead family and friends, even a little, truly even the smallest little bit.

"... Yes."

That was where he would begin.

"Should I make graves first?"

The bodies of the dead had been recovered, but that had been "cleaning," not a "funeral." Because he had been too out of his mind, Ju-hyeon had not even prepared a place where he could mourn them.

'Was it because I thought I would soon go to the same place?'

It had been too great a failure, and too great a price. He had committed such a great sin that he could not even think of recovering, and he had simply felt sorry. He had not had the shame to make amends and move forward.

"..."

Ju-hyeon smiled awkwardly.

"But that would be the more cowardly thing to do... It would be no different from running away because I don't want to take responsibility."

Nothing was certain.

He had thought that being together with the people who died because of him was the proper apology. But that might merely have been running away. As Ju-hyeon was now, he could not know which path was the "right path."

But one thing had become certain.

"Yes, let's make gravestones."

The corpses had already been "cleaned up," so he could not get them back. He had belatedly tried to have them returned, but all he had heard was that they had already been disposed of.

That was why the thought of gravestones had not occurred to him all the more, but now he felt he had to make them. He had enough presence of mind for that.

"I'll need a space where I can mourn."

That was how a human, not a god, prayed for the peace of dead souls.

Let him draw the faces of the people he remembered, carve their names, and record the stories he had with them. At the very least, no one would call such an act "bad" or "wrong."

"After that..."

What should he do after that?

"..."

Ju-hyeon pressed his lips together firmly.

'At the very least, dying with them cannot be the right path.'

And he did not want to do that either.

Until receiving Black Cloak's help, he had been in a state of despair, but not anymore. The current him had the leeway to consider and choose a better path.

But he could not think of what that "better path" was.

'Should I visit a temple of abundance that values relief work? No, the religious world does not easily accept change. It's as bad an option as the Association. Then should I start a business with the money I've saved so far? I have a few items in mind, and if I use those as a foundation to gradually change the social atmosphere...'

He thought for a very long time.

"..."

RUMBLE.

"... Ah."

By the time he came to his senses, the day was already growing dark.

"It must be mealtime."

Black Cloak would be waiting.

After finishing another ecstatic meal today...

"You seem to have many worries."

Black Cloak showed interest in Ju-hyeon's state.

"..."

"..."

Of course he knew he would be found out.

"... I do have a lot..."

No, to begin with, "found out" was not an appropriate expression. No matter how much a mere human racked his brains before a vast mystery, would it not all be on the palm of Buddha's hand?

Above all, the one who had brought Ju-hyeon here while he was hesitating over whether or not to summon Sankalut was none other than Black Cloak before his eyes. Even this situation could have been his intention, so Ju-hyeon did not bother hiding his state.

"I'm wondering what I should do now."

"I heard from Father that you were considering a new career path."

"A new career path..."

It was a truly clean and normal phrase.

"... I suppose so."

Strictly speaking, it was not wrong.

The path he had taken until now had failed, and he had judged that finding an entirely different path would be better than turning back. If that "different path" were packaged a little more neatly, the expression that he was considering his career path was correct.

"I was trying to divine how my life would flow from now on."

"Do you have a talent for divining fate?"

"... Th-That... That is absolutely not what I should call it."

Ju-hyeon's face reddened after he had dared utter the word "divine" before a living, moving fate.

How ridiculous must it have sounded? It was not even showing off wrinkles in front of a silkworm pupa; what on earth had he said?

'I seem especially honest in front of Black Cloak. Is this also one of the effects of his divine status?'

After calming his embarrassment, Ju-hyeon glanced at Black Cloak.

"..."

"It is tea brewed from grain."

"Ah, thank you."

Before he had a chance to examine anything further, food was injected into him again. At times like this, he was just like a grandmother.

"... Is it corn tea?"

"You said last time that you liked savory things."

"Ah, so you were being considerate."

"The corn I am growing happened to be loudly resentful and asking to be eaten."

"I see, the corn was resent..."

Wait a moment.

"... Resentful?"

Ju-hyeon looked down at the corn tea with suspicious eyes.

"... Ahem."

The aroma was too good not to drink.

'The food hasn't done anything wrong.'

After taking a sip, his mind and body somehow grew at ease.

'Was it a mind-and-body stabilizing effect this time?'

After dozens of times eating food that gave an immediate boost to his health whenever he ate anything, Ju-hyeon was no longer surprised. He merely looked at Black Cloak once again with an even clearer mind.

"..."

The world teaches people not to look into a god's eyes.

"Is something the matter?"

"... It's just..."

It teaches them not to expect anything from them. Ju-hyeon knew that too.

"... Could you perhaps give me advice?"

Even so, as humans always had, he desperately needed the help of a vast mystery.

To begin with, Ju-hyeon had tried to speak to none other than Sankalut. Compared to a typical evil god who tormented and devoured weak things, Black Cloak was certainly someone worth asking for advice.

"What does my future look like to you, Mr. Jio?"

"I cannot see the future."

Just as Ju-hyeon wondered if that was a refusal, he continued.

"However, I have often seen people like you, Mr. Ju-hyeon."

"... People like me would be..."

"To put it simply, born heroes."

"..."

Ju-hyeon's face crumpled in embarrassment.

"... You said that last time too, but why am I a hero?"

"A hero is always someone who chooses the greater cause over personal desire."

Black Cloak smiled gently.

"People who value what lies outside themselves over themselves, an intangible concept over what they can hold in their hands, and a foundation that will last for eternity over a single moment. Mr. Ju-hyeon, you are one such case."

"..."

"I know the stories you have told me and the stories you have not. Right now, Mr. Ju-hyeon, you are grieving the sacrifices caused by your mistake, but what is more important than that is your conviction."

The evil god's smile seemed to hold interest, and was somehow playful as well.

"I do not mean that you look down on the deaths of your family and friends. The point of this explanation is that even while grieving and suffering as much as anyone else, you are thinking of moving forward."

"... Am I someone who... sacrifices the small for the great?"

"No, you are not. Mr. Ju-hyeon, you are someone who gives your heart even to small tragedies unrelated to you. Even if you saved 99 out of 100 people, you would grieve the death of that one. I know well that the only card you can sacrifice is yourself."

"That's not exactly..."

"Mr. Ju-hyeon, you are a hero. You have a good heart, and you treat every person you meet with manners. I think you are an excellent talent."

At that moment, Black Cloak's hair flared red as if it had caught fire.

"So I thought I might try coaxing you a little."

"Ah, pardon? Me? Why?"

"If I got on your nerves, you might become a decent hero..."

"Please leave me out of that."

Ju-hyeon was horrified. He had never thought that the damned Demon King project would be obediently withdrawn, but he had not the slightest desire to join that parade of deceivers called heroes.

As if he had expected that, Black Cloak smiled coyly. He looked like a pleased fox.

"I do not do such cowardly things."

"I-I see..."

"But I do wish to make you my friend."

"Why are you so obsessed with friends?"

"The more friends, the better."

"That's true, but."

He had not known that saying applied even to gods.

'I don't really understand why such a vast mystery would want to make a mere human his friend either.'

But he had experience dealing with Black Cloak by now, so he was not easily flustered. Though Ju-hyeon let out a slightly awkward sigh, he did not panic at every single thing he said.

"So... I am, um..."

"A hero."

"Ugh."

"Why do you dislike it so much?"

"It gives me chills."

In any case, putting that aside.

"So what were the endings of people like me?"

"They became gods, became history, or vanished cleanly without a trace."

"That's harsher than I imagined. Isn't that too extreme?"

"After walking such a path, is it not too shameless to hope the result will not be extreme?"

"No, is this really something to bring shame into...?"

"In any case."

Arjio laughed lightly.

"What do you plan to do from now on? Is there any work you have in mind?"

"For now, I am thinking about various bits of cleanup, but... I have not found a job."

"You intend to leave the research lab, then. In that case, for a while, you will not do anything."

"When you put it that way, it does make me sound quite unemployed, but yes, that is how it turned out."

"If that is the case, would you consider playing with me?"

"... Wait, play? Play with you?"

"It would be like monitoring and supervising a natural disaster called me."

"What is that supposed to..."

"Doesn't it sound fun?"

"..."

Ju-hyeon closed his mouth.

"..."

"..."

After a long while, he said.

"... It might?"

And so Ju-hyeon was led by Yu Seongun, at Jio's request, and dragged before Bi Sabeol.

It was a future the person in question himself had never expected at all.