The Weight of a Broken Promise
Aeng. “Yuseong, I need to talk to you for a moment.”
The café door opened, and Ha Dowol spoke to Kim Yuseong, who had been reading a picture book with Dohwa at the table. “You’re here…” “Sister!”
Both of them welcomed Ha Dowol’s arrival. But Kim Yuseong’s words caught in his throat the moment he saw the black carrier pigeon beside her. Ha Dohwa, however, threw herself into Ha Dowol’s arms the instant she appeared, regardless of who stood beside her.
“Did you listen to your sister well, Yuseong?”
“Yeah!”
“Then did you only eat the snacks you were allowed?”
“……Yeah.”
Ha Dohwa’s eyes darted away and her voice lost its strength. She had clearly eaten more snacks than permitted. Yet Ha Dowol did not tug her cheeks as she usually did when Dohwa misbehaved. Instead, she gently stroked the girl’s hair.
“Dohwa, Sister has to go to work. For a whole week.”
“…You promised you’d stay with me in February!”
Ha Dohwa raised her voice at the news that her sister would be gone for seven days. She was still only seven; she had no way of knowing how embarrassing such behavior would seem once she grew older. She had spent an entire month in the hospital without understanding why, and Ha Dowol had promised never to leave home in February again just to comfort her.
To Ha Dohwa, her sister breaking a promise mattered more than the world ending or monsters running rampant.
“I hate youuuu! Waaaaah!”
The price of breaking that promise was heavy indeed. Ha Dohwa began to cry, her wails so loud it was hard to believe they came from a seven-year-old. Tears streamed down her face in great beads, and even a little snot escaped her nose.
“Dohwa, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Don’t cry. When I come back, I’ll bring you a new doll—”
“I don’t want it! Don’t go! You promised you’d play with me in February!”
Her sorrowful sobs left Kim Yuseong speechless and made the black carrier pigeon pull its bamboo hat lower. Ha Dohwa clung to her sister, weeping, while Ha Dowol could only repeat her apologies. After several minutes, Ha Dohwa finally grew tired and drifted off to sleep. Kim Yuseong carefully gathered her into his arms.
“Yuseong, I’m sorry, but please take good care of Dohwa for the week. As for your training… go to the address written here and deliver this to a man named Choi Gakseong. He’ll teach you well, even if it’s only for seven days. And don’t forget to take Dohwa with you wherever you go.”
Ha Dowol took a letter from her robes and pressed it into Kim Yuseong’s hands.
“Understood. Um… is it very dangerous?”
Kim Yuseong’s voice trembled slightly. He only realized it after the words left his mouth. Something even stranger caught his attention.
Breath.
It was mid-February; visible breath was possible. Yet even though the entire country was tightening its belt, the café remained comfortably warm with the heating on. Did cold air come in when the door opened?
It was not only the visible breath. A chill that felt like insects gnawing at his skin crept in bit by bit. Strange. An Awakened’s body should not feel cold from mere winter air. Where was this chill coming from?
The answer stood right before him—radiating from Ha Dowol herself.
“Dangerous? Yes, it is. My opponent is a better sorcerer than I am. And the job involves cutting people down.”
She had emphasized it before, but Ha Dowol stressed it again. She could not send someone who wished to learn by slaying monsters to kill humans instead. So who would do the cutting?
Ha Dowol had already decided. She walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer, and gathered the bundles of talismans stored inside.
“Well then, I’ll be back soon.”
With those words, Ha Dowol walked away from them, leaving behind a trail of brilliant, razor-sharp frost flowers.
***
“Have you ever shot a person before?”
“Huh?”
“I suppose the more accurate question would be whether you’ve ever cut one down.”
The sudden question from the black carrier pigeon froze the entire party, including Nam Hongryeon.
“…We’re clean. About half the guild is the same.”
Yet the statement also implied that the other half of the guild was not clean, and Nam Hongryeon was not shameless enough to claim her guild was perfectly pure.
“I meant nothing by it. It is simply a necessary question before accepting this additional request. The mission is to track, capture, or eliminate a person. Personally, I believe you have already achieved your original objective and have no need to accept this extra commission.”
“…Pigeon Three, what are you trying to do by reducing our forces?”
“Hey, this is just analyzing how we’ll handle the decisive moment, isn’t it?”
The two black carrier pigeons remained relaxed enough to joke even about such a serious topic, but Nam Hongryeon’s party was not.
「So, what are we going to do?」
The mage connected the party members’ minds, creating a private channel for communication.
「We already achieved our goal of building friendly relations with the government through Binggwa. The other side approached us first.」
「But it was too obvious. We were trying to contact them while pretending to recruit Binggwa so it wouldn’t look suspicious.」
「Still, the conditions were too good to pass up. If we complete this request, even if our intentions become visible, our chances of success will rise.」
Opinions flew back and forth. Sensing the disturbance in their qi, the carrier pigeons realized the party was using secret communication, though they had no way to eavesdrop. Still, the very fact that such communication was possible made the pigeons exchange glances, impressed by the mage’s ability.
“…Oh.”
In that instant, a chilling, electrifying cold brushed against Pigeons Two and Three’s senses. It froze them. Even if it had been summer, it would have felt as though they had stepped into a freezer. No—it was the kind of spine-tingling chill one might feel upon encountering a ghost at two in the morning. The sensation crept up from their toes, and soon the rest of Nam Hongryeon’s party noticed it too, turning their heads toward its source.
And they saw her.
The Queen of Yin Qi, clad in a black robe and wearing a breathtakingly designed hanbok.
That’s Binggwa…
Nam Hongryeon swallowed. Simply facing her felt as though a ghost were pressing down on her shoulders while draining the vitality from her body.
Overwhelming. Any living creature with warmth began to sink into that yin energy. But she could not falter. She had to meet that gaze. If they were to negotiate, that was the bare minimum.
“…It is an honor to meet you. I am Nam Hongryeon of Dogeumokse.”
Nam Hongryeon spoke through the bone-chilling yin qi. Ha Dowol’s eyes lingered on her for a moment, then twitched slightly.
The guild must be on her mind.
Nam Hongryeon understood Ha Dowol’s cold reaction. After all, no one could have predicted that a literal group of traitors would be viewed in such a manner.
“I am Ha Dowol. I hope we can work well together from now on.”
Ha Dowol withdrew her yin qi and extended her hand. It was not a contest of qi, merely an ordinary handshake offered in goodwill. Nam Hongryeon had no reason to refuse. In fact, she had every reason not to.
“…I feel the same.”
There was no taking it back. Everyone except Ha Dowol, who did not know the full circumstances, understood that this handshake marked the beginning of yet another incident. And when Nam Hongryeon clasped Ha Dowol’s hand, a shiver ran through her.
…Her hand is freezing.
Having the body of a holy knight whose senses had been sharpened through handling divine power, Nam Hongryeon could tell even through her gloves that Ha Dowol’s hand was unnaturally cold.
“Pigeons Two and Three. Prepare immediately.”
Pigeon One, who had been hidden behind Ha Dowol’s presence or perhaps concealing his own, produced a bundle of talismans made from dried liver and gathered the remaining pigeons around him. The three formed a circle roughly two meters in diameter with the bundle at its center.
“O Shadow who cast aside all else to pursue scent,”
“O foolish soul who, drunk on scent, has forgotten even how to eat,”
“By the covenant, raise your head.”
The three pigeons formed their circle and summoned a ghost. Darkness slowly spread from the edge of the circle, and a dog made of shadow appeared. Though it took the shape of a dog, it was undeniably a ghost. Everything except its head belonged to a dog, but the head itself was elongated and misshapen, lacking cheeks, mouth, ears, and eyes—possessing only a nose and airway. It was a type of ghost dog known as a Nasal Hound.
“…Eugh. It looks like someone made a dog out of clay and then squeezed its head right off.”
—Shhhk!
At Molly’s honest remark, the Nasal Hounds snorted sharply. Not only that, but they began to slowly approach her, showing strong interest in the one who had insulted them.
“Sit.”
Yet at Ha Dowol’s gentle voice, the Nasal Hounds turned to look at her and obediently sat down. Then they wagged their tails as if expecting praise for following orders so well.
Just as reported.
Pigeon One confirmed that the Nasal Hounds obeyed Ha Dowol, a third party rather than their contractor. Ha Dowol then held out one of her talismans to each hound’s nose, and the creatures happily sucked them into their nostrils.
“Could you perhaps call your friend waiting behind you?”
—Shhhk?Shhhk.
The Nasal Hounds let out a brief snort of acknowledgment while still savoring the talismans, then continued to enjoy them. It seemed they would have to wait until the hounds were fully satisfied. During that time, the pigeons spread out a map, and Nam Hongryeon’s party watched with deeply suspicious eyes. The silence was broken by—
「Aeng!」
The adorable cry of a cat.