#52 At Dawn (3)
#52 At Dawn (3)
The rumors about the black puppy and the Fairy Dragon spread like wildfire. At first, people seemed skeptical, but as more and more of them personally witnessed the Clan Leader walking both a puppy and a Fairy Dragon, the rumors hardened into truth. Contradictory orders came down too—on one hand flaunting the walks, on the other insisting everyone keep their mouths shut.
—As long as it doesn't spread too far, as long as it doesn't leak outside. Just as Kang Tae-jun had intended, the rumors circulated thoroughly within the clan. And as the hunters who'd participated in the Neverland raid trickled back over the following days, the rumors took on a new edge. Kang Tae-jun might have ordered silence, but the order itself was about as subtle as a billboard.
"......."
The conference room. With one seat still empty, Kang Tae-ho propped his chin on his hand and yawned, radiating pure boredom.
"Hey, Team Leader. C'mon, say something, would you?"
"Say what, jackass."
"Y'know. That. The rumor. You've gotta know, right, Team Leader? Can't really be true... right? Come on."
Vice Team Leader Lee Gi-jun asked the question. Kang Tae-ho picked at his ear, then blew on his finger.
"Yeah. It's true."
"Well, he called us here, so I reckon he'll spell it out today."
That was as good as an admission. Lee Gi-jun's eyes went wide, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, Kang Tae-jun walked in and took the head seat. Everyone was present—every Team Leader and Vice Team Leader, save for the critically injured Team 3 Leader, Gu Jin-ha. Kang Tae-jun swept his gaze over the room.
"Apologies for the delay. Before we begin..."
Kang Tae-jun glanced at Hayeon, who lifted a box from beneath the table and opened it. A sharp, pungent fragrance bloomed outward, filling the room in moments.
"......!"
They didn't need to see inside to know—spiritual medicine. As the assembled leaders stared wide-eyed, Hayeon handed out one root of ginseng to each of them.
"You may take it for yourselves, or pass it on to another clan member."
Leaking it to the outside, however, was strictly forbidden. The stunned officers tucked the spiritual medicine away. Before the swell of joy could fully settle, Kang Tae-jun pressed on.
"Let's get to the point. I assume you've all already heard the rumors spreading through the clan."
"......."
The mood turned grave again, and Hong Yuri clenched her teeth. Given the setting, she had to pinch her own thigh just to keep herself in check.
"They're true. The puppy currently inside the clan is, in fact, Alpha—the Jirisan Warg."
"......."
Kang Tae-jun's confirmation drew an audible swallow from someone in the room. The rumors had been circulating for a while now, so the shock was blunter than it might have been.
"The Demon Wolf Alpha, the Jirisan Warg. And a Fairy Dragon named Perry is currently staying with me."
Kang Tae-jun then laid out the reasons—the knowledge Alpha possessed, why he hunted the Prodigal Sons, and the need to determine whether Alpha was truly someone they could trust and work alongside.
"...Is this really all right?"
Even after the explanation, their expressions remained unsettled. Given Alpha's growth rate, within a single year he could become an entity humanity could no longer do anything about. No—he almost certainly would. If his allegiance abruptly flipped once that time came, who could possibly stop him? The question carried the weight of that exact anxiety.
"That's precisely why we need the time we have now. Make contact with him as much as you can, and keep trying to talk. Once all of you are convinced yourselves, there shouldn't be a problem. For what it's worth—the spiritual medicine I just distributed also came from Alpha."
"This came from him?"
"...Yes. The effects were excellent."
The rare note of satisfaction in Kang Tae-jun's expression only bewildered them further. Then his gaze shifted past the empty seat of Team Leader 3 to Hong Yuri, who looked as though she were sitting alone in a corner.
"Hong Yuri."
"—Yes."
Her answer came half a beat late. Seeing her so uncharacteristically cowed, Kang Tae-jun shook his head.
"The officer corps already knows the state you're in, so I'll say it plainly. I have no intention of telling you not to feel hostility toward Alpha. No one can compel another person's private feelings."
His voice, calm until then, went abruptly cold.
"But if that feeling leads to ruining a mission... be prepared for the consequences."
Face rigid, Hong Yuri chewed at her lips and nodded.
"I'm well aware of how much effort you've poured into this clan over the years. And I know your condition, so if you want it, I'll grant you leave. A few days off to sort out your thoughts wouldn't be a bad idea."
"...I'm fine."
"Then shake it off as fast as you can—unless you're planning to quit being a hunter. That's all I had to say. Handle the Alpha matter discreetly. And notify me when Lee Eun-ha returns. There's something I still need to confirm."
The officers nodded. As the meeting drew to a close, Kang Tae-jun and Hayeon were the first to leave. Kang Tae-ho tipped his chin at Lee Gi-jun—a clear gesture to get going—so Lee Gi-jun nodded and exited, leaving the two of them alone. Kang Tae-ho spoke to Hong Yuri.
"Hey. You okay, kid?"
She stood there chewing her lips, unable to answer. Where had that old boldness gone? You really never know what life's going to throw at a person. Just thinking about it had her shaking like a leaf. Kang Tae-ho clicked his tongue.
"Look, uh. Don't let it eat you up. Truth is, I've pissed myself before too. Uh... must've been thirty, forty years ago?"
"......."
"So what I'm saying is, kid—I'll keep the pissing thing a secret, so get your head back in the game."
He clapped her on the shoulder like he expected her to believe him, and the shaking stopped. Kang Tae-ho nodded vigorously, satisfied.
"Alpha dumped water on you too, so that Soyul girl—or whatever her name is—she don't know either, right? It's just me and that bastard Alpha who know. So don't take it so hard."
"......."
"Uh. Wait—hold on. You're telling me that when you got thrashed last time and ended up drenched in seawater——!"
The trembling, which had just subsided, came roaring back. Crimson mana flared outward. Kang Tae-ho kicked the conference room door open and fled for his life. Left alone and quivering, Hong Yuri clenched both fists and bolted after him.
"You lunatic! That's your idea of comfort—?!"
A long while after the chase began, Hong Yuri bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping for air. By any reasonable standard, she was never going to catch Kang Tae-ho. Unable to lay a single finger on the cackling giant who'd escaped, Hong Yuri could only grind her teeth.
***
"Today. I announced your existence—strictly within the clan."
It was sooner than I'd expected, but he'd told me beforehand it was coming, so I nodded without any particular surprise.
"Not right away, but people trying to strike up conversations with you will start appearing one by one. I hope you won't find it too tiresome. It's meant to put their minds at ease."
"Am I allowed to go back to my original form, then?"
They all know now anyway—does it even matter? My question earned a bitter smile from Kang Tae-jun.
"Even if you have no such intent, your true body evokes instinctive terror... is that form uncomfortable for you?"
I shook my head. Having spent all that time as a small puppy before, a dog or wolf shape doesn't feel unnatural. If anything, I've gotten so used to it that I genuinely wonder if I could even walk on two legs now.
"Then I'd appreciate the consideration. The clan isn't made up entirely of hunters, after all."
His tone had turned oddly considerate. Had the spiritual medicine really been that effective at winning him over? Shape-shifting alone doesn't cost mana, so I accepted, opening my subspace and pulling out the item I'd been keeping. —The long white spear. Kang Tae-jun nodded at the sight of it.
"The Disciple of the Spear Saint's... so you were holding onto it. Understood. I'll make sure it's delivered."
I'd originally meant to hand it over right away but had forgotten. If something like this could put Eun Ja-rim in my debt, all the better. And that wasn't everything. I extended a tentacle and retrieved one more object. A flicker of interest crossed Kang Tae-jun's face.
"This is..."
A note of surprise. A long scythe edged with bitter, piercing killing intent—fewer than ten items like this existed in the entire world. Sure, a scythe is an unwieldy weapon, but considering this was the scythe of the Executioner, a sector boss of Neverland, none of that mattered. This thing had cut off the head of a deified Baphomet. Most weapons wouldn't even be worth holding up next to it.
"You can keep it. I want you to find someone for me."
"Is this person connected to the Prodigal Sons? If so..."
I shook my head. Even if the scythe was useless to me personally, if this were about the Prodigal Sons, I wouldn't be handing over the Executioner's scythe for it.
The person I needed to find. I jotted down the information, and Kang Tae-jun thought it over before nodding.
"A treasure like this is hardly necessary just to locate a single person. With this much detail, we'll find them quickly enough..."
I shook my head again. Finding them probably wouldn't be easy. If my hunch was right, they might not even exist at all. I made that part absolutely clear and impressed on him to search thoroughly. Once I'd secured a firm answer—and since Perry was looking thoroughly bored by then—I said I'd take her for a walk. I did want to go outside the clan grounds, but I'd have to hold that impulse in a while longer.
The moment we stepped outside, Perry let out a cheerful kyu-kyu. She'd been feeling pretty cooped up, apparently. In my heart, I wanted to slip into the Illusion Realm too, even just for a moment, but if I did, the restraint I'd been practicing for days would go straight out the window.
'No matter what, I can't recklessly reveal the Illusion Realm.'
For now, I decided to forget all of that and enjoy a brief respite—who knew when the next one would come.
"Kyu?"
That was when Perry spotted something, wheeling around sharply, and I followed behind her at an unhurried walk.
***
"Kyuu-kyu~!!"
Something darted at her out of nowhere. Startled, Baek So-yul dropped the coffee she'd just bought. Then she felt it—a familiar texture brushing against her cheek, nuzzling into her face—and her eyes flew wide.
"No way..."
A Fairy Dragon, licking her cheek and radiating pure delight. She'd grown too big to fit in two hands now, but there was no mistaking her. That dear, beloved shape she'd seen so many times in her dreams. She'd caught whispers of the rumors, but...
"Kyuuuuu~!"
She pulled Perry into an embrace, and the gloom that had been weighing on her these past few days felt as though it were evaporating entirely. Like melting under a gentle sunbeam. She was luxuriating in the purest animal therapy when a thought naturally followed, and she turned her head—just in case—and her heart slammed against her ribs.
"Ah......"
Her "just in case" became "of course." Her body went rigid even as her heart beat faster and faster. And yet she couldn't seem to breathe. By the time he'd walked right up to her, all she could do was move her lips soundlessly. She couldn't hear a thing. Her mind had gone perfectly blank. Without realizing it, she slipped a hand into her coat. Even that—even that didn't calm her down. What if he could hear her heart pounding? She wanted to say something—anything—but she'd turned into an idiot, not a single word would come out, so she just—just threw her arms around him.
"......?"
Except... there was nothing in her arms. Baek So-yul bit down hard on her lip at the sight of him a short distance away, head tilted quizzically.