Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Episode 46. My Guardian Deity (3)
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“Ah, um... For now. No.”
“What?”
“Our kid isn’t like that. She’s not some problematic creature...”
Gaeul, snapping back to reality late, waved her hands.
“Ah. Yes. I understand, so please tell me the origin first.”
“We just brought her...”
“Brought her? From a dungeon?”
“No, not that.”
“Do you have any certificate or ID number? If not registered in Lair, which country registered the spirit beast?”
“That’s...”
Gaeul’s lips seemed parched.
Even a stranger could tell she looked guilty. One of them smirked and shook his head.
“Unverified spirit beasts must be temporarily quarantined for防疫 purposes. We request your cooperation.”
Then he approached abruptly.
The man reached toward the chick Peep.
“Wait a minute!”
Startled, Gaeul blocked his hand.
“The, certificate...! We have it! I don’t know much, but I’ll contact our ajusshi!”
“Yes. Bring it later. Don’t worry too much. It’s just temporary quarantine for防疫 reasons. Once you have the registration, come to the Spirit Beast Management Office.”
“Then? You’re taking her now?”
“Yes. Quarantine is necessary for now.”
With that, the woman pointed to the helmet on her head. Red letters read [Emergency Quarantine Period].
Gaeul held firm, so the woman sighed.
“We’re not doing this because we want to. Unregistered spirit beasts could carry unknown viruses, right? If you have the certificate, come get her tomorrow. Please understand—for防疫 purposes.”
A somewhat gentler tone.
But Gaeul felt the chick in her arms trembling.
The chick Peep was terrified.
“Sor, sorry.”
Gaeul babbled words she barely knew she was saying.
She understood the procedures and necessity.
But the child was scared right now.
“...I, I don’t think I can let her go.”
Their meeting started lightly.
Fed her and she ate well. Saw her get hurt sometimes. Just brought her out of pity.
Living together, affection gradually grew. At some point, Gaeul’s feelings shifted from sympathy to love.
Perhaps it wasn’t the love she gave the chick, but the love the chick gave her. This spirit beast chick always trailed after her devotedly.
Gaeul sometimes couldn’t give her attention. Had to go to classes. Do assignments. Play with friends or unnis. In everyday life, she was occasionally neglectful.
But the chick always followed her eagerly.
When she returned from class, the first to greet her was always the chick.
Before she could set down her bag. The yellow fluffball came running, rubbing its head against her shin. Soft yellow fur tickled her leg. She felt the weight of it nuzzling.
On her knees. Hugging it fully in both arms, she felt the warmth from that tiny body.
What would you do without me?
Gaeul had thought that.
The chick drawing even closer in a special way was relatively recent.
It was around the time Yeoreum achieved top scores in the first quarter and kept getting called to the PR department.
The PR office requested interviews daily. Even rejecting most, some were unavoidable. Yeoreum gradually gained fame. Crowds recognized her. Girls on the street squealed as fans.
Gaeul envied Yeoreum. Envied the interviews. Even envied her annoyance at them.
Yeoreum, loved by so many, seemed to shine.
So on the day she left for her “final” interview, Gaeul, left alone, closed her eyes and relived standing before crowds.
Even if just once, so many had seen her. Given her attention. Fully recalling those memories and emotions lifted her melancholy.
Still, lingering regret kept her sitting blankly in the living room when the chick approached, rubbing its cotton-candy head against her.
As if begging for attention.
How did she know?
Or mere coincidence.
Truthfully, it didn’t matter. Whatever the case. The chick showered her with endless attention. Demanded it endlessly.
Like a child seeking its mother.
On that somehow depressing day, Gaeul hugged the chick tightly in both arms.
Peep chirped vigorously.
‘What’s wrong? My guardian deity.’
Though she couldn’t understand the chick’s words.
In its puzzled yellow head-tilt. In those black eyes gazing only at her. Gaeul unknowingly found comfort.
After that, curious about the chick, Gaeul asked Yoo Ji-tae all sorts of questions. And heard shocking stories from him.
“This kid was trapped in that narrow space for 20 years?!”
“Probably.”
“Wow...... Older than me...! No, that’s not the point. Why? What reason to keep her locked up?”
Why chain spirit beasts in breeding pens, restricting their growth.
Yoo Ji-tae likened it to dolphins in aquariums.
In essence, a phenomenon born of desire.
Humans neuter for ease of raising. Keep them small for handling.
Yet the regressor didn’t see it as a particular issue. Desires always loom larger than reality, taking destructive forms at their end.
Whoever harbored what desires was irrelevant to him. So he neither sided with nor condemned anyone.
Gaeul didn’t fully grasp his words, but learned the reality.
“Poor thing...”
How suffocating must it have been, confined so long in a narrow space?
Gaeul, at least, didn’t want her stuck in Room 301.
So whenever she had time, she thought she should take the chick outside.
“Peep.”
Among outings. What’s the most natural and best?
“Let’s go for a walk! Walk!”
...For that reason.
The danger arising on the walk was her own problem.
Her responsibility to handle.
“Cadet!”
“No? Don’t come closer.”
“Cadet. Cooperate. It’s no big deal.”
“No. You say no problem. Tomorrow, I’ll submit the papers or whatever, so can’t you just let it slide now?”
The female staffer clutched her forehead in annoyance.
“Haa... You think we have a choice? Keep resisting, we’ll have to enforce it. Cadet.”
The man approached.
“Sorry.”
Polite words. Careful gestures. But clearly a hand reaching for the chick.
Brought her to protect. Must protect.
Hoped to stay together. Must take responsibility.
Never once in her life had she held a life in her hands to safeguard it. Gaeul grew desperate in that moment.
The bureau staff grew irritated too. Another man approached, raising his voice.
“That’s dangerous—hand it over! Yeah?”
“Hey, hey. Philson.”
“Ah, come on. Why drag your feet?!”
The man’s hand shot out. A sturdy adult superhuman male gripped the chick’s wing joint with brute force.
She felt the chick flailing with legs and wings.
The next instant.
“...!”
Golden static sparked from the corners of Gaeul’s eyes.
Unknowingly, she thrust out her hand.
Dragon mana surged from her chest.
Magic she’d never wielded before. The Gold clan’s authority.
Fired like a bullet slamming a gong.
Forked Lightning (A)
Taaang――!
The fragments of the launched lightning tore through the air.
Power enough to kill someone.
If something hadn’t seized Gaeul’s wrist, that destructive force would have flown true, surely incinerating everyone there.
“Ah...”
The moment she faced him, the taut balloon-like tension burst.
Only then did she snap to her senses. Yoo Ji-tae was gripping her wrist.
“Ah, Ajusshi...!”
Realizing her massive blunder, Gaeul bowed her head in shock.
The chick was trembling. Gaeul trembled too.
But Yoo Ji-tae said nothing particular to her.
He turned.
Terrified by the sudden magic burst, they all collapsed to the ground. Even seasoned superhumans found the mana surge startling.
No matter the regressor, he could tell they weren’t simply unnerved.
Just traces of emotional agitation showed.
He’d been escorting Yeoreum until moments ago. Sensed the trouble. Exactly 15 seconds to arrive here.
Dramatic events in that span.
Gaeul had acted far more hastily than he’d believed possible.
“Cadet guardian.”
He flashed his badge.
“Just now, what was that? Did you just use an ability to attack us?”
In the utter chaos, the shocked ones yelled.
The Spirit Beast Management Office held great sway even in Lair. Some knew the name Yoo Ji-tae. Some didn’t.
After a brief think, Yoo Ji-tae replied.
“I apologize. Our child made a mistake.”
“No, is that your excuse? We almost died...!”
One bellowed in fury. Another came to their senses late. The name on the badge: Yoo Ji-tae.
Yoo Ji-tae?
“Philson. That guy there... Isn’t he the...”
“What! Stay put, Philson.”
Emotions ran high. Those half-recognizing him hesitated, while the oblivious pushed harder against Yoo Ji-tae.
“I apologize. We’ll resolve the incident amicably.”
“What nonsense? This is an ‘unauthorized ability manifestation by a cadet’ case! Stay right there! Calling disciplinary!”
The staffer fumed and dialed disciplinary.
Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-tae turned to Gaeul.
He placed a hand on her golden hair, as she stood shocked and at a loss.
“You okay?”
“Ah, y-yes, yes...”
“Yeah. It’s all fine now.”
“......”
Seemed like they needed to talk.
A few minutes later, someone from disciplinary arrived.
The staffer was the type whose anger lingered. Yelling why so late, he turned polite and terrified upon seeing the disciplinary officer.
For Yoo Ji-tae’s name, the disciplinary arrival was none other than Sillard Leo.
“......”
Over 3 meters tall, massive build. Gleaming plate armor.
He hefted his warhammer and scratched his head.
“Ah, no. Why’s the director here...”
Pushing aside the flustered staffer, Sillard approached Yoo Ji-tae. Then grinned awkwardly.
“You again?”
“Turned out that way. How’s the body?”
“Beaten that bad—think it’s healed already?”
Grudging tone. The giant was petty inside.
The staffers were aghast. One, now convinced of Yoo Ji-tae’s identity, whispered to colleagues. Shock rippled through.
The giant inquired into the before and after. Grasped the situation, then ended it with one word.
“Pfft. You lot. Making a fuss over nothing...”
With the situation escalated this far, talk of spirit beast registration was meaningless. Disciplinary would handle it. Thus, no need to assign blame.
“Spirit Management, post the quarantine notices properly.”
The giant wrapped it up and turned away.
“You okay?”
On the way back.
He asked Gaeul again, still dazed.
“Ah, yes. I’m okay. Sorry. Thank you. My mistake. Didn’t mean to. Really, sorry......”
Gaeul muttered blankly.
Probably in shock. That mana had been incredibly sharp. She’d nearly attacked people. Nearly killed them.
“I’m okay...”
A talk was needed.