Chapter 389: Suspicion Breeds Demons (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 389: Suspicion Breeds Demons (2)
Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.
A bustling downtown area, considered an essential stop for any tourist visiting the city.
Amidst its tall buildings, a spire and a cross rose even higher.
This was the headquarters of the Orthodox Church in the Republic of Korea, the religion with the largest number of followers since the dawn of the Hunter society. It boasted a church building spanning hundreds of pyeong [Approx. 1 pyeong = 3.3m² or 35.5ft²] and a garden of over 1,000 pyeong, all in the heart of Myeong-dong, a district with land prices rivaled only by Gangnam.
The man responsible for the Seoul diocese, along with this very place, was named Oh Jong-hyuk Andrea.
He was the seventh Korean cardinal in history and an A-rank Healer.
If you were to judge him on character alone, you could call him an S-rank, no, an SSS-rank man of virtue.
“Welcome, Hunter Kim Do-jin. I have been waiting for you.”
He walked out to greet me with heavy steps.
And with an exceptionally courteous demeanor.
I bowed my head respectfully in return.
“It is an honor to meet you, Cardinal Oh Jong-hyuk.”
Nodding with a warm smile, he gestured toward the church building.
“Please, let’s go inside. The Saintess is waiting.”
“Yes.”
As I followed him in, a warm energy gently enveloped my entire body.
The source of this energy was the massive cross hanging on the wall behind the altar.
It seemed designed to grant the faithful a sense of peace with its warm and comforting feeling.
“…This is incredible.”
If I could take just one thing from this place, I would choose that cross without a moment’s hesitation.
An artifact that could evenly spread an aura of stability throughout a building of this size?
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say its price would be whatever one asked.
Cardinal Oh Jong-hyuk led me to a prayer room, about 50 pyeong in size.
A large screen was installed on the altar.
Judging by the surrounding equipment, it seemed the plan was to speak face-to-face, at least on video.
I gave him a questioning look, and he, reading my expression, answered.
“This was the Saintess’s request. She said she wished to see your face and speak with you directly, Hunter Kim Do-jin.”
“Is that so.”
See my face directly, huh.
A certain rumor about her suddenly came to mind.
That the current Saintess possessed a peculiar set of eyes that could distinguish between good and evil in a person.
Because of this, it was said that even those who came bearing mountains of gold could receive no help from her if they harbored a wicked heart.
“Please have a seat here and wait for a moment.”
“Alright.”
Following the cardinal’s guidance, I sat in a pre-arranged chair and stared blankly at the screen.
Before long, the power turned on.
And a background appeared.
Flowers in vibrant full bloom, a wide window through which moonlight softly streamed, and a simple wooden chair placed between them.
A woman, sitting gracefully as if she were part of the beautiful scenery, offered a greeting.
She was dressed in a pure white gown, her face concealed by a specially woven veil.
-It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hunter Kim Do-jin.
Her voice was ordinary, yet it held a warmth of unfathomable depth.
She was a woman who exuded such a benevolent aura that just looking at her made you want to confess everything and be forgiven.
Her name was ‘Sophia Saintess’.
She was the current Saintess, lauded as possessing the greatest healing power in history.
I immediately rose from my seat and bowed my head respectfully toward her.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Saintess. I am Kim Do-jin.”
As I slowly raised my head, I could see the Saintess on the other side of the screen, gazing this way.
It was a strange feeling.
We were only facing each other through a screen, yet I couldn’t shake the sensation that my innermost thoughts were being laid bare before her.
Though her face was hidden behind the veil, she seemed to be staring intently in my direction. It was about five minutes later that she finally spoke.
-I’ve heard the general details from Hunter Han Ju-hee. You wish to have a curse dispelled for an acquaintance.
Something had changed.
The atmosphere of her voice now was different from when she had first greeted me.
If her voice before was simply warm, now it was…
How should I put it? It felt like alternating between a hot and cold bath.
It was cold yet warm, warm yet cold.
What kind of change had her heart undergone in those five minutes to cause this?
“…Yes, that’s correct. To be precise, it’s a restriction she received as the price for breaking an oath.”
-A restriction… She must have paid a great price to help you, Hunter Kim Do-jin.
“Yes. That’s why I want to save her.”
And to save her, I need your help.
After a moment of silence, she asked me.
-How much time does she have left?
I recalled her condition from when I saw her in the VIP hospital room the night before and answered.
“Roughly a week to ten days.”
-Then thankfully, we should have enough time.
Enough time… Does that mean she can provide the treatment within that period?
As I swelled with anticipation, she continued.
-In one week, there will be a summit in Beijing.
“A summit, you say.”
I’d never heard of it, so it must be a secret meeting between China and the Vatican, or perhaps some other nation.
-Originally, His Holiness the Pope was to attend, but as his health has been poor recently, I will be attending in his place.
“I see.”
She, who spends most of the year in the Vatican, was visiting China, a country neighboring Korea.
Which meant.
-I will heal your acquaintance there, Hunter Kim Do-jin.
Ah, this is it.
With that thought, I was about to stand up and express my gratitude when she spoke again.
-However, there is a condition.
A condition.
I was puzzled.
I didn’t recall the Saintess ever directly setting conditions for saving someone’s life.
The massive donations they received were, as far as I knew, always ‘voluntary.’
She continued.
-I would like you to serve as my escort for the duration of the summit, Hunter Kim Do-jin.
It was a completely unexpected proposal.
The Orthodox Church must have more than enough people to protect her. Why me?
-As you may have already guessed, it is a secret summit. As such, we cannot deploy a large number of personnel.
She was a global celebrity.
Whenever she made a move, dozens of paladins would escort her, and those movements would be reported in online articles in real-time.
The paladins who guarded her were nearly as famous as she was.
So, it would indeed be difficult for them to accompany her on a journey to a secret summit.
But still.
“I may not be as famous as you, Saintess, but I’m quite well-known myself.”
I was famous, too, even if not on her level.
Especially in China and Japan, the two countries adjacent to Korea, where my recognition was highest after my home country.
Wouldn’t using me as an escort also be a bit strange?
To that, she replied curtly.
-I will make the necessary preparations for that, so you need not worry.
I had no idea how she planned to prepare, but if she was going to handle it, then I had no further grounds to object.
“In that case… I will do it. I will be your escort, Saintess. However, given the tight schedule, I would like to request that the healing be done before my duties begin.”
The Saintess nodded at my proposal.
-Very well. Let’s do that.
Seeing her agree so readily, it seemed that was her intention from the start.
She continued.
-I will arrange for the exact date to be delivered to you by tomorrow. Oh, and I’m telling you this just in case…
“……?”
-There are more people who want me dead than you might think. So it would be wise to prepare yourself thoroughly.
“…I will keep that in mind.”
Something was bound to happen.
Her warning seemed to be telling me just that.
* * *
Once sown, the seed of incongruity made her doubt everything that surrounded him.
Moments she had once considered normal, trivial.
Each and every one of them now instilled a new sensation in her, her eyes opened to the wrongness of it all.
‘It’s strange.’
He, who used to struggle to wake up until just an hour before he had to leave for work.
‘It’s strange.’
He, who would grow tense and hastily avert his gaze whenever their eyes met.
‘It’s strange.’
He, who had started refusing to eat unless there was meat and ham—foods he rarely ate to manage his health.
Even though the moments they saw each other throughout the day added up to less than thirty minutes.
In those brief instances, his actions, his gaze, his way of speaking, his habits.
Everything seemed strange.
‘No, it’s not just strange…’
It was unfamiliar.
So unfamiliar that she doubted whether the person appearing and disappearing before her eyes was truly her husband.
She had even entertained the thought.
What if her husband, tired of her coldness, had left a convincing fake in his place and disappeared?
Her paranoia flaring, she had actually gone so far as to secretly cast detection magic on him, making sure he wouldn't notice.
But it wasn’t true.
He was her husband.
Which made it all the more baffling.
‘Why on earth… has he changed like this? And so suddenly.’
His change was something she had wished for.
But she knew it was impossible.
Because that’s the kind of person he was.
A man like a pine tree, who remained unchanged even as the years altered mountains and rivers.
That was why she had loved him, and also why she had hated him.
‘I have to find out.’
What was the cause of his transformation?
She just wanted to know.
Who—or what—had brought about this change in him that even she had failed to inspire?
With deep curiosity and a hint of jealousy, she summoned someone.
The person most skilled at the task she was about to undertake.