Chapter 95: Eunnamu Returns
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: Eunnamu Returns
Seeing Eunnamu in an office outfit, my mind went blank for a moment.
Wait, this is the men's restroom.
Of all places, Eunnamu had appeared inside the men's restroom.
I had just come in to wash my hands, and thank goodness no one else was around. If there had been, it would have been an incredibly awkward situation.
“Shit, popping up without a sound.”
Baeksan’s face contorted in a scowl as he saw her.
Eunnamu.
The woman who had tried to kidnap me, the one who had been my ex-girlfriend in another worldline.
And now, as a member of Girasung, she was an enemy. Her appearance set off alarm bells in my head.
Instinctively, aura began to flow from my entire body.
As I drew out my aura at full power, ready to react at any moment, Eunnamu gave a languid smile.
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to kidnap you or fight.”
“How can I believe that?”
She already had a record.
I had never imagined she would sneak into the Rodri Company, and my guard was raised to its absolute peak.
“Can’t you even trust your ex-girlfriend?”
In that moment, I saw the emotion in Eunnamu’s eyes and was taken aback.
It was longing.
Eunnamu reacted as if seeing me brought back distant memories, and unlike before, I couldn't feel a shred of hostility from her.
“Besides, I can sense the presence of several returnees here right now. I can’t just act recklessly.”
She was right. The Rodri Company was full of returnees, from Eunhyeon, who had followed me here, to Orjia.
There were also numerous hunters affiliated with the company.
“I specifically chose the restroom because of that fox who follows you around, Ha-chan.”
Eunhyeon wouldn't go so far as to check inside the men's restroom.
From Eunnamu’s perspective, the risk was certainly high.
‘Besides, Eunnamu doesn’t know there are limits to how I can channel Baeksan.’
This was a major card I could play.
Unless she brought a trump card powerful enough to face Baeksan, Eunnamu couldn't rashly think of kidnapping me.
That’s why I was confused.
If she wasn't going to kidnap me or attack me, why had she come to find me?
“Girasung is on the move. All of them, even the ones abroad. They’ve probably entered the country by now.”
“What? That recklessly?”
My eyes widened at her words.
I never thought Girasung would act so brazenly.
This was tantamount to declaring all-out war on the World Returnee Association.
“When you say they entered the country, do you mean the World Returnee Association doesn’t know?”
“Yeah, they pulled some strings. Girasung isn’t entirely foolish, you know. Though the Association will figure it out soon enough.”
This was bad.
Their target was undoubtedly Si-ho.
“...Why is Girasung so obsessed with Si-ho?”
At first, I thought Girasung was targeting Si-ho simply to make better use of their artificial dimensional gates.
But then Baeksan was cut off when he tried to reveal their true objective.
Now, they were so obsessed with Si-ho that they were willing to risk an all-out war with the World Returnee Association. I had no idea what their goal could be.
“Dimensional Invasion.”
My eyes widened the moment I heard Eunnamu’s words.
“Girasung’s objective is a Dimensional Invasion.”
A Dimensional Invasion.
Their goal was to attack another dimension?
As I stood there dumbfounded, unable to comprehend her words, Eunnamu calmly elaborated.
“At the core of Girasung are those who want to live the lives they had in their own dimensions again.”
“What? Why?”
“Just as everyone has lived different lives, every returnee is different. Life on Earth was far from what they had imagined. After all, Earth isn’t exactly the best environment for a returnee to live in.”
What kind of absurd reasoning was that?
But as absurd as it sounded, for an organization like Girasung, which commanded numerous returnees, it wasn't impossible.
Returnees from A-rank and above could be considered monsters who had once reigned over entire dimensions.
The combined might of Girasung, a gathering of such returnees, was enough to force even the World Returnee Association to brace for heavy losses. For them, swallowing a single dimension would be a trivial task.
Rather than clash with the World Returnee Association on Earth, they had decided to target another dimension instead.
And for that Dimensional Invasion, they needed Si-ho’s power.
I glanced at Baeksan, and he nodded.
Was this what Baeksan had been prevented from telling me by the Tower of Revelation?
“Of course, this is just what the Girasung executives are after. Most of the lower ranks are just people hired for money. And there’s one other person. Someone who seems to have another objective… Cough!”
Suddenly, she coughed and covered her mouth.
Startled, I moved to check on her, but Eunnamu raised a hand as if to say it was nothing.
But I grabbed that hand.
Because the blood trickling through her fingers was a clear sign that something was wrong.
Sure enough, her mouth and hand were drenched in blood.
Her white shirt was stained crimson, and her face was deathly pale. She looked terrible.
“Let’s get you to a hospital.”
I knew her condition was serious.
It was strange for me to say, considering we had fought, but I couldn't just leave her in this state.
“It’s fine. I’m okay.”
“What do you mean, you’re okay?”
Anyone could see she wasn't.
Eunnamu met my gaze, then her eyes shifted slightly downward before she spoke.
“Ha-chan, why are you so worried about me?”
“Who wouldn’t be worried when you’re coughing up blood like this?”
“But I tried to kidnap you, Ha-chan. I’m your enemy.”
Hearing that, I looked at Eunnamu.
She was right. She was part of Girasung, and she was my enemy.
For whatever reason, she was telling me everything about Girasung, but she had tried to kidnap me once.
And yet, I couldn't bring myself to see Eunnamu as just an enemy.
‘In the end, it’s all about how you see things.’
Deciding who is an enemy and who is an ally… if I think of them as an ally, they’re an ally. If I think of them as an enemy, they’re an enemy.
I don’t think of Eunnamu as an enemy.
That was all there was to it.
“...Because I’m your ex-girlfriend?” she asked, as if seeking confirmation during my silence.
I had once jokingly called her my ex-girlfriend.
I didn't know how she had interpreted it, but Eunnamu seemed to have a profound interest in the term.
A smile graced her lips as she looked at me, and her gaze shifted to the hand I was holding.
Seeing her look, I slowly let go. Eunnamu gently cradled her own hand before wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
“Really, don’t worry. I’m immortal. Something like this won’t kill me.”
Immortal.
I stared at her, surprised.
Just what kind of dimension had Eunnamu returned from to be able to say something like that?
“Can I continue?”
As if she wasn't in any pain at all, she wore her usual languid smile.
Seeing that smile, I reluctantly nodded.
The truth was, I needed the information.
“First, to continue what I was saying… That one person is their boss. He’s the center of Girasung and the one who made contracts with its members.”
“Is that contract related to you coughing up blood just now?”
“Yes, there’s a rule against revealing internal affairs. It doesn’t matter for me, since I have the cheat of being immortal.”
But that meant she still felt the pain, didn't it?
“Heh heh.”
Noticing the worry in my eyes, Eunnamu seemed pleased for some reason.
She had changed so much from the Eunnamu I knew.
“He seemed to want something else. I don’t know the details beyond that. He never really talks about it.”
She looked disappointed that she couldn't tell me more.
“You went this far just to tell me that?”
“Yes, because I thought it was something you needed, Ha-chan.”
The look in her eyes was filled with a mix of emotions that I couldn't quite place, but I nodded.
“Thank you.”
As I thanked her, Eunnamu’s eyes slowly widened.
“...Was I helpful?”
“Of course, something like this is helpful.”
Thanks to Eunnamu, I now knew that Girasung was making its move today.
That alone made her help invaluable.
“I’m so glad.”
Eunnamu pressed a hand to her chest and smiled brightly.
Why was it?
The emotion in her eyes as she looked at me seemed strangely similar to what I’d seen in the eyes of Ahyu, Seol-hyang, and Si-ho.
“Can I hold your hand one more time?”
At the mention of her hand, I held mine out.
She took a step closer and gently wrapped both of her hands around mine.
“Eunnamu, you…”
Click, clack—
Just as I was about to speak, I heard the sound of heels approaching.
In the brief moment I looked away, Eunnamu slipped a phone into my hand.
It looked like a burner phone.
“I’ll contact you here with information about Girasung. See you again.”
With those words, Eunnamu turned and left. I watched her back for a moment.
I couldn't forget the expression she had just worn, and a question lingered in my mind.
But I pushed it aside as a head peeked into the men's restroom.
“Ha-chan? I sensed an unsettling presence here. Were you with someone?”
It was none other than Orjia.
Still wearing her black blindfold, she scanned the restroom with a puzzled expression.
Then, as if realizing she was looking into the men’s room, she cleared her throat and quickly pulled her head back.
I gave a wry smile at the sight and stepped out of the restroom.
“It was nothing. I’m fine.”
“I see.”
As an Apostle of an Outer God, Orjia must have sensed something from Eunnamu.
Just then, the phone I had just received buzzed with a text message.
[Girasung is planning to target Ha Si-ho's high school. I'll keep you updated on the plan.]
After reading the message, I immediately raised the phone and called Seol-hyang.
This was information Eunnamu had given me while enduring the consequences of her contract.
I had to make sure it was put to good use.
[Hello? Ha-chan?]
The time to stop Girasung had come.