Chapter 342
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 342
Chapter Title: Saw It, Huh?
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Beep! Bzzt! Beep-beep! Bzzt!
"Training Group 4, you're too slow. Run harder!"
Bzzt!
"Training Group 4. Is that all you've got? Put some real effort into it!"
Beeeep!
"Training Group 4! Get up right now! Do you think your mother laid that egg just to see you looking this pathetic!"
"Training Group 4!!!"
I'm gonna die.
No, I want to die.
Or maybe I will die, or something like that...
Yuna Kyung had a lot she wanted to say about this situation.
If she wrote it all down, she could fill over a thousand pages of manuscript paper with a 200-character grid.
But if she summed it up, it boiled down to just ten characters.
'Find that damn seven-colored bird and bail!'
Rimon would handle it on his own?
No such hope lingered anywhere in Yuna Kyung's pea-sized bird brain anymore.
On the first day of training, she knew that if she hadn't passed Hasneti's selection, she'd already be roast bird by now.
She had no idea what would happen if she flunked the training either.
So Yuna Kyung desperately threw herself into the search for the seven-colored bird.
She could use Space Movement to escape in a pinch anytime, but Rimon was obviously not leaving until they found it.
There were two problems.
One was that the training was so brutal, after a single session she was exhausted, too wiped out to wander around.
The other was that even dragging her battered body everywhere yielded zero results.
'Argh, damn it. Where the hell is this stupid bird's head at?!'
Yuna Kyung groaned.
When she was released from her cramped personal cage at the start of training, she'd thought finding the seven-colored bird would be a breeze.
But no matter how much she searched, she hadn't spotted so much as a hint of rainbow colors, let alone the bird itself.
Yuna Kyung couldn't help but grow anxious.
'No way it's already been burned up, right?'
Her biggest worry was that the seven-colored bird might not even exist anymore.
Given Hasneti's personality, it wouldn't be surprising if she'd torched it ages ago, bird or no bird.
Especially since the one who'd gifted her that bird was Summon Lord Branga, of all people.
'Ugh, what do I do?'
Could she really find the seven-colored bird?
What if she couldn't?
As Yuna Kyung groaned under the dual assault of muscle pain and headaches,
Krrrk!
'...What the hell was that chicken-choking noise?'
She whipped her head around at the sudden guttural screech.
A moment later, Yuna Kyung waddled unsteadily toward the source.
And her eyes widened.
'Isn't that 123?'
Three very familiar birds.
The training groups 1, 2, and 3—who, like Yuna Kyung, had passed the selection—were viciously pecking at an unfamiliar bird.
It wasn't anything special.
No matter how vast the aviary, it was still a confined space packed with birds of every variety.
Territorial squabbles broke out all the time.
Thanks to Nadia's training, they never actually ate each other, so there was no real reason to care.
Even so, Yuna Kyung's eyes bulged because it looked like straight-up bullying, no matter how you sliced it.
Beep!
In the end, Yuna Kyung called out to the training groups.
Maybe because of the sharp cry.
The three training birds reflexively turned to her on guard.
But once they realized the cry came from Yuna Kyung, they immediately dropped their defenses.
Instead, blatant sneers spread across their faces.
'...Oh, really now?'
Yuna Kyung narrowed her eyes.
She could tell at a glance that the three were looking down on her.
It was understandable, though.
Her scores were the worst among the training groups.
She'd aced the brainy stuff, but bombed every physical trial.
For a zero-year-old baby bird like Yuna Kyung, it was unavoidable.
Bzzt! Bzzt-bzzt! Beep-beep!
But in the wild world, getting underestimated meant game over.
Yuna Kyung puffed out her chest and let out a loud threat at the training birds.
...Pathetic as it sounded—like a baby bird shrieking from the nest before a snake got it. Depressing.
But whether they saw it as a threat or not,
The three training birds glared and advanced on Yuna Kyung.
As if they'd teach this baby bird the pecking order right then and there.
Thwack!
But right after.
The three panicked.
The moment Yuna Kyung seemed to vanish,
A kick slammed into the backs of their heads, stars exploding as they faceplanted.
The kick was so light it didn't hurt, but it was disorienting enough.
The problem was, that was just the beginning.
Thwack-thwack! Boing. Pow! Peck!
A small wing slapped them, then talons raked their feathers.
They'd try to counter, but the blue baby bird was gone, replaced by a beak pecking their crowns.
After a solid beating,
The three training birds fled in a disheveled mess.
'Hah! Tiny punks acting tough!'
Yuna Kyung crowed triumphantly.
No matter how noble or fierce their bloodlines, they were still birds.
They couldn't match Yuna Kyung, a PAB agent from her past life skilled in chaotic brawls with Space Movement.
Of course, bragging about chasing off a few birds was embarrassing, but Yuna Kyung didn't care.
Second chances at life demanded shamelessness, after all.
With the situation sorted, Yuna Kyung approached the bird the training groups had been pecking and spoke.
[Hey, elder. You okay?]
Maybe from the bullying.
Or just old age.
The scrawny old bird with dull gray feathers gave a feeble response to Yuna Kyung's chirp.
Krrrk, krrrk.
[Oh? You understand what my chirps mean?]
Krrrk...
[Whoa! That's amazing.]
Yuna Kyung's eyes went wide.
She'd met plenty of birds in this aviary—and before.
But actual conversations? Rare.
Without a translation item, communication was limited, and most birds weren't smart enough anyway.
In that sense, this gray old bird was unusual.
Not only did it understand all Yuna Kyung's chirps,
It even matched her with vague cries she could interpret.
[Ah, so you've lived long enough to get used to all sorts of bird calls?]
Krrrk.
[Sounds just like our team leader.]
Krrrk?
[Oh, yeah. There's this handsome old jerk who looks good but loves tormenting cute pets like me as a hobby.]
Krrrk...
That's why Yuna Kyung ended up chatting animatedly with the gray bird.
With her translation item confiscated, she had no one to really talk to, and her chest felt stuffed.
Even if it was a bird, someone she could sorta communicate with? She had to vent everything.
[Team leader or princess sis, they're both too much. Making me search this huge place alone.]
Krrrk, krrrk.
[Ah, truth is, I'm here looking for something. But no matter how much I search, if it's not here, maybe it's gone...]
Krrrk?
[Haa, no idea what to do now.]
The gray bird, munching treats Yuna Kyung had shared from the training group snacks, paused.
It rolled its eyes, then blurted,
Krrrk.
[...Huh?]
At that cry,
Yuna Kyung blinked involuntarily.
With a deeply dubious look, she asked the gray bird,
[You don't know what I'm looking for, but you have a guess where it might be?]
Honestly, Yuna Kyung was half-doubting it.
Could she trust those words?
Or was it just senile nonsense from an old bird?
Still, she headed to the spot the gray bird suggested because checking it out cost nothing.
Hop, hop.
[...There's really an empty spot here?]
That was why.
The shack in one corner of the garden where she'd been caged with her personal aviary not long ago.
Behind it, in a rundown shed, Yuna Kyung hopped around and heard an oddly hollow echo. Her eyes widened.
'Is there really a secret passage here?'
She scanned the shed with eyes full of doubt and curiosity for a moment.
[Hya!]
Poof!
After a short kiai,
Yuna Kyung vanished from the shed.
[Ow, so dark.]
Rather than hunt for an entrance, she'd used Space Movement to warp straight underground. She clicked her tongue.
Getting in was fine, but it was pitch black—nothing visible.
She couldn't just sit there.
As Yuna Kyung widened her eyes to adjust to the dark and took a step,
Click.
[Kyaa! My eyes!]
Some sensor detected her movement.
The ceiling lights blazed on, blinding her. She rolled around a bit.
Once the eye pain eased, Yuna Kyung rubbed them with her wings and stood.
[Phew, now I can see some—...?]
But right then.
Yuna Kyung's eyes went huge.
A corridor that looked like an emergency bunker.
Lining both sides: glass cases crammed with antiques, from decades-old clothes to ragged bandage scraps.
[...What the heck?]
She stared blankly for a moment.
Then checked the paper on one case.
And tilted her head.
Just handwritten labels like [Bandages used in 1945 during the Demon God War], [Clothes worn in 1944 duel with the Sword Saint].
Compared to the pricey-looking cases, the papers seemed shabby.
[No way this is a museum. Personal collection?]
Still puzzled,
To satisfy her overflowing curiosity,
She waddled across the corridor, peering into cases.
[Let's see. Shoes, handkerchiefs... used utensils? Why hoard all this junk? At this rate, it's less a collection and more...?]
Yuna Kyung froze.
She'd reached a massive room at the corridor's end.
Not just because it overflowed with more exhibits than the whole hallway combined.
The walls plastered with photos, newspaper clippings, portraits, ancient documents—that made her freak out.
[Wha... what is this?]
At first, she thought she misread.
Then wished she had.
But no matter how she rubbed her eyes, it stayed the same.
Every photo and article on the wall pointed to one person, without exception.
So, glancing around in disbelief, Yuna Kyung's eyes widened.
On a wall filled with just one figure, she spotted the sole outlier: a single paper.
[This is...]
Like a wanted poster.
A paper with a ten-digit-plus bounty and three meticulously drawn faces.
Unlike the other photos, it was encased in glass—a portrait that looked a thousand years old, eye-catching for sure.
But what grabbed Yuna Kyung wasn't just the eccentricity.
One of the three portraits.
A cocky-eyed kid carrying two oversized swords on his back.
And next to it, a fresh-clipping article with a photo of a blond, tanned boy identical to the portrait.
That gaped her beak.
[Tea... team leader?]
Truth be told, no need to doubt.
The white-haired figure dominating most of the wall.
The black-haired one taking a sliver.
All material on one person, so of course the portrait was too.
That's when Yuna Kyung realized belatedly.
Not just photos.
All the exhibits she'd seen—and was seeing.
Everything was stuff one person had used or was linked to—a so-called collection.
'This wasn't gathered in a day or two. Even minimally, years... no, maybe a decade ago...?'
Who, for what purpose, built this obsessively creepy space?
She pondered blankly for a moment.
Eyes on the adjacent blond tanned boy article and sword-bearing kid portrait, Yuna Kyung felt her feathers bristle.
'Hold up. They saw this portrait ten years ago?'
Rimon's disguises warped perception.
A dot near the eye or hair color change made him unrecognizable.
Flip that: small changes meant weak disguise.
So Rimon used an unknown child form.
But if someone obsessed harder than Li Chingwei, collecting and investigating his records?
Suspicious moves,
Or usual speech, habits, context alone could pierce the disguise.
If the opponent was a master who sensed dragon psyonic, and Rimon played music or sculpted in front of them, even more so.
If this collection's owner already knew Rimon's identity?
And hid it?
Pretended ignorance to lure him into a trap...?
'Te, Team Leader! Gotta tell Team Leader!'
Her thoughts raced there, and Yuna Kyung spun around.
But that instant.
She froze solid.
When did they appear?
The corridor, lights auto-off from inactivity, swallowed in darkness.
Within, a glowing cigarette ember.
A faintly visible red head.
And a pair of blood-red eyes.
That stopped Yuna Kyung's heart.
Gazing at the frozen bluebird,
The secret space's owner crunched the cigarette in their mouth and said.
Calmly.
Chillingly.
"—Saw it, huh."