Chapter 84
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Yuna Kyung Saw It.
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[Hmm...]
In the room prepared for Rimon at Hotel Leviathan.
Atop that desk, a single fluffy baby bluebird was still diligently bobbing its head.
Peck. Peck peck. Peck peck peck.
Like a craftsman carving a statue of Buddha, it had poured its heart into shaping a pretty flower with its beak for quite some time.
Finally completing a malformed flower with four petals, Yuna Kyung gulped down the cookie crumb it had been pecking at.
And muttered to herself.
[The team leader's so busy.]
Ever since the disaster struck Heukryong Construction due to those unidentified ferocious beasts.
The Black Dragon Clan had been in a frenzy.
Whether for vengeance for their kin.
Or for payback.
Wang Gi-neung had mobilized the full might of the Shanghai Wang family to hunt down the beasts, and most other Black Dragon Clan members were indirectly aiding the investigation.
On top of that, they still had to handle their regular company duties, so everyone was inevitably swamped.
Rimon was no exception.
After fending off the beasts' secondary assault.
He had been constantly predicting their targets and preparing defenses, rushing east and west.
And as his predictions kept proving spot-on, the number of subsidiaries quietly joining Guardian was growing, making Rimon even busier.
[Tch, he could've at least taken me along.]
Thanks to that, Yuna Kyung was bored out of her mind.
Rimon had left her behind, so she'd been cooped up in the room for days, staring at her smartphone.
Anyone but a shut-in would find it unbearable.
For her, who naturally loved lively commotion and would stir up work just to roam around if there was none, this was pure torment.
[...Maybe I should go check on the kids?]
That was why.
Yuna Kyung had slipped out of the room stealthily.
Staying holed up any longer, she'd start growing mold from sheer stuffiness.
Of course, Rimon's door was firmly shut, but that posed no obstacle to her.
[Yah!]
Poof!
Right after a short kiai.
Yuna Kyung vanished from the desk and reappeared outside the door.
She'd aged a bit since then—her spatial movement ability had improved leaps and bounds compared to her first escape from the zoo enclosure.
[Still, it's kinda weird.]
Yuna Kyung tilted her head.
[The team leader said he already smashed that Serpent Connecting Ends constellation, so why can I still use spatial movement?]
No matter how high-level a spatial movement player she'd been in life, that was the past.
Having died and reincarnated once wasn't enough; with her contracted constellation gone, she shouldn't be able to use skills anymore.
Skills came from constellations, after all.
Yet here she was, still pulling off spatial movement.
It was honestly baffling.
[Eh, whatever. As long as I can use it.]
But the pondering didn't last.
Whether due to her naturally upbeat personality.
Or just her simple brain wiring.
She brushed it off easily, hopping along with spatial jumps repeatedly toward the childcare facility inside Hotel Leviathan.
[Hmm, the kids look fine.]
Yuna Kyung peeked out from beyond the window.
And seeing the children reading books or scampering about, she smiled warmly.
[It's a bit emptier now..., but still, they should go to school. Yeah.]
Only the little ones remained.
Recalling Sia, who should be at school by now, and the other kids, Yuna Kyung looked wistful.
Her range had expanded since before, but it was still just within ten meters.
With her tiny steps, patrolling even Hotel Leviathan's interior was taxing, let alone checking on the schoolkids.
[If only I could fly, I could get around on my own..., when the heck am I gonna grow up?]
Wanting to grow up fast was a kid's privilege, so why was she fretting over it?
As she sighed deeply, watching the children with fond eyes.
That's when her gaze met a child's bright, sparkling eyes.
"Huh? Birdie!"
[Ack!]
Too absorbed in watching, perhaps.
Unbefitting a reincarnated PAB agent, Yuna Kyung got spotted in her stakeout and hurriedly shrank back.
Hoping desperately that it was a mis-sight.
"Birdie, play with me!"
But dashing her hopes, the child charged straight at her like a runaway locomotive.
[Argh, emergency retreat!]
Poof!
"Huh? Birdie? Where'd you go?"
In the end, Yuna Kyung fled.
If it were a total stranger, maybe, but.
Getting tangled with the orphanage kids she'd known in life might blow her cover.
[Hoo, that was close. Nearly died there.]
...Of course, she did feel a real threat to her safety.
Yuna Kyung loved her orphanage little sibs, but she wasn't such a doting fool as to expect toddlers to control their strength.
She knew all too well how kids manhandled toys without mercy.
[Did I overreact? No need to come all the way to the training room.]
Yuna Kyung scratched her head feathers.
In her panic to reach safety, she'd ended up in the training room she often visited with Rimon.
Then and now, to her, the 'safest place' was synonymous with 'where Rimon is.'
Ironic, since her past self had died to Rimon's sword.
[Hmm, going back to the kids now feels iffy.]
The deliberation was brief.
Yuna Kyung turned her head.
And spotting the case holding the Profound Darkness Violin stored in the back of the training room, she looked regretful.
[If the team leader were here, I'd at least nag him to play something.]
After acquiring the Profound Darkness Violin.
Yuna Kyung had heard Rimon's performances on it the most.
Still, she always thought.
It'd be nice if he'd play it more often.
His skill had improved by leaps and bounds, but playing the Profound Darkness Violin was on another level entirely.
[He said he'd ease up on training now, so chances to hear it might dwindle even more?]
Yuna Kyung crossed her wings like arms.
Staring intently at the case, she unwittingly opened her beak.
[...What a shame.]
She didn't buy Rimon's grand ambition to match the Profound Darkness Violin with pure skill alone—like setting sail on a deep-sea trawler.
But having heard his playing more than anyone.
And knowing that insane talent.
Yuna Kyung muttered offhandedly.
The odds were low, but if Rimon truly reached his desired mastery, what sounds would the Profound Darkness Violin make?
She was a bit curious.
[The team leader's immortal, so he'll probably get there someday..., but will it happen before I kick the bucket again?]
How long did birds even live?
Mulling it over, Yuna Kyung let out a wry chuckle.
She hadn't even reached a full human lifespan before, and now calculating bird years felt absurdly comical.
[Eh, whatever. I'm living on borrowed time anyway.]
Giggling, she turned to leave.
Nothing more to see, time to head back to the room.
[Huh?]
Yuna Kyung's eyes widened round.
The moment she turned.
Their eyes met.
With a strangely familiar girl staring blankly at her from right behind.
[Wha?]
Why hadn't she noticed the girl approach until she was right there? Flustered, Yuna Kyung stepped back, blinking.
The girl's appearance was oddly eerie.
Feet floating in midair.
A body translucent enough to see through.
Those hollow, empty eyes.
[Whaa?]
Slither.
As Yuna Kyung cocked her head at the unreal girl.
The girl vanished.
As if she had never existed.
Or... like a being without a body.
And the moment Yuna Kyung recalled what such entities were called.
[Kyaaah! G-Ghoooost!?]
The deafening telepathic scream from the telepathy item shook the entire training room.
* * *
"So."
His headache long gone.
Rimon massaged his temples briefly.
Then fixed his cool gaze on the still-fluffy bluebird chick and continued.
"You shake my brain with unsolicited long-range telepathy while I'm busy enough as is, and all you have to say is that?"
[It's not 'just that'! A ghost appeared, a ghost!]
Yuna Kyung cried out indignantly.
But Rimon's response was lukewarm.
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
[Argh, damn it! Just believe me! I saw it clear as day with my own two eyes!]
"I didn't say I don't believe you."
[Huh?]
"I believe a ghost appeared. But is that anything to get worked up over?"
[...No, team leader, a ghost shows up and you're not even surprised?]
Rimon shot back with an even more incredulous look at Yuna Kyung's baffled question.
"Na-kyung-ah, you know what they call it when a dead kid pops up in front of people and starts yapping?"
[That's a ghost, duh?]
"Then, can a ghost see another ghost or not?"
[Of course she can.]
"Right. So why should I be surprised by that obvious fact?"
[......???]
After blinking in confusion several times.
A beat late, Yuna Kyung grasped the point and hopped mad, shrieking.
[I'm not a ghost, I'm a reincarnator!]
"Dead and back either way, isn't it?"
[How can you twist it like that!?]
"Life's truths always sound like bullshit, kiddo."
At his nonchalant reply, Yuna Kyung stomped her feet in frustration, but Rimon paid it no mind.
Having dealt with zombies to demons ad nauseam while purging warlocks, a single ghost sighting was nothing new to him.
But he didn't entirely dismiss Yuna Kyung's tale.
'Hmm. Hotel Leviathan isn't the sort of place stray ghosts can just waltz into.'
Modern player-built structures with construction skills were one thing.
But Hotel Leviathan was built traditionally, incorporating Seven Dragon Society formations and temple barriers.
Without them, it'd be a ghost den teeming with vengeful spirits.
'Yet a ghost appeared..., so one of two things. Either Na-kyung didn't see a ghost, or it hitched a ride on something.'
But an old fox stays sharp.
Rimon quickly pinpointed the conditions for a ghost to manifest even in Leviathan.
And the potent magical artifact that could bypass barriers and ferry it inside.
"A cursed instrument haunted by a ghost. What a disgustingly perfect combo."
Rimon scowled at the case holding the Profound Darkness Violin.
Hearing that, Yuna Kyung freaked.
[Eek? Wait! So that ghost is stuck to your violin!?]
"Not certain. Just one possibility, but..."
[But what?!]
"Remember how I kept sensing a weird presence every time I played that violin? If it was the ghost, it fits."