Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Yohan General Hospital
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This morning was cereal. Ian shoveled it into his mouth with a spoon while watching TV.
[Recently, kidnapping cases targeting both men and women have been rampant in the capital area. No common traits have been found among the victims, and the authorities are investigating the incidents intensively while striving to ensure public safety—]
Ding.
As he watched the news, a message suddenly popped up on his phone. Ian chewed his cereal and checked it.
[Nun: Ian, how have you been lately?]
“Khk!”
The sudden message from the nun clogged his throat. Coughs poured out from his choked windpipe, and his nostrils stung. He gulped down some cereal milk to soothe his throat, then immediately tapped out a reply.
[Me: Doing great, as always. How about you, Nun? Taking care?]
She was called a nun, but she wasn’t exactly a sister from the same Catholic church.
Ian was originally non-religious. He had never truly followed or served God in his life.
To him, the nun was simply the teacher from the orphanage where he’d spent his childhood—a devout Catholic believer. If anything, she was like a mother figure, though digging deeper, their relationship was more ambiguously distant than that.
She wasn’t someone awkward, but neither were they close. They rarely messaged except for holiday greetings.
That’s why he was a bit flustered. It was the first time she’d reached out first on an ordinary day like this.
Something must have come up.
‘Did she get tangled up in an anomaly? Or is it just a check-in? Maybe some other alumni caused trouble?’
He had no idea. Ian set down his half-eaten cereal and waited quietly for a reply.
[Nun: I’m doing well too, thanks to God’s grace. No aches or pains.]
A moment later, her response came. He sat and typed on his phone keyboard.
[Me: Glad to hear it. So, what’s up? You don’t usually message out of the blue.]
[Nun: Well, something did come up. But it’s not a big deal.]
[Me: What is it? Feel free to tell me.]
[Nun: Hehe, you’re the only one who says that. The other kids all ignored my messages.]
The nun paused for a bit after that, then sent another text.
[Nun: Could you stop by the orphanage for a bit?]
*
The orphanage where Ian had lived was a small church a little ways from Incheon Airport. There was a large cathedral nearby, so it saw plenty of parishioners, but it wasn’t a high-traffic area.
That’s why life there had been fairly peaceful. The church was serene, and living there wasn’t bad aside from the old-fashioned atmosphere.
‘Whenever us kids fought, the nun would always come running to break it up and scold us.’
Those were all distant memories now. Ian smiled faintly as he got out of the taxi and walked the familiar streets near the orphanage.
As he passed each landmark, old memories resurfaced. There were good ones and bad ones, but looking back, he’d lived quite comfortably for an orphan. He hadn’t faced discrimination, nor had the nun or assistant priest ever hit him……
Or was that just how it should be?
Ian gave a wry smile and stepped into a nearby chicken joint, ordering enough fried chicken for everyone at the orphanage.
It would’ve been unthinkable spending back then, but now it was pocket change.
“Thank you. That’s 20 chickens confirmed. We’ll deliver to the address you requested!”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Come again next time!”
Jingle.
He finished ordering and stepped outside. He bought a few packs of cigarettes at a convenience store, then headed toward the church where its silhouette was starting to come into view.
A modest plot of land. Kids ran around the outside of the orphanage-church building with its attached garden—the first sight many children had seen. Behind them, an elderly nun with deeply wrinkled skin walked out.
“Children, no running. Walk slowly.”
“Yes, Nun!”
Following her words, the kids walked instead of running toward somewhere. The elderly nun managed them until she spotted Ian walking up the path, at which her eyes widened.
“……Ian?”
“Yes.”
Ian smiled and bowed his head toward her.
“Long time no see, Nun. How have you been?”
“I’ve been well. Goodness, you’ve grown so much. This is the first time I’ve seen you since you went independent, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve been on my own since high school.”
“Thinking back to that time still gives me a headache. Saving up from a part-time job and moving out right away… I worried so much.”
Ian smiled awkwardly. The nun handed control of the remaining kids to the oldest among the orphans and led Ian inside the church.
Passing the familiar prayer room, they entered a small chamber, where the nun offered him a seat. Ian sat in an empty spot and took a sip of the tea she handed him.
Tea, if you could call it that—just a pre-packaged barley tea bag.
The two exchanged light pleasantries before getting to the point.
“I called you here today because I’d like you to visit the hospital for me.”
“The hospital?”
Ian furrowed his brow slightly as he asked, and the nun nodded emphatically.
“There’s a child who was hospitalized recently after getting really sick. Today’s the day for a progress report. I usually visit every day, but there’s an important religious event today, so it might be tough. I was looking for someone to go in my place.”
“Ah…… So that’s why you messaged the other alumni too?”
“Yes. You know, my connections are basically just my former charges. But they all have to join me for the event, so I had no one else to ask. Aside from you independent kids I could somewhat trust, I had no one.”
“Hmm…….”
“But no one except you replied. Honestly…….”
The nun grumbled as she sipped her barley tea. Ian thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Not a tough request. Do I need to stay until the event ends, or is just hearing the report and leaving fine?”
“It’d be great if you could stay, but just the report and out is okay too. Can’t take up too much of your time.”
“I’ve got no plans today, so I’m good. I’ll stay at the hospital till the event’s over.”
Ian planned to focus solely on magic for a while and take a break from anomaly-related stuff. With plenty of money now, he had the leisure for a laid-back day.
“Really? Thank you. I’ll wrap it up as quick as I can, so just bear with it a—”
As the nun responded to Ian’s answer, the door burst open and someone entered. Ian turned to check the intruder.
Waist-length golden blonde hair and drowsy purple eyes. A petite girl in a thick coat blinked at the two seated in the room.
“Who?”
Clumsy Korean spilled from her mouth. The nun bowed politely to the sudden arrival.
“This is a child I looked after briefly when he was young. I called him because I have a small favor to ask.”
This time, the nun spoke fluent Italian. Ian, surprised she even knew Italian, widened his eyes as the girl stared at the nun and mumbled.
“What favor?”
“There’s a child hospitalized recently. I’m asking him to watch over until our event ends. It’s nothing for you to worry about, Sister.”
“Ah…… Then I’ll go too. I can’t be tied to the event when I have Vatican duties.”
“What? No, you must attend as a nun sent from the Vatican. Even in this foreign land, you need to offer prayers to him.”
“I can do that separately. I’ll pray during confession later, so I’ll skip this event. God will understand. I have more important duties.”
“……Did you come here planning to skip the event from the start?”
“Yes. I’ll skip it?”
Without waiting for the nun’s reply, she turned to Ian.
“I’m Cecilia Capone. What’s your name?”
Cecilia asked in awkward Korean. Ian gave his name with a bemused expression.
“Shin Ian.”
“Ian. Nice name. Means God’s gift. Nice.”
Ian wasn’t sure what was so nice, but he bowed gratefully and looked toward the nun.
“……Who is she?”
“……A nun sent from the Vatican to investigate Korean churches. I don’t know exactly why the investigation, but she’s accredited by the Papal Curia, so I’m just going along with it.”
“The Vatican? Why’s someone from there at the orphanage?”
“She was at the cathedral at first. But she kept demanding prayers and church attendance, so she moved here. She’s so stubborn, yet devout in her own way… Sigh.”
The nun sighed deeply and looked at Ian.
“Looks like we’ll have to go together. You okay with that? You can hand it off to her and go do your own thing even now.”
“Hmm…… I’m fine. Been a while since I came here, no plans anyway. More people to talk to is good for me.”
He said that, but Ian’s mind was racing coolly.
He knew next to nothing about the Vatican. It was rarely mentioned in the community, with scant info available. He only knew they opposed anomalies—nothing more.
This trip might be a good chance to learn about them. Conflict wasn’t impossible someday, so better to know ahead.
‘I’ll hide that I’m a mage and just suck up whatever info I can.’
Ian smiled brightly at Cecilia.
“Nice to meet you, Sister Cecilia.”
“Just trust me. I’m strong.”
Cecilia thumped her flat chest confidently.
Jingle.
Her cross necklace swayed, letting out a clear sound.