Chapter 60

Our three names had been cleared.

The trial was over in barely an hour, because it had been little more than a formality.

With evidence that obvious, the verdict was only natural.

As I walked out of the courtroom, I yanked at my tie.

"Hah. This is stifling."

"Yeah. Suits never get comfortable."

"You did well."

Tae-cheon agreed with me and slipped off his suit jacket.

Do-hee, who was closing the door behind us, smiled lightly as she said that.

Anyone watching would’ve thought she hadn’t been sitting there beside us at all.

She wasn’t used to a suit either, and she loosened one or two buttons while letting out a breath.

"For now, we put out the immediate fire."

"Immediate fire?"

"What, there’s a non-immediate fire?"

While saying that, I took out my smartphone.

Even if the trial had been a mere formality, I couldn’t exactly be tapping away at my phone screen in there.

There were too many eyes on us.

The sapling on the screen was gently shaking its branches.

The gesture looked almost like a greeting, and it made an involuntary smile tug at my mouth.

I tapped the screen.

Far more mana than when it had been a sprout flowed into the sapling.

By feel alone, it seemed to be about ten times as much.

"About Igaion."

"Ah…."

Tae-cheon and I nodded at the same time.

Just because we’d been found not guilty by law didn’t mean everything was settled.

We had killed one of a major guild’s aces, after all.

Igaion would be grinding its teeth just at the sound of our names.

And the guild Baekwooncheon, with all three of us as its core figures, would no doubt be under a hostile spotlight too.

I’d already left the guild, but there was no reason to expect those bastards would care about that little detail.

Especially not after I’d gone and provoked Choi Dong-hoon directly.

"Here."

Do-hee handed me a hair tie.

No, more precisely, it was a hair tie masquerading as a location tracker.

Or, if you preferred, it was also a medium for her magic to activate through.

Given the situation, I decided not to refuse and took it quietly.

I tied my hair back with it on the spot.

I could feel the little ponytail hanging at the back of my head.

"Oh? You actually took it. I thought you’d refuse."

She looked at me with wide eyes, clearly surprised.

Then she gave a bright little laugh, and for a moment the cheerful Do-hee from the old days came to mind.

She had been such a bright, smiling kid two years ago….

Wiping the clean smile from her face, she tapped her cheek and looked at Tae-cheon.

"Big brother, we should head back now."

"Huh? Ah, it’s already that late?"

When I checked the time, it was 3:15.

The trial had ended much sooner than expected, leaving us with some time to spare.

But the two of them weren’t free enough to enjoy that leisure in peace.

They’d have new matters to deal with regarding Igaion too.

Sorry for adding more work to your plates.

"What are you going to do, big brother?"

Me?

I wasn’t an executive of Baekwooncheon, so I should enjoy some downtime.

Let my younger sister and my friend handle all the hard work.

"Well, since I’m dressed up so nicely-"

"You’re going to see Yu Jae-i."

At Tae-cheon’s words, Do-hee’s eyes went wide.

Hah. Look at those eyes.

What, was that how a younger sister looked at her brothers?

That was the look of a mother scolding a son who’d done something wrong.

I could hardly remember it, though, since I’d been too young back then.

Waving a hand, I denied Tae-cheon’s assumption.

I was planning to go visit the orphanage where we’d grown up.

"Nope. I’m going to see the auntie."

"Ah, I see."

"Good thinking. The nun was very worried about you, big brother."

Their faces changed in an instant, and the contrast was ridiculous.

Tae-cheon lost interest and pushed out his lips, while Do-hee smiled brightly.

Seeing those two faces turn into complete opposites, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I shook my head.

There were a lot of reporters waiting in front of the courthouse.

Breaking through that half-hearted encirclement wasn’t difficult.

I just had to leave everything to Do-hee and Tae-cheon and run.

A few reporters chased after me stubbornly, but once I refused to give them the time of day, they eventually gave up and went back to the other two.

After leaving the courthouse like that, I headed straight to the far end of Bundang.

I was going to see Sister Choi Claudia.

I arrived at Bangju Orphanage, at the edge of Bundang, around five o’clock.

"Pass! Pass it to me!"

"Block it! Block it no matter what! I’ll be mad if you don’t!"

"Waaah!"

I parked in the lot and got out.

I could hear children laughing and running about.

As I headed toward the front of the orphanage, I saw kids of all different ages.

Some were as young as seven, others as old as twelve.

They were split into several groups.

Some were kicking a ball around.

Some were playing house.

Some were standing off in a corner, watching the others.

"I used to be like that too…."

Seeing the kids in the corner brought back memories of me and Do-hee from long ago.

Those children were clearly the ones who hadn’t been here long.

My sister and I had been the same way for a few days after first arriving at the orphanage.

We’d stood far away and only watched the other kids.

It had been Tae-cheon who first reached out to us.

"Well, well?"

The children had stopped and were staring at me.

All of them. The ones running around, the ones playing house, the ones standing off to the side.

They didn’t even bother trying to hide their gazes.

Why did they feel so wary of me?

It wasn’t the curious look kids gave some unfamiliar adult man.

It was more like the way you gripped a weapon when you ran into a stranger in a Gate.

They were studying me to figure out whether I was an ally or an enemy.

And these were little kids who couldn’t even be more than ten years old at best.

"You little-"

"Oh my, Do-woon!"

A familiar voice called my name warmly.

I turned away from the children and looked toward the source of the voice.

Three nuns were standing in front of the orphanage door.

The face of the nun in the middle was familiar.

Sister Choi Claudia.

The one who’d called my name gathered up the hem of her long habit and hurried toward me.

Her face held both relief and worry.

"Is your body feeling a little bet-"

"Wow, auntie, you’ve gotten old again in the meantime?"

"Look at me!"

Thwack.

A dull impact rang against my head.

Of course, the one who felt the pain wasn’t me, but the auntie.

The World Tree Bark (ON)

That was because my bark defense had activated.

The auntie groaned and clutched the right hand she’d swung at me.

Then she shouted at me.

"What are you doing? That hurts!"

"No, what kind of victim-blaming is this? You were the one trying to hit me."

"What’s wrong with letting yourself get hit just a little!"

"That’s because you’ve never been hit by you yourself, auntie. Do you know how fiery your hand is?"

"Are you going to keep calling me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠auntie?"

"Ah, right. I should call you grandma now, huh?"

"Y-you little brat!"

As she said that, the auntie reached out and pinched my arm.

She’d realized by then that hitting me wasn’t going to do any damage.

Of course, pinching didn’t work either.

She’d grabbed skin hardened by the bark that had taken over it.

The auntie pulled back her hand with a regretful look and let out a sigh.

"Tae-cheon would’ve taken it."

"Too bad it wasn’t Tae-cheon, then, because I’m the one standing here."

"Idiot. As if I’d regret that you came."

"You’re seriously going to hit back with that out of nowhere?"

"Ahem…."

The nuns standing behind her had already approached and were now interrupting us.

They kept sneaking glances at me, as if wanting an introduction.

The auntie clapped her hands once and introduced the two nuns.

"My goodness, where are my manners? This is Sister Vivianna Lee, who joined us recently, and this is Sister Cecilia Jeong. She is-"

"Hello!"

Sister Cecilia Jeong greeted me with a bright smile.

It looked as if she wanted to cut the auntie off.

The auntie only gave a faint smile.

What was this?

"You know him, right?"

"Of course. Who doesn’t know Baek Do-woon these days?"

"Huh? You know me?"

"Of course we do. We watch TV too. And Watcher Cast."

"We’re really glad you’re safe!"

The nuns smiled cheerfully as they said that.

Huh. So I really had become famous.

Judging from the way even strangers were acting like they knew me.

The auntie, watching me, let out a sly grin.

She’d definitely sensed I was thinking something odd.

"Come inside first. It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face, so we need to catch up."

The auntie went into the orphanage first.

As she did, she added something that flustered the two nuns.

"And you two nuns can stop spacing out too."

"W-we’re not spacing out!"

"R-right, you’ve misunderstood us!"

With that, the nuns entered the orphanage together, quite happily.

I was about to follow them when I stopped in place.

I turned my head slightly to look at the children.

They were back to laughing and playing among themselves.

Kicking a ball, playing house, standing in the corner.

"……."

What exactly had I seen just now?

With that thought in mind, I moved forward.

Before I stepped through the door, something entered my field of view off to one side.

Several children were looking at me again.

Eyes just as cold and wary as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before.

"I haven’t been here in a while, and it’s gotten pretty interesting."

Muttering that to myself, I went into the orphanage.

In the corridor, the auntie was waiting for me alone.

The other nuns had apparently gone off to take care of their work.

"Interesting how? The game?"

The auntie looked at the smartphone in my right hand.

She must have thought I was talking about the phone game becoming more fun.

I shook my head.

"No, not the game."

"You hardly ever put that smartphone down, so I figured you were talking about a game. Then what?"

As we walked down the corridor together, I pointed outside.

The children were running around and playing.

As if nothing had happened, they weren’t paying me the slightest bit of attention.

At least on the surface.

"The kids. They were-"

"Suspicious of you?"

"Huh? You knew?"

"It must have bothered you. I tell them not to do it, but they never listen to me. What am I supposed to do about that?"

"No, I said it was interesting. It was a new experience, so I liked it."

"……."

All of a sudden, the auntie stopped walking.

She looked like she wanted to say something to me.

Her awkward, hesitant manner made it obvious she was about to ask for help.

Then she shook her head.

"You’re staying for dinner, right?"

Out came an entirely different question than the one I’d expected.

"……."

"I’m serious. It’s fine."

The auntie smiled weakly, but concern was written all over her face.

So that was it.

She didn’t want to make me worry, not on the day I’d just been discharged.

In that case, I should go along with her intention.

Just for today. Just for this moment.

"If that’s what you want."

"Good! Then let’s eat dinner first. Just how little have you been eating if you’re this thin?"

The auntie grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the dining hall.

Thin?

Where exactly on me?

Bangju Orphanage was one of the larger orphanages around.

Baekwooncheon provided steady funding, so it wasn’t exactly drowning in money troubles either.

Of course, that also meant it took in more children than most other orphanages.

Because of that, I didn’t even have a spare room to sleep in for the night and had to choose.

Either the dining hall or the attic stacked with miscellaneous junk.

The place I chose, naturally, was the attic.

"You could sleep in my room, you know."

"What, are you telling me to put up with the attic?"

"...Right. You are Baek Do-woon."

The auntie shook her head.

Trying to steal the attic from me, of all things. Not happening.

"Woooow…."

The children who had been hiding and secretly watching me let out envious exclamations.

Some of them even looked up at me with clear admiration.

At that sound, the auntie cried, "When did you all come out!" and rushed at them.

The kids shouted, "Run, the witch is coming!" and fled.

There was a bit of a witch-like side to the auntie, admittedly.

"Still, calling Sister a witch is a little much, don’t you think?"

After closing the attic door, I lay down.

Once I stacked the junk neatly, there was enough space to stretch my legs out and sleep.

I took out my smartphone and clicked the mailbox icon at the top of the screen.

I was there to receive the event dungeon entry ticket.

Honestly, asking for the attic was also about freeing myself from other people’s eyes.

The entry ticket appeared from the smartphone as if it were being printed out.

On the rectangular ticket, there was an explanation saying it could be used by tearing it in half.

I grabbed it with both hands so I could enter immediately.

Huh…?

Not human?