Chapter 49
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: The Blank 10 Years (2)
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We arrived at the training room of the Bihon Guild, our meeting place.
My apologies for being late.
Yuhwa said with a polite smile, bowing her head slightly.
Not at all. We were the ones who arrived too early. Hoho.
A kind-faced man in his sixties let out a hearty laugh.
I was worried since he was a committee inspector, but he didn't seem too strict.
More importantly, the child named Geumho who is to be registered today Oh. That must be him.
The old man approached me.
I quietly spoke to Geumho, who was nestled in my arms.
Geumho. You know youre not supposed to attack people, right?
Grrr.
Geumho turned his head, looked up at me, and smiled as if to say, Leave it to me. The more I look at him, the cuter he gets.
Geumho might just be the only drug the country should legalize.
Like some kind of cuteness-toxin.
Pardon me.
The chairman reached out to Geumho. Then he gently stroked his head.
In response, Geumho rubbed his face against the hand and licked it.
Hes not actually taste-testing, is he?
So very docile. If Id seen him on the street, I would have just thought he was a pretty cat.
The people behind the chairman, who appeared to be staff members, came forward.
They were holding strange machines in their hands.
What are the readings?
Mental response is normal. No killing intent detected.
His mana itself has no malicious feel to it either.
Just as I thought.
The chairman smiled with satisfaction, stroking Geumho repeatedly.
May I hold him for a moment?
Yes, of course.
I handed Geumho over to the chairman.
Meeeow.
Geumho snuggled in the chairmans arms, acting cute.
Hoho.
All eyes in the room were drawn to Geumho.
I dont think we need to see any more.
Everyones gaze naturally softened with warmth.
Yes. Theres no reason to fail him.
Ive never seen such a docile creature.
I agree. Hoho.
Things were going smoothly.
What a delightful sight.
Yuhwa approached and whispered in my ear.
He said he rushed right over after seeing the video of Geumho I sent.
Aha.
Just as his kind appearance suggested, he seems to be quite fond of animals.
Works for me.
Then, well finish up with a simple combat assessment. Guild Master of Bihon, would you please summon a suitable monster?
Yes. What kind of monster should it be?
Hmm. For this size
A Carnivorous Deer, please.
I interjected.
Isnt a Carnivorous Deer a bit dangerous? Even as a mana doll, it could be risky.
Yuhwa said, looking concerned.
Its fine. I told you, didnt I? Our Geumho is incredibly strong.
Strong enough to fold an A-rank superhumans spine.
Hmm. The owner would know best about his own creature.
The chairman was the first to back my opinion.
Of course.
Alright. Ill set it to Carnivorous Deer.
Yuhwa tapped on a holographic keyboard and began the setup.
And a moment later.
Ready for the summon?
Yes. Ah, but before that, Geumho.
I set Geumho down on the floor.
As expected of a predator, Geumho strode forward with a majestic air.
Even that was cute.
Are you sure this is okay?
I told you, its fine.
Ugh. Then Ill summon it.
Yuhwa summoned the monster with a look that carried all the worries of the world.
Zzzzing
Mana particles gathered, forming the shape of a monster.
It was, without a doubt, a perfect Carnivorous Deer.
Geumho~ Go get em!
Krrng!
Geumho gave a cute nod.
And in the next moment.
Whoosh
A fierce wind blew.
CRRRRAAAAAASH!
The body of the Carnivorous Deer was slammed into the far wall.
Geumho, who had returned to his original massive form, smiled in satisfaction.
Huh?
Eh?
A cold silence fell.
Yuhwa, the chairmaneveryone stared at the bloodied pulp that was once the Carnivorous Deer, their eyes wide with shock.
Grrrwl
Perhaps he wasn't too fond of the awkward atmosphere.
!
Geumho, who had been fidgeting, suddenly widened his eyes as if hed realized something and ran toward the not-yet-fully-vanished Carnivorous Deer.
Then he picked it up in his mouth and ran toward us as we stood there dumbfounded.
Im getting a strange sense of dj vu.
CRUNCH!
Just as I expected,
he slammed the Carnivorous Deer into the floor.
Kyuu?
Then he tilted his head cutely.
Wow.
It was a perfect reenactment of the Carnivorous Deer that was slammed into the ground, a sight I had seen once before at the ruins.
It seemed he remembered that I had praised him for it back then.
Thats right, thats right. Good boy.
Such a smart boy, our Geumho.
I stroked Geumhos head and looked at the chairman.
So? Does he pass?
He was speechless.
Hello? Anyone there?
No, everyone was speechless.
* * *
Geumho successfully earned his guardian beast qualification.
I still cant believe that little guys true form is such a huge tiger.
Meeow?
Yuhwas and Geumhos voices came through the receiver.
Well, its not easy to look at that cute form and imagine a tiger the size of an elephant.
I know, right! Hehe. Gotcha.
Meeeowww~
I could hear Geumho squealing with delight. It sounded like the two of them were playing around.
Youre not scared?
After seeing Geumhos true form, it would be natural to be afraid.
Whether hes a cat or a tiger, what does it matter? Hes so cute and sweet. Right, Geumho~?
Grrrrowl~
Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any problem.
Oh, right. Then I guess youll be taking Geumho with you sometime next week?
Yes, I think so.
Once his registration as a guardian beast is complete, I can bring him to the dorms.
They said it would take three days for him to be officially entered into the Associations database, and another two days after that to issue his identification tag.
So, we should be able to live together in about five days.
You know you have to submit an application to the academy too, right?
Ah.
Right. Id forgotten about that.
So, add about another day for that, making it six days.
Then itll be a week at most. Sigh. What am I going to do when I miss our Geumho?
You can see him from time to time.
Geumho, youre not going to forget your big sis, are you?
Nya-nyan.
Ah. Hearing the two of them playing like that, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
Oh, right. Can I ask you one thing?
What is it?
I had a pretty good idea of what she was going to ask.
How on earth did you tame Geumho?
I knew it.
Hmm. What would you do if I said its a secret?
What would I do? Id just have to accept it.
Surprisingly compliant, huh?
But I might be unreachable for a while. Im going to be busy.
Aha.
That was a pretty cute threat.
Well, Id already thought of a rough excuse.
I tempted him with the Fierce Tigers Gauntlet at the ruins.
With that, how did you Ah.
Looks like you figured it out. Yes. Geumho and the Fierce Tiger. It seems there was some connection between them.
Strictly speaking, it was the power of [Boiling Pure Blood] and [Guardian], but it was true that there was some connection between the Fierce Tiger's Gauntlet and Geumho.
It wasnt a lie.
Wow Chills.
I heard an exclamation of awe through the receiver.
Why?
A sudden sense of unease washed over me.
So thats why you asked for the Fierce Tigers Gauntlet.
Huh?
The conversation suddenly started heading in a strange direction.
If everything was planned from the beginning Then Geumho is
Hello? Yuhwa-ssi?
She started muttering to herself.
No, considering you knew about the hidden effect of the Fierce Tigers Gauntlet in the first place
It seemed she couldnt hear me.
I only told her the truth about the connection between the gauntlet and Geumho because I felt bad insisting it was a secret.
What on earth is she thinking?
If thats the case
What kind of delusion was unfolding in Yuhwas head?
I couldnt even imagine.
Listening to Yuhwas muttering, I quietly pressed the end call button.
I dont get it.
I should just get some sleep.
* * *
Thursdays classes were filled with ordinary lectures.
As you all know, ten thousand years ago, all non-human races, with the exception of humans, vanished without a trace.
And a very boring history class at that.
Perhaps because it was a guest lecturers class, everyone was relaxed and dozing off.
The strange thing is that no records whatsoever remain about their disappearance.
The lecturer continued, seemingly unbothered by the sleeping cadets.
Scholars have researched this continuously, but no one has been able to uncover the reason.
They say drowsiness is contagious.
By now, the majority of the cadets were sleeping with their heads on their desks.
There were three people, at most, who were still fully awake.
Me, Ha Siyeon, and Jia.
I was wide awake because my Boiling Pure Blood was stirring restlessly even when I tried to sleep, but as for the other two, they were listening to the lecturer with sparkling eyes, as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.
Some scholars have even dismissed the very existence of non-human races as nonsense. They claim its impossible for them all to disappear simultaneously at a certain point in time. That the records from ten thousand years ago are all fantasy.
I think Ive heard that before. The idea that all past records are just one persons delusions, and were all being deceived.
The skeptics.
However, their words were quickly dismissed as nonsense. Why is that?
Because clear evidence in the form of ancient artifacts remains all over the world.
Jia answered.
Correct. One only needs to look at the World Tree standing on the Korean peninsula. They certainly existed.
Shes right.
The non-human races definitely existed in the past.
Though Im probably the only one in this world who has even a vague idea of why they disappeared.
Then why did they disappear
I let the lecturers words fade into the background as I fell into thought.
The reason the non-human races vanished from this world was the great war that occurred ten thousand years ago.
That war, which lasted for ten years, led to the annihilation of all non-human races.
Except for the humans, who miraculously survived.
Well, not all of them were annihilated.
A few beings did avoid annihilation by being sealed or confined.
In fact, their seals are broken in the middle of the novel, and they return.
Like that black demon, Mephisto.
In any case, no records of that long, long war remain.
Thats why the original novel referred to the ten-year great war as the Blank 10 Years.
The problem is, I dont know the exact details of the Blank 10 Years either.
It was mentioned a few times in the original novel, [S-Rank Status Window], but it was never described in detail, so how could I know?
That remained a mystery until the very end.
Even when I asked Shin-i hyeong out of curiosity after the series ended, he would just tilt his glass with a bitter expression, and that would be the end of it.
Seeing as it wasnt properly mentioned in the original, it probably isnt that important.
But it still bothers me for some reason.
* * *
After all of Thursdays classes were over.
I had a quick dinner and returned straight to my room.
The current time was 6:40 PM.
Jia was supposed to come around 7, so she should be arriving soon.
Ding-dong
Just then, the doorbell rang.
It seemed she was here.
I quickly opened the door.
Hello.
Jia bowed her head.
Come in.
Okay.
Jia brushed past me and entered the room. I closed the door and followed her.
Ah, right. Seonjonim, this is for you.
Jia, who had been standing uncertainly, took a book out of her small handbag.
Its the book you said you wanted to see.
Oh. You brought it already?
The book Jia handed me was a record filled with information about the elves. Naturally, it also included details about their unique racial traits.
I happily opened the book she gave me.
And immediately closed it.
Its not in Korean.
Is there something wrong?
Perhaps because I had shut the book so abruptly, Jia asked, her eyes filled with anxiety.
No. I just want to read it later when I can focus.
Where can I learn the elven language? Should I look for a place like the Infinite Library Ah, wait, that was from Shin-i hyeongs previous work.
Aha.
Jia sighed in relief, as if reassured.
Have a seat.
Okay.
Jia perched on the edge of the bed, and I pulled out the chair from my desk and sat down.
So. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?
Judging from Jias expression yesterday, it didnt seem to be a trivial matter.
Well, um
Just as I thought, Jia hesitated. It seemed to be something difficult to talk about. I didnt press her and simply waited.
Um, Im just asking this just in case, but Seonjonim you
About a minute passed like that, and just as Jia opened her mouth to speak.
Ding-dong
The doorbell rang again, cutting her off.
?
Who could it be? No one would visit me at this hour without calling first.
Just a moment.
Ah, yes.
I went to the entrance and opened the door.
Who is i
SLAM!
And immediately shut it.
I must have seen that wrong, right?
I thought I just saw Yuhwa.
Yuhwa, holding Geumho.
Hmph. I wonder who taught you the rude habit of slamming a door in someones face after seeing who it is.
Guess I didnt see it wrong.
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
Is that Yuhwa-ssi?
I felt an inexplicable chill from Jias voice behind me.
No, well
Why did these two, who are like cats and dogs, have to show up at this exact moment
Hurry up and open the door. This little one is crying because he misses you.
Oh.
This little one?
You should have said Geumho.
She says things that could easily be misunderstood so casually.
Seonjonim?
Anyone who heard that would definitely misunderstand.
Hahaha.