Chapter 94: The Conclusion (2)
The bright light shining through the curtains stung her eyes.
"Mmmm..."
With her eyes closed tightly, Kim Ji-Hee felt around for her blanket, mumbling, "Blan... ket... blan... ket..."
It was missing.
"Aaah... dang it..."
She suddenly remembered that Uncle Cha Min-Sung had left the room's heating on too high the night before, so she had pushed her blanket off of the bed in the middle of the night.
Rolling over, Kim Ji-Hee buried her face into the soft sheets with a blissful grin. "How... nice..."
The bed was so soft that she felt her whole body relax. She was on the verge of falling back asleep, but at that moment, an extremely important memory flickered to life in her mind, and Kim Ji-Hee forced her eyes open.
"Ah... um..."
It was precisely because this bed was so comfortable that Kim Ji-Hee realized she wasn't in her usual bedroom.
"Mister?" Rolling onto her back, she sat up and glanced around. Instead of the cute rabbit-patterned wallpaper of her usual room, there were paintings and photos hanging on the walls.
"Mister..." she mumbled, lifting her right hand to rub her eyes.
Sliding down from the bed, she stumbled across the room, clasping the doorknob with both hands. Pushing open the squeaking door, Kim Ji-Hee emerged into a large living room. She shuffled on toward the adjoining kitchen.
"Hm, hm, hmm." A middle-aged man hummed cheerfully as he cooked, wearing a cute apron that didn't quite suit his dignified appearance.
"It's the rich... uncle," Kim Ji-Hee called out.
This middle-aged man was named Cha Min-Sung, the current president of the Il-Sung Group.
He turned to her with a smile. "Oh! You're awake, Ji-Hee."
At Kim Ki-Rok's request, Lee Yeon-Hwa had invited Kim Ji-Hee to stay at her home. Cha Min-Sung had agreed without fuss, already aware why DG Guild and Kim Ki-Rok wanted Ji-Hee sleeping somewhere else for a while.
"Did you sleep well, Ji-Hee?" he asked.
"Yeees. I had a good night's sleep," she replied with a polite bow, even though her eyes were still drooping with drowsiness.
Cha Min-Sung couldn't help chuckling at how adorable she was. The pure white pajamas, topped with a hood bearing rabbit ears, suited Kim Ji-Hee perfectly.
Come to think of it... Cha Min-Sung suddenly grew curious about something. "Ji-Hee, do you like rabbits?"
"Rabbits?"
"Mhm."
"Not really," she replied with a little shrug.
"Huh?"
Wherever Kim Ji-Hee went, she was always seen carrying a stuffed rabbit and wearing rabbit-themed clothes, so Cha Min-Sung found her answer unexpected.
"So you don't actually like rabbits?" he asked, making sure he hadn't misunderstood.
"I don't not like them."
"You don't not
like them?" Cha Min-Sung repeated with a thoughtful frown."They're just... okay?" Kim Ji-Hee struggled to explain.
"In that case, which animal do you like?"
"Grizzly bears," Kim Ji-Hee replied right away.
"Huh?" Cha Min-Sung was caught off guard once again. After staring at her in silence a moment, he ventured, "You mean the Alaskan brown bear?"
"Yeeees." Kim Ji-Hee nodded firmly.
"Why that?"
"Because they're big and strong."
"Ah, I see. So you like Alaskan grizzly bears."
"Yes."
"Hm, wait... you said because it's strong?" Cha Min-Sung kept on asking, still confused.
"Yeeees," she insisted.
Why would a girl who loved huge and mighty bears be dressed like a rabbit, carrying around a rabbit plushie that wouldn't even be a mouthful for a hungry bear?
A confused Cha Min-Sung was still working out the puzzle when Ji-Hee's small voice piped up again, "Rabbits... are Mister's."
"Mister? You mean Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok?"
"Yeees. They're Mister's favorite animal."
That "Crazy Bastard" Kim Ki-Rok liked small, cute rabbits, while the "Smiling Angel" Kim Ji-Hee adored large, ferocious Alaskan bears.
"How perplexing," Cha Min-Sung muttered.
However, there was something more pressing at hand.
"I'm afraid that I haven't finished preparing breakfast yet, so would you like to drink some milk instead, Ji-Hee?" he offered.
"Thank you very much," Ji-Hee replied, bowing again, and took a seat at the dining table. Since the chair was meant for adults, only her face peeked above the tabletop.
"Maybe we should..." Cha Min-Sung trailed off, feeling a surge of odd affection welling up inside as he watched the tiny, sleepy Ji-Hee. He stopped cooking, went to fetch his son Cha Tae-Hoon's old high chair, and brought it over for her.
"Thank you very much." Kim Ji-Hee bowed one last time. As soon as she thanked him, her body slumped forward with a thud, her forehead hitting the table with a bang.
"Are you alright?" Cha Min-Sung asked, alarmed.
"Yesss," came Ji-Hee's muffled answer, her forehead still pressed against the table.
With a wry smile, Cha Min-Sung resumed his cooking. A short while later, Shine Guildmaster Lee Yeon-Hwa and her son, Cha Tae-Hoon, emerged from their room. About ten minutes after those two sat down at the table, a beeping sound could be heard from the front door.[1]
The door opened and Kim Ki-Rok also arrived.
"Mis...ter!" Kim Ji-Hee cried out in excitement.
"Ji-Hee!" He echoed her name with a smile, crouching slightly and opening his arms as she ran to him. He pulled her into a firm hug, standing as he did, and rubbed his face against hers as he said, "Oh my! Look at our dear Ji-Hee!"
"Mis...ter!" Kim Ji-Hee giggled in protest.
Kim Ki-Rok pulled back just enough to meet her eyes, his expression turning serious. "Ji-Hee."
"Yes?" she replied, matching his tone, her eyes locked on his.
"Our house has been wrecked!"
"Eek?!"
He abruptly broke into a smile. "Just joking."
"Hmph hmph.
That's not funn—""It's only half-wrecked."
Despite her complaint, Kim Ji-Hee laughed as though overjoyed to see him again. Then, she tilted her head in confusion. "Huuuh?"
"That means we need to wait until the first of February before we can go back home."
"Then where are we going to sleep until then, Mister?"
Kim Ki-Rok just shrugged. "That's the issue, isn't it?"
She tilted her head in the opposite direction. "Are we going to sleep under a bridge? Or maybe in Seoul Station?"
"Now where did you go and hear something like that from?" Kim Ki-Rok said, bursting into laughter. He then turned his head to take in the rest of the room.
The married couple, Cha Min-Sung and Lee Yeon-Hwa, were patiently observing them.
He bowed his head and acknowledged, "Oh my, my apologies for arriving so late."
Cha Min-Sung politely responded, "Not at all. We haven't even started serving breakfast yet. Please come and join us."
***
After finishing a cheerful breakfast, they moved to the living room for fruit and tea.
At last, Lee Yeon-Hwa broached the topic that had felt too delicate to discuss at the table. "Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok? About what you said when you arrived..."
"Yes." Kim Ki-Rok nodded encouragingly.
"You mentioned that the building had been wrecked..." she paused, uncertain of how to continue.
Thankfully, Kim Ki-Rok quickly offered an explanation, "Ah, yes. Well, I'm afraid that at least half of our headquarters has been wrecked in some way or another, so we are in need of some urgent renovations."
With that, Lee Yeon-Hwa had a rough idea of the situation. It must have been a fierce battle with those Awakened criminals. Shine Guild had also dispatched Kang Ho and other Hunters at DG Guild's request.
One detail, though, struck her as odd.
Although she had received a brief report from each of her Hunters, there was no mention of any casualties on their side. There were only a handful of minor injuries, which the potions provided by DG Guild had quickly resolved.
However, since both Cha Tae-Hoon and Kim Ji-Hee were right there in the room, Lee Yeon-Hwa felt like she shouldn't ask for any of the more grisly details, so she chose a more general line of questioning. "So, you truly have nowhere to live at the moment?"
"Ah, that part is indeed true," Kim Ki-Rok admitted.
Lee Yeon-Hwa and Cha Min-Sung had both been assuming that it was just a joke, but as always, Kim Ki-Rok was someone who had managed to exceed both their expectations.
He quickly reassured them, "Well, I could always visit one of our guild members' homes along with Kim Ji-Hee and ask them to let us stay with them during this period, or I could rent a room at the DG Orphanage and just stay there for a while. Though I'm also considering just renting a room in a hotel."
There wasn't any real issue when it came to solving their temporary need for accommodations.
Kim Ki-Rok might have complained about his lack of money, but what he really meant was that he didn't have enough money to rebuild an entirely new headquarters using all the expensive materials from the last one. He still had more than enough to stay comfortably in a five-star hotel while renovations were underway.
"In that case, how about staying at the Il-Sung Hotel during this period?" Cha Min-Sung made an offer to Kim Ki-Rok. "That way, you and Ji-Hee won't need to worry about your accommodations, and we'll also benefit as it will be good publicity for our hotel."
"Would that really be alright?" Kim Ki-Rok politely deferred.
"Of course. Like I said, it would naturally bring our hotel a lot of positive publicity."
Kim Ki-Rok wasn't sure if Cha Min-Sung genuinely believed that, or if he was just trying to relieve them of the burden of accepting his generous offer.
"I intend to periodically enter the Gates during this time, so that means we will only be staying in your hotel for short periods. Would that still be fine?" Kim Ki-Rok checked.
"That's fine." Cha Min-Sung nodded confidently. "Because the important thing is to let people know that Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok and Miss Ji-Hee have chosen to stay at our hotel over any of our competitors."
"So you weren't just trying to be polite, you really were serious about the publicity thing," Kim Ki-Rok said, raising an eyebrow, before nodding and accepting Cha Min-Sung's generous offer. "Then, allow me to thank you. We will be happy to stay in the Il-Sung Hotel until the first of February."
"You are also free to bring over any of your guild members who are unable to live in the guild dormitories until the renovation is finished," Cha Min-Sung added.
"For now, I've given them a vacation so that they can use this time to visit their families, but you're right. It would be a bit much to ask them to stay at home for the whole month until the renovation is finished." Kim Ki-Rok considered the matter for a few moments before nodding. "Alright, let me take you up on that offer. I'll send a group text to inform our guild members."
It seemed like the DG Guild would end up owing Cha Min-Sung a pretty big favor. But then again, his talk about the good publicity they were bringing him didn't seem like empty flattery either.
The DG Guild had been extremely active during the recent wave of Gate raids and during the defensive battle at the final Gate. On top of that, they'd just managed to stop an attack by a group of Awakened criminals earlier that morning without taking a single casualty.
While nothing was certain yet, it was very likely the DG Guild would be in the spotlight for a while. Cha Min-Sung felt that, in the near future, it might be better to prepare a press conference as well as a separate press room to answer any questions that the public or the news reporters might have. He could also instruct his hotel manager to make sure that the reporters had some good words to say about their hotel as well.
Of course, if Kim Ki-Rok and his guild members didn't want to be interviewed, he would definitely respect their decision.
Cha Min-Sung stood up to leave the table. "Well then, please excuse me while I contact the hotel."
"Haaah, really," Guildmaster Lee Yeon-Hwa sighed deeply at the sight of Cha Min-Sung diving into work even while he was supposed to be resting at home. Turning to face Kim Ki-Rok again, she asked, "By the way, did I hear you imply that you were planning to bring Ji-Hee with you into the Gates?"
"Yes. During this rest period, I plan on finding new spirits that can become her allies, while also leveling her up," Kim Ki-Rok explained.
After all, the power of a Spiritualist laid in the strengths of their spirits, or in other words, the spirits of the deceased.
If Kim Ji-Hee managed to recruit the spirit of an Archwizard, she would be able to use magic. And if she recruited the spirit of a warrior, she would be able to engage in close combat.
The most important thing to remember was that her ability would only become stronger the more followers that she had. In fact, during this latest Gate defense, Kim Ji-Hee had shown the strength and versatility of her ability through the powers of the various spirits already by her side.
Guildmaster Lee Yeon-Hwa nodded thoughtfully. "So you already have a warrior, a wizard, a Pegasus with healing skills, and on top of that... Ah, I did happen to hear that a young vampire lady is also among the ranks now, correct?"
"That's right." Kim Ki-Rok nodded.
As she was now, Kim Ji-Hee was already quite a versatile Spiritualist.
"In that case, just what kind of spirit do you intend on recruiting?" Lee Yeon-Hwa asked curiously.
"A Spiritualist," he replied.
"Huh?"
"The first spirit that I intend to find is that of a Spiritualist."
Guildmaster Lee Yeon-Hwa was taken aback by this unexpected answer, and in contrast, Kim Ki-Rok leisurely bit into an apple he had picked up, giving her time to adjust to the idea.
Between bites, he continued to elaborate, "Spiritualists aren't inherently bad people, you know."
Guildmaster Lee Yeon-Hwa shook her head. "I know that Ji-Hee is special, but... No, are you saying that she really isn't a special case?"
Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "According to the stories that I've heard from the spirits who followed Ji-Hee out from their own dimensions in order to assist her, Spiritualists can be divided into two different types. There are those who use dark mana, and those who use mana from the demon realm."
Dark mana?
"Mana from the demon realm..." Guildmaster Lee Yeon-Hwa frowned. "What are the differences between the two?"
"Dark mana is a pure form of mana. Compared to regular mana, it's much rarer in nature and can only be absorbed during specific times of the day, mainly in the evening as the moon begins to rise. And as you might expect, the latter can be found throughout the demon realm."
Lee Yeon-Hwa listened intently as Kim Ki-Rok explained everything. The information she was hearing now could very well prove useful when it came to clearing a Gate in the future.
"So, from what I've heard regarding the Spiritualists who are able to talk to the deceased and control both their spirits and corpses, they are actually treated quite favorably in the various dimensions where these spirits were born in," Kim Ki-Rok revealed.
She gasped in surprise. "Oh my, really?"
"That's right. They can return the bodies of those who have died due to war or monster attacks back to their family, and they can summon the spirits of the deceased so that they can speak to their families one last time."
"Ah! I see now."
"Yes. A Spiritualist who carries dark mana holds a much higher status in society than I originally expected. However, I'm sure that you can already guess just what kind of people the Spiritualists who use the mana of the demon realm are," Kim Ki-Rok said grimly.
The two, or rather, the four of them all shared a nod. Even Kim Ji-Hee and Cha Tae-Hoon had found themselves absorbed in the conversation.
"In any case, that's why I'm thinking of searching for the spirit of a deceased Spiritualist. In order to ensure Ji-Hee's continued growth," he summarized.
Lee Yeon-Hwa now understood why he wanted to bring the young Kim Ji-Hee with him on his travels through the Gates.
"Mis-ter," Kim Ji-Hee called out, her head cocked to one side.
"Mhm, what is it, Ji-Hee?"
"We're going to go meet a Spiritualist?"
"Uh-huh. Although I don't know if we'll be able to find a spirit who will agree to become your teacher... we should at least give it a try first."
In his previous Attempts, he had always left one slot open for a Spirit Contract, hoping to one day find a Spiritualist capable of helping her grow. The problem was, after all this time, he still hadn't met anyone exceptional enough.
So what were the odds he'd find such a skilled professional now, during this Attempt, when he had already failed to do so in dozens of past repetitions?
Kim Ki-Rok genuinely believed there was a real chance of success this time. He was convinced that Kim Ji-Hee's rapid growth as a Spiritualist had shifted the flow of their timeline.
1. A lot of city apartments in Korea have digital number pad locks. ☜