Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Nari looked at Nan, thinking that maybe he was finally trying to be considerate of her. He pressed his head down with an expression that showed he was truly embarrassed.
“I’m sorry for asking a woman to get into my car this late at night. I wasn’t thinking. With my authority and my age, I should’ve been more careful…!”
“Ah, n-no, that’s fine.”
For Shin Bitnari, who had long been ranked number one in the world, the fear of a direct physical attack had disappeared ages ago. If anyone tried to harm her, she could just open a dimensional rift and escape or use Mental Domination.
But now she realized that ordinary women would never simply follow in such a situation. Only then did Nari think, ah, I made a mistake. Nan lowered his head deeply.
“No!! I completely understand that it doesn’t feel fine! So if you want to get out right here, that’s okay!”
“Hey, I don’t even know where this place is, and it’s the middle of the night! Getting out here would be even more dangerous for me, you know?!”
At her words, Nan looked around, then made a face as if he’d just realized something. He rubbed his chin. Nari let out a heavy sigh.
“It’s fine, just keep driving….”
Nari wasted her energy for nothing and stopped Nan who was pulling his hair out.
How in the world had her mother ever gotten involved with someone like this?
To shift the mood, Nari spoke.
“…So, um… why did you go to prison?”
She had assumed it was because he used to be a gangster, but when she searched online, it looked like there was more to the story. Honestly, she also didn’t want to be connected to a criminal.
If he had gone to prison for being tied to a crime, then it didn’t matter if her mother had known him or not, Nari wanted no further connection.
After her mother’s death, Nari had lived inside a rigid sense of morality. Ever since creating her second identity, she could have forged official documents like resident registration at will, or trapped people with illusions to make a fortune.
But still, the only wrongdoings she had ever committed were minor ones, like using a Hunter license under false pretenses or playing harmless pranks with illusion magic. That was all because of her conscience.
Even if no one knew who she was, she never wanted to do anything that someone could use against her. She didn’t want to be close to criminals either.
It always felt like her actions carried her mother’s shadow. Because of that, she held herself to harsher moral standards than anyone else.
So her rejection of this man, whom her mother had named her godfather, wasn’t just a natural wariness of strangers. But if there was some hidden reason behind it…
“Well, I went because I made mistakes.”
“What mistakes exactly?”
“Hiding a Gate, using combat skills without having a Hunter license, selling related items without reporting them.”
Gate concealment and selling unregistered items. Since those were intentional acts, they could be seen as serious crimes like smuggling or tax evasion. Nari raised her eyebrows.
If he had done that in an organized way, then calling him a gangster wouldn’t have been wrong. After all, even Nari herself didn’t sell high-grade items because she was afraid of being tracked.
“Isn’t that actually a serious crime?”
“Have you ever heard the story from the Joseon Dynasty? Because official documents were written in Chinese characters, the common people couldn’t understand them and ended up becoming criminals.”
Nari nodded. Nan frowned, as if what he said was obvious, and looked out the car window. The small scars on his hands reminded her of that time.
“This region was restored later than Seoul. Naturally, news came late as well. That’s why I couldn’t follow the law. That’s all.”
“Wouldn’t that kind of reason get you some leniency?”
“The major guilds tried to destroy the ecosystem of Awakeners in Busan so they could take the Gates for themselves. When they couldn’t do it with force, they reported us to the authorities. I believe there was lobbying behind it. So I took the fall and went to prison. It was better for me to go alone than for all of us to go in together.”
Nan gazed out the window as he spoke. Despite the late hour, elderly men and women were walking around the small village.
“…Your mother once told me that lifting a spear to protect is different from lifting a spear to attack. The ones who lifted their spears with me are now Mago and are protecting this place.”
Following his calm words, Nari looked around the peaceful village.
An apostate monk. Just like a defrocked priest, it was a class given to someone who had done something that got them expelled from monastic life.
“…You didn’t commit any major crimes, right?”
“Yes. Because your mother stopped me in the middle, that’s how it ended.”
Nari leaned deep into her chair.
It had been a time when strength meant everything. She couldn’t guess exactly how things had been back then, but she understood how he felt.
“Alright then, I guess….”
The car screeched to a halt in the parking lot. When the driver opened the door, Nan nodded and let Nari step out first.
In the mountains, bird cries echoed. A four-story building stood there, with a few rooms still lit.
“Where is this?”
“This is where the Hunters of Mago stay. Mago’s lodgings work in cooperation with temples across the region. This place used to host temple stays, so some noise is tolerated, but below us are the monks’ quarters. Please try to keep quiet.”
‘A temple?’
Nari looked up at Nan with that thought in mind.
A temple that Jeong Suho had mentioned. And this rough-looking man. Was he the one? Nari rested her chin on her hand.
“Um, by the way, do you know Jeong Suho too?”
“Of course. I only remember him when he was barely as tall as my thigh, but every time he came here, he’d try to knock over the stone pagoda with a slingshot. I always stopped him. I’ve been worried because I lost contact with him and he shut himself away, but I know he’s with the Wargod now. Are you in touch with him?”
“Uh, yeah….”
“That’s a relief. It seems like you two are a good match, so keep building that bond.”
Nan took Nari to the first-floor lobby, had a short conversation with the guard, then came out and handed her a key.
“Stay here tonight. I asked them to give you the best room.”
“Grandmother? Your mother I mean… Am I not going to see her?”
“My mother needs a bit of time to prepare to meet you. Please rest well, and you’ll see her tomorrow afternoon.”
He bowed and started to leave the building. Nari, bewildered, called after him.
“…Wait, you’re just leaving? That’s the end of the story?”
She had expected him to say more about her mother. Nan turned back with a confused expression, then after a moment’s thought, spoke.
“Mago is strong, but without your mother, it wouldn’t exist.”
“So could you explain that a little more….”
Nari wanted to ask how exactly her mother had influenced him and what she had done here. But Nan spoke only a single line.
“So remember this, Mago is always on your side. No matter what.”
Nari was left standing there without anything to say. Nan turned back and walked toward the temple.
* * *
The temple bell jingled softly in the night breeze. The place she was led to had a sign on the door that read “Silence.”
The room was a one-room space, a little big for one person. It had a wardrobe, a bathroom, a single power strip, and bedding. Thankfully, the internet worked.
“They really did use this place for temple stays, huh.”
She muttered to herself while flipping through a guidebook she had picked up at the entrance. Cute cartoon monks illustrated the explanations about Mago.
Mago was a guild that had grown around temples, so naturally, many of its Hunters were monks or used spiritual energy as their main power. The first guild leader was Arahan, the second was Nan.
Unlike Sanctuary with its corporate feel or the Wargod with its bureaucratic feel, Mago allowed freedom of side jobs and freedom of dress. Each temple had a branch, and each branch had its own leader.
The place Nari was staying, Naewonjeongsa in Busan, was the main temple. Hunters who needed lodging could stay in temple stay facilities partnered with Mago.
“So it’s not for profit then?”
[The Lord of Chaos stares at the booklet with you and mutters that it looks more like a vigilante group.]
In this structure, each branch leader retained their own authority, so power wasn’t concentrated in the guild master.
Even if that worked for the Wargod, Kang Sujin of Sanctuary would never have run things this way.
Though it was one of the Four Great Guilds, excluding the Wargod which was a public entity, it was obvious Mago didn’t make as much money as the others.
“Looks like they focused more on protecting the region than making money.”
[The Lord of Chaos nods and says it must be because of the guild master’s absolute charisma.]
Nari thought back to her conversation with Nan. He said they picked up their spears to protect, and that’s what became Mago. A man who protected Busan in lawless times. A man the locals always treated with respect.
It seemed clear that Mago ran smoothly thanks to the guild master’s conviction and the people’s trust.
“Yeah, I guess. Still, it’s strange. How did Mom get involved with people like this? How is it that without Mom, there wouldn’t be Mago? And the most important thing, this.”
Nari tapped the page where it said the first guild leader was “Arahan.” He was famous. One of only six S-ranks in Korea, the oldest still active. The only one who reached S-rank without relying on a constellation’s power, relying solely on his own power.
The Green Sage, ranked fourth in Korea, who hadn’t appeared in public for years. People just called him Nahan.
[The Lord of Chaos mutters that she’s probably Nan’s mother, the one you’re supposed to meet tomorrow.]
“Yeah, see here.”
Nari pointed at the explanation about Nahan. It said that after retiring, she had passed Mago down to her son and now lived at the temple, training with the monks.
“…So Nahan knew Mom?”
Nari frowned hard. Of course, these days all S-ranks knew each other, but that wasn’t true when her mother had been active.
Back then, Hunters didn’t cooperate like they did now. They were rivals, watching each other closely. Her mother hadn’t often met with them, let alone built friendships. And yet, she knew Nahan?
[The Lord of Chaos grins and says maybe that’s why Nahan was able to reach S-rank without a constellation.]
“So you’re saying Mom helped Nahan reach S-rank??”
Nari jumped to her feet.
“Ugh, this is driving me crazy. Tomorrow? I can’t wait until tomorrow!”
Nan had said both he and his mother considered her mom a savior. Thinking of that, Nari was convinced her mom must have influenced Nahan. She whipped her head toward the window.
It was 3:30 a.m. It was rude to meet someone at this hour, but Nari threw on a hoodie. The Lord of Chaos burst out with a satisfied message.
[That’s the spirit, Nari! That’s exactly like you! The Lord of Chaos claps happily!]
If Kang Ihyun had been here, he would’ve said it was a huge breach of manners and tried to convince her to wait until tomorrow. But unfortunately, he wasn’t here now.
“How could I wait? I even watch YouTube videos at one-point-two-five speed.”
[Trickster Exclusive Basic Skill :: Perception Interference is activated!]
Nari muttered as she yanked open the door with the sign that read “Silence.”
From the time she was little, she had always been the kind of child who failed the marshmallow test spectacularly.