#215
First of all, there was no greeting or introduction revealing identity at the beginning. It was a computer-printed letter, not handwritten. Perhaps they were worried about having their handwriting traced.
“Do you know that the penalty enforced by the Blessing Contract is a type of curse?”
“……”
From the very start, content that had been broadcast on TV not long ago suddenly appeared, causing Yoon Pa-ran to raise his eyebrows obliquely. He couldn’t quite understand what kind of scheme this was supposed to be.
However, the phrases that followed contained content that absolutely couldn’t be overlooked. Unlike when it had merely appeared on TV.
“Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk won a contract at an underground auction house – did he perhaps use it on Hunter Yoon Pa-ran?”
“Damn it.”
Below that was an attached photo of a transaction record with Dan Joo-hyuk’s signature. It appeared to be a ledger managed by that auction house place, showing that he had purchased a [Blessing Contract]. Looking at the date especially, it was definitely around the time when he had made a contract with Dan Joo-hyuk.
Was this some kind of blackmail?
Finding a connection between himself and Dan Joo-hyuk based on just that one fact was an absurd speculation. He couldn’t even understand why this would be blackmail material in the first place. Even if he and Dan Joo-hyuk had made a contract, it wasn’t illegal or anything.
“Ah.”
However, as his gaze slowly moved downward, the color drained from Yoon Pa-ran’s face.
“If that’s the case, then it would be a fraudulent contract. Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk must have a curse immunity skill, after all.”
“……”
What is this supposed to mean?
His gaze strangely couldn’t leave the words “fraudulent contract.”
“An SS-rank curse immunity skill, that is.”
At the mention of SS-rank, his heart strangely dropped with a thud.
“No way.”
Come to think of it, Dan Joo-hyuk had some strange aspects to him.
From the beginning, when they suggested setting each other’s penalty as “rank demotion,” he readily agreed. This was when he didn’t even know well what kind of person Yoon Pa-ran was.
Even when Yoon Pa-ran heard that Dan Joo-hyuk had fearlessly wielded an SS-rank sword in Russia, he had thought it strange. Why would he so unhesitatingly do something that could kill him?
Why did he always grab all items first without hesitation?
It was the same when they first discovered the [■■■ Fragment].
His attitude of pursuing only S-rank grades and interest had made Yoon Pa-ran accept quite a lot of things so far. However, it was a bit strange that this continued even after the existence of SS-rank items was confirmed.
Could it be that Dan Joo-hyuk doesn’t care about such curses? Such thoughts were starting to occur.
“No.”
Yoon Pa-ran unconsciously shook his head from side to side. It wasn’t right to have such thoughts based on a single letter of unknown origin.
It was also strange to suspect Dan Joo-hyuk like this based on speculative sentences whose truth was unknown.
“……”
But his gaze strangely kept circling endlessly over the printed characters.
What if there’s something I missed? His wandering gaze was just restless.
“What the hell is this……”
In the end, Yoon Pa-ran had to mutter like a sigh. His heart had been beating ominously from earlier.
Somehow, why was a mere piece of paper so ominous – it must be because it contained unexpected content.
Yoon Pa-ran’s darkened gaze turned to his phone placed on the floor. He intended to contact Dan Joo-hyuk immediately, but something felt strange.
Had calling him always been such a difficult thing?
“……”
In the end, until Dan Joo-hyuk returned, Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t bring himself to call him first.
❖ ❖ ❖
While Yoon Pa-ran was having a troubled time after receiving an unexpected letter, Dan Joo-hyuk had gained quite good results.
Interrogating a half-dead human was simpler than breaking a tree branch. Having confirmed information that Kim Sang-deok had actually made contact with the Tsar, he immediately boarded a flight back home.
He missed Yoon Pa-ran so much that he had reached his limit.
There had been occasional reports from Heo Sang-yeon. The report that Yoon Pa-ran had gone to the botanical garden and met someone claiming to be a friend’s parent made him frown a little. It turned out to be those strange parents who had tried to take Min-woong away.
He heard that Yoon Pa-ran had received something – could it be something like that note Min-woong had brought? Neither the younger siblings nor Yoon Pa-ran were hurt, but he couldn’t help being concerned.
Dan Joo-hyuk hurriedly stopped by his house, finished showering, and left through the front door. There happened to be a text from Yoon Pa-ran asking him to contact him when he returned.
It probably wasn’t because he missed seeing his face like Dan Joo-hyuk did – maybe he was curious about what information he had obtained in Russia.
Starting the car, Dan Joo-hyuk immediately called him. But Yoon Pa-ran said something unexpected.
“I’m about to leave now. I’ll go to the orphanage.”
“Let’s meet at my studio apartment.”
Yoon Pa-ran was currently at the orphanage. Since the younger siblings weren’t around much at this time, there would be no problem having an important conversation there.
But Yoon Pa-ran acted as if he needed a quieter place. His behavior was a little different from usual, which was concerning, but Dan Joo-hyuk tried to suppress that feeling.
More than that, his desire to see Yoon Pa-ran quickly came first.
“……”
While driving, he calmly organized the information he had obtained this time in his head. He wanted his existence to appear as useful as possible to Yoon Pa-ran.
Especially the information that those bastards were mistaking the ‘Sacred God’ as their own god felt important by intuition.
However, the studio apartment he hurriedly arrived at was dark without the lights on. Entering through the front door, Dan Joo-hyuk had a strong premonition that something was wrong.
“Yoon Pa-ran?”
“Any injuries?”
“……None.”
Even though he had deliberately made noise, Yoon Pa-ran stubbornly kept looking out the window as he asked.
Just looking at that small back made it feel like ominous shadows were grabbing at his ankles.
“What’s wrong?”
When he hurriedly asked, Yoon Pa-ran finally turned his head. His gaze went to the expression that was more rigidly hardened than usual.
Seeing that complexly troubled pale face made his own mind feel like it was burning white as well.
“I have something to ask.”
“Tell me.”
Yoon Pa-ran hesitated for a long time before finally beginning to speak. Dan Joo-hyuk, who had been frozen in place after entering through the front door, became increasingly anxious. What kind of question could it be?
All sorts of thoughts passed through his mind. Could it be that he was going to reject his confession? Was he looking so troubled because that made him uncomfortable?
However, unfortunately, the question that soon came struck Dan Joo-hyuk off guard.
“The [Blessing Contract] we used – did you buy it from somewhere like an underground auction house?”
“……Where did you get that information?”
It was a question that far exceeded his expectations. He was bewildered as to why Yoon Pa-ran would ask such a thing at this moment.
At the question he asked back without thinking, Yoon Pa-ran let out a deep sigh. That faint breath felt to Dan Joo-hyuk like encountering a great typhoon.
He even felt the illusion of cold sweat breaking out on his back.
“Answer me.”
Swallowing dry saliva from tension, Dan Joo-hyuk frantically racked his brain.
He didn’t know how Yoon Pa-ran had obtained such information, but the fact itself that he had obtained the contract from an underground auction house wasn’t a big problem. Despite the name, the underground auction house didn’t engage in the kind of illegal activities that Yoon Pa-ran would dislike.
“That’s right.”
He hurriedly scrambled for an answer. However, even as Dan Joo-hyuk gave that answer, he became confused again.
Even if he had obtained the contract from a place Yoon Pa-ran would dislike, he wondered whether he could actually lie about it.
What exactly was affection – he felt like he was placed before Yoon Pa-ran with no defenses whatsoever. This situation that went against his instincts as a hunter felt extremely vulnerable.
Anyway, while hiding his emotions as much as possible, Dan Joo-hyuk asked Yoon Pa-ran. There weren’t many things he could think of as the cause of Yoon Pa-ran obtaining such information while he was away.
“At the botanical garden, I heard someone approached you.”
Yoon Pa-ran readily nodded. Even though he had answered honestly, his pale face seemed even more hardened than before, making Dan Joo-hyuk extremely anxious.
Soon, the hesitating Yoon Pa-ran took something out of his pocket and held it out to Dan Joo-hyuk.
“Look at this.”
What came into his hands was some kind of letter. It seemed to be that letter that Sehee’s mother had handed over.
Dan Joo-hyuk slowly opened the envelope and took out the contents. Even so, he couldn’t easily guess the identity of what was written inside. Was someone trying to blackmail him using the fact that he had used the underground auction house?
However, Dan Joo-hyuk’s face gradually hardened as he hurriedly read the contents.
“Sorry, but seeing that made me a little concerned.”
“……”
Yoon Pa-ran’s doubt was entirely reasonable. The reckless acts he had committed so far passed through Dan Joo-hyuk’s mind like a panorama.
The ominous spark he had been trying to ignore from earlier had now grown large. As if it would soon burn everything about him.
“Your greatsword too, and the penalty was a bit reckless for you from the beginning.”
Even listening to Yoon Pa-ran’s calm reasoning, Dan Joo-hyuk couldn’t bring himself to part his heavy lips.
“But you…… why aren’t you saying anything?”
This was the biggest mistake he had recognized since becoming aware of his feelings.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
