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Chapter 286: A Black Flower (2)

The reason Yu Jitae was able to discern a relatively strong person’s power level immediately after seeing them was because he was a regressor. He had already seen the outputs of all the superhumans that were worth knowing, so he could guess how strong they would be in certain phases. 

However, he did not know the woman before his eyes.

Black hair, purple eyes.

And a face seemingly carved for the purpose of beauty.

He had never seen or heard about such a person existing and her mana was also quite foreign. 

Something like this occasionally did happen. Although he had lived for over hundreds of years, the world was broad and sometimes had things that he had no idea of. Whenever he came across such things, he wasn’t in a good mood since he had to know Earth like the back of his hand.

But it was fine since he could learn what he didn’t know.

“Aigo. Why today of all days?”

“Let’s just line back up.”

After the crisis, people who had scattered due to the beast gathered again to line up as Yu Jitae stood in front of the woman. It might cause more friction if he were to stand behind her so he intentionally stood in front of her.

There was no reason to waste any time. He was currently an executive of the Association and had various tools.

“Hello.”

Her purple eyes turned and gazed into his eyes.

The woman had normal eyes – the average eyes of a human, which was a rare find among superhumans. 

Yu Jitae took the ID card out of his wallet and showed it to her. It was the Dungeon Free Pass; a black card with the Association’s symbol on it.

“I am the Association’s Grade 5 agent, One.”

“Sorry?”

“Can I see your ID?”

“Ah…”

The woman indifferently looked into his eyes, before taking an ID card out of the inner pocket of her coat.

Yu Jitae received the card which only had such words engraved on it.

[Tower of Mages]

Soon when the woman added mana into it, it displayed the details of her identity.

[Royal Guards of the Golden Cross]

[No. 12. Myu (28, Female)]

Myu… it was a unique name. 

Only then did Yu Jitae realise why this woman seemed so foreign to him.

Despite repeating various iterations, he had a weak connection to magic due to his lack of talent at it.

Tower of Mages was an occlusive and introverted organisation. When he was weak, it was hard to make a connection with those from the Tower of Mages, and after becoming stronger, he needed rankers who weren’t tied by the Tower of Mages. Because of that, there were naturally people in the tower that he had no idea about. 

Royal Guards of the Golden Cross were agents that guarded the Lord of the Tower from the shadows in secret. It was rare for them to show up in public and those elected as the Royal Guards of the Golden Cross even had their names removed from the official ranks.

This woman was apparently Number 12, but Yu Jitae didn’t even know how many of them there were in the first place. It was thus normal for this to be his first time seeing her.

Even then, he decided to talk a bit more.

“Why is a shadow that should be attached to the feet of their master wandering around in broad daylight?”

“We are not watchdogs. I have something to do.”

“And what would that be.”

“To buy a flower.”

The authenticity floating on his [Eyes of Equilibrium (SS)] that he had activated as a habit was ‘true’. It meant that she was telling the truth.

Her favourability was neutral and so was her nature of good and evil.

It was an ever so average personality. It was so normal that it was unique among superhumans who tended to turn increasingly strange as they got stronger.

The woman appeared vigilant but did not ask about the reason behind his question. This was why an executive position of the Association was convenient – he could act like a police officer wherever it may be.

“May I ask why you are here then?” she asked.

“Me?”

“Did you come looking for me for matters related to the Tower? There shouldn’t be anything the Association can force on the Tower though.”

“No… I came to buy a Wyvernip.”

“Ahh. Same as me.”

“Wyvernip?”

“Yes. They’re good, aren’t they. Very relaxing to smell.”

In some countries, they were often used as an expensive air freshener or a talisman, just like how Ling Ling had kept dried Wyvernip as a necklace. After that, Yu Jitae continued asking a few questions but couldn’t find anything strange about the woman.

However, they were met with a problem when the line in front of them disappeared.

“Ohh. You’re here again, Miss. You’re after a Wyvernip yeah?”

“Yes. Do you have a lot of them?”

“No. We got almost nothing this time.”

“Ah…”

“And today’s batch is the last. There won’t be any more in the future.”

“Sorry?”

The merchant grumbled.

“You know how the bastards at the Association are noisy these days. Those gangsters and bullies forced every raid group out of Lamdiaran.”

“Umm…”

“Fuck. Say something in advance at least, ya know? My brothers were in the field for 8 years and they suddenly got nothing to do. They borrowed equipment for 10 years and now they’re doomed.”

“Hmm…”

“You’ve got no idea how many people have to starve now. Those Association retards. Who knows what random things they’re trying to do, trying to monopolise everything…”

“Ah~~! You have no idea! Everyone knows those bastards are trying to wage a war!” The merchant of the store nearby shouted in fury. 

“Whatt? Fuck, are they really tryin’ to wage a war? Do those arrogant bastards have something to believe in?”

“Those guys yeah? They were acting cocky as if they were international police and now their stomach is so big, that their guts are flowing out from it.”

“What has the world come to… Association. I had no idea those rogues were the source of evil.”

“Bastards… Those guys called Quasars or whatever need to do some work. Whinging just because of one death or something… Hell, every one of those stupid higher-ups should all die for a whole revamp!”

Meanwhile the woman, ‘Myu’, widened her eyes in surprise as she threw a glance at Yu Jitae. She then saw the odd Grade 5 agent of the Association wearing the same indifferent look on his face despite hearing countless profanities about the Association.

The public sentiment being like this was already well-known, even in the Association.

“So, how many Wyvernips do you have?”

“Nn? Ah. Look at me. Here. I have one left.”

“One?”

“Yah. Only one. You’re lucky Miss. Haha.”

The moment he said that, she immediately flicked her head towards Yu Jitae. Although the two of them were next to each other, it was Yu Jitae who was in the line first.

“Nn? Ah, were you also after the Wyvernip young man?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry to you Miss, but I think he comes first.”

Yu Jitae paid the price and took the flower. During the process, he observed her and again thought to himself that she was a superhuman with an extremely sane personality, from how she threw glances at it with regret.

In any case, he received the item and it was highly likely that the woman wouldn’t cause any problems. Things were done here so he turned around and left the crowd behind but the woman toddled and chased from behind. He stopped and turned around to ask why she was following him.

“They only sell that here apparently.”

“…”

“And that seems to be the last flower.”

“I heard that too.”

“Is there any chance that I can buy that?”

“No.”

“I’ll give you 5 times the price.”

“Even 10 times won’t be enough.”

She had an extremely regretful look on her face.

“Okay… You know, if you turn the corner there, you’ll find a preservative store. You should be able to enter it as a Grade 5 agent.”

“What?”

“Get holy water from Lamdiaran and a preservation device to set at 45 degrees Celsius. If you do that, even after it dies it would last several weeks without withering and give a scent off.”

“Oh, really.”

“Just so that you can use it for as long as possible since it’s the last flower. Goodbye then…” she said before turning around.

He thought to himself. Shouldn’t one give something back after receiving something? It was interesting that such a thought had struck his mind due to living a normal life. 

“Excuse me.”

Yu Jitae called Myu, who looked back at him after hearing his voice. He walked up and plucked a few of the black petals of the flower and gave it to her.

“Ah, thank you.”

“No problem.”

Saying that, he turned back.

“Umm… I’m very grateful. Would you like me to buy you a meal?”

She said at the end but he shook his hand. That was the end of his encounter with the woman – he wasn’t interested in anything beyond that.

Even if he were to remember that woman one day, it would simply be because of her unique purple eyes. 

***

“Oing? What’s this box?” Kaeul asked.

Inside the transparent cubical box, the petals fluttered inside the thick liquid. The other kids that were either having an apple or a mandarin also turned to look at him.

“The Wyvernip flower is inside. Apparently it lasts longer this way.”

“Nn? What about the smell?”

“Try it. It gives off a soft scent.”

“Uuumm…… Uwah, it actually does!? Ahjussi you’re the best…!”

Kaeul carried the Wyvernip and showed it to Bom and Yeorum.

“Muuunng…”

“Hmm… That’s good…”

Once again, Yeorum and Kaeul relaxed after smelling the flower. 

Meanwhile, Bom continued feeding Gyeoul. “Uiingg~” She imitated the sound of a fly while carrying the mandarin around in a circle before bringing it to Gyeoul’s mouth. 

“Ahh.”

Gyeoul, thinking that she was being treated like a child again, had a displeased look on her face but when the mandarin was finally in front of her mouth, she widened her eyes into circles and opened her mouth.

“…Ahh.”

The mandarin entered her mouth half-way.

But when her lips were about to come to a close, Bom sneakily pulled the mandarin out.

“Good.”

“….?”

What’s ‘good’? Gyeoul grumbled in dissatisfaction. Only then did Bom put the whole mandarin into her mouth with a smile.

“…Hmph.”

“You seem sulky but your mouth is giving it away.”

Nom nom…

He thought she was simply too indulged in playing to pay any attention to the flower but that wasn’t the case. Even when Gyeoul was rolling around with the baby chicken, Bom kept her distance without trying to take a smell of the Wyvernip.

“Why aren’t you smelling that?”

“I’m fine.”

“Why.”

“Oh you see you see! For some reason, it’s stronger for unni! She said she suddenly got very sleepy…!” said Kaeul from the side after raising her body up from the sofa.

It had a stronger effect on her?

“You didn’t know? Yu Bom spent the whole day yesterday holed up in her room taking a nap,” Yeorum added.

She did sleep more than usual but he hadn’t linked it to the flower. Yu Jitae turned towards Bom, who then opened her mouth.

“For some reason, it was just me that felt very sleepy.”

“Just you?”

“Yes yes. I think it’s because I’m a dragon of nature. That’s probably why it had a stronger effect on me.”

“Why didn’t you force it away then.”

“I was thinking about it, but it feels different from pushing poison out of your body. It’s like forcing yourself to stay up when sleepy? Something like that.”

Yu Jitae couldn’t really remember what that felt like.

“Well it was good though. I get a lot of nightmares usually and can’t sleep well but I had a whole 2 days of sleep.”

He paid little regard to it. Although it did seem slightly strange, there was a lot more important topic to focus on so he turned his mind towards that instead.

While the kids were watching a drama in the living room, he checked the newspaper with his watch.

[An ever-increasing fear and animosity.]

[‘G12’ demands for a detailed reasoning behind the Association’s recent focus on the military.]

[A newborn superhuman in his 20’s left jobless from the sudden shift in the military workforce.]

[Maximum military tension in every country… Some even voice their support for Quasar.]

[President of the Republic of Korea, Yun Gujoon, “It’s not too late yet. The Association must discard their mysticism and open up…”]

[“Will blocking the mouth and the ears suffice?” Petrovic lays criticisms on the Association’s control over media.]

Flames of anti-Association that had momentarily settled after Chaliovan’s public statement had recently been re-ignited. In the subjugation process of the Quasars, there was an excessive use of force and several armed organisations that were dissatisfied by the process came out and conveyed their will to stand alongside the Quasars.

He had postponed it for as long as possible, but it was no longer possible to do so.

“Bom. Let’s have a chat for a bit.”

Yu Jitae called Bom to the terrace.

*

“Have you thought about what I told you before?”

Bom was the only one out of the four that at least had an idea of what Yu Jitae was doing. From the days when he had been hunting demons in the past, Bom often asked how things were going and Yu Jitae gave short explanations.

And a few months ago, he asked Bom for a favour, asking her to go to the Association together.

“It was about things that I can help with right?”

“So you still remember it.”

“Because I don’t forget.”

The situation was like the following:

1. The Association was accumulating more military in preparation for the ‘Long Night’.

2. The ‘reason’ at the basis of the preparation of the Long Night was the prophet.

3. And the entire world was requesting for that reason.

However, Yu Jitae could not stand at the forefront.

“From now, you will become the justification of the Association. You will be the reason for everything I do and everyone will accept what I say at once because of you.”

Yu Jitae’s voice was a lot lower than usual as Bom also returned a serious nod.

“…With the title of a soothsayer, is it?”

“Yes. You will stand for the public to see. Each nation will try to analyse the wave of your mana and as you know, the unique attribute of [Foreseeing] is within the mana of the green race. This is the same as the power of foresight which was discovered from the one and only Level 5 artifact that’s in the hands of the Tower of Mages.”

“Yes…”

Bom was in fact an incomplete soothsayer, because she couldn’t see what she wanted to see or see things that had to be seen.

However, that was not important because Yu Jitae had the revelations and although quiet for now, [Vintage Clock (EX)] was the god so Bom simply had to act as the mouth.

After some contemplation, Bom asked a question.

“What will you do if I don’t want to do it?”

“I will have to find a substitute.”

“Is there one?”

There wasn’t any.

Things would get more troublesome because Yu Jitae would have to take time off the children to use for pressuring each government. 

“I think I’m the only one that can do it.”

“Why do you think so.”

“If someone too strong like ahjussi act as one, it might be seen as an imbalance in power and there might be oppositions.”

Bom was smart enough to understand the ins and outs of the situation. 

Yu Jitae was a tyrant. Hitting them with a stick was possible as long as he had the time. But ironically, that was in fact the problem since the time spent taking care of the young dragons was more important to him than anything else.

“That’s exactly right. That’s why I’m trying to give a carrot instead of a stick.”

“Ah, a carrot’s a bit…”

“Yeah. Broccoli, cucumber, whatever.”

Only then did Bom give a satisfied nod.

“Is that okay,” he asked.

“Do I have to be restrained there a lot?”

“Not at all. But there might be a few instances where you have to follow me to show your face. You would have to follow a schedule.”

“Will I have to be there by myself?”

“That will almost never happen. You will spend most of the time with me.”

“…”

Bom slowly nodded with an uncertain look on her face.

“Hmm… we will return to Unit 301 sometimes right?”

“Well of course.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

Saying that, she slowly leaned on the railing.

“Life at Lair was boring anyway.”

“That’s no good.”

“You already know. I have no friends and no social skills… And now I’m not writing any novels either. The kids are fun and interesting to be with but I was quite bored these days to be honest.”

“Thank you. You won’t have to go to the frontlines so there’s no need to be too nervous.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t think of this as you being used or anything. It’s to make things better for all of us.”

“It’s alright. Using and being used is part of human relationships right?”

It was winter.

The days were short and the sun set from early evening. Although the two of them weren’t really cold, the wind was quite chilly.

“Let’s head back inside.”

He said while turning and Bom, who was blankly gazing at him, belatedly gave her reply.

“…Okay, oppa.”