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Chapter 110: The Moon Always Loves

The moon always loves. Sometimes it loves people, sometimes stars, beasts, plants, and even its own reflection in the water.

The love of the moon brings great strength to its beloved. A power worthy of being loved. A power received for loving. It is the connection that ties the moon to its lover.

Because they are connected by that power, the moon can feel the presence of its lover anywhere, anytime.

However, being unilaterally loved by a transcendent being is not always a pleasant affair. There are reasons, good or bad, that it is called a god. There will come a time when the parts that are difficult for mortals to understand and accept will reveal themselves. Eventually, chaos visits that love.

Numerous lovers of the moon could not withstand the weight of love and perished. Yet the moon loves. Just like always, it drenches itself in dreams.

Awaiting the day it will find someone who can reciprocate its love.

The Monster Train halted to catch its breath. Countless people disembarked at Hayan Station, but among them, a few stood out. In the midst of the crowd, one individual towered over everyone else by a head, while another jutted out nearly three heads’ worth.

Though their features were obscured by a deep blue robe, their body was so massive that the robe hardly served its purpose. The giant glanced at the antique compass pulled from within their cloak and muttered.

“The omen is… that way.”

The giant’s gaze followed the compass needle.

What lay beyond, on the other side of the city? Even a man oblivious to worldly affairs knew this much. A desert. A desert gate, known as the White Sea.

Meanwhile, the companions, squinting beneath a hand shielding their eyes, surveyed their surroundings.

“Ugh, still a backwater town. Even the goddess is indifferent, sending us to a place like this.”

“Shut it, Killian. Do you intend to defy the goddess’s will?”

At the giant man’s sharp voice, the companions shrank back. The giant, seemingly nursing a headache as he rubbed his temples, exited the station first, while Killian, who had been watching for a moment, discarded his robe.

Once the robe was removed, a handsome man with yellow hair was revealed. Eyes became drawn to him immediately. Beyond his looks, what caught attention was, of course, his long ears.

Chuckling at the gazes focused on him, the man waved casually as if providing fan service, muttering to himself.

“I wonder how my sister is doing~”

“Get over here, Killian!!”

At the thunderous shout, Killian blinked in surprise and exited the station.

Emblazoned starkly on his dark blue robe was a crescent moon pattern.

*

“Shar, Tae-oh, listen up.”

Grabbing the shoulders of the two distracted children and shaking them, Yeon-woo spoke seriously. It seemed that whatever was behind them was bothering him.

It was the ruins. From afar, it looked like just a faded pile of stones, but as one approached and tilted their head, it was clear that it marked the entrance of some structure.

The stones were seamless, as if they were one from the very beginning, with an arch-shaped opening. Dusting the sand away revealed patterns, proving that it once belonged to a civilization.

And the arching hole led into endless darkness. A darkness so black, it felt like a trap, possessing a mana that made one want to flee, yet held an allure that thrilled the hunters.

“There are rules when entering this type of ruin. Understood?”

It was only upon hearing Yeon-woo’s serious tone that the children snapped to attention. They gulped, faces serious, as they focused on Yeon-woo’s voice. Yeon-woo smiled with satisfaction.

“Now, hold hands.”

Ah, so they don’t want to fall behind, huh?

The children firmly grasped each other’s hands, faces eager with questions about what was next. Yeon-woo could hardly contain his laughter and dashed toward the ruins.

“Ah, Dad!? What about the rules!?”

“There are rules!! The entrance involves a jump concept!!”

“That’s a total mess…!!”

The three landed atop the sand. Fortunately, the slope was not too steep, so Yeon-woo decided a sled would not be necessary.

Yeon-woo hadn’t jumped in unprepared. He’d confirmed that the entrance sloped like a slide. He couldn’t quite remember what lay beyond, but as far as he recalled, there weren’t any traps at the end.

“Gyaaaah!!”

“Waah!!”

The two children exclaimed simultaneously. While sleds and slides might seem similar at a glance, each had its unique charm.

And Yeon-woo fully knew that his kids went bonkers over such things.

He let the children enjoy themselves while he gauged the depths of the ruins.

The space around Yeon-woo continuously input information into his mind. Would they be able to break the walls in an emergency? Could they scale the slope? If something appeared, would they be able to respond in this posture?

Yeon-woo’s instincts, having reached the realm of superhumans, processed everything instantaneously, drawing conclusions.

As if dismissing such caution entirely, the sand slide came to an end. A floor that wasn’t sandy greeted the trio. He telepathically addressed the ecstatic children.

“Alright, both of you, quiet down. Tae-oh will go back in, and Shar, shine some light.”

[Understood…!!]

In the pitch-black darkness, Tae-oh’s presence vanished. Returning within, he scattered the darkness like a sonar or radar, painting the surrounding environment in Yeon-woo’s mind.

At the same time, a small light blossomed from Shar’s fingertips. A warm light illuminated the passage, revealing the otherworldly civilization to Yeon-woo’s sight.

“Good, now you can voice out.”

“Phew, that was tense.”

[Hehe, Tae-oh will talk a lot! Ayayayahh…!!]

Tae-oh began playing word games in his mind. What a cute little rascal.

The reason Yeon-woo silenced the kids was due to the uncertainty of what lay ahead. However, having not caught anything in Tae-oh’s sonar or Shar’s light, he decided to proceed while still remaining cautious. Time was slightly tight.

“…Alright, let’s begin.”

The request to explore the ruins of the otherworldly civilization. From being a D-rank request, it seemed the requester, that is, the academy, judged the interior to be of considerable difficulty…

“It’s not impossible.”

“Especially with Shar here!”

[And Tae-oh too!]

Just as they said. With a ten-year veteran hunter standing at the threshold of superhuman ability, and joined by talents like Shar and Tae-oh, they were capable of tackling even C-rank requests with ease.

“Alright, let’s go~”

As if it were a picnic, the trio stepped into the darkness, relying on the little light.

“It’s getting serious now.”

Apart from being slightly slanted, the internal structure of the ruins felt like a hospital. Dust-covered rooms lined the corridor, interspersed with large chambers. After brushing off the debris with a soft brush, they found no worth returning.

“Seems like there’s nothing over here either…!”

“What about Tae-oh?”

[So far, I have detected no movements of any entities…!]

“Good, proceed with the work.”

Yeon-woo had previously instructed Tae-oh to focus on simple motion detection rather than life forms.

Regardless of the type, most beings that emerged from ruins often prioritized long-term durability over raw strength.

Mummies, golems, and the like… They were intended to remain functional for centuries, capable of repelling intruders.

Based on that pattern, it was a certainty they would encounter golems here. Other creatures were unfathomable.

Anyway, the trio advanced deeper into the ruins. Wondering if they would indeed come across golems or not, they moved along flawlessly.

“It appears the first floor has already seen visitors.”

“Treasure hunters, right?”

Without saying much, Yeon-woo examined the stairs ahead and the map drawn beside them. While he couldn’t discern the writing, its image alone held value.

Dust was brushed away with a soft brush.

“What? There’s a fifth floor?”

“That’s pretty deep. At this point, it feels almost like a dungeon, doesn’t it?”

“Totally. What in the world was this building meant for?”

As they continued, curiosity brimmed over due to the mystery.

Given that its structure wasn’t designed to ascend but rather delved underground, considering that such types of constructions often had some unsettling aspects due to various media influences, made Yeon-woo ponder deeply.

While looking around, Yeon-woo suddenly patted Shar’s head, as if to prevent her from turning her face away.

“…We should be on our toes starting from the second floor.”

As he descended the stairs with the children, Yeon-woo whispered a warning to himself. Fortunately, it seemed the kids hadn’t noticed. Next to the stairs lay a pile of bones, as if someone had tossed them aside.

*

At that moment, in the backyard of the orphanage.

“…….”

Today, as Claire was watering the flowers in peace, she suddenly stood up. Her usual relaxed expression was replaced by a sharp, focused demeanor, like a finely honed blade.

“I knew this would happen.”

It always felt strange right from the start. Even though it had been several years and she had managed to relax, today was the day it finally arrived.

“A silver whale? For a child who was doing just fine to suddenly have such dreams is already suspicious.”

Of course, at first, it likely wasn’t so. A tender age, one wouldn’t find it odd for imagery from a fairy tale book to appear in a child’s dreams.

But it was after some time had passed that she began to find it strange.

To call it repetitive, nearly entrancing, for the same figure to appear multiple times in a child’s dream was indeed peculiar. Ever since that time, Claire’s crop sales had seemingly come to a standstill.

After all, the silver creature was her symbol.

“I told you to stay quiet and not be greedy…!!”

With a fury contained in her sigh, Claire marched decisively towards the computer room set up in the orphanage.

Bursting through the door, she was met with the wide-eyed gazes of Jun-woo and the two children, who turned to stare at her in shock.

“Su, Sister?”

“I’m heading out, so please take care of the children. You can handle it, right?”

Jun-woo stammered, surprised at her sudden departure and wanted to ask what was going on, but pressure in her gaze left him unable to utter a word, only managing a nod.

Claire smiled brightly at the children before she slammed the door behind her.

“What’s happening now….”

Jun-woo could only mutter in confusion. Whenever she stormed out like that in a fit of rage, it would usually take her a day or two to return. Ironically, Jun-woo was not confident in cooking.

After momentarily stroking his chin, Jun-woo turned to the other two children.

“…Shall we order in?”

“Let’s do that. We also have the allowance that Yeon-woo gave us.”

There seemed to be no better way to soothe the orphanage kids’ complaints.

(Continued in the next chapter)

 

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