Lv.99 Princess of Dark Flames (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 13

“What? The police station?”

“Yes. They said it was a young woman in a black dress holding a black parasol… She seemed like your guest, sir.”

Shin Si Woo couldn’t believe his ears when he heard that Cha Eun Ha had been taken to the police station. He’d secretly assigned someone to keep an eye on her just in case, yet the first report he received was “headed to the police station.” Why on earth?

“I’ll go there myself.”

Shin Si Woo immediately stopped what he was doing and slammed the accelerator toward the nearest precinct.

As he pushed open the glass door and stepped inside, he saw Cha Eun Ha sitting stiffly in front of a police officer, her back turned to him.

“Oh, are you her guardian?”

“…Ah.”

Shin Si Woo was momentarily speechless, hesitated briefly, then nodded.

“Yes, I’m her guardian.”

“She allegedly rode without paying the fare—”

“I paid.”

She even paid 2,000 won. Cha Eun Ha cut off the officer and lifted her head.

It was 2001. At that time, the base taxi fare was around 1,600 won.

“What era do you think this is, trying to take a taxi with just two thousand won?! Miss, are you making fun of the world?”

[The divine beast ‘Wandering Cat of Darkness’ sharpens its claws, vowing to pluck out every last hair on that man’s head.] [I’m certain I’ve been sharpening my claws all this time precisely for this moment.]

“Now, now, please calm down—”

While the officer tried to restrain the taxi driver, Cha Eun Ha stared dry-eyed at the yellow message window. “You’re being noisy—calm down yourself,” she meant.

“I knew something was off the moment I saw you hailing a cab looking like that! Honestly, in my ten years driving taxis, I’ve never had such an absurd passenger—never!”

Despite the officer’s attempts to calm him, the taxi driver shouted furiously in frustration.

[The divine beast ‘Wandering Cat of Darkness’ is about to—]

Meanwhile, Shin Si Woo finally grasped the situation. He looked at Cha Eun Ha with a stern gaze, and she blinked her pitch-black eyes.

“Why?”

“…Nothing.”

Who could he blame? Knowing she was from thirty years ago, it wouldn’t be right to scold her.

Shin Si Woo pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and handed two sheets of paper to the taxi driver.

“I’m very sorry. She’s been… unwell lately. I’d appreciate your understanding.”

“No, seriously—how can someone be this clueless? In all my life, I’ve never seen—”

The taxi driver’s eyes widened as if they might burst.

￦1,000,000

The two sheets Shin Si Woo readily handed over were checks.

In other words, Shin Si Woo had just casually given the taxi driver two million won.

“Oh, my goodness… this much.”

The taxi driver, who had been red-faced with anger, instantly turned as docile as a lamb. It seemed that even after ten or thirty years, the belief that money could solve everything still held strong.

Cha Eun Ha silently watched Shin Si Woo’s profile with a sour expression. Though it was unfortunate to suddenly be labeled “unwell,” he had been summoned here precisely to clean up her mess. She shouldn’t interfere or cause further trouble.

“You must have lost valuable time coming all the way to the station—please accept this. She certainly didn’t mean to cause trouble. If there’s any additional amount you’d like to charge, please contact me.”

The taxi driver, now holding cash and a business card, scratched his head awkwardly.

“Well, I suppose strange things happen when you live long enough.”

He let out a hearty laugh, and fortunately, he stopped pressing Cha Eun Ha further.

Thus, Cha Eun Ha managed to escape the police station unscathed.

“Senior, do you realize? The current base taxi fare in Seoul is 5,500 won. With nighttime surcharge, it’s 6,100 won. Right now, you might as well be a robber—except you didn’t bring a knife.”

Just as Cha Eun Ha was gradually grasping the weight of those thirty years, Shin Si Woo was also slowly coming to terms with the fact that she truly was from thirty years in the past.

Seated in the passenger seat, Cha Eun Ha gazed expressionlessly out the window as always. There was no sign of remorse whatsoever.

“I told him I didn’t know, but he dragged me straight to the police station.”

“In that case, you should’ve called me—”

Shin Si Woo stopped mid-sentence.

Right. Cha Eun Ha didn’t have a mobile phone. That meant she couldn’t call anyone to ask questions or request help.

Realizing this, Shin Si Woo turned his head away awkwardly and gripped the steering wheel.

“…Never mind. So, where were you trying to go, Senior?”

“A grave.”

Shin Si Woo was momentarily speechless at her blunt answer and quietly watched her through the rearview mirror.

Cha Eun Ha, her face serene, slowly stroked her left wrist.

“My mother passed away on the day the Gate first opened—crushed beneath a fissure. If it’s really been thirty years as you say, then I’ve neglected her grave for thirty whole years.”

“…”

A brief silence passed.

Soon, the traffic light changed. Shin Si Woo, still holding the wheel, didn’t lift his foot from the brake.

A honk blared from behind.

“…Where exactly is it?”

As he lifted his foot from the brake, Shin Si Woo spoke. He could feel Cha Eun Ha suddenly looking his way.

“It’ll be troublesome if you get dragged to the police station alone again—come with me.”

A small cemetery lay beneath a low hill. It seemed quite some time had passed since anyone last visited—the dirt path was overgrown with weeds.

Once, the entire area around this hill had been a burial ground. Originally, her mother’s tombstone had been placed in a secluded spot at the hill’s base, but later, with money earned from her hunter activities, Cha Eun Ha had moved her mother’s remains to the most scenic and spacious location available. Back then, her achievements had been remarkable, and her promotions swift.

But it had all been in vain.

Cha Eun Ha crouched before a tombstone that looked visibly aged.

She’d thought it had been two, maybe three years. Yet she’d actually neglected her mother’s grave for a full thirty years.

‘Even this place has changed.’

In her memory, this spot had been more beautiful and tidy. Cha Eun Ha stared at her mother’s tombstone with sunken eyes.

A trail of ants formed a dark speck atop the cold stone. Slowly, Cha Eun Ha reached out and gently brushed the surface of the tombstone.

But then.

“…?”

Gray ash, resembling dust, clung to her fingers. Almost-burnt incense fragments suddenly caught her eye. Someone had clearly burned incense here.

‘Who could it be?’

Cha Eun Ha stared curiously at the incense remnants. As far as she knew, no one would visit her mother’s grave.

Behind the deep-in-thought Cha Eun Ha, Shin Si Woo quietly opened his palm. A pure white snowflower bloomed atop his broad hand.

“I didn’t bring anything prepared.”

He knelt on one knee and gently placed the snowflower before the tombstone. Its ice-like petals shimmered faintly in the sunset’s reflection.

Cha Eun Ha shifted her gaze from the ash on her fingers to Shin Si Woo.

“…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Before the tombstone, Cha Eun Ha clasped her hands together neatly and closed her eyes. Just as she had thirty years ago, she silently repeated over and over the words she longed to say but could no longer deliver.

The wind billowed her dress hem, fluttering it desolately. Her long black hair brushed past her dry cheeks.

Cha Eun Ha rose and turned her head. Her dark gaze settled beyond the tombstone, onto a small neighborhood visible beneath the quiet hill.

This was precisely why she’d buried her mother here—to overlook the town where she’d been born and raised.

The school path she walked every morning.

The nearby park she visited every weekend.

The evening view she admired from her balcony while hanging laundry.

Gazing at these things, Cha Eun Ha thought:

‘—I want to go back.’

She wanted to return to that place which, despite everything changing around it, had remained unchanged for her.

Perhaps she’d left something behind there—her mother’s “life,” as she’d once called it.

At least, there was no “life” in the hunter training camp. Nor within the Gates, nor amidst piles of monster corpses.

So she wanted to go back. Even if nothing remained there, she wanted to return and see for herself.

The villa where she’d lived alone with her mother had long since collapsed, replaced by a new apartment complex. Cha Eun Ha softly murmured as she took in the building.

“From that apartment, you’d get a perfect view of the whole neighborhood.”

Shin Si Woo, standing beside her, turned his head to follow her gaze.

“Oh, that apartment? It was built quite recently—I believe it’s rather expensive.”

Even at a glance, it was clearly a high-rise exceeding thirty stories. With its gleaming facade and the wide river flowing behind it, it would be strange if it weren’t costly. There was no way the penniless Cha Eun Ha could afford it.

Soon, her red lips moved slightly.

“You said you had a proposal for me.”

His grand mansion, his ready willingness to hand over a large sum at the police station, even the household staff who addressed him as “young master”—considering all this, he was clearly wealthy. So then.

“I’d like to hear that proposal.”

Whoooosh.

The wind blew. Shin Si Woo looked at Cha Eun Ha.

The sun, sinking slowly beyond the mountain, stretched their shadows long across the ground. His composed face, half in shadow, glowed crimson in the evening light.

“The proposal I mentioned was for you to work as a hunter in our guild.”

“Hunter work?”

“For one year. Exactly one year—as a mercenary, or in simpler terms, under contract. All earnings from your hunter activities during that time will be split 12:0 in your favor.”

Their eyes met. 12:0? Not even 10:0? Reading the odd look in Cha Eun Ha’s eyes, Shin Si Woo smiled faintly.

“It means you’ll receive 100% of the earnings, plus an additional 20% on top.”

[The divine beast ‘Wandering Cat of Darkness’ urgently warns: “Sister, I’m the only one you can trust in this world—never fall for a stranger’s sweet words!”]

Cha Eun Ha deliberately ignored the aggressively popping message window and spoke.

“…And what do you gain from this arrangement?”

“Of course.”

Shin Si Woo answered immediately. His blue eyes held steady on Cha Eun Ha.

“A great deal.”

Indeed, Cha Eun Ha was that crucial to him right now. If anyone could—she, a first-generation hunter whose skill surpassed even his own—

Ding.

[The divine beast ‘Wandering Cat of Darkness’ wails: “Is it money? Do you need money?!”] [100,000 Coins have been donated to you. Add to inventory? ▶ Yes / No]

Perhaps worried about losing its friend, the yellow message window popped up aggressively.

Coins. Seeing the word, Cha Eun Ha suddenly recalled a past memory.

Come to think of it, the cat had given her coins before too. She still didn’t know their purpose or how their value compared to won.

‘It’d be a lie to say I’m not curious.’

But one thing was clear at this moment: the currency needed to recover her memories wasn’t coins—it was won.

“If you fulfill the one-year contract, you’ll earn enough money to achieve anything you desire.”

“How do you know what I want?”

Cha Eun Ha asked. Shin Si Woo smiled faintly and pointed toward the quiet hill below.

“I’ll make it possible for you to buy not just a unit in that apartment complex—but the entire complex itself.”

Cha Eun Ha’s eyes widened in surprise.

A brief silence passed. Cha Eun Ha alternated her gaze between Shin Si Woo and the hill below, then slowly spoke.

“…Are you sure?”

After all, considering her current skills, the only thing she knew how to do was slaughter monsters.

If she could return to that place in a year—that alone was certainty enough. She’d gladly bring him hundreds of monster heads if needed.

“If it’s not enough, I’ll cover the difference myself.”

Shin Si Woo grinned and pulled a business card from his pocket, handing it to her.

Shin Si Woo, CEO of Silvermoon Management

010XXXXXXXX

[The divine beast ‘Wandering Cat of Darkness’ cries out: “How much do you need? Just say the amount!”] [100,000 Coins have been donated to you. Add to inventory? ▶ Yes / No]

‘Sorry, but coins aren’t the same as won.’

…But money is money. She should probably take it for now. Cha Eun Ha pressed “Yes,” then looked back at the business card. The simple word “Wolf” stood out clearly in her vision.

Beneath the darkening night sky, Cha Eun Ha’s pitch-black eyes remained fixed on Shin Si Woo’s business card for a long while.

Finally, she lifted her head. Her lips, stained with dried blood, moved slightly.

“Alright.”

There was no reason left to hesitate.