[So, you’re inside the train now? Are there… seats, available?]

“Yeah. There was one vacant seat.”

And the next day’s high-speed train. Nari, who barely secured a seat, sat on the auxiliary chair between the cars. Sceneries were rapidly passing by outside the window.

Through the handheld receiver, Jungsuh’s voice could be heard. When she mentioned going to Busan alone, he muttered with worry and concern.

As it was the first time in ten years, he seemed uneasy about using dimensional rifts to travel. It seemed to deepen when he mentioned using public transportation.

[Standing for that long, your legs must hurt…….]

“There was a vacant auxiliary seat. I grabbed it, so don’t worry.”

[Th-thank goodness. You didn’t use magic to grab it, did you?]

“…….”

[Why aren’t you answering, Nari…….]

“No way?! I didn’t steal someone else’s seat!”

Of course, although the auxiliary chair between the cars was obscured to not be easily visible to others, Nari, who hadn’t mentioned that fact, cleared her throat.

[A lady… going to visit? D-didn’t Ihyun go, too?]

“Yeah, this time there’s some spare time. I’ll go visit once. Ihyun can’t go because of his parents’ national funeral.”

[I, I also wanted to go. But, um, here……. The work isn’t finished yet, so I can’t go down. Can you convey my regards……?]

“Sure, this is my first time going to your mom’s grave. Still, since she sent a gift, I’ll leave it there before I go.”

[Ugh. Okay! Let’s definitely go down together next year! I want to pay my respects too!] And then, the bright voice of Jung Soo-ho, who was smiling, came through. After visiting the military god, Jung Soo-ho frequently made phone calls. It seemed that the situation had improved a bit, allowing for about an hour of conversation each day. After asking about whether the luggage was well-packed and how the accommodation was, Jung Soo-ho suddenly brought up a topic.

“So, are you going to the temple this time?”

“The temple?”

“Why, we used to go there often with that lady. It’s big, and it was built not too long ago. Um… Do you remember the eerie-looking man there?”

“……Hmm?”

“Well, we used to go there often when we were kids.”

Nari briefly recalled her memories. There was no such memory. In the first place, her mom rarely took her down to Busan.

“……I don’t know, I don’t remember.”

“Oh, really? Go check it out. It was a temple in the incredibly pink……. village.”

“Um……. Okay, I’ll find it and go.”

Jung Soo-ho replied that he would also look up the temple’s name and contact her. He expressed regret that it was time to gradually end the call and hung up abruptly.

“Pink village?”

Nari, who couldn’t remember anything, leaned against the chair and stared outside the car window.

‘Why does it feel like my childhood memories are empty…?’

She twirled her hair, tied up in a bun, with her fingers, feeling the same curiosity she had felt at the Military God. The Dominator of Chaos remained silent.
Nari, without attempting to find something in particular from him, plugged in her earphones and closed her eyes.

After spending a few hours in a nap, the train arrived at Busan Station.

“Did you get everything?” the Dominator of Chaos asks, looking at you.

“Let’s see. Flowers, and… the gravestone, photos, and the cake model Mom liked….”

Checking her belongings in front of Bongandang, Nari tightly gripped the bouquet and pressed down her cap deeply.

People around, dressed in black, were stealing tears from each other or expressing joy at the reunion.

Even though Nari chose a time just before the deadline with as few people as possible, Bongandang was still bustling.

Suddenly feeling distant, Nari popped a prescription pill into her mouth.

Feeling a bit more settled, she wrote an expression on her face and clenched her chest.

“…No one will know. That’s right.”

“Yeah, no one will know,” the Dominator of Chaos says, gently patting your head.

Taking a few deep breaths at the words of the Dominator of Chaos, Nari closed her eyes, then took a step inside Bongandang.

As the time approached midnight, the deeper she went into Bongandang, the fewer people there were.

Considering it fortunate, Nari headed towards a corner, even within the corners.

Her mom’s spot was in the bottommost compartment where the sunlight didn’t reach. Since the top compartment seemed out of reach, she settled for the bottom.
More than anything, Nari, who was sensitive at the time, hoped that her mother’s spot wouldn’t attract much attention.

“Mom might not like it.”

Still, until ‘that incident,’ her mother was a beloved hero. Moreover, her only daughter had visited after ten years.

“Sorry. But I bought expensive flowers, so please forgive me.”

Nari gently touched the delicate white bouquet, suppressing a slight feeling of regret, and moved her steps.

“…I apologize. It seems like no one came this year either. However…”

At that moment, in the vacant corner where no one was present, a man in a suit was placing a small white potted plant.