“Mom…”

It made sense. Mom was a person who couldn’t ignore the misfortune of those close to her, so if someone asked for help, she would have helped them.

However, Nari shook her head from side to side. Still, it was hard to believe.

Isn’t this too sudden? Calling himself a godfather now. Nari, who looked at Nan with a suspicious expression, said in a grumbling voice,

“I still can’t believe it. I don’t know why he’s showing up now, and I’ve never heard anything about this from my mom! I’m just… I’m confused right now?!”

“Ah, we also tried to find and protect you after Kang Hana passed away.”

“But? It’s not hard to find someone in this small land of Korea.”

“I was in school. Ah, I mean prison. It hasn’t been long since I was released.”

At the mention of prison, Nari’s expression hardened again. Nan continued speaking as if it was nothing.

“And after that, I couldn’t find you. As if something was blocking me. Since you didn’t come here, there was no way to know.”

[The Ruler of Chaos whispers to you that he put up a smokescreen so that strangers couldn’t carelessly obtain your information after we made the contract.]

With a groan, Nari’s expression hardened again.

It was true that after making a contract with the Constellation, her information was manipulated so that others couldn’t track it.

“Anyway, now that we’ve met like this, I plan to faithfully fulfill my role as your godfather. As long as you want me to.”

‘…Did you really search for me?’

Nan stared intently at Nari. Nari met his eyes, still unable to hide her confused expression.

She might have gained a guardian. At the age of 25.

[The Ruler of Chaos looks at you, saying it doesn’t seem like you dislike it that much!]

‘…I guess so.’

Strangely, Nari blinked her eyes as she didn’t dislike the feeling.

It seemed she had gotten a little used to relying on someone now. But trusting the man in front of her was a separate matter.

“I can’t answer right away. We just met today! And I’m doing fine on my own?!”

“I’m sure you are. Indeed, twenty-five. At an age where you might start thinking you don’t really need a guardian anymore, you little chick. How can I gain your trust.”

Nan rubbed his chin, then snapped his fingers as if he thought of something.

“Then how about meeting my mother? She still remembers you, and she knows Kang Hana well too.”

“…Your mother?”

“Yes, just think of it as meeting an acquaintance of Kang Hana. Don’t people usually gather together to commemorate on days like this? She’ll be happy if you come.”

“……”

Nari eventually looked at the ruined white bouquet she couldn’t give.

Commemorating her mother together with someone else was something she had never thought of, but it also seemed like it would make her happy.

‘And I’m curious.’

Nari looked at the man in front of her. A former gangster, a person her mother saved, and the guild master of Mago, one of the four major guilds.

And his mother.

Mom had never told Nari that she was close with people like this.

Or it might be a memory from when she was too young, or something Nari had forgotten.

Anyway, Nari was anxious yet happy to find traces of her mother. After hesitating for a while, Nari mumbled,

“…This, this absolutely doesn’t mean I acknowledge you as my godfather or anything. I’m just going to see someone my mom knows!”

“Yes, I understand.”

Nan nodded without any change in his expression.

Nari, feeling more embarrassed by his appearance as if he could see right through her, got up from her seat and mumbled,

“…Well, I’ll get going for now since it’s late. If you let me know where your mother is tomorrow, I’ll find my way there…”

“Do you have a place to stay?”

At Nan’s question, Nari avoided his gaze with a groan, as if he had hit the nail on the head. She didn’t.

After all, her plan was to commemorate today, look around the nearby night market, and go straight back to her studio apartment.

“Then I’ll guide you. We have many empty rooms where we’re staying, so you can use one of them.”

“…Thank you.”

Nari, who was about to say she would just go home, bowed her head to express her gratitude, thinking it would be better than risking her reputation by refusing and being followed.

Nan made a phone call to summon a driver.

Nan, who said it would take about 10 minutes for the car to arrive, took a coat from the hanger and put it on.

Nari sighed deeply and said,

“But how did you recognize me? You immediately called me Shin Binnari… As far as I know, this is our first meeting.”

“I saw you a few times when you were young. That’s how I remembered. And there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize Hana’s daughter at a glance.”

Nan, who was wrapping a scarf around his neck over his coat, looked intently at Nari after confirming that the computer was completely turned off.

“Because you resemble Hana a lot.”

“I’m the spitting image of my dad? I don’t resemble my mom at all.”

“Not resembling in appearance means the souls resemble each other. There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize your mother’s soul.”

“You must have been very close with my mom.”

“As I said, she was the savior of me and my mother.”

Nari’s hand clenched at that answer.

They say even a son of a bitch is precious to someone, and it felt strange to have someone who cherished her mom, who was a national traitor.

Even though she shouldn’t like it, she couldn’t help but feel a swelling in her heart.

“Even though my mom caused many people to die?”

My mom clearly caused harm to many people and led them to their deaths. But she’s my mom.

It’s okay to commemorate and cherish her alone, even if I don’t tell others.

To Nari, who had been missing her mom alone with such thoughts, Nan’s existence was strange.

Nan stared intently at Nari. And he sighed for a moment.

“Yes, still. Anyway, even if the whole world curses her, I plan to commemorate her. The fact that she changed my life doesn’t change.”

“That, that’s a selfish thought.”

Nari covered her mouth with one hand, letting out a gasp at the words that came out unintentionally.

Nan, who had been staring at Nari, turned off the lights and stepped out into the dark corridor of the 3rd floor of the charnel house.

Nari followed behind him.

“Your mother was a person of deep thought. So I don’t think your mother did such things recklessly.”

“She made a unilateral decision. That’s why everyone died.”

“Situations changing inside the gate is always happening. Plans don’t always align either.”

That was true. Situations inside the gate always changed rapidly, and sometimes improvisation was more important.

However, that doesn’t mean Hunter Kang Hana has no responsibility for failing the S-rank gate raid and causing numerous casualties.

“In the first place, when such an S-rank gate appears, it’s normal for there to be cooperation between the country and multiple S-rank Hunters. It’s only natural for Hunter Kang Hana to fail when she went in alone.”

Nan pushed up his horn-rimmed glasses as he went down the stairs. Nari stepped on the stairs obediently, suppressing her confused emotions at those words.

I don’t know. I don’t know what this situation is. Whether it’s okay to change my sentiments about Mom like the back of my hand.

Nari, who shook her head a couple of times to shake off her confused feelings, mumbled towards the man in front of her,

“By the way, um… What should I call you?”

“Ah, right. I’m not officially a godfather yet, there’s a big age gap, and calling me ahjussi is too awkward. Uncle would be good. Nan uncle. Call me that.”

Uncle. Saying that, Nan glanced down at Nari.

Nari avoided the gaze of the cold black eyes visible through the horn-rimmed glasses and mumbled,

“Yes, ahjussi.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Sitting in the back seat of the black sedan limousine, Nari looked around the interior of the vehicle.

This is the first time she’s sat in such a luxurious car.

Nan, who was sitting next to her, paid no attention to the confused-looking Nari and was processing documents on his tablet.

Nari made a confused expression.

‘What is this person…’

Originally, wouldn’t you make some light icebreaking or small talk when you have someone you just met in your car?

She roughly knew the fact that he hardly had any social life.

‘He really has an incredible my-pace.’

[The Ruler of Chaos sticks out his tongue, saying he’s never seen someone like that either…]

Nari, naturally taking out her cell phone as Nan didn’t even pay attention to her, typed ‘A Nan’ or ‘Mago’ into the search box.

Skipping the personal information that anyone could know, she clicked on a community post. The Hunters-only community was quite useful at times like this.

[Question] But most of Mago are monk class, how do they attack? No killing @llillliiil

Isn’t it forbidden to kill?

And is it true that the guild master is a former gangster who went to the slammer?;;

[Comments]

−We only have non-targeting skills

└If I hit directly, it’s killing, but if I shoot at the ground and they happen to come and die, it’s an inevitable fate.

└Only our guild master has targeting skills. And even that, he’s not a Hunter but a normal Awakened.

−I’m not sure about our guild master going to the slammer, but he does have a large dragon tattoo on his back

└But is it true that he’s an Awakened who contracted with a Constellation?

└└I don’t know about that. Would a Constellation want to maintain a contract with an ordinary Awakened who doesn’t fight at all?

‘…There’s a Constellation?’

Nari blinked her eyes, not getting the information she wanted, and searched for related posts again. A flurry of results about him appeared.

[General] But our guild master is so funny lol Mago @lllllIIIIIlllll

We were meeting with a client today and he suddenly stood up The client’s CEO was surprised so he suddenly said he forgot to water the plants and went to water the plants right there on the spot;

But what’s even more amazing is that the client’s CEO must know the guild master’s personality because he just said it’ll take a while. and took out documents right there and started working;

[Comments]

−Isn’t that just a roundabout way of telling him to get lost?

└I thought so too, but it’s just the guild master’s personality. He’s really my-pace for real.

−But then how is he able to be a guild master?

└Apparently he’s very thorough with records, remembering even things he mentioned in passing? It’s not like his inside and outside are different.

└There are rumors that he’s a Constellation’s contractor, so maybe that’s why. Maybe he’s using the Constellation’s power in non-combat areas like the White Night guild master?

└The Mago guild master is practically a savior in Busan. They say he’s a former gangster, but in fact, he was the top contributor who protected this place when the law didn’t work. He even went to prison because of that, so the locals here treat him well if possible. And most of the CEOs in this area are locals, so yeah.

‘…The more I dig, the more of an enigma he becomes.’

He himself seems plain and has nothing to hide, but there are countless rumors surrounding him.

There are rumors that he’s a Constellation’s contractor, there seems to be a story behind his prison time, and he even has a strange connection with Mom.

In the first place, he has an incredible my-pace that she’s never seen before. Nari has never met a person like this either.

When Nari let out a groan at the sudden influx of information, Nan pushed up his horn-rimmed glasses and looked at Nari.

Then he made an ‘oops’ expression.

“Oh my, my mistake!”