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Below the sky, rattled by the intervention of a superior being.
Hwang Jiho’s voice resonated clearly between the long ringing sound.
I heard his voice calling me, but I couldn’t answer right away.
Perhaps it was because the smiley Hwang Jiho spoke in such a voice, I couldn’t think of what to say.
‘I expected that Hwang Jiho would try to contact me, but why can’t I talk?’
I thought Ok Toyeon would’ve provided a means to contact the descendants’ biological father, so it was obvious that the Tiger Clan would call her to let them use it.
It was natural that the tigers who were particularly attentive about the special situations in the realm of death would come forward.
I thought I’d guess there would be something even if I talked about going to the underworld for a personal matter.
‘It’s not directly related to the First Christmas scenario, but since the Black Screen’s hands has reached this far, this is relevant to the Tiger Clan.’
And Hwang Jiho and I had this conversation when I came back from England and he picked me up with our classmates.
— Tell me about your plans in advance in the future. I’ll make a way to consider both your safety and intent.
— …Okay.
I said I would, but I didn’t hold my part of the deal.
I left for the underworld at the end of the First Christmas scenario after I used earth power to take down Uma.
In order for Ereshkigal, who governs the underworld, to easily intervene, we had to do it right after I used earth power.
There was no time to rest.
Maybe that’s why I can’t talk.
‘He wouldn’t think that going to the underworld is a good idea, but it would’ve been hard to convince him if it was right after the Christmas scenario. He wouldn’t have let me go, or maybe he’d follow me.’
But I didn’t know what would happen if I didn’t keep my promise to the Silver Hero.
That’s why I made an unannounced trip to the underworld and only told them through scheduled messages after the fact.
While I couldn’t talk, Hwang Jiho spoke again.
[I’ll wait until you answer.]
Even though there was no guarantee that I’d be next to the watchman, Hwang Jiho sounded certain.
The watchman stared at me gently, the mirror still in his hand.
He seemed unwilling to intervene in the conversation between Hwang Jiho and me.
‘He said it takes a lot of strength to keep communication. Hwang Jiho will keep waiting until I say something.]
I came here for everyone’s safety, but if I stall for no reason, the head of the Tiger Clan would waste a lot of power.
In the end, I decided to answer Hwang Jiho gently.
“I’m here.”
[There you are.]
As soon as I answered, I felt like I heard a sigh over the hand mirror.
Maybe it’s because the mirror was between us, the sound felt a little far.
I couldn’t tell if it was a sigh of relief or anger.
Swoosh.
Then, the watchman tilted the mirror toward me.
There I saw Hwang Jiho in the form of Hwang Yuho, his face full of anxiety.
The thought of worrying a child suddenly made me feel guilty.
[Now I can see you.]
Hwang Jiho, who sighed at me, spoke again.
I thought he’d be angry or disappointed that I left without saying anything, but my expectations were broken.
[Are you safe?]
“…Yeah.”
[Was it cold in the underworld? How long have you been there?]
It was freezing cold in the underworld.
However, I didn’t suffer much thanks to the straw mat given by Ereshkigal.
I can’t quite fathom how long I stayed in the dark.
I felt like it was months, but I couldn’t trust my perception of time because I didn’t eat or sleep all throughout.
Considering the time when my light skill was reset, it was difficult to estimate how long I experienced since it would’ve actually been only a few hours.
I didn’t mean to equivocate, but I gave an honest answer.
“I’m not sure.”
[It must be a long time then. And you didn’t answer if you were cold, so I assume you were.]
Hwang Jiho spoke with a sigh.
Before we dig into this subject further, I decided to change the topic.
I asked how the tigers were doing.
“Did you have a good Christmas?”
[It’s the morning of Christmas. Eunho’s descendants got up and opened gifts. Then I received this mirror from the moon rabbit.]
Christmas isn’t over yet.
At the mention of the descendants opening gifts, the watchman’s eyes opened wide and smiled.
The unexpected news of the descendants must’ve made him happy.
But to think that it’s still Christmas morning.
I realize that the passage of time in the underworld, bridle, and mortal world were all different.
[Merry Christmas.]
Hwang Jiho suddenly threw in a Christmas greeting.
It was a normal greeting, but somehow it sounded heavy.
[Did you think we’ll be able to have a proper Christmas with just that message?]
I guess he didn’t like the message that I sent.
I wanted to greet them during Christmas though.
Should I have greeted them after?
But wouldn’t it be a bit awkward to not greet on such an important event?
[I don’t know if you’re not speaking because you know what you’ve done, or if you’re thinking uselessly because you don’t know why we’re upset. Looking at your face, I guess it’s the latter.]
“Did you not like the message?”
[…The latter indeed.]
Hwang Jiho’s hand shot toward his temple as if he got a sudden headache.
His fingertips looked a little shaky.
It’s better if it’s because he’s angry at me, but if it’s because of the strain from keeping communication, I wish he’d stop.
Hwang Jiho spoke again.
[Is the watchman of the bridle of reincarnation holding the mirror?]
“Hello, Hwangho-nim! I am the watchman.”
This time, Hwang Jiho spoke to the watchman.
The watchman, who was catching his breath nervously, greeted brightly.
He gulped, his expression similar to a young man nervous to talk to an elder from his wife’s family.
Hwang Jiho continued in a rather soft voice as if he liked the bright greeting.
[Jo Euishin is the Tiger Clan’s benefactor. If you are a family of the Tiger Clan, see him off without any problems.]
“Yes, I will do my best for the safe return of the benefactor!”
[Your answer is refreshing.]
Is it over now?
When I thought so, Hwang Jiho talked to me again.
[Jo Euishin.]
When he heard my name, the watchman turned the mirror back to me.
I thought he was done talking to me, but I guess not.
“Why?”
[Do you want me to have a good Christmas?]
I don’t want Hwang Jiho to have a terrible Christmas, so I guess that can be said.
That’s why I greeted him with a Merry Christmas in the first place.
Staring straight at me over the mirror, Hwang Jiho spoke.
[Then hurry up and come back safely.]
With that, the golden color surrounding the mirror disappeared along with Hwang Jiho.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the mirror for a while.
“Hwangho-nim is a kind, sweet, and nice person! I’m sorry I thought he might be a scary tiger.”
I don’t know about the other adjectives, but Hwang Jiho is indeed scary.
That old man imprisoned and tortured lots of people in the basement of Eunyeonggwan.
Of course, the only targets were corrupt ones, and I also participated several times.
The watchman spoke in a bright voice as if he was excited that he got to talk to Hwang Jiho.
“I’ll make sure to send you back safely as I promised to Hwangho-nim. Don’t overdo it!”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Okay, okay. You’re really very polite. It’s nice, but you can talk to me comfortably. I want to be friends with the benefactor, so treat me like I’m your age.”
It would be a little difficult to do that though.
But I am reminded of my old friend who looked like a seventeen-year-old.
‘Wait, Hwang Jiho usually looks like a 17-year-old when we’re together.’
He would always wear his school uniform even on days when we didn’t have school, so I thought he was an old man who couldn’t act his own age.
Does Hwang Jiho do that for the same reason as the watchman?
‘He just asked if I was safe. He didn’t ask why I came here or what I was doing.’
Hwang Jiho ended the conversation without asking for anything but my safety.
My mind got a lot more complicated.
“Though with your politeness, you’ll have no problem meeting superior beings.”
“…Yes.”
I was talking to the watchman, but my mind kept going back to Hwang Jiho and how he didn’t seem to have energy in his voice when he terminated communication.
Maybe it’s because communication was greatly tasking, but somehow, I didn’t think that was the reason.
“Hwangho-nim should know how you think of him though.”
The watchman said something strange.
I pretended not to hear it when he pointed up to the sky.
The sound of the boat resonated again as if it was urging me and the watchman.
“Let’s go then! Tell me as soon as you get tired.”
“Will we do something tiring?”
“There’s more than one superior being that calls us. Almost all the masters of the underworld will come together. I’ve managed to get used to it, but there’s a lot of pressure when several of them are together.”
***
Christmas morning at the modern annex of the Hwangmyeong mansion.
Hwangho, who had just cut off communication, lowered the hand mirror and lifted the boundary.
It was necessary to fix the passage of time with an energy wave or boundary in order to match that of the bridle of reincarnation.
It consumed a considerable amount of mental strength and power, so even if he was the head of the Tiger Clan, it wasn’t an easy feat to do.
Eunho offered the young Hwang Yuho some tea.
“How was your talk? From my perspective, it felt very short.”
“Really? I saw Jo Euishin’s face. Jo Euishin is safe. I asked the watchman to send him off well.”
They talked for quite some time, but the people watching from the other die seemed to only see a fleeting moment.
It looked like he lifted the mirror and put it down right away.
Ok Toyeon, who was watching from the side, picked up the mirror and grumbled.
“I wanted to talk to the benefactor and the watchman though!”
“Do it yourself.”
“Okay! I will!”
Provoked by Hwangho, Ok TOyeon quickly picked up the mirror but Ok Toyoon restrained her.
“You can’t. If you do that, you won’t be able to get up for a few days. We have a lot of work to do.”
“But! I haven’t seen the watchman in a long time. I miss him!”
“It’s almost the new year. You can hang out then.”
Hwang Jiho tilted his teacup, ignoring the two rabbits.
In order to use the mirror that leads to the bridle of reincarnation, it had to be moonlit all night, which forced Ok Toyeon to stay in the mansion.
The descendants welcomed it, but Hwangho was not in a good mood.
He wished it was Jo Euishin there instead of the rabbits.
Other than him, there was another person who should’ve been at the Christmas party.
Baekho.
“That stupid guy is still out there.”
“You’re in no position to call Baekho hyungnim stupid.”
Eunho said with a gentle smile.
After confirming Jo Euishin’s safety, Eunho’s sharpness seemed to be eased.
“Your Hwang Jiho alter ego is beside Baekho hyungnim anyway.”
“…”
Hwangho said nothing.
Like his own friend standing around the crack in the ground where Jo Euishin disappeared.
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