A child born by killing its mother.
Though her father never expressed it outright, he regarded Cha Eunsol as such a being and made no effort to show her affection.
He tried to keep his distance whenever possible.
Then one day, drunk and in a fit of anger, he spilled his inner thoughts to her.
―You should never have been born. You weren’t supposed to be born.
―….
―If only you weren’t here, that person….
Regardless of whether the household servants tried to stop him.
The father, unable to steady himself in his drunkenness, pointed an accusatory finger at Cha Eunsol, who had woken and come out for a drink of water.
At the time, she was no more than six years old, and listened to his resentment in silence.
Then she spoke.
―I understand.
―What?
―I understand how you feel, Father.
―….
Cha Eunsol had perceived the world from within her mother’s womb.
Though young, her thoughts were mature; she could read her father’s cold attitude.
―I’m sorry for being born.
So she took it upon herself to be considerate.
She accepted her father’s resentment.
I’m sorry for being born.
Cha Eunsol spoke exactly as he wished—words acknowledging her own sin.
―…What did you just say….
Her father’s face twisted severely.
In truth, he was aware that Cha Eunsol was not the cause of his wife’s death.
He simply couldn’t swallow his emotions without blaming someone.
It was immature.
That was why, upon receiving her apology, he couldn’t help but feel guilty.
He felt ugly, pathetic, and ashamed.
Moreover, before her green eyes, he felt as though his very soul was stripped bare.
―Don’t babble with that person’s face. Get lost. Please don’t show yourself before my eyes.
―…Yes. Good night.
There had been ample room to mend their relationship back then.
But both Cha Eunsol and her father were clumsy with each other.
In the end, the father and daughter had been unable to live like a family up to the present day.
That was why….
“Thank you for raising me all this time.”
“….”
Cha Eunsol did not harbor any particular attachment to the Sunhwan Chaga.
Having accepted the family’s expulsion meekly, she stopped by the house in Chungju City to pack her personal belongings.
And before leaving for Academy City, she bid her father farewell one last time.
“I’ll be going now. Please take care.”
Her father, sitting with his back turned in the study, said nothing.
It was something she had anticipated.
It was familiar.
Not expecting an answer from her father, Cha Eunsol turned to leave the study.
Then, a voice came from behind.
“I’ll leave your room as it is.”
“….”
“Come whenever you wish.”
Hearing such unexpected words, Cha Eunsol couldn’t help but startle.
She looked back.
Her father still had his back turned.
“Yes, I will.”
She couldn’t understand her father’s intentions.
There was no way for Cha Eunsol to know.
But she didn’t feel bad.
She replied briefly and came out of the house, pulling her luggage.
Cha Eunseo was waiting there.
“All done? You don’t have any more luggage?”
“Yeah. This is everything.”
“That’s a relief. There’s not much, so moving it won’t be too hard.”
“Yam… Most of it was family property.”
Cha Eunseo, who had rushed over to help Cha Eunsol pack upon hearing the news of her expulsion.
Having come to see her in a slightly different light thanks to this incident, Cha Eunseo picked up a suitcase from the floor.
She handed the other one to Cha Eunsol, who was coming down the stairs.
“Here, you take this.”
“…Why do I have two?”
“It’s your luggage, not mine. Of course you should carry one more than me, shouldn’t you?”
“You didn’t use to be like this….”
“Before, I had no choice because of family orders. But now you’re not a family member anymore, right? You should be grateful I even came to help. Got it? Here, take it.”
“But then I won’t have a hand free to eat with…. That’s mean.”
“Nope, not mean. This is normal.”
The corners of Cha Eunsol’s mouth turned downward.
Her face full of disappointment, she had no choice but to pull a suitcase with each hand.
Cha Eunseo snickered and followed after.
“From now on, you need to attend classes properly. No one will take them for you, and no one will manage your attendance, assignments, or grades. You need to handle everything yourself.”
“Maybe I should just drop out….”
“What will you live on if you drop out? You won’t get a Hunter license; do you have any other way to make a living?”
“…No.”
“Then you should quietly attend the Academy until graduation.”
“Yeah….”
“By the way, your livelihood will be a problem going forward…. You probably don’t have much money, do you?”
“Right. The card under the family name was confiscated when I left the main house… This card and the money in my wallet are my entire fortune.”
“Food, tuition, various living expenses…. All things considered, even if you tighten your belt, you won’t last long…. You should take requests from the Brilliant Cafe’s request board or get a part-time job. Or find a new sponsor.”
“I don’t want to work.”
“How will you live without working?”
“I don’t know, something will work out.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“No.”
“Sigh…. I knew it.”
They walked in step.
The two, whose interactions had become much smoother unlike before, moved straight to the Warp Gate terminal.
Afterward, Cha Eunsol….
“Since it turned out this way, I’ll be counting on you.”
“What do you mean, counting on me?”
“When you think about it, I ended up leaving the family because of you. Yam… And I’m broke now.”
“I might have my share of blame, but you clearly have yours too…. Fine, let’s say that’s true. So?”
“So take responsibility for me. Yam yam. Just think of it like raising a pet pig.”
“…It’d be a pet elephant, not a pig. Do you know how much your food expenses would be?”
“That’s mean.”
“You’re worse.”
It was said that she went straight to Do Gyeon-u and practically forced him to sponsor her.
He was dumbfounded but ultimately had no choice but to accept.
* * *
Even if Sunhwan Chaga had exploited the First Spirit for over 200 years, they had not committed a crime.
Because no actual “person” had been harmed.
Spirits received no protection under laws made by humans.
Yet if one insisted on assigning guilt.
‘It would be fraud for fabricating the truth and deceiving the world, or perhaps the crime of being detestable.’
But law alone is not what maintains society.
The world is not so lenient.
Honor and morality.
Sunhwan Chaga could not avoid taking a blow to the image necessary to maintain their social standing because of this incident.
In reality, people lately had not hesitated to condemn them.
‘The renowned spirit art families are in an uproar; for at least a generation, they won’t belong to the Ten Great Families. On top of that, the First Spirit has withdrawn its blessing, and countless spirits have turned their backs…. Perhaps they may never be able to recreate their former glory.’
No matter how desperately Sunhwan Chaga tried to deny it, their downfall was a foregone conclusion.
This would bring about great changes in the world of renowned spirit art families.
‘The Ten Great Families vote… is it the year after next? I wonder which spirit art lineage will take the next spot.’
The Ten Great Families exerted a profound influence on Korean society, especially the world of Hunters.
As the Academy Chairwoman, So Hyeyul couldn’t help but be concerned about the future political landscape.
But what demanded her immediate attention was the Academy’s atmosphere.
“Is that so? That’s what I thought.”
“Yes.”
According to Secretary Chief Oh Seung-a’s report, it seemed the students were persecuting Sunhwan Chaga’s students.
So Hyeyul sighed.
“This is quite troublesome. The child of a criminal is not a criminal, but the scale of this case is different…. Even if they were unaware, the entire family reaped the benefits of the First Spirit’s blessing. If we blindly shield those students, we might be misunderstood as defending Sunhwan Chaga.”
“Yes, I think so as well.”
“But the Academy, which must protect its students, cannot stand idly by…. We must handle this appropriately without harming the academic atmosphere, without crossing the line into criminal complicity. Tell the instructors in charge of Sunhwan Chaga students to keep a close watch for the time being.”
Having roughly decided on a course of action, So Hyeyul planned to circulate an official document within the day.
Meanwhile, her thoughts drifted elsewhere.
‘They really do cause trouble wherever they go.’
The one who had freed the First Spirit was assumed by the public to be Cha Eunsol.
Sunhwan Chaga had not revealed it, but circumstantially, she had been expelled from the family after the incident.
But So Hyeyul was convinced that others besides her were involved.
Gang Han-byeol, Do Gyeon-u, Yeon Ha-neul, Go Eun-bi, Yong Hae-rang, Lisa Grace, Nam Yu-ri, Min A-rin, Cha Eunseo, the triplets.
Through her own independent network, she had obtained information about the timing of the incident and their use of the Warp Gate.
“I suppose it’s normal at that age, but don’t you think they’re too fearless? If this had erupted into an inter-family conflict, what then…. The Academy could have been caught in the crossfire too.”
Originally, Geumgang Academy students were required to obtain prior permission to leave Academy City on school days.
The deviation committed by Do Gyeon-u’s group this time was effectively a rule violation.
“But if we made an issue of it, it would imply those students’ involvement.”
The Academy might also be criticized for poor student supervision.
In the end, So Hyeyul had to conceal the existence of Do Gyeon-u’s group and erase the Warp Gate terminal records.
Having cleaned up their mess like that, she let out a bitter smile.
“I’ll have to call in this favor later.”
If she could obtain the Stake of Time, she could do anything.
So Hyeyul eagerly awaited the end of the second semester, and that moment’s arrival.
* * *
With the collective will of the renowned spirit art families shaken and public opinion beating down on them, someone had to take responsibility.
The head of Sunhwan Chaga, Cha Taein, ultimately had to step down.
“It’s all over.”
At a temporary residence prepared by Sunhwan Chaga in Chungju City, North Chungcheong Province, in lieu of the main house.
Having drafted the documents to hand over the position of family head to his eldest son, Cha Taein looked up at the ceiling emptily.
To him, the fact that the family’s glory had set in his generation was unbearably humiliating.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
“Cha Eunsol….”
Cha Taein ground his teeth.
He felt like killing his granddaughter, Cha Eunsol, the root cause of this situation.
Expelling her from Sunhwan Chaga was nowhere near enough.
But he couldn’t touch her, if only because of the public eye.
“….”
At least for a while.
To take revenge on Cha Eunsol, he had to wait until public opinion cooled.
Cha Taein, not one to be easily swayed by emotion, soon calmed his rage.
And then he shifted his thoughts.
‘No… there’s no need to kill her.’
Cha Eunsol possessed qualities as a spirit user second only to the first family head.
With the family members having lost their strength after the First Spirit’s blessing was taken, her value had risen even higher.
Surely, depending on how she was used, she would be of great benefit to the family.
For instance.
“Perhaps the child she bore would possess even superior qualities. Or we could use her as a test subject for various research…. There would also be organ transplants. If we transplanted her eyes….”
Having lost the First Spirit, Sunhwan Chaga needed to secure a substitute for the family’s future.
Cha Eunsol was perfectly suited to be that substitute.
The corners of Cha Taein’s mouth lifted at the sudden notion.
‘She’s a child who grew up lazing about in the family’s abundant environment her entire life. Such a child couldn’t possibly stand on her own. As she lives, she’ll surely grow battered by the storms of life and long for the days when she was a family member. If I gauge that timing and extend a hand of reconciliation, inviting her back to the family… she would never be able to betray the family again, nor go against its will.’
Even if that didn’t happen, it didn’t matter.
He need only kidnap Cha Eunsol.
In that case, he planned to treat her unhesitatingly as an experimental subject.
Having thought that far, Cha Taein went to drop a hint to his eldest son, who had taken office as the new family head—
That was when he sensed a presence.
“Since I have departed, you intend to use that child in my stead this time.”
“….”
“I truly doubt whether you have inherited the blood of the former contractor. You have rotted.”
The wind was blowing.
At the window where curtains fluttered.
A woman in simple clothes sat perched there.
Long black hair and green eyes.
A being reminiscent of Cha Eunsol.
However, if there was one thing different from her, it was that large antler-like horns protruded from the woman’s head.
“The First Spirit.”
“Is there any need to say it?”
The woman stepped down from the window frame and approached.
Recognizing who she was, Cha Taein tried to draw out his power so he could respond to any threat at a moment’s notice.
But the spirits did not answer.
Of course they didn’t.
They had no intention of defying their true sovereign.
In the end, resigned, he steadied his breathing.
“Have you come to kill me?”
“Yes. As soon as I recovered my strength, I came straight to kill you. But then I heard talk of that child.”
“You seem to have an interest in that child.”
“Enough that I’d like to take the child as my contractor. Though most of you are rotten, that child is rather to my liking. It may be too soon now, but one day, that child will grow enough to form a contract with me.”
“…I see. What a pity. If we had not imprisoned you like that… perhaps a new spirit master contracted with you might have emerged from our family.”
“Perhaps. You and I might have had a different relationship than we do now. Though that is only conjecture.”
Now that the First Spirit had been freed, resistance was meaningless.
Cha Taein sat quietly in place and looked at the hand she held out.
“After killing me, will you kill everyone in the family as well?”
“At first, I intended to. But there are still spirits who are fond of you. So I have decided to end it by withdrawing my blessing from you and annihilating the souls of the family heads throughout history, including yours. Any souls still wandering the world, I will chew up and devour; and if any have reincarnated, I will find them, make them recall the memories of their previous lives, and then kill them.”
“…I see. I thank you for your mercy.”
“Are you afraid?”
The First Spirit asked solemnly.
Cha Taein slowly shook his head.
“I would be lying if I said I were not afraid. But if the family remains intact in exchange for my soul and the souls of the former heads, I can gladly accept it.”
“You truly are madmen obsessed with your family. I cannot understand why you are so desperate to continue your line.”
“You spirits, who do not bear children and merely return to the cycle, would not know.”
“In that regard, it seems you and we will never understand one another.”
The First Spirit revealed her presence.
Her lips moved.
“You will be painfully annihilated. Do you have any last words?”
“…”
In that instant, Cha Taein looked back on his life and smiled.
Then, at last, he answered.
“May there be glory to the Sunhwan Cha Family.”
“Madman.”
Crunch!
That day, Cha Taein died.
All the members of the Sunhwan Cha Family who saw the scene, splattered with blood and flesh, were seized by shock and terror.
With this incident as the catalyst, the existence of the First Spirit became taboo among spirit masters.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss