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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 477
“Mr. Hyun-seo?”
Someone’s voice stirred me awake. As soon as I opened my eyes, the familiar smell of coffee rushed into my nose.
“You said it’s been over two weeks since your last hallucination, right? At this rate, you should make a full recovery soon. Congratulations.”
The counselor sitting across from me at the mahogany table flashed a friendly smile.
‘Ah.’
This was my regular therapy session. I must have dozed off for a bit.
“I also heard your relationship with your family has improved. Is that true?”
“Family….”
The mention of that word brought a memory to mind.
Just last week, we’d all gathered at my father’s house for dinner. It was the first time since my parents separated. It wasn’t as comfortable as before, but still… satisfying, I suppose. I could tell they felt the same way.
Eating together like that really is a joy.
I know this well. I used to gather with the others and feed with them too.
‘…Huh?’
A memory I shouldn’t have suddenly surfaced in my mind—something that never happened.
Ever since I started living alone, I’ve never once shared a meal with anyone.
‘Then why…?’
“Come to think of it, you said you were preparing to return to school. How’s that going?”
“Eh? Oh—yes.”
The counselor’s question cut through my unease.
“I’m set to go back next month. Already finished registering for classes.”
“Good. That’s a wise decision. If you have any friends, perhaps they can help you ease back in.”
“Friends?”
There’s no way I’d have something like that. Nobody wants to be around a man whose face is half-burned. Being ignored would be the best outcome.
‘At least… in college, it hadn’t been that bad. But still.’
I didn’t want to risk getting close to anyone only to feel like I did back then.
“Hmm.”
The counselor sighed softly and interlaced his fingers.
“Alright then, I’ll give you a bit of homework.”
“Homework?”
“Yes. By next month, I want you to find someone you can share a meal with—anyone, except family.”
“…Sorry?”
“A friend, a classmate, even just someone you eat with once. It doesn’t matter. All I want is for you to come back and tell me about the experience.”
Before I could protest, the session ended.
As usual, I picked up my medication and headed back to my officetel.
‘Make a friend out of nowhere, just like that?’
By the end of this semester, I’ll already have enough credits to graduate. At this point, running around looking for someone to eat with felt ridiculous.
‘I’ll just tell him next time that I couldn’t do it.’
That’s what I thought as I stepped into the elevator.
Just before the doors closed, footsteps echoed from the hall.
“Wait, please!”
I held the door, and a young woman hurried in. I shifted into the corner, making sure the burn scars on my face weren’t visible.
“Thank you so much!”
She bowed her head in gratitude. I simply nodded back.
‘…Wait.’
Her face looked oddly familiar. She turned away right after greeting me, but I was certain—I’d seen her before. Not too long ago, either.
‘Was she… a nurse from the hospital?’
“Excuse me?”
She suddenly addressed me.
“Do you live in unit 701?”
“Yes? I… do. Why?”
“Ah, I thought so! Are you alright now?”
She spoke as if she already knew me. Her tone was warm, familiar.
‘…She even knows where I live. Oh.’
“You must be… in 702?”
“Exactly! I moved in last year.”
That’s when it clicked. I’d been told once that I was only rescued from my coma because of my neighbor—the one who reported the strange noises when I collapsed.
The elevator stopped on the seventh floor. She and I stepped out together.
“Thank you, for back then.”
“Oh no, don’t mention it. I was only coming over to introduce myself when I heard the sound. Just coincidence. Anyway—you’re doing okay now?”
“Well… yes. More or less.”
“That’s a relief! I worried you might still be sick.”
She was cheerful, outgoing. That was probably the only reason the short walk down the narrow hallway was filled with her easy chatter.
“Well then, I’ll let you get home.”
“Um, excuse me.”
“Yes?”
As we each reached for our doors, my mouth moved of its own accord.
“As a way of thanking you… may I treat you to a meal sometime?”
The moment I said it, I regretted it.
This was our second time meeting. Altogether, we’d spoken for less than ten minutes.
“Of course you may. When were you thinking?”
Her easy acceptance surprised me. I had expected her to refuse right away.
“Uh… how about tomorrow noon?”
“That works! Oh—may I pick the restaurant? There’s a place I really like.”
“Uh, yes, that’s fine.”
“Perfect! Then let me get your number too.”
Before I knew it, we had already exchanged numbers.
“Your name is Hyun-seo Lee, right?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“I’m Yoo Si-hyun. Nice to properly meet you.”
“Si-hyun…?”
That name sounded oddly familiar.
Well, it wasn’t exactly uncommon, so maybe that was it.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow!”
With that, she slipped into her apartment.
“…What just happened?”
Only after her door shut did it all sink in. Something straight out of a drama or novel had just happened to me.
Even after I got home, I was still dazed when my phone buzzed.
It was a message—from next door. She’d sent me the name of a restaurant near my university.
‘Is this for real?’
I hadn’t made plans with a woman since middle school, when I’d been invited to a classmate’s birthday party. Back then, I was given an address, ended up in the wrong place, waited alone for ages, and eventually went home humiliated.
But this… this felt different. Even from our short exchange, I could sense that my neighbor’s friendliness was genuine. She carried no malice, no hidden edge.
Maybe that’s what left me so unsettled. In all my life, I’d never really experienced anything like this.
‘Wait… no. That’s not quite true, is it? Not too long ago, with the others…’
The thought brought a sudden image to mind: a pink, many-eyed monster. Then, coiling immediately after it, the massive body of a crimson serpent.
“Urgh?!”
A piercing headache slammed into me. My chest tightened, as though I’d been plunged underwater without air.
“Cough—khh, khhh!”
I fumbled for the vial of pills and tossed a purple tablet into my mouth.
“Haa….”
Just like that, the pain drained away, the dizziness clearing into sharp awareness. Relief spilled from me in a long exhale.
I’d thought I was cured. But clearly, I wasn’t there yet.
The counselor’s words rang true: to adapt to reality, I do need someone’s help.
‘Alright then. This time… I’ll make sure to carry out the assignment.’
Half-sinking into the drug’s softened haze, I let that promise settle in my mind.
***
A dining hall, its walls made of steel.
It was large enough to seat hundreds, but only two people occupied it.
One was an old man, his body towering at nearly two meters, built of solid muscle. If not for the white hair and deep creases etched across his face, no one would have guessed he was elderly.
Seated opposite him was a middle-aged man who projected the opposite impression. Dressed in a black suit, his appearance made it difficult to judge his exact age.
“Not fond of meat?”
The old man tore into the bone-in cut like a predator feeding on prey.
“This is sirloin from a Hond Gigant. Quite a delicacy.”
“Thank you for the offer, Lord Walter. But my balance would break if I consumed anything outside of my regimen.”
The man waved a hand as he spoke, his ordinary palm shifting into a beast’s forepaw for an instant before returning.
Walter St. Kay clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Tch tch. Can’t even tear into proper meat, yet you go through all that genetic modification.”
“My enhancements are exclusively for combat. Other services available from Yujin are not this restrictive.”
“Hah. ‘Services provided by Yujin,’ you make it sound clean.”
Then his expression sharpened.
“Since we’re on the subject—your master. He’s been looking worn out lately. You sure you don’t need to return?”
The state of the megacorporations was chaos.
The Outspacer grand offensive had ended, but a new crisis loomed immediately: war with the Cult Empire.
Ever since the CEO’s abduction a month ago, relations between the two powers were a nightmare. Everyone expected open conflict any day now, and the CEO’s workload had only multiplied.
“My lady gave me clear orders: to support Lord Walter until you capture ‘the ultimate prey.’ I cannot return before that task is done.”
“Hmph. Is that so.”
Walter knew Akira well—and understood why she saw this butler as more of a tool than a man.
In truth, the butler’s combat capability surpassed even the Yujin clan’s elite Shadows. His body was engineered to its limits, and he carried combat experience few could match.
The only reason Akira kept lending him out was exactly as he said: to aid Walter in seizing the greatest quarry.
“Catching that beast would indeed take more than one man.”
The monster had revealed itself at the Battle of NEO-3. Though Akira had requested the hunt months earlier, that was Walter’s first time seeing it in person.
The creature’s recorded combat power was overwhelming, beyond anything he had witnessed. The Cults called it the ‘Three-Headed Demon’ and the name suited it perfectly.
It was only the second prey, after Vortex-One, to ever stir genuine shivers of awe and dread in Walter.
“Maybe this hunt will be my last.”
He had lived his life chasing prey. Dying in a struggle against something stronger than himself didn’t sound like a bad end.
‘Not that I’ll make it easy for the bastard.’
The monster was strong as Vortex-One, yes—but not immortal.
At NEO-3, it had appeared with only two heads left, wounded, and retreating from the battlefield.
If it bleeds, it can be killed.
The hunt would be brutal, but that never mattered. As always, he would prepare—and Walter was nearly finished with preparations already.
As the meal wound down, his adjutant approached.
“My lord. We’ve found traces likely left by the Three-Headed Demon.”
“Oh?”
“From those, we’ve narrowed its possible hideouts to seven locations.”
The adjutant activated his device, projecting floating holograms of several planets. Walter dabbed his mouth with a napkin and rose.
“Good. Then let’s begin.”
The old hunter’s eyes locked onto the seven miniature worlds.
Among them was even an oceanic planet—the same type the Yujin family used as a harvesting ground for biological samples.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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