Chapter 95

Seeing Eun-namu in office attire, I was momentarily stunned.

Wait, this is the men’s restroom.

The place where Eun-namu appeared was none other than inside the men’s restroom.

I was there to wash my hands, and luckily no one else was around, but if someone had been there, it would have been extremely awkward.

“Damn, popping out without any warning.”

Baek-san also grimaced upon seeing her.

Eun-namu.

The person who tried to kidnap me and was my ex-girlfriend from another world.

And now, as a member of Giraseong, she’s technically an enemy. Her appearance lit a red light in my head.

Reflexively, aura began to flow from my entire body.

Seeing me draw out my aura at full power to confront her, Eun-namu gave a lazy smile.

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to kidnap you or fight.”

“How can I believe that?”

She has a track record.

I was extremely wary, having never expected her to infiltrate Rodri Company.

“Can’t you even trust your ex-girlfriend?”

At that moment, I noticed the emotion in Eun-namu’s eyes.

Her emotion was longing.

As if reminiscing about the past upon seeing me, Eun-namu didn’t feel like an enemy this time.

“First of all, there are several Returners’ presences here. I can’t just act recklessly.”

Certainly, from Eun-hyeon to Orzia, there were many Returners who had followed me to Rodri Company.

There were also many affiliated Hunters present.

“I chose the restroom because of the fox following Ha-chan.”

Eun-hyeon wouldn’t be checking the restroom either.

From her perspective, the risk was too great.

‘Besides, Eun-namu doesn’t know that I have limitations in possessing Baek-san.’

This is a big card I can play.

Unless Eun-namu brings a card strong enough to face Baek-san, she can’t recklessly think about kidnapping me.

So, I was puzzled.

If she wasn’t here to kidnap or attack me, why did she come?

“Giraseong is on the move. Even those abroad. They should be entering the country by now.”

“What? Just like that?”

Hearing that, my eyes widened.

I never expected Giraseong to act so recklessly.

This was a declaration of all-out war with the World Returner Association.

“Entering the country means they came without the Association knowing?”

“Yeah, we used some tricks. Giraseong isn’t just full of fools. The Association will figure it out soon, though.”

This is serious.

Their target is undoubtedly Si-ho.

“…Why is Giraseong so obsessed with Si-ho?”

At first, I thought Giraseong was targeting Si-ho to use the Artificial Dimensional Gate more effectively.

But ever since Baek-san was blocked from revealing Giraseong’s goals, their obsession with Si-ho to the point of risking all-out war with the Association made me clueless about their true intentions.

“Dimensional Invasion.”

Hearing Eun-namu’s words, my eyes widened.

“Giraseong’s goal is dimensional invasion.”

Dimensional invasion.

Attacking another dimension is Giraseong’s goal?

Unable to comprehend, I was stunned, and Eun-namu calmly added.

“At the core of Giraseong are those who want to relive the life of the dimension they came from.”

“What? Why?”

“Just as everyone’s life is different, so are the Returners. Life on Earth was far from what they imagined. Earth isn’t a great environment for Returners to live in.”

How absurd.

But even if it sounds absurd, for Giraseong, who commands Returners, it’s not impossible.

Returners, especially those of A-rank and above, are monsters who once ruled dimensions.

With such Returners united, Giraseong’s power is such that even the Association must brace for impact. Swallowing a dimension would be nothing to them.

Rather than clashing with the Association on Earth, they started targeting another dimension.

And for such a dimensional invasion, Si-ho’s power would be necessary.

Looking at Baek-san, he also nodded.

Was this what Baek-san was blocked from saying last time at the Tower of Apocalypse?

“Of course, this is the story of Giraseong’s executives. Most below are just hired for money. And there’s one person… who might have another purpose… *cough*!”

At that moment, she suddenly coughed and covered her mouth.

As I panicked and tried to check on her, Eun-namu raised her hand to signal she was fine.

But I grabbed that hand.

Because the blood flowing through her hand wasn’t normal.

Sure enough, her mouth and hand were soaked in blood.

Her shirt was stained with blood, and her complexion was pale and disheveled.

“Let’s go to the hospital.”

I knew her condition wasn’t good.

Though it’s not my place to say after fighting her, I couldn’t just leave her like this.

“I’m fine. I’m okay.”

“Okay? What part of you is okay?”

Anyone could see she wasn’t fine.

Meeting my gaze, Eun-namu slightly lowered her eyes and spoke.

“Why are you so worried about me, Ha-chan?”

“Who wouldn’t be worried seeing you like this?”

“But I tried to kidnap you. I’m your enemy.”

Hearing that, I looked at Eun-namu.

Certainly, she’s from Giraseong and my enemy.

Despite her sudden change in attitude and revealing Giraseong’s secrets, I had almost been kidnapped by her.

But even so, Eun-namu didn’t feel like a clear enemy.

‘People are complicated.’

Dividing enemies and allies is subjective. If I consider someone an ally, they are; if I consider them an enemy, they are.

I don’t consider Eun-namu an enemy.

That’s all.

“…Because I’m your ex-girlfriend?”

As I remained silent, she asked as if confirming.

I had jokingly called her my ex-girlfriend before.

However she interpreted it, Eun-namu seemed deeply interested in being called an ex-girlfriend.

Smiling at me, Eun-namu then looked at the hand I had grabbed.

As I slowly released her hand, she tenderly held it and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

“Really, don’t worry. I’m immortal. I won’t die from something like this.”

Immortal.

Hearing that, I was shocked.

What kind of Returner is Eun-namu to claim immortality?

“Can I continue the story?”

As if she wasn’t in pain at all, she gave her usual lazy smile.

Seeing that smile, I reluctantly nodded.

After all, the information was necessary.

“First, to continue from earlier… There’s one person, the boss. The core of Giraseong and the one who made contracts with its members.”

“Is the contract related to you coughing up blood earlier?”

“Yes, there’s a rule not to talk about internal matters. But I have the trick of being immortal, so it doesn’t matter.”

But she still suffers the same pain.

“*chuckle*”

Noticing my concern, Eun-namu seemed oddly pleased.

She had changed a lot from the Eun-namu I knew.

“He seems to want something else. I don’t know the details. He didn’t tell me.”

She looked regretful for not being able to tell me more.

“Did you go this far just to tell me this?”

“Yeah, I thought you needed it.”

Looking at me with eyes full of emotion, Eun-namu made me nod despite my doubts.

“Thank you.”

As I thanked her, Eun-namu’s eyes slowly widened.

“…Was I helpful?”

“Of course, this is helpful.”

Thanks to Eun-namu, I now knew Giraseong was seriously on the move.

That alone made her help significant.

“That’s a relief.”

With that, Eun-namu pressed her chest and gave a bright smile.

Why?

The emotion in her eyes as she looked at me resembled what I had seen in Ayu, Seolhyang, and Si-ho.

“Can I hold your hand one more time?”

At the mention of hands, I raised mine.

She then stepped closer and gently held my hand with both of hers.

“Eun-namu, you…”

*click-clack*

The sound of approaching heels interrupted me.

As I glanced away, Eun-namu handed me a phone.

It seemed to be a burner phone.

“I’ll contact you about Giraseong here. See you.”

With that, Eun-namu left, and I watched her back for a moment.

Unable to forget the expression she had just made, I was momentarily puzzled.

But then, seeing a head poking into the men’s restroom, I shook it off.

“Mr. Ha-chan? I felt something bad from here. Were you with someone?”

It was none other than Orzia.

Still wearing her black eyepatch, she looked around the restroom curiously.

Then, realizing it was the men’s restroom, she coughed and quickly pulled her head back.

Seeing that, I smiled wryly and stepped out.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“I see.”

Orzia, the Apostle of Outsiders, seemed to sense something about Eun-namu.

At that moment, a text message arrived on the phone I had just received.

[ Giraseong is targeting Si-ho’s high school. I’ll keep you updated on the plan. ]

After reading the text, I immediately called Seolhyang.

This was information Eun-namu had risked her contract to provide.

I had to use it wisely.

[ Hello? Ha-chan? ]

It was time to stop Giraseong.