Noah woke up on a pristine white bed. She heard a steady electronic beep near her ear.
“Where am I…”
It was a familiar place. The stark white ceiling, the blindingly white bed, and even the oversized hospital gown she was wearing.
“It’s the hospital…”
It was strange. She was sure she had been discharged, yet here she was again.
As Noah tried to sit up, a strange sensation caused her to feel a sharp pain in the center of her chest.
When she touched the area under her clothes, she felt something rough – likely stitches.
“Stitches on my chest?”
Her wound throbbed and her head ached.
“How long have I been like this? No, why am I still here in the first place?”
After staring at the dripping IV for a while, Noah realized…
“…Uncle must have done it.”
She remembered fighting the Kraken, bracing herself for death, and then blacking out after being impaled through the chest.
Guess I got lucky and survived somehow.
“You’re surprisingly resilient…for nothing.”
Noah hung her head in despair.
Even though she was alive, it didn’t feel like it.
“I want to see Uncle…”
As she lay there feeling heavy, memories of last winter came back. It was when she had suffered quite badly from a cold.
He had done so much for her during that time – buying her a new blanket, making meals…
“But now, there’s no one.”
She felt lonely.
She wished Uncle would come and be by her side right away.
But that wouldn’t be easy. He might not even know she was alive.
“Haa…”
While sighing deeply, Noah heard footsteps approaching.
The footsteps stopped in front of her hospital room door.
Creak.
When she saw who entered, Noah lit up with joy.
“Uncle!?”
“I’m sorry, it’s not him.”
“Ahh…Tae-hwa.”
“Don’t sound so disappointed! I just finished my shift at the restaurant!”
“Sorry, sorry.”
“…Since you’re awake, it’s fine.”
It was Tae-hwa, holding fruit.
Tae-hwa brought a chair over and sat beside Noah.
“How long have I been sleeping?”
“About three days.”
“That’s not too surprising considering. I thought you’d make a big fuss when you woke up.”
“You’re not the type to give up easily anyway. Plus, the doctor said it would take 2-3 days.”
That made sense.
“Nothing happened while I was out, right?”
“Well…”
“Good, nothing bad happened-”
“Actually, a lot did.”
After hesitating for a moment, Tae-hwa pulled out a phone and showed her an article.
A photo of the Kraken standing atop the wreckage of a building, its tentacles spread wide.
“And…”
“Is this real?”
“Yeah. The Association’s main building where the executives are located got destroyed.”
The article detailed how the Kraken demolished the building, capturing some executives and stealing information.
Though there were no casualties, important documents, secrets, and scandals all disappeared.
“This is serious trouble.”
“It is. The main office got raided by a villain…”
“There’s more. Look at this.”
Tae-hwa swiped the screen.
“Hey, isn’t that the Chairman?”
There was a photo of the Association Chairman being led away in handcuffs.
“Hero Association Chairman…Sex Scandal?!”
“Yeah, there’s evidence in the documents the Kraken took and…Uncle seems to have gathered more evidence.”
“Uncle…”
“Because of this, there’s chaos everywhere. Parties with paid escorts, sexual harassment, tax evasion, corruption – all exposed by the data the Kraken released to the media.”
As Tae-hwa explained, Noah blinked in disbelief.
What exactly has Uncle been doing? Moreover, how did he even know about these things?
The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Perhaps this incident wasn’t unrelated to her either.
“Um, Tae-hwa.”
“Yes?”
“Was there anything in those documents related to us?”
“There was.”
Of course.
Thinking about it, Uncle always seemed to help her out somehow. This must have been connected too.
“So? What was it about?”
Upon hearing Noah’s question, Tae-hwa’s face turned red with anger.
“That pig…”
“Tae-hwa?”
“Hmph…That pig apparently planned to use us as sex slaves. He’d invite us to parties, slip drugs into our drinks, and then force himself on us.”
“…”
“Those disgusting people…We can deal with it, but Yul is just a middle schooler.”
As Tae-hwa spoke, Noah nodded.
So that was the situation.
“Noah? Are you okay?”
“Tae-hwa, can I say something strange?”
“Strange? Sure, go ahead.”
“What if Uncle has been doing all this…for us?”
“…Noah, you should rest. You don’t have to push yourself to talk to me.”
Noah felt frustrated.
“No, it’s not that. Think about it, Uncle…Ah…nevermind.”
What’s the point of defending him here? He’s a villain after all – that much is clear.
“Tae-hwa, I’m sorry. I need to rest some more. I need to sort out my thoughts.”
“Okay. I’ll go then. Rest well.”
Tae-hwa placed the apple on a plate and left the room.
“Noah? Are you feeling well enough?”
“Ah, QQQ.”
QQQ flapped its wings and flew over.
“If you’re tired, we can do this later.”
“No, staying still like this is harder.”
“I see.”
“So? What is it?”
“Well, there’s something I need to deliver.”
“Deliver? What is it?”
“Here, it’s a letter.”
QQQ held out a white piece of paper.
“A letter? From who? Do I even have anyone who would send me a letter?”
“Please get up first. We should discuss this at his house.”
“His?”
“Mr. Shin Hyun.”
“Uncle is there!?”
“No. This is a request written in the letter. Let’s go check it out.”
Whatever could it be…
Curiosity bubbled up inside her. Transforming into Iris, she quietly slipped out of the hospital. After flying for a while, she arrived at a familiar yet unwelcoming place.
Why does it feel so desolate? It’s still summer, yet a chilling atmosphere lingers.
The two sitting across the table. QQQ pointed at the letter with its wing.
Understanding it as a signal to open, Noah opened the envelope and began reading the familiar handwriting.
[To Noah.]
Her heart raced.
“Come on…calm down. This isn’t a love letter or anything.”
What Noah needed to do now was focus on the letter in front of her, not get her heart racing.
Regaining her composure, Noah continued reading the letter.
The contents were shocking to say the least.
“QQQ, is this real?”
“Yes. Actually, I learned about his true identity and intentions not too long ago. I was quite surprised too.”
“Being surprised is normal!”
In short, his reason for becoming a villain was indeed for Noah’s sake. This part wasn’t too surprising since she had somewhat suspected it.
However.
“In his own words…it sounds crazy, but I’ve read ahead in the book’s contents.”
He clearly wrote in the letter.
Assuming this world is a book, he claimed to have read ahead in the story to some extent.
“Is this some kind of precognition?”
“I suppose that’s the only way to interpret it.”
Perhaps it’s a special ability.
No…at this point, that’s not the most important thing.
Noah focused on the latter part.
That he was currently under a curse. According to the contract, if he didn’t properly fight against Iris, the curse would transfer to her.
“What a troublesome curse…”
Noah sighed deeply. They needed to find a way to break this curse.
While checking if there were any clues in the letter, Noah flipped to the next page and discovered something.
“Ah…”
While the earlier part was more explanatory, the latter part became more conversational.
Sorry, study hard at school, make sure to eat properly…
[PS. You can use this house for a while. Feel free to move your things in and make yourself comfortable. I’ve already paid six months’ rent in advance, so don’t worry about it. There’s a present in the freezer, so be sure to check.]
“Present?”
Confused, Noah headed to the freezer.
There.
“Ice cream…cake?”
An ice cream cake was waiting there. When did he even buy it?
Looking at the box, she saw a birthday message along with the cake. That’s right, her birthday was two weeks ago, which she missed because of the battle against Rusk.
“Is this a present…?”
“Seems like it. That uncle of yours is quite peculiar, who needs something like this?”
Noah muttered while trying to hide her pouting face.
That man always acted like this. Always taking better care of her than himself.
“Um, QQQ.”
“Yes?”
“What have I been fighting for all this time?”
This was a question Noah asked herself.
What have I been fighting for? The answer is probably “money.”
She fought for herself, for her family, for economic stability. Of course, she did save citizens along the way, but that was out of obligation, and because of her father’s teachings.
Even those actions might have ultimately been for her own benefit.
But from now on, it will be different.
Noah resolved.
“From now on, I’ll fight for Uncle. To save Uncle.”
She decided to fight for him.
For the person who always cared for and worried about her.
She would fight for Mr. Shin Hyun, stand by his side in battle, and fight so that everything could return to normal one day.
And someday, if permitted, she wanted to enjoy life together with him.
“Well, it’s ultimately for myself too, isn’t it?”
A small smile appeared despite herself.
Still, she intended to work hard to save him, so please let her have this much.
Seeing Noah’s determined expression, QQQ nodded.
“Yes, if that’s the case, I can give you this.”
“This?”
“Actually, there was one more page.”
“One more?”
QQQ handed over another sheet of paper.
“It’s his final letter. He said it contains ways to deal with most of the enemies you’ll face in the future.”
“…Methods to deal with them…”
Trembling, Noah took the final letter.
It read:
[Methods to解除 curses and various demons.]
[Take good care of it.]
[Now, let’s start the strategy.]
