Chapter 97

It was late dawn.

“…….”

She had tried wearing all the rags she could stuff herself into, but there was no way a poor, 4th-class citizen could be properly dressed.

The 18-year-old woman, who had just become an adult, touched the scarf that seemed to be made of animal fur.

“Hah….”

A white breath spread out.

“…Still, it’s not too cold.”

It was the time when Christmas was approaching.

Recently, it has barely snowed.

Was it gradually becoming spring?

Thanks to the rising temperature day by day, the number of poor dying from the cold has decreased.

The woman had almost died that way too, but thanks to a scarf someone had given her, she was able to get through the winter.

‘Spring will be here soon.’

Though it was still very cold.

‘Still, if I just wait a little longer….’

From the perspective of a 4th-class citizen, the situation in the place where the woman was staying was not too bad.

Since it was a city, it was safe from the threat of monsters and especially in this neighborhood, the people were generous, so she could sometimes receive help.

‘When spring comes, I won’t have to worry about freezing to death, and as for food, I can survive somehow since weeds or something will grow. If I’m lucky, I might even be able to have a meal provided by the city….’

Grumble.

She was hungry.

“…….”

Should I try eating some snow?

Winter was truly harsh for the poor.

Unlike other seasons where they could at least forage for plant roots, there was nothing to eat, and it was even cold.

If there was any consolation, it was that there was plenty of snow, so she could get drinking water.

‘If my body were very cold, it would be hard to eat, but….’

This winter, she was lucky and was able to maintain her body temperature in various ways.

“…Is it thanks to the scarf?”

After receiving the scarf from someone she didn't even know, small bits of good fortune had come her way.

The woman gathered the clean, untrodden snow and put it in her mouth.

Since it was snowing from the ground, she occasionally chewed on dirt, but it didn't matter.

Fortunately, the woman was quite resistant to the cold.

“…….”

Looking for a place where the wind didn't blow, she went a little deeper into the alley and saw other poors.

“Did you hear?”

“Hear what? I’m freezing to death….”

“No, I mean the Black Cape.”

Black Cape?

‘…Come to think of it, all the city people were talking about that too.’

While it was common for poors to hide in alleys to avoid the contemptuous gazes of the city dwellers, the woman liked the clean and orderly atmosphere and would sometimes hide outside the alley.

The name the poor had just mentioned was one that people strolling in the park had also brought up.

‘They were saying something about how the Black Cape was a monster after all.’

It was an unfamiliar name to a poor person who was bound to have little information, but she had heard it once or twice, so it was also intriguing.

The woman carefully settled down in the alley and eavesdropped on the poors' conversation.

“Why the Black Cape all of a sudden? They say it’s a monster.”

“But from what I heard… it grants wishes and stuff.”

“That's ridiculous. Where would you find a monster that's beneficial to humans.”

“But, there are harmless monsters that live in places like parks… so there could be beneficial monsters too. Right?”

“So why did you bring that up?”

“I was thinking of looking for the Black Cape.”

Another poor scoffed.

“Give it up. You want to get eaten in one bite by a monster?”

“They said it's the type of monster that doesn't eat people….”

“Then it'll tear you to shreds. Does it make sense for a monster to leave a person alone?”

“R-Really…?”

“The city’s been noisy about that lately, anyway.”

Unaware that the woman was listening intently, the poor continued.

“Didn't a bunch of Hunters die because they believed in that Black Cape or Red Cape or whatever?”

“Huh? Something like that happened?”

“That's what I hear. An S-Class dungeon opened somewhere, and a creature called the Black Cape appeared there often. It even rescued people in danger….”

“Then isn't it a monster that's beneficial to humans after all?”

“They say it suddenly disappeared. And then, some guy appeared who said he saw the Black Cape in some other alley.”

“A monster that was in a dungeon suddenly appeared in an alley…? Does that make sense?”

“It's a nonsensical story.”

The poor clicked his tongue.

“It's probably just a baseless rumor made up by city people with nothing to do, or 4th-class maggots like us. If not, then it's a dangerous monster that can pop up anywhere.”

Monsters basically had a fixed area of activity.

The poor didn't receive separate education, so they didn't know the details, but they at least knew that there were some set rules for monsters.

But the Black Cape was a monster that didn't even follow such rules.

“It might have saved a few hunters by chance. But don't you get a feeling from the fact that it suddenly disappeared? It's just an evil monster that doesn't care what happens to human lives. Or it was a scheme to lure the hunters into a trap.”

“But they said it grants wishes….”

“Don't be ridiculous. Even the gods only show mercy to the believers who are useful to them. A traditional god might be able to offer a favor without expecting anything in return, but… this is a monster.”

The poor told him not to hold onto useless hope and hunched his body.

As a cold wind whipped through the alley, the poor shivered and huddled together with those they knew.

“Ugh, it’s cold. Stop talking nonsense and just get closer.”

“Ah… I was thinking of asking for a set of clothes if I met the Black Cape.”

“You’re still talking nonsense to the end.”

It was a common sight in such a winter for the poor who knew each other to huddle together like penguins.

The larger the cluster, the greater the power of the group was sometimes evaluated to be, but the woman had no such friends left.

Her only poor friend had died during the winter.

“…….”

If she had been alive, would it have been warmer than now?

“Ugh….”

In the chilly winter wind, the woman clutched her scarf tighter and curled her body into a ball.

It seemed like a good idea to make a new companion when spring came.

It was difficult to be active because it was winter, but new friends would come with time.

‘…The Black Cape.’

So that's what it was.

‘I was wondering what people were whispering about these days.’

She had heard that it was a humanoid monster that had appeared for the first time in several years.

She thought she had also vaguely heard the absurd rumor that if you do good deeds, the Black Cape gives you a gift.

‘Though I don't believe it.’

The poor from before were right.

There are no monsters that are beneficial to humans.

The woman, who had lost her village, family, and friends to monsters and fled to Seoul, knew this very well.

Monsters were an object of fear for many.

“…….”

The skinny woman quietly slipped out of the alley and roamed another alley close to the brightly glittering city.

There was no other reason.

She just thought she might be lucky enough to find leftover food from the city people.

This terrible hunger wouldn't be solved by just sitting still.

Even if her body got more tired the more she moved, if she didn't act, she would likely starve to death.

While wandering around like that for a bit, the woman came across a certain poor.

“…….”

“…Uh….”

With a much smaller frame than her, she looked younger than 18 at least.

‘A child born here?’

If she was this young, she would usually be a child born between people of the slums, but no guardian was in sight.

No matter how heartless the slums were, it was rare for such a young poor to be left alone.

‘But it's a bit much to act like I know her….’

After being demoted to a 4th-class citizen, the woman, who had lived an individualistic life, had no desire to go out of her way to acknowledge the child.

The woman knew very well that acknowledging a child in such difficult times would only mean another mouth to feed.

The city people might call it dirty and lowly, but what made up the woman now was what she had painstakingly scraped together to survive.

If she gave that away easily, it would be hard to last even a single season.

“…….”

But.

“…Hmm….”

At least this scarf was not something the woman had scraped together.

“D-Do you want to use this?”

“……?”

“Use this. This….”

It was a stroke of luck that had come by chance.

“You use it.”

It had been a long time since she had spoken to someone, so the words didn't come out well, but the meaning itself was delivered clearly.

The young poor, while glancing with wary eyes, must have been cold because she tentatively took the scarf.

Her neck felt a bit bare, but it was okay.

The woman was good at enduring the cold, and she wouldn't die without one scarf.

It wasn't something that was hers to begin with, just a passing piece of luck, so she wasn't disappointed.

“Here.”

“…….”

Perhaps not understanding the situation, the young poor didn't answer and just clutched the scarf tightly.

Seeing that, the woman's face turned red from an unknown embarrassment, and she hurriedly left the place.

Trying to talk to someone after such a long time, the words just wouldn't come out.

The woman, who had moved far away, soon thought with a sense of pride.

‘Still, I did a good job.’

Her parents had taught her to share if she had enough.

Those people were gone now, but doing a good deed according to her parents' words after a long time felt quite nice.

‘Later, when I meet mom and dad….’

I'll be praised, right?

It was when she slightly raised the corners of her lips with that thought.

“…….”

“…….”

A pitch-black picture frame came into the woman's sight.

The frame, as if carved from a golden tree, was neatly and luxuriously sculpted.

Inside it, a scene of lush greenery was painted with calm colors, but when she pondered where she had felt the 'blackness', she saw its essence.

“…….”

A portrait of a man in a pitch-black suit, painted with soft, deep ink-like paint, his face invisible.

A black portrait.

“…Huh?”

She instinctively realized that it was the ‘Black Cape’.

“Uh, uh uh… uh….”

“…….”

“M-Monster….”

Her breath caught in her throat.

‘It’s a monster.’

The monster that had taken everything from her was right in front of her.

Her breath hitched as if she had been punched in the solar plexus.

Her heart pounded wildly as if it were struggling right before death, and the blood that rushed with it made her whole body tremble.

So many organs were moving, but why wasn't her brain working?

As she unknowingly flinched before the disaster with its gloomy and heavy atmosphere, the crimson lips in the frame opened.

“…….”

“I apologize for startling you.”

What… should I call this.

It was an incredibly polite voice that she, a poor and a coward, would never have had the occasion to hear.

“I offer my apologies.”

“…….”

That benevolent voice gave her the creeps.

No emotion could be felt in the Black Cape's voice.

It was just as quiet as if it were embodying a funeral, it was so silent it could hardly be called a 'voice', and it was as clean and clear as a machine's voice.

Despite having such a voice, despite speaking without any emotion, this bizarre and beautiful cape was imitating benevolence from within the shadow of its hood.

‘…W-What do I do.’

Her feet were frozen and wouldn't move.

‘I’m scared….’

The woman was a natural-born coward, she had always been afraid of monsters, and even more so after her village was annihilated.

It was only natural that her whole body trembled upon encountering a humanoid monster she had only heard about in stories.

She had hidden alone in that chaos because she didn't want to die.

She had survived like that and came to the city. She had been living stubbornly, clinging like a parasite to this large city.

“Ah, ahh….”

“…….”

“…D-Don't, don't come… Don't come here….”

“…….”

“Heuk, kkeup….”

It was just too sad.

“I-I, I did a good deed todayyyy….”

Wasn't her luck just too bad?

The various good things people said about the Black Cape flashed through her mind, but it was truly for a fleeting moment.

Even so, to the woman who knew what kind of beings monsters were, this situation of encountering the Black Cape was terribly frightening.

‘How am I going to die?’

Will I be swallowed whole into a large mouth like her parents were that day?

Or will I be pierced by countless teeth and die?

Or will I be trampled and crushed to death, or, or, or….

As she was just crying sorrowfully, the Black Cape asked.

“Did you do a good deed?”

“Kkeup, heuuu….”

“I imagine you must have been very surprised by the frightening situation.”

“…Sniff….”

“I promise I will not harm you.”

Even as she cried, she thought it was a voice with a strange resonance, yet full of mercy.

No, in fact, at some point, her crying had stopped. The woman herself didn't notice it.

“…….”

“Here.”

The Black Cape held out its hand and gave her something.

Normally, the woman would never have accepted something given by a monster.

She would have been too busy being shocked speechless or crying her eyes out, but as if possessed by something, her heartbeat calmed down, and she found herself listening to the steady voice.

She unknowingly held out her hand and received something.

“…….”

“It is a cookie.”

Rustle.

A savory smell came from within the thin, Hanji(Korean traditional paper)-like envelope.

“I once again apologize for frightening you.”

“…….”

“I affirm you for your good deed.”

The Black Cape, like a gentleman from a fairytale or a nobleman from a faded film, placed a hand on its chest, clasped its hands behind its back, and bowed.

After the short and slow bow, the Black Cape's low voice followed.

“Thank you.”

For what?

“…….”

When she lifted her head, the picture frame was nowhere to be seen.

Only the freshly baked cookie remained.

“…Huh…?”

It was the day the name of the ‘Black Cape’ spread among the poor.

***

The portrait, still unable to make a new friend, cried pitifully.

“I couldn't find anyone to be my pen pal friend today either….”

“Ah, if you're so inclined, shall I catch one for you?”

“How dare you try to take away this teacher's pleasure.”

“…….”

…If the Teacher says so, then it must be so.

Iseur nodded gravely with a benevolent smile on his face.

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