I’m the Only One Who Can’t See Ghosts

37 – Foundation Temple (1)

* * *

Jin Ah-ri, who possessed true talent, looked at herself in the mirror.

A girl who couldn’t hide her melancholy stood before the mirror.

“Haah.”

Since realizing that even her trusted aunt was trying to oppress her, Jin Ah-ri avoided meeting people and focused solely on her training.

Because during training, she could forget about this fear.

But when she was alone in her room like this, the fear that had been pressing on her came back, wriggling and enveloping Jin Ah-ri’s back.

“I am meant to become a phoenix.”

While looking at herself in the mirror, Jin Ah-ri murmured.

The girl in the mirror was an ordinary girl with nothing special except for yellow chick feathers on her arm like sleeves and small yellow wings on her back, making her resemble a baby chick.

So she didn’t look like the legendary being known as a phoenix.

“I am meant to become a phoenix…”

In the end, Jin Ah-ri could only close her eyes and think of someone.

Someone who protected her from assassins.

Who protected her from the fearsome Lord Gui.

When she thought of that man, Jin Ah-ri felt her wings fluttering inside her. It was the excitement that her chick had felt when thinking of that man.

“Hu.”

Jin Ah-ri looked at the mirror again.

The girl in the mirror had slightly red cheeks, and her expression was one of holding back embarrassment.

But the girl in the mirror didn’t appear melancholic.

Surprised by that fact, Jin Ah-ri tilted her head.

This is all because of the chick in my heart.

This is all because of the chick in my heart.

For the past week, I haven’t been able to make a chirping sound, so it seems like the chick in my heart is angry. Jin-ari lightly touched her cheek.

Her cheek was warm.

At that moment, Jin-ari’s smartphone rang.

After glancing at the smartphone, Jin-ari muttered.

“Cheep.”

She accidentally made the chirping sound out of surprise.

Jin-ari covered her mouth and looked at the phone screen again.

And it was written like this.

＜Yu Ha-jin＞

* * *

I arrived in Lua Ville with my tired body.

Today, there were too many things going on.

It’s tough, really.

I laid the mother dog’s corpse and the puppy on the ground in the duffel bag. They say raising a puppy requires money, but can I handle all of this?

However, whether the puppy knows or not, it just whined and licked its mother.

And now, it started licking my hand.

Without anything to say, I petted the puppy.

“What did you bring?”

At that moment, a voice came from behind.

It was Jam-soon’s sharp voice.

When I turned around, Jam-soon and the old man were together.

“Hmm, is it a young Haetae? I didn’t expect any living creatures to be left.”

“Oh, this is quite a good quality. I heard that all the evil spirits have been extinct. Where did you get this from?”

Indeed, this puppy was an extraordinary existence.

If it was experimented on in a secret lab of evil people, it must be a quite remarkable breed of dog.

“You’ve experienced something unimaginable.”

“Shall I make you obey? Haetae.”

Jam-soon chuckled and reached out her hand towards the puppy. In response, the puppy whined and bit Jam-soon’s finger. Surprised, Jam-soon looked down at the puppy with a bewildered expression.

“This damn creature is questioning me?”

“Don’t you know that creatures with the temperament of Sojin Yang cannot be tamed?”

When Jamsooni raised her hand, I glared at her.

Are you seriously thinking about hitting an animal that can’t even speak?

“Hmph. Tsk, what kind of beast is this now?”

Ignoring Jamsooni’s grumbling, she reached out her hand to the puppy.

When I reached out my hand to the puppy, it rubbed its face against my hand.

“What’s this? Sir, didn’t you say it can’t be tamed?”

“Hmm? No, this is…”

The man and Jamsooni stared at me in surprise.

I was even more surprised at their attitudes.

I understood that this puppy was an exceptional breed.

But from what I could see, it was an inferior breed compared to the spiritual animals raised with care by the Saeganam and Munpa.

The animals that I couldn’t see would cut down dozens of trees just by wagging their tails and split stones with their claws.

I chuckled and said, “Well, unless it’s a spiritual beast treated as a weapon in battle, does it really matter if it’s just a dog?”

“I know it’s a good breed, but you should treat it as a dog.”

“A dog? A dog? Well, in a way, it is a deviation from being a dog.”

“Look. Dogs naturally like humans. If you try to capture it harshly like Sojin, the dog will get scared.”

“No, it’s just strange to treat it as a dog. When it grows up, it will become a threatening existence.”

After saying that, I looked around the vacant lot.

I should bury this mother dog somewhere.

Where is the most suitable place in Luaville?

While I was searching for a suitable place in Luaville, Jamsooni and the man started arguing. I couldn’t hear what they were saying because they were far away.

“I understand. It’s an amazing talent. It must be some kind of technique that completely ignores the spiritual part of a divine being and only focuses on the animal part. Since divine beings obtain divinity and establish their bodies, such actions are possible.”

“It seems so. It must be a technique that prevents even a trace of the soul’s power from flowing into their own hands. At the same time, they must carefully stroke it without disturbing the soul’s power. In theory, with such a technique, it would be possible to tame any divine being.”

“But it’s a technique that can only exist in theory. To completely eliminate all the power in one’s own hands and read the soul’s power with completely powerless hands. Truly, the next level of the Il-wol-oak-moon. Unless you’re a genius who only appears once every ten million years…”

“Who said Yoo Hajin is the next level of the Il-wol-oak-moon? Sir, do you want to have a showdown for real???”

Are Jamsooni and the man fighting again?

I couldn’t hear what they were saying well, but judging from their tone, it seemed like they were fighting again. No, the age difference between the man and Jamsooni is quite significant. Why is he arguing with Jamsooni? Of course, Jamsooni’s tone and behavior are so disrespectful that it makes me want to slap her.

Ignoring them, I found an abandoned garden.

The atmosphere of the excerpt seemed to be quite chaotic with flowers blooming disorderly in a fairly large garden.

It must mean that the sun shines well on this land when flowers bloom so lushly like this.

After spreading dirt in the center of the garden, I placed the puppy there.

The puppy just stared at me wagging its tail.

“Our younger sister had something to say.”

Sigh, what am I doing to an animal that can’t even understand words.

But I really wanted to say these words now.

“All living beings in the world have souls, and those souls will eventually meet their loved ones again.”

Is that really true?

Does a soul truly exist?

But I couldn’t see anything with my eyes.

Harin, are you by my side now?

Please answer me.

“So, even if you lose your family, don’t be too sad and live with determination. That way, we can smile when we meet again.”

After saying those words, I buried the mother dog.

And as I petted the puppy, I said,

“From now on, your name will be Meongmeong.”

“Meong!”

They say it takes a lot of money to raise a puppy.

Well, if I just work a few more part-time jobs, I’ll manage somehow.

While I was washing Meongmeong and warming milk for him in a bowl, my phone started vibrating. Is it another message about a loan?

When I glanced at it, it said:

—-

＜Fake Swindler, Scam Artist, Acting Like a Fool, Chick＞

Sorry.

Let’s meet and talk.

If you let me know the time and place, I’ll go right away.

—-

“Oh?

Can I finally meet this swindler?

I immediately scheduled the appointment.

It was tonight, right away.

* * *

And so, evening came.

The streets were bustling with people leaving work.

As soon as I spotted a chick on the street, I dashed towards it.

“Chickkkk!!!”

“M-My name is Jinari, I think I mentioned it before···?”

“Why did you break our promise?!!!”

I shook the chick’s shoulders vigorously.

The chick trembled and continued with a feeble excuse.

“I-I was still preparing. Even if it’s me, a lot of preparation is needed for such a big task.”

“Do you not understand that cowardly excuses are a sin???”

“Peep?!”

I was so agitated.

I could feel the gaze of the people on the street.

I let go of the chick and spoke.

“Sir Chick. You clearly said that if I have the power of the family behind me, I can accomplish the task I asked for.”

“M-My name is Jinari. And the target is more difficult than I thought···.”

“So you’re going to go back on our promise and run away?”

“I would never do such a thing.”

At that moment, I felt something in my stomach.

Was I too excited?

I needed to use the restroom urgently.

I glanced around and spotted a portable restroom.

“I’ll use the restroom.”

“Of course, it might sound like an excuse.”

I turned towards the portable restroom.

From Noble mtl dot com

But the chick just followed behind me, grumbling.

“But Cheonsu, with the support of all heaven and earth, unified the Hongdae gangs and became a powerful leader known as the Overlord. Of course, with the power of our family, we can easily destroy such gangs in a day but···.”

“Chick.”

The chick didn’t stop talking.

While doing so, it continued to follow me closely.

“Using the main forces of the family requires the agreement of the head of the family and the ancestors. I am trying to persuade them, but it might take some time to obtain their consent. So, I am currently gathering available forces…”

“Chick.”

The chick continued chirping.

Of course, it continued to chirp and follow me.

“I have a rough idea of the power of Cheonsu, but I haven’t been able to grasp the extent of Cheonsu’s own power. And on top of that, I don’t know who Cheonsun is that supports Cheonsu…”

“Chick!!!”

I said, standing in front of the urinal in the men’s restroom.

“Are you a pervert?”

“Peep?”

And the chick looked around.

Of course, it was inside the men’s restroom.

“Chirp? No, why am I in a place like this?”

The chick started to sob.