Chapter 5

　　The original Seong Dohyun had been an S-class hunter, so he could have lived the high life if he’d wanted. Instead, the idiot went completely off the deep end over Eunseong and threw away every bit of wealth and honor. A genuine lunatic.

　　Unlike other hunters who belonged to guilds or the Center and had their insurance handled, he wasn’t affiliated with anyone. Every cent he earned went straight into paying his own premiums.

　　He didn’t even have a proper home and had the gall to sleep at the association. Because of that bastard, right after I possessed him, I had no house, no savings, nothing. Before I’d even fully figured out the situation, I’d scraped together every last bit of cash and barely managed to rent this studio.

　　Hamin looked around the studio, hesitated, slowly slipped off his shoes, and bolted to one corner of the room, plastering himself against the wall. Around him, white clovers began to sprout and sway.

　　Unbelievable. He’d been clinging to me like he’d never let go, and now he was acting all wary. Well, he was from White Domain, too. He probably had a rough idea of what kind of trash Seong Dohyun was.

　　I let out a small sigh and opened the fridge.

　　"Hm."

　　I’d planned to feed him and put him to bed… but there was nothing to eat. I’d been so busy the last few days that I’d completely forgotten to buy groceries.

　　Clicking my tongue, I took out two eggs and opened the cupboard to check for sliced bread or instant rice. I was debating whether French toast or rice with soy sauce and egg would be better for a kid when I suddenly felt a familiar current.

　　There were five of them. The kidnappers who had disappeared into the ground earlier.

　　Hamin must have sensed something off, too. He slowly uncurled from his crouch and lifted his head. With his peach-tinted lips pressed tight and his gaze fixed silently on one point, he didn’t look like a child at all, but a hunter.

　　So that’s the Baek bloodline, even at this age. I cut my admiration short, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck like a kitten and lifting him up.

　　"Ack!"

　　He had been glaring at me, but then he saw a shadow surge up from the spot where he’d just been sitting and gasped.

　　You little shit… If you wreck the apartment and the landlord jacks up the deposit, what am I supposed to do?

　　I glared at the shadow writhing around, searching for a place to hide, then thought about my security deposit and threw the window wide open.

　　"Hold on tight."

　　At my words, Hamin wrapped his arms around my neck and squeezed. I watched the soft grass curling around my clothes, then looked back into the room.

　　"Hang on."

　　I grabbed a blanket off the floor and tore it roughly, turning it into a makeshift swaddling cloth. I wrapped Hamin up tight, secured him to me, then planted my feet on the window frame.

　　If there were witnesses around, the kidnappers would be more cautious. Somewhere with people would be safer.

　　I was just about to jump when I caught sight of white capes fluttering below the window. The hunters who had been guarding Hamin. Unlike Jihwan, they had seen the kidnapping attempt with their own eyes, so they must have realized this was the real Hamin and chased after me.

　　Perfect. I was going to squeeze them for enough of a reward that I wouldn’t have to worry about food for a while.

　　I jumped out the window and used Ariadne’s Thread to chase the kidnappers for a good long while. After circling the neighborhood who knows how many times, I finally shouted into the air.

　　"Let’s stop this and come on out."

　　What the hell were they thinking? Sure, I looked a bit gaunt from not eating properly, but I was still an S-class hunter. Did they really think something like this would wear me out?

　　The thought pricked my pride.

　　"If you don’t come out, I’m coming in."

　　I was about to snap my fingers when the kidnapper finally showed himself.

　　"Why… are you interfering?"

　　His voice sounded genuinely baffled. I glanced at Hamin clinging to me.

　　"Like I said before. Kidnapping is illegal."

　　He stared at me like I was out of my mind, but I felt perfectly justified. The original Seong Dohyun had followed Eunseong around doing all sorts of annoying crap, but he never actually broke the law.

　　He would torment Eunseong every way he could think of, but the moment Eunseong tried to push back even a little, he’d squawk, "Isn’t that illegal?" A truly petty, pathetic bastard.

　　Clicking my tongue, I glared at the kidnapper manipulating the shadows.

　　"Where do you think you’re going?"

　　When I snapped my fingers, he staggered hard but quickly regained his footing. His eyes were determined—he wasn’t going to fall for the same trick twice. So, I punched him in the side of the head.

　　Did he think I was stupid enough to attack the same way again?

　　With a dull crack, he went flying and didn’t move. It looked like he’d passed out. I was about to use Ariadne’s Thread to track down the rest when—

　　"Bae… ek… Hamin…"

　　"Eek!"

　　Hamin clawed at my neck and buried his face in my shoulder. I followed his gaze and saw the kidnapper, who had been lying there, roll his eyes back white and stagger to his feet.

　　I patted Hamin’s back and used Heavenly Conduct. The kidnapper swayed for a moment, but then, foaming at the mouth, started crawling toward Hamin.

　　"I said, go to sleep already!"

　　I broke off mid-song and snapped in irritation. The kidnapper dropped like a stone.

　　A strange feeling crawled up my throat. I touched my Adam’s apple. Hamin stared up at me, just as intrigued. Just now… it felt like something huge had crashed out of my body. Like a massive wave.

　　I pulled up my status window and stared at the words Heavenly Conduct. I’d assumed "conduct" meant I had to sing, but maybe not. Could I put power into my spoken words, too?

　　To test it right away, I followed Ariadne’s Thread to where the rest of the kidnappers were gathered.

　　"There they are."

　　I steadied Hamin in my arms and looked at the group.

　　Were they missing a few screws? Anyone could see the guy I’d knocked out earlier was the strongest of them. With him down, they should have been running for their lives, not lining up in formation and waiting.

　　"You’re planning to fight me?"

　　I let out a short laugh and raised my hand to snap my fingers—then stopped. I wanted to wait for the White Domain hunters to show up, so I could witness me taking these guys down and rescuing Hamin.

　　But no matter how long I waited, they didn’t appear. The kidnappers watched me stand there motionless, looking confused, but they were too scared to rush in first.

　　I spread my senses and swept the area. The White Domain hunters who had been running around chasing the kidnappers earlier were gone.

　　No way they got taken out by these small fry, right?

　　Frowning, I clapped my hands once.

　　The wave that rippled out from my palms shook their mana violently. One by one, they started gushing blood from their noses and collapsing.

　　I crouched in front of the one who looked the least wrecked. Hamin yelped and dove into my arms. I waited until he settled, then asked the kidnapper, whose eyes were rolling back in his head.

　　"Who sent you?" I sang.

　　"Baek… Hamin… kidnap…"

　　"Yeah, I got that. Who ordered the kidnapping? Not talking?"

　　"Bae…"

　　Even when I asked again, all he did was mumble about needing to kidnap Hamin.

　　Hm. Interrogation was a bit much, I guess. It looked like I couldn’t control their consciousness.

　　"Stand up."

　　Instead, I gave a command. The kidnapper, who had been muttering about kidnapping Hamin, staggered to his feet. With blood pouring from his nose and his body moving without awareness, he looked exactly like a zombie.

　　So, I couldn’t control their minds, but I could move their bodies.

　　Watching the zombies shuffle around at my gesture, I bit my lip.

　　Something felt off.

　　In the original story, the first and last person to kidnap Hamin was me—Seong Dohyun.

　　Between White Domain’s protection and Eunseong’s overflowing love, no one else would dare touch Hamin unless they had a death wish.

　　So who the hell was trying to kidnap him now, if not me…?

　　"Don’t tell me."

　　Was it because of me? Because I’d possessed Seong Dohyun and removed the original kidnapper from the board, was some kind of "original plot force" trying to force the story back on track?

　　But in the novel, Hamin didn’t get kidnapped until he was at least ten. Why were they coming after him already?

　　I racked my brain, but no answer came. I didn’t even know why I’d possessed this body in the first place—what was I expecting?

　　Sighing, I looked at the kidnappers still stumbling around.

　　Dragging them to the association or White Domain would just get me treated exactly the same as before.

　　They wouldn’t believe me. They’d probably accuse me of staging a show with the kidnappers, claiming we’d rehearsed our lines together.

　　That was why I’d wanted reliable witnesses from White Domain in the first place. I sighed again and looked at Hamin, who flinched.

　　Eunseong and the Guild Master had supposedly stepped out for a family event. When they came back, they’d realize Hamin was missing.

　　When Eunseong returned, these kidnappers would be my proof that I’d saved Hamin. I just needed a way to stash them somewhere…

　　Thinking it over, I glanced at Ariadne’s Thread floating in the air. It was a thread. Couldn’t I weave it into cloth?

　　The moment I thought it, the long strands tangled and twisted together, forming a huge sheet. I tossed the kidnappers into it and cinched it up like a bundle. The cloth hanging in midair slipped away and vanished.

　　"Oh."

　　Did I just… make something like an inventory?

　　Curious, I thought about taking the bundle back out. Just as I expected, the bundle that had disappeared reappeared. It vanished and reappeared again, perfectly following my will.

　　So skills really did change depending on how you used them…

　　Murmuring in awe, I patted Hamin’s back as he hiccuped. His little fingernails were bright red from how desperately he’d clung to me.

　　"Man, what a mess. A kid getting dragged into grown-up fights. I’ll mix egg with rice for you, so eat and sleep."

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