Chapter 19

19

–

“I’m…sorry… I’m sorry, Yuri . ”

Leo stammered and apologized in a somber tone . He looked like a sad puppy . I stroked his head, which was hung down, and his ears and tail slowly rose up again .

Yuri soon saw Leo’s shabby clothes and thought, “I’ll have to replace them with newer ones sooner or later . ”

Hwiioo!

Then, a flock of birds flew across the night sky . One of the birds flew all the way down to Yuri and Leo and slowly began to shape-shift .

“I’m here, Arachne . ”

A young man emerged from among the whirlwind of black feathers .

He had a slender figure and an unusually pretty face with an immature aura . His hair spread out like a dark cloud in the night . His pink eyes were like stars that completed the night sky .

“Hi, Odin . ”

Yuri greeted another one of her colleagues from the experimental institution that she hadn’t seen in ages .

“It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to you, you know? I’m so deprived . ”

On a nearby tombstone, Odin grumbled . Then he noticed Leo, who had his back arched in front of Yuri .

“What is this . ”

Odin’s face crumpled with discontent .

“Arachne, are you still with that son of a bitch?”

Leo, who saw him, sounded a fierce warning, raised his tail and bared his sharp teeth . Looking at Leo, who was in front of Yuri as if to block anyone else from coming closer, Odin let out a sharp, ‘Ha!’

“Leo, it’s okay . Stay back . ”

But the moment Yuri touched his head, Leo instantly transformed into a gentle, dainty lamb . When Odin saw that, he gritted his teeth unhappily .

“That name is too good for that failed son of a bitch . ”

Odin twisted his lips as he saw Leo rubbing his head on Yuri’s hand .

“You even gave a name to this abandoned brute… you’re way too nice . ”

In Odin’s view, Leo was an unspeakable failure of an experiment .

Of course he was never proud of the fact that he himself was a successful experiment . But the point was that, he didn’t want to see him being like an unlicensed puppy, begging for sympathy and sticking like a leech to Yuri .

“Hey, Lightning . When will you learn how to read the situation?”

Odin purposely called Leo by the name he used in the lab .

“How long are you going to do this to the benevolent Arachne?”

“Kreung!”

“Kreung? Speak in human language if you have something to say . Don’t bark at me, you bitch . ”

Leo bared his teeth again and glared at him, but Odin only huffed, as if everything was normal . It wasn’t a very unusual scene, in fact, there wasn’t a day or two that this didn’t happen .

“Odin . Maybe I didn’t tell you this before . ”

Except, both of them became quiet the moment Yuri spoke .

“But don’t say such harsh things to Leo . ”

Her eyes, which glowed from under her hood, were a little chilly . Leo made a small whining noise behind her . But his face towards Odin was formed into a twisted mocking smile .

‘That’s…’

Odin wasn’t thrilled to see it, but he still thought of Arachne . Today was the first day that Arachne had contacted him after such a long time .

“Yes . I’m a bit off right now . ”

So for now he took a step back .

“Arachne, what brings you here today? I’ve been off work for a while now, you know? When am I going to start again?”

After that, he asked with anticipation, but Yuri shook her head .

“Ah . I have some information that I need you to find out for me . ”

Odin’s ears sprung up .

“What is it? Tell me everything!”

Of course he would do anything for Arachne .

“There was a guy following me a while ago, and I think he’s someone from behind the scenes . ”

“Do you mean it?”

Yuri explained .

It was very basic information, but that was enough for Odin .

Flap!

As he raised his arms with dignity, crows came out of his black feathered cloak that stretched out like a curtain in the night . They flew across the night sky . The scene was quite spectacular .

Well…

He doesn’t have to solve things that way with the crows, but it seems like he prefers doing things raucously .

Odin, who was still trying to look cool in front of Yuri, would have been greatly hurt if he knew what she was actually thinking . Anyway, it was clear that the crows ordered by Odin would get the information she wanted sooner than anyone else . Yuri added in another request .

“And I’d like you to look into the current situation in Carnot . ”

“Oh, is it because of the rumors that the throne has changed? All right then . ”

The King of Carnot had changed, so this important thing would have had some effect on the people that were apart of the dark world . Odin had no explanation, so he nodded to himself, convinced by Yuri’s words .

“I’ll charge you as usual for your request . ”

“No, it’s been a while since we’ve met . ”

Odin went to Yuri with a pretty face and a strange smile .

“Beyond that, Arachne . ”

Leo was at her feet and was wary of Odin .

“Are you free tonight?”

A white finger brushed Yuri’s face, which led to her face being revealed from the hood, and it wounded her hair up in a lump .

Of course, Yuri was as steady as ever, eliminating the form of Odin at once .

“I have to go in early today . ”

And at the very next words that followed, the crow and the fox both opened their eyes wide .

“I’ve picked up a cat . ”

Kugung!

At that very moment Leo’s eyes were full of shock . Odin’s face was filled with surprise too .

“Cats? Arachne, you’re raising one?”

“I just happen to be in charge of one for now . ”

Yuri, turned around to leave the cemetery first, leaving the other two behind .

“I’ll see you later . ”

Odin and Leo kept their eyes on her until she had completely disappeared from view .

“Hey you shitty dog . ”

“Grrrr…”

Leo growled at Odin’s low voice .

“Do you think that the cat that Arachne talked about is real?”

“Keuleung!”

“That wasn’t what she really said, was it? I’m not the only one who’s surprised, am I?”

Leo nodded furiously, as if he had completely forgotten to ostracize Odin a little while ago .

However, Odin already forgot that Leo was there .

“Oh, really . Why’s Arachne so sweet to brutes all the time? I already can’t stand this son of a bitch . ”

There was a dimly lit aura around him . Leo walked away from it, and with a wary eye, he looked at Odin and his expanded hair .

“And this time she brought one home . ”

The next moment, Odin’s mouth formed into a broken glass-like smile .

“Ha, those things look like stars…”

Even in the darkness, his bright pupils shone like a fire . Odin was in a very unpleasant mood . Just imagining that another thing similar to Leo sticking to Yuri’s side, in her house, rose deep irritation inside of him .

He was sick and tired of the guys hitting on her at the coffee house . It was Odin who used crows to spray poop on Snow today . Yuri thought Odin was a good way to dispose of annoying humans, so she let Odin’s little petulance go . In short, Odin was allowed to do so .

Unless he was determined to be hated by Yuri, he couldn’t take a peek inside of her house, which was an extremely private space . Odin clenched his teeth and waved his cape .

Flap!

The next moment, he turned into a group of crows and flew over the cemetery .

“Sniff!”

Leo, who was left alone, sneezed at the surrounding flying feathers and then turned to the direction where Yuri disappeared to .

‘So reflect on yourself . Maybe I’ll get really upset next time . ’

However, he suddenly recalled what Yuri had said earlier and stumbled . Eventually his mood turned sour . Instead of chasing after Yuri, he crawled into the bushes behind the tombstone and moved towards his home .

That’s how each night went .

* * *

Click .

Yuri went straight home . As soon as she opened the door and went inside, her eyes met the man lying on the sofa in the living room .

[Welcome . ]

Lakis moved his hand and lifted the paper that seemed to have been written in advance . Such a sight made her feel strange again . After contemplating why, she suddenly came up with a reason .

It’s been a long time since someone had been inside her house .

“Yes, Im home . How are you feeling?”

[Fine . ]

But Lakis then thought that his answer wasn’t enough, so he lifted up the pen and wrote something down .

[Thanks to you . ]

“I think the medicine worked, it solves everything . ”

The medicine Yuri had left on the table was effective, like she’d said . Of course, it wasn’t a pain killer, but a burnout . At that time, a loud voice was heard inside Lakis’ head .