Chapter 288

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 288

—Beep!

Cautiously, Gaia peeked her head out of the subspace, blinking as she looked at Brielle and Levin.

Zeon stroked Gaia’s head and reassured her.

“It’s okay. They’re my friends.”

-–Beep?

“Yes, friends. They’re trustworthy.”

—Beep—Beep!

At last, Gaia fully emerged from the subspace.

“My goodness!”

“What the…?”

Brielle and Levin were left speechless at the sight.

It was astonishing enough that a living creature had been inside the subspace. But that creature was a whale.

A whale that floated in the air.

It was only natural that they were utterly shocked.

However, Brielle’s reaction differed from Levin’s.

Drip.

Suddenly, tears began streaming down Brielle’s face.

Her crystalline tears sparkled as they fell, leaving Levin startled.

“Why are you crying?”

“There’s… the scent of a spirit…”

“What?”

“I can smell a spirit’s fragrance.”

“Huh…”

Levin blinked in confusion, clearly not understanding.

Ignoring him, Brielle moved toward Gaia.

Gaia gently fluttered her pectoral fins like butterfly wings as she gazed at Brielle.

Brielle reached out cautiously and spoke softly.

“Hi there.”

—Beep?

“My name’s Brielle.”

—Beep—Beep?

“As you can see, I’m a High Elf.”

—Beep—Beep—Beep!

At that moment, Gaia nuzzled her head against Brielle’s outstretched hand.

Surprised by the velvety touch, Brielle widened her eyes slightly before hugging Gaia tightly.

Gaia didn’t resist and pressed her head against Brielle’s chest.

“Aah…”

Brielle’s expression turned euphoric.

The sheer presence of Gaia, exuding the unmistakable fragrance of a spirit, was overwhelming.

Gaia was the first spirit-born life form to ever manifest on Earth.

Even without meaning to, Gaia naturally radiated an intense aura.

For Brielle, experiencing the scent of a spirit for the first time was intoxicating, enough to render her almost senseless.

“Haa… haa…”

Hugging Gaia tightly, Brielle took deep breaths of the spirit’s fragrance, her behavior bordering on obsessive.

“Hey! Snap out of it!”

Unable to watch any longer, Levin pulled her away from Gaia.

“Ugh, no!”

Brielle pouted in frustration, clearly unhappy about being separated.

Zeon patted her on the head and consoled her.

“You’ll get to see Gaia often from now on, so there’s no need to be sad.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“She’s staying with us?”

“Yep.”

“Yay!”

Brielle jumped up and down in excitement.

Having recovered from the lingering effects of the drug addiction, Brielle was now beginning to express her emotions like any normal girl her age.

“This is amazing, isn’t it?”

—Beep—Beep! —Beep!

“Yeah! I’ll take really good care of you. We’re friends now.”

—Beep! —Beep—Beep!

“Yes, yes!”

Watching Brielle chatter away with Gaia as if they were holding an actual conversation, Levin shook his head.

“What are they even talking about? Can they actually understand each other?”

“In Kurayan culture, Elves are known for their ability to communicate with spirits.”

“So, that whale is really a spirit?”

“It’s not like the spirits from Kurayan, but… yeah, I’d say it’s a spirit.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Beats me.”

Zeon shrugged.

Gaia was the offspring of Earth’s whales and Kurayan’s Great Spirit. Even Zeon couldn’t definitively categorize her nature.

He turned to Brielle.

“Let’s head home for now. Someone might come by here. Gaia, go back into the subspace for a bit.”

“Okay!”

—Beep!

Brielle and Gaia replied in unison.

Gaia retreated back into Zeon’s subspace.

Brielle grabbed Zeon’s hand as they started walking.

“At home, I can see Gaia whenever I want, right?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Yay! I’m so excited.”

“You really like her that much?”

“Of course! I’m probably the first Elf born on Earth to meet a spirit.”

“Really?”

“This is a historic moment! If other Elves knew about this, they’d lose their minds.”

“In that case, we’d better make sure no one finds out.”

“Exactly! We can’t let other Elves know. They’d never leave Gaia alone.”

Though she was an Elf herself, Brielle didn’t trust the other Elves much.

More accurately, she didn’t trust the ones who had adapted to life among humans. They were already too tainted by human greed.

“Let’s hurry home.”

“Yes! I can’t wait to see Gaia again.”

Nodding eagerly, Brielle followed Zeon, with Levin trailing behind, scratching his head.

“I don’t get any of this. A flying baby whale? And does our house even have enough space for something like that? Are we going to need to expand again?”

Still, Levin couldn’t help but smile. Adding a new member to their household was a happy event.

Long after the three had left the alley, someone arrived at the scene.

The visitor was a beautiful woman in a French coat—Borin Stravach, captain of the Northern District’s elite Blue Leaf Task Force.

Borin sniffed the air.

“Hmm… what’s this? It smells incredible.”

She was following unusual energy patterns on orders from the Northern District Queen, Serien.

In the slums, she’d detected faint, peculiar signals.

If this had been within Neo Seoul itself, she likely wouldn’t have noticed them.

Intrigued, Borin had rushed over and now detected a lingering, pleasant fragrance.

It was a scent unlike anything she’d ever encountered before.

A clean, refreshing smell that instantly uplifted her spirits, as if her chest had been cleared of all burdens.

“What in the world was here?”

She continued sniffing the air but to no avail—the scent was already fading.

“Seriously, what left this kind of fragrance?”

* * *

—Beep!

The moment they returned home, Gaia emerged from the subspace.

Brielle greeted her enthusiastically.

“This is our home. I’ll give you a tour.”

—Beep!

“This is the living room. It’s where we hang out. Cool, right? The ‘Watching Eye’ protects this place, so it’s super safe.”

—Beep—Beep?

“Amazing, right? I think so too. As long as you’re here, you don’t have to worry about a thing. No one can get in. So, make yourself at home.”

—Beep!

“Let’s check out my room first. I have tons of cool stuff. I made a lot of it while Zeon was away.”

—Beep—Beep—Beep!

Wagging her tail, Gaia eagerly followed Brielle. Watching this, Levin tilted his head.

“She’s not a dog, but look at her following Brielle like one.”

“It’s probably because Brielle’s a High Elf. Pure-blooded High Elves are said to have a natural affinity for spirits.”

“Well, that’s good. I felt bad about leaving her alone.”

“You’ve been gone a lot while I was away, huh?”

“Yeah… I had nothing else to do, so I wandered around. But I’m okay now.”

Having fulfilled his revenge, Levin had been aimless for a while, spending more time outside than at home. Meanwhile, Brielle had been absorbed in her creative projects, paying little attention to Levin’s absence.

Though Levin felt guilty about leaving her alone, she hadn’t even noticed.

“I’m glad you’re doing better. Nothing else happened, right?”

“It’s been peaceful—almost too peaceful.”

“Really?”

“I think City Hall kept their promise.”

“Looks like the Mayor kept his word.”

Jin Geum-ho had assured Zeon that other districts wouldn’t dare interfere as long as the mission was complete.

True to his word, the mere fact that City Hall was watching had kept trouble at bay.

“For now, we can relax. As long as we don’t cause any problems.”

“What kind of trouble could we cause? We’re not fight-happy lunatics. I like things the way they are.”

“Me too.”

Zeon nodded, smiling.

Every time he returned from an expedition, he realized how fortunate he was to have a peaceful place to rest.

Neither the Iron Fortress nor Neo Seoul’s flashy skyscrapers could offer him the same comfort as this modest home.

It wasn’t big, but it was a haven where he could truly relax.

Levin asked.

“What’s next?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to visit the Goblin Market?”

“Is there a problem there?”

“No, I just thought you might want to stop by since you’re back.”

“If there’s no issue, there’s no rush. I’ll rest for now and go when I feel like it.”

“Got it, hyung. Take your time.”

“Good. I’m planning to stay glued to the couch.”

“Sure.”

Levin laughed as Zeon sprawled out on the sofa.

Everyone loved that couch.

Its unmatched comfort and softness often led to playful squabbles over who got to use it when Zeon wasn’t around.

Usually, Brielle won these battles, leaving Levin to watch enviously. But Brielle never shared her prize.

“Now that Gaia’s staying, I might never get to sit on that couch again.”

Still, he didn’t really mind.

At that moment.

Crash!

The sound of Brielle opening her door broke the peace.

Gaia followed closely behind her.

Brielle flung open Levin’s door.

“Let’s see Levin’s room next.”

“What?”

“Let’s take a good look around a guy’s room and see what he’s hiding.”

—Beep—-Beep!

“Yay! This is going to be fun.”

Levin stared at them in shock, failing to process the situation.

Thud!

The door shut behind them, snapping him out of it.

A man’s room had secrets meant to stay hidden.

Things no one should ever see.

“W-wait! No!”

Levin bolted into the room.

Moments later, his anguished cry echoed.

“You can’t look at that!”

“Haha!”

—Beep!

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]