CH 44

“Good work. I’ll go and check it out myself soon.”

“You just woke up, so you don’t have to overdo it…”

“Raphael. Go and rest now.”

The gentle but firm tone left Raphael speechless. After that, he bowed to me and Simeon and walked out helplessly. I was looking at the door with a pitiful backside, and a cold voice headed toward me this time.

“That’s enough. You go back, too. The debt that helped me will surely be paid someday.”

I wanted to ask him why he was cold-hearted, but I know he won’t tell me anyway. There is more important work now than that.

“If you want money, tell me right away. I’ll give you as much as you ask.”

After the <Codex Gigas>, the next artifact Simeon wants to get his hands on has to do with finding a way to erase memories. But why does the name sound so familiar to me, a man who knows very little about artifacts.

“Blue Hope…”

Simeon frowned when he heard me. At that moment, I remembered a TV program that I watched by chance. In a fake documentary that reenacts urban legends, <Blue Hope> was clearly explained like this.

“One of the four cursed diamonds, right?”

Cursed diamonds, gems that prey on their masters, hopes that call for blood. All of these are the names given to , which boasts a brilliant blue color. As a vicious nickname, everyone who owns this gem has suffered an unexpected disaster.

The farmer who first discovered the jewel was looted, the king who received the gift died suddenly of illness, and one merchant committed suicide because of the beauty of the jewel. Many others were deprived of their souls by the blue jewels. Thanks to its cruel and colorful history, I vaguely remembered the existence of <Blue Hope>.

“That’s right, I have to go before the <Blue Hope> runs amok, so can you leave now?”

Simeon, who emphasized to go out again, expressed his doubts step by step.

“That’s strange. The <Breath of the Firebird> and the <Codex Gigas>… Why do you only collect cursed spirits? Does that have anything to do with erasing memories?”

“Why should I tell Shin Ha-jae that?”

That’s right, it was a natural response. Of course, there is no reason to tell me that, I am not an apostle. But I couldn’t back down now that I’d found a surefire way to avoid handing over the curse to Heo-sang.

“If I find out your purpose first, will you tell me everything honestly then?”

Simeon only looked at me when his eyes shone curiously. There is no knowing what the black eyes are thinking like the sea with no end in sight. Soon Simeon smiled and asked a meaningful question.

“Have you ever looked into a puzzle that you’ve solved perfectly?””

“What…”

“I haven’t.”

Simeon, who murmured in a whisper, walked quietly over the quilt and got up from his seat. I stepped back unknowingly at the eye level that was suddenly rising. It seemed frightened, Simeon continued with a pique smile.

“Human relationships are the same. Every relationship comes from curiosity, and the relationship continues because you are curious about the unknown of the other person. But as soon as the image is released, the relationship ends there. I don’t have to think about him anymore, so it’s quickly erased from my head who it was.”

“…what do you want to say?”

Simeon did not reply, even though he frowned and glared. There was no gap in the way that he stood upright for a long time and organized his clothes. Simeon, who regained his usual perfect appearance, looked down at me like a trickle and said,

“If I don’t have any more secrets, Shin Ha-jae will leave me.”

“That’s…”

“Am I wrong?”

I didn’t say no, not even by a long shot. If I learn how to erase memories, there is no reason to stay with Simeon anymore. Then I’ll leave again, as he said. I don’t know his purpose, his plan and my plan has already been read by him.

Simeon smiled with his eyes as if he knew it would happen when I only bit my lips without saying a word.

“If you’re curious about the purpose, let’s find out. Just like when you did a background check on me.”

I stepped back to avoid him. Then Simeon reached for me. I tried to avoid it this time, but his hands were faster than that. I was dragged in front of him without a single resistance because of the rough pull of the leash.

“And you’re constantly thinking about me.”

“Wait…”

I felt a sting in the back of my neck. But the force of pulling the leash only got stronger and stronger. The texture of several thorns penetrating through the soft skin was vivid. Finally, when I couldn’t hold back and let out a small groan, his eyes glistened.

“…Just like I’ve been doing.”

What followed was a horrifyingly sweet smile on his lips.

After that, I fell into an unknown sleep. When I came to consciousness, I had already been kicked out of the ark. I came home in a dreamy spirit and sat down in front of the computer as if I was still walking in a dream. I started searching with a feeling of being happy even though I knew that his words, which I asked you to look for if you were curious, were a joke.

Memories, spirits, oblivion.

I typed in words that come to my mind at random. Just in case, I went to various libraries and searched through the literature. But I couldn’t see anything like how to erase memories. I didn’t know if my guess was wrong or if there was any information that I could access because I wasn’t a hunter.

A few days later, the news came that <Blue Hope> had been runaway.

[Gate occurred in Gimpo’s underground bunker 5 people were seriously injured in a mysterious accident]

[Is it because of the curse of <Blue Hope>?]

The fact that a person is injured just by opening the gate deserves to be notorious as a ‘cursed diamond’. Realizing the seriousness, the current owner of <Blue Hope> personally asked the apostle to put the spirit to rest.

Out of curiosity, I found something strange while searching about <Blue Hope>.

“…What?”

A long time ago, <Blue Hope> went wild and the gate was opened.

Originally, the spirit awakens its ability the moment it quits its initial runaway. If the power of the spirit is strong, the gate may open again, but there is no exception to awakening the ability. However, <Blue Hope> had no ability even though it had been sealed by opening a gate in the past.

It’s strange. Whether it’s a fancy legend or the number of lives sacrificed, it can never be. Experts also evaluated <Blue Hope> as a spirit that should have at least A-rank capabilities. Even the D-rank <Breath of the Firebird> has the ability not to burn. However, the reality is that the A-ranked spirits had become nothing more than a name for nothing.

As I pondered where I had gone wrong, I suddenly remembered my conversation with Simeon.

‘In order to end the spirits’ rampage, you have to go inside the gate and complete a specific mission.’

‘What kind of mission?’

‘Each spirit is different, mostly related to its origin.’

In order to put the spirit to rest, you must carry out a mission related to origin. Perhaps at that time, hunters entered the cracks of <Blue Hope> and reenacted some historical event. Thanks to that, the gate was closed, but it didn’t awaken in the end.

“Did they fail……?”

No, then the explosion of spirit would not have ended in the first place. Then there is one possibility left. As a result, the mission was successful, but the process was not what the spirit wanted. So its powers failed to manifest, and now, decades later, the gate has opened again. Assuming so, it makes a rough sense. In other words, it is in vain to reenact historical events in the same way as before.

Simeon must have deduced this as well, so what method will he use to quell the spirit water, and why is he so interested in the <Blue Hope>, whose abilities are still unknown? Is it related to the method of erasing memories?

“It feels like…”

For some reason, when I dig into, I had a feeling that I could reach Simeon’s final goal. Perhaps, like the <Codex Gigas>, touching the <Blue Hope> will reveal its hidden abilities.

How to access the secrets of blue gem. There is a limit to the information that comes out by searching. Simeon won’t answer anything I ask anyway. Still, I didn’t want to put Raphael on the spot by using him as a link.

“…wait.”

Do I have to go through the apostles? What I need right now is information about <Blue Hope>. Then I can contact the current owner without having to go the hard way. It would be much easier to dig up information from you than from the mysterious Apostle.

Fortunately, not long after searching, I found the owner’s contact information. Ju Shin-hwan, a world-famous violinist who is already retired. I wrote a few words straight down to the e-mail address written under the photo of a grinning middle-aged man.

[Hello, sir]

The mail that started out very normal,

[This is the guy who helped Simeon seal the Codex Gigas back in the day]

Strangely, it was written so that it could be as interesting as possible with sentences such as voice phishing. I also did not forget to boast that it would be useless to seal in the same way as before. I don’t know if I’ll get a reply or not, but I thought it would be beneficial to just read and pay attention.

However, the reply arrived in a day. Unlike me, who rambled for more than 10 lines, his mail was very dry.

[Thank you for your email. If you have time, I’d like to talk to you in person]

Last but not least, it had a personal address, so I didn’t have to think twice.