WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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SSS-CLASS HUNTER WHO DIES TO LIVE

Chapter 203: Black Dragon (2)

“……What?”

Black Dragon Witch blinked.

The leader of one of the Tower's foremost guilds lowered her eyelids, then raised them again. Slowly. A literal instant passed.

Gradually, she furrowed her brows.

“A returner? What are you talking about?”

“I've been thinking about this for a long time. You crossed the Aegim Empire with me, Senior. It would have eased my mind to reveal my identity then, but back then I still didn't trust you. That's why I've hidden it until now.”

"......."

As I continued, Black Dragon Witch's expression grew more solemn.

She was clearly realizing this was no joke.

“You often said you had no idea where this rookie who didn't seem like a rookie had come from. That I was like an old fox for my age. You were right. I'm not a rookie.”

I summoned a skill card.

"Skill card, open."

The card shimmered with a golden light.

Flipping the shining card in my hand, I showed it to Black Dragon Witch.

+

[Returner’s Winding Clock]

Rank: EX

Effect: Activated automatically on death. You will return 24 hours back in time from the moment of your death. Your memories and stats are preserved while returning.

*However, the higher your Hunter rank, the more severe the penalty.

*Skill copied from Yoo Soo-Ha

+

“Wait a minute.”

Black Dragon Witch reached out her left hand and grabbed mine, the card in hand. Consequently, the skill card was obscured, preventing her from reading the description.

The Black Dragon Witch had stopped me herself from revealing my skill.

“No.”

Her eyes, deep and dark, resembled a bottomless well, seemingly desperate. She looked at me urgently, a thin layer of cold water rippling silently in the depths of her gaze.

“Don’t do this. Please.”

It should have been the voice I had always heard, yet an unfamiliar tone and tremor ran through it.

“There's something you're about to say, and I don’t know what it is, but I know the outcome. There are lines that shouldn’t be crossed between people. No matter how close or intimate, that line must not be breached.”

Black Dragon Witch spoke as if she had predicted such a situation long ago.

That naturalness might have stemmed from past experiences.

“Don’t share your secret with me. Don’t divulge it. If you reveal it now, King of Death, we’ll cross a river of no return. When people rely too much on each other, it’s not reliance but dependency.”

“I understand. I know.”

“…You and I are good friends. Reliable comrades. It’s not right to expect more in a relationship. I will solve my own problems, and you live your life. Isn’t that the best way?”

Black Dragon Witch was seeking my agreement.

Her earnest words made me ponder again. Deciding the nature and extent of relationships was always difficult.

Soon, I reached a conclusion.

“Then listen to what I have to say, and decide.”

“It’s too late once I hear it.”

“No, it's not. We can turn it back. We can make it as if this conversation never happened. I have that ability.”

"......."

Black Dragon Witch fell silent.

In the square of the seaside village, people were waking up and instinctively searching for a well. They were expelling the toxins accumulated from their long sleep with moans and groans. Groans and gasps resonated from all directions.

“…Let's not talk about it here.”

Black Dragon Witch muttered, still holding my right hand.

“Teleport.”

In the next moment, we were out of the square.

At the village dock.

Ships were tied to ropes, creaking with the waves. The discordant sounds made by the boats were embraced by the sea. For a while, we listened to the sound of the waves.

“Okay. I understand.”

Having finally made up her mind, Black Dragon Witch nodded.

“I’ll listen to what you have to say first. But I can’t discuss such a topic sober.”

With a wave of her hand, a black whirlpool appeared in the air, looking like a piece of the world cut out and painted black. Black Dragon Witch effortlessly reached into it.

Shortly after, she pulled out a bottle of liquor.

I was slightly surprised.

"A skill?”

"Yes. [Item Storage]. It's limited to storing only certain items, but there’s no skill more convenient for disposing of evidence after killing someone."

Black Dragon Witch casually said this and then took out two cups as well.

“Consider yourself honored. No one else knows I have this skill. Among the living hunters, you're the first to witness this skill, King of Death.”

I took the cup from Black Dragon Witch.

For a while, only the sound of the bottle emptying filled the air.

Before the alcohol could cloud my consciousness, I spoke up.

“I am a returner.”

I stated it clearly once more.

“I’m not sure where to start… I have a skill that can turn back time. Specifically, it's an ability that takes me back 24 hours upon death. Thanks to this ability, I’ve overcome countless difficulties. The 10th floor, the 20th floor, all of it was survived using this returner skill.”

I showed Black Dragon Witch the skill card.

This time, she did not avert her gaze.

“…I see.”

She sighed, as if she had finally found the last piece of a long-sought puzzle.

“Did you suspect this?”

“A little. At least I knew the [Prophet] thing was a lie.”

Black Dragon Witch tilted her cup.

“It was too convenient an excuse. I've been watching you all along, and you weren’t acting on [pre-existing knowledge]. You fought as if it was your last time, every time. Ah, so it wasn’t foreknowledge, but traveling back to the past.”

Black Dragon Witch looked at my face anew.

“There's something I've been wanting to ask you.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“The battle on the 11th floor.”

A long-standing question finally passed her lips.

“On the 11th floor, our Tower experienced its first group battle. Everyone, excited that the stage following the 10th floor had opened after years, rushed into the 11th floor. We fought against the Demon King's army there. Remember?”

“Yes."

“Miraculously, not a single hunter lost their life. There were injuries, but no deaths. But…”

She hesitated.

“Did you…”

“Yes."

“…return until there were no casualties?”

“Yes."

Black Dragon Witch closed her lips.

A bit more water rippled in the well beneath her eyes.

“How many times…?”

“Many.”

“Ten times? Twenty?”

“It was a bit more than that.”

"Even on the 12th floor?"

“And since then, continuously. Until I met Raviel, that's how it always felt.”

"......."

Black Dragon Witch’s breaths became shorter.

“Why? For what reason…? You didn’t have to go that far.”

“It wasn’t because I am inherently good. If I had been alone on the 11th floor, I could never have repeated it dozens or hundreds of times. It was always you all who pushed me forward.”

I looked directly into Black Dragon Witch’s eyes.

“Every time the number of humans dying on the stage decreased, Black Dragon Witch smiled a bit.”

A span of time she could not remember.

“At that time, I had never seen Black Dragon Witch smile genuinely. Not a mocking smile, but one that truly shone with happiness. When hundreds of hunters were dying during the conquest, you coldly did what you had to do… But as the casualties decreased to two digits, Black Dragon Witch changed.”

The changes in her that only I remembered.

「Wow! Maybe not even 40 hunters died!」

「Unbelievable... Maybe fewer than ten died.」
「That this is possible. That it was possible. On a battlefield like this.」

A smile blooming like tightly closed petals opening into full flower.

I still vividly remember that moment.

“I thought it was beautiful.”

"......."

“I was happy. For the first time, I realized that even someone like me could make another person smile sincerely.”

I smiled.

“Thank you, Black Dragon Witch. Senior.”

“Why……?”

“I was able to walk the path I could never have walked alone, thanks to you. Now, I love my life. I'm with the person I love. Although you may not have intended it, your smile that day helped me take that step.”

That's what I wanted to say.

What I wanted to convey.

“You give strength to others, Senior. At least to me, that's true. You're not alone. Even if you worry about saying goodbye to everyone you meet, you don’t have to worry about me.”

I have the skill to turn back a dead day.

“I’m fine.”

I don't die.

“You don’t have to stop attempts on my life. Don’t fret about what will happen if you fail. I'm here, and as long as you allow it, I will always be here.”

"......."

"It's okay to fail.”

"You shouldn't say things like that..."

"It’s alright now. You don’t have to fear failure anymore. You can pursue whatever you want, however you wish. Even if something goes wrong, I can give you another chance, multiple times.”

“That’s something you shouldn’t say.”

Black Dragon Witch was afraid.

I already knew what she feared the most.

Even when drunk with the Paladin, Black Dragon Witch had mumbled.

「You mustn't be late, King of Death.」

「You must never be late.」

The fear of something irreversible happening.

That’s what Black Dragon Witch feared most.

Therefore, I decided to give her the most earnest gift I could offer.

Something only I in this world could give.

“It’s okay to be a bit late.”

"......."

As though pricked by a thorn, the Black Dragon Witch flinched.

“With me by your side, there's no such thing as irreparable. We can always start over. So, go ahead and take more risks and gambles. Senior. You deserve it.”

The wind from the sea tousled Black Dragon Witch's black hair.

“Senior, you’re much more skilled than me. Managing organizations, starting businesses... governing the entire Tower. These are talents I lack. Likewise, the talent to start over was given to me, not you.”

My precious friend.

“We can achieve much more together.”

Therefore, I didn't see the tears she shed.

I just slightly bowed my head and held Black Dragon Witch's hand.

“I'm already relying on you, so please rely on me too.”

“You… really.”

Black Dragon Witch swallowed her words sip by sip.

“You really are a terrible person. After saying all this, you claim you can make this conversation never have happened? You mean that if you die and return to the day before, our conversation will disappear, so it's all right. So if I decide I want this conversation erased, you're planning to die...?”

“Yes."

“You crazy bastard.”

Black Dragon Witch gripped my hand tightly.

“Crazy bastard...”

She murmured.

“Just you wait. I'll use you until you're sick of it. What? Regression? You possess a power like that, yet you have no sense of fear and dare share it with me? You truly have no idea what kind of person leads the Black Dragon Guild. Just you wait. Crazy bastard. You crazy son of a bitch...”

I waited for Black Dragon Witch's trembling to subside.

As time passed and she calmed down a bit, she spoke.

“Anastasia."

"......."

“That's my real name. Kim Gong-Ja.”

I slowly raised my head.

The Black Dragon Witch wore a faint smile.

“I'll make proper use of you, so brace yourself from now on.”

“Of course."

I also smiled sincerely.

“Senior Anastasia.”

Among the climbers of the Tower.

For the first time, I had a companion who shared my secret.

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