Chapter 16: The Gwi’s Offering and an Esper’s Concession

“Did you know that even what people commonly call jinxes or traumas can have a ‘gwi’ attached to them? Many dismiss these minor occurrences as self-created, believing they don’t significantly impact their lives. Yet, in truth, some phenomena are indeed caused by a ‘gwi’ clinging to them.”

“What does any of that have to do with this rice?”

“Um… have you heard the rumor that this house is, well, a haunted mansion?”

‘What nonsense am I even spouting right now?’

As he spoke, Ethan felt himself digging a deeper and deeper hole, a wry, self-deprecating laugh escaping him. Most religions and beliefs had begun to fade since the advent of Espers. The miracles and divine punishments once attributed to deities were now possible through these extraordinary humans.

While these phenomena were distinctly different from those caused by gwi, ordinary people tended to judge based on what they could visibly perceive. However, it was highly improbable that Bliss Moore, a scion of a central noble family, would believe in such superstitions. These were tales that merely circulated among common folk, especially in a rural village where Espers were few and their powers faint.

“…There were such rumors?”

Bliss, who had been idly toying with the ghost lucky bag moments before, hesitated slightly before answering. Ethan’s eyes widened, having clearly discerned that momentary indecision.

“Are you… believing my words?”

“……I don’t.”

Again. There was a hesitation in Bliss’s reply. An Esper, of all people, responding to ghost stories? Ethan’s pounding heart gradually began to calm. ‘It’s fine. I can get out of this.’

It was currently the Hour of the Ox, the time when gwi were most active. It was also the period when the eight parasites were at their strongest. This realization bolstered Ethan, making him feel as though all the gwi in the world were on his side. Unaware that taking pride in something that would normally send shivers down an ordinary person’s spine was far from normal, Ethan brazenly lifted his head.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it, but that’s genuinely the rumor in the village. If you doubt me, you can ask the villagers yourselves. Oh, Aunt Mary would probably know the most.”

“So, what does that have to do with this rice?”

Bliss repeated the same question with an air of indifference. Those sharp, scrutinizing blue and gray eyes, somehow, seemed more terrifying than any ghost.

“Do you think I studied history for no reason? It’s quite fascinating to learn about the eras when continents were known by six names like Europe, Africa, and Asia, and even the times when people didn’t believe the Earth was round. Among these, my greatest interest lay in the modern history of the Aitoolia Empire and the indigenous folk beliefs passed down orally from the nations incorporated into it.”

“…I’ll ask one last time. What does any of that have to do with this rice?”

A shiver ran down Ethan’s spine at the infinitely lowered growl. Ethan unconsciously licked his parched lips. Bliss’s gaze flickered to Ethan’s reddened lips, then away. Ethan struggled to speak without biting his tongue.

“W-wait a minute. You should always hear someone out completely. Anyway, this is the old village of Neruan, and Neruan has its roots in Asia. Among their practices was the worship of ancestral and nature deities…”

A long sigh escaped Bliss.

Bliss cast a fleeting glance at the water bottle on the table. With no apparent movement, the simple ‘water’ within it suddenly shot upwards, hovering weightlessly before Ethan’s eyes as if in zero gravity.

“Do you think you won’t drown with the water from this bottle?”

Ethan recoiled, instantly growing tense. It wasn’t the water before him that caused his alarm, but the subtle stir of Palwol, the Gwi General’s, ki.

“An offering! It’s an offering!”

*Smash!*

The water shattered into tiny fragments, like glass beads, bursting and falling to drench the table. With it, the taut tension that had stretched between them was also broken.

“…What?”

“Gwi aren’t always evil, you know! No, they can be fickle, but if you give them what they like, they can even be helpful. Guardian spirits, or ‘suhogwi’ as they’re called, often attach themselves to houses or objects.

“In this mansion, ever since Mr. Henry passed away, strange things have been happening: a woman’s weeping every night, the howling of a wolf—a sound unheard in the Aitoolia Empire now—and sudden, thudding giant footsteps. That’s why I assumed the house had a gwi and prepared an offering, using an old method!”

After rattling off his explanation, Ethan went to pour water but found the bottle empty. Grumbling, he pressed the purified water button on the refrigerator to refill it. He then naturally took a drink, all the while desperately calling out to the “son of a b*tch” dog he imagined frolicking somewhere by the lake.

‘Ilwol, Ilwol, where are you? If you haven’t gone too far, I’ll let you howl today. Just come howl nearby, okay?’

*Woof woof—* A faint bark sounded from somewhere. Ethan frowned, unable to tell if it was his Ilwol or not.

“…He definitely needs intensive mental care.”

Bliss looked at Ethan with a hint of pity. Ethan spoke as if this were a singular occurrence, but from Bliss’s perspective, knowing Ethan’s spending habits, he appeared nothing more than a fanatic, one who could abandon money and family alike in his devotion to folk beliefs.

“No, I know what I’m saying sounds absurd, but to treat me like a madman! I swear I’m telling the truth—”

*Awooooo—*

“…!!”

‘Oh, my good little son of a b*tch.’ Ethan’s face brightened considerably. However, his “good little son of a b*tch” was clearly overly excited by the rare opportunity to howl.

*Awooooo— Awoooooooo—*

The howling from the lakeside didn’t cease after one or two cries; it steadily grew closer. Ethan’s face turning deathly pale was, of course, the natural progression of events.

‘Stop it, stop it! Hey, you son of a b*tch!’

Yet, the excited wolf leaped into its owner’s embrace, delivering one final howl.

A sudden gust of cold wind swept between the two seated at the table, momentarily stealing their breath.

[Awoooooooo—]

*Rattle— Crash!*

Utensils in the kitchen rattled, and the empty, lightweight water bottle tumbled from the table, shattering below. Simultaneously, lights began to flicker on, one by one, in the rooms of the deeply sleeping mansion staff.

Ethan, cursing the already vanished “son of a b*tch” in despair, slumped forward, burying his face in his arms on the table.

‘I’m screwed. I’m screwed again.’

“Stay perfectly still.”

Despite the slowly growing commotion, Bliss whispered lowly, causing Ethan to lift his head and widen his eyes.

A vast, potent ki emanated rapidly from Bliss’s body, spreading outwards. Infinitely heavy and intense, it resembled darkness if one were to assign it a color. Floating droplets of water transformed the entire kitchen into an otherworldly space. Within that darkness, Bliss stood tall, his blue and ash-gray eyes shining, a sight both eerie and beautiful.

Ethan stared, mesmerized, his mouth agape at the captivating sight. Just outside the kitchen door, Dale and Philip stood frozen in their pajamas.

Time, which had seemed to halt, resumed with Bliss’s vulgar curse after he thoroughly searched the kitchen and found nothing.

“f*ck.”

*Gasp!* Only then did the startled onlookers remember why they were there.

“Lord Bliss!”

“What was that sound just now?”

“What were you two doing here? And what are these rice offerings?”

Unable to tolerate the suddenly noisy room with his heightened senses, Bliss snapped lowly.

“Quiet!”

“…!!”

This time, silence descended all at once. Rather than addressing the staff’s curiosity, Bliss glared intently at Ethan, who was still seated before him.

“Did you hear that just now, too?”

Ethan swallowed hard. He felt a wave of relief that Bliss didn’t seem to suspect Ilwol had possessed him.

“Yes. And…”

Bliss’s eyes widened as his gaze followed Ethan’s pointing hand. The chunk of meat that had been on the table had vanished.

“……I feel as though I’ve been bewitched by a gwi.”

Finally, Bliss declared his surrender.

****

‘It was nothing.’

Bliss, having emerged from the shelter, silenced everyone with that simple declaration. He had told Philip and Dale the truth twice, yet they vehemently insisted that perhaps something unusual had possessed their master during a seizure, or that they had merely perceived the phenomena of his powers as animalistic sounds.

Doctor Sera’s assertion further supported their claims: for a special Esper like Bliss, who had endured without a Guide for so long, any abnormal phenomenon was not at all unusual.

Slightly exhausted, he instructed Philip and Dale to investigate rumors about the mansion, then handed a pouch to Doctor Sera for examination.

‘I came here to advance my work and find peace in a quiet place, yet it feels as though incidents and accidents are ceaseless.’

Opening the study door where Ethan was, he winced, his face contorted by the throbbing pain that felt as though his head might split. ‘I should instruct someone to find an agency with a water-affinity Guide so I can receive guiding as early as tomorrow.’

“…You’re here.”

Perhaps due to lack of sleep, Ethan’s face also looked unwell. Bliss took the tablet offered to him without a glance. After briefly swiping through it, he called out to Ethan, who was about to return to his seat.

“I apologize for not believing you.”

Ethan gave a reluctant nod. It had been a long time since he’d seen someone apologize so readily.

“It’s fine.”

“…Were you scared?”

‘What exactly is he asking if I was scared of? Ah, I just witnessed phenomena caused by a gwi.’

“Of course I was scared. I mean, I believe in gwi, but I’d never actually witnessed a phenomenon myself. Yet, the kitchen vibrated, sounds echoed, and the water bottle shattered… The reason I stayed still was because I was too startled to even scream, actually.”

Bliss stared intently at Ethan. While it was certainly possible he was scared of the gwi, it had happened so suddenly. Most witnesses, caught off guard by the event, treated it as fake. However, a more realistic fear would be an Esper, like a ticking bomb, unleashing their powers right before your eyes, threatening to kill you. Even Dale and Philip were frozen in momentary terror by Bliss’s display of power, more so than by the wolf’s howling that had woken them.

“……So you see me as human, I suppose.”

Ethan tilted his head in confusion.

“…Surely, you’re not saying you’re some legendary beast-man?”

Bliss’s expression returned, seemingly saying, ‘You’re the one who needs to go to a mental hospital.’

A faint chuckle escaped Bliss.

“No. Why are you laughing, Lord Bliss? Are you really in a lot of pain?”

“Haha.” Bliss chuckled, raising a hand to playfully ruffle Ethan’s hair. His head throbbed as if it might split, yet he felt surprisingly cheerful.