My Tamed Beast Returned with a Dragon Chapter 46 - Something Big Must Have Happened in Korea

Eunsae and her group stayed at Stella’s house for three days.

At first, Byeol was shy, but the new environment quickly piqued his curiosity, and before long, he was wandering all around with sparkling eyes alongside Bomi. Dodari and Haneuli also stretched out and relaxed peacefully in the garden.

Eunsae didn’t venture far from Stella’s home, mostly exploring the surrounding area. But even in a small, quiet town, there were people who recognized her, which caused some trouble.

“Hunter Yoo Eunsae?”

“Oh! Hunter Yoo Eunsae!”

“Ah…”

More and more people began to gather around her. She ended up stuck talking with them for quite a while.

A few blocks later, another group began to crowd in. Just as the same thing was about to happen again, Belquior let his magic rise.

Golden mana shimmered across the back of Eunsae’s hand.

“What did you just do?”

“I cast a perception-reduction spell on you.”

“Wow, so now people can’t see me?”

“Not exactly. They can see you, but your presence is dimmed.”

Trusting his words, Eunsae confidently walked through the streets, holding Bomi in her arms.

“Wow, really, no one recognizes me!”

Since awakening as an S-rank hunter, Eunsae had always lived under constant public attention. Even doing a bit of shopping back in Korea was nearly impossible.

Yet here she was, without a hat, glasses, or a coat, and no one noticed her. She hadn’t felt this free in ages.

Seeing how purely happy she looked, Belquior nonchalantly offered her a gesture of goodwill.

“If you need, I can make it so no one hunting you can ever find you.”

“Mm, thank you for the thought. But if you did that, innocent people around me might get hurt.”

Her expression briefly darkened, like she was recalling the past. Belquior noticed it and was about to ask when—

Bomi, who had been quietly nestled in her arms, suddenly squirmed and chirped excitedly toward an ice cream shop.

“Bomi, do you want ice cream? Okay, wait just a sec. Byeol, what flavor do you want?”

[Strawberry! I like strawberry!]

Perched on Belquior’s back, Byeol raised his hand high. Eunsae patted the round back of Byeol’s head and winked at Belquior.

“I’ll grab one for you too, Belquior!”

He almost declined but stopped himself. Eunsae always bought something for Belquior too, even when it wasn’t necessary.

And the problem was—he always accepted it. He could easily just say no. But somehow, he never could be cold to Eunsae.

A little later, Eunsae returned, holding four ice cream cones—two in each hand. Belquior quickened his pace to take two from her.

Byeol got the pink strawberry flavor. Belquior’s was…

“…?”

Rainbow-colored.

Even though he’d been learning about the human world through Eunsae, Belquior had no idea what flavor that was supposed to be.

“What flavor is this?”

“Try it!”

He felt her expectant gaze next to him. With no choice, Belquior took a bite of the rainbow-colored ice cream while still holding Byeol in one arm.

“……”

Tiny fizzy candy popped in his mouth. He cautiously rolled his tongue, eyebrows furrowing.

The taste was… odd. Cold sugar water that wasn’t really one flavor or another.

“How is it? Fun, right?”

Eunsae burst into a clear, cheerful laugh. Seeing her face, Belquior didn’t care anymore.

The strange fizz, the weird flavor—it all seemed kind of interesting, just like she said.

“Byeol! Your ice cream’s dripping!”

[Oh no.]

Pink streaks ran down Byeol’s wrist as he happily munched on his strawberry cone. Eunsae gasped and quickly wiped it off.

But it still got on Belquior’s back. With an apologetic look, Eunsae glanced at him.

“What should we do?”

“It’s fine.”

Golden mana swirled briefly around him and vanished. The sticky stain disappeared completely.

Eunsae let out a light laugh at how cleanly it was handled.

“That’s so handy. I guess washing machines don’t have much to do around you.”

They sat on a bench to finish their ice cream. Eunsae had chocolate; Bomi’s was vanilla.

[I’m full.]

Byeol set his half-eaten cone aside. It made sense—he had a big meal at Stella’s and now snacks too.

Belquior casually finished what Byeol left behind. Normally, dragons never touched food others had eaten.

But once, Belquior had asked Eunsae after seeing her eat Byeol’s leftovers:

‘Why would you eat that?’

‘Huh?’

‘It was already half-eaten. Why bother?’

‘It’d be wasteful to throw it out. Besides, it’s Byeol’s, so I don’t mind.’

Because it was Byeol’s.

He wasn’t her biological child, but Eunsae was raising him, and that made all the difference. Her words had stayed with Belquior ever since.

And that “wasteful” part—Eunsae, a proud member of rice-loving nation K, had said it casually, but it deeply affected him.

Belquior glanced quietly at Eunsae.

‘Did she grow up hungry or something…?’

He didn’t pity Eunsae lightly. But ever since that day, the food at their table had grown more luxurious.

And now, Belquior often helped finish what Byeol didn’t. After hearing Eunsae say it, it just didn’t seem gross anymore.

If she could do it, why couldn’t he? The more time he spent with her, the more things he found himself doing—things he never imagined before.

As they walked again, Belquior asked,

“That thing you said earlier—what did it mean?”

“Hm? Which part?”

“That people around you might get hurt.”

“Oh, that?”

Eunsae shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. It was an old story.

“There were people who tried to force me to immigrate to another country. When I ignored them, they started going after my friends.”

Even now, it made her angry. Mirinae and Inchan, who had no powerful background, had suffered the most.

Those countries pressured them, both directly and indirectly, making it hard for them to even continue working as hunters.

Some media even falsely reported things they never did, while others exaggerated their abilities to make them look like frauds.

They slandered them in every way.

And when a red hunter—an assassin trained for killing—threatened their lives, Eunsae snapped.

She rejected all support requests from those nations and filed formal complaints with the World Hunter Association (WHA).

Since then, no country had dared to act so brazenly again.

“That’s why I want to solve my problems on my own. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

“Those you call comrades probably don’t see it as a burden.”

“I know. But it doesn’t sit right with me.”

Eunsae gave a faint smile. As she gently patted Byeol and Bomi’s heads, a shadow passed over her face.

She was clearly upset but tried to hide it, bottling everything up inside.

Belquior thought of saying something comforting, but decided not to. Instead, he simply listened as she chattered away beside him.

 

 

***

 

 

 

The short vacation was over, and the day of return was approaching. Eunsae stomped her feet anxiously with her suitcase by her side, looking close to tears.

“Stella, thanks to you, I had a great time. I hope you always stay healthy.”

Eunsae hugged Stella tightly. This might be the last time.

Stella, as if understanding Eunsae’s sad heart, hugged her back. She had gone through a lot, but she was a kind and gentle girl. Stella could tell she was worried about her, even without her saying it.

“Thank you. Hunter Yoo Eunsae, please take care of yourself too.”

“Yes…”

Eunsae couldn’t bring herself to leave. Stella, smiling with a slight frown, whispered softly as if sharing a secret.

“Once you go back, something big might have happened in Korea.”

“What?”

Eunsae looked at Stella in shock. Seeing her forcing a smile despite her pale face, Eunsae bit her lip.

The fact that her friends hadn’t contacted her yet meant it was something that was just about to happen. She couldn’t delay any longer.

Eunsae clenched her teeth and turned around. Stella called out to her back.

“Hunter Yoo Eunsae. You can’t change the great tide.”

“…”

“But little by little, step by step, the day will come when you see the light.”

To the one showing her the path ahead, Eunsae replied firmly.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

As Eunsae and her group drove off, Stella collapsed where she stood. Linda, startled, rushed to support her.

A thin line of blood trickled from Stella’s lips. Linda spoke with a pained expression.

“You said too much…”

“With not much time left anyway, I’d rather use it for something good.”

Stella let out a chuckle. She hoped they would move forward without hesitation.

For a while, Stella’s gaze lingered on the direction Eunsae had gone.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Eunsae returned home in the same way she had left. The moment she set foot on Korean, a breaking news alert flashed across the airport display.

[A dungeon break has occurred in Taepyeong-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon. The dungeon is presumed to be S+ rank, and the break happened simultaneously with its appearance… This is an unprecedented case, and domestic hunter guilds are urgently dispatching personnel…]

At the same time, Eunsae’s phone started ringing loudly.

[Sol: Yoo Eunsae, where are you?! The dungeon exploded!]