Lavi, whose eyes glowed with a blue light, sat by Sel’s bedside.

It was a spirit possessing Lavi’s body.

The spirit exhaled smoke through a silver smoking pipe, wrapping the pipe in a dark aura.

As it dispersed the nightmare-like energy swirling around Sel with the pipe, the black smoke thinned like mist and disappeared.

“You’ve come again today.”

Eric, draped in a silk robe, entered the room, closing Sel’s open door behind him.

The spirit, reclining slightly at the bedside, greeted him.

Was it the tenth day? Eric, who stood calmly, scrutinized the spirit inhabiting Lavi.

The spirit, who typically manifested only partially in the body, had now fully taken over Lavi’s consciousness for a staggering ten days, appearing every night.

Eric clenched his jaw tightly, causing his cheeks to tense. The spirit, noticing this, raised an eyebrow.

“Coming every day just to pay respects, eh, brat? I thought you were coming to observe a fascinating research subject, but it seems you’re worried about your friend’s body.”

‘Becoming human, are we?’

The spirit twisted his lips into a low, chilly smile.

Eric silently pulled a thick brown cigar from his robe pocket and placed it in his mouth.

Approaching the spirit, he brought the cigar’s tip to meet the end of the ghost’s pipe. With a crackling sound, the cigar caught fire.

“Brat or not, you’re still as hollow as ever. Thinking you can smoke with a ghost.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Haha, fine. Chatting with you today doesn’t seem so bad.”

“Aren’t you heading straight to the Black Forest today? Isn’t wreaking havoc what brings you satisfaction?”

At Eric’s question, the spirit narrowed his eyes. His gaze, which had lingered on Eric, shifted to Sel lying in bed.

“Today, I just want to stay here. It doesn’t seem like this boy will yield his body to me starting tomorrow.”

“You’ve come out even though it’s not the new moon. Are you devouring Lavi’s consciousness now?”

“His consciousness has grown weak.”

“!”

“That kid’s had an exceptionally strong mind since childhood. He’s so resilient that outside of the new moon, when yin energy peaks, he wouldn’t yield his consciousness. But even possessing his body started to become taxing a few months ago.”

At the ghost’s words, Eric nodded and opened a notebook.

Indeed, the frequency of midnight rampages and trips to the Black Forest had decreased.

“But starting ten days ago, his consciousness began weakening strangely, as if he were inviting me into his body or ordering me to drive away these nightmares.”

“You’re not the kind to comply with such demands.”

“Call it a whim. Just like how I popped out even though it’s not the new moon. A whim like that.”

“I just wanted to do it, oddly enough.”

The spirit exhaled deeply through his pipe and let out a dry chuckle. He gestured lazily toward Sel.

“It’s because of that woman.”

Eric, who usually maintained a calm demeanor, turned pale at those words.

Finding this amusing, the spirit narrowed his eyes, lifting the corners of his mouth.

“Unlike humans, I can’t see the world like you do through these eyes. To me, all humans are just black shadows, like how you perceive ghosts.”

The spirit rose slowly from the bed, exuding an overwhelming presence as he stood upright.

“But your emotions, thoughts, pasts, and futures all leak out like smoke from your shadows. That’s how I knew, brat. That you think of this boy as a woman.”

Everything is plain to see.

The spirit winked, covering his blue-glowing eyes with one hand.

Feeling uneasy under the gesture, Eric twitched his upper lip and eventually averted his gaze.

“That’s my failing.”

“This body doesn’t seem to know, though. Are you planning to keep it that way?”

A weighty question.

Between Eric’s lips, only white cigar smoke rose in response.

“This woman—nothing comes to me about her. She feels like an empty shell.”

“An empty shell?”

“She has no soul, no past, no future I can read. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a case. I don’t know what story brought her to this wretched place filled with men, but you should send her away before something bad happens.”

Something bad almost happened already, didn’t it?

The spirit tapped Eric’s shoulder lightly with the pipe.

“I’m aware.”

“Good. You’d better keep that in mind, brat. That she needs to be let go.”

Letting go.

The spirit raised an eyebrow as if urging him.

After a brief silence, Eric finally opened his mouth.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“Hmm, are you asking out of curiosity or out of fear?”

At that question, Eric blinked in a daze before letting out a faint chuckle.

“I can’t answer your question. That’s something only you can define.”

“You already know my question, don’t you? How curious.”

“Curious, yet you’re not taking notes today? You always scurry around with a notebook whenever you see me. Hurry up. Today’s conversation is quite important, isn’t it?”

Nodding, Eric pulled out his notebook while keeping the cigar firmly clenched between his teeth.

The pen moved across the page, recording two phrases: *Letting go* and *defined by oneself.*

The spirit, watching him intently, tapped off the ashes from his pipe and began to speak.

“Brat. You’ve watched me for a long time, yet you rarely ask questions. That’s because you trust in your choices and judgments.”

A very good habit.

The spirit, with the pipe between his lips, blew a stream of smoke toward Eric’s face.

The white smoke spread across Eric’s face as he grimaced and closed his eyes.

“That’s why you feel uneasy when everything around you is so hazy and unclear—you can’t make a judgment.”

“Yes, I don’t like it.”

“Even if it’s hard, accept it naturally. Your life, though walked in solitude, will ultimately confront many emotions and connections.”

“I don’t desire connections. I don’t need them. They’re a hassle. You know I don’t feel emotions.”

“You don’t lack emotions, brat. You’re just clumsy. A little slow, that’s all.”

Well, taking things slow can be quite splendid too.

The spirit moved leisurely to the window and flung it wide open.

And then, the hand holding the pipe waved through the air.

A cool breeze swept into the room through the open window, carrying away the lingering smoke in one sweep. Even for a temperamental spirit, it seemed some manners were intact.

Deep in thought, Eric puffed his cigar absentmindedly.

The spirit’s sharp gaze turned toward Eric.

“…You’re not putting it out? I’m trying to air the room.”

“I’m not done smoking ye—!”

Before Eric could finish, he clamped his mouth shut as the wind swirling through the room suddenly directed itself toward him.

Shielding his eyes with his hand, Eric glanced down at the sudden sound of something hitting the floor.

The cigar he’d been smoking had snapped in half and fallen to the ground.

“Damn it—seriously?”

“Your foul mouth is as bad as ever. At this rate, I’m reconsidering giving back it back. What do you say?”

“About what?”

Eric scowled, eyeing the ghost from head to toe.

The ghost, raising an eyebrow playfully, leapt out the window with ease.

“What the hell?”

Eric stared at the now-empty window before turning sharply and heading back inside.

—

The next day.

A visibly furious Eric stormed up to the fifth floor, sleeves rolled up, determination blazing in his eyes.

In front of him stood Sel, knocking on Lavi’s door.

“Rookie, are you here to kill Lavi too?”

Eric’s voice was tense and raspy.

“…Huh? No, I was just coming for my training session with him. He’s not awake yet. Eric, are you upset?”

“I’ve lost something precious, and only now do I realize it.”

“I’m reconsidering giving back it back”

Eric recalled what possessed Lavi had said the night before, his teeth grinding in frustration.

Without hesitation, Eric swung Lavi’s door open. Sel quickly trailed behind him, half-running to keep up.

Eric strode toward the bundle of blankets sprawled on the sofa and yanked them off in one motion.

After a sharp intake of breath, he shouted, “Get up! Right now!”

“Ugh, my ears… What time is it? Why are you waking me up?”

Barely opening his eyes, Lavi lazily grabbed the fallen blanket to pull it back over himself.

But Eric’s forceful hands ripped the blanket away again, flinging it to the far corner of the room.

“How can you sleep right now, you idiot?”

“What the hell, Eric? What’s with the attitude?”

In the mercenary group, Eric typically maintained formal speech out of respect. Even in moments of anger, dropping honorifics entirely was a rare occurrence.

Groaning, Lavi sat up sluggishly, scratching at his disheveled hair. He glared at Eric, who stood before him, holding out his hand.

“Give it back, you bastard.”

“Huh? What are you even talking about? Give what back?”

Still rubbing his eyes, Lavi seemed utterly clueless. His face bore faint traces of dried blood from his nightly escapades, likely in the dark forest.

Struggling to adjust to the morning light, Lavi used a small cloth in his hand to wipe at the dried stains.

At the same time, Sel’s face turned pale.

“C-Commander, that….”

“You son of a—!”

Eric, his patience snapping, lunged at Lavi.

Caught off guard, Lavi blocked Eric’s sudden assault while shouting in frustration.

“What’s gotten into you, Eric? Can’t a guy sleep in peace?”

“Open your eyes! Do you even realize what you’re holding, you moron?”

At Eric’s words, Lavi focused his bleary eyes and began to take in the scene.

First, he saw Eric, visibly seething. Then Sel, whose jaw had practically dropped to the floor in shock.

“Sel, why do you look like that?”

Sel said nothing. Her gaze fixated on the cloth in Lavi’s hand, making her expression even more unreadable.

Confused, Lavi finally looked down at the object he was holding.

The soft, lacy fabric was too fine to be just a handkerchief. No… Could it be?

“AHHHHH! Damn it! My face, my face!”

Realizing the truth, Lavi screamed, frantically wiping his face where the fabric had touched.

But no one sympathized with his panic.

“Give me back my underwear, you thieving idiot!”

Eric snatched the fabric from Lavi’s hands, fuming with rage.

Sel, meanwhile, was in even greater shock. The idea that such a delicate, lacy garment could belong to Eric was too much to process.

“How the hell did I end up with that?”

Lavi yelled back, his face flushed with embarrassment.

“You lunatic! You stripped it off me yesterday!”

Eric shouted, his words loaded with innuendo that only served to deepen Sel’s shock.

“Wait, wait, wait! That wasn’t me—it was the spirit! The spirit did it!”

Lavi quickly tried to clear his name, but Sel just laughed incredulously.

“Sure, blame it on the spirit. I don’t judge. I think love knows no boundaries.”

Sel’s voice was calm, but her words were anything but. Lavi froze, dumbfounded.

“Of course, if you like someone, it’s natural to want their belongings.”

“No, no! That’s not it!” Lavi shook his head vehemently, but Sel wasn’t listening.

“I understand. Just remember, though—everything requires consent. Don’t you think Eric should have a say in this?”

Sel gave a polite bow and walked away, leaving behind an air of uncomfortable silence.

Later, Eric’s testimony confirmed that it had indeed been the spirit who had taken his underwear, clearing Lavi’s name.

Still, the shocking event remained vividly etched in everyone’s memory for a long time to come.