Hero Hunter is on Parental Leave C63

Chapter 63

The staircase installed along the exterior wall of the old apartment building was far from safe to be considered an evacuation route. In fact, most government agencies did not recognize exterior staircases as proper emergency facilities at all.

On top of that, aging buildings required regular maintenance—but Muhae Apartments had left upkeep neglected for a long time due to budget shortages.

It was an environment where non-Awakened civilians could easily get hurt.

Jaehee liked coming out into the corridor to play as well. Once he grew a little older, he would inevitably get into accidents in places beyond Yeongung’s line of sight—and in a building this rundown, the danger to a child felt all too real.

“…Should we move?”

As Yeongung muttered to himself, a man hugged him from behind. After checking his wristwatch, he quietly informed him,

“One minute left.”

Midnight was approaching.

“Hyungs…! Don’t forget I exist too! Please!”

Sanghui came running over, cold sweat already breaking out. The closer the moment drew, the stronger his fear became.

“Hwik… hhhhk… hngh…”

The instant the watch’s hour hand pointed exactly at midnight, the rumored sobbing echoed through the corridor.

“Let’s take a closer look.”

Won Iheun created a small flame at the end of the fourth-floor corridor to light the way. Then he poured mana into a bottle of water and splashed it toward the source of the sound.

The transparent veil that had been stretched across empty space peeled away, revealing the being that had lured people here.

The crack between the concrete wall and floor glowed blue—a rift.

And stuck fast inside that narrow gap, unable to move, was a black cat.

“…!”

Yeongung started forward without hesitation, only for Sanghui to grab him.

“Hyung—!”

The cat, whimpering in pain, noticed Yeongung approaching and jolted in panic, frantically darting its gaze around. Realizing its barrier had vanished, it began to tremble violently.

The magical beast was afraid of humans.

“…It’s just a cub. And not long after birth, either.”

Then the cat began to cry—in a human voice.

“Hhng… hhhk…”

Cats were creatures of imitation. Kittens learned hunting, grooming, and countless other behaviors by watching their mothers—social learning essential for survival.

This young magical beast was provoking fear with its crying, trying to protect itself from approaching humans. Most likely, it had learned this method from its mother.

“Baby… why are you all alone?”

At Yeongung’s sorrowful voice, the kitten’s ears twitched.

When Yeongung shone light on it more closely, his face hardened.

One eye was swollen as if it had been abused, and the fur that should have shone with health was matted with dried blood. Whether the perpetrator was human or another monster species, Yeongung vowed that whoever it was would not be forgiven.

“If the rift stays open, other beasts could cross over. We need to get the cat out and close it.”

“Let’s get the cat first.”

Yeongung slid his hands under the cat’s forelegs and lifted. Like pulling a radish from the soil, the small body came free—far too easily.

It was almost absurd, but given how urgent treatment was, Yeongung was relieved. He immediately cast a healing skill, carefully tending to the injured cat. As its wounds eased under his hands, the cub began to purr and head-butt him.

{You have picked up an abandoned cat-type magical beast.}

In the darkness, Yeongung’s status window appeared, displaying the black cat’s information.

Magical Beast: Miracle Black Cat

Rank: Blind

Ability: Blind

Special Note: Born from a rift

“‘Miracle Black Cat’… that title’s impressive. But both rank and ability are listed as Blind?”

{Blind-rank and Blind-type abilities will unlock once conditions are met. Until then, details cannot be viewed.}

As Yeongung asked, his hand continued gently scratching the cat’s forehead.

{The Miracle Black Cat likes you.}

{The Black Cat wishes to form a contract with ‘Hunter Yeongung’.}

“Me?”

{It firmly refuses all other humans.}

As expected, Won Iheun frowned, looking thoroughly displeased.

“So it’s settled. Don’t forget—you promised me. Keep that promise.”

{Do you wish to form a contract with the supernatural entity ‘Miracle Black Cat’?}

Yeongung nodded slightly and tapped the Contract button. More than wanting a powerful familiar, he simply wanted to protect something so pitiful.

“Baby… how did you end up like this…”

Then the status window blared a fanfare.

{A contract between Awakened Yeongung and ‘Miracle Black Cat’ has been successfully formed. The contractor may summon the magical beast at will.}

A flashy popup followed.

{As a celebration event, the Random Item Shop has opened. Choose one of three boxes.}

“At times like this, you always go for the middle.”

Yeongung selected the center box.

The revealed item was—

{Item selection complete. Apply special ability ‘Human Language Communication’?}

“A special ability? Oh—this is incredibly convenient. No reason not to.”

He pressed YES without hesitation.

{‘Human Language Communication’ has been applied. From now on, Contractor Yeongung can directly communicate with familiar ‘Miracle Black Cat’.}

The status window vanished. The cat in Yeongung’s arms began crying loudly.

To Won Iheun and Sanghui, it sounded like ordinary meowing.

But to Yeongung, it came through as clear human speech.

[Thank you for saving me. I was really scared… and it hurt.]

“…You were scared. It’s okay now.”

[I’m cold. And hungry.]

“How long were you stuck here like this?”

[I don’t know. The human contracted with my mom said he didn’t need a kitten and took only her. My mom had white fur like snow. I was born a bad-luck black cat.]

The kitten licked potion droplets from Yeongung’s hand, regaining strength.

“The unlucky one is that human.”

[Right. He really was awful. He’d hit me and call me useless just because I was black. One day he gave me a treat for the first time. I ate it and got really sleepy. When I woke up, I’d been abandoned somewhere I didn’t recognize.]

“…That piece of trash.”

Fury flared—Yeongung’s aura briefly shifting from blue to red. The cat gazed at the faint crimson glow around its contractor with curious eyes.

“You’ve been through so much… poor thing. How did you end up stuck in the rift?”

[A rift? What’s that?]

The familiar tilted its head, letting out a soft nya?

[I was just… really hungry, so I followed the smell of humans. Then I stepped on something wrong and got stuck here. Like my body got wedged in.]

“I see.”

Until meeting Dr. Richmond, Yeongung hadn’t even known rifts existed. Despite clearing countless gates on his way to becoming an Absolute, he had never once encountered one.

The fact that a rift—not a gate—had appeared on an island with near-zero monster activity, and inside the corridor of his own apartment building, felt deeply unsettling.

Coincidence—or intent?

“…Is this really chance?”

Yeongung recalled Richmond’s explanation.

“The system isn’t an omnipotent god. It’s imperfect. And those imperfections—those cracks—we call rifts.”

At the very least, this wasn’t something the system had deliberately staged.

The cat tapped Yeongung’s hand insistently, demanding more petting—its behavior reminding him of Cream, the baby snow leopard. A creature this young still needed a mother’s care. To think it had been abused and abandoned simply for having black fur…

Lately, Yeongung had been saving fragile lives more often—like the dolphin caught in discarded nets. Perhaps becoming a parent had changed him. His heart ached more than ever for the small and vulnerable.

“Hey… what’s your name?”

[‘Ya.’]

“Ya?”

[Yeah. That’s my name. That’s what they always called me. ‘Hey, get lost.’ ‘Hey, don’t eat.’]

Too young to understand malice, the kitten looked at Yeongung with clear, trusting eyes. It genuinely believed its name was Ya.

Sensing the darkening mood, Sanghui thumped his chest impatiently.

“Hyung…! What are you talking about with it to look that scary? Damn it, only you can understand—this is frustrating!”

Won Iheun nudged Sanghui aside and approached Yeongung. The cat was still purring contentedly under his touch. With a deep sigh, Iheun acknowledged the growing household.

“This is going to take a while. Let’s go home. I’m starting to worry whether Hamgyeol’s handling Jaehee well on his own.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

At the mention of heading back, Sanghui—who’d been shaking over ghost stories—suddenly put on a brave face.

“Still, that was way easier than expected. Kind of anticlimactic.”

Meow.

Seeing the black cat crying in Yeongung’s arms, Sanghui oddly felt deflated.

Despite being a magical beast, it felt no different from a fragile little animal.