Trash of the Count's Family (Web Novel)

Cale lightly responded.

“It’s real.”

He then gently stepped off Alberu’s back. Of course, it was only possible because Alberu lowered his body.

“Nice to meet you.”

He greeted Choi Jung Soo and the four stiff people next to him as warmly as he could.

“My name is Kim Rok Soo and I am definitely human.”

Cale put his hand on Choi Han’s shoulder who got off behind him with a complicated expression on his face.

“This punk is definitely human as well, so you don't need to worry about being attacked.”

Pat, pat.

Choi Han put on a small smile after feeling Cale’s pats on his shoulder that seemed to be saying that Cale understood how he was feeling.

Cale made eye contact with Choi Han once before pointing to Alberu the Dark Tiger.

“And over here is my hyung-nim, the Dark Tiger Alberu.”

“Hyung-nim?”

All five people looked confused.

‘Did this person just call this monster his hyung-nim?’

They had many questions they wanted to ask. But they could not ask any of them.

"Alberu? That’s not right. I'll introduce myself. My name is Alberu Crossman.”

The monster was elegantly shaking its mane and warmly greeting them, although such descriptions didn’t seem right to use on a monster.

It was giving off a majestic demeanor.

The young man named Kim Rok Soo quietly sighed while looking at the tiger before introducing the tiger again to Choi Jung Soo's group.

“Hyung-nim’s name is Alberu Crossman.”

The five people of different age groups all looked at Cale and Alberu with disbelief.

But the Dark Tiger was looking at Cale.

‘Ha! I've never seen him like this before!’

Alberu had never seen Cale look so excited before.

Others might still think that he just looks stoic, but Alberu could tell that Cale was excited.

Yes, Alberu was right and Cale was indeed extremely shocked but excited.

‘I didn't expect to see him here!’

He had only heard that Choi Jung Soo had met Lee Soo Hyuk at the Seomyeon, Busan’s central shelter but did not know what Choi Jung Soo had been doing prior to that.

Choi Jung Soo had told him bits and pieces, but he only described a few parts in detail and only briefly explained the rest, making Cale have no idea about where Choi Jung Soo had been at this time.

But Cale could now show how excited he was.

Choi Jung Soo was seeing Kim Rok Soo for the first time right now.

Choi Jung Soo started to speak at that moment.

“…What is the other person's name, sir?”

Unlike how he had responded informally to Cale’s informal speech earlier, Choi Jung Soo was now speaking respectfully with a calmer voice.

Cale’s eyes clouded over for a moment before returning to normal.

‘He picked up on it as I expected.’

Cale had not said Choi Han's name on purpose. The other four people seemed to not notice that in this state of chaos, but Choi Jung Soo picked up on it even while his mind was a chaotic mess.

‘He’s so sharp and detailed.’

He was also persistent.

That was how Choi Jung Soo was able to go from a Grade 10 to a Grade 1 ability user.

Cale gently pushed Choi Han’s back.

Step step.

Choi Han awkwardly took two steps forward.

His gaze was looking around without being focused anywhere.

The Dark Tiger that knew of the situation quietly sighed such that others could not hear.

‘…That calm bastard has such a side to him.’

Choi Han still looked calm on the outside, but Alberu was thinking that Choi Han’s mind might be quite chaotic right now.

He would have met a blood relative for the first time in an extremely long while.

As Alberu expected, Choi Han’s mind was beyond chaotic at this point and was going completely blank.

‘I didn't expect this.’

He didn’t expect to meet Choi Jung Soo right now.

But Choi Han could tell he was Choi Jung Soo as soon as he saw him.

It was because he had seen Choi Jung Soo's face when he was looking in a mirror while going through Choi Jung Soo's memories.

He was familiar with the voice as well.

‘M, me-’

Choi Han looked toward Choi Jung Soo.

‘He doesn't recognize me.’

His shaking pupils finally calmed down.

His mind that was going blank slowly turned cold as well.

‘…This is normal.’

It was normal that Choi Jung Soo would not be able to recognize Choi Han.

How would he remember the face of his paternal cousin once removed who went missing such a long time ago?

Even if he had seen Choi Han’s face through pictures, Choi Jung Soo would think that his paternal cousin once removed would be much older by now.

Who would even consider that this kid who was even younger than him was his paternal cousin once removed?

‘…Would he remember my name?’

Was there a chance he might flinch at a familiar name, the name of his missing paternal cousin once removed?

Choi Han started to speak.

“My name is Choi Han.”

He then reached his hand out.

“Nice to meet you.”

Choi Jung Soo quietly looked at Choi Han's hand before shaking it.

“Nice to meet you as well.”

They let go of each other’s hand after that short greeting.

Choi Han then moved back behind Cale and quietly looked down at his now empty hand.

‘He doesn't know.’

Choi Han felt upset at how Choi Jung Soo treated him like a stranger.

Although Choi Han had set his base in a different world and not on Earth… Even though he had somewhere to go back to…

This upset him for some odd reason.

Cale looked at Choi Han and opened his mouth before silently closing it back.

This was not something for him to involve himself.

‘I'm sure Choi Han thinks that it is logical for Choi Jung Soo to not recognize him, but it is still complicating his mind.’

That would be the case for anybody.

‘But will it keep being that way?’

Cale knew that there was a bond between Choi Jung Soo and Choi Han that could never disappear.

It was something that was even thicker than their shared blood.

‘He’s a persistent bastard.’

Choi Jung Soo was a persistent bastard.

He was certain.

He didn't know how long it would take, but…

‘Choi Jung Soo, this punk will definitely realize something about us.’

Team leader Lee Soo Hyuk might not realize anything because he was kind of slow, but Choi Jung Soo would definitely pick up on the fact that Cale and Choi Han seemed a bit different.

Cale knew that that would be the case based on his time as Kim Rok Soo.

That was why…

‘Well, I just need to make it not a big deal.’

He didn't need to pay much attention to it. He just needed to be careful.

“…Can you tell us what is going on?”

Cale turned toward the middle-aged man who asked the question.

Mister Kim. His full name was Kim Po-Chul.

“Ah.”

Kim Po-Chul could see the man named Kim Rok Soo gasp before he answered without any hesitation.

“Are you aware of the fact that new central shelters have appeared?”

“…I do know that new central shelters have appeared in multiple places.”

“I see. We are trying to go to Seomyeon which has the largest central shelter in Busan.”

He then quickly added on.

“There is someone we know up there. We must meet him.”

Everything he said was true, even though he didn’t give any details.

He did need to go to Seomyeon, Busan and meet Lee Soo Hyuk.

‘Hmm?’

The warmly responding Cale noticed Kim Po-Chul’s gaze heading toward somewhere.

Kim Po-Chul was looking at a child who was nodding his head.

‘What is going on?’

He wondered what was going on, but Cale just smiled as if he didn't see anything after Kim Po-Chul looked back at him while pretending like nothing had happened.

Shhhhh.

But Choi Jung Soo stepped in front of the child and covered him from Cale.

‘I got caught.’

Cale realized that Choi Jung Soo had caught him looking at the child.

‘He’s wary of me again.’

He could tell that Choi Jung Soo was quite wary of him.

That was why Choi Jung Soo was focusing his gaze on him instead of the monster Alberu or Choi Han who had a sword on his side.

Cale could tell that Choi Jung Soo's ‘intuition’ was still there after seeing Choi Jung Soo be wary when he was trying to speak as warmly as possible.

But Cale didn't know something.

He didn’t know that, although he had what he thought was a gentle smile on his face, the skinny and pale man was giving off a cold demeanor.

And based on how the Dark Tiger and the swordsman seemed to follow him…

Who wouldn't be the most wary of him?

Furthermore, people who laughed without reason were the most suspicious people in this new world.

Cale would have normally picked up on this, but he was excited as Alberu imagined earlier.

Cale didn't know about this as he continued to speak.

“Are you all headed for Busan as well?”

Cale looked at the group of five people.

There was a middle-aged woman who seemed to be in her fifties, the man in his forties who had spoken just now…

Then there was a woman who seemed to be in her late twenties or early thirties, and a child who was tightly grabbing onto her.

Finally, there was Choi Jung Soo.

Cale had never heard about this group from Choi Jung Soo.

The reason behind it was simple.

‘They must have all died.’

It must have meant that everybody here other than Choi Jung Soo had died.

Choi Jung Soo was the type to not talk about people who died and keep them buried in his heart.

“Yes, sir. We are headed for Busan as well.”

Kim Po-Chul answered stiffly while remaining cautious.

It could not be helped.

The woman who seemed to be the youngest started to speak.

“Mister Kim. One moment please.”

She stepped forward.

“Mister Kim Rok Soo?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“My name is Park Mal-Sook.”

“I see. Nice to meet you, madam.”

Park Mal-Sook peeked around Cale before starting to speak.

One of her hands was behind her back.

“How do you know our Jung Soo?”

They remembered.

They remembered what this large tiger monster had said.

‘Hmm? Isn’t this kid Choi Jung Soo? He looks just as you described him.’

These people definitely knew Choi Jung Soo.

“Hmm.”

The man who seemed to be the leader of this odd group started to smile and one corner of his lips twisted up.

“I guess I must tell you about my ability in order to answer that question.”

Cale kept his eyes focused on Choi Jung Soo.

“It’s almost night time, so it is probably best to rest here and not keep moving. It'll probably be an uncomfortable night if we have any doubts about each other.”

Alberu’s eyebrows slightly rose up.

‘You made me run without stopping day or night.’

But now he wanted to rest because it was night time?

‘Is the term, 'rest’ even in your vocabulary? This bastard always talks about being a slacker but doesn’t even know what rest is!’

Alberu was boiling on the inside but kept his mouth shut.

It was because Cale looked up at the sky.

Choi Jung Soo and the others subconsciously looked up at the sky at this sudden action.

It was at that moment.

"Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeech---!”

A sharp screech of a bird echoed through the sky that was red because of the sunset.

“That, that-”

Kim Po-Chul's jaw dropped.

It was a hawk.

He could see a large hawk with steel feathers.

He could see that there were people on top of that hawk as well.

“Flight ability?”

He could see people flying as well.

Cale started to speak at that moment.

“Please come down.”

The Steel Feather Hawk and the people slowly started to descend after he motioned toward them with his hand.

Cale looked away from them and turned toward the forest to the side of the highway.

“Please come out.”

Crack. Crack.

Something white appeared from the forest as they heard some branches breaking.

They saw rabbit ears.

It was a white rabbit.

The only thing was that this was a huge White Rabbit that was close to 3 meters tall.

There were people on the rabbit’s shoulders as well.

"W, what the hell?”

They had never seen humans and monsters looking so friendly with each other since the cataclysm had started.

Well, although they looked friendly with each other, it caused significant pressure on the people looking at them.

It was because all of these monsters were monsters that were known as some of the strongest monsters ever.

All the people and monsters gathered behind Cale.

"These are all people from my group who are heading to Seomyeon, Busan with me. We’re all on the same side.”

Park Mal-Sook gulped as she looked around at Cale's group and started to speak.

“…What is your ability? Didn’t you say you'll tell us about it?”

“That’s right. How do you know who I am?”

Choi Jung Soo stepped forward.

Cale held back a sigh after seeing Choi Jung Soo looking at him with a piercing gaze.

The Choi Jung Soo in Cale’s memory would have sneered at him if he knew about this, and it was awkward to do this with this current Choi Jung Soo who didn’t know anything, but Cale did it anyway since he had no other choice.

Cale calmly started to speak.

“My ability is ‘Foresight’.”

Silence filled the area.

Cale didn't care and pointed toward Choi Jung Soo.

“And I saw Mr. Choi Jung Soo in my vision.”

“…What? Foresight? What unbelievable-”

The young woman in the group shouted in shock.

The child quietly mumbled at that moment.

“Liar!”

His voice then became louder.

The child was glaring at Cale as he continued to shout.

“That was a lie!”

Park Mal-Sook and the woman in her late twenties grabbed the child in shock.

Cale looked toward the child and continued to speak.

“…That’s not possible. I know about the things that would happen in the future.”

The child’s eyes turned chaotic.

The child subconsciously blurted out.

“Huh? …That was the truth.”

Cale's eyes clouded over at that moment. The woman who saw this tried to quickly hide the child behind her.

But the child was staring at Cale as if he was amazed.

Cale started to speak again after seeing the child’s gaze.

“I have no malicious intent toward any of you, and in fact, I am going to Seomyeon, Busan to save people.”

He then looked toward the child.

The child received his gaze and slowly started to speak.

“…That’s the truth.”

‘I knew it.’

Cale realized that this child had a special ability.

‘This child is able to tell when someone is lying or telling the truth.’

It was an ability that was at the level of Joo Ho-Shik’s 'faith’ ability, no, an ability that exceeded that ability.

That was why Cale told the truth.

"Something very scary will happen in the future. If we are able to deal with that situation, if we are able to save people, I…”

He could prevent that despair.

“Am willing to fight to the brink of death.”

He didn’t want to die.

He could not die.

He didn’t want to show death to his friends.

Cale had no plans on fighting to his death.

He would only fight with the desire to save everyone.

“No matter what, I will save people.”

Cale finished speaking and the child started to speak.

“I, it’s all true.”

The demeanor of Choi Jung Soo's group changed after hearing that.

They seemed shocked at this sudden situation and the unbelievable information they just heard.

Someone standing behind Cale, who was looking at the shocked Choi Jung Soo group, started to speak at that moment.

“I believe you.”

Cale started to frown.

Joo Ho-Shik who was dressed in white had his hands clasped together as he stepped forward and continued to speak.

“This sir is someone who creates miracles.”

There was a gentle smile on Joo Ho-Shik's face.

It was a truly gentle smile unlike the one on Cale’s face.

“This sir's foresight has never been wrong. You must have faith.”

“Haaaa.”

Cale started to frown as he sighed.

“…Clopeh Sekka.”

Cale heard the name Choi Han quietly whispered.

The corners of Alberu’s lips were twitching as if he was holding back from laughing.

Cale closed his eyes for a moment before opening them back and starting to speak to Choi Jung Soo’s group again.

“It’s dinner time, so why don't we chat while eating?”

He was speaking in a very calm and gentle tone.