Dalupin

Dalupin owns and operates Ninety Nine Nights, the inn assigned to Sungjin between raids. His cooking, scheduling, deliveries, and care for nonhuman guests turn the inn into a reliable home within the Black Market. As Sungjin's solitary routine expands into the Chosen Ones' shared meals and briefings, Dalupin adapts without losing the discreet, formal service that first earns the Hunter's trust. (Chapters 7–54, 66–121, and 135–178)

Appearance

Dalupin is introduced as a half-human, half-owl proprietor and is later called an owlbear. He bows deeply, has a visibly owl-like head, and can rotate his neck approximately 180 degrees when Cain first enters the inn. Later narration refers to him as a blue giant, creating an unresolved descriptive inconsistency; the corpus does not explain whether this reflects translation variation, a change in presentation, or distinct terminology for the same Black Market resident. (Chapters 7, 14, and 121)

Personality

Dalupin is unfailingly courteous and attentive. He learns Sungjin's schedule, notices when the Hunter sleeps later than usual, remembers the feeding needs of Cain and Rajenta, and quietly supplies small comforts without making himself the center of a scene. His formality does not prevent familiarity; repeated service lets him anticipate requests while still respecting Sungjin's privacy. (Chapters 7–34, 66–93, and 115–121)

He is also discreet around emotionally charged gatherings. Dalupin serves meals while the Chosen Ones debate recruitment and their future, offers Baltren a towel during a painful memory test, and leaves the tables joined once the group becomes too large for its original arrangement. He supports the alliance through practical observation rather than advice, giving its members a stable setting in which trust can develop. (Chapters 121, 135–136, 166, and 177–178)

Biography

Keeper of Ninety Nine Nights

Dalupin greets Sungjin on his first Black Market interval, identifies himself as owner of Ninety Nine Nights, and promises to meet the Hunter's needs. The inn provides free lodging, bathing, and meals before the next raid, but Dalupin makes those standard functions personal through high-quality cooking and prompt service. Sungjin quickly adopts the inn as his default place to eat, rest, plan, and recover from environments that range from frozen plains to desert heat. (Chapters 7–8, 14–15, and 22–43)

His duties extend well beyond the kitchen. Dalupin delivers the next raid's information sheet, brings auction receipts, wakes Sungjin for unusual shopping hours, and supplies environment-specific clothing, cold water, and other provisions. He also cares for spiritually linked companions between raids, preparing raw meat for Cain, feeding the newborn Rajenta, and adjusting portions after Cain's evolution. This reliability keeps Sungjin's increasingly complex schedule from consuming the preparation time needed for survival. (Chapters 22–34, 43–54, 66–93, and 111–120)

When the Chosen Ones begin gathering across dimensions, Ninety Nine Nights changes from one Hunter's quiet refuge into an alliance headquarters. Dalupin takes orders from multinational guests, serves large shared breakfasts and dinners, distributes prepared notes, and accommodates new members without complaint. His familiarity with Sungjin's routine lets briefings move directly from food to strategy, while the inn's domestic normality gives the Hunters a rare experience of community outside combat. (Chapters 121, 135–149, and 166–178)

Dalupin remains a background presence by choice rather than irrelevance. He recognizes moments when service should be silent, keeps coffee and meals available through Sungjin's increasingly erratic sleep, and preserves the joined tables after the alliance expands. By the latest chapter in which he appears, the inn has become the physical center of Sungjin's preparations and relationships, and Dalupin's steady work is what allows that center to function. (Chapters 136, 166, 171, 174, 176, and 178)

Relationships

• Sungjin: Dalupin begins as a formally assigned host and becomes the person who most consistently manages Sungjin's daily needs. Sungjin trusts his food, reminders, deliveries, and care for companions, thanks him directly, and uses Ninety Nine Nights as the base for every later alliance meeting. (Chapters 7–54, 66–121, and 135–178)
• Cain: Dalupin accepts the white wolf into the inn immediately, prepares requested cuts of raw meat, and adapts when evolution doubles Cain's appetite. His care helps make Ninety Nine Nights a place where Cain can live socially between limited raid manifestations rather than exist only during combat. (Chapters 14–34, 54, 77, and 91–93)
• Rajenta: Sungjin entrusts the newly hatched griffin to Dalupin before departing for a raid. The innkeeper feeds Rajenta, watches his rapid growth, and makes space for his play with Cain, providing stable care during the period when the hatchling is most dependent. (Chapters 80 and 91–93)
• The Chosen Ones: Dalupin hosts their recurring meals, responds to varied orders, and supports briefings with food, paper, and a consistent meeting space. His unobtrusive service allows strong personalities to talk, argue, reconcile, and welcome new members without the practical burden of organizing a household themselves. (Chapters 121, 135–149, and 166–178)

Skills and abilities

Cooking and hospitality. Dalupin prepares dishes from Korean, Chinese, Indian, American, European, and other cuisines with restaurant-level quality, while also meeting individualized requests for coffee, desserts, raw meat, and large group meals. He serves quickly and scales from one guest to a crowded table without any stated decline in quality. (Chapters 7–34, 43–77, 91–93, 121, and 135–176)

Logistical coordination. He manages wake-up service, auction receipts, raid information sheets, clothing, water, and household routines. Dalupin often delivers what is needed before Sungjin asks, indicating close attention to schedules and prior preferences rather than supernatural foreknowledge. His practical coordination reduces the number of Black Market errands Sungjin must personally track. (Chapters 22–34, 43–54, 66–68, 93, 111–120, and 178)

Nonhuman physiology. Dalupin's owl-like neck can rotate approximately 180 degrees, letting him look behind himself without turning his body. No combat abilities are demonstrated, and the later description of him as a blue giant is not accompanied by an explanation or measurable change in strength. (Chapters 14 and 121)

Equipment

• Ninety Nine Nights: Dalupin's inn contains guest rooms, baths, dining areas, a kitchen, an exterior stable, and space for spiritually linked companions. Its tables later become the regular briefing site for the Chosen Ones, while its quiet rooms support Sungjin's rest and dream-based investigations. (Chapters 7–14, 43–54, 77–93, and 121–180)
• Information sheets and delivery papers: Dalupin regularly brings raid summaries, auction receipts, and prepared notes to Sungjin or his guests. He does not create the raid intelligence himself, but his dependable custody and delivery make those papers part of the alliance's planning routine. (Chapters 22, 34, 43, 54, 66–68, 93, 135, and 178)