Still, at the thought that she had somehow survived, her tension slowly began to ease. Once she let go of the rope she had been desperately clinging to, sleep finally crept over her, bit by bit.
—If you’re sleepy, get some rest. Gim Suho should be arriving soon.
Before resting for a while as he said, Yu Yeonha asked the one thing she was curious about.
“By the way… where are you speaking from?”
—Above you. The ceiling speaker. I hacked it.
“…Ah.”
So that was it.
Yu Yeonha laughed weakly and quietly closed her eyes.
* * *
At first, I asked the Book of Truth without thinking too much about it. Whether Yun Hyeon had kidnapped Yu Yeonha.
Sure enough, the Book of Truth answered “yes,” and I was shocked. Not only had the schedule been pushed forward by a ridiculous amount, even a change in the setting had been detected.
No matter what, my novel was rated for all ages, so I had set Yun Hyeon as impotent. To think some absurd setting had been attached to his reproductive organ…
I immediately informed Gim Suho, but since every second was urgent, I also moved myself.
I ran to a mountain peak that had a clear view of the second-year dormitory building. Thanks to my vastly increased stamina, climbing the mountain took only five minutes, and I was able to save Yu Yeonha without being too late.
“If I hadn’t come, that would’ve been bad.”
Gim Suho had just stormed into the penthouse and smashed through the barrier. Yun Hyeon resisted with what little strength he had left, but was cut down in a single stroke.
“…But this thing’s performance is insane.”
With a gaze mixed with awe, I looked at the massive anti-materiel sniper rifle in my hands.
An intimidating yet stylish exterior, reaching 1.8 meters in total length. The barrel, modified to enhance firepower, looked vicious in and of itself, yet the platinum body and the golden patterns embroidered across it instead gave off an aristocratic elegance.
This was a sniper rifle formed by combining my handgun with Aether, a setting I had just created by investing SP.
[Sniping Specialization—When combined with Aether, it transforms into an ultra-high-firepower sniper rifle.]
Even though I added the condition that it could only be activated by using Aether, it still consumed a full 250 SP.
With the Aether anti-materiel sniper rifle created that way, I sniped a target 1.5 kilometers away. Seeing an enemy who couldn’t see me, and shooting that enemy from a long range where their attacks couldn’t reach.
It was quite thrilling.
“They’ll take care of the rest now.”
I undid the combination between the handgun and Aether. The anti-materiel sniper rifle, which had reached 1.5 meters in length, returned to being an ordinary Desert Eagle.
[SP increases by 457!]
[Luck activates. You receive a bonus equivalent to 11% of the acquired SP.]
[You have succeeded in a long-range snipe. The proficiency grade of “Sharpshooter” rises to Grade 7.]
It was the most SP I had earned from a single action. Since I had broken an entire main episode, it was only natural.
I sat down roughly on the grass and watched the situation unfold in the distance. Yu Yeonha being carried on Gim Suho’s back, and the permanent Cube forces hurrying over.
The number of victims had decreased, and a connection between Yu Yeonha and Gim Suho had been created, however faint. Gim Suho was a kind protagonist, so he’d treat Yu Yeonha kindly from now on.
Things had gotten tangled, but in any case, the result was good.
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Exam Period (4)
Yu Yeonha opened her eyes. A plain white ceiling filled her vision, and the sound of something being shaved—scrape, scrape—tickled her ears. She turned her head toward the sound.
Gim Suho was peeling an apple with a fruit knife.
“…What are you doing there?”
Yu Yeonha asked, dumbfounded. Gim Suho glanced at her and smiled awkwardly.
“You’re awake? Nothing hurts, right?”
“…I suppose not.”
“The doctor said there’s nothing wrong with your body.”
Yu Yeonha sat up. There were parts of her that felt stiff and sore, but she certainly wasn’t unable to move.
“More importantly, why are you here?”
“We were taking turns nursing you. Me, Nayun, Sin Jonghak, Gim Horak—”
“Why would you guys?”
Yu Yeonha asked back because she was genuinely curious.
“Well, I mean, it’s partly our fault…”
“…Excuse me?”
Leaving aside Gim Suho’s incomprehensible words, Yu Yeonha thought it over carefully. Just what fault could they possibly have?
But even after retracing everything that had happened and thinking deeply about it, no answer came to her. Then that meant they had done something wrong that she didn’t know about.
In the end, Yu Yeonha glared at Gim Suho with narrowed eyes. It was a look demanding an explanation.
“As teammates, we should have paid more attention. But we were distracted by Nayun…”
Yu Yeonha was at a loss for words. At his absurd statement, she felt as if her brain had momentarily stopped.
How could he possibly have known in advance that she would be attacked and paid attention to it? The same went for being teammates. They had only met twice, and they had even argued during the second meeting. What kind of team was that?
“…Sorry.”
“Pfft.”
At his shy apology, Yu Yeonha let out a hollow laugh. She felt like she knew one thing for certain: this man was foolishly kind.
“What are you sorry for? I brought it on myself.”
Gim Suho scratched the back of his neck and held out a plate with apples on it. The apples were shaped like rabbits. Yu Yeonha smiled without realizing it. As a girl, Yu Yeonha also loved cute things very much.
“You peeled them well.”
“Thanks.”
Gim Suho smiled soundlessly. It was an innocent smile. Only then did his dazzlingly handsome face enter her eyes anew. Yu Yeonha stared blankly at his face for a moment, then came to her senses and asked something that had suddenly occurred to her.
“…Oh, right. By the way. Did that person not come?”
“That person?”
Gim Hajin.
However, Yu Yeonha couldn’t bring herself to say that name aloud. She had a conscience, after all. She had done something wrong—how could she even expect him to visit her in the hospital?
“It’s nothing.”
She looked out the window. The sky over the East Sea, without a single cloud, was clear and blue. It was so vivid that even the shafts of sunlight were plainly visible.
Taking that dazzling scenery into her eyes, Yu Yeonha quietly thought.
Today, she had learned many things.
Of course, her personality, which had been formed over sixteen years, would not be shaken to its core by this one incident. Perhaps tomorrow, she might not be all that different from her usual self.
But there were certainly many things she had felt deep in her heart. Whether it was remorse, self-reflection, or simply gratitude, she could not clearly distinguish.
However, before putting all of those things into her diary and reflecting on them, Yu Yeonha first picked up her smartwatch.
She still had one thing left to do.
* * *
A text arrived.
[Thank you. I’ll definitely repay this favor.]
The sender was Yu Yeonha. Seeing those three syllables made me smile.
I was trying to think of a reply that sounded somehow cool, but suddenly, the person sitting across from me asked again.
“Um… are you really telling me to take this as is? Really?”
I fixed him with a stare. Bak Suhyeok had been like this for a while now. I didn’t know how many times he had asked if I was serious. I had stopped counting at around ten.
Haah. A sigh escaped on its own.
I said I was going to invest, so why did he keep talking so much? He should just quietly buy an HUV (hunter utility vehicle) and a proper magic pouch.
“Yes. Yes. Yes! Please, I’m begging you! Please!”
I shot to my feet and bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
“Please take it!”
“Ah, uh, that—”
“What? Should I bow on the floor? Fine, receive my bow!”
“No, no! I’ll take it, I’ll take it! Then, SH Agent’s first investment. I’ll gratefully accept it!”
Only then did he put the related documents into his jacket.
How was someone this soft supposed to become the top dog of the agent industry? It was my own setting, but I really couldn’t understand it.
I watched him quietly, then asked as if tossing the words out.
“By the way, how old are you?”
“I’m twenty-nine.”
“Ah. Then you’re way older than me. Speak casually.”
Rather than formal polite speech, casual speech felt like it would be more comfortable for me.
“Come on. Still, how could I do that to an investor…”
“Then think of me as a business partner instead of an investor. Someone you’ll grow this together with, that kind of thing.”
“Come on~ I still can’t do that~”
“I’m telling you I’m fine with it.”
“Even so…”
We began a tug-of-war over whether or not he would speak casually.
Before long, however, Bak Suhyeok was defeated and surrendered.
“Then… very well. I shall speak casually.”
For a moment, my thoughts stopped. His tone of voice had suddenly become deep and dignified, as if he were in a historical drama, and his manner of speaking had turned into that of an adult nearing fifty.
“Ha, haha. This is a bit much, right?”
“Huh? No. It’s, uh, fine. I’d prefer it if you used haeche comfortably…”
“Ah~ haha. I understand. No, I got it.”
I stood up with a bitter smile.
“Then let’s go hunting now. Let’s just catch one or two today.”
“R-right? Yeah. Then hyung will support you well from behind.”
Bak Suhyeok smiled awkwardly.
We left the coffee shop together. I was about to head toward the Field without even looking back, but then I noticed a convenience store.
“Um. Uh, Su-Suhyeok hyung?”
I had been the one to tell him to speak casually, but when I tried using it myself, I felt strangely embarrassed.
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Let’s buy some lottery tickets.”
I pointed at the sign that said [Instant Lottery Tickets on Sale]. In truth, that had been the first money-making method I’d thought of after raising my Luck, but because my status was “minor without a guardian,” I hadn’t been able to do it until now.
“Come on. What a waste of money. You must not know, but those are all scams.”
“They’re not scams. And my luck is pretty good, so I’ll probably win. Whatever I win there, I’ll invest it all into SH.”
“They are scams… I know because I’ve tried them.”
“Just follow me.”
I dragged Bak Suhyeok into the convenience store. First, I picked out ten random instant lottery tickets stacked on the display. Maybe because Bak Suhyeok looked so old, they didn’t check his ID. With the tickets I bought, we went over to a nearby shelf.
“I’m going to scratch them~”
“Here. A coin.”
He had called them scams earlier, but now he handed me a coin with eyes shining even more than mine.
“I’m scratching.”
Scratch, scratch, scratch. After a few scratches, the inside of the foil was revealed. The first one was a dud, as expected. I immediately scratched the next one. Another dud. I scratched the third ticket. Still a dud.
“Haam.”
Bak Suhyeok, who had seemed to be secretly expectant, quickly lost interest and yawned. I paid no attention and kept scratching the tickets. And so, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth…
When Bak Suhyeok was peeking around the cup noodles, I scratched the tenth and final ticket.
“Oh. It came up.”
“Hm? How much?”
Bak Suhyeok, holding a Wangttukkeong, asked as if it were nothing.
“Twenty million won.”
“Ah, really?”
Bak Suhyeok had been about to walk straight to the counter, but he soon stopped and tilted his head. Muttering that he must have heard wrong, he slowly turned his body toward me.
“…What did you just say?”
“Twenty million won. Still didn’t get first place, though.”
First place was one hundred million.
I showed Bak Suhyeok the lottery ticket. In an instant, his mouth fell wide open.
“Wh-what is this? Is this real?”
“It’s real, so just take it.”
I held out the lottery ticket to Bak Suhyeok.
“Why are you giving this to m-me?”
“Ah, I didn’t say it. I’m a minor, so I can’t receive that. Take it on my behalf and use it. It’s an additional twenty million won investment, so revise the contract and send it to me.”
Bak Suhyeok stared blankly at me. His open mouth showed no signs of closing. It was big enough for an entire Wangttukkeong to fit inside. His mouth was huge.
“I said take it.”
“Uh, yeah.”
Bak Suhyeok hurriedly shoved the lottery ticket into his pocket. Then he looked around—shashak—and began sweating bullets like someone who had committed a crime.
“You don’t need to be that vigilant. No one’s going to take it.”
“No. You just don’t know. The world these days is so…”
* * *
Moonlight seeped in through the broken windows. However, what the incoming light revealed was nothing but dust-mixed desolation and silence. In a space where traces of humanity had vanished long ago, only the moss and vines coiling around the outer walls pulsed like living organisms.
This place was an abandoned factory in the Suwon area, deserted after the Outcall, and the temporary hideout of the criminal organization “Chameleon Troupe.”
—Boss.
A voice echoed through the empty space. The call awakened the being submerged in the thick darkness.
—Are you awake?
She slowly opened her eyes. The eyes that were revealed shone brilliantly, like jewels, yet dangerously.
—Those bastards seem to have started moving. Master of Subduing Demons. I confirmed the listing.
The ownerless voice relayed the information to her.
She answered briefly. Her voice was dry, devoid of even the smallest fragment of emotion.
“I see.”
—What should we do now?
She delayed her answer for a moment and slowly raised herself up. In that time, the full moon that had been hidden behind the clouds revealed itself. A bleak moonlight seeped through the cracks of the window and illuminated her body. The darkness that had wrapped around her melted away all at once.
—By the way, our captain is still pretty as ever.
Long black hair that looked as though shadows had been cut out and woven together, full lips, snow-white skin without a single wrinkle, and the graceful curves that made up her entire body… The woman, who seemed to embody the beauty of the present world itself, spoke without the slightest change in expression.
“Do you want to die?”
Indigo magic power crumpled in her grasp.
—Joking. But it’s not like I can call you ugly, Captain. Let it slide, let it slide.
The magic power that had been surging up viciously like erupting lava calmed down.
—Anyway, what are you going to do? I’m telling you, the Master of Subduing Demons guys look like they’ll start moving soon.
“We only take the item. Nothing else matters.”
It was an indifferent answer. But the order itself was clear.
—Ah. But. There’s someone buying up this stock intensively.
“Stock?”
—Yeah. At first I thought it was just some ant, but they invested 3 million won and 10 million won, like that, then suddenly threw in 250 million. If it were a lucky investment where they just picked anything at random, they wouldn’t do it like this.
“Coincidence?”
—Mm… probably about 95%? But Captain, that 5% bothers me. There’s absolutely no reason to buy this stock. The guild page hasn’t even been made yet.
The guild stock market is far more dangerous than the ordinary stock market. Because of that, unless they have a definite source, very few retail investors invest in a newly established guild. And there’s no way something like Master of Subduing Demons would have a definite source.
“Forget it. We have only one job to do.”
—Mmm… If you insist. Should I tell the members that too?
“Yeah.”
With that as the last word, the voice disappeared, then reappeared.
—Ah. Right. A few fairly interesting pages have appeared on the Purple Banquet.
The woman tilted her head without a word.
—“Relic Search Team,” “Jonggak’s Bosintang,” and the last one, “Truth Agency.”
“Are they useful?”
—The first two are gradually building up achievements. But I don’t know about Truth Agency. I just included it because it somehow looked impressive. There’s something overwhelmingly confident about the site introduction. If they’re putting on that much bravado in the Purple Banquet, where all sorts of hotshots gather, then they must at least have some substance.
“Then take it out.”
—Aww~ Still, you know how this world is. It hasn’t just been once or twice that the one that looked like absolutely nothing turned out to be the jackpot. I’ll send you the page number later, so at least take a look. Besides, they say they’ll answer anything you ask. Who knows? They might even find “that bastard.”
But the woman merely looked sullen.
“Cases like that are rare.”
—Anyway. Now I’m really going. Take care, Captain~
She thought that was the end.
But the voice appeared again.
—Ah, Captain. Sorry, but there’s really one last thing.
“······.”
A vein stood out on the woman’s snow-white temple.
“What now?”
—The Cube exams start next week. You’re going to observe, right?
Hoo.
The woman let out a sigh and answered.
“Yeah. I will. I’ll observe.”
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Uninvited Guests (1)
Thursday. Inside the classroom, where the sound of note-taking rustled. In preparation for the exam three days later, almost all the cadets were absorbed in their studies.
“Ah······ I, ah, seriously, ah. I want to play soccer or something.”
But even among them, there was bound to be a cadet who was slacking off. Chae Nayun expressed her boredom with her entire body.
“My body’s healed, but there’s nothing for me to move it for······.”
The incident involving Yu Yeonha that occurred this week had indeed been reported as a global scoop, and in the aftermath, most of the executives were all undergoing investigation, so all practical training had been canceled. Because of that, the classes held until the exams began were only theory and supplementary theory.
For Chae Nayun, it was probably no different from hell.
“The exam’s next week. Study a little. Don’t end up saying it’s unfair because the written part tripped you up again.”
Kim Suho, beside her, said with a smile. The diligent Kim Suho was good at taking notes as well. However, since he was not at the level of competing for the top spots, whenever he had a part he was stuck on