Chapter: 100. The One Who Should Die Doesn’t Die (1)
“Really? Is our damn plane getting attacked too?
What the heck is a monster doing popping up in the sky?”
What sin have I committed to have to crawl around attached to the plane and engage in a mid-air dogfight with a monster? If it weren’t for Unho’s magical support, I might have been making snowmen in the vastness of Siberia by now. Why the hell do my boots not have spikes?
“That’s because Haram is on board. Poyo.”
What did I do to deserve this? Even the damn mascot is acting like this. Am I to blame if I get ambushed by a monster on the way? “Did you call for it?”
That sounds suspicious. What if this damn mascot planned to betray me and get me killed? Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any problems in the famously peaceful sky.
“If I had such skills, I would’ve gathered monsters for Haram long ago.”
I’m sure now. Unho is the traitor. “What would you do with the gathered monsters?”
“Isn’t it all about the money?”
I see. So it’s about beating them all up after gathering them. However, the only person I know capable of that is Linshua. And asking Linshua to do that involves a lot of risks, so I’ll just disregard that.
“Anyway, is it true that it’s because I’m on board?”
I seriously have no idea about that.
If it happened every time I got on a plane, I would have probably come to despise the very existence of boarding.
Now that I think about it, I feel like I’ve crash-landed a few planes into monsters, but since I crashed on my own, I suppose that doesn’t count as “every time.”
“You know that places Haram goes to are always filled with trouble, right? That’s why the plane is having issues. The magical girl’s trip of excitement! I wonder how many more things will explode here!”
At this point, Unho’s nonsensical rambling has reached an artistic level.
Since what he said was so ridiculous, I pried the creature clinging to my shoulder off and threw it to the ground, opening my mouth. “Yeah, yeah. It’s a cheerful bonding activity with the magical partner you chose. How does that feel?”
Unho, who has been oddly fluid and weird lately, became a gooey mass of dirty white clay sticking messily to the ground.
“Ugh, please stop! My proud fur is turning into a lump of dust… Oh wait… somehow it doesn’t hurt…”
Has he gone insane? Unho started spouting strange sounds.
The sticky white fur ball was starting to evoke feelings of disgust, so instead of using my hands, I began squishing it with my feet.
“Ahhh, please stop! If this keeps up, I’ll get stuck like asphalt gum…”
Is this creature even a creature anymore? Not long ago, it seemed like it had bones, but now it’s like it’s stuck to the ground, transforming into some grayish thing that absorbs filth.
Did it come to realize its own essence was filth and change its kind? If that’s the case, I should be cheering it on, but caring about this increasingly meaningless being called Unho seems pointless now, so I wrapped it up in plastic and tossed it into my bag before searching for Oxymoron, who had finished the procedures faster than I did.
“I should calm down, since Haram seems to be in a bad mood.”
“That’s probably because Haram is grumbling.”
Meanwhile, a suspicious noise came from my backpack.
Is it bubbling? It really seems like it’s becoming something entirely different from a ferret.
As I walked, I tried to listen to Unho trying to say something, but most of it was bubble sounds and nonsense, so I cut off whatever little interest remained and moved on in search of her, who stood out quite a bit.
In a small airport on the outskirts of Soviet territory, in a small city with barely any population, she was too conspicuous.
Dressed in black techwear and restraint belts, she was completely unconcerned about the eyes of others. Although she threw off the gas mask she usually wore and put on a leather mask instead, that only made her stand out even more.
In gray attire with long hair, and a mask covering everything but her eyes, she looked like a military-style girl from restraint, which must appeal to those with peculiar tastes.
Peering through the glass, she was frowning for some reason, but even that expression, combined with her sharp eyes, was quite enough to showcase her charm.
Well, from my twenty years of friendship, it just looked like she was annoyed.
She’s still a kid. To show her feelings so honestly.
But still, she’s my partner for this job. If she’s in a bad mood, I need to ease it.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
Whoosh. The sound spun in my head as Oxymoron’s head turned in a blur.
Her long hair fluttered in the air, and I felt her gaze on me for a fleeting moment. However, just as quickly, she turned her head slightly away from me, looking out the window.
“You’re late.”
That response was weirdly chilly.
Seeing her tone, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was indeed my fault.
Whatever was going on, it seemed like it was my fault somehow.
“It took forever to get my situation across. They even asked where the monster carcass landed. How am I supposed to know that? They should be asking the pilot!”
The scrappy Soviet bureaucrats trying to gather up a body left me at a loss. Even the phrase ‘contact the association if you’re unhappy’ didn’t help, and it took even longer.
What’s the party’s property to them? If they need the association’s strength, they make a fuss just like us.
“Well… there was nothing I could do.”
Her expression softened just a bit.
Was it really just about my tardiness?
Leaving me alone like that doesn’t seem fair as a comrade, right? Is that an expression of dissatisfaction?
“Exactly. Thanks to that, it looks like we won’t be going straight today. Since the arrival date isn’t set either, let’s take it easy today.”
Originally, we were supposed to get off the plane, move directly to the association branch, and rest, but now that I looked outside, it was dark and dreary, so going today seemed a bit tough.
It’s not that we can’t go at night, but pushing ourselves to do it isn’t urgent anyway.
“Is there accommodation even in this kind of place?”
Oxymoron glanced outside with a slightly bewildered expression again.
I followed her gaze and looked outside.
A city shrouded in darkness, without a trace of light.
It wasn’t a large city to begin with, but after the Czechoslovak crisis, tagging the area around it as a restricted zone faded it into decline.
There was an airport, but it was merely an expression of Soviet pride that they hadn’t abandoned it for military purposes.
Or maybe they left it here to conduct experiments after the plague spread across Czechoslovakia. If they truly hadn’t abandoned this city, they would have at least provided proper electricity.
They had no reason to abandon a city when their own awakened ones were stuck here.
Having just finished critiquing the country I’ve been strangely entwined with, I grabbed Oxymoron by the arm.
“Hey? Why suddenly—”
“Continuing to stare at the pitch-black cityscape will just make us feel worse.”
If I feel bad, how much worse can Oxymoron, who has great trauma, feel?
“Still, you don’t have to pull me like this—”
“I’m late, so we’ve got to move quickly somehow.”
“Even in a neighborhood like this, surely there are people living vibrantly.”
“What do you mean? I feel like I’m dragging you down so we should go take a break!”
“Why must every place I know be wrecked?!”
I heard certain lodgings were set up as Czechoslovakia bases that were crushed, and lodgings I had visited for assassinations were also ruined—lodgings I had scouted for Soviet espionage were also wrecked.
Ha ha, everything’s ruined.
“It’s fate, Poyo.”
“Go die.”
I squeezed the creature peeking out through the bag tightly again and shoved it back in, lifting my head.
“I need to find lodging…”
“It feels like everything has collapsed, so wouldn’t it be better to head straight to the association branch now?”
“I’m determined to find a place to stay here, by any means necessary. We will definitely rest before we go.”
At this point, even if it means stubbornness, I will stick around.
I began to walk, slowly squeezing out memories one by one.
The evaluations of the lodging that the team members discovered while seeking to keep secrets.
Stories of comrades who once considered this area home.
The smell of candlelight and food drifting in the late night air.
“Does it smell like fried meat…?”
As I chased that scent, I felt Oxymoron looking at me pitifully but ignored it and continued to rummage through my memory.
‘There was a place known for delicious chicken Kiev.’
‘The borscht I had was awful, I couldn’t tell if they put in tomatoes or tomato paste.’
‘Was that because the captain was drinking?’
‘Who said anything about eating real food? I just ate it, saying it was bland.’
‘Then shouldn’t you have stayed with us?’
Looking back, it pisses me off.
If only he worked as hard as he did regularly, wouldn’t Park Hyunseok Director have been willing to pay up too?
“I don’t know. Right now, what’s important is the aroma of butter. The smell of grilling meat. Riding that scent, overlapping memories led me to a place.
Once likely to be a frequent spot for folks, now an outdoor terrace piled high with dust.
A faint flicker of light came streaming out from behind a tightly shut window.
Confirming that someone was cooking inside the building, I cheerfully headed for the lodging.
The sign hanging by the entrance had seen better days, the letters worn out to the point where it was impossible to tell if they were open or closed, but when I tugged at the door, it opened without resistance as if it weren’t even locked.
“…It’s not closed for business, is it?”
“If the door isn’t locked, it means we’re open for business.”
I confidently walked in as a customer, but Oxymoron stepped in cautiously as if committing a crime.
Do they keep the restaurant separate from the lodging?
Opening the glass door, the place contained only a few tables, prompting me to not linger and move on to the next door.
Din!
I heard a chime in response.
At the same time, the sweet and savory smell of cooking meat clung to my nostrils.
The scent of butter and protein blended exquisitely, creating an odd atmosphere along with the musty old wood smell from aged candles.
“Who are you? Timoshenko? We have nothing today, so don’t come by…”
Had he heard the doorbell?
An old man appeared from behind the counter, his voice rough as if filled with dust.
Was the kitchen directly behind the counter?
“What’s this? A customer? Or—”
He seemed to be confirming our appearance, bringing a candle from behind the counter, illuminating the area, revealing scattered liquor bottles and glasses rolling around.
It’s a restaurant, lodging, and bar all in one. They do everything here.
“You have a strange outfit. Did you come from the association? I haven’t seen your face before; you must be a replacement.”
The association—an unexpected term, but it seems branch members frequently visit here?
“I did come from the association, but it’s not a deployment. I’ve just come for work and was wondering if I could rent a room.”
“Young punk is talking nonsense… no wait. It’s one of those looks that just doesn’t match the inside, huh?”
This guy is sharper than I expected; has he worked with heroes or something?
“I can eat about three to four times what I seem. Do you have any rooms available?”
Upon hearing my question, the old man glanced back at us then tossed me some keys from a shelf at the back.
“If you’re going to stay, go on and stay at the association. It’s a quiet night for a circus around here. There’s a room available.”
I easily snagged the keys thrown in the air and checked the room number—101.
“Isn’t that a clear sign they’re not in business? The atmosphere here feels…”
His voice and manner seemed somewhat annoyed.
Seeing the old man’s attitude, Oxymoron took a half-step back in surprise and whispered into my ear.
Like she said, it seems that way, but I have a different thought.
“Do many from the association come by here?”
I raised my hand slightly toward Oxymoron to calm her, then eyed the grumpy old man.
“Those guys hardly ever come for a bite; they’re just a bunch of losers eating in their free time, holding on to an old man like me so I still can’t close up shop to retire.”
Just as I suspected, he’s the kind of old man who can’t be treated gently.
“Then is it possible to order food right now? The smell in here makes it sound like you’re preparing dinner, but if you’re busy…”
Bang!
Two plates crashed onto the counter.
Unlike the dirty glasses, the plates and cutlery were clean without a single speck of dust.
“Do you think I’m worried about a kid about 40 or 50? I’ll whip something up for you right away. Wait there; I’ll show you my cooking.”
Placing the candle he held on the counter, the old man vanished into the kitchen.
It seemed he was bringing back the flame as the billowing flames grew stronger. It looked like he really was up to cooking something.
“See? Oxymoron, you too, sit down.”
“…Is it really okay? He just threw a plate and walked away.”
Ah, she’s not used to this kind of thing, huh? Well, considering she’s always holed up in the lab or operating room.
“Do you know the term foul-mouthed grandma?”
“Is it like Baba Yaga?”
That’s an old man who eats children, right?
“It’s more like that old man who fusses inside while welcoming you on the outside. I’d say he’s probably enjoying himself.”
Surprisingly, the association members coming here isn’t expected. If they’re coming all this way to eat, does that mean it’s known for being a good place?
While thinking that, what met my chin resting on the counter was,
“You look just like that old man.”
An unfathomable response and Oxymoron’s laughter came back. It felt like all the tension and bad mood that had clung to her vanished, and she took off her mask, smiling with slightly torn lips.
What is this kid suddenly joking about?
I thought, but I decided not to break this mood and kept quiet.
A quiet dark night.
We waited for the food amidst the butter-laden darkness.
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