As Yeon-su was playfully wrinkling her nose at me, she soon made a call to explain the current situation and requested support.
“Yes. No. It’s about six hundred or so. Ah, really. What kind of trouble did I cause this time? I see? You’re saying something disappointing to someone who’s living honestly.”
‘Well, I did cause a bit of a ruckus yesterday.’
From the voice on the line, it seemed to be an elderly man. They sounded very familiar with each other.
‘Is he the Association Head…?’
In her past life, she recalled often talking with the Association Head.
“Please send someone quickly. It’s urgent. And make sure to control the media well.”
– ……!
“What? Why are you bringing that up now? I’m being offered money. Who’s embezzling? Do you have any idea how long it takes to liquidate that amount in cash? Who keeps that much cash lying around? This old man is really speaking nonsense.”
– ……!!
Though it seemed like they were bickering over some complicated circumstances, I didn’t want to intervene at all.
And calling the Association Head ‘old man’… Sometimes I wonder if Yeon-su is even in her right mind.
She hastily wrapped up the call and gestured toward us.
“Yes, sister?”
“Guide us. To where the factory is.”
“Ah… um, but…”
Yeon-hee made a perplexed expression at Yeon-su’s request.
Seeing Yeon-hee’s expression, Yeon-su’s brow furrowed slightly.
“…Are you worried about me? Thinking I might end up like yesterday?”
“……”
“Hah?! Yeon-hee? I’m Kang Yeon-su. Kang Yeon-su! You don’t know me?”
“No, but still…”
“Wow—what happened to make me a worrying D-grade loser? Hah—”
“You never know… if you freeze up again like yesterday…”
“I’m fine, I swear. Just guide us quickly. I’ll smash everything to pieces.”
Even after going through that ordeal yesterday, her demeanor was still unwavering.
We had executed a plan to extract people, thinking this could be a trap by the enemies. If she kept insisting on going, then our considerations would become meaningless.
And she kept saying we should go right away when we had to wait until the support team arrived.
“Come on—let’s go—”
“Ugh—”
“Do you think you can endure this if I hold on?”
Yeon-hee began to hold onto Yeon-su as a way of resisting, but when Yeon-su grabbed her by the nape, she dangled in mid-air.
‘Still, I wonder if there’s a countermeasure…?’
Looking at Yeon-su closely, she seemed to be waiting eagerly to encounter that mysterious being from yesterday again.
‘That spell can activate again in any way if they want to. What could her countermeasure be? There’s no way she can significantly raise her resistance in just a day.’
Now that it was confirmed the head of the ‘Do’ could see the future, I couldn’t help but worry.
I stared intently at Yeon-su, but she only gave me a wink while tapping my shoulder.
‘I can’t stop her.’
We waited for the support team to arrive, and as soon as people came, we got ready to head to the factory.
“Were those two people you were trying to rescue the companions from your recent party?”
“Yes, yes… Is it alright to leave it to them?”
“The team that just arrived is among the most reliable from the Association. They’ve been filtered out multiple times, so you don’t need to worry. Most of the new drug antidotes available on the market are stocked at the Association. I’ve planted a few of my people around too.”
“Okay, then I understand.”
‘The Association side, huh… But since Yeon-su vouched for them, I guess I should trust them.’
Yeon-hee gave a final hug to Jin-kyeong and Ji-woo before we moved to a place out of the people’s sight.
“What are you trying to do here—”
Before Yeon-su could finish her puzzled question,
– Whoooooosh—
Yeon-hee summoned the Sword Dragon, which appeared in all its grandeur.
The Sword Dragon met Yeon-su’s gaze after being summoned, and unlike the previous time it looked at me, its eyes were remarkably calm.
‘What the?! Is it weak against strong opponents?’
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of it.
But Yeon-su looked at the Sword Dragon with sparkling eyes, as if seeing a dinosaur for the first time, and exclaimed.
“This, this, this… It’s a Drake, right?”
“Yes. Is this your first time seeing this type as well?”
“I haven’t seen one like this before. Is it… shadow attribute? Do summoned creatures come from our world often?”
“Creatures like this don’t come out too frequently… This one’s a rare appearance.”
“Really? It’s super cool anyway! Will you always carry it around like Il-wol? If it dies, will the Mana Stone drop?”
“Something like a Mana Stone wouldn’t drop…”
“Really? What a bummer. It’s really adorable.”
‘That’s cute? Where?’
Anyway, we moved again to the location of the factory with Yeon-su onboard.
“Ahaha!! Yeon-hee, look at this!!”
Yeon-su, hanging on the tip of the Sword Dragon’s tail like on a ride, spun around in the air like a top.
“Ahaha! This is so fast! Driving around on this would be an absolute blast!”
“Y-yes.”
‘Seeing things like that reminds you how pure people can be.’
For some reason, I nodded my head with a warm feeling.
Not long after, we arrived back at the factory.
But it seemed something had happened in that short span of time.
“Ugh, really…”
We were momentarily speechless as we looked at the underground factory, which had exploded into a massive crater as if it had been hit by a nuclear bomb.
“Tch… Did we arrive too late?”
Since I had already blown up the birthing area on my way out, there probably wasn’t much left to salvage.
I never expected it would be wiped out without a trace.
‘Please tell me they didn’t kill even their own side…’
If that were the case, I would have received a message too, so it shouldn’t be that.
Yeon-su stared blankly at the scene for a moment before contacting someone again.
“Send an analysis team to my location. No, not just any riffraff. Send the best expert you have.”
– …… Do you really see me like that—
The person on the other end of the call seemed to be vibrating with annoyance at Yeon-su’s audacity.
Beep—
But Yeon-su hung up without even waiting for an answer.
‘Impressive, really. Treating the Association Head like a neighborhood grandfather…’
“What should we do? They all disappeared… I’m sorry.”
Yeon-hee apologized for not calling Yeon-su sooner, and Yeon-su expressed her regret by saying to call her first next time.
‘The strongest ally I can call upon at any time…’
Both times we called for her assistance, they were massive events, so if we contacted her again, she would rush over in no time.
Having some time left, we discussed what had occurred inside the factory and how we might trace the ‘Do,’ and soon the team Yeon-su requested arrived to begin analyzing the underground space.
“The results will probably come out by tomorrow. With the mess like this, I don’t know what we’ll find, but let’s wait and see.”
“Ah, okay.”
“But when are you going to take the promotion test?”
“I… was thinking of doing it tomorrow. Today seems a bit off for that.”
“Really? Hmm… I see.”
“… Why do you ask?”
As Yeon-hee inquired, sensing she had something to say, Yeon-su scratched her chin and spoke.
“Maeng Seong-yong will probably take charge of you, so after the test, maybe have a talk with him. I’ve already declined the offer, but you all might make a different judgment.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t he mention it before? To join the Association.”
“Ahh! Y-yeah. I remember something like that.”
“Ha ha—did you really forget that? A person from that position made a proposal and you don’t remember it? You really are something.”
“Hehe…”
“I mean, I was swayed a bit by what that guy said too, so I don’t think I have any grounds to stop you. After all, you haven’t even joined our guild yet.”
What she meant was that not joining the White Knight Guild and going straight to the Association wouldn’t be something she’d interfere with. Goodness… What is happening here?
‘What’s going on… Why is Yeon-su acting like this? What kind of justification does she have that changed the mind of this stubborn woman?’
Just the support she has given us has already reached a level that’s hard to repay, but now she’s even offering the freedom of choice, which is just hard to grasp.
‘That expression of hers… It’s like inviting us to hear out a story while being convinced we’ll come back to her… Well, I’ll find out tomorrow.’
We looked at the analysis team, momentarily stricken by the seemingly anticlimactic resolution of this matter.
Just then, as we were about to wrap things up and head home, a gigantic presence suddenly emitted from the sky, causing both Yeon-su and I to look up.
‘What is that? Is it a Goblin Mask?’
The being floating in the sky was wearing a Goblin Mask and descended slowly, keeping its distance from us.
“Huuh—”
As soon as Yeon-su recognized that presence, she got into a full battle stance and started looking for an opportunity to attack. It felt like there was no time for discussion now; her momentum was fierce.
However, the creature in the Goblin Mask didn’t take any aggressive stance. It landed on the ground, glanced at us, and then finally spoke.
“That person… said it’s meaningless. But I wanted to see once what kind of beings are hindering our grand ambitions.”
‘That voice…’
It was deeper and carried more traces of time than the elderly man Yeon-su had talked with.
“I had high expectations… but this is disappointing.”
Yeon-su relaxed her combat stance as the man landed. He was a monster in presence that rivaled Yeon-su’s intensity. But once he was on the ground, both she and I felt our tension ease slightly.
‘What the? Is this an early Awakened One? There aren’t many people who can roam freely like him…’
The elderly man in the Goblin Mask waved his hand at Yeon-su, who was still radiating a fierce energy.
“Heh heh—I’m grateful for your interest in an old man like me. But I’m not planning to engage today. I just hope you consider the consequences of what you’re all doing.”
“What nonsense is this? Do you have some grand excuse for doing such ridiculous things?”
“I do! It’s inevitable to make small sacrifices for great gains. If it aids that person in saving this world even a little, we won’t hesitate to become villains.”
‘What kind of cult nonsense is this?’
Yeon-su slapped her forehead and shook her head.
“Oh dear—grandpa. You need to age gracefully. You’re really losing your mind. If this world needs to be protected at the cost of such actions, then it’s better to just let it perish—what a load of nonsense!”
“Heh heh—obviously, you have no concept of dialogue. More importantly, summoner Lee Yeon-hee. Here, take this.”
‘Huh?’
The old man in the Goblin Mask threw something towards Yeon-hee, and I swiftly grabbed it.
‘This looks like a connecting bracelet. Why this?’
It resembled an item used by party members to track each other’s locations in dungeons.
“That’s what we call a ‘Whistle.’ If two people with that item inject their magic power simultaneously, they can communicate even from long distances. Think of it as a phone.”
“?!”
We were startled and cast questioning looks at the Goblin’s words.
“It seems that person has taken an interest in you, young lady. Consider it an honor. To be able to hear that person’s true voice… Oh, what a blessed event this is.”
‘Damn it.’
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
