Chapter: 119. What Year Is It Again? (1)
As I woke up and looked around, I realized no one was around.
How long did I sleep?
I slowly turned my head to check the time, but considering this place had no proper bed, naturally, there was no clock either.
Lost in thought for a moment, I soon took out my phone to check the time, but then I remembered a crucial problem.
What time did I go to bed yesterday?
As I tried to recall, I remembered feeling an indescribable fatigue as soon as I lay down, but I couldn’t remember the exact time I fell asleep.
The only things I could ascertain were that it was morning and that I was out of the calling zone.
If I used the signal amplification on my phone, it would be resolved, but since I had no calls to make, it wouldn’t matter much.
Scratching my slightly messy hair, I got out of bed.
“There shouldn’t be any bugs in here…”
The sleeping area was so dirty that I wondered if there might be fleas. I didn’t care for myself, but if my students got infected, that would be a hassle.
Should I ask and buy some insect repellent?
“Yawn.”
Once the itchiness in my head somewhat calmed down, I yawned and rubbed the tight muscles in my body.
Should I buy some cheap food on my way back?
The sleeping situation was uncomfortably worse than expected. Considering it was under a sewer, it was quite decently set up, but isn’t not having something hang on me when I wake up the most crucial virtue of a sleeping area?
I’ve really let myself go. It’s just a bad sleeping situation, yet I’m thinking this much.
Would the past version of me, who slept with dirt as a blanket and a tree root as a pillow, scold me?
Leaving behind the myriad thoughts my sleeping situation left me with, I set out to find my students.
More precisely, it’s not so much that I set out to find them, but rather, I moved on since I already knew where they were.
From the moment I woke up, I could hear voices beyond the curtain.
Since the energetic voices of my students kept ringing out, the lodging seemed to be decently chosen.
It’s not like I picked a terrible place and ended up getting stabbed in my sleep.
Walking across the old fabric, I spoke up.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Oh, you’re up?”
“Master! Did you sleep well last night?”
The two students greeting me were Baek Sihyeon and Han Abin.
“Yaaaaah!”
Suddenly, a monster hybrid girl jumped from the opposite side of the room.
“Huh? Yeonah! Why are you suddenly—”
“Yenil!”
“Ah, that’s her name. I thought Xia thought she was more…—
“Yaaaaaaah.”
Talk?
With her standing on both feet and showing her teeth, it looked more like a beast than anything else.
She was acting like this again yesterday, wasn’t she?
“Yeonah, calm down…”
“What’s wrong, Yeonah? This is our Master!”
Baek Sihyeon and Han Abin tried to soothe her, but while the growling sounds lessened slightly, her glaring eyes remained sharp.
As I took a step closer to calm her down,
“Hah!”
I couldn’t help but stop at the sound she made upon seeing my face.
What the heck is going on here?
As I stepped back slowly, it seemed like the ‘monster’ Yeonah calmed down for a moment, and she sat beside Baek Sihyeon and Han Abin, starting to rub her head against them.
No matter how you look at it, it was a beastly behavior.
That’s more like a monster than just a weird person.
I’ve seen many beast-like monsters, but it’s rare to see one that’s ruled by instincts to this extent.
Is it problematic with the education method?
“Hey, guys?”
“What is it, Senior?”
“Could you ask her about why she’s acting like this? I have no idea why she’s doing that to me.”
“I’ll do that.”
Knowing that she would probably mess up things if she tried to intervene, Baek Sihyeon quietly sat down and began to pet Yeonah.
With a clear mind and reasonable communicative ability, Abin asked Yeonah a question.
“Uh, Yeonah? Why do you act like that towards our Master? He’s not a bad person. His personality is just a bit rough.”
Is that an insult or persuasion?
Then, a voice emerged.
Though there was a slightly grating metallic sound, unlike the wild instincts felt a moment ago, clarity and intelligence were evident.
“He looks like a bad man everywhere.”
A ‘bad man,’ huh?
That word made me smirk.
“What do you mean by that?”
“The strange people living above give off even worse smells.”
Unlike my brother, she quickly recognized that I was dangerous. Does she have a unique sensitivity that comes with being a monster?
If my brother had that kind of sense, this mess wouldn’t have happened.
Maybe I should intervene here.
“I understand you’re scared of me. But I have no intention of harming you, so can you stop jumping at the sight of me?”
As soon as I said that, Yeonah glared at me and voiced out.
“…What is harm?”
Tch, that basic education is severely lacking.
“I’m saying I won’t hit you or take anything from you.”
“Really?”
Yeonah turned her head to Baek Sihyeon and Han Abin, asking them the same question.
“Probably… he will…”
Abin, don’t say that!
“Of course! Our Master is a very just person!”
Sihyeon, shut it!
In any case, my students defended me somewhat, and amidst the conflicting persuasive voices, Yeonah finally opened her mouth to respond.
“Then… I’ll try to endure it…”
“Well done, Yeonah.”
Upon her response, Abin gently patted Yeonah’s head as Yeonah leaned into Abin’s touch.
As the room quieted down, I finally sighed in relief.
It seems I won’t have to hear the painful noise from her every time I meet her now, but since her instincts seem to be the source of the issue, I think I should refrain from any actions that might provoke her.
Now I have to consider the feelings of this hybrid monster too. What exactly happened here?
As I let out another sigh from deep within, I moved my feet.
As I walked toward the cushion in the center of the room, Yeonah shuddered slightly, but she didn’t react overly sensitive this time.
Sitting on the cushion, I grabbed the cup of water placed on the brick table.
I hesitated for a moment as the cleanliness of the water in the cup seemed questionable, but fortunately, no foreign substances were visible, so I tilted it back and asked a question.
“Where’s her brother?”
“What brother are you referring to?”
“Ah, that guy’s name is Dam. By the way, where did he go?”
“He went to work.”
It’s probably pickpocketing or something.
“How about the other two?”
Then it seems they’re not pickpockets.
I really don’t know. There might be other possibilities for the other two.
“When do they say they’ll come back?”
“No.”
“Do they say where they’re going?”
“That too…”
Seems I missed the chance for today.
I was thinking about dragging that guy around to take care of the thieves, but with this, that plan went out the window.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Dam brought it earlier.”
“Was it good?”
“It was okay.”
Looks like he bought some decent food with the money I gave him yesterday…
I tipped some remaining water from the cup into my palm and placed the cup on the table.
“I’ll be going out.”
“What about us?”
Since I experienced the basics yesterday, I didn’t think it was necessary to come today. But it seems I would still be unable to find them today.
“Do you think it’ll be similar to yesterday? You can follow if you want, but it’s up to you.”
“I’m fine.”
Han Abin declined in a stiff tone.
“Master! I’ll also take the day off today!”
Baek Sihyeon, pretending to be energetic, seemed a bit anxious.
Abin is one thing, but it seems Sihyeon is putting on a special act that won’t work.
Was yesterday’s expedition that exhausting? Or is it because of the change in environment?
It doesn’t matter much; anyway, I’m just thinking about checking out the market today.
With that in mind, I rose from the cushion and placed my black stick on the table.
“If possible, don’t go out, and if something comes up, resolve it with this.”
On my way to the exit, I continued my advice, “If anything does happen and you have to go out, don’t follow anyone shady, and always have Sihyeon use his foresight to check if anything’s going to happen when buying food.”
Even as I pulled the curtain that served as a door aside, my advice didn’t stop.
“Abin, you keep Sihyeon from provoking anybody, and Sihyeon, prioritize Abin’s safety no matter what if there’s any problem…”
And then…
“…We’re not kids.”
Abin expressed slight dissatisfaction.
“Since you’re not a kid, it’s even riskier. It’s easier to trick someone who thinks they’re not gonna get fooled.”
Just like how a person about to get scammed will think they’re never going to be scammed.
“Yes, yes, I understand. Have a good time, Sihyeon. Push me.”
Abin seemed to want to kick me out with Sihyeon’s help, starting to push me outside.
“… Why do I have to listen to Abin?”
“Because Abin takes charge better?”
Just be honest and say you didn’t want to hear it anymore, would you?
As expected, I’m still a child; I really don’t want to hear any more nagging from adults.
Flap.
As the curtain fell behind me, it separated the inside of the house from the outside.
“Hah. I should just get to work.”
Reflecting on yesterday’s memories, I ascended through the underground sewer.
Clack.
Nice sound.
Good sensation.
“This damn L…”
Slowly…
“Shut your mouth.”
I immediately smashed my fist into the man’s jaw.
His yellow teeth flew out, and I felt the sensation of his jaw cracking through my hand, but I didn’t worry too much about it.
I have to teach this kind of lesson to those living in the slums for them to listen.
Even though I used my fists to avoid causing an explosion of someone’s head with a hammer, the outcome wasn’t bad. It definitely woke up my dulled senses.
After all, fists do feel nice.
“You bastard!”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing disrupting someone’s meal?”
I wasn’t going to try and catch every guy trying to flee; instead, I aimed a low kick at the shin of the loud guy.
When hit by the accelerated boots, the man’s legs bent like hinges, and
“Uughh!”
With a sound that had no meaning, the man’s leg joint turned into two.
Good, good.
“Ahhh, my leg…”
“Damn!”
Rolling on the market floor, I kicked the man’s face.
This time, I adjusted the strength, so his teeth and nasal bone didn’t break.
Given that his leg was already broken, it wouldn’t be fair for him to suffer more.
Moreover, if the shape of his face broke, the enjoyment of catching him would be gone too.
Stretching out, I grabbed the man’s head to meet his gaze.
“AHHH!”
“Why? Didn’t you say it was gonna be a sweet deal today? Why don’t you say that again?”
“I… I was wrong… Please spare me…”
“Who said I’m gonna kill you? Just hand everything you own to me…”
Thud.
Before I finished my sentence, the man started throwing his pockets at me.
Hearing a small metallic sound from the fallen pockets indicated he genuinely surrendered everything.
I guess you need a bit of sense to get by as a thug in the slums.
“Oh… And I have something else…”
“Oh… ask anything you want…”
As the man, barely standing, seemed to be complying while enduring the pain, I slightly toned down my grip on his skull.
Now, this is how it should be.
Surrendering willingly.
If everyone behaved this way, torture or interrogation wouldn’t even be necessary.
“Do you know an old man named Ri? He’s an information broker and pretty famous.”
“I’m sorry… I don’t really know…”
“Oh, well, that’s fine. You can go.”
I wasn’t expecting anything when I asked, so I let go of the man’s head.
As soon as he stepped away from my grip, a guy with a broken jaw and one with a dislocated shoulder ran up to help him and hurried away.
That guy seems more respected than I expected, or perhaps there’s some loyalty among friends.
With that kind of teamwork, why not put it to good use instead of committing robbery to get in trouble?
As the men left, I returned to my original spot to look at my food.
Without even taking a single chopstick, the oil-salted udon had exploded all over.
It was so empty that it was impressive, the broth so clear that you could see through it.
At least in a last-minute effort to keep my conscience intact, the fried centipedes were piled on top as garnishing, but thinking about it normally, I wasn’t sure if that was a minus or a plus.
Anyway, breakfast is breakfast, so I slurped up the exploded noodles.
“You’re scary, lady. Those thugs seem like they’ve got quite the skills.”
I wanted to say I wasn’t a lady, but my mouth was full of udon.
It seemed that the sign of chatter was no joke, as even while trying to slurp the fallen noodles, they didn’t break off from my lips, and I had no choice but to bite down on them, spitting out a remark.
“I’m not a lady, I’m a man. You can call me whatever you want.”
“Is that so? Forget that, here’s a service.”
Maybe she was waiting for me to lift my face, as soon as I glanced up, a warm noodle was added to the bowl of udon with a missing ingredient.
“What’s this?”
“Oh, it’s a token of gratitude. Those guys have been making a ruckus in the market lately. Things should quiet down now.”
Even as a merchant delivering information in a flat tone, a faint suspicion lurked within me as I listened.
Something feels off.
Wait a minute, how did robbers appear in the market?
“The market is clearly neutral ground, so I remember that robbing doesn’t happen here.”
“That’s true.”
“Then what about that guy earlier? From what I’ve heard, it seems like it’s not a one-time occurrence.”
I feel a hunch creeping up. The sweet information dances before my eyes.
“Lately, there has been some serious territorial disputes, and it’s said that the heads of each organization have been killed.”
Ooh.
“That sounds interesting. Could you tell me more about it in detail?”
I said that while happily slurping up the udon.
It was pretty darn tasty.
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