chapter_0536

536 – Same Name

536 – Same Name

Saebyeok seemed to have kicked the creature that was the boss of the underground facility.

Thanks to that, the once abundant Mana began to disperse, and we started to return to the ordinary abandoned house.

We sent away the people who were constantly expressing their gratitude and collected data from the underground facility.

Most of the materials were discarded, but we managed to figure out a few things through speculation.

It was Choi Jin-hyuk, not me, who made those discoveries.

“It looks like they fled, leaving behind the researchers who turned into monsters due to failed experiments.”

“Is that so…? Did they leave without dealing with the monsters…?”

“Was it too difficult to handle?”

As Choi Jin-hyuk said, it was quite challenging for a person from this world to deal with beings that possessed Mana.

Maybe the best option was to seal the entrance tightly to prevent them from coming out.

Upon entering the abandoned house, I examined the entrance leading down to the underground.

A thick and sturdy iron door that seemed difficult to break even with the strength of a monster.

The door was neatly opened without any signs of being broken.

It felt like it had been opened by a person, not a monster.

“Who opened this?”

A door that could only be opened by recognizing the iris and fingerprints of someone involved was wide open.

Knowing that a monster was sealed inside, why would they go through the trouble of opening the door?

In this suspicious situation, we fell into a moment of contemplation.

It was Song Harin who broke the long silence.

“I think it was opened on purpose.”

“On purpose?”

“Yeah. The other party is a crazy group of scientists. There could easily be someone who wants to study the monster itself.”

“Ah.”

They had left the door open to experiment on the monsters, and those monsters, driven by their experimental instincts, came out to capture people for their experiments.

The monster we saw last time was also capturing people for experiments.

I began to understand roughly what had happened.

“…We need to be more careful from now on.”

I said cautiously while looking around.

At that moment, Yoon Dain asked with a tense expression.

“Why, why should we be careful?”

“The researchers must have figured out our existence.”

“Uh…? Then aren’t we in danger…?”

Yoon Dain froze in place, terrified.

Choi Jin-hyuk patted her shoulder reassuringly.

“It should be fine for now.”

“Is it, is it really okay?”

“Yeah. In situations like this, recognition interference is a basic principle.”

Choi Jin-hyuk took out a bead from his pocket.

It was a bead that contained Jeong Yuna’s Mana.

Faint, but it should work well enough in a place where Mana could still be felt.

“Wow.”

I hadn’t even thought of that.

Choi Jin-hyuk had prepared for even these minor details.

It seems that becoming an excellent adventurer isn’t something anyone can achieve.

Clap, clap, clap—

As I clapped, Choi Jin-hyuk took out another bead.

He handed a black bead to Song Harin.

“This is… a portion of the Mana from this research facility. Use it if things get really dangerous.”

“Wow…”

He had really prepared a lot.

I could only express my admiration, feeling a bit inadequate.

**

To erase the traces of our visit and avoid being tracked, Choi Jin-hyuk worked diligently.

Thanks to that, the kids and I were able to spend a comfortable day at Yoon Dain’s house.

“See you later, kids.”

“Yes!”

“Next time, we go on an adventure together!”

After saying goodbye to Yoon Dain and Song Harin, I returned home.

Even though it had only been a day, I already missed my family.

I hurriedly moved to the guild with the kids.

Along with Hanyeoreum, Jeong Yuna, and the Master.

I could sense many presences inside the guild meeting room.

“Kids, we can’t disturb the meeting, so wait here…”

Before I could finish my sentence, a security guard at the door opened the meeting room door for us.

I had intended to wait so as not to disturb, but now we had no choice but to go inside.

“Oh, Gyeoul.”

As I entered the meeting room, Hanyeoreum called my name.

Naturally, I turned to look at Hanyeoreum, who began to laugh strangely.

“I’m glad Gyeoul expresses her likes so clearly.”

“Express?”

“Yeah. You’re saying ‘I like it so much~’ with your tail.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

It was a good thing that the other person could understand how much I liked them.

However, it wasn’t all good.

“But it’s a problem that I can’t hide things I dislike or fear.”

“Ah… It must be tough not being able to hide all your emotions. Is that a struggle unique to the Beastmen?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I absentmindedly grabbed my swaying tail.

At that moment, Saebyeok approached me and gently tapped my shoulder.

“Gyeoul, you can control it if you practice.”

“Really?”

Saebyeok’s tail was swaying gently as she turned to look at me.

It didn’t seem like she was controlling it at all.

“Saebyeok, your tail is swaying.”

“I’m controlling it to this extent. Normally, it sways this much.”

As Saebyeok released her control, her tail began to sway rapidly.

It swayed about ten percent faster and wider than what she had just shown.

“Wow, Saebyeok is amazing. This is really hard.”

“Yeah. If you practice, Gyeoul, you can do this much too.”

“R-Really? Should I try practicing too…?”

While I was talking about tails with Saebyeok, the meeting ended.

The Master had kindly wrapped up the meeting early for us.

“Huh!”

I held my breath, looking at the considerate Master.

It was to try controlling the movement of my tail.

‘…I can’t do it.’

How did Saebyeok reduce the speed of her tail’s swaying by ten percent?

Could it be that I’m the only one who can’t do it?

With a glimmer of hope, I turned to Gaeul and Bomi beside me and asked.

“Can Gaeul and Bomi control their tails?”

At my question, Gaeul puffed out her chest.

Then, in a very confident voice, she replied.

“No!”

“I can’t do it yet either. But maybe I could if I became a dragon?”

“I see.”

Indeed, controlling tails was impossible for us.

Saebyeok, who could control her tail by ten percent, must be special.

Just as I was about to declare my surrender, I heard Wanga’s voice.

“Wanga! No matter how happy Levinas is, her tail doesn’t sway!”

“Yeah. Levinas sways her shoulders instead of her tail.”

“Huh?! That’s right! Levinas’s shoulders are her tail…!”

When Levinas opened her Horned Rabbit eyes, Gaeul approached her with a worried expression.

She looked somewhat frightened.

“Uh…”

“Yes?”

“Yokgi…”

Gaeul tapped Levinas’s shoulders.

Then, she lifted the neckline of Levinas’s clothes and examined both of her shoulders.

Left and right.

And even the back of her shoulders.

After pulling her clothes to check inside, Gaeul’s ears perked up.

“Updo! Kori updo!”

“Yes! Normally, there are no tails on shoulders! That was just… a metaphor!”

“Hek…!”

Was Gaeul relieved by the fact that there was no tail?

She sighed in relief, brushing her chest.

As I watched this, Bomi poked Gaeul’s back.

“Gaeul, actually, I have a tail on my shoulder.”

“Huh?”

Gaeul turned to look at Bomi.

Two snake tails had grown on Bomi’s shoulders.

Bomi had created tails on her shoulders using transformation magic.

“………”

As Gaeul slowly lay down on the ground, she flopped over.

With a gasp, Gaeul stopped moving.

“Oh dear.”

Just as I was about to pat Gaeul’s belly, I noticed the corners of the Master’s mouth slightly rising as he quietly watched us.

The Master’s smile felt different from the smiles of others.

It was definitely not an unpleasant feeling.

**

Having the same name as a celebrity was a painful experience.

Especially since that celebrity was a beloved child that everyone in South Korea was reading about, it was even more distressing.

The other person was a child who could easily receive affection, while I was a proper adult.

“Our Gyeoul is going to the Dungeon, right?”

“…Shut up.”

“Don’t cry because you’re scared of the Dungeon.”

“…You little brat.”

Han Gyeoul was a woman with the same name as Winter.

Even at the age of twenty-five, she received such treatment from her friends simply because she shared the same name, surname, and even the same region as Winter.

“Hehe, but isn’t it really interesting?”

“What’s interesting?”

“Your name is the same, you live in the same place, and you do the same thing.”

“What’s the same? Our personalities are different, our ages are different, and our races are different.”

Han Gyeoul replied bluntly, filled with dissatisfaction.

She didn’t particularly harbor ill feelings toward the younger Winter, but she did have resentment toward friends who treated her like a child.

“And if you think about it, I’ve lived longer with the name Winter.”

“Okay, okay.”

Ujjujju.

Han Gyeoul made a fierce expression as she watched her friend pinch her cheeks as if she were cute.

However, the established image was not easily changed.

“If our Gyeoul is too scary, she runs to her sister saying she’s scared~.”

“This is ridiculous.”

Han Gyeoul raised her fist.

In truth, Han Gyeoul didn’t dislike friends who expressed affection in this way.

However, accepting it also hurt her pride.

“Sigh, I wonder if someone who doesn’t know our Gyeoul would follow her if she offered them snacks.”

“Do you really want to die?”

“Ah, I got it. I’ll stop now.”

If I go any further, she would really get angry.

Han Gyeoul’s friend, Lee Hyun-ah, waved her hands and tried to turn away to escape.

And Lee Hyun-ah saw it.

Ding!

She saw another Winter looking at them with wide eyes.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you so much for reading today, PIA1747014585384!

Thank you for the comments and recommendations! They always give me strength…!

I’ve never met anyone in my life with the same surname and name…!

Have you?