episode_0052

*****

For a moment, only the sound of Chae Sa-hee’s tongue echoed in the hallway. In the direction Chae Sa-hee was looking, there was only a dark, empty hallway lit only by the emergency lights.

But Chae Sa-hee tilted her head slightly and opened her mouth.

“… ? Surt? Are you not answering? That’s a bit lonely. The person hiding in the shadows on the upper right is one of the people I saw last time, right? It’s my first time seeing the person next to me.”

“This was completely caught.”

Tsk, there was a clicking sound and the sound of fingers snapping. When the transparent veil melted in the empty hallway, Surtur and the trainer were there. Jabberwock also fell from the shadows and landed silently.

“The lady there. How on earth did you find out? I did it with a lot of confidence, but I ended up feeling embarrassed.”

“It’s like that type of constitution. And if you call me that again, I’ll cut out your tongue.”

“That’s so scary.”

The trainer shrugged his shoulders and stepped back. Instead, it was Surtur who came forward.

“Sahee Chae. Why are you, a Genesis executive, here? What are you trying to do to the people in this lab?”

“Well, why? Actually, how about ‘because we’ve already talked to the people here?’ Look, I’m coming in like this.”

Surtur’s shoulders flinched at the worst possibility he had been thinking about. The trainer slapped him on the back.

“Ugh, what is it!”

“You idiot, why are you twitching again? This woman was easily aware of our hiding. You can easily avoid or nullify the security device you saw when you came here, of course.”

Surtur was so upset that he turned around, but the trainer’s advice was accurate. Of course, since Chae Sa-hee was here, Genesis had to be related to this lab in some way. Keeping that fact in mind, Surtur tried to ask the question again.

However, Chae Sa-hee’s vitality came out faster.

An overwhelming experience similar to when we first met in the mountains. However, Surt felt something was different from then.

At that time, it just felt like my whole body was being tightened by an intangible energy. Invisible, literally ‘energy’. But now… , something clear was emanating from Chae Sa-hee. It was vaguely smoke-like, but it clearly had a direction.

“Qu.”

“It’s no use trying to do something secretly like that. Because I feel it all. The thing with bad hand habits is similar to Hell.”

The target that Survival was surrounded by was Jabberwock. Jabberwock groaned a little and then removed the shadow blade he was holding in his hand.

After looking at it with satisfaction, Sahee Chae turned her head towards Surt again. The trainer was in the same crooked posture as before, and Surtur was standing in an awkward posture as if he had stopped running to the Jabberwock.

“Are you now able to see it? You didn’t notice it at all until a few weeks ago?”

Chae Sa-hee’s eyes took on a strange light, like a snake that has found its prey. Surt instinctively felt threatened and raised his sword, but Chae Sa-hee flicked her tongue a few times and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, the life she had seen before had disappeared.

“I told you about it last time. I don’t really like violence.”

“I know. And that it’s a joke that isn’t even funny.”

“It’s true.”

Chae Sa-hee smiled bitterly as if she was in trouble and slightly shrugged her shoulders. Then, he pointed to the other side of the crossroads with his tongue and finger at the same time.

“Then do you want to go together?”

“… Do you know what’s in front of you?”

“Roughly speaking. You didn’t come in without knowing the way, right?”

Of course, that couldn’t have been the case. From Surt’s memory, it was clear that the destination was the path Chae Sa-hee was pointing to. What I was reluctant about was not the direction, but the person who asked me to accompany him.

Surt did not forget Chae Sa-hee’s sword, which carved a huge devastation in the ruins. Even if Jabberwock and myself attack him, the odds of victory are probably low. It might be possible with Fafnir, but would the trainer be as strong as Fafnir? I couldn’t figure it out… .

But in a way, that was unfounded.

“Um, sorry. You seem to be thinking hard about something, but I think I expressed it a bit wrong. I’ll say it again.”

Chae Sa-hee, who opened her mouth again, declared this.

“Follow me. There is no right to veto.”

“… It’s a joke that isn’t even funny.”

After a while, a strange combination of three heroes and one villain walked down the hallway of the lab.

“Ah, there is a magic ship over there. Watch out for the alarm trap on the right. If I move while jumping, please move while stepping exactly where I stepped.”

Sahee Chae’s detection was much faster than that of the Jabberwalk. Jabberwock’s expression suddenly became more frowning as he had nothing to do, and the trainer laughed at him. A scene similar to before unfolded.

Surtr was the first to speak. In his opinion, Chae Sa-hee’s attitude was strangely friendly for Genesis. No, it was like that, except that it was Genesis. So there was no reason not to take advantage of this opportunity.

“Chae Sa-hee, you said you knew what was in front of here, right?”

“Yes. That is also my destination this time.”

“I followed you like you said. Then wouldn’t it be nice if you could at least tell me what’s in front of me?”

“Oh my, that and this are different stories. You didn’t come here for a good reason in the first place, right? If it wasn’t for my physical constitution, he would sneak in so quietly that I wouldn’t have noticed. ”

Chae Sa-hee chuckled, putting her hand over her mouth. However, the words that came out of his mouth were heavy, unlike his attitude.

“So, you are in a position where you should be grateful to me. It doesn’t really matter to me mission-wise or personally if I’m found out that I came in here, but it won’t be the same for you.”

“… I didn’t come here for a bad reason.”

That was all Surt could barely say. Even his voice was a little trembling because there was a part of him that was stabbing him.

But there was confidence in his attitude and eyes. Although he was immature, he was a hero who tried to save people according to what he believed in. It was also a boy’s bravado to catch up with the girl he slightly admired.

Chae Sa-hee’s tongue curled in satisfaction with an eye smile.

“Hmm. Well, let’s say that’s the case. I’m sure it’s a bit boring not talking about anything. How about this? We take turns answering questions from each other. There will be no ignoring, there will be no lying.”

Surtr had no reason to refuse. The first question came out instead of consent.

“I know there is a lab in front of this. What on earth is there?”

“If you keep going like this, you will find out.”

The glaring eyes turned to Chae Sa-hee. However, Surt’s gaze filled with protest did not even make a dent in Chae Sa-hee’s unique smile. In fact, Chae Sa-hee’s answer was neither dismissive nor a lie.

“This time it’s my turn. How old are you?”

Surtur’s expression became bizarre at the unexpected question. As much as I was in trouble just now, I wanted to talk about this as well, but I couldn’t think of anything suitable based on the simple information about my age.

“Seventeen.”

“Wow, I’m your older sister. Surt, would you like to call me sister?”

“What is your purpose for coming here?”

Ignoring Chae Sa-hee’s ridiculous suggestion, Surt asked the next question. Surtur thought that if this question was also answered vaguely, he would have to stop doing stupid things like this, but fortunately or unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

“The reason I came here is to bring an object to a certain place in this laboratory at a set time.”

Surtur sighed in relief. Because I avoided the worst case scenario of coming to have any kind of contact with this lab.

Of course, there is a possibility that Chae Sa-hee is lying. However, considering his past actions, Surt judged that there was no reason to lie.

“What is your favorite food?”

“Chicken. What do you mean by something?”

“It just looks like a big box, but I don’t really know what it is. Where do you live?”

“… Cheonmyeong High School’s dormitory. What does Genesis have to do with this lab?”

“Well? I’m not sure about that either. As you know, I’m something of an action squad member, so I’m far from that type of person. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Cool look, cold look.”

After all, it was Surt who was caught by Chae Sa-hee’s surprise attack. Why on earth are you so interested in yourself?

“The two of us decided to live together. Fafnir would be really happy if he found out that you were flirting with the enemy while on a mission.”

“Why does that guy’s name come out!”

“Why did you come out? It’s because you’re one of the two people who are probably the most uncomfortable right now. If not, is there any other reason?”

Surtur held his head in response to the trainer’s twitching. Because it was literally like a grand self-destruction. Even the Jabberwock, which would normally fall down after relying on its trainer’s words, was shaking its head.

“It’s good that they seem to be getting along well, but is it there or not?”

“What a terrible thing to say that they seem to be on good terms… . And it can’t happen!”

“Why are you so angry? It’s not like dating is specifically prohibited for heroes, but it can happen.”

Chae Sa-hee shrugged her shoulders and looked relaxed, no different from before. A thought suddenly occurred to Surtur’s mind that questions like this might not have mattered in the end.

“Ah, the Q&A ends here. Because it seems like we’re all there.”

End of the hallway. There was a door in front of the four of them that looked a little larger than the doors they had passed so far, and of course had more security devices installed.

Of course, I had heard this beforehand. The strategy behind this gate was also an important part for Surtur and his party.

The three Surtur trainers, Jabberwock, raised their respective powers. This time, the timing had to be right, so the three’s perfect teamwork was essential. Surtur, Jabberwock, and even the trainers are paying attention to each other’s expressions.

Weeeeing.

The door in front of me opened gently, welcoming my visitor.

“… ? What are you doing when you’re not here?”

Chae Sa-hee, who was putting the card key hanging around her neck back into her cleavage, looked back at the three people and tilted her head.

The three people looked at each other for a moment, then gathered their energy and followed behind, without even thinking about who would go first.

I tried my best to look as unashamed as possible.

*****