episode_0032

10. To Seonyudo Settlement (2)

After passing through the east gate of Mokdong Settlement, we headed towards ‘National Assembly Road’.

According to Mr. Hancheol, there were two routes to the Seonyudo settlement, but one of them was a bridge that could be reached on foot, but it was old due to the devastation of the tower.

It is said that the Seonyudo settlement area has been closed. Therefore, the only way to get there is now ‘Yanghwa Bridge’.

So, following the advice that it would be better to go to the main road via Gukhoe-daero, we are now walking on Gukhoe-daero.

The scenery was quite desolate. Some parts were rusted and collapsed due to the devastation, and the cars that had been abandoned as if they had been hurriedly fleeing were in a state that was enough to need to be scrapped.

Of course, there were a few that were disassembled as if people had come to explore and collect resources, but overall, it was a landscape with a rather ‘apocalyptic’ feel.

” Hey, can we stop doing this and ride Yeonseo’s summoner? Is there a reason why we have to walk like this? ”

By the time we were halfway across the National Assembly Road that spanned the river, the sun was already overhead and we were walking in silence, so it was boring.

It was now mid-April, and my body was getting hotter and sweat was running down my body from just walking in the warm spring breeze.

The two walking ahead suddenly stopped and slowly turned their heads to look at me.

” What? Are you tired already? Are you weak and know only how to be fooled? ”

Lately, Yeonseo has been having fun teasing me, so she’s been teasing me with a sly smile a lot.

” Hey! Why are you saying that! We’re just walking without saying anything and it’s boring, so why don’t we go quickly anyway? Then why don’t we take out our summons and go! ”

” Hmm, that’s true, but there’s something I’d like to check. ”

But unlike Yeonseo, who was teasing me, Hyunseok started explaining to me with a rather serious expression on his face, folding his fingers one by one.

” Actually, I heard it from the old men before we left. So, for now, we’re going along the route that the management department said they were going.

Secondly, I also want to ride Yeonseo’s summons, but like I said before, if I go too fast, I won’t be able to see what I want to see, so I’m going slowly like this. ”

” Really? Then, tell me… I guess I’m the only bad person…! ”

As I was scratching my head and talking, Hyunseok came to me and stroked my head.

” I’m sorry, I thought it would be okay to take it slow anyway, and I didn’t want to bother you by bringing this up. ”

The feeling of being caressed by his hand was not bad every time. No, should I say it felt better?

‘ But I don’t know why I feel like I’m being treated like a child… ‘

” That… that’s enough! Got it! So what, did you find anything? ”

I reached out with both hands, pushed his hands aside, and stroked the hair where his hands had left it.

” Unfortunately, not yet. But soon, the management will find the spot, so let’s take a break there and explore. ”

After that, I continued walking next to Hyunseok and started talking about trivial things, while slowly looking around to find clues.

‘ But wasn’t it the right time to tease me just now? Why is Yeonseo so quiet? ‘

With that thought in mind, I looked at Yeonseo, who was following me, and she was looking at me and Hyeonseok walking ahead, holding a Polaroid camera with a satisfied expression on her face.

” You… really…?! ”

” I think I’ll take a lot of good pictures today. Hehehee… ”

” Oh, really? Ugh,,, ”

So, I decided to leave Yeonseo, who was already lost in her own world, behind and just go back to Hyunseok.

Well, this one is getting weirder too

*****

” This is the place. ”

Hyunseok, who was walking ahead, stopped for a moment and looked around. He then said that it was clear that this was where the management team had been found, and suggested that they both search around for a while before walking away.

” Hmm, Yeonseo, where are you going? ”

” Me? Well, do we really need to break up? Let’s just go together. After all, if we go together, we might be able to see things each other can’t see. ”

” Hey! You’re not just teasing me, are you? ”

” Oh my~ I got caught~ ”

I decided to explore the surroundings with Yeonseo sticking her tongue out and pretending not to know anything.

Looking at the remaining signs around, I thought that it was an intersection connected to the highway and that there might have been an unexpected attack because the road had a lot of elevation differences.

The management decided to rule out a surprise attack, remembering that it was by a ‘person they knew’.

” Hmm, I don’t know even if I look around? It’s already been a while, so I can’t see any bloodstains… How about you, Yeonseo? ”

When I turned my head to look at Yeonseo, she was kneeling on the ground, touching the floor and examining it.

” Want to take a look at this? ”

” What is it? ”

As I walked over to Yeonseo, I frowned at the direction she pointed.

” This looks like a burn mark. Why is this? ”

” Charlotte, since you use fire, can you tell me how much firepower this has or what shape it is? ”

” Well, looking at how long and deep it is, I think it might have been a stick… maybe a spear shape.

And it looks weak because the surrounding asphalt didn’t melt or anything, but that fine part looks like it melted with quite a bit of heat. ”

” What that means is that this guy is skilled at manipulating his magical powers and can control his firepower to only the parts he wants. ”

” Yeah, maybe it’s a frequently used ability, or maybe you have a lot of experience manipulating magic. ”

” Okay! That’s enough. Next time, let’s go see that part. ”

The next place we headed, led by Yeonseo’s hand, was a place where the grass was frozen.

” This time, it seems to be an ice-related ability. Yeonseo, what do you think? ”

” Hmm, this one looks like something pretty big got blown up, unlike before. Look here. This part looks like it got crushed by something big, so there’s a pretty big red bloodstain spread out there, right? ”

” So this time, you crushed it with something huge? ”

” Yeah, but this is pretty inefficient. Was it really necessary to crush them like this? Even if you know them well, it would be easier to just get rid of them quickly.

The consumption of magic power will also be less. Fire was a simple method, and ice is like this. Something doesn’t seem right. ”

” Surely if you can make fire into a spear, you can make ice into a spear too. ”

While looking around with Yeonseo and exchanging opinions while looking at the traces that remained, we heard Hyunseok calling us from afar and ran over.

” Charlotte, Yeonseo. Want to take a look at this? ”

When I looked in the direction that Hyunseok was pointing, there was quite a bit of blood splattered on the wall, and there were also marks that looked like they had been made by claws.

” Is this… a trace of a demon? Why on earth is it here…? Even though the tower has been built in the National Assembly building for a while, why would a demon come all the way here? ”

When I told Hyunseok what I thought after seeing the traces, Hyunseok shook his head.

” No, that can’t be true. I thought that might be the case, but if that were the case, Seonyudo would be in a pretty dangerous situation too, so I would have asked for help more urgently. ”

” Then what the heck… Huh? This is… ”

I saw something shining inside the blood-stained wall, so I went over to take a look and saw something metal inside, and when I took it out, it was quite a shocking object.

” This is… a feather? And it’s made of metal… Wait! Is this it?! ”

I showed them the metallic feather as it was and started telling them about the thoughts that were sparkling in my head.

” You said this is where the management people disappeared, right? And just like them, that guy Han Jin-oh disappeared too. But if you look at this feather that was in the wall…

Maybe Han Jin-oh was transformed by taking the pill, whether it was from the person who attacked the management or not? He also gained the ability to cover his feathers with metal. ”

At my words, Hyunseok put his hand on his mouth and thought about it for a while, then he seemed to understand and summarized what I was saying.

” So, to sum it up, the management people met someone they knew, but they got tricked by that person.

At the same time, is it true that Han Jin-oh left these marks by taking pills or being forced to take them? Indeed, if you think about it that way, it makes a lot of sense. ”

” But that doesn’t mean it’s definitely like that, right? Someone who already uses fire and ice could have intentionally left these traces. ”

” I understand what Yeonseo said. It was my opinion, but since the opponent is already using multiple abilities, he may have intentionally left traces. ”

As we were giving each other opinions and expanding the scope of our search to see if there were any more clues, the sun was rising and another half of the day had passed.

It seemed pointless to continue exploring, and since it was getting dark anyway, we ended our search and moved on.

*****

After spending quite some time exploring, the sky soon turned black and the moon rose, so rather than moving any further, we decided to just find a place to rest.

So, since there was a school nearby, we started to pitch a tent on the playground, and the completed tent looked pretty ordinary on the outside.

” Wow… Is this really the ordinary tent I saw outside earlier? Isn’t it similar to Mr. Doosik’s camping car? ”

” Right, at this point, it wouldn’t have been a problem to just stay in a tent, right? ”

Yeonseo and I looked around the inside of the tent and were speechless at the incredible sight, just standing there in awe.

As the name suggests, the interior of the tent, which was given as a reward from the top, had a modern look.

The kitchen was island style with an induction cooktop and a table that could seat four people.

The living room was quite unique, with a space in the middle where you could light a bonfire, which seemed like a nice way to keep warm in the winter.

Of course, there is also a smoke-absorbing device, so you don’t have to worry about the smoke bothering you after lighting a fire.

And there were rugs laid out all around, so soft and fluffy that it seemed like I could just lie down on them, and there was a separate blanket on the bed, so it was a comfortable place to sleep.

If you put a magic stone in there, there’s even an air conditioner that works…

I might just spend this summer in this tent.

There was also a bathroom, so I didn’t have to worry about not being able to shower. In fact, the bathtub was quite large, so Yeonseo and I could both fit in it.

” Haha, I’m glad you brought it. I brought it just in case. Honestly, I didn’t know it would be this much. ”

Hyunseok had already taken out the ingredients and was preparing dinner.

What should I cook today?

Huh? Why aren’t the two of us women getting ready?

First of all, I remember cooking at home quite a bit, but since it was mostly meal kits or instant food, I’m still not very good at cooking with ingredients.

And Yeonseo… well, from what I’ve seen over the past week, I’d rather have this guy cook than have him do it himself, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.

” Our dear~ Aren’t you feeling a bit rude right now? ”

Yeonseo was squeezing my cheek with both hands and seemed annoyed.

” Ugh… you… cooking… oh my… let’s… do it… me! ”

” This…this!! ”

Hyunseok, who was watching us like that, smiled and said, “Don’t do that. The bathroom is quite large, so why don’t you take a shower while we prepare the food?”

Yeonseo and I looked at each other and then headed straight to the bathroom.