episode_0042

The streets were quiet but not quiet. I would say it is a strange situation where there are more cars passing by than usual but there are no pedestrians. Normally, it would be difficult to stalk Do Yu-geon or chase him like this, but this time, I could feel his magic, so I kept my distance and leisurely followed him.

In fact, it is not polite to follow along like this. We’ve known each other for a long time, so even if we get caught, we can probably just laugh it off, but because of that, there are some lines that need to be kept. Rather, it would be enough to catch and interrogate them once the school closure is over and they return to school.

But the reason why he is doing this now is because Do Yu-geon almost died that day. If we didn’t intervene when the orc shaman attacked, that’s probably why. What should I say? I am worried about letting things go as freely as before, but I also feel scared. It wouldn’t be good to get swept away, but it’s too nerve-wracking to stay still.

After passing through the scattered shops, Do Yu-geon arrived at a two-story cafe. When they said they were going to a cafe, they really meant going to a cafe. Well, go to a cafe at a time like this.

I felt Do Yoo-geon go up to the second floor, so I quickly walked into the first floor of the cafe. When I checked the magic power and looked at the second floor, there was only one customer. Since it was an adult male, I wondered if the person Do Yoo-geon was waiting for had not arrived yet, but Do Yoo-geon approached him and exchanged greetings. What. Isn’t he trying to do something strange again?

I couldn’t hear the conversation with my magic, so I ducked down and went up the stairs to the second floor carefully and quietly. I felt the strange gaze of the part-time worker on the first floor. Hmm.

“Hey, I put it off for an hour. Someone died that day, so everyone said they couldn’t do it.”

“It’s worth it. I had a nightmare too.”

“Really? And you’re still going to do it? Wow, that’s really brave. I was a real coward when I was that age, so this is amazing.”

“I feel embarrassed when you compliment me when there is nothing special.”

“No, it’s really amazing.”

It was a somewhat familiar voice. Even though his magical abilities didn’t seem to do much, he grew quickly and was able to do many things in many ways, but he still couldn’t distinguish people’s faces. I slowly raised my lowered body and looked secretly, and it turned out to be a pyromancer. Ah, I said I didn’t like that person from the beginning, but now it shows up like this. Should I have gotten rid of Do Yoo-geon a long time ago?

But Do Yoo-geon said this is a stranger, but that is a person he knows. How can you lie to your friend so calmly? Isn’t that too much?

“The orc shaman was too strong. The goblins guarding the rift can be caught if you form a formation and invest time. You’ve experienced it too, so you know.”

“I just looked at it for a moment and ran away.”

Did you say you caught the shaman but he ran away? Well, if you’re going to say you caught something, you have to lie or mention this.

“Our party didn’t kill or catch anyone, but that’s not the case with other parties. People who were hunting with a game mindset left, and their families stopped them, so we’re short of manpower.”

“You’ve kept preparing, but it must be difficult.”

“That’s true. But since you joined, we put out the urgent fire.”

“ha ha ha.”

It floats too much. It’s even more suspicious. What are you doing with Do Yoo-geon? Do Yu-geon is surprisingly useless.

It was uncomfortable to stay on the stairs, so I glanced around the second floor to see if I could hide somewhere. The second floor is a bit more open, so you might want to hide behind the central pillar. There was a low partition on the stairs, so I crawled on the floor, thinking that if I crouched down a little, I could hide in a blind spot. What does this do? I arrived behind the pillar and quietly brushed away the clothes that had been swept up on the floor.

“I met with the head of the Exploration League. This time, the system suddenly disappeared at the end of the closed beta, causing a mess in distribution of the system. So, when the leader of the alliance hurriedly met with people, we had a quick talk and heard something important.”

“What is it?”

“It means that other cracks will appear other than the cracks that day. Like this one, they appear for a short time, then mobs appear and then disappear.”

Where did the leader of the federation pick that up?

“That’s just a rumor.”

“That’s right. However, there is someone who arranged for the federation president to use evidence, so if you listen to the story, you will know whether it is true or not. Anyway, assuming it is true, what we have to do is attack it when a crack appears.”

Oh, so are we trying to attack the crack together now? Who are you flirting with now?

And I’ve been telling Do Yoo-geon since kindergarten not to follow such a suspicious person, but he just ignores this. Oh my. I can’t keep it locked up somewhere.

“But will there be money in targeting the crack? When I went in, it was just a forest.”

“This is going to be a bit long to talk about. Normally, when you log in and go to a hunting ground, you can’t log out and pick up rocks or cut down trees. So companies put equipment in the preparation room and conducted various research. As a year passed, the research was completed. “The performance was accumulating, but it was difficult to utilize it, but thanks to this, the situation has changed, and we will delve into the pharmaceutical field.”

“So you go into the crack, dig up herbs, make medicine with them, and sell them?”

“I guess so?”

Isn’t that how they make it these days?

“An expert will be here soon, so ask him in detail when he comes. Actually, I don’t know anything about this field, hahaha!”

After that, the trivial talk continued.

I leaned my back against the pillar and squatted down. Why are you doing this here? It’s because of Do Yoo-gun, but I really don’t know what he’s doing. I quietly unwrapped the bag of cookies I was holding and took one out. It tastes good.

I could feel the presence of people on the stairs, so I moved my seat a little so that I couldn’t be seen from the stairs. As the person came up, the pyromancer welcomed them warmly. According to the story, he is a researcher at a pharmaceutical company. I peeked my head out and looked at his face, and it turned out to be a necromancer I had encountered at every offline meeting. Why is it that I know everyone? Is there something wrong with me?

“It’s true that we are digging up herbs, but what we are selling is not medicine.”

“sure?”

“It’s a health functional food.”

“yes?”

“Health functional foods. It’s only been a year since the fantasy phenomenon, and there are a lot of drugs that haven’t even been approved for phase 1 clinical trials yet. The drugs that can already be sold are not drugs, but just health functional foods.”

I guess so. I was curious about Do Yoo-geon’s reaction, so I peeked my head out again and looked at him, and he seemed to be unsure whether I should like this or not.

“It’s a health food, but does it have exceptional effects?”

“If it has a great effect, it is a medicine. What we sell is just a health functional food.”

“Then is there any point in taking the risk of attacking the crack…?”

The necromancer laughed.

“Medicinal efficacy is not important. Whether or not it is good for marketing is important. In my opinion, this is what sells. New materials, uncharted territory, magic, the forefront of science, etc. These days, people are crazy about these things.”

“Of course. I’m so excited. I’m eating one too.”

“We make money by exploiting the public’s fantasy.”

“Yes, that’s it! I see the money!”

The pyromancer and necromancer high-fived.

Are they scammers?

said the necromancer.

“But is there really a crack? I doubt it.”

“The federation leader assured me, so I can trust it for now. You will have to meet the person who arranged it to find out whether it is true or not.”

“Who is that?”

“She’s a magical girl.”

huh?

“Why are you there? There are juvenile delinquents that have been on the news a few times.”

“How do they know a rift will appear?”

“I don’t know. I’ll find out when I meet him.”

He talks about something calmly, but this is something I’ve never heard of before, so I’m embarrassed. Is magical girl a word that can be talked about on a daily basis like this? When was the last time it was on the news? Well, we don’t have a TV at home and we don’t watch the news, but that’s still the case. Was it a problem that I had to scroll through the Internet to read some of the books I had recently accumulated?

I took out my phone and looked at the news. After that day, the story disappeared as it was plastered with related news, but there were some articles about magical girls from a few weeks ago. Why didn’t Do Yoo-geon tell me? Well, it’s an embarrassing topic to talk about.

It was when business talk was in full swing that such a magical girl appeared on the second floor. As people were talking about experiment requests and blah blah, this person was quietly eating cookies when a magic circle unfolded right in front of him and a girl appeared from the air. Even though she didn’t have a magic wand or a frilly dress, I intuitively knew she was a magical girl. At this height, he looked like he was in the first year of middle school. Too young.

The magical girl tilted her head when she saw this person sitting on the floor in a desperate situation, and then walked to the seat where business was being discussed.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I’m late because I’m here to help you recruit magical girls. I won’t accept any complaints.”

As the magical girl sat down naturally, the pyromancer spoke in confusion.

“Uh…so, you’re a magical girl?”

“yes.”

The girl opened the folder and waved her fingers. Then a magic circle appeared and the position of the coffee cup changed. It is a magic with a unique effect.

The magical girl explained the upcoming system open beta, the location and timing of the appearance of the crack, etc., and handed over the contract.

“You can just stamp it with blood. If you break the contract, you will have to pay, so please be careful.

When the obstacle was reached, a magic circle made of blood was created and magic was used.

The world is coming to an end.

* * *

I took the subway like usual. If we go to school now, there will be empty seats, but anyway, the school closure is over.

As I was idly waiting for a while, Do Yoo-geon got on board. He seemed to be in a low mood, perhaps because it was his first time attending school in a while.

“I’m sleepy?”

“I’m always sleepy when I go to school.”

“That’s right.”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts about what to say first. The day I followed Do Yu-geon, my legs hurt from hiding, I was angry, and irritated, so I went home. I thought that if I tried to talk to him for no reason, he would take his anger out on me.

“Are you hiding anything from me?”

“I don’t have any.”

ah.

“……okay?”