Ch.139Chapter 6. The Devil Is Everywhere (1)

Monday morning.

It feels a bit awkward to call it the day of the decisive battle, but the day of regional training has arrived.

“Teacher, I’ll have a good time in Ulleungdo!”

Ymir boarded the ferry to Ulleungdo in high spirits since early morning.

“Did you find out who your training partner is?”

“No. They said they’ll let me know when I arrive. I think there are other students on the boat too, and it seems like there are several teams.”

“How about trying to make friends this time?”

“I’d rather date you, teacher. Kyaa >ㅇ<“

“Let’s buy emoticons instead of making them ourselves.”

“……”

There wasn’t any particular issue with my text messages with Ymir.

Neither of us left any incriminating messages, and when we talked on the phone, we always made sure to end the conversation within three minutes.

Originally, Ymir would visit my house through spatial movement whenever she felt bored, and because of that, I couldn’t escape outside at all.

And for me, Monday is when librarian Do Ji-hwan takes a day off.

In other words, it’s a holiday.

Ring ring.

My phone rang.

It was Baek Seol-hee, someone for whom I had deliberately set a special ringtone.

“Hello?”

[Ji-hwan…]

Baek Seol-hee’s voice sounded dejected.

[Do you have any plans to come up to Seoul…?]

“What would you do if I came to Seoul?”

[I was planning to visit your place. The one in Banpo.]

Unlike Ymir who was heading to Ulleungdo, Baek Seol-hee was heading to Seoul.

Why was she going to Seoul?

There was a story shared during the faculty meeting, and officially she was heading to Seoul, but more precisely, she was going to Incheon.

“You’re welcome to. But the house is empty since I cleaned it last time I was there, so it might be quite dirty.”

[I’m good at cleaning. I’ll clean it for you. It might be difficult to bring a housewarming gift, so I’ll bring something else as a present instead.]

“What is it?”

[The most delicious thing my parents make.]

“Please don’t use jokes you learned from the internet.”

[…….]

Click.

The call ended.

“Was it not three minutes yet?”

Is she upset?

Or was it just perfect timing because someone happened to be nearby?

-It’s a misunderstanding

-I’m on the early morning train

-I was alone at the station for a moment when someone came

-Sorry for hanging up suddenly

Messages arrived one after another.

I could immediately tell from her messages why she had sent them.

“She’s upset.”

She hung up because she was offended by my words, then hurriedly sent messages with the excuse about the early morning train.

Well, even if she was actually taking the train, the part about hanging up because someone came was probably not true.

-I’ll either go to Seoul through Mir, or take some time off. Fortunately, the academy library is closed too.

-If the library is closed, isn’t it a day off for the librarian too?

-I need to organize books during the closure.

If I take four days off in a row, people might complain that the parachute employee is abusing his vacation days, but if I can serve the country with Ymir or Baek Seol-hee during those four days, it doesn’t really matter.

“Well then…”

Now, no one will come into my room.

Ymir is on the boat, so while she could come here, it would be difficult for her to return to her cabin on the boat, and Baek Seol-hee is heading from Busan to Seoul on the early morning train.

I’ve hardly had any personal time, but it’s been fun and productive nonetheless.

But if “I’ve played enough,” now it’s time to step up as an agent of The Syndicate.

“Hello.”

[Wow. It’s the busy manager. Seeing you contact me after no communication, I guess there are no women around you now?]

“That’s how it turned out.”

I opened the window.

The red-haired woman on the balcony of the opposite building, the Tavern Owner, waved at me.

[You missed the regular report because you were busy with women. Even if you’re the chairman’s favorite, is that okay?]

“If it was urgent, I would have contacted you. I’ll be right over.”

[You’re coming? What about the Taegeuk Watch?]

“I’ll bring it. Wait 10 minutes. I’m ready.”

After hanging up, I quickly packed a simple bag and headed to the Tavern Owner’s house.

“I’m here.”

“You said you’d be here in 10 minutes, why are you so quick?”

“I need your help to pack up and leave.”

“My help?”

The Tavern Owner’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“What is it? Are you going somewhere for the training?”

“Is there some bad organization involved in the training?”

“Intelligence suggests that the Seven Wheels Society is trying to enter Korea.”

“Are they coming right when the training starts?”

As the name suggests, the Seven Wheels Society is a Chinese ability user organization.

It’s somewhat different from the Triad, but just the fact that they’re crossing the West Sea gives me a bad feeling.

And they actually are that kind of group.

“They’re probably not just coming in casually. Are they trying to push mana powder on the little ability user kids?”

“You knew all along?”

“Not really.”

I read it in the book.

I’m not sure when exactly, but the protagonist gets involved with members of the Seven Wheels Society while training in Ganghwa Island and trouble ensues.

And they tried to seduce academy students using mana powder, but those who landed in Korea were thoroughly annihilated by the enraged protagonist and his group.

So I thought that might be the case, and it seems I was right.

“Snow White said she’s going to Seoul. She also mentioned Incheon, so she’s definitely going to counter the Seven Wheels Society.”

“So are you going to Seoul?”

“No. I’m going to Ulleungdo.”

“…Are you trying to take me with you?”

The Tavern Owner scratched her cheek, looking slightly perplexed.

“You know what people have been saying about me lately?”

“I don’t know what it is, but is it serious enough to affect company work?”

“They say I’m a woman who uses two boxes of trash bags every three days. Every time I go to throw out the garbage and someone tries to check what’s in the bags, ugh.”

“Then all the more reason you should come to Ulleungdo with me.”

I pointed to the carrier I had brought.

“Pack your things. You and I are going to Ulleungdo together. We’ll use a pension as our base and prepare for any contingencies.”

“Something that requires more attention than the Seven Wheels Society? Is Ulleungdo going to explode or something?”

“That would actually be preferable.”

A heroine gets kidnapped.

By a Goblin.

“I need to check if this matches what I found through the community.”

“I’ll check right away. Looks like it’s a person? Who is it?”

“This woman.”

I showed the Tavern Owner the woman who was the heroine of volume 2.

“…This woman is going to Jindo?”

“Not Ulleungdo?”

“No. She’s going to Jindo.”

“…Hmm.”

The original work.

It’s twisted.

‘That’s even better.’

The heroine who gets kidnapped by a Goblin in the original work has been sent to a different place than the protagonist?

I don’t need to worry about the predetermined elements of the original work anymore; I just need to focus on the issues I’m concerned about and solve the problems.

“We’re still going to Ulleungdo. The woman I’m currently taking care of and trying to bring into The Syndicate is heading to Ulleungdo.”

“Ymir?”

“Yes.”

“Just asking, but if you and I go to Ulleungdo, won’t that student misunderstand?”

“…Ah, right. You don’t know my current situation.”

I hadn’t updated the Tavern Owner.

Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t give the regular report because Baek Seol-hee and Ymir were constantly by my side, so how could I update her about my relationship with those two?

“To put it simply, I’m in the midst of an adulterous corruption.”

“…Holy moly.”

It might be the first time she’s heard this term, but there’s no better expression to describe our current relationship than “adulterous corruption.”

“Add surrogate mother to that.”

“You’ve completely lost it. Are both of them okay with this?”

“I physically persuaded them with a magic club.”

I pointed downward, and the Tavern Owner glanced in the direction I was pointing, then let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew. I thought… Well, that’s fine then. That’s a relief. I was worried you were throwing away too much every time you disposed of those trash bags, but if that’s actually the case, then the plausibility is established.”

“…By the way, what do you put in those bags?”

“Soup broth slightly mixed with gelatin to solidify it.”

“……”

I felt a bit queasy.

“Then I’m counting on you. I’ll be a good partner for a week, just trust me. Um, first, don’t call me Tavern Owner-“

“Celestia.”

I extended my hand to the Tavern Owner, Celestia.

“Want to go to Ulleungdo with me for some fresh air?”

For the mission.

Operation Protect Ymir.

* * *

“Wow.”

Ymir let out a soulless exclamation on the deck of the ship heading to Ulleungdo’s port.

She had been here last week.

So many things had happened in Ulleungdo, she had some incredible life experiences, and she even had a naked encounter with the S-class hero Snow White.

And now Ulleungdo again.

Thinking about the symbolic meaning of Ulleungdo makes her feel good, but that’s only possible if a man comes along.

Protrusions and recesses need to interlock to be meaningful; just sitting still means nothing.

“I wish teacher would come soon… Huh?”

Crackle, crackle.

On the deck where Ymir had come to see the ocean.

A young man wearing a navy blue modernized hanbok was looking at Ulleungdo while holding a long pipe.

Whitish smoke was flowing from his pipe.

“……”

Smoking tobacco on a deck where everyone else is present.

Ymir gave the man a brief glare and moved away.

-Cigarette smoke is dangerous for pregnant women.

Recalling this lecture content, she immediately headed to her room.

“…Phew. The world is a good place. Even designs like this are available now.”

The young man casually puffed on his electronic cigarette designed like a traditional pipe as he gazed at Ulleungdo.

‘Alone’.