Ch.14Chapter 1. To the Academy! (1)

After becoming SNS friends with Snow White, Baek Seol-hee.

“Ji-hwan, have you seen this new movie that just came out?”

“I’d love to go see it together if I had time, but I have work so I don’t think I can go…”

“Please let me know what you think after you see it!”

I often shared my thoughts with her about all sorts of things—novels I’d recently read, movies I’d watched, comics I’d seen.

It’s not uncomfortable.

It’s good to have a friend to share hobbies with in this world where I have no friends.

I’m just worried that later, when this woman discovers my true identity, she might try to kill me, feeling betrayed.

‘I should build up goodwill so I can ask her to take me in if the Syndicate collapses.’

What if, hypothetically, the Syndicate suddenly falls apart?

Yimemangryang is not a benevolent organization.

It’s an evil organization comparable to countless malevolent groups in the real world.

If I build enough goodwill for her to accept someone like me, an executive who’s like a one-man army in such an organization, I could at least maintain my life—even if I’m kept captive inside a house and not allowed outside.

Better to be Snow White’s dwarf than the government’s dog.

It’s a petty thought, but it’s not entirely bad.

I can do anything to survive.

The same applies now.

“There will be a brief inspection.”

As soon as I crossed the bridge on my bike, soldiers in front stopped me.

“What’s your purpose for entering the island?”

“I was hired as a librarian and I’m reporting for work. Here’s my certification.”

“Do you have permission for the motorcycle?”

“Yes. Here’s the vehicle registration and permit.”

I presented the ID and certificates I had prepared in advance to the soldier.

“Hmm… Captain, everything seems to be in order.”

“Cross-check… All clear.”

A captain and a lieutenant.

People whose ranks would never be looked down upon anywhere were conducting inspections in full combat gear.

Regular soldiers monitor from other posts or maintain perimeter security, while high-ranking officers like captains and lieutenants conduct the actual inspections?

This is evidence of how difficult it is to enter Sejong Island.

“We’ll search your bike’s storage compartment. Please cooperate.”

“By all means.”

I stood at a distance from my bike.

“Please understand. Even if you’re an Academy employee, it’s both principle and law that first-time visitors undergo this search.”

“Of course.”

The law strictly limits what items can be brought onto the island.

I also plan to purchase basic necessities on the island, and all I’m bringing is formal suits.

There’s not much I can load on the back of a bike anyway, just one living box in the storage compartment as I enter the island.

“Captain, there are seven identical suits here… huh?!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Captain, this is….”

The soldiers whisper to each other.

I wondered if there was some problem with the suits, but there shouldn’t be any issues.

“Our Manager Do needs proper suits, not cheap ones. Hehe, which brand is good? Italian suits are the best, right?”

The only issue is that the suits are from an extremely expensive brand.

And there are seven identical suits of that brand.

In other words, the total price of the suits in that living box from the discount store adds up to nearly 200 million won.

“Are you perhaps an ability user?”

“No, I’m a non-ability user. My… girlfriend bought them for me.”

“……”

Both men’s expressions immediately soured.

Normally I would have said the chairman bought them, but the chairman had set a condition when buying those clothes.

“You must say your girlfriend bought them. Understood?”

It’s a bit ridiculous for me—whose ‘no girlfriend = age’—to mention a girlfriend, but I’m just following the chairman’s instructions.

“…Pass.”

Under the piercing gaze of the two men, I got back on my bike.

And then.

“Stop. Checking…”

“Tsk.”

“Pass. There will be a check.”

“Sigh. Haah. Life…”

Each time I passed through checkpoints, I had to endure harsh glares.

And so.

I entered Sejong Island with the reputation of having a girlfriend who generously buys me extremely expensive clothes.

* * *

“This is your accommodation, Do Ji-hwan.”

“Thank you for showing me. Wow… this is like an apartment.”

“Most employee quarters are built to apartment standards.”

The company housing was about a 13-pyeong room.

“You can use that small room as a bedroom or closet, that’s up to you. You can decorate as you wish, but when you move out, you must restore it to its original condition. For the next person.”

The housing manager stiffly guided me through the place like he was following a manual.

“Control the lights with this, and there’s a ceiling air conditioner in each room. None in the kitchen…”

It’s literally an ordinary apartment.

“This is the most important thing. The key card.”

But this apartment, and this room, has something very special.

“You must never lose this key card. Tomorrow, after registering your blood information on the card, this will become your ID, credit card, employee badge, and security key for restricted areas on this island.”

“I’ve heard about it, but it’s really amazing. Controlling everything with just this one thing.”

“Sejong Island is the most important place in the world. Right now it’s in card form, but soon you’ll be issued a ‘Taegeuk Watch’.”

“A Taegeuk… what?”

“A Taegeuk Watch.”

I already know about this.

I heard about it in the briefing.

But hearing the name directly sends chills down my spine.

“National pride exists everywhere.”

That was going to be my first line if I wrote a more serious, solemn review.

On this world’s Sejong Island, only those filled with national pride can survive.

The national flag flutters on every utility pole, and even the park fountains mostly play traditional Korean music and Arirang remixes.

I want to say this level of nationalism is a lethal dose, but for people in this world, such nationalism has become everyday life.

The Taegeuk Watch is no exception.

“Is that what you’re wearing on your right wrist?”

“Yes.”

The employee pointed to the Taegeuk Watch on his right wrist—a smartwatch whose glass face shimmered with the red and blue Taegeuk symbol.

“You’ll see this often from now on.”

Snap.

The employee stood at attention, then raised his right hand to his left shoulder.

“I don’t know how it is outside, but on Sejong Island, this is expected.”

He seemed proud of taking this posture, as if saluting the flag, as if making the Taegeuk flag flutter over his passionate heart.

“Welcome to Sejong Island, the most precious island of our great nation.”

“…Yes. Take care on your way back.”

The employee left, and I immediately headed to the balcony, just in case.

“Wow.”

A Taegeuk flag was mounted on the flagpole of the balcony.

It was firmly fixed with iron so it couldn’t be removed.

Moreover.

Whirr.

When I pressed a button like a remote control, the flagpole began to fold.

“Wow, really. It’s impressive, I’ll give it that.”

Even nationalism has its limits.

But then again, my code name is Goblin.

“…First.”

I checked the condition of the balcony.

If I leave the glass window open and only close the screen, can someone enter the room ‘from outside’?

It’s sufficient.

Each balcony has railings to prevent falls, but there’s enough space above them for a person to pass through.

If I can return here flying through the air while invisible, without being noticed by others, then at least my identity as the Goblin won’t be discovered.

The best scenario is not being discovered as the Goblin.

Also, to avoid situations where I need to transform into the Goblin at all.

‘I need to distribute emergency equipment in various locations first.’

In case I transform into the Goblin and then revert back, I need to set up emergency clothing around Sejong Island so I can return here without any problems.

“…Should I buy dozens of trench coats and distribute them everywhere? Sigh. What if patrol officers find them?”

In the distance, just looking down from the balcony, I can see patrol officers walking around in pairs.

Not just ordinary police, but definite ‘ability users’ on patrol.

Unfortunately, even though their magical power is only E or F grade, they have much greater combat ability than regular police.

Just having magical power, just having awakened an ability, is enough to easily subdue gangsters or thugs.

And thanks to them patrolling, villains can’t freely roam around Sejong Island…

“…Huh?”

In the distance.

Across from the apartment, in the corridor, there’s a woman staring at me.

She was looking at me while drinking a can of coffee, and I wondered why she was staring at me.

‘What’s going on?’

She looks foreign.

I can’t judge solely by hair color, but that ginger-red hair color commonly seen overseas is mostly found on foreigners.

I can only think she’s foreign because that huge mana pouch she’s placed on the corridor railing is clearly of non-Korean—

Smirk.

She smiled at me.

I don’t know why, but suddenly she twisted the corner of her mouth as if she knew everything.

Then she made a phone shape with her hand and drew an X.

What?

Don’t answer the phone?

“Ah.”

Anti-wiretapping.

Ring ring.

The phone rings.

“I see.”

That woman.

She’s a member of the Syndicate.