Ch.213Chapter 8. Thorough Aftercare (4)

I said I’d take you for a drive, but we’re not actually going to clothing stores or outlets.

There are plenty of reasons why we can’t.

One. Goblin hasn’t removed his mask in front of Yoon Yi-seon.

Two. No one can find out that Goblin has Yoon Yi-seon with him.

Three. Yoon Yi-seon’s Taegeuk Watch is in her room on Sejong Island.

Four. If she shows her transformed appearance as Noona-Yiseon to the world, it would cause chaos.

So where could we go that would allow Yoon Yi-seon freedom of dress in this situation?

A place that’s open 24 hours, where Goblin can move freely while wearing his mask, and where Yoon Yi-seon can try on suitable clothes.

[We’ve arrived.]

“Where is this place?”

[It’s one of The Syndicate’s branches disguised as an unmanned motel.]

“Ah.”

I brought Yoon Yi-seon to a motel in a remote mountain area of Gangwon Province.

[It normally operates as an unmanned motel, but it transforms like this when Syndicate members arrive.]

Clank, clank.

As the garage door opened and the car entered, it began to tilt forward.

“Wh-what?”

[We’re going underground. Don’t worry. I’m keeping my foot on the brake.]

The car descended forward, the ground lowered, and space opened up below.

Vroom.

After spiraling down underground, a narrow underground parking lot appeared, and I got out of the car and immediately opened the passenger door.

[Can you get out?]

“Do I look like a child to you?”

Yoon Yi-seon carefully stepped out.

Just as she had moved slowly when getting into the car, she moved very deliberately, seemingly still awkward with her lengthened limbs.

“But this place is…”

“It’s an honor to serve you, Goblin.”

A foreigner in a black suit with red-dyed hair approached and bowed to us.

“I’ll valet your car. Please proceed inside. Thank you for visiting our branch. But the person beside you is…”

[I vouch for her. I’ll take responsibility.]

“Understood.”

The staff member—”Tavern Owner”—got into the car I had arrived in, and I extended my hand to Yoon Yi-seon.

[Let me escort you.]

“…We’re not entering some party venue. What is this place, really?”

[A motel.]

“……?”

Yoon Yi-seon looked confused.

Since everything so far had appeared like an underground secret base, she probably imagined the above-ground appearance when I said “motel.”

[They build a convincing building above ground and facilities like this underground. Think of it as an underground hotel.]

“…Not an apartment?”

[It’s a hotel in an apartment style.]

Past a dark corridor and through a door was a place that could rival 5-star hotel suites in Gangwon or Busan.

That makes sense, as according to the Chairman, these underground shelters were designed with suite rooms in mind from the beginning.

[This is one of the shelters designed to sustain life for decades underground in case of a zombie apocalypse. You could call it a bunker.]

“I can’t believe something like this exists under Gangwon Province… How is this possible?”

[With superpowers and capital, nothing is impossible.]

Whirr.

After removing our shoes at the entrance and opening the inner door, a gust of air blew out from the confined space.

“Eek?!”

[It’s a sterilization facility. It washes away contaminants, including radioactive materials. It’s powered by magical energy too.]

“W-why would you need such a facility…!”

[The Syndicate is thorough in its preparations.]

Because you never know what might happen, they’ve built underground bunkers throughout the country—no, throughout the world.

[If you go deeper underground, there’s a seed vault, cultivation rooms, external surveillance cameras, and much more. There are also clothes available to change into.]

“Aren’t those clothes for future emergencies?”

[They are, but this bunker wasn’t built just for nuclear explosions or zombie apocalypses. It’s also a hideout where key Syndicate personnel can take shelter anytime.]

I pointed toward what would have been the balcony and windows in a hotel.

[What do you think?]

“…Is the entire wall a display?”

[Yes. It’s set up to show the external environment.]

To allow people to see outside scenery even from underground, for psychological stability, the entire wall wasn’t just a wall but was designed to connect with external cameras.

[Even if Earth were destroyed, you could survive here until the environment recovers, or human civilization could restart from here.]

Except for being deep underground, it’s a space where people could actually live.

Of course, it’s far inferior to breathing fresh air above ground.

[This is all just precautionary. Anyway, for now, just think of this as a place to determine your new attire, to create your costume.]

“Costume…?”

[You’re not planning to claim you’re S-class in that outfit, are you?]

“…….”

Yoon Yi-seon looked at herself with a somewhat blank expression.

Sejong Academy’s activity uniform.

White with black stripes, and red and blue patterns on the sleeves.

Yes, just like the Korean flag.

It’s fortunate there isn’t a huge Taegeuk symbol on the back, but her current clothes clearly weren’t suitable as Yoon Yi-seon’s costume.

[If that’s your preference, I won’t stop you, but you should at least be able to create clothes for after transformation. Like this.]

Transformation.

Fwoosh.

“Ah, Doji Rider?”

[It’s not a form I particularly want to transform into again, but this is how you can create clothing with magical energy. Like this.]

I turned the giant display showing the outside scenery into a white canvas, then used magical energy to draw Yoon Yi-seon’s image.

[Your actual body is in the center, your extended limbs are extensions created with magical energy, and on top of that, you add clothing as a protective layer.]

This is Baek Seol-hee’s method of safely covering clothes with mana.

My or Ymir’s method has a transformation speed faster than one second, but it involves exploding clothes.

“I understand. You create a protective layer that looks like clothing and wear it? Like a raincoat?”

[I’m glad you understand quickly. Now, this brings up an important question.]

I drew six marks centered around Yoon Yi-seon.

[How will you fight? We need to create a costume that matches your combat style.]

“…Wow, you’re taking this more seriously than I expected.”

[I don’t intend to make you just an ordinary S-class hero.]

“You’re doing all this because it benefits you, right?”

[Of course.]

Making Yoon Yi-seon an S-class hero.

If it didn’t help my activities as Goblin, I wouldn’t have helped her, even if she was a student I was somewhat friendly with.

Even if she knew Ymir’s identity.

[The more S-class heroes there are, the better, especially if they become heroes rather than villains.]

“There’s something I don’t understand.”

[What is it?]

“Isn’t it bad for The Syndicate if there are more S-class heroes? Bluntly speaking, if I become S-class, I might end up stopping what you’re doing.”

[That’s true.]

From The Syndicate’s perspective, what I’m doing is essentially increasing the number of obstacles.

Just as Nadeshiko stood in my way, S-class heroes act for national justice, and some of The Syndicate’s actions are things heroes must absolutely prevent.

[At first glance, it might seem foolish to strengthen someone who could hinder me, but from a broader perspective, it aligns with The Syndicate’s ultimate goal.]

“Which is?”

[World peace through world domination.]

I pointed alternately at Yoon Yi-seon and myself.

[Righteous heroes maintain peace and order in the light, while executioners step in where dirty hands are needed. Thus, maintaining a balance between light and darkness preserves peace.]

“…….”

[And if that hero sympathizes with The Syndicate’s ideology or joins hands with us, that’s even better.]

“So there could be heroes who are part of The Syndicate, or who became S-class while being Syndicate members?”

[You’re smart indeed. That makes our conversation more enjoyable.]

I sat on the sofa across from Yoon Yi-seon.

[I want you to become an S-class hero and eventually side with our Syndicate. That’s my ultimate wish for you.]

“If that’s your ultimate wish, what’s your immediate one?”

[For you to walk the hero’s path as you’ve learned at Sejong Island—realizing social justice and protecting civilians. As an S-class hero.]

“Do you think that will help achieve world domination?”

[Of course. The process may be difficult, but if the result is world peace, it’s worth risking one’s life for.]

For a world without war and demons, or where even if they cause damage, an organization can immediately step in to minimize the harm.

[The reason I’m telling you this and specifically invited you here is simple. This is a place I haven’t even shown to Platinum Sun.]

Gulp.

[I’m formally proposing: join The Syndicate, Yoon Yi-seon.]

Yoon Yi-seon swallowed and looked at me with a serious face.

[You can continue on the hero’s path. If you find someone who you think needs execution, I’ll go and handle it.]

The reason she became Goblin’s fan.

[If you want to take action yourself, I won’t stop you, but if you don’t want to dirty your hands, I’ll step in.]

Thinking about the fundamental reason, she follows The Syndicate’s ideology deep in her heart.

“If I join The Syndicate.”

Yoon Yi-seon’s pink-tinged eyes looked straight at me.

“Will I be able to see Goblin’s bare face?”

[Of course.]

“…In that case.”

Yoon Yi-seon closed her eyes.

“I don’t think you need to show me Goblin’s bare face.”

[……?]

“I became a fan of Goblin not because of your appearance, but because of your actions. Instead.”

Yoon Yi-seon smiled broadly as she looked at me.

“…I want to design my costume based on Goblin’s true form.”

[My true form?]

“Yes. Based on how you look when you’re ‘fighting seriously.'”

Yoon Yi-seon.

“I want to create my S-class costume based on the one you wore when fighting Dueoksini. Will you help me? If so, I’ll cooperate.”

She was sincere.