Ch.635Chapter 24. Real Estate Never Die (13)

The term “marksman” implies a shot that always hits its target.

When an enemy dodges, the ability somehow ensures the shot connects anyway.

With a will for “certain hit,” I always launch ranged attacks on the premise that they’ll connect, whether they deal 1 damage or 65,535.

The attribute depends on whether I use purely my own magic power, or collaborate with others to imbue the shot with abilities.

Through collaboration with Seong Ji-eun, we’ve now intercepted the ghost’s cradle from both front and back.

“Kuh, huhuk…”

The ghost collapsed onto the cable car seat.

The two shots that flew from his front and back, sandwiching the ghost in a rendezvous, were two when they met, but became four when they fell.

Specifically, two shots and the traces of what “used to be” two more.

[Did you think they were simple shots? Sorry. They were nuclear-level attacks capable of easily obliterating an S-class cradle.]

“Wh-what…?”

[Don’t judge by appearances.]

It’s not just the finishing moves that riders unleash that possess tremendous explosive power.

Simple is best.

Though they looked like plain textured spheres, they contained a certain will and the magic power to realize it.

A powerful will and strength to break the cradle of even the ghost, an S-class member of Hwalbindang.

“Y-you deceived me with appearances…! And you call yourself an ability user?!”

[Flashy effects and dramatic atmosphere are for public displays. When no one’s watching, I believe in quiet efficiency.]

Rumble.

As the tilted pillar’s end sank downward, the pillar I stood on began moving toward the ghost who was hanging like a guerrilla fighter, clutching the rope.

[Flashy abilities are impressive. It shows confidence in one’s ego. But humans can’t always live so spectacularly.]

“Kuh, urgh…!”

[Everyone knows a famous chef’s food looks beautiful after decades of technique. But even such chefs just casually put food on plates at home, don’t they?]

“T-to use such a comparison…!”

[Why? Oh. Should I have said royal cook instead of chef? I apologize for that.]

Click.

The pillar stopped.

Sweating profusely, the ghost moved along the cable and fell onto the nearest cable car.

[With magic power, you probably felt fine rampaging atop the cable car. But how about now that the cradle is broken? With magic leaking out, feeling a bit dangerous, aren’t you?]

“Kuh, urgh…!”

The ghost rolled sideways with a pale face.

Forcing open the cable car door, he tumbled inside and buried his face in a seat.

“Huh, huh, huuuh…!”

Breathing roughly, he knelt on the floor, grabbing both front and back for support.

The sight might have seemed somewhat unsightly to others, but he was desperately struggling.

“T-to think I would…! In just one go…!”

[The higher the S-class battle, the quicker the outcome. I’m especially specialized in that. I prefer eliminating variables and finishing quickly.]

I reached toward the ghost who was gasping roughly inside the cable car.

[This variable too.]

From the tip of the pillar where I stood, soil tendrils spread like snakes, then snatched at a container the ghost had dropped nearby.

“N-no!”

He tried to grab it.

The ghost clutched the container to his chest with ghostly speed, and the soil snake only swept through empty air.

“Th-this is mine…! It’s the power that can help me grow beyond S+ class…!”

[I thought as much. Among those gathered in Hwalbindang, why is there only one person properly realizing the organization’s vision?]

In the end, the ghost was just another honey-sucker.

If a demon tried to bake a Gorgonzola pizza to dip in throat honey, this man was trying to burn honey in hot water to drink it all as honey tea.

Of course.

[I’ll be taking this honey.]

“S-stop!”

I too.

“You trash! In the end, you’re just the same…!”

[They say you see what you want to see. Look at how you think.]

I lightly held the container of throat honey in one hand.

[I’ll report this stolen property to the police. Then the government will handle it. Whether they give it to heroes, or use it to serve foreign dignitaries during World Cup season.]

Though it’s been partially used in rather questionable places, there aren’t any bite marks or such.

[Fortunately, that couple was somewhat reasonable. They only extracted the amount they wanted to consume first, leaving the rest intact.]

“Kuh, hehehe…. Passing scholar…. Do you trust the government…?”

The ghost pointed at me, sweating profusely.

“Give that throat honey to the government, and it’ll just go to high officials…! They’ll silence the police who recovered it with power, tell them to bury it, and make it ‘never existed’!”

The ghost’s words aren’t hypothetical.

“Do you know how many bone ashes have gone into government officials’ bellies? Do you know how many things from this country, this land, have gone into the bellies of ‘corrupt officials’?!”

[Someone I know once said something similar.]

I lightly tapped the floor with my foot.

[Even when the top changes, nothing really changes.]

“Y-yes! And knowing that…!”

[That’s why we decided to change everything.]

“…Huh?”

Crackle.

[Clear water at the top makes clear water below. Even if sediment builds up preventing clear water from flowing down, the first step is to clear the top.]

“You, you…. Could it be….”

[I’m simply following our ancestors’ teachings. That’s how we can intervene.]

I bent down and, at an angle invisible from elsewhere, placed my hand on my face, infusing it with magic power.

[After dealing with Choi Ho-jung first, even Haeguneul is starting to change.]

“G-Goblin…? Is it a copy…?”

[The effect is too good. Everyone I meet calls me a copy. Well then, sleep well.]

Thud.

[When you wake up, you’ll be in Hwalbindang’s special prison under Namsan, not Mount Geumgang.]

The ghost collapsed.

No matter how S-class he was, he couldn’t endure anymore with his cradle broken.

Rather, the fact that he maintained consciousness until now proves he’s S-class.

Despite expecting more from an S-class, I ended up just tea-bagging another self-serving honey-sucker.

[…Not coming out?]

Just in case, I carefully spoke while tapping the unconscious ghost’s head with the hilt.

[Is it done?]

No answer.

Seems like a Zenros situation.

[Ah. State your wish.]

“…I don’t think it’s coming.”

Rustle.

Seong Ji-eun, who poked her head out from between my feet, pulled out a long stick and poked the ghost.

“You know what? I think he doesn’t have a wish.”

[No wish?]

“Either a wish without enough merit to make a demon salivate, or a wish so trivial the demon doesn’t even want to help.”

[Hmm….]

But haven’t all the wishes granted by wish-granting demons so far been trivial and inconsistent?

Or perhaps trivial to some, but for the person involved, a wish worth becoming a “demon” for.

[It’s unpredictable. If we could understand the principle….]

Buzzzz—

A sound from below.

If before it was the flight of honeybees, now it’s more like the flight of giant hornets, growing louder.

“Kuh, hehe, hehe…!”

Flapping stronger wings, the demon honey-sucker flew near the cable car.

“That honey… is ours….”

[Hmm.]

I’m not the demon perpetrator.

Even demons can be returned to human form if they Zenros.

Then.

[Is that your wish?]

“What?”

[Is obtaining this honey truly your wish?]

Sorry to that Sweet Italian husband, but I need him to participate in a little “experiment.”

[Is getting this honey container and sucking the honey truly your wish?]

“Th-that…!”

[If that is your wish, I’ll grant it.]

I opened the lid of the container with the honeycomb.

[Take it. I’d rather not throw it and have you miss, causing misunderstandings.]

“…Huh?”

[Or should I give it to your wife over there?]

“N-no…!”

The demon shook his wings vigorously in refusal.

“I-I’ll do it! Not another man! I, I will give her the honey!”

[I see. That’s your ‘real’ wish.]

“What…?”

[The true desire hidden in your heart. The real desire in your heart centered around honey. What you wanted to achieve even by becoming a demon wasn’t simply reclaiming the honey you collected.]

I pointed to a woman crawling along the cable in the distance.

[It was all to make your wife stronger, wasn’t it?]

“…….”

The demon honey-sucker must have a “true name” elsewhere.

If I had to give him a name…

[You should be called ‘Sweet Husband’.]

It has no special meaning.

Just a sweet man who could become a demon for his wife.

“…Yes, that’s right.”

The honey-sucker, no, Sweet Husband, approached me slowly with a satisfied expression.

“For my wife….”

[Take it.]

“…I won’t forget this debt. At least not until I die-“

As the demon approached to receive the honey container.

Wheeeeee!

With the wind came an ominous flash of energy.

And then.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

Behind Sweet Husband.

“Are you truly trying to grant a wish?”

A monkey’s paw covered in black fur appeared, grabbing Sweet Husband’s wings.

“Speak. I will grant your wish.”

As expected.

[Can’t stand someone encroaching on your territory.]

I’ve figured out how to summon the Monkey’s Paw, the “Wish Demon.”

[Are you going to critique my wish-granting method?]

“Your method.”

The Monkey’s Paw pointed its index finger at me.

“Is wrong.”