Ch.97Yeo Wonjae

# Enhanced Translation

The morning after spending a night at the hotel.

For the first time since becoming a monster, I had trouble sleeping.

“What a terrible morning.”

I was someone who could sleep through cocktails of stimulants, drugs, and devices designed to cause pain, but sleeping amid attacks from two Despair-rank monsters proved difficult.

At dawn, after Sa Gu-gu ordered and ate one of everything on the room service menu and fell asleep satisfied, Gu Seo-ryong annoyingly clung to me.

I strangled her until she passed out and tried to sleep, but then Sa Gu-gu sleep-crawled over and pressed her ear against my body.

When I removed her, Gu Seo-ryong, who had regained consciousness, slithered up like a snake and climbed on top of me.

I strangled her unconscious again and threw her on the floor, but then Sa Gu-gu appeared. If I put Sa Gu-gu on the bed and tucked her in, Gu Seo-ryong would be there when I returned.

“Mmya…”

“Yaaawn…”

In the end, I barely slept all night and only managed to rest my eyes against the window after the two monsters woke up.

But even that was brief, as Gu Seo-ryong and Sa Gu-gu began running around the room after waking up.

“Brush your teeth if you’re up! How many times do I have to tell you!”

“Monsters don’t brush teeth! We don’t get cavities!”

“Your breath stinks! Brush! Women shouldn’t smell bad!”

After much crashing and running around, Sa Gu-gu, caught by Gu Seo-ryong, brushed her teeth with a blank expression.

More precisely, Gu Seo-ryong wrapped her tail around Sa Gu-gu’s neck and brushed her teeth with one hand while brushing her own.

That brief moment was all the time I had to sleep properly.

“Honey, you didn’t sleep well, huh? I told you, you should have enjoyed yourself while Gu-gu was sleeping, then you could have slept soundly.”

“Don’t talk to me. I’m sleeping.”

“I don’t understand why you won’t do it when we’re in such a nice hotel and the kid is asleep. You’re certainly healthy enough.”

“No interest in mating.”

“Oh my, the child is listening. Could you please watch your language when Gu-gu is awake?”

“Mating! Mating again! What’s mating? Are you eating something delicious without Sa Gu-gu again?”

Gu Seo-ryong shamelessly covered Sa Gu-gu’s ears with both hands, causing the cat ears to disappear as if pushed in, while human ears popped out.

When she covered the human ears, the cat ears reappeared… Realizing it was pointless to cover them, Gu Seo-ryong removed her hands from Sa Gu-gu.

“I should have just killed you last night.”

“Strangling me felt so good I almost died. Really, if just the appetizer was this good, I can’t even imagine how the main dish would be.”

“Main dish? Breakfast?”

“Yes, yes, let’s wash up and have breakfast.”

“Breakfast…”

“You should wash up and come out too.”

No matter how sleepy I was, I couldn’t give up on food.

While I quickly washed up, every breakfast menu item that could be ordered was laid out in the room.

The hotel staff, who had been blinking and glancing at Gu Seo-ryong and Sa Gu-gu while setting up the food, nodded as if understanding something when they saw me emerge from the bathroom.

Gu Seo-ryong and I talked about what to do next while eating.

“So, shall we return here individually when we’re done?”

“Calling with the core… seems impossible.”

Due to the warning waves from superhumans resonating throughout the city, it was impossible to use the method we used in W City of ringing the monster core to call each other.

“Still, if it’s really dangerous, we should ring the core.”

“Ask Sa Gu-gu to bring out the cat. She should be able to do it.”

“Oh, that’s right? You have that hidden camera you secretly placed to spy on me all the time. Gu-gu, can you bring it out?”

“Nyaa?”

Sa Gu-gu tried using her ability after hearing Gu Seo-ryong’s words, but the cat didn’t appear.

Her spatial manipulation ability couples with everything else at will, but she can’t couple with shadow control?

Finding it strange, I brought out the cat myself and transferred a few abilities to it.

“Tap your shadow three times with your foot when you need it.”

“How romantic. You’ll come right away to save me if I tap three times?”

“Just die.”

As I got up from the table after finishing my meal, Gu Seo-ryong handed me clothes to wear with one hand while using her phone with the other.

“The superhuman education facility where Yeo Un-jae works as a teacher is in Zone 2.”

“Got it.”

“If you leave now, he’ll probably be in class by the time you arrive. A City strictly protects their hero candidates, so don’t cause any trouble or…”

“I’ve never caused trouble.”

“Yes, yes… Anyway, go check it out. If he’s not in class, he’s often watching other superhumans at the training facility in Zone 3 next door, so you could try there.”

After turning off her phone screen with a click and tucking it into her chest, Gu Seo-ryong found and put on clothes for herself and Sa Gu-gu.

I didn’t leave the room immediately but looked at my reflection in the mirror.

Today I was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt with a large denim jacket—looking just like an ordinary human who happened to be tall.

“Shouldn’t I cover my face?”

“Why?”

“If Yeo Un-jae is connected to the laboratory, he’ll recognize my face.”

“Then he’ll notice right away, won’t he? Just eat Yeo Un-jae when that happens.”

“Hmm.”

Deliberately exposing my face to catch anyone who recognizes me—indeed, a good idea.

“See you later then. I’ll do some more research before heading out. Unlike someone, I’m not that lucky, so I need to figure out where to investigate first.”

“Get off me.”

As I tried to leave the room first, Gu Seo-ryong naturally clung to my body as if it were the most normal thing.

I grabbed and removed her wrapping arms, but a sticky wave spread faintly through the skin where we had contact.

“Take your medicine, Gu Seo-ryong.”

“I already did before bed. This is just a pure kiss.”

“It’s not pure.”

“I think a kiss between us should be fine by now, don’t you?”

“No.”

“Sa Gu-gu wants to give mommy and big brother goodbye kisses too!”

“No.”

“Meow…”

I left the room, peeling off Sa Gu-gu and Gu Seo-ryong as they rushed at me at the entrance.

Why is this more exhausting than being chased by Starlight for an hour?

#

After getting rid of those annoying ones, I got into what they call a taxi.

I was guided by a hotel employee who thought I was an A-rank superhuman as I walked out to the first floor.

The taxi driver showed signs of tension as soon as he heard from the hotel employee that I was an A-rank superhuman.

Regardless, being sleep-deprived, I slept soundly in the taxi.

“Sir… sir…”

“Mm.”

“We’ve, we’ve arrived.”

The taxi driver woke me up with a quiet voice as I slept in the taxi.

I searched my pocket, took out my superhuman registration card, and held it out.

“Eh? Are you… paying?”

The taxi driver completed the payment and returned my registration card with a deep bow that seemed almost pitiful.

From hot dog stands to chicken shops and now taxis—I became curious about why people found it strange when superhumans paid money. I stopped the taxi as it was about to turn back.

“What, what are you doing! I’m sorry!”

“Why do citizens of A City refuse to take money from superhumans?”

“Pardon…? Why…?”

“I’m from another city. I’m curious about the reason.”

Screech! The taxi driver who had tried to escape by stepping on the accelerator finally gave up on fleeing.

After turning off the engine of the car that smelled of burning rubber, the taxi driver answered my curiosity.

“It’s not that we don’t want to take money—we can’t. Many superhumans get angry, saying isn’t it enough that superior superhumans protect inferior citizens without having to pay.”

“But with the superhuman allowance, it’s essentially free for superhumans anyway.”

“That’s right. Yet superhumans don’t pay for meals or transportation. They say, ‘I protect you and you want me to pay too?’… Most people think superhumans shouldn’t have to pay for such things. Of course, there are some who do pay, like you, sir.”

So that’s why they don’t pay.

Now that I hear it, it makes sense.

Heroes risk their lives fighting monsters, so they might as well not pay.

But why are humans so disgruntled about it?

In the end, my questions lead to more questions without conclusion.

I decided to stop these annoying thoughts, let the taxi go, and entered the building in front of me.

A place where ordinary people couldn’t enter, an entrance full of surveillance cameras.

I tapped my card against a device on one side of the transparent door, and it opened.

[Welcome, A-rank superhuman, Park Deun-deun.]

As the door opened, a small drone emerged from the device where I had tapped my card and began following me.

“What is this?”

[I am Park Deun-deun’s…]

Smack! I instinctively swatted away the fly-like drone, knocking it down.

Then a new drone emerged from the device and warned me.

[Park Deun-deun, drones are public property. Please do not destroy them.]

“Is there a person inside?”

[I am Anemone, the A City education guide drone AI. If you are looking for a class or location, please let me know. I will guide you.]

“Interesting.”

I played with the drone, poking it with my finger and watching it return to its position.

After a while, I asked the drone where Yeo Un-jae was.

“I’m looking for Yeo Un-jae.”

[Professor Yeo Un-jae’s class is currently in progress in Classroom 3. Would you like me to guide you there?]

“Mm.”

When I nodded, the drone flew ahead to guide the way.

The superhuman education facility didn’t seem much different from the ordinary schools I occasionally saw in W City.

The only differences were the superhuman students training with their abilities in the open space, and the fact that everyone everywhere was a superhuman.

“Ha! Chaaa!”

“Come out, come out…!”

Young students struggling to draw out their abilities, and on the other side, adult heroes and superhumans exchanging opinions about their abilities.

“For emission types, imagery is ultimately the most important. Meister also says not to limit how far you can go…”

“Your calculation capacity isn’t increasing? Then the only option is to repeat training until calculations become unnecessary.”

“Oh! My output just increased! Thank you, I don’t know how to express my gratitude…”

“No, no. It’s nothing. I should help you, of course. Superhumans need to help each other.”

The superhumans I saw in the education facility seemed much friendlier to each other than those I saw on the streets.

Looking closer, I could see some of the people who had coveted Gu Seo-ryong and Sa Gu-gu on the street yesterday.

Even those people showed smiles full of understanding, without any contempt or superiority.

“Hmm.”

Lost in thought, I followed the drone into the building.

We arrived in front of a classroom with “Superhuman Combat Theory” written on it.

The drone stuck to the closed door, and it opened silently.

“…So, ability belongs to the ‘mind’ among the mind-energy-body system, and to develop it, mental strength is most important. To strengthen output, the heart, physical training is essential, and the last component is technique.”

Inside the stepped classroom, students filled the desks, and heroes and superhumans lined the walls, listening attentively.

I quietly walked into the classroom and leaned against the wall.

“All I can teach you is technique. Depending on your individual ability, it might not help at all, but there’s one thing I can tell you for certain.”

Sniff, sniff… checking the smell in the classroom, as expected.

The source was at the center of the classroom, the only human speaking loudly.

“A superhuman’s enemy is not just monsters.”

A body covered in scars, a prosthetic right hand, misshapen legs, unkempt beard, a middle-aged man—not an old man—with long, gray curly hair that almost covered his eyes.

“This class will be very helpful when you face humans.”

The former strongest hero, Yeo Un-jae.

The man’s body smelled of laboratory chemicals.

“Of course… it will help not only against villains but also against monsters in human form. Additionally, knowing how to fully control your body means you can freely express your ability, so it will be helpful in many ways for those struggling to control their abilities…”

Just then, the tablet in front of Yeo Un-jae lit up.

I focused on Yeo Un-jae’s pupils from a distance to peek at the tablet’s contents.

The screen displayed the ranks and names of students, heroes, and superhumans currently attending the class.

In particular, my name and rank, having just entered the room, glowed brightly.

“A-rank superhuman…”

Yeo Un-jae muttered quietly so the students couldn’t hear, then scanned the classroom to find me.

When our eyes met, Yeo Un-jae showed no sign of surprise and simply nodded slightly.

That reaction—he doesn’t recognize me as an experiment.

Yeo Un-jae doesn’t know me.

The chemical smell from his body is too faint.

It’s reasonable to think that the laboratory just made the drugs, and Yeo Un-jae knows nothing.

But for some reason, I felt a strange tension when our eyes met.

That tension made me want to examine Yeo Un-jae more closely.

Even while thinking this man has no connection to the laboratory, this feeling…

“Well, let’s end the introduction here and move to the sparring room.”

My monster instinct tells me to keep watching this man.