Chapter 23 – Virtual Reality – The Hero

The headquarters of the Chungseong Guild, along with the buildings of the other two major guilds, were nothing short of landmarks in modern-day Korea.

The girl couldn’t help but gape at the unique structure that rose sharply, reflecting sunlight.

Gyeongbokgung Palace? It had already faded from her mind.

A 600-year-old historical building? Merely ordinary.

“Is… is all this yours, Guild Master…?”

The fountain pool and garden spread out right next to the building.

Numerous shops lined up neatly, as if bowing to the headquarters.

Even the girl, who had been fixated on demons, snapped out of it and craned her neck like a meerkat, eagerly taking in her surroundings.

“Yes. By the way, those shops are in my name too.”

He wasn’t bragging.

The Guild Master was simply stating facts, as he would to anyone else.

But why did the girl’s exclamation make his shoulders puff up?

“Wow! No wonder you were chosen by God!”

The Guild Master tried to regain his composure.

As much as he wanted to give the girl a tour of the guild while carrying her on his back…

“G-Guild Master?!”

He couldn’t, given the girl’s condition and the shocked reactions of guild members they encountered.

He wasn’t sure why they were so surprised to see this cute child, but it was probably due to his sudden, unannounced visit.

Apologizing mentally to the girl who might be disappointed, he hurried straight to the virtual reality room in the headquarters.

The public VR room would be crowded, so they’d use the one upstairs.

Soon, the vast scenery disappeared, replaced by the building’s unique smell, milky-white floors, and quiet silence.

As he swiped his employee ID to enter, the Guild Master awkwardly tried to comfort the potentially disappointed girl.

“We’ll come back for a tour another time.”

She had been staring intently at the pool they’d prepared for summer use.

Maybe he should have at least shown her the pool before coming up.

“Hehe… Can I really come back again…?”

Contrary to the Guild Master’s expectations, the girl was happy.

In her memory, this was her first time going out like this.

She’d even received delicious food and gifts.

Even if it had ended here, she would have remembered it for a lifetime, but he said he’d guide her like this again when she came back.

She was simply overjoyed.

It meant that this happiness wouldn’t be a one-time thing.

Even though she knew she didn’t deserve such happiness, she couldn’t help but feel hopeful.

Above all, she was curious about his claim that he’d show her real-world demons, and that the internet and demons were separate entities.

How could those trash humans not be demons?

This time, even if it was the angelic Guild Master saying it, she couldn’t just accept it without question.

What exactly was he planning to show her?

Just as the Guild Master and the girl entered a room…

“Huh…? Guild Master, what brings you here?”

“What? Sis, are you trying to run away again, claiming you’re going to lose?”

Two familiar women were sitting side by side in large chairs.

A woman with red, short hair and a toned physique.

Another with pink, long hair and noticeably large breasts.

“Ah!”

The girl couldn’t help but exclaim, pointing at the two women.

“It’s those perverts from back then!!”

There was no doubt these were the suspicious sisters who had set up a tent right in front of her when she was adapting to her new body and sleeping rough two months ago!

They had tried to lure her with food, and later even attempted to use force!

According to Mia, people like this were perverts not to be associated with, and…

“Crazy psycho lesbians!!”

That’s what Mia had called them.

The girl shouted this while trembling, hiding behind the Guild Master’s sturdy back.

“……”

“……”

An icy silence fell.

The sisters, who had just emerged from their VR devices after detecting an outsider, hurriedly turned to look at the girl.

That blue hair!

They instantly recalled their encounter on Bukhansan Mountain with the child of such unique appearance.

Of course, they had wanted to touch her cheeks because she was so cute and pretty, but…

Crazy psycho lesbians? Where did she learn such a thing?

At this rate, they might be completely ostracized from society!

The sisters hurried to explain as the Guild Master’s cold gaze fell on them.

“We didn’t do anything like that!!”

“W-we’re sisters, for crying out loud!!”

Fortunately, the Guild Master didn’t suspect the sisters too much.

Given the girl’s lack of common sense, it was more likely she had misunderstood something, so he planned to hear them out first.

So they had met before, at least.

When and under what circumstances did they meet to cause this reaction?

Just as the Guild Master was about to ask…

“They said there’s something called sister rice bowl? Incestuous pure love…?”

The girl peeked out from behind the Guild Master’s waist and spoke.

It was hard to believe such explicit words came from such a small child’s mouth.

“…Come with me. We need to talk.”

In the end, the sisters couldn’t avoid a meeting with the Guild Master.

*

The sisters were team leader-level experts in the Chungseong Guild.

The younger sister, Han Yuyeon.

She was one of the few S-class Awakened like the Guild Master and the deputy leader of the strike team.

The older sister, Han Dayeon.

An A-class Awakened and the leader of the strike team, forming a team with her sister.

Even if those two had wild personalities, calling them lesbians or psychos was a bit… Even the usually lenient Guild Master thought this crossed a line.

“R-really, it’s not like that. We did meet that kid before, but the situation was really weird. She was sleeping alone in the mountains with a blanket spread out, so we thought she was a lost child and tried to help.”

Han Yuyeon hurriedly explained, while Han Dayeon muttered something about “such a cute child… might be okay to be called that…”

So they must have met her before Monk Jamyeong found her.

He wasn’t sure how the misunderstanding about “crazy psycho lesbians” came about, but the fact that they were acquainted was actually positive.

“You really didn’t lay a hand on her?”

The sisters nodded frantically at the Guild Master’s confirmation.

“Of course not! She ran faster than me. Isn’t she an Awakened too? Didn’t you bring her to scout her, like you did with us?”

Faster than her, an S-class physical enhancement Awakened?

It was hard to believe, but the Guild Master, having witnessed the girl’s potential before, knew it was true.

So the girl was indeed an Irregular with more than two abilities.

If she hadn’t been brainwashed by the cult and wasn’t a ticking time bomb, she would have been recognized as the youngest S-class Awakened right now.

His sympathy for the girl grew stronger.

He wanted to help her somehow, but where should he even start with this problem?

As the Guild Master pondered, the sisters grew anxious.

Oh no, we’re not really going to get fired, are we?

We won’t be labeled as villains under some child protection law on top of getting fired, right??

As the silence stretched on, Han Yuyeon couldn’t hold back anymore and raised her voice urgently.

“She… she must be from some wealthy family, right? I thought it was strange how pretty and delicate she was, with such great abilities! Chungseong Guild’s rising star!”

She was trying to flatter the Guild Master, having noticed how close he seemed to the girl.

But to the Guild Master, who knew the girl’s past, it didn’t sound good at all.

‘They left this small child alone in the mountains and now they’re acting so carefree.’

The sisters’ encounter with the girl meant there had been an earlier opportunity to rescue her.

It meant she might have been living with the guild now instead of with the monk.

Of course, he hadn’t known about the girl’s existence then either, and he knew such hypotheticals were meaningless, so he didn’t bother scolding them.

Instead, he planned to make the irritating sisters atone by helping the girl from now on.

“I’m not going to say anything, so don’t worry about it.”

“Phew…”

The sisters finally relaxed, clutching their chests in relief.

Of course, in Korean, you have to listen to the end of the sentence.

“However, I can’t let it slide that you acted in a way that made even a young child suspicious enough to misunderstand.”

“Eek!”

The sisters, who had been slowly backing away, found their ankles caught by telekinesis.

Even the A-class and S-class hunter sisters had to glumly accept reality in the face of such an overpowered ability as telekinesis.

Two small heads bowed deeply towards the ground.

The Guild Master looked at the tops of their heads and delivered his verdict.

“So, you’ll help that child adapt to the guild. That’s your punishment for this incident.”

However, there was something even the Guild Master failed to notice…

“R-really?!”

“Yes. No exceptions.”

“Yes!!”

“…?”

The fact that the sisters were exceptionally weak to cute and pretty things.

We get to be around such a cute kid!

This is incomparably more fun than going in and out of Gates with gloomy people and seeing blood!

Their faces, which had been carefully watching for reactions earlier, now broke into bright smiles, causing the Guild Master to silently swallow a sigh.

To think these crazy people would be the heroes leading the next generation of Chungseong…

It seemed there was one more reason to quickly educate the deep-thinking, smart, and kind girl.

After finishing the conversation, the Guild Master returned to the virtual reality room, bringing along not only the sisters who would help with the girl’s education but also instructor Yang Joya, who had been off duty.

“Eek! T-the Guild Master is rude? You Satan-possessed trash! You deserve to burn in hell forever!!”

They found the girl clutching a smartphone and fuming for some reason.

She was stamping her tiny feet and tapping the smartphone at an invisible speed.

“Wow… So this is what MZ[1] is like these days… Using abilities to type?”

As Han Dayeon had said, she seemed to be using her abilities.

She was so focused that she didn’t even notice them entering.

…She wasn’t like this when I first saw her.

Instructor Yang Joya recalled how the girl used to completely dominate Kim Seongyeong one-sidedly.

She was definitely cute, kind, strong, and, um, resolute? That kind of child, right?

“G-Guild Master. I think we should restrict her internet access after all.”

How did the shy girl who could barely speak turn into this little terror?!

In terms of game sims, it’s like a character who should become a princess ending up as a wallet-draining menace screaming, “Give me 5,000 won to make in-app purchases!”

However, despite the instructor’s advice, the Guild Master shook his head.

Having observed the girl more closely than anyone else, he knew that right now, the girl’s original self and brainwashed self were clashing.

…Even if that wasn’t the case, this behavior had to be due to brainwashing.

It was a blessing that she wasn’t smashing the smartphone or raging about killing the writer.

It meant there was still a possibility of treatment.

“Um… Guild Master, are you not bothered by being insulted on the internet…?”

Ignoring Han Yuyeon’s muttering, the Guild Master led the girl to the virtual reality access device.

“With this, you can meet the demons causing chaos in society. It recreates events that happened in real life.”

He didn’t give a long explanation.

He wanted to observe the girl’s direct reactions.

The girl’s two selves.

They couldn’t always have people like the Guild Master or Monk Jamyeong on her side.

If they couldn’t clearly identify that vague boundary, problems could arise at any time.

Whether she’d be branded as a villain and die, or become a target for villains and die.

Or if the cult found her.

None of these outcomes were good.

“…Can I do whatever I want?”

The Guild Master nodded without hesitation at the girl’s question.

“Yes. We’ll be watching, but do as you please.”

This whole process was to confirm that.

—

[1. raei: This was mentioned before but MZ refers to millennials and gen z.]