Chapter 42: Look at the chest, then it will be solved

“The third and final person is you, Yoon Sihyun.”

Victoria pointed at Sihyun and simultaneously began observing his reaction.

‘Yoon Sihyun, I wonder what kind of reaction you’ll show.’

Humans are not machines.

No matter how much one tries to hide, there are things that inevitably show.

From large tells like gestures or posture to small ones like eye contact and breathing.

An ordinary person can never perfectly conceal their body’s reactions.

‘You must be the same. There will definitely be some change. Show it to me.’

Victoria was a woman with brilliant insight.

It was impossible to hide anything from her eyes.

However.

Even after hearing that he was the last person, Sihyun showed no noticeable change.

His demeanor was completely natural.

‘His gaze is unchanged, and he hasn’t made any unnatural movements. But I can’t definitively say he’s unrelated yet. The swordsmanship he showed then was too similar to Phantom’s… no, it was Phantom’s itself.’

The incredibly beautiful downward slash Sihyun had demonstrated in the training hall.

‘Honestly, it was exactly like Phantom’s. So much so that they overlapped.’

Although Victoria had heard from Master Dojin that Sihyun possessed a prodigious talent for swordsmanship.

From her perspective, that technique at the time was a bit too much to simply dismiss as the work of a genius.

“There are two main reasons why I thought you might be related to Phantom. One is Phantom’s swordsmanship, which you showed me. And there’s another. You apparently had a conversation with Elissa about Phantom.”

Sihyun suddenly recalled the day, a few days before the Eclipse incident, when he had casually chatted with Elissa over coffee.

“I think it was the day Elissa asked to chat casually during lunchtime. But why do you ask?”

At Sihyun’s question, Elissa, who had been embracing Victoria, straightened her posture and replied.

“Sihyun, I told you I had a special ability back then, didn’t I? I can very sensitively read emotional fluctuations, changes, and what real-time emotions people are feeling.”

“So that’s why you said it was surprising how little emotional upheaval I had back then?”

“Yes. Of course, this is just one part of my Ghastly Tale ability. It’s secondary, but quite a useful ability, isn’t it? Hehe.”

Elissa covered her mouth slightly as she chuckled, then continued speaking.

“Ever since I was dispatched, I’ve been talking about Phantom with various guild members and reading their emotions. They were almost all similar: negative emotions like fear, anxiety, and wariness. Or, often, the complete opposite: awe and trust.”

Phantom was a Ghastly Tale that had saved people in extreme situations.

Because a formidable Ghastly Tale with unimaginable power had saved them, people’s feelings towards Phantom were almost equally split into extremes.

“But there was only one person. And that man, an ordinary civilian, had a special reaction. Complete non-reaction (無反應), neither fear nor awe. Sihyun’s emotions were like a calm lake, showing no change at all. Honestly, at first I thought I’d misread it… but even after reading it multiple times, it was the same.”

“That’s why we put you on the list as the last person potentially related to Phantom. Someone who has no interest in Phantom but sees his swordsmanship once and imitates it, honestly, that’s concerning.”

Sihyun, quietly listening to the two women’s words, maintained his calm demeanor.

Victoria found his attitude intriguing.

‘How strange. Even if he’s unrelated, I expected some reaction after being singled out, but he’s this calm? Is it because he’s skilled in swordsmanship?’

The foundation of the sword (劍) is peace of mind.

Those who cannot control their own minds are not worthy of wielding a sword.

Victoria found it quite remarkable that he managed his emotions as well as he managed his sword.

“And for those we determine to have a high relevance to Phantom, besides detecting them with MDM, there will also be a one-on-one interview process with Elissa.”

Elissa possessed an exceptional ability to read others’ emotions.

Showing behavior inconsistent with one’s emotions in front of her meant, in itself, that something was being hidden.

Victoria was curious about Sihyun’s emotions, which outwardly still showed no change.

“So, Elissa, would you explain here how Sihyun’s emotions have been changing so far?”

Elissa had been reading the emotions flowing from Sihyun since earlier.

“Sihyun is… truly a fascinating person. From beginning to end, his emotions show no change. They are calm, like a serene lake, or like ascetics who have achieved great enlightenment.”

“I wondered if it might be the case, but so this man isn’t related to Phantom after all… Then I’ll ask one more thing. What emotion is Sihyun feeling right now?”

Elissa met Sihyun’s gaze for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.

“Serenity… and a mix of happiness. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt emotions that make even me feel this good… Sihyun has a very pure heart.”

At that moment, Sihyun’s mind, belonging to a very pure heart, was filled with a single thought.

‘Elissa’s chest is really big. Heheheh.’

****

What is a chest?

Is it what appears when that white blouse is unbuttoned?

Some foolish people say that a chest is merely a lump of fat, completely meaningless.

‘Hmph (喝)!!’

Sihyun could never agree with that opinion.

To him, a chest was truth.

Sihyun was a man who believed that everything, from the affairs of the world to the myriad phenomena (森羅萬象), existed within a woman’s chest.

‘There’s a reason people say looking at large chests prolongs your life.’

The phrase “the bigger, the better” (巨巨益善) doesn’t just apply to monitors.

You might be wondering why there’s suddenly talk of chests out of nowhere, but this was all part of Sihyun’s meticulous plan.

From the moment Elissa spoke about her ability, Sihyun kept his gaze fixed on her chest.

‘From this moment on, I am a chest-man, seeing only chests and thinking only of chests.’

A person cannot hold two thoughts simultaneously.

From the moment Victoria singled him out as someone related to Phantom, if he were to lie or show any reaction, he would obviously be caught by Elissa, a walking lie detector.

‘In that case, wouldn’t it be solved if I just cleared my mind and thought of nothing?’

So, to empty his mind, Sihyun decided to openly stare at Elissa’s chest, which was captivating his gaze with its alluring form.

A man with a chest before his eyes becomes a fool, no matter how intelligent.

‘A two-birds-with-one-stone strategy: empty my mind and look at chests, let’s go!’

And that strategy was very effective.

As soon as Victoria heard Elissa say there was no emotional change, she completely dismissed her suspicions about Sihyun.

“Elissa, I’ll confirm one last time. Are Sihyun’s emotions still the same as before?”

“Yes. Sihyun maintains a very calm and serene state of mind. He didn’t react specially to the word ‘Phantom’ either. Just like last time, Sihyun is truly… an upright and interesting person. Hehe.”

“Hmm~ What’s gotten into you? You’re giving compliments. You always said men made you uncomfortable. Is Sihyun okay, then?”

“With Sihyun… it’s true that he’s easy to deal with because I always feel only a calm mind from him.”

Ever since Elissa gained the ability to read emotions, she found it uncomfortable to deal with men.

And for good reason: whenever she conversed with men, insidious and lust-filled emotions always flowed from them.

‘But Sihyun… his emotions were always like calm ripples, which I found fascinating. That’s probably why I found myself talking to him so much.’

Of course, Sihyun also had desires and urges. Perhaps even more than most men.

However, the reason they weren’t outwardly expressed was because he was a virgin who had never dated.

As the saying goes, ‘those who have tasted meat know it well,’ he merely kept his desires deep within his heart and didn’t know how to express them, which is why Elissa couldn’t sense any urges from Sihyun.

Completely unaware of this fact, Elissa smiled lightly and looked at Victoria, who was still in her arms.

“Unnie, have your thoughts about Sihyun changed a bit, then?”

“There were hardly any people related to Phantom to begin with, so Sihyun was practically forced onto the list. There was no circumstantial evidence, and certainly no physical evidence.”

“Congratulations, Sihyun. It seems my unnie has largely dropped her suspicions.”

Hearing that, Sihyun inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

‘Then why did she act like some great detective and point at me at first? I was seriously scared shitless!’

When Victoria first singled him out, he thought his heart would drop.

He really thought he’d been found out.

‘My shamelessness shone through again this time! I really think I have a talent for this?’

Sihyun smiled slightly triumphantly and crossed his arms.

“Then can I leave this evening? I don’t think I necessarily have to stay here for 24 hours.”

“Unfortunately, no. I heard from Master Dojin that the sealed iron gate was made to only open after 24 hours. We’re all stuck here for a whole day.”

“Haa… why did that old man have to make it that way, really, it’s so pointless.”

As Elissa listened quietly to the conversation, she grew curious about why Sihyun was so eager to go home.

“Sihyun, is it because of your younger sister who’s home alone?”

“Yes. She’s still young, and… I promised her I’d definitely come home early today. If I break it, the world will end—no, my sister will be very sad.”

Actually, if it were just a matter of her being simply sad, it would be better.

‘If it only ended with her being sad, I could just crawl on the floor and beg with both hands to appease her… but the problem is, it never just ends with sadness.’

Even when he first met Luna, she instinctively disliked being separated from him.

Even back then, when she didn’t understand emotions, she was reluctant to part. Now that she’s gradually learning emotions, if he were to disappear for a day without a word…?

A chill ran down his spine.

‘This time, a bad ending might actually pop up. And right before my eyes!’

Sihyun was currently in no position to be picky.

‘I need to do everything I can right now!’

****

The Master’s Room, located on the top floor of the guild.

Dojin, who was in charge of the Light of Dawn, was currently dumbfounded by Sihyun’s sudden intrusion and words.

Dojin pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers and looked at Sihyun.

“I might just be too tired this morning and heard nonsense, so tell me again slowly from the beginning.”

“Haa, I’m seriously dying of urgency, so I’ll explain just one more time, please pay attention, old man!”

Sihyun tidied his disheveled clothes from rushing up and began his explanation.

“Old man, ordinary people can’t enter the guild, right? And the guild can’t just keep ordinary people here either.”

“That’s obvious. An ordinary person who isn’t affiliated shouldn’t be here, nor can they be.”

As soon as Sihyun heard Dojin’s words, he pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

“What’s this?”

“My resignation letter. From this moment on, I’m just an ordinary civilian, not an affiliate, so please, hurry and kick me out!”

Sihyun decided to quit the guild to return to Luna within the day.