episode_0069

… … … … …

At that moment, a black shadow appeared like lightning in the darkness. In the blink of an eye, the shadow that jumped between the rice straws was that of a woman. Her black suit sparkled, reflecting the moonlight.

It was almost exactly like the situation I had experienced in this alley before. It didn’t take a second for the first chimpanzee mask, the rice-sack, to fall. Her foot hit the chimpanzee mask, and with a bone-crunching sound, the guy fell to the ground.

“What the?!”

“Mi, crazy… … !”

The cries of the panicked rice-eaters were heard, but it was too late. She moved quickly and ruthlessly, and the results were disastrous.

One rice cake’s arm was bent at an abnormal angle, and another rice cake’s knee was folded upside down.

“Aaak!”

“Sa, save me!”

Screams filled the alley. But she didn’t seem to sense anything from their screams, and just suppressed the rice-stalkers coldly and mercilessly.

A rice-stalker swung a machete behind her, but she turned as if she had foreseen it. The blade slashed at her, slicing off a few strands of her hair, but the next moment, she heard the rice-stalker’s wrist snap.

A rice worm who had been watching the whole scene from a distance decided to run away. However, she was too fast and was already in the guy’s escape route, and he was caught by her hand and fell face down on the ground.

“Sa, save me――”

Without even listening to the rice cake’s pleas, she pressed her foot against his back. With a crunching sound, he stopped moving.

It took less than a minute for this entire sequence of events to be over. The alley was filled with fallen chimpanzee masks, their occasional groans audible only.

And I was frozen in place. I couldn’t tell if what had just happened was a dream or reality. She, dressed in a black suit, walked slowly into the darkness without even giving me a glance.

But I couldn’t just let her go. This time, I had to thank her for helping me.

“Hey, hey… … !”

I called out to her without realizing it. Her steps seemed to stop for a moment, but she soon started walking again.

I ran towards her with all my might, but my legs were still shaking and the distance between us was not closing.

“Please wait! Seo-ah!”

I shouted desperately, but she didn’t look back. Instead, her speed seemed to have increased.

She was just walking, and no matter how much I ran, I couldn’t catch up with her. It was as if there was an invisible wall between us.

“Why… … Why are you running away? Please… … Wait a minute! What did I do wrong?”

My breath was pounding. But I couldn’t give up. At first, I wanted to thank her for saving me again after a long time, and now I wanted to know why she was avoiding me.

“Seo-ah! Wait! Please!”

My head was in disarray. Seo-ah must have been a cool, nice, and kind woman.

Why was she avoiding me? What happened between us? But no matter how hard I tried to recall, it was as if my mind was covered in fog.

“Seo-ah! Seo-ah! I… I don’t remember very well. What happened? Did I do something wrong to you?”

My voice was becoming more and more desperate. But she only flinched once when I said I didn’t remember, and then she seemed to have picked up the pace, now completely out of sight.

“Gasp, gasp, please… … ! Please explain. You helped me. But why… … !”

As I was running, panting, my foot suddenly twisted. I think I may have tripped on a rock. Eventually, I lost my balance and fell forward.

“Aww!”

My face was slammed into the floor, and my nose was sore. I wiped it with my hand, and red liquid came out. It was a nosebleed.

“Oh my, oh my… … .”

I tried to slowly get up, enduring the pain, but I couldn’t find the strength in my legs. It seemed like the strength I had lost from the chase and tension from earlier had completely been exhausted as I sprinted to catch up with Seo-ah.

I lay face down on the floor, blood dripping from my nose, and looked around. But Seo-ah was nowhere to be seen, and only then did I realize that I was left alone in an alley I had no idea about.

“This, you have to get up first… … .”

I muttered and tried to get up again. Maybe it was because I had used magic, but I felt like I was going to die because my body was so weak.

I had to get up. If I sat like this, I felt like I would collapse, and if I did, I would almost certainly fall asleep like a passout.

At that moment, footsteps were heard in the darkness. Someone was approaching cautiously.

“Who, who are you… … ?”

My voice shook with tension. Could it be that the rice-slickers from the Human Defense Association have returned?

The footsteps grew closer and closer. And finally, a figure emerged from the darkness.

“… … Are you okay?”

A low, soft voice. I knew this voice.

When I looked up, I saw Seo-ah’s face. Her face was a mixture of worry and hesitation. Perhaps because of the moonlight, her face looked paler than usual.

“Seo, Seo-ah… … .”

She slowly reached out and grabbed my arm. Her cold, soft hand was shaking slightly, but I could feel the strength in it.

“Be careful… … Be careful. Get up slowly.”

I was barely able to stand up with Seo-ah’s help. During that process, Seo-ah’s eyes met mine.

Her eyes revealed a complex range of emotions that were difficult to describe in words: worry, fear, and something deeper and darker than anything else… .

“I have a nosebleed… … ”

Miss Seo took a handkerchief out of her pocket and carefully wiped my nose. Her movements were soft and delicate, but I felt that she was extremely nervous.

“Are you hurt badly? Does anything hurt?”

“It’s okay, Seo-ah. I just fell and got a little scratched. It doesn’t hurt that much.”

“Really… … Is it really okay? And last time, I was in the fall army――”

“Yes. You gave me many gifts. But they were too big for me, so I returned them, right?

I still feel sorry about that. I just couldn’t handle it… … .”

Although she answered with a smile, Seo-ah’s expression was still dark. Her eyes shook anxiously.

“Really… … is it okay? But at the end… … .”

“Is this the last one?

… … I’m sorry. It’s the last one, I really don’t remember… … I tend to forget a lot.”

Miss Seo-ah’s face hardened for a moment, then quickly changed to an expression of relief. The change was so quick that I wondered if I had been mistaken.

“No. I just… …just in case. There are always a lot of dangerous things happening around here… ….”

I tilted my head at her words. Something was off. I felt like I was forgetting something incredibly important, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

“Seo-ah, I think you have something on your mind. What happened? And why were you avoiding me earlier?”

Seo-ah seemed to hesitate. In the end, she bit her lips and shook her head.

“No. It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired. And what Gaeul-kun shouted… I guess I didn’t hear him.”

“Aha… …I see. Then you should get some rest. Seo-ah is busy with work during the day and is busy with vigilante activities at night.”

After hearing what I said, Seo-ah took a deep breath. Her eyes softened a little.

“Okay. I think it would be better to take a break today.

Then, Autumn Army… … Would you like to stop by the secret base again?

It’s too late, public transportation is past its operating hours, and this road is not safe to walk home. I’ll stay the night.”

I was grateful for Seo-ah’s offer, but I felt a strange sense of unease. My chest felt tight and my breathing became rapid.

It was a fear that I couldn’t explain, and it enveloped my whole body in an instant. It seemed like something terrible had happened long ago, but I couldn’t remember it properly.

My reason told me that I should accept Miss Seoah’s offer. She had helped me twice from the evil Human Defense Society, and it was practically life-saving.

Even now, she was worried about me and was willing to lend me her place, even though I was, strictly speaking, a stranger.

It was definitely something to be thankful for. My instincts were screaming at me to shake her off, as if following her would be a great danger.

“I, that’s… … .”

As I hesitated, Seo-ah’s expression darkened even more. Sadness appeared in her eyes.

“… … I understand. You still feel reluctant, right?”

At her words, I hastily shook my head.

“No! That’s not it, it’s just… … .”

But I couldn’t continue speaking there. I trusted Seo-ah, but an inexplicable fear was squeezing me.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself to come. Instead, I’ll drop you off at Ga-eul’s house.”

Miss Seo’s voice was full of regret. At that moment, I could tell that her throat was choked up.

Although she appeared cold and tough on the outside, she was actually a considerate and kind woman, and it was rare to see her sad.

“Really, Seo-ah. Let’s go together. Seo-ah’s secret base, I want to go there again after a long time.”