Part 1 Chapter 10 7

June 26, 2020, 2:00 PM, Yeouido Phoenix Penthouse.

After sending Gaeul, transformed into Cheonghwa, to film a commercial, I returned to Seoul, trying hard not to care about my relationship with Lee Seung-hyung.

Naturally, I wasn’t caught by anyone. And to protect Gaeul, who remained alone in New Seoul, I intended to dispatch humanity’s best bodyguard.

“So you’re telling me to protect Phantom as soon as I arrive in Seoul?”

Xiaolin, who handed me an S-rank Core and a small box, pouted her lips, expressing her dissatisfaction. I had an idea of how to resolve her complaint, but Xiaolin had to fly to New Seoul right away.

[Aren’t you Cheonghwa’s escort?]

“You’re Cheonghwa, though.”

[Right now, I’m the Villain Phoenix. Cheonghwa is in New Seoul, so go there. When you come back, I’ll stick to you as much as you want. So….]

Kaang!

I knocked my left arm outwards, deflecting the weapon. The blade struck my armor and was pushed aside, and I thrust my right fist straight out, grabbing Xiaolin by the collar.

“Ugh!”

Xiaolin, who tried to escape by becoming a spirit body, was immediately grabbed by the collar by me. Xiaolin’s surprise attack failed, and I subdued her in just one exchange.

[You’re twitching your fingers again out of habit. Next time you try a surprise attack, how about doing it openly?]

“Tch.”

Xiaolin’s fighting spirit was broken, and I released her collar.

“Too bad. I thought the surprise attack would work.”

The front of her blue battle robe came undone, fully exposing Xiaolin’s chest, but Xiaolin flopped onto the sofa without even thinking of covering it.

“I’ll rest for a bit and then go. Ten minutes is fine, right?”

[Yes.]

“Can’t you release your transformation?”

[Gaeul is currently transformed into Cheonghwa, so we don’t know what might happen.]

If Cheonghwa appeared in both New Seoul and Seoul, there was a possibility that Gaeul’s supernatural ability would be exposed. I, in my monstrous human form, carefully reviewed the report Kim Ji-hwa had submitted and resumed my afternoon work.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock sounded. I wondered who would come to my office at this hour.

[Come in.]

“Boss, it’s me.”

The one who opened the door and entered was the Architect, James Lee, with a soulless face. Xiaolin was lying on the sofa in her spirit body state, but to me, the exhibitionist, full of anticipation and not bothering to cover herself, was clearly visible.

“…Huh? Was someone here?”

[There’s no one. Sit there.]

“I brought my own drink, so I’m good.”

The Architect clinked his can of beer and plopped down on the opposite sofa. I sat facing the Architect, and the exhibitionist’s actions began to grow bolder.

[What’s the matter? You’re in the middle of work right now.]

“Because of that, something a bit troublesome came up.”

[Troublesome? What could be so important that you’d come yourself?]

“This.”

The Architect displayed a screen from his watch. It contained content entirely different from the demands of the protestors I had seen in New Seoul, which were about expanding Seoul’s bus routes, and it was quite sensitive for the Azure Syndicate.

“The New Seoul people are making a fuss, demanding that the rebuilt buildings in Seoul be handed over. Especially the apartments. The people who were in Dongjak are all living there now, aren’t they?”

[Not a single one of them has real ownership.]

Perhaps due to a compensation complex for the hardships they endured living in underground dugouts, all the residents of Seoul had set up homes in the apartments built by the Architect.

The problem arose from the fact that the apartments the Architect built were identical in form to the buildings before Seoul was destroyed.

“If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have restored them. Does this make sense? Their original buildings were all destroyed, weren’t they? So naturally, ownership and everything else would be gone, wouldn’t it?”

[Even if the buildings are gone, the land remains.]

“It was only three months ago that Seoul was the land of monsters and Villains. Tsk. Ah, I’m not blaming you, Boss. I’m really grateful that you allowed 60,000 people to see the sunlight. But listen.”

The Architect slammed his can of beer roughly onto the table, venting his frustration.

“Then they should just be allowed to live there, what is this?! Huh?”

[Calm down. This was something I was prepared for from the beginning.]

“Then what’s your solution, Boss? Ah, wait a minute. First, here’s my opinion.”

The Architect unfolded a map of the Korean Peninsula. He placed his index finger on Seoul and then drew a straight line northward.

“Let’s just build a city here. Huh? Phoenix City! Sounds good. Let’s take everyone here and build a city on ownerless land.”

[That’s impossible.]

No matter how much the Architect wore a hanbok, he couldn’t grasp the psychological burden on Seoul’s residents.

[Where would the people of Seoul go if they left Seoul? It’s not like they’re fleeing a war.]

Even though he had witnessed firsthand how tenaciously Seoul’s residents endured underground and never left Seoul, the Architect harbored considerable resentment about the buildings he restored being taken by their original owners.

[Don’t worry. Those coming up to Seoul from New Seoul are extremely limited. Only five buses run a day, aren’t they?]

“Are you aware that some of those who came up already tried to find their homes and were subdued by Haneulseong?”

[That’s news to me.]

I had heard nothing of the sort. The Architect was about to explode in anger but calmed down by taking a drink.

“Well, it happened this morning, so how would you know? You happened to be away, Boss. My apologies. I’m not being very rational right now.”

[No. I understand.]

“Damn it. This is all because that Black Flame Dragon isn’t scary. An S-rank monstrous human is acting like a playground ride for kids, so why would the New Seoul people be afraid? It’s truly absurd. When the City Hall Snake had its eyes wide open, people couldn’t even come to Incheon, let alone Seoul.”

The Architect pointed to Guro and Gangnam.

“How about stationing monsters here with those two Cores? Revive the Water Guardian in Guro and the Earth Dragon in Gangnam. Wouldn’t that scare people away from coming up?”

[Still, those who want to come up will come up. Hmm, did I deal with the road monsters too quickly?]

“Isn’t it because you’re working too hard, Boss? They say monsters are spawning in Pyongyang, right? You’re wiping them all out before they even cross the DMZ, so how could Seoul be in danger?”

Seoul had regained stability. Nucleon, the only monstrous threat, had now reached a stage where it could be safely subdued by awakening a new Spirit.

“It’s a dilemma. Ugh. We need to develop, but it’s too safe, so flies are swarming. Damn it.”

[This is too much. Rest for today.]

“……?”

The Architect’s expression stiffened as he was about to open his second can of beer. Why? Had I made a mistake?

“Did you just tell me to rest, Boss?”

[When it’s time to rest, you should rest. Didn’t I rest when I came from China?]

Though it was only for ten minutes.

“It’s only a little past 2 PM, though?”

[Clock out. Even if clocking out just means going to your room. Rest today, and we’ll have a meeting when Phantom returns. We’ll discuss it tomorrow night. Rest until then.]

I issued an order for the Architect to leave, and the Architect ran out of my room with a more excited expression than ever before.

“Fuck Yea——-!!!”

[He’s leaving without even closing the door.]

Could the word “rest” make him that happy? I flicked mana to close the door.

[So, Xiaolin-yang.]

“Haa, haa. Yes…?”

[Is it that good to be a spirit body and do a strip show?]

Xiaolin appeared on the table in a state of complete nudity. She placed her hands on her chest and said in a serious voice.

“I, I sincerely feel happy to have become Hwanryong-nim’s apostle.”

[Why?]

“Because I can become transparent like this…! Heueuseut!”

Xiaolin writhed on the table. I wrapped mana around my hand, grabbed Xiaolin by the nape of her neck, and threw her with full force out the window.

“Kyaaaak!”

Xiaolin, thrown out of the hotel, fell joyfully. I sincerely hoped that when she escorted Gaeul, she would wear clothes and stay by her side.

Ppiririri.

A call rang from downstairs. To answer the phone, I temporarily released my monstrous human form and spoke in my normal voice.

“What is it?”

[My husband just said he saw something strange. He said some crazy woman jumped naked from your room, laughing?]

“That’s Xiaolin.”

[Oh my. Have you opened your eyes to such plays now?]

“People who do doggy style while looking out the window shouldn’t be talking about-“

Dduk.

The call ended.

[I guess I should feel a bit sorry for the Architect.]

I immediately changed back into my monstrous human form and did a backflip.

Kwagagang!

A golden sword and sharp jets of water shot up from the floor. The floor was riddled with holes, and two blonde individuals, a man and a woman, burst out from the hole pierced by the golden sword.

“Did you install a hidden camera, you trash?!”

“To spy on a couple’s private life! I can’t forgive you, no matter who you are!”

Heo Yun-hwan and Anastasia aimed their weapons at me, their faces flushed.
Gwanggeom, clad in a white gown, was subtly twisting his lower body, and his wife-Vladimir Rusalka Anastasia-was tearing off curtains to cover herself.
Jjigeok.
A white, sticky liquid flowed from Rusalka’s thigh.
[Ah. You were in the middle of ejaculating. My bad.]
“Seobang-nim!”
“Uwooooh!”
Gwanggeom activated his Ultimate Skill. I had to sweat quite a bit to calm down the two aroused individuals in that golden world.
Ah.
The damaged hotel floor was fixed by the Architect in just one minute before he left.
* * *
At that same time, while Phoenix was putting up a good fight against the couple.
Gaeul, transformed into Cheonghwa, entered the waiting room prepared by the association. The waiting room, hastily arranged for Cheonghwa, still bore traces of the room’s previous occupant, which hadn’t been tidied up.
“I apologize, Cheonghwa-nim. This was originally an empty room….”
“It’s fine. It seems the previous occupant used it quite neatly, didn’t they?”
“Ah… well.”
Baek Heea bit her lip in embarrassment. Even though it had been quite some time since the room’s owner had left, she herself thought it was completely inappropriate to use a room used by a man as a temporary waiting room, but there was nothing she could do.
The association, specifically the Korean branch, struggled to keep Cheonghwa in Korea by any means necessary. Since coercive methods wouldn’t work at all, it was a shallow trick to try and change Cheonghwa’s mind.
However, these were merely ideas born from armchair administration, and it was a plan that would make Cheonghwa quite uncomfortable if she found out.
“The previous owner of this room… was it Fire Fist?”
“……How?”
Baek Heea’s eyes widened. Gaeul pointed to a photo hanging on the wall like a decoration. It showed Fire Fist Lee Seung-hyung and actress Cheon Gaeul waving affectionately at the camera.
“Ah. Something like that was hanging there…. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll remove it.”
“No. You can just leave it.”
Gaeul’s gaze was fixed on her appearance before she became a monstrous human. Baek Heea felt as if that look was evaluating the actress Cheon Gaeul.
‘Perhaps.’
Baek Heea had overheard heroes teasing Lee Seung-hyung playfully. They said he liked Cheon Gaeul, and after Cheon Gaeul died in Seoul, he mourned and then firmly put his feelings aside.
And after that, the heroes were only looking for an opportunity to link him with Cheonghwa to soothe his wounded heart, and in fact, Lee Seung-hyung didn’t react too strongly to the teasing either.
‘Is there really something going on?’
It had been strange from the moment she said she would film a public service announcement, which was heavily propagandistic for the association and the government. However, Baek Heea began to feel the seeds of doubt sprout as she observed Cheonghwa.
“…Hmm, mine’s bigger.”
“!!”
Gaeul fully opened her chest and compared herself to the Gaeul in the mirror. Baek Heea’s pride was slightly bruised by the overwhelming difference, but there was clearly no significant difference between Cheon Gaeul in the photo and Cheonghwa in front of her.
“Ah, I’m sorry. That was just me talking to myself.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Um, Executive-nim.”
Gaeul raised her head and pointed to Cheon Gaeul in the mirror.
“Do you happen to know that person?”
“Yes. She was an actress who is now deceased. She went missing in Seoul, but no one knows where she went.”
“Is that so…”
Gaeul smiled bitterly. Baek Heea scratched her cheek and added.
“Still, both her parents believe she’s still alive. Last time, they came out with the protestors and stayed in the plaza until late at night in a wheelchair….”
“What? A protest?”
Gaeul’s expression stiffened. Baek Heea realized her mistake, but it wasn’t something that needed to be hidden, so she continued.
“Yes. People want to go to Seoul a lot, but the bus routes are currently operating on a limited schedule. To meet all the demand, the current routes need to be tripled.”
“…….”
Gaeul’s expression became complicated.
A moment later.
Cheonghwa’s expression, as she left the waiting room for the shoot, showed no sign of brightening. Baek Heea felt dizzy from her own slip of the tongue.