Part 1, Chapter 8, Section 5

After quickly handling things in New Seoul, I immediately left New Seoul and headed for Busan.

I didn’t need to worry about the broadcasting stations or related parties who had prepared interviews, press conferences, and so on with Cheonghwa; if I delayed unnecessarily, I might not be able to leave the airport.

“There are a lot of people looking for me, so if I announce the date, it’ll just get annoying. It’s better to leave right away.”

“And you’re telling me to deal with the aftermath myself, right?”

The white-haired woman, Seok Harang, the Snow Spirit, now the Association’s official SS-rank ability user, argued with me. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Isn’t dealing with things like this why I joined the Round Table?”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Hey, the guys coming in from outside are already annoying enough to death, have you thought about what’ll happen if the biggest troublemaker goes abroad?”

“Nothing much will happen. And it’s better to move quickly than to dawdle.”

“That Illusion-attribute Spirit or whatever it is? What’s its name?”

“Chaos Illusion Dragon.”

“Is it a dragon or something?”

Seok Harang snorted, scoffing at the Illusion-attribute Spirit’s name, Dragon. Unlike me, who is Fire-attribute, or Seok Harang’s mother, ‘Rusalka of the Snowy Night,’ his Illusion-attribute name is a bit different from other Spirits.
“No. It’s not a dragon or a wyrm.”
“Then why ‘Illusion Dragon’?”
“How would I know that? That’s just its original name. If you want to argue about it, go argue with the higher-ups in the Association who named you ‘Seolwolhwa’.”
“Are those guys the culprits? ……?”
Seok Harang tilted her head, her face showing she felt something strange.
“Something’s weird again…?”
“What?”
“Ah, no. Never mind. More importantly, you should at least decide on this before you go.”
Seok Harang pulled up a newspaper article on her smartwatch. The article showed black-haired foreigners, people who were once Korean but had immigrated overseas, stranded at Gimhae Airport.
“I’m wondering what we should do about them, so tell me your opinion.”
“…Before that, the title.”
I found and checked the title of the article that Seok Harang had deliberately hidden.
Snow Spirit: “Welcome to Korea, foreigners.”
“Did you really say that?”
“……Ah, that’s right. …It’s infuriating! They’re guys who packed all their bags and ran off to foreign countries just to save themselves, when it wouldn’t even be enough for all of us to stay and suffer together. Why should I be nice to them?”
“…….”
For me, who knew the future and the original story, it was a truly bittersweet situation. The xenophobia in the original story grew worse by the day, and Seok Harang was at its peak. And yet, the original protagonist, the hero who saved the country, was a blonde American.
“Seok Harang. Don’t hate those people too much.”
“Why?”
“One of those blonde foreigners might be your husband.”
“Bullshit.”
“Just wait and see.”
I wonder how Seok Harang will react when the original protagonist comes to Korea. It’s both terrifying and, in a way, something I look forward to.
I vividly remember the episodes where Seok Harang, who used to be so tsundere about hating foreigners, slowly melted for the blonde Western man.
Especially the event scene where they lay on a beanbag, bodies intertwined, chatting about trivial things before moving on to the act….
“……Seok Harang.”
“What now?”
“Now that I think about it.”
I got up and took a step closer to Seok Harang. As I approached, Seok Harang tensed up again and drew a breath. It was a black tank top, so it was a bit confusing, but a quick glance confirmed a clear difference.
“W-what is it?”
“Your chest seems to have gotten bigger.”
“?!?!”
What kind of mystery of ability is this? The half-human, half-spirit born between Gwanggeom and Rusalka seemed to have overcome the power of genetics and succeeded in shedding one ‘A’ from AA.
“Can I touch them?”
“…….”
Seok Harang blushed, took a deep breath, and pushed her chest forward. It was a washboard compared to Phoenix’s, but with the awakening of her ability, a small hill had formed.
“Hmm. Indeed.”
I touched Seok Harang. Her wrist.
“…….?”
“Indeed. As her mana increased, her chest armor also increased-”
“Why aren’t you touching them?”
Seok Harang, her face flushed, argued with me. I pondered for a moment what this foolish SS-rank was saying, but the tension I felt from her mana made me scoff.
“You’re so brazen.”
“W-what’s wrong with it?! There’s no problem between Spirits, is there?!”
“Why would I touch your chest?”
There’s no need to touch directly. If I read the mana flowing through her body, I can ascertain her physique in the blink of an eye.
“Hmm…”
I held Seok Harang’s wrist and read the wavelength of the Water-attribute mana flowing through her body. My intuition didn’t seem to be mistaken; it appeared her chest had grown five years earlier thanks to reaching SS-rank five years ahead of the original story.
“Hmm. That’s it. It really did get bigger.”
“……Hey, you know what?”
Seok Harang raised both hands, her eyes sparkling.
“If I let you touch my chest, shouldn’t I get to touch yours too?”
“…….”
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. I hadn’t even touched her chest in the first place, but Seok Harang seemed to have felt something from it.
“No.”
Hwareuk.
Before Seok Harang could lay her hands on this body, I transformed into the Mini Phoenix I had waiting outside. My body in her room vanished into flames, and I lifted my chest on a building rooftop far away from Seok Harang.
[Overwhelming chest difference. It’s obvious just by looking, so why bother?]
[Do you want to die?]
Seok Harang placed her hand on her butterfly-shaped hairpin and conveyed her thoughts with mana. Thanks to mana communication, which was possible between Spirits, I could converse with Seok Harang even from a distance.
[I don’t want to die, so I’m running away. And can you even kill me?]
[Hey! Get back here! Do you think the reputation of the world’s first SS-rank is worth pocket change?!]
[Well. I can clearly see a white piece of gum stuck here.]
Paaang!
A sharp ice spear grazed my earlobe. I tilted my head slightly to dodge the attack, but a gasp of admiration escaped me at the ice spear’s power, which was much faster and stronger than before.
[Don’t worry. Even so, once you reach SSS, you’ll escape A.]
[What? Are you sure?! If you’re lying, I’ll kill you!!]
[I confirmed it myself, so it can’t be wrong. Well then, I’m off.]
Before Seok Harang could charge, I transferred back to the Mini Phoenix I had sent to the prearranged location. Seok Harang jumped from the balcony and flew towards me by creating an ice path, but my body teleported to another place much faster than her.
“You’re here?”

“Yes. Did you pack all the luggage?”
“…First you use people as insoles, and now you’re treating me like a porter?”
“That’s why I made you my subordinate. And you’re subordinate number two.”
I took the luggage bag from Deokbae, who was wearing a black suit and a blue tie. As if I were backpacking, my small backpack contained important items in various senses.
“What about the time?”
“It’s tight. We have to go in 10 minutes.”
“Then we’re just in time. Let’s go in.”
“Wait a minute.”
I was about to step forward to check in at the airport lounge, but subordinate number two blocked my way.
“What is it? If I brought you all the way to Busan, even as an insole, you should just quietly follow. Do you know how much trouble Eun Yuha-agassi went through to get you a seat?”
“Let’s argue about the insole issue later, for now, let’s argue about this.”
Deokbae pointed to a large screen hanging in the direction of the airport waiting area. On it, Praetor Yoo Young-ho, representing the Association, was standing at a press conference podium with a haggard appearance.
-At the request of the Chinese government, the Association has decided to prioritize dispatching the ability user , registered with the Association today, to China. Following the Xi’an Gate incident, the Chinese government formally requested support from the Association to suppress the monsters rampaging in various parts of China…
“Oh. When was that announced? I didn’t see it.”
“Twenty minutes ago. So, the situation right now is a total mess, a total mess.”
Deokbae pointed to those watching the recorded press conference video. I turned my gaze in the direction his finger indicated, and there was a frenzied crowd spewing curses.
“What the hell is that bullshit?! Why are they sending our Hero to another country?!”
“Is the Association crazy?!”
“Let’s block them! Let’s block their way, even if we have to lie down! And while we’re at it, let’s block those foreigners from entering the airport too!”
Crowds numbering in the dozens swarmed around, beginning to denounce the Association. I pointed at them with my finger and shrugged my shoulders.
“Get on quickly before they block the way. If we miss the flight, will Jo Deokbae-ssi pay for it? It’s business class, you know?”
“……I don’t know. You deal with it.”
Deokbae shook his hand dismissively and went ahead to check in.
“I told him to be a bodyguard, but he just does whatever he wants… Ugh.”
I briefly considered burning Deokbae’s head, but his head was already a bald mountain, completely burned.
“Hmph, I’m letting you off easy.”

I scurried over and stuck close behind Deokbae. The airport staff, who had been comparing me and Deokbae, looked annoyed as they checked our passports, then suddenly startled.
“……Excuse me?”
“What’s wrong?”
The staff member looked back and forth between the blue girl on their smartwatch screen and me, falling into confusion. Me, my passport photo, the screen. All three were Cheonghwa, the monster tamer.
“Uh, well, that…”
“I apologize for coming with only five minutes left until boarding. May I go in?”
“Ah, yes! Identity verification…. Uh…”
While the staff member was flustered, I bowed my head in greeting and smoothly moved inside.
“Good luck with your troubles.”
Deokbae picked up his and my passports and bypassed the staff member to enter. I waited for Deokbae in the middle of the tollgate, then waved at the other staff members who were staring at me with their mouths agape.
“I’ll be back safely.”
“Ah, yes. ……Huh?”
I quietly exited the tollgate. The sound of the staff member muttering to themselves behind me clearly reached my ears.
“Why is she here right now…?”
Because I’m departing right now, of course. I took my passport from Deokbae and headed for the plane.
***
-This is breaking news. We have just received word that Beast Tamer, Cheonghwa-yang, has just boarded a flight to China at Gimhae Airport. According to eyewitness reports, she suddenly appeared at the airport and immediately proceeded with check-in…
“That trashy bastard caused trouble again and left.”
The middle-aged blonde man clicked his tongue, confirming the whereabouts of the blue girl, Cheonghwa, who was being talked about on the news. The platinum-blonde woman, who had her head resting on his thigh, answered while slurping from a vodka bottle with a straw.
“Seeing how she causes trouble without dealing with the aftermath, she’s no different from before.”
“Honey, what are you talking about?”
The man called the woman, who looked almost half his age, ‘honey’. The woman, who looked like she had just become an adult, casually pointed at the TV at the man’s endearment.
“She had many sides like that even when she was in that other world. It’s just…”
The woman shuddered with apparent disgust at Phoenix’s appearance, trembling like a frightened canary in front of people after registering as a Hero with the Association.
“She even puts on such an act in front of humans. Ugh, how can she be like that?”
“……Honey. So, she told Harang that she got her pregnant, right? What about that?”
“That’s nonsense. She probably just wanted to play a prank on you, darling.”
“……My eyes certainly popped open.”
The man shivered as if still getting goosebumps. The woman lifted the vodka bottle she was drinking from.
“Want a drink?”
“Rusalka.”
The man stroked the woman, Anastasia’s, forehead with his hand.
“I want to do it.”
“……Darling. Please.”
Anastasia shook her head with a slightly disgusted expression.
“I’m not a Spirit anymore. I’m a fresh, vibrant Russian girl in my twenties. But darling, you’re now an S-rank monstrous human-”
“But you’re also an S-rank Hero. You should show the power of the Round Table, shouldn’t you, ? Or should I call you this instead?”
The man, Gwanggeom Heo Yun-hwan, whispered lowly into Anastasia’s ear.
“Master? Let’s do it.”
“……Really, really, darling, you’re hopeless.”
Anastasia sat up and wrapped her arms around Heo Yun-hwan’s neck.
“Alright then, darling, do as you please this time. But if you finish as quickly as light like before, you’ll be going to meet your dad right away, alright?”
“…….”
Heo Yun-hwan ultimately became light.

* * *
“Now that I think about it, I wonder where that couple is and what they’re doing.”
“No, more importantly, what are we going to do about this situation right now?”
Deokbae kept fiddling with his tie, loosening it, as if it was quite uncomfortable. I skimmed through the Yuseong Airlines in-flight meal catalog and handed it to Deokbae.
“Order something. Have a little something to cleanse your palate on the way.”
“Hey. The people behind us are going crazy, you know?”
Deokbae pointed towards the economy class section. It seemed the news that the monster tamer had boarded a flight to China had spread even among the general passengers.
“What’s wrong with it? It’s noisy and fun.”
“That’s not what those people are worried about, you idiot.”
Deokbae pointed his finger at me. I wanted to break his finger, but for now, I let his open mouth babble freely.
“They’re worried about you going to China alone without a bodyguard.”
“Oh, Deokbae-ssi, you worry too much. This is Yuseong Airlines. It’s a plane under Eun Yuha-agassi, and fewer than 20 people know I’m on it today.”
“Haven’t you considered that even one of those 20 people might be a dangerous bastard?”
“Puhuhu. Subordinate number two is particularly worried today.”
I relaxed my body and closed my eyes.
“Surely nothing will happen as soon as we get on the plane, right? Puhuhu.”
It did.