Side Story 3. Hot Spring Trip (7)

4:30 PM, Hwangshindang 1st Floor Lounge.

“So, now we all know each other well, right?”

Phoenix, seated at the round table, sipped a canned drink and scanned the room.

Azure Syndicate executives, Villains Cheon Gaeul, Kim Ji-hwa, Yooishin.

Round Table representative, Hero Seok Harang.

Peddler Eun Yuha.

“Wait a minute. Peddler?”

“It’s for the crime of being an eyesore. For trying to do something weird.”

Yuha couldn’t deny Phoenix’s words. Due to the cross-check conducted by Gaeul, Harang, and the manager, Yuha’s ambitions were shattered, and Phoenix placed Eun Yuha at the furthest distance from herself.

“Ahem, then let me reintroduce her. The owner of Yuseong, Eun Yuha. As for me and her-“

“We’re secret friends bound by love.”

“We’re a secret alliance bound by money. Stop making people misunderstand, you scoundrel. Next up is….”

Phoenix pointed at Harang, who bowed her head in a very demure posture in front of the Azure Syndicate.

“Hello, I am Seolhwa Princess Seok Harang.”

“She’s a water-elemental Spirit, and the one responsible for creating 5,000 water-elemental ability users in Seoul. For your information, she’s currently cosplaying as a normal person, and once you get close to her, she’ll start spouting Busan dialect and informal speech, so act appropriately.”

Harang scratched the hair clip in her hand with her fingernail. Phoenix shivered with a chill, then extended a hand towards the Azure Syndicate.

“These are our executives. From my left, Phantom, Beacon, Bow Master. There are some who are in Seoul and some who haven’t arrived yet, but I’ll introduce them to this extent for now.”

“Hey.”

Gaeul subtly poked Phoenix’s side with a Tentacle. The Tentacle, which crawled across the floor and climbed up the chair, was fortunately out of sight from the others. Phoenix leaned her ear towards Gaeul.

“So, are we going to be called by our aliases? In front of that Seolhwa Princess?”

“……Can I introduce them?”

Gaeul, Jihwa, and Yooishin all affirmed Phoenix’s words, and Phoenix cleared her throat, drawing attention back.

“This is Phantom Cheon Gaeul, a former actress. She was known to be dead, but she’s actually alive.”

“Adding to that, she’s currently A-rank but an ability user who can rise to S-rank at any time. Can I speak informally?”

“Wow, that’s seriously creepy.”

Harang covered her mouth in surprise that someone she thought was dead was alive. She had felt a similarity, but she never imagined they would be alive as an ability user.

“…Creepy?”

Gaeul flinched and gathered her Tentacles. Was her appearance indeed difficult for ordinary people to accept? Harang noticed the uncomfortable vibe and immediately waved her hand dismissively.

“No! Not at all. I watched Last Love from the very first episode. You can speak informally.”

“Thank you.”

Gaeul stretched out her Tentacles and yawned. Harang blinked in surprise at the bizarre movement of all nine tails extending long and then retracting again.

“Are you controlling all of them with mana?”

“That’s what you’re surprised about?”

“Unnie… aren’t you surprised by that? She’s multitasking each one?”

Yuha shrugged her shoulders and tapped her temple.

“Well, I move enough for seven ‘people’ every day.”

“Hmph, only seven? I have nine.”

Yuha and Gaeul’s gazes clashed again. Harang realized that even setting aside the fact that they already knew each other, their relationship was quite poor, and she averted her eyes.

“Th-then, are these people here also those monstrous humans you mentioned?”

“That’s right. Seolhwa Princess-nim might not know me, but….”

Yooishin removed his disguise.

“I am Yooishin, a B-rank Hero belonging to the Pine Tree Unit, formerly known as Robin. Now, I’ve received the alias Bow Master and have a bounty on my head as an A-rank Villain.”

“Ah, I know. Robin of the Crooked Bow. Then, this person…?”

Jihwa took off her sunglasses and bowed her head in greeting. Harang flinched in surprise at her devil eyes, where the whites and pupils were inverted.

“I am Beacon, the monstrous human Kim Ji-hwa, currently known as the leader of the Azure Syndicate. Of course, I’m just a figurehead; the true owner of the Azure Syndicate is….”

Jihwa gestured towards Phoenix with a sidelong glance. Phoenix nodded, affirming Jihwa’s unspoken words.

“There are four more, but two are currently working in Seoul, and one is meeting someone by appointment. …Where did Deokbae go?”

“…He said he’d come with Haneulseong.”

“Why are you beating around the bush? The A-rank Villain Haneulseong’s name is Ryu Cheon-seong. You know who that is, right?”

“What kind of mess did you cause behind these people’s backs?”

Harang looked between Phoenix and Yuha with a dumbfounded expression. Phoenix and Yuha looked at each other, then simultaneously said to Harang:

“”Villainous deeds.””

“Good heavens, if what you’ve done so far counts as villainy, then real villains would cry.”

Phoenix snapped her fingers at Harang’s words.

“You said that well. One of the Azure Syndicate’s goals is to eliminate the ‘seeds of destruction’.”

“It’s just a metaphor. It’s about preventing mass murderers like Seonui Cheol from appearing again. That’s why we’re also lending a hand in her villainous games.”

At Gaeul’s words, Phoenix turned her head with a shocked expression.

“Ga-games? Gaeul-ssi, I’m working incredibly hard right now, you know? Are you saying all of that is just playing?”

“Then I’ll correct myself. You’re a pseudo-villain. I’d like to call you a Dark Hero, but looking at your actions, it’s hard to say that.”

“I agree with that. Especially considering what she did to someone else’s father.”

At Harang’s reply, Jihwa dropped her sunglasses. Harang, who pondered why she was surprised, questioned Phoenix.

“These people don’t know about my father?”

“No. They just didn’t expect you to talk about it so calmly.”

“……Leader-nim. Shouldn’t we resolve this first?”

Jihwa raised her hand and called Phoenix. Phoenix nodded with an expression that showed she had expected it. Jihwa pointed at everyone seated at the table and said:

“There’s too much difference in what we know and don’t know among ourselves, so shouldn’t we at least share information?”

“Alright. Seok Harang is on the same boat now. The time is now….”

“It’s 4:40 PM.”

Yooishin quickly replied. Phoenix counted the number of people with a satisfied expression.

“Six people here, plus Deokbae and Ryu Cheon-seong make two more. Good. They said dinner would be served here, right?”

“Yes. The manager said he would prepare a barbecue.”

Phoenix stood up and clapped her hands.

“Alright. Then, shall all ten of us have dinner and chat casually?”

“……Ten people?”

Gaeul frowned, and Phoenix pointed to her ear.

“That makes ten people, including the two who are eavesdropping right now. Someone who subtly left a shared channel open because they joined the Round Table, and the little lady who’s hacking it to listen in. Let’s just reveal everything now and be comfortable.”

Phoenix tapped the table and declared towards Harang-no, towards Himeji Hayate and Himeji Hikari, who were secretly listening through Harang’s smartwatch.

“If you’re listening, come down, Himeji siblings.”

The two Japanese siblings, who had been silent, came down, and soon Ryu Cheon-seong and Jo Deokbae arrived.

They ate the barbecue prepared by the manager and chatted.

* * *

7:00 PM, Each Room.

[Room 205, Himeji Siblings’ Room.]

“I had a feeling she was revealing her identity too readily.”

Hayate sat on the bed and chuckled with an embarrassed expression. Harang sat on the opposite chair and spoke into her smartwatch.

“So, are you going to reveal everything to the Round Table?”

“Not at all. Can I even escape from here? You’ve completely sided with her.”

“I haven’t completely sided with her. It’s like the Round Table, but our ‘ultimate goal’ is the same. We’re going to the South Pole, and they’re going to the North Pole, to meet on the opposite side of the Earth.”

“Preventing the prophecy of destruction is the same, but…. Never mind.”

Hayate lay down on the bed as he was.

“I was going to try to escape somehow and tell Gawain, if possible.”

“But why didn’t you?”

At Harang’s question, Hayate thumped the bed. That bed was not Hayate’s.

“Do I have a reason to block my sister’s future?”

Jilpungek’s other alias, ‘Murderous Demon’. He was truly an evil person who had killed people, and Gawain defeated him with a sword to correct him, placing him in the Round Table.

“As for me, it’s enough if my sister does well. They said they’d raise her, didn’t they?”

Harang let out a hollow laugh.

“What truly amazing sibling love.”

“Of course, I have something I personally wish for too. Is that her? The Blue Phoenix who supposedly thrashed you in Gwanak.”

“…I wasn’t thrashed, okay? It was almosssst a draw, okay? If I fought her now, I might even win, okay?”

“Enough with the lies. Just ask her to grant me one favor.”

Hayate pointed to the scabbard at his waist with an excited smile.

“Just one match, just one match, let me fight her.”

Harang pondered for a moment, then scoffed at Hayate and wiggled her hand.

“Try beating me first. Hey, come outside. I learned how to set up a Barrier last time, so let’s have a go.”

“……Perfect for a post-meal workout. Deal.”

A moment later, an ice Barrier unfolded deep within the Busan sea.

* * *

[Room 204, Eun Yuha’s Room.]

“So, you want me to put her in Yuseong’s technology research lab?”

Yuha even picked up her unused glasses and read the contents Phoenix had written down.

The miscellaneous list detailed what research ‘Himeji Hikari’ would conduct and what results she would actually achieve over the next five years. Yuha was seriously comparing its practical value with the disadvantages of accepting Hikari.

“At the very least, it won’t be a loss.”

Phoenix added an explanation. Gaeul, saying she couldn’t leave them alone, brought a chair and sat between them.

“If you are a genius in economics, that child will be a genius in ‘magic science’ no less than you. I guarantee it.”

“Of course, I believe what you, customer-nim, say. But these contents are a bit difficult to understand, that’s all.”

Yuha tapped the screen.

“A 4th generation Core Weapon? When the 1st generation is just being commercialized?

A personal mana Affinity Rate tester? If something like that existed, everyone would understand their own talent. And it even accurately identifies the Affinity Rate stage to determine what level one can reach? Good grief.

An awakening confirmation device? What’s this now? A magical item that saves people who don’t even know if they’ve awakened or not? Are there really people in the world who don’t know if they’ve awakened, and it can actually discover S-rank ability users?

And on top of that….”

Yuha pointed to the phrase written at the end of the list.

“‘Cube Control Device’?”

“It’s a bit long to explain.”

“It’s fine, so explain it.”

Although a certain desire welled up inside her, Phoenix summarized the explanation.

If the Azure Syndicate hadn’t existed, Cheongsong Kang Soyeon would have continued researching the Cube in Daejeon, and she would have brought Hikari, who had naturalized in Korea, to Daejeon to conduct research. Hikari, whose talents were exploited while developing all sorts of devices, would eventually be used for Cube research, and realizing the Cube’s danger, Hikari would attempt to escape at the risk of her life.

“Hikari, who succeeded in escaping that way, would find a way to properly control the Cube under the protection of good Heroes. She would create a device that purifies the contaminated mana coming from the Otherworld and indiscriminately pours out S-rank Cores.”

Phoenix fiddled with her empty front pocket, as if regretful.

“So, that little kid would create an infinite power plant that can extract enough mana energy for an entire country to live off of with just one Cube.”

“Pfft–!”

Gaeul spat out coffee. Phoenix quickly snapped her fingers to make the coffee disappear before it reached Yuha. Gaeul coughed, patting her front and back with her Tentacles.

“Th-then, the Cube you used to revive me back then was….”

“Its economic value is immeasurable. Even if you just leave it as it is, it can extract mana infinitely.”

“……You’ll have to prove the value of at least tens of thousands of S-rank Cores, Cheon Gaeul-nim.”

Yuha glared at Gaeul with a sharp voice. Since she had already heard how Gaeul died and was revived, Yuha’s gaze towards Gaeul was not kind. Gaeul wiggled her Tentacles and made excuses.

“B-but there are still 26 left!”

“Sorry. I used one.”

“What?!”

Yuha’s voice rose. Phoenix couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth and instantly fabricated an excuse.

“……I used it in a hurry when blocking the Chinese Heroes. It was about to go berserk, so I made it disappear.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that she had used the Cube to talk directly with Changyeom. And if she revealed Changyeom’s existence, Changyeom would immediately seize her body and kill them all.

Fortunately, Yuha and Gaeul didn’t particularly question Phoenix’s attempt to gloss over it.

“Since you’re the one who knows its value best, I’m sure you used it wisely.”

“Instead, if you get more next time, tell me right away. Don’t use them in strange places. Got it?”

“…Got it.”

Phoenix felt as if she was being nagged and clicked her tongue inwardly. According to her calculations, she would need to use at least five more Cubes separately in the future.

‘I’ll have to secretly find them one by one when I go on overseas business trips.’

She decided to take her along as a subordinate who could keep a secret. Phoenix inwardly devised a cunning plan and put on a brazen face.

“So, try to make good use of Himeji Hikari. Even if time is limited in the future, if you pour in as much budget as you want, she’ll produce results beyond that.”

“And you’ll procure that many Cores?”

Phoenix nodded. Gaeul fell into thought for a moment, then made a fuss.

“Th-then, can we just leave such an important talent alone right now? Shouldn’t we guard her?”

“With how many S-rank or higher individuals are in this building, what’s there to worry about? It’s fine. Jihwa.”

Phoenix called Beacon Kim Ji-hwa. Jihwa immediately responded with an embarrassed smile.

[Leader-nim. Um….]

[This is awesome! I don’t know where to even start touching it!]

[Th-there! P-please save me! Don’t touch, Kyaaaak!!]

At the sight of Hikari stroking the green bow with a cunning smile, Yuha and Gaeul glared at Phoenix. Phoenix fiddled with the veil around her neck, pretending not to notice.

“……’Weaponization of monstrous humans’, if we’re going to get into the mechanism, that’s a 5th generation Core Weapon.”

[The mana flowing from the Core flows throughout the weapon… Hehehe, Uhahahahahahaha.]

Yuha reached out and lowered Phoenix’s screen, dropping her head. Phoenix patted Yuha’s shoulder, comforting her.

“Raise her well.”

“Suddenly became a mom, our CEO-nim?”

“…….”

A deep look of worry settled on Yuha’s face.