Chapter 630

〈Chapter 630〉 Part 2, Chapter 2, Section 3

<The next day, breakfast corner at the Yu-Sung Hotel.>

“Everyone’s awake?”

“……”

The trio at the breakfast corner had dark circles under their eyes. Had they been up all night chatting or maybe just couldn’t sleep?

“Was something wrong with the bed? That shouldn’t be the case. Even in Gangwon-do, it was a suite, so it should’ve been comfy.”

“Big brother didn’t have any weird dreams, did you?”

“Weird dreams?”

“Yeah. Like this thing between a man and a woman.”

Nuri slapped her palms together with a *chop-chop* sound. It was a somewhat risqué gesture to do in an open space where people were coming and going, but most of the people gathered in the restaurant, including Yuna and Raon, nodded weakly.

“What… kind of dream is that? I don’t really understand those kinds of things.”

“…Probably because you’re the boss. All of us, every special ability user, had that kind of dream.”

Raon sent me several community posts via magical gear. The posts began flooding in from the early hours of the morning, mostly about the “dirty dreams” Nuri mentioned.

<Seeing porn in a dream for the first time>

– It was worth paying money for. Though you can’t see their faces, both the man and woman seemed like total hotshots.

nnLooks like doggy style, and the face might look like a cat’s lol

nnThe guy has muscles galore!

<Not that the content of the dream matters>

– Shouldn’t we focus on why this happened only in Gangwon-do? Does this make sense?

nnThis was written during a cooldown period after reaching climax.

nnOh no, I’ve been caught! lol

<This is some kind of revelation>

– An SS-Rank baby is expected to be born soon in Gangwon-do. It doesn’t make sense that only special ability users had these dreams.

nnBut what if I’m not a special ability user and still had the dream?

nnEither it’s fake or someone awakened without knowing it lol

<To the child who was born that day>

– Every hero in Potatoland knows how you were conceived.

“…It’s explosive. Huh.”

“Boss, didn’t you really see it?”

“Uh, hmm… Was it something like this?”

I used my hands to mime a sexual position, resembling a rear-entry pose. The three nodded and sat down.

“Ah… I thought maybe I was feeling low on energy lately.”

“Kick kick. You were probably starving for rear entry, huh? Let me give you one?”

“I’m not exactly starving, right? Among the four of us, there must’ve been someone I definitely did it with.”

“We talked it all out last night. Boss, you were rotating through positions with us.”

“……”

Caught. I took a sip of tea, exercising my right to remain silent.

“It’s not rotation; I have my own recipe. There’s some overlap, but there are also things that don’t exist.”

“Why are you alternating between talking to me and Sister Raon?”

“Nuri. Put your hand on your conscience… Oh, you don’t have one.”

“Big brother, when my chest grows up, I’ll slap you across the face with milk.”

If that’s the case, bring it on. I raised my cup toward Nuri. Unfortunately, the hotel breakfast wasn’t a buffet but closer to a regional specialty. It reflected Yun Yuhwa’s management philosophy—since New Seoul had more variety in buffets, he chose to focus on local specialties instead.

“Anyway, everyone had the same dirty dream… There are only two possibilities here.”

I split the potato in the appetizer soup in front of me in half.

“One is a prank by an illusion magic special ability user. But since it would require at least A Rank to affect only Gangwon-do, we can rule that out. The other possibility is that someone’s dream spread as a magical power wave. I think the latter is more likely.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Someone must’ve had a dream while awakening. The dream spread within Gangwon-do due to the magical power surge, and special ability users experienced it indirectly in their dreams.”

All nonsense. I rolled the potato around in my mouth and swallowed.

“Could it be because of you, boss?”

“Yuna, seriously, could this have happened because of me?”

“Big brother.”

Yuna poked my side with her finger and whispered softly into my ear.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t recognize your thing?”

“…You’re right.”

…<Penril of Gale>.

Because of the magical power supply causing him to awaken into an SS-Rank, all special ability users were affected.

***

After finishing breakfast at the hotel, we climbed onto the truck to return to New Seoul.

While returning to New Seoul, the three decided to wait inside the trailer wearing their beloved magical girl battle suits, and I chatted lightly with YuhaX in the driver’s seat.

“Really not because of you, customer?”

“You didn’t hear at the hotel, huh? I confessed to the others while eating breakfast. Yeah, it’s me. I’m a guy.”

Because Yuna figured out the man in the dream was me, I ended up revealing Penril’s existence to the three. Fortunately, they came to their own conclusions without suspicion.

– Hmm, the commander being alone without a fiery hell peninsula makes sense.

– Was there a bodyguard? So that’s why you weren’t worried about coming to Gangwon-do. You’re truly the boss. Having such a strong person beside you…

– Then the bodyguard awakened, right? Wow, congratulations sincerely. Now I get why the magical power supply stopped yesterday—you were with that person, right?

…Fortunately, the three understood Penril’s existence. Thanks to the special social status of the commander, I momentarily felt grateful. It made sense that an S-Rank special ability user bodyguard would accompany the commander.

“…Of course. You seem to have a bodyguard too.”

And Yuha reached the same conclusion.

“Wasn’t the monster killed at my shop done by that person?”

“That’s correct. You’re sharp.”

With just a bit of information, Yuha quickly realized Penril’s existence. She must’ve suspected before, but now she was sure—an A-Rank monster was killed in one hit by someone standing beside me.

“If you tell me who they are, their level, and nationality, I’ll pay the information fee.”

“Heh. To know that, our relationship needs to go deeper than just sticking something in your anus.”

“…Is that person more valuable than my anus?”

“Of course.”

Nyaaah.

I stroked the chin of the black cat sleeping in my lap. The black cat, Kim Penril, yawned while purring and stretched its tail on my thigh. Yuha chuckled while driving the truck.

“Surely that cat isn’t the bodyguard, right?”

“Correct? Go, Kim Penril! Nyanyan Punch!”

Nyaaang. The black cat Kim Penril lazily flopped onto its back on my thigh. I shrugged while petting her belly.

“For a stray cat, it’s pretty cute, isn’t it?”

“Hmph. The only cats I acknowledge are civet cats. Naming a cat ‘Penril’ would make Norwegians faint.”

Penril of Gale.

An SS-Rank monster, a beast, and a Dark Legion officer. The divine killer wolf (神殺狼) who devastated forests in Norway and slaughtered hundreds of thousands.

“Is that so? I think the name Penril itself is fine.”

“True. How often do you find someone naming their pet dog Hitler?”

“That’s different…”

Haaak. Kim Penril perked up her ears. I held her down with my hand and looked out the window.

“The mountain road might be a bit rough.”

“Huh? …Oh dear.”

Yuha’s eyes sparkled as she sharply turned the steering wheel. She must’ve checked the satellite imagery of the road we were about to take. I picked up the microphone connected to the trailer.

“Hey, magical girls. We’ve got a situation.”

“SITUATION?”

“Yeah. Seems like it’s not just humans having those dirty dreams.”

Aaaaannng—

The alarm signaling a monster appearance blared through the magical gear.

***

<At that moment, the Hero Association Gangneung branch.>

“<Crescent Bear> Sir! Disaster!”

“I know, I know. Ugh, it’s annoying as hell.”

The man known as Crescent Bear scratched his dyed blue hair as he slouched into the branch situation room. Despite his disheveled appearance from dragging his slippers along, none of the branch staff dared to criticize him.

“So, who’s causing trouble where today?”

“A-Rank monster detected! In Pyeongchang!”

“Pyeongchang?”

Crescent Bear’s expression hardened. Although unfamiliar with Gangwon-do geography, he knew well that Pyeongchang was adjacent to Gangneung. A place once selected to host the Winter Olympics but then fell apart due to the Pyongyang incident. A place where monster reactions were usually minimal, yet now an A-Rank monster appeared out of nowhere.

“Location?”

“Coordinates—”

“I’m dumb, so keep it simple!”

“30km west!”

Bang! Crescent Bear grabbed his head and grimaced. For an A-Rank monster, 30km was close enough to arrive within an hour, even zigzagging from city to city.

“Are you crazy? There wasn’t supposed to be an A-Rank here!”

“B-but, that’s exactly it!”

According to the association’s knowledge, there was no A-Rank monster in Pyeongchang originally. Yet, suddenly overnight, one appeared.

“Crazy! Is it North Korea?! Why does it appear out of nowhere, avoiding radar detection?!”

A monster descending from the North. The subject may differ from before, but the meaning remains largely the same. Coincidentally, the radar-detecting monster reaction was red-hot.

“White Fox?”

“She’s on her way down from Sokcho!”

“Damn it, why did that idiot go to Sokcho?!”

“T-to date with her boyfriend…”

Bang! Crescent Bear slammed his head onto the desk. The desk dented in the shape of his head. After a moment of thought, Crescent Bear lifted his head.

“…Evacuate citizens to shelters immediately. We’re screwed.”

Gangwon-do maintained a delicate ecological balance. Now, with an unexpected A-Rank monster appearing, that balance would inevitably collapse. B-Rank monsters near Pyeongchang would flee from the A-Rank, causing widespread chaos among the monsters. This had been happening in Gangwon-do for years.

“Shit, ever since that dream last night, everything’s gone haywire. They said it was a prophecy of an SS-Rank birth from a couple doing it, but turns out it’s a monster!!”

[Headquarters! Headquarters!!]

On Crescent Bear’s magical gear, the face of a woman with black hair appeared. Her neck bore a prominent hickey she hadn’t managed to hide.

“Hey! You! Oh, seriously!”

[It’s not me!!]

“Were you doing it or not?!”

[That has nothing to do with me! I’m not her! Besides, isn’t that irrelevant right now?!]

White Fox’s vehement denial snapped Crescent Bear back to reality. Just then, satellite imagery data of the A-Rank monster arrived at the situation room.

“We’re sending you the data! Take it! Enemy rank: A! Estimated stats—”

Suddenly. Crescent Bear’s vision went white.

“……88?”

A+.

Or sometimes called quasi-S-Rank.

And stats far surpassing White Fox’s and Crescent Bear’s 79 and 83.

Beep. The target’s codename has been determined. Data transmission will commence shortly.

The clear image of the monster, staring straight up at the sky, appeared on the situation room screen.

“<Man-faced Bird>…?”

As the monster resembling a crane with a human-like head spread its wings.

“H-Ha.”

Just as Crescent Bear felt the icy grip of death, a voice of hope rang out.

[This is Central! Can Gangwon-do hear me??]

“Association… president…?”

The woman, whom he never thought would contact them, reached out to the Gangwon-do branch.

***

“Hmm…”

In the car heading back to Gangneung with Yuhax steering, I was deep in thought. My magical gear already received data about the enemy.

“This is…”

Like a DLC monster.

An unknown monster appeared in Gangwon-do. While I stroked Penril, trembling in fear thinking it was my fault, I pondered why an A-Rank monster suddenly appeared.

“Ah. I get it now.”

It smelled it. The scent of prey so delicious that it would risk its life to chase, even with Penril, the apex predator, nearby.

“Goddess.”

It recognized Yuna’s presence. It caught the scent of Yuna’s magical power.

“Ah, originally I planned to just catch B-Ranks on the way.”

“Huh?”

“Looks like I’ll end up catching an A-Rank. Hmm…”

I checked the strength I could use. Examining the data of the monster flying toward Gangneung—and our trailer—I asked Yuhax. If I’d treated her casually until now, now I needed to act like a proper commander.

“Ah, Miss Yuhax. With a normal fight, we have a 77% win rate, but would you help me boost that remaining 23%?”

“…What exactly are you planning to do?”

“Ah, well…”

I petted Penril’s head and smiled broadly at Yuhax.

“We’re hiding our identities and planning to catch the monster.”

Catching an A-Rank monster draws attention. But I can’t let the A-Rank core fall into someone else’s hands, and the A-Rank is targeting Yuna.

So, if we catch it without being noticed, that’s fine.

“Let’s wrap it up quickly before the hunters from New Seoul arrive.”

“So how exactly do you plan to do this?!”

“Hehe, it’s simple.”

I covered my face with my hand.

“There are two A-Ranks here, right? Just command them. Any nuisances can be handled through Seol Ji-young, the association president.”

“What about the core?”

“Ho ho.”

I stroked Penril and smirked.

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely put the A-Rank core in Miss Yuhax’s wallet.”

It’s time to hunt the A+ DLC monster, <Man-faced Bird>.