Chapter 146

〈 Chapter 146 〉 Part 1, Chapter 8, 5

After swiftly wrapping up my business in New Seoul, I immediately left and headed toward Busan.

I had no need to concern myself with the broadcasting company or related individuals preparing for interviews and press conferences with Cheongnyeon. Delaying would only risk me being unable to leave the airport.

“Too many people looking for me; announcing a date would just be troublesome. So leaving right away is the best course.”

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

The silver-haired woman, Seok Harang—now officially an SS-Rank Special Ability user of the Association—confronted me. I shrugged.

“Isn’t this why we joined the Round Table—to handle situations like these?”

“Where did you hear such nonsense? Hey, it’s already annoying dealing with outsiders trying to get in, but if the biggest troublemaker leaves the country, have you even thought about what might happen?”

“It’ll be fine. Besides, it’s better to move quickly rather than dilly-dally.”

“What was that spirit thing again? The one called… what was its name?”

“Chaos Dragon.”

“Is it some kind of dragon or something?”

“No, it’s not a dragon or wyrm.”

“Then why ‘Dragon’ in the name?”

“How should I know? That’s just its original name. If you want to nitpick, go argue with the high-ups at the Association who named me ‘Seoyea’s Rusalka.'”

“The spirits must’ve done it… …huh?”

Seok Harang tilted her head as if sensing something strange.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. Forget it. Anyway, settle this before you go.”

Seok Harang pulled out a news article on her smartwatch. It showed foreigners with black hair, once Korean citizens but now immigrants abroad, stranded at Gimhae Airport.

“What do you think we should do about them? Your thoughts?”

“…What’s the headline first?”

I checked the headline Seok Harang had intentionally hidden.

Seoyea Ling: “Welcome to Korea, Foreign Friends.”

“Did she really say that?”

“……Ah, yeah, there it is. …Tch! Like we don’t already have enough problems here, and they just pack their bags and run off to another country. What’s so great about them that they deserve special treatment?”

“…”

As someone who knows the original story, this situation was painfully ironic. Foreigner hatred in the original work grew worse over time, and at its peak stood none other than Seok Harang herself. And ironically, the hero who saved the nation in the original was a blonde American.

“Seok Harang, don’t hate them too much.”

“Why not?”

“One of them could be your future blonde foreign husband.”

“Ridiculous.”

“We’ll see later.”

Indeed, how will Seok Harang react when the protagonist from the original comes to Korea? It’s both terrifying and somewhat exciting.

I recalled episodes where the initially tsundere-like Seok Harang slowly warms up to the blonde Western man, lying on beanbags, overlapping bodies, chatting casually, then transitioning into intimate scenes…

“……Seok Harang.”

“What now?”

“Come to think of it…”

I approached her, causing Seok Harang to tense up as I got closer. Though her black tank top made her figure a bit ambiguous, upon closer inspection, there was definitely a noticeable difference.

“W-what is it?”

“You seem to have grown a bit… down there.”

“?!?!”

What sorcery of special abilities was this? The half-human, half-spirit born between Light Blade and Rusalka seemed to have successfully broken through genetic limitations, moving from AA to A.

“Can I touch?”

“……”

Seok Harang blushed, took a deep breath, and pushed her chest forward. Though incomparable to Phoenix’s ironing-board-level flatness, thanks to the awakening of her special abilities, small hills had formed.

“Hmm. Indeed.”

I touched Seok Harang. Her wrist.

“……?”

“Indeed. With the increase in magic power, your chest armor has expanded—”

“Why aren’t you touching?”

Seok Harang glared at me, her face red. For a brief moment, I pondered what this SS-rank idiot was saying, but the tension in her magic power made me chuckle.

“Barely anything there.”

“What?! Between spirits, it’s perfectly fine, isn’t it!”

“Why would I touch your chest?”

There’s no need to directly touch. Reading the magic power flowing within the body allows me to instantly gauge the physique.

“Hmm…”

I grabbed Seok Harang’s wrist and read the water-element magic waves flowing through her body. Apparently, my guess wasn’t wrong—reaching SS-rank five years earlier than in the original story seems to have also accelerated her growth by five years.

“Hmm. Alright. You’ve indeed grown.”

“……Hey, you.”

Seok Harang raised both hands triumphantly.

“If you touched mine, it’s only fair that I touch yours, right?”

“……”

I couldn’t help but laugh. She mistook the slight contact as actual touching.

“No way.”

Whoosh.

Before Seok Harang could make her move, I swapped bodies with the Mini Phoenix waiting outside. My original body turned into flames and disappeared inside her room, while I appeared far away on the rooftop, raising my chest.

[Overwhelming midsection difference. Even visually, it’s obvious.]

[Do you want to die?]

Seok Harang sent her intent via the butterfly hairpin, using the telepathic communication possible among spirits. Despite the distance, our conversation remained seamless.

[I don’t want to die, so I’m running. And can you even kill me?]

[Hey! Get back here! The world’s first SS-rank title isn’t worth spit if you keep doing this!]

[Hmm. All I see here is white gum.]

Pshhhiiing!

A sharp icicle narrowly grazed my ear. Although I dodged it easily, I couldn’t help but admire the increased speed and strength of her icicles compared to before.

[Don’t worry. When you reach SSS-rank, you’ll break out of A.]

[What? Are you sure?! If you’re lying, I’ll kill you!!]

[I confirmed it personally, so there’s no way it’s wrong. Now, I’m leaving.]

Before Seok Harang could lunge at me, I switched bodies with the Mini Phoenix stationed at the pre-arranged location. As she jumped off the balcony, creating an ice path to fly after me, my body teleported elsewhere in the blink of an eye.

“Are you here?”

“Yes, I’ve packed everything.”

“…So now you’re treating people like shoe inserts and using them as baggage handlers?”

“That’s why I created subordinates. And Subordinate #2.”

I collected my luggage bag from Deokbae, dressed in a black suit with a blue tie. My small backpack, ready for backpacking, contained items of various significance.

“What about the time?”

“Tight. We need to enter in 10 minutes.”

“Perfect timing then. Let’s go.”

“Hold on.”

Just as I was about to proceed to check-in at the airport lounge, Subordinate #2 stepped in front of me.

“What is it? After all the trouble of bringing me here like a shoe insert, shouldn’t you just quietly follow along? Do you know how hard Yun Yuhwa worked to secure your seat?”

“Let’s set aside the shoe insert issue for now and address this first.”

Deokbae pointed to a large screen in the airport lobby. There, the representative official, Yu Yinghuo, appeared worn-out as he ascended the podium.

-The Association, following a request from the Chinese government, has decided to deploy the registered special ability user <Beast Tamer> to China first. Following the Xian Gate incident, the Chinese government formally requested support from the Association to suppress rampaging monsters across various regions…

“Oh, when was this announced? I didn’t see it.”

“20 minutes ago. Right now, the situation is absolute chaos.”

Deokbae gestured toward those watching the recorded press conference. Turning my gaze in that direction, I saw crowds yelling profanities and growing agitated.

“What kind of garbage is this?! Why are we sending our heroes to another country?!”

“Is the Association insane?!”

“Stop them! Let’s block their path, even if we have to lie down! While we’re at it, let’s block those foreign bastards from entering the airport too!”

Dozens of people began gathering, denouncing the Association. I shrugged as I pointed at them.

“Get on board before they block the road. Will Jo Deokbae reimburse you if you miss the flight? This is business class, you know?”

“……I don’t care. Handle it yourself.”

Deokbae waved his hands and went ahead to check in.

“That’s what happens when you hire a bodyguard. Ugh.”

I briefly considered burning his bald head but remembered it was already scorched beyond recognition.

“Alright, I’ll take care of it.”

I ran up and stuck closely behind Deokbae. The airport staff, comparing me to Deokbae, hesitantly verified passports until they were startled.

“……Excuse me?”

“What’s the matter?”

The staff alternated between the blue girl on their smartwatch screen and me, clearly confused. Me, passport photo, screen—all three matched Qinghua, the monster controller.

“Uh, um, th-the….”

“Sorry for arriving with only 5 minutes left. Can I proceed?”

“Ah, yes! Identity verification… uh….”

While the staff was flustered, I bowed politely and slipped inside.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Deokbae collected both our passports and entered smoothly. As I waited for him at the toll gate, other staff members stared at me open-mouthed, and I waved at them.

“I’ll return safely.”

“Ah, yes… uh?”

I quietly passed through the toll gate. Behind me, I faintly heard a staff member muttering.

“Why is he here now…?”

Well, because I’m departing now. I took my passport from Deokbae and headed toward the plane.

***

-Urgent breaking news. Beast Tamer, Qinghua, has just boarded a flight to China at Gimhae Airport. According to eyewitness reports, she suddenly appeared and quickly completed boarding procedures…

“Another trashy guy making trouble and leaving.”

The middle-aged blonde man sneered as he watched the news about the blue girl, Qinghua, on TV. The platinum-blonde woman resting her head on his thigh sipped vodka through a straw and replied.

“Still pulling stunts without cleaning up afterward, just like old times.”

“Dear, what do you mean?”

The man addressed the woman, who looked nearly half his age, as “dear.” The young woman, who appeared to have just reached adulthood, pointed at the TV nonchalantly.

“She used to be like this even back then. Just…”

The woman shuddered in distaste at the sight of Phoenix, timidly trembling like a frightened canary in front of people after registering as a hero with the Association.

“Putting on such an act in front of humans. Ugh, how does she do it?”

“……Dear. About that. Harang said this guy claimed to have impregnated her. What’s going on with that?”

“Nonsense. He’s probably just messing with us.”

“……That definitely opened my eyes.”

The man shivered as if still shaken. The woman held up her vodka bottle.

“Want a drink?”

“Rusalka.”

The man stroked the forehead of Anastasha.

“I want you.”

“……Dear, stop it.”

Anastasha sat up slightly, wrinkling her nose.

“I’m not a spirit anymore. I’m a fresh-faced Russian girl in her twenties. But dear here is already an S-rank monster-”

“But you’re an S-rank hero too. Show the power of the Round Table. Isn’t that right, <Undine>? Or shall I call you this?”

The man, Light Blade Heo Yoon-hwan, whispered low into Anastasha’s ear.

“Master? Let’s do that.”

“……Really, Dear, you’re impossible.”

Anastasha wrapped her neck around Heo Yoon-hwan’s arm.

“Fine, let’s do what Dear wants this time. But if you finish as fast as last time, we’re heading straight to meet Daddy.”

“……”

Heo Yoon-hwan transformed into light.

* * *

“Speaking of which, I wonder what that couple is doing right now.”

“More importantly, what are we going to do about this current situation?”

Deokbae kept fidgeting with his uncomfortable tie, loosening it repeatedly. I flipped through the in-flight meal catalog of Yu-Sung Airlines and handed it to him.

“Place an order. Have a little snack on the way.”

“Hey, things are getting wild back there.”

Deokbae pointed toward the economy section. Word had spread among the regular passengers that the monster controller was aboard a flight bound for China.

“So what? A little commotion isn’t bad.”

“They’re worried about something else, dummy.”

Deokbae wagged his finger at me. I wanted to snap it off but decided to let him rant with his big mouth open.

“They’re concerned about you going to China alone without any bodyguards.”

“Pfft, Deokbai, worrying too much. This is Yu-Sung Airlines. On this flight under Yun Yuhwa’s supervision, fewer than twenty people know I’m here today.”

“Have you even considered the possibility that one of those twenty could be dangerous?”

“Pfft. What could possibly happen right after boarding? Pfft.”

Something did happen.