Chapter 204

〈 Chapter 204 〉 Part 1, Chapter 10, Section 7

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

Having sent Gaeul transformed into Cheongnyeon to shoot a CF commercial, I returned to Seoul trying hard not to think about my relationship with Seung-hyung.

Of course, no one found out. And in order to protect Gaeul who remained alone in New Seoul, I was considering deploying the greatest bodyguard humanity has ever known.

“So you’re telling me to guard Phantom right after arriving in Seoul?”

Xiao Lin handed me an SS-Rank Core and a small box, pouting unhappily. Though I had some idea how to resolve her complaints, Xiao Lin needed to head immediately to New Seoul.

[You’re supposed to be guarding Cheongnyeon, aren’t you?]

“But you are Cheongnyeon.”

[Right now, I’m the villain Phoenix. Cheongnyeon is in New Seoul, so go back and forth. When you return, I’ll let you stick to me all you want… So…]

KAAANG!

I swung my left arm outward, deflecting the weapon. The blade clashed against my armor and deflected sideways as I thrust my right fist forward, grabbing Xiao Lin by the collar.

“Ugh!”

Attempting to escape as a spirit entity, Xiao Lin was instantly grabbed by the collar. Her surprise attack had failed, and I subdued her in a single move.

[You always have that habit of wiggling your fingers before attacking. Why don’t you try being more obvious next time?]

“Tch.”

Deflated, I released Xiao Lin’s collar.

“I’m disappointed. I thought my sneak attack would work.”

With her blue robe askew, Xiao Lin’s chest was exposed, but she didn’t bother covering up, instead sprawling carelessly on the sofa.

“Let me rest for a bit before heading out. Ten minutes won’t hurt, right?”

[Sure.]

“Can I deactivate my transformation too?”

[Considering Gaeul is transforming into Cheongnyeon, it might be better not to.]

If Cheongnyeon appeared simultaneously in both New Seoul and Seoul, there’d be a risk of exposing Gaeul’s special ability. As I reviewed the report submitted by Ji Hwa while remaining in my monster form, I resumed my afternoon tasks.

Knock knock.

The knocking sound echoed. I wondered who would visit my office at this hour.

[Come in.]

“It’s me, boss.”

James Lee, the Architect without a soul, entered. Though Xiao Lin had turned into a spirit entity lying on the sofa, to me she appeared as an exhibitionist with clothes half-open, radiating anticipation.

“Huh? Is someone here?”

[No one’s here. Sit down over there.]

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

Swinging his can of beer, the Architect slumped onto the opposite sofa. Facing him, I noticed the exhibitionist’s behavior becoming increasingly bold.

[What’s the matter? I’m busy working right now.]

“There’s been a bit of a problem regarding that.”

[A problem? What could possibly be serious enough for you to come personally?]

“This.”

The Architect displayed a screen from his watch. It showed protesters in Seoul demanding something completely different from the bus route expansion we saw in New Seoul – something quite sensitive to the Blue Wind Sect.

“People in New Seoul are making a fuss, wanting us to hand over the newly built buildings in Seoul. Especially the apartments. Everyone who used to live in Dongjak is already settled in them, you know?”

[Not a single person truly owns those buildings.]

Maybe due to compensation psychology from living in underground tunnels, all the residents of Seoul have taken up residence in the apartments built by the Architect.

The problematic point is that the buildings the Architect constructed were exact replicas of what existed before Seoul’s destruction.

“If I had known this would happen, I should’ve just not restored them. Does this make any sense? All their original buildings were destroyed anyway. Shouldn’t all claims to ownership have vanished along with them?”

[Though the buildings disappeared, the land remains.]

“Considering Seoul was monster and villain territory just three months ago. Tsk. Not blaming you, boss. Thanks to you, 60,000 people got to see sunlight again. But still…”

Slamming his beer can on the table, the Architect vented his frustration.

“Then you should just let them stay, what’s the big deal?! Eh?”

[Calm down. This was expected from the start.]

“Then what’s your proposed solution, boss? Oh wait, let me suggest something first.”

The Architect unfurled a map of the Korean Peninsula. He pointed at Seoul with his index finger then drew a line northward.

“How about we build a city here? Hey, ‘Phoenix City’ sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Let’s relocate all these people to ownerless land and build a new city.”

[That’s impractical.]

Even though the Architect wears hanbok, he fails to consider the psychological burden this would place on Seoul’s residents.

[Would the people of Seoul really leave their city? This isn’t wartime evacuation.]

Despite witnessing firsthand how tenaciously Seoul’s residents clung to their underground existence rather than leaving the city, the Architect harbors considerable resentment over losing the buildings he restored to their original owners.

[Don’t worry. Those moving from New Seoul to Seoul are extremely limited. Only five buses run per day, after all.]

“Already some people claiming their old homes have been suppressed by Sky Castle, did you know?”

[That’s news to me.]

Never heard of it. Realizing his anger, the Architect calmed himself by taking a swig of beer.

“Sorry, guess I shouldn’t blame you. You weren’t here earlier this morning. Must’ve been busy elsewhere.”

[No, I understand.]

“Damn. All this is because that Black Flame Dragon isn’t intimidating enough. With SS-Rank monsters serving as playthings for elites, why would anyone in New Seoul feel fear? Truly absurd. When the serpent at City Hall had its eyes wide open, not even Incheon dared approach Seoul.”

The Architect pointed at Guro and Gangnam.

“How about we station two cores here and resurrect Water Monkey in Guro and Earth Dragon in Gangnam? That might scare people enough to keep them away, right?”

[Even then, those determined to come will find a way. Hmm, maybe I dealt with the road monsters too quickly.]

“Isn’t that because you worked too efficiently, boss? Monsters spawning in Pyongyang? You wiped them out before they even crossed the DMZ. How could Seoul possibly be dangerous?”

Seoul has regained stability. The only remaining monster threat, Nuclearian, can now be safely contained simply by awakening a new spirit.

“Dilemma indeed. Ugh. We need development, but it’s too safe now and attracting unwanted attention. Damn.”

[That’s enough. Take today off.]

“…Huh?”

The Architect’s expression froze as he reached for his second beer can. Did I say something wrong?

“Did you just tell me to take a break, boss?”

[You need to rest when necessary. Didn’t I rest when coming back from China?]

For ten minutes.

“But it’s just past 2 PM?”

[Go home. Even if it’s just retreating to your room, take a break today. We’ll meet when Phantom returns. We’ll discuss this tomorrow night. Rest until then.]

Having dismissed the Architect, he left my room with an unusually delighted face.

“Fuck Yea——-!!!”

[He left without closing the door.]

Does hearing “take a break” make people this happy? I fired a burst of magic power to close the door.

[Now, Miss Xiao Lin.]

“Haa, haa. Yes…?”

[Do you enjoy stripping as a spirit entity this much?]

Xiao Lin revealed herself on the table in full nudity. Placing her hands on her chest, she spoke seriously.

“I sincerely rejoice in becoming a disciple of Lord Hwanryong.”

[Why?]

“Because this way, I can become transparent…! Huhuugh!”

Shivering on the table, Xiao Lin convulsed. Grabbing her neck with magic power, I hurled her out the window at full strength.

“KYAAAAAAA!”

Xiao Lin fell happily outside the hotel. I sincerely hoped she’d remember to wear clothes and stay beside Gaeul during protection duty.

Brrring.

The intercom buzzed from downstairs. I deactivated my monster form briefly to answer in human voice.

“What is it?”

[Mister West said he saw something strange. Some crazy woman jumped naked from your room while laughing?]

“That’s Xiao Lin.”

[My goodness. So you’ve developed a taste for such play?]

“Someone who likes rearview mirror gazing shouldn’t talk-”

Click.

The line disconnected.

[Apologies to the Architect.]

Switching back to monster form, I performed a backward flip.

BOOM!

Golden swords and sharp water jets erupted from the floor. The ground was riddled with holes, from which two blond figures emerged.

“Did you install hidden cameras, trash?!”

“How dare you spy on a couple’s private moment! Even for you, that’s unforgivable!”

Equipped with golden swords, Hyeon-hwan and Anastasia Vladimir Rusalka faced me, their faces flushed red.

The doctor in white was subtly twisting his lower body, while his wife – Anastasia Rusalka – used the curtain to cover herself.

Creak.

White sticky liquid dripped from Rusalka’s thigh.

[Ah. Caught in the act, huh. My apologies.]

“Master West!”

“UUUUUGH!”

Hyeon-hwan activated his ultimate technique. I broke quite a sweat calming the aroused couple within the golden world.

Ah.

The damaged hotel floor was repaired by the Architect within a minute before he left.

* * *

While Phoenix battled the couple…

Transformed into Cheongnyeon, Gaeul entered the waiting room hastily prepared by the association. The temporary lounge set up specifically for Cheongnyeon still bore traces of its previous occupant.

“Sorry, Cheongnyeon-dama. This was originally an empty room…”

“It’s fine. Looks like the previous user was quite tidy?”

“Um… well…”

Baek Hee-a bit her lips awkwardly. Despite the passage of time since the previous occupant vacated, using a room previously occupied by a man as a temporary lounge felt inappropriate to her as well, but there was nothing she could do.

The association, or rather the Korean branch, was doing everything possible to keep Cheongnyeon in Korea. Since forceful means wouldn’t work, they were attempting to change Cheongnyeon’s mind through superficial schemes.

Though these were merely ideas concocted through deskbound planning, once Cheongnyeon discovered them, it would likely cause significant discomfort.

“The previous occupant of this room… wasn’t it Hwakwon?”

“……How did you know?”

Baek Hee-a’s eyes widened. Gaeul pointed at a photo hanging decoratively on the wall. There was a picture of Hwakwon Seung-hyung and actress Cheon Gaeul smiling affectionately at the camera.

“Ah, so that’s what it was… Shall I remove it if it makes you uncomfortable?”

“No, you can leave it.”

Gaeul’s gaze was fixed on her pre-monster transformation self. Baek Hee-a felt as if Gaeul was evaluating actress Cheon Gaeul through that look.

‘Hmm…’

Baek Hee-a had overheard heroes joking around about Seung-hyung. They said he liked Cheon Gaeul, but after her disappearance in Seoul, he attended her funeral and moved on.

Afterwards, the heroes kept looking for opportunities to pair him with Cheongnyeon to console his broken heart, and Seung-hyung didn’t react strongly against these jokes.

‘Could there actually be something between them?’

Since the moment they announced plans to shoot public service advertisements, which were heavily propagandistic despite being called public interest ads, something felt off. However, watching Cheongnyeon’s current demeanor made Baek Hee-a’s suspicions grow.

“…Hmm, mine is bigger.”

“!!”

Gaeul dramatically opened her blouse to compare her bust size with the mirror image. Baek Hee-a’s pride took a slight hit from the overwhelming disparity, but there wasn’t much difference between the actress in the photo and the present-day Cheongnyeon.

“Ah, sorry. That was me talking to myself.”

“Not at all. It’s fine.”

“Uh, Inspector.”

Lifting her head, Gaeul pointed at Cheon Gaeul in the mirror.

“Do you know this person?”

“Yes. She was an actress who passed away. Though she went missing in Seoul, no one knows where she went.”

“Is that so….”

Gaeul smiled bitterly. Baek Hee-a scratched her cheek and added,

“Still, her parents believe she’s alive. Last time, they joined the protest group, sitting in wheelchairs late into the night at the square…”

“Protests?”

Gaeul’s expression hardened. Baek Hee-a realized her mistake but decided to continue since it wasn’t something that needed hiding.

“Yes. People want to move to Seoul, but the bus routes are currently operating under restrictions. To meet demand, the current routes would need to expand threefold.”

“……”

Gaeul’s expression grew complicated.

A short while later.

Cheongnyeon’s expression remained somber as she headed out for the shoot from the lounge. Baek Hee-a felt dizzy from regret over her slip of tongue.