224 – Perhaps, Haildo, Desert Island #2
In the past few days, I had been fervently training my “wild senses” by borrowing Kkungkkungi’s magic.
And there I was, using my hearing and sense of smell to thoroughly search the area.
Whisper, whisper-.
A small whisper reached my ears as I wandered around various parts of the cruise ship.
It was coming from inside a box in the cargo hold, and it sounded highly suspicious.
“Come out!”
I drew my shotgun from my waist and shouted.
Sniff, sniff-.
There was a smell.
It was the scent of alcohol and sweat.
This smell.
Could it be the “Plague Doctor”?
Bang-!
Soon, the box opened, and someone popped out like a surprise gift from within.
It was Yu Ara, wearing a white gown.
“Senpai!”
“…Ari? What the…? I thought it was some suspicious terrorist hiding and conspiring with their gang.”
“Uhuhu, I couldn’t possibly be a suspicious terrorist…?”
That was true.
Ari was one of the most gentle and kind women I knew. If I had a son, I would have thought, ‘I wish she could be my daughter-in-law.’
She was truly a gentle soul.
“Ari, what were you doing in that box?”
“Uh… that’s, um… Morales…? Morales likes to play hide and seek… and tag. I was playing hide and seek with him.”
Indeed.
Nymphs enjoyed games like tag or hide and seek.
And they had friends who loved to beat up nymph-hating individuals.
It seemed Ari usually took good care of Morales, who was under her supervision.
Unlike Seo Ye-rim, who pinched a nymph’s cheeks twice a day until Illinois ran away.
Swish-.
I carefully pulled Ari out of the box.
Having huddled inside for quite some time, various scents rushed out from Ari’s body.
Sniff, sniff-.
I smelled the scents emanating from Ari.
Ari was startled.
“Whaaa…! Wh-what are you doing…! Suddenly sniffing me…! I’m a bit embarrassed since I’ve been sweating, and it’s been three hours since my last wash…!”
“Ah-. Sorry. It was unintentional. I’ve been gathering various olfactory information while training my ‘wild senses’. Ari, your scent is quite similar to that of a woman I’m looking for. I wanted to make sure I could distinguish it.”
“A woman you’re looking for?”
Ari’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Why are you looking for a woman, Senpai?”
“I told you about it before, right? A woman who wears a doctor’s gown over a battle suit. That woman has been watching me. She might also be keeping an eye on my acquaintances. You need to be careful too.”
“Ah—.”
“Her build and scent are similar to yours. She’s likely a doctor as well. So, Ari, may I sniff your scent? This is definitely not harassment… it’s for accurate distinction….”
I felt very embarrassed to ask my precious junior if I could smell her scent.
Of course, Ari listening would be even more embarrassed.
“My… scent…!”
Ari’s face turned as red as a tomato.
I realized that I had made a huge mistake.
“Let’s just forget I said anything. Just pretend you didn’t hear….”
“N-no…! It’s fine…! Go ahead and sniff…! This is to differentiate me from a bad terrorist and keep me safe…! Of course, you shouldn’t do this with other women…! You might get sued…!”
Saying that, Ari tightly shut her eyes.
So tightly that there were wrinkles around her eyes.
I approached Ari and sniffed the scent around her hair and nape.
“Mm.”
Ari smelled of disinfectant alcohol and faint sweat.
There was also a scent reminiscent of dandelions dried in the spring sun. It didn’t seem like she had applied any perfume; it was just her natural scent.
One could call it the aroma of magic.
# # #
From a man, a scent could be sensed.
Yu Ara felt dizzy from the act. She tried to discreetly wriggle her hands and feet, yet her excitement failed to subside.
‘If I had known this would happen, I should have at least worn some perfume…!’
Normally unconcerned about her body odor, Yu Ara was now acutely aware, to the point where she found it hard to breathe.
What was even more concerning was the thought that the “Plague Doctor” being sought by Haildo might be Yu Ara herself.
Recently, Haildo had awakened a new ability, “wild senses,” which enabled him to differentiate people by scent—this fact favored Yu Ara in no way.
‘What if Senpai realizes it’s me…? The thought that he’s searching for me makes it feel romantic…!’
Thump, thump-.
Yu Ara’s heart raced.
Eventually, her identity would be discovered.
Just like the mermaid princess whose identity was ultimately revealed to the prince!
Yu Ara was looking forward to that moment, while simultaneously wishing it would never come in her lifetime.
Thus, she decided on that day.
‘Patriot Team… maybe I should quit now….’
Retirement from being a black agent.
Yu Ara contemplated it.
“It’s definitely different.”
At that moment.
Haildo, who was smelling Yu Ara’s hair, nape, shoulders, and hands, spoke.
Yu Ara snapped out of her thoughts and asked.
“Hmm? Different? What do you mean?”
“Yeah. The scent is different. It’s actually obvious. A person’s body odor must differ from one another. Your scent, Ari, is much fresher and nicer than that of the Plague Doctor.”
“R-really…? Is that possible…? No, I see. Hehe… My scent is fresh and nice…? Much…?”
“What to say about the Plague Doctor’s scent? It’s quite intense. Yes, definitely stronger. The scent of alcohol is also a bit harsher. When compared, it’s definitely different.”
An intense body odor─.
That remark made Yu Ara’s face burn with a mix of embarrassment.
Yu Ara flusteredly replied.
“M-maybe it’s because I’m wearing a suit that doesn’t allow for proper ventilation underneath the gown!? So, um, it’s probably because I can’t ventilate well…! That’s definitely it…!!!”
Yu Ara desperately tried to justify it.
“I’m telling you it’s because of that!”
Her face was so hot that it felt like it could burn, and for some reason, tears welled up in her eyes.
She didn’t even know what she was trying to justify, but she was certain of one thing.
‘I should stop wearing a suit under my gown. No…. I need to quit being a black agent too.’
Yu Ara made the decision to retire.
It was at that moment.
Zing-.
The fine hairs on the back of Yu Ara’s neck stood on end.
Yu Ara was a holder of “super sensitivity.”
Her highly developed sixth sense bordered on the realm of supernatural abilities. What she felt was danger.
The danger approaching this ship. It stimulated Yu Ara’s senses almost like a form of foresight.
“Senpai, something is happening—.”
“Smell of gunpowder….”
Sniff, sniff-.
Haildo twitched his nose.
He looked at Yu Ara and said.
“Ari! Get people ready to evacuate!”
# # #
If you’ve ever smelled gunpowder even once, you know. You could never forget this sharp and peculiar smell.
My sensitive sense of smell detected the scent of gunpowder that shouldn’t have been felt on this ship.
It came from the direction of the cabins.
As I rushed towards it, I smelled oil.
There was even a large man leaning against the wall of the corridor.
He was a muscular guy wearing a hoodie pulled low over his face.
“I am A Rank, number 14, Haildo. You there, can you show me your ID for a moment?”
I was an A Rank Awakened.
Awakened individuals of A Rank or higher had the right to stop and inspect people at random. As I spoke, the man leaning against the corridor wall slowly turned his head towards me.
He was a guy in a black hoodie and sweatpants.
Wearing such simple and practical clothes, it appeared he could easily be seen out jogging like a boxer in the early hours of dawn.
However, this guy was no boxer.
He was something much more dangerous.
“Could you be Kang Cheol-Min?”
I asked.
Then there was a clunk from one arm of his hoodie as some sort of mechanical device activated. I could smell the iron and oil.
He spoke.
“Haildo, I heard you’re on this ship, but I never thought you’d find me. Should I say it’s nice to meet you? You’ve been doing well lately.”
His voice was altered by some device.
But his manner of speaking and the face visible beneath the hood were clear in my memory.
Was it nice to meet him?
It was a situation where I had thought he was dead.
But I couldn’t simply rejoice.
I gazed at the device in Kang Cheol-Min’s left hand. It was a simple object with a cylindrical shape and a button.
I identified it as some sort of detonation device.
“Kang Cheol-Min, are you considering sinking this ship? Your target is Telos, right? Is that because Telos is conducting fifth-generation suit experiments without government approval? You are a government agent, aren’t you?”
“Already figured that much out? Good instincts. But do you think I’m a psychopath? How many people are on this ship? I’m on the side of protecting innocent civilians.”
“Then why not put that down? That detonation device. If you claim to protect civilians while holding something like that, do you think anyone would believe you?”
Swish-.
Kang Cheol-Min pretended to press the button and raised his thumb.
But he didn’t press the button and tossed the detonation device to me like it was trash.
I quickly caught it mid-air.
Kang Cheol-Min spoke to me.
“There is explosives on this ship, but it won’t sink it. Using explosives isn’t my style, you know. Even if something does blow up, it’d only change the course a little. But there’s no need for that.”
“No need for that?”
“By now, the captain of the ship has already deviated from the predetermined course. After all, we’re going to an uninhabited island to shoot a reality show, right? Go ahead and enjoy.”
“What does that—.”
What is he talking about?
Just as I was about to ask, I felt my insides lurch. It felt as if I were entering a fissure. I looked outside through a window in the cabin.
I noticed a shimmering mirage around the cruise ship, emitting some sort of energy.
A fissure entrance?
At least that’s how it felt.
“Haildo, have you heard of the Philadelphia Experiment? The incident where people went missing from a US military ship while navigating the ocean? It’s not just some urban legend, you know.”
Whoooosh-.
The cruise ship trembled violently.
I felt some sort of intense energy, and I thought I had to evacuate the people.
…But where exactly could I evacuate them to on this sea?
“Don’t worry. Unlike during the Philadelphia Experiment, this fissure only consumes those with high magic powers. Good and innocent civilians will suffer no harm.”
“Hey, Kang Cheol-Min, you bastard—. Unfilial bastard—, whatever you’re planning, hurry—.”
My mind was not functioning well.
When I regained my senses, I realized I was lying on an unfamiliar beach. My body was entangled in seaweed, and I vomited a lot of seawater.
“Ugh! Ugh! Gah! Ah, I’m alive.”
Where is this place?
After spitting out water for a while, I noticed I had drifted to a fairly large island.
“What is this, here? Hello! Is anyone there?”
I shouted as loud as I could.
However, it seemed there was no one around. I attempted to expand my magic power to sense any presence of other people.
But for some reason, it felt as though my magic power had been entirely depleted, making it impossible to feel even a fragment of it. It was as if I had returned to being a regular person, and my body felt particularly heavy.
It felt as though someone was siphoning my magic power away.
“This is bad.”
In many ways, this situation was problematic.
As I thought so, the bushes near me rustled.
I became highly alert.
At a time when I could not unleash any magic, encountering a wild beast would spell trouble.
“Haildo! Is that you, Haildo?”
The voice that reached my ears was quite familiar.
Rustle, rustle-.
Soon, a woman emerged from the bushes with leaves all over her face and hair. Her face was disheveled, and her clothing was the same. One of her shoes was missing.
But I could recognize her.
“…Seo Ye-rim?”
“Hey! I’ve been searching for you for three days…! Where on earth have you been until now! I survived alone on this island for three days…! Three days…!”
