Chapter 43
“Ahem. Suddenly calling me ‘Unnie,’ you pretty thing. …Well, for today, just move the laundry to the construction site office and rest.”
Yahoo!
Swallowing my inner cheer, I shouted.
“Yes! Thank you, Unnie!”
“…Right. Ahem. You can go now.”
I even gave a quick salute near my eyebrow and skipped out of the bathhouse, humming happily.
💎
“This is laundry from the women’s quarters in Building D. …Thank you for your hard work!”
After delivering the laundry to the construction workers’ office near the barrier,
I kept an eye on my surroundings and slipped into a gap between buildings.
The bathhouse unnies had definitely said all the Awakened stay in Building E.
‘Choi Yu is an Awakened, so he’s most likely to have become a guild member.’
Healing Awakened is rare, and he’s a high-level healer, so he’s probably in a fairly high position.
The problem was that I had no way to enter Building E.
I guessed that having the yin-yang emblem that all Dowonhyang guild members seem to wear would allow access…
But how to get one?
‘I left without telling Yu…’
She was working in a different area, so I couldn’t meet her until she left the sauna.
But having gotten this opportunity somehow, I couldn’t just quietly return to the sauna.
Even now, Baek Iheon’s wound would be festering.
‘Let’s go further in for now.’
I changed into a T-shirt I had secretly hidden inside my loose sauna clothes.
This should be enough to pass as running an errand if I’m caught.
“Let’s go.”
This area used to be downtown Busan, so there were many abandoned buildings and alleys between them.
It wasn’t as difficult as I thought to move while avoiding people’s eyes.
Moving nimbly through the complex alleys like that,
I was soon able to reach the inner part of Dowonhyang, far from the barrier.
“…That must be Building E.”
The reason I could tell at a glance was the faint dome-shaped mana barrier spread around it.
They had thoroughly double-protected it with a mana barrier in addition to the wall.
“There’s no way a barrier ability user of this level has appeared already. …They must have combined the power of multiple people.”
Is this why they’ve been frantically gathering Awakened?
What kind of person is this Gain to think of building such a fortress in such a short time?
Judging by the size of the dome barrier, Building E wasn’t even as big as a small apartment building.
They were sacrificing so many people just to save a handful.
‘Anyway, Choi Yu is most likely to be in there. But how can I pass through that barrier?’
I stroked my chin, lost in thought.
The easiest way would be to call Yu and have her smash the barrier.
It looks quite sturdy, but for someone of Yu’s ability, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
But then they would immediately notice the intruder’s presence.
It would be too much for just the two of us to handle numerous Awakened, let alone monsters.
It’s hard to kill people because of causality, too.
“This damn complicated causality…”
Should I go back to the sauna and discuss it with Yu?
Being away for too long might arouse suspicion.
As I was pondering various alternatives for a while, that’s when it happened.
“Hey, you.”
A drawling voice struck the back of my neck.
I turned around in shock.
A man in black clothes was walking towards me with both hands in his pockets.
“No emblem, so you’re a worker? What are you doing here… Ah.”
The man saw my face and grinned unpleasantly.
Damn it.
I also recognized who the man was and bit my lip hard.
It was the bleached-hair man who had abducted me here.
Seeing the blood drain from my face, the man licked his lips, clearly showing his excitement.
“Fancy meeting you here. I actually went to look for you once, but that old geezer stopped me. Still having some weird conscience left…”
Damn, damn, damn.
Of all people, why did I have to run into this man here?
As I was looking for a chance to dash into an alley, the man swiftly grabbed my wrist.
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped my lips from his strong grip.
He roughly dragged me into a nearby abandoned building.
It was a hair salon with a broken tri-color sign.
He shoved me inside and asked with a smirk.
“How’s the sauna? Isn’t it hard to work? My, with these thin arms…”
Thwack.
I forcefully pushed away his hand as he tried to unpleasantly stroke my arm.
Ugh, disgusting.
How can such vile crimes continue to occur even if the world is ending?
My long-standing hatred for humans, which had been dormant for a while, rose up to my throat again.
However, despite my resistance, he merely gave a sleazy expression as if telling me not to act coy.
“Were you looking at Building E from here, pretty one? Want to go there with me? I’m sure you don’t want to keep doing laundry and such.”
I silently glared at him for a moment, raising the corners of my eyes.
Then I slowly opened my mouth.
“…Really? You can take me to Building E?”
“Haha. Yes, yes. I’m an Awakened One. Can’t you see this mark?”
“Wow, an Awakened One?”
When I asked with seemingly wide-eyed surprise, the man shrugged his shoulders.
Seeing that his guard seemed to have lowered appropriately, I asked in a subtle tone.
“Oh, by the way, what’s your name? …We should at least know each other’s names.”
“The pretty one catches on quick? I really like you. My name is Jeon Byeong-guk. You can call me Byeong-guk Oppa.”
I smiled at him sweetly, then immediately whispered inwardly.
‘Oppa my a**… View contract information for Jeon Byeong-guk!’
[(Messenger) < Standard Avatar Contract >]
[Yami (hereinafter referred to as ‘Party A’) and Jeon Byeong-guk (hereinafter referred to as ‘Party B’) hereby enter into the following Guardian Spirit-Avatar contract.
.
- Contract Period: Until April 1, 20XX (short-term contract)
- Place of Work: Earth realm
- Compensation: Party B can partially wield the power of Yami, the god of thieves.
.
(……)]
‘…A minor deity. And it’s even a temporary contract.’
Moreover, it’s not even combat-related, so I can relax for now.
As he drew closer and closer, I glared at him and asked in a subtle tone.
“…By the way, why are they creating something like paradise?”
“Well, we’re all going to die anyway. It’s about living happily without worrying about monsters, even if just for a moment.”
“Why are you so sure everyone’s going to die?”
“Because Cain-nim said so.”
“…Cain-nim?”
To my puzzled question, the man answered in a nonchalant tone.
“Yes. The great prophet. He’s prophesied every event since the Gate Break, and he’s never been wrong.”
Come to think of it…
Surely, that middle-aged man being chased by guild members at the outlet said the same thing.
He acted like he had ‘predicted this would happen.’
“He prophesied. That humanity will perish in 10 years. That even the gods will abandon us.”
“Is that so? …A prophecy, huh.”
While I was lost in thought for a moment, the man had already come very close.
With eyes flickering with madness, the man reached out to me and muttered.
“Yes… We’re all going to die anyway…”
‘F**k. Disgusting!’
The reason I stalled for time wasn’t just to gather information.
‘Hey, God! This is clearly an evil act, right? It’s self-defense if I take this guy down, isn’t it?’
As if waiting for my words, the messenger chimed.
[(Messenger) Indra mutters angrily that he will specially grant you his power.]
💎
Thank you for reading! ♡
