Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
39. Tossed coin (7)
The hospital bed in the room with walls and floor full of magic circles.
Kim Yuri in a hospital gown was sitting on it.
“Thank you for coming! I don’t see Daeseok, but if Geurin is here, there is no way he didn’t come with you… Is Daeseok also hospitalized, perhaps?”
It seemed that Kim Yuri had a very good understanding of our class children.
“Uh, uh… That fucker is also at this hospital.”
“Really? Is Daeseok okay? Is he very hurt?”
“Daeseok is unscathed! And a good thing happened to him. Rather, how about you, Yuri?” [1]
“I’m also unscathed! Because the superpower pressure is still a bit strong, I’m a bit dizzy, but I’m getting better as I keep sleeping. But what happened to Daeseok?”
“Ah, Daeseok made a web application analyzing the observations of the Player’s Satellite…”
Though they were talking through the barrier made by Hwang Jiho, as Kim Yuri lead the conversation with a bright voice, the atmosphere soon brightened.
As I observed the scene of children exchanging the news with peaceful faces, my mind relaxed.
“Ah, right.”
Kim Yuri, who listened to the stories with a smiling face, opened a hologram.
I saw a dark sea on the screen.
“Did you know?… There is a video of senior Kwon Jane-nim and Lena’s performance!”
“Yes? A video?”
“What? Who recorded it?”
“Uh?”
After Kim Yuri pressed a play the video button, the scene from that day played on the screen.
After Kwon Jane and Kwon Lena’s assemble ended, the children, who held their breaths and leaned their ears, burst with admiration.
“Amazing…!”
“That was Lena, right? It was from far away, but it looked like Lena.”
“I want to hear it in person… I want to draw the scene of the two performing….”
There was only one person who had guts and ability to perfectly record the two even in such chaos.
‘It was Mun Saeron, huh!’
Did Hwang Jiho know about it and neglect it?
As I looked at Hwang Jiho, he replied with a hushed voice as if he understood my meaning.
“This video should soon turn into an article. As Kwon Jane, who was appointed as an honorary teacher for the first time, visited the training camp to give a concert, and then preformed a miracle with her performance by calming down the madness of the sea. In addition, there was even a 1st year student cooperating and supporting Kwon Jane. That’s an amazing news topic.”
Hwang Jiho had a very satisfied face.
Looking at his expression, I guess even though he knew that this video was published, he didn’t stop it.
From his words, I could see Hwang Jiho’s scheme.
‘There are many things that had to be covered up in this incident. He probably wants to turn the gazes in a different direction…’
It was best if Kwon Jane became a wind-catcher in this incident.
The problem was Kwon Lena.
If she didn’t welcome the public’s attention, I wanted to block this video from spreading.
As if Mun Saeron was considerate, the cuts with Kwon Lena’s face were excluded from the video, but it may be better to eliminate the chance for trouble beforehand.
‘It wasn’t revealed yet that the 1st year student was Kwon Lena. Even now, we can take the video down, and because only Kwon Jane’s existence is prominent, if we cover it well…’
But my thoughts halted at Kwon Lena’s voice.
“This, who uploaded it….?”
Kwon Lena, who listened to the class children’s conversation without a word, opened her mouth for the first time.
Her voice was trembling a little.
“Um? Did Lena not know? Uh… Was it perhaps uploaded without Lena’s permission? Sorry, I had no idea…”
Kim Yuri hastily closed the hologram and apologized, but her words were cut short again thanks to Kwon Lena’s words.
“What should I do?! Are there no original videos? The camera’s angle changes, so it seems it was recorded from several recording devices simultaneously. I want to see all of the other videos! Who recorded it?”
“…. Uh?”
Kwon Lena turned on her device with a flushed face, and connected to web to immediately search for the video Kim Yuri played.
The face of Kwon Lena, who played the video again, overflowed with happiness.
“Ah, in fact, at the time I was going crazy, so I didn’t think of making a record! If it was an ordinary situation, I would use the device recording function straight away… Ah, it’s because when senior Kwon Jane-nim uses Her Gwangrim, She is usually performing an improvised piece! At that time, She also performed an improvised piece! Do you think that if I leave a comment, I’ll be able to get the original videos?”
“It was recorded by Mun Saeron. It should be quick if you request it from her.”
“I have to contact Saeron!”
Kwon Lena, who heard Hwang Jiho’s reply, opened wide her round eyes and smiled brightly.
It seemed that she wasn’t bothered even a bit about the fact that she appeared in the video with was currently a hot topic.
The thing Kwon Lena was solely concerned about was Kwon Jane’s performance.
“… This video has extremely high views, so many people may see it. Is it really okay?”
Min Geurin asked the question I wanted to ask instead of me.
Kwon Lena, who saved the ensemble video, fell into embarrassment, and then replied.
“If it doesn’t harm senior Kwon Jane-nim, there is no problem. But it’s embarrassing to perform at senior Kwon Jane-nim’s side like this!”
Considering the secret of Kwon Lena’s birth, revealing her to the public should be avoided in the future, but if she is Kwon Jane’s sole disciple and a Player of Eungwang School, people will step out someday, and it couldn’t be helped.
It seemed that that time was quickened a bit, but if the video was suddenly blocked now, people may think that it was strange and dig into it.
“But what is that tsunami you’re putting to sleep? Is this the weather phenomena that appeared in some news….?”
“I was also bothered by it, in fact!”
“Uh, so, this is because of that.”
After Han Yi and Sawol Seeum shot a question, Maeng Hyodon tried to turn the words around.
But Maeng Hyodon’s speaking skills were beyond comprehension.
On the contrary, as the flustered Maeng Hyodon fumbled with his words, the children were only more doubtful.
When I was prepared to step out to settle the situation.
“That’s my Gwangrim.”
Kim Yuri pointed at the wall of sea visible in the background on the hologram opened by Kwon Lena.
“My Gwangrim is connected to several higher beings. Because I kept suppressing it, it ended up running wild in the important moment. Thinking about the aftermath of that and… I put a lot of people in danger, so, I’m sorry.”
“Yuri…”
When Kim Yuri bowed her head, the expression of Han Yi, who first brought up this topic, stiffened.
No one among us opened their mouths.
At the time of the training camp in the game, Nabiryeong used Kim Yuri’s Gwangrim to swallow half of the island with tsunami.
As a result, the Enemies were wiped out, but there were numerous causalities and property damage.
The school and Association took all the responsibility, and protected Kim Yuri, but because of her sense of guilt, she ended up refusing to go to school.
But it was different now.
“Your Gwangrim didn’t cause any damage.”
After I spoke like this, Kim Yuri slowly raised her head.
“On the contrary, if not for your Gwangrim, it would have been difficult to deal with that many Enemies.”
“Uisin is right!”
“That’s correct, the only injured People were People in different places. And not even one building was damaged…!”
Kim Yuri hesitated for a few moments and then opened her mouth.
“Then, are you not afraid of my power? It may run wild again…”
At Kim Yuri’s question, the children replied one after another.
“Not really. As this time it wasn’t completely out of control, and the same output won’t come out in the future.”
Hwang Jiho laid down objective facts.
“There are many scarier things in the world than that.”
“Right! Yuri’s power can’t be activated without water. If just considering power, the 3rd year class 0’s homeroom teacher, who transcends human limits, is scarier!”
Han Yi and Kwon Lena spoke like this, while nodding their heads.
“Why would I be afraid of Yuri…?”
Min Geurin spoke as if she really couldn’t understand it.
“Even when supposing that it would explode again like this, I can fly to escape! Moreover, the…. Uisin will surely do something!”
“I’ll become stronger to not be outmatched by such power.”
Sawol Seeum, who almost said ‘that word’, and Maeng Hyodon spoke with power.
Kim Yuri was at a loss for words for a while as she looked around, and opened her mouth.
“Then, you know…”
Kim Yuri closed and opened her mouths a few times.
“That, if so… When I become accustomed to this Gwangrim of my, do you want to go somewhere to play?”
Hearing those words, it was confirmed.
The future where Kim Yuri becomes a truant disappeared.
I replied on the behalf of children.
“Even if you don’t get accustomed, let’s go to play. Where are we going?”
“… Ok!”
We made plans how we would play during the break after that.
We couldn’t know when Kim Yuri would be discharged, but we were happy even if we just chose a place to play beforehand.
A few hours later.
Excluding Min Geurin, who decided to stay at Song Daeseok’s side and Hwang Jiho, who remained to strengthen the barrier in Kim Yuri’s hospital room, everyone left the hospital.
Han Yi went to help at the children’s home, and Kwon Lena went to meet with Kwon Jane, who returned to Seoul.
When I was about to head to Hwang Myeong’s main mansion to pick up my baggage, Maeng Hyodon caught me.
“Hey, vice president.”
“What?”
Maeng Hyodon stared at me with very suspicious eyes.
“You knew that things would explode that day, didn’t you?”
That day, I grabbed and asked Maeng Hyodon to pass on the words to Kim Yuri.
It was natural to have doubts as I caught Maeng Hyodon and said such words.
Even so, I didn’t reply.
Seeing me silent, Maeng Hyodon punched my arm with his fist and spoke:
“Tell the details beforehand next time. Ruined fucker.”
After saying only that, Maeng Hyodon turned around and headed to the school first.
He had a stone head, but looking at the serious reaction of my Playable Character, unlike that of a certain geezer, made me warm.
“Hey, Uisin. I have something to say…”
Sawol Seeum, who checked if Maeng Hyodon disappeared, approached me.
“In fact… Uncle Semin knows that I used Gwangrim.”
Sawol Semin knows?
I didn’t know what kind of superpower he had, but it seemed to be from an insight category.
“He also knows that the target of that Gwangrim was Red Wall Thief-nim. He said that He wants to invite Red Wall Thief-nim to Sawol family’s mansion, so if only Red Wall Thief-nim is okay with that….”
“I’ll go.”
I replied immediately to stop the chanting of ‘that word’.
***
In the darkness, butterflies made out of superpower wave fluttered in the air.
The butterflies scattered shinning scales, illuminating the path.
“I brought Them.”
After Nabiryeong’s sweet voice rang out, the butterflies stopped flapping their wings and wilting, fell to the ground, and exploded with a ‘Puk’ sound.
Stepping on the remains of that light, Nabiryeong and Jin people walked into the darkness.
“Up to here.”
When the languid voice rang out, everyone stopped in their steps.
The owner of that voice, with their face covered with a mask, stood up from their seat.
“I’m to understand that the head’s right hand isn’t coming?”
They pointed a long finger at the Ung standing straight behind Nabiryeong.
The appointed Ung replied.
“We have to organize a rescue mission, even now. He was surely locked up somewhere in the Tigers’[2] headquarters and is being interrogated! There is no way they would kill him.”
The long finger pointed at the next Ung.
“Bear of Anxiety and that bastard’s subordinates escaped without a scratch! It can’t be that, excluding the right hand, everyone else was annihilated. No details were revealed, but that bastard clearly had done something with his Puppetry Art! Please, punish Bear of Anxiety!”
Each time the long finger pointed, each Ung said something.
There were no particular differences in what the following answers from the two Ung tribe members said.
After pointing out all of the Ung tribe members, the voice filled with boredom flowed out again.
“It’s not a simple matter to gather such number of Enemies.”
“…. Yes?”
An Ung unknowingly to themselves opened their mouth and spoke unpremeditated.
Realizing their mistake late, they stuffed their mouth.
Leaving the nervous Ung alone, the voice of a young man[3] in a mask continued.
“It is difficult to attach unsuitable to one’s status number of Enemies, and to one being as family members, right? The goal was to bring the sacrifices. I wanted it to be successful, even if it meant giving power one doesn’t deserve.”
The Ung tribe members tried to guess the meaning behind the young man’s words, but it wasn’t easy.
Nabiryeong, who deeply bowed her head, realized the young man’s meaning, and taking the advantage of the darkness, bloomed into a dark smile.
“The superior shares the glory with their subordinates, just like they share their punishment.”
Uuuung—!
As the long finger lightly cut through the air, the Ung tribe’s members, who were in direction the pointed by the finger, collapsed.
“Keuk, this, what is this?!”
“Aa-Air!”
The long finger moved with a graceful and immaculate movement, drawing an outpost[4].
With each stroke added, the superpower pressure descended on the Ung tribe members, taking their breath and superpowers.
“I commanded you to obtain sacrifices with upright souls before Chilseok[5] comes. You place that right hand of yours above my commands, huh?”
The Ung tribe members opened their mouths to retort, but only a sound of coughing and searching for air came out.
“I have no need for chess pieces who don’t listen. You can’t match the sacrifices I was keeping my eyes on, but you will become my foundation.”
After the entire outpost was completed and swallowed the Ung tribe members in this place.
Nabiryeong, who bowed her head in a graceful position, got on her knees and prostrated herself.
“Forgive me, please. I didn’t predict that they were unfit to accomplish Your commands.”
“Raise your head.”
Nabiryeong looked at the young man in the mask with a heartbroken and sorrowful expression.
It was such a face that you couldn’t at all suspect that she used the Incarnation of Magnolia to tarnish their plans.
“If you truly think you’re in the wrong in this matter, I’ll give you an opportunity to fix it.”
“Command me anything.”
The young man in the mask held their finger up and drew something in the air as they spoke:
“It’s about the godly maidens.”
*~*~*
[1] “Daeseok is unscathed! And a good thing happened to him. Rather, how about you, Yuri?” — Sawol Seeum’s sentence
[2] Tigers — a pure Korean word for a tiger ‘범 (beom)’ is used here. I was always bothered how to differentiate them and I think I will just settle on capitalizing it, like I do to differentiate Enemies from enemies (not capitalized). It doesn’t mean they’re speaking politely about tigers. (But if we’re talking about politeness, the bears and Nabiryeong are all using a formal tone.)
[3] young man — I’ll continue to use ‘they/them’ to refer to Dark Mastermind, even though narration here says a young man, for reasons that travelers from the future will understand very well, and because of the ambiguity of the honorifics used for Dark Mastermind. As I can’t know who knows what, this translator decided that no one knows anything or everyone knows everything. Also, the word here refers to a young adult male in his prime.
[4] outpost — this translator planned to translate it as ‘formation’, but in consideration of the chapter title in a far away future, it will be translated as outpost. The word used here ‘진 (jin)’ is a military term referring to the arrangement of troops in line, or a place where troops are deployed. Formation seems like the best translation if not considering the future, as the ‘陣’, the hanja root of 진(jin) here, is used in many words for magical circles and formations. For example, magic square is 마방진(魔方陣). 陣 itself comes from compressing the word 車(wagon/chariot) and 阜(hill). It was a pictogram of a chariot under the hill and expressed preparations for war… I suppose this is why it’s mentioned in chapter 7?
[5] Chilseok — Literally ‘Seventh Evening’, is a holiday on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Lunar Calendar (in the year I’m writing this note, 2024, it would be on the August 10th). It’s a quite similar holiday to Chinese Qixi Festival, as it’s also celebrating the meeting of the pair from the ‘The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl’ folk tale.
Translator’s note: Uhhh….. After recent chapters (~1100), some information in this chapter is…. O.O”””” (extremely nervous emoji)
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
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