Chapter 79 (2/2)
”Heh, I'm a bit cautious type, you see.” (Village head)
The old man scratched his nose.
”I prepared two hideouts just in case something unexpected happened. Well, I'll tell you about that later.” (Village head)
Tap, tap. The old man lightly tapped the floor plan with the end of the pen.
”Let's move on. I don't think there will be a need to go above ground in the first place.” (Village head)
”Why not?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”It might have been an open secret, but well, it was still a secret experiment. The floors above ground were used as sleeping quarters or served some other miscellaneous purposes. The actual experiments were done underground, you see.” (Village head)
Seol Ji-Hu nodded his head.
”So, you need to search the first and second underground floors, but…. According to my deduction, there's a good chance that your comrades are being held on the first floor. We used the entirety of the second floor as the experimentation area and used the first floor as a sort of a paddock. In other words, we used it mostly as a pen.” (Village head)
The old man continued on.
”An operation plan needs to be simple. If possible, you need to be able to explain in one sentence.” (Village head)
Tack. He put the pen down and pointed with his hand, before drawing a line.
”Transfer to the first bas.e.m.e.nt floor using the magic circle, use rudium to achieve your objective, return to the secret room to escape by using the transfer circle again. Those are the gist of the plan I'm suggesting. You understand now?” (Village head)
Seol Ji-Hu stared at the village head with eyes of awe and envy. The youth had been feeling rather lost and hopeless, but now, he felt as if his eyes had been opened, and his blocked chest had been liberated.
”Village head… can you be a G.o.d in disguise?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Stop spewing nonsense.” (Village head)
The village head's nose clearly reddened somewhat as he opened his mouth.
”Well, my plan certainly has a higher chance of succeeding than that dumb initial plan you told me about. However….” (Village head)
He hesitated a little before continuing on.
”I might as well come out and say it. There are a total of three variables for you to worry about in my plan.” (Village head)
The old man raised three fingers before folding the ring finger first.
”First. It's the current state of the hideout.” (Village head)
”Its current state, is it?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Not just the one in the Arden mountain range, but the one inside the laboratory itself, too. No one knows what they are like right now. I did hide them to the best of my abilities, but well, who amongst us can predict what'll happen in the future? In the worst case scenario, you may even find yourself right in the middle of the dang mutants as soon as transferring there.” (Village head)
Seol Ji-Hu's complexion hardened.
”You can only hope for the best on that one…. Lamentably, there is nought you can do about that. If things do turn out that way, you need to escape immediately. Understand?” (Village head)
”Yes.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”The second problem has to do with the transfer magic circle itself.” (Village head)
The village head folded his middle finger next.
”I don't know the level of skill the Sorcerer in Haramark possesses. But the thing is, that magic circle can only be maintained for 30 minutes, tops. Worse still, if the Sorcerer's stamina runs out, or the Magic Power supply is cut off deliberately, then the circle will shut down automatically.” (Village head)
”Which means, everything needs to be taken care of within 30 minutes.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Correct. The important thing here is, regardless of whether Magic Power is supplied or not, the circle will shut down after 30 minutes. And you'll need 72 hours to charge up a magic circle that had been shut down in that manner. Do you understand where I'm going with this?” (Village head)
”Is there a way to increase the duration somehow?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu's earnest inquiry caused the village head to rub his chin.
”Hmm, I wonder…. It might sound like I'm trying to make excuses, and I'm ashamed about that, but well, transfer magic itself is inherently a difficult magic to master. Even back in the Empire, there was almost no one capable of activating this magic with nothing but their own powers. Most had to rely on transfer magic circles. So, in all honesty, I'm not confident of improving the duration any further than 30.” (Village head)
”I guess it can't be helped, then.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu could only nod his head after hearing the old man's frank declaration on his limits. What could he do when it wasn't the case of not wanting to do it but being unable to do it, instead?
”And finally, it's the rudium itself.” (Village head)
The village head folded the index finger.
”Something like mutated Orcs aren't high ranked creatures so you will probably be able to control them to some degree.” (Village head)
”Which means, I should be careful since I won't be able to control high ranked creatures.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”That's blindingly obvious. No, what I'm trying to say is this. Look at it. It's just too small. Of course, I think you can use it plenty enough for around 30 minutes.” (Village head)
Seol Ji-Hu tilted his head a bit. What was the problem, then?
”That's why you need to make a choice.” (Village head)
The old man spoke up, this time sounding a bit grimmer.
”Use the rudium to destroy the facility, or use it to rescue your comrades. This is a completely different problem unrelated to the magic circle's duration.” (Village head)
”But, can't I do both…..” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”You need to stop daydreaming right here. Fundamentally, this problem overlaps with the other two variables. One wrong move and you will fail to achieve neither of your goals.” (Village head)
Chasing after two rabbits would result in missing both of them. Choose one, and focus on that.
”I understand.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Very well. And then….” (Village head)
The village head added several more detailed information and let out a long sigh of fatigue.
”With this, it seems that I have done everything I can do for you.” (Village head)
Seol Ji-Hu's lips parted but closed shut again. He wanted to express his grat.i.tude, but the harvest this time was well beyond his expectations and he simply didn't know where or how to start saying thanks. As a matter of fact, he never even imagined that the door of possibilities would open up this much by coming here.
”Ehehe. I guess even you think this is a lot for a simple payment of a debt, don't you?” (Village head)
”You're right. Looks like it's me that owes you now.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”How are you planning on repaying me, then?” (Village head)
”What do you have in mind?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu's reply brought about a shoulder shrug from the village head.
”Well…. Let's think about that later. I'll take my time on that.” (Village head)
”Thank you.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Thanks can wait.” (Village head)
The old man smirked.
”You need to come back alive first before you can repay me. So, don't you dare die on me.” (Village head)
Seol Ji-Hu left the village head's residence and directly climbed aboard the waiting carriage. On his way to the village, he felt pressed, harried, worried. But on his return trip, he was now a step calmer, collected - probably all thanks to the village head.
Now that his mind had calmed down, the first person he thought about was Cho Hong. Along with that, a sense of guilt rushed in.
In all honesty, he hadn't felt betrayal from her actions. Not to that extent, anyway. He could pretty much guess why Cho Hong tried to lie to him like that.
But back when he heard the truth, he became really angry at her. Should he blame that one on him feeling hurt and disappointed? He wasn't sure, but…. Anyways, it was a bit like that. The emotion he felt back then wasn't something he could properly nail down and describe in words.
‘I'm sure Cho Hong was under a lot of stress, too.' (Seol Ji-Hu)
Regardless of what, his actions weren't what you'd call exemplary now that he had time to reflect on them. He made a mistake. Just what would've gone through her head after hearing that the fate of her long-time comrades-in-arms was completely unknown? He should've been more considerate towards her plight, for sure.
‘Did I really go overboard….?' (Seol Ji-Hu)
….I need to go back for the time being. Seol Ji-Hu decided as thus and held tight on to the stuff the village head gifted him.
The morning sun was already burning brightly in the sky by the time he arrived in Haramark. Seol Ji-Hu paid the carriage driver's balance and ran back to the office building with all his might. He felt tired as he didn't get a wink of sleep, but he was too eager to show her the result of his work.
He ran up the steps and flung open the door to the third floor. He immediately ran into Cho Hong. She had been pacing up and down in the room, but her steps came to a halt right then. Her anxiety-ridden face crumpled in an instant.
Unexpectedly, she didn't open her mouth right away. And here he was, thinking that she'd start biting his head off. With her silently staring back at him, he was getting even more awkward just standing there. Trapped within this strange silence, a pair of young man and woman could only stare at each other, unmoving.
The first one to break this deadlock was Cho Hong.
”….Where have you been?” (Cho Hong)
Her voice was low, hushed - as if she was suppressing a lot of something. It seemed that she was a bit ticked off, as well. Seol Ji-Hu closed the door behind him and cautiously crept inside.
”Were you waiting for me?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”That's right. I f*cking waited for you, you dumb as*hole.” (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong's voice became rather rough. In fact, it was trembling noticeably as well. Signs of her trying to suppress her urge to yell out loudly were all too clear to see.
”Are you happy now that you did the exact same thing back to me?!” (Cho Hong)
”Do what exactly?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Didn't you do this just to get back at me?! You narrow-minded fish-brained stupid b*stard!!” (Cho Hong) (TL: Yes, the raw really did say fish brain. The author even provided the name of the fish species, too.)
She finally let go and yelled out. Seol Ji-Hu pouted as his response.
”If that's what you think, I'm a bit disappointed.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Disappointed?! Did you just say you're disappointed?!?! You, how can you even….” (Cho Hong)
”I'm sorry.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu didn't say anything else, instead choosing to gather his hands together and apologise wholeheartedly. Keuhk! Cho Hong gasped out a sound of swallowing something back and spun around away from him. She breathed in softly for a little bit before wiping away the edges of her eyes with her clenched fists. It was Seol Ji-Hu's turn to be surprised this time.
”What's this? You're crying? Are you really Cho Hong that I know?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Who's crying?! You better let go! You stinking son of a b*tch!” (Cho Hong)
Seol Ji-Hu tried to gently embrace and soothe her, but she twisted her shoulders and slapped his hands away. Although, there was no strength in her resistance.
”I'm sorry. Really.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”D*mn it. You think I enjoyed lying to you? You don't know what I've been going through.” (Cho Hong)
”You're right. I really acted like a narrow-minded idiot.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu continued to apologise.
”And, and, you dumba*s. Stop being like that, too. You are always, like, giggling and happy and stuff all the time, but when you got all super serious, do you have any idea how surprised I was?” (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong poured out her dissatisfaction and sorrow like a dam bursting its walls.
”I know. I know. I won't do that ever again in the future.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”You idiot. Stinking b*stard. You didn't even know what I've been through.” (Cho Hong)
”U~ tsutsutsu~, my baby. My baby is feeling really hurt, weren't you~?” (Seol Ji-Hu) (TL: noises to soothe a crying baby in Korean)
”Stop s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around. Or else, I might really beat the living sh*t out of you.” (Cho Hong)
”O-okay, then. Let's sit down first. We'll talk after we settle down.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu had to expend a great deal of effort to calm her down. Cho Hong rested her head on his chest and sniffled occasionally. She didn't really cry, though. Just her eyes became a bit reddened, that was all.
She might have been a woman seemingly made up of pure steel, but she was also a human being at the end of the day. And a woman, too. She had been under tremendous stress lately, so when Seol Ji-Hu made her worry like this, she finally stopped suppressing everything and poured them all out.
”Okay, so.” (Cho Hong)
A short while later, Cho Hong sneaked her gaze up at him.
”Where have you been?” (Cho Hong)
”Ramman village.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Why there?” (Cho Hong)
”There's something I want to ask before answering that.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Cho Hong hesitated but still nodded her head. Now that things had turned out this way, it seemed unnecessary to hide stuff from him now.
”What did you guys decide to do?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”We were planning to…. have another meeting today.” (Cho Hong)
”To discuss the strategy? When?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”It's probably already begun, you idiot. Because of you, I couldn't go. What a mess.” (Cho Hong)
”Well, then. We should get going, even if we're late.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”I guess you're right, but….” (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong let the end of her sentence drift away, before continuing on again.
”I don't know. I just don't know what we can do. We meet and talk and talk every day, but the end results are always the same. We want to rescue them, but we don't know how to.” (Cho Hong)
Since that was a story he could sympathise with, Seol Ji-Hu nodded his head in a rather exaggerated manner.
”You shouldn't have kept everything to yourself, you know? In times like these, you should've come and asked your oppa right here.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Oppa, my a*s.” (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong giggled slightly at Seol Ji-Hu's good-natured joke.
”Okay, fine. Since we're on the subject, let me ask you. You have a good plan, then?” (Cho Hong)
”Of course.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
He admitted right away.
”….Wha?” (Cho Hong)
Cho Hong stared at him blankly. Meanwhile, Seol Ji-Hu got up from the couch.
”H-hey….? What did you just….” (Cho Hong)
Creak… He opened the door to let the brilliant sunlight in and form a halo around his body. He turned to look at Cho Hong still sitting on the couch and grinned brightly.
”Let's go and rescue them.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
< 79.=”” ”i=”” don't=”” want=”” to=”” live=”” like=”” that.”=”” -3=””> Fin.