I was honestly taken aback by the sudden phone call.
Why was she calling at this hour?
Wasn’t it almost 10 PM now?
Why was she calling instead of having a eting about the devil Doppelgänger and Goblin that appeared today?
[Where are you now?]
“Excuse ?”
[Can we et now?]
Her voice was down.
I had a gut feeling about why a woman would want to et late at night. Still, regretfully, I was physically in a situation where I couldn’t get closer.
“Um… I feel a little strange saying this, but I’m currently outside Sejong Island.”
[Excuse ?]
“I’m on Ulleung Island now.”
[…….]
Baek Seol-hee stopped speaking.
I felt as if I had done sothing wrong, even though I hadn’t.
Honestly, I did make a mistake.
It was a man’s fault to be in a location where he couldn’t go to a woman when she called with a depressed voice at night.
Especially if she was a woman who was single and living alone(?), not a married woman or a woman with a boyfriend.
I was not sure why she called , but considering what Yoon Iseon said, it seed that I was doing my role as a counselor to the heroes quite well.
She must have called for counseling.
That was why she said she wanted to et.
“Um, did things go south again in the eting?”
[Heh…!]
My guess was spot on.
Most of the heroes’ grievances ca from armchair discussions and rushed decisions, leading to a heap of civilian casualties. Naturally, the person who suffered the most was the S-rank hero.
“Did soone again pick on Miss Seol-hee, asking why she didn’t capture the Goblin, why she didn’t attack on the spot and let it escape? A man with a bald head and protruding belly?”
[His head isn’t bald. Do you have so kind of intelligence operative planted sowhere? Or do you have the power to hear information over the phone?]
“I can guess just from hearing your voice. You want to et now to vent your anger on the so-called ‘higher-ups.’”
As a reader of the original novel, given Baek Seol-hee’s voice, the situation, and the background of this world, I could make educated guesses.
“I’m all ears if you want to talk over the phone. I’m currently at a pension in Ulleung Island.”
[… A pension?]
“Yes.”
[……With who?]
What’s this?
I was sure I was soaking in the hot spring, but I felt a chill run down my spine.
It was cold.
It was like a magical force pierced my heart like a dagger.
I guess this was what it ant to make soone tense just by using your voice.
“I ca alone.”
[Liar. Do you know how expensive a pension in Ulleung Island is? And you claim to go there alone. Even in ‘Ulleung Island’?]
She stressed the word ‘Ulleung Island’ as she asked .
Given the societal position of Ulleung Island, thinking of going there alone brought to mind only two scenarios.
Either lie about going with soone to Ulleung Island for so patriotic act.
Or lie about eting a woman locally in Ulleung Island for a patriotic act.
It was a statent no different from saying you were going to a club in Gangnam to dance.
“Do you want to video call?”
[Huh?]
“I’m currently soaking in a hot spring, so I can only show you my upper body. I hope you understand. We can video call via my Taeguk Watch now.”
[Ri, right now? …Yes. Let’s do it. Imdiately.]
I pulled my hand out of the water and pointed my Taeguk Watch towards , and soon Baek Seol-hee’s face appeared on the watch’s small screen.
[Oh.]
Baek Seol-hee, wearing a white shirt, blushed in surprise as soon as she saw .
I took the call with my body subrged up to the collarbone, with no intention of throwing a Goblin viewing party, but she still blushed in surprise.
“Do you believe now?”
[You’re really at the pension…alone? It looks like a really nice pension.]
“It’s a pension with a hot spring.”
[……Is the water warm?]
“Yes. It’s maintained at over 40 degrees Celsius. Ulleung Island is a volcanic island. The hot spring water is heated by geothermal energy from there.”
[That must be nice….]
She was genuinely envious.
If I wanted to continue the conversation here or persuade Baek Seol-hee, introducing this place would be the optimal choice. But it felt a little awkward when I tried to talk about it.
‘Isn’t this a place to increase mana?’
The most efficient place for mana recovery and maximum mana augntation in the world.
Not only could I restore my drained magic power overnight, but it was also a place where I could see my magic power increasing in real ti.
Although the stack increase was only about 0.1 per hour, it had an amazing efficiency when compared to others, whose numbers increased by 1 in the fourth decimal place.
I couldn’t stay here every day.
It had its own kind of cooldown.
It may be a chanism through which the laws of nature prevented excessive indulgence here or through which very appropriate and light-novel-like activities could take place in a hot spring.
But…
What if I could capture Baek Seol-hee by revealing this place?
Even if I had to give up this place if I could turn Baek Seol-hee into an ally, wouldn’t it be worth it?
‘It has to be Baek Seol-hee, no question.’
This wasn’t about pettiness.
It was a rational choice based on a strategic perspective.
‘Today’s Baek Seol-hee is shaky. This is the mont to make a move.’
If I could listen to the complaints of Baek Seol-hee, who was greatly hard by the Goblin’s actions today and couldn’t complain to her higher-ups, and if I could persuade her to join our cause?
“Um, Ms. Seol-hee.”
[Can I co?]
“Excuse ?”
[I an, can I co there in person? Ulleung Island isn’t too far away.]
“…At this hour?”
[Oh.]
At my question, Baek Seol-hee smiled slightly.
[Are you asking about the ti because if the ti is right, I can co?]
“Ah, well, that’s true, but wouldn’t it be a little awkward? If people find out that a man and a woman are on Ulleung Island in this situation, it could be quite difficult for Ms. Seol-hee.”
[Don’t worry about that. I can get to Ulleung Island in 10 minutes.]
What a bombshell of an S-class capability.
“10 minutes?”
[Yes. If I move underwater, I can get there in 10 minutes. Without getting wet.]
“So you’re going to use your ability to co here?”
[Of course. How else would I get from here to Ulleung Island in just 10 minutes?]
She had a point.
Even I, using the power of mana, with the aid of the Goblin Bat and my imagination, could commute one way between Sejong Island and Ulleung Island in less than 20 minutes.
[Give your address. And… give it a generous estimate; I’ll be there in 15 minutes, so please open your window.]
“No, wait a minute. If a scandal erupts…”
Click.
The call was disconnected.
Her unilaterally hanging up the phone was essentially silent pressure to send the address.
What if I didn’t send the address now?
My relationship with Baek Seol-hee would end here.
In essence, it would be the sa as shouting goodbye to Baek Seol-hee myself.
“… Tsk. Ah. Send a ssage to Baek Seol-hee. Ulleung Special Autonomous Region…”
I sent Baek Seol-hee the address through a text ssage via the Taegeuk Watch.
Soon the reply was a short one, just [Yes.].
“… Sigh.”
The sudden decision of this woman to et was suspicious.
Although it was an open-air bath, and she just needed to land here once she saw , without the need to open any windows, I was honestly quite flustered.
“Ah. Text. Leave the Taegeuk Watch behind.”
I left a text ssage just in case.
The location of an S-class ability user was essentially monitored in real-ti. It would be caught in the Hero Association’s information network.
But if she just left it behind and ca here?
[[Shock] Hero S, overnight in a pension with a man on Ulleung Island.]
[[Breaking News] Has Snow White’s prince appeared? Dwarves weep.]
[[Exclusive] Library librarian hermit, who is he?]
It was obvious that these kind of articles would co out.
“Ugh, this is driving crazy…”
I checked the text ssage through the Taegeuk Watch, but it was really confusing. The ‘1’ next to the ssage I sent after ‘Yes.’ was not disappearing.
What should I do?
Should I call her?
“…No.”
There was absolutely no reason to panic.
No, rather, this was what I had been hoping for.
If a scandal erupted with Baek Seol-hee here, it would beco a huge gossip, and the opportunity to approach those around Baek Seol-hee might increase.
Specifically, the protagonist.
Baek Seol-hee was one of the heroines of the original novel, and she was a ‘teacher position’ heroine at that.
The student, Yoon Yiseon.
The teacher, Baek Seol-hee.
Given that they were the popular twin heroines—in the original settings—it was certain that the protagonist would be linked with Baek Seol-hee.
At that ti, I needed to et the protagonist through Baek Seol-hee.
And with Baek Seol-hee, or using Baek Seol-hee, the protagonist…
“Tsk. I’m such a total jerk.”
To achieve my objective by using a woman’s feelings.
Even more so, to use a hero’s fragile and wavering heart to corrupt her in a direction beneficial to the Gyeolsa.
“…But it is the typical brainwashing thod of an evil organization’s executive to take advantage of a hero’s ntal weakness and turn them into villains.”
This might as well be the ‘Goblin Temptation’ operation that the Goblin repeatedly failed at in the original novel.
‘But can things resolve this smoothly?’
I was worried.
So far, Baek Seol-hee has had scandals with nurous male heroes, celebrities, and people from wealthy families.
Of course, all those scandals were gossip attempts by n to sohow link themselves with Baek Seol-hee, and Baek Seol-hee outright said she had no interest in them.
But what if.
‘If it wasn’t for Baek Seol-hee, this would be a surefire green light!’
What if Baek Seol-hee was interested in ?
‘Damn it. This is driving crazy.’
Which side were Baek Seol-hee’s feelings on?
Was it to get face-to-face treatnt from a ntal health counselor to stabilize her shaky ntal state as a hero?
Or was it because she was attracted to a man and wanted to visit him at night?
If you thought about it in terms of abilities, the forr was correct.
But if you thought about the countless stories of fresh young n and won in their early twenties in the modern era, no matter how you thought about it, this was a green light.
A man’s instinct, a man’s hope, was telling so.
If this went wrong…
“Wow.”
Off in the distance.
Sothing like a black silhouette twinkled from the direction of the sea.
Being responsive to mana, I saw it clearly, but for the soldiers on guard in the watchtower, it would just seem like the sea was twinkling in the moonlight.
Bang!
With a powerful shockwave, the waves splashed.
And she appeared before , who was soaking in the hot spring.
“…I arrived a bit early.”
“…Did you really co?”
“Of course, I really ca.”
Baek Seol-hee appeared, wrapped from neck to ankle in a black long padding coat.
“Why… why did you co?”
I just asked what ca to mind, regardless of my prepared lines.
“I needed counseling.”
Baek Seol-hee looked at calmly and answered.
“I thought you would be willing to counsel , regardless of the content.”
“What’s the content?”
“…Complaining about the Minister?”
“…First of all.”
I decided to resolve one unbearable thing.
“Even if it’s an open-air bath, shoes are a bit…”
“Ah.”
“Take off your shoes, go in there, and leave them at the entrance.”
Even if you were an S-class hero, there were things that you should never do in this country, on this land.
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