54 – Episode 54: Stormy Night (1)
After Diana finished her long eating spree, she stepped out onto the street. The sunset glow was truly beautiful.
Saturn suggested taking a short walk, so they were walking. Orphe was having a conversation with Saturn, diligently gathering information, so Diana had to keep an eye on them.
“Did you enjoy the tonkatsu made with insects, which have thin and slender legs and wiggly antennae?”
“Don’t say that. It’s terrible…”
The taste of teasing while taking care of them was surprisingly refreshing. Maybe she had a talent for babysitting?
Murmur, murmur.
As they walked, they encountered a crowd, and everyone seemed to be looking in the same direction, as if there was a concert happening. Curiosity arose, so Diana pretended to listen to her own words while focusing on the conversations of the people.
“Look over there. It’s Byeon Geomgyeong.”
“He’s shorter than the rumors say.”
“Shh. You shouldn’t say such things lightly.”
“Why?”
“There might be members of the Order Maintenance Corps mixed in.”
“Is Byeon Geomgyeong your friend? Come out with me.”
“Look, he’s here.”
“Damn it.”
Byeon Geomgyeong? Is it true that Chil Geomgyeong came out to the streets personally? This is a good opportunity to find out if that punk is a samurai or not.
“Byeon Geomgyeong came here personally, let’s go see.”
Leading the group, I joined the crowd. Maybe because I’m too far back, I can’t see Byeon Geomgyeong.
Pushing through the people, I went ahead, but suddenly I couldn’t see the group that was following me. Did I go too fast?
Honestly, it’s the slow ones’ fault.
“When I was young, people disappeared one by one every night.”
Now I can finally see Byeon Geomgyeong standing on the stage. He was speaking earnestly in front of the lectern, just as people had said, he was really short. About 160cm? He’s smaller than Orphe.
“Human beings are savage animals. When the light of law and order goes out, their vile nature is revealed.”
I carefully observed Byeon Geomgyeong’s face. He still looks boyish with his slender and graceful features. I heard that the youngest among the Chil Geomgyeong is Yu Geomgyeong, but how old is he really?
His voice sounds calm, like someone in their 30s or 40s. Did he use mana to prevent aging? The influence of magical tools? It’s incomprehensible.
“I, Byeon Geomgyeong, pledge my name and declare in front of all of you. The torch of Neo-Solitron will never be extinguished.”
– Wow!
People react enthusiastically. He seems to have popularity.
Satisfied with the fervent support, Byeon Geomgyeong nodded.
“I will introduce someone who will help the Sword Association and the Order Maintenance Army protect the city. Here, Ms. Irina?”
A young woman, guided by the soldiers standing behind Byeon Geomgyeong, stepped onto the stage.
“Hello. I am Irina Penhof, a level 4 employee of the Red Whale Matap.”
Red Whale Matap, the place where my ninja suit was made. They collaborated with the Sword Association to establish Neo-Solitron, right? It’s necessary to investigate this collaboration with the samurai group.
“Please take a look. It’s a streetlight equipped with the latest technology.”
Snap!
When Irina gestured, the red light illuminated the streetlights on both sides of the stage. The output was no less impressive than the streetlights on Earth. It was a remarkable feat of technology.
“Since it operates with mana, ordinary people cannot handle it, but don’t worry, the Matop magicians will be in residence. But…”
As Irina finished speaking, her eyes rolled around, and she lifted the corners of her mouth. Is she crazy?
“There’s an interesting rumor going around. They say these streetlights are equipped with brainwashing ultrasound.”
People burst into laughter as if they had heard a hilarious joke. It was a bit strange to be the only one with a serious expression, so I also held my stomach and laughed. I didn’t want to waste my energy on foolish acts.
“Brainwashing ultrasound, huh? I’ve heard all kinds of nonsense in my life.”
“Oh, I remember. They used to be stuck on the walls.”
“The walls? Those guys who stick white stickers?”
“They’re really insane. The breath of a whale? I burst out laughing as soon as I saw it.”
“If there was something like that, why would they run Matop instead of conquering the world?”
“It’s hard to be successful. You have to deal with strange people.”
Brainwashing ultrasound. It might be possible if it’s magic. Am I the only one taking this seriously?
The insensitivity of these people from another world is incredibly serious.
“There are so many people with rich imaginations. Of course, there’s nothing like that. Ah, strange sounds might come out of the speakers attached to the streetlights, but it’s just one of the processes of adjusting the mana light. So don’t worry. It’s all part of the ‘Metropolis Development Movement.'”
With those words, Irina stepped down from the stage.
Byung Geom Gyeong opened his mouth again, explaining things like city dues and population surveys that seemed completely useless. I had heard enough, so I left my seat.
After walking for a few minutes, I saw my companions approaching, pretending to know everything. Sae Ttan isn’t here.
“Tribor, did you record everything?”
[Of course.]
“Where did Satan go?”
[He released gas downwards and said there was an urgent matter, then disappeared.]
“Just say he went to take a dump.”
Neo Satan is such a pain. He still acts like a kid, so immature.
Orpheus was deeply lost in thought, while Diana gently stroked her bulging belly like a pregnant woman, humming a tune.
“Let’s go home.”
Streetlights. They are necessary for the safety of the people, but they are also perfect tools to hinder the escape ninjas. If those things are installed everywhere on the roads, I won’t be able to move freely.
As expected, fighting in Neo-Solitron won’t be easy.
***
Birds chirping, flowers blooming in the morning.
After waking up with the ninja morning routine, I quickly washed my face and changed clothes with the ninja costume change technique. Then I knocked on Orpheus’ room door.
I completed the process I just mentioned in less than 10 minutes. A sharp-witted ninja.
“Robin? You can come in.”
Luckily, Orpheus was awake. He’s a diligent guy who doesn’t oversleep.
I opened the door and entered, and Orpheus, who had changed into his casual clothes, greeted me while sitting on the bed.
As soon as I entered the room, out of professional habit, I scanned the area. The floor was spotless, as if it had been cleaned thoroughly. Did he wake up earlier than the time we agreed upon?
After a brief morning greeting, I subtly checked if she remembered what we had to do today.
“Orpheus, do you know how we should spend today?”
After saying it, it felt like I was asking too directly. Well, there’s no need to beat around the bush between friends, so I just spoke honestly.
Orpheus nodded and got up from the bed. Her blue hair, tied with a black ribbon, swayed slowly.
For the perfect civilian cosplay, did you change your hairstyle to a ponytail? You look like a well-behaved city girl.
“The main objective is Neo-Solitron information gathering. Act as inconspicuously as possible. While we’re at it, let’s buy household items like curtains and everyday clothes.”
“You did a great job.”
Clap clap clap clap.
Without realizing it, I clapped my hands at the perfect three-line summary.
“Great. Let’s leave right away.”
After stretching, I left the house with Orpheus. It must be around 7 a.m. The outside air is quite refreshing.
Today, only Orpheus and I are moving. Treebo stands out too much because of his size and mask, and Diana is too young. We, the healthy and young-looking adults at first glance, are the most inconspicuous combination.
“What kind of curtains do you like?”
“Black curtains.”
“Just black is enough? What about the material?”
“Just something big and black. The material doesn’t matter.”
“If you’re going to use it for a long time, you should use something good. Can I choose the material?”
“Go ahead.”
As we walked along the tree-lined street, we had a conversation that ordinary people might have to portray normal citizens.
There were many people moving busily, probably because it was rush hour. There was even a woman wearing a uniform-like outfit, biting into an apple.
Uniform? I think Saiten mentioned something about an academy last night. Curious, I asked Orpheus.
“Orpheus, what exactly is an academy?”
“An academy? It’s an academic institution that trains knights and wizards. There’s one in Neo-Solitron too.”
Like a knight school or a magic school? It feels similar to some of the creations on Earth, so I have an idea.
“Did you hear that information from Saten?”
“Yeah. They also occasionally entrust requests to the Adventurers’ Guild. I’m not sure of the exact reason, but it seems they sometimes need rookie adventurers.”
“That’s a bit strange.”
The only things adventurers can do inside the school are cleaning up trash, picking up rabbit droppings for pets, and watering trees. If they want someone to do that kind of work, professional cleaners would be better than adventurers.
“It’s not strange. They bring in adventurers to hear their stories and experiences. Adventurers are good at knowing monster weaknesses or valuable herbs for making money.”
So even dog poop can be used for medicine. I immediately understood.
“What about wizards? What do they do?”
I’ve been curious about that for a while. I’ve never seen a wizard or heard how they fight. I’ve only heard that you can only see them in the capital or major cities where there are few of them.
Neosolitron is a major city run by giants like the Gyeongseong Society or the Red Whale Tower. Since there might be a chance to fight evil wizards during my ninja training, I need to find out as soon as possible.
“Well, how should I explain it…”
Orpheus was good at sensing a lot of things. Did he read it in a book? It must be information that can’t be found in books on the market.
Orpheus might not be the daughter of the librarian.
“You don’t know anything?”
“Of course not.”
“Hmm…”
“Explain it to me as simply as possible.”
As an earthling, I have no idea about wizards. The wizards I know are the ones who frequently appear in fantasy novels, shouting out spells like Meteor or Fireball or Ice Spear.
“Do you remember that mana is the source of life?”
“I remember now.”
“We manifest mana within our bodies.”
“Right.”
“Wizards are a bit different. They draw mana from the outside.”
They draw it from the outside? I don’t quite understand this. Does it mean they absorb the mana scattered throughout the world like a dehumidifier?
Is that even possible?
Orpheus must have noticed my confusion as he quickly spoke up.
“Grass, trees, soil. Mana is imbued in things like these too. Wizards are individuals with the unique ability to harness the mana contained within them. Skilled wizards can even extract mana from grass and transfer it to trees.”
Damn, I’m even more confused now. I shouldn’t have asked. I interrupted Orpheus, who was about to give further explanations, and asked again.
“So they can shoot fire and wind? Just answer me that.”
Yes. That’s all I need to know. I don’t care about those detailed settings.
“Wizards are not combat-oriented. Although their magical tools can perform various spells, there are no wizards who can use magic without a medium.”
These wizards in this world seem more like scientists. So the conclusion is to just be cautious of magical tools.
Well, it’s not much different from before. It seems like I was worrying about nothing.
“It’s a bit different now, isn’t it?”
“What?”
Orpheus suddenly says something out of the blue.
“You never used to ask these kinds of questions. You would just brush it off as bothersome.”
Is that so? It does seem like I used to be like that.
Actually, there hasn’t been a need to ask until now.
As long as I could just kill whoever the enemy was, I didn’t care about the words of someone from another world.
“Hmm…”
From Noble mtl dot com
Originally, I would have dismissed the words of the werewolf Sanseleef as an excuse and killed her anyway.
Why did I listen to her? Upon careful consideration, the reason became clear.
“Yoo Gum-kyung.”
Yes. I changed after meeting her. The first encounter with Agatha, also known as Yoo Gum-kyung, comes to mind.
I had been investigating the Hongyeomryong Knights and Yoo Gum-kyung.
If Yoo Gum-kyung hadn’t been stronger than I expected, I would have killed her immediately.
Unfortunately, her power exceeded my expectations. Killing her was difficult, so I tried to smoothly move on by pretending to engage in conversation.
However, I could sense the possibility in that conversation. Yoo Gum-kyung, whom I thought would definitely be a samurai, might actually be a good person.
“Why Yoo Gum-kyung? Why?”
“Anyway, there’s something like that.”
So I wanted to hear what Sanseleef had to say.
Just in case.
“-Ah.”
The genius ninja Shin Nobin, who dares to defy even the gods, has grown once again.
Sometimes, even I am afraid of myself.