22 – Sword Saint (2)
What is it?
Where are the heroes and are there zombies?
Did I find the wrong floor?
Each floor of the association building is divided into different fields, so I checked the elevator a little farther away, probably because I had come to the wrong information department, which is always busy.
[3]
“…It’s on the 3rd floor right?”
I wondered if the floors used by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams had changed.
[National Authorization] At the top in small print
In the middle in large letters [Hero Management Association Official 7 Branch 1 Team]
It was right to come exactly.
“…What is it?”
So now… The first team members in front of me?
“Ugh… Huh?”
I was spotted by one of the team members who was walking around like a zombie.
I’m surprised. I thought a real zombie was walking around because my eyes were haggard.
“Who… is here… I am.”
“…With Lee Ha?”
“Do you know me…?”
“…I’m Seojin Lee.”
Lee Ha-rang, who had been stretching his body, struggled to straighten his back and thought for a moment.
They greeted me with a warm smile, as if I remembered it sooner.
Of course, it was to the point of feeling sorry to be welcomed because it was not a horse.
“Ah… ah~ that’s right. You were Seojin Lee… You’ve changed so much that I didn’t recognize you.”
“Didn’t I see it about two weeks ago? I think I saw it when I was looking for a crystal.”
“Ah… did I? Sorry…”
Lee Ha-rang suddenly lowered his body as if the robot joint had gone out.
The figure was so grotesque that I unknowingly flinched and pulled my body back slightly.
“No… What about the team leader?”
“Uh… back there… in the conference room…”
With her arms shaking, Lee Ha-rang pointed to the room in the back.
When I contacted you recently, you said that you were talking about a meeting with your teammates in the conference room. Was that true?
I heard you can’t go up to the team leader’s office on the 4th floor…
“Thank you.”
“Yeah… yes. But what did you pack so much…?”
“Ah. This?”
As if curious about Lee Ha-rang, I pointed to the things I was holding in my hands, and he lifted them up one by one and explained them.
“I bought it for one team.”
“Team 1…? Us…?”
“Looking at the news, it seems that the hero is very busy with the villain these days. I brought it to eat while taking a break.”
“…Anything to eat?!”
“Yes. This is toast, and this is coffee and juice—”
It was then.
As soon as I explained it, I realized that the atmosphere had changed in an instant.
It’s like being caught in a zombie horror movie.
I heard sounds of pain here and there, but I could feel the intense gaze as all eyes focused on my words.
“But…”
I stopped talking and looked around.
From noble mtl dot com.
As if salivating or possessed by something, the team members were gradually moving toward me.
Then, as soon as the distance closes, let’s vaguely check what I’ve brought.
“Ohh!! Toast!! Something to eat!!!”
“Coffee!!! Juice!!!”
“Meals!! It’s rations!!!”
“Now. Wait a minute!!! Now! Here! Don’t run!!”
He was madly happy and started running.
As I hurriedly handed out the plastic bag and coffee carrier, the team members greeted me happily.
I snatched it up quickly and put it on a table set to one side and started distributing it.
“Hey! Nice to meet you. Seojin Lee! Oh yeah!”
“I’ll enjoy the toast! Thank you!”
“Oh! Seojin Lee has definitely changed!”
“Is that the person who was called the poisonous species? I could never have imagined that such consideration would be given!”
“hahahaha… Eat a lot…”
When I came to my senses, only a plastic bag and a coffee carrier were left.
… What the hell happened to all of the 1st team to look like this haggard?
I wondered if a war had broken out that I didn’t even know existed.
“What!? What happened! What happened again?”
A haggard-looking Kim Ho-yeon came out from inside the darkly dimmed meeting room and shouted, as if he could hear it as the sound of a noisy conversation spread.
The shouting made him quiet for a moment, and when the team members paid attention, he looked around and asked.
“…Isn’t it? But why is it so loud?”
“Chief, I bought toast and coffee! We have juice!”
“What?! Toast? Coffee? Juice?! Who bought it?”
When one of the female team members pointed at me in response to a question, I smiled and waved her hand.
“hahahaha… Hello. Team leader.”
“…What is it? Was it you?”
※
The 4th floor manager’s office.
After taking a break while leaning back on a chair for the first time in a long time, Kim Ho-yeon exclaimed.
“Ahhhhh so soft.
“It must have been true that you never came to the team leader’s office.”
“That’s right. I’ve been so busy lately that I don’t have time to come. It’s crazy! It’s crazy? No. Does it make sense for villains to come pouring out like they’ve touched a swarm of ants?!”
“Okay. Okay. Calm down.”
As soon as I put the toast and coffee carrier on the desk, Hoyeon-hyung smiled and joked.
“Oh. You have a good sense. Is our Lee Seo-jin all grown up?”
“Just kidding. Now, this is yours.”
When I handed over the toast along with one of the two coffee carriers, he glanced at me and asked me again.
“Americano.”
“Six more shots, right?”
“Keuh~! Do you remember?”
“Hyung, drinking coffee is crazy… Every time I see it, I am in awe. You really aren’t superhuman, are you?”
“Hey dude. Everyone eats this much? I’m not special.”
Someone added 6 shots to Americano and ate it… ?
Even if there is, that would be superhuman. I’m going to use it at the level of poison, but does that go in?
… I wanted to say it, but I skipped it and sat down on a nearby hospitality sofa.
“This bitter taste. It’s perfect.”
“My taste is very peculiar.”
“Noisy, dude.”
After taking a sip of coffee, Kim Ho-yeon started eating toast.
“By the way, what’s the state of the team? It’s never been like this before.”
“Uhh… I see. What is this?”
“What the hell is going on… No. If it’s enough to move up to 1 team—”
“Practically all the heroes in this area are moving.”
“Did everyone have to move? It was very difficult? What the hell happened…?”
“…Haa… Let’s see… I mean…”
While taking a sip of coffee and a bite of toast, Kim Ho-yeon tried to explain to Lee Seo-jin.
The conversation was cut off for a moment as a guest came to visit.
“Senior Seojin! Are you here?!”
“Uh. Sujeong-ah. I’m here…”
When she heard Han Soo-jung’s voice coming in with a warm smile, she turned around and tried to greet her, but when she saw her face, she was speechless.
It wasn’t as much as the other team members below, but it was a hard-looking face.
Fortunately, I don’t know if it’s because I’m pretty, but I seemed to look a little better.
“You must be suffering too…”
“Ugh. Don’t even talk. Villains are crazy these days? It’s a swarm of ants.”
“What the hell happened to you saying that?”
“Yes? Who else said that?”
When she pointed her finger at Hoyeon, Han Sujeong smiled awkwardly.
“Ahahahaha… We lost a player.”
“Sit down. Let’s talk while we’re here.”
“Eolssigu. The manager’s office is a cafe. It’s a cafe.”
“Why is that? The three of us met often like this?”
“To be exact, when the senior met the team leader, I usually waited in front of the door. hehehe.”
“Ugh. Yeah. Got it. Got it.”
As Hoyeon sipped his coffee, Han Sujeong sat down next to me and tilted his head and asked.
“Senior. But what about mine?”
“Didn’t you get it from below? I bought a lot of toast, coffee, and juice.”
“I just came because I thought I would be alone!”
“I’m proud of it.”
I smiled and looked at Han Su-jeong, then took out a cup of strawberry juice and toast from the coffee carrier.
Then she smiled brightly and thanked me.
“hehehe. Thank you, senpai!”
“Yes. Ah. Yes. You two drink this too.”
I took two fatigue pills out of my pocket.
“What is that?”
“Special health food.”
“Let’s see… ◆◆ Fatigue Relief? It’s been rumored to be effective lately.”
“That’s right. The kids looked at this and that on TV and mobile phones so much that they told me about it. I bought it because I remembered it.”
“Ah~ Come to think of it, the kids are now…”
“16 And 14 years old.”
“Hmm… You and I are 7 years apart. I hope you are young~”
“You’re young too. Aren’t you 23?”
“Yes. I’m two years older than you. You were 25, right?”
“Yeah. I’m half fifty now. I’m old too.”
“Hey. It’s noisy. If you guys do that, who am I? I’m 31 years old?”
The three of them had fun talking about this and that.
Then, when the flow stopped for a moment, the two each took a blood-reducing pill and thanked Lee Seo-jin.
“Rather than that… Thank you, senior Seojin!”
“Drink well. Coffee and toast.”
“Yes. By the way…”
Lee Seo-jin leaned forward slightly and set the mood a little seriously.
“I want to hear from you now. What on earth are you so busy with?”
※
The three talked.
About the reason for the current situation and the general current situation.
Thinking that it was more serious than I thought, Lee Seo-jin tilted her head.
“Hmm… That’s the situation…”
Summarizing the story, it was like this.
Recently, the number of villains has increased rapidly, and they are appearing here and there regardless of location.
But I wasn’t very talented or strong, and there were many cases where I was quickly overpowered… The problem was frequency and number.
Sometimes, somewhere, it suddenly pops out, and it comes out when you want it to be a little quiet.
Because it keeps coming out without even trying and causing trouble and trouble.
In the end, the heroes stayed up all night, skipped meals, etc., Always alert and on standby.
“But he’s a villain, he’s just a criminal. It’s not good enough to rank him. Even if he ranks him from E to C? C is too high to be honest. There are very few guys that rank him.”
“Looks like it’s all from the news.”
“Those guys are the real villains. B, A… These are the kids. In the first place, villains are very selfish, but especially these days, there are a lot of goofballs.”
“It was really hard. Phew… I think it would be better to catch several A-rank villains.”
“Correction. Your rank was A, right?”
“Yes.”
“Looking at it, A-rank villains are also on the news. Every time I see something like that, I think of you.”
“…Are you worried?”
“Yeah. I can’t say anything… Cheer up.”
“…Thank you Seojin-senpai.”
As I patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, Sujeong Han smiled broadly.
“But how can there be so many?”
“I don’t know… no. No. I’m a bit guessing…”
“Huh? Do you know something bro?”
“…No. Never mind.”
“Huh? Uh… okay.”
Is there something you want to say?
I was a little puzzled as we finished talking, but I thought there might be circumstances and passed it on.
“Ah. By the way. It was a little strange.”
“Strange? What?”
“Aren’t the kids crazy about that villain?”
“Mana is not beneficial, so there are many people like that.”
Mana is the source of superhuman strength and the core of modern technological development.
But there were not only good points.
Depending on the nature of the owner, it will change, but if it is a bad person, it will cause adverse effects.
There have been cases where the mind has collapsed, broken, and changed, and furthermore, it has affected the body as well.
Thus, there were many cases in which a person whose essence was evil usually gained mana and added side effects to the villain.
Maybe that’s why, when you look at the villains, there are all sorts of guys.
“2Nd graders, bravado kings, psychopaths… Do you think those people behaved in a somewhat sane way? It was a bit peculiar.”
“There are quite a few villains like that, right? The guy I caught before acted like a martial arts master with a second grade disease.”
“No. It’s… kinda… how to say. Should I say it’s special or peculiar… Anyway, it’s like that when you look at the recently released villains.”
“Hmm…”
I tilted my head, not understanding Lee Seo-jin.
Looking back at the memories of capturing countless villains, most of them had at least two screws missing.
I didn’t know what was different, but I nodded as if I knew.
“Um. Yes. What… Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Nothing. Dude. What does a guy who left the association in the first place help?”
“No. What… just personal help?”
“I’ll be happy to help. Well. More than that, why are you here? To get you some food?”
“No. I came to ask about the academy instructor entrance exam… I’m not in a good mood right now, so I’ll ask later.”
When Lee Seo-jin waved her hand awkwardly, Kim Ho-yeon shook her head.
“No no. If that’s the case, I’ll do it now. I told you.”
“No. Looking at your current state—”
“Okay dude. Interviews and exams are for you anyway. So what do you want to know?”
“Hmm… I don’t know how to enter. I have the application form that my older brother gave me before…”
“Ah. That one? Do you have it well? It’s a very famous and famous place there, so people usually go in through a recommendation system.
“Really? What you gave me was more amazing than I thought.”
“When I was in my twenties, I was running around a bit wild. Wait a minute.”
Kim Ho-yeon picked up her cell phone and she started calling somewhere.
♬♪♩♬♪♪~!
Turure… turrure…
[Hello?]
“Hello. Manager. I am Kim Ho-yeon, Team Leader 1 of the 7th branch of the Hero Management Association. It is none other than…”
Kim Ho-yeon asked about this and that and she started talking on the phone.
I wonder if something bad happened. She
Her expression hardened little by little as she spoke on the phone.
“…Yes. I understand. Yes. Go in. Yes~”
“What did you say?”
“That’s… whew… sorry, no.”
“Huh? What’s missing?”
Seeing Lee Seo-jin with an expression of incomprehension, Kim Ho-yeon let out a deep sigh.
“Haa… I didn’t know it would be like this… They said all the seats to enter through the recommendation system were filled. If you’re going to enter, they plan to put out a recruitment announcement in the second half, so they told you to do it then. When I gave it to you, there were definitely seats available…”
From noble mtl dot com.
“Then I’ll have to go in when recruiting. I can’t help it.”
“…No. I’ll try my best.”
“It’s okay. Hyung. I’m not that incompetent. The competition rate is high? How about it? I just have to break through and pass.”
“…Sorry. Really.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. Bro.”
She smiled heartily and looked at her as if she was okay, but Hoyeon-hyung didn’t seem comfortable.
Until now, I have been training my body, and I am gradually regaining my skills by honing my swordsmanship, so I said this because I was really able to pass…
“Then I’ll go.”
“Huh? Are you going already?”
“I came to ask about the academy. I heard it’s not possible, so I’ll go.”
“Whew… I’m sorry. I didn’t expect this to happen.”
“Even if it’s okay.”
Lee Seo-jin stood up and patted Kim Ho-yeon, who was sighing, on the shoulder.
“Then let’s go.”
“Ah. Senior! Let’s go together.”
“Huh? Wouldn’t it be better to take a break?”
“hehehe. I want to go outside and get some fresh air.”
“Yes. All right. Good work. Brother.”
“Goodbye. See you next time.”
She said goodbye with Han Soo-jung, who followed her with a bright smile, and left the room and left the building.
When she came out like that, a cool breeze blew in with the warm sunlight.
It was proof that winter had passed and spring was coming.
“Keep~! It’s nice to be out.”
“Don’t you have to come out again to catch the villain?”
“It’s different from that and this. How nice it is to be outside during a short break like this.”
Lee Seo-jin gave a short laugh as Han Su-jeong pouted her mouth and made a pouting expression.
“Yes. It’s a lot of work. I’ll go.”
“Go in~ see you next time~!”
After saying goodbye to each other, we were about to break up.
But then someone knocked me over and walked past me.
“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t pay attention.”
“No. It’s fine…”
I apologized and tried to leave again.
But I couldn’t.
Because the moment I looked to the side, I saw something I could never pass by.
That’s right… It was the sword I used during the war.