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chapter 255
Ihaeun and I rode in a military vehicle to a somewhat distant location.
The other kids could gather at a relatively nearby spot and use purification magic all at once, but we decided to go further out to purify a wide area in a single go.
“Further out” meant no more than about 5 km away, though.
“Roughly… if we use purification magic three or four times, the entire coastline I’ve seen so far will be clean.”
Of course, this wasn’t based on using purification magic at full power.
If we did use it at full power, we could probably purify not just this coastline but most of Jeolla Province.
But we didn’t intend to go that far. Purifying such a large area would require a lot of inner power.
“Is this the spot?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Could you use purification magic in a 1 km radius from here?”
When the driver stopped the vehicle, the soldier who was called the company commander turned his head and said this to us in the back seat.
Since this had been agreed upon in advance, we immediately began using purification magic.
“Purification (淨化).”
“Purify.”
I used spell-incantation magic, and Ihaeun used the most representative spell for purification.
The effect was beyond expectations.
“Using purification magic together like this… the magic resonates, making the effect even stronger.”
This doesn’t happen all the time; usually, different magics collide and reduce each other’s effectiveness.
But it was different for Ihaeun and me. Perhaps because of the time we’d spent together, or because I had taught her magic, the spell I used and hers complemented each other perfectly.
“The range doesn’t seem to have expanded… but…”
The rate at which toxins within the range were purified increased.
No, our magic didn’t just purify toxins created by the dungeon’s influence.
“It’s purifying even fine particles in the air, like dust.”
I could feel the air becoming clean. Of course, this sensitivity was something only I noticed; others probably wouldn’t.
It wasn’t a problem. Unless someone planned to collect and analyze the fine dust, there’s no harm in removing it.
“…Done.”
“Done? Shall we move to the next spot? You’d probably like to finish quickly and rest too, right?”
At those words, Ihaeun and I nodded.
We weren’t lacking in inner power or magical energy, so there was no reason to delay. Finishing quickly and resting sounded better.
The company commander probably wanted to finish as soon as possible too, as he instructed the driver where to go next.
“The next location is about 1.5 km away…”
Not far at all by vehicle.
In that way, we repeatedly moved to suitable spots and used purification magic. Less than thirty minutes after starting this monotonous task, we had purified all the areas we were responsible for.
Of course, we hadn’t purified every nearby area.
“The other kids using purification magic probably still have toxins left in their areas.”
We could have finished it all in an instant, but the other kids needed to work too. After all, they came for volunteer work, and it would be a problem if they did nothing and just played around.
Beep…!
[Communication Security. Commander, the toxin detection device seems to be malfunctioning.]
“What’s that?”
[No toxic substances are detected except for one location.]
“Ah, it’s not broken. The only place where toxins are detected is near the beach entrance. Everything else is done.”
[Understood.]
A radio message like that came to the commander because we finished too quickly, but it wasn’t something to worry about.
“Ah, that’s the township office from earlier.”
We hadn’t traveled far, so it didn’t take long to return to the township office from where we started.
Ihaeun and I got out of the vehicle, and the commander told the driver to park and stepped out as well.
“You two can rest now. I still have work to do, so I’ll head inside.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Take care.”
The commander acknowledged our greetings and went into the township office, likely heading toward a temporarily installed command and control room.
“Geonwoo, what do we do now?”
“Let’s just stay on the bus.”
Our work was done, but the others hadn’t finished.
If we were outside playing while the others worked, they wouldn’t see us favorably. Staying on the bus wasn’t ideal either, but at least it was better than being outside. The bus windows were tinted anyway.
“Hmm… I wanted to stop by the store and get some ice cream or something.”
The villagers knew we came for volunteer work, and it would look strange if we were snacking instead.
“Wait until the other kids have their break and go then.”
They’d have a break, of course. When they went to the convenience store ahead, I told her to wait until then. But Ihaeun, it seemed, couldn’t wait even that long.
“…Geonwoo, don’t you have ice cream in your pocket dimension?”
“…Hold on.”
Hearing that, I opened my pocket dimension to check inside. And…
“It’s here.”
A lot, too.
I had previously bought various items without much thought and stored them in my pocket dimension, including ice cream. Unlike other people, whose pocket dimensions were small, mine had grown larger than most buildings, so it was possible. And it was still growing.
Of course, the ice cream I took out was frozen as if it had just been in a refrigerator.
“Thanks.”
Ihaeun took the ice cream, unwrapped it, and put it straight in her mouth.
At that moment, someone boarded the bus.
“Huh…? Ice cream…? Did you buy it at the store over there?”
It was Kim Eun-yeon. She probably finished her tasks and came to the bus like us.
“Eun-yeon, you can have some too.”
“Yeah… thanks.”
Ihaeun proudly offered her ice cream from my pocket dimension. I had planned to give some to Kim Eun-yeon as well. After giving her ice cream, I started eating mine.
Meanwhile, I asked Eun-yeon, who sat in her original seat:
“Did you finish earlier than expected?”
“Yeah… there weren’t many materials, so it ended quickly…”
Even so, finishing in less than an hour… Did she not know how fast she could make medicine? Or did she think that, thanks to Ihaeun and me finishing purification quickly, she didn’t need to make more medicine than necessary?
“Wasn’t it tough doing it alone?”
“Not really… I usually work alone in the school lab for experiments anyway…”
Ihaeun kept talking to Eun-yeon, continuing the conversation.
I decided to look out the bus window. Specifically, I expanded my perception to check what the other kids were doing.
“…Some are carrying supplies inside the township office, but most are at the coastline we haven’t purified.”
Our supervising teachers were at the coastline too. Soldiers were stationed to prevent villagers from entering. If non-awakened villagers wandered into the area, there could be a disaster.
“Of course, the soldiers aren’t awakened either…”
Still, since they were stationed outside the contaminated areas, it should be fine. They probably had equipment like gas masks.
“Ah, it must be break time. Or lunch time?”
As I observed the surroundings with my perception, the students and teachers at the coastline began moving en masse toward the township office.
Inside the office, preparations were underway to distribute what seemed like lunch boxes.
However…
“There doesn’t seem to be enough space to eat lunch properly.”
They had set up tables and chairs temporarily in the multipurpose room, but it wasn’t nearly enough for all our school’s students. It would work if they went in turn, but it would take quite a while for everyone to finish eating.
“Ah, you’re already here too? Everyone, get on the bus for now.”
As I thought this, students walking from the coastline boarded the bus one by one. The teachers made sure Ihaeun, Eun-yeon, and I were on the bus and then checked the remaining students.
While the teachers were busy, the bus drivers turned on the air conditioning for the students, and the tired volunteers leaned back in their seats, enjoying the cool air.
“Ah, I’m hungry…”
Ido-min, who sat next to me, said this. Of course, he sat next to me because he had done so on the way here.
“I want to eat quickly… They’re not going to make us eat lunch boxes, are they?”
I didn’t answer, thinking he was perceptive.
“Hey… Geonwoo…?”
Ido-min’s expression stiffened as he realized I already knew today’s lunch. He had a gut feeling it would be lunch boxes.
“No… no way? It’s really lunch boxes?”
“…They’re preparing to distribute them inside the township office.”
I told him honestly what I sensed.
“Damn…!”
“Impossible…!”
“Ah…”
The kids around us groaned at my words. But honestly, in such a remote place, lunch boxes were a decent meal. You couldn’t expect proper school meals here. Other schools doing volunteer work in remote areas were probably in the same situation.
“…Still, it’s better than the soldiers guarding the coastline.”
According to my perception, the soldiers at the coastline were eating food in plastic bags… bibimbap in bags, probably sent from their unit. Surely, eating lunch boxes was far better than that.
