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chapter 314
After the employee left to deliver Chairman Shin Hanji’s “threat”—or rather, message—I quietly asked him.
“What kind of photo is it, exactly?”
“It’s nothing special. It’s just… when taking our graduation photos, I came in a funny costume instead of proper attire, just to be silly for the photo.”
Hearing that, I could roughly imagine what kind of photo it was. After all… even before my regression, there was a similar culture.
“…I did the same thing myself.”
I had dressed up as characters from a famous comic with my friends and taken graduation photos like that. Looking back, it was a foolish thing to do.
Graduation photos at the Academy are basically official identification photos. When a graduate applies to join a guild, the guild usually contacts the Academy to confirm that the student actually graduated. The Academy sends a brief profile, including the graduation photo, to simplify this process.
…Yes, including the graduation photo.
“Seeing that ridiculous graduation photo probably gave many guild officials a negative impression.”
Even though guild officials who attended the Academy would somewhat understand, they might not take the person seriously at work and often don’t give high scores in relevant evaluations. Of course, this varies from person to person.
“I won’t let that happen this time.”
Anyway. If a production-class ability user from this guild had taken such a graduation photo while attending Seoul Awakening Academy, it would have remained an embarrassing memory. If the user were still young, maybe not—but considering how long this guild has existed, they must be fairly mature. And an older production-class ability user would likely be embarrassed by their younger self’s past mistakes.
“I’m back.”
“Yes, what did they say?”
“…They said not to worry, that they wouldn’t refuse your request, so please, don’t threaten them.”
In the end, the production-class ability user yielded to Chairman Shin Hanji’s coercion. Well, judging by what they said, they probably would have done it properly even without coercion.
“Tell them I’m looking forward to it.”
“Yes. And here is the estimate calculated by the production-class ability user. It may change later.”
“Where should I make the payment?”
“Full payment at once?”
“Of course.”
“In that case, pay half now and the rest upon receiving the items.”
Chairman Shin Hanji swiped his card on the reader the employee handed him.
“Wow…”
U Ji-min, seeing the estimate, was speechless. He might have been surprised at the price of the gun itself, or at seeing Chairman Shin Hanji pay such a large sum in full.
“I’ve ordered the customized gun you wanted. Do well from now on, okay?”
“Yeah, got it.”
It seemed Ji-min’s loyalty toward Chairman Shin Hanji had increased.
“Is that everything then?”
With Ji-min’s gun order completed, there was no reason to linger here. I asked, and Chairman Shin Hanji checked the time on his smartphone.
“Hmm… going back to the Academy now would be awkward. Since we’re here, shall we hang around nearby for a bit?”
“Sure, I don’t have anything urgent, so it’s fine. Do as you like, Hanji.”
“……”
Hearing him, I stayed quiet. But wait… you just played in the underground pool of the Ironblood Guild yesterday.
“Since there’s no objection, it’s decided… By the way, I heard there’s an arcade nearby popular with younger students.”
“An arcade? That still exists? But… will they have games I know?”
“Probably not. It’s been 200 years… Still, they say modern games are fun.”
Listening to their conversation, I hesitated to speak and eventually gave up. It seemed Chairman Shin Hanji wanted to find something for Ji-min to enjoy rather than just having fun himself.
“……”
I figured Chairman Shin Hanji was concerned for Ji-min. After all, Ji-min had essentially fallen 200 years into the future. All his acquaintances, except Chairman Shin Hanji, were gone, and his hometown would now look completely different.
‘Even though he keeps showing a bright face in front of us…’
That’s just a facade to avoid our worry. His mental state probably isn’t stable. Perhaps Chairman Shin Hanji feared that Ji-min might fail to adapt to this era and lose his will to live. And I only just realized it now…
‘…Managing people is far above me; Shin Hanji really is on another level.’
Experience… indeed.
Flare…!
I stopped my thoughts and leaned back, evading an attack. A flame spell created by Chairman Shin Hanji appeared where my head had been.
“…Geon-woo? You just had some unusually intense thoughts, didn’t you?”
“It wasn’t intentional. I’m sorry.”
Unconsciously… I muttered. Chairman Shin Hanji deactivated the spell, knowing I hadn’t done it on purpose.
“Then let’s go to the arcade and have some fun.”
He smiled brightly, as if the previous fierceness had been a lie.
“Uh… okay…”
“Yes…”
Ji-min and I could only respond as such.
We went to a nearby arcade to play a gun-shooting game—using a controller shaped like a gun. Of course, Ji-min was the one who chose the game… no explanation needed.
‘I get that he wants to play this game, but making me do it as “shooting practice” is ridiculous…’
Even though it was a shooting game, it wasn’t helpful at all.
‘It’s not a real gun; the controller’s balance is off, the sensors are loose, and it’s designed for civilians, not Awakened. There’s no need to precisely aim at the enemies on screen.’
Real shooting and the game are very different. Ji-min probably hoped my shooting skills would improve through the game, but honestly, it might have even been a setback.
Anyway. After playing for a long time, I returned home.
‘I can’t say I enjoyed it, even as a lie.’
Ji-min seemed excited, even blushing, so he probably had fun. As for me… not really. I was just pulling the trigger at the screen, and it wasn’t entertaining.
“I used to enjoy these kinds of games… but now, not so much.”
I muttered as I opened the front door. Even though it was only before my regression.
“Used to?”
My mother, who had come home early from Shinsegye and was preparing dinner, asked.
“Just… I went to the arcade, but it wasn’t very fun.”
“…I see.”
She, suspecting my regression vaguely, remained silent. Instead, as I entered the living room…
“…Sniff sniff… Ugh…! What’s that smell! Quickly put your clothes in the basket and take a shower!”
“Huh? Smell?”
I sniffed my clothes and immediately recognized the odor.
‘Gunpowder….’
It came from shooting at the Academy today. Not very strong, but my mother seemed sensitive to it.
‘This is the second time I’ve come home after shooting. Last time, it was just a brief session after Ji-min was revived.’
But today, I had been shooting all day before ordering Ji-min’s gun, so the smell lingered strongly.
“Don’t just stand there, go!”
“Yes.”
I followed my mother’s instructions, put my clothes in the laundry basket, and took a shower. Behind me, I felt my mother hurriedly putting the clothes into the washing machine.
‘Was the gunpowder smell really that strong?’
Next time, I’ll have to shower outside after shooting. With that in mind, I showered and later had dinner with my mother while watching TV.
“What did you do today?”
“Just… went to the Academy and did some shooting.”
We chatted casually as usual. Then, while eating…
[At 2 PM local time today, Cheonma, known as the strongest in China, expressed a desire to visit Korea.]
“…?”
Hearing the familiar name, I turned to the TV.
[Cheonma stated he wants to visit Korea with the Awakened who follow him, often called the Mages. The Korean Awakened Association warned that Cheonma might allow Mages into Korea and commit acts of terror, and plans to deny his entry.]
Cheonma…
‘He’s allied with Oracle now.’
Of course, I hadn’t seen him personally, but memories sent to me by my pre-regression self, summoned by the Grand Sorcerer and Oracle, showed traces of me fighting Cheonma as a Jiangshi. It was easy to deduce that Cheonma had joined forces with Oracle.
‘I don’t know if the Grand Sorcerer fully supports Oracle’s actions, or if it’s just a temporary alliance of convenience.’
Anyway, Cheonma wants to come to Korea?
“Son, who are Cheonma and the Mages?”
“…Crazy people who must never enter Korea.”
“Hmm…?”
I answered my mother as such. She seemed slightly taken aback, perhaps not expecting such a response, but I had no better way to explain it.
‘Cheonma shows rationality when facing strong opponents, but his Mages do not.’
They could do anything just to get noticed by Cheonma. They had even kidnapped Alex from Korea to China for their own gain. If they came as a group… it’s hard to predict what they might do in Korea.
‘I don’t even want to imagine it.’
So they must not enter Korea. But…
[Unlike the strict Korean Awakened Association, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Cheonma would be allowed entry if he accepts several conditions restricting his powers.]
It seems Cheonma coming to Korea is an inevitable future.
