chapter 65
For now, I was treated as if I had been kidnapped by terrorists, managed to escape, and was then protected by Laura and the kangaroo.
It made sense.
After all, a child who had inhaled sleeping gas and almost fallen victim to a doppelgänger would naturally be thought of that way.
It would be hard to imagine that a child as young as me would go seeking out terrorists on my own, defeat them, and return safely.
“Of course, no one doubted my testimony…”
Still, many people paid attention to the fact that I had been kidnapped and escaped.
I knew that even if others didn’t doubt my words, they would likely try to track the terrorists through my testimony. So I considered revealing the coordinates of where a missile had fallen to try and kill me.
But…
“(What are you doing to a child! And this child, who barely escaped with her life, is brave enough to testify!)”
Someone completely unexpected defended me.
“(It’s you… Laura?)”
“(Why are you…?)”
It was Laura, our guide.
Apparently, she wasn’t just a simple interpreter—more people knew her face than I expected. And when she stepped forward to protect me, others didn’t dare question me aggressively.
After my testimony concluded, she held me tightly as if to never let me go and led me to where the rest of the group was waiting.
“(Thank goodness… really, thank goodness…)”
I muttered to myself.
“… Well, it was Laura who took me to the safehouse. If anything had happened to me, the responsibility would have fallen on her.”
Judging by the circumstances, it seemed she had gone looking for me through the streets even though she wasn’t an Awakened.
…Maybe I was overthinking it selfishly.
With that thought, I arrived at the room where the group was waiting, guided by Laura’s hand.
“Geonwoo, are you okay? Any injuries?”
Yun Mirae, Arthur, and Lee Ha-eun were also waiting in the room, but ironically, the one who worried most about me was Rachel—the one I was least connected to.
… Or perhaps the others assumed I wouldn’t have returned injured.
“You’ll have to explain this incident properly later.”
“Yes…”
Yun Mirae seemed to have noticed that I had pretended to be captured, but on the surface, it was treated as Laura’s fault for failing to properly protect me after bringing me to the safehouse.
“… I do feel a little sorry for Laura.”
She would likely take full responsibility for my disappearance. From the Australian government’s perspective, sacrificing one interpreter would be more convenient than antagonizing an Aura Master like Yun Mirae. Even if the interpreter wasn’t exactly ordinary.
Anyway.
“… Doppelgängers can no longer be identified in Sydney. If none are found in the next 30 minutes, the situation will be declared over.”
Thanks to the Awakened from all over Australia who had converged on Sydney, all the doppelgängers were subdued.
Although there were many casualties before the doppelgängers were fully defeated, the number was small compared to the scale of the terrorism.
Other Awakened had made efforts too, but the number of doppelgängers defeated by Yun Mirae alone was overwhelming.
Having mastered Samadhi, she could detect doppelgängers faster than anyone, locate them, and strike them down.
“She knew the doppelgängers’ characteristics, so she took risks to defeat them quickly.”
The doppelgängers I had encountered at the doctor’s lab could copy techniques just by observing someone. The ones deployed for the terrorist attack weren’t quite that strong, but caution was still warranted.
The problem was…
“Looks like sightseeing in Sydney is out of the question…”
Given the terrorism, enjoying Sydney leisurely was basically impossible. All we could do was pass the time at the hotel until we returned to Korea.
Still, thanks to exploring some tourist spots before the attack, the regret wasn’t too great.
“… Spending time enjoying the hotel’s luxury services isn’t so bad either.”
The hotel had a swimming pool, training facilities for Awakened, and even a casino. I had no intention of going to the casino, of course.
“Let’s go to the pool!”
Apparently realizing what the hotel had to offer, Lee Ha-eun said that, and none of us present would reject her suggestion.
“Ah, but I don’t have a swimsuit…”
“Various designs in multiple sizes are prepared in the changing room.”
Laura, who had seemed timid until a moment ago, now spoke firmly as though determined to fulfill her duties as a guide, and led us to the pool.
But…
Splash…!
“Gurgle….”
“…Ha-eun…!”
Lee Ha-eun, who had never swum before, immediately fell into the water as soon as she entered the pool.
I quickly pulled her out, but perhaps frightened of the water in that brief moment, she started to whimper at a distance from the pool.
“What should we do?”
“Someone go calm her down.”
“What, me…?”
Naturally, none of us had experience calming a crying child.
Just as we were pondering how to soothe her…
“Ha-eun, look, there’s a shallow pool here?”
“Huh?”
Laura approached Ha-eun and said this. She took her to a shallow pool, where even Ha-eun could touch the bottom, and played with her there.
“Phew….”
“Thank goodness…”
Thanks to that, we were able to relax somewhat, and Ha-eun could enjoy the pool in her own way.
“Laura, right? She’s really having a tough time. Doesn’t seem like she’s done childcare before.”
“She probably wants to look good in my eyes to be forgiven. Even if she dislikes it, she’ll have to take good care of Ha-eun.”
Arthur mumbled, and Yun Mirae replied.
“Anyway, let’s enjoy the pool ourselves.”
Saying that, Yun Mirae dove straight into the pool and started swimming. Seeing this, Arthur and Rachel also began to swim.
As for me…
“… Embarrassing…”
I clung to a kickboard and moved slowly.
Even with the kickboard, it would look strange for a child who hadn’t even finished elementary school to keep up with the swimming speed of three Awakened. Even if that child was an Awakened herself.
“… Maybe I should have joined Ha-eun in the kids’ pool instead.”
Playing with a real child like Ha-eun, being treated like a real child by Laura… it seemed equally embarrassing.
So I decided to just float around with the kickboard and move around leisurely.
While I was drifting in the pool for a while…
“Hey, ladies. Want to play with us?”
“Perfect, 2v2. Just the right number of people.”
Two men approached Yun Mirae and Rachel while they were resting outside the pool. Arthur… probably went to get drinks.
Thinking the two women were alone, the men approached them for “hunting.” Others nearby started whispering.
“… Idiots?”
“Do they not know one of them is an Aura Master?”
“Ah, they only arrived in Sydney long after the terrorist incident. They probably don’t know their faces.”
“Oh dear. Two more fools approaching.”
Everyone else at the pool were Awakened, most of whom had participated in subduing the terrorists, so they recognized Yun Mirae’s face and knew the fate awaiting the men trying to flirt.
“Wow… people really do try to approach women so brazenly in real life?”
“Surprisingly, yes. Especially with Awakened. Civilians rarely refuse an Awakened’s advances.”
Yun Mirae watched the flirting men with curiosity, and Rachel explained it to her.
“Here, I got drinks… what’s going on here?”
Arthur returned with drinks and asked, just as Yun Mirae and Rachel were about to answer with a wry smile…
“(Tch, taken already?)”
“No, no… this weakling can be taken down easily, then we can take the women, right?”
That was a criminal mindset, wasn’t it?
The atmosphere around the men had changed—they went from casual delinquents to openly lecherous delinquents.
…Not much difference, really.
Still, no matter how the atmosphere changed, they couldn’t surpass Arthur.
Meanwhile…
“Ahhh! Arthur! Take down those men for me!”
“Huh? What?”
Rachel hid behind Arthur, as if inspired by a fun idea.
Yun Mirae gave her a bewildered look, but Arthur, confused, stepped forward and drew his power.
“I don’t know exactly what’s happening, but you don’t seem to have come here with good intentions either.”
“(What’s this kid saying?)”
“(Don’t care. Just knock them down!)”
As Arthur unleashed his aura, the flirting men also drew theirs. Both were aura users and were ready to genuinely fight Arthur.
“(These crazy guys…!)”
“(Want to fight here?!)”
Other bystanders stepped back to avoid being involved. Just as the three men were about to clash…
Squeeeek…!
A whistle pierced the air. Everyone’s attention turned toward its source.
“…Kangaroo?”
There was a kangaroo wearing a red lifeguard uniform.
Kangaroo boxer, traffic control kangaroo, thinking kangaroo… and now lifeguard kangaroo. Most of the Awakened present looked at the scene with incredulity.
The kangaroo took out a pointer and indicated a rule on a pool safety poster. The Awakened closest to the poster read it aloud for everyone:
“(…Violence is prohibited in the pool?)”
I didn’t know why the pool rules included that, but the kangaroo’s message was clear: no fighting. Fight if you must, but outside the pool.
“(…This kangaroo is treating us like idiots!)”
“(I’ll kill you first!)”
The men, angered at the kangaroo delivering the pool rule, charged at it.
But…
Bam! Bam!
The kangaroo’s punches, which could take down a doppelgänger stronger than most Awakened, subdued them instantly.
“(Oh….)”
“(…Did anyone else not see the kangaroo’s punches for a moment?)”
Even some Awakened couldn’t track its movements. What kind of training had these kangaroos undergone? I was genuinely curious.
