Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Portrait of a Mad Woman - 1
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I mulled it over on the way to Namsan.
How to dodge the reporters.
For starters, showing up in a skirt should dispel any immediate suspicions that I'm an Awakener.
...Not that I forced myself into one or anything.
Good is good, right?
The real issue was my looks.
Objectively speaking, I had an appearance that turned heads no matter what.
Pink hair so vibrant it gleamed in the sunlight.
Delicate, refined features.
And those ridiculously oversized breasts.
Men, women, didn't matter—everyone had to do a double take.
Not that I was narcissistic or anything. It was just a fact.
One glance was enough to leave a lasting impression.
But two or three times? Forget about it.
If any of those reporters had even caught one of my streams, that would be the worst-case scenario.
What excuse could I even give?
Say it was cosplay?
Or claim I was the real-life model for a VTuber's avatar?
Honestly, though.
These weren't problems you could solve by overthinking and planning ahead.
It was fate.
My identity was bound to get exposed to the world eventually.
No point dodging it.
Just charge in.
And deal with it then.
If it comes out, fine. Fire up a stream and apologize to the nation or whatever.
What else could I do?
With a twinge of tension, I stepped off the bus.
Swallowing hard, I slowly made my way up to the Namsan entrance.
And that's when I sensed something off.
Around now, it should be bustling with noise, right?
But when I reached the entrance...
No sign of the reporters anywhere. Just a few people I figured were from the Awakener Association scurrying around busily.
This was nothing like the last Anomalous Phenomenon cleanup.
Wearing a baffled expression, I entered the Awakener Association building.
And soon enough, I figured out why not a single reporter nose was in sight.
"Oh, you're here."
It was Yoo Euisul.
She'd arrived at the Anomalous Phenomenon site before me.
The reporters had taken one look at her and slunk away, clicking their tongues in disappointment.
Hmm.
That was weird in its own way.
According to Chairman Scheduled Hwan, Yoo Euisul was a total stickler for punctuality.
So why had she beaten me here?
When I asked her, she replied with a bored look, like I was asking the obvious.
"I had to check first if it's hitting with mental attacks or not."
"...Pardon?"
Her answer was so surprisingly normal that I froze for a second with a dumb reaction.
She frowned slightly, looking annoyed.
"I hate repeating myself."
"Ah... th-thank you."
"Good, as long as you get it."
Whoa.
This was only my third time meeting Yoo Euisul, but...
She had such a straightforward personality that I could tell just how astonishing this was.
She wasn't altruistic.
She was selfish.
You could tell from the wiki alone.
To Yoo Euisul, she herself was the most precious thing in the world.
And yet, here she was doing something altruistic for me.
Why?
Why was she being so nice to me?
Was it because acting selflessly toward me ultimately benefited her?
Yeah, that tracked.
From her perspective, tackling an Anomalous Phenomenon solo was worse than teaming up with me.
For one, I was tough enough that she didn't have to worry if I took a hit.
And with me rattling off all the intel on the phenomenon, the difficulty plummeted exponentially.
Plus, who knew? Hanging around with me might even help her unravel the secrets tied to her sword.
Whatever the reason, it was more than welcome from my end.
Teaming up with the top Awakener was an honor in itself, and she was even handling the reporters for me.
If we kept clearing Anomalous Phenomena together like this...
Maybe, just maybe...
I could keep my identity under wraps.
...
...
...
Last time, we'd gotten a briefing with a dozen big shots.
Not this time.
There were three people in the conference room total.
Me.
Yoo Euisul.
Kim Junghwan.
That was it.
The poor guy must be exhausted.
He'd unexpectedly ended up as my handler and got roped into field work against his will.
Yoo Euisul propped her feet on the table and barked at Kim Junghwan.
"Brief us."
Wow, what an attitude.
It was so rude even I wanted to curse.
...No, don't jump to conclusions.
Maybe they were closer than I thought.
I was twenty-four.
Yoo Euisul was three years older.
Kim Junghwan was three years older too.
In other words...
They were the same age.
Perfectly natural for them to be casual with each other...
"Yes, Euisul-ssi. Let's begin the briefing."
...Nope.
I was the fool for hoping.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "It's a painting?"
"Yes, a painting."
It was a painting.
This Anomalous Phenomenon was a painting—and even to me, a total layman, it was good enough to deserve the label "masterpiece."
But...
Its grotesque nature made calling it a world-class masterpiece a bit iffy.
A portrait of a woman.
At first glance, I thought she was stunningly beautiful.
Yeah, it was an illusion.
Looking closer, her eyes brimmed with madness far removed from reason.
One eye was unnaturally wide and glaring, the other half-lidded, giving off an eerie vibe to anyone who saw it.
Her pupils were like infinite abysses.
Staring blankly into them made you feel like you'd drown in an impossibly deep ocean, with no hope of surfacing.
And that smile on her lips? Chilling.
It evoked that internet urban legend about the "red-masked woman." Her mouth stretched to an impossible corner.
She wore a black dress, shredded in places, revealing bruised blue skin through the tears.
The background was even worse.
Even though it was a painting, not a photo, the bizarre shapes in the back seemed to writhe alive.
Ironically, her twisted features meshed perfectly with the creepy backdrop.
This had to be the Anomalous Phenomenon.
If this weird painting wasn't, what would be?
But I couldn't be sure.
I turned to Kim Junghwan.
"Could it be an item?"
"No, this painting is definitely an Anomalous Phenomenon."
"Why?"
"Jia-ssi, didn't you think it was beautiful when you first saw it?"
"Uh... come to think of it, yeah. I did. Why the hell would I...?"
"Simple reason."
Tap, tap.
Kim Junghwan tapped the screen with his finger and continued.
"It's because of this painting's wide-area mental attack."
"...Pardon?"
At his words, I glanced at Yoo Euisul.
Then said,
"B-but Euisul-ssi said there were no mental attacks..."
"I said I got here first to check if there were mental attacks. I never said there weren't. Tough luck. There were."
"..."
"And call me Euisul-unnie. Want me to smack you? Though it'd probably hurt me more."
I brushed off Yoo Euisul's words and turned back to Kim Junghwan.
"Okay, fine for her... but why are you, me, and the others totally fine?"
Mental-attack Anomalous Phenomena were extremely dangerous. Even just looking at a photo could corrupt your mind.
Yet here Kim Junghwan and I were, staring right at it, completely unaffected.
He answered plainly.
"For one, we're far enough from the phenomenon itself that the mental waves are negligible."
"But... didn't reporters come by? Even weak waves should be risky for civilians, no?"
"Thanks to the items. Naturally, every Anomalous Phenomenon entrance has gear installed to counter mental attacks. And as for why you and I are fine looking at this photo... beyond the entrance items, I borrowed some mental defense gear from the Association."
"...Ah."
I'd asked something obvious.
The Awakener Association wasn't some sloppy outfit. Of course they'd have precautions.
"Since it came up, let me hand it over now."
With that, Kim Junghwan gave me an item for mental attack protection.
It was cube-shaped.
Already active, it emitted a barrier-like wave that blocked mental attacks within a five-meter radius.
I'd have to check the wiki later.
"Of course, having the item doesn't make you completely immune. Be extra careful with this one, Jia-ssi."
"...Careful? That'll do what?"
As if.
This was an Anomalous Phenomenon.
Expecting to clear one without any damage was flawed from the start.
If everyone could walk away unscathed, why would Awakeners get hurt or die all the time?
Risk was...
Part of the deal.
But for some reason...
Yoo Euisul looked utterly relaxed.
She yawned and spoke up.
"No need to freak out. I gave it some thought, and you? You're probably somewhat resistant to mental attacks. Not perfectly like me, but still."
"...Why's that?"
"You're already half-insane. People who start out crazy have some natural immunity to mental attacks."
Ugh.
I'm not in the mood for jokes.
As I shot her a look of disbelief...
Kim Junghwan spoke up in a pretty serious tone.
"...Jia-ssi, Euisul-ssi does have a point."
"No, point or not... I'm not crazy to begin with!"
"Good, you know it. Not a crazy bastard—a crazy bitch."
"Argh..."
What the hell did they think I was?
Okay, sure, I wasn't technically "human" but a "Fervent Devotee of Reflecting Myriad Stars."
But still, I wasn't crazy!
Whether I ranted or not...
Kim Junghwan pressed on.
"We couldn't secure a photo of the item, so please grab it directly from the site. That concludes the briefing."
Both Kim Junghwan and Yoo Euisul were calm-faced and casual-voiced.
...Was I the only one freaking out?