The Computer Beneath the Shrine
Even though the monster-infested underground passage was quite a distance away, I could sense it. The thing filling the air raid shelter and radiating an overwhelming presence was a machine that looked exactly like the early computers I’d only seen in old textbooks—something like ENIAC.
“Crazy. That’s a computer. To think something like this existed in this era…?”
When I muttered in Korean, Shimazu Renka, who must have misheard, asked back.
Right. This was an era when the word “computer” itself didn’t even exist. Even I wasn’t entirely sure, but hadn’t something like ENIAC only been developed after World War II? I could stretch and accept that in a world with gates and monsters, the principles of magic operation resembled programming logic, so the technology might have emerged twenty years early. But even then, such a thing should have been locked away in a military research lab in America or Germany. Why was it hidden beneath a shrine, inside a school in Japanese-occupied Joseon?
I couldn’t just let this slide. The future history I knew might diverge drastically from this point onward.
I need to get a closer look.
I peered through the crack in the door, but saw no signs of people. Lowering my voice, I spoke to Renka.
“…Understood.”
Renka nodded and followed me. But the moment we took a few steps inside the shelter—
Clatter—bang!
Something shot down right in front of us, blocking the way. A steel wall had descended from above like a fire door shutter, sealing the path ahead.
What the hell?!
Behind us came the heavy clunk of metal gears locking into place.
Renka cried out.
Before we could even process the situation, the narrow space was plunged into complete darkness as every trace of light vanished. Then, from both sides, came the low growls of beasts.
Countless pairs of glowing eyes approached from left and right. Renka belatedly ignited her blade, casting light, and a pack of Claw Wolves was revealed.
Seeing them, Renka gasped.
They were the same magic beasts we had faced during squad tactics training the day before yesterday. This wasn’t a dungeon; there was no way so many Claw Wolves could naturally inhabit a place like this. Did that mean the school’s practice beast pens were connected to this shelter?
I bit the tip of my thumb to draw blood, fed it to my blade, and said,
“Understood!”
The moment the words left my mouth, one of the Claw Wolves leapt at me, slashing with its long claws. I dodged easily and severed its foreleg and throat in a single stroke.
“GyaAAAAH!”
Renka, standing back-to-back with me, also shouted a battle cry and began bisecting the beasts charging at her. The severed surfaces of the wolves were instantly cauterized by her blazing blade, leaving them no chance to spill fluids before they collapsed to the floor.
We fought like that for several minutes, but the tide of monsters showed no sign of stopping.
“Haa… haa…”
Renka was breathing hard. The intense heat in the enclosed space was draining my stamina as well.
The monsters are one thing, but we need to get out of this space first.
We were deep underground in a narrow area sealed by steel walls on both sides, now swarming with countless beasts. If we kept fighting here too long, we’d run out of oxygen. On top of that, Renka was using fire; the longer we delayed, the more dangerous it became for her.
I can’t exactly tell her not to use her ability… Wait a second.
While cutting down another monster, I glanced at Renka. With her power, she should be able to punch a hole through that steel wall. The sealed door might be too thick, but the shutter-like barrier didn’t look particularly sturdy.
I asked her,
After slicing apart one wolf and gaining a brief opening, she rapped the wall twice with the tip of her blade. A clear, metallic ring answered—not too dull. She replied,
“I’ll handle the monsters. You focus on the wall.”
“You’ve seen me do it before, haven’t you?”
I was referring to the incident at the Dongsomun Gate. Of course, the ant-like monsters I had dealt with then were on a completely different level from these Claw Wolves. But I had also grown stronger since that day. My reinforcement rank had risen by one stage, and I now carried Major Aoki’s blade, which granted me Swiftness.
When I spoke with confidence, Renka nodded.
She gathered her magic power and poured it into her blade. The moment the flaming sword glowed bright red, she thrust it into the steel wall.
The superheated blade sank halfway through the plate. Gripping the hilt with both hands, Renka began carving a wide arc as if drawing a circle on a blackboard. In a few minutes, she would create an opening large enough for a person to pass through.
Good.
I turned my attention back to the monsters. The pack that had faltered at Renka’s flames now advanced again, eyes gleaming, the moment she focused on cutting the wall.
There are quite a few to handle alone.
They weren’t impossible to defeat, but having to protect Renka while fighting made it physically taxing to take on so many at once.
Can’t be helped.
I drew my blade across my forearm, drawing fresh blood. I had only nicked my thumb earlier, and the effect had been weak and short-lived. After all, how much blood could come from a small cut on a thumb? This sword showed no reaction to monster bodily fluids—only human blood worked.
What a disgusting blade.
Still, the more blood it drank, the more pronounced the Swiftness effect became. I began cutting down the wolves with a sensation akin to returning to my old body from the twenty-first century.
Several minutes passed. I was halfway into a trance, mechanically slaughtering beasts, when a loud clang rang out. It was right after I had felled the last wolf. Renka’s blade, embedded in the wall, completed one full rotation and returned to its starting position. The neatly circular section of steel plate fell to the floor on the other side with a resounding crash.
Standing before the hula-hoop-sized hole, Renka panted heavily. She extinguished the flames on her sword, turned to me, and began to speak.
But when she saw me, her face filled with shock.
“Hm?”
I looked down at myself. Sure enough, my uniform was in tatters and soaked with blood in several places. While fighting, I had made small cuts on my own body to feed the sword. That was how I had ended up looking like this.
Yeah, I guess it is startling.
The cuts were shallow, only deep enough to draw a little blood, and most had already scabbed over.
“Eek! Hiiiik! Who—who are you people?! How did you—!”
A voice shouted from inside the hole, cutting Renka off. The sound of the steel plate falling must have been heard on the other side as well.
So that’s the guy.
I peered through the opening into the shelter. A man in a suit wearing glasses so thick his eyes were barely visible stood there, trembling, pointing a pistol at us.
Looking at him, I raised my blade in front of me and thought, No particular magic power emanating from him.
If he were an awakened like Song Byeong-o who used magic bullets, he might be troublesome. But that didn’t seem to be the case. Compared to when I fought Aoki, my reinforcement had risen a rank and I had Swiftness. I could easily deflect ordinary pistol rounds.
The man’s hand shook violently. He clearly wasn’t someone accustomed to fighting. As I stepped through the hole Renka had made, I thought, First, I’ll knock the gun away and subdue him.
The suited man threatened me with his trembling pistol, but then he noticed Renka behind me and his face went slack with shock.
What?
Did he know Renka? I glanced at her. She furrowed her brow as if trying to recall, thinking hard for a moment, then spoke.
I was completely taken aback. They know each other?
This was troublesome. My original plan while tailing this man had been to interrogate the technician who had engraved the gate-creation circuit onto the red stone—find out who created it and how far the technology had spread. If he turned out to be a key figure, I had even been prepared to bloody my hands. That obsession was by no means excessive. Gate-creation technology, if misused, could bring about a catastrophe that humanity could not withstand.
Discovering the computer here had only strengthened my resolve. But if he and Renka were acquainted, I couldn’t act rashly.
Renka demanded,
“Ah…! Y-you didn’t know?”
The professor put away his pistol and scratched his head.
“Magic engineering facilities? That thing?”
Renka pointed at the vacuum-tube computer that filled the shelter.
“Heh, that is a secret technology possessed only by our laboratory in the entire world.”
That made sense. From what I had seen so far, the technological level of this era wasn’t particularly advanced. A computer hidden beneath a school was definitely an outlier.
“So what exactly is its function?”
“It is a cutting-edge magic engineering device that maintains the barrier protecting the school’s safety.”
“I was under the impression that the metal barrier rods installed around the school grounds performed that role.”
The professor answered Renka’s question with a chuckle.
“I understand. But why is such a machine located beneath a shrine, of all places?”
The professor answered as if it were obvious.
“Hmm…”
“In any case, that is why I came here today. I heard that during the previous preliminary practical training, monsters breached the barrier from outside. When I inspected the external rods, I found nothing wrong, so I came to check this central device—”
The man rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a notebook. On one page was a moth pinned under clear tape.
At this point, Renka had no choice but to accept the explanation. Yet she still seemed to have more to say.
The professor stammered.
“Terrorist attempts?”
Come to think of it, the first thing he had called me was “terrorist.” When Renka pressed him, the professor scratched his head awkwardly.
“I will take responsibility. We will leave now, so if you could open the door for us, we would be grateful.”
Wait, hold on. I still wanted to examine that vacuum-tube computer more closely. I waved my hands at Renka, saying “I’m fine,” but she scolded me sharply.
Even if I said I was fine, my appearance made my words completely unconvincing.
Damn it…
In the end, I had no choice but to climb the stairs. The professor, saying his business was finished, led the way, and Renka followed behind me.
If we leave now, it’ll be hard to come back and check again.
The shelter’s steel door closed firmly once more, its locks engaging solidly. Moreover, security at the warehouse entrance would likely be tightened. Sneaking back in to investigate would be difficult.
…No, wait.
I stared at the professor’s back as he climbed the stairs ahead of us.
I should interrogate this guy instead of the computer.
In truth, even if I examined the arrangement of vacuum tubes and wiring, it was built on a system completely different from twenty-first-century technology. I wouldn’t have been able to learn anything meaningful. The professor’s explanation that it was a device for maintaining the barrier sounded plausible enough, but I didn’t believe a word of it.
He’s definitely hiding something.
It was a computer, even if it used vacuum tubes. There was no way it was only being used for something so simple. Of course, despite occupying such a large space, its performance would be inferior to a pocket calculator from the future. It probably couldn’t even run Tetris, let alone Doom, so calling it a computer was stretching the term. Still, it was nothing to scoff at. It could perform calculations far faster and more accurately than a human, and it could be used to construct intricate magic circuits.
I slipped my hand into my inner pocket, stroking the object inside.
Just like the gate-creation circuit engraved on this red stone.
If I wanted to learn more about such things, interrogating the man in charge of the technology would be far more effective than secretly examining the computer.
But how should I go about it?
There was no chance he would willingly spill his secrets to me. And since he knew Renka, forcing the information out of him would be difficult.
After thinking for a moment, I called out in an exaggeratedly moved voice.
“H-huh?”
When the professor turned around, I gazed up at him with eyes full of sincere admiration.
“Shirabayashi…? Why are you suddenly talking about magic engineering—”
Renka, who had been walking behind us, tilted her head in confusion at my strange behavior. I answered loudly enough for the professor to hear.
“…! Shirabayashi, you…”
Renka was stunned, and the professor, receiving such sudden praise, gave an awkward, shadowy laugh and scratched his head.
“That is why I would like to learn more about the magic engineering used in that machine. If it would not be too much trouble, may I visit the place where you work, Professor?”
“Hehe, well, that would be…”
The professor paused for a moment, then continued.
Higashinori Organic Chemistry Research Laboratory in Misaeng-jeong. Good, I’d remember that.
By the time our conversation ended, we had reached the surface warehouse disguised as a shrine. The professor said he would wait for my contact and left first. Renka and I also stepped outside. It had been afternoon when we entered, but now the sun was beginning to set.
I’m exhausted.
I hadn’t been seriously injured, but I had moved quite a lot. All I wanted was to return to the boarding house and sleep deeply. I was about to say goodbye to Renka when she spoke first.
“Do you truly not need treatment? If financial difficulties are preventing you from being hospitalized, I can provide assistance—”
“No, I’m fine. They really are just scratches. Look.”
I rolled up my sleeve to show her the wounds that had already half-healed and scabbed over. Yet Renka still looked worried.
“It’s fine. I have a spare at the boarding house.”
“……”
“Never mind me. You used up almost all your magic power cutting through that steel plate, didn’t you? Maintaining that much output for several minutes isn’t easy. It puts a huge strain on your body, so you should go home and rest properly.”
“…Yes.”
Renka bowed her head in reply. In truth, it wasn’t just me who had overexerted; Renka must have been quite exhausted as well, even if she hadn’t been injured.
“I’ll head off first.”
As I dragged my tired body back to the boarding house, I thought, Professor Higashinori, huh…
On the surface he seemed sloppy and stuttered, but he had a proper research laboratory in Gyeongseong bearing his name, complete with security guards. He was also involved with the Oriental Development Company’s red stone and this school. There was definitely something behind him.
Moreover, since he knew Renka, approaching him carelessly was absolutely out of the question. I needed to plan carefully, and for that, I first had to learn what kind of person he was. But since I had already met him face-to-face, secretly getting close to him would be difficult.
Still, did I really have to do it myself?
There’s the perfect person for a job like this.
After Baek Chulyeon left, Renka stood motionless for a long time, staring in the direction he had disappeared. Then she murmured softly.
“Yes.”
But Renka remained silent for a long while even after Osue appeared behind her. Sensing her intent, Osue spoke first.
“No.”
The answer that followed was completely unexpected.
“Pardon?”
Osue looked up at Renka in surprise, but Renka simply gazed at the setting sun in silence, lost in thought.
Shirabayashi.
From the first moment she had seen him, she had been curious. How could an ordinary student fight with such skill when she herself had lived an entirely different life? It had felt as though he were denying her very existence. She had tried every method—surveillance, intervention—to uncover his secret, but gained nothing.
But now I think I finally understand a little.
Baek Chulyeon’s strength did not come from anything special. It came from the desire to protect the people around him.
Looking back, every time he had revealed his power, it had been to protect someone else. Defeating the Onigumo during the entrance ceremony’s preliminary training, fighting the fake Japanese professor Choi Seonggil, and even when he had killed her fiancé Aoki. And when he had slapped her cheek.
Renka touched her cheek as she thought. That slap, too, had been an act of protecting others even at the risk of harm to himself. Today as well, he had fought the monsters alone, sustaining injuries, all to protect her.
To such a person, I…
She had ordered her subordinate to spy on him and dig up his secrets simply because she wanted to know the truth behind a righteous man. How narrow-minded and shady that attitude had been. He would never do such a thing. Therefore, she would stop as well.
Renka spoke once more, clearly, to the dazed Osue.
To her now, Baek Chulyeon was no longer someone to investigate from behind, but someone she wanted to approach from the front.
“Comrade Baek? What brings you…”
The next morning, I arrived at school early. As soon as morning assembly ended, I pulled Hong Okrye into a secluded corner behind the main building and smiled.
“Yeah. It’s an important matter for Joseon’s liberation. Could you monitor one person for me?”