Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Goblin Frolic
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"Hmm, this is a problem."
I'm standing on the rooftop of a building a short distance from Vasilisa.
The street provides plenty of cover, and I've set up subtle precautions just in case.
'Plus, Geumchon-dong is way too filthy right now.'
Geumchon-dong's back alleys are already a messy, rundown place, but right now it's filthy in a far more serious sense.
Mana and malice surge from every direction.
The rain that's been pouring over all of Paju for days has contaminated everything in Paju, and the flooding waves have dragged up the malice festering in its depths to the surface.
That's why staying put here keeps me safe.
'But staying put forever feels wrong, doesn't it?'
Why am I sightseeing Vasilisa from afar? Simple.
"What the hell's going on at Vasilisa?"
Vasilisa is a massive cafe that doesn't fit in with the rundown old town back alleys of Geumchon-dong.
The surrounding buildings have all been battered by the floods, but Vasilisa stands spotless, without a single stain on its walls.
And swarming around that huge, pristine building is a massive number of mana signatures.
It's a place fixers frequent, so I figured that was normal and approached... until that popped up.
[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait activates.]
"Ugh, what the—?"
I reflexively channeled mana into my skateboard and leaped away.
After a few hops and some stealth, I ended up hiding on the rooftop of this three-story building with the shrine and gamjatang joint downstairs. That's how I got here.
"Hmm—let's see...."
I activate my mana to scan around Vasilisa.
[Heavenly Sight]
A few buildings and obstacles block the way, but my vision pierces through them to reach near Vasilisa.
"Definitely not the lively, cheerful fixer types."
Sharp black suits, black sunglasses. Uniform looks like they rolled off an assembly line, all with the same burly builds.
No obvious badges or anything, but in a place like Geumchon-dong, only one group dresses like that and moves with such precision.
"The Management Agency."
The Immigration Foreigner Management Agency.
Specifically, their Special Unit.
Unlike the regular bureau that handles actual foreigners, the Special Unit deals with extraterrestrials, other races, superhumans, and supernatural incidents.
About twenty of their agents are surrounding Vasilisa's entrance.
"Urgh... Sorry, Tudor."
I can guess what's going on.
Yang Seo-ho is tracking me. Even after I asked Park Gwang-rim to tamper with the intel, her tentacles have reached Vasilisa.
"No, if they were really here for me, the vibe wouldn't be like this."
I expand my senses to get a closer look at what's happening inside Vasilisa.
But the person I'm worried about isn't detected. Not nearby either.
Looks like Yang Seo-ho herself hasn't shown up.
The intel tampering must've had some effect. If she was certain, she'd have come personally.
Instead, amid the agency's cookie-cutter mass-produced NPCs, one guy stands out.
The one up front, speaking as their rep.
"Thanks for your cooperation."
Lion-like mane, shorter than me. A named NPC, Yang Seo-ho's lackey, Shin Woo-jin.
'Not like I want to remember a punk like that.'
My Intelligence stat must've dredged his name from my memory. He's not that important.
"I'm just sorry we couldn't be of more help."
That's Tudor's voice. A bright smile and sultry tone completely unlike her usual self.
Sales mode? Combat mode? Either way, that smile means she's pissed.
"No, this is more than enough. You've been a huge help."
The 190cm Tudor facing off against 160cm Shin Woo-jin is quite the sight.
"As a citizen, cooperating is the least I can do—I'm embarrassed. But I can't keep holding up busy public servants with official duties, right?"
Get the hell out.
Shin Woo-jin seems to get it. He glances around, dragging out the time, then speaks.
"This area's full of rundown, shadowy alleys. It'd be terrible if some dangerous criminal broke into a shop run by a woman alone."
The "woman alone" bit means Orv's been safely tucked away somewhere.
Before Tudor can respond, Shin Woo-jin flashes a smug grin and continues.
"Our team will patrol the area for a while to ensure you can operate safely."
We're camping out here to sabotage your business from now on.
"That's so kind of you—I'm thrilled and relieved. But the friendly locals are already helping out a lot, and the market merchants' association runs its own patrol squad, so no need to worry."
Shut up, shut up, die, die, get lost, get lost.
"But aren't you from abroad, ma'am? If you have any inconveniences or complaints you can't share with others, it'd be much easier to tell us."
Shut your mouth, foreign witch. Don't get cocky in our country.
Tudor's cheeks flush slightly.
"Oh my, in that case..."
Tudor puts on a shy smile... sort of, but at the same time, her pupils narrow like a cat's.
Tense atmosphere.
I was waiting, thinking it might wrap up peacefully, but no such luck.
"If I want to keep seeing Tudor's face from now on, I guess I have to step in."
The opponents are twenty combat bureaucrats from the Foreigner Management Agency on official duty.
Including a high-level named NPC.
"And Shin Woo-jin..."
[Insight]
I cast the spell to check his power.
Ziiiiiing...
My eyes are in bad shape from using [Perception] on red stuff.
Adding [Heavenly Sight] and [Insight] makes my eyeballs feel like they're about to burst. Ugh, might pop another blood vessel.
Shin Woo-jin's occiput zooms in rapidly. But he startles and dodges.
"What?!"
He whips around frantically.
Among his wild mane, several large eyeballs bulge out like goiters.
'Good thing I cast from this distance, or I'd be busted.'
Hmm, annoying. Wait, what the hell?
Then, something odd pings on my senses.
'Huh? That's...'
Something's around Vasilisa. A familiar mana pattern.
No idea why that guy's there, but looks like I don't need to intervene.
And Shin Woo-jin senses that mana too.
"Who's there!"
He bellows and hurls a dagger at the narrow gap between buildings.
Textbook scene, like it's drawn in a comic.
"Captain? You think someone's there?"
One of his subordinates—like his adjutant—questions it.
The buildings here are jammed together from haphazard development. Sometimes the gaps are less than a handspan. No human could hide in there.
But that's exactly where Shin Woo-jin threw the dagger.
"Idiot, that's an 'illegal alien'!"
He wanted to say non-human, but agency folks don't use those terms in public.
And as Shin Woo-jin expects, the surreal happens.
"Bwahaha—!"
Rumble rumble!!
The narrow gap between buildings dramatically widens.
"Gyaaah!"
Flashing lights, smoke billowing everywhere. Whirling winds.
And a humanoid shadow shooting into the sky.
"Dozens of poor husbands bullying a helpless maiden? I can't stand by!"
"Illegal alien scum! What nonsense is this!"
"Grab him, grab him!"
"Such lively, cheerful husbands! Come on, let's have some fun!"
Floppy hat flapping, leopard-print pants, jacket glittering with sequins, half-mask shaped like a demon face. A bizarre figure. No, not human.
Seo Cheon-seul, Cheongeum Captain guardian of Cheongeum Hall.
"Come forth, Vajra Rod!"
A massive golden rod sprouts from Seo Cheon-seul's hand.
Boom!!
The road crumbles, buildings collapse.
"Argh! W-what the hell is that?!"
"It's just one guy! Grab him!"
"Waaah!"
The agency's combat agents draw jet-black telescoping batons from their coats and charge.
"Oh dear, such cowardly husbands—relying on numbers to act tough! Realize you're the ones outnumbered!"
Whoa, straight out of an old cartoon.
Seo Cheon-seul instantly creates dozens of clones, scattering wildly, beating down agency agents and smashing nearby buildings.
"Don't get cocky! This lame illusion!"
Shin Woo-jin's hair whips around, revealing dozens of eyeballs, his hands sprouting vicious claw-like nails. Unmistakably inhuman.
He swings, and Seo Cheon-seul's clones shred like paper. In one breath, he's in front of the real one.
"Lame illusion, huh? Little husband."
"Did you just call me little!?"
"Aren't you looking up at me right now? Keep looking up."
"What?"
Sigh, falling for such a cheap illusion.
But he's hooked. The more Shin Woo-jin looks up at Seo Cheon-seul, the taller Seo Cheon-seul grows.
"Huh? Wh-what?"
No matter how much he cranes his neck, no end in sight. Eventually, Seo Cheon-seul towers to the clouds.
From high in the sky, Seo Cheon-seul's voice booms like thunder.
"I'll stomp you flat! Little husband!"
Ruuuumble!
A colossal foot plummets from impossible heights.
KABOOM!!
A shockwave that shatters every building in Geumchon-dong.
"Gyaaaaah!"
And the witch's laughter beside it.
"Ahahaha! Kekekeke!"
No destroyed buildings, no clones, no giant Seo Cheon-seul. No one hurt.
The agency agents and Shin Woo-jin are just wrestling each other or lampposts, exhausted and rolling on the ground.
Shin Woo-jin still hasn't snapped out of it, but it's all just hallucinations they're seeing.
Seo Cheon-seul tweaks the illusion's direction, and the agents suddenly act differently.
"Over there! It's Kim Shin-hwa!"
"That way! That way!"
They all jump up and charge off en masse.
"Gotcha, Kim Shin-hwa, you bastard!"
"We caught Kim Shin-hwa!"
Calling each other Kim Shin-hwa and bellowing as they bind one another and vanish into some alley.
When do these idiots snap out of it? They just kept going.
I scratch my head watching, then stand up. Lucky I didn't have to step in.
I pour mana into my skateboard and hop over a few buildings.
The [Night Veil Cloak] I'm wearing flaps like black wings.
I run along the rooftop railing, leaping from building to building, rooftop to rooftop, and land in front of Vasilisa where Seo Cheon-seul and Tudor are.
"Oh, husband. I was wondering when you'd stop gawking and show up."
"What? You saw me watching?"
What, coming out with that first? I grumble back at them.
"Normally people say 'hi' or 'good to see you, long time no see.'"
"Hmph, fine. Hi, honey? I was in a pinch and you just watched?"
"Good to see you, long time no see, husband. But since I handled it, you'll say 'thanks' like a normal person now, right?"
"...Let's head inside first. Talk there."
From afar, screams from the agency agents echo.
"Kim Shin-hwa! Kim Shin-hwa's multiplied into hundreds!"
"Gyaaah! Waves crashing in!"
"The mountain's collapsing!"
"The Earth's doomed!"