150. Butterfly Effect (1)
150. Butterfly Effect (1)
[ Master: I have something to say regarding the request you made the other day. We need to meet in person. Can you come out now? ]
'Huh? A request?'
A message from the Instructor, out of the blue.
'Oh, right.'
That text I sent a few days ago, when Gukbap was anxious that his family might have been kidnapped by Demonized Humans.
[ Instructor, have there been any recent kidnappings by Demonized Humans? If it's not too much trouble, could I ask you to look into it? ]
I'd only asked casually, because the probability of Demonized Humans being the kidnappers was extremely low.
And immediately after that, I was able to pinpoint a hunter named Kim Hye-ji as the culprit, and we took care of the bastard.
'Right after that, without a second to sort things out, I was helping Gukbap's family move, and then the other party members kept moving in...'
So after making that request for an investigation, I hadn't contacted her at all,
meaning my Master had been running around in circles for days all by herself!
'Shit!'
If I told her now that everything was resolved days ago, would the Instructor really just pretend to let it go?
She probably would.
The Instructor wasn't the type to raise her voice at me for anything outside of training.
But even so, hard feelings would definitely linger.
It seemed I needed to apologize and give her a little gift of some sort to smooth things over.
'Hmm, what would be good... Ah, what about that!?'
I recalled the item I'd tossed into my subspace the day I received it and never once taken out.
It wasn't really necessary for me, since I used Moonlight, a legendary-grade sword,
but it was an item anyone who wielded a sword wanted and coveted.
「Sword Maintenance Kit」
It was the item Kang Do-hee had given me as a gift back when Utopia was founded.
She said it was a limited edition, handcrafted by a world-renowned artisan that she'd barely managed to get through her connections.
It seemed like the perfect gift to soothe Baek Seol-hee's mood.
'It's not like the Instructor would wait in line at a store opening to buy a limited edition or anything.'
Mm-hmm.
Once I'd settled on the gift, my mind felt a bit lighter.
[ Yes, I'll come now. ]
[ Master: Very well. I'll be waiting. ]
"...I'm just stepping out for a bit. I'll go alone."
*
But somehow, it turned into this.
I meant to slip out quietly, but Sofia and Im Ga-eul caught me, adding more people to the trip.
"I've just got a personal errand with the master who teaches me, you know?"
I tried to shake them off with that, but Im Ga-eul shook her head firmly.
Then she said in a mournful voice,
"Hoobae. I realized something today, all over again. I'd been too complacent."
"...About what?"
"That just because I'm in Utopia, I can't let my guard down and relax...!"
'...Well, that's a great change, but why is she realizing it by tagging along on my personal schedule?'
"Always, constantly. All-ways! I need to stick right next to you, hoobae! That's the only way a rice cake will fall into my lap even while I'm sitting in a massage chair!"
"......"
"We couldn't do the Midterm Evaluation together this time either! Take me with youuuu."
Im Ga-eul, with mock tears clinging to the corners of her narrowed eyes, pressed my arm against her chest.
'This... The noona with maxed-out Receptivity...?'
When did she change so much?
'Anyway, I'll just say it was a misunderstanding and come right back. And she never said I couldn't bring anyone else.'
I sighed and nodded.
"But, your master?"
Sofia, who had been recording the scene with interest, asked.
"Why the recording... No, I mean. Yeah. The academy instructor. There's something I need to see her about."
"Ah, that instructor with the short black hair?"
At Im Ga-eul's interjection, I put on a surprised face.
'Ga-eul noona's never met the Instructor before, has she?'
Instructor Baek Seol-hee was an academy instructor, but her classes were a first—and last—for me, as she said.
Because of her work with the Demonized Human Extermination Squad, she was someone rarely seen at the academy.
So hearing Im Ga-eul say she knew Baek Seol-hee caught me off guard.
"So that person who wields such a clean sword was your master, hoobae. No wonder your way of swinging a sword matched hers so well."
"...You saw her swing a sword?"
"Huh? Uh-huh! I s-saw it!"
'Let's say she did see it. She felt the sword was clean? And I never knew she'd picked up on the similarity between her sword and mine.'
It seems Im Ga-eul hadn't just been messing around while we took the Midterm Evaluation.
"Sunbae, seems like you've been working hard lately. When did you develop such a keen eye?"
Feeling quite satisfied, I praised Im Ga-eul.
"...Huh? Uh, uh-huh! I-I worked hard! It's just the basics!"
At Jin Yu-ha's sudden praise, cold sweat beaded on Im Ga-eul's forehead.
'I was just repeating a comment I saw on the video that just went up...'
Just then, the camera that had been filming Jin Yu-ha suddenly turned toward Im Ga-eul.
"That's amazing! As expected of Sunbae Im Ga-eul!"
"...Y-you know who I am, hoobae?"
"Of course!! The one and only Support of Utopia!"
Sofia nodded her head up and down like it had a motor attached to it.
I knew Sofia had joined as a new Healer this time,
but they hadn't even properly introduced themselves to each other yet.
Im Ga-eul was the type to be approached by others, not the type to go up and introduce herself first,
and Sofia had been too busy tracking one person's movements until now!
So for the new junior she'd assumed wouldn't know much about her to actually know her, Im Ga-eul felt a novel sense of importance.
But Sofia's words weren't over yet.
"A special constitution that converts Magic Stones into Mana! The only talent that can match the Magic Emperor in raw Mana output, provided there's an endless supply of Magic Stones!"
"...!"
"The Green Watch of free manipulation, stretching and contracting the time of others at will!"
"...!!"
"You're already cut! The Silent Line that slices opponents with invisible threads! Squinting Mastermind!"
"...!!!"
Ring─
Honestly, it was praise whose origins I couldn't even begin to comprehend.
But Sofia's words burrowed deep into her heart.
"...R-really? Me? A talent that can match the Magic Emperor?"
"Yeah! I heard that if you had a mountain of the Highest-grade Magic Stones, you could match the Magic Emperor in Mana output! Isn't that right?"
"W-well, it's not that it's not true... But even so, against the Magic Emperor, that's a bit..."
"As expected! That's amazing!"
Sofia looked at Im Ga-eul with sparkling eyes.
"Heh-hmm! Y-you know your stuff, hoobae!"
"Of course, of course! I've been a fan of Sunbae Im Ga-eul, originally!"
A fan!
What a beautiful resonance that word carried.
To think she actually had a fan!
"Ahem! I-I normally don't put myself out there, you see... Y-you really know your stuff...? Ho-hoobae?"
"A mastermind never reveals their strength on the outside, that's the rule! They say all of Utopia's fast clear times are thanks to Ga-eul sunbae. You're really amazing!!"
Im Ga-eul, whose self-esteem had just plummeted vertically after having her name bungled, being told she lacked presence, and hearing comparisons to other party members.
Slowly, her shoulders straightened and she pushed her chest out.
Then, she put on a serious face and lowered her voice.
"...Amazing? I just did what was expected of a Support. Those in the back line must always keep their eyes on everything the forward line does."
"Oohh..."
"Now that you mention it, hoobae, you're also a back-line position, right?"
"Yes, yes! I joined late, so there's still so much I don't know and a lot I'm lacking in. I'll be sure to watch closely and learn everything from you from now on, sunbae!"
Sofia answered with sparkling eyes.
A tight, full feeling spread through Im Ga-eul's chest.
Ah. This was it.
Days spent always getting pushed around because of my ridiculously talented juniors.
And then, a junior who looks up to her like a sunflower.
And a senior who warmly looks after that junior.
What a beautiful relationship this was!
It was the ideal she'd dreamed of from the very beginning.
The dormant maternal instinct she'd been unable to express unfurled its wings.
"...Ahem, Sofia hoobae. Is there anything you happen to, you know, need? You're still a fellow back-line junior, so if you want anything, just say so. Anything I can do for you."
"Wow! For real!?"
"Of course."
Only, there was one thing Im Ga-eul didn't know.
Sofia was a girl who, more than expected, was faithful to her own desires.
Though, she couldn't lift a finger when Jin Yu-ha asked something of her.
"...Would you happen to have any, like, secret stories about Jin Yu-ha?"
"N-not about me?"
"Yes, like I just said, I already know plenty about you, sunbae."
"Ah, um. Y-yeah. That's, oh, that's my specialty! You came to the right person!"
"As expected of the Squinting Mastermind, sunbae!"
"Ehehe..."
'What are they doing...'
Unaware that Jin Yu-ha could hear every word because his Detection was on, Sofia and Im Ga-eul whispered their secret conversation.
'...So in terms of Chemistry, this is what it means for Sofia to be Im Ga-eul's natural predator? At this rate she'd even co-sign a loan for her.'
It looked like leaving Im Ga-eul's training to Sofia would wring every last drop of efficiency out of her.
* * *
Baek Seol-hee's brow twitched slightly as she confirmed who had come with Jin Yu-ha.
"...These kids."
Then Sofia stepped forward and spoke first.
"It's been a while! Instructor! Thanks for everything during the Midterm Evaluation! We came along!"
"...I also came along."
Baek Seol-hee stared at the two of them for a moment, then clicked her tongue and turned her head away.
A faint sense of oddity came over me at Baek Seol-hee's reaction.
'Huh? Is she... disappointed that I brought them?'
Nah, no way.
Of all people, would someone like Baek Seol-hee actually be disappointed just because I brought some party members along?
'Ah, it's because she's embarrassed that she investigated the kidnapping and found nothing!?'
There was no reason to let Instructor Baek Seol-hee get the wrong idea any more than this.
"Instructor."
"..."
"I, I'm sorry."
"What."
"First, please accept this."
I quickly pulled the Sword Maintenance Kit from my Subspace Tattoo.
The iron box, embossed with an elegant pattern, shimmered with a violet glow.
Since I'd kept it exactly as Kang Do-hee gave it to me, there wasn't a speck of dust on the Sword Maintenance Kit.
Baek Seol-hee's eyebrow twitched once more as she saw it.
"...This is."
"It's because I asked you for a favor..."
When she received the gift and opened the box, the corner of Baek Seol-hee's mouth twitched three times this time.
'Wow, she really likes it.'
The triple-twitch—the one that only came out when she was genuinely satisfied.
For someone so expressionless, this was it. For anyone else, it'd be the equivalent of a beaming smile.
As I thought, giving her this had been the right call.
Baek Seol-hee, who had been staring at the Sword Maintenance Kit for a moment as if she hadn't expected such a gift, stored it away in her Subspace Tattoo.
"Hmm, I hadn't intended for this kind of compensation..."
"All I've done so far is receive from you, Instructor, I've never given anything. So please accept it, thinking of it as a token from your disciple."
"H-hmm. Very well, I will gratefully accept this."
Then she spoke in a notably more relaxed voice.
"And... those two will be helpful. Good choice to bring them along."
"...Pardon?"
"The Demonized Human scum are carrying out large-scale kidnappings. Speed and recovery are crucial matters."
"...Excuse me?"
Baek Seol-hee began recounting the progress of her investigation in a calm voice.
"...They've been kidnapping people who are unlikely to be noticed if they vanish."
My eyes went wide as saucers as I listened to Baek Seol-hee's explanation.
'A mass kidnapping by Demonized Humans is happening? Right now, at this point in time?'