172. The Festival Must Go On (5)

I was trying to haul the Blue Crab carcass while herding the rest of my drained party members.

"Ah, Jin Yu-ha, hold off on the moving for a moment. I'd like a word."

Shin Se-hee called me aside.

"Huh? What's up?"

"I have a separate request for you."

"A request?"

I tilted my head. The Swimsuit Festival was over. All that was left was sorting the byproducts and heading home. And there was more to do?

'Did something else go down?'

That was what I was thinking when my gaze settled.

"You need to soothe the public, wouldn't you say?"

Shin Se-hee's eyes weren't smiling—only the corners of her mouth were.

"...The public?"

"Yes."

"Why the public? Who?"

"The people in the concert venue."

"...Why?"

"You're not seriously asking because you don't know?"

I swallowed and waited for her next words.

"Heh. Did you really think I wouldn't notice? You could've finished ages ago, but you deliberately dragged it out, Jin Yu-ha."

"...Uh."

"Look, I get the greed to hunt down even one more monster. But what do you think happened to the people who were screaming their lungs out while watching hours of the same fight on repeat?"

"Ah..."

I didn't need to hear the rest. I could guess exactly where this was going.

At first, the crowd had been thrilled, screaming with excitement. But the moment killing Blue Crabs turned from a "hunt" into a one-sided "factory line," their cheers had also become a mechanical job.

And who was the one who'd orchestrated that for hours, constantly trying to soothe them and keep them going?

I looked at Shin Se-hee with a slightly guilty expression.

"A hero slipping away alone after saving everyone only looks cool in the movies, you know? Because even the part where he slips away gets put on the screen."

"So you're saying I need to go soothe the public."

"Yes, you need to."

Hmm. I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been so single-mindedly obsessed with bagging even one more Blue Crab that I'd momentarily forgotten. While I was killing those things, I'd very gently(?), kindly asked (which was definitely not coercion(?)) the audience to keep screaming. No way their feelings toward me were good. Frankly, I'd be lucky if they didn't pelt me with eggs.

"Still, I'm not sure me going out there to soothe them is a great idea..."

"Then who will?"

"Er, you..."

"Me? Who, me? I couldn't possibly."

Shin Se-hee beamed brightly. Strange. She was definitely smiling. So why did she look so pissed?

"...No, but up until now."

"Heh. How could I? Jin Yu-ha. I'm Utopia's Operator, but I didn't hear a single thing about this operation. The only thing I could do was stand in front of people and giggle like an idiot. I was already at my limit long ago. Some people call you the face of Utopia, but that's wrong. Because I'm the face. The smiling face."

Shin Se-hee spoke with a clear smile. Her crisp, clipped enunciation was impeccably sharp.

"So, I'll be leaving the final cleanup to you."

"...What about you?"

"Why ask? I'll be loading Blue Crabs with the rest of the party. So you do some public-opinion loading and unloading."

The Shin Se-hee who always blindly agreed with me was now taking a hard stance. She honestly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seemed to be sulking.

'Ah. She's actually mad.'

She had to be furious that I'd run this operation unilaterally.

'But I had no choice if I wanted to avoid the Butterfly Effect...'

Honestly, I couldn't entirely shake the feeling of being wronged, but letting that show was amateur hour. I bowed my head to Shin Se-hee.

"Sorry."

"What for?"

I didn't make the mistake of saying "everything."

"There was a reason I couldn't tell you in advance this time..."

At that, Shin Se-hee let out a short, scoffing laugh.

"Ha. Do I look like some petty woman who'd get mad over just that?"

"...Uh, you said you're not mad."

"...."

Shin Se-hee narrowed her eyes and glared at me.

"Ah, no. Sorry. Go on."

"Last time, I would've been fine if you'd just told me to the extent of a Midterm Evaluation. Giving me a hint right before the operation started so I could prepare a basic response. I'd have fully understood that much. But this time, there wasn't a single clue. I was busy just chasing after you, guessing what you were doing way after the fact."

Ah.

In that moment, I realized my mistake. The Butterfly Effect hadn't happened this time because I failed to prepare in advance. It happened because I changed an outcome that was supposed to occur.

When an incident broke out and I shoved my party members around according to my own will without any explanation, that wasn't teamwork—it was my unilateral decree. And even if this incident was an event that wouldn't spiral into truly catastrophic results, I was the only one who knew that.

'Come to think of it, Shin Se-hee's expression was dead serious the first time the Monster Wave was mentioned.'

Because originally, a Monster Wave is a disaster in and of itself. For her, the one responsible for the aftermath, it must have felt like being struck by lightning. And while the other party members could let it slide by me saying I hadn't known either...

'Not Shin Se-hee.'

Looking at this incident from her perspective, I felt like the standard for the future was becoming somewhat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clearer. A proper apology was absolutely necessary.

I bowed my head to Shin Se-hee once more.

"I'm sorry. I forgot the basics. I really didn't mean to ignore you."

"...."

"I got so wrapped up thinking about things I couldn't say, I forgot the things I absolutely should have done. I'll be more careful from now on, Shin Se-hee."

I lifted my head and looked straight at her.

"Can you accept my apology?"

Arms still crossed, Shin Se-hee abruptly turned her head to the side.

"Hmph. Th-then, next time... th-that foot massage that got cut off today... maybe you could do it again..."

She spat the words out, sounding embarrassed. I smirked and nodded.

"Alright, got it. I'll do it soon."

"...But I'm not budging on the fact that you have to go soothe the public."

"Ah."

Shin Se-hee headed off to help the party members move the Blue Crabs, and I dragged my feet toward the concert venue.

* * *

The scene at the concert venue where the Haeundae Festival had been held was pretty bleak. Dozens of tents and blankets that Shin Se-hee had airlifted in on short notice were spread everywhere. The lights were on overhead, but no one was opening their mouths. None of them could hide their exhaustion, and no wonder. Their throats had to be wrecked after screaming at the top of their lungs for hours.

Whoosh—

Crackle, crackle—

Campfires blazed in front of each tent. Above them, giant Blue Crabs were roasting bright red, turning into Red Crabs on rotating spits like whole-roasted poultry.

'...Did Shin Se-hee prepare that too?'

She must have brought them here when our attention was focused on killing the Blue Crabs. In small clusters, people gathered in circles around them, gazing at the enormous crabs cooking before their tired eyes.

"I mean, Cheonhwa said it's fine to eat, so that's why we're doing this..."

"Honestly though, I don't even know if we're supposed to eat this stuff..."

"Still, the smell is absolutely insane... ugh, I'm starving..."

"Right..."

Avoiding the crowd's eyes, I slipped toward the stage. There, a woman sat resting her chin on a table, looking exhausted—a middle-aged woman with short hair and glasses.

'Seo A-yoon?'

She was a Named Character. A known quantity in the broadcasting and culture industries. In the game, she was a supporting character who served as a behind-the-scenes helper for the protagonist's party, appearing on TV fairly often as an extra. She'd once been saved by Chairwoman Rina, so she was favorably inclined toward the Player's party.

"...Ack!? Y-you startled me! Huh? J-Jin Yu-ha!?"

She looked shocked, as if she'd never expected me to show up here.

"Ah, hello."

"Ahaha... I watched the footage of you catching the Blue Crabs. You were really incredible."

She was exhausted but forced a smile.

"Ah, thank you."

"No, I'm the one who's grateful! Thanks to you, we were able to protect the festival."

As she spoke, her eyes swept over the people waiting for the Blue Crabs to finish cooking. Then she gave a small cough.

"Right now, they're just like this because they played too hard and wore themselves out."

"I see."

"So, what brings ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you here...? Shin Se-hee also said she had things to do and left..."

"Ah, since these are the people who cheered for us, I just wanted to at least say hello."

"Oh, really?"

After scratching her head for a moment, she shot up from her seat.

"In that case, let me turn on the stage lights. Go ahead and speak."

"...Huh?"

Murmur, murmur─

The Blue Crabs were almost fully cooked.

"I-is it really okay to eat this...?"

"Yeah, seriously... They always said you can't eat monsters because of the demonic energy."

"But Cheonhwa said not to worry and just eat it. They must've done something to it."

"...Hmm."

But these people, having been tormented by me for so long, couldn't fight the hunger any longer. They snatched up chunks of the cooked Blue Crab.

"...Oh! I-it's delicious!"

"Holy shit! This is insanely good!"

"What the hell is this!!!? Monster meat tastes this good!?"

Fwoosh—!

Just then, the concert venue lights suddenly blazed on, and heads turned. What the? I'd planned to just wander around and hand out some praise, but now things had weirdly escalated. I ran through various excuses in my head.

Hm. What to do.

'Should I just confess honestly and lay it bare like a man, say I wanted to bag even one more monster...?'

But to come right out with it, all that worrying turned out to be completely pointless.

The lights came on, and I stood in front of a standing mic and began.

"Ahh— Hello. This is Jin Yu-ha, party leader of Utopia. First, I'd like to thank you all──"

I was just launching into the standard platitudes. Then, one woman heartily ripped into a crab leg with her teeth and spat out a comment.

"Whoa, this joint's got some good side dishes."

A deep, loud, booming voice.

'...?'

Side dishes? What was that supposed to mean?

"I've been a fan of yours from the start anyway, so I'm happy you're here, Yu-ha. But."

"Yes?"

"It's all good, but we're seriously wiped out right now, kid. So can you just not say anything and stand there holding your face out for us? My throat is killing me from all that screaming."

"...Excuse me?"

Hearing this, other people started shouting out, one by one, then two at a time.

"Yeah, well said!"

"Jin Yu-ha! Don't open your mouth to annoy our ears, just keep it shut!"

"Yeah! Just let us use that face of yours as a side dish right now!"

"Ah, that expression is fucking delicious."

Chomp─ Chomp─

And that day, one more nickname was added to Jin Yu-ha's aliases.

【 Rice Thief 】