Seonyudo Settlement (3)
"Shall we get down to business, then?"
Ryu Jinseong slid his sunglasses down a fraction. The hint of excitement in his voice dropped away, settling low and serious.
The sudden shift put us a little on edge, but Hyeonseok spoke up soon enough.
"About the job, right? First off, Wongyeong noona told us you tried to clear a Tower about a week ago."
At that he broke into a broad grin. "Oh, is that so?" His cheerful manner returned at once.
"That makes this easier, then. You've heard about our settlement from Hancheol hyung-nim, right? We don't have many combat personnel. What we do have are a lot of people with specialized life skills."
"So we went through a lot of trouble convincing the small settlements nearby to join us for this… and boy, has it turned into a mess! Hahahaha!"
He laughed so hard it was hard to tell whether he was actually in trouble. Hyeonseok smiled faintly and continued.
"So that's why you asked us for help? After hearing that just three of us cleared a Tower?"
"Honestly, it's hard to believe—but Hancheol hyung-nim isn't the type to lie. If it's true, all the better. So what I'm asking of you is to clear the Tower for us."
"The only problem is…"
"You're talking about the strange magical beast that appeared out of nowhere, right?"
I spoke up without thinking. Ryu Jinseong looked me over with mild surprise, then let out a whistle.
"Whew~ So you're that Charlotte everyone's been praising so much? Yeah, that weird magical beast is the problem. Ever since it showed up, the harpies that never used to leave their nests have been coming all the way out here."
Hmm… what on earth did those guys say about me for him to call me so highly praised…
A little embarrassed, I scratched my cheek and decided to secure a promise of secrecy before I went any further.
"First, this is something that shouldn't spread widely yet. You'll need to keep it to yourself—is that all right?"
"Ohh. The way you put that, you know something about that strange creature, don't you? Fine. I promise. As the leader of a settlement, the last thing I want is fear spreading among my people."
From the experience I'd gained as an Inquisitor in another world, his eyes, his expression, the way he held himself—and the wavelength of his mana, which I examined with my holy power—all told me he wasn't lying.
Accepting his promise, I rose from my seat, approached his desk, and drew from my coat a glass case containing a pill, along with a steel feather I'd picked up on the way here.
"A pill and a metal feather… So what's the connection between these two?"
"Anyone who takes this pill gets enhanced physical abilities—enough to keep moving even if their limbs are severed. Of course, they also become one of those Infected that used to be such a huge problem."
"But if an Awakened takes it, they don't just become Infected—they gain a new ability on top of that."
"I see… Infected… Ha! Those goddamn zombie monsters? Damn it… Wait—what did you just say? An Awakened who takes it gains another ability?"
"Yes. But we don't know whether they gain just one extra ability or several. We were heading to the Blue House Settlement, but we figured this place needed help too, so we came here."
"Haa… If that's the case, you didn't need to come here… Getting that information out quickly is way more important than helping us—so why did you come here?!"
Even as he was grateful, he grasped the gravity of the situation at once and looked at us with a mix of disbelief as he asked why we'd come.
Clearly he understood that, looking at the bigger picture, getting word about this pill out quickly mattered more than helping his own settlement right now—which was why he was saying this.
His own settlement's problems must be important too, but the way he talks… this guy doesn't seem like a bad person.
I pointed at the feather and explained why we'd come.
"Do you know about the attack on the Mokdong Settlement?"
"I do. I heard about it through my summoned creatures, and from Hancheol hyung-nim as well."
At the mention of summoned creatures, Yeonseo's ears perked up and she started paying closer attention.
"My ability is creating summoned creatures made of water. Our settlement's combat strength is weak, but I make up for that—and since I'm the one gathering intel, I have a pretty good idea of what's going on in the surrounding settlements."
"Is that so? Then you probably know the name of the attacker too. Han Jin-o and his outlaw group, the Falcon Gang, attacked the Mokdong Settlement—and we took care of it."
"That's how we got this pill. Afterward, the Administration took him into custody… but apparently that failed."
"So on our way here, we investigated the site—and that's where we found this feather."
When I finished, Ryu Jinseong rubbed his brow with his fingers, waiting for what I would say next.
"In other words, either Han Jin-o took a pill he'd been hiding, or whoever attacked the transport to eliminate him forced him to swallow one."
"We're not sure yet. Either way, we think the strange magical beast that appeared so suddenly might be Han Jin-o after he took the pill and mutated."
"Haa… Looking at when the Administration was attacked, and finding this feather… now I understand why the harpies have gone crazy."
He sighed, then rose from his seat and walked toward the door.
"All right. Let's leave it there for now—follow me. I'll show you where you can stay for the time being."
"Ah, that's all right."
At Ryu Jinseong's offer to show us lodging, Hyeonseok answered quickly and instead asked if there was a place where we could pitch a tent.
"A tent? Come on, you're guests—I can't have you staying somewhere like that."
"No, it's not that. It's a rather special tent. It's like an artifact we got as a Tower reward, so it's pretty nice."
At that, Ryu Jinseong shrugged as if he understood and kindly agreed to show us a place to set up.
"Ah, right. While I'm at it, I'll give you a tour of the settlement. You'll want to know where things are if you're going to be staying here."
"Thank you."
And so Yeonseo and I followed Ryu Jinseong and Hyeonseok out of the office.
"Here we are! First up is the greenhouse. We're preserving the plants that were already here—ones that can't survive winter—but given the state of the world, we've also found seedlings that can grow year-round and planted those too."
"Oh, guests? Welcome, welcome."
An elderly man with white hair, who had been pruning vines in the distance, approached us.
"Mr. Bean! Everything all right with the greenhouse?"
Ryu Jinseong grinned, threw an arm around the old man's shoulders, and began introducing him to us.
"This is Mr. Bean. Well, we just call him 'Uncle Bean'—feel free to call him Uncle Bean."
"The name's Vincent. I handle all the plant cultivation around here. Come visit sometime. When you're worn out, looking out over a lush green garden while sipping herb tea you grew yourself does wonders for the soul."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Charlotte, and these are Yeonseo and Hyeonseok."
"Well then, looking forward to it. Ah, Director—come to think of it, the water facilities seem to be having a bit of trouble. Could you check them with your summoned creatures?"
"Not that again? Tsk… fine, I'll take a look later. We'll be heading to the next spot now—let me know if anything else comes up."
"Understood. See you later, then."
Leaving Vincent to return to his vines and trees, we followed Ryu Jinseong to the next location.
As we left the greenhouse, I glanced to the right and saw children still playing even as the light faded. A small smile rose to my lips as I watched them.
Ryu Jinseong smiled too and explained.
"That used to be part of Seonyudo Park even before. It's called the Environmental Stream—basically a place for kids to play. They can splash in the water, and there's sand to play in beside it."
"It's a wonderful place. To think children can laugh and play like that here."
"Right? Honestly, the reason I dress like this is because our settlement has a lot of kids. In a world like this, there are plenty who've lost their parents."
"I was an orphan myself, you know. Leaving kids like that alone just hurts. So I went around the area bringing them in… and well, here we are."
"I see."
I'd thought he was just some eccentric with odd tastes, but the warmth overflowing from his eyes as he watched the children was unmistakable.
In a world where just protecting yourself and scraping by was hard enough, the way he cared about children softened something in me.
"Do you like kids too, Charlotte?"
Hyeonseok suddenly asked from beside me. I looked at the children.
"Hmm… well, watching them puts me at ease. So yes, I like them. Being able to laugh without a care in the world—that's something only kids can do."
"I see. You'll make a great mom, Charlotte."
"Wh-what…?! Wh-what are you saying all of a sudden?!"
Why ask if I like kids and then say I'd make a good mother…
W-well, sure, I had a woman's body now that could bear children, but…
Kids… that was something I'd never even considered.
But if I did have a child… that might not be so bad…
As I covered my face with both hands and thought about it, Yeonseo leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"What do you think about having Hyeonseok's child?"
"Th-that… m-might not be so ba—wait, what are you making me say?! D-Director! Next! Let's go to the next place!"
I shoved Ryu Jinseong forward and demanded he show us the next spot. He laughed and said something like "Ah, youth!" as he led us on.
After that, we saw quite a few places—there was a garden, and an aquatic plant garden where flowers floated on a pond.
Beside that was something called the Story Hall, where people lived, and next to it a café building where residents ate meals or rested in what remained of the café space.
Apparently, Oh Haneul—whom Wongyeong noona had mentioned—worked in the café building.
"And here we are—last stop, the observation deck. Nice view, right? Back in the day, the city lights from here were really something. Well, it's still pretty now."
He was right—if I'd seen this when the city was still alive, it would have been breathtaking.
Even now, the ruins blending with the night sky had a certain atmosphere of their own.
"Ah, and if you go down below, there's a grassy field—you can camp there. No settlement residents go that far, so it'll be quiet. All right, I'm off to check on what Uncle Bean mentioned."
"Thank you for the tour. We'll stop by the director's office again tomorrow."
After parting ways with him, we lingered on the observation deck for a while, taking in the view and looking over Seonyudo Settlement.
It was a small island, but the settlement—shaped by people fighting to survive, blending with the atmosphere of the old park—had a different flavor from the Mokdong Settlement.
As he'd said, there were more children here, and their voices could get noisy—but between the gardens and the greenhouse visible in the distance, it was a settlement that put the heart at ease.
This time, to protect this place—and to find out what had happened at the site where the Administration was attacked—we needed to hurry and clear the Tower. With that thought, I made a blanket of the night sky and drifted off to sleep.