The Wormhole's Shadow
Wormhole. "Hey~ Cryptid."
"I'm not a cryptid."
"You shouldn't deny it when you've already died and come back to life. Especially after resurrecting seventy-two times."
Lulu explained that she had first taken an interest in Jason and visited Sunflower Town because of his strange weapon, his body that repelled mana, and his mysterious attire unlike anything seen in this world. She had suspected he might be a cryptid. Then she happened to see me. Even though I spoke in an alien language, the meaning came through clearly, and when she witnessed me gunning down hostile casters, she became convinced I was connected to cryptids as well. After seeing the identical corpses in the arena, Lulu was certain that I, Woo Suho, was also a cryptid.
"It's about time you told me about cryptids. I helped you out of a tight spot, after all."
She seemed to think I already knew about Hwanjong. Sharp intuition.
"Why do you want to know?"
"If I tell you my reason, will you answer?"
"I'm listening."
"That's unfair. I helped you, and now you're making me explain myself. Should I just go to the Clocktower and spill everything?"
I raised my pistol.
"I'm grateful for the help. Thanks to you, I survived. But don't use that as leverage to threaten me. I still can't trust you. If you really want information, show me some credibility first."
I still couldn't be sure whether this girl was an ally or not. The moment someone got what they needed, their attitude could flip in an instant. I couldn't say for certain that Lulu was like that, but there was no worse outcome than her running her mouth and putting Naram noona and me in danger.
I sighed. Still, it would be better to tell her part of it. For my own sake, too.
"Jason was a Hwanjong. Hwanjong is the word for the beings that cause what you call cryptid phenomena. I went to the arena to devour him, and I did. He's a monster that grows stronger by feeding on people's fear."
"……"
"I know about the cryptids you're talking about. But I can't give you all the information. We have no trust between us. So I'll pay you with something else instead. Do you agree?"
"I don't need anything else."
Lulu's fists clenched. Her usual playful demeanor vanished completely. She looked at me with serious eyes.
"I want to become a great mage who helps people."
"So?"
"If I can uncover and defeat the cryptids that torment people, maybe I can become a great mage."
I kept the pistol raised as I spoke.
"That's a lie."
Lulu's face twisted in surprise.
"Wh-why do you think that?!"
"If you really believed that, you would've acted when Jason was slaughtering people. You wouldn't have just waited in the shadows until everything was over."
"Th-that's—!"
I waited for her to continue, but no words came. I knew how Naram noona behaved in a crisis. If Lulu's words were truly sincere, she would've stepped forward like Naram noona did—charging ahead even when it meant risking a knife to the gut—until the researchers escaped.
"I'm grateful for the help. I'll naturally give you appropriate compensation. But I can't give you information. Not until I know what kind of person you are."
"……"
"Come back here in two weeks at this same time. I'll make sure the payment is worth your while."
I lowered the gun after finishing.
"You know my secret. Like you said earlier… if my identity gets out at the Clocktower, it could cause trouble. Leaving you alive like this—"
I didn't finish the sentence. Lulu would understand. She would know that I was showing her respect in my own way.
Leaving Lulu's trembling gaze behind, I walked back to the research facility.
***
"Anyway, this should be enough for payment, right?"
I had gathered items considered "luxury goods" back in Korea. Korean luxury items sold well in this world. Wristwatches in particular fetched high prices; the nobles seemed to love them. Regardless of her intentions, Lulu had helped me. I had to pay her. If you receive something, you give something back—otherwise trouble follows.
"Suho-ya."
"Yeah?"
"I thought it wouldn't matter even if we told that girl Lulu about the Hwanjong. Is there a reason you're being so cautious?"
I sighed.
"Noona, you trust people too easily. That's what worries me."
"Uuuung."
"Adam and Eve are one thing—we helped them. But we're otherworlders."
"That's true."
"In the worst case, if our identities get exposed and something bad happens, what then?"
"Y-you think so?"
"I asked around near the arena before. There's an organization of mages called the Clocktower that does a lot of research. What if we get dissected or something? It's a real possibility."
I would be fine, but if people stormed the Death Tree Forest and saw the door sealing Naram noona away, they might try to break it down like the Sword Lord did. I could never allow Naram noona to get hurt.
"Anyway, our identities are top secret."
Maybe I should start wearing a mask from now on. Since this world had no photographs or videos, my face probably wasn't widely known yet, but there was no harm in being thorough.
Anyway, there was still some time left. Just as I was about to discuss our future plans regarding Naram noona in detail, the research facility's security system sent me a warning. Checking the surveillance camera, I saw Adam and Eve.
"Oh."
I walked over to greet the siblings.
"Lord Suho!"
The moment they saw me, the siblings dropped to their knees. Damn it. Why are they doing this? Why to me?
"Kids, when you see someone, you greet them instead of kneeling, don't you?"
"Ah, we apologize for our rudeness."
The siblings' gazes were growing stranger by the day. It wasn't the way you'd look at a person—it was more like they were gazing at a star in the sky, reverently. Sometimes I'd choke on my food just thinking about their sparkling eyes while eating.
"It seems Lord Suho is doing well. Is Lady Naram well also?"
I switched to speaker mode.
"Hi, TV!"
"I'm truly relieved to see you're both unharmed."
"What have you been up to?"
More than a week had passed since we parted at the arena. It was a long time, but I had given them gold coins and entrusted them with a task. It probably wasn't enough time to find anything significant about the Hwanjong.
"My sister and I have been staying in Emergen, not far from Sunflower Town."
Emergen. The direct territory ruled by the great noble, the Lord of Sayang. I had heard it was a prosperous place with a large population and good traffic, making it convenient for business. So they had made that their base.
"I thought it was about two weeks away."
"My magic is acceleration. I wanted to deliver news to Lord Suho as quickly as possible…… Haha."
Eve's face had looked terribly pale for a while now……
"Don't do that again."
"Eh, but……"
"You two need to stay healthy if you're going to keep doing this long-term."
The siblings looked at me with sparkling eyes.
"Yes! We thank you for your mercy, Lord Suho."
"And stop using honorifics. It's burdensome."
"This is unavoidable. Even if you tell us not to, we won't stop!"
I could feel their firm resolve—they would rather die than be anything less than respectful to their benefactor. Damn it, why are they like this…… It's not like I threw money around and ran off. Why do they treat me like I'm some divine being?
"My brother and I are planning to establish an information guild in Emergen."
"An information guild?"
"Eve is good with her fists. Fortunately, there aren't many strong people in the underworld, so we'll absorb the slum factions and make ourselves useful to Lord Suho. We have enough capital, and with my skills, I think we can manage somehow."
It felt like watching the famous Kray brothers of London's mafia. A strong younger sibling and a capable older brother. Eve had been a powerful gladiator who survived the arena for a long time, and Adam had been favored by the arena manager for his resourcefulness. Even with the advantage of healing magic, his social skills that had won over the shrewd arena manager would serve him well.
"Anyway, we have something to report to Lord Suho."
"Speak."
"We've obtained clues related to the entities called Hwanjong."
The Vampire that asked people to choose between red paper and blue paper. And information about the red mask—I had heard about that from Lulu before. Adam reported that beings identical to Lulu's cryptids were active, but with more detail. The red mask seemed to be active in the royal capital. The Vampire appeared to be operating diligently at the Academy. And—
"We've also obtained clues that a Hwanjong with characteristics similar to the 'Wormhole' entity Lord Suho mentioned previously is staying at the Academy."
Wormhole. The name of the being responsible for bringing Naram noona and me to this world had been mentioned.