Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: The One Who Was a Companion II
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Shin Noah
4
Accelerate time.
“Hello—Teacher!”
“Oh. It’s Yo-hwa.”
“Yes! Hehe. Long time no see!”
One day, Cheon Yo-hwa came down to Busan with a few of her close aides.
As expected of Baekhwa Girls’ High School’s signature style, they were all dressed in white sailor uniforms. Cheon Yo-hwa was no longer a high school senior but somewhere around ninth year by now, so it was about time she graduated.
The top guild master of the Korean Peninsula in a witch cosplay, and the number two guild master in a school uniform cosplay. The future of this land looked bleak.
“Have you been well?”
“Of course. I’m always doing fine.”
“Ahaha. True, even if you dropped Teacher in the middle of the Sahara Desert, you’d come back unscathed. Anyway—”
While the two of us chatted, the rest of the Baekhwa Girls’ High School guild members had already moved off to a distance. Cheon Yo-hwa glanced around the plaza where only the two of us remained.
“Busan. It’s changed so much.”
“Yeah.”
Cheon Yo-hwa was right.
Busan in the 173rd regression boasted a cityscape unlike anything from past regressions.
The old Busan, though Korea’s top city, hadn’t been all that flashy given the apocalyptic circumstances.
Even the pleasure districts, lit up with expensive yellow and pink lights, mostly had buildings no taller than two stories. Elevators and sewer systems for high-rises were completely broken.
But now it was different.
Most buildings were four or five stories, with a few over ten. Civilization hadn’t fully recovered, though. Ground-floor properties were still the most expensive.
People just endured the leg workout of climbing stairs every time they needed the bathroom, all to live in Busan.
“It’s... glamorous, somehow.”
“How’s Sejong these days?”
“Ah—well, same old. We’ve got Sejong locked down tight, so people gather there at least, but the other cities are bad. All the skilled workers got snatched by Busan. Guild masters always complain about it when we meet.”
Cheon Yo-hwa’s eyes narrowed as she looked toward Korea’s new capital.
“But it’s hard for complaints to focus on one target. There’s no guild master strong enough to stand up to the National Highway Management Corps leader, right?”
“Who knows. You’re here, Yo-hwa.”
“Ahaha. The guild masters say that all the time.”
Cheon Yo-hwa waved it off with an awkward laugh.
“Why would I pick a fight with the Corps leader? Feeding my kids, smashing anomalies, and dropping by to see Teacher now and then is plenty for me!”
“That’s so you.”
“Hehe……”
But for such a simple lifestyle, the auras of the guild members she brought to Busan were anything but ordinary.
Probably the top elites of Baekhwa Girls’ High School.
I glanced at Cheon Yo-hwa’s waist. Like a Pokémon trainer with Poké Balls, anomaly master Cheon Yo-hwa carried a special belt with an hourglass dangling from it.
A glass vial filled with unusually white sand grains. A sealed anomaly indestructible by physical force.
Avici.
Cheon Yo-hwa’s strongest weapon. Did it recognize me even inside the hourglass? Her doppelganger ‘Cheon Yo-hwa’ rustled the sand.
The moment she sensed the belt vibrating, Cheon Yo-hwa’s gaze turned icy. The vitamin smile she’d been radiating vanished in an instant.
“Shut up.”
The sand in the hourglass trembled briefly before going still. Probably my imagination, but it felt like mocking laughter to me.
That was when it started.
“Aah, aaah—”
A faint song began flowing from speakers sprouting like utility poles all over downtown Busan.
An a cappella recording of Dang Seo-rin’s voice.
“Ah… aaah… ah……”
The melody resembled a nursery rhyme. Bright enough to be cheerful without grating on the nerves.
As the soft song passed between us, Cheon Yo-hwa’s furrowed brow relaxed.
“Ah—this is it, right? Busan’s famous thing?”
“Yeah. The National Highway Management Corps leader’s song.”
“Hee… Listening to it really calms the mind? Or makes me feel good. This isn’t drugs, is it?”
It had effects just like drugs.
The ‘National Highway Management Corps Leader’s Song’ broadcast every hour from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Song Enchantment’s effects varied subtly by time.
For example, at 7 a.m., a song that cleared sleep and sharpened the mind. At 10 p.m., one that induced pleasant drowsiness, perfect for sweet sleep the moment you hit the bed.
“Thanks to it, Busan citizens probably have the healthiest sleep in the world. Not a single insomniac.”
“Hmm……”
“During work hours, songs full of energy and vitality play. Around dinnertime after work, stress-melting tunes with a light buzz, perfect for enjoyable chats. Productivity and life satisfaction are at their peak.”
“A happy city.”
Dozens of citizens clustered under the speakers right now. When the song ended, they wore refreshed expressions and headed back to work in twos and threes.
A ‘city made of song.’
That was modern Busan.
“No wonder other cities keep losing people to Busan.”
It took six years of nonstop research with Dang Seo-rin to build this system.
We developed five spells tailored to situations, using anomaly relics so the magic held up even in recordings.
“Well, Teacher, I have a meeting scheduled with the song’s star, so I’ll take off!”
“Ah. Sure.”
“Yes! See you later!”
Dang Seo-rin and Cheon Yo-hwa. White magic’s rep and black magic’s rep. Busan’s de facto ruler and Sejong’s warlord. National Highway Management Corps leader and Baekhwa Girls’ High School student council president.
Their summit—rivals in many ways—was held in secret. Of course, thanks to the Saintess’s Clairvoyance, I eavesdropped on the whole thing.
I couldn’t get the fine details, though—the Saintess seemed reluctant to share.
Meeting outcome.
“Hehe. We’re neighbors now. Take care of me from now on, Teacher!”
“……”
Baekhwa Girls’ High School decided to relocate from Sejong to Busan.
Yeongdo-gu was allocated entirely as their territory, and Sejong citizens got free migration rights.
Cheon Yo-hwa kept her student council president title but also got appointed vice leader of the National Highway Management Corps.
No matter how you sliced it, it looked like she’d brought her whole guild and surrendered to Dang Seo-rin.
That was the decisive blow, I think.
5
Accelerate time a bit more.
With even Cheon Yo-hwa—the only one considered a match for Dang Seo-rin—bowing her head so easily, the other guild masters couldn’t hold out.
One by one, guild masters who’d ruled their bases like kings submitted. They flattered the National Highway Management Corps leader to preserve some status.
Dang Seo-rin was magnanimous.
“Undertaker. You said that undersea tunnel could connect to Kyushu in Japan?”
“Yeah.”
“There are famous hot springs in Kyushu. Mind punching a tunnel there? Build some fancy villas nearby as gifts, and the other guild masters should be satisfied enough.”
And so it happened.
Some warlords clung to power till the end, but it was futile. The National Highway Management Corps had the Sword Marquis. Without him blessing the farmlands, Korea’s food sovereignty rested solely in Dang Seo-rin’s hands.
Clink. Dang Seo-rin swirled her wineglass lightly.
“I always respect your thoughts, Undertaker, but I see things differently when it comes to running the Corps.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Why leave cities scattered inefficiently and send patrols to their deaths? Korea’s population is a handful now anyway. Busan alone is enough.”
“……”
“I’ll make Busan the best... no, the envy of the post-apocalyptic world. Nowhere else will compare.”
“…Then the whole peninsula falls to the Void. High chance of ‘Monster Waves.’ You’ll see near-endless anomalies invading from the horizon whenever they get bored.”
I warned her.
“Honestly, I can’t predict what’ll happen. Monster Waves are practically untouchable. You planning to play infinite defense in real life?”
“Scary. But… yeah. We can do it. With your power and my magic. Please, Undertaker. Will you follow me?”
“……”
I hesitated for a moment.
Call it regressor’s instinct. I felt this was the point of no return.
Even so, my answer was set.
“…Of course.”
Dang Seo-rin beamed.
“As expected of you, Undertaker! I trust only you!”
Accelerate.
Four years later, Busan was the only city left on the Korean Peninsula.
The witch who’d longed to wander the world ended up with the narrowest domain of any regression—a cruel irony.
Average building heights in Busan rose a bit more. Worthy of being called humanity’s last metropolis.
Even the Saintess, who’d always stayed in Seoul’s Yongsan-gu, moved to Busan. No need to monitor Korea’s awakeners from there anymore.
In the heart of skyrocketing Busan real estate stood a vast plaza, astonishingly empty of buildings.
Designed for tens of thousands to sit around. The center dipped low, so everyone could see what happened below.
Like the Colosseum.
That was Dang Seo-rin’s ‘courtroom.’
Dang Seo-rin sat in the judge’s high seat. Next to her sat Cheon Yo-hwa—in black-dyed sailor uniform now.
The judges looked down. In the grand courtroom, a defendant knelt.
“I… committed violence against a passerby.”
The defendant’s quiet confession echoed through the massive space, thanks to Dang Seo-rin’s [Amplification Magic].
“Sometimes I can’t control my body. Anger surges up—boom—and when I come to, it’s always like that. This time too, if bystanders hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve beaten the person.”
Boooo— jeers erupted from the spectator stands packed with tens of thousands.
But a light tap of Dang Seo-rin’s gavel silenced the whole city.
“Continue.”
“…Yes. I hate this side of myself too. I apologize to all I’ve hurt, beg forgiveness… Above all, Your Honor, please fix this personality of mine……”
The defendant bowed his head.
Dang Seo-rin pointed coldly. A golden scale appeared in midair, glowing.
Magic of Equivalent Exchange.
“Defendant. Do you repent your sin?”
“Yes.”
“As you wish, [from now on, your inner violence will be excised]. The victim generously offers to forgive your violence under this condition.”
That generous victim had received [the mercy to forgive any wrongdoer from the heart] in this same courtroom a year ago.
“Do you accept the victim’s offer?”
“Yes, of course. Thank you. Great Witch. Thank you……”
“Bailiff, if you would.”
Cheon Yo-hwa in her black uniform rose.
She approached the defendant and touched his head. Her mutter was perfectly muted, not echoing, but I could guess she was ‘brainwashing’ him.
Personality alteration. Imprinting. Distortion.
That was Cheon Yo-hwa’s power.
“Ah……”
Finally, the golden scale gleamed.
Left pan: victim’s forgiveness. Right pan: defendant’s violence.
With both consents, it balanced—and granted their wishes.
The defendant sprang up.
“It’s gone… It’s gone! That feeling that tormented me my whole life—it’s gone! Aaah! Thank you! Thank you! Your Honor, Great Witch! Thank you!”
Tens of thousands of spectators clapped in unison. Cheers for the defendant’s good fortune, praises for Dang Seo-rin and Cheon Yo-hwa’s authority filled the air.
They too were citizens who’d [exchanged] something here, big or small.
“Ah, Your Excellency the Guardian.”
A voice from beside me. Turning, I saw Yoo Ji-won.
“Ji-won.”
“Yes. Why watch the trial from such a remote spot? As Guardian Excellency, you could be closer.”
For reference, ‘Guardian’ was my title. Guardian of the city, or whatever.
Too much of Dang Seo-rin’s taste for my liking. I almost missed Yoo Ji-won’s exaggerated ‘Excellency.’
“Just passing by. Got to head out soon to block another Monster Wave anyway.”
“Ah… As expected. So busy.”
Yoo Ji-won smiled.
A natural, warm, utterly un-Yoo-Ji-won-like human smile.
“But thanks to Your Excellency’s efforts, citizens live without worry, right? We’re always cheering you on. Call on my mapping anytime you need it.”
“……”
Every word rang true.
In a world where sincerity was hard to discern, I was momentarily speechless.
Yoo Ji-won, too, had recently undergone Dang Seo-rin’s [Equivalent Exchange] and Cheon Yo-hwa’s [brainwashing] to excise her psychopathic tendencies.
She’d long had an incurable habit: secretly hunting and butchering small street animals—cats, dogs, birds—like prey.
But uncharacteristically, she got caught in the act and ended up in Dang Seo-rin’s ‘witch trial.’
“Ji-won.”
“Yes?”
“Happy with life these days?”
Yoo Ji-won blinked.
“Of course. Never had such fulfilling days. Since the trial, I finally feel human.”
“……”
Was that true?
I saw it differently.
I’d never heard of Yoo Ji-won enjoying butchering critters as stress relief.
Even if it was a new hobby this regression, someone like her wouldn’t ‘slip up’ and get caught.
Maybe a fabricated hobby, deliberately exposed.
She staged ‘obvious psychopath behavior.’ Then got trialed and ‘fixed’ her personality.
To survive here. To remain a city power player.
Yoo Ji-won viewed the world as a maze with set entrance and exit. Her personality was just a tool to reach the ‘answer.’
“…Good. Glad to hear it. Keep up the good work, Director Yoo.”
“Yes, Excellency.”
I walked a passage with no visible exit.
Waaaaaaah—! Cheers exploded from the distant stands. Massive roar.
Dang Seo-rin! Dang Seo-rin! The courtroom shook like hit by a train.
Drawn by the noise, before leaving, I glanced back down.
Another defendant’s personality trait was being exchanged on the golden scale. Dang Seo-rin whispered to Cheon Yo-hwa, who nodded.
Our eyes met.
“……”
“……”
But only briefly. Dang Seo-rin turned back to her duties as city ruler and courtroom judge.
So did I.
Even as I exited the corridor, the cheers didn’t stop behind me. Dang Seo-rin! Dang Seo-rin! Dang Seo-rin…….
The courtroom echoed with cheers unending, the city speakers with song.
I walked with those two melodies shadowing my steps like darkness.