Chapter 101
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 101
The Superior Executive Business Suite Room on the hotel's top floor.
......As befitted the most expensive room, true to its long name, an exclamation slipped out the moment I walked in.
It was spacious enough to feel excessive for one person, with antique furnishings that looked as though chosen by a designer with a discerning eye.
The view offered by the three-sided panoramic windows was none other than the Arena di Verona.
A Roman-era amphitheater and the city's representative historic site, used as a venue for the opera festival.
"It really is nice."
If I had my way, I'd have liked to sit with a can of beer and gaze at it to my heart's content, but that was just wishful thinking.
I wasn't in a position to relax, so I unpacked first and perched on the sofa.
[Ha-yul. I'm searching all over Nice, but it's not easy. I need more time.]
I checked Cheol-soo's text and replied right away.
[Got it. I'll leave it to you.]
[Don't worry. I'll find it no matter what.]
[Thanks. And.......]
[And?]
[Never mind. Don't worry about it.]
I'd been about to ask if there was anything he wanted, since I felt bad for always relying on him, but I stopped myself.
Because I actually knew better than anyone what Cheol-soo needed.
Probably speed acceleration, capacity expansion, ultra-miniaturization, and so on.
He was probably searching for laptops with various built-in magic enchantments every day, envying them.
In a future where his abilities were recognized, he'd earn billions a year, but for now he was just a student.
Since I couldn't go out right away anyway, I was searching how much a decent laptop cost, while I was at it, when it happened.
[What do we do now?]
A text from Reina arrived.
.......
This seemed to be the first time we'd talked by text, and as expected, she made frequent typos.
The only thing she was skilled at was speaking. She was a born technophobe and also poor at spelling, so that was why.
[I have also entered the room.]
For reference, Reina's roommate was Cheon Seo-yoon.
No one had intervened, but as if by a twist of fate, the protagonists had ended up grouped together.
[Let's wait a little longer. We haven't found the exact location yet, so there's no point.]
[Okay.]
[Oh mistake. Oka.y.]
[......Sure. But will you be able to come out at night?]
I broached the subject cautiously, expecting it wouldn't be easy.
If she wandered around late at night, and alone as a saintess at that, Cheon Seo-yoon's personality made it obvious she'd interrogate her relentlessly.
[I can say it is church business.]
But Reina was unruffled.
She was saying that because she still didn't know Cheon Seo-yoon well.
I gave her a heads-up so she wouldn't be surprised.
[She's nosy, but she's not a bad kid, so try to get along with her.]
Then I lifted my head for a moment and checked the time.
The current time was 9:30 p.m.
It was almost time for the original story's event to begin, but it wasn't like some great enemy was appearing. It was a kind of character-development part, so there wasn't much pressure.
[Rest for now.]
I added an emoticon after the simple sentence.
I sent a little bear bowing its head in greeting while murmuring, "Well then, bye."
I didn't usually use them, but maybe because the other person was fumbling.
An immature mischievous streak kicked in.
It was me showing off: I can do this too.
"I should lie down for a bit."
I tossed my phone onto the bed with a flick, then flung my body after it.
Then, bounce bounce.
The cushioning that wrapped around my whole body was no joke.
As expected of the Superior Executive....... What was it again?
Anyway, it lived up to being an expensive room.
* * *
At the same time, an awkward atmosphere hung in the twin deluxe room assigned to Cheon Seo-yoon and Reina.
Cheon Seo-yoon hadn't been entirely comfortable from the room assignment itself, and Reina wasn't the type to approach first, so she was naturally quiet.
.......
But they couldn't keep going like this forever. Cheon Seo-yoon hated silence more than discomfort.
So she spoke first.
"Which bed are you going to use?"
At that, Reina, who had been glancing at her phone, answered flatly.
"Either is fine."
"Really?"
"Yes. I sleep well even on the floor."
"Then I'll take the bed by the window."
Cheon Seo-yoon flung the bag she'd been carrying to mark her territory.
Reina also rose from the sofa and perched on the bed by the aisle.
And then silence again.
This damn silence that just wouldn't go away.......
Ugh, so frustrating.
She thought it might be better to just go to sleep early, and was just about to stand up.
"...Um. May I ask you something?"
Reina, who had been fidgeting with her phone with a serious expression, spoke again.
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had been standing in an awkward position, sat back down and answered.
"What is it."
"Well......."
Uncharacteristically, Reina hesitated before carefully continuing.
"Emoticons.... Do you know how to send them?"
"Huh?"
"The moving pictures. The ones that dance, and bow, and wave their hands......."
"Oh, those......."
But why wouldn't she know that?
You could send them with just a flick of a finger.
She felt dubious, but since she was the type to explain kindly if asked, she slowly explained.
"If you look on the right side, there's a picture of a person's face, right? If you press that......."
"It's not there."
"Huh? There's no way it's not there. If you look at the bottom right of the message window......."
"It's not there."
"No, what do you mean it's not there. Aren't you using K-Talk? I use it too."
"......Mine must be defective. It's not there."
"Oh, come on. What defective. Give me your phone. I'll find it for you."
In the end, Cheon Seo-yoon, unable to endure the frustration, reached out her hand.
Reina ducked her head slightly as if in thanks and held out her phone, but then.......
"Ah, no. I'll just do it myself."
Just as it was about to touch Cheon Seo-yoon's hand, she quickly snatched it back.
She had realized that handing over her phone would reveal her conversation history.
"Huh?"
But there was no way Cheon Seo-yoon hadn't seen the conversation partner that had been plainly visible.
It was a name she knew, so her eyes had gone to it even more.
Come to think of it, there was a suspicious past incident too.
Of course, one of the parties involved had insisted that their first meeting had been a coincidence, but they had a history of walking around Taehak together.
What on earth were those two.......
Curiosity suddenly surged up.
And Cheon Seo-yoon was not the kind of person who could endure this tickling feeling.
So she asked.
"Are you close with Park Ha-yul?"
"Pardon?"
"No, I didn't mean to look......."
When Cheon Seo-yoon glanced at the phone, Reina grasped the situation too.
But it wasn't like the other girl had tried to look; rather, she herself had been the one to show it, so.......
There was no reason to hide it, so she answered honestly.
"No. Not yet......."
"Not yet?"
"Yes, because it hasn't been long since we met."
But Cheon Seo-yoon was persistent.
"So you're not close yet, but you want to get close. Does that mean you have a good impression of him?"
"That's......."
When Cheon Seo-yoon asked again, Reina trailed off.
It was true that she had a good impression, but the source of it was ultimately the power of Sanctification dwelling within her body.
A duty she absolutely had to uphold as a saintess, or as a believer devoted to the Church.......
Hadn't proposing to accompany him this time—no, insisting on it—been an extension of that same reason?
Satan's trail was still unclear, and he had volunteered for a dangerous mission, so she couldn't send him alone.
But these circumstances were not something she could reveal to an outsider.
So she asked instead.
"What about you?"
"M-me?"
At the unexpected question, Cheon Seo-yoon's shoulders flinched.
"...Yes. I only saw it by chance, but you seemed to train together. You looked quite close. Is that right?"
"Well, I mean...."
It was just then, when Cheon Seo-yoon was flustered in turn.
BOOM—
A sudden explosion grazed their ears. The floor vibrated faintly in its wake.
"What the?!"
"......?"
Both of their heads whipped toward the window.
* * *
BOOM—
I had been lazing around on the bed when I bolted upright.
I walked over to the window and looked down, and sure enough.......
Just as the predetermined plot dictated, unprecedented bursts of light were flashing here and there throughout the city.
Taking advantage of the attention drawn by the opera festival, an Italian anti-government group.
One of the mafia factions had carried out a terrorist attack.
Their goal was to disrupt the festival itself and point out the government's incompetence, so their target was the ancient amphitheater.
The Arena di Verona, where the opera was to be performed.
So the protagonists had no choice but to get caught up in it.
Because the place they were staying was a hotel located less than 1 km from the Arena.
However, there was no need to be tense.
The suppression of the terrorism was merely a bridgehead for new encounters.
The main event was the Italian main armed group they would face during the suppression process.
The Guard Knights.
It was the clash with them, and another incident that would unfold because of it.
Rattle.
Therefore, I needed to focus but not rush, so I opened the window wide.
Bzzzz
I sent out a total of four flies to find the protagonists, and my own eyes, no less than the flies, tracked the state of the battle.
Then Cheon Seo-yoon, who had picked up a strange wooden club, and Reina, wearing a mask and hat, were the first to be spotted.
The two quickly approached the source of the commotion. They encountered a group of mafia members approaching the Arena.
And then a 5-versus-2 battle broke out.
.......
They were mafia made up entirely of Awakeners, but what couldn't be done just couldn't be done.
As Fly D flew closer, ear-splitting screams and the crunch of snapping bones soon rang out vividly.
"Ow."
As if the pain were contagious, I was aching all over myself, so I pulled Fly D back for now.
Meanwhile.
"Let's split up."
"Okay. Be careful."
The voices Fly C picked up brushed past my ears.
It was Baek Sa-young and Lee Dae-ho.
Baek Sa-young, as if he'd just gotten out of the shower, charged forward quickly with his still-damp hair flying.
The other Taehak students joined in one after another.
No one had pushed them from behind; they had voluntarily stepped forward for Verona in crisis.
Grrrr-
And this movement also occurred on the opposite side of the Arena.
The Italian tricolor.
A knight order in full-metal armor combining green, white, and red appeared.
Italy's pride, the Guard Knights, had been deployed to quell the terrorism.
The mafia roundup that had begun on both sides soon merged into one.
The Guard Knights, who had no way of knowing that a Taehak club had come here to Verona, perceived the students as suspicious people and tried to suppress them.
"No, I'm telling you, we came to help you."
"We're Taehak students. We were staying at the hotel up ahead......."
Baek Sa-young and Cheon Seo-yoon shouted in aggrieved voices.
But it didn't do a bit of good.
Incomprehensible Italian poured out, and they were on high alert.
In the chaotic situation, suspicious East Asians were even holding weapons, so they were trying to subdue them first.
"No, why are you pointing a sword at me."
"Oh, seriously......."
The clash had become unavoidable.
From here on, it was a free-for-all.
Of all times, in the middle of the night with even the moonlight faint, the mafia, the Guard Knights, and Taehak.
Three forces tangled together.
Reina, who couldn't openly reveal her identity, floundered and tried to somehow stop it, until at some point a figure who appeared to be the Guard Knights' leader emerged.
A handsome man with a square jaw, a short beard, and striking, deep-set features appeared, and she hurriedly fled.
I fully understood her situation.
Was his name Axel?
As befitted an Italian rising star, he also held the position of Vatican holy knight, so the two were acquainted.
Anyway, this Axel was the key man of this episode.
He had long harbored a fierce competitive streak toward Taehak, and this clash gave him the trigger.
He suddenly proposed a formal four-on-four sparring match.
This was actually a device to induce Reina's attendance.
Reina, who happened to be in Verona for an event, would hear about the sparring match and infiltrate while hiding her identity.
After confirming the protagonists' skills, she would decide to go to Taehak—that was the original story.
Well, as it happened, in this iteration she was already on Taehak's side.......
But the sparring match was a separate matter, so I suspected it would proceed as scheduled.
"Should I join in soon?"
I stretched lightly and fired Cheonjam Thread toward the building across the way.
After confirming it was securely wrapped, I climbed up onto the window.
"Whoa......."
For reference, this was the 30th floor.
My clothes flapped wildly in the fierce wind, and people looked like ants.
But falling from a high-rise building was a challenge I'd always dreamed of.
Like the spider-person in some movie.
So I decided to try it.
Hup.
I took a deep breath and kicked off the ground.
Whoosh—
As gravity's grip seized my body, I glided down without hesitation, then soared up in a U-shape thanks to the Cheonjam Thread.
Aaaaah— the sound escaped me on its own.