Chapter 68: As the Old Saying Goes, One Can Neither Kill Nor Truly Raise a Disciple (3)
Chapter 68: As the Old Saying Goes, One Can Neither Kill Nor Truly Raise a Disciple (3)
Clatter, clatter.
The sound of cutlery echoed during dinner.
I spoke up quietly.
"A-bin."
"Yes! Fourth-year! Magical Girl! Han! A! Bin, sir!"
Suddenly, she began a boisterous self-introduction.
Han A-bin stood up with such vigor that the dining table shook.
What was that? A military report?
Why is she acting like that in the middle of a meal?
"Just act like you usually do."
"Understood, sir!"
Han A-bin sat back down, but her expression remained strangely stiff.
Was it really that scary?
I only flew through the sky for about an hour and a half.
Though it took longer than expected, my disciples had succeeded in landing a blow on me. After Baek Si-hyun pinned my limbs with telekinesis and used Weaponry Skills to block my escape routes, Han A-bin, who had been hiding her presence, fired a single arrow from the air.
Since A-bin’s arrow wasn't an attack capable of piercing my skin, my failure was that I had subconsciously delayed my defense.
If I had known it would come to this, I should have told them to land an attack capable of piercing my skin, not just a clean hit.
Well, whatever.
Something else was more important.
"A-bin."
"Yes, what is it, sir!"
"Drop that tone."
"Understood, sir!"
...
She'll probably get better if I leave her alone.
"Have you ever been issued a transit permit for an access-restricted zone?"
"I was issued a temporary one during the Hero Mobilization period, sir!"
What is wrong with her? She never even served in the military. She's acting like she'll die if she doesn't use formal military speech.
...Ah. Come to think of it, did she say she was originally a nurse?
Then she must have received basic training.
Medical personnel are subject to conscription, after all.
Maybe today's incident triggered some old trauma.
I don't know much about training centers these days, but are they still that intense?
...Let's stop these useless thoughts. If I'm not careful, my own trauma might resurface.
"The mobilization period... was that eight months ago? Then it's expired and useless."
"Yes! That is correct, sir!"
Then she'll have to apply for one too.
"Master! I don't have one either!"
"Of course you don't."
There was no reason for someone who had only recently become a Hero to have applied for one.
I don't know why this one is so energetic.
If you'd been tossed into the air for an hour and a half, shouldn't you be at least a little discouraged, even if not as much as A-bin?
Then again, it wasn't like Baek Si-hyun being energetic was anything new. Let's move on.
So, what needs to be done... I have to apply for their transit permits.
Even if formal issuance takes a long time, since I'm with them, temporary permits should come out after a short wait.
"Go upstairs and pack your bags tonight. We have somewhere to go tomorrow."
"Understood, sir!"
"How many days will we be gone, Master?"
How many days? Does that matter?
Well, they're girls, so it might be important to them.
"We'll probably be there for quite a while. If it takes long, it could be close to a month."
"Underst—"
"Don't raise your voice at the table."
With that, the conversation came to a temporary close, and everyone began moving their spoons toward their food again.
A short while later, just as the rice soaked in my seaweed soup was running out.
A-bin suddenly seemed to remember something; she stopped eating and looked puzzled.
"What is it?"
"Senior. Didn't we go to North Korea once?"
Her way of speaking is really strange.
It's uncomfortable to listen to; I wonder when she'll fix it.
"We did. To exterminate some life-form... whatever-it-was."
"I was unconscious, so I wouldn't know. But doesn't that mean we already have permits for access-restricted zones?"
Her tone was still odd, and why did she switch back to a polite 'yo' ending only at the very last second?
More importantly, we used a different method back then.
"Ah, then? We just rammed through the restricted zone's barbed wire fence with the car."
"Excuse me?"
Startled by my words, A-bin finally dropped the military speech and returned to her original way of talking.
"Nobody was guarding that fence anyway. You just have to push through it with a car and keep going."
Illegal? It's fine as long as you don't get caught.
It's not like anyone gets hurt.
In the first place, even if I get caught, I have a permit so it doesn't matter. The disciples are the problem.
"..."
"I plan on staying for a while this time, so it'll be a headache if we get caught. It doesn't take long anyway, so we're going with permits."
I'll rent a boat while I'm at it.
I can cross the water, but my disciples won't be able to.
"So pack your bags tonight and get your IDs ready. We'll stop by the Management Bureau tomorrow and then head straight out of the country."
"Out of the country?"
"Because the access-restricted zone we're going to this time is in Japan."
"Then do we need to prepare our passports too?"
Does A-bin not know? For Heroes, as long as they have their registration cards...
"A-bin, our Hero registration cards serve as passports."
Before I could even speak, Baek Si-hyun pulled her Hero Registration Card from her pocket and slid it across the table.
The card slid and stopped in front of A-bin, who began reading the precautions written on the back.
From my perspective, I could see the front, engraved with dense anti-counterfeit patterns. It featured a photo of a smiling Baek Si-hyun making a V-sign with her fingers, her Hero name, and her Hero Registration Number.
And numerous empty pattern slots.
Seeing that there wasn't a single pattern, it was clear she hadn't obtained any licenses or permits.
I've never seen such a clean ID before. Is it because it's brand new? Since she uses recovery magic, she should at least have a medical license...
...Wait. Not even one?
"Si-hyun. Let me ask you one thing. Where is your medical license?"
"I told her to get it, but she ignored me! The person in charge said it wasn't mandatory when she asked!"
I know full well that your head is a bit strange. No, I already knew that.
Right. It's not mandatory. Not mandatory.
Whether you have it or not, there's no problem using your powers, and there's no penalty for violating it.
However, for a Hero, it's basic to obtain every license they can.
Just by listening to a ten-hour lecture on the legal code of conduct, your monthly salary increases.
She clearly either didn't hear the explanation that her salary increases with every license or permit added, or she wiped it from her memory.
Calling it a 'license' is just a nice way of putting it; it's a measure to have the Hero voluntarily report what abilities they possess.
It's the result of a compromise between the argument that a Hero’s abilities are private information and shouldn't be disclosed, and the argument that they should be disclosed for the public good.
Thanks to this, in an emergency, you can just scan nearby registration cards to pull up a list of relevant ability users, making it easy to find the right Hero. The downside is... well, who discriminates based on abilities these days?
"...Apply for all of them when you have time later."
"Understood, Master!"
I'd like to get them all for her tomorrow, but since each license requires a minimum amount of training time, she can't get them immediately.
Still, I should make sure my disciples take everything they can get.
Don't end up like your master, who can't even get the things he's entitled to.
"We're heading out early tomorrow morning. Go to bed early tonight."
"Yes!"
Satisfied with that energetic response, I finished my seaweed soup and left the table.
* * *
Ding-dong.
—Customer number 596. Please come to the consultation counter.
My number was 605.
It's more crowded than I thought.
I've been here since dawn, but my turn hasn't come for twenty minutes.
Was it always this busy?
It's been so long since I've been to a counter that I wouldn't know how it used to be.
Thump.
Something landed on my head as I waited blankly for my turn.
Sensing something, I turned my head, and gray cloth obscured my vision.
A calm weight was transmitted through my head. Baek Si-hyun’s steady breathing.
It seemed Baek Si-hyun, looking for a support, had rested her weight on my head.
She's sleeping. I guess waking her up so early was a bit much.
I didn't really feel like waking her, so I kept my head still and looked to the right, where I saw Han A-bin nodding off with her arms crossed.
Both of them were sleeping quietly.
Was Han A-bin tired too?
They're almost cute like this.
They're not grinding their teeth or drooling; they're just quietly dozing off, holding their breath.
Ding-dong.
When the alarm rang, both of them stiffened and tried to open their eyes, only to fall back asleep.
The sight was almost amusing.
Baek Si-hyun seemed to be nuzzling against my head as if feeling my warmth, but I didn't mind letting her have it.
Still, don't people usually lean their bodies on someone's shoulder in scenes like this?
To think that even in such trivial situations, being short would be so sorrowful.
I spent the time feeling the weight and the slight twitches of my disciple.
Ding-dong.
—Customer number 604...
I'm next.
Just as I gripped the number ticket on my lap and raised my hand to wake my disciples.
"Hey! Why are you here?"
I heard a woman's voice.
A voice that rang with a husky tone from damaged vocal cords.
Recognizing the familiar voice, she spotted me and began walking over.
Scraaaaape.
An irritating sound echoed in my ears.
The sound of heavy steel being dragged across the ground, tearing up the floor.
This is bad.
"Can't you hear me? Mr. Hammer? Has your hearing rotted away from alcohol?"
She approached me, using crude language.
If I leave her be, she'll just keep making a scene.
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
Why have I been running into people I shouldn't meet so often lately?
Thump.
I used a summoned hammer to support Baek Si-hyun’s head instead and walked toward her.
"Ah. Prohibition. It's been so long I didn't recognize your face."
"We saw each other a few weeks ago. Did you forget because you were too busy rubbing up against Oxymoron? Who are they?"
This damn schizophrenic woman.
Is she on an upswing right now?
I suppose this is better than a downswing, but I didn't want to see either version of her if possible.
Ding-dong.
—Number 605...
"Ah, I have somewhere to go. I'm busy, so let's talk next—"
"What are you doing with those girls? Where are you going? Why did you come to the Bureau?"
...If I say I'm going to see the Thunder God, this woman will follow me too. What should I do?
But if I lie, she'll follow me anyway and inevitably find out.
I'll have to mix in some truth.
"See those girls over there?"
"Yeah."
"They're my disciples. I'm taking them past the Great Barrier in Hokkaido for some training."
"Ah, are those the ones the Lord of Infinite Castles was talking about? They're taller than Hammer. Girls? Are they okay? How old?"
"Around twenty."
Clatter. Thud.
The minigun fell from her hand. Simultaneously, her erratic atmosphere began to shift.
From a madwoman whose emotions changed by the second while constantly laughing, to a cold, emotionless woman frozen like ice.
Dammit. I stepped on a landmine.
What was the problem?
"Twenty years old. My daughter would have been exactly that age if she were alive..."
The age was the problem.
"So. You intend to send young girls. To such a dangerous place?"
A cold hand began to stroke my cheek.
With a touch that oozed seductiveness, the nails on her slender fingers began to scratch my chin.
A touch that bared the skin and sliced through delicate flesh, bringing pleasure rather than pain.
The nails peeled the skin as they slowly moved upward. Fingers drawing grotesque patterns with the flowing blood as they neared my ear.
At the same time, her twisted face drew closer.
Her beautifully disheveled, decaying golden hair brushed against my face, scratching my skin.
"Do you know? Once something is gone, it can never be brought back. Not family, not a daughter, not a life."
I know. I've heard it so many times.
Despite her withered body, her face alone was plump and beautiful as she met my eyes.
Dark circles that appeared in an instant changed her aura.
From a woman of fiery madness.
To an icy femme fatale who seemed to have experienced all the darkness in the world.
"So. I'll protect them. Those children too. That's fine, right?"
Do whatever you want.
Now that she's entered a downswing, there's no way for me to turn her back to an upswing.
The simplest way would be to shove alcohol down her throat, but the side effects are significant...
I slowly nodded, agreeing to her company.
Ding-dong.
—Customer number 605. If you are present, please come to the consultation counter...
"I'll see you in a bit. Sit over there."
"Fine."
Clank.
Using her superpower, she transformed the minigun into a rifle, slung it over her shoulder, and moved slowly.
The hem of her brown dress fluttered as she walked with a weak gait, looking as if she might collapse at any moment.
Things are getting complicated today too. To think I'd run into Prohibition while trying to meet the Thunder God.
Since it's come to this, I thought to myself that I'd have to make this trip worth it somehow as I turned toward the consultation counter.
*
The harbor of Sokcho, Gangwon Province, where the waves crashed. On the shore where the cold sea breeze whipped against our bodies, we looked down at the boat we had rented from the Management Bureau.
"Master?"
"What."
"That... is a boat, right?"
I'd like to know that too. It's definitely a boat, but it's not a normal one.
"What a... wonderful boat. It's even black."
Prohibition. Just shut up.
"...Senior, I really don't think this is it. Can't we take a plane? I'll pay for the tickets..."
No, we should be able to cross.
I'm just flustered because I didn't expect them to actually give me this.
Right. To think the boat the Management Bureau provided would actually be a rubber landing boat.
The conversation I had at the consultation counter comes to mind.
'And please arrange a boat for me. Check my authority; I have Level 1 vehicle rental clearance.'
'...Hero Lee Ha-ram. I'm sorry, but that clearance is currently suspended, so the only thing we can provide is...'
To think that bastard Park Hyun-seok would go so far as to ban me from renting anything with an engine.
What's the big deal about trashing five or six boats?
In life, you might ram a car into a monster, crash a boat into an octopus rising from the seabed, or slam a plane into a void jellyfish flying in from space. It happens.
Was the problem that I crashed all of them and yet did no damage to The Enemy?
Next time, I should rent some bombs and crash those too. How do I get an explosives management license again?
Thinking that, I hopped onto the Rubber Boat with a light jump.
Perhaps because she had spent a long time with me, Prohibition moved slowly and boarded the Rubber Boat without asking any questions.
"You two get on too. Let's go."
"...Are you really going in this?"
"Is Master going to row...?"
Even Baek Si-hyun seemed to think this was wrong as she looked down at the Rubber Boat listlessly.
"Why would I row? I have a way, so just get on."
"Right. Hammer always had a way. If it didn't work, he'd just break everything and trample over it..."
Prohibition's 'support' wasn't helping at all.
The disciples weren't talking to her either, clearly finding her uncomfortable.
Still, perhaps because it was the word of a master they trusted for now, the disciples looked at each other with ominous expressions and climbed onto the Rubber Boat.
"There are handles inside the boat, right? Hold on tight."
Did they sense something ominous in my words?
The two disciples gripped the handles with stiff expressions.
In contrast, Prohibition merely adjusted her posture while letting out a suspicious laugh.
She'll take care of herself. Whatever.
I moved to the back of the Rubber Boat and slammed my hammer into it.
Clank. Clank.
The Hammer, having absorbed mana, began to transform.
"Departing."
Boom!
The afterburner attached to the back of The Hammer spewed flames, and the Rubber Boat took flight.