Monster Zoo # 9
Monster Zoo # 9
I can't take it anymore!
"Commie! That bastard Mun Min's a red! Namsan agents, get over here!"
I cupped both hands into a megaphone and yelled!
"What! Hey! Kim Geun-cheol!"
Mun Min shouted, flustered, but—
"Heheheh."
"Hey!"
You think I'd pass up a chance to screw with Mun Min? I laughed delightedly, and Mun Min looked ready to launch himself at me.
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Noooo! He is red man! Very very terrible!"
"This is nothing short of shocking! Defending monsterkin!"
My classmates dogpiled Mun Min first. Brian and Ken had already darted over and grabbed him.
"Hey! Hey! Let go!"
Caught in the grip of our classmates like that, Mun Min received an impromptu blanket toss. So what's a commie? I heard he doesn't even have parents or siblings.
"Agh!"
"They're pulling some real shit, seriously."
While they were messing around, Yu-ri, who'd been lying facedown, sat up. She rubbed her eyes as if she were dying of exhaustion, even yawning. Looked like yesterday's fatigue hadn't worn off.
"Whoa. Our Yu-ri's awake?"
"Ah... so fucking tired. Fought too hard yesterday."
"Go back to sleep while I'm still asking nicely."
"Planning on it."
—Whoosh!
Mun Min was still getting tossed, completely suppressed. I watched the scene with immense satisfaction as I went to my seat and sat down.
"Geun-cheol. Didn't you make up with Mun Min?"
"I did, which is exactly why I'm doing this."
You can't pull this kind of prank if things are awkward between you.
Well, not that I don't get where Mun Min's feelings are coming from. He came to rescue his comrades and got wiped out. Just looking at it from that perspective, it's pitiable.
But aren't monsterkin clearly the enemy?
Fine, calling him a commie was a joke, but the goal of monsterkin is the annihilation of humanity and the invasion of Earth. Anybody with enough free time to look kindly on bastards like that shouldn't be a hero—they should be a philosopher.
"So, Si-hoo. You gonna do communism, or not?"
"Geun-cheol. What the hell are you on about now?"
At my teasing question, Si-hoo snorted and answered.
"Do you even know what communism is in the first place?"
"Well, you see..."
"There Geun-cheol goes, talking without knowing again!"
What the hell does he think I am!
"Lee Si-hoo, you punk, you're changing the subject! This bastard's suspicious! Not gonna answer?"
"Haah, Geun-cheol."
Si-hoo folded his arms and shook his head.
"Not interested. And why would a superhuman support communism in the first place?"
"Is that so?"
"We don't even support democracy, so how could we possibly support communism? In the first place, democracy is a political system and communism is an economic system. Do you know the difference?"
"O-of course I do."
"Geun-cheol's being suspicious. I think you don't know and you're just pretending you do right now."
Si-hoo bent over and leaned his face in close, looking at me like he was examining something very suspicious...!
"Let's move on!"
Anyway.
This was a world where democracy had died out.
Truth was, both Europe and Asia had become lands where you couldn't find even a trace of democracy. The States still nominally advocates for democracy, but their political system is a massive headache too.
I heard it operates with superheroes representing each state running in elections and voting. If you're not a superhuman, you can't set foot in politics.
In this way, the idea that powerful superhumans must protect the powerless could be considered a value shared by almost every nation.
As time went on, modern democratic society arrived after moving past the feudal era, the age of monarchy, and things like that. But you could say that when a completely new event called the Dimension War erupted, a new political system settled in.
"Still, I do think a superhuman monarchy is more efficient in modern society than something like democracy."
"That's what I'm saying."
Even an ordinary student like Si-hoo thought this way.
In fact, the Dimension War happened before our generation was even born. Democracy being overturned in the Republic of Korea and the advent of the superhuman monarchy—all of it happened before we were born.
Since we were born and raised in a place like that, you could say the sentiment was expected.
—Ding-dong.
While I was contemplating the differences between my homeland and this world for a moment, the class bell rang. Well, let's go study some more. Knowledge is power. France is bacon.
Brian-style English.
* * *
Lunchtime.
Starving students head for the buffet. Us included. Lately, it's often the four of us: me, Si-hoo, Leona, and Yu-ri.
Anyway, we picked up trays and stood there to grab some food when—
—Stick.
Leona glued herself right up next to me and—
"Vegetables."
—sent me an intense glare, forcing me to eat vegetables...!
"Come on, Leona! Why are you telling me to eat nothing but vegetables all the time!"
"You're only getting fried food and noodles right now! Load up some vegetables before you get in trouble, hurry up!"
"Big trouble, seriously!"
Leona was seriously trying to manage my diet, like she had become my mom! And this wasn't just having vegetables on the side—this was shoveling them in by the ton, which was rough!
But, well, eating vegetables is the right thing to do, and there wasn't a single thing wrong with what Leona said, so I had no choice but to obey.
—Slide.
So I slid some vegetables onto my plate.
"Hehehe."
Only then did Leona smile and stop surveilling me, starting to fill her own plate. She seriously loves taking care of people too much, I swear.
What would you call it—that maternal instinct? Seems like she's overflowing with it a bit.
Well, she's the type of person who goes to the orphanage on weekends to volunteer, so that figures. She literally has the heart of a saint. I thought it was noblesse oblige, but she just turned out to be a saint.
"This should be enough, Leona."
"Yes. That should be plenty of vitamins. Kim Geun-cheol? I've told you over and over, diet matters for a hero too. If you keep eating nothing but greasy stuff and skipping out, your power will drop, you know."
"I know it, but... no, wait. Leona! You barely took any vegetables! That's like half of what I took!"
"Think about the weight difference between Kim Geun-cheol and me! You have to eat vegetables according to your weight class too. You expect me to eat a truckload or something?"
"Ah."
That's fair.
Anyway, once we'd filled our trays and sat down, Leona came and plopped down beside me. Then Si-hoo and Yu-ri sat across from us.
"Kim Geun-cheol. You can't get more food and then leave leftovers again. You know that, right?"
"What am I, a little kid?"
"You are a little kid. I can't just sit back and watch."
"But I had your back yesterday and fought well."
"That's different. Looking only at your grades, you're like a child and I just can't stand it...!"
"My academic background turned me into a child!"
I can't stand it!
"Anyway, eat up."
"Yep."
Alright, let's eat.
"Seriously, she's such a mom. A total mom."
"Mom?!"
Leona exclaimed loudly when Yu-ri said it while giggling.
"What are you pretending it's not for? No matter how I look at it, you're a mom."
"Honestly, I think so too."
When even Si-hoo nodded in agreement, Leona hesitated for a second, then pointed her finger at me and shouted.
"It's just because Kim Geun-cheol is so unreliable! You all know that!"
"No... Leona. Just how unreliable am I?"
"There's something! Anyway! Once we finish eating, let's head to the classroom and write that report on yesterday's events! It'll be good to write it while the memories are still fresh!"
Right, that was a thing.
"Yeah. Agreed."
"Sounds good. They said there's a benefit to submitting this, right?"
Si-hoo and Yu-ri also nodded in agreement.
"That's right. It all leads to good evaluations. Kim Geun-cheol in particular needs to work the hardest."
"Got it. I'll do it properly."
"Hurry up and eat. And don't just gulp your food down when you eat, chew it thoroughly."
Are you seriously my mom!
And so, I ate lunch while listening to Leona nag me.
* * *
After we finished eating, we went back to the classroom, pushed our desks together, and wrote the report. But the entire time I wrote, Leona sat next to me, backseating me with "do this, do that," and tormented me.
"Good grief, Leona. My ears are gonna callus over."
"It's all advice that'll become a part of you. Stop grumbling and write. Right there. How many times have I said it's important to write clearly what you intend to convey, starting from the introduction? Hm?"
"Somebody save me!"
She was a full-on tiger mom!
But even though she was nagging, Leona kept helping me write the report. She was helping me while nagging, so I had no leg to stand on to rebel. I'll just quietly accept the help.
"It was definitely an abnormal situation. For the Antillery to use a gate like that. Woo Yu-ri, don't you agree?"
"Yeah. Definitely weird. But haven't there been a lot of incidents like this lately?"
"Warningless gates... perhaps this could be related to that too. It's distressing how many abnormal incidents have been happening lately."
The two girls discussed it seriously.
"Maybe monsterkin or villains are testing out new tech or something?"
At that, Leona nodded.
"It's not outside the realm of possibility. They've tried persistently to defeat humanity all this time, so they might have even developed technology to manipulate gates."
"Whoa. That'd be dangerous."
But I know.
That's basically how it'll go.
"Si-hoo. What would happen if some monsterkin or villain really did start spreading abnormal gate tech everywhere to try and carry out terrorist attacks?"
Si-hoo thought for a moment and answered.
"The national system would probably change, wouldn't it? The reason we can respond quickly to the Gate Incident right now is entirely because warning signs appear before a gate does. We can use that window to dispatch forces."
So because they're appearing without warning, things need to change.
"But, both last time and... this time. Even though the Antillery used a gate, I couldn't sense anything. Same for Leona and Yu-ri, right?"
"Yes. I didn't sense anything either."
"Right, I didn't feel it. It's definitely serious."
It seems it really is a serious matter.
—Scribble scribble scribble.
Discussing things with my friends like that, I finished writing the report.
"Done. Hand them all over."
Leona said that and collected the reports. Tap, tap, tap. The reports stacked up in Leona's hands.
"I'll submit them all at once, as class president."
"Hell yeah! Leona! You're the best!"
"Kim Geun-cheol, you come with me!"
"What!"
—Grab!
Leona immediately grabbed my wrist and pulled...! Her strength itself was overwhelming, so I was forced to get dragged along!
"Ah, Geun-cheol..."
As we were heading out the classroom door like that, Si-hoo stretched out a hand as if he had something to say, but I couldn't defy Leona's strength.
"Oh! Si-hoo, what!"
"Ah, it's nothing..."
Then let's talk later!