Chapter 327
Chapter 327
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 328
Chapter Title: Visit to the Nakiri Clan
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Choi Seo-yoon blankly stared at the door where Kim Seon-woo had vanished after stepping out for a moment to take a call.
Whatever it was, the expression on his face the instant he answered the phone was still vividly etched in her mind.
Though he had belatedly smiled and given off the vibe that nothing was wrong, she had clearly seen his face stiffen for that brief moment, so she couldn't help feeling needless worry.
“……Who could make your expression harden like that?”
It didn't seem like good news.
She had never seen her sunbae make that face while answering a call before.
What on earth could the call be about?
When she glanced at the phone number displayed on the smart student notebook, it clearly looked like an international call.
“Country code……”
Choi Seo-yoon naturally recalled the country code she had seen on the screen.
With a faint hope, she turned on her smart student notebook and searched the internet for the number she had seen.
And the window that popped up.
“......Japan?”
The call to Kim Seon-woo had come from Japan.
She remembered that Kim Seon-woo had no particular connections to Japan until now, so it was a bit unexpected.
She had assumed an international call would be from one of the five great magic vanguard nations.
“Hmm.”
What reason could there be for contact with Japan?
Maybe, like with Nepal last time, he had received a support request from their government.
Come to think of it, there had been ominous rumors lately about a plague spreading in Japan.
Choi Seo-yoon, who had been piecing together deductions repeatedly, stopped thinking.
It didn't feel right to pry on her own.
Of course, she had mountains of curiosities about her sunbae……
Someday, he would tell her himself.
While she was lost in countless questions like that, Kim Seon-woo returned from his call.
Choi Seo-yoon blinked as she looked at his face.
Kim Seon-woo met her gaze directly and opened his mouth.
“……Why the look? Something happen?”
“Ah.”
Choi Seo-yoon gave an awkward smile for a moment.
“It's nothing. But who was the call from?”
“A call from a foreign guild.”
“A foreign guild?”
Kim Seon-woo nodded casually, as if it were no big deal.
“Yeah, they're offering good treatment after graduation if I join their guild. Happens all the time.”
Kim Seon-woo said it like it really was nothing.
She wondered if that was true, but the stiffened expression from the call stirred her mind again.
Choi Seo-yoon fell into thought for a moment before quietly nodding.
After finishing all classes and personal training.
Back at the dorm, I sat on the sofa, fixing the trap formations I hadn't completed.
After focusing on this for a few days, I'd gotten quite skilled with formations.
The proficiency of [Formation Comprehension] was rising quickly, and the interval to complete formation revisions was shortening.
“……Should I seriously learn some support-type stuff?”
I really seemed to have talent in this field.
I could already handle restraint series, so if I picked up a few illusion series spells, there might come a day I'd use them usefully……
Right then.
Bzzz……
A message alert rang from the smart student notebook.
[Are you free this Saturday?]
It was a message from Ren.
He was suggesting a date to see the 'Grand Master's Journal' he had mentioned to me today.
Honestly, I didn't even know what Nikari Ryu's grand master did, and I wanted to refuse to avoid getting more entangled and having my lies exposed.
But then Ren suddenly said that.
‘There may be content related to Jin Cheon-woo in the Grand Master's journal.’
……Jin Cheon-woo.
Ren was probably saying that knowing the Rune Clan had a deep grudge with Jin Cheon-woo.
And from my memory, he harbored ill feelings toward Jin Cheon-woo as well.
“Hmm……”
If the Grand Master's journal contained content related to Jin Cheon-woo to that extent, there seemed to be some incident I didn't know about hidden there.
That Jin Cheon-woo guy had his fingers in everything.
[Sure, I'll go on Saturday.]
Tap tap. As soon as I sent the message, a reply came.
[Then, I'll see you at 1:30 PM Saturday at the Nagoya Chubu Immigration Gate. Martial Uncle.]
I blankly stared at the message.
Martial Uncle.
“……This is really burdensome.”
I was already uncomfortable being called Sect Attendant.
Tap tap. I typed another message.
[This is sudden, but I'm not an official disciple of Nakiri Ryu. All I learned from Genya was momentary acceleration. So no need to call me Martial Uncle.]
“This should get the point across.”
The reply arrived in less than 10 seconds.
[Still, since you received the Grand Master's teachings, you are my Martial Uncle.]
“……Do whatever.”
Time flew by to Saturday afternoon at 1 PM. I arrived at the Incheon Immigration Portal Gate for the promised meeting with Ren.
When I got there, crowds of people had gathered for departure.
Tourists flaunting their vacation vibes and salarymen heading overseas for business trips.
But none recognized me.
To avoid any attention, I had pulled my bucket hat low and covered my face with a mask.
Of course, I'd be departing under the identity of 'Kim Seon-woo,' but traveling abroad in this world wouldn't cause issues, so it was fine.
“I'll check your passport.”
I handed my passport for exit screening to the staff.
The staff looked at the photo, then stiffened briefly.
“……Kim Seon-woo? Please let me confirm your face for a moment.”
At the staff's words, I removed my hat and mask.
The staff stared at my face.
I worried they might make a fuss recognizing me, but they stamped it and coolly returned the passport with a blank expression.
Well, with countless star wizards using the immigration gates like their backyard, who was I?
I passed through the gate like that.
Flash!
I slowly gazed at the scenery that changed in an instant.
［Nagoya Chubu Immigration Gate］
It was an island nation right next to Korea, but it had an inexplicable exotic feel.
Maybe because of all the foreigners.
“Hmm.”
After finishing immigration and stepping outside, someone approached me silently.
“Sect Attendant.”
“......?”
I turned my head, and Ellen, her face perfectly hidden with a hat and mask just like mine, bowed her head slightly and came over.
I felt bewildered for a moment as I stared at her.
Why was she here?
“……What? No. Ahem. Why are you here?”
At my question, Ellen smiled faintly.
“I was waiting to see you off, Sect Attendant.”
“……What about Han Se-jin's protection?”
At my question, Ellen answered confidently.
“Ah, I'm on a two-day leave. Han Se-jin told me to take a break.”
……She gets vacation too.
I looked at her with bewildered eyes before asking what had been on my mind.
“But how did you know to come here?”
“Ah! Ren told me first. He said you might need my help, Sect Attendant was coming, so I accepted right away.”
……Help?
Wasn't it just checking the journal?
Then Ellen looked around and narrowed her eyes.
“By the way, where's that Ren guy?”
“Hello.”
Ren's voice came from somewhere.
Ren, his face hidden with a hat and sunglasses, smiled as he approached.
We had all disguised to avoid notice, but three people in identical getups ironically drew more attention.
“Martial Uncle, have you been well?”
Ren bowed his head to me.
The sight of an S-Rank wizard being so deferential to me was still hard to get used to, no matter how many times I saw it.
“Hmm.”
Then Ellen narrowed her eyes at Ren. Ren met her gaze and shot back.
“Why are you staring like that?”
“No, I've just never seen you like this. But you really call Sect Attendant 'Martial Uncle.'”
“It's just showing respect. You show respect to Sect Attendant too, don't you?”
Ren turned his gaze to me.
“Anyway, with all these eyes, let's move.”
“Right.”
And so, we followed our local guide (?) Ren.
“Ren. But where are we going?”
Ellen, who had been following quietly, asked.
“Gifu Prefecture. Our clan's home base is there.”
“……Gifu Prefecture?”
Ellen muttered with a clueless expression.
Ren didn't answer and kept walking.
Time passed, and we took a gate to our destination.
What came into view was a typical rural landscape overflowing with green mountains.
“Oh. The air's nice. Mana density is thick too.”
“Be careful. This area is a monster field.”
As in any country, mountainous regions had a very high probability of monster appearances.
Japan's monsters, many with unique forms unseen elsewhere, were nicknamed 'yokai.'
Another peculiarity was that ruins were frequently discovered.
As I looked around curiously, Ren gauged my reaction and spoke.
“Is this your first time too, Martial Uncle?”
I quickly calculated in my head.
“……Yes, first time.”
Better than pretending to know poorly.
“I see.”
Ren nodded without much thought.
After that, we climbed the mountain.
Amid the beautiful scenery sparking wonder, temples began to appear.
Temples unique to Japan, unlike any in Korea.
Ren followed my gaze to the temples and said.
“The Onmyoji clan resides in that area.”
“Onmyoji clan?”
I'd heard of them in passing.
The clan living in Japan said to have prophecy abilities.
But as generations passed, their prophecy powers weakened, and now they weren't much different from ordinary people, or so I'd heard.
In the original work, it was glossed over without much thought, but hearing it firsthand felt a bit different.
“Yes, we of Nakiri Ryu live together with the Onmyoji clan. We help each other.”
Every time I discovered settings I didn't know, some odd feeling arose.
Then Ren stopped walking.
“This is the Nakiri clan's building.”
The place we arrived at was a dilapidated old structure.
It didn't look like a space where people could live, seeming ready to collapse any moment.
“You live here alone?”
“Yes. It looks like this, but it's quite sturdy.”
As I looked around in wonder, then.
“Ren?”
A voice carrying the weight of years came from somewhere.
It was Japanese, but thanks to Outsider's blessing, I understood the meaning.
Turning my head, an elderly man in traditional Japanese attire was walking toward us.
He gave off an unusual aura.
Different from a wizard, perhaps?
“Hello, Elder.”
Ren bowed his head and greeted in Japanese.
The elder nodded, then turned his gaze to me.
“……Are these the guests you mentioned last time?”
“Yes, that's right.”
Ren said.
Then, as if remembering, he turned to me and spoke in Korean.
“Ah, this is Abe no Gensaku, an Onmyoji of this village.”
Abe no Gensaku……
A name I'd never heard before.
“Nice to meet you.”
I activated Outsider's blessing and spoke in Japanese.
It was probably the same pronunciation and tone as a local.
Ren and Ellen looked momentarily surprised.
But Gensaku stared at me with an expressionless gaze and replied.
“Nice to meet you.”
……This guy's vibe is off somehow.
My instincts told me the man before me was no ordinary person.
Just in case, I used [Character Insight] on the man in front of me.
[Cannot use 'Character Insight.']
What?