The Man Who Saved the World (4)
They were calling the five Awakeners who had slain the dragon on the Rookies Show.
The key detail here was the number five.
That count only worked if you included the porter.
Then came the truly spectacular naming.
“Yo, the five Awakeners who slew the dragon… Dragon Slaying Five… as the team name…”
Pfft!
Junil couldn’t hold it in and spat out his water.
“S-sorry. My bad…”
“It didn’t hit me, Oppa.”
“Huh?”
“Ta-da~”
A protective barrier shimmered across Suyeon’s face.
“Whoa. You can do that too?”
“Yep. Super handy, right?”
Whew.
Thank goodness.
“Anyway, what do you think of the Rookies Show? Want to go on it?”
Suyeon asked while wiping her skirt with a white towel. The water hadn’t hit her face, but it had run down and soaked the fabric.
Junil’s gaze kept drifting there before he forced it back up to her face.
“Nah, I… um… I don’t know?”
Becoming famous as Moon Junil sounded fun, but after being treated like F-rank trash this whole time, he couldn’t shake the feeling he’d just end up humiliated on air.
“Hmm? Oppa, why are you even thinking about it~”
Suyeon clearly wanted to go.
“The appearance fee is pretty solid too. And since we’re Awakeners, the ads will come flooding in once we’re on… Didn’t you always want a Han River-view apartment back in the day…?”
‘I already had one, you idiot!’
Junil’s head heated up at the mention of a riverside apartment, but then—
‘Wait a second.’
Thinking about it, this wasn’t a bad idea.
‘If I want to attract guild investment, being famous helps.’
He had made a promise to the researchers.
He needed investment.
And nothing beat fame when chasing funding.
This level of risk was manageable.
“Alright. Let’s do it.”
Junil nodded and accepted.
Since things had come to this, might as well ride the wave.
The Constellations were also quite pleased that the porter was appearing on the Rookies Show. Without the Sagosul mask, he had always been treated like a commoner.
‘But… has the perception of F-ranks really changed? Enough to invite one on the Rookies Show?’
Junil still couldn’t believe the sudden shift in treatment after everything he had been through.
Could a few articles really change that much?
“They’ll probably call you too, Oppa. I already sent them your number.”
“Got it.”
“By the way, Oppa, don’t you think Kang Hae-il will refuse to go?”
“Huh? Why? He actually enjoys stuff like this.”
Junil waved his hand dismissively.
But Suyeon wasn’t just saying it for no reason.
“No, his image among Awakeners lately… isn’t great.”
Junil blinked.
‘Ah.’
Kang Hae-il had been the one insisting the World Boss had to be killed. He had even landed the final blow, which triggered the mass disqualification of Awakeners. Of course people were upset.
“Wouldn’t that make our image bad too if we go with him?”
“We’ll be fine. Weirdly enough. Probably because he’s S-rank.”
“Ah…”
“It’s called ladder-kicking…”
“Tsk. Ladder-kicking, my ass. These modern folks never even got kicked off a ladder while climbing a castle wall, yet they talk like they know everything.”
Junil muttered without realizing it, sounding every bit the old man.
“What? Who would even go through that? They’d die.”
Suyeon burst out laughing at the nonsense.
The Constellations were equally baffled.
After all, Junil had been the one who first spread the phrase “ladder-kicking.”
‘Right. I was the one who promoted it…’
He had forgotten until the Constellations reminded him.
‘Hmm. Just as planned.’
Junil felt satisfied that things were proceeding exactly as intended.
Just then, something occurred to Junil.
“Ah. Suyeon.”
“Yes?”
“You… don’t mention that on the Rookies Show, okay?”
“……The subway incident?”
“Yeah.”
“U-uh. Got it.”
Junil was cutting off any chance of her saying something careless on the show.
Suyeon looked a little displeased, but she wasn’t the type to ignore his requests.
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
Suyeon smiled brightly to reassure him.
She no longer asked why she couldn’t talk about it.
* * *
“I’ll come again next time.”
After chatting a while longer, Suyeon left the hospital room.
It had taken time to listen to everything, but it had been very helpful for understanding the current situation.
‘So it’s real.’
After she left, Junil opened the window and looked outside.
Countless reporters were camped out.
If he walked out now, he’d be swarmed with interviews.
‘There really are a lot more eyes on me now.’
It wasn’t just the reporters.
Someone met his gaze, then quickly looked away.
‘There are agents too.’
Suyeon had said the government seemed to have assigned agents, and she wasn’t exaggerating.
Only his sharpened senses let him notice them.
Several people were monitoring the VIP room window.
Judging by the mana he sensed, they were Awakeners, though he couldn’t tell what skills they had.
‘Why?’
If he looked at it positively, it seemed like protection from kidnapping.
But realistically, there was no reason to give this kind of treatment to an F-rank.
Who cared if someone kidnapped him?
Maybe it wasn’t protection at all. Maybe it was surveillance.
‘Do they… know I’m Sagosul?’
Junil couldn’t help but consider the possibility.
Of course, everyone who had seen him as Sagosul was dead. There were no witnesses.
But…
‘Lee Suyeon, and the World Boss raid.’
Those two were the variables.
During the World Boss raid, Belzera’s illusion had fooled everyone on site.
Cameras, however, weren’t affected by illusions.
Isilen had claimed she blocked them with a barrier, but Junil hadn’t been able to verify it himself.
‘I can check the footage.’
Junil searched through the videos on his phone.
All of them were obscured by crimson smoke.
‘Then…’
That left only one variable.
‘In the end, it’s Suyeon.’
Junil knew it too.
The most dangerous yet only remaining link that could connect Sagosul and Moon Junil was Lee Suyeon.
Even among the Constellations, some were starting to voice their unease.
Even without any pink atmosphere, these guys were already screaming to kill anyone who seemed remotely suspicious. Now that she knew an important secret, of course comments like this were appearing.
Of course, there were also rebuttals.
So far, this side still held the upper hand.
That meant Suyeon hadn’t done anything suspicious behind the scenes.
But if she accidentally let something slip, or if someone used her to find out the truth…
The Constellations’ opinion would explode in a direction Junil didn’t want.
‘What would I do then?’
The Julian after his third life would definitely eliminate any risk factor.
He had never grown attached to his companions in the first place, so removing them had been easy.
But this case was different.
Suyeon had known him since before he became Julian.
And she held nothing but goodwill toward him—goodwill so strong it was almost troublesome.
Did he really have to… deal with her?
The scale in his mind trembled violently.
Unable to tip either way.
‘Haa.’
Junil leaned back against the bed, feeling a headache coming on.
Suyeon had nothing to do with this world at all.
Why did those damn fairies have to drag her into it?
“Hey. Ham.”
Junil muttered while lying down.
Poof!
Ham appeared.
“Hello, Hero-nim! I saw your massive performance this chapter!”
Ham was beaming, clearly in a great mood.
“You got tons of coins too! Haven’t checked the shop yet, have you? You should look at the upgrades and new items! I’m sure you’ll—”
“Just get in here!”
Whoosh!
Junil shoved her straight into his inventory.
‘Whether it’s Pam or Ham, they’re all the same.’
He was just taking his frustration out on her.
Ptooey!
The inventory was still functioning properly, as expected.
It spat out living things.
“K-Kyaaa!? What’s with your attitude!? Seriously!”
“You guys are the ones giving me these ridiculous requests.”
“……Huh?! Are you picking a fight again!? If you don’t have business with me, I’m leaving!”
“Wait. I called you because I have a few questions.”
“Hmph. What is it! I’ll only answer three!”
Ham threatened him like she was a genie in a lamp, but Junil ignored it and continued.
“First, Kang Hae-il’s teammates. Lee Suyeon and Kim… Riel, was it? Those two.”
“Yes.”
“How were they selected? Why them?”
“It’s most likely because their Constellations ranked high.”
“Constellations…?”
“Yes. The Constellations watch every single character~! Some were ‘designed’ to be popular, but others became popular for various reasons! They naturally end up connecting with the protagonist side! That’s how Storyboard 3.0 works!”
Ham winked proudly.
Heh.
‘Insane.’
But Junil’s expression darkened.
‘Then Suyeon getting involved here is ultimately because of me?’
Yu Jihun had originally been famous as the leader of the strongest party and was A+-rank. Kim Riel was A-rank or higher, if he remembered correctly.
So why had an ordinary university student B+-rank like Lee Suyeon suddenly gained so many Constellations?
It was obvious.
Because she was close to the 4th Line Goblin Slayer!
“Fine…… Next question. When does Kang Hae-il wake up?”
“Yes?”
“It’s post-awakening aftereffects. When does he wake up?”
Awakening a hero was a special matter even among the fairies.
Ham might know.
As expected, she had checked.
“About twenty minutes left.”
Damn. Not much time.
He needed to get there quickly and meet him one-on-one.
Meeting someone alone.
That was the foundation of all schemes and plots.
The first information received, the first person seen, always held the advantage in persuasion.
Therefore, Junil had to be the first to explain the situation to Kang Hae-il.
He quickly moved to the next question.
“Alright. Next is……”
“Hmph. Only one question left!”
Ham warned him, but her momentum quickly faded.
“I can’t even talk to Meyrin?”
“!”
It was a question she hadn’t expected at all.
“T-that’s……”
Ham grew anxious.
“Y-you did it last time, didn’t you? It’s me~! Julian!”
“……Are you joking?”
Ham tried to brush it off, but it didn’t work.
“T-that’s……”
So she simply disappeared.
Poof!
“……?”
Junil blinked.
Had her time run out, or had she run away?
The answer was clearly the latter.
“Agh! Damn it……”
Once he could travel to Archidia through the Red Gate, what would he do then?
‘Even if it’s just a conversation… even once would be enough.’
Should he just smash through the wall of four lives or whatever it was?
Then would Suyeon and Hae-il all die?
Junil’s heart felt heavy.
* * *
Thud.
Ham, who had returned to Fairy Corporation, collapsed onto the floor.
Perhaps because the hero’s emotions had been transmitted to her?
She sniffled and muttered to herself.
“Julian-nim…… I know Julian-nim thinks of her as special. But she’s already……”
Ham buried her face in her knees and couldn’t finish the sentence.