[Raccoon Man Beginning]
[Raccoon Man Beginning]
As I entered the shop, Baek-ri, who had arrived earlier, shoved his phone in my face, showing me an article and making a huge fuss.
"Hyung! Hyung! Hyung! Did you see this? I'm in the news too!"
"Yeah, I saw it. You did a great job while I was away."
"Right? Right?"
Baek-ri was bragging like he'd done something huge. Honestly, he did do something huge. He stopped our shop from getting destroyed.
If even one super-sized Enemy Species had appeared, it would have been hard for a regular Force User to stop it. It was only because Baek-ri was there that our shop remained standing and intact; otherwise, we would've just been twiddling our thumbs until Mr. Lee Gyeong-jin arrived.
......No, a Humanoid Hostile Species appeared too, so if Baek-ri hadn't been there, things could have gone really south. He really did a good deed.
"But the important thing is not to get carried away by the praise for such heroic deeds and lose your beginner's mindset. You're an altruistic person like your father, but you shouldn't let that make you arrogant, okay?"
"Yes, don't worry."
"What does Ruri say? Your parents might not know, but Ruri would have noticed."
"She said if I want her to keep her mouth shut, I need to give her more allowance."
"Heh heh heh, you two siblings get along so well."
The shop was safe thanks to Baek-ri's busy fighting. Nothing broken, no cracks. Thankfully, it seems we can keep doing business.
But the problem is the customers. I wonder if business will even be possible right after an Enemy Species invasion.
We were just starting to see the effects of being on TV, but the momentum got cut off, which is a real shame. It's a hobby business anyway, and my body has become more comfortable, but it's still a pity.
"Raccoon Man No. 2. Wearing a powered exoskeleton suit that looks like it came straight out of a movie, equipped with special weapons effective against Enemy Species, he made his first appearance and played an active role in this Enemy Species invasion. Thanks to him, the Enemy Species that appeared in Myeong-dong were easily repelled, and the unprecedented Humanoid Hostile Species that appeared in Yongsan-dong was also successfully defeated in cooperation with Thousand Swords Lee Gyeong-jin. This is a notable action, alongside the activities of the original Raccoon Man, who is active in the US and was recently granted honorary citizenship. Accordingly, the government is promising to treat Raccoon Man favorably and is taking the stance that if he reveals his identity and turns himself in, his past crimes can be reduced or exempted...... Wow, our country's change in stance is Udyr-level. They were trying to catch him just a while ago."
"I just received honorary citizenship in the US this time."
".......? So?"
"There aren't many people who receive honorary citizenship directly from the US President. Do you think they'd just give that to someone who snuck into the country and helped out of the blue, even if they are a Master User? It means I've been marked, so the Korean government must be feeling the heat."
The honorary citizenship I received has various political foundations.
First, as someone from Korea, I can immigrate to the US at any time, which gives me leverage in related matters. Plus, I've laid the groundwork to cross over more easily next time I sneak in, allowing me to visit the US frequently.
And by recruiting me, they can get technology from Sion that current civilization can only dream of.
Lastly, they probably think it would be the icing on the cake if they could also rope in Baek-ri, a.k.a. Raccoon Man No. 2.
"Honestly, they're probably coveting the weapon manufacturing technology that works on Enemy Species more than me. But it's impossible with current civilization. The infrastructure isn't there."
"Ah, I heard that from Hyung-su-nim. She said it's impossible because it uses the concept of space, right?"
"It looks like it's a Void Blaster. That's technology from a fairly advanced civilization. To realize that technology with current Earth civilization, you'd first need facilities as large as a research lab, and controlling the range would be difficult too."
A similar example is a nuclear reactor. With current Earth civilization, people think of huge factory-like power plants when they hear 'nuclear reactor,' but one of the reactors I know is a pretty useful power source the size of a palm.
Earth could probably shrink a reactor down that much if they tried for a few decades, but they can't do it right now.
"Think about it. Here, we have one Master User, one person in a movie-like superhero suit, and a supporter with technology that even works on Enemy Species. If they antagonize us and we just hand that over to the US, how much would they get cursed at by the citizens?"
Me, Baek-ri, Sion. Even if they only get one of these three, our country could enter the ranks of global powers.
Of course, Korea isn't at a level where it gets ignored, but it's naturally small compared to big powers like the US, Russia, or China.
But if they get even one of us? Then it's no different than holding a knife.
As the saying goes, even the strongest athlete or martial artist has to be careful of someone holding a knife.
.....Though, if they get the knife taken away, that would be quite a scene to watch.
"Shall we close the shop early this afternoon? There won't be many people anyway, so it'll be over quickly. I also want to see Yejin coming home from school."
"Ah, did Yejin go to school today? Is her complexion okay? It looked a bit bad when I saw her last time."
"......When did you see Yejin?"
"The day the Dimensional Rift happened, Hyung-su-nim said she needed someone with strength, so I went."
I put my hand on Baek-ri's shoulder. Then I squeezed and kneaded it, applying pressure.
"Ugh?! It hurts! It hurts, okay?!"
"No matter what, high school students are a no-go, you hear? My wife's appearance might be illegal, but she's legal. But a high school student is a no-go, okay?"
"It's not like that?! It's not like that?! I've thrown away all my fantasies about high school girls, so I'm not interested!"
"Instead, you can date when she becomes an adult."
"Yejin is pretty, but I'll think about it."
"What's wrong with our Yejin!"
"Ah! Seriously! What rhythm am I supposed to dance to?!"
While we were making a fuss, Seo-ae-ssi arrived for work.
Everything was ready, and without any special incidents, our chicken shop started business today without any major issues.
While doing business, we often get involved with people we call 'jinsang' (troublemakers). From simple drunks to customers who throw unreasonable tantrums.
The latter case was someone who claimed the chicken tasted weird, then brought the bones after eating it all and asked for a refund. So, I cleanly called the police.
The fortunate thing is that this isn't a place where kids come often. The menu is chicken, there are only a few tables inside, and the main menu is takeout. Plus, our shop doesn't do delivery, so we aren't even signed up for delivery apps.
If they want to eat, it means they have to come and eat it themselves. There aren't that many terrible troublemakers among people like that.
Drunks are also... well, some go overboard, but most are normal people once they sober up. For those who aren't, I called the police.
There was a troublemaker in today's business too. But it was a rather unique kind of troublemaker.
"Uh... hey, Hyung."
"What?"
"Those four guys at the table inside. They're asking for beer... but in my eyes, they still look like high schoolers?"
I glanced inside, and four guys were ordering three chickens and tearing into them. Since chicken goes with beer, beer orders do come in, but the people sitting there had faces that looked a bit too young to be drinking beer.
"If it were just one or two, I might have let it slide, but all four of them look like high schoolers. What should I do?"
"Did you check their IDs?"
"I checked. The IDs look fine."
If so, the result is one of two things.
They are either fresh-faced newbies whose ink on their IDs has barely dried, or the IDs are fake.
To be sure, I came out of the kitchen and walked directly to the table.
As Baek-ri said, they look quite young. There was one big guy among them, but that's just how kids grow these days, so you can't judge by size alone.
"You ordered beer earlier, right?"
"Ah, yeah. So what?"
"Could I check your IDs for a second? You guys look so young that we were a bit unsure."
"Sure. Here."
I took the ID one of them handed me and checked it. On the surface, it looked like a normal resident registration card, but in my eyes, it wasn't.
But it was sophisticated enough that a normal person wouldn't notice, so it was enough to fool someone who didn't know better.
They're quite talented. If they used this kind of ability or effort for something else, they would have succeeded... It's truly a pity to waste energy on useless things.
Using this just to drink alcohol secretly.
"Are you really adults?"
"We are adults, okay? Just give us the beer already."
It's a lie.
It doesn't work on people who are used to hiding their inner thoughts or Transcendents, but I can see through a lie of that level.
Looking at the four of them, their faces were all flushed. Seeing that they already smelled like alcohol, it looked like they had already had a round somewhere else... but that won't work on me.
I don't know about other things, but kids drinking before they are adults is a no-go. The useless ethics I have here!
If Baek-ri heard this, he'd ask why I allowed Ruri, but Ruri is Ruri, so it's fine.
"Students. Drinking alcohol at a young age is bad for your body. I'll give you a large Coke on the house, so drink Coke instead of beer."
"What did you say?"
The guy who stood up while frowning was quite big, about a head taller than me.
Kids these days really grow well. I'm not short myself, but seeing someone bigger than me...
His build is fine to be considered an adult, but a high schooler is a high schooler. I bet my wrist on it.
He stood in front of me and asked threateningly.
"We even showed our IDs, so what the hell are you trying to do? Are you playing games right now?"
Following him, the other three also stood up, creating a threatening atmosphere. But that's just kids' play.
Baek-ri approached quietly, and Seo-ae-ssi took her phone out of her pocket. Other people around us were watching our situation, and far from thinking of stopping it, they were watching with intrigued faces.
Yeah, that's the way of the world these days. If something happens, rather than helping, they take out their phones to film or take pictures and upload them to social media.
I don't mind being a spectacle, but these rude bastards need to be educated.
"Mister, it's not like we don't have money, and we even showed our IDs, so why won't you give us alcohol?"
"Those IDs are fake."
"What? Do you have proof?"
They flinched for a moment, but that was only for a second, and they shamelessly pushed forward.
While doing business, there aren't only good customers, but sometimes there are these kinds of 'jinsang' customers.
From my experience, if I stay here a little longer, a fist will fly.
Since it's something I have to do, I decided to provoke them quickly and surely.
"I'm betting my wrist and this shop on the fact that those IDs are fake and you guys are high schoolers. What are you going to bet?"
Kids... have you heard of real-life consequences?
"Ha! Fucking hell, seriously, making such a big deal out of it at a chicken shop. We're adults, so why do you keep blocking us and acting like a dick for no reason?"
"If I call the police, it won't be me, but you guys who will get hurt. Are you still okay with that?"
"Do it! Call them, you fucker! It's not like it's the first or second time we've been to the station!"
The big guy pushed my shoulder with his hand, tuk-tuk. I could have not been pushed, but I deliberately stumbled and stepped back.
There's a CCTV inside the shop anyway. This whole situation was being recorded.
The other three who had gotten out of their seats surrounded me, and the atmosphere turned hostile. I laughed while looking at those brats.
"You laughing? Huh? You laughing, mister?"
"It's just because you high school brats have nothing better to do than forge IDs, what a pathetic sight."
I saw one of the guys next to me clench his fist.
"Do you even know how to use your fists?"
Suddenly, a line from America's Ass came to mind.
Before we have a go, is there anyone who wants to back down?