The Terrorist
34.
"Shall we try opening it now, then?"
"Yes!"
Elena nodded so vigorously that she suddenly remembered she was still half-naked. She startled and threw up a hand to stop me.
"Wait—just a moment!"
She squeezed her eyes shut and murmured a short incantation. In an instant the sweat vanished from her skin, leaving it soft and dry. Keira knew that spell too—a cleaning charm that left the whole body pristine. She had once told me it could even wipe away semen, which was why I never bothered with contraception when we were together. Elena probably wouldn't need it either.
She pointed a finger at me, and my skin went soft and clean as well. Even the part of me she had cleaned with her tongue earlier was spotless again. Oh—so that was how it worked. Amazing. My body felt light enough to float. Keira had never done this for me. She preferred bathing me herself—or, more precisely, preferred what we did while bathing.
Elena caught my look of wonder and smiled, bright and sweet. My lower half sprang up like a knee-jerk reflex. Her smile froze. Color flooded her face.
"Th-that… again… why?"
She still didn't understand men. You can't smile that adorably while half-naked and expect nothing to happen, you know.
"Because you're cute. I want to hold you."
"…What?"
Elena's face looked ready to burst. She stood frozen for several seconds, then slowly backed off the bed and fumbled her way back into her armor.
"…You're magnificent too, Jungmin…"
Coming from someone down on one knee with her head bowed, the words were almost impossible to take seriously. I was dying to tease her, but I let it go this time. I was genuinely curious whether Lu's power would come through.
I pulled on my pants and straightened my clothes. Elena was showing Lu proper respect; I wanted to do the same. Lu was my lifesaver—or should I say life-god?
"I'm opening it."
"Yes!"
Opening a Gate was as natural as breathing.
Fwaaat.
A blue circle bloomed in midair—the same shape as the Gates Elena and Keira had come through.
"How is it?"
"One moment. Lu's presence is…"
I felt it too. Something was trying to push through the Gate. But that "something" was far too vast to pass. The Gate groaned under the strain—and so did I.
"Ghk—"
I spat black blood. It ran from my nose as well. My head felt like it had already cracked open.
"Jungmin!"
Elena's cry rang out as warm light wrapped around me. At the same time the Gate shuddered even harder. This wouldn't work. I forced it shut.
"Ghk—cough—"
Every cough poured more blood. The world went dim.
"Jungmin! Stay with me! I can heal you—Jungmin!"
Elena… was she crying? I reached up and wiped the tears from her cheek.
I'm sorry I made you cry.
The words never left my mouth. I collapsed into her arms instead. Her armor was cold, but her mana was warm.
"Jungmin!"
And then I blacked out.
Jungmin lay on the bed with a peaceful expression. The clothes cleaned by magic showed not a single trace of blood.
"He's all right… isn't he?"
"He's fine. He simply collapsed from overusing his mana and magical power."
Keira spoke flatly. Elena's voice, by contrast, trembled.
"But he lost so much blood…"
Elena was rattled. She couldn't shake the feeling that Jungmin's collapse was her fault—that her stubborn insistence he might be able to receive Lu's power had caused all of this.
"Blood like that is routine. You know that as well as anyone, Elena. You're a holy knight—heal him like one."
"You're right. I did. That's why he's stable now. He is… right?"
Elena needed confirmation of things she could see with her own eyes. That was how deeply Jungmin had already taken root in her. After only a single night together.
"Elena, hide that expression. Right now the people more anxious than you are Jungmin's family."
Keira switched to Archenian so Jungmin's family wouldn't overhear. Since she and Elena communicated through translation magic, it didn't matter which language either of them used.
"Ah…"
Only then did Elena manage to look around. Everyone from the tenth floor had crowded into her room. She had shouted so loudly that people came running from every direction.
Sitting by the bed, holding Jungmin's hand, was his mother. Beside her, his father. Next to him, Jungmin's younger sibling. Nayeon leaned against the doorframe, mid-yawn. Nari, for the record, was out.
If Keira hadn't arrived first and taken control of the situation, something truly disastrous might have happened. There was no telling how Jungmin's mother would have reacted to seeing her son cough up blood.
"Show some composure befitting a holy knight. Otherwise, what will Jungmin's family think of you? And if that happens, Jungmin himself might…"
"Hhk—!"
Elena's eyes went round. She stamped her feet in place. A new kind of panic seized her.
What if Jungmin starts to hate me?
Should I go back?
No!
A world without him has no meaning anymore!
What do I do? Have I already lost points? How do I recover—
Dozens of thoughts raced through her head, but Elena had never been in a situation like this before, and her mind refused to produce an answer. Then a single ray of light cut through the storm clouds.
"I'm joking. Jungmin would never do that. You trust him, don't you?"
"Yes! I do! I trust him!"
Elena answered without a second's hesitation. To her, Jungmin was already something like a religion.
"Then cast a calming spell, would you? Jungmin's family is still on edge."
"Yes—of course. That's a wonderful idea."
Elena closed her eyes and murmured an incantation. Invisible mana filled the room and settled over everyone present. Only Nayeon noticed the artificial warmth; she glanced sideways at Elena and left it at that.
"Well done, Elena. I can't use magic of that school myself. You're a real help."
"This is nothing. Your composure is what's truly essential in every situation, Lady Keira. I'm always so scatterbrained… earlier, too…"
Elena thought back to what had just happened. Honestly, her memories were hazy. From the moment their lips met, she had sunk so deep into happiness that she simply stayed there. The pain of her first time hadn't been particularly severe—a sturdy body had always been one of her lifelong advantages. What remained instead was a festival of pleasure that left her head floating. Faced with a sensation she had never known, she could only let herself be carried along. Love wasn't something you did alone, and yet she felt as though she had only received.
"…It didn't go well?"
"No—it went wonderfully. It was the best!"
"Then I'm glad. Did you find your answer?"
"Answer? Ah…"
In an earlier conversation with Keira, Elena had ended with a question:
…Is it really that good?
Looking back, it had been a foolish thing to ask. Of course it was good. But at the time, for Elena, it had been a critical question—she had been standing at the crossroads of whether to return home or stay.
Keira hadn't answered. She had only smiled. That smile had goaded Elena. A smile full of confident certainty that of course it was good. A smile that said words were useless until you'd experienced it yourself. A smile of someone who had tasted it first and felt superior. It may not have been any of those three things, but that was how Elena read it, and her pride took a scratch.
So she decided to spend a night with Jungmin. The thought of that fox Keira monopolizing him made her blood boil. She wanted to leave a powerful impression of her own. And when it came to her figure—especially her chest—she was confident she didn't lose to Keira.
In truth, spending one night didn't mean she had to stay. She could open a return Gate whenever she wanted. Go back whenever she felt like it. Coming to Earth again would be the impossible part.
Of course, there had been a fear that once she did it, she wouldn't be able to go back to the way things were. Jungmin had already left a powerful impression. Mixing bodies with him, she had a premonition, would seize her entire life. Then she wouldn't be able to leave as easily as before. One night would become a month, then "let's just watch for six more months," and a year, two years would slip by in a blink—the same way she had spent thirty years as a virgin while training with the sword. By then she might even hesitate to return to Keruon.
And in the end, Elena's premonition had come true.
"…I found it."
Elena's quiet answer carried a smile just like Keira's—a smile that meant a fullness of satisfaction no words could explain.
"Haaah…"
Nayeon, who had bolted out of bed half-asleep, watched Keira and Elena while she yawned. The two of them had been whispering in a language only they understood, then locked eyes and wore nearly identical smiles. Smiles dripping with superiority.
…Lesbians? No, that doesn't fit. Then what is that?
Nayeon's mood soured for no good reason.
People had gathered in the tenth-floor living room to hear Garam's report.
"I'll brief you on everything so far."
"One moment."
Keira cut him off.
"I'll cast a translation spell. Elena should hear this too from now on."
She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them. I felt the mana shift, but to everyone else nothing seemed to change.
"Is it done?"
"Yes. And Garam—if you're doing it for Elena and me, you can speak casually."
"…Sorry?"
"Elena will agree to being treated casually as well. Right?"
Elena nodded quietly. I was just going along with it when Garam looked at me. Huh? Why me? Is this about me somehow? When I gave his look no reaction at all, he gave up and pressed on.
"Understood… Ahem. No—got it. First off, we caught the sniper."
"Already? Then you'll have the ringleader soon."
"No. No leads. We got nothing out of the sniper."
"Why not?"
"He was only brought in for this one attack. He doesn't know anything."
"That's…"
"So we've been looking into incidents that might have involved scroll use, but that side isn't turning up much either. Looks like the culprit sold everything through phone calls and package deliveries only."
"But they must have taken payment, right?"
"That was done by exchanging Magic Stones, apparently."
"Tch…"
The arrival of Magic Stones had made cash transactions far easier. A stone the size of a fist easily topped ten million won.
"The case has gone cold. Until that bastard starts operating again, I don't see a way forward."
Starts operating again…
"…What about bait? Me as bait. For whatever reason, they staged a terrorist attack in the middle of Seoul just to target me. I think I'd make decent bait."
"I considered that, but whether it'd produce results is doubtful. The sniper said the guy is extremely careful. Would someone like that retry a job that already failed once? A cautious type would wait until we've completely forgotten about him."
That made sense. This was someone who prepared a long-range sniper shot just to deal with an F-class Keeper. Next time, he'd try to make it even more perfect—no matter how long it took.
Was there really no other way? Did we just have to sit and wait for the next opportunity?
I was turning it over when the answer came from an unexpected place.
"Is there any way to know what the culprit looks like?"
Elena. Garam answered her.
"We got a composite sketch through the sniper, but what good does that do?"
"A composite? A drawing won't be enough. That sniper knows what the culprit looks like, correct?"
"That's true."
"Then I can identify the culprit with holy magic."
"Really?"
Garam leaned in toward Elena.
"Yes. It's possible—if Jungmin can borrow Lu's power."
Elena's gaze turned toward me. Everyone else's followed.
Huh? Me again?
I gave the room an awkward smile. Somehow, I had the distinct feeling a long, hard road had just opened up ahead.