Negotiation of Terms
“No.”
Why did she have to make such a resolute face? On the way back home, I suggested the gate observation again, only to get an even firmer refusal than before.
“Absolutely not.”
Of course, what I called “observation” was really my personal “watch the fight from across the river while Seo-hyun does all the real work” course. Still, it was a properly organized raid that required paperwork and everything. As an A-class awakener, Seo-hyun probably wouldn’t be in any real danger.
But I guess that was beside the point. No matter how much she’d trained in the Beombu Shingong, she had been a non-awakener until recently. A high school girl. Sure, she’d taken a two-year leave of absence so she was technically an adult now, but still—a high school girl. I couldn’t force her.
“Fine. I’ll go alone.”
I carefully folded the documents I’d been holding when her firm voice rang out again.
“No.”
Why again? Are you my mom or something? Not on paper. Not legally either.
…It wasn’t even that pathetic a thought, so why did it feel so pathetic? To change the subject, I snapped at her.
“Let’s hear why it’s not allowed, then.”
The answer that came back was ridiculous.
“Because it’s dangerous.”
Did she really think I was some little kid? I couldn’t exactly shout about my identity in the middle of a busy street in broad daylight… I swallowed my frustration and waited until we got home.
The place where Seo-hyun lived was a shabby studio on the outskirts of the city. In this brightly reconstructed metropolis, it was a rare remnant of the old era—an outdated building. The irony was that surviving the chaos so stubbornly had become its greatest curse. Even with that moldy smell, it seemed Seo-hyun had grown attached.
“I didn’t think I’d end up moving like this.”
I grumbled at the girl who was looking around the room with misty eyes.
“Hey. As you’ve probably already guessed, I’m not as young as you think. Can you stop treating me like a real child?”
I’d felt a little bitter, worried she might be disappointed, but that was my arrogance. This kid wasn’t a life form I could understand.
“Ooooh—”
Her eyes sparkled as she approached me and asked,
“Are you really a goddess?”
Then she grabbed me under the arms and lifted me up.
“Put me down. I’m speaking formally right now.”
A stern warning I knew wouldn’t work. Naturally, it didn’t.
“Hm? You are a goddess, right? Baby goddess?”
“Stop shaking me.”
“Or maybe a fairy?”
“Stop spinning.”
“Tell me quick~”
“I’m getting dizzy… ugh…”
The moment I started dry-heaving, the gal finally put me down.
“Huk! Are you okay?! Sorry!!”
I wanted to curse her out, but this wasn’t Seo-hyun’s fault. The unpleasant mana I’d felt since entering the city. At first I thought it was just the concentration of natural mana affected by environmental pollution. But it wasn’t. It was a little more alien. More unsettling. If I had to put it in human terms, it was like ‘the unnaturalness of spirits.’
Spirits were the mana that flowed out of a living being’s body after death. Its strangely twisted form must have affected my unconscious mana analysis. So there was no reason to blame Seo-hyun, but…
“Whatever I am, I’m still older than you.”
I staggered to my feet and struck a dignified pose. Since Seo-hyun was crouching, our eye levels were about even. Even so, she squealed,
“Kyaa! So you are!”
Then she pulled me into a hug like I was a doll and rubbed her cheek against me.
Should I hit her? I seriously considered it before using etherealization to blink away. Seo-hyun, who suddenly found herself hugging empty air, wobbled and made a dazed face.
It was truly displeasing, but taking someone like her along was still the more comfortable option. The important thing was hiding my identity more than the observation itself. So if possible, I wanted to persuade her…
“Isn’t there anything you want?”
Since I couldn’t read her thoughts at all, I asked directly. Seo-hyun tilted her head with the same bewildered expression.
“Something I want? Out of nowhere?”
“Yeah. Money, special abilities, whatever.”
Money-wise, now that she was an A-class awakener, she could probably earn more than I could as a declared recluse, but fortunately she hadn’t shown much material desire back at the abandoned factory.
“Hmm…”
She rested a finger on her chin, thinking hard, then stood up.
“Let’s pack first! Sister Hye-in will be here soon!”
Ah… right, she said she’d give us a ride. My stomach suddenly felt heavy. But precisely because of that, I needed to settle this now. I rummaged through the drawers, trying to look good for Seo-hyun, and hurried her.
“Hurry up and tell me. What do you want?”
Seo-hyun leisurely gathered the few clothes she owned from the wardrobe and answered.
“I don’t know. Back then I wanted to become an awakener, but I already did that.”
“Why did you want to become an awakener?”
“These days it’s hard for regular people to enter gates, right? And even if you get in, you can’t join the combat teams.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why did you learn Beombu Shingong?”
“Huh?”
Why was she reacting so strangely again? I broke out in a cold sweat and looked at her. She was staring at me with wide, round eyes. Scary.
“What. Why.”
I snarled like a cornered chihuahua, and Seo-hyun burst into laughter.
“No, it’s just… you really are older. You even know the term Beombu Shingong?”
She toddled toward me, so I retreated into the corner. Seo-hyun stared at me with a disappointed face before turning her gaze out the window. When she spoke again, her expression had turned slightly wistful.
“No one would teach me, so I threw a tantrum until I learned it. I was stupid back then.”
You’re still plenty stupid now. I was wondering if I should tell her my honest feelings when she said something welcome.
“Ah! I thought of something I want!”
Her face brightened for the first time in a while. I asked eagerly,
“What is it? Tell me!”
But the moment I heard the answer, my expression crumpled.
“Beombu Shingong mastery!”
Why the hell would you… My brows furrowed. Should I call this fortunate, or had things gotten troublesome? At least as a condition I could offer during negotiations, it was fortunate. But mastery? Was that really necessary?
Beombu Shingong was originally a technique created for non-awakeners. On top of that, it was a rootless art that presupposed the special nature of gates and the use of heavily modified magitech military equipment. Naturally, learning it was dangerous, and the materials were surprisingly expensive. The reason such a technique could become popular fifty years ago was because everyone was desperately struggling to survive inside the gates.
So it didn’t seem like something I could offer as a negotiation condition, but…
‘Wait a second.’
How many people in this era even properly understood Beombu Shingong? If I just taught her the basics and declared it complete, there’d be no one to point out the flaws. Wouldn’t that be perfect? Am I a genius?
I smiled wickedly and said,
“I can teach you. All the secret techniques of Beombu Shingong.”
In truth, there weren’t really any secret techniques to speak of. The mana liquid combination method that could be called the foundation of Beombu Shingong required magic bullets that had been mass-produced and distributed fifty years ago. So what I could actually teach her was just the stances and breathing methods.
Fortunately, Seo-hyun took the bait.
“Really? Teach me!”
I put on an arrogant expression and got to the main point.
“Then go to the gate with me!”
…It pissed me off how much I sounded like a spoiled little kid throwing a tantrum because of how I looked. Still, it was half a success. Seo-hyun let out a groan like she’d been caught off guard.
“Ugh…”
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get an answer right away. Kwon Hye-in’s vehicle had just entered the city. Her own mana was quite unique, and the car was plastered with so much equipment that it was easy to detect.
First, I warned Seo-hyun.
“Just in case, I’ll say it again. Everything about me is a secret. Even the fact that we had this conversation today.”
Hey. Are you listening? How long is she going to agonize over it? Seo-hyun kept standing there with her eyes closed until Hye-in arrived, and my chest felt tight. I thought about urging her a little, but the city was so small. Hye-in’s vehicle had already stopped in front of the studio.
The walls were thin and my senses were sharp, so I could clearly hear Hye-in’s footsteps coming up to the third floor. By the time she knocked, I could even hear her breathing.
Seo-hyun only snapped out of it when she heard Hye-in’s voice.
“Are you inside? I’m here.”
“Ah!”
Startled, Seo-hyun ran to the front door. She opened it and said,
“Sorry. I was checking one last time to make sure I didn’t forget anything.”
Hye-in’s impression was completely different from the first time I saw her. She looked like a total celebrity. A tight blouse, purple suit pants. A stylish jacket draped over her shoulders. A large pure-gold necklace that stood out yet harmonized with the overall color scheme. The lightly tinted sunglasses turned her red eyes yellow.
Contrary to the intense aura she gave off in military uniform, her tone was incredibly gentle.
“Of course you should. Things you forget always come to mind after you’ve already left, right?”
Then she held out the paper bag she’d been carrying over her shoulder.
“Let’s have a proper homemade meal feel one last time. I bought lunch boxes and dessert.”
Seo-hyun’s eyes sparkled when she saw the rabbit symbol on the bag.
“Is this Moon Bunny cake?”
“There’s cake and snacks too.”
“This is my first time trying it!”
“Haha! Good thing I bought it.”
The moment she received the bag, Seo-hyun scampered over to the sink. While she took out the folding table and set it up, Hye-in approached me with a bright smile.
“Have you been well?”
Maybe because the impact of our first meeting had been too strong. Every time I saw Hye-in’s red hair, the crescent moon that had covered the city came to mind. From what I’d looked up online, the name of that technique was Trajectory of Bango. The fact that something like that was a basic move she used before even starting a fight… It was so terrifying I couldn’t speak.
With a intimidated face, I could only nod, accidentally acting like a timid little kid. Hye-in smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek.
“Really? That’s a relief.”
Silence… It was uncomfortable. Why don’t you go help set the table? The moment I thought that, Hye-in actually went over to Seo-hyun. I only realized how bad this situation was the next instant.
“Ah. Sister Hye-in.”
“Yeah?”
Seo-hyun suddenly remembered something. That alone was enough to make me anxious, but then she continued,
“Do you know something called Beombu Shingong?”
I slapped my forehead. Right. That wasn’t about me.