Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Your Engineer
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Blue mana spread wide beneath her feet.
The warehouse door burst open, and white fabrics fluttered wildly.
“Wh-what’s happening?”
“Cue! Do something!”
The people couldn’t even stretch out their arms, tangled as they were in the clinging cloth.
Just the wind stirred up by their flailing was enough to send the fabrics whipping about chaotically.
Haon had changed their very material.
Cue couldn’t use her invincibility against the fabrics, as they weren't directly harming her.
She could only scream in fury, tangled in the cloth.
Amid the chaos and clamor, the fabrics rustled and parted, clearing a path before Juyeol.
At the end of the path made of gossamer-thin cloth, he found Haon standing with a worried expression.
Despite having created this unbelievable scene, Haon just pointed at the exit, urging him to leave quickly.
Juyeol’s lips parted slightly as he looked around the warehouse, then let out a disbelieving chuckle.
As he strode closer, Haon grabbed his hand and bolted for the outside.
He was only feigning a run, yet their pace was the same.
Just before leaving the warehouse, Juyeol smirked and muttered softly.
“Well-ripened waxy corn?”
Glancing back, he saw a bracelet woven from colorful, round gems glistening enticingly under one of the few intact lights.
* * *
Only after returning to the lab did Haon breathe a sigh of relief.
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
“For the most part.”
Giving a vague but positive answer, Juyeol looked down at Haon’s small head and asked.
“That thing you did with the cloth today, changing objects.”
“Mana Engineering?”
“Yeah. What are the limits of this Mana Engineering?”
Haon’s mouth opened and closed as she hesitated.
What were the limits? How much could she tell him?
Could she tell him she could create Dimension Gates?
He didn't even believe she was from another dimension.
Explaining Mana Engineering in detail to a world where mana hadn't even been discovered would only cause confusion.
After some thought, Haon answered with a question.
“What do you need? If there’s anything to fix, I can help.”
“You know how to work on bikes and guns?”
“Of course. I can fix any machine.”
“Is that so.”
Juyeol glanced around the lab with a meaningful expression, then added.
“Then from now on, you’re my…”
He flinched, stopping mid-sentence, and stared at the lab door.
“What is it? Is someone here?”
“Shh.”
Suddenly, he hastily clamped a hand over Haon’s mouth and pulled her in by the waist.
“Mmph!”
Before Haon even had a chance to be surprised, the two of them vanished into the shadows.
At the same moment, the door burst open.
The person who walked into the lab was the leader of the Heroes, Hunter.
“Hmm.”
Hunter fiddled with the crossbow at her hip as she scanned the empty lab.
Haon recognized her as a Hero at once. It was because of the goblin emblem on her clothes.
So she couldn’t understand why Juyeol had pulled her into hiding with him.
*They’re both Heroes, so why?*
Haon’s heart began to beat a little faster, mirroring Juyeol’s own quickening pulse.
She wanted to see his expression, but the hand over her mouth and the arm around her waist were unyielding.
Juyeol watched Hunter sharply as she surveyed the lab.
The timing was bad.
He couldn’t be seen here, in Eun Haon’s lab, wearing civilian clothes while on suspension.
*I was already caught coming here with the Awakening Sphere.*
There was no telling what kind of misunderstanding could land him in an interrogation room.
Fortunately, Hunter only glanced around the lab once more before leaving. She didn’t seem inclined to wait long for Eun Haon.
But Juyeol waited for several more minutes before releasing his ability. It never hurt to be cautious.
“Phew.”
“Can I talk now?”
At the sound of his sigh, Haon pulled his hand away from her mouth and looked up. The back of her small head bumped against his broad chest.
“...?”
Only then did Juyeol realize he had pulled Eun Haon into hiding with him, and he flinched.
With a flustered look, he quickly released his arm and stepped back. Haon peeked toward the door and asked,
“Is she someone I’m not supposed to meet?”
Juyeol’s dark eyes wavered. It was the opposite.
*I was planning to have her meet Hunter.*
If, by some chance, the Haon before him was a different person from ‘Dr. Eun Haon,’ Hunter’s ability would be able to tell.
*But why did I…*
He couldn’t understand his own actions.
He could have just hidden himself in the shadows and watched as Hunter checked Haon.
“Juyeol?”
Her puzzled call snapped him back to his senses.
“It just… happened in the heat of the moment.”
As Haon tilted her head at his evasive words, Juyeol quickly added.
“Anyway, if you’re not going to take requests from Villains, take them from me from now on.”
“Huh? From you?”
“You said you know how to handle machines. So be my engineer.”
While he was wondering how to make use of this clueless scientist, a problem arose with his helmet, and he had tried contacting the engineers at Hero Headquarters.
It seemed Hunter had strictly ordered them not to help him while he was suspended, as they all replied that there was nothing they could do.
But now that Eun Haon had declared she would no longer take requests from Villains, he couldn't miss this opportunity.
The events at the warehouse still flickered before his eyes.
“Your… engineer?”
Haon, who had been standing there with a blank look, broke into a wide grin.
“I’d love to!”
“…You’d love to?”
Juyeol was taken aback by her enthusiastic acceptance. For her to be this happy, when it wasn't as if she were short on money, was unexpected.
“Yes! I’ll do it. I’ll be your engineer!”
Haon was extremely proactive.
*This is great! I might be able to resolve the hostile relationship with the Heroes.*
She had her own motivations as well.
The fact that ‘Eun Haon’ built weapons for Villains must have been a major reason for her poor relationship with the Heroes.
But if she became the engineer for the Hero Juyeol, Ghost, perhaps people’s perception of her would change a little.
Maybe they’d think she’d come to her senses and reformed.
*If I want to do my research in peace until I can go home, this is the better option.*
Full of motivation, Haon spoke with determination.
“I’ll take really good care of you.”
Juyeol’s eyebrow twitched at the subtly suggestive words.
“So, about that, Juyeol.”
He gave a slight jerk of his chin, a gesture for her to continue.
“Why don’t you just live here with me?”
After freezing for a moment, Juyeol slapped his ears, confirmed they were working fine, and then scowled.
“What kind of nonsense is this now?”
For the sake of a refreshing morning, Haon needed Juyeol.
“Live here. Okay? There are plenty of rooms.”
But Juyeol was sick and tired of the nonsense she spouted every so often.
“Seriously, stop saying such ridiculous things.”
While having her close by for surveillance would be the most reassuring, if he, a suspended Hero, was caught visiting Eun Haon frequently, Headquarters would find it suspicious in itself.
Even aside from that, he was dumbfounded by her complete lack of personal boundaries.
“It would be good for you, too, living close to your engineer’s workshop…”
“Hardly.”
He said curtly, turning to leave the lab.
“You were the one whining that you just needed your phone fixed, so if you don’t want a hole in your forehead, make sure you find the bastard who killed my brother.”
“Where are you going? You’ll be back tomorrow, right?”
“I’m busy. Just fix the helmet.”
“Busy? Are you going to the old district tomorrow?”
“Why there?”
“Chacha said she’s fighting Halla’s gang.”
“Why stop Villains from fighting each other? Let them all die for all I care.”
“Then?”
“There’s a Villain I have to meet.”
Haon’s eyes lit up with admiration. “Wow.”
“You’re doing Hero work even while you’re suspended? Was going to the exhibition today part of that?”
“I said I'm going to meet a Villain.”
“Same difference! You’re so reliable and cool!”
“…”
This was unfamiliar to Juyeol. Other Heroes might be used to such reactions, but he wasn’t.
“Don’t get hurt, and come find me anytime you need something else.”
Haon waved her phone and smiled brightly.
“I’m your engineer now, after all. I’ll have the helmet fixed up nicely.”
Juyeol’s expression turned peculiar.
He had thought that now that she had the Awakening Sphere she so desperately wanted, she might start showing her true colors.
But her gaze was still full of goodwill, and he left the penthouse without another word.
It felt as if she were looking at someone else through him. The feeling was strange.
*She sees me as her best friend, so I guess it's not wrong. And it's a good thing she wants to help me.*
* * *
The next day, Haon was still tinkering with the neatly repaired helmet.
Worried that Juyeol might change his mind, she had started on the helmet repairs before calibrating the lab.
But his words about not coming today seemed to be true; there was no news from him, even by lunchtime.
The helmet’s owner was nowhere to be seen, but perhaps because it had been a while since she’d done some proper repairs, Haon was in a good mood.
*The zoom is working properly, and the extra modifications just need a little tweaking. I only meant to repair it, but I got carried away and added all sorts of things.*
She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of using Mana Engineering for a Hero instead of a Villain.
Just as she was checking for any other potential additions and sinking into her chair to take a break.
“Darling. What’s so amusing?”
“...!”
She shot up, startled by the voice that had whispered right next to her ear.
And she was even more surprised by the identity of the person who had approached without a sound.