Chapter 5
‘What are you planning to do? It doesn’t matter to me if I go myself.’
Noah Roshan asked while holding the gun.
The peculiar, nauseating atmosphere that used to draw everyone’s attention had vanished. Having sunken insensate to become inorganic and cold once again, he looked human.
‘I want that kid to be happy. But she’s a bit picky.’
She even ran me over with her car just a moment ago. Cold-hearted, terrible. No matter how much I hold onto her, it’s useless. In reality, she doesn’t care about either side, yet she just keeps walking toward death… Roshan, muttering like that, appeared a bit angry.
It was strange. Noah Roshan had a face that looked completely seething inside.
Yes. He had a face that looked as though he couldn’t endure it out of anger, yet could endure anything at the same time—all while wearing ‘Athena’s Earcuff (S+ Rank),’ which distorted the wearer’s appearance. While producing both a corrupted, altered voice and a human voice.
As if he belonged to neither, he whispered like an incarnation of both human and monster.
‘You promised…’
A barrage of voices that only Oh Ji-yoon could hear poured out wildly, before
‘Do you understand, Director Cha Ho-bong? Do you understand?’
it repeatedly returned to a voice like a broken tape.
In common, Noah Roshan seemed unable to contain himself. He looked enraged and was spilling out dark frustration.
When he, having suddenly fallen silent, opened his mouth again, he had returned to being completely normal.
‘I hope you give a positive answer. It’d be even better if you could persuade her. Still, don’t prod her too much.’
No, he wasn’t completely normal. He said that just thinking about ‘Oh Ji-yoon being prodded’ in a place beyond his sight brought on a wave of intense fear.
His obsession as he said that was so formidable that Director Cha Ho-bong eventually held his tongue. Noah Roshan’s tenacity was famous. After all, he had grown a decent business entity from a desolate wasteland in just 10 years. That was the primary reason Cha Ho-bong had maintained relations with Noah Roshan.
He was a lunatic. The old man clicked his tongue.
“What is Ranker Oh Ji-yoon doing right now?”
“[She is inside the prison.]”
“I’ll head over shortly.”
Director Cha Ho-bong’s gaze landed on Noah Roshan’s empty seat and the gun he had left behind. The executive secretary might not know, but the old man could tell.
The statement that ‘it doesn’t matter if I go myself if Oh Ji-yoon doesn’t come’ alongside the gun.
This clearly meant, ‘If you don’t bring Oh Ji-yoon back, I will shoot someone and get imprisoned just like her.’
“……Well, before we go, hold on a moment. Turn on the CCTV screen. The footage of when she broke in. Do you have it?”
“[Yes, I understand, Director.]”
A hazy figure surfaced on the CCTV monitor. Director Cha Ho-bong stared intently at the screen.
Ranker Oh Ji-yoon could be seen raising both hands in a cooperative manner on screen, taking a stance of surrender.
Noah Roshan hadn’t told him not to use Oh Ji-yoon. Crossing his arms, the old man burst into a hollow chuckle.
“Young, so young. Tch, my my.”
Did he trust Oh Ji-yoon? The Oh Ji-yoon captured in the video was extremely gentle. As if trying not to provoke the guards who were startled by the sudden situation, she even looked utterly respectful.
“Whether she’s gentle or foolish, I’ll find out once I meet her.”
What Noah Roshan was afraid of was none of his concern.
“Aargh! Crazy b*tch! Won’t you let go?! Let go?!”
Oh Ji-yoon’s beetle-like eyes looked down on her opponent. She was clearly an F-rank and he was a C-rank, yet he couldn’t exert any strength at all.
The ranker whose arm was twisted after being subdued by Oh Ji-yoon slammed the floor. Oh Ji-yoon applied a bit more force to pin the inmate down.
“A-Aaargh! Hey! Let go, let go!”
“Humans die easily. Life is short enough as it is; there’s no need to try so hard to die early.”
[The Constellation, ‘Impartial Gauge,’ bristles its hair: ‘This is her true nature!’]
[The Constellation, ‘Promiscuous Gambler,’ mutters with a fed-up face: ‘Wow, an F-rank is beating up a C-rank…’]
No, she was just quietly walking into the prison, but that C-rank ranker earlier was throwing a rampage. Feeling a bit awkward just passing by, she told him not to do that, to which he replied…
‘What’s with this dumbass?’
So…
Mm. She raised her fists a bit.
“Don’t do it in the future. I’ll let it slide just this once, okay?”
“Okay, got it! F*ck…”
Well, Oh Ji-yoon didn’t particularly want to cause a disturbance either. She had merely helped because not everyone was born with a skill like Oh Ji-yoon that allowed them to put revenge on auto-combat.
[The Constellation, ‘Promiscuous Gambler,’ grumbles: ‘You said you were an ordinary F-rank. Practice what you preach.’]
‘Since my death as a Scenario Preview possessor benefits the world anyway.’
And she saw no reason to stay idle just because there was a chance she might not succeed. If she had determined her actions based on ‘can I or can’t I,’ she would have had to commit suicide long ago because there was nothing she could do.
It was a relief she hadn’t. Shrugging her shoulders, she released her grip on the C-rank ranker. This much should be enough. Of course, she didn’t forget to dislocate his shoulder joint.
“Ranker Oh Ji-yoon?”
“Yes.”
“The Director is calling, for…… you.”
Was butchering bone joints an odd behavior after all? The executive secretary who came to pick up Oh Ji-yoon wore a strange expression. Judging by his glancing eyes, he was undoubtedly thinking of her as a psychopath.
After dislocating joints a couple of times, Oh Ji-yoon stood up from her spot.
Whether the executive secretary thought she was a nutjob or not, she didn’t forget to marvel.
‘Woah. Called by the Director himself.’
Since Oh Ji-yoon was a trivial F-rank, she had never met a Director, let alone a Department Head. As expected, raising hell is the absolute best.
Pattering along behind the secretary, she praised her own choice.
“You’ve arrived?”
“Hello.”
Up until this point, Oh Ji-yoon had confidence in her choice. A conviction that once she opened the door and faced the Director of the Ranker Support Headquarters, matters would be resolved.
As she always did around elders, she bowed politely and pulled out a chair to sit on her own. Seeing her polite demeanor, Director Cha Ho-bong suppressed his displeasure.
The softened atmosphere was also due to the appearances of Director Cha Ho-bong and Oh Ji-yoon. Cha Ho-bong looked like a typical veteran expert, while Oh Ji-yoon looked like a gentle, meek person.
In particular, Cha Ho-bong, who was reminded of his grandson upon seeing Oh Ji-yoon, unconsciously asked in a coaxing tone:
“Right. I heard you said you want to be imprisoned?”
If he had known just how much of a nutjob Oh Ji-yoon was, he wouldn’t have done that.
Having already calculated the situation from the tone of Cha Ho-bong’s voice alone, Oh Ji-yoon stopped blinking.
In fact, it would have been fine if she had changed the subject then. Though she couldn’t.
“However, Ranker Oh Ji-yoon. While I understand your concern about the Quest Window, isn’t there another way?”
“…For example?”
It would have been truly fine to realize it here. Why do people so often forget the fact that there are types of people with whom communication is impossible? When calculating a course of action, Oh Ji-yoon completely disregarded the risks imposed on herself or the probability of success.
She was someone who fought as if she had forgotten the natural obligation of a living being to survive, and if she broke, she would break, dying as it came. Watching Oh Ji-yoon freeze subtly, the two Constellations trembled.
[The Constellation, ‘Promiscuous Gambler,’ sobs: ‘Our Ji-yoon is made of ‘Sullen/Sunk/Indifferent/Blank’, and other than that, ‘Unfathomable Expressionless’! And, and…….’]
[The Constellation, ‘Impartial Gauge,’ nods its head.]
…When she hits ‘Unfathomable Expressionless,’ she explodes!
And right now, she had reached the territory of ‘Unfathomable Expressionless’……!
“Well… something like our side helping you clear the Quest? Mm….”
“You are aware that you haven’t requested Quest Window information even once until now, right?”
Don’t just say anything to get out of the situation.
Oh Ji-yoon said coldly.
“There was no leeway for that. Ranker Oh Ji-yoon, do you know how big of a deal the retirement of World Rank 1 is? You acted immaturely.”
“Leeway?”
W-Woah. Detecting an unusual aura, the Constellations stealthily curled their bodies up. People often forgot because Oh Ji-yoon looked quite gentle, but…?
She was a ranker who had cleared an SS-rank Fracture in just 3 days.
Even as an F-rank. With zero self-esteem.
What this meant was that at a certain point, she was truly like a rock.
In Oh Ji-yoon’s case, that was the safety of the absolute majority.
“Now. Ranker Oh Ji-yoon. Let me make a formal proposal here. As a ‘Scenario Preview’ possessor, doesn’t it feel unfair that you have to die? There is such a thing as human rights in this world. If you make a ‘deal’ with me…”
“What the hell has this bastard been babbling about since earlier?”
Oh Ji-yoon raising her fist and walloping Cha Ho-bong across the face…
was truly something that couldn’t be helped.
“Ji-yoon is going to be imprisoned?”
The neatly square swimming pool was filled with an overwhelmingly massive volume of water. Beneath the fierce sunlight, the water sloshed around, revealing its floor clearly.
Even at a glance, it was a space overflowing with wealth. The sprawling pool led into a gorgeously decorated garden. High walls surrounded such a garden, and a dense forest protected the mansion.
It was a well-crafted, literal American wealthy neighborhood. It was a richness that stemmed not from seriousness or classic elegance, but from the fact that the consumption and disposal of every item was light, fast, and high-grade.
Inside, a man was submerged like a seal.
“Really? Is that the latest info?”
[The Constellation, ‘Blue Horse,’ says that it is.]
“For real?”
The man’s eyes sparkled like a young boy’s. His name was Aran Maxiquire. Awakened as an S-rank the moment he was born. A genius among geniuses who swept into headlines by lifting up the entire sea off the coast of Florida, USA.
Excluding Alsemira, who was called the strongest of the previous generation, it was only natural since he was one of the world’s topmost figures.
A man who drew attention as a top-tier ranker to lead the next generation, but whose position became awkward with the appearance of Oh Ji-yoon. Despite the derogatory label, he laughed brightly, Aha.
“And by punching Director Cha Ho-bong at that?”
[The Constellation, ‘Blue Horse,’ despises F-ranks. It furies that she lacks dignity.]
“Don’t be like that. She beat me, didn’t she? Though that was just once, and oops, excuse me. It might end just like this, but……”
When a smile appeared on a face that looked neat and kind, the atmosphere completely transformed.
Even without that, he was a man with silver hair and blue eyes who gave off a clean impression. Simply by folding the corners of his eyes, beyond a sense of refreshment, even a boyish charm could be felt.
However, his well-knit muscles and imposing height belonged far more to a fully matured adult than a boy. Water droplets formed on his back reflected the sunlight.
“Constellation-nim, looks like we need to smuggle ourselves into the country, huh? Right?”
The blue-eyed handsome man stroked his chin while smiling like a gentle breeze.
“Didn’t I swear? Huh? To serve the opponent who beat me, even if they are a dog or a pig.”
[The Constellation, ‘Blue Horse,’ foams at the mouth: ‘That girl’s achievement was all a coincidence. A coincidence! Look at her even now. Hasn’t she run away?!’]
“Ayy. A win is a win. Though of course, if it ends with just ‘one time,’ I’d be mad too.”
The achievement Oh Ji-yoon showed in the SS-rank Fracture was truly astonishing. To the extent that he, who only sought out the strong, was heading back to Korea—a place he had vowed never to return to.
He drew Oh Ji-yoon’s face in his mind. He missed her already.
“I surrendered mentally to Ji-yoon, you see. I’m quite quick to admit defeat, aren’t I?”
[The Constellation, ‘Blue Horse,’ screams: ‘I told you not to say such things! Where do you think you’re going for a mere F-rank?!’]
Suddenly forced to watch their contractor’s life go down the drain from a first-class seat, the Blue Horse struggled frantically. There was this behind-the-scenes story to how he had belittled Oh Ji-yoon as an F-rank.
[The Constellation, ‘Blue Horse,’ gets angry: ‘Why on earth did you make such a vow in the first place?! A vow to serve the opponent who beat you is something I haven’t seen since my Middle Ages!’]
“It was because I was going through a period of storm and stress. Geniuses are like that, you know.”
When the fate of a whole nation rested heavily on one’s shoulders, it was understandable to go a little crazy. Maxiquire, who had grabbed a hotdog from the refrigerator, plopped down.
“If Constellation-nim hates it so much, let’s just frame it as childhood friendship. I mean…… in the first place, even the vow itself happened in a flow like, ‘Ji-yoon can never beat me. Want to bet?’……”
About half of it stemmed from youthful vigor.
“Anyway, let’s go after eating just this. Gotta go save my master.”
[The Constellation, ‘Blue Horse,’ screams at the top of its lungs: ‘I told you I really hate it!!!’]
Even if it hated it, there was no helping it. If he didn’t keep the vow, his heart would burst.
Aran Maxiquire wiped off the water droplets dripping from his body and smiled brightly.
