Chapter 120: The Battlefield Of Proof, Ulleung (6)
“Do you want to go to Ulleung with me?”
“I’d rather not.”
Regardless of what Yumir and Baek Seol-hee might think, I had set the bait.
Now, all that was left was to reel it in.
I boarded the ship to Ulleung Island as planned and arrived without any major issues.
“You’re back, Manager. Let me take care of you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The pension owner came to the port himself to greet me this time, too. I comfortably sat in the back of his car.
“Manager, how many ‘Traitor Boxes’ do you need?”
“I don’t need any.”
“Of course. You are a true patriot.”
Ulleung Island had its quirks.
“So, are you here with the person you surprisingly invited last time…?”
“I might be or might not. Someone else might join, or I might just relax here alone.”
“I see. I’ll prepare for all possibilities. I’ll make sure the singing of the national anthem doesn’t leak outside.”
This was a place where topics like patriotism or discussions about “Pumpkin Baby Making” films were openly discussed.
“Old man, may I ask you something?”
“Ask away. All I can offer are experiences from my lifetime. But if it helps you, Manager, I’ll share anything.”
“Have you ever been caught between two lovers?”
“Hmm.”
The pension owner tilted his head and gave a wry smile.
“I’ve never been in that situation.”
“Really? I apologize.”
“I was caught between three.”
“Wow.”
As expected.
“Can I seek advice?”
“Heh, advice. Our times are entirely different, so my experiences might not be relevant.”
“Men’s and women’s relationships are pretty much the same. Some things don’t change over time.”
“Well… you should be prepared for some stab wounds.”
“I’m ready.”
“Then that’s enough. Always prepare for the worst. Heh.”
No matter how ability users were the leaders of the world, the wisdom of elders couldn’t be overlooked.
“In my time, I had to choose just one person. I was beaten up by the other two, and our families didn’t get along. But in the end, I married my wife.”
“… what’s this about families?”
“They were three sisters. I married the middle one.”
“Casanova would be jealous.”
“I had my moments when I was young. Ha! Sometimes, I think about how it would be if I acted the same in this era.”
The old man’s face was filled with anticipation.
“Nowadays, especially with ability users, the world doesn’t operate on conventional wisdom and rationale. An S-rank ability user, especially a male, could have multiple women, and society would say, ‘It’s understandable’.”
“Like Armored Taejo?”
“Right. Didn’t he cheat on his fiancée with another woman? If he had taken responsibility for a Korean woman, his fiancée wouldn’t have reacted so violently.”
“That’s even scarier.”
My modern perspective was quite different from the conventional views of this era.
“Have you ever thought about having multiple wives in every room, Manager?”
“Wouldn’t girlfriends be better?”
“Haha! Right. Having a wife in every room would be hell. Unless, of course, the man has the ability to handle all that.”
In that sense, my conversations with the old man, who had enjoyed the past era for a long time, were surprisingly in sync.
“Times have changed. Now, if a powerful man has multiple women, society accepts it. The era calls for ability users to marry and produce offspring with abilities.”
“The call of the era…”
“It’s not patriotism for nothing. What’s the point of investing 100 trillion in defense to make ballistic missiles? If two S-rank ability users spend a night together on Ulleung Island, and 10 months pass, a ballistic missile costing 100 trillion in development is easily created.”
“Though the expression is odd, it’s not wrong.”
“Yes. Who would’ve known the world would come to this? That an S-rank baby would devastate… uh, the northern land.”
“…..”
Always.
In modern Korean fantasy, there was a basic element.
Whether the author wrote for convenience or didn’t want to address political issues, one place often was mentioned.
North Korea.
In a world where ‘hunters’ extracted magical stones from monsters, it was common to see these creatures leading to societal downfall.
But what about this world?
In Korean nationalist light novels where only ability users existed, how did the author ‘handle’ North Korea?
Some modern fantasy novels depicted a mood of reconciliation in line with international relations and current events. In others, the story starts with the capital city, Pyongyang, exploding even before the first episode.
This world follows the latter scenario.
“Anyway, Manager Do, be careful. Even though you might not, the most important thing to consider when having a child is the emotions of the children.”
“…Yes, I know.”
“Children are very sensitive to their parents’ emotions. They especially sense their mother’s emotions more than anyone else. Even if they seem like they’re just crying, they definitely feel the emotions. So…”
The pension owner displayed a clear sense of distaste, his voice quivering.
“Just like those North Koreans who tried to create ability users by forcibly doing such things with women, leading to their downfall from the resultant rampage, reckless behavior is not the way.”
It might be awkward to say it was obvious, but in this world, North Korea had perished.
It wasn’t a nuclear missile mishap that led to its self-destruction, but ability user children who rampaged, causing Pyongyang to disappear.
There was no need to go into the specifics of its destruction.
Anyway, it’s already summarized in three lines at the Academy.
“In 2018, a massive explosion occurred in Pyongyang.
Everyone in Pyongyang died.
With the loss of its leadership, North Korea’s regime collapsed.“
Cause of destruction:
It was suspected that after the mother of an ability user child was executed, the child went berserk.
“Anyhow… always be cautious when having a child. The 10-month period from conception to birth isn’t just for the child to grow. It’s the last opportunity for both parents to prepare to raise a child. It’s already too late to prepare once the child is born.”
“Parents, you say.”
“Yes. Regardless of how times have changed, or rather, because times have changed, this is just the opinion of an old man, but…”
The pension owner shook his head vehemently.
“If we live in a world that uses children as weapons of war, that treats children like living nuclear missiles, perhaps heaven might send a punishment.”
“……Perhaps.”
All I could do was gaze out of the window.
“That’s why we have the resistance.”
“I’m truly proud to assist the resistance.”
“I’m proud, too.”
I was proud to work in the only organization that could right this corrupted world.
After arriving at the lodging in a car, I finished grooming myself using the tools I had prepared in advance.
This place was a battlefield.
One could never predict what would happen or what accidents might occur.
With so many variables at play, no one could predict how things will unfold.
Prepare for every situation?
That was impossible.
Even if you were prepared, disasters that were meant to happen will occur. So, I only needed to prepare to the best of my abilities.
Ding Dong.
The phone rang.
[Excuse me, guest. The meal is ready. We’ll bring it up now.]
“Yes, please bring it.”
After receiving the notification through the phone installed in the pension that the meal was ready, I put on my robe and headed to the kitchen.
“Nice to see you, guest.”
Along with the doorbell-like sound from the small elevator coming up from the ground floor, Sylvia, a pension staff member dressed in Hanbok, appeared pushing a cart.
“Excuse me, but may I ask something?”
“What is it?”
“…Did you come alone this time as well?”
“……”
This woman was just an ordinary staff member.
She was not affiliated with the Resistance, and originally, the only person supported by the Resistance was the pension owner. Thus, she was entirely unaware that I had spent a long night with someone the last time I was here.
Because she wasn’t the one who cleaned up the following day.
“I came alone.”
“I see… Won’t it be inconvenient? Do you need help…?”
“I appreciate the thought, but no thanks.”
After declining Sylvia’s well-intentioned but unwelcome offer, I sat at the dining table.
Clatter, clatter.
The dishes being moved from the cart to the table were all emitting delicious aromas.
Abalone porridge.
Green onion pancakes with oysters.
Grilled eel.
“Sir, about the wine…”
“Instead of wine…”
I pointed to the round glass bottle stored beneath the cart.
“I can’t drink wine while in Korea. Instead, I should drink the Korean version of wine.”
Sea Buckthorn.
“… I’ll serve the ‘Ulleungdo Patriotic Prayer Full Course’ for one.”
The villain’s cheat key to face two heroes.
It was doping.
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