Chapter 62: It’s Not A Technology Leak, It’s Advice! (3)
“Student Yumir.”
“Yes!”
“Eating dinner is fine, but why here, of all places?”
“That’s because if we eat in a restaurant, a villain could go on a rampage and attack us!”
Yumir’s words were reasonable.
“If we have a meal at a restaurant together, a rampaging student, a demon, or a villain might appear. It’s safest to eat here. Nothing like that happens here!”
“Isn’t it troublesome if a student is in here?”
“It would be very troublesome if I were a high school student, but I am an adult, so there is no problem, right?”
“Wouldn’t your public image as student Yumir be damaged?”
“If I cared about every student who gossips behind my back, I wouldn’t live long.”
Her argument was so logical. I wanted to refute it, but I still had to say what I needed to say.
“It seems unusual to come to a man’s house who you haven’t known for long, take over the kitchen, and start cooking.”
“But isn’t there a safer place than your quarters?”
That was true.
Right now, Yumir was in my house, cooking.
“There are no students at the quarters, and if there are no students, that means there are no people who will go on a rampage. That means it’s safe!”
“Can’t adults become villains?”
“Even if there’s a villain here, it’s not a big problem. It will be solved before I step in.”
“You, Student Yumir, step in…?”
“…Ah! What I meant was there’s no need for a weak ability user like me to step in. Hahaha.”
As Yumir wiped the cold sweat from her brow, she poured the pasta sauce into the pot.
Perhaps because she came from Canada, she seemed to prefer Western food to Korean, and Yumir cooked better than I expected.
“…My goodness. Yumir, did you ever learn to cook professionally?”
“I didn’t learn professionally, but I learned to cook through someone I know. About half a year?”
“You learned this much in half a year?”
“I can only make dishes I can make. I can’t cook Korean food at all, only Western food.”
“That’s impressive.”
That was not an empty compliment.
I was genuinely impressed.
“I’ve always wanted to marry a woman who’s good at cooking Western food.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“I can cook Korean food.”
I tapped lightly on the refrigerator.
“Japanese, Western, Chinese - I’m fairly good at them all, but Korean food is my main specialty.”
“Do you cook all this yourself?”
“Yes, but unless it’s a really special day, I mostly stick to chicken breasts and vegetables.”
“And when is this ‘special day’? Like when you’re having a meal with a woman?”
“When I’m having a meal with someone else.”
“So today’s a special day, huh?”
“I guess you could say that.”
I took out dishes that would pair well with pasta from the cupboard, and Yumir promptly served the pasta beautifully in those dishes.
“Do you prefer to talk while eating or after eating?”
“I generally adjust to the other person.”
“Oh, same here. So, should we talk while we eat? I have something to discuss.”
“Sure.”
I pulled the island kitchen table to make some space. The width was a bit narrow, so the pasta dishes were placed diagonally. Pulling the chairs to sit, our knees were just slightly touching.
“Heh.”
“Next time, I’ll have to get a broader sitting table.”
“Why? This distance is perfect.”
“So it’s easy to hit like this?”
“Ouch.”
I tilted my head forward and lightly flicked Yumir’s forehead with my finger.
“You’re too much, really! Even if Sejong Island is full of beauties, treating a super gorgeous foreign girl like this!”
“You’re a student, and I’m an employee.”
“But I’m a university student, you know? And do you know?”
Yumir twirled her pasta lightly with a fork.
“Now, in our country, they are trying to lower the legal age for ability users to get pregnant to high school age.”
“…Are they mad?”
No.
Was this country mad?
“What did you just say?”
“They’re preparing a bill to lower the ‘adult’ age, or precisely the age when supernaturals can get pregnant, to 17. When you turn 18 or are in the second grade of high school, you immediately become an adult.”
“They must be out of their minds.”
I understood that there was a certain difference between regular people and superpowered humans, but lowering the adult age just for them?
“Children here on Sejong Island are already prone to going wild, and they want to lower their adult age?”
“It’s for patriotism. From the state’s perspective, the more supernaturals are born, the better.”
“But if they lower the adult age just for supernaturals, there would be enormous backlash.”
“You might not know because you’re Korean, but there’s a meme-like thing in foreign countries.”
Yumir lowered her head a bit and spoke softly.
“‘Gored.’”
“… That’s a bit of a bitter tale.”
“But it’s happening constantly, isn’t it? Bodies disappearing all of a sudden, perfectly healthy people going missing, some powered individuals going berserk and killing people, only for it to be glossed over.”
“…… There’s a saying about that too.”
I raised both hands to cover my eyes and ears.
“Your Honor, I saw nothing. I heard nothing.”
“…….”
“What do you think?”
“Professor.”
As I dropped my hands and looked ahead, I saw that Yumir was gazing at me with a slight tilt of her head.
“It doesn’t seem like that’s what you truly believe, does it, professor?”
“My true belief?”
“I think if something like that were to happen to you, you’d do everything in your power to overturn it. Or, with a sigh, ‘Oh, what a dirty world,’ and leave this country.”
“And what if I ‘get Stephen’d’ while doing so?”
“Even if you ‘get Stephen’d’, if living here feels miserable, you leave. There are numerous people who have actually done so.”
“…….”
“If it’s tough, go abroad. After all, places like Canada and the U.S. have welcomed immigrants from Korea, haven’t they?”
“I don’t know the specifics.”
I did know.
It’s just that I couldn’t freely discuss this because we were on Sejong Island.
“Student Yumir, I’m not particularly patriotic, but if you talk like this elsewhere, you might get kicked out of Sejong Island.”
“Oh, will I be ‘gored’ then?”
“You’d probably have to gulp down a bowl full of it.”
“Oh. Is this a reportable offense?”
“What are you saying?”
I tried to flick her forehead again, but Yumir leaned back and raised her hands.
“Are you going to keep hitting me?”
“Even if I throw a straight punch right here, as a powered individual, you wouldn’t feel any pain, would you?”
“But it hurts my feelings.”
“Then restrain yourself. And stop making weird comments.”
“You’re the one who started the weird comments.”
“It’s because your head is full of nonsense.”
“Then I should be cursing the person who filled my head with nonsense!”
Yumir jabbed her pasta with a fork.
“They’re crafting a law to lower the age of adulthood for powered individuals, right? Do you know why it’s happening? From a bit of a foreigner’s perspective, looking at our country?”
“From a perspective that criticizes rather than loves the country?”
“Yes. If you really think about it maliciously.”
“That would naturally be the reason.”
I also picked up some pasta.
“The President’s grandchildren. They’re both turning 17 this year.”
“You’ve hit the nail on the head!”
Yumir clapped her hands.
“The granddaughter is here on Sejong Island, and the grandson is in Busan right now. Both are…”
“S-class. And they’re twins.”
The President’s grandchildren were S-class.
It was not a common occurrence.
But if you thought a bit twistedly, such a case was possible.
[My promise is to make my grandchildren into righteous heroes who will contribute to the nation!]
What if the citizens voted for a politician who had S-class grandchildren, and that person was elected president?
“Their names are ‘Jo’ and ‘Irin’, right? The boy is Jo. The girl is Irin.”
“Yes. Both are S-class powered individuals that this country can’t afford to lose.”
“They aren’t heroes?”
“…To be honest, I only say this in front of you, professor, but they are really arrogant.”
Yumir continued with a more serious tone.
Her voice was filled with antipathy towards the President’s twins.
“How do you know that?”
“Because they are living their lives in self-importance. Moreover, many C-class, B-class powered individuals are emigrating due to their domineering behavior and misconduct. If you look on the internet, you’ll find a significant number of interviews criticizing them, right?”
“… That’s a story you absolutely can’t find in Korea, isn’t it?”
“That’s all because of the information control. They might have actually killed people in reality, you know?”
“I don’t think they went that far.”
No.
“If they were such villains, the Goblin would have stepped in and cracked their heads long ago.”
“Even though they are the President’s blood relatives?”
“The Goblin’s club doesn’t spare even the royal family.”
“Are you a fan of the Goblin?”
“…A little bit?”
I was not my own fan.
“I see. I also like the Goblin.”
“You, a fan of the Goblin, Yumir? Why?”
“Because he’s cool.”
“Cool? The Goblin? That’s unlikely. Underneath the mask, he’s probably ugly and…”
My shin hurt.
“You, did you just kick me?”
“That’s your punishment for badmouthing the Goblin. Hmph.”
“What, you’re a Goblin fan?”
“I wasn’t a fan originally, but I became a ‘passionate fan’, you see?”
This was unfair.
“I can overlook you criticizing the country, but I can’t let you badmouth the Goblin.”
“Damn…”
Even though I was the Goblin, I was under attack for disparaging the Goblin.
“You’re really too much, seriously. You, a powered individual, beating up a person.”
“I’m E-class.”
“Even if you’re E-class, getting hurt still hurts. Look forward to a lawsuit if I get bruised.”
“I was ready for you to take responsibility if something broke, but I didn’t expect a lawsuit.”
Yumir twisted the corners of her mouth in disappointment.
“But you hit my forehead, too, teacher.”
“Is your hitting and my hitting the same?”
“Shall we reach a compromise with mutual assault?”
“…Sigh. I can’t win an argument with you. Not at all.”
“I’m good at debating.”
While we chatted and bickered, our meal came to an end.
“So, what did you want to consult about?”
“…Oh no! I completely forgot.”
“I thought you wanted to have a serious talk during teatime after eating, but it seems that’s not the case.”
“I’m sorry. I lost track of time while talking with you.”
Having had some green tea after the meal, Yumir stood in the center of the room.
“Professor.”
“What?”
“I’ve developed a new costume.”
She threw off her Taeguk Watch onto my bed and, adopting a pose that suggested she was about to perform some taekwondo, Yumir said-
“Please watch. My transformation!”
“Since you’re a fan of the Goblin, are you also a Dodjiider by any chance-”
“Sun Crystal Power!”
Her whole body began to sparkle in a rainbow of colors.
“…Hey!!!”
“What?”
“You’re all exposed!”
“That’s how girls usually transform!”
I thought Dodjirider was about to appear.
“Tada!”
Magical Yumir appeared.
She was wearing a hanbok with a skirt length down to her thighs.
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