Chapter 84: How To Capture A Hero (5)
“Let’s go, Mr. Goblin.”
Yumir climbed onto my back. She was in her pajamas, maybe getting ready to sleep, and she nonchalantly hugged me from behind after climbing onto my back.
[Hmm…]
There was a strong presence pressing against my back.
She seemed a bit awkward, perhaps because she had never ridden on a bike before, but whether she had seen it in a movie or something, she wrapped her arms around my waist from behind and pressed her upper body tightly against my back.
“Why?”
[I might get scolded if I take you somewhere strange.]
“Since you asked such a beauty for a night drive date, you must have decided on the location in advance, right?”
[Of course.]
I didn’t know many places on Sejong Island, but I knew one spot where we could enjoy the night view and chat.
[But calling me Mr. Goblin sounds a bit odd.]
“So, can I just call you Goblin? Isn’t that disrespectful?”
[It’s better than calling me Villain Goblin or Goblin Bastard. Just call me Goblin.]
“Alright. Excuse me then.”
Squeeze.
Yumir pulled me closer.
Previously, her hands were near my waist, but now she was so close she could even touch my abdomen with her palms.
“Oh….”
[What?]
“What’s this? I tried to feel your muscles, but why does it feel like this…?”
Yumir was feeling my abdomen.
I didn’t stop her.
Was it meaningless to resist against an EX-rank girl?
Or was it to show off my abs?
Not at all.
If anything, I was showing off my ‘ability’.
“It doesn’t feel like a human. It’s like touching a balloon filled with air…?”
[You may try to check my body by feeling my muscles, but unfortunately, you can’t touch the real me now.]
“Ugh… That’s a shame. Isn’t this going to burst in the middle of the ride? What if I squeeze too hard?”
[You’ll need to hold on tight enough not to burst. We’re going to drive around the outskirts of Sejong Island at full speed.]
I put a helmet on Yumir’s head and stepped on the pedal immediately.
[Just as you’ve recognized me, it would be troublesome if others do as well. Including you.]
“…A secret date just for us? Ah, eek?!”
Vroommmm!
With a rough engine sound, the bike took off, racing above the fence.
“No, wait, eek?!”
Yumir clung tightly to my back due to the sudden speed and acceleration, and I sped off to a quiet place where there were no patrols.
“What are you going to do if we get caught?”
[We won’t get caught. If I thought we would, I would’ve told you to transform.]
“Really? Can I trust you?”
[If we get caught, I’ll take off my mask.]
“Ugh…. I’ll trust you.”
Only then did Yumir seem to relax.
But just talking like this made me feel like teasing her a bit.
[Trusting a villain, how foolish.]
“Huh…?”
[Let’s go.]
I immediately changed direction, driving the bike toward people who were walking around despite it being late at night.
“Eek…?! There are people ahead!!”
[I know.]
Perhaps worried about her identity being exposed, Yumir pressed her helmet tightly against my back.
Vroom!
“Huh?”
But nobody noticed us.
They probably just thought a strong wind had blown by. Nobody noticed us driving by on the bike.
“How did this happen…?”
[A very special skill. Want to know?]
I deliberately stopped the bike.
We were in the middle of a plaza where a few people were passing by, but no one noticed us.
“How did you…?”
[I can teach you if you ask.]
“…I want to know, but you won’t just tell me, will you?”
[Indeed.]
Yumir was definitely not average.
“The Goblin’s special ability… Just selling the information about what this power is would bring in over a hundred billion.”
[Are you learning to sell it?]
“No. I want to use it.”
What interests an ability user the most?
It was a special ability that others could do, but they could not.
“How can you escape the detection of S-class? How to escape people’s attention. And for the past six months…how were you able to roam freely without being exposed.”
[Just that?]
“That’s the main one. There are more questions behind….”
Super-fast movement, for instance.
Or super-fast combat.
And moving without catching others’ eyes.
“You won’t just tell me for free. You want something in return, right? Right?”
[You know it well. Want to know the price?]
“If I pay the price, will you tell me?”
[If it’s a fair and reasonable deal.]
“What I want to know is this.”
Yumir’s hand slowly rose.
“How much do I need to pay to learn this…?”
Her slender finger traced up my chest, and the tip lightly touched my mask’s chin.
“Who is the Goblin? The power of the Goblin is one thing, but I’m really curious who the Goblin is.”
[I might not be a man.]
“Oh, you’re not a man? But you’re keeping the Goblin’s Bat here?”
[I thought you were talking about voice or physique, but that’s something else. You are quite something.]
I didn’t expect her to bring up the Goblin’s Bat here.
[Well, you look exactly like a woman after you transform.]
“Maybe I’m just disguised as a woman? Or a man filled with incredible energy in his chest.”
[What a dangerous statement. Are you implying that you’re gender-bent?]
“Hehe. Just kidding. Definitely, I’m having a conversation with you…It’s really interesting. …kind of.”
Yumir whispered something in a soft soliloquy.
I was not sure if she meant for me to hear it, but her voice was slightly choked at the beginning, so I couldn’t hear.
Vroooom.
I started the bike again in the plaza.
[But you talk well, considering the speed we’re at.]
“…Huh? That’s true?”
Even at a considerable speed, Yumir had no resistance to conversing with me.
That was a talent in itself.
Usually, opening your mouth at this speed could result in biting your tongue.
[Anyway, if you find it enjoyable to converse with me, that’s good. I hope we can get along a little better in the future.]
“With me? Why?”
[Of course, to make you one of us.]
Screeech.
I stopped the bike.
“Here is….”
[A civilian-restricted area. It’s a place where you can see such a natural landscape, thanks to that.]
Actually, it was the place where I escaped from the water last time with that guy, the Pole User of Hwalbindang.
Although it was quite difficult for the bike to enter, it was completely unscathed even though I forced it in.
[It’s really a good place to have a quiet conversation.]
I took out the Goblin’s Bat that I had on the bike and lightly tapped the ground towards the sea.
Powww.
A bench made of mana appeared, and I sat at the end of it first.
“Wow. Where do you keep such a thing? Do you put it in some kind of capsule?”
[I made it temporarily. You can make something like this with mana anytime, right?]
“I wouldn’t think to make something like this.”
[As long as it’s convenient.]
I pointed to the side of the bench to Yumir.
[Sit down. We have a lot of time and plenty to talk about.]
“Okay. But….”
Yumir raised one hand high to the sky.
“Transform.”
Flash.
Her body shimmered in a rainbow light, and she immediately took on the appearance of the Golden Priestess I had seen before.
“How about it? My transformation.”
[You seem to care a lot about other people’s gaze.]
“Well, I’m going to walk the path of a hero.”
Sarakk.
And then she immediately took off her hood and mask.
Dressed as the magical girl Golden Priestess, she sat down on the quite spacious bench.
“Excuse me.”
[It’s excusable.]
“But I said I was excusing myself first.”
Not stopping there, she sat right next to me, pressing her hip against mine. Thanks to that, there was still plenty of space left for another person to sit comfortably beside Yumir.
[Don’t people usually sit separately on the side of the bench?]
“We can get closer to ensure our conversation spreads less.”
[Considering from the moment we came here, nobody is likely to come even if I speak loudly.]
“Oh, then…!”
[But it’s not good to shout.]
I reached my hand toward Yumir’s mouth, and she flinched in surprise, covering her mouth.
[You have that look that says, ‘How did you know?’ It’s just intuition. There’s someone around me who reacts like that.]
“Who is it?”
[If you want to know, you have to make a contract.]
Finally, to the main point.
[You’re not going to join the Gyeolsa, huh?]
“Become a villain?”
[Even if your true desire is to be a hero, I’m only proposing the path of a villain.]
I tried to make Yumir join the Gyeolsa.
[You’re strong. But your imagination is lacking. Your ability is exceptional, but you still lack many ways to utilize it. That’s why you came to Sejong Island, right?]
“…….”
[You’re aware of your tremendous ability, but the moment it’s exposed to the world, you’ll attract great attention. Your…]
“Let me give you a quiz. If you answer correctly, I’ll seriously consider Goblin’s proposal.”
Yumir came close to me.
“What is my ability? Should we play 20 questions? Hmm, if you guess it in one try, I’ll give you a reward or something…”
[Robbery.]
I pointed to Yumir’s abdomen.
[Your ability is the power to take away other people’s abilities.]
“…….”
I would recognize her reaction anywhere.
This was an easy quiz for the readers who followed the story to the end.
It was a setting revealed in the latter part of the original work, but I already knew everything.
“You didn’t purify Ermina from being a demon to a human. You didn’t erase Ermina’s ability, either. You took away Ermina’s mana and ability, right?”
“…….”
Yumir’s hand moved up to my thigh.
“Correct.”
Yumir came close again and whispered in my ear.
“My ability is to take away.”
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