Jang Hyundeok’s call van heading toward Geumchon dong.
I turned my head toward the window, and under the dark sky I saw Paju City’s night view glowing with an eerie radiance.
And the bizarre shadow blurred on the window. More chilling than the uncanny night view that does not exist in reality... it was my face.
No, not my face but a mask.
Earlier I had been wearing a gas mask to deal with the poison-spitting frog people of Sangbulsa, but now I was wearing a different mask.
Four eyes emitting a sharp yellow light.
The mask I wear most often, [Mask of Carcosa].
“Well, it does tend to be the least conspicuous.”
In any case, I’m starting to feel like this really is my face.
“Hey, but those guys really did pack everything up so thoroughly, didn’t they?”
Jang Hyundeok, who was driving, spoke up as if he’d just remembered.
“They work for a conglomerate. They have to be that meticulous to get paid.”
A meticulous uncle from a conglomerate—of course, he wasn’t talking about Gwak Daeyong.
He meant the hard-nosed Future Strategy Advisors from Yeonam Group, who came with Gwak Daeyong to clean up Sangbulsa’s aftermath.
Those fellows were no pushovers.
They scavenged every last thing they could from the scene at Sangbulsa, pestering me several times as if they suspected I’d pilfered something.
“They even scooped up the dirt from the floor. Why would they do that?”
“Well, they might want to research interspecies genes or bodily fluids, and any residual mana they salvage is money too.”
“It’s customary to give back a share of what you find after a suppression job. They’ve got no business ethics.”
“Maybe so, but I already grabbed what I needed, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Huh? What did you grab in the meantime?”
“Come on, did you think I only brought Dol-Dol-i along for show?”
Gr-r-r—
Dol-Dol-i slumped lazily in the backseat.
“Ah, Dol-Dol-i, you! No wonder you’ve been so quiet—did you eat something? What did you eat? Did the mage give you something tasty?”
“Yanma! Eyes forward! Eyes forward!”
“Ah, this much is fine! Whoa!”
Screeeech!
I almost rear-ended the car ahead of us.
Gr-r-r—
What I had grabbed was the completely shattered bronze Buddha statue.
Like the rune-rock left by [Quiet Watcher], it bore the traces of [Headless Buddha].
With this, I could create an even stronger barrier.
“The flow isn’t bad.”
The reason I could set up this chain of events—after all, it was thanks to future Kim Sinhwa calling in I Ha-seo, right?
On the day I escaped Paju Central Hospital, future Kim Sinhwa had arranged for Gong I-su to bring I Ha-seo.
“Although I’ll have to go see I Ha-seo again tomorrow.”
In exchange for helping me escape, I agreed to assist I Ha-seo with a “fun and safe” health check and human experiment.
Well, if I can uncover even one secret about my body or this world in the process, it won’t be a loss.
“How Gong I-su will turn out is unpredictable, but remembering what was said, he won’t do anything that would harm me.”
It was rough going at the hospital, but in the end everything worked out. Thanks to future Kim Sinhwa—
“Huh?”
“Hmm? Mage, what’s up?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Huh?
Huh? Something feels off.
Retracing what happened at the hospital brings strange parts to mind.
First, the strangest thing is my bag.
“My bag disappeared for a bit.”
Although I was dazed by the mask and moving on autopilot, it’s not like I was crazy enough to drop the bag I was carrying on my back.
I even remember exactly ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) how I moved at that time.
“But somehow the bag ended up that far away.”
And second.
Where did Gong I-su get the wedge stone?
I definitely put the wedge stone in my bag.
“But the wedge stone vanished from the bag.”
If it had remained there, I could have stood up without Gong I-su’s help.
“Although back then—I did announce that Gong I-su would help me.”
Gong I-su cannot act unless future me asks him to.
But for future me to ask Gong I-su, I have to wake up, and for that I need Gong I-su’s help.
“As the Crow Mask said, it’s a paradox.”
I came up with a way to resolve that paradox.
“On the contrary—”
“Yes?”
“If you reverse it, the causality makes sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“Listen closely. Because my bag happened to fall exactly where it did, I met the [Hungry Old Man].”
“Uh...?”
“Because I quarreled with that brat, I encountered the [Quiet Watcher].”
“Uh, I—don’t really get it, but so what?”
“Ugh, why am I telling you this anyway.”
“I’m glad you’ve caught on now.”
“Phew—”
What if I hadn’t met the [Hungry Old Man] back then? I probably—
‘I would have grabbed more things and escaped the hospital.’
If that had happened, I wouldn’t have fought the [Quiet Watcher], I wouldn’t have lost consciousness, I wouldn’t have needed the wedge stone, and I wouldn’t have needed Gong I-su’s help.
And—following that flow, future Kim Sinhwa could have asked Gong I-su while fully conscious.
“Future Kim Sinhwa wasn’t asking me to wake up!”
“Ehh?!”
“He asked me to steal my bag and take out the wedge stone!”
“Mage?”
“And he put me in danger so I’d have no choice but to use the wedge stone! Kim Sinhwa, you madman! You forced me into a trap to tie me to Gong I-su?”
“Um—mage?”
“Hyundeok.”
“Y-yes....”
Hyundeok’s expression grew anxious.
“I’m not crazy.”
“Ah... I see.”
“Whoever helped me, it seems they weren’t doing it for me. Instead, that bastard put me in danger. What would you do in this situation?”
“You got tricked?”
“Probably?”
“Then why would someone do that?”
“Probably—for their own gain?”
“Hmmm... Should we get revenge?”
“......”
Revenge?
On my future self?
Well, future me is still me.
Even if future me acted out of selfish motives—after all, it was still me. Ultimately, it was an act for me, right?
“Hyundeok, sorry, but let’s head to Vasiliisa.”
“Vasiliisa?”
“Yeah, I have something to ask Tudor.”
“Understood.”
Hyundeok changed direction.
Since we were almost at Geumchon dong anyway, we arrived at Vasiliisa quickly.
As I stepped out of the car, I said to Hyundeok,
“All right. I think this will take a while. What will you do?”
“I’ll go home and come back.”
“Home?”
“Yes, home.”
“Why go home—oh, your own home? Got it.”
“Oh, I thought you meant your house. That place is the mage’s house, and my home is way over there.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
“Call me when you’re done.”
Hyundeok drove off.
‘Hmm, I might as well wait until he settles down here.’
It’s partly to protect Hyundeok, but with him at home... it’s more convenient than I thought. At least I don’t waste time by calling him for every little thing...
Come to think of it, he’s not much use otherwise. He doesn’t do housework or help guard the mansion.
Well, I can think about that later.
I turned and headed toward Vasiliisa.
“Huh? Obe isn’t here?”
“Hey, Kim Sinhwa.”
That sharp, curt voice... I had to tilt my head slightly to meet their gaze.
Bleached white hair down to their shoulders, a glossy red leather jacket.
And a small stature. Vasiliisa’s top hand-to-hand specialist, Curtain Call.
“...Why?”
“Kim Sinhwa, what did you do at the hospital last time?”
“Ah—”
“You did something, didn’t you? Damn it...”
Curse words were about to tumble from Curtain Call’s mouth.
“Listen, Curtain Call. I did nothing.”
“Nothing happened, yet chaos broke out? You even got that mad X deployed?”
Kwaduk-duuk—
The spoon in Curtain Call’s hand crumpled like paper.
“Hey! Is it my fault that Yang Seo-ho went mad?”
As Curtain Call snarled, I raised my voice in return—
“Ugh, Kim Sinhwa! Calm down!”
“G-Kim Sinhwa! Why are you acting like this?”
“K-Curtain Call’s always been like this!”
“Collie, Tudor told you not to fight!”
Thirteen and another of Curtain Call’s comrades rushed in to separate us.
It seemed more people were surprised by me than by Curtain Call.
“Hey! Move! Get out of the way!”
Clatter-bang!
With a flick of Curtain Call’s small arm, men two or three times their size flew away.
“Ahhh—Kim Sinhwa, just let it go—Yang Seo-ho smashed Collie’s Demon Blade in the hospital lobby.”
Ah, so that’s where the Demon Blade went... no wonder they’re so angry. And—
It is true that inviting the cultists to the hospital and bringing in Yang Seo-ho were my faults.
“Fine, fine. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? If you say sorry, you get hit!”
“Well, I don’t like that.”
Crash-bang!
“Ahhh! Collie, calm down!”
“Let go! Just let go! Let go!”
In the end, this commotion only settled down when Obe, who had been in the warehouse, returned.
“Collie—calm down, calm down.”
“Obe—my Demon Blade was ruined because of Kim Sinhwa—”
Seizing the opportunity, Curtain Call clung to Obe.
“Okay. Curtain Call. Next time I’ll get you something better than a ruined Demon Blade.”
“Something better?”
With Obe beside them, they at least pretended to listen.
“I don’t have anything on hand right now, but I promise.”
“Something definitely better than a Demon Blade.”
“Ha, fine.”
Groan—they’re extorting me for nothing.
“I’ve said something similar before, but it wasn’t my fault that Yang Seo-ho and those cultists were bad, right? Don’t you think so?”
Well, in other cases maybe, but the ruckus in the hospital lobby was definitely my fault.
“True. By the way, you’re wanted now?”
“Wanted?”
“For 100 billion.”
That pleasant voice cut in suddenly.
“A reward of 100 billion won will be paid for capturing and delivering Kim Sinhwa. Cash only. Before tax. You’ll get less after taxes.”
“A hundred billion? That took a while.”
“That’s right. Now you’re officially a bounty-pledged problem solver.”
A foreigner in a fancy dress and pointed hat, red hair down to her waist. Vasiliisa’s owner, Tudor.
“This could get annoying in the future.”
“Ha ha ha, we won’t bother you, so don’t worry.”
“Yeah, I don’t think anyone but drifters would dare pick a fight with the Destroyer of Geumchon dong.”
Judging by the tone, this doesn’t sound like a reward from a credible foreign affairs agency.
‘A hundred billion? That’s no joke.’
I needn’t worry about such an inflated bounty.
‘Considering all the trouble I’ve caused, it’s actually late in coming.’
True, it will trigger an unexpected event where professional bounty hunters show up... but at my current level, I don’t need to worry about just anyone.
‘More importantly, Park Gwang-lim is probably still going around using my name...’
Well, Park Gwang-lim probably found out before me. It’s not a big concern. “Setting aside the bounty, Tudor, can you give me a midterm settlement?”
I said that, pointing to Tudor’s office.
“Hmm...”
Tudor narrowed her eyes, extended a finger, and gently prodded my chest as she continued.
“I wonder why you’re asking for a midterm settlement.”
Tudor’s office.
The moment she sat down, I spoke.
“Tell me about Gong I-su.”
“Gong I-su?”
“The Bubblehead. He was a problem solver originally. I thought you might know something.”
“Whatever I know is already in the files I gave you. He wasn’t exactly a problem solver I was brokering.”
The dossier Tudor had provided already contained detailed records of Gong I-su’s past deeds.
But that’s not what I’m curious about.
