“Y-you, Youngjun...!”
As we got up from our seats,
someone flustered chased after us from behind.
“What that man, Jang Youngwoong, just said...!”
“Yes. I know.”
Without stopping my steps,
I looked back at her and said,
“Maybe not the others, but that man is lying.”
“......Th-that. I figured it out just now too. But.”
Then,
she looked at me with a panicked expression and asked,
“Even for me it was a statement where black and white were mixed together... how did you—”
“......”
Yeah.
That man, Jang Youngwoong, was lying, but
I hadn’t figured it out with Han Iseo’s help.
Hearing her say that, I recalled what had happened not long ago.
‘That being I met in that white space. Mirinae said they called me into that space to help me.’
But—
‘Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to believe that.’
I mean, what was it—
I’d have to be at least suspicious in a reasonable way before I could believe it.
A being whose appearance kept changing, and I’d been forcibly summoned into an all-white space.
How could I believe what a freak like that says?
And yet—
at the time, I believed what they said and accepted it.
The reason I could do that was...
just one thing.
‘Because there was that kind of [taste].’
At first, I couldn’t help being flustered when I felt that “taste,” but
only after some time passed
could I understand what that taste actually was.
The rewards I’d obtained as I left Gyeonggi Province.
One of the traits I got then was—
[Taste Bud Enhancement]
[The taste buds, the organs that sense taste, are slightly strengthened.]
[You will be able to perceive a wider variety of sensations as “taste,” and through “taste,” you will be able to find out even more things.]
That was it.
‘At first, I didn’t even know what that was supposed to mean.’
Strengthening taste buds.
At first I thought it was something like [Absolute Palate]—a type of ability that let you taste flavors more intensely.
I even ate this and that, trying to investigate the effect.
But—
‘Food tasted exactly the same. There was no difference in effect.’
No matter what trouble I went through,
I couldn’t figure out what it did.
And...
only later did I understand why I hadn’t been able to find the effect.
This ability—
‘It’s not an ability that activates when you “taste” [food].’
That white space.
When I opened my mouth and spoke with Mirinae there,
there was a feeling on my tongue.
‘The taste of truth and goodwill.’
That wasn’t all, either.
A little annoyance, and anxiety.
And even a resignation, like there was no other choice.
After that, too,
I felt all sorts of tastes as I talked with other people.
‘From the soldiers looking at me, I could taste a little fear mixed with trust.’
Among them, there were even people whose taste of goodwill and trust was strangely strong.
Some of them sent firm belief, like I was some kind of divine being.
‘Most people I met in Seoul had the taste of slight wariness and truth.’
When I first realized the nature of this ability,
I thought it was a power similar to Han Iseo’s lie discrimination.
Because it let me grasp other people’s lies or emotions through it.
‘Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan, and Acting Authority Yoo Jinhwan too. I thought even if there was friction, they were truthful people. That’s what it tasted like. But...’
But—
that wasn’t all.
What this ability sensed wasn’t simply truth and lies.
It was a broader sense than that.
[Taste Bud Enhancement].
If I had to summarize what this ability did,
it went beyond the five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch...
a sixth sense.
‘That man tastes like lying.’
That sixth sense—
was being felt as my “sense of taste.”
And—
what I’d felt on my tongue the moment I entered this city was
none other than...
‘Wrongness, so intense it’s suffocating.’
At first I didn’t know the cause.
But now, I felt like I did.
‘In this city’s air...’
There was a taste so horribly twisted
it made me feel sick.
*****
“We need to leave Seoul immediately.”
As I tried to move forward without hesitation with the unit members—
“Iseo. I can’t give you a detailed explanation right now, but come with us—”
“Wait, wait!”
Someone stopped us.
“What’s the reason, Shin Youngjun, Sergeant...!”
“......Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan.”
“Didn’t you say yesterday that you felt the same way I do!”
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan.
We hadn’t been here many days,
but he’d been consistently friendly to us the entire time.
“......I still feel the same way. But immediate cooperation will be difficult. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. But you have to at least say what you’re dissatisfied with so we can try to change it.”
“What we’re dissatisfied with... we don’t know either.”
“You don’t know? Is that your way of saying you don’t want to tell me?”
No.
It wasn’t that.
‘We still don’t know the cause of this wrongness.’
The information I could gain through my [Taste Bud Enhancement] came only as taste.
It wasn’t strong enough to pinpoint the cause precisely.
But I was certain.
This city is twisted.
Something exists here that triggers wrongness this powerful.
‘First we have to return to Gangwon, finish a proper investigation, then come back. This isn’t a place you can come to casually.’
At the very least, staying in Seoul any longer—
was something we absolutely must not do!
“......If you leave like this, unifying the survivors within the Republic of Korea will be delayed no matter what.”
“.......”
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan seemed to think for a moment.
Then, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ as if he’d made up his mind,
he let out a heavy sigh and opened his mouth.
“I’m in a position where I can’t just let you leave like this.”
A click of metal rang out.
When I turned around,
I saw soldiers stationed nearby raising firearms.
“Are you going to stop our return.”
When Corporal Gwangil frowned at the sight and spoke,
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan shook his head.
“Please think one more time. You can at least tell us the reason properly. If you cooperate, I have no intention of acting violently—”
“No.”
With a crackle of joints,
a hulking corporal walked toward the armed soldiers.
“You don’t need to show that kind of consideration.”
“What?”
“If you want to stop us, then stop us. Ah, to be exact...”
Grinning,
Corporal Gwangil said with a light smile.
“If you can stop us, then go ahead and try.”
“...!”
This underground was deep.
And this underground shelter, located beneath the National Assembly Building, was also being used as their main base.
At least, a large portion of the forces stationed in Yeouido would be near here.
They’d be rushing here,
and we’d have to break through an enormous number of soldiers to escape.
‘Was it a mistake bringing all the executives?’
On the other hand, we had no way to summon the soldiers resting in other buildings.
The combat power we could use right now was just me, First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok, Corporal Seo Suhyeok, Corporal Gwangil—four people total.
Even if people from the Gyeonggi Province Survivors’ Association joined in, it would still be fewer than ten.
...But.
Even so.
‘They won’t be able to stop us.’
The reason we judged Seoul’s strength to be useful was the sheer number of survivors.
Unless all of that strength was gathered here in Yeouido—
...there was no scenario where we got suppressed here.
“...I saw you fight those monsters.”
At our attitude,
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan thought for a moment, then spoke.
“It was so strong I felt wronged that I don’t have the aptitude.”
...Aptitude?
A baffling word popped out, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.
“If we try to stop you, our soldiers will have to brace for heavy casualties.”
“That means—”
“...Everyone, lower your muzzles!”
As Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan raised a hand slightly,
the soldiers who’d been blocking us lowered their guns.
“I’ll let you go this time.”
“Lieutenant General...”
I couldn’t help being shocked at that.
We’d been pretty rude to them.
And now we were trying to leave after blowing up the alliance meeting for a reason we couldn’t even explain.
Whether the alliance happened was deeply connected to Seoul’s survival, too.
But even so—
“I hope we can have a proper conversation next time, at least. I still believe cooperation with you is possible.”
He’d decided to let us go.
I felt sincerely grateful for that.
Because—
‘Every word he’s saying is sincere.’
Since we met, Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan hadn’t lied even once.
He was someone who always showed us his true feelings.
‘Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan also said Seoul is safe. That was sincere, too.’
And—
that was exactly why it was even more baffling.
‘But when Jang Youngwoong said the same thing, it was a lie.’
Meaning the secret this land held
was something the people living here—
even someone in a high position—
didn’t know.
‘Is it even a secret we outsiders can uncover?’
I wasn’t sure.
But it was something we had to do.
“Thank you for trusting us.”
“...Enough. Just go. I’m letting you go, but I’m not exactly happy about it.”
“I’ll say it again—our side also wants cooperation between humans. We’ll identify the problem as quickly as possible, then—”
We’ll come back.
I was about to say that when—
“LIEUTENANT GENERAAAAAAL KIM MYEONGHWAAAAAAAN!!!”
“!?”
Someone came rushing in from far away, shouting at the top of their lungs.
Several translucent birds perched beside them.
“Stop those bastards!!!”
Probably the only person here—
the one who knew the secret Seoul held.
“Use any means you want. I don’t care if you kill them—just stop them from leaving!!!!!!!”
Jang Youngwoong.
When he shouted like that—
“...Sorry, but I’m going to have to take back what I just said.”
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan stared at him blankly, mouth slightly open, and said,
“Please understand. I’m a soldier by nature.”
“......”
“Mr. Youngwoong just gave that order. If that’s the case...”
Up until just a moment ago,
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan had been showing us goodwill and trying to send us off.
“I have no choice but to follow that order.”
KANG!
He suddenly turned and sprinted off,
then slammed his fist hard into a corner of the wall in the distance.
Then—
clatter.
A part of the wall that had looked completely ordinary crumbled away,
and a small device popped out from inside.
Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan grabbed it without hesitation and spoke.
-Ah, ah. This is a notice to all personnel currently performing base defense duties.
The soldiers who’d lowered their guns
raised their muzzles back at us.
-Close all sectors from A-19 to E-20 immediately. Then all personnel arm yourselves and assemble near Sector F.
KUUUUU-WOONG!!!
In the corridor in the direction we’d come from,
a massive barrier, dozens of meters thick, slammed down.
-The mission is simple.
“Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan...!”
-Any means and methods are permitted. You may shoot to kill the targets.
Not being controlled by some monster.
Not deserters turned raiders.
-Do not, under any circumstances, let the enemies who infiltrated our territory leave alive!
TATATATATANG!!!
The soldiers’ barrage
washed over our unit members.
