LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 198
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Of course, the administrator and Edel have the strength to chase away any intruders at home.
But the reason they don’t take action themselves is to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.
If the Dimensional Beings’ goal is to divert their attention elsewhere…
Then this incident is just a feigned operation, and the gang is waiting with full preparations.
Acting rashly would be the worst of all options.
Those in charge need to have their butts firmly in place.
Foolishly reacting to minor issues might leave them unable to respond when something genuinely important arises.
—Isn’t there a saying about using a cow butchering knife to catch a chicken? Every task has its appropriate shortcuts.
“I don’t know if it’s trivial or not.”
—Or maybe it’s just unfortunate.
“….”
What is this….
Is this something a person who was just raving about responsibility could say?
—…That was a joke. Isn’t calling it rambling a bit harsh?
“Yeah. Not harsh at all.”
Who was the one insisting on using a knife for chicken?
—No, that was a metaphor… no, never mind. I didn’t say it without any basis. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s not easy to pull off such a stunt without any warning.
“So?”
—They probably didn’t expend too much effort either. There must be some weakness somewhere. For example, strong against external attacks but weak to internal ones.
“In the end, it’s just speculation.”
—I can’t do anything since I’m not in that position.
“Um.”
That’s true.
It was such a neat admission that I didn’t even consider taking issue with it.
Even if I nitpicked and criticized, it wouldn’t change what I had to do.
In a situation like this, I didn’t want to waste my energy on unproductive matters either.
—Right now, the boundary of the faction you’re in draws a large circle centered around Jeju Island. And this shape is mostly a case of power radiating from a single point.
Because the strength spreads evenly from one place, it takes the shape of a round circle.
—You could imagine it as putting a roof on a single pillar. If there’s only one pillar and the roof is placed unevenly, it would obviously collapse, right? If the strength doesn’t spread evenly, there will definitely be weak spots, which is not something they would want.
“Um.”
—In reality, when observed from the outside, I didn’t find any particularly weak spots. Even though the range is quite large.
“So what’s the conclusion?”
—Go to the center of the faction.
Edel responded directly to my straightforward question.
—If you go there, you’ll find whatever you need. Whether it’s the culprit who separated the faction or the medium.
“If I eliminate that, things will return to normal.”
—Maybe.
“This isn’t certain either?”
—But this is still quite a reasonable guess, right?
“…Well, for this level.”
From a field worker’s perspective, the more certain the information, the better.
But what can you do?
“The higher-ups are incompetent, so it can’t be helped.”
—Hey. If you’re going to say things like that, at least say them when I’m not around to hear.
“Daeun said it’s wrong to speak ill of someone behind their back. If you’re going to curse, just do it in front.”
“Um, um. Kana really is smart and quick to learn.”
—Huh. You all are really getting along well.
As Daeun proudly nodded, Edel’s ridiculous voice followed behind.
“Is there anything more I need to know?”
—Nope. The rest is up to you. You’re the sword I’ve chosen.
“It won’t help to hide incompetence like that.”
—…You really are something. Huh… Anyway, hurry up and go do your work.
“You rush me without even paying me. I was going to go anyway… Ah.”
As I knelt and realized something, a small gasp escaped my lips.
“I didn’t bring my sword.”
—…What? How could you not bring it?!
“Did you think something like this would happen?”
On the contrary, bringing a sword would be more of a problem.
It is classified strictly as a weapon, and you can’t take that kind of thing on a plane.
“How about going to Silia and just grabbing any sword?”
After hearing our conversation, Yuki chimed in with a suggestion.
Before I could shake my head, Edel answered first.
—That’s not a good idea. Even though it’s a lower dimension, the place you’re in is still under their control. Doing something like that could worsen the situation later.
“Hmm, I see. So what are we supposed to do? I can’t fight barehanded.”
“I said I didn’t bring a sword, I didn’t say I would fight barehanded.”
It might be a bit draining.
But anyway, Edel would handle the aftermath, so there’s no need to save energy.
—Once you step outside, you won’t be able to communicate like this.
“Got it.”
—So, do your best.
With those words, the call ended.
As I was about to put my phone in my pocket, I gently placed it back on the table.
It’s better not to take it since it could break.
“Are you going?”
“Yeah.”
I responded casually to Daeun, who looked up at me worriedly.
“I think Daeun is right.”
“Eh?”
“Murphy’s Law.”
Just when I thought there wouldn’t be any work for a while, as soon as I came to have fun, trouble popped up.
What a coincidence it was.
“I’ll finish up quickly and come back. You just rest.”
“I feel like I’ve rested enough already… I’m actually feeling kind of restless.”
“I want to go too.”
Yuki raised her hand excitedly.
Of course, there was no way I would take her up on that.
With her current body, she wouldn’t be able to help, and she certainly couldn’t brave the harsh rain outside.
As a side note, this was not out of concern.
Taking her along would be not just pointless, but it would likely get in the way.
Shaking my head, Yuki pouted but quietly sat back down.
“Ah, wait…!”
As if on a seesaw, the moment Yuki sat down, Daeun bounced up and dashed away.
While rummaging through her bag, she seemed to find what she wanted and raised her arm high.
In her hand was something that sparkled yellow under the light.
“This! Put this on!”
“What is this?”
“A raincoat! It’s annoying to get wet. And I’m sure I can’t really fight holding an umbrella.”
When did she prepare something like this?
With a sense of wonder, I looked at Daeun, and she puffed out her chest and said, “I’m Shin Da-eun, the epitome of preparedness.”
“…What?”
Surely, this little raincoat can’t handle that torrential downpour.
Yep. No way.
But even so, I accepted the raincoat that Daeun handed over.
“Thank you.”
“…No problem!”
Her smile stretched high, seemingly filled with happiness.
“This is quite expensive, so make sure it doesn’t get ruined. So don’t get hurt and come back. Got it?”
“I didn’t plan on getting hurt anyway.”
“In times like this, just saying okay will do.”
“Fine.”
Even if it wouldn’t be very useful, I could feel Daeun’s heart behind that raincoat.
I slipped my body into the raincoat.
And I said.
“…I take back what I said about thanking you.”
“What?!”
That’s just how it goes.
Thinking that Daeun’s prepared item would be normal was my mistake.
In this case, it would be more accurate to say I never even thought about it.
The raincoat Daeun gave me had something feather-like attached to its sleeves, and the hood sported something pointed that looked like a beak.
To top it all off, a chick drawing was sketched on the pockets of the raincoat.
At this point, it was impossible not to know what kind of theme this raincoat was based on.
“Why on earth would you give me something like this?”
“But this is the only one that fits Kana out of the raincoats I brought!”
“A plain raincoat would have sufficed.”
“…”
Was it truly the case that among all the raincoats, this was the only one that fit my body?
Buying this and deliberately overlooking a normal raincoat was a transparent intention.
Daeun sealed her lips and chose to exercise her right to remain silent.
Daeun is playful, but at the same time, very reasonable.
There’s no way she’d lie during times like this out of sheer worry for my safety whenever we go to Silia, so it must be true that this raincoat is all that’s left…
Thinking about fighting while wearing this outfit somehow felt…
…rather unique.
“Ugh…”
Letting out a sigh, I approached the shoe rack and prepared to head out.
“Are you going to wear it?”
“I already put it on. It’d be more of a hassle to take it off now.”
“…Hehe. Thank you.”
“…For what?”
“It’s nothing!”
I swiftly turned my head away from Daeun, who was grinning like a fool.
“Do you know where the center of Jeju Island is?”
“Why do we need to know the center? …Oh.”
Daeun, who had been listening to the conversation with me, quickly grasped my intentions.
Edel said that the boundary of the faction separated from Earth extends around Jeju Island.
And she also mentioned something at the center maintaining the separated faction.
Therefore, it was clear that I had to go to the exact center of Jeju Island.
“I don’t know if it’s the exact coordinates for the center, but I can point you to a rough location.”
“If you search the vicinity, you’ll find anything. Just tell me what you know.”
“If that’s the case, then I don’t even need to tell you, right? Kana also knows about it.”
“I know about it?”
“Yeah.”
Daeun nodded.
“The mountain we climbed yesterday… or was it the day before? It was so dark for a whole day that I lost track of time… Anyway, it was Hallasan.”
“Hallasan.”
“Yeah. That’s the center.”
“…Tch.”
As soon as I heard Daeun’s words, I automatically clicked my tongue and frowned.
…I don’t like it.
The reason… I don’t know.
But one thing was certain: I felt unpleasant.
Why could I not fathom this?
I racked my brain for an answer but came up empty, so instead of wasting more time, I simply set aside my discomfort and revealed.
“I guess there’s no need to worry about being discovered.”
Surely, there wouldn’t be any crazy people out here hiking in this weather.
* * *
…Or so I thought.
“Hu, human?! Over here…!”
“Help me…! There’s someone here!”
“….”
What the hell…
I stared blankly at a pair of figures waving their hands in the distance.
And dulled, let out my thoughts without reserve.
“…This is ridiculous.”
There really were such crazy people.
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