No Dark Secrets In This Book

Episode 75

But unfortunately, Ryuseong didn’t smile for me. Instead, he only said this.

“Don’t declare it as the last.”

After that, Ryuseong arbitrarily grabbed my hand and started walking. But it was okay.

I kind of liked those words.

That was all, but it was enough.

“So, where are we going?”

“Just follow me.”

We are now going to Russia.

***

There are reasons for going to Russia. First of all, since Korea is a land where pure qi flows, the monsters living on Korean soil are either too weak or too strong. It means there are somewhat extreme aspects for beginners like us to deal with.

Then we need to either wedge into a raid being prepared as a national support project in a foreign country or take down monsters that have been left as unmanageable, and the official schedule announced to the outside is the former.

But I was planning to do the latter concurrently and join the former schedule on time. Because that would be the way to accumulate fame at a speed Demillang wouldn’t expect. I would also be able to avoid the assassins’ nonsense for the time being.

But I failed to realize one blind spot. That fact was now stabbing me like a dagger.

“You said you had it all planned, but was getting lost part of the plan?”

“…How often would a person like me walk the streets of Seoul without a guide?”

“…You’re bragging.”

“Thank you.”

When I responded brazenly, Ryuseong glared at me with a disgusted expression and shook his head. Oh. Has he finally given up on retorting to my nonsense? Has he resigned himself? I curiously poked Ryuseong’s side. Then Ryuseong grabbed my wrist in annoyance.

“Tell me where the destination is. I’ll find the way for you.”

“Oh, so you have no intention of interfering?”

He looked at me with a strangely hollow gaze.

“You probably have a plan.”

“My goodness, finally between us, there is this thing called trust…”

“Because if you don’t even have thoughts in your head, it will be several times more terrible than now.”

Should I punch him? But while I was contemplating, I missed the timing awkwardly.

“…What I was looking for was a subway station, and we just need to arrive in Russia? From then on, we just need to sweep away all the monsters we see and arrive in Moscow by the 20th.”

“The plan is quite simple-minded.”

“Why are you pronouncing ‘minded’ so strongly?”

Rather than arguing, Ryuseong seemed to be trying to find the way as he unconsciously put his hand in his pocket to find his cell phone and frowned.

Because I said to leave the cell phones behind on the pretext that they might be tracked, we both didn’t have cell phones now.

“But how are you planning to buy plane tickets without a cell phone?”

“…”

“And how will you leave the country while hiding your identity?”

Oh, what a sharp guy. Ryuseong also pointed it out to me, falling into the same question as last night’s me. And I,

“I don’t know?”

Had nothing else to say… Hey, don’t clench your fist. The one who couldn’t find the answer was last night’s me, but today’s me is different. I’ll solve it for you.

“I’m joking. I have it all figured out, so follow me.”

“Me? Follow you?”

“Haha, that’s a joke too.”

“Does it seem like a joke?”

I found a subway station just in time. I told you I never wander around? As long as you go to Rome, it doesn’t matter which way you go, right? I forcibly dragged him, who had stopped as if in rebellion, and walked down the stairs. This time it’s for real. Ryuseong. Please trust me.

‘If they don’t let us leave the country, we can just stow away.’

And a moment later, we got on the subway. We didn’t even have transportation cards, so we got one-time use cards and boarded Line 1. Around the time I couldn’t resist the constant urging, I explained my idea, and Ryuseong calmly asked,

“…That kind of plan was in your head? So that’s why we’re here?”

When I nodded my head and asked if there was a problem, Ryuseong opened his mouth as if he wanted to say everything was a problem, then rubbed his face with his palm. Through his teeth, I heard him mutter something like, ‘I shouldn’t have trusted him. There was nothing else to trust, so I…’ but I decided to pretend I didn’t hear.

That’s because I’m currently trying to contact the ‘Demon Realm’.

‘A place where any request is possible as long as you pay the price.’

We are now going to Incheon.

“This won’t do. We need to get off. Don’t stop me.”

“Don’t squirm noticeably and stay still.”

“You need to live with the awareness that you’re a lunatic…”

“You just stick close behind my back.”

“How reassuring.”

He spoke quite cynically, but I wasn’t going to let him off for that. I lightly stroked Ryuseong’s face and pushed him into an empty seat, then bowed my head and tucked my hair behind my ears.

“If you don’t listen, I can kiss you here in front of everyone.”

“…It seems like you’re the one with voyeuristic tastes.”

I had nothing to say, but just then, an elderly woman got on, trembling with a cane, so I grabbed Ryuseong’s collar, stood him up, and gave up the seat to her.

“Oh… thank you.”

Ryuseong, who was grabbed by the collar out of the blue, looked full of dissatisfaction, but the elderly woman needs to sit, so should a grown and healthy man like you be sprawled out? Of course, the part he’s dissatisfied with would be the collar grab itself, not the elderly woman’s seating, but I’m a guy with a bad conscience, so I decided to let it slide. Huh? Isn’t it more than just a bad conscience?

‘…Right?’

Some time passed after that. The rattling sound of the subway, the intermittent sound of doors opening, and the Han River visible through the window and the lights descending upon it, my cheeks felt hot as I tried to keep my gaze on such things. Because someone next to me was still glaring at me intensely.

Ryuseong seemed thoroughly displeased with the spectacular stowaway plan I had concocted. But this is the best way to hide our identities and avoid being tracked.

‘I even put on a used robe to hide Cassice’s face, so you can imagine.’

Thanks to the robe that changes appearance, Cassice’s ‘eye-catching’ face was hidden. However, the remaining features were revealed, such as the cunning fox eyes or the slightly curled up corners of the mouth, and that appearance strangely resembled Jeong Ian. Even the jet-black hair without a single strand of brown mixed in.

In contrast, Ryuseong now had long, dark ink-colored hair that could be called dark gray. This means he has long hair now. With his crazy appearance plus long hair, I felt like my nose would bleed. His features became a little more gentle than his original face. Should I say a black leopard turned into a large dog?

‘Anyway, after going through all this trouble, I can’t reveal our identities now.’

Even if we have to endure a bit of inconvenience, arriving in Moscow without getting caught was the priority.

Then the subway announcement started to inform that we had arrived at Bupyeong Station. Actually, Bupyeong Station and Incheon itself are good places to live, so there were many people trying to get off. The problem is that a certain passage inside the underground shopping center leads to the Demon Realm.

Ryuseong seemed to want to stop me, but I nonchalantly stood up and supported the elderly woman who was trembling with a cane. What are this person’s children doing, letting such a frail elderly woman wander alone? Anyway, I accompanied her to the subway station. Phew. Doing a good deed makes me feel great. Now it’s time to do something bad to balance the universe.

Ignoring Ryuseong, who was looking at me with a strange expression, I confidently entered the underground shopping center. Of course, the underground shopping center itself is very normal, so there were many people looking at various things. There were stores selling pretty clothes, miscellaneous goods like bags and shoes, and earrings, bracelets, and necklaces were also laid out on the street stalls. Of course, they’re cheap by my standards, but I held up a cell phone strap in front of Ryuseong, thinking of buying at least one as a souvenir.

“You don’t even have a cell phone.”

It was such an absurdly correct statement that I decided to agree. But as soon as I said that, the merchants started to look at us with a strange gaze. Glances with a hushing nuance… They seemed to have figured out that we came here with a suspicious purpose at the point of ‘not having a cell phone’. It’s not common for a normal modern person to not have a cell phone, right?

I smiled brightly.

[Where is the gate?]

I deliberately spoke in Chinese to hide Cassice Demillang’s nationality. I was going to speak in Russian next, but someone approached from behind. Ryuseong didn’t hesitate to twist that guy’s arm, and there was a sound of metal hitting the floor. It seems he was trying to threaten and drag us…

[I’m sorry. We’re not the kind of fools to be fooled by that.]

“Ugh… Who are you! Without a visit request…”

The merchants began to back away hesitantly. I had no intention of causing them trouble, so I smiled brightly, bowed, and picked up the item he dropped and brought it to him.

[May I ask for guidance?]

It was a knife.