Chapter 49: An Ordinary Day
“Diesel…… sir…….”
I walked toward Herja, who had collapsed.
At some point, the Valkyrie helmet she had been wearing and the wings made of light had all vanished.
“Is it…… over…….”
“Yeah.”
“What about Shorisar……?”
“I took care of him.”
Herja was once again a small child, with no trace remaining of the warrior-like presence she had shown just moments earlier.
“I-I’m sorry…….”
“What are you sorry for?”
“I should have followed the plan to the end……. But Herja…… Herja suddenly got excited…….”
“It’s fine.”
Tears slowly welled up in her clear eyes.
“He suddenly brought up my mom……. Without realizing it, I…….”
“…….”
“Actually, everything that Shorisar said was right……. Herja hurt Mom…… and Mom, because of Herja…….”
In the end, she broke down crying.
“Herja made everyone in the village……. Hwaaaah…….”
“That’s all in the past.”
“Actually, Herja didn’t want to do that……. Hwaaaah…….”
“Get up. We need to go.”
“I can’t walk……. Uuuh…….”
I scooped the small Valkyrie up into my arms.
Then I carefully slipped out of the steel giant’s warehouse.
The rattling subway crossed the Han River.
Over a bridge built several times higher than before, just to stay as far away as possible from the pitch-black water.
‘Disgustingly peaceful.’
Not even a Han River monster that supposedly shows up from time to time and swallows subways whole.
I muttered as I sat on a smooth steel-plated seat.
Too early to be out for leisure, too late to be commuting to work.
Maybe because of that, the subway only had one errand-running android and a punk-rock–styled orc nodding off.
When I turned my gaze outside the window, a lethargic morning sunlight was illuminating Seoul’s twenty-five sectors.
From the corporate sectors where skyscrapers reaching up to the stratosphere clung together as if competing, to the industrial sectors where enormous, heavily rusted pipes formed neat rows.
No matter how many times I saw it, I couldn’t get used to Seoul’s newly transformed appearance.
〈Weren’t you supposed to stop using such outdated means of transportation now?〉
Ar spoke in a tone full of dissatisfaction.
If even a single day passed without riding the motorcycle, he got pouty like that.
〈If it’s somewhere you can get to by subway, you should actively use it. Do you know how much that motorcycle’s maintenance costs?〉
〈That’s only because the owner handles Rang-i inefficiently. If you’d just leave all the driving to me, I could cut operating costs by about 10%…….〉
〈Even factoring all that in, the subway is still several times cheaper.〉
〈…….〉
Perhaps out of things to say, Ar bit down hard on my hand and then crawled back into my arms.
I leaned my head back against the wall.
Letting my body sway with the motion of the subway, I closed my eyes for a moment.
‘Hoo…….’
It had been two days since the Great Port job.
I recalled the two members of the Nord race I had faced that day.
Gnar, the sea giant who hid terrifying strength behind the profession of a lawyer.
Perhaps he had been far stronger than Kaztikan.
And the Valkyrie whose true nature I still couldn’t quite grasp, Herja.
If it hadn’t been for her, I might have ended up killed by Gnar.
‘The Valkyrie of Desolation…….’
The shadow Herja had shown back then was by no means ordinary power.
Even I, who could perceive and manipulate all surreality, couldn’t imitate that strength.
‘Then that means it’s an awakening ability…….’
The only abilities I couldn’t handle were innate ones like awakenings.
Special powers someone possessed from birth—like the breath a Half-dragon breathed out, or Kaztikan’s division—were things even I couldn’t copy.
‘What bothers me isn’t just Herja’s ability.’
Another Valkyrie that had appeared in my older brother’s memories—Shadow Sword Hrund.
In the distant past, that Valkyrie who had been my brother’s comrade and Herja, who had only just been born, were clearly wielding the same power.
‘Don’t tell me she was my brother’s comrade’s daughter…….’
As I was lost in those thoughts for a moment, a transmission came in from River.
[Sir.]
I took a deep breath before responding.
[How’s Herja?]
[She still hasn’t woken up.]
[Hmm…….]
[Are you on your way safely?]
[Yeah. I’m coming.]
[That’s good.]
At the moment, Herja was under River’s protection.
I recalled that night.
The image of Herja crying her heart out in my arms before falling asleep from exhaustion.
‘I’ll find out something once I get there.’
River would definitely know about Herja.
Who she was, and what kind of existence she was.
And as promised, I also needed to obtain information about the keyword ‘Seed.’
With those thoughts in mind.
The subway that had crossed the Han River began descending back into a pitch-black tunnel.
Seoul Sector 8-2, an ordinary residential neighborhood.
The house River was staying in was located in a rather modest-looking area.
But to my eyes, which could see both the Electrosphere and surreality at once, it was clear just how heavily protected this place was.
‘This is more heavily guarded than some AAA-grade corporate offices…….’
After passing through a winding alley and heading into a corner, I saw someone standing out in front of a house in the distance.
“You’re here.”
Unlike her usual hanbok attire, River greeted me wearing a thin sleeveless shirt.
With her bare back exposed, the cyberware that had been hidden until now caught my eye.
“So even a scholar can use implants now?”
“And why would you say that?”
“Isn’t it ‘the body, hair, and skin are received from one’s parents’? I heard scholars back in the day wouldn’t even cut a single strand of hair.”
At my words, River smiled gently and replied.
“My mother gave birth to me using an artificial womb, so wouldn’t it be fine if about half my body were machine?”
“Hm.”
So that’s how it worked.
While I was lost in brief contemplation, River swung the front gate wide open and stepped inside.
“Please, come in.”
“Is this your house?”
“One of them.”
A typical Korean-style detached house, built of red bricks, with large and small earthenware jars placed in front of the door.
As I stepped into the somehow familiar yard, River smiled and asked.
“What do you think?”
“Think about what?”
“I deliberately found a house in a Korean-period style. Is it historically accurate?”
“…….”
I looked around for a moment.
“Well, it’s not bad…….”
“Right?”
“What color is the rooftop?”
“The rooftop, all of a sudden?”
“What color is it?”
“Hmm……. I think it was gray.”
“Then it’s wrong.”
“……?”
“Then if it’s a Korean house, the rooftop should obviously be green.”
River briefly made a puzzled expression, but soon returned to her usual face.
At that moment, the front door suddenly opened and Chae Seol-ah appeared.
She, too, was dressed not in a hanbok but in a light hoodie.
“What. Are you two living together?”
“…….”
At my question, Chae Seol-ah frowned, while River replied with a faint smile.
“We sleep separately.”
“Hmm…… really?”
“The beds are right next to each other, though.”
“Does this man really need to know that much?”
Chae Seol-ah’s cold gaze turned toward me.
Then she let out a small sigh and said,
“That Valkyrie just woke up.”
“Oh, perfect timing. How is her condition?”
“Go check for yourself.”
Following River inside, an interior more spacious than expected came into view.
In the wide-open living room were familiar furnishings: a comfortable-looking sofa, a black television, a round analog wall clock.
And at the entrance to the room leading to the bedroom, Herja was standing there wearing cute pajamas.
“Herja, you’re awake.”
“Ah……. River siiir…….”
She rubbed her eyes, then noticed me and flinched in surprise.
“D-Diesel siiir…….”
“You really slept for two whole days.”
“I guess sooo…….”
“How does your body feel?”
Before River could even finish speaking, a growling sound came from Herja’s stomach.
“Eheheh…….”
“Of course you must be hungry. I figured as much…….”
River headed toward the kitchen and brought out food packed in a square paper box.
‘Huh……. That’s…….’
Silver foil peeking out between the boxes, smeared with red sauce.
I immediately recognized what it was.
“It’s Korean chicken.”
When the paper lid was flipped open, glossy half-and-half fried chicken appeared.
“Waa……!”
Herja let out a small exclamation and sniffed the air as she approached River.
“Diesel sir, you haven’t eaten yet either, right?”
“Hm……. Well…….”
“Do you know how much that cost? If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t.”
Chae Seol-ah strode toward the kitchen.
Having arrived first, Herja shouted excitedly.
“Diesel siiir……! Hurry and come heeere……! It looks sooo delicious……!”
“…….”
Watching the scene, I let out a small, hollow laugh.
‘What is this. This ordinary daily life.’
It had already been about three months since I woke up in a world where everything had changed into something unfamiliar.
During that time, I had been running nonstop, even forgetting who I used to be.
In empty shops late at night, in back alleys reeking of rot.
I blew up androids and killed people.
Doing things I’d never even imagined before, I sometimes wondered if I should just quit everything altogether.
But every time, my older brother and younger sister came to mind.
My older brother, who protected the world at the cost of his own life, and my younger sister, who willingly sacrificed her entire life.
Perhaps, when the coming destruction arrived, it wasn’t even necessary for me to step forward.
The world now was incomparably stronger than it had been when the Ghost of Destruction first descended in the past.
Maybe I could just build up enough strength to protect myself, then live comfortably somewhere quiet and secluded.
But whenever that thought crossed my mind, the faces of my older brother and younger sister surfaced, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Because that would mean betraying everything the two of them had protected over their entire lives.
‘Hoo…….’
With an exhale, I shook off those thoughts.
I relaxed the fist I hadn’t even realized I was clenching.
‘Taking a moment like this should be fine.’
A scene that felt as though I had returned to an ordinary past.
Perhaps this familiar environment was a small consideration on River’s part.
Since there was another unfamiliar world I would have to dive back into tomorrow, maybe she was telling me to rest, just for now.
“Diesel siiir……! If you don’t come, I’ll eat it all by myseeeelf……?”
“Yeah. I’m coming.”
“There’s plenty, so eat slowly, Herja.”
“Ahh……. Reallyoo……?”
“There’s soy sauce flavor and cheese flavor too.”
“Waaah……! Om nom nom…….”
“Chew properly. You’ll get indigestion.”
“Okaaay……! Seol-ah unni……!”
“……?”
“Ahh……. Um…… is it okay if I call you unni……?”
“……Well, sure.”
“Heheheh……! Then can I call River unni too……?”
“Yes. That sounds nice.”
And so passed an ordinary lunch that wasn’t quite ordinary.
A certain palace, with a tranquil lake spreading out behind it.
Within that picturesque scenery stood a man.
“Commander of the Royal Guard.”
At his words, someone emerged from the darkness where no one had been.
“Yes. Your Highness.”
“I told you not to use that form of address.”
“I beg your pardon. Lord Ihan.”
“Give your report.”
The Commander of the Royal Guard knelt and lowered his head.
“As ordered, I cast fortunes to investigate the two Ghostcatchers. However, I failed to obtain the prophecy you desired.”
“Hmm…….”
“Especially regarding the mage, I was unable to uncover any information at all.”
Ihan gazed toward the distant lake.
“If it is a fate that even a shaman of the Celestial Disciple class cannot pierce through……. It must be extremely thoroughly protected from spiritual projection. Had we known even the true name, this trouble would not have been necessary.”
“However…… during the fortune-telling, the shaman uttered one peculiar term…….”
“Speak.”
The Commander of the Royal Guard glanced around briefly, then spoke in a low voice.
“The Inevitable One.”
“……!”
“She said that being would return.”
The moment he heard the answer, Ihan suddenly looked down at the Commander of the Royal Guard with a terrifying intensity.
“Who else heard that term.”
“The shaman, the disciple beside her, and the monitoring operator.”
“Dispose of them all and thoroughly erase the data.”
“I receive your command.”
“Immediately.”
“Yes.”
Just as suddenly as he had appeared, the Commander of the Royal Guard vanished back into the darkness.
Left alone once more, Ihan turned his head toward the quiet lake.
“Diesel…….”
A shadow fell across his expressionless face.
“Is it truly you, Lee Hamin.”