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Hayan’s egg attack was barely endured, and I was having a very boring time.

I’d rather have passengers from the train come and ask for autographs or photos to bother me and pass the time.

“Are you listening, Gyeoul?”

“Yeah… but I still don’t get it. Do we really have to do this?”

To kill the boredom, Hayan chose to give a lecture on gaming.

Why on earth is there so much to know just to play a game?

Isn’t it just about dodging skills, landing skills, and using range to hit one more time to win?

“…That’s why you keep getting ganked, keep sending roams for free, and your game keeps exploding.”

“But isn’t it dumb to get roamed on even after pinging mia?”

“Then why do you keep shouting about jungle diff? I’m giving you real-time jungle info.”

“…That’s our jungler’s fault. The enemy jungler should be there right when they come to win the 2v2 and gain an advantage.”

“Ugh…”

Our sweet Hayan goes half-crazy whenever gaming is mentioned.

It’s supposed to be a fun game, but Hayan seems to get stressed every day.

‘I hope she didn’t go dark after dragging me around the Rift.’

No way, I’m not that bad.

It’s just bad luck with the game, my mechanics are solid gold.

Yeah, that’s right.

While having a very productive conversation with Hayan.

I felt like someone was watching.

‘This is the fourth time…’

It feels a bit different from fans staring at us.

More like… surveillance? Yeah, closer to surveillance.

A gaze I’ve felt since the moment I boarded the train.

If I quickly turn my head, the gaze disappears simultaneously.

‘Is it Se-hee unnie?’

Probably not.

Jo Se-hee wouldn’t stare at us like she’s surveilling us…

And it wouldn’t be this obvious.

She didn’t earn the title of Great Thief by playing rock-paper-scissors.

I thought about pulling up my magic power to detect, but with so many ordinary people on the train, releasing dense magic power might knock someone out, so I held off.

“Hayan, you feel it too, right?”

“Yeah. This is the fourth time.”

“Who could it be? Not the Satan Church again?”

“Don’t worry, Gyeoul. Even if an Apostle comes, I’ll definitely protect you.”

While I was training in swordsmanship, Hayan has also made a lot of progress.

She’s determined to be different from before.

Honestly, by now, the Hayan-Gyeoul duo should be able to take down at least one Apostle from the Satan Church, right?

Facing the enemy with a sword, pulling out the dagger from the suit to support me with telekinesis.

Add Hayan’s magic to that, and we have a solid chance.

“But that’s not the problem, if they attack on the train, the damage would be enormous.”

“If they were going to attack, wouldn’t they have ambushed us before we noticed? The fact that they’re just standing still might mean it’s not the Satan Church.”

“Let’s… pretend we don’t know and stay still. I hope nothing happens until we get off.”

After that, we naturally passed the time with Hayan by talking about everyday things.

During that time, I felt over ten gazes.

Fortunately, there was no ambush.

[Our train will soon arrive at Singyeongju Station. Please prepare to disembark. Today also…]

“We need to get off, let’s get ready.”

“Ugh… I hate long trips.”

Sorry, Hayan. I got bored earlier and checked on my phone.

Originally, it’s a 2-hour trip, but the ticket I booked goes via Suwon, so it’s 2 hours and 50 minutes.

…Hoping for an interesting train journey, I’ll keep this to myself.

Apologizing to Hayan in my heart, I grabbed my bags and luggage and got off at Singyeongju Station.

“But… where are we supposed to go?”

“I don’t know, they didn’t tell us… Let’s eat first?”

Without knowing the destination, we aimlessly walked towards the exit.

“Gyeoul, before that…”

Yeah, before that, we need to deal with the person following us.

At first, it was hard to identify who it was, but after receiving dozens of gazes, it would be a shame to call myself a hero aspirant if I didn’t notice.

The man who kept staring at us happened to get off at Singyeongju Station with us.

And coincidentally, he was walking the same path as us.

If coincidences overlap this much, it’s not a coincidence but intentional.

Hayan and I left the station and headed towards a secluded place.

The man following us hesitated for a moment but followed us into the alley.

***

One Hwarang, tasked with secretly escorting Jeong Gyeoul and Lee Hayan, was feeling annoyed.

From Seoul to Gyeongju.

Do the kids think they’re on a trip? They booked tickets that take an hour longer, going via Suwon.

Unintentionally spending 3 hours on the train didn’t make him feel good…

‘Where on earth are they going? The Great Hwarang said there would be a Hwarang waiting at the station to take them to the Hwarang, and I just need to watch them until then.’

There was no one waiting, and the kids walked somewhere without any hesitation.

‘Why does the escort have to be secret? Just attach openly or send them to Gyeongju directly. In terms of pure strength, they’re much stronger than me, so what’s with the secret escort?’

Not a government VIP, he couldn’t understand why he had to go this far.

The government had already classified Jeong Gyeoul as a VIP, but this was unknown to lower-ranking Hwarangs, only known to the National Intelligence Service and the Association.

While following, the kids disappeared at a turning point in the alley.

‘…Annoying.’

When tailing, such points are bound to happen.

This is the easiest timing to get caught, so one must always be careful.

But the targets are two 14-year-old middle school girls.

No matter how strong they are, they wouldn’t have experience.

Thinking he couldn’t be caught, the lower-ranking Hwarang nonchalantly moved in the same direction as them.

As soon as he turned the corner, he made eye contact.

‘What, what! Did they notice?’

Internally panicking, he acted as if nothing was wrong and walked past them.

“Hey, mister.”

Jeong Gyeoul’s voice calling the Hwarang.

It was the moment he was sure he was caught.

About to confess he was on a secret escort mission and report truthfully to the President.

Something sharp and cold touched his back.

Judging by the continuous flow of magic power, it was something made by magic.

Since Lee Hayan mainly uses ice spears, he thought it was probably Hayan’s magic.

“If you don’t want to die, kneel, raise your hands, and stand still.”

“…?”

Following the instructions, the lower-ranking Hwarang’s brain seemed to tangle.

He knelt and raised his hands, but the next command was chaotic.

‘Stand in this position? How do you do that…’

Unable to get up, nor stay still kneeling.

“…What’s with that weird restraint? Kneel, raise your hands, and stand still? How can anyone do that?”

I once thought Hayan’s intelligence increased after her darkening.

But after what just happened, I retract that thought.

At Jeong Gyeoul’s words, Hayan also seemed to realize something, her eyes widening as she nodded.

“That’s right… Why didn’t anyone at the Academy say anything?”

“…It felt off if it was just about being overpowered, but was it this?”

If it was the same at the Academy?

-Kneel, raise your hands, and stand still.

-…Kneel, raise your hands, and stand? Can’t do it! How do you do that!

-Are you resisting now?

After that, violence would have ensued, and students would have thought Hayan did it on purpose.

Because logically, telling someone to kneel, raise their hands, and stand still doesn’t make sense.

Seeing that scene from other students’ perspectives… it’s like making excuses to hit someone.

To the students, Hayan must have seemed like a demon.

‘Or a psychopath?’

Shut up and just eat.

Not answering when asked? // Where do you get off talking back!

Not looking when someone’s talking? // What did you do right to look straight at me!

This.

Kneel, raise your hands, and stand still.

Or this.

Drives people crazy either way.

Roughly sketching the scene in her head, Jeong Gyeoul shook her head.

‘Darkening and intelligence have nothing to do with each other.’

Extending a helping hand to the man who couldn’t do anything.

“Just stay kneeling like that.”

“…Th, thank you.”

A man thanking even after being told to kneel.

‘That’s not normal either…’

Arriving in Gyeongju and immediately meeting another oddball, Jeong Gyeoul’s head started to hurt.

“But, mister, who are you?”

“…You restrained me like this without even knowing who I am?”

“Answer the question before I break your arm.”

“…I’m a Hwarang.”

Among Hwarangs, they call Kim Yu-shin the Great Hwarang and refer to themselves as Hwarangs.

But Jeong Gyeoul didn’t know that yet.

Thinking he was impersonating Kim Yu-shin, she chuckled.

“What are you talking about? If you’re a Hwarang, then I’m the Demon King?”

“…Isn’t that correct?”

“….”

Whether it’s a small Demon King, a little Demon King, or a young Demon King.

No matter the title, Jeong Gyeoul is also called a Demon King.

At Hayan’s offhand remark, Jeong Gyeoul’s cheeks started to redden.

“…Kim Yu-shin is in Seoul right now, stop talking nonsense and tell the truth.”

“I, I really am a Hwarang… I was on a mission given by the Great Hwarang…”

“Great Hwarang? A mission?”

As Jeong Gyeoul pressed, finally feeling understood, he started to spill everything.

“Yes! Kim Yu-shin is the Great Hwarang. Hearing you two were heading to Gyeongju, I was on a secret escort…”

“Where was the secret part?”

“…Huh?”

“You’ve been staring at us since the train and openly following us, where’s the secret in that?”

“No need to say more, Gyeoul, let’s deal with him and eat.”

“De, deal? Please, just let me make one call to the Great Hwarang!”

At Hayan’s menacing voice, the lower-ranking Hwarang, feeling his life threatened, begged with a voice on the verge of tears.

“Hayan, hold on for a bit.”

“Okay.”

Jeong Gyeoul took out her phone and called Kim Yu-shin.

-I was just about to call, good timing. The person I sent didn’t meet you, what happened?

-Sent someone? Not sure about that… There’s this guy who says he’s on a secret escort mission from you, is that him?

-…So you caught him. I wanted to send you alone, but the Association threw a fit, so I had no choice but to attach a few secret escorts.

-Escort? This guy got subdued by Hayan in one second.

-That kid was just to fill the numbers due to lack of manpower… No, forget that, just think of him as an attendant, switch him for me.

-…?

The Hayan-Gyeoul party unintentionally gained an attendant.

“Hayan, let him go. He’s our attendant.”

“Okay.”

“Wh, what do you mean attendant?”

“The Master said to switch.”

“….”

 

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