‘……He actually came?’
Why?
What for?
“Oh! Sohyeok! I’m coming up now!”
“Urgh……!?”
My eyes met Baek Yulheon’s.
I had only poked my head out over the edge.
‘How is his intuition so damn sharp……?’
Baek Yulheon entered the building.
I hurriedly tidied up the surroundings.
‘I wonder what Baek Yulheon will say when he sees this Vegetable Garden.’
Creeeak―.
“Sohyeok∼ Have you been well?”
Baek Yulheon flung open the metal door and stepped inside.
“Stooop!!”
“H-Huh……?”
I urgently stopped him.
“Look down.”
“……Ah.”
A fully grown Perilla Leaves plant was growing directly beneath his foot.
“Please walk slowly, and only step where there isn’t any soil.”
“R-Right.”
Perhaps because I had tried to make maximum use of the small rooftop—
there was not much space left for people to walk.
Only a narrow path about one foot wide.
Baek Yulheon barely managed to make his way inside the house, then spoke awkwardly with sweat on his forehead.
“So…… what exactly is all this?”
“I told you before, didn’t I? I wanted to try growing some new plants. Since I was doing it anyway, I figured I might as well do it properly.”
“……So you turned the entire rooftop into a Vegetable Garden?”
“Heh. It’s my sister’s building anyway.”
“Well…… that’s true, but.”
Baek Yulheon could not seem to sit still.
Every so often, his gaze drifted back toward the Vegetable Garden.
I grinned and pushed something toward him.
“Eat these.”
“……Huh?”
A white plate.
Three kinds of neatly arranged vegetables sat on top of it.
My test subject had walked in on his own.
“This one is Lettuce, this one is Perilla Leaves, and the last one is Chicory.”
“……You want me to eat them?”
“For some reason, they don’t have any effect on my body. I was going to call my sister, but since you’re already here, help me out.”
“Haha…… All right. I suppose I can try them.”
Baek Yulheon slowly reached out.
Then his hand suddenly stopped.
“You checked all their abilities first, right?”
“Yes.”
“……There weren’t any side effects or anything?”
“Eat them and find out.”
“……Why are you making that sound so ominous?”
I said it like that, but there was no way I would knowingly feed him something dangerous.
I was not that cruel.
After studying my expression, Baek Yulheon picked up one of the fresh vegetables with a wary look.
“They still look bizarre.”
“……I agree.”
“Doesn’t this look like a rooster’s comb?”
“Doesn’t it look more like a campfire?”
“Hmm.”
After thinking for a moment—
he swallowed it.
“Mmm…… Hmm…….”
“How is it?”
“I feel like something might be happening…… but maybe not…….”
What Baek Yulheon had eaten was Lettuce.
It definitely carried an ability called Fire Resistance.
It would be difficult to verify with his bare body.
“Hmm…… Ah!”
I suddenly called out to Baek Yulheon.
“What?”
“Wait a moment.”
Click, click.
FWOOSH!
I placed a frying pan on the stove and turned on the gas burner.
After letting it heat properly—
“Hup.”
“……Huh?”
I placed Baek Yulheon’s hand directly on the frying pan.
“Aaaaaagh, it’s hooot!?”
Baek Yulheon flailed and fell backward.
“W-What the hell are you……!? H-Huh? Why isn’t it hot……?”
“Haha. Interesting, right?”
“What…… is this?”
Baek Yulheon repeatedly clenched and unclenched his hand.
Then he touched it with his other hand—
and even pressed it against his cheek.
“……This is the ability?”
“Yes. Apparently, it’s Fire Resistance.”
“……Huh.”
Baek Yulheon let out an incredulous laugh.
Then he stood up and walked back toward the stove.
“……It really isn’t hot.”
He moved the frying pan aside—
then stuck his bare hand directly into the flame.
‘……That takes a little too much courage.’
Even after learning he had Fire Resistance, how many people could casually stick their bare hand into an open flame?
‘Then again, I heard he was an A-Rank Awakened in his prime. Maybe that explains it.’
An Awakened’s skin was on a completely different level from an ordinary person’s.
Most normal flames would not be enough to burn one.
They might feel a little hot, though.
Even I would not perform such a dangerous experiment on someone who was not an Awakened.
‘……Still, maybe shoving his hand onto the frying pan without warning was a little much.’
“Wahaha! This really is fascinating! It feels like I’ve stuck only my hand under an electric heating pad!”
“……I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
Hmm.
He already seemed to have completely forgotten what I had done.
I should use him like this regularly from now on.
“By the way, why did you come to my house?”
“Huh? Ah, right. I forgot.”
As though suddenly remembering something, Baek Yulheon hurriedly pulled his hand out of the fire.
“Sohyeok, come somewhere with me.”
“……Where?”
“Come on, don’t look so suspicious. It’s nearby. Close to the guild.”
Was he going to buy me a meal or something?
That was what I thought.
“We don’t have much time, so let’s hurry.”
“……Time?”
Baek Yulheon rushed me along until I reluctantly got into his car.
“Oh.”
There was a familiar face in the driver’s seat.
“You’re the person who guided me last time…….”
“Oh, you two have met? This is my secretary. Secretary Yoo.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jeong Sohyeok.”
Her greeting was formal and rigid.
I did not remember her being like this when I met her at the guild before.
‘Is she in work mode?’
I decided not to add any unnecessary conversation.
“Then, we will depart.”
At Secretary Yoo’s brief announcement, the car moved forward.
“……Oh.”
Rather quickly.
“Uweeegh……!”
“A-Are you okay?”
The world was spinning.
I could not keep my feet properly planted on the ground.
‘What kind of driving was that……?’
I glared resentfully at Baek Yulheon.
He quietly avoided my gaze.
“A-Ahem.”
“…….”
It was difficult even to hold my head up.
I turned away from Baek Yulheon and looked toward the driver’s seat instead.
“Are you all right, Mr. Sohyeok?”
Secretary Yoo tilted her head.
As though she genuinely could not understand what was wrong with me.
‘Does she drive like this all the time……?’
Did Baek Yulheon ride in a car like this every day?
I was beginning to pity him.
“Then I will take my leave.”
Secretary Yoo gave a small bow from the driver’s seat and disappeared.
Along with the thunderous roar of the engine.
“W-Well∼ At least we got here thirty minutes early.”
“…….”
“……Sorry.”
I forced my spinning mind back into order and raised my head.
The building before us stood so close to White Lotus that I could see the guild just by turning my head slightly.
“……What building is this?”
“This building belongs to White Lotus too. Its purpose is a little different, though.”
With Baek Yulheon supporting me, I entered the building.
The cool air conditioning helped clear my head somewhat.
It was not as tall as the main guild building—
but it was still fairly large.
Around fifteen floors.
Baek Yulheon immediately entered the elevator.
“Which floor?”
“Oh, no, no. I’ll press it.”
One of his hands was supporting my shoulder, so I had offered to press the button for him.
But Baek Yulheon skillfully used his other hand.
“?”
He pressed the buttons for Basement Floor 1 and Basement Floor 2 at the same time.
At that moment—
“Urgh……!?”
RUMBLE―.
The elevator began shaking as though an earthquake had struck.
My motion sickness, which had only just started fading, threatened to return.
“Sohyeok, grab the handrail.”
“……Excuse me?”
A moment later—
I felt a brief sensation of weightlessness.
Then my ears began to pop.
DING―.
The vibration stopped.
I checked the floor indicator.
“Basement Floor 3……?”
The elevator panel had clearly only listed floors down to Basement Floor 2.
‘What is this, Ha**y Potter……?’
I waited awkwardly for the doors to open.
“Sohyeok, this way. Follow me.”
“Huh?”
Baek Yulheon was already walking away through a rear door that had opened behind us.
‘What is this, some science-fiction movie?’
Just what were they hiding down here that required this much secrecy?
I followed Baek Yulheon down an endlessly stretching corridor.
He did not look even slightly tired—
but with my stamina, I quickly began reaching my limit.
‘No, my body isn’t tired.’
It was my mind.
Ever since my body had been activated, physical exhaustion had barely affected me.
But the disconnect between my body and mind often made things difficult.
My brain kept ordering me to rest—
while my body seemed capable of moving endlessly.
“Um…… How much farther are we going?”
Eventually, I could not stand it anymore and asked Baek Yulheon.
“We’re almost there.”
“Could you at least tell me where we’re going……?”
“Hmm…… I think you’ll understand when we arrive. Ah, there it is. Sohyeok, you go first from here.”
Baek Yulheon pushed me forward by the back.
A small light appeared ahead.
The end of the corridor.
I walked toward it a little faster than before.
Now that I could finally see the end, my body started listening to me again.
“Ugh…… That’s bright.”
I finally emerged from the corridor—
and light pouring in from every direction blinded me.
Slowly, I opened my narrowed eyes.
“Uh……?”
What I saw was a white space.
Nothing inside.
No one inside.
The ceiling was so high that I could not even see it.
The room itself was large enough to fit three basketball courts.
Just—
an enormous white space.
“W-What exactly is this place supposed to be…… Huh?”
Scratching my head, I turned around.
Baek Yulheon should have been following directly behind me.
But—
he had vanished.
“……Guild Master?”
―Oh! Sohyeok! Can you hear me?
‘……?’
As I looked around for the missing Baek Yulheon—
his voice echoed from every direction.
“W-Where are you?”
―Ah, don’t worry. I’m watching you properly. Just wait there for a moment.
‘Wait?’
What exactly was I supposed to wait for?
Underground.
A secret space.
A sealed white room.
“……Is this a little dangerous?”
My shoulders began trembling.
My heart along with them.
THUD.
THUD, THUD.
“?”
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!
No.
It was not my heart or my body trembling.
“An e-earthquake?”
The entire space itself was shaking.
Starting from the floor.
“Guild Master!? Are you there!? Hello!”
No answer came back.
The vibrations grew stronger.
And then—
“Urgh……!”
A small hole appeared in the floor.
At the same time—
something rose through it.
“……That bastard.”
BOOM! BANG!
Violent explosions thundered.
That massive frame was impossible to forget.
“You…… You bastard. You really had the nerve to throw me into a place like that……?”
It was the terrorist.