Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Main Story (2)

"Please get in."

The vehicle Edelin guided us to was a limousine from a brand everyone would recognize by name.

We opened the door and climbed inside.

The interior was equally spacious and cozy.

You could've told me it was the living room of a small studio apartment rather than a limousine and I'd have believed it.

I'd never ridden in a car like this in my life.

I didn't let it show, but it was a genuinely novel shock.

Lee Yeeun seemed to share my feelings, because she whispered to me.

"Oh wow. The cushions here are softer than the ones in your office."

Lee Yeeun pressed a cushion with her index finger.

It sank deep -- and as she said, it did look better than the sofa in my office.

But Jo Seongung and Edelin seemed quite dissatisfied.

"Is this the American style? What is the US Association doing? They bring one measly cheap car to greet their guests?"

"I share the sentiment. They claim it's to prevent information leaks, but the treatment of state guests is so inadequate that I came to receive you myself."

"As expected of the world's greatest Hero, quite wise."

This was a cheap car? Their sensibilities were on a different plane from us commoners.

Jo Seongung looked a little different too.

"Tch. When I was young, three thousand people showed up at the Japanese airport with signs to welcome me."

"Really? Wow!"

Lee Yeeun looked at him like she was seeing someone incredible.

Every time Jo Seongung shared a story from his active days, he seemed like a different person.

Jo Seongung was once Korea's fourth-ranked Hero, after all.

Had I been dismissing him too much?

Honestly, I couldn't understand why someone this remarkable had been carrying on the way he had.

Jeivult's voice bored into my head.

[That's right. I keep telling you, Seongung was incredible.]

Worried it was about to start spewing nonsense again, I glared at the handle, and Jeivult hurriedly made excuses.

[N-No. I didn't mean it like that... I meant as a swordsman, he was incredible. There aren't many masters who've drawn out more than 70% of my capability.]

Jo Seongung caught me glaring at Jeivult and smirked.

As its former owner, his expression said he had plenty he wanted to say.

"Noisy one, isn't she?"

"A little."

"A liiiittle? Ha, playing coy in front of the new master. You'll taste hell soon enough. Tsk tsk."

I was glad I'd gotten the pecking order straight from the start.

Good thing I'd established the hierarchy early on.

No matter how pitiable it acted, the fact that this was a harmful magic sword didn't change.

Our car cruised along smoothly.

Before arriving, I decided to ask what was on my mind.

"Unicorn Guild Master."

"Yes, Professor."

"I'd like to know what's happening in America. I'm curious about what exactly this 'crisis for humanity' mentioned in the letter is."

I understood this was related to the main quest, but that was all.

This wasn't an event the player could normally participate in. So information about it was virtually nonexistent.

Given that my greatest weapon was knowledge from the game, the absence of information was troubling.

Edelin answered in a low voice.

"It's classified -- not something non-parties should know."

She seemed to be mindful of Lee Yeeun and Jo Seongung, who'd come with me.

This needed to be addressed clearly.

Lee Yeeun was an NPC who was both favorable to the player and clever.

There was no chance she'd betray me or go blabbing unnecessarily.

"You needn't worry about Yeeun. She's my TA here to assist me, so if you need my cooperation, it'll inevitably reach Yeeun's ears as well. And Professor Jo......"

This was trouble.

I genuinely couldn't vouch for this man.

But pulling back now after getting this far would hurt his feelings, so I cobbled something together.

"...was an S-rank Hero representing Korea."

"Hey, brat! Why'd you have to think about it?! And why is that all you say about me?"

Jo Seongung got angry, but I brushed it off.

That was more than enough to put gold leaf on his face.

Edelin smiled softly.

"No, of course I trust the Professor's companions. The problem is over there."

Edelin gestured with her eyes toward the driver's seat.

"That person is an Association employee, but not at a rank with clearance to access the information."

"Hmph, the American Association must be looking down on Professor Cha. Sending just one low-level lackey?"

When Jo Seongung grumbled, the employee broke into a cold sweat and made excuses.

"That is absolutely not our intention. I hold an executive-level position myself, but the matter is so critical that only director-level and above may access it."

"Ohh, is that so?"

Jo Seongung's tone softened slightly.

He seemed quite pleased by the fact that the proud Hero Association -- the American one at that -- had sent an executive as a driver.

The limousine ran smoothly and arrived at the hotel.

The space was even more extravagant than the Baekje Hotel I'd visited before.

The Association employee handed us card keys and said,

"The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 11 AM. I'll come to pick you up at 10."

"Understood."

The employee drove off.

Edelin said,

"I'm going to head inside first. I hope everyone has a comfortable evening."

"Yes."

She went straight into the hotel.

Jo Seongung, a veteran Hero accustomed to these situations, did the same.

"See you both tomorrow."

At the hotel entrance, only Lee Yeeun and I were left standing.

We wanted to go sleep too, but it wasn't that simple.

It was the middle of the night in America, but by Korean time it was broad daylight. We weren't veteran Heroes like Jo Seongung -- there was no way we'd adjusted to the time difference.

Lee Yeeun said,

"I'm not sleepy at all. What should I do?"

"Force yourself to sleep. From the look of things, this seems like a pretty serious matter, and it'd be bad if exhaustion made you mess up."

"Okay."

After confirming Lee Yeeun went to her room, I entered mine as well.

I knew this was supposed to be a fancy place, but it exceeded imagination.

The Baekje Hotel had been impressive, but this was on another level.

"Never thought I'd live to stay in a place like this."

A private room that had seemed like something I'd never encounter in my lifetime.

How much did it cost to stay one night here?

At the very least, I knew it was more expensive than my studio apartment's monthly rent back in reality.

"This world isn't so bad to settle down in, is it?"

Opening the small refrigerator in the room, I found two bottles of water inside.

What was water like at a luxury hotel?

I'd hoped for gold-dusted water or wild ginseng extract, but it was just plain water.

Even the rich drank the same water as everyone else.

"Tch. Might as well just sleep."

I turned off the lights and lay on the bed.

It was incredibly soft.

Water might be the same, but beds were different.

"Wow, what the......"

BOUNCE--

I tensed and relaxed my body, and it sprang me right back.

The springs alone were no joke.

BOUNCE-- BOUNCE--

The addictiveness was off the charts.

Lie on a bed like this, then go back to a normal bed? No way I'd adjust.

I was a somewhat famous professor now -- surely I could afford one good bed?

Contrary to my assumption that I wouldn't fall asleep, the high-performance bed summoned slumber almost instantly.

***

"What? When did I fall asleep?"

My eyes opened.

I had no idea when I'd fallen asleep. I'd just lain down and my memory cut off immediately.

The bed's performance was worthy of admiration.

"Should I get one for my place?"

I enlisted the help of the internet to find out what bed it was.

The price was eye-poppingly expensive, but not more than the current me could invest.

Quality sleep was, after all, extremely important.

Fine. I'm buying it.

After resolving to buy the bed, I checked the time -- it was exactly 6 AM, Washington time.

Plenty of time before the meeting with the staff.

After a quick wash, I headed downstairs.

I ran into Jo Seongung in the lobby.

"Good morning."

"Professor Cha, up early. How about a walk together?"

"Sure."

We stepped outside in silence and walked.

The refined scenery was a feast for the eyes.

The ornate fountain and the beautifully sculpted plants showed just how much care the gardeners had put in.

After a while, Jo Seongung broke the silence.

"The time has come."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Come now, you know. Don't play dumb."

Jo Seongung lowered his voice.

"I saw the letter that came for you, Professor Cha. Your student probably brushed it off as a big fuss over nothing, but... the Americans may exaggerate, but they don't lie."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. At the very minimum, the shockwaves will be on par with Dragon's Roost."

There was bitterness in Jo Seongung's words.

He was a Hero among Heroes who'd experienced Dragon's Roost firsthand.

Nobody knew the horror of that day better than him.

The fact that the words "Dragon's Roost" came from Jo Seongung's mouth seemed to speak to the resolve with which he was approaching this.

"Remember what I said when we first met?"

"You said the world would face a crisis."

"Right. This is the beginning."

Jo Seongung's hands were trembling.

"I'm scared. Of what's going to happen."

"I understand."

"Honestly, I didn't even want to come to America. I was scared. But the thought of sitting on my hands while everything ended was even scarier."

Jo Seongung paused for a beat, then said,

"Professor Cha, you're humanity's hope."

"You overestimate me."

"No, it's the truth. I promise you. I'll protect you no matter what happens."

"Professor Jo......"

"So if by chance this old man dies... please look after Seohu for me."

"Don't say things like that."

I spoke firmly.

"We're all going home safely. Me, Yeeun, and you, Professor Jo."

"Heh, well now."

Before we knew it, we'd circled back to the entrance.

We'd made a full loop around the hotel.

"Professor?"

Lee Yeeun, emerging from the lobby, called out to us.

"Did you two go have breakfast without me?"

"No way."

I denied it immediately, worried Lee Yeeun might get upset.

But that turned out to be the wrong answer.

"Pff, you should've just gone ahead. I was planning to go eat with Edelin-unnie, just the two of us."

They were right when they said raising a disciple was thankless work. I felt betrayed.

What's so great about Edelin that you'd ditch your own advisor?

"I'm kidding, just ki~dding."

"Don't joke like that. You're driving nails into your teacher's heart."

Lee Yeeun grinned from ear to ear.

I couldn't even bring myself to be mad.

"Since when are you and the Unicorn Guild Master on 'unnie' terms?"

Lee Yeeun whipped her head away and exercised her right to remain silent.

It seemed she'd never actually gotten permission.

Lee Yeeun mumbled in a small voice.

"Th-That's what everyone calls her."

"Like how people call a certain soccer player 'our bro'?"

"Huh? Who are you talking about?"

"Well, he's not really 'our bro' anymore either. Forget it. Can you at least ask her to have a meal together?"

Lee Yeeun answered in an uncertain voice.

"...If the Professor abandons me and I'm eating alone looking all pitiful, wouldn't she take pity and join me?"

"Oh, come on."

It was an utterly pathetic answer, but strangely convincing.

Jo Seongung said,

"Your student wants it that badly -- why don't you at least ask, Professor Cha? Invite her to eat together."

At those words, Lee Yeeun's eyes sparkled.

The look was so desperate I couldn't just ignore it.

More importantly, wasn't this old man just fulfilling his own agenda? Using my student to do it, no less.

"I'll at least extend the invitation."

"Really? Our professor is the best!"

Lee Yeeun jumped for joy.

It was a case of receiving a deep bow for what amounted to nothing, but it didn't feel bad.

I sent Edelin a message.

-- Are you up?

An instant reply.

-- Edelin: Yes. Just woke up.

-- Would you like to eat together?

-- Edelin: ?

What's this question mark about?

Does she not want to eat with us?

After a brief wait, an additional reply came.

-- Edelin: You're unexpectedly forward. I don't dislike that style.

-- Edelin: Since you made the invitation, you'll escort me, right?

At least I could show my face to my student.

"She said yes."

"Awesome!"

We gathered at the hotel restaurant and had our meal.

The restaurant was a space that would still fall short no matter how many superlatives you piled on.

The menu was equally extravagant.

The one thing that nagged me was that Edelin's complexion looked slightly flushed when she came down.

"So, the meal invitation......"

"Is something wrong?"

"N-No."

Edelin picked at her food with an aloof expression, then went back to her room.

I felt bad for dragging her out when she apparently wasn't feeling well today.

Still, Lee Yeeun looked nothing but happy.

Well, that was fine then.