Chapter 1563: A New Normal (18) |
‘What do you mean, what are we supposed to do?’
“It’s nothing serious,” I answered.
“What? H-How is this nothing serious?! The Guild Master is… is looking for me! How can that not be a big deal? You know he already doesn’t like black mages!” Han Sora shouted.
“I’m telling you it’s really nothing,” I said.
“T-Then why would a note come from the Black Tower Lord of all people?! He’s definitely targeting me. He’s going to find me and crush me…” she muttered.
“What? Is Hyun-Sung some kind of murderer or something?” I questioned.
“Kim Hyun-Sung is only nice to you!” she yelled out.
‘She’s really panicking.’
It seemed like she still had the habit of slipping into informal speech whenever she got worked up, and I could see her muttering to herself over and over about getting crushed.
Her reaction was so unexpected that I couldn’t help but be a little taken aback, and it was to the point where I started wondering whether Hyun-Sung had been especially harsh toward Han Sora.
Now that I thought about it, I realized I had never really seen Hyun-Sung hold a conversation with Han Sora. He spent time with Jo Hye-Jin all the time and talked with Sun Hee-Young fairly often, but I had never really seen him talk to Han Sora.
‘Is it really because she’s a black mage and he finds her uncomfortable?’
No, it wasn’t just Han Sora. He got along fine with what one could call the first-generation members, but I had never seen him talk to the second or third generation members.
I bet he had never exchanged casual small talk with Belier or Alps. I was a little curious how Hyun-Sung’s social life even functioned, but calming Han Sora down came first.
“He’s just bad at this kind of thing,” I told her.
“Huh? What?”
“He probably just poked around. It’s obviously awkward. People these days aren’t idiots, so nobody’s going to fall for that. Even if you’re running a scam, it should be somewhat convincing. This is just cute. The fact that he didn’t even hide his channel makes him an idiot.
"It probably wasn’t sent only to you. He likely just sent it to those who stood out with hate comments or trolls. Hyun-Sung isn’t some psychopathic killer. He’s not going to crush you over something like this. Really,” I reassured her.
“T-That’s what I’m saying! But you don’t know anything…” she complained.
“Hey, let me see your hand mirror,” I said.
“What?”
I took the hand mirror from a slightly flustered Han Sora and unknowingly kept talking to her the same way I had with Kim Hyun-Sung.
“What’s the password?” I asked.
“Huh? Oh, it’s 0427,” she answered without thinking. I had asked so naturally that she had replied just as naturally. Both of us realized that it was a mistake, but neither of us bothered pointing it out. Solving this problem came first.
As soon as I entered the password, the lock was released, and the screen appeared. The wallpaper was a photo of Han Sora taken together with Jung Ha-Yan. She used to be desperate to get away from Ha-Yan at first. Seeing them like this now made me nod. Anyway, I immediately went into Kim Hyun-Sung’s message and sent a reply.
[2714: This is the Continental Protection Management Committee contacting you. You’re involved in a very serious and dangerous matter. For your safety, we would appreciate it if you could provide your contact information and your current address.]
[Black Tower Lord: Who is this?]
[2714: I already told you it’s the Continental Protection Management Committee, didn’t I?]
[Black Tower Lord: The Continental Protection Management Committee doesn’t ask for citizens’ addresses or contact information.^^ I don’t know who you are, but you’re aware that impersonating the Continental Protection Management Committee is a serious crime, right? And you do realize this is voice phishing, don’t you?]
‘See? No answer.’
[Black Tower Lord: I’ll be reporting this to the Continental Protection Management Committee and the press.^^ Hope you like prison food~]
Of course, saying I would report it to the press was a complete lie, and nothing would really happen even if I were to do that, but it would be more than enough to fluster Kim Hyun-Sung.
It wasn’t that he feared the Continental Protection Management Committee or going to prison. What he was really afraid of was causing trouble and putting me in a difficult position. Naturally, I turned the telescope on to watch Kim Hyun-Sung.
“…”
Just as expected, his face went pale. He had placed the Goddess’s Hand Mirror on the desk and was clutching his head, and there was even a flicker of fear on his face. It was like watching the face of a kid who had caused trouble and received a fake message telling him to come in for a police investigation.
[Blue Guild Master, Shocked by Voice Phishing]
[The Reason the Blue Guild Master Impersonated the Continental Protection Management Committee!]
[The Blue Guild Master’s Shocking and Shameless Misdeeds! 24 Reasons the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival Abandoned Him!]
He was probably imagining those headlines. Given how engrossed he had been in sensational thumbnails lately, the anxiety had to be double than normal. Then he started fiddling with the Goddess’s Hand Mirror, searching for something in a hurry.
I could clearly see him typing out “impersonating the Continental Protection Management Committee crime” as a search term. Of course, the moment he realized it was actually a crime, he shot up from his seat.
Bzzzz…
My hand mirror vibrated.
“...”
“...”
[Kim Hyun-Sung: Mr. Ki-Young, I think someone hacked my ID.]
‘How ridiculous.’
[Lee Ki-Young: What? What do you mean? Hacked?]
[Kim Hyun-Sung: It seems someone impersonated the Continental Protection Management Committee using my account. It looks like voice phishing. I’m sorry.]
[Lee Ki-Young: There’s nothing for you to apologize for, Mr. Hyun-Sung… Are the photos and files on your phone okay?]
[Kim Hyun-Sung: Yes! Those seem to be fine…]
[Lee Ki-Young: Then it’s okay. I’ll look into the hacking myself, so until I contact you again, log out of everything and turn off all your hand mirror.]
[Kim Hyun-Sung: Okay. I’m sorry.]
‘Wow, now he’s even lying.’
He probably said it to avoid getting scolded or to ensure that I wouldn't be put in a difficult spot, but when I thought about it even more, it bothered me a little. His face stiffened as if he had made up his mind about something, and before long, a call came in.
“Hello, yes, what is it?” I answered.
— Mr. Ki-Young.
“Yes?”
— I’m sorry.
“For what?” I asked.
— Actually… I lied about being hacked. I happened to go on Benigoa Net and saw posts insulting you, Mr. Ki-Young, and before I knew it…
“Ah, so you’re saying you impersonated the Continental Protection Management Committee to try to get Benigoa Net users’ personal information?” I asked.
— Yes…
“Haa…”
— I’m sorry…
“Why would you do something like that?” I asked.
— I-I just got so angry, so without thinking about it.
“…”
— I’m sorry.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll think of it as a mistake you made in the heat of the moment. I do appreciate you thinking of me, but I'd like it if this doesn't happen again. For the time being, don’t go to Benigoa Net. But… what were you planning to do after getting their personal information?” I asked.
— I… was going to report them…
“You know people will talk behind others, no matter who they are. Just because someone wrote something bad about me doesn’t mean they’ll be punished if they get reported. So don’t worry about it too much,” I told him.
— Okay.
“Right. By the way, no one actually gave you their personal information, right?” I asked.
— T-There was one person.
“What?”
Someone actually fell for that elementary school-level trick? Before I could ask anything else, Kim Hyun-Sung continued.
— The name is Benet. He said he lives in the Republic branch of the Benigoa Order. I haven’t reported it to the Continental Protection Management Committee yet. As for this person…
“No, no, you don’t need to do anything. I’ll take care of it myself. It’s not anything difficult. Don’t think you’ve dragged me into something troublesome. Just focus on what you need to do right now. And I meant it when I said don’t go on Benigoa Net for a while. After we hang up, don’t forget to turn off your hand mirror right away,” I reminded him.
— Okay, I’m sorry again.
“It’s fine. I’ll contact you again,” I said.
— Okay.
After the call, a long message came in, but I didn’t bother reading it. It was obvious that it would just be more of the same, and right now, I needed to let Han Sora know that the situation had been resolved.
When I turned my head slightly, I saw Han Sora letting out a long sigh of relief.
“Not a big deal, right?” I asked.
“R-right…” Han Sora answered.
“By the way, your password is Ha-Yan’s birthday. April 27. Are you okay with that?” I asked.
“Huh? What do you mean?” she asked.
“Once the Black Tower is built, you’ll have less time together. You used to want to stay away from Ha-Yan so badly, but now…” I trailed off.
“T-That’s none of your business, sir!”
She snapped and immediately lunged at me, and I instinctively leaned back. It looked like she was trying to snatch her hand mirror back from me, but she put more weight into her actions. I was going to return it anyway, so there was no need for that, but I reflexively tensed up, and we ended up getting entangled.
Right then, the door burst open.
“O-oppa, do you know where S-Sora is—” Jung Ha-Yan appeared, opening the door at the worst possible moment, and she froze mid-sentence, just like Han Sora. “Oh?”
Creak… click.
The door shut again, and Jung Ha-Yan disappeared outside. It was a very different reaction from what I expected. I thought she would immediately explode, but seeing the two of us entangled together in my room had to have done nothing but just stun her.
Han Sora sprang back up and shouted, “It’s a misunderstanding, Miss Jung Ha-Yan!”
She rushed after her, but just as she was about to open the door, it was opened from the outside once again.
“Ah! S-Sora, there you are,” Jung Ha-Yan said.
“Miss Jung Ha-Yan, it’s a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding…” Han Sora shouted.
“Uh… what is?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.
“He was just teasing me…” Han Sora said.
“W-Wait… what do you mean?”
Jung Ha-Yan looked genuinely clueless.
“Huh?”
“D-Did something happen?”
She had erased it. It seemed she had wiped away the last few minutes from her memory.
“L-Let’s go out and look around the city, S-Sora. O-Oppa, when are you heading to the temple?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.
“Huh? Ah…”
“Let’s go together. Hehe,” Jung Ha-Yan said, giggling.
“No, it’s completely in a different direction, I’ll head out on my own,” I told her.
“Ah! Okay…” she said.
Han Sora realized that Jung Ha-Yan had erased her memories, and she looked over at me in clear panic, but dealing with this situation wasn’t my problem anymore. I was heading to the temple, while she was the one who had to spend time with Jung Ha-Yan and handle the aftermath. She cast a resentful gaze at me, but…
‘I don’t have the luxury of sitting around either.’
I just heard from Kim Hyun-Sung that there was an extremist in the Republic branch of the Benigoa Order.
“Mr. Ahn Ki-Mo, we’re heading out now,” I announced.
“Ah… okay! Did you resolve everything?” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.
“Working on it. I heard there’s someone at the temple, so that gives me one more reason to go,” I answered.
‘Benet…’
“…”
“…”
‘Damn… it’s not that hypnosis guy, right?’
Of course, the chances were slim. No, it was basically nonexistent. Someone that deep into meme culture like that guy would never fall for something like Kim Hyun-Sung’s trick. Still, it was hard to avoid feeling uneasy, so I kept talking to Ahn Ki-Mo.
“Mr. Ki-Mo, up to what level of a mind-type spell can you dispel? You can handle up to the 8th level, right?” I asked.
“About… 6th? Maybe even 7th level. In reality, 8th-level spells are something only someone like Jung Ha-Yan can cast, so you can say I can defend against pretty much all existing mind-type spells. Curses are a different matter, though,” Ahn Ki-Mo answered.
The guy who used to act so scatterbrained suddenly seemed oddly reliable now.
‘He’s actually pretty capable.’
“Have you finally recognized my worth, sir?” he asked me.