Episode 287
“Ha!”
Hematoma looked dumbfounded. Even so, there’s no way I couldn’t read the sense of frustration hidden there.
If his personality was created based on me, it is just one part of me. Maybe it’s just a way to extract my bad points.
Thinking about it that way made me feel even worse, but the important thing was that he knew what he wanted and that I had caught him off guard.
“Are you saying this because you don’t know your position right now?”
I tried my best to put pressure on myself.
“Ask me a favor?”
It was an unthinkable sound.
“It sounds like you really mean it. Is that right?”
“I meant what I said from the beginning. Just by looking at him, you can see that his body is itching.”
“Ha, you’re my master after all? “He knows my thoughts like a ghost.”
Now that I see him trying to scratch me without any help, it’s kind of cute.
It’s a provocation that only a crazy person would react to.
“It would be foolish to be offended because of that.”
“….”
“Ask me a favor? Then, I may be generous and consider joining you at least once.”
The hematoma’s eyes turned to me. The guy’s eyes were filled with dark red blood.
When I lost my body to that guy, countless lives were lost at the hands of that guy. He was a villain who should never have appeared in the world.
What I was most thankful for when I returned to the past was that his existence was not revealed to the world.
The first thing to give up in the ongoing war of nerves was the hematoma.
“I can’t help it.”
The guy who snorted said while nodding his head at me.
“It’s been a while since I want to go out into the world and make a fuss. It would be perfect if the opponent was a divine beast. “Why don’t you give me a chance to help you?”
“Nope.”
“what?”
“No matter how thirsty I am, I don’t drink empty water.”
I grinned at him.
From the beginning, I had no intention of giving Hematology a chance. How do you know if he will join forces with the crowd and cause a strike?
There is no reason to take risks.
The face that looked at me blankly was the same as mine, but I felt empty inside.
“And what is that attitude of asking? Try being a little more servile from now on. Wouldn’t that make you feel like you would listen at least a little bit from the perspective of being asked?”
“Wait a minute, you…”
“Goodbye.”
I forced the hematoma out of the world of images. I can’t get rid of him, but as long as I have control, I can do whatever I want.
“I saw that son of a bitch begging, but we can’t just let this go, right?”
I immediately called Mandeuk.
They must have seen me dealing with the hematoma, and only then did they appear one after another, thinking.
No matter how thirsty you are, it is difficult to drink old water. I told you to bring useful guys, but you brought a stiff-headed guy like that?
It seemed urgent to change the perception of these graduate students who had not yet come to their senses.
“Fuck your head.”
* * *
I looked around at the gifts lined up. The sight of him trembling while still in contemplation is hard to evoke sympathy…
Even if there is no one to call, why not call in a hematoma? If he knew that he and I were not on good terms and acted blindly about performance, that in itself would be punishable.
I feel like I want to watch him 168 hours a week and kill him, but I’m going to have a fight with the Thunderbird soon, so there’s no reason to overdo it.
“The reason I treated you so harshly was to hope that you would do well. Wouldn’t it be better for you to become better than to remain at a poor level? is not it?”
Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!
The three gifts said yes. As I saw that he still had the strength to answer while being cheered on, I wondered if I should punish him more severely, but I decided to endure it.
Since there are infinite days to roll in the future, there is no reason to make it roll all at once.
“So let’s do our best without attracting strange people. I guess it was difficult to bring in other new recruits?”
Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!
The three answers were as expected. I guess I have ego in other gifts. It’s just that his ego wasn’t at a level that would be helpful.
In fact, graduate students are not treated as human beings, but when viewed individually, they are composed of excellent talents. No matter how urgent the work is, inserting an elementary school student into it will only hinder rather than help.
I thought I knew why they wanted to bring in a black-faced graduate student.
But, as I keep saying, it is not good to drink plain water when you are thirsty. There is no need to quench your thirst and get sick.
Anyway, I decided to stop looking for gifts.
“I know you’ve worked hard so far, so let’s take it easy for now.”
Ugh?
“They said they would give me vacation for a while. Instead, work twice as hard when dealing with the Thunderbird. It will depend on your performance in battle. So let’s do well?”
Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!
The three gifts responded excitedly, as if they had never been so gloomy.
For now, we need to seal this up and prepare for the battle with the Thunderbird.
Still, seeing the hematoma guy fidgeting and asking for a favor makes me feel like the old congestion is going away.
* * *
After defeating the hematoma and regaining discipline, I began preparations to hunt the Thunderbird in earnest.
One of them was to view the data provided by the party, and I had the opportunity to sit down with Phantom once again and look at the information they had compiled.
And as I looked at the well-organized contents, I could see that the party had provided confidential information that would not be surprising if kept secret.
The material details are beyond what I expected.
“Did you try to catch a thunderbird at the party?”
Phantom obediently admitted.
“I thought about that too. “I gave up after seeing that the strength of the divine beast was far beyond common sense.”
“You speak as if you experienced it yourself.”
“I’ve seen it before.”
“You left it as is because there was no estimate?”
“I guess that’s right.”
As expected of these smart guys, I guess they were open to all possibilities and thought about it.
In the document, the expected habits and powers of the Thunderbird were written down, and the flow of battle when the Awakened attacked was described.
Although the story was based on assumptions, the content seemed plausible.
[Humans are scary. Are they preparing like this to catch Shinsu?]
It was something that even Yongyong, who was watching, was impressed by. Although it was different from the flow I expected, I was able to refer to it.
Knowing the Thunderbird’s habits and powers will be of great help in battle.
After reading the information about three times and ingraining it in my mind, I looked at the phantom and asked.
“Just because you promised doesn’t mean you will just hand it over. “I wonder what your intention is.”
“I know you have no intention of joining the party. But there is no reason for us to continue our hostile relationship.”
“There’s no reason to maintain a good relationship?”
“That is correct. However, the best part of human relationships is being able to hold hands in a direction that is mutually beneficial.”
The overbearing appearance of the first meeting had disappeared and he was showing the appearance of a seasoned negotiator. So, it sounds like they gave up on having me join the party, but acknowledged me and wanted to pursue a direction that would be mutually beneficial.
I wonder what you’ll say.
“There is a disaster in the Atlantic that does not know whether it is a plus or a new disaster. “We named it Leviathan.”
Leviathan. It’s a name for a monster I’ve also heard of. Because of this monster, traffic in the Atlantic Ocean was virtually cut off.
[That is not a divine beast.]
Yongyong officially says that Leviathan is not a divine beast.
So is it a monster? However, if you listen to the Phantom’s words, it feels too strong for a monster.
[I haven’t seen it in person, so I don’t know what it’s like.]
In the end, the only useful thing Yongyong says is that he is not a divine beast.
“You’ve never shown yourself, have you?”
“there is. “It’s just that everyone can’t believe what they’ve done so far because it makes no sense from the point of view of common sense.”
Phantom revealed his business to me.
“I would like to entrust you with Leviathan’s hunting request.”
“Is that it?”
Leviathan’s presence in the Atlantic split the party’s power. That became the driving force for Herbert to rebel against the party head on.
Phantom wants to entrust me with the task of eliminating Leviathan in order to unite its divided powers.
If I hunt Leviathan, the party will become stronger.
The changes that will result from this will be quite significant.
But that’s none of my business.
“Even the Thunderbird will take time.”
“Okay. Just having the intention to hunt is important.”
“You act like I’ll accept it.”
“Because I prepared a worthy reward.”
I don’t really want anything, so I don’t know what you’re talking about.
However, Phantom’s continued words made me pause without realizing it.
“He quite prefers oil. “I will sell it.”
“Oil?”
“Okay, we sell as much as you want. “As long as the value of oil does not disappear, you and we will both be tied up in a profitable relationship.”
Oil is already being purchased as needed from Saudi Arabia. We have also secured a safe route for oil carriers to travel from Korea to Saudi Arabia.
Even so, the more oil there is, the better.
I suddenly have a craving for something.
“Tell me in detail.”
I began to look at the contents of the gift bag that Phantom had prepared, one by one.
* * *
After receiving the information provided by Phantom, I prepared to leave to go hunting for Thunderbird in earnest.
Perhaps because quite a few villains were eliminated, LA security was noticeably improved. The intermittent gunshots were no longer heard, and the number of people wandering the streets increased noticeably.
And on the day I was leaving LA, it was Zolaman who came to visit me.
“Jun Ho! “I’ll take you to where the Thunderbird is.”
Who is saying they will take whom?
Aside from that, I felt like they were trying to care until the end. For some reason, he seemed anxious when he took his eyes off me.
Anyone who sees you will think you’re a troublemaker.
[He’s a troublemaker, right?]
I quietly ignored Yongyong, who confidently spoke nonsense, and found the bundle of goods the slim man was holding.
“What is that?”
“I prepared to give it to Junho. A gift given to ensure safety in battle!”
Then, what he handed to me was a coat. However, the appearance of a subtle force on the outside was unusual.
This is the energy I know.
“This is…”
“It’s a coat made of Draculea leather.”
What Zolaman gave me was a coat made from the skin of a two-horned monster. In addition to expressing my intention to purchase it and handing it over to the United States for research, I also gave it to him to study, and he made a coat out of it and gave it to me.
It was a completely unexpected gift, so I felt a bit dazed.
“Try it on.”
I put on my coat at the recommendation of my friend. It looks like a high-end brand coat, but it is made of the leather of a two-horned monster, so its strength is far superior to that of most armor.
So much so that even if most villains attacked, it would be difficult to even scratch the coat.
When I see this level of processing technology, I can understand why American products are considered the best in the world.
“Suddenly, a gift like this feels burdensome.”
“Haha, don’t hesitate and take it.”
“Didn’t you use most of what I gave you?”
“yes.”
“So what do you want?”
“I don’t want anything!”
Does this skinny guy think I’m an idiot?
Just by looking at it, it looks like there’s something you want.
“Don’t be rude.”
“….”
“If you don’t tell me, I really won’t give it to you.”
“No, I don’t really want it, but…”
The little man hesitated and then opened his mouth cautiously. I was going to say it anyway, so I hesitated.
“If you hunt that thunderbird. “Can you give me some of the by-products?”
Well then. Even though his brain appears to be made of muscle, he was a PhD from Stanford. You’d be a fool to think there would be pure goodwill.
At first glance, it was a calculated action, but it didn’t feel too bad.
That’s how satisfying I was with the gift he gave me.
“Let me think about it.”
“really? Oh oh! As expected, it’s Junho! I was begging you to believe me!”
Seeing you like it makes my stomach twist even more.
When I hunt the Thunderbird, the by-products of the two-horned monster will change into the by-products of the divine beast.
Have you been aiming for this from the beginning?
Yongyong fanned the burning house.
[This is called financial investment, right?]