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112. The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Feat. Your Friendly Neighbor)
“You woke up early?”
The sun was peeking over the horizon.
Jong Ho said hello to me and headed for the fridge.
It seemed that he couldn’t see Karin as expected.
Jong Ho drank some water as per usual.
‘How do I explain Karin’s existence…..’
Well, he would return to the demonic realm in two days anyway.
It shouldn’t be a big deal to reveal him.
If Jong Ho still couldn’t see him, there was nothing for me to lose.
That’s if Jong Ho believed what I said though.
I hesitantly asked him.
“Hyung-nim. Do you see anything on this chair?”
“Keruru?”
“What?”
“This…This chair.”
“What about the chair? All I see is a high schooler making a huge mess as he eats food? Please act like your age…. Looks like I need to get you a bib.”
It was then that I noticed the state of the kitchen.
Karin’s drool was all over the place.
On top of that, bits of waste and pieces of plates from his mouth were scattered all over the place.
It was such a mess that it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe tens of people came to party here.
Karin, who was staring at Jong Ho the entire time, spoke.
“Kerukeru. He cannot see me. He cannot even hear my voice.”
“Is that so…. Pfft. Say hello, hyung-nim. This here is Karin.”
“Are you still having nightmares? Seems you didn’t get any sleep. Why are you making strange jokes this early in the morning.”
“Can you really not see? The woman that’s here?”
“…..”
“No way…. Am I the only one that can see her? Say something. Why is it that he cannot see you?”
“Kerukeru!”
“Hey… Why are you scaring me like that….”
Jong Ho’s eyes were darting all over the place.
It seemed that he was quite scared.
Looking at the fork and knives on the table, I gave Karin a knowing look.
Perhaps because he was quick on the uptake, he quickly picked them up and began to move them through the air.
“Uh……”
“Pfft. Do you still not see?”
“What is this? Why are they floating?”
“She really must be a ghost. She followed me back home yesterday. She came back home with me and we just finished our meal. Can you put down the sword? She won’t harm you.”
“……”
“She says that she really likes your room and asks if she can sleep in there.”
“Ahhh! Hey! No! Make her leave! Why did you bring her here!”
“Well, she seemed to have nowhere to go and looks well mannered.”
“……”
Jong Ho’s face became serious.
The floating utensils, the table that was dirtied beyond what I was capable of, and even the acting I did made Jong Ho ponder for a brief moment before speaking.
“Um…..”
“Hm?”
“Is she pretty?”
“Keru?”
“Wow… That’s too much. Even if I told you that she’s a ghost, since I mentioned it was a girl, you want her to be pretty?”
“Well, why not. Might as well be. How did she die? Her age? But above all else, is she pretty?”
“Tsk tsk. You’re something else. Just go wash yourself off. I’ll tell her to sleep in your room. You can check in your dreams.”
“Eh. Sounds like she’s ugly. I’ll go clean myself up, but she can’t go in my room.”
“Ah. Just go wash up first and then we can talk.”
“Okay.”
“I guess he really can’t see you?”
“Keru… I can only be seen by the three humans sir Berdan chose.”
“Ah, that’s right. You said there were two more besides me?”
“That’s right, keru.”
“Who are they?”
“Kerukeru. They also have quite the quality and amount of magical energy.”
“Who?”
“They do not live on this land. Their skin color is white. They’re people from other countries.”
“Maybe their levels are really high…. But do you also speak English?”
“Keru? What’s English?”
“Languages of other countries. I think you speak Korean pretty well. Pretty smart for a goblin.”
“Kel? The language of the demonic realm allows us to communicate with any race.”
“…. Master of languages from birth. That’s one thing I’m jealous of.”
“Kelel. But those two humans are not polite.”
“Since you speak like that… of course.”
I accidentally spoke my thoughts out loud, but it seems he didn’t hear it due to being so busy blabbering out his own words.
“Thinking about it now, the things they were making… it was steak.”
“It could be like that since they’re in other countries. I guess you visited them during a meal.”
“Keru. I knew they were making steak for a good reason. To think that humans were this delicious!”
“Hm? What do you mean? This isn’t the meat of a human though?”
“Keru? So those two humans weren’t killing fellow humans to eat their meat?”
“……”
“During the few days I followed them, they killed many humans. I thought they wanted steak. Kel.”
“I thought they’d be rankers….. but it seems I was wrong.”
“Kerukeru.”
Karin said that these two people have a lot of magical energy.
However, it seemed that they didn’t earn that through regular hunting.
There was a high chance that they killed other Awakened for pleasure.
After all, there was no rule that all the Awakened had a righteous moral code.
Also, the Awakened were human.
I was reminded that both good and evil were omnipresent.
“Human. You said that you were going sleep before. How tasty is that?”
“Ah, that’s right. But I have to have a talk with that guy who cares about a girl’s physical appearance after he’s done washing off. I’ll make some steak for you, so go and eat that while you’re waiting. It won’t take long.”
“As long as there is steak, I won’t mind it taking long. Human, give many! Many steak!”
“Oh yeah.”
It was then.
“Young master, are you still in the middle of your meal?”
“Uh…..”
“It looks like your friends came over….”
“Sorry…. It became quite messy.”
“Hoho. It’s my job. Don’t worry about it. Will you be going to sleep now? I know you’re young and all, but it seems you’re overdoing it to the point where I’m concerned for your health, hoho.”
“I’ll be sleeping right after I’m done talking with Jong Ho hyung. Uhm, ma’am.”
“Yes?”
“About… the meat in the fridge.”
“Yes.”
“Other than what you’ll for the side dishes, could you cook everything?”
“Huh? All of that? What are you planning to do with them?”
“That’s… I’m not sure if I have a parasite in my stomach or something, because I still feel hungry.”
“I’ll go ask the butler to purchase some medicine. Please go ahead in first. I’ll bring them to your room.”
“Yes, thank you. And while you’re out there shopping, please purchase some meat for steak…”
“Hoho. Yes, I’ll buy enough so that we don’t run out.”
“Yes. I’ll be going then…”
“Keru. That’s the woman who makes the steak, huh. She’s a good human. Keru.”
****
“The ghost?”
“What do you mean ghost. But there is something that you cannot see.”
“What else would it be other than a ghost?”
“No. The one who was sitting in the chair before was a goblin who came from the demonic realm named Karin.”
“The one you said you met before?”
“Yes. He said he was bored of the demonic realm and came to play. I think it’s true. I was stuck with him suffering all day as I had to be his tour guide.”
“That’s quite something else to suffer from. Is it to get info?”
“What. You’re trusting me that easily?”
“You’re not the type to lie. So did you find out anything?”
“Yeah. A lot actually. He’ll be here for the next two days. He’s really into our food right now, so I don’t think he has any plans of leaving here for the time being. During that time, I’ll need to get more info.”
“Are all monsters that stupid? Well I’m glad.”
“Yes. But I also learned that the monsters of the demonic realm are a lot stronger than what I originally thought.”
“How much so? Aren’t they similar to the monsters we face in the dungeon?”
“You know about the Unknown Dungeon, right?”
“Yeah.”
“He said that monsters in the Unknown Dungeon are incomplete monsters.”
“…..”
“And the one that Karin is serving, Berdan, is at least ten times stronger than Zekill.”
“What… So just how strong is this demon king?”
“I know, right? Also the demonic realm is supposedly so big that it cannot be compared to the size of Earth. It seems like it’s going to be difficult.”
“Thankfully at least you learned the skill Archangel’s Fall.”
“Yes. There is one more thing I wanted to let you know.”
“Ok. Go ahead.”
“The… 80 days. Well, it’ll be 79 days from now before gate opens, right?”
“Yeah. The door that takes you to the demonic realm the goblin told you about?”
“Yes. He said that it really connects me to the demonic realm.”
“Hm…. This is just a feeling I have, but something feels off. So what is it?”
“I’ll be going.”
“Are you insane?”
Jong Ho’s eyes were wide open as he said that.
It was to be expected.
Even I though this idea was insane.
However, just as I concluded before, the side that’s being invaded will receive far greater collateral damage.
It was going to be a fight with huge amounts of collateral damage.
However, if I was to eliminate the root cause in the demonic realm, there would be no reason for the invasion.
Tensing up, Jong Ho spoke.
“I knew it’d be like this. You’re thinking of something weird, right?”
“If I fight here, think of the collateral damage that’ll be inflicted.”
“Well that’s that. But what about how you will return here? Are you some Earth defense force? The Flash? Why must you go alone to the enemy lair to fight? Do you think you have multiple lives or something?”
“Don’t get so worked up. That’s why I’m even offering meat to that goblin and taking care of him well. There must be a way for me to return. Even the Unknown Dungeon is technically a part of the demonic realm, and I am the man who returned from that place.”
“Coming back is important, but do you really think you can face the demonic races by yourself!”
“Whether they come here or I go over there, I cannot avoid this fight.”
“…..”
“That’s why I just have to coax him a bit more to get the information I need. But…..”
“What else is it? There’s nothing else I can be surprised by, so hurry up and tell me!”
“Do you really think I’ll be going alone to the demonic realm? Really? Seriously?”
“…. Enough! There is more that I can be surprised by….. I don’t want to be surprised anymore today. Leave me be.”
“Are you acting out some drama show? Why does your tone sound like it’s from a historical drama? Let’s go. What are you going to do with all that power anyways?”
“I think I injured my ears while hunting today, so there definitely is an issue with my hearing. I cannot hear very well.”
“I’ll leave you be. I’m tired too because I didn’t get any sleep.”
“……”
“Get some rest, hyung.”
“Yeah, rest up.”
“So you can hear everything. Let’s go together.”
“Whew…. For now, let’s get some rest.”
“Ok.”
****
“Hey. Stop farting.”
“Keru? Human, I think I ate too much steak. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat this thing called sleep.”
“That’s quite the good news for me.”
“Keruru. I’ll just watch you eat this sleep thing for now and eat it later.”
“You’re something else. I’m wondering though…..”
“Keru?”
“Is there a way to return here from the demonic realm?”
“Kel? I already told you that humans have returned from the Unknown Dungeon before! I thought you were smart, but I guess you were dumb after all, human.”
“No. I’m not talking about the Unknown Dungeon. And I’m asking if there is a way to go and return at will.”
“Keruru…. Without Authority, it’ll be difficult.”
“Is that so? Authority is given at birth and I cannot steal it. I didn’t get anything when I killed Zekill after all…..”
“That’s right. You cannot steal Authority.”
“So there isn’t a way to return.”
“Keru… I’m not sure why you’re asking, but there is a way back. However, it is very difficult.”
“What is that?”
“Keru……”
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