Chapter 48 – What did I do so wrong, sir?

Chapter 48 – What did I do so wrong, sir?

After the situation ended, there were still two days left until Bucheon’s Defense Battle, but it was true that preparing early would be beneficial.

As such, I wanted to return to the Main Base immediately, but I couldn’t. I had to wait for Minju’s mana to replenish.

Because as soon as I located Minho, she quickly rescued her brother with her ability. And also, I brought him back from among the Monsters, so there was a lot of mana consumption from various activities.

That night.

I left the Monster disposal to the Looters and just steadily operated the Worker Bugs, secretly siphoning off Mana Stones.

Lately, my Main Base was always bustling, so being away from it and spending tonight with just the two siblings made me wonder if I might get a little bored.

However, that didn’t happen. Listening to Minju and Minho’s conversation was strangely entertaining.

“Repeat after me. I am a fool.”

“I am a fool.”

“From now on, I will listen to my older sister.”

“From now on… I will… listen to my older sister.”

“I will not do foolish things anymore.”

“I will not do… foolish things anymore.”

That was the reason Minju had Minho kneeling and was giving him a long lecture.

“You know you would have died this time if it weren’t for Mr. Siwoo, right?”

“Yes, I know, older sister. Siwoo-hyung, thank you again…”

“You, seriously, if you do this again, then you won’t even get soup, brother or not. I’ll just leave you behind. Understand?”

“Yes…”

“What are you?”

“A fool.”

It seemed to be quite an effective lesson.

Minho was scolded for a long time like that. When she got tired and went into her room to sleep, he quietly came over to me and greeted me again.

“Siwoo, thank you so much. I was so useless, I just caused trouble. I apologize.”

“Oh, well. It can happen once. Just be careful from now on.”

I said to him lightly.

Meanwhile, I was already speaking informally to him.

It was something he himself had suggested, and Minju had also said that since she was just his younger sister, there was no need to be so formal.

Minho, next to me, spoke freely.

“Indeed… I just thought it would happen like this when my sister used to chase Siwoo around. But it turned out this way.”

“That’s right.”

“Honestly, I think it’s for the best. My sister really likes you. Even if she doesn’t show it much, she’s probably really happy inside right now, don’t you think?”

It was when Minho grinned and said this to me.

“Minho! What are you talking about?!”

Minju’s flustered voice came from inside the room.

“Oh, no, sister!”

Minho was just as flustered.

“Ugh.”

I sighed at the sudden awkwardness, and then.

I just laughed.

* * *

The next morning.

I unsummoned the Assault Cannons that had been operated at maximum firepower yesterday until the aluminum became soft and broke.

I also gathered the wooden Worker Bugs into that pile of scrap metal and blew them up together, destroying all evidence.

Then, I chose one of the few remaining Observation Probes, which had been attacked by Harpies all day long, and surveyed the entire Daegu area.

“It seems to be mostly settled.”

I calmly assessed the situation. The Looters had fought a bloody battle with the Monsters overnight, and it seemed they had ultimately lost.

I’m sorry to say it, but it was just as I had expected.

Now, there would definitely be no information leaks.

Especially since I confirmed with the Observation Probe that Taejun, the only witness who checked Minju’s abilities, died at the hands of the Monster shortly after I left.

If it hadn’t been for the Monster, the nearby Assault Cannons would have taken care of it, but… It was a bonus that The Man struggled and reduced the number of Monsters even a little.

Many people, including Taejun, died like that…

But for Daegu as a whole, it was an enormous gain.

That’s because, unlike Survivor Groups that exhibit various patterns, humans acting as Marauders generally worshipped strength.

So, the Monsters also seemed to be on the verge of complete annihilation.

In other words, both the Looters and the Monsters, who had restricted the survivors’ range of activity, suffered devastating damage.

I wanted to clear out the empty Nest, but the troops I had here were far too few, so this was the limit of what I could do.

‘They’ll be able to manage this, right?’

I cheered for the survivors in my heart.

Especially the strong survivors who, even in this situation, chose to leave the Alliance rather than become Marauders, whose spirits were unbroken.

The more of them, the better.

However, I was currently located in the northwest of the Republic of Korea.

And Daegu was a city in the southeast.

So by the time I next led troops to Daegu, I would have a force strong enough to control the entire Republic of Korea.

It was a task that would take that much time.

‘Just hold on until I get there.’

I cheered for them once again, and then,

“Then, shall we go back now?”

I spoke to Minju and Minho, who were waiting with their luggage.

“Okay. Where should we go?”

“Hmm, since you said you’ve never been to our area… Shall we go to The Man Cafe first?”

“Hehe. It’s where we first met, isn’t it?”

Minju laughed like that, and then,

Whoosh!

He wrapped us in mana.

Whoosh- Pow!

***

“Oh, Siwoo! You’re back! I finished training the castle- huh?”

Seongjae stopped in the middle of his joyful greeting when he saw us.

“Wha- what- what- what, Scarf Woman?”

Clang- Clatter-

He dropped the tools he was holding on the floor and pointed at Minju. Minju gave me an awkward look, then shyly greeted Seongjae.

“Ah… It’s a revelation that someone recognizes me. Nice to meet you for the first time.”

“Even if you don’t recognize Siwoo, you can’t not know Scarf Woman!”

Seongjae responded enthusiastically.

“Ding!?”

Seongjae casually instructed a nearby Worker Bug to pick up the tools, then turned back to us and shouted.

“Wow, Siwoo. Thanks to you, I get to see Scarf Woman in real life! It’s really good that I survived!”

“Ahahaha…”

“She’s, uh, much prettier in real life!”

Behind Seongjae, who was shouting that, were Sua and Deokchan.

Sua had a somewhat stiff expression. Deokchan was giving his daughter a subtle look and asking her,

“Sua, are you going to be okay?”

It seemed there was something only the two of them knew.

***

Minju and Minho were assigned rooms at the 6th Floor Cafe.

Deokchan had completely renovated the Sixth Floor, turning it into spacious studio apartments, and there were many empty rooms, so they were able to get the rooms they wanted right away.

Minju chose a room two spaces away from me, which was the closest room to mine. Minho chose a room near Seongjae and Seongmin, the brothers.

Minju’s ability was kept top secret for now.

The only people who knew about The Man’s ability were me, the two siblings, and Su-a and Seongjae, who would be in charge of The Man’s combat training for a while.

“Wow… a Spatial Ability user? I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ability like that on the Apoin Wiki… So it really does exist. Its utility would be immense, wouldn’t it?”

Seongjae’s eyes sparkled as soon as he heard the explanation of The Man’s ability.

Su-a’s expression was a little stiff again. It seemed she was shy around so many new people.

‘It wasn’t like that with Seongjae and Seongmin…’

I tilted my head for a moment.

Even if young Seongmin was understandable, it didn’t seem like she was shy with Seongjae, even overtly frowning at him.

‘Well, she’ll get used to it over time.’

Anyway, since the contract was complete, there was no problem.

‘More importantly, I should prepare for tomorrow’s Defense Battle.’

I began to check Bucheon’s progress with the Observation Probe, looking for any final adjustments.

***

The next day.

Minho, who woke up in a warm place for the first time in a long time, saw that he had kicked the Fire Manipulation off the bed last night…

He was feeling a very strange sensation.

“Seoul is definitely much colder outside than Daegu…”

Minho, along with Minju, was originally from near Seoul. More precisely, it was where the cafe where Minju and Siwoo met was located.

Because of that, he definitely knew the temperature difference between Daegu and Seoul. And this winter was unusually cold…

He was secretly worried that Seoul would be cold.

“But it’s so hot.”

He hadn’t kicked the Fire Manipulation off in his sleep for no reason. Even after kicking the Fire Manipulation off, the thermal underwear he was wearing just in case was soaked with sweat.

“It wasn’t even like this before the Apocalypse…”

Minho briefly searched his memories.

He recalled his parents, who wouldn’t let him raise the heating above a certain temperature because the electricity bill was too high, and Minju, who used to grumble about the cold every winter and hug her electric heating pad.

“Well… my sister would really like this.”

He thought that.

He got up and changed his clothes first. Then, to wipe his sweat-soaked body, he took a hot shower. He picked out something comfortably casual from the clothes he had chosen yesterday and left the room.

Funnily enough, or perhaps it was nothing special, even the process of choosing those clothes had been a shock to Minho.

The Shopping Mall’s Supply Warehouse was decorated like a clothing store, but the one difference was that there was no checkout counter here. All he had to do was pick out what he wanted and take it.

‘And then… I was really surprised when I got back to the room.’

Minho gave a bitter smile.

When Minho returned to his room, he was about to change into his pajamas when he checked the price tags and realized they were luxury items he wouldn’t normally have been able to afford.

Surprised by that…

When he gathered all the price tags from the single basket of clothes he had brought and added them up, the total was well over three digits.

Of course, not everyone was like that.

Minho had vaguely noticed that the Shopping Mall was the residence of Siwoo’s closest associates.

He also knew that Mana Stones and Worker Bug Coins were actively traded outside.

“No matter what, what kind of welfare is this…”

Still, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

Even though he had done his best in Daesaengyeon, he hadn’t been able to secure such abundant resources.

Since there was no currency to compensate for labor in the first place, people always tried to shirk bothersome tasks.

As a result, there was always a shortage of manpower no matter what they did.

Even so, everyone always wanted to share the rewards of that labor. And at the same time, everyone would scheme behind the scenes to stash away their own resources in advance.

This was also a vicious cycle.

People wouldn’t work for the common good, only seeking to take profits. Meanwhile, they would try to gain their own benefits with the time they thus obtained.

Once caught in this vicious cycle, as more people withdrew, communal work became increasingly difficult. And as the Harvest also decreased, they came to value their own time more.

Yet, it was also ridiculous to criticize them.

After all, when their very lives were at stake, there was no authority to force sacrifice for others.

So ultimately, joint projects gradually fell into ruin, and everyone went their own way for survival.

By the time Minho realized this, it was already too late.

‘Seriously… Why am I so useless?’

Just like that… Minho could only lament his fate.

‘Is this… because of my abilities?’

If he also had Worker Bugs that could provide abundant water and serve as currency, would Daesaengyeon have been different?

It was while Minho was lost in thought so early in the morning.

“Minho. Mr. Siwoo is calling for you. He said there’s somewhere to go?”

Minju called him.

Siwoo, dressed casually and nonchalantly, found Minju and Minho.

He told them they had to go out.

According to him… it was a [field trip].

He said that to understand how the Loyalty Group works most quickly, seeing it in person would be best. So, after changing their clothes, they got into an SUV and started heading north.

‘Is it okay to use this much gas?’

Minho felt uneasy, but he didn’t argue. Sitting in the back seat, the two arrived in Bucheon and were surprised once again.

“Minho… Th-there’s a Castle here too?”

“Wow, Sister. This one seems much wider than our house.”

It didn’t look as sturdy or well-defended as the Castle in Geumhwa New City where they had been, but its sheer size was much larger.

“Excuse me… Is this also Mr. Siwoo’s?”

“Ah, yes. They are our subordinate forces.”

“Su-subordinate forces…?”

It was when Minju questioned him.

“Well, there’s something like that.”

Siwoo equivocated.

As they headed into the Castle-

“Oh, oh! They’re here!”

“He’s our Lord! Hahahaha!”

“That’s right, he is the Lord!”

They were welcomed by the survivors of Bucheon…

Minho was once again surprised by the scale of the Man.

For some reason… it seemed like there were far more people than even the Daesaengyeon, which encompassed the entire city of Daegu.

‘This, this is a subordinate force…?’

Minho was once again filled with self-loathing.

Minho had been proud that he had formed the Daesaengyeon and saved as many people as possible.

But in the end, many of them became Marauders. And those who maintained their sanity were scattered.

‘What did I do so wrong…?’

Minho swallowed the bitter feeling.

Meanwhile, Siwoo quickly moved the situation forward. He checked the Mana Facility Rift at Bucheon City Hall. He also checked the Observation Probe and the deployment of troops.

He grinned.

“Should I do a ribbon cutting?”

He muttered to himself…

“Alright. Now, the two of you. Just watch quietly from over there. It might get a little noisy, but there’s nothing to worry about.”

He gave Minju and Minho the best seats, where they could see the surrounding situation well.

And… a moment later.

Whoosh-

Along with a strange current, there was a peculiar feeling. It was hard to describe exactly, but it felt as if mana was decreasing.

“W-what is this?”

It was the moment Minju tilted her head.

Siwoo quietly raised a finger and pointed beyond the City Wall.

“Look. It’s coming.”

Minju and Minho were horrified to see it.

Because where Siwoo’s finger pointed, monsters were swarming in black, covering both the sky and the ground.

Minho’s eyes began to tremble with fear at the sheer number of them, not to mention.

Minju, who had a similar experience last time, was also surprised by the overwhelming quantity this time and kept checking Siwoo’s expression as if to confirm.

As if asking, ‘Are those really okay?’

Siwoo smiled back at them and then-

“Operation start.”

Boom-!

Instantly, the muzzles of the Assault Cannons emitted light.

Screech-!

Interceptors flying from the Main Base shredded the aerial monsters.

And then, there was a brief moment of silence.

“Whoa!”

“Wow!”

Until the survivors of Bucheon responded with thunderous cheers. The cheers echoing throughout the entire city were like… when a goal was scored in a hugely important World Cup match.

Minho, hearing their cheers-

‘Is it because I’m so useless?’

Could only laugh in a self-deprecating manner.