Then there was only one method left. If he couldn’t find Ian, he had to make Ian find Vermouth first. Just by lightly moving his body, Vermouth descended from the building to the ground.
What he had to do was already decided. In any world, true equality couldn’t exist. Wasn’t that the case even in the world where Vermouth lived? There was an emperor in the highest position, and there was a High Priest who heard the words of god. This world would be the same.
When Vermouth stood still, the gazes of passersby gathered. Among them was someone trying to take a video using the phone they were sneakily holding, and Vermouth approached them.
“Hello?”
When a man with enchanting beauty spoke to her, the woman who was holding her phone taking a video was startled and answered.
“Ah, hello.”
It was so sudden that she forgot to hide the phone with the camera app still on. She was just blankly continuing to film Vermouth.
“By any chance, who is the person in the highest position in this country?”
Fortunately, the woman kindly answered Vermouth’s question.
“The President?”
“The President is the highest position?”
“I suppose so?”
“Then can you also tell me where he lives?”
“The Blue House.”
The eyes of the woman answering as if entranced were half dazed. The reason she was obediently answering wasn’t because the questions Vermouth asked were easy. It was because Vermouth was using divine power to draw out a confession from her.
Vermouth—he was the Holy Knight Commander and at the same time an Inquisitor. Inquisitors were people optimized for drawing out information from others. Especially when dealing with the demon race, he would open their heads to reveal everything the opponent knew.
“Which way is the Blue House?”
“Ah, well.”
The woman turned off the recording and searched for the Blue House location on her phone to tell him. In today’s world where most citizens had smartphones and information was shared, it wasn’t unusual.
“Thank you.”
As soon as Vermouth extracted all the information, he turned around cleanly. And only after he disappeared from sight did the woman plop down on the spot.
“What just happened?”
While standing dazed holding her phone, she urgently checked if the video was recorded.
“It recorded!”
My goodness. Since she filmed someone’s face without permission, she couldn’t upload it anywhere, but she could brag to her friends. That she saw such an amazing handsome man.
‘But what does he really do? Is he an awakener?’
If he wasn’t an awakener, there was no way to explain the unusual clothes he was wearing. There was no reason to cosplay in the middle of Seoul streets out of nowhere, was there?
“He must be an awakener.”
The woman came to that conclusion and got up, dusting herself off. Some people around her were still looking at their phones making a commotion. Occasionally, sounds of him being too handsome could be heard.
“Like a dream.”
It really was a dreamlike moment. And not long after that, the President living in the Blue House let out a similar sound.
“Is this a dream?”
The Blue House was where the nation’s highest leader lived. Since there would be no end to the troubles if the President were assassinated, strict security always followed. Even before awakeners appeared, there were many guards, but afterward, the number increased even more.
Famous domestic guilds took turns sending people to protect the President. But breaking through all of that, a stranger was standing before him.
“Oh my, it’s not a dream. Mr. President.”
“Haha. That’s right. It wouldn’t be a dream.”
He wasn’t old enough to see illusions yet. He was among the younger presidents in history. Ryu Mosan. The President of the Republic of Korea, he got up from the bed and stood.
“Who are you?”
“Who do I look like?”
The moonlight seeping through the window illuminated the intruder. He had blonde hair and purple eyes, and wore unusual attire. At least he didn’t look like an ordinary person.
“An awakener?”
No matter how much of an awakener, the attire was somewhat excessive. When entering dungeons, it was natural for clothes to become flashy since they put on all kinds of equipment, but it was rare for someone to go around like that outside. Moreover, such sparkling blonde hair that was hard to see in Korea.
No matter how foreign, could hair like pure gold really exist? While he was thinking that, the man bowed his head and greeted.
“May the grace of the goddess Regnasia be with you. I am Vermouth, a Holy Knight from Lancia.”
The explanation was strangely detailed.
“Lancia, Lancia?”
It was a place name he was hearing for the first time. Moreover, the goddess Regnasia. Even a cult wouldn’t normally name a god like that. Wasn’t this a name that would only appear in fantasy novels he secretly read as a child!
Watching the flustered Ryu Mosan, Vermouth smiled brightly.
“To add an explanation, I came from another world.”
At those words, Ryu Mosan’s eyes widened.
“Another world! Beyond the gate?”
Even until the moment he shouted loudly, no sound could be heard from outside. There was no one bursting in asking what the noise was about. Excessive silence created a sense of dissonance. Ryu Mosan suppressed his anxious feelings and tried to act calm.
“I don’t know that part exactly either. I used a magic circle to cross over here.”
It sounded like nonsense at first glance, but Ryu Mosan tried to listen seriously.
“Do you have proof? Proof that you’re a person from another world.”
“I’ll show you from now.”
Vermouth took out a small book from his bosom. The small booklet decorated in silver on a purple background was emitting a strange light.
“Proof that the goddess exists.”
At the same time, light began emanating from the book.
That day, Ryu Mosan glimpsed another world through Vermouth. He stayed up all night hearing stories about the existence of another world that had only existed as a hypothesis, and how that world nearly collapsed. And he became convinced that this person was needed for Earth to survive the gates.
Ian woke up late and sat at the dining table. The menu was the same tuna kimchi stew as yesterday. It was eating the same menu consecutively, but there were no complaints. They always ate leftover stew from dinner for breakfast anyway.
Rather, the reduced stew was delicious, so he mixed it with rice and ate it. While continuing to eat diligently like that, he picked up the remote and turned on the TV. Since the living room and kitchen were connected, the TV could be seen at an angle from here too.
“I told you not to watch TV while eating.”
“But I’m curious about many things.”
When Ian spoke with a whine, Choi Jaeheon turned the TV direction slightly as if he couldn’t help it. In the past, he would have firmly said no and taken away the remote. The fact that he had disappeared seemed to have had a big impact on Choi Jaeheon.
When he turned on the news, a woman with a neat appearance appeared on the screen.
[This is breaking news. Last night, the Blue House collapsed. About one-third of the building on the right side caved in, but the President has been confirmed to be safe. Meanwhile, questions are being raised about why the awakeners of the Haetae Guild, who were in charge of security at the time of the accident, failed to prevent the collapse.]
[Reporters went to the scene, but both the Haetae Guild and the Management Bureau are not making official statements on this matter.]
[We will report back as soon as new information is confirmed.]
At the unexpected news, the brothers’ eyes were fixed on the TV.
“Why did the Blue House collapse?”
At Ian’s words, Choi Jaeheon sneakily took the remote and turned off the TV.
“I’ll ask Yoon Taegyeom later.”
“Does Taegyeom hyung know?”
“He works at the Management Bureau.”
“I see.”
“So eat again. Don’t forget to chew thoroughly.”
“Okay.”
Ian, who nodded obediently, continued his meal. The collapse of the Blue House was a very strange and dangerous thing, but Choi Jaeheon was too composed. Had the world changed a bit in five years? It seemed like the Blue House collapsing was nothing.
***
The Management Bureau was in chaos. The Blue House, which had been guarded by numerous bodyguards including awakeners, was breached! Phone calls from reporters trying to find out the truth of the matter continued endlessly. Eventually, the Management Bureau Director clutched his head and finally shouted.
“Unplug the phone lines!”
“The phones are also ringing like crazy.”
“Turn them all off!”
Only then did the surroundings become a bit quiet.
“Ugh, what on earth is going on?”
The Management Bureau Director was an awakener but didn’t have a high rank. Precisely, he was an officer who awakened by chance. As such, he knew less about awakeners than others working in practice. Since all he did was stamp documents with the help of Yoon Taegyeom, who had almost swallowed up the Management Bureau, he was weak in such emergency situations.
oh man
a crazy bastard surrounded by crazy bastard