Chapter 26

Chapter 25

After postponing the meeting with Ymir,

I returned to the scene and surveyed the situation.

Of course, I wasn't naked.

I clearly appeared in clothes, and no one found it strange.

'If they thought it was strange, I'd be socially ruined.'

I looked at myself in the streetlight's reflection.

Just like when I left after eating, I was wearing ordinary clothes, but they weren't actually clothes.

They were 'mana.'

Just as Ymir, the Solar Platinum Knight, used mana to create a protective armor, I used mana to create clothes and returned to the scene.

A goblin's imagination becomes reality.

In other words, a naked goblin.

Right now, I was wearing mana clothes that only a very special person could see.

There is only one such special person in this world, and even if they can't see it, they will understand.

- Eh? Senior, look at this screen.

- Why? Is there something strange?

- This man and woman were inside the restaurant, but after the accident, they were gone.

- What? This is weird. They didn't just get buried in the restaurant building. We need to investigate.

I don't want someone to start tracking me if they check the CCTV later and see that I disappeared.

A goblin shouldn't give any reason for suspicion.

Even if I pretend to be worried when I come to the scene, coming here is the right move.

"Are you okay?!"

The restaurant staff saw me and smiled brightly.

"I was worried something might have happened to you! And, the woman you came with...?"

"She left first. She was too shocked."

"Ah, I see. So she's not dead?"

"No, she's fine."

"That's a relief..."

The staff marked something on a list.

I'm even more relieved.

If the names of Do Jihwan and Ymir hadn't been removed from that 'missing persons list,' one of us would have been investigated.

'I didn't mean to take care of everything, but I did it anyway.'

I came here to hide my identity, but since it turned out this way, I might as well take care of Ymir too.

"Um, what happens now? What about the bill...?"

"Since the Taeguk Watch has confirmed everything, you'll be billed later when the situation is resolved."

"Ah, please bill me. I'll pay for it."

"Really? That's a relief. Just send it to my account."

"Are you the owner?"

"Yes."

Including the meal.

"Phew, thank you. It's really kind of you to pay for the meal despite the accident."

"It's just doing what I should. We had a pleasant meal."

I settled the bill to avoid any issues like, 'I can't let this money go unpaid! I need to investigate everyone, oh, these people! They were in the restaurant but not outside! Are they missing?! Do I need to file an insurance claim?! No! I can't raise the insurance premium! I must uncover their true identities!'

'Ymir is really careless.'

Maybe because she's a hero aspirant who wouldn't cause much trouble if her identity was revealed, she left several opportunities for her identity to be exposed and didn't return.

'Or is she being careless because of me? Is she on guard?'

She might be shocked that I know her true identity.

She seemed to be a meticulous person, so she might be very distressed about being seen naked by a goblin and her identity being revealed.

'I should tell her next time.'

How to erase her identity and escape.

How to create an alibi to prove the existence of someone who suddenly vanished.

Or how to use mana to create clothes that won't raise any suspicion from others.

...When the mana runs out, you'll be naked, but it won't last just 3 minutes.

At least 2 hours.

Enough time to get home.

"The destruction of the restaurant must be a great loss for you."

"Well... it's fortunate that we have insurance."

The owner started to smile.

"The rampaging demon...Lilith, right? If only Lilith had appeared, the insurance payout might have been small, but a goblin appeared too."

"What does a goblin have to do with insurance?"

"Oh, you don't know? There are different levels of damage insurance, which you can claim when villains damage your property. Since a goblin appeared, you can claim the insurance at the goblin's level, which is 'S-rank'!"

"The higher the danger of the villain, the higher the insurance payout?"

"Yes! Hehe, so it's really fortunate. You should be grateful. To the goblin."

"Unfortunately, that won't happen."

A voice came from behind.

"Ah, you are...?"

"I'm Snow White. Are you the restaurant owner?"

Snow White looked at me in surprise, and I tried to act like I didn't know her, gesturing to the crowd.

"...Ahem. Sorry."

Fortunately, Baek Seolhee pretended not to recognize me.

But did I detect a hint of disappointment in her eyes?

"There won't be an S-rank insurance payout just because a goblin appeared."

"What?! Why?! What do you mean?!"

"The goblin didn't cause any damage to the restaurant."

Baek Seolhee stated the insurance criteria rather sternly, and the restaurant owner pulled at his hair in frustration.

"Ah...! Damn it, if only the goblin had kicked the building...!"

"......"

Sometimes, when I see this, I feel that humans are truly materialistic and weak, but I wonder if it's because this is a world of superpowers or if such people exist in reality too.

"Damn, then the families of the victims...."

"I will arrange for a consolation fund to be paid to the families of the deceased. Please contact our foundation later."

"Really?"

The owner's face lit up.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes. If the families talk about the deaths at the restaurant, please treat them with sympathy. Don't be stingy and deny responsibility. They... have lost family members."

"Ah, I understand. You are truly S-rank...."

"......"

Baek Seolhee nodded lightly and turned her head to look at the debris of the building being gradually cleared.

Crunch.

Looking at the debris, I could sense 'anger' in Baek Seolhee's clenched teeth.

Perhaps her anger was similar to the rage that turned a superpowered individual into a demon, like Red Scarf's rampage—

"Hey, is that blood? Wow, someone really died."

"Anyway, why did that idiot go berserk? Hehe, but it was worth it to see the new look of the Platinum Knight and the goblin."

"The sacrifice of the few for the many... Ahem. I shouldn't have said that out loud. Anyway, it was a good show. Hehehe."

I hope it's not anger from disgust towards humans.

Beep.

I quickly took out my smartphone and sent a text.

Soon, Baek Seolhee saw the text on her smartphone and smiled slightly.

Beep.

A reply came.

-Thanks for cheering me up. Jihwan, you too! >ㅊ<

"......Strange emoticon."

I put my smartphone away and immediately returned home.

Before the transformation wore off, before the mana ran out, as quickly as possible.

* * *

After returning home,

I immediately transformed back to my original form to quickly recover my mana.

Pang!

I instantly became naked.

It was a bit awkward to be naked right in front of the front door, but I confidently walked inside and turned on the TV.

-This afternoon at 1 PM, in the southern area of Sejong Island...

The rampage of the demon Lilith.

The appearance of Solar Platinum.

The debut of the goblin in its second form.

There were many incidents, but the news, using footage taken by bystanders, was spilling out all kinds of stories.

There was almost no mention of the deceased.

Not because there were few people, but because death was so common in this world.

When a villain goes on a rampage, people die.

It's a proposition that is now accepted as a matter of course.

"......Really spectacular from the day before the opening ceremony."

I got up from the sofa and opened the closet.

Inside were the seven suits bought for me by the CEO.

"Luckily, I didn't wear them on the date. If I had... phew."

The clothes would have been decomposed into atoms by the mana.

Just thinking about it is terrifying.

"Really inconvenient."

To transform, I need to release mana.

The mana is released through the skin from inside the body, and the force of this release causes the clothes to 'disappear.'

In other words,

At the moment of transformation, everything on my body is destroyed by the powerful force of the mana released.

At least the Taeguk Watch seems to have some resistance, but there's no need to wear it during transformation.

And to take off my clothes somewhere and then transform?

'Where would I have time for that?'

Villains don't choose their time or place.

They can appear at a wedding celebration or attack during a date.

If I can save even one innocent person from a villain faster, it's no problem if my clothes are torn and destroyed.

"...But I shouldn't transform in such expensive clothes."

For the CEO's sake.

Ding dong.

The phone rang.

It was her call.

"Yes, President."

[What the hell!!!!]

She immediately started yelling as soon as I answered.

[Why are you always naked in the footage!! No, that's been resolved, but more importantly!! That transformation, what is it!!]

"......Um."

[That amazing thing, you should have shown it to me first! This is NTR! Bet