Chapter 70

〈Chapter 69〉 Section 3. Transformation isn't just for Riders! (5)

* * *

After hearing a rather shocking story from Yun Eui-seon,

I couldn't help but rethink my plan to 'find the Two-Faced Demon' as a goblin.

I was worried that Yun Eui-seon, who had suddenly fallen into the clutches of dirty adults, might get hurt.

I was worried that Yumir, who seemed to be preparing her own plan, might get hurt.

I was worried that Baek Seul-hee, who was participating in a large event for the first time as a faculty member, might get hurt.

...No.

Actually, those are all just secondary reasons.

What I truly want, what I truly aim for, is to 'present' a certain woman.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm."

A blonde woman can be seen humming a tune as she walks.

Not just any blonde, but one with her hair split into two braids, the so-called 'miss hairstyle,' carrying something in a black plastic bag as she walks alone down the street.

It's almost 1 AM.

All the neon signs are off, and only a few streetlights remain lit at this hour.

The woman walking alone in the darkness is my target.

'A connection to the protagonist.'

There's no need to hide it.

The blonde woman walking confidently alone, carrying a black bag, is none other than the cover heroine of Volume 1, 'Ermina Sternfort.'

Why, in light novels, there are such characters, aren't there?

­I cannot acknowledge you!

­Ho ho ho ho!

A character who, with a ladylike manner, grates on the protagonist's nerves and causes trouble, but after a bit of an incident, the protagonist saves her, and she develops an infinite fondness for the protagonist.

In light novels, she would be the lead heroine, a character the author deliberately pushed.

But the readers' true heroine was Baek Seul-hee and the CEO, and Ermina gradually fell to the level of a regular heroine A.

Speaking of her background, she is probably the granddaughter of the president of a major German corporation.

Such a woman is now walking alone, without any attendants, at almost 1 AM, with a black hat, mask, and scarf wrapped around her, buying something and heading somewhere.

Not towards the dormitory.

It's likely either a private apartment, the German embassy, or a mansion on Sejong Island that the major corporation 'Stern' bought for a huge sum of money.

"......?"

I thought she was heading somewhere, but she seems to be subtly making her way to the park, looking around.

Moreover, the place she's heading to is the women's restroom in the park.

'What could she be doing in a public restroom at this hour?'

I'm curious.

But no matter how much I want to gather information, I'm not a pervert who would sneak into a women's restroom.

[Maybe she just needs to use the bathroom.]

Especially since I'm currently in the form of a 'goblin.'

[That's troublesome.]

I need to know what she's doing there.

More precisely, I need to know what state she's in.

­Ugh, to inflict such humiliation on me! I cannot forgive you!

Because at this point, that woman is planning to kill the protagonist!

­What, a heroine trying to kill the protagonist?

­A foreign girl trying to kill the protagonist? In the Academy? This seems strange.

­A heroine who tried to kill the protagonist? She would be dead before becoming a heroine.

­Yeah, even if she tried, Ermina would just be an attempted murderer~ If the protagonist wasn't so strong, he would have died.

A heroine who tries to kill the protagonist is an impossibility.

But the author set Ermina up as such a heroine and developed the story.

In the end, she was constantly criticized by fans of other heroines for her actions in Volume 1, and the author gradually started giving more weight to the true heroine the readers were pushing.

­Run, run! I'll try to stop her!

­I, I was trying to hurt you...! I could have killed you! Why are you saving me!

­Because...I'm a hero...? How foolish...!

Without that process of falling in love, she would have continued to plot against and envy the protagonist, eventually becoming a villain or a demon.

She was the one the goblin tried to persuade and brainwash the most after the protagonist's plan was thwarted in Volume 1.

'Come to think of it, the goblin also appeared here.'

She was trying to corrupt a large number of people with just her face showing.

More precisely, another villain in the alliance was ambushed by the protagonist during an operation, and the goblin, who came to support, began a bitter rivalry with the protagonist.

Just as I was trying to lure capable women into the alliance, the goblin and the alliance members in the original story tried to recruit those who were eliminated from the treasure hunt.

Those who were enraged after having their treasures stolen by stronger individuals.

Those who were too weak to survive on their own and were eventually kicked out of their groups.

Those with abilities who harbored dissatisfaction and rebellion against the state.

Recruiting such individuals was the main action the alliance took in the treasure hunt in the original story.

And that overlaps with Ermina's attempted murder...

[The original story is already in the trash, do I really need to care about this?]

I composed myself.

The story changed from the moment the goblin became an S-rank villain.

The original story was already twisted before I came to the Academy, and the major flow of the story I know might not even proceed from the root.

Still, if there's one possibility and hope, it's the character of that woman, who tried to involve the protagonist in her group.

Before becoming a heroine, her character as a despicable attempted murderer is the only thing I can rely on.

If there's someone she wants to kill.

If there's someone in the same group as her.

If that person is a 'man,' there's a high possibility it's the protagonist.

'It's time for me to make my move.'

What is she planning?

Ermina Sternfort.

'Should I just go in as Do Ji-hwan? Pretend to be crazy?'

I might get reported, but it's taking longer than expected, which is making me anxious.

'She's 17, right?'

She looks like an adult because she's a foreigner, but legally, she's not an adult.

­S, stop it! You're not an adult!

­In Germany, I am an adult! Ho ho ho!

­That's ridiculous!

­It's true. Do you know where the bill to lower the age of adulthood for the gifted in Korea started? Ho ho ho ho! You are an adult Korean! I am an adult German! Therefore... it's legal!

­S, stop it!

In this world, Germany has already lowered the age of adulthood for the gifted.

Of course, from my perspective, she's still a minor.

'No, don't think too conservatively.'

Isn't that what we often see in the news?

Using secret SNS to commit truly heinous and vicious crimes...

Creak.

The glass door opened, and someone appeared.

She tightly held the black envelope in her hand and casually pushed it into a trash can on one side of the park before calmly disappearing.

[......]

Even I don't want to check the trash, but there might be traces of assassination tools or something inside.

'Reveal yourself, Ermina.'

Whether she's trying to kill the protagonist as in the original story, or trying to kill the protagonist in a different way.

Clunk.

I took out the plastic bag.

Something was rustling inside, and I carefully tore open the envelope.

[...Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.]

The contents of the envelope were.

[Before becoming a heroine, she's giving me a reason to deal with her.]

Worse than I imagined, the worst possible item.

* * *

Friday morning.

As the morning sunlight gradually brightens.

"What's going on, coming so early in the morning?"

"Preparing for the operation, Jumo."

I immediately went to Jumo's house as soon as it was dawn.

"I thought you'd come after getting off work on Thursday or around 9 AM today, but you came at a really awkward time?"

"Isn't it time to have a bowl of soup before we leave?"

"Why would you hit a bowl of soup?"

"Make me one. A retort pouch is fine."

"Knew you'd say that, so I already boiled the broth during the week. Sit down. I'll make you a bowl."

Jumo immediately placed the pot on the gas stove.

"So, you're going to wander around today looking for the Two-Faced Demon?"

"Yeah. And while searching, I plan to take care of a few other things."

"Other things? What kind of things?"

"Those who are being culled and turning dark. More specifically, those who are being hunted by goblins."

I took off my Taeguk watch and placed it on the table.

"It seems there are more people trying to hunt goblins rather than just find them."

"...Huh?"

Jumo, who was about to ladle broth from a kimchi jar, frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Like I heard from Baek Seul-hee over the phone, and from official notices and informants, the treasure hunt is currently focused on finding goblins, right?"

"Right?"

"But the way things are going now seems a bit strange."

"In what way? I don't have any specific information about goblins."

"Then let me ask you this. Even if you have nothing to do with goblins, what kind of item do you think will spread during the treasure hunt?"

I pinched a bit of salt from the salt shaker on the table.

"Do you know how much 'bam' is in this Sejong Island?"

"......Of course I do."

Jumo spread her arms and laughed helplessly.

"This entire Sejong Island is filled with 'bam.' So much that it could be found in a trash bag rolling down the street."