Chapter 76

〈Chapter 75〉 Section 3. Where There's National Pride, There's a Two-Yokshini (1)

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What if the Two-Yokshini shows up?

I was monitoring Ermyna, casually looking around, but I didn’t expect her to appear like this.

'Where did she come from?'

Why did she come from the sea?

And why did she run across the sea?

I was in my ethereal form—so-called 'goblin hat'—and I watched where she had run from.

The sea.

Something was floating there.

It looked like a periscope, just the top part of something poking out from below.

'A submarine?'

No way.

Does she have a submarine cruising around Sejong Island?

If so, she would just monitor from the submarine, why would the Two-Yokshini appear?

"Excellent, truly excellent! Your attire! Choosing such clothing means that, inevitably, the face beneath that mask must be beautiful enough to harmonize with the attire, or even to perfect it!"

Don’t think about it.

Just follow my instincts.

She must have been cruising around in a submarine and, upon discovering Ymir transforming into a magical girl at the shore, immediately ran across the sea.

That’s all there is to it.

If I think any deeper, strange thoughts might flow out of my head and I’d end up brain-dead, so I decided to just accept the situation as it was.

"Ah, what is your name?"

"That woman—"

"I didn’t ask the sheep."

Just as Ermyna was about to say something, the Two-Yokshini immediately waved her hand at Ermyna and scattered mana.

"Whoosh!"

"Where do you think you’re interrupting the conversation between a noble person and me, you blonde-nosed sheep?"

"That, that woman—!"

"Shut up. I am having a conversation with a noble person. Don’t speak out of turn, you sheep from a thousand miles away."

It wasn’t mana.

It was killing intent.

Just by interrupting the conversation between Ymir and me, she was pressuring Ermyna with a mix of annoyance and killing intent.

"Hem. Excuse me. So, what is your noble name?"

[My name is... 'Platinum Sun'.]

"Platinum Sun...? Hmm...."

The Two-Yokshini, with her arms crossed, tilted her head for a moment.

"Could you be the golden knight who appeared in the restaurant district...?"

[I have come to appreciate the charm of this country and have embraced its culture.]

"Indeed. Then—"

The Two-Yokshini spread her arms wide and smiled brightly.

"To be moved by the charm and spirit of this country! Excellent. There is nothing more commendable than a foreigner being deeply moved by our culture, more so than a Korean person embracing it! With the attire and mindset of Korea, you are already an excellent Korean Peninsula resident!"

[I will take that as a compliment.]

"Of course! It’s a compliment! Whether you are a foreigner or a Korean pretending to be one, you have already proven your spirit through your attire. This Two-Yokshini, in that sense, would like to make a proposal to you."

This is probably the main point.

"Would you like to join our 'Righteous Repulsion' organization?"

[...Righteous Repulsion?]

A familiar name.

At the same time, it’s a name that is completely out of place and quite inappropriate for 2025.

Those who study Korean history would have heard this term at least once during the period of enlightenment.

"Yes. Righteous Repulsion. We are an organization that aims to preserve what is right and repel what is foreign. Tradition preservation, expulsion of foreign influence."

[It sounds like a rather extreme organization.]

For a moment.

I’ve been feeling this, but Ymir’s tone keeps fluctuating.

As if she’s imitating a goblin...?

"It may seem extreme. But if you hear our story, you might change your mind."

[I refuse.]

"Would you at least hear us out?"

[I dislike the name of your organization.]

Ymir, the Platinum Sun, firmly refused, and the Two-Yokshini’s body stiffened.

"Why?"

[I have seen your behavior on this island. Especially what you did in the square last time. You implanted something demonic into a human body, didn’t you?]

"Ah, that. Yes, I planted the seed of a demon in someone who was spreading foreign influence."

[That’s a contradiction.]

Ymir clenched the golden thread tightly and aimed it at the Two-Yokshini.

[You claim to repel foreign influence, yet you are creating demons, which are foreign to this country.]

Ymir’s criticism deeply resonated with me.

No.

You have the name 'Righteous Repulsion.'

And you refuse to use English.

But your subordinates are 'demons'?

If I were in Ymir’s place and asked the Two-Yokshini, I would have said:

[Is it that demons are Western, and Western things are bad and foreign, so it’s okay to use them?]

It hit the mark.

What I wanted to say came out of Ymir’s mouth.

"...Hahaha!!"

The Two-Yokshini clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.

"Wow, really. How do you know so much about our Righteous Repulsion?"

[What?]

As expected.

"Western things are bad. Therefore, if we use Western things to attack and commit evil deeds, people will naturally dislike and repel Western things."

As I thought, the Two-Yokshini was a rational madman.

"Dracula, succubus, orc, imp, werewolf... we call all of these demons. If these things kill people, people will surely hate and despise Western things."

[Why don’t you use English?]

"Because they are bad things."

As expected.

A madman.

"An evildoer who has no choice but to commit evil and a hopeless villain are different. Do you understand? Expressing foreign things in English is not bad."

[You are mad.]

"I am not mad. I am simply following my beliefs, the beliefs of our organization."

The Two-Yokshini pointed to herself with her thumb and bowed again.

"When we recruit, we call ourselves Righteous Repulsion, but do you know what we call ourselves when we face our enemies?"

[Do you introduce yourself in English?]

"Yes. We call ourselves 'Pandemonium.' Hehehe."

After revealing her other affiliation, the Two-Yokshini pulled out something that looked like a bead from her pocket.

"That’s why we use demons. Demons are bad, and defeating demons is what a righteous hero should do."

[What nonsense...]

"If you do not join our organization, Platinum Sun, I will turn everything around you into demons."

[What did you say?]

The Two-Yokshini’s body disappeared in an instant.

Ymir momentarily lost track of the Two-Yokshini’s movement, but I could sense her.

Super high-speed movement.

A speed that seemed 10 times, no, 100 times faster than the surrounding environment.

I could 'sense' it because the technique she used is one of the abilities I already know.

Either by amplifying her physical activity to move quickly.

Or by spreading particles that affect time around her to slow down time.

I don’t know exactly what it is, but the fact that I recognized it means I can counter it to some extent.

It’s within the realm of my imagination, within the scope of the abilities I know.

[How did you...!]

But Ymir doesn’t know.

Because she doesn’t know, she couldn’t sense the movement.

If it had been an attack aimed at her, even at super high speed, her body and mana would have reacted first to counter it, but the Two-Yokshini wasn’t moving toward Ymir.

"Kyaah!!"

"Hmm. Ermyna Sternfort. Since you are the woman facing off against Platinum Sun, you must have done something wrong. Or, it doesn’t matter if you did or didn’t. You will become a demon and go berserk anyway."

[Stop it!]

"Too late."

Poke!

The Two-Yokshini extended her hand, and it—

"...Huh?"

Failed to penetrate.

The hand that was supposed to pierce through the spine only dug into Ermyna’s back.

"This is...?"

[...I apologize, but I have already placed a curse on that woman.]

From a distance, it’s hard to see clearly, but it looks like the Two-Yokshini’s hand was blocked by the golden thread Ymir had tied around Ermyna.

"Hmm. Incredible mana. To have a curse that acts as a protective barrier and restrains the opponent like this... indeed, you are strong. I want to make you even more on our side, no...!"

The Two-Yokshini implanted the seed of a demon into Ermyna’s body.

"Aaaah!!"

Ermyna screamed.

Ymir hurriedly tried to swing the golden thread, but a massive amount of mana exploded from Ermyna’s body in an instant.

'No.'

That woman.

Does she have no patience at all?

"Aaah...!"

Ermyna instantly turned into a demon.

Her skin turned purple in an instant, and horns began to sprout from her head.

"Go ahead, go mad. Yes. The name... 'Nabereus' sounds good."

The Two-Yokshini patted Ermyna’s back and stepped back.

"Aaah...! You, you...! I will, kyaah...!!"

Her body began to twist like a zombie and she lunged at Ymir.

"Then I will inform the people of the commotion here! Hehehe! There’s a demon here!!"

The Two-Yokshini pulled out her smartphone, reported the 'villain appearance' voluntarily, and burst into laughter.

"Within 5 minutes, people will arrive!! And you will defeat this foolish sheep’s demon in front of everyone!!"

And.

"Go on, Nabereus! Quickly fall to Platinum Sun—"

Smack!

Nabereus slammed her head into the ground.

"You—"

[I execute demons.]

By me.

[Yes.]

I stood in front of Ymir in the form of a Doji Rider, aiming a bat at the Two-Yokshini.

[Long time no see.]

"What?"

[Why are you looking at me so strangely?]

I tapped the bat on my palm and adjusted my stance.

[Is there a problem with greeting a goblin in Japanese?]

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