There Is No Hidden Villain in This Novel Chapter 75

Unfortunately, however, Ryuseong did not smile back. Instead, he only said this.

“Don’t declare it’s the last time.”

After that, Ryuseong arbitrarily grabbed my hand and started walking. But it was okay.

I rather liked those words.

That was all, but it was enough.

“So, where are we going?”

“Just follow me.”

From now on, we would be going to Russia.

There was a reason for going to Russia. First of all, since Korea is a land where pure energy flows, the monsters living in Korea are either too weak or too strong. Meaning, they are somewhat extreme for beginner-level people like us to take down.

In that case, we would either have to tag along on a raid being prepared as a state-sponsored project in another country, or we would have to take down a monster that had been left as untreatable, and the official schedule known to the public is the former.

However, I was planning to do the latter in parallel and then join up in time for the former’s schedule. Because that would be the way to build up de Millang’s reputation at a speed he wouldn’t expect. I would also be able to avoid the assassins’ bullshit for a while.

But I had failed to realize one blind spot. That very fact was now stabbing me like a dagger.

“You said you had a plan, was it a plan to get lost?”

“…How often would a person like me get the chance to walk the streets of Seoul without a guide.”

“…As if that’s something to be proud of.”

“Thank you.”

When I replied shamelessly, Ryuseong glared at me with an expression like he had bitten into a bug, then shook his head from side to side. Huh. Did he finally give up on retorting to my bullshit? Did he resign himself to it? Feeling curious, I poked Ryuseong’s side. Poke, poke. At that, Ryuseong annoyedly grabbed my wrist.

“Tell me the destination. I’ll find the way.”

“Oh, you don’t plan on interfering?”

He looked at me with a strangely hollow gaze.

“You must have a plan.”

“My goodness, is there finally such a thing as trust between us…”

“Because if you didn’t have a plan in your head, it would be several times more terrible than it is now.”

Should I punch him? But while I was debating it, I awkwardly missed the timing.

“…What I was looking for is a subway station, and we just need to get to Russia? After that, we just have to wipe out every single monster in sight and get to Moscow within 20 days.”

“What a simple-minded and ignorant plan.”

“Why do you put so much force into pronouncing the word ‘ignorant’?”

Perhaps trying to find the way in the time he would have spent arguing, Ryuseong subconsciously put his hand in his pocket to find his phone, then furrowed his brow.

Because I had told him to leave his phone behind on the pretext that it could be tracked, neither of us had one right now.

“But how do you plan to buy plane tickets without a phone?”

“…”

“And how do you leave the country while hiding your identity?”

Oh, what a sharp bastard. Ryuseong, caught in the same dilemma as I was last night, pointed it out to me. And I.

“I don’t know?”

I didn’t really have anything else to say… Hey, don’t clench your fist. The one who couldn’t find an answer was the me of last night, but the me of today is different. Your hyung will solve it for you.

“I’m kidding. I have a plan for everything, so please follow me.”

“Me? Follow you?”

“Haha, what a joke.”

“Does it look like I’m joking?”

Just then, I spotted a subway station. See, I never get lost, do I? All roads lead to Rome, don’t they? I forcibly dragged him, who had stopped as if in defiance, down the stairs. This time, it’s for real. Ryuseong. Please trust me.

‘If they won’t let us leave the country, we can just stow away, can’t we.’

And a short while later, we were on the subway. We didn’t have transportation cards either, so by the time we got single-use cards and boarded Line 1, I, unable to withstand his continuous nagging, explained my idea, and Ryuseong calmly asked.

“…That kind of plan was what was in your head? So that’s why you came here?”

When I nodded and asked if there was a problem, Ryuseong opened his mouth as if he wanted to say everything was a problem, then rubbed his face with his palm. Through his clenched teeth, I heard something like, ‘I shouldn’t have trusted him. Of all people to trust, that guy…’ but I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard it.

And for good reason, because I was now trying to contact the ‘Demon Realm’.

‘A place where any request is possible, as long as you pay the price.’

We are now on our way to Incheon.

“This won’t work. I have to get off. Don’t stop me.”

“Stop struggling so conspicuously and stay still.”

“You need to live your life aware that you’re a lunatic…”

“You just stick to my back.”

“Like that’s very reassuring.”

He said it quite cynically, but I wasn’t one to go easy on him for that. I lightly brushed Ryuseong’s face, pushed him into an empty seat, then bent at the waist and tucked his hair behind his ear.

“If you don’t listen, I might just kiss you here where everyone can see.”

“…It seems you’re the one with the voyeuristic taste.”

I didn’t really have a response, but just then an old woman boarded, her cane trembling unsteadily, so I grabbed Ryuseong by the collar, pulled him to his feet, and offered the seat to her.

“Oh… thank you, young man.”

Ryuseong, who had been abruptly grabbed by the collar, looked full of complaints, but the old woman needed to sit, so should a grown, healthy man like you be so stubborn? Of course, the part he had a complaint about was probably the collar itself and not the old woman sitting, but since I’m a guy with a bad conscience, I decided to let it go. Huh? Isn’t it more than just my conscience that’s bad?

‘…Now that you mention it?’

Some time passed after that. The clattering of the subway, the intermittent sound of the doors opening, and the Han River visible outside the window with the light settling on it—as I tried to focus my gaze on such things, my cheek felt a sting. Because someone next to me was still glaring at me very intensely.

Ryuseong seemed to be thoroughly displeased with the spectacular stowaway plan I had concocted. However, to hide our identities and avoid pursuit, this method was the best.

‘I went so far as to wear a second-hand robe to hide Cassis’s face, so what more needs to be said?’

Thanks to the robe that changed one’s appearance, Cassis’s ‘conspicuous’ face was hidden. However, the facial features that remained like vestigial organs were revealed in things like the sharp eyes of a seductive fox-like face or the slightly upturned corners of his lips, and that appearance strangely resembled Jeong Ian. Even his jet-black hair, without a single speck of brown in it, was the same.

In contrast, Ryuseong now had long, washed-out ink-colored hair that could also be called dark gray. This meant that he now had long hair. With his insane looks plus long hair, I felt like I was going to get a nosebleed. His facial features became a little gentler than his original face. Would it be right to say a black panther had turned into a large dog?

‘Anyway, after going to all this trouble, we can’t reveal our identities so soon.’

The priority was to arrive in Moscow without getting caught, even if it meant enduring some inconvenience.

Just then, the subway announcement began to state our arrival at Bupyeong Station. In fact, Bupyeong Station and Incheon itself are nice places to live, so many people were getting off. The only problem is that a certain passage inside the underground shopping center leads to the Demon Realm.

Ryuseong seemed to want to stop me, but I stood up nonchalantly and helped the old woman whose cane was trembling unsteadily. What are her kids doing, letting such a frail old woman go about alone? Anyway, I went out to the subway station with her. Phew. I feel proud for doing a good deed. Now, it’s time to do something bad to balance the universe.

Leaving behind Ryuseong, who was looking at me with a strange expression, I confidently entered the underground shopping center. Of course, the underground shopping center itself is very normal, so there were many people looking at various goods. There were merchants selling pretty clothes and shops selling miscellaneous goods like bags and shoes, and things like earrings, bracelets, and necklaces were also laid out at stalls. They were cheap by my standards, of course, but wondering if I should buy a souvenir or something, I held up a doll that you hang on a phone in front of Ryuseong.

“What’s the point when you don’t even have a phone.”

It was so absurdly true that I decided to agree. But as soon as I said that, the merchants began to stare at us with strange gazes. Glances with a shushing nuance… they had probably figured out from the ‘don’t have a phone’ part that we came here with a suspicious purpose. It’s not common for a modern person with a proper identity to not have a phone, after all.

I smiled brightly.

[Where is the gate?]

I deliberately spoke in Chinese to hide Cassis de Millang’s nationality. I was thinking of speaking in Russian next, but someone approached from behind me. Ryuseong didn’t hesitate to twist the guy’s arm, and the sound of metal hitting the floor rang out. It seems he was planning to threaten us and drag us away…

[Sorry. We’re not the kind of pushovers who would fall for something like that.]

“Ugh… Who the hell are you! Coming without a request to visit…”

The merchants began to back away hesitantly. I had no intention of causing them trouble, so I smiled brightly, bent down, picked up the object he had dropped, and held it up to him.

[Could I ask you for directions?]

It was a knife.