Chapter 69
Since the destination wasn't far, the train quickly moved to a station near the safe zone and came to a stop.
When I opened the door of Car 1 and stepped out, a tattooed woman, Haneul, and several other survivors from the bank safe zone were lined up at the station, waiting there to greet us.
"...Weapons?"
It looked like they'd just been in a fight, because they were holding weapons in their hands.
If you looked closely, their expressions seemed a little tired too.
"Assistant Manager... no, Deputy Manager, you're here!"
"In case they got in the way, I already cleared out the monsters around the station."
The man and Haneul gave awkward smiles and hid their weapons behind their backs.
At their reassuring words, I smiled with satisfaction and nodded.
"Thanks. Just a moment."
I got down from the cab and opened the passenger-car door.
Then, as I stepped aside, the two nonhuman guests stepped out of the car one after the other.
"@^&#%^$!"
I still couldn't understand her, but the elf seemed excited and satisfied by her first time riding the train.
"Waaah..."
At the sight of the elf's appearance, the survivors all drew in a breath as if by prior agreement.
But what startled them even more wasn't the elf, but the dwarf who came after her, thudding forward with heavy footsteps.
"It's a dwarf."
"Huh?!"
"No, is that... okay?"
For some reason, the people who had gasped at the elf's arrival shouted at the dwarf's entrance.
Seeing the crowd's reaction, I turned my head, sensing something was off.
"Wow!"
"Grandpa's beard is really sturdy!"
"N-no, kids!"
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Jiu and Sua were hanging off both sides of the dwarf's thick braided beard, one on either side.
Since the kids were just elementary school age, the beard was holding up fine even with them hanging from it.
'Why?'
If it had been usual, they'd probably have been playing with Golem or Dongle in Car 2.
It seemed they'd taken the brief moment when I was in the driver's seat to go into the passenger car and run into the dwarf.
Startled, I hurried over to the kids.
"Kids! You can't just hang off someone's beard and play around like that!"
Just as I hurriedly tried to pull them off, the dwarf burst into hearty laughter.
"Hohoho! Leave them be, leave them be! Kids should play this energetically! My beard is as strong as steel, so don't worry—it won't break!"
Even as the kids tugged at his beard and played around, the dwarf laughed like a kind old grandpa from the neighborhood.
I was secretly surprised.
The kids weren't the type to approach people this casually.
Even when lots of people rode in the passenger car before, they would peek in from time to time, but they never went inside.
For those kids to be hanging off a beard like that and playing.
It seemed the dwarf's small stature and somewhat warm impression made him much easier for the kids to approach without hesitation.
Still, when I told them to come down, they let go of the beard right away.
"Kids, it's still dangerous outside, so stay inside the train with Haseon-noona and wait quietly. I'll be right back."
After barely soothing the reluctant kids and getting them back onto the train, I turned back to the survivors.
The survivors were staring blankly, dazed by the sight of the dwarf playing with the kids.
Apparently, what impressed them most was that the dwarf had spoken Korean with me.
"That dwarf just..."
"Korean...?"
"Let's head back to the bank first."
"Ah, yes."
We entered the large bank behind the barricades under the survivors' reliable escort.
"Oh..."
It hadn't even been that long since we'd been here, and yet a lot had been added.
Dining tables and coat racks, of course, plus wall clocks and other things that looked like they'd been brought from somewhere.
Once the shutter door was closed and safety was secured, it was finally time for the proper introductions.
Under the survivors' focused gazes, the elf stepped forward with a smile.
"@#&^$%&!"
"Ahh..."
"That's right..."
It was still a beautiful voice like rolling jade beads, but of course none of the survivors could understand Elvish.
Even so, some of them nodded as if moved by her words.
I cleared my throat and naturally volunteered to translate.
Of course, the only phrase I knew was "nice to meet you."
"Um... that is, it means, 'It's a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to getting along with you from now on.'"
"Oooh..."
Half translation and half improvisation, but the survivors were impressed by my convincing interpretation and applauded.
The elf also seemed to think I'd conveyed something positive on her behalf, because she smiled brightly and waved.
"Then, next is this one..."
Just as I was about to introduce the dwarf, he stroked his braided beard and opened his mouth in a deep voice.
"Hmm! We'll be imposing on you for a while, so don't worry about any fighting while we're here."
"Oh...!"
Their eyes widened when perfect Korean came out of his mouth.
"I heard it at the station earlier, but—"
"The dwarf speaks Korean..."
"Where did you learn it?"
"Ah, well..."
At the survivors' shocked faces, the dwarf lifted his chin arrogantly as if it were only natural, and I smiled from behind him.
It's pretty amazing, isn't it.
The survivors' gazes, which had been fixed on the elf, soon shifted entirely to the dwarf.
"Are you from another world? Through a dungeon?"
"Was that hammer made from mithril or something?"
"I've actually never seen a beastfolk up close among the other races..."
A barrage of questions poured down.
When else would I ever get to meet a dwarf who could speak perfect Korean?
And besides, maybe I could get important information out of the dwarf.
I had a lot I was curious about too.
"Hohoho! Ask away, slowly now, slowly!"
The dwarf seemed quite used to and pleased by this intense attention and all those stares, because he kept answering very smoothly, without the slightest hint of annoyance, as the survivors crowded around him.
Meanwhile, the elf, completely pushed out of the spotlight, didn't care about the situation at all.
In fact, as if pleased with how things had turned out, she started scurrying around the spacious interior of the bank with light steps.
The elf tapped on the glass partition at the counter and curiously pressed the stalled queue number machine, lost in her own little world.
And the dwarf in the middle, spinning tales of his exploits.
'It'd only be for a little while, but I think they'd all settle in and get along pretty well.'
As I watched the scene and felt relieved, one of the survivors came up to me.
It was Haneul, with vivid tattoos on her arms and the back of her neck.
"Hmm..."
Haneul came over, stood beside me, and reached out her hand toward my head.
I wondered what she was doing, then realized she must have been about to pat my head without thinking.
Haneul awkwardly pulled her hand back and said,
"How long are we supposed to keep them here?"
"Ah, they won't be staying long."
I answered, fiddling with the bright red necklace I'd tucked inside my clothes.
"They just need to avoid being tracked for a little while. I'm going straight back to Yeouido now to tell people what they've done."
"...What they've done?"
"It looks like the Yeouido Administration Department agents were using those necklaces to capture other races and Awakened, then try to control them. Their phones even had conversations like that recorded on them."
Haneul nodded when she saw the necklace in my hand.
Just exposing the necklace's true nature and the conversations we'd seen on the phone earlier would already deal a huge blow to their campaign and leave them no room to keep targeting the other races.
"Once things are sorted out, I'll come back to get you right away."
"Yeah, don't worry."
For a brief instant at my words, a hint of regret crossed Haneul's face, as if our time together might end sooner than expected.
But she soon nodded.
"Go and come back."
"I'm counting on you."
After exchanging a brief farewell with Haneul, I approached the two nonhuman races.
"Please stay here just until I finish some business in Yeouido and come back."
At my request, the elf nodded with a bright smile, not understanding a thing, and the dwarf nodded too, waving a hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about us—go handle your business!"
Leaving their replies behind, I walked out of the bank without hesitation.
***
Some time later, the train arrived at Singil Station near Yeouido.
The last time I was here, they were in the middle of making banners, but this time it was different.
Barricades had been set up throughout the station, and armed Awakened were guarding the area around it with ironclad discipline.
And in the middle of it all stood a familiar person with his hands clasped behind his back.
It was old man Lee Hanyeon, who was now called Candidate No. 4.
Watching the situation carefully, I got off cautiously with Golem.
"Hoho, you've returned safely."
As I got off the train, the old man approached me with a kindly smile.
I greeted him, saying it had been a while, and turned my gaze toward the Awakened.
The Awakened were all watching the area outside the station.
"Why does the station feel like this? It's like a war broke out..."
At my question, the old man answered with a sharp glint in his eyes.
"All of a sudden, the Administration Department agents started moving busily around this side near Singil Station, and it looked like they were plotting something. Those bastards hadn't even come near the outskirts since we joined the Administration Department, but they gathered at the station armed, so we blocked them and sent them back for now... and just then, you arrived."
It was a seasoned instinct.
He'd predicted something was happening just from the agents' movements and secured the station first.
Thanks to that, I was able to stop at the station safely.
Then he grinned and asked me,
"So? What did you do to make those guys react like that?"
"Well... this..."
I took the bright red necklace and the phone out of my pocket.
"...If I could buy it, I would."
Before I could even explain, the old man cut in quickly.
As if he had already guessed something just from seeing the items.
A cold smile began to spread across the old man's lips.