Chapter 34
That's all I can do.
I'm not a cop with the power of the state or anything.
As a decent citizen, I've done my duty by reporting information on a lawbreaker.
"Wow. You really do see everything. Did you hear that? It's drugs. Drugs."
Mr. Cheolhon, who had heard the cops talking earlier, took his eyes off the monitor and said.
His gaze landed on me.
What?
It felt like he was saying these sorts of things happened around me a lot for some reason.
What, then am I Conan?
I leave the orphanage, and when I wake up in the morning something happens; when I go on a picnic, something happens; when I go out with friends, accidents happen.
A walking disaster magnet?!
....
For some reason, I felt like I could hear Conan BGM playing behind me, but I ignored it.
"I'm just the kind of person who ends up finding things like this. I'd rather they didn't happen at all."
But what can I do?
They happen.
It's right to stop what you can.
"Huh? What do you mean by that all of a sudden..."
"...Never mind."
He asked with a bewildered look.
I must've said something stupid because I felt oddly guilty.
"Ahem. Let's go hunting. Please take the vanguard."
Since force mages are front-line types.
We need to protect the backline Launcher well.
"Yep. Understood."
And so, we enjoyed the triple EXP event to our hearts' content while sneaking glances at the losers being dragged away.
.
.
.
It was time to wrap up today's stream.
I had received quite a bit of gold here and there.
I made 700,000 won just today.
Time to spend that on cash items.
As I was thinking about where to spend this month's payout, a line appeared in the chat.
-Hyung! Do you know someone called Gyeryongsan Muwol Bosal, by any chance?
"Huh? What's that?"
Bodhisattva?
A monk?
-Look it up online.
I went online and searched as he suggested.
A Google search brought up a Chungnam local newspaper article about a shaman called Gyeryongsan Muwol Bosal taking aim at me.
Wow. A newspaper article over a hit piece...
I really am something else.
[A False Prophet Who Is Nothing but a Swindler]
[A false prophet named Kang Noa recently appeared on a broadcast...]
-Wow. Looks like hyung has gotten famous.
-Now you're getting articles like this too.
-LOL, he says he wants to try a fortune-telling showdown with hyung?
-A challenge?
Interesting.
In an interview with a Chungnam local paper, Gyeryongsan Muwol Bosal confidently declared that I was nothing but a fraud and that he would soon peel off my mask.
But does this person have abilities similar to mine too?
Honestly, I'm curious.
I kind of want to meet him...
I picked up my phone and contacted Hong Siyeon.
-Muwol Bosal? Who's that now?
"He was in a Chungnam local paper."
Hong Siyeon, who had said she'd look it up, let out a snort of laughter.
It was completely different from her usual bright, cheerful laugh.
Just a sneer.
Cold to the extreme. It was the kind of laugh that could make anyone hearing it shiver down the spine.
-When the mullet jumps, the goby jumps too.
"Who knows who the mullet is, though."
For all I know, that Muwol Bosal guy might be someone pretty amazing too?
It'd be nice if I could see someone's past and future from an article alone, but that's obviously not possible.
Maybe it would be possible if my abilities were strengthened a bit more?
-So...? Are you planning to go there?
"I'm thinking about it. If he's really the real deal too, there are a lot of things I'd want to ask him."
-All right. When are you going?
"Huh?"
-Huh?
"No... why would you go, President Hong...? I was just planning to go with Cheolhon."
-Huh? Whaaat? Why! Why! Why!
"I heard you've been busy lately."
That's right.
Hong Siyeon is busy.
Not only her own work, but she also has to handle all the odds and ends for my stream.
Is that all?
I heard she's been swamped lately dealing with the merger and acquisition issues for the company Kim Seokchun handed over to me.
-But stiiiiill...
I smiled at her as she slumped dejectedly.
"I'll bring you a gift when I come back."
If that Muwol Bosal has his shrine on Gyeryongsan... there was Daejeon nearby, right?
I'm going to wipe out all the Simseongdang bread.
Ah. Before I go.
I should prepare a few things.
.
.
.
We arrived in Daejeon.
In front of Daejeon Station, I saw a few soldiers taking photos with the station as the backdrop.
Ah. They're angling it so the word "discharge" shows up above their heads in the photo.
Of the soldiers giggling after taking pictures, some will return to school, while others will go back into the workforce.
That one over there is becoming a NEET.
There's nothing I can do about that.
"There are quite a lot of people here."
"It's a pretty famous place, after all. By the way, the rental car..."
"It's over there."
Since it had already been reserved, when we went to the parking lot, there was a rental car employee waiting.
It was a domestic midsize sedan.
Since it was about the same class as the car Han Yuna rides around in, it didn't feel out of place.
"Get in. I'll drive you right there. You're going to Simseongdang first, right?"
"Yes."
If you're in Daejeon, that's where you have to go first.
We headed straight to Simseongdang and could see the place swarming with people.
There are seriously a ton of them...
"Will we be able to get any?"
"I don't see a future where we can't."
When I said that while casually flipping the card, Cheolhon's expression brightened.
Come to think of it, when I said we'd go to Daejeon and he got excited about visiting Simseongdang, it wasn't that strange.
"Cheolhon. Could you hold that for a moment?"
I pointed to a metal tray piled high with bread.
Just as Cheolhon, looking puzzled, grabbed the table.
-Crack!!
The wheel assembly attached to the metal tray snapped.
"Ugh!!"
As expected of Cheolhon.
He's strong.
He was holding back a metal tray packed with bread as it tilted and tried to topple onto the customers all by himself.
"Waaah!!"
"Move! Get out of the way!!"
The customers evacuated, and the employees rushed over.
Once we barely managed to stop the metal tray from collapsing, the employees let out relieved sighs.
"Th-thank you!"
"That could have been disastrous!!"
Yeah. That was a close call.
It would've toppled over in the middle of all these people and turned everything into chaos.
No one would necessarily fail to buy bread or get hurt, but cleaning up and putting everything back would take longer, making it harder to buy bread.
"No... I didn't really do anything..."
"No! No!!"
A man who looked like the store manager came out.
And after thanking Cheolhon over and over, he brought up something else.
"Oooh..."
As a reward, we received vouchers for Simseongdang bread and a voucher for their already wildly famous siru cake.
Sweet deal.
"Since we've got them, let's hand them out to people when we get back."
"Yes!"
Seeing how we were already coming out ahead from the start, this trip seemed like it would be a very rewarding one.
.
.
.
Since we'd be taking the train from Daejeon Station on the way back too, we decided to use the vouchers on the day we returned.
"Then let's get going."
Still, we weren't going empty-handed.
We bought various kinds of bread to eat up through lunch and headed back to the car.
Now we were off to Gyeryongsan.
"It should take about forty minutes, roughly."
"Please drive safely."
"Yes. Don't worry. If you're tired, go ahead and take a nap."
I sat in the car as he drove and gazed leisurely out the window.
There was nothing particularly special about the streets of Daejeon.
The futures of the people I saw on the street were nothing special either.
An ordinary day.
Some were going to school.
Some were getting scolded by their mothers.
And some had futures working at their jobs.
Only peaceful futures were visible.
That peaceful future was slowly disappearing.
It wasn't that people were in danger or anything; it was just because we were leaving downtown Daejeon.
Instead of people, mountains and fields appeared near the road.
"I've heard Gyeryongsan has been full of shamans since old times."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. My grandmother also got a few talismans from a shaman who supposedly trained on Gyeryongsan long ago. She bought them all, thinking of my safety."
"Oh... really? How were they?"
"She bought them, then the next day she fell and hurt her leg."
"Haha..."
"Honestly, I... until I met you, I thought all this was fake."
I figured as much.
His grandmother was interested in occult stuff and went around visiting shamans, temples, and the like.
She prayed a lot for her only grandchild to do well.
Especially since Cheolhon is a bodyguard.
Since he does dangerous work, she must have worried so much.
"I just thought they were trash who preyed on people by exploiting their psychology."
"Haha... did you think I was one of those guys too?"
"Actually, at first, a little. Ah, but not anymore. You're the real deal, sir. You even got my grandmother's case right. So... I'm worried."
I was worried that Gyeryongsan Muwol Bosal might actually be the real deal.
That if he really had power, I might end up getting hurt.
"If something happens, couldn't we solve it with force?"
"What are you planning to do..."
"If that shaman starts spouting nonsense and tries to harm you, I'll be the one to hurt him first."
Veins stood out on the thick forearm gripping the steering wheel.
Take it easy there...
Anyway, after eating the bread we had bought and sipping coffee, we arrived at the destination.
It was a fairly large hanok in the countryside.
We parked in front of the hanok, which at a glance looked like the home of a shaman, and when we knocked, a middle-aged woman in white mourning clothes came out.
"Who might you be..."
"I'm Kang Noa. I've come to see Muwol Bosal."
"...Please come in."
Her expression turned cold at the name Kang Noa, but she opened the door for us.
We've been invited, so let's go in.
"Oh..."
Once inside, it was rather fascinating.
So this is what a shaman's house looks like?
"Ahem!! How dare a false prophet set foot on sacred ground!!"
My eardrums are going to fall off.
An old woman in a black hanbok came walking out from the main wooden floor.
If looks alone could kill people, I'd already have died several times over.
"Good day. I'm Kang Noa."
"Silence!! You false one who toys with people's hearts with your nonsense...!!"
"Ehh~."
A false one, huh.
That's a bit much.
"So how truthful were you when you teamed up with Hoan Construction and set up the president of Jinam Construction?"
"W-what?!"
Doesn't seem like you're that honest a person yourself, though.