Chapter 74

It took quite a while to calm down the Prayer House director.

He kept his forehead glued to the floor as if a constellation had descended before his eyes.

By the time we finally got out of the Prayer House, there was this strange, awkward distance between us.

“Hayan…”

“It was a coincidence! A coincidence! There’s no way I’d intentionally track down a 500-won coin minted in 1998 just to mess with you and slip it into the offering box!”

“With you, it somehow feels like you would do that.”

I didn’t know what to say either.

At this point, maybe Moon Ah-rin’s ability wasn’t just “summoning wings”?

Even I, an Apostle of an Outer God, was starting to get scared of her.

“Thanks to you, I can never go back to Prayer House again…”

“I have no excuses. But next time will be different. Truly.”

“…You’re not saying ‘this is the end of it.’ Don’t tell me you pulled another prank?”

“Ahem. Let’s get to work. We’re going to be late.”

Under her accusing “how are you going to fix this?” glare, the only thing I could do was hurry to the next location.

To rebuild not just my reputation, but the trust that had fallen flat on the floor, I headed straight to the Ability Management Bureau.

Surprisingly, no one noticed that I’d eaten at the cafeteria twice.

In my standards that was a serious crime, but the Bureau seemed to think of it as some minor system glitch.

Was that really the end of it?

Her relief lasted all of ten seconds. As we walked past the fourth-floor hallway, something serious happened.

“Wait!”

“What is it?”

“Look…!”

“Hm?”

Moon Ah-rin suddenly froze, then called me with a trembling finger pointing at the wall.

There, in huge bold letters, alongside her photo, was a plaque: Employee of the Month.

Wondering what on earth was going on, I turned—only to lock eyes with Kang Cho-won coming from the opposite side.

Holding a spear in one hand, striding with giant steps, he raised his arm and shouted loudly:

“Deputy Commander Moon Ah-rin! Congratulations!”

“…What?”

“I heard the idea you proposed at the meeting received overwhelming support and was adopted as the Bureau’s new revenue source!”

The idea she proposed at the meeting?

Did he mean the suggestion about putting people on a train to hell and charging them for it?

I immediately asked for details.

“Hm? And you are?”

“Sae Hayan from Division 3.”

“Ah! The unit where Ha-neul works! My little brother owes you a lot. He’s so serious all the time—must be tough working with him…”

“More importantly, could you explain what exactly happened? I’d like to know why Miss Moon Ah-rin’s proposal was accepted.”

“It’s simple. We all forgot that Seoul citizens are a nation that craves thrills.”

According to Kang Cho-won, once they surveyed public opinion on resuming the Gyeongbu Line, they got an overwhelming YES.

The moment people learned that riding a train out of Seoul could be an extreme sport where you might lose your life, everyone rushed to buy tickets.

Especially the Daejeon–Daegu line where Flauros had appeared—the reservation rate exploded so fast the servers nearly crashed on day one.

It was the price of underestimating the dopamine-soaked tastes of Seoul citizens.

“With this, we’ll secure plenty of tax revenue! To think we failed to see such talent until now—my mistake, no, our mistake!”

“N-no, I—I didn’t…”

“Hahaha! No need to be modest! Among everyone present, only you saw the solution to save the Bureau. Please continue sharing your ideas, Saint of Salvation!”

With that, he vanished in a flash of yellow lightning as he rushed off to his mission.

After he disappeared, I cautiously looked at Moon Ah-rin.

She was trembling all over like someone pushed to the edge of a cliff.

The reason was obvious.

She’d only been gone for three days, yet her evaluation had skyrocketed to the point where there was nowhere left to climb.

A reputation rivaling division captains or even the leaders of massive guilds.

At this point, in all of Korea, you could count the awakened individuals more famous than her on one hand.

“Hayan…!”

Her clenched fist had gone pale from the force of her grip.

Moon Ah-rin was usually so gentle and indecisive that she could count the number of times she got angry in her entire life on one hand—but this time, she looked like she could barely contain it.

And that wasn’t the only change.

Behind her, new wings—bigger than before—were beginning to sprout.

A rise in realm.

It was my first time witnessing in person the birth of a Middle Level awakened.

When I saw two pairs of wings fluttering behind her, I was shocked—but at the same time, a wonderful idea popped into my head.

Since things had come this far… why not just step on the gas with no brakes?

If I couldn’t normalize her reputation, then I’d simply deceive the entire world instead.

Even the demon tribes—if they learned that Moon Ah-rin had been hiding two more wings all this time, they’d be so terrified they wouldn’t dare leave their council chambers.

『Fear…』

My Outer God sighed, accusing me of just wanting to slander her, but that was completely baseless.

Aside from collecting stigmas, the only thing I wanted was the peace of South Korea.

If word spread far and wide that a strategic weapon like Moon Ah-rin existed, that dream would easily become reality.

Demon lords, archdukes, and awakened groups overseas—those who feared mutually assured destruction—would all tread lightly around her.

Even if it was a peace built on lies and deception, it was still more than enough to uphold the weight of human lives.

“We should look at this positively.”

Placing my hand on her shoulder, I repeated the same words I told her the first time we met.

“Didn’t you want strength? You have it now—right this moment.”

“……”

I would bear the sin.

She could reap every benefit.

As my honeyed whisper sank into her ears, Moon Ah-rin’s arm slowly began to rise.

“At this point, let’s just aim for becoming Korea’s strongest awakened. With my exceptional political instincts and your wings, we could even reach the Commander-in-Chief’s seat—”

“Ugh! Shut up!”

Her fist cut me off, plunging straight into my solar plexus.

Hit by Moon Ah-rin’s “Savior Punch,” I ended up being carried off to the hospital.

Her punch was vicious.

Originally, Moon Ah-rin’s wings contained the power to purify monsters.

If I had to guess, in awakening to Middle Level, she’d gained the ability to channel some of that power into her physical body.

She’d never trained in martial arts, so who knew about practicality—but the impact definitely wasn’t weak.

The armor tentacles I wore under my robe were completely shattered.

After two days of intensive treatment, I finally got discharged.

As soon as I returned to the dorm, one message was waiting on my smartwatch.

Sometimes when a Special Unit member’s number leaked, prank messages like this came in.

It was possible someone with a grudge sent it.

Though considering the sheer amount of good deeds I’d done throughout my life, that possibility was basically at 0%. Still, I immediately got up from bed, put on my shoes, and headed for the Division 3 training hall.

Seeing that, my Outer God popped out from my sleeve in shock.

『Fear not!?』

“No, I’m just taking out the trash.”

My Outer God had been full of expectation, thinking I was off to practice magic in tension—so I confidently corrected her.

Truthfully, I didn’t care about the message at all. I just had nothing to do, so I went out.

Trash duty and recycling were jobs for zero-years rookies.

I could’ve dumped it on the other newbies, but I had free time and had been volunteering since joining to build good workplace connections.

Especially since I’d clearly seen Yoo Se-byeol throw away a yogurt cup she got from a female junior in the trashcan of Training Ground 3—I’d been waiting for the chance to claim that treasure myself.

When I arrived at the training hall with brisk steps—

Surprisingly, someone had gotten there before me.

“Kang Ha-neul.”

『Fear?』

“It’s not the Spear of Thunderclap, it’s the Spear of— no, not ‘boneless,’ the Spear of Thunderclouds. You saw him on the first day.”

As expected, my Outer God couldn’t remember Kang Ha-neul properly. She had never cared much for weak humans, whether in the past or now.

What on earth had happened between her and Alexei for the two to end up close enough to be like sworn siblings?

Pushing aside my curiosity, I slowed my steps toward the trash can tucked in the corner.

Skipping training had already become second nature to me. Being dragged off on classified missions all the time hadn’t helped either; I’d been half-floating on the outskirts of the unit for a while now.

Even when Division 3 got cut off together last time, I’d been right there pretending to side with the Red Team—the demons. No way was I giving him another excuse to pick a fight every time our eyes met.

“…….”

Fortunately, Kang Ha-neul seemed focused on training. He was staring down a practice dummy in full armor, as if it had personally wronged him.

Quietly, like a strand of tentacle gliding through seawater, I slipped across the training room floor.

I reached the trash can, emptied it quickly, slipped a fresh bag on, and dug out the yogurt-lid trophy from the garbage. Then I prepared to retrace my steps exactly the way I came.

Surely I didn’t get caught… right?

Feeling relieved, I turned my head… and locked eyes with Kang Ha-neul, who was looking straight at me.

Time felt like it froze.

“…….”

“What are you doing, Hayan? Don’t tell me you’re training.”

“No, I’m here to clean.”

“Alright. Go.”

Surprisingly, he didn’t say anything else and went right back to practicing.

Was… was it really okay to just leave like this?

I cautiously took a step… and then he called me again.

“Hey. You. Come here for a second.”

Of course. It couldn’t be that easy.

What was he going to nag about this time?

Sighing inwardly, I stopped and waited quietly.

“Do you have something for me to do?”

“…….”

“Senior?”

“You’ve been acting suspicious lately.”

That moment—

His sharp, cutting words pierced straight into my chest. I froze.

Kang Haneul didn’t relax for even a second as he approached. In one hand he still held the spear he’d been using to turn the dummy into a honeycomb.

“Maybe others don’t notice, but you can’t fool my eyes.”

“F-F-Fool? What do you think I’m doing?”

“You were on the assault team for the Sea of Decay incident. Then the promotion evals. Now the Gyeongbu Line restoration. There hasn’t been a single incident where your name didn’t come up.”

“Th-That’s…”

“Think about it. Ever since you joined the Special Unit, everything has gone a little too well for you, don’t you think?”

I’d known a day like this would come eventually.

No matter how hard I tried to deceive everyone, the Special Unit was a place full of monsters sharp enough to notice my power or identity.

But Kang Ha-neul of all people?

His personality meant he never compromised. This was the perfect checkmate—no escape, no excuses.

“So you noticed after all.”

“Yeah. That’s why I want to ask you one thing.”

“Whatever you ask won’t matter anymore.”

My hand lost strength, and the yogurt lid slipped in my grip.

With a heavy heart, I prepared to summon the Tentacle of Suggestion.

“After this, you’ll forget everything about me. Forty-first tentacle—”

“Tell me the secret to getting strong that fast… and maybe teach me too?”

“…Huh?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?