Chapter 111

One Who Was a Companion III

It had already been 15 years since the start of the 173rd run.

“Guild leader...”

Even after more than a decade, Sim Ah-ryeon, our guild member who still didn’t grasp the concept of personal growth, made a face.

“Why the long face again?”

“Please don’t get rid of it...”

“...Get rid of what? Are you smoking?”

“...Ugh, this is why non-players... Anyway. Um, SG Net is down...”

Sim Ah-ryeon sniffled.

SG Net, an advanced technology website, had its servers located in Seo Gyu’s brain and heart.

Unless our manly guy SG Man got himself killed in a street fight, there was no chance SG Net would shut down.

Though statistically, that was quite likely, it hadn’t happened yet. So, Sim Ah-ryeon’s use of the word ‘down’ was purely metaphorical.

“Sniff. Look at this...”

Sim Ah-ryeon showed me SG Net on her smartphone.

-OldManGoryeo: Today's café mocha.jpeg

-Anonymous: I wrote a novel, please review it

-OldManGoryeo: Today's café mocha.png

-Anonymous: Do you believe in God?

-Anonymous: Anyone want to go to a hot spring trip?

-Anonymous: Why are there only idiots here? LOL

-OldManGoryeo: Today's café mocha.jpg

I tilted my head. After glancing a few times, there was only one thing out of place.

“Ah-ryeon, why are you drinking so much coffee?”

“Aaagh! There are only two posts on SG Net today! Two! Just two posts and that's it! Today’s coffee, yesterday’s coffee, and the day before yesterday’s coffee!”

“Ah...”

“Do you know how many posts are usually made on SG Net per day? Four! Four posts! Unbelievable! Guild leader! I can’t live like this! I can’t stir up any drama. Out of the four daily posts, one is mine, and the other is my anonymous post...”

“Hmm.”

Indeed, SG Net had died.

The only thing still active was the [Library Society’s Encyclopedia of Anomalies] that Sim Ah-ryeon and I ran. The ghost users of the community had been purged.

There was always a cause for every effect. There was a clear reason why SG Net’s ecosystem had been destroyed.

“Well, that was when everyone lived scattered across the country, but now we all live here. This city has many plazas and rest areas. There’s no longer a dire need for an online community like before.”

“But still, this is too strange... I swear, even in ancient Vatican City, they had internet communities. It makes no sense that an internet community dies just because people live together in Busan. Guild leader! This has to be an occult phenomenon! An anomaly! Wow! You love anomalies, guild leader...! Please, exterminate it quickly!”

This kid... sharp as ever.

“Ah-ryeon, do you really want to hear the other reasons from my mouth?”

“Wh-What do you mean...?”

“Look. There are no unemployed or homeless people here. Everyone has a job and leads a healthy daily life. After work, people have small parties or go to clubs and have real-life community activities. They relieve all their stress there, so naturally, they don’t need to go online. Just look at Seo Gyu; he went out to a TRPG meeting tonight, didn’t he? But Ah-ryeon, you’re always holed up in the guild building alone...”

“Aaah! I don’t want to hear it! I don’t want to hear it!”

Sim Ah-ryeon covered her ears and rolled on the floor. Well, not exactly rolled... she rubbed her back against the ground. Actively, like backstroking, she had a meltdown.

If Gregor Samsa had seen her, he would have been ashamed of the degrading display of insect dignity.

“Reality? Reality? You’re saying people don’t need the internet because they’re happy in the moment? Are you stupid? Guild leader, you’re really stupid! This smartphone screen, this is reality! This is the truth! People quitting the internet is inhumane, impossible on this Earth, in this universe!”

“But it has actually happened.”

“Eek...!”

OldManGoryeo collapsed.

Even if the world were to end tomorrow, Sim Ah-ryeon would post nonsense on the internet today, but her power Grudge Orb was bound to decline.

It had become increasingly difficult to attract people's attention.

Present-day Busan was becoming closer to an ideal city.

Everyone wanted to become a better version of themselves. And Busan had a way to grant people’s wishes.

- I’m tired after work but still have a habit of staying up late doing other things. It ruins my daily life. Great Witch, can you remove this habit?

- Of course. Insomnia is such a torment. Just provide one month’s worth of your salary.

It wasn’t a deal with the devil but with a witch.

Dang Seo-rin’s Equivalent Exchange magic and Cheon Yo-hwa’s Brainwashing magic. When these two powers worked together, people could conveniently extract the parts of their personalities they wished to remove.

It wasn’t just personalities.

- I was abused by my family as a child. Even now, traumatic memories surface and torment me. This personality of mine burdens those around me. Great Witch, can you remove the memories of my family’s abuse?

- Of course. But you must also offer the negative emotions you have towards your family as a price.

Memories, emotions, personality.

The Great Witch accepted anything as material for negotiation and received anything in exchange.

Busan's crime rate plummeted. Naturally, the criminals’ personalities had been completely reformed.

“Is that enough? Really? I meant it when I said I’d grant any wish.”

“My wish is to stay by your side till the end, and it’s already being fulfilled.”

“......”

“So fire Yu Ji-won. Now.”

Dang Seo-rin chuckled.

“Really...”

What words followed, I didn’t know either.

Dang Seo-rin extended her right hand, and I, as per her taste, kissed the ring on it. Then the cheers of the whole city drowned out all other sounds.

Night fell.

Fireworks exploded.

In the night sky of the city, all sorts of witches flew around. The National Road Management Corps members, who had been granted a three-day leave starting today, soared on brooms, firing fireworks spells at will.

Dang Seo-rin and I sat on the high terrace of the headquarters, looking up at the night sky’s festival.

On the table were some famous Haeundae Bakery bread and two empty wine bottles.

“Now then.”

Dang Seo-rin’s long fingers traced the rim of the wine glass.

“Are all the anomalies threatening us gone?”

“Who knows. The greatest threat is gone, I’d say. There might still be outer god-class anomalies I haven’t detected yet but at least the monster wave won’t target this place again.”

“That’s good. No more seeing those disgusting anomalies swarm in. Really, that’s good.”

Fireworks exploded again.

Even the sound of fireworks being launched seemed to have been magically implemented, echoing pleasantly in the sky.

The red and yellow backlighting illuminated Dang Seo-rin’s profile as she watched the night sky.

“Ah, I feel good. Yeah. Undertaker, make me a cup of coffee. I want some.”

“If you drink caffeine at night, you won’t sleep.”

“What’s the difference?”

Dang Seo-rin propped her chin on her left hand and smirked. Her right hand stroked Blackie, curled up on her lap.

“I'm not sleeping tonight anyway. I’ll skip work tomorrow too. You’re free starting today too, aren’t you?”

“...Indeed. Just one cup then.”

The rooftop terrace, virtually Dang Seo-rin’s private bar, had all the tools a barista needed. The beans smelled freshly ground.

There was even ice cream in the icebox. I made affogato and handed it to Dang Seo-rin with a wry smile.

“Here. Hangover coffee.”

“Ah, thank you! Mmm. As expected. Coffee made by you tastes the best.”

Fireworks exploded.

Meow— Blackie meowed on Dang Seo-rin’s lap.

“But... how did you subdue the monster wave? Didn’t you say it was something that couldn’t be eradicated, more a phenomenon than an anomaly?”

“I didn’t subdue it.”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t subdue it. Near Seoul, monster waves of tens of thousands of anomalies still appear, disappear after 20 hours, and reappear endlessly.”

“......”

I had seen it with my own eyes.

Dang Seo-rin, who had been enjoying the affogato, froze.

“...Wait. Really? You’re not kidding? Then that’s a big problem!”

“No, I’ve never lied to you, Seo-rin. The monster wave will never push down here again. Your city is safe.”

“Uh... hey, Undertaker?”

Dang Seo-rin looked confused.

“Sorry, I can’t follow this conversation. Wasn’t the monster wave a phenomenon that pushed from the void to the non-void, human territory? You said that before.”

“That’s right.”

“And the monster wave is still appearing, not eradicated?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why do you claim with such certainty that the monster wave will never strike Busan again?”

“Because this is the void.”

Fireworks exploded.

“――This place is no longer human territory but anomaly territory. Busan is no longer Busan but Utopia. Literally, ‘no place,’ the void.”

“......”

“So there’s no reason for the monster wave to target this place. Dang Seo-rin. As long as you, the anomaly, rule this area.”

Fireworks exploded.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried