Surprised, Seora hastily sent a reply, expressing her confusion.
What do you mean by a Rift Dungeon? You should have mentioned it earlier!
【Sorry for the sudden request. I made a mistake with the date because I was focused on searching for clues in Castle Tower.】
“…” Seora fell silent, unsure of what to say. She had asked him to track it, but it was the association’s fault for not realizing the existence of the Key.
‘Alright, I understand. I can go. But when exactly?’
【Today, immediately. It will appear around eight in the evening.】
A wave of resentment washed over her. If I go after work, I won’t be able to arrive on time. But I can’t take half a day off in this situation by simply saying I want to rest As Seora pondered her options, her gaze fell upon Seong Jarim, who sat slumped in a chair like a soaked rice cake.
That’s right. Seora suddenly remembered she had a Joker, a free pass that could help her in any situation.
“What? What is it? Why are you looking at me with such an ominous smile?” Jarim had learned over the past two months that nothing good would come from Seora’s smiles. Now she started to tremble.
What a relief. Explaining wouldn’t be difficult.
“Seong Jarim, please come with me for a moment.”
Half a day off? Annual leave? Why should she use her precious vacation? The expression on L-class Seong Jarim’s face resembled a half-day leave application.
Standing tall, Seora firmly grabbed Jarim by the back and headed toward Team Leader Shin Jaemin, who was temporarily replacing Do Junyeong. She had already prepared her excuses.
‘Team Leader, Seong Jarim needs to go somewhere.’
That one sentence was enough because Seora had received an order from Song Hanna to stick with Jarim until the end of Cheorwon’s work. Thanks to this, she could leave the association without any hesitation.
Sniffing, Jarim lay half-lying in the back seat, weeping bitterly, all the way to Mount Taebaek.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Big Sis. But what can I do? I heard a dungeon is going to appear in Mount Taebaek soon.”
“Hic. How will you compensate for my damaged reputation…?”
“I’ve already paid for it. Look at what’s in your hand and tell me.”
Jarim sniffled and took a big bite of the hot dog. Her hand was filled with all kinds of food that Seora had bought at the rest area.
“Hic, hic. Delicious…”
“Dear, oldie. I’m glad you still enjoy the food at the rest stop you haven’t eaten in 100 years.”
“I’m not old!”
Seora should have stopped there, but it was worth teasing Jarim just to see her reaction.
“Anyway, it’s Mount Taebaek again. I hope it doesn’t affect that fraud sister.”
“Fraud sister?”
“I’m referring to Baek Huiwon, that fraudulent shaman.”
“Eh? Wasn’t she completely spiritual?”
“What? Spiritual? Would any spiritual person tell me that my luck has changed? She claimed I had no bad luck! What luck!? I can’t even quit my job!!” Seora, who was behind the wheel, showed signs of transforming into a yaksha.
Jarim, frightened by Seora’s reaction, quickly corrected herself, “I-I misspoke! That person is a fraud!” I could get thrown off the highway if I make a mistake. Jarim slapped her own mouth, realizing she shouldn’t bother Seora when she couldn’t leave work on time.
“Sigh. Either way, we can’t leave it be. We need to deal with it quickly so that the people in Cheorwon can fully focus on their tasks.” Seora was particularly concerned about Yun Jaehun. Knowing that her brother would be greatly disturbed standing on the land where their mother died, she didn’t want to add to his worries.
“They would be even more worried if they knew you were going to Mount Taebaek.”
“That’s why we have to go secretly. I can’t announce that there will be a dungeon there anyway. The two of us have to handle it discreetly.”
“Come to think of it, the one who informed you wasn’t the administrator, right? It was the Mage.”
Seora nearly hit the brakes on the highway. “What? What are you talking about?”
【Activates ‘Title—A Thousand Masks’. Your acting skill increases.】
As soon as she realized she had to maintain the pretense of not knowing, the title automatically activated, despite her heart pounding with surprise. Seora acted nonchalantly, almost on autopilot, while her heart fluctuated.
‘This is really amazing. I can see why Awakened actors strive to obtain the Thousand Masks title.’
【Administrator: (*´∀｀)ｂ°】
“Seoraseora, your acting skills are improving. Without my eyes, I would have been fooled just like everyone else.”
That’s right. Jarim had special eyes, now that Seora remembered.
“Did you see information on Kang Sejun?”
“I investigate everything I see, especially after encountering a suspicious disease in Baskar. Of course, I looked into the Mage the first time we met.”
When was the first meeting between Kang Sejun and Seong Jarim? It was the day after Jarim returned. She had encountered him for the first time when she went to the association with Seora. However, no matter how often Seora tried to recall it, Jarim showed no hint of recognizing Kang Sejun, even though it might be surprising that the ‘Regressor’ was already on his sixth life.
“Weren’t you surprised at all when you saw him?”
“Seoraseora, have you forgotten where and how many years I’ve lived?” Jarim grinned, leaving Seora speechless.
Seong Jarim had lived on a completely different planet for exactly 108 years. Even if you added up all the lives Kang Sejun had lived since his return, it wouldn’t surpass that number. She had endured a different kind of hell.
“That’s a wise answer,” Seora concluded.
“Haha. I’m not interested in him either. As long as he doesn’t harm me, I couldn’t care less.”
“I’ve noticed that about you. But what do you mean you’re not interested?”
“Well, you know, those main characters in novels? The ones who say, ‘You’re the only one who knows about me, so please help me!’ as they grab onto you and beg for assistance? I don’t want that to ever happen to me. It’s annoying.”
Those kinds of novels were popular these days. Seora had to close her mouth to suppress her laughter. It wasn’t the time to be laughing, after all. Because here she was, rushing toward Mount Taebaek because she was the only one who knew about the regressor.
My life is filled with returnees and regressors. How did this even happen?
“Right. I’m doing that annoying thing right now.”
“See? I don’t want to do the same, so I pretend I can’t see it!”
“Aha, but what should I do? I’ve discovered that the number of people who know about the regressor’s secret has increased to two.”
“…Huh?”
“Aren’t you already on your way to help me clean up?”
“…Huh?” Jarim’s face darkened. She seemed to have never considered that. “Well, no, I-”
“You’ll continue to accompany me, right? Rejoice, Miss Seong. The main character has chosen you.”
“Ah! Ahhh! No, no!” Jarim clutched her head and screamed. But it was already too late. As a consequence of making fun of herself unintentionally, Seora intended to keep dragging Jarim along in the future.
Feeling a sudden sense of relief, Seora hummed a song and pressed on the accelerator with vigor.
‘By the way, returnees are often the main characters in novels, so how could she not have thought of that earlier?’
Regressors and returnees didn’t frequently cross paths, yet Seong Jarim hadn’t even considered it.
‘Well, that’s cute and nice.’
Seora caught a glimpse of Jarim’s tear-stained face and stifled her laughter.
***
“Is this the place?”
It was halfway up Mount Taebaek, as Kang Sejun had instructed them. Unlike their previous visit with Jeong Hoyeong, Seora didn’t have to hide her powers this time. They ascended the mountain without hesitation. Although it would soon be night, being away from the hiking trails meant that even if a Rift Dungeon appeared, it shouldn’t cause major damage.
“How much time do we have left?”
“He said around eight o’clock, so it’s almost time.”
Just then, Kang Sejun called.
“Are you watching us?”
— What are you talking about when you just picked up?
“Well, it’s quite uncanny timing. It gave me a little scare.”
— Why would I take the risk of surveilling you?
Kang Sejun knew her too well.
“I don’t think there will be any casualties since it’s not on the hiking trails. Don’t worry about it; just focus on your work there.”
— No, I asked you to handle that dungeon for a different purpose.
“Huh?”
— It’s not a Dungeon Break, and there are no people in that area. So why would I ask you to take care of it?
Uh, now that you mention it. That’s true. The officials from the Gangwon branch of the association will be dispatched once the mana impact is detected. So why did he specifically involve me, who is from Seoul?
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