Drops of sweat covered the forehead of magical engineer Yurven Havellion, a magician who was a school principal and respected by many others in the world of production. That's how complicated the task was, interfering with the laws of the spiritual world.
«Damn», the man in the robe murmured before the jewel placed on his work table. It was the one he received from an old man he met shortly after arriving in this world, an object that could be considered the servant and system for the spiritual world now called Ghostbusters. «What the hell went wrong?»
An infinite number of magical circuits, large and small, were intertwined within this little gem. Man established his abilities by analyzing and studying them and created today's Ghostbusters by modifying each of the circuits he identified.
«...As I thought, this method is impossible.»
The man continued to inject mana into the jewel and modify the circuit for a long time before sighing as if he had given up. It was actually fun to feel disappointed. There was no way that something that couldn't be achieved for decades could be achieved suddenly in a few days. The biggest achievement lately was updating the system to secretly view the nicknames of players who had entered anonymous chat rooms with administrator privileges.
Ringgg.
At that moment, his personal search vibrated. There wasn't even a need to see who was calling.
«Yes, Queen of the soul. Was there a problem regarding me?»
«No... you are still not talked about anywhere.»
«...I see.» The man felt upset and relieved at the same time. This was because his identity, which had been kept secret for twenty years, was revealed in such an unexpected place. «Please continue to pay attention to that. These rumors must be suppressed before they grow. I will continue to look for a way to find out the identities of the other members».
«Alright. And.... sorry.»
The man remained silent at the crystal ball woman's apology. He couldn't say that there was nothing to regret, not even with empty words. «So... let me know if any problems arise in the future».
«Okay, get some rest.»
The man ended the call and headed back to the workbench.
I think it might be possible by changing the circuitry for storing location information when people connect to the server...
The man analyzed the complex internal circuits of the jewel. As always, the answer was within this gem.
***
TOC Toc.
The moment I heard the bang, I immediately lifted my body.
Who is that? Erwen won't knock, so I'm sure she's a stranger... Why would a stranger knock on the front door and not the front door? Damn.
Holding my breath, I lowered my posture and approached the door as quietly as possible.
Drag, swipe.
Just then, a noise was heard on the doorknob before the lock was opened.
Creak.
The door opened slowly. Whoever the opponent was, I clenched my fists with the idea of subduing them first, but was paralyzed when I checked.
«...Fortunately you were inside.»
«¡Amelia!»
«Ugh! I told you not to run to me out of nowhere...!»
It's because I'm glad to see you. Geez, I'm embarrassed.
«...Enter, quickly.»
«Excuse me...» Amelia didn't seem to like the reunion hug, so I skipped it and she ran into the house.
There were so many things I was curious about, but I wanted to ask sequentially. «How did you know I was here?»
«I waited in front of the bench and followed the fairy».
«Hey? But why?»
«There was no chance to get close».
Hey? That girl is always in the Holy Land during the day.
When I told her this, Amelia shook her head. «No way. That woman was always close to the house».
Chills ran down my spine. «...Uh, so she never went to the Holy Land?»
«You... didn't know? But it seems like she changed her mind recently and disappeared somewhere. I delayed watching it for a few days to make sure it wasn't a trap».
That still calmed me down a bit. A change of heart must have meant the conversation we had not long ago.
«So... how did it go with Spirit of Blood? I'm sure it must have been difficult to accept that you came back alive. The same goes for the issue of evil spirits».
«Ah, that worked well». I briefly summarized what happened with Erwen and told her only the important parts.
Amelia seemed a little surprised. «She doesn't care if you're an evil spirit or not, huh? What an uncharacteristic way of thinking for an explorer of the overworld».
«It's gotten a little weird. If it had been in the past, it would have been difficult to think that way».
«Well, I don't think so.»
«¿Eh?»
«She didn't stop seeking revenge for you even after the announcement. A long time ago I would have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what your identity is».
Mmm, that's possible.
«Anyway, I understood that I am not an evil spirit. You never know what will happen next».
Amelia chuckled. «So I'm the only one in the world who knows your identity?»
«No, there is one more person».
«... I thought Missha Karlstein didn't know you were an evil spirit?»
«It's someone else. For starters, it's not even local. He's from my hometown». There was no reason to hide it and there was plenty of room for it to become a variable in the future, so I told him about Baekho.
His reaction was a little strange. «Baekho Lee...? Is that man from your hometown?» It was like he was hearing about someone he knew very well.
Hmm, come to think of it, there were also quite a few people who knew about Baekho at the Round Table.
I was going to sneak the question in with Erwen, but it was better to just get the information from her. «Do you know him?»
«...Of course.»
«It's true, since you came to this period long before me, you may have heard of it. Ah, but how long has it been since you came back?»
«It was two years ago».
«Oh, so you were here and there one by one—»
«But my return period doesn't matter. I first met that guy a long time ago».
Hey? Did you know Baekho before that?
When I looked at her for more explanations, Amelia opened her mouth. «Remember how I told you I used to work on a team with an evil spirit for over a year? That evil spirit was Baekho».
Who the hell is this guy? It is literally everywhere.
Amelia met Baekho about five years ago. Apparently, she approached him intentionally following instructions from the castle lord. At the time there were suspicions that it was an evil spirit, so this was to confirm it. If it was an evil spirit, it was possible to appease it.
«Scouts who could use auras were rare, so joining their team wasn't difficult. That's how I stayed on their team for about a year».
Amelia said she obtained self-replication from the Doppelganger Forest and cleaned the Temple of Hundred Colors on the third floor around that time. Wow, no wonder she knew all the hidden pieces. If he was with Baekho, it made sense.
«And then? What happened next?»
«Nothing special. When I couldn't find substantial evidence after more than a year, the castle lord lost interest. I received a new mission and left the team with an excuse. Then... I heard the news later».
«News?»
«I don't know the details. The palace completely concealed the incident at that time. All I know is that his identity was revealed by the betrayal of a teammate, and many people died in the maze that day. That was all I could. discover.»
Amelia later said the palace destroyed her documents about Baekho and controlled the flow of information for several years to ensure the city forgot about her existence.
A question here. «So how did you know the name Baekho Lee?»
«That was something relatively recent. It seems he really had a fight with the palace. He's been showing up everywhere and introducing himself as Baekho Lee. Oh, for reference, he used to use a pseudonym, or they just called him «him». ' by everyone else.»
I see... I never thought anyone around me would know about Baekho's past.
«What was he like before?»
«Well, we weren't very close. I didn't like his open mouth and behavior. Instead, he had a very close relationship with others».
«Close relationship?»
«Yes, like the team you formed».
The more I listened to stories about Baekho out of curiosity, the weirder I felt. «That? Was everyone on your team women? And he even dated all of them? Wow, was this bastard running some harem in the maze?»
«Harem? I don't know what that is, but aren't all your teammates women?»
What was this child saying? Mr. Bear firmly maintained his position. Furthermore, during the days of Team Half Wits, everyone was a man except Missha.
«If you say so. Let's say it.»
«I'm not just saying that, that's the truth. It just so happened that the team ended up like this when I selected people based on their ability and aptitude. I never saw them as romantic partners—»
«You don't have to explain it. I don't care at all. First of all, you are from a different country. I don't know what kind of place Korea is, but I guess that part was similar to the previous one». aristocratic culture there.»
Korea is a normal monogamous culture... What does she think Korea is?
For some reason, I felt like Baekho and I ruined Korea's image, but I decided not to make any excuses. After all, it wasn't that important. Now that he had heard enough stories, it was time to move on to the next topic.
«Anyway, Amelia. What was written in the note you left at the bank?»
«What do you mean? It was just as I wrote it».
«Ah, the letter Erwen gave me was torn at the bottom. I could only read, 'The Demon Crusher is...' and I couldn't read the rest».
«...I see.» When the topic moved to my big, precious hammer, Amelia seemed noticeably dismayed. «No wonder you didn't mention that... It was because you couldn't read it...»
«That's why it makes me anxious. Tell me. What happened to the hammer? Alright...?»
«The hammer is fine». Amelia interrupted me firmly.
Slide.
Avoiding my eyes, he said timidly: «...In the vault of Alminus Exchange's collateral lending department».
And ...
A heavy silence fell between us. Even Amelia, an always unwavering woman, knew his evil deeds and avoided my eyes. In the end I was the one who spoke first. «... So why did you sell it?»
I'm sure there was a good reason for that. We're talking about Amelia.
«I should make a correction».
«¿Mmm?»
«I didn't sell it, I used it as collateral to borrow money».
Are you serious?
When I looked at her, Amelia cleared her throat. «I need to approach things properly so that they do not cause problems in the fu...»
«Uh huh, just answer my questions. Why did you sell... no, you gave away my hammer as collateral? For what exactly?»
«...To protect you when you return.»
Ha, I knew she was going to say that. I don't know what it is, but there has to be a good reason why it had to be...
«I bought an essence at the auction house».
"... ¿Which? ⁇
When I parted my lips after a long silence, Amelia quickly continued: «Don't worry. As long as I return the money before the due date, I can get it back».
That woke me up a little. It's true that you could do it if you needed money. It was obvious that he obtained the Twin Hydra dual rule with this money. It was a good enough essence to get if you could buy it with money.
But I needed to check what I needed to check. «... When is the payment date?»
«In two months.»
«And the money?»
«I don't have it now.»
«So your plan to raise the money?»
«...Lo close.»
So, it was in the past tense. Added a new mission to my already busy schedule.