Chapter 100

〈Chapter 99〉 Section 4. The Dignity of S-Class (6)

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­Snow White, don't you like goblins?

It's a widely known rumor.

While Baek Seul-hee herself felt like pounding her chest in frustration, people couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild when they saw the two S-Class heroes constantly clashing.

­Baek Seul-hee is acting like this because she likes the goblin.

­Go, Seul-hee! Charm the goblin!

­How do you know the goblin is a guy? For all we know, it could be a girl.

­Why assume Seul-hee would fail to charm a girl?

­I admire your broad range of defense, teacher.

Baek Seul-hee and the goblin heated up the community almost like Romeo and Juliet, or more accurately, like Prince Hodong and Princess Narak.

­But didn't Princess Narak die and Prince Hodong win the war?

­Then let's call them Prince Baekseol and Princess Goblin!

­He clearly looks like a guy, so why call him a princess...?

­Even if he's a guy, treat him like a princess!

­I'm also very interested in your strange preferences, teacher.

People sent enthusiastic cheers.

And while the nation didn't openly show it, everyone subtly signaled to Baek Seul-hee with knowing glances.

­Why don't you try to charm the goblin, whether physically, emotionally, or with your powers?

­Honestly, the goblin is merciless, but if you think about it, they all deserved it.

­If you can turn the goblin into a villain-hunting hound, why not treat it like a judicial deal? Baek Seul-hee, you should be the one to put a leash on the goblin.

Everyone tried to link Baek Seul-hee with the goblin.

Especially since the goblin, who had never appeared on Sejong Island, started showing up again, the rumor spread like wildfire across the world.

­Since the goblin never appeared on Sejong Island before, but now that Baek Seul-hee is here, it's definitely a green light. This is 100%.

­The goblin is definitely a guy. How could any guy not be excited by Baek Seul-hee's milkshake container?

­Date! Clap! Love your country! Clap! Give birth to a Snow Maiden! Clap!

The internet was already in an uproar, speculating whether a child born from the goblin and Princess Baekseol would be a Snow Maiden.

Until now, Baek Seul-hee hadn't really cared about such things.

Her concern with the goblin was purely about his villainous ideology and actions, not about him romantically.

Or so she thought.

She wasn't sure.

But all of this was just an illusion.

She had only been deluding herself into thinking she felt affection because others kept talking about it.

There was already a man who had a place in her heart.

'The world doesn't understand.'

What a fated encounter means.

It felt familiar as if they had known each other for a long time, yet it was also strange and exciting like facing a new world. Being with him made her feel comfortable, and he saw her not as an S-Class hero but as Baek Seul-hee, a woman.

'I'm already annoyed because he didn't answer my calls last night, and now people are linking me with the goblin without knowing anything.'

She was afraid.

What could an S-Class hero be afraid of? But she was afraid he might say something like this:

­You like the goblin, don't you, Seul-hee? I feel a bit disappointed.

She was afraid.

Afraid that their current relationship might crumble.

It was already a delicate stage, and the encouragement from others could make it all fall apart, keeping her from getting a good night's sleep.

So.

She would prove today that her relationship with the goblin was nothing more than a malicious rumor created by people.

To that man, she would show that it was just a rumor.

Absolutely.

She wasn't angry because he didn't contact her late at night, didn't reply, and didn't even check in, even in the early morning.

Yes.

Why would she take out her anger on the goblin?

She was just.

Determined to cut off the rumors people had created, she would put all her effort into it.

Based on the new techniques she had learned from their conversations.

Today.

Baek Seul-hee was determined to capture the goblin.

* * *

'He must have tried to contact me last night.'

Ducking quickly to avoid the incoming ice shards, she speculated about the reason for the anger in her attacks.

Question 1. Was it because Armored Taejo was forced to clean up an accident in Gangwon Province?

Answer 1. No. She has been involved in all sorts of incidents, but this level of anger is not justifiable.

Question 2. Was it because I came on a motorcycle with Yuliana?

Answer 2. Why would that matter? I am a goblin. If I had come with Do Jihwan, I might have to kneel, but I have no romantic relationship with Snow White.

Question 3. Did you see me throw Yuliana to the ground?

Answer 3. That could be it. She might be angry about how I could throw a woman.

But there was a more primal anger.

"What are you thinking about?!"

[About you.]

"Stop flirting! It's because you keep doing this!!"

She got angry again.

The ice shards aimed at my head, shoulders, and even my heart could easily pierce my arm if I tried to block them with my fist, so the best option was to dodge with full effort.

Question 4. Do you dislike being linked with me, the goblin?

Question 4-1. If you didn't, why now?

'Ah.'

A variable had appeared.

Until now, she hadn't really cared whether she was linked with the goblin, but there was one person who might show discomfort if she was linked with the goblin.

'Could she be thinking about Do Jihwan?'

In matters like this, my intuition is quite accurate.

While the original protagonist and the world's setting might be ambiguous, I have a good sense of male-female relationships and women's feelings.

It's dangerous, but maybe I should hint at it.

[A date, you say? This is the first time I've had such a brutal date.]

"Shut up. It's just a metaphor!"

Snow White extended her right hand to the side, and ice wings unfolded behind her.

Feathers like those of an angel fluttered, and soon Snow White aimed her right hand at me and extended it.

"I won't let you escape!"

[!!]

Feathers shot out to the side.

They didn't shoot forward but to the side because each feather curved and changed direction toward me.

'Homming missiles!'

The ice feathers were as sharp as arrowheads, and there were thousands of them, by a rough estimate.

There was no place to hide.

To dodge, I had to escape the ice net she had created.

[Spreading your attacks won't necessarily catch me.]

I took a light leap backward and swung my hand forward.

Whoosh!

The sparks of magic power spread like a flame.

Small, condensed flames with explosive power fluttered like snowflakes and precisely met the trajectory of the incoming ice feathers.

"Kee...!"

Magic power clashed and exploded.

No matter how much power is based on imagination, it can't overcome the basic human perception.

Fire melts ice.

[If you want to extinguish my flames, you'll need more ice. Princess.]

"Then, try to block this too!"

Snow White extended both hands upward.

She recovered the ice feathers that hadn't reached me and formed a white sphere in the sky, which soon turned into a massive ice meteor.

[If you just throw something like that, I can dodge it...]

"Too late!"

The ice net had become a wall behind me.

It was impossible to simply pass through, as it would instantly freeze anything it touched, trapping me in a tight spot.

"Meteor Shower!"

Baek Seul-hee threw an ice meteor as big as a large container at me.

It looked like a meteor falling, and I realized the source of her anger.

'She's definitely pissed because I didn't contact her!'

In such a situation, would she unconsciously or consciously use a technique from a climactic scene in a movie she saw with Do Jihwan?

100%.

When she returns to Seoul, there will probably be over ten missed calls on her Taeguk Watch.

­Hey...?

­Can you come now?

­Or should I come to you?

If she received a text like that, Do Jihwan would be in big trouble.

'Damn.'

Having a crush on Do Jihwan was fine, but she didn't expect it to make the goblin bleed.

Is this trolling, or karma?

'But there's one thing I'm sure of.'

That woman, Baek Seul-hee, doesn't know my true identity.

She has no idea that the goblin is Do Jihwan.

If she knew he was Do Jihwan?

There would have been a hint of hesitation in her attacks.

There would have been no confusion or betrayal.

Only the single-minded determination to capture me as a hero.

[A little... cute.]

"!!"

Is it pure love for Do Jihwan?

Her attacks, filled with the will to capture the goblin, made her feel embarrassed when she thought about it being because of her feelings for Do Jihwan.

'I'll have to console her later when I return.'

Planning to go back to Ulleung soon or secretly invite her, I had to deal with the meteor falling in front of me first.

Escaping through etherealization was impossible.

The invisible ice crystals surrounding me would pierce her body if she etherealized and then materialized while passing through the net.

Break through the net.

Escape underground.

Or.

[Can you hear me? Chairman's message. He said to use 'full power' as backup.]

Use all the power I can muster to block the attack.

[5 minutes. I'll be there in 5 minutes, so don't get caught.]

'I'm about to take a critical hit.'

I turned my body.

Facing away from the meteor, I gathered magic power in my lower body.

"!!"

Baek Seul-hee, surprised, reached out to me, but the meteor was already falling.

'Maximum magic power.'

[Three.]

[Two.]

[One.]

Gathering all the magic power passed to me by the ultimate technique into one leg.

[I'll take that anger head-on.]

Perfect angle (???).

Patriotic Side Cutter.

I spun my body and kicked the meteor with one leg.

Whoosh.

A crescent moon of red flames.

Split the white meteor in half.

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