Fired Characters from an Idle Game

56. Lucky You, Having Two Mothers – (2)

“Nam Jooyeon, are you really alright? You look… off.”

It was Yoojunseo who spoke those words, as I dipped a piece of bread, so stale it was practically petrified, into butter for breakfast. He was noisily slurping a cup ramen he’d somehow procured.

“Just a restless night.”

I refrained from elaborating on how the blackened Saint Selene and the ill-omened Mother Karne had bickered all night long, and how the North Sea storm, Mirien, kept clinging to me, escalating the conflict into a three-way feud.

It was a secret I couldn’t reveal to anyone, so it was more accurate to say I had no one to confide in.

For the record, yesterday’s battle ended in a draw. Unable to bear it any longer, I’d roared at them to let me sleep, and they’d all fallen silent. I should have yelled sooner.

However, the subtle tension flowing between Selene and Karne remained. It would require gradual improvement, especially for the sake of my grand plans, as they called them, for the future.

“…Hmm. The fatigue from the battle must be severe. I understand. I saw the scene myself, and wondered if it was even a battle a human could undertake. One day isn’t enough to recover, I suppose, yes, yes.”

Yoojunseo, meanwhile, generously interpreted my awkward expression and silence. He went on to describe, with considerable exaggeration, how fierce the battle had been, and how utterly devastated the defense lines were when holding back the onrushing calamities.

“Still, it’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“That the Association Head fought so diligently.”

The point that surprised me was that Yoojunseo had fought alongside Rei-hu and the Chinese Awakened Union. Considering his actions during the Tower of Reverse Heaven raid, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he’d deserted. The fact that he hadn’t run away and had stood his ground meant that Yoojunseo had grown, in his own way.

Or perhaps, the option of fleeing was simply blocked off by the barrier Karne had erected.

I thought the latter possibility was far from negligible.

“Anyway, Nam Jooyeon, are we going to be okay, do you think?”

“Okay? What do you mean?”

“We told the homeland that we were simply going to track down an Actor, then we suddenly took off and played tower defense with the *jjajjae*s. The government is bound to make an issue of it.”

“Make an issue of it?”

“Of course they will. The Hell Peninsula isn’t even stable yet, and we blithely traveled to China to help them. The government will definitely interpret this as us two S-ranks preparing to defect to China. The news outlets will see this as their big chance and sensationalize the whole thing.”

So that’s what it was; a trivial concern.

Yoojunseo fidgeted, fearing the media onslaught that would descend upon him, but I, in contrast, was indifferent.

“The media this, the government that, what’s the big deal? We two are heroes who successfully defended Seoul from the last outbreak. What kind of populace would be angry that such heroes took a trip to another country?”

“Hmm… quite a few, I’d wager?”

Yoojunseo showed me his news comment screen, which was pretty much a part of his daily routine.

The comments on an exclusive article by some impudent news outlet were a mixture of worry and anger.

The majority were scathing criticisms of the government, but there was also a fair amount of criticism aimed at us two.

“….”

Indeed.

Koreans, by nature, are a people prone to being rolled up in a mat of public opinion.

And I’ve even crossed over to China, the very country they so despise. If someone like Seo Ye-rin, a devotee of Korean nationalist YouTube channels, knew, she’d probably accuse us of being honorary *zhōngguó rén.*

Truthfully, I don’t give a damn about public opinion or being pointed at, but the problem here isn’t me, it’s the calamities I command. If the media starts tearing me apart, Céléné or Mirien might do something rash. Mirien, after all, has a record of annihilating the leadership of a Daejeon Awakened clan just for badmouthing me. Now that the hard-to-control Karne is added to the mix, it’s better to tread carefully.

“Well, couldn’t we just bring back achievements that even the government and the people can’t ignore?”

“Like what? Are you planning on catching an Actor or something?”

“That’s not exactly possible. So, I’ll start thinking about it from now.”

I was planning on staying in China for a few more days anyway, so I’d mull it over slowly until then.

Just as I was thinking that, Yoo Jun-seo looked around cautiously and leaned his upper body across the table. As if he wanted to tell me something secret.

“What is it now?”

“Ms. Nam Ju-yeon, the thing is… I saw something strange yesterday.”

Yoo Jun-seo began with that.

I listened attentively to Yoo Jun-seo’s words, and when I summarized what he said, it was as follows.

“…So, a 5-Star Calamity tore through the Nest’s Barrier and intruded?”

“Yeah. Mirien of the Northern Sea Storm. That Calamity that’s supposed to be in Korea. She seemed to be looking for a woman. I was wondering if Ms. Nam Ju-yeon knew anything about it.”

“…Hmm. I don’t really know.”

I trailed off.

What Yoo Jun-seo said must be true. After the Nest was deployed, Mirien, in a hurry to join us within the isolated Nest, must have run into Yoo Jun-seo.

“Then this incident is related to the Actor, isn’t it? Huh?”

Detective Yoo Jun-seo asked as if seeking confirmation, but I didn’t answer.

However, after hearing Yoo Jun-seo’s words, I gained a clue of my own.

A way to further strengthen the Awakened Association and our own forces.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I put down the bread I was holding and got up from my seat.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“I’m thinking of visiting the Alliance. They’re probably still celebrating there, right?”

“Probably.”

I nodded and, before leaving the building, turned to Yoo Jun-seo.

“By the way, isn’t the Association President attending the celebration?”

“Huh? Why would he go to a cockroach nest?”

He remained steadfast.

*

League Master Lei Hu of the Chinese Awakened extended me the utmost courtesy. His cheeks were flushed a touch, as if he’d cracked open a bottle of Mao-tai he’d stashed away for a special occasion just to celebrate.

“What is it you require?”

Lao Ying inquired, and I began to speak, offering him a subtle glance.

“From this moment forward, I shall speak of matters…rather grounded in reality.”

“Realistic?”

“Though we miraculously repelled the Calamities this once, their horde still circles the outskirts of Beijing.”

This was a fabrication.

Since Karne joined my stronghold, the throngs under her command have all scattered. Though they remain dangerous, they no longer coalesce into a swarm large enough to topple an entire city.

However, having experienced the might of the Calamity horde firsthand, Lei Hu’s expression darkened upon hearing my words.

“Moreover, I hear that countless Calamities are emerging throughout China. For instance, there are already more than six Rank 4 Calamities running rampant across the mainland. If another Eruption were to occur, that number would surely double.”

This was the truth.

China’s landmass far exceeds ours in comparison. The scale of the Eruptions is proportional; thus, the next Eruption will inevitably unleash millions of Calamities.

“When that time arrives, the Chinese Awakened League will never be able to defend Beijing. Not only Beijing, but other Chinese cities will meet their end.”

My words were akin to a death sentence.

“…Dragon Lord, what is it you wish to convey?”

Lei Hu asked cautiously.

I broached the main point.

“Come to Korea. Bring the entire Awakened League with you.”

“…You are suggesting emigration?”

“There are still many people in Beijing. To abandon them…”

“That is the Party’s concern. With the Party having already cut off all support, there’s no need for the League to fulfill its obligations.”

According to Lao Ying, the Party’s upper echelons had already abandoned the populace, constructing a massive bomb shelter, somewhere in Russia, and evacuating there.

The Awakened within the League, having determined that survival was no longer feasible with the support cut off, had already scattered.

“It’s a miracle you’ve managed to hold out this long under such dire circumstances. No one can fault you, League Master.”

“….”

“To remain is a dog’s death. If you wish to establish a new China…a *Xin Xin* China…you must preserve your life, first.”

I pressed my advantage, continuing to persuade him.

However, Lei-hu was a *dage* rare in this era, a true Chinese elder brother. With a solemn face, he shook his head, though a hint of hesitation he couldn’t quite conceal clung to the gesture.

And no wonder; the fall of Beijing was practically a foregone conclusion.

Playing symphonies on the sinking Titanic wasn’t the only way to celebrate humanity.

“If you come to Korea, the Association will treat you as invaluable assets. Unlike the Party, we do not abandon Awakened ones.”

“…”

“Think it over carefully. You have about a week left.”

Of course, I didn’t expect Lei-hu to agree on that alone. It was, after all, practically telling him to abandon his people and flee.

So, I had prepared a rather elaborate show to persuade him.

He should be arriving soon.

*Bang!*

The door burst open, a member of the Alliance, breathless, rushing in. He shouted something in Chinese, and Lei-hu, upon hearing it, stiffened, leaping to his feet.

“H-Hebei Province… a Five-Star Calamity has appeared?”

The report that followed included a photograph of a woman with hair the color of deep-sea indigo. Small of frame, she floated amongst storm clouds, her fur-trimmed mantle billowing around her.

What more needed to be said?

It was Mirien, the Storm of the Northern Seas.

Lei-hu’s expression darkened further, as if he’d already heard rumors of sightings from Yoo Jun-seo…

[5★ Mirien, the Storm of the Northern Seas, casts Skill 「Thunderstorm」.]

A torrential rain began to lash across Beijing. Lightning bolts struck everywhere with a frenzied abandon, creating the illusion that the end of the world had arrived.

The Chinese Awakened Alliance couldn’t help but understand, with a chilling clarity, what this storm meant.

A lamp flickering in the wind.

Could there be a situation where that proverb fit so perfectly?

“Ah…”

“Ah?”

And Lei-hu, the leader of the Awakened Alliance, was a man possessed of a fiercely narrow sense of justice.

“Brother!”

“…Elder Brother!”

We, according to *guanxi* culture, not under a peach tree but under a thunderstorm, swore brotherhood.

That evening, the chartered plane returning to Korea carried one more passenger.

A few days later, members of the Alliance filled passenger ferries to bursting, crossing the Yellow Sea in droves.

21st Century Incheon Landing.