Chapter 25. Result of the Subjugation (2)
Even the next day, the excitement had not died down.
The Count even came to see me personally and brought up what had happened.
“It’s become quite a hot topic.”
With an amused voice, the Count told me about the reactions around him.
“Quite a few people contacted me asking for even the smallest bit of information if I knew anything.”
“So, did you tell them?”
“No. That wouldn’t be any fun.”
“I appreciate that.”
“There were a few other Constellations besides me watching when Kang Yujin escaped the facility... but since they’re still staying quiet, it should be fine.”
When Kang Yujin escaped the facility, he had looked absolutely filthy.
It would be difficult for anyone to realize that the clean-looking man currently appearing everywhere was the same person.
“There are plenty of Constellations like me who don’t easily spread the information they know. So Kang Yujin’s identity will probably remain a mystery for a while.”
“Still, it’ll probably be revealed soon enough.”
“Are you planning to decide for yourself when his identity becomes public?”
“Who knows? It’s not like I can control everything.”
“Hehe, I see.”
The Count smiled as he looked at me.
“A lot of Constellations are paying attention to Kang Yujin now. But you should also keep in mind that people will start trying to keep him in check sooner or later.”
“Keep him in check...”
“For now, Kang Yujin has cooperated with the Black Dragon Society. That alone could make Constellations who dislike the Black Dragon Society feel hostile toward him, but...”
“Since he defeated Baphomet, I don’t think it’ll necessarily turn out that way.”
“Exactly. That was quite clever.”
If Kang Yujin had simply helped the Black Dragon Society and openly cooperated with Pandemonium’s demons, his image probably would not have been very good.
However, Kang Yujin had shown himself defeating Baphomet, a demon.
It was true that Baphomet had betrayed Pandemonium, but from the outside, Kang Yujin had still appeared to be a righteous man defeating an evil demon.
“Because of that, you probably don’t need to worry about Constellations of absolute good trying to oppose Kang Yujin.”
“Then... I guess there’s something else I should worry about.”
“Right. Someone who stands out too much can earn other people’s hatred simply by existing.”
If Kang Yujin continued doing well, there could easily be beings who disliked him for that reason alone.
“You need to remember that some Constellations may move their own Contractors to crush Kang Yujin.”
“From my perspective, that’s not exactly bad news. If something like that happens, we can turn it into content too.”
“I look forward to it.”
The Count nodded with a smile.
“But remember, this applies to you as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m saying that some Constellations might develop hostility toward you instead of Kang Yujin.”
“...”
“Nameless, you definitely stand out. If you continue moving forward like this, your very existence will eventually cause a huge disturbance.”
As he said that, the Count lightly placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m already looking forward to seeing what kind of person you’ll become in the middle of all that.”
The day after Baphomet was defeated.
Kang Yujin and Seok Taejun had been resting and waiting when Ma Taesu came to see them.
“I’m sorry, but I have some bad news.”
“Bad news?”
Seok Taejun, who had been petting the Chimera, looked confused.
Kang Yujin remained silent and stared at Ma Taesu.
“You were planning to use the railway to reach the metropolitan area, right?”
“Yes, we were.”
“Yesterday... while we were fighting Baphomet, an accident happened.”
“An accident? What kind of...”
“A conflict between Contractors caused a train accident. Apparently, the train overturned across the tracks and is still burning. Fighting is still going on around that area too. No one knows when the railway will be restored.”
“...!”
“So it would be better to give up on using the railway to reach the metropolitan area.”
“How could something like that...”
Seok Taejun turned toward Kang Yujin with a stiff expression.
“Kang Yujin, what do we do?”
“What do you mean?”
Kang Yujin answered calmly.
“He said we should give up on going to the metropolitan area by railway.”
“Then...”
“We’ll find another way.”
“Ah. So you’re not giving up on going to the metropolitan area.”
“That was the plan from the beginning.”
“You really are an unwavering man.”
Ma Taesu chuckled.
“If you can’t use the railway, it would be best to move along the roads. Since you need to avoid Pandemonium’s territory, you should head north along the old expressway toward Cheonan.”
“Cheonan...”
Cheonan.
The moment Kang Yujin heard that name, he remembered what the priest who had been with Baphomet had said.
Baek Yunho... He said Baek Yunho was at a place called the Central Temple in Cheonan.
While he was thinking about that, Seok Taejun cautiously spoke.
“Could you provide us with some other kind of transportation?”
“Considering that you helped us subjugate Baphomet, I could provide a vehicle... but it’s a bit troublesome.”
“Is there some kind of problem?”
“Let me make this clear first. It’s not because I don’t want to spare one. It’s true that fuel for cars is difficult to obtain these days, but the Black Dragon Society has stored quite a large amount.”
“Then...”
“First, you need to understand the current situation in the central-western region of Korea.”
Ma Taesu stood up and walked toward a map hanging on the wall.
“This central-western region, which used to be called Chungcheongnam-do, is currently in considerable chaos.”
“Chaos...?”
“Various small and medium-sized factions are mixed together and constantly fighting. The Black Dragon Society and the White Banner Order are trying to bring those smaller factions under control, but to be honest, it isn’t going very well.”
“Then I guess the train accident was also caused by a fight between those smaller factions.”
“Correct.”
Ma Taesu pointed at the map.
“If you move toward Cheonan in order to reach the metropolitan area, you’ll definitely run into people looking for trouble.”
“Can’t we just avoid them?”
“After this world merged with the Grand Realm of Fantasy, the changes in terrain made transportation through this region extremely inconvenient. The major roads have already been occupied by the smaller factions. Your only other option would be to pass through territories inhabited by dangerous monsters.”
“Hmm...”
“And you should watch out for the White Banner Order too.”
“Ah, because Kang Yujin fought them before...”
“That too, but Baphomet’s subjugation also has something to do with it.”
“What?”
“Actually, I wanted to keep the Baphomet subjugation as secret as possible. Pandemonium wanted the same thing. But somehow, a Constellation turned the Baphomet subjugation into an Event, and a large number of Constellations watched it.”
As he said that, Ma Taesu looked at Kang Yujin.
“Through those Constellations, information about you may already have reached the White Banner Order.”
“That I sided with the Black Dragon Society?”
“There’s a good chance the White Banner Order already sees you as a member of the Black Dragon Society.”
Ma Taesu continued with a smile.
“There are too many obstacles between you and the metropolitan area. From our side, it’s difficult to simply hand you one vehicle and say, ‘Here, go ahead on your own.’”
“I’d be fine with that.”
“I can’t do that.”
“So what exactly are you suggesting? I’d rather you just say it instead of dragging things out.”
When Kang Yujin said that, Ma Taesu pointed at the map again.
“This thick line on the map... It’s the expressway that used to be called the Nonsan-Cheonan Expressway. Fortunately, it wasn’t affected much by the terrain changes. Several factions currently occupy parts of it, so we can’t use it freely. But if we can secure the right to use this expressway, moving from the central-western region to the metropolitan area will become much easier.”
“...”
“As the Black Dragon Society executive responsible for this region, one of my goals is to repair this expressway and secure control over it.”
“I get the idea.”
Kang Yujin nodded.
“You want us to help you secure the expressway.”
