Hermit Wizard

The Master of Vigilance (7)

Yusu and I approached the Channel hidden away from the South Korean soldiers and checked it. And he nodded, looking through my barriers surrounding the Channel.

“It’s great. I have confirmed that even a Spirit Beast, who has studied the art of barriers for more than hundreds of years, cannot break this seal. Well, it would be absolutely impossible with physical force.”

…It seems that he saw my concealment on the barrier. Again, his level was high. We quietly withdrew from the area near the Channel and returned to Han River Park beyond the barricade, which was quite far away. Mrs. Pearl and Garam were here.

When we arrived at their place, Yusu and I sat on the bench. I saw the Han River Park, not an isolated area, but filled with empty scenery, unlike what I saw on TV before. There wasn’t a single mat on the lawn. One or two people stood out, but they walked somewhere at high speed instead of sitting and resting. It seemed like they didn’t want to stay here long.

“I will finish by telling you what I was about to say, Master Yoon.”

“Yes. But…will the talk be longer?”

I asked, glancing at Mrs. Pearl, who was lying down on a park bench after fainting, and Garam sitting next to her after a long period of dry nausea. By looking at their condition, I could see how fast the pilot was during the flight. Whether they had little experience of flying in the White Deer village or had never flown this high, it seemed to have been a very intense flight for the two.

“I don’t have much time either, so I’ll tell you as soon as possible.”

He spoke with a serious look.

“We hope that you will continue to maintain this barrier.”

As expected. I had no intention of removing it anyway? …I didn’t say it but waited for him to continue. Looking back on what he said at my house, I think I already guessed it.

“I heard that the reason you made the barrier is that it essentially prevents the grotesque things beyond the crack from crossing over. I think this is an action to protect the lives of our fellow human beings.”

“…”

“And a complete blockage of the crack is also what we want. We can’t leave the danger in the front yard of our new village. And again, we’re not asking for it with our words alone.”

He coughed.

“But it’s a little weird.”

I looked away.

“If I change my mind and break the barrier, can’t you guys make it yourself? Apparently, you can use that kind of magic already.”

I remembered the barrier of the bonfire that Mrs. Pearl unfolded a few days ago. Yusu nodded and answered.

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“As I hear from Garam that besides the barriers I have identified now, there are strong barriers in the world over there that prevent the grotesque inhabitants approaching. But we have no knowledge of barriers that can work in another world. And to give a more practical reason, this is already a good barrier, but I think it’s inefficient for us to create new ones.”

In fact, that was probably the biggest reason—sticking to the hard work of others.

“The elders also said that if we can trust you, it is right for us to provide support and cooperation instead of only benefiting from this barrier.”

“Then, I need to ask a few more questions.”

“Tell me.”

I threw out the questions I had been holding.

“You said that you could trust me, didn’t you…? Why would you suddenly trust me? Will all of that be solved after checking the barrier with your own eyes?”

It was rather suspicious because they suddenly came out like that. Moreover, I already knew that Garam and Mrs. Pearl were monitoring me because they weren’t sure about my identity.

“Why do you believe that I will be so good-hearted to keep the barrier?”

They didn’t even doubt me. In the end, what if I suddenly got rid of the barrier after the migration was over? What if I just take what they offered and ran away?

“No, why do you ask me that?”

Yusu’s eyes widened.

“Master Yoon, you are strong. But don’t you use that strong power only to protect humans on this Earth? Considering your action, how will you do anything that will harm humans for trivial reasons?”

…What?

“I don’t think Mrs. Pearl and Garam have a good grasp of your true power yet. But I am different. As far as I can see, your power is enough to establish a great nation and govern humanity if you wanted to.”

It seemed that he was looking down on human civilization. I’m not that much…only then did Garam, who was sitting on the ground, raise his head to look at Yusu.

“…You mean he has that much power, Brother Yu?”

Yusu nodded and continued with his gaze fixed on me.

“It is presumed that among the ancient human wizards heard from the elders, there was none like you. But at that time, even those who couldn’t even reach their feet, the first thing they did was conquer and trample other humans. But you are different, Master Yoon.”

“…”

“Instead of using the power to control humans, you are using it to create a barrier to protect powerless humans here.”

No, well, in the end, it was true, but I think the motivation…was a bit exaggerated.

“Your actions are already proving that you care about your fellow people.”

Um… this was somehow a little…

[Hey, it’s embarrassing for me to listen to. Actually, you’re not interested in justice or anything, and the barrier just happens to be there because it’s easy to recycle the barriers that were there. The reason for blocking the Channel is only 90% personal safety and avoiding anything annoying. Would they believe me if I told them now that you’re stuck in your house without any motivation and thought that everything’s annoying?]

I quietly glanced at Parvache, who was being overly sarcastic. I could see what Yusu was thinking. However, not all questions had disappeared.

“It’s still weird. If you think so, why would you help me? You said you’re sure I’ll keep the barriers, whether your people interfere or not, didn’t you?”

“Then it means that we, who are not the same race, will benefit without any sign of our sincerity. When we start moving, we cannot escape from your eyes. However, over time you may feel dissatisfied with us. That’s why I want to help you strengthen your motivation and will – in exchange for proper compensation. We don’t want to get on the bad side of someone like you.”

Where on Earth were they trying to move to?

“And…”

“And?”

“In the case of non-trivial reason, that means I want to be prepared in case your cause and the protection of my people cannot be combined.”

“…What do you mean?”

Yusu said calmly.

“I think it could happen that you abandon compassion and think not to protect human beings in this country. For example, what if the humans of this land came together to oppress you? Or what if you were trying to do something so terrible that you couldn’t even imagine it right now? In the meantime, would you want to maintain that barrier?”

Could that…happen?

“What we hope is that, even if that happens, you will maintain this barrier based on our support.”

In my head, I repeated what Yusu had said so far. I didn’t think I could bear any malice strong enough to oppose keeping this barrier up. Were they trying to take advantage of me? However, as he mentioned, it was a barrier to maintain anyway. If I took the reasonable price for it, we would use each other. Crucially, it was unlikely that I would have any reason to break this barrier myself. Could it be that I had to fight all of humanity? Ridiculous.

I asked, summarizing my thoughts so far.

“…Then, finally, what does support and cooperation mean specifically…?”

At that time, Garam interrupted me and raised his voice sharply.

“Brother Yu! There’s still one thing I’m not sure about. I understand that this person has a stronger power than Mrs. Pearl and me. But it’s unclear how humans got that power! With that level of strength, he must have built it before the Dragon disappeared.”

The little boy continued to talk.

“Isn’t it suspicious that a human born in the age of Dragon had an unattainable power? To dismiss it simply just because he learned it from an old person…!”

“It’s not just an old person.”

Yusu stopped Garam. And he spoke, looking at Parvache.

“…As I said, the soul of an elderly person is so faint that it wouldn’t have been easy for a child like me to grasp its identity. Please forgive my rudeness.”

I felt it before, but there was a strange sense of speech in that guy’s words.

[…You, what do you know?]

To Parvache’s question, Yusu responded with an almost invisible smile.

“I know nothing about the rest of the world, but you are probably a writer of scriptures that this world hasn’t yet written down.”

“…”

“I understand that you are touching the bookmarks of the scriptures without the last chapter. You are the one who stands at the end of the history of some world, a sculpture of myth.”

“…What do you mean, Brother Yu? What is a sculpture of myth? Do you mean that old man is a god?”

“Don’t say anything disrespectful. No matter how much you are not interested in worshiping God, how dare you say that? Of course not. It’s just something like that, so don’t be rude anymore and be quiet.”

After shutting Garam’s mouth like that, Yusu looked at me.

“Well… why don’t we talk about what kind of support and cooperation will be available? I’ll give you a summary because I don’t have much time.”

After that, Yusu laid out some conditions that he had prepared for me, and Garam’s face was distorted with suspicion. A look as if trying to say, “Why is he giving him so much?” Pretending to grapple with it for a long time on the outside, I exchanged telepathy with Parvache at high speed. After some time, Yusu and I concluded the initial negotiations.

And I turned to Yusu as if I suddenly remembered it.

“Oh, but I want to add one thing.”

“Tell me, Master.”

“Isn’t it impossible to talk and make a promise for such a long time? We need the power to make it work, anyway.”

“You persistently focus on the trust issue. Do you have any idea how?”

“Yes, I know a technique and magic that can be useful in this case.”

I looked into his eyes.

“All of this… why don’t we leave it as a contract?”

If you can’t give them complete trust, let’s bind each other with magical coercion. Yusu looked slightly suspicious and tilted his head for a moment, but his worries weren’t long.

He nodded, and I smiled.