#148
“It’s a bit awkward to say this, but… wouldn’t the addition of a high-ranking guide not be particularly beneficial for Ray?”
Competition for one’s own turf was common in any profession. As an S-rank guide, Ray probably never had to think about this issue, but if I, an unranked guide, were to naturalize and become an American guide, I would constantly be compared to him. While Ray wouldn’t lose the privileges he enjoyed as an S-rank, it was obvious that a lot of attention would shift to me.
If I had to say, Ray seemed more interested in me than Liam. If it were an Esper showing interest in me, I would have understood. Even I thought there would be an abundance of Espers who would want to do a matching test with me and form a pair.
It didn’t seem like Ray had any personal fondness for me either. If he did, he wouldn’t have made that threatening comment about recording everything I said.
Is Nine still controlling him? But that didn’t seem likely since Nine probably wouldn’t send me to a foreign country.
‘Wait. If they know Ray and Liam helped me escape… why aren’t they controlling them again?’
Maybe Nine needs certain conditions to control someone? Like a cooldown period, or they can only control specific types of people, or perhaps they can’t control the same person twice.
The last case would be ideal, but anyway, it was fortunate that I had bought some time. It was really reckless of me to run to Ray for help without considering that Nine might control him again.
“Ray, Lee Jaeha is wondering why you’re so interested in his naturalization.”
“Why? Because the number of Awakened in America is too low. After calming down from the excitement of receiving the ‘revelation’, I thought about it. I wondered if there was a real need to bring him here… but America really needs more Awakened. Hani hasn’t formed a pair yet, right? If he just maintains this state and works as a free guide, many Espers will become interested in America. If he wants, it’s fine even if he does a matching test with Liam and comes with him.”
“Um… Guide Lee Jaeha. Ray thinks America needs more Awakened. So, not exactly as bait… but, he thinks if Guide Lee Jaeha comes, there’s a possibility that more Awakened will come to America.”
As I listened to Ray’s explanation, I gained new information. First, the ‘revelation’ seemed to be Nine’s control, and given that it had subsided, it was clear that Nine’s control played a temporary role.
After that, it seemed he had rationalized why he had such thoughts, but it was a bit different from what I expected. I thought it was obvious that Ray would dislike the attention shifting to me, but surprisingly, he was speaking more in terms of public interest.
“Is there a shortage of Awakened in America?”
When I asked out of pure curiosity, Nikki nodded.
“Yes. In fact, considering the population and land ratio, it’s extremely low. Korea is unusually abundant. Korea has a separate Awakened Management Center, right? A private center created by Awakened themselves. That’s unique to Korea. Usually, because the number of Awakened is small, the government manages them.”
Is the abundance of Awakened in Korea because the novel is set in Korea?
Suddenly, I remembered how desperately I was sought after overseas. I thought it was just because I was an unranked guide, but maybe there were more complicated circumstances.
“In any case… that’s why people’s living areas are gradually shrinking. We’re barely managing the dungeons. It’s a bit awkward to say this, but… Ray once lost a friend due to a dungeon break… so I think that’s why he wanted Guide Lee Jaeha to come.”
Hearing that, I could understand a bit, but at the same time, I found another puzzling aspect.
‘Was this content also planned to be in the novel? The world-building seems more intricate than I thought.’
The world-building and character settings seemed too meticulous and dense to have been created by an incompetent writer. It seemed beyond the capabilities of the writer I had experienced so far. Was it a type that was good at setting up the world but lacked the skill to write it out?
“Anyway, think about it carefully.”
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Ray, seemingly having lost interest, took Nikki and left the room.
Left alone, I absently noticed articles about Hyun Dowoon’s retirement announcement continuing to pop up.
‘Is he really quitting as the center director…?’
Because of me?
Did I cause such a big incident?
“Well… I did do something trashy.”
I went into a cave alone while in a relationship.
But they did something they shouldn’t have done to me too!
In my mind, thoughts kept oscillating between whether I had gone too far or if this was just the result of what the two of them had done.
Do I want to break up with them?
Thinking about it made my heart ache. Judging by how upset I was at Hyun Dowoon’s announcement, it seemed I still loved them. However, the fact that I didn’t want to go back suggested that I wasn’t ready to forgive them either.
I thought that maybe I should contemplate in this isolated state, but somehow I couldn’t focus properly. Above all, there was anxiety about not knowing when Nine might control Ray again, and I was also overwhelmed by how big the incident I caused had become.
‘For now, it’s time to act rather than worry.’
I saw the wine glass that Ray had carelessly left on the table before leaving. I understood the situation in America, but… I couldn’t naturalize.
It might be selfish, but if I wasn’t going to be by their side, I wanted to find a way back to my original world somehow. To do that, I needed to leave this house somehow.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the photos of Hyun Dowoon and Shin Haejun, barely holding back the urge to cry, and then searched for information about Ray and Liam. I thought there might be some information about this place.
Unknown Facts About Raymond & Liam
Hello! This is blogger Sodami!
Today, we’ll be looking into the famous American S-rank Awakened pair, Raymond and Liam!
Aren’t they incredibly good-looking? They’re also amazingly strong and famous for being born with silver spoons!
Their matching rate is about 85.6%, which is typical for an S-rank pair!
The real estate they jointly own after forming their pair is astounding~ They’ve publicly disclosed about 6 properties, and the rest are private! I wonder how many they actually have~
The two have been paired for about 3 years! It’s not known where they first met, but I’m sure it was a fateful encounter!
I’ll be back with another great post next time! Bye!
[Question] How can I marry Liam?
I’m serious
I’m a 17-year-old high school student and I’m told I’m pretty cute
└If you’re going to troll, at least put some effort into it
[Scrap] Interiors of mansions where real American rich people live
(Photo)
(Photo)
.
.
.
Interior reference scrap
More than half of these are said to be Liam Miller’s houses
None of this was helpful. Whether it’s reality or the world in the novel, blogs are useless. I closed the laptop, feeling this anew.
Then, a sudden thought made me hurriedly open the laptop again.
‘That tree!’
The tree beyond the window in the photo caught my eye.
Before going down to the basement from the first floor, I had briefly seen a topiary tree shaped like a person in the garden, and it looked exactly the same!
‘Could it be…?’
I quickly saved the photo. Then, using that photo to do an image search, I saw the same photos among text full of English.
Stumbling through the English, I read that it was one of Liam’s mansions.
‘This is the place.’
Somehow, I managed to find the address by surfing through the pages. I tried hard to memorize it, at least to know where I was if I managed to escape.
When I checked the location on the map, I saw it was near the seaside. Looking at the map closely, I realized the mansion was so big that I’d have to go incredibly far to meet any neighbors. I couldn’t go to the airport without a passport, but I still checked where the airport was, captured the entire city map, saved it as an image file, and then closed the laptop.
If I had a phone, I could have simply taken a picture and escaped, but as things were, I had to escape with the laptop. I felt a bit sorry for Ray and Liam who had helped me, provided a house, and even given me a laptop, but I had no choice. I wasn’t confident I could memorize this entire map.
‘I need to seize an opportunity quickly.’
I looked around the room, but couldn’t see any good solution.
There didn’t seem to be any visible CCTV, but just in case, I tried not to act too suspiciously. Trying not to look at corners of the ceiling, I examined the fixtures on the walls and things like vents, but I still didn’t think I could get out.
I’d seen scenes in movies where people quickly climb into vents and escape through exhaust passages, but no matter how I looked at it, I didn’t think I could pull it off.
‘I’ll have to aim for a walk.’
Once I get to the garden, it should be easier than escaping from the room.
***
However, I had to stay cooped up in the room for several days. I kept getting the same answer that it was too dangerous to risk being detected. Ray visited once a day to ask if I had changed my mind, adding to the pressure.
I couldn’t just let time pass like this. I stood in front of Ray, who had come to ask today’s question, clenching my fists.
“When can I go out?”
“Ray, Guide Lee Jaeha is asking when he can go outside…”
Nikki relayed my words to Ray.
“It’s dangerous right now…”
“Look, you said you’d let me take dawn walks, but I’ve been confined here all this time. If you can’t keep even this basic promise, how can I trust you and naturalize?”
I asked with a stern face, and Nikki carefully interpreted. Ray looked at me with a momentarily bewildered expression after hearing my words.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
