The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 107



107 – Rules are meant to be broken!

107 – Rules are meant to be broken!

“The consciousness of Main Nam Woo-joo is unknown, but all vitality indicators are normal.”

“Since we can now study a living Main, this operation can be considered a great success.”

“First, we plan to research ways to subdue the rampaging concept or extract it without endangering life.”

While the researchers in white coats were chattering, Baek Yeoul clenched his fist as he looked at Nam Woo-joo beyond the reinforced acrylic.

It was purely a good thing that her cousin brother returned safely to people, but as a result, she ended up losing Han Nam-jin.

“The boy who became a legend, Han Nam-jin”

From noble mtl dot com

“Aim high and splendidly─!”

The title of the commemorative documentary that aired on the public broadcasting station yesterday came to mind.

It was about highlighting how short and intense a boy’s life was and commemorating him.

However, Baek Yeoul didn’t like the content.

Because it felt like a story that honored a dead person.

‘Han Namjin is not some kind of legend!’

Baek Yeoul thought that Han Namjin was not dead.

He was a friend who always showed amazing solutions to many problems, surprising everyone.

Maybe, if he went to his house now, he might greet him as if nothing had happened.

So he hurriedly turned his steps towards the old house where Han Namjin lived.

And Baek Yeoul was surprised.

Under the scorching summer sun, countless flowers were blooming.

「Missing you─.」

「To the beautiful one.」

They were flowers that people had come and placed.

The alley leading to Han Namjin’s house was filled with such flowers, making it look like an untimely spring had arrived.

When he passed through the alley buzzing with bees and entered the yard, Baek Yeoul couldn’t help but feel a rising loneliness as he looked at the empty flower bed.

“Han Namjin!”

He shouted, but there was no answer.

At that moment, Baek Yeoul saw a small sprout rising from the tidy flower bed.

“…It’s a monkshood sprout!”

It was clear that the seeds Baek Yeoul had given to Hanamjin had sprouted.

Upon closer inspection, new shoots of monkshood, stonecrop, and poppies were struggling to push through the soil in the flower bed.

Someday, they would bloom beautifully.

Would Hanamjin be able to see it?

Baek Yeoul thought that this time, it was her turn to step forward.

“Yeoul-ah….”

“So you were here after all!”

At that moment, someone called out to Baek Yeoul.

Turning her head, she saw Oh Deokhee and Choi Changshik entering the yard, looking quite dependable.

“You guys! What brings you here!”

“We thought… you might be here….”

“We couldn’t just sit still.”

Choi Changshik, Oh Deokhee, and Baek Yeoul.

They looked into each other’s eyes, feeling as if they knew what the others were thinking without saying a word.

Team. Colleagues. Friends. That’s what they were.

“Yeoul, I must tell you in advance, entering the Great Labyrinth is forbidden.”

“I know. But! If it were Hanamjin, he wouldn’t have cared. Hanamjin said! Rules are meant to be broken!”

“He didn’t say that….”

“I know! But if Hanamjin were here, he would have definitely said that!”

Baek Yeoul was determined to rescue Han Namjin.

Oh Deokhee and Choi Changshik felt the same way.

“He… he helped me a lot…”

“He was the only one who praised my abilities after hearing about them. But entering the Great Labyrinth is strictly forbidden, so it’s not easy to get in. What should we do…”

Oh Deokhee thought of those who entered the Great Labyrinth through illegal means.

Unregistered Awakeners.

Those known as “Villainers” somehow managed to enter the Great Labyrinth and secretly sold the resources they obtained inside on the black market.

“If we contact the ‘Villainers’…”

The problem was that contacting unregistered Awakeners was a clear violation of the rules.

But for Team “No Leftovers Day,” rules were not an issue.

“…I’m going too.”

Creak-.

Someone approached, crossing the iron gate.

Baek Yeoul’s hair stood on end as he saw the figure.

“You…! Who…?”

“It’s Wang Jahyun. Can’t you recognize me just because I’m wearing an eye patch?”

Since being discharged, Wang Jahyun of Class F had been keeping an eye on Team “No Leftovers Day.” He suspected that those influenced by Han Namjin would carry out a reckless plan to enter the forbidden Great Labyrinth.

“I will rescue Han Namjin. Do you think I’ll let him be worshipped like a mythical figure? If I rescue him, the world will know that I’m greater than him.”

Baek Yeoul, Choi Changshik, and Oh Deokhee looked at each other’s faces.

It was surprising that Wang Jahyun, the golden spoon of Class F, would offer to help them.

“Jahyeon Wang! You’re surprisingly a good guy!”

“I didn’t know you had such loyalty!”

“…I thought you were just a spoiled rich kid…”

“These guys…”

# # #

“I hope Bbangdaeng and the others don’t overdo it trying to save me.”

Quite some time had passed since I drifted into the Fairy Forest. The time in the forest flowed erratically, making it difficult to discern the exact duration, but it must have been at least three days.

There was still no sign of rescue.

The authorities might have given up, thinking I was dead.

Seeing that no awakened ones were entering the Great Labyrinth, it was clear that access to the labyrinth had been prohibited.

But Bbangdaeng and the others would surely not follow such rules obediently.

They might be running around wildly, saying they would come to save me.

“Muhuhu, you must be very close with those friends called Bbangdaeng…! Coming to the Fairy Forest, where terrifying rats lurk, requires great courage…!”

“That’s true.”

Even if they were my friends, they wouldn’t be willing to risk their lives for me.

It seemed unlikely that they would come to save me.

“Even Bao Noi had a friend…! His name was Ino Noi…! They fought every day and didn’t get along well… But in this situation, I miss him…!”

Ino Noi.

Bao Noi.

It seems that naming with ‘~~Noi’ is a trend among fairies.

“There is a secret entrance to the Great Labyrinth at the very bottom of this pond…! But the water is murky and polluted, making it difficult to approach easily…!”

At the spot where Baonoi pointed, a pond as black as ink was bubbling and boiling.

Wouldn’t the water look just like that if it were contaminated with thick tar and nicotine?

It was both horrifying and familiar at the same time.

“The water is polluted because of the ‘Black Rain,’ right?”

“Of course…! The fairies and the flora and fauna suffered because of the Black Rain that started falling from the sky…! From small streams to large creeks and lakes, everything got polluted…!”

It happened when darkness covered the sky.

The ‘Black Rain’ scattered by the dark clouds easily contaminated the soil and water.

Already scarce water and resources due to the zombie crisis became even more scarce, leading to numerous conflicts and disputes.

The world of the fairies was no different.

“I can’t go in there.”

Even I wasn’t reckless enough to dive into a pond polluted by the Black Rain.

It was when I thought it would be better to find another way.

━Zing Zing Zing.

Yingying, who had been sitting quietly on my shoulder, started to move its body gently.

And then, it plunged into the black pond with a splash!

Swoosh-.

Yingying absorbed the pond water like a sponge!

I was horrified as I watched.

“Yingying, you crazy b*stard! How thirsty were you? You’ll die if you drink that!”

No matter how thirsty you are, you can’t drink seawater. But strangely enough, Ing-Ing seemed unfazed.

Instead, the pond water noticeably decreased until the bottom was visible.

━Gyuiing.

To think that all that massive water could fit into a cloud the size of a soccer ball.

I don’t know where the law of conservation of mass went.

“No matter how resistant a monster is to pollution, drinking black water must have been extremely painful…! Yet, to think it absorbed all the black water, it’s truly remarkable…!”

Even for Ing-Ing, who loves to eat, drinking black water must have been a horrific ordeal.

Ing-Ing is particularly a gourmet, to the point of getting angry if the right amount of ketchup isn’t added when cooking ramen.

Yet, it drank all the black water.

Was it helping me?

“Whatever it is, look at that entrance…! That is the sluice gate leading to the underground labyrinth…! If you crawl, you can enter inside…!”

It was an underground waterway connected to the pond.

A large pipe passage just wide enough for a person to walk through.

“You mean to go in there?”

But Baonoi hesitated to step in.

“Why?”

“Only fairies chosen by the Fairy King can enter the labyrinth…! I, Baonoi, am just an ordinary nymph of the ditch water…. Entering the labyrinth goes against the rules and regulations…!”

Even though the fairy kingdom has fallen and you’re left alone, you still talk about rules.

Should I call it loyalty or foolishness?

Baonoi is my local helper.

It seems like it would be best to take him along.

Let’s persuade him!

“Poobao! Rules are meant to be broken! You said you wanted to meet your friend Inonoi, right? Maybe Inonoi is inside that Great Labyrinth. Wouldn’t it be a shame to turn back now?”

“What is Poobao? I am Baonoi…! But the idea that Inonoi might be inside the Great Labyrinth is very intriguing….”

Baonoi seemed to hesitate.

Finally, he shouted as if he had made up his mind.

“Indeed, the Fairy Kingdom has already fallen…! There is no need to follow the rules of a fallen kingdom…! It’s been a long time, so the ‘Red King,’ the guardian of the rules, must be dead too…!”

Clack, clack, clack, clack-.

We walked through the pipe passage like that.

How long did we walk like that?

As we walked through the dark and quiet passage, we found something like a window open below.

You could say it was a vent where spies might come and go.

But it was completely shrouded in darkness below, so we couldn’t go down.

“Let’s go a little further.”

It was after we walked a bit more.

A room not shrouded in darkness appeared below the vent hole.

“Finally!”

“If we go down here, we can surely enter the Great Labyrinth…!”

I thought so too.

So, when I gently jumped down below the vent.

“This space….”

It feels somewhat familiar?

As I shone the light from my phone, Yoo Yeoreum suddenly frowned.

“Move it away. It’s blinding.”

“Yoo Yeoreum!”

I never thought I’d be so glad to see Yoo Yeoreum!

This is the “grocery storage”!

I wanted to hug Yoo Yeoreum tightly and kiss her cheek out of joy.

“Come here-!”

“No. You smell like sweat.”

But Yoo Yeoreum blocked my face with her palm and desperately resisted the kiss.

Her strength was so great that even I couldn’t manage to kiss her.

“And boys and girls shouldn’t kiss each other carelessly.”

She had a point.

But I wasn’t one to give up.

I licked Yoo Yeoreum’s palm with my tongue, enjoying the sweet candy taste.

“Ah, gross, where are you licking!”

Yoo Yeoreum, thanks to her concept of “modesty,” was having a fit.

Like the sound of a boiling kettle, Yoo Yeoreum.

“Get lost!”

Thud-! Thud thud thud-!

As my face was repeatedly struck by his palm, I thought.

If Yoo Yeoreum possessed the “light,” escaping this dark labyrinth wouldn’t be a problem.

The adventure story of Yoo Yeoreum, Han Namjin, Fubao, and Yingying!

It starts right now!