NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34
034 – Do You Like an Honest Sister?
「Name: Seed – Ring
A ring that the fairy king of the Great Labyrinth tried to hide until the last moment. It rarely reveals itself.
Ownership: View in detail ☜
《???》- Your emotional level is insufficient to pry into this.
《Deception Lv.2》- It is secretive like a clown. It adds a bit of chaos to the owner’s words and actions.」
A transparent ring caught in my hand.
Was it because of the concept of “Deception”? It was such a mysterious item, so transparent that it was almost invisible.
Although I was curious about the unverified concept 《???》—
With this, it seems like I could survive a sudden secret interrogation from a police sister.
Having been crushed under a butt and coins spilled from a jar, my misfortune has turned into fortune!
Now, shall I slowly head out?
Just as I was about to leave the treasure hall, a problem arose.
【”Charging Lv.2″ Concept assigned to Source Container C-2】
“A ketchup bottle, huh?”
Wondering if I thought of the right thing, I squeezed the ketchup, and to my surprise, I saw the ketchup rising in the bottle as if it were being restored!
Literally, a ketchup bottle that automatically replenishes ketchup!
What a precious treasure to be right in front of me!
“Ahhhh!”
Why can I only take one item?!
But the butt seemed to frown as if it couldn’t understand my desperate dilemma.
“Of all things, a ketchup bottle? Hanam-jjin, that’s so like you!”
“I’m kind of stylish, aren’t I?”
“That wasn’t a compliment!”
With that sentiment, I finally arrived at the entrance of the treasure hall.
A captain wearing comical party glasses threatened us.
“Hey, did you guys steal or hide anything? If I look through these glasses of ‘Detection,’ I can see everything you’re hiding. Chang-sik, you’ve got an extra coin in your pocket, don’t you?”
“Y-yes, I’m sorry. I’ll return it right away.”
“Deok-hee brought just one. Yeoul too. Hanam-jjin, you….”
The captain, with those bizarre party glasses, scrunched his face up.
“A ketchup bottle? Hey, Hanam-jjin! What did you bring? Is choosing from the treasure hall just a joke for you? Huh? A ketchup bottle, really!”
The captain scolded me, staring at the ketchup bottle I had brought.
It was strange that he didn’t mention anything about the ‘ring’ I was wearing.
Then, the captain looked at the tag attached to the microphone Deok-soon was holding and tapped on a nearby computer keyboard.
“D-108, a microphone possessing the concept of ‘Courage.’ A wonderful item. And what’s this ketchup bottle you brought, huh? It’s covered in ketchup, so the tag is unreadable!”
The captain searched for “Charging” in the search bar.
Information popped up about “Source Container C-102.”
It seemed that searching for a ‘Concept’ in that computer revealed information about the corresponding item—it was like finding a desired book in a vast library.
A question suddenly arose in my mind.
“Captain, are there any items here that possess the concept of ‘Deception’?”
“‘Deception’? Hmm, you’ll find out if you search for it.”
Tatata!
「No search results.」
There was no information about the ‘transparent ring’ I was currently wearing.
So this means that this ring of deception isn’t registered in the treasure hall.
I don’t know how this happened—
“Captain, I found this ring and put it on. I was really torn between taking this ketchup bottle or the ring. It’s a ring of deception.”
“A ring? Where?”
The captain, with those ridiculous party glasses, looked at my hand. Then, his face crinkled in anger.
“Hanam-jjin, are you messing with me? Where’s the ring!”
“It’s right here! The transparent ring! You’ll know if you touch it!”
Shwip—.
I held out my middle finger to the captain.
Unintentionally, it seemed like I was cursing him, but what could I do? I was wearing the ring!
However, the captain touched my middle finger and got even angrier.
“What ring! You little rascal, do you think the instructor is a joke? And what’s with that ketchup bottle? That you would choose something like that from the treasure hall? Ketchup bottle!?”
“My discerning eye is really amazing, right? Honestly, I could claim this ketchup bottle is a greater treasure than all these items combined.”
“… I’m just too surprised to speak. Next person!”
I thought stealing items from the treasure hall was unmanly, so I spoke honestly, but instead, the captain blamed me for being foolish.
In the end, I left the treasure hall without any restrictions and with two 「Items」.
「Name: Seed – Ring」
It was definitely being worn by me.
Was it visible only to me, who possessed the concept of ‘Sensitivity’?
# # #
“Look at this! A talisman possessing the concept of ‘Absorption!’ Perfect for me, right? I wonder if it will absorb some of my ‘misfortune’? Like a desiccant that absorbs moisture!”
On my way home, the butt proudly showed off the item borrowed permanently from the treasure hall. It was a talisman with red writing on yellow paper.
“What happens if it continues to absorb misfortune? I’m worried it might accumulate a horrendous amount of misfortune later…”
Chang-sik trembled as he looked at the butt’s talisman. Just thinking about how the butt’s misfortune could get heavily concentrated in that talisman was terrifying.
So what kind of item did Chang-sik bring?
But Chang-sik just said, “Hehe, I’ll reveal that later!” and changed the subject.
“With this talisman, I can control my misfortune a bit, and our home situation will get better too!”
“Hehe, I’m getting excited just thinking about experimenting with it at home.”
Everyone seemed to be in a good mood with their new items.
No, strictly speaking, Deok-soon looked a bit gloomy.
“Deok-soon, why are you like that?”
“I thought I might find an item from the ‘World’… but I still couldn’t find one…”
Now that I think about it, Deok-soon had mentioned the ‘World’ earlier too.
What on earth was that?
“The ‘World’ refers to an item that encapsulates a massive concept forming the ‘World.’ An example would be an aquarium containing the concept of the ‘Sea’… it’s in the presidential office. It’s quite a remarkable item. Tactical nuclear grade…”
A tactical nuclear grade item? If there was something like that in the treasure hall, how cool would that be!
Still, I didn’t feel that disappointed.
“The possibilities of my ketchup bottle surpass the seas and space. An infinite ketchup bottle. With this, I can assure that I won’t starve to death. My own discerning eye is frightening.”
Swish—.
I showed off my ketchup bottle to everyone, but the others made strange expressions, as though they could not understand my profound thoughts.
With that sentiment, we all parted ways.
I need to hurry home and feed Seoga-eul; I had that in mind when someone approached me.
“Youth, youth. It looks good. I used to be a high school girl too.”
It was the police sister watching the students in front of the school gate.
What was her name again?
“Is your name… Jin Ramen Mild?”
“What’s that? My name is Jin Rihyun.”
The handcuffs jingling at her waist sparkled silver.
“Misinformation on Hanam-jjin, Yeom Hoon, and Sa Ma-jun—can you spare a moment to chat before you go home?”
Saying that, the police sister grabbed my right hand and led me into a nearby alley, even sniffing my palm as she scrutinized me!
“You don’t smoke. Looking at your index and middle fingers’ long nails, it seems like you don’t have a girlfriend yet? Or maybe your relationship isn’t deep enough. Hehehe—.”
What do nails and girlfriends have to do with each other?
Maybe there’s a love equation known only to graduates that a middle schooler like me doesn’t know.
“But what if I said I killed someone with this hand? You killed Sa Ma-jun and Yeom Hoon, didn’t you? Hanam-jjin, you must hold a grudge. You lost your family in that incident two years ago.”
“Me?”
I never expected to be treated as the perpetrator who killed Yeom Hoon and Sa Ma-jun.
I had planned to keep them alive and beat them up for stress relief.
“My sixth sense can grasp various matters. Plus, when people are flustered or tense, their weakness often shows. Are you perhaps the ‘Judger’?”
“Excuse me?”
“Even temporarily, you’re almost as strong as a Level 3 Awakened. You have the audacity to use violence without hesitation. A heart filled with hatred for criminals—just fits you, doesn’t it?”
So I was being mistaken for the serial killer ‘Judger.’
When I thought this was quite troublesome, the police sister casually mentioned something I could not ignore.
“The ‘Judger’ targeting the Seo Nam Group is well-known. The Seo Nam Group is mired in all sorts of corruption and darkness. Thus, to punish them, the ‘Judger’ killed Seoga-eul—what do you think?”
I had never heard that the ‘Judger’ was targeting the Seo Nam Group. It was the first time I heard that they might target Seoga-eul.
As I shook my head, the police sister chuckled.
“Sorry, it’s a backlash of my ability. I have no secrets. While I can easily discern other’s lies, I also cannot lie myself. It’s a bit like a tic disorder—I just spill everything.”
“If I ask you about your ideal type, will you answer honestly?”
“Of course! I like someone older and dependable. With my job and all, I haven’t had much time to meet anyone, but my judgment of character is sharp. That’s why I’m so focused on you.”
“Your eye for spotting people is quite remarkable. Isn’t it true that I’m a real man among men!”
“You have a vibe similar to those I’ve caught and stuffed in bread before. Why is that? What are you?”
I give off the same vibe as criminals? What an acute perception.
It’s probably because I’m a miracle man who survived and returned from a lawless world.
It was then.
Swish—.
The police sister’s hand pulled mine towards her chest.
As the soft sensation touched my palm, all the hairs on my body, including my head, stood on end, and my blood rushed to my face.
“Normally, doing this to a minor would be criminal, but it feels like it would be okay with you. I can sense your embarrassment. So you really don’t know anything about the disappearances of the ‘Judger’ or Seoga-eul?”
It was a direct and piercing question. It seemed she was trying to create a gap in my mind and make me flustered, and the effect was quite powerful.
Did she somehow sense that I had actually surpassed the minors and was a twenty-something young man?
She was a really excellent investigator. If I stumbled here, I might find myself in those silver bracelets.
In this case, I should trust the newly acquired ring’s concept of ‘Deception.’
With that feeling, I wracked my brain!
“I’m also curious about where Seoga-eul is and what she’s doing.”
That wasn’t a lie. I genuinely was curious about what she was doing right now.
I had left Ying-ing with her, and I wanted to check if they hadn’t caused any trouble.
“Hm, really? If so, do you know anything about Wang Ja-hyeon? Why hasn’t he come to school recently?”
“I don’t know.”
At that moment, the police sister finally let go of my hand.
As the warm and soft sensation disappeared from my hand, I felt a sense of loss as if I had been cast out of heaven. The police sister smiled.
“I usually wouldn’t do stuff like this. I just teased you a little because I found you cute. Also, I might have been a bit excited.”
“I already have someone I like, so I’ll have to reject your feelings. If being a concubine is acceptable, that would be another story…”
“A concubine? You’re funny. Can you handle it? When I like someone, I enjoy hitting them. How’s that for crazy? To me, you still seem suspicious.”
Thud, thud—.
The police sister loosened her grip.
Was she thinking of hitting me?
“How about going to a more secluded place with me and having a ‘physical conversation’? It might take a few days.”
“That’s a really kind offer, but sorry. I have to attend school!”
“It’s okay! I’m lucky! I can get it arranged for you to be excused from school for a few days! As for your parents—oh, right, you don’t have any. Sorry, I’ve just been brutally honest.”
This was troublesome.
I didn’t know what kind of plans she had, but if I got caught here and it turned into a ‘physical conversation,’ no matter how much the concept of deception helped, various things might come to light.
At this point, should I bring out my secret weapon—when I was just thinking that, someone came running panting from afar.
“Hey!!! Hanam-jjin!!!”