Chapter 75: Excuse Me, But You Are Insensitive To Safety

Crack──

“Ark?!”

“Huuu….”

After slapping my own cheek to regain composure, I observed the situation with a cooler head.

Until now, my actions had been guided by one fundamental principle:

Whether or not to enter the Tower was solely my decision.

Even when the heroes were retching and trembling from potion rejection, or complaining about uncomfortable gear, I pushed forward—sometimes forcefully.

As safely as possible.

That was my overarching rule.

Of course, that safety included my own.

Obviously.

I’m a man who would lose an arm-wrestling match against Tina’s pinky finger.

So, whenever I wandered around Neo Hanyang, I always had Rumi by my side as part of my escort team.

But now, that fundamental principle had been utterly shattered.

A forced Tower entry encounter—triggered systematically.

Even if you called it a failure to recognize danger, there was nothing to say in defense.

But self-reflection could wait.

Pop──

I peeked outside through a hole I poked in the rice-paper window.

If robots had been mixed in with that crowd, it would’ve been the worst-case scenario.

Fortunately, most of them were lizards, with a few humans sprinkled in.

That meant, at the very least, the public authorities—the Byeolgi Army robots—hadn’t been mobilized.

So, officially, this wasn’t a sanctioned operation.

Probably.

The silence within the government that Minha had mentioned…

The dinosaur faction must’ve started seeing us as a thorn in their side.

Pulling my eyes away from the window—

“Ellis, give it here.”

I snatched Locker No. 38 from Ellis’s arms and tapped its head.

[zzZ]

《Currently unavailable due to off-duty hours.》

Only a perfectly mechanical voice responded.

…Useless at a time like this.

Since when do robots strictly adhere to a 52-hour workweek?

Tch.

Anyway, before they breach inside—

We need to make the first move.

But where should we go?

For a moment, I considered the Eastern Palace but quickly dismissed the idea.

If I could just throw myself into Minha’s arms, things might resolve themselves.

But in the hierarchy of power, the Emperor outranks the Princess.

If those lizards were under the Emperor’s favor, and this ambush was connected to his orders—or someone of equivalent authority—then?

We could end up disappearing into an underground gulag, some secret interrogation chamber, or worse.

No matter how much our heroes grow, they haven’t reached national-level strength yet…

Suddenly, I respect Jinwoo even more…

“Master?”

“Ah.”

Just as my brain was overheating and about to detach from reality, Tina’s slightly nervous voice melted away my rambling thoughts.

Now wasn’t the time for this.

I needed to calculate an escape route.

There was still no sign of them storming in, so I peeked outside again through the hole in the window.

All I saw were lizards spewing flames from their tails.

Are they ripping off Charmander? 

Their tails are on fire.

Tails on fire…?

“Let’s cross the river. Ellis, wrap Locker No. 38 tightly so it doesn’t get wet. Rumi? I need a favor.”

“Myaa!”

Rather than relying on my weak legs—

It’d be faster to let Rumi carry me while flying.

It might bruise my male pride a bit, but what’s the point of dignity?

My back is more important.

“Alright. The moment Ellis makes a hole in the wall, Tina goes first. Then, immediately use your ultimate. After that, we’ll sprint straight to the river and swim across. I’ll swim on my own from there.”

“B-but, Ark-nim? Wouldn’t escaping by land be safer than the river…?”

Ellis, bless her, wore a worried expression.

“It’s fine. Those lizards are fire-types.”

***

“Grrk, no matter how much those outsiders struggle, they’re still foreigners. How dare they run amok in Hanyang, relying solely on the Princess’ favor? Grrk, keuk.”

Surrounding the shabby, poorly constructed building—an insult to the Great Hwang Empire’s architectural style—

Gong Yongwan, the eldest son of the Gong family, smirked viciously.

Five years of covertly scheming to swallow Neo-Hanyang whole.

All the influence and privileges he’d built—did they really think they could keep up just by clinging to a puppet princess?

Fine. He’d correct that misconception.

With Neo Hanyang’s traditional “rolling mat“ treatment.

“Grrk, grrk—”

Just as he was oozing confidence—

Crash!

Something shattered, and a black figure darted out.

“Grrk, surround them!”

At Gong Yongwan’s shout, the lizard-human hybrids swiftly reformed their formation, hissing menacingly.

Then, as their tails lashed out threateningly—the black figure’s face came into view.

“Kyuu?”

A little girl in a colorful hanbok pressed a finger to her cheek.

Instantly, the lizard-men’s pupils wavered.

It wasn’t something they should show in front of their esteemed young master, but—

She’s so cute…!

Despite her foreign appearance, the petite girl radiated lethal charm, twisting her body coquettishly as she—

“Heeere’s a kiss~♡”

The moment that surprisingly loud sound reached their ears—

“Grrk!”

“Grruuk…!”

“Kyuk!”

The lizards’ rationality vanished entirely.

At that moment—

BOOM!

A deafening noise erupted, and this time, two black figures shot out—

Whoosh, thud!

“Tina!”

“Oong!”

Responding to Ark’s call, Tina scampered over and climbed onto Ellis’ back.

Then—

Hop, hop!

Lightly stepping on the heads of the lizards tangled in their own chaos, they broke through the encirclement.

Of course—

“Grruuk?”

“Kkeu, who stepped on my tail?!”

The duration of the wide-area charm was short.

Soon, the lizards freed themselves from their disarray.

But in this place—

There were two devils.

Ellis, who had entrusted Locker No. 38 to Tina, turned around and winked.

At that moment—

A red aura spread from her body, covering the ground, while the black heart tattoo on her right chest glowed crimson.

Thump!

It was the portrait of youth.

The feverish delirium buried deep in the heart of a reckless young man.

The sweet, bittersweet memory of first love, crafted by the Devil of Deception, struck the lizard horde in an instant.

Each envisioned their own first love—or ideal type—in their minds.

“Hehe, I’ve always been sincere, you know?”

Ellis’ lethally sweet voice flowed like a melody, enveloping the earth.

And then—

“Ghk.”

“Keuh—”

A wave of arrhythmia victims collapsed.

“Yabba… yabba… uungmyoik…”

Unfortunately—

The side effect of Ellis going all-out with her self-brewed doping potions was that even allied males—equipped with a third leg—had their rationality obliterated.

Including Ark.

Splash!

Plop!

Ellis, carrying a hefty load on her back, and Rumi dove into the shallow waters of Cheonggyecheon and began swimming to the other side.

The lizards regained their senses shortly after.

Gong Yongwan, shuddering at the memory of his first love—Jeomsoon-saurus, whom he could never see again after she went abroad—

Blinked in confusion before snapping back to reality at the sound of splashing.

“Grrk! The outsiders are escaping! After them!”

“Grrk, but the water…!”

Lizards instinctively avoided water, fearing their tail flames might extinguish.

Humans hesitated, not wanting to get their clothes—or machinery—wet.

No one was eager to dive in first.

While the unruly mob scrambled toward a nearby bridge, thud-thud-thud—

“This is a waterproof smartphone, damn it—!”

From across Cheonggyecheon, one of the outsiders—a man—roared something incomprehensible, showcasing the physical prowess of a hero.

***

Ark and his party, having abandoned the guild house and fled.

Gong Yongwan and his lizard gang, chasing after them.

With everyone gone, silence settled over the building.

“…?”

A certain wolf-human hybrid, having enjoyed a refreshing moonlit stroll along Cheonggyecheon, returned.

What greeted her eyes were—

Scorch marks littering the building and ground.

And a gaping hole in the second-floor wall, as if a massive boulder had crashed through it.

Renatel’s pupils trembled violently.

But her panic was short-lived.

As the leader of the Darang Dream Orchard’s resistance, she’d orchestrated countless sabotage operations and escape plans.

The lone voice of reason among lunatics, her sharp mind whirred as she sniffed the air, quickly piecing together the situation.

The stench of lizards clinging to the ground around the building.

The enemy.

Overwhelming that stench, a scent so intoxicating it could enchant any man.

Ellis.

And beneath that intensity, an aroma impossible to forget—delicious.

Ark.

Sniff, sniff. 

Following the trail of scents, she moved—

“Ah, damn it…”

At the riverbank, where the trail vanished, Renatel let out a deep sigh.

Her next actions were swift.

Once they crossed the river, Ark’s unmistakable scent would inevitably resurface somewhere.

Given they were being threatened by hostile locals, she could deduce the rest.

Before crossing, she expertly tucked her tail into her clothes, tore the wide leather strap around her arm into a stylishly ragged shape, and—shhk!

Transforming into a suspicious masked figure with only her eyes visible, the would-be partisan dove into the river, combat-swimming her way across.

It was summer, after all.