Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Heaven’s Door (13)

***

“Ugh… What is this…”

Jin Yeseo grimaced as she stepped off the tram at the station.

Even a mage with a strong physique like hers found the smog so acrid that her throat felt sore.

The streetlights, scattered in the smog, made the city flicker with an eerie orange hue.

She could barely make out the scenery of the street. Only a few large chimneys in the distance, spewing black smoke, were visible.

The headlights of the tram that had just dropped them off quickly disappeared into the thick, dark fog.

-Toot…!

The whistle of the tram echoed in her ears like the trumpet of a herald announcing some ominous event. Jin Yeseo instantly recognized the source of the pollution that blanketed the northern part of the capital.

A city bathed in a dreary orange light, devoid of dreams or hope. That was Jin Yeseo’s first impression of the First City.

“…”

The man accompanying her reacted more calmly than she did.

His appearance, with a gas mask and a shabby coat, blended well with the grim surroundings of the city.

He even opened the filter of his gas mask, inhaling deeply as if trying to catch a scent, his body rising and falling with his breath.

Then, as if something puzzled him, he stopped moving.

“…What’s wrong? What is it all of a sudden?”

“…It’s a familiar sensation.”

“What?”

“But… I can’t tell. The smog is too thick, and it’s mixed with something else. What could it be?”

After a brief moment of contemplation, he closed the filter again and took the lead, heading into an alley.

“…Let’s move for now.”

Feeling as if she had been dropped onto an unfamiliar planet, Jin Yeseo reluctantly followed him.

“Wait. Where are we going? Do you have a plan? Or have you been here before?”

“No. I don’t have a plan, and I’ve never been here.”

“?”

Jin Yeseo tilted her head in disbelief, but the man didn’t slow his pace.

As he scanned the alley filled with acrid smoke, he noticed something and signaled with a nod.

“I’ll come up with a plan now.”

He pointed to a shabby restaurant with a flickering neon sign.

“A restaurant…? Why here… Wait…!”

Before she could finish her sentence, he was already descending the steps.

Jin Yeseo hurried after him.

The inside was filled with cigarette smoke just as thick and suffocating as the smog outside. The dim ceiling was obscured by the haze, and filthy furniture was scattered about. The only sound was the raucous laughter of men.

Jin Yeseo was the only woman in the place.

The moment she walked in, all eyes turned to her.

Jin Yeseo frowned at the unpleasant stares that leered at her body.

‘How dare these lowlifes…’

She had to suppress the urge to burn the entire place down.

The man led her to an empty table in a corner and spoke to a server, placing an order.

“Why did we come to such a filthy, smelly place?”

“For nourishment.”

When Jin Yeseo grumbled from across the table, he answered immediately.

“Nourishment? In a place like this?”

“Yeah. You should eat while you can.”

“It looks like it’s worse than not eating at all…”

Jin Yeseo glanced around at the nearby tables, her expression showing clear reluctance.

“And to gather information.”

“Gather information?”

“The people in this restaurant. Judging by their clothes, most of them are local lower-class workers. They’re the ones closest to the everyday life of this industrial city.”

“So?”

“Most conspiracies start from the bottom, in the sewers. If there’s any suspicious activity in this city, these people are the ones most likely to notice it first.”

“I don’t understand. Even if they know something, I doubt they’d tell outsiders like us.”

“We don’t need to ask. This place serves both food and alcohol. The workers in industrial cities end their day by drowning themselves in booze, and when people drink, they tend to loosen their tongues. We just need to pick out the useful bits from their chatter.”

He glanced toward the elderly man behind the counter, wiping glasses.

“If nothing comes up, we can always slip the owner some money. These kinds of shop owners usually know far more than their humble lives would suggest.”

Just as he finished speaking, a server brought over a tray of something.

A strong drink in a greasy glass, dried-out and discolored pieces of meat, and a sticky, grayish porridge-like substance.

“Ugh…”

Jin Yeseo groaned in genuine disgust at the sight. It was something she had never seen before, and she wasn’t even sure if it could be called food.

No matter how hungry she was, she had no desire to put that into her mouth.

But the man skillfully unlocked his gas mask and lifted only the lower part, shoving the food and drink into his mouth.

Even in this situation, he was meticulous about hiding his face, and it was almost impressive.

‘…Wouldn’t it be easier to just take it off? Is he some kind of lunatic… or is he really that ugly?’

Considering his past behavior, her suspicion was almost a certainty.

“I… can’t eat this. How can you…”

“It’s better if you do. Nourishment and physical vitality are closely linked to the smooth manifestation of magic. We learned that in physiology class…”

“You think I don’t know that?”

Jin Yeseo snapped back irritably.

“Is that so? I won’t force you. But at least keep your ears open.”

After finishing his words, the man downed the strong drink in one gulp.

His ease with the situation left Jin Yeseo feeling strangely out of place.

He was the second son of Heukryeon, a prestigious family, just like her. Someone who must have been raised in a sheltered and pampered environment.

Even though he had gone through major events like the Southern and Jeokhwa incidents, someone like him should naturally feel repulsed by this kind of life, just as she did.

Yet, he blended into this scene far too naturally.

Jin Yeseo couldn’t begin to fathom why.

“Is the reason we came to the First City because of that ornament?”

“Yes. The dead man got it from a local here during a business trip to this city. Thanks to you, I learned it’s a symbol of that heretical group called Heaven’s Door.”

“So, when you went to see that nun…?”

“She was highly likely to be a key figure in this case. She might have even been part of the heresy you mentioned. We can’t know for sure now, though…”

“…She didn’t look like a fanatic in the photo.”

Jin Yeseo recalled the smiling face in the photo the man had shown her.

“I thought the same, but you never know. Speaking of which, do you have any more information about that?”

“Hmm…”

Jin Yeseo lowered her head slightly, deep in thought.

“…After we purged that secret church, they said they found a few more similar groups in other parts of the capital.”

“And?”

“It’s not certain, but there might be a connection to demons. There were traces at the scene that looked like they belonged to beasts.”

“Demons…”

The man clenched his fist on the table as he listened to Jin Yeseo’s words.

“Those beasts are pulling all sorts of tricks. If it’s a secret church tied to demons, that might explain the fanatical behavior of the followers. Anything else?”

“Hmm.”

Jin Yeseo shook her head.

“We only became aware of their existence recently. But the scale might be larger than we imagined. They found traces as far south as the southernmost part of the capital. They might have secretly built their organization through the sewers…”

“Sewers, sewers…”

Their conversation was interrupted.

The man, sensing the approaching presence, abruptly stopped speaking.

Soon, they heard the sound of a group of drunken men approaching, and before they knew it, a gang of men had surrounded their table.

They didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

It was the group that had been sneaking glances at Jin Yeseo and the man, whispering among themselves.

Their faces were full of lecherous smiles, clearly approaching with the intention of causing trouble.

“What kind of freak is this? I’ve never seen a guy eat with a gas mask on, man.”

The bald man, who seemed to be the leader, pointed at the man with the gas mask.

The man didn’t react, still focused on chewing the tough meat.

“Has he lost his mind? Huh? Did he breathe in too much bad air?”

“Look at that, he’s even got a pretty girl with him…”

“Puhihi…”

‘Haa…’

Jin Yeseo sighed at their sneering laughter.

‘Do I really need to smear soot on my face or something?’

This was already the second time today she had faced such a situation. Annoyance welled up inside her as she clenched and unclenched her fingers to calm herself.

‘Fine. Maybe this is for the best.’

Roasting these pests alive might be a good way to relieve some stress, she thought.

The bald man, who had been staring at her with a disgusting gaze, flicked his tongue as he turned his head.

As he subtly reached out to place his hand on Jin Yeseo’s shoulder, she discreetly activated the particle array hidden under her long sleeve, preparing a magic formula.

Just before his hand touched her shoulder, Jin Yeseo was ready to incinerate him with the prepared flame.

-Bang!

“Argh… Aaaagh…!”

The man in the gas mask had risen from his seat and slammed the bald man’s head into the table.

***

-Crash!

The sound of glass and the bowl of grayish porridge shattering echoed loudly.

Jin Yeseo stared ahead in bewilderment at the sudden commotion.

“It burns… Aaaagh…!”

The gang member, whose face was covered in the spilled porridge, screamed in pain. Despite his massive size, nearly twice that of the man in the gas mask, he flailed his limbs helplessly as the man’s grip on his head didn’t budge.

The man pressed the bald man’s face into the table with force.

“Arghhh…!”

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

And then, lifting the bald man’s head, he slammed it repeatedly into the table.

-Bang! Bang!

The sound of a nose breaking, teeth flying, and the table cracking under the repeated blows echoed loudly.

By the time the screams stopped, the man finally threw the limp body of the bald man onto the floor.

-Thud!

The bald man lay there, eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth, completely motionless.

The man dusted off his hands and spoke in a low voice to the remaining gang members, who were frozen in shock.

“Take him and get lost.”

“Hic…”

The terrified gang members, unsure whether their leader was dead or unconscious, hurriedly dragged him out of the restaurant.

“Are you alright?”

Jin Yeseo had been staring blankly at the scene.

It wasn’t until the man asked about her well-being that she snapped back to reality.

Her face, slightly flushed with embarrassment, she retorted sharply.

“Who asked for your help? I could’ve handled that on my own.”

“No, you couldn’t.”

The man in the gas mask replied.

“We’re not mages right now. And a non-mage woman can’t overpower a man in terms of strength. If we were mages, it would’ve been a different story.”

He then asked her a question in return.

“And you. You were about to use magic, weren’t you? Didn’t I tell you earlier? Don’t reveal that we’re mages unless absolutely necessary. It could attract unwanted attention.”

“…Ugh. Those pests were so annoying… I couldn’t help it…”

Jin Yeseo, at a loss for words, looked away in embarrassment.

“Who’s helping who here… You’re just getting in the way… Maybe I should’ve just left you behind.”

The man sighed, and Jin Yeseo, feeling a surge of indignation, protested.

“I’ll be more careful next time, okay…!”

“Please do. And… it seems like there’s no point in staying here any longer.”

The man glanced around the restaurant.

“In this atmosphere, even the words that were about to come out will be swallowed back. What a nuisance… Let’s find another place…”

He gestured for Jin Yeseo to follow him out.

Still unable to brush off the filth that had splattered on her clothes, Jin Yeseo followed behind him.

The elderly man behind the counter, presumably the owner of the restaurant, had been watching the entire scene unfold.

“I apologize for the disturbance. As for compensation…”

“No, no. No need for such a boring conversation.”

“Excuse me?”

But the old man waved his hand before the man could finish his sentence.

“To be honest, those guys were giving me a headache too. Always causing trouble. Thanks to you, I doubt they’ll come around here for a while. Consider it payment for getting rid of them.”

A broad grin spread across the old man’s face as he looked at the man.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen such an entertaining show. And…”

“?”

“You’ve got quite the spirit for a young man, huh? Reminds me of myself in my younger days. At first, I thought you were some weirdo…”

The old man’s gaze then shifted to Jin Yeseo, who was standing behind him.

“Are you newlyweds?”

“What…!”

“Yes. This is my wife.”

Just as Jin Yeseo was about to immediately deny the ridiculous claim, the man suddenly placed one hand on her slim waist and gently pulled her toward him.

Perhaps it was because of the countless sparring sessions they had gone through, which had already allowed for too much physical contact.

What should have been an unpleasant touch from the man didn’t feel like anything more than a slight warmth.

Before she knew it, she was nestled in his arms, looking like a loving newlywed couple.

“Ugh…”

Jin Yeseo let out an involuntary squeak.

End of Chapter