Seoul Dragon - Chapter 78

Even though I had learned tremendous facts, my daily life didn't change.

"Bureau Chief? The issuance of mutation registration numbers is complete."

"Ah, thank you for your hard work. So now we can identify and locate all mutants in the country, right?"

"That's correct."

Thanks to the capable Management Bureau agents, the complicated work had been somewhat wrapped up.

They really did send only capable people, just as they said they would.

Also, the Bureau relocation was proceeding steadily, so we started commuting to the separate Mutant Management Bureau instead of the National Intelligence Service like before.

Anyway, considering that mutation had happened so suddenly, people adapted quickly.

There were no troublemaking mutants, plus the care for mutants was quite good, so there was no country with a lower accident rate from mutants than ours.

......Come to think of it, isn't that natural?

If someone causes trouble, I'm supposed to step in and stop them, so there's no way anyone would be bold enough to cause trouble.

Mutants also stopped acting up much once it became public what I was capable of.

Our own peace continued to be maintained, and public perception of mutants wasn't too bad either.

Most importantly, since many people's acquaintances became mutants, the number of people defending those around them increased significantly.

As they say, you protect your own - even people who had disliked mutants before couldn't bring themselves to hate them when people around them became mutants.

Anyway, the Management Bureau agents each let out sighs of relief at the fact that one major task was finally finished.

Especially Yeonhwa unnie and Harin, who had suffered through various things, buried themselves in their chairs as if their souls had left their bodies.

"......Whaaaa. It's finally over......"

Since the four of us, including the Vice Director, had suffered the most before personnel reinforcement, the joy they felt seemed quite significant.

With the major tasks gone, I was back to being a salary thief.

Yeonhwa unnie had completely transformed into a bat and was sleeping in a comfortable spot, while Harin had put on an eye mask and reclined her chair as far as possible.

I wondered if that was okay, but considering how much they'd suffered......

Taehoon finished her daily routine at the action school.

You might ask what kind of action school that was...... but she had outstanding initiative.

Movie appearances?

The film industry secretly welcomed mutants' participation in movies.

Because they could save on CG costs, plus there were no better resources as stuntmen than them.

Of course, they had to be verified mutants who could sufficiently control their strength.

There were indeed cases of mutants working as movie actors.

Taehoon thought there was no reason she couldn't become such a mutant.

Especially if she limited herself to certain genres, there were few resources like her.

An Oni-type mutant. She could handle swordsmanship and control flames too.

Moreover, since her face was amazing, as long as her acting skills supported her a little, there was no reason she couldn't work in minor roles or whatever.

Actually, being an actor was a profession you had to enter through acting ability, but Taehoon didn't care.

She could roll around at action school first, build connections there, and work as a movie extra or stuntman.

If making a living became really difficult, she could ask Seohyun to get her a position at the Management Bureau.

Rather than being at a loss about what to do after graduating from Korean Literature, she was satisfied just having a path to move forward like this.

......It would have been better if she were still male.

Well, anyway, her plans for the future were steadily progressing.

However, she wasn't without worries.

Right now, it was because of her best friend Yoo Hangyeol, who was shut up in her room.

She contacted Hangyeol separately.

[Han Taehoon: Hey, what are you doing? Still holed up at home?]

[Yoo Hangyeol: I can't go out;;]

[Han Taehoon: Why? You can hide your wings, right?]

[Yoo Hangyeol: This damn halo won't hide......]

[Han Taehoon: Come to think of it, you can curse in text messages?]

[Yoo Hangyeol: The self-filtering only applies when I speak]

[Han Taehoon: Ah lol]

[Yoo Hangyeol: So why are you contacting me again?]

[Han Taehoon: Nothing much, just wanted to take a walk if you're free]

[Yoo Hangyeol: Walk my ass......]

Hangyeol had completely become a shut-in.

Being a faithful religious person, she knew all too well what would happen if she went outside her room now.

[Han Taehoon: If you're really troubled, ask Seohyun for help or something]

[Yoo Hangyeol: What kind of help?]

[Han Taehoon: Put you in the Management Bureau and declare that religious visits are forbidden]

[Yoo Hangyeol: That absolutely won't work]

Hangyeol was certain.

The moment her identity was revealed, religious people from all over the world would definitely pressure the Management Bureau to hand her over.

To them, Seohyun wasn't that important a problem.

An angel had descended proving God's existence - would they fear some dragon?

Just like Seohyun had become the Management Bureau's mascot, they might make her the Vatican's mascot.

Oh, how horrible.

She immediately thought of the recent conclave.

Hadn't the people elected as Pope uniformly appealed how terrible it was?

If that was the case for the Pope, she might very well face the same.

At best, she could hope they'd accommodate her to act according to the angel's will......

Well.

Rather than such hopeful observations, only pessimism flickered before her eyes.

'......I want to blow a horn.'

Of course, she didn't have anything like a horn.

That's just how she felt, how she felt.

Hangyeol's parents also couldn't help but worry about her condition in various ways.

After mutating, their cheerful child had instantly become a shut-in, and since her parents were also lifelong believers, they weren't unaware of the reason.

Then, her smartphone glittered.

A sign that contact had come.

'Is it that Taehoon guy again?'

Thinking that, she tapped her smartphone, and what she saw was contact from Seohyun.

'Why is she contacting me?'

It wasn't even a text message but a phone call.

"What's the matter?"

-Hey, come out. Let's think of a solution.

"I told you I can't go out?"

-Why can't you come out? I'll cover for you. Did you forget I can use magic?

"Ah."

So, Hangyeol was currently at the Management Bureau.

"So your worry is that you don't know how the Vatican might react?"

"......Yeah. You know too, Seohyun, religious people really go crazy for things related to angels or the Lord. This will be the same."

Thinking about it, that was true.

Probably Catholics and Protestants worldwide would go crazy trying to see her even once.

"So, what kind of angel are you?"

"Seraphim."

"......Seraphim? That's, what, the highest-ranking angel?"

"Right. Some say the four archangels belonged there, or only Michael belongs there...... but anyway, it's definitely a very high rank among angels."

"Ooh...... Do you have horns and stuff too?"

"I don't have anything like that."

"Lame."

"And even if I did, would I blow them?"

"That's true. But seeing that, Jesus probably exists too, right?"

"He does."

"......He does?"

"Yeah. Heaven exists too. I can feel their presence. At first I couldn't feel it...... but after being shut up in my room for the past few days, I started to feel it."

Hangyeol's story was this.

At first, when she realized she was a Seraphim, she thought there might be other angels too.

But as she spent time in her room and fully awakened as a mutant, she could clearly feel the existence of Heaven.

......This is getting quite large in scale.

What I saw was only the dragon's memory.

Of course, it was true that beings from Earth's myths, folklore, and legends appeared in the paradise within the dragon's memory, but that didn't show the existence of Heaven.

In other words, the existence of Heaven was something I couldn't be certain about.

But Hangyeol, who had become an angel, said it.

Heaven exists.

"Then can't you go to Heaven too? I'm kind of curious."

"Not right now. There's something like...... a barrier? Because of that. But it's getting thinner gradually, so it might be possible soon."

"......Somehow, with fantasy arriving in daily life, Heaven is appearing too."

"Hell exists too."

"Since there was a Demon-type mutant, I thought it might...... so it really exists?"

"You know Dante's Divine Comedy, right? It's exactly like that."

"Oh. But won't disasters happen if the gates of Heaven or Hell open?"

At my words, Hangyeol shook her head.

She spoke with eyes looking at something far away.

"Neither Heaven nor Hell can be reached by ordinary people. Only dead people can go there. Or spiritual beings that transcend humanity. For example...... someone like you."

"......Me?"

I was startled when she suddenly pointed at me. Why me all of a sudden?

"Honestly, are you really just a simple dragon? No matter how I look at it, you're definitely not an ordinary dragon."

"How did you know?"

"I just felt it that way. There's no reason for me to be scared unless it's some kind of divine being. But the moment I saw you, rather than the Yoon Seohyun I'd known and seen, I felt like my soul was being crushed by something overwhelmingly powerful......"

Hangyeol was grasping my essence more accurately than I had thought.

"You saw quite accurately."

"Seohyun, did you know?"

"I recently had a dream, so I learned roughly what I mutated into."

"......I see."

"Then, nothing I should worry about will happen?"

"Right. Even if the existence of Heaven and Hell becomes known to the public, and I become able to go to Heaven again, ordinary people can't go there. Because those are rules created by the Lord. However, there will be subtle changes in daily life. Because people will learn that things previously dismissed as vague beliefs or delusions actually exist."

I nodded at Hangyeol's words.

Still, well...... it was fortunate to learn that angels or demons wouldn't come out and cause chaos.

"But then what about you or that demon from before?"

"We're kind of messengers. The Lord doesn't want the world to fall into chaos."

"So what will you do from now on?"

"......I don't know."

Hangyeol let out a sigh.

At that, I made a suggestion to her.

"Then, how about this?"

"What's that?"

"Go directly to the Vatican. Go there and announce. That the Lord's messenger has come."

"Are you crazy? Then it's obvious I'll become a mascot."

"And add the Lord's words. That if they restrict your actions, there will be divine punishment."

"......Tell me more details."

"Just, like I did, cause a scene once. So people can't carelessly mess with you."

"But is it okay to add the Lord's words so casually...... huh?"

Suddenly, she hesitated.

"What's wrong?"

"......It's okay. That my mutating like this was God's will, and He sent me to calm the chaos in the human world even a little."

Is she hearing God's voice right now?

I couldn't help but make an incredulous expression.