[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 259

Trapped air. Thick cigarette smoke.

A complex yet now familiar scent seeps into my nose. As I open my eyes while sniffing, a dimly lit cave comes into view.

—Click, click.

“Phew—”

I remember escaping from the goblin village and heading straight back home.

“If I’m going to live like this, I’ll have to live twice as long as everyone else.”

“Together!”

“Baekseol, are you going to live with me?”

“Yep!”

Baekseol, who had slipped out of my pocket, climbs onto my shoulder, flips over, and starts rubbing against me.

The rabbit somehow doesn’t fall off.

“Phew— Let’s go.”

“Yep!”

A colorless rainbow gate shimmers before my eyes.

As I pass through it, multiple gazes turn toward me. From people in familiar uniforms to soldiers guarding the gate.

The goblin gate is located halfway up a mountain. Unless something’s happened, there’s no way this many people would gather here.

“Did they come for a raid?”

Members of the Silver Wings guild, who had been locking eyes with me, swarm over.

“Saint… Lady Autumn.”

They probably meant to call me “Saint,” but noticing the soldiers around, they switched to my name.

“Yes, what’s going on?”

“We’ll escort you first.”

The person at the front of the group is a familiar face. The same person who briefed me while putting me on a helicopter last time.

“Where to?”

“There’s a helipad prepared over there.”

“We’re halfway up a mountain here?”

“Yes.”

Heading to where the man pointed, I see a helicopter parked on a cleared area.

The traces of hastily cut trees and flattened ground are evident.

“Did another demon gate open?”

“No.”

Still, having ridden a helicopter once before, I board it without hesitation.

As I sit down, the strong smell of aviation fuel fills the interior, and a sense of weightlessness sets in.

—Click, click.

“Phew—”

Thud.

As I light a cigarette, the uniformed man opens the helicopter window.

“Saint. First, I apologize for summoning you so abruptly.”

The man bows his head in apology.

“It’s fine. I was about to head back to school after finishing my work anyway.”

The man taps his wrist device a couple of times, then adjusts something with his fingers.

“It’ll take about 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach Wisdom Academy.”

“That’s fast.”

When I came down to the Gyeongsang region because of the gate, it took three to four hours. But I guess helicopters are just that much faster.

“So, what’s the reason for this?”

“Saint, have you heard of Calamity-class monsters?”

“Hmm… No.”

I think Teacher Hwang explained it, but I can’t recall.

“They’re monsters that exist in various countries, or even in nations that have already fallen. They’ve made nests outside the gates, on Earth itself.”

“Huh? Don’t you hunt them?”

The man shakes his head at my question.

“We can’t. The minimum manpower required to hunt them is beyond imagination…”

“It is said that the foundation of national power, the lives of hunters, will have to be sacrificed to such an extent, as scholars predict.”

“If it’s to that extent, the state would probably stop them from going.”

“Exactly. Moreover, the higher-ups want incapacitation, not extermination.”

The man before me never hesitates to point out the festering wounds of the nation every time he sees me.

As if asking me to cut them out.

“Hmm—so incapacitation means you want to raise monsters?”

“That is also correct. Calamity-level monsters are, as the name suggests, impossible for humans to handle. The idea is to use them as bioweapons.”

As the uniformed man adjusts his slipping glasses, they glint in the light.

“Is that even possible?”

“Currently, it’s considered impossible. Because the most representative calamity is the dragon from the United States.”

Creatures that throw their lives away without hesitation. If you’ve ever caught a monster, you’d know how insane they are. And if it’s a dragon, forget about it.

“That sounds tough.”

“Of course, it’s tough. But that tough dragon was recently annihilated.”

“Huh?”

“It’s said that a mage who freely wields black and elemental magic, a reaper with a giant scythe, and a knight with a greatsword put on a dragon disassembly show.”

“······Huh. Sounds like some familiar friends.”

“They demanded a giant container big enough for soybean paste and a dragon, then suddenly vanished at some point. Along with the massive dragon corpse.”

Curious, I slightly opened a subspace to peek inside, and there lay the corpse of a strange creature I’d never seen before.

It looked just like a winged lizard.

“······.”

“Saint?”

“Uh······. Haha. I just resolved it with the parties involved through prayer. Someone must have a mischievous streak.”

“Has it really been resolved?”

The suited man adjusts his glasses again, throwing a sharp glance. I can feel cold sweat running down my back.

“Yep.”

“They were docile as long as no one attacked or invaded their territory, so much so that even some indigenous people in the United States began to worship the dragon.”

“Hmm—······.”

The cigarette tastes bitter today.

Even though I deliberately avoided the bespectacled man’s gaze, he’s staring at me so intensely it feels like lasers are shooting from his eyes.

He knows everything and is just asking.

He’s more troublesome than I thought.

“On behalf of the Korean government, I’d like to express our gratitude. Thank you for resolving another major issue today.”

The uniformed man bows his head.

He really has a troublesome personality.

“Thanks to the Saint, they won’t have to offer tributes to the dragon anymore.”

“Ahem. Ah, why didn’t the reverse summon work? Did I forget······.”

“It seems the mana consumption for maintaining the summon is low.”

“Huh? What?”

—Click, click, click.

“Ah, why is this lighter acting up?”

Poof!

As I blame the lighter, the uniformed man pulls one out from his pocket and offers it.

These kinds of people always seem to carry lighters that make popping sounds.

“Hmm—thank you.”

“It’s nothing compared to what the Saint has done.”

“….You’re really something else, huh?”

“Huh?”

“What? No. I was just talking to myself.”

It must be nice for Yu Bit-na to have such a sharp person as a subordinate, but dealing with them feels like it’s draining all my mental energy.

“Don’t we have them in our country?”

“No. I don’t know whether to consider it unfortunate or fortunate that they haven’t been confirmed yet, but there’s been no confirmation so far. Some people are anxious because of it.”

“I see. What about other countries besides the U.S.?”

“There are more than you’d think. The Black Dog in the UK, the Hyakki Yagyo in Japan, the Wendigo in Canada, and the Phoenix in North Macedonia are some of the confirmed calamities so far.”

“Phoenix?”

A monster that constantly emits flames from its entire body. No matter how large its energy reservoir is, just hearing about it makes your mouth water.

“Ah, Teach!”

“No.”

“Why not!”

“Because I said no.”

“But why!”

Professor Hwang, who had been sitting at his desk staring at documents and repeating “no,” finally looked up.

“Because you made a mess during the practical summoning class.”

“Huh?”

Hearing Professor Hwang’s words, that day suddenly came back to me.

That day, Baekseol fell from the sky like a snowflake, and her mother tried a bit of cryogenic molecular cooking.

“But that wasn’t me, was it?”

“That’s exactly why I’m saying no. If it wasn’t you, doesn’t that mean you can’t control that immense power?”

“Hmm. Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”

Professor Hwang looked utterly baffled by my response.

In situations like this, there’s no way out. The only option left is a frontal assault.

“If you lend me the summoning scroll, I’ll do better in the academy competition. What a shame.”

Professor Hwang’s body twitched slightly.

“I heard that if the class you’re in charge of wins the competition, the professor gets a ton of incentives….”

“Where did you hear that….?”

I heard it from another professor I had grilled beforehand.

“The research funds allocated to scholars are also said to be meager. What a shame, right, Baekseol?”

“Yeah!”

“Our team’s Shin Yong and Chan Yong were the top and second in their grade, right? Ah, without the summoning scroll, we won’t be able to perform well in the competition. Our class is doomed, doomed. Instead of research funds, we’ll get scolded as incentives. Right, Baekseol?”

“Yay!”

Professor Hwang’s shoulders heaved.

“What if I accidentally cast that cool slow magic Professor Hwang taught us on Shin Yong’s leg? Right, Baekseol?”

“Yeah!”

“Ah, I think I might accidentally smack Shin Yong in the back of the head during the competition….”

Thud!

Professor Hwang, who had been sitting, hurriedly opened his desk drawer, pulled out a bundle of paper, and threw it in front of me.

Thump.

“….Deal?”

“Definitely.”

I nodded at Professor Hwang, and he nodded back slightly.

“Please, just don’t cause any accidents….. Please.”

“Teach, don’t you trust me?”

“Nope.”

Straight to the point.

“I think I might do the same.”

“·····.”

Being both a professor and a scholar, he always seems to say the right things.

“Let me tell you something important. The thing the academy reacts to most sensitively isn’t anything else—it’s the safety of the students. So, do it secretly in the gym. Ever since you summoned Baekseol, the safety standards have skyrocketed.”

Even the helicopter guy in uniform said the same. Despite the demon gate opening right next to the academy, he’s staying put, worried about the students’ safety.

“Teacher, don’t you trust me?”

“Yeah.”

Instant reply.

“I think I might do the same.”

“·····.”

It feels like we’re just going in circles with the same conversation because he’s always so spot-on.

“Teacher, you’re not just throwing a small net and waiting for a big fish, are you? Invest in me! I’ll take responsibility for Teacher Hwang’s research funds!”

The look Teacher Hwang gives me is… complicated.

I always thought I carried myself well, but everywhere I go, I’m treated like a troublemaker.

I guess now’s the time to prove I’m actually a well-behaved student.

***

*Boom—!*

Professor Hwang, who had been reading through some documents, heard a heavy sound and hurriedly rushed to the window.

“It’s broad daylight, but…?”

Looking out from the lab window, the vast sky above the academy was covered in dark clouds, blocking the sun.

*Rumble—!*

The ominous-looking clouds began to unleash thunder so loud it could deafen anyone.

Professor Hwang felt his mind go blank.

“What on earth…!!”

As he kept staring, the clouds, crackling with lightning, suddenly converged toward one spot.

The place below was none other than the academy gym, a place Professor Hwang knew all too well.

“Ah… Ga-eul, please. What on earth are you summoning…?”

This was clearly an abnormal phenomenon.

As Professor Hwang stared blankly at the storm clouds, Han Ga-eul’s confident voice echoed in his mind.

「Teacher, don’t you trust me?」

“No, stop causing trouble!!”

*Kwaaaang—!!*