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4

Let’s Accelerate Time.

“Hello, Teacher!”

“Oh, Yohwa.”

“Yes! Hehe, long time no see!”

One day, Cheon Yohwa came down to Busan with a few of her close aides. True to Baekhwa Girls’ High School’s peculiarities, they were all wearing white sailor uniforms. By now, Cheon Yohwa should be around the equivalent of a high school senior, more like a ninth-year high schooler, so it was about time she graduated.

The head of the most powerful guild in the Korean Peninsula dressed as a witch, and the second in command in a school uniform—this land’s future looked grim.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course. I’m always doing well.”

“Haha. Well, you seem like the type who could be dropped in the middle of the Sahara Desert and still make it back just fine. Anyway-”

While we were talking, the rest of the Baekhwa Girls’ High School guild members had moved away. In the square where only the two of us remained, Cheon Yohwa glanced around.

“Busan. It’s changed a lot.”

“Hmm.”

Cheon Yohwa was right. The Busan of the 173rd turn boasted a cityscape that couldn’t be found in previous turns.

The previous Busan, although the largest city on the Korean Peninsula, wasn’t very glamorous due to the apocalyptic circumstances.

The entertainment districts, though adorned with yellow and pink lights using expensive electricity, mostly had buildings that didn’t exceed two stories.

The high-rise buildings were abandoned because maintaining elevators and sewer systems was impossible.

But now it was different. Most buildings were four to five stories high, and there were even a few over ten stories.

Civilization hadn’t been fully restored. The most expensive housing was still on the first floor. People had to climb stairs to use the restroom, accepting the leg workout if they wanted to live in Busan that badly.

“How fancy.”

“How’s Sejong these days?”

“Ah, well, the same as always. Since we’ve got a firm hold on Sejong, it’s somewhat populated, but other cities are struggling, right? They say all the professionals are being snatched away by Busan. Whenever guild leaders gather, they always grumble about it.”

Cheon Yohwa’s eyes narrowed as she gazed at the new capital of the Korean Peninsula.

“But it’s hard for all those complaints to focus on one point, right? There isn’t a guild leader strong enough to challenge the Road Manager.”

“Well, there’s you, Yohwa.”

“Haha. The guild leaders always say that.”

Cheon Yohwa waved her hand dismissively, as if embarrassed.

“Why would I have a power struggle with the Road Manager? I’m content feeding my guild, hunting monsters, and occasionally traveling to see you!”

“That sounds like you.”

“Hehe…”

However, for someone with a humble lifestyle, the aura of the guild members accompanying her in Busan was impressive. She probably assembled the top elite members of Baekhwa Girls’ High School for this delegation.

I glanced at Cheon Yohwa’s waist. Like a Pokémon trainer carrying Poké Balls, monster master Cheon Yohwa had a special belt with an hourglass attached.

A glass bottle with uniquely white sand. Despite its appearance, it was an indestructible monster seal.

Endless Hell.

Cheon Yohwa’s strongest weapon. Even within the hourglass, her doppelgänger, ‘Cheon Yohwa,’ seemed to recognize me, stirring the sand with a rustling sound.

Sensing the vibration from the belt, Cheon Yohwa’s expression turned icy. The vibrant smile she had been radiating vanished instantly.

“Shut up.”

The hourglass trembled briefly and then quieted down. It might have been my imagination, but the vibration felt like mocking laughter to me.

At that moment,

-Ah, ahh, ahhh――.

A soft singing voice began to flow from speakers that rose like utility poles throughout downtown Busan. It was an acapella recording by Tang Seorin.

-Ah… Ahhh… Ahhh…

The melody resembled a lullaby but was bright enough not to irritate the nerves. As the soft song swept between us, Cheon Yohwa’s eyebrows relaxed.

“Ah, this is it. The famous Busan specialty?”

“Yes, it’s the Road Manager’s song.”

“Heh… Just listening to it makes me feel at ease. Or should I say it makes me happy? Is this not a drug?”

It actually had effects similar to a drug. The ‘Road Manager’s Song’ was broadcast every hour from 7 AM to 10 PM. The effects of the song varied subtly depending on the time.

For example, at 7 AM, the song had the effect of waking you up and sharpening your mind. At 10 PM, it made you pleasantly drowsy, ensuring a good night’s sleep as soon as you lay down.

“Thanks to this, you won’t find people with better sleep health than Busan citizens anywhere in the world. Not a single case of insomnia.”

“Wow…”

“And during work hours, the song is energizing and uplifting. When it’s time to have dinner, it’s relaxing and slightly exciting, just enough to make social interactions enjoyable. Productivity and overall life satisfaction are at their peak.”

“A happy city indeed.”

Even now, dozens of citizens were gathered under the speakers. When the song ended, they dispersed with refreshed expressions, heading back to their respective workplaces.

‘City Made of Songs’

That was present-day Busan.

“People from other cities keep flocking to Busan.”

For the past six years, I’ve been researching day and night with Tang Seorin to create this system.

We developed five types of magic suitable for each situation and utilized Guai spirits to ensure the magical effects aren’t lost even when recorded.

“Well then, Teacher. I have a meeting scheduled with the protagonist of that song. I’ll take my leave now!”

“Ah, okay.”

“Yes! See you again soon!”

Tang Seorin and Cheon Yohwa, leaders of the White and Black Guilds, rulers of Busan and Sejong, leaders of the National Highway Authority and the Baekhwa Girls’ High School Student Council.

The secret meeting of these two rival awakeners was held clandestinely. Thanks to the Clairvoyance of the Saintess, I could eavesdrop on the key details of the secret meeting.

The details of the negotiation were not disclosed, for some reason, by the Saintess.

The result of the meeting.

“Hehe. Now we’re neighbors. I look forward to working with you, Teacher!”

“….”

It was decided to relocate Baekhwa Girls’ High School from Sejong to Busan.

The entire Yeongdo District was allocated as the Baekhwa Girls’ domain, and Sejong citizens were allowed to move freely.

Cheon Yohwa remained the Student Council President of Baekhwa Girls’ High School, but also received the title of Deputy Chief of the National Highway Authority.

To anyone who saw it, it seemed that Cheon Yohwa had taken over the guilds and defected to Tang Seorin.

That was the decisive blow.

Accelerate.

Four years later, there was only one city left in the Korean Peninsula: Busan.

In the end, the world of a witch who wanted to wander around here and there more than anyone else narrowed down more than any other episode.

The average floor of buildings in downtown Busan has risen a bit more. At this rate, it would be fair to call it the last metropolis of humanity.

Even the Saintess, who always wanted to wander around various places in the world, moved her residence to Busan. There was no longer any need to stay there and observe the awakeners of the Korean Peninsula.

Surprisingly, in the heart of expensive land in Busan, there was a wide-open square where no buildings were set.

A square designed to accommodate tens of thousands of people. The hollow in the center was dug deep enough for every citizen to witness what was happening below.

Like a colosseum.

That was Tang Seorin’s “courtroom.”

Tang Seorin sat on the judge’s seat. Next to her was Cheon Yohwa―the girl who, at some point, had dyed her white sailor suit black.

The judges looked down. A defendant was kneeling in the vast courtroom.

“I… assaulted a passerby.”

The defendant’s subdued confession echoed throughout the vast courtroom. A spectacle created by Tang Seorin’s “Amplify Magic.”

“I sometimes can’t control my body. I get angry… and then it just boils up… By the time I come to my senses, it’s always like that. And this time, if others hadn’t stopped me, I would have beaten someone to death.”

Boooooo-

Booing erupted from the tens of thousands gathered in the audience seats.

But when Tang Seorin lightly tapped the judge’s gavel, the entire city fell silent as if to say, “When did that happen?”

“Continue speaking.”

“…Yes. I no longer like myself like this. I apologize and express regret to everyone I have harmed… Above all, I humbly request, Your Honor, that you help me mend this aspect of my personality…”

The defendant lowered their head.

Tang Seorin raised a cold finger. At that moment, a golden scale glimmered in the air.

The magic of equivalent exchange.

“Sinner, do you repent for your wrongdoing?”

“Yes.”

“As you wish, [from now on, your inner propensity for violence will intensify]. Under this condition, the victim has generously proposed to forgive the violence you have caused.”

The victim who made this generous proposal had received a judgment here a year ago for [being able to forgive even those who have wronged them].

“Do you agree to the victim’s proposal?”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, Grand Witch. Thank you…”

“Executioner, proceed.”

The black-robed Cheon Yohwa stood up.

She approached the defendant and touched their head. Cheon Yohwa’s murmuring voice was subtly muted, not echoing through the courtroom, but I could surmise that she was ‘brainwashing’ the defendant.

Personality modification. Indoctrination. Distortion.

That was Cheon Yohwa’s ability.

“Ah…”

Finally, the golden scale twinkled.

On the left scale was the victim’s forgiveness, and on the right was the defendant’s propensity for violence.

The scale, agreed upon by both parties, balanced out—granting each their wish.

The defendant sprang to their feet.

“I don’t feel it… I don’t feel it! The emotion that has tormented me all my life, it no longer exists! Thank you! Thank you! Your Honor, Grand Witch! Thank you!”

Thousands of spectators clapped in unison. Voices cheering for the defendant’s success, praising the powers of Tang Seorin and Cheon Yohwa, echoed through the courtroom.

They too were citizens who had received [exchanges] in this courtroom due to trivial or significant events.

“Oh, Guardian.”

Suddenly, a voice came from beside me. I turned my head to see Yoo Jiwon standing there.

“Jiwon?”

“Yes. Why are you attending the trial in such a remote place? Your Excellency, you could have watched from closer.”

By the way, ‘Guardian’ was a title for me. The Guardian of the city, so to speak.

Tang Seorin’s heavily flavored naming conventions weren’t personally preferred. I rather missed the title ‘Your Excellency’ that Jiwon exaggeratedly used.

“I was just passing by. Anyway, I have to go and stop another monster wave.”

“Ah… as expected. You’re really busy.”

Jiwon smiled.

It was the original Jiwon, a smile so natural, warm, and therefore completely un-Jiwon-like.

“But thanks to your efforts, Your Excellency, the citizens of the city can live without worry, right? I’m always rooting for you. If you need my guidance, please feel free to ask.”

“…”

I felt sincerity in all those words.

In a situation where finding truth from sincerity was perplexing, I was momentarily speechless.

Jiwon, too, had recently undergone a transformation into a psychopathic-like personality due to Tang Seorin’s [equivalent exchange] and Cheon Yohwa’s [brainwashing].

For a long time, Jiwon had a habit akin to an incurable disease. Hunting down small animals on the streets, whether cats, dogs, or birds, secretly.

But the scene of Jiwon’s hunting, uncharacteristic, was exposed, and eventually referred to Tang Seorin’s ‘witch trial’.

“Jiwon.”

“Yes?”

“Are you satisfied with your life these days?”

Jiwon blinked.

“Of course. In fact, I’ve never spent such fulfilling time as now. Since the day of the trial, I’ve finally felt like living as a human being.”

“…”

Indeed, was that so?

I had a slightly different interpretation.

I had never heard of Jiwon enjoying stress relief by hunting small animals. Even if it was a newly acquired hobby in this session, it was hard to believe that someone like Jiwon would expose a scene of cat hunting as a ‘mistake’.

Perhaps it was an intentionally disguised hobby and the act was not intentionally exposed.

The figure in front was acting out a ‘gesture that looks like a psychopath no matter who sees it’. And corrected her personality through the witch trial of Tang Seorin.

In order to survive here, and to continue living as a city’s power, it was judged that it was advantageous to be ‘like this’.

Jiwon thought of the world as a map and labyrinth with defined entrances and exits. To her, her personality and way of thinking were just a means to reach the ‘right answer’.

“…Well. Good for you. Then keep up the good work, Director Yoo.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

I walked through the corridor without an exit.

Wow-!

Far away, cheers erupted from the audience seats. It was an immense cheer.

Tang Seorin! Tang Seorin!

The entire courtroom was buzzing like it had been hit by a running train.

Led by that sound, just before leaving the courtroom, I suddenly looked down again.

At that moment, another part of the defendant’s personality was being exchanged in the golden scales. Tang Seorin whispered something to Cheon Yohwa, who nodded.

That’s when Tang Seorin’s and my eyes met.

“…”

“…”

But it was just for a moment. Tang Seorin turned her head to continue her work as the ruler of the city and the judge of this space.

And so did I.

Even as I walked away from the corridor, the cheers did not cease behind me.

Tang Seorin! Tang Seorin! Tang Seorin…

In the courtroom, the cheers never ended, and outside the city’s speakers, the songs never stopped.

I walked with two melodies shadowing my footsteps.