translation by mourningmoor
{Zoom in a bit more.}
{Focus on the ones whose faces are visible, and take more shots of Shu.}
{What? Who are they? Are they celebrities?}
{Are they idols?}
{Forget personal bias. Focus on the ones who sell more.}
{Shu is popular. He’s good-looking.}
{Wow. They must be idols.}
{Ah, they’re really handsome. Should we take some pictures too?}
I didn’t even need to use my heightened senses.
They were openly talking about us in Japanese.
At first, I thought they might be sasaengs, but no.
They seemed to be paparazzi. Or maybe data sellers.
Soon, even the people sitting around them started to stir.
"Hyungnim, what's wrong?"
Perhaps because my expression had been off for a while, Roa tilted his head and tried to look back.
I quickly grabbed his chin to stop him.
"Don’t look back."
At that, Hanjoon dropped the noodles he was about to eat.
"Why? What’s going on?"
"Paparazzi are following us."
The kids' eyes widened.
They all had the same reaction: "But we're in Japan?"
Then, as if remembering the fan reaction at the cherry blossom festival, they gulped.
It’s possible. Given the overwhelming reaction, it’s entirely possible.
Those people must have followed us from the event venue.
They probably think we’re marketable.
That’s why they followed us from the event to the hotel, and from the hotel to here.
We’re not at the stage where people recognize us and swarm us yet, but we’re noticeable enough for paparazzi.
Or maybe it’s the opposite.
They might be thinking, "These Korean idols are getting a hot reaction, let’s see if we can take them down a notch."
Before coming here, I looked into various materials, and the people here are capable of such things.
"Don’t make it obvious and eat slowly."
I slurped up the remaining noodles and ate heartily.
"Causing a scene in a confined space won’t do us any good."
If they’re just here to take pictures, it’s fine, but if they have bad intentions, they might pick a fight.
We need to leave the restaurant as quietly as possible.
After finishing our meal, we prepared to leave.
Hanjoon, who had adjusted his sneakers, spoke quietly.
"Let’s pretend we don’t notice and leave the restaurant."
"What if they follow us?"
"Should we split up?"
It wasn’t a bad idea.
Splitting up would disperse their focus.
"Anyway, we can’t all take the same taxi. Let’s split into two or three groups and take separate taxis back to the hotel."
I agreed with Hanjoon’s suggestion.
"Siu, you’re with me."
Right now, Siu might be the most at risk.
The paparazzi kept mentioning Siu’s name.
"If no one follows us after we leave, we’ll just go on our way. If there’s even a hint of someone following, we’ll take a taxi immediately. Can you handle the kids, hyung?"
At my words, Hanjoon nodded.
"Alright. Let’s go."
Jaewon and Roa were the first to get up from their seats. Hanjoon followed.
Siu followed behind him, and I closely trailed Siu.
Just as we were about to leave the restaurant.
Three men got up from the corner opposite where we were sitting.
{Follow them.}
{Damn it. They noticed.}
Then, two women sitting in front of them also got up.
What the hell? Five people just to take a picture of us?
Is this what fame is? It’s ridiculous.
{Hurry up. Don’t lose them.}
{Grab the camera.}
Camera. Let’s see if you can even hold that camera.
As I was leaving the restaurant, I turned my head and looked at the camera.
At that moment, the large camera on the table slid off and fell to the ground.
The sound of it shattering was followed by a scream-like cry.
{My camera.}
{Move. They’re leaving.}
{No. Don’t step on it. Ah, the lens is cracked.}
Well, that should buy us some time.
After leaving the restaurant, I followed the kids toward the main street.
"They’re not following, right?"
"They will. Let’s grab a taxi."
As soon as I finished speaking, a loud voice came from inside the alley.
Even Jaewon, who doesn’t know any Japanese, sensed it was the paparazzi.
"Uh, uh. There’s one coming."
Jaewon pointed his finger out. But the taxi soon passed us by.
"What do we do? Those people are coming."
"Split up."
At Hanjoon’s words, the kids scattered in perfect unison.
But damn it. Contrary to our plan, they all scattered in different directions.
I let out a long sigh and followed Siu.
Five paparazzi, five of us.
It’s likely that each member has one following them.
So even if we split up, they’ll still follow.
"Yoon Siu."
I caught up to Siu and grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the main street.
"You go back to the hotel first."
I stopped a passing car.
Not that I hailed a taxi.
I used telekinesis to stop any car.
As the car slid to a stop, I opened the back door.
A man in his 30s started shouting and cursing loudly.
{Be quiet and just drive.}
The man immediately quieted down and looked ahead.
I shoved Siu, who was panicking and unsure what to do, into the car and gave the man an order.
{Take him safely to the Tokyo Dome Hotel. If he gets hurt, it’s on you.}
{Yes, mage.}
Then I turned my gaze to Siu.
"Yoon Siu. Go to the hotel. I’ve asked this man to take you safely."
"I-Ichan."
"I’ll go check on the kids. Tell Gyuhyung when you get back."
"I…."
I closed the car door.
The man, now my puppet, immediately started the car.
As soon as the car left, a man and a woman came running.
{Damn it, Shu’s gone.}
{Ichan-ssi. Why are you running? Let’s talk.}
Now they’re not even trying to hide it, openly causing a scene.
There are too many people here, so let’s move first.
I started running again.
The paparazzi who had been cursing followed me.
I thought this would be a good time to test my magic.
When I made the list, it was 3.8. But it must be different now.
The sensation caused by destroying the instrument at the debate unexpectedly increased our fanbase. Plus, the performance we showed today ignited the Japanese fandom.
I’m sure it’s well past the 4th circle.
After luring them into a secluded alley, I hid.
"Shadow Concealment."
A spell that hides me in the shadows of the night.
I exist, but they can’t see me.
As expected, even though they were right behind me, they lost me and looked bewildered.
{Damn it. We lost him.}
{It’s a dead end. Where did he go?}
{Are you sure you saw him?}
{I saw him. Did he jump over the wall?}
{Are you crazy? That wall? XX What do we do now? We lost both Shu and Ichan. The boss won’t let this slide.}
{We should join the others. Roa? We should at least get some pictures of him.}
{What if we cause an accident? If we fight and cause an accident, we’ll have to call the police and make a scene.}
{That’s why we should join the others. It’s easier to corner the kids.}
So that’s what this is?
The boss gave them two tasks.
One is to take pictures of us, and the other is to cause trouble and put us in a difficult situation.
Why did your boss give such contradictory orders?
If you cause trouble, our reputation will drop, and if our reputation drops, the pictures won’t sell well.
Just as the grumbling man was about to turn around, cursing.
I revealed myself from the shadows.
{Ahhh!}
{W-What’s this? What’s going on? There was definitely no one here?}
"Yeah. I only show myself to kind-hearted people. You were bad earlier, but since you told me your secret, I guess you’ve become good. That’s why you can see me now."
When I spoke in Korean, their faces twisted.
{What is he saying?}
{Take pictures, take pictures first. We need to take this to the police station.}
At the man’s words, the woman raised her camera.
But the camera flew to the other side of the alley and shattered.
{Ah. My camera.}
"Sorry. I hope it wasn’t expensive."
The camera exploded, and smoke rose.
The memory card had caught fire.
The paparazzi’s faces were already pale.
Then the man tried to run away.
But he didn’t get far.
"Bind."
A blue light flowed out like a thread and tightly bound the man.
Then I brought him back to the woman and bound them both together.
"Why are you running? We’re not done yet."
I approached the two, who were trembling and sitting down, and crouched.
Then I smiled and held out my hand.
"Cell phones, cameras, recorders. Hand them over."
The man, who only understood the word "camera," shook his head.
{It’s broken. I don’t have a camera.}
"Liar."
I pressed my index finger against the man’s forehead.
Then his thoughts flooded in like a wave.
The boss’s face, his orders, the pictures of us the man had taken, the cherry blossom festival stage, the taxi driving ahead…
I withdrew my finger and narrowed my eyes.
"Are you from a broadcasting company?"
This guy isn't a paparazzi.
He’s a professional VJ from Akato TV, a competitor of Niji TV.
"Hey, you jerk. What’s so lacking about being from a broadcasting company?"
Then I searched his clothes.
Cell phone, recorder, small camera.
I turned my gaze to the woman. She quickly shook her head and handed over everything she had.
"You’re a bit kinder, ma’am."
I smiled and took the items, lining them up on the ground.
One small camera, two recorders, three cell phones, three USBs.
"I’ve done all sorts of experiments on you two. So I think I’m about a 4.5 now?"
It was true. From Shadow Concealment to Binding, I’ve mixed and used all sorts of spells without any issues. Telekinesis isn’t difficult either, and I think I can shoot fireballs of various sizes.
"Let me try one more thing. Watch closely. This one’s a bit tricky."
I crouched in front of the two, who were trembling in fear, and held out both hands.
I turned my palms downward and pulled mana into my heart.
Then a blue light gathered in my palms and turned white.
"This is molecular disintegration. Watch closely. You won’t get to see this even if you pay for it."
I lowered my glowing white palms, and the cell phone on the ground melted away like snow. Then the camera, the recorders, and the USBs. All of them melted and disappeared.
"Success."
This is pretty good.
According to Yoo Noah, the amount of mana flowing into me indicates my magical power level, and this level is quite usable.
If I had known this earlier, I would have created a mana hole sooner.
{W-We’re sorry.}
{Forgive us.}
In the joy of successfully performing "Molecular Disintegration," the final stage of the 4th circle, I forgot about the two in front of me.
When I looked up, the paparazzi—no, the VJ—was begging with tears and snot running down his face.
{The boss told us to cause trouble so Niji TV would cut ties with you. That way, they could recontract with us. We’re sorry.}
Well, whatever.
You almost put us in danger.
"Go tell your boss."
I released the two from the binding and pointed both index fingers at their foreheads.
"L.I.T will definitely dominate the Japanese market, but Akato TV will never work with L.I.T."
The two, who had lost their minds, nodded simultaneously.
"Stay like this for one minute. After that, you’ll forget everything. Ah, remember what I just said. You need to deliver that."
The two nodded again.
I smiled contentedly and stood up, brushing off my hands.
"Time Dilation Release."
Time flowed again.
And I performed the final experiment.
"Teleport."