The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Who Stole It? (2)

After the Golden Gate Incident, the world was in shock.

In this era, monsters that harmed humanity would appear—

and gates that spat out those monsters.

There was a time when, due to an out-of-control gate, an entire region was nearly destroyed.

For over a week, monsters swarmed within the rampaging gate.

Thanks to the sacrifices of countless hunters, casualties were minimized.

At that time, no matter what methods were used, the gate showed no sign of calming down.

Unless a week passed, the rampage would continue.

But this time, the gate stopped in just a few hours.

〈The World – International Organization〉

Its headquarters was on a tiny island somewhere in the Pacific.

Although the island was man-made, its size was no less than Ulleungdo of Korea.

At the center of the island stood a tall tower.

Inside, in one of its meeting rooms, people dressed in lavish attire were discussing the Golden Gate incident.

"Could it be because it was a Golden Gate? There are many ways it differs from typical gates."

A black man in his mid-forties gave his opinion.

Fewer than ten members were gathered, but all were top figures of The World.

Around their round table, people of various races and Mutamit sat together.

"Frankly, we haven't fully revealed the mysteries of the Golden Gate. Perhaps this happened due to its unique properties..."

"It's still too suspicious for that. Not a week, not even a full day, but just a few hours? In fact, if you measure the exact time, it didn't even take two hours. Does that make any sense to you?"

A man in his thirties whose body was ablaze spoke up.

He had phoenix-like flaming wings on his back and sharp bones protruding from his mouth and shoulders.

He was the most striking among the Mutamit present.

"My gut tells me someone definitely interfered."

"Did you find any evidence of interference? I'm curious about the results of your investigation, chairman."

"..."

At that question, everyone turned their gaze to one man.

The man, who looked to be in his twenties, stood holding a report in front of him.

This was Raven Holbat, chairman of Hand, who glanced at the report summarizing the incident.

"In our investigation, the perpetrators behind the gate rampage were the remnants of the Holy Church. There's testimony that they triggered the rampage in order to open a rift."

Hand had collected statements from those who had entered the gate to investigate the incident.

Fortunately, those who survived all said the same thing:

–The perpetrators of the gate rampage were the Holy Church and the Poison Guild.

–Turns out the Poison Guild was actually a front for the Holy Church.

–Their purpose was to open a rift that connects to another world.

–In fact, as the rampage occurred, a rift opened and people from another world came out.

Any one of these facts was shocking.

Yet those gathered here treated them as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

"If it was people from another world... It must have been 'those guys', right?"

"But have rifts that connect to 'that world' ever opened inside a gate before?"

"We can't rule it out as impossible. The rampage itself makes the gate unbalanced."

But the opening of a rift was a first. Even when gates first rampaged, such a thing never occurred.

They were suspecting that perhaps it was due to the Golden Gate.

"A detailed explanation will be given by a witness right here."

Seated beside Raven was a man in his thirties and an old man with a radiant halo on his head.

Baek Suhyeok, leader of the Angel Guild, and his officer Yoo Cheon-hwa.

Of them, Yoo Cheon-hwa stood and began to speak.

He explained everything he had experienced up until he passed out inside the gate.

"That's all."

Murmurs rose from everyone at his account.

Another world, demonkin, dark magic power and holy magic power, even things like this world of Earth being filled with dark magic power...

It was all a bewildering series of mysteries.

"Is what you said all true?"

"Yes, it's all the truth."

The people affiliated with The World remained calm, even though they'd just heard this.

Seeing this unexpected composure, Yoo Cheon-hwa and Kang Hyun-seok swallowed dryly.

They knew The World was a great organization founded by the world government, but apparently, their activities were deeper than expected.

"We sincerely thank you two from the Angel Guild for your cooperation."

"No, if anything, we should..."

"Pardon me, but may I ask you to excuse yourselves for a moment?"

Raven Holbat politely requested this of the two from Angel Guild.

Yoo Cheon-hwa and Baek Suhyeok exchanged glances and then got up.

"Then we'll step outside."

"Thank you very much."

Once the two left the room, a strange tension filled the air among the members of The World.

The silence was eventually broken by the Mutamit man whose back was ablaze.

"Aaaaaah! Just how much longer do we have to keep doing this crap!"

Despite his monstrous appearance, he had shown polite speech, but now he suddenly leaned back in his chair, grumbling.

And he wasn't the only one; others started showing their real attitudes as well.

"What, you hate pretending to be nice to the humans that much?"

"Did you forget what those humans from that other world did to me? If you know, keep your mouth shut."

"Calm down. Compared to that other world, this one is nothing."

"Tch."

A meeting of grown adults suddenly began to sound like students chatting.

Only Raven Holbat stayed serious amid this atmosphere.

"Let's keep it together. The meeting isn't over yet."

"..."

"At any rate, thanks to this incident, we now know the Poison Guild is in league with those guys."

"So they're just like the Sura Guild then."

There were many beings who had come from another world and slipped into this one.

Tracking them down and crushing them was the goal of The World.

"But the Sura Guild and Poison Guild are both official guilds. They're not terrorists running wild like the Holy Church."

"We need to find a way to bring them down. That's our job."

Then, a man with almost pure white skin spoke up.

"How about targeting the Poison Guildmaster's child? One of them is a well-known politician."

"Who?"

Her name was Kang Minji.

She was in her early 40s.

In her twenties, she married the leader of Hwasan Guild and had a child.

"You mean the wife of the Hwasan Guildmaster? That could get tricky."

"If we bother her, we'll have to take on not only the Poison Guild but also the Hwasan Guild."

It would only create more enemies.

Taking on two major guilds at once was daunting, even for them.

"Then let's hold off on the Hwasan Guild and Poison Guild for now. After all, the recent incident must have cratered their reputations."

At the moment, the Poison Guild was like a falling sword.

There was no need to reach out and get wounded for no reason.

"If we're aiming for someone, it should be the Sura Guild. They already secured the Vessel of God."

The object of worship in the Sura Guild—Sura.

If Sura achieved perfect ascension as the Sura demon god, they could become a major obstacle to "the One".

That's why dealing with Sura immediately was effective.

"Looks like we've got plenty to do. I need to get back to my chairmanship duties soon too."

"More business?"

"Karen's made another weird request of me. Funny how she left when she said she didn't want to do this anymore."

"Yeah, but weren't you and Karen the closest anyway? So why'd you turn down her confession?"

Raven's eyes narrowed sharply at that question.

"You're really asking that?"

"..."

"Do you know how much 'the One' hates romance between men and women?"

****

"Hmm... Still can't hear anything."

Outside the meeting room, Baek Suhyeok focused his mind at the closed door.

His halo glimmered, helping him try to catch any sound from within.

But no matter how many times he tried, only static came through.

"They must have taken special measures so that no one could overhear."

"Otherwise, why would they send us out?"

Unflinching in the face of all this shocking information—

Indeed, the World was a deeply unusual organization.

"But why didn't you mention that fact?"

There was something Yoo Cheon-hwa hadn't shared during his testimony.

In the incident, when he fainted on the spot, he saw with his "third eye"—that demon.

It tore through enemies alone, broke the laws of physics, and forcibly closed a dimensional rift.

It was not an exaggeration to say it was a calamitous being in the guise of a young middle schooler.

But—

"Because that person is the one who saved my teammates' and my life."

Besides, the way that demon looked was only frightening on the outside.

Its real intentions could hardly be called evil.

Labeling Earthlings as demonkin and trying to annihilate them—those people from the other world—

Yoo Cheon-hwa agreed wholeheartedly that such people could not be allowed to come to Earth.

"I have no intention of sharing information about it before I learn what The World truly is."

"Agreed. I feel the same way."

Baek Suhyeok checked information on his tablet about a student called Ma Seongjin.

He was from Daesang Elementary School.

Six years ago, he had attended winter camp in Yong-in city at Christmas.

"Incidentally, my granddaughter was an adoptee from Yong-in too."

Everything seemed to fit together.

The person who took down Black Flame Church at the Yong-in Gate back then had to be this boy.

Wuuuung—

His phone vibrated in his pocket.

Seeing the caller, Baek Suhyeok suddenly smiled brightly and answered.

"Oh, my puppy~ How have you been?"

–Mm...

A fragile girl's voice came through the receiver.

At that moment, Baek Suhyeok was not the leader of Korea's Four Great Guilds, but just a grandfather to his granddaughter.

"So what made you call today?"

–Really... Can you find him?

"Hm?"

–Can you really find that person?

The granddaughter had never forgotten what happened in Yong-in city six years ago.

Oddly, she couldn't recall that day clearly.

But since then, the boy's face kept appearing in her dreams, always obscured.

Who was he, to take up so much space in her mind?

"He has to be."

–Really?

She rejoiced quietly on the other end. At the same time, Baek Suhyeok had his own curiosity.

"Just who is this guy, making our Eunseol so troubled?"

–No... He isn't troubling me.

She spoke as if shaking her head.

Whenever something bad happened, that boy appeared in her dreams.

Then, before she knew it, her bad feelings would vanish.

"So what kind of guy is he?"

Her grandfather teased playfully, and the girl answered—

–He's a kind person.

She had no memory.

She didn't know his name.

But the kindness she sensed from the boy still lived in her heart.

She kept wondering—

Just what kind of boy was he, really?

****

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuck!!"

Disaster had struck Hand's Middle 2nd Academy.

A stormy scream echoed across the schoolyard.

"Who... Who the hell did this?! Come out noooooow!!"

A devil raising disaster was screaming on the field.

Countless male students were kneeling before him with their heads bowed.

They all wanted to hurry back to the dorms and hang out, but they couldn't.

Anyone who tried to sneak away would be eaten alive by that devil bringing doom.

"Seongjin, stop it. Maybe you just lost it yourself."

The only girl able to talk to this devil tried to soothe him.

But her earnest plea did not reach the devil.

"Sang-ah. Do you really not get why I'm like this right now?"

"I get it! Your underwear got stolen."

"Yeah! It got stolen! Five of them! How can I just let this go?!"

At his thunderbolts, Sang-ah was speechless.

Well, it wasn't completely illogical.

Imagine someone sneaking into the dorm and stealing five panties belonging to a girl.

Underwear theft would normally bring the police for public order violations.

Plus, considering Seongjin is the son of a prosecutor, it was all the more absurd not to pursue this.

Legally, Seongjin held the advantage.

But...

"But you don't have to get this worked up."

After losing his underwear, Ma Seongjin searched everywhere from dorms to classrooms.

Assuming the culprit was one of the boys, he focused on rounding up the male students as suspects.

So now they were all terrified, searching for the panty thief on his orders.

"Sang-ah, do you remember what I said before?"

"What?"

"I'm very kind. That means I'm always willing to give people a chance."

Suddenly, Seongjin spoke with angelic calm.

Yet, a deep, dark shadow hid beneath his expression.

"Anyone can make a mistake at a young age. Do you know why there's a Juvenile Law?"

So that they get a chance to correct their errors.

That's right. If you don't fix bad habits as a child, they'll follow you into adulthood.

"You get what I'm saying, don't you?"

Then Seongjin shouted again.

"If you just let kids off the hook, the Juvenile Law is meaningless!! Got it or not?!"

"..."

"Whoever stole those panties, I'll kill them!! Kill!! Smash them to pieces!!"

─KIIIIIIIIIEEEK!!

At the endless display of madness, Sang-ah just looked resigned.

It seemed he'd keep this up until the real thief was caught.

It was like when that girl Kang Ah-rin burst into the solo party room.

Seongjin was simply not someone one could handle rationally.

"Yeah... You really are kind."

So disgustingly kind.

So kind it nearly burns your eyes.

"Kwon Sang-ah, was it you?"

"I told you, for the last time, it wasn't me!"

At Seongjin's suddenly chilling question, Sang-ah barked back.

Please. Let winter vacation come soon.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

I know who stole it...

Or, at least I have a guess...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】