Chapter 62 : Chapter 62
Chapter 62
At the border between Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do.
A desolate road without a single soul, lined with collapsed buildings.
This place, which suited the word “ruins” perfectly, had once served as the downtown of a county-level town, but it was now a completely abandoned area, devastated by Demonic Beings and monsters.
The only people who ever came were Hunters seeking monster spoils, and those hired by the Suwon administration to conduct national reconnaissance.
However, at this time of year, even they did not pass through.
It was an empty land, a void.
Except for the Special Affairs Division, which was carrying out a classified operation.
“Hm. So that was how you escaped.”
Inside a building amid the ruins, Special Affairs Division Chief Baek Dojun and Special Affairs Division investigator Maxi Fredo were interrogating a Muspel escapee.
“I, I only did what I was told…! I, I did not mean to escape!”
“He has been repeating that line since before you arrived, Chief. He claims he was swept up in the momentum.”
Maxi continued.
“But whether he was incited or did not intend it, the fact remains that he walked out of Muspel on his own feet.”
“No! I mean it! I had no intention of leaving!”
Bound in restraints, the escapee desperately leaned toward Baek Dojun.
As if trying to insist upon his innocence.
In that moment, Maxi lightly tapped the floor with the dress shoe he was wearing.
Ice formed from the ground beneath the escapee and, in an instant, swallowed his ankles.
“…!”
“If you do not stay still, the next thing to freeze will be your heart.”
Maxi, the Italian who spoke politely even to criminals.
He did not maintain honorific speech out of respect.
It was simply an act of drawing a line, declaring that the other party was an existence that could never be his equal.
“There is one thing I want to ask.”
After organizing his thoughts, Baek Dojun spoke.
“That instigator. Did he not mention my name? For instance… Gen.”
“…Y-yes! He said Gen! He said that bastard would give us freedom!”
“I see….”
Baek Dojun turned to Maxi.
“It is clear who caused this. Fredo, investigate every person who applied to Dispel within the past three months. Every single one, regardless of sex, age, or origin.”
“Understood. …But Chief, by Gen, do you mean that Demonic Being?”
“That is right. By that alias he is called Thousand Transformations, an irritating Demonic Being who can wear the skin of any intelligent existence.”
“……”
“In any case, leave the remaining escapees to the other investigators, and you will dig into Gen’s background.”
“I will report as soon as possible.”
As Maxi bowed his head, Baek Dojun turned his back on the escapee.
A few steps toward leaving the building.
Then Baek Dojun suddenly turned and spoke again.
“Even if you discover Gen, do not make contact without cause. I know you are the most cautious investigator in our Special Affairs Division, but you are not cautious enough to match him. Demonic Beings are creatures that have lived through unfathomable ages, so do not place your foot in danger unnecessarily.”
“I will keep it in mind.”
With that, Baek Dojun quickened his pace again.
Watching their exchange, the escapee, flustered that the chief had made no decision regarding his fate, shouted with a panicked face.
“H-hey! What about leniency? I told you everything you wanted!”
Maxi cut him off.
“Leniency, for a criminal who escaped from Muspel, where the worst superpowered criminals beyond rehabilitation are imprisoned… You are quite greedy.”
“…What?”
“We will meet in the afterlife. There, I hope you regret your sins, and regret them again.”
As Maxi finished speaking and released even more mana than before, the ice that had seized the escapee’s ankles surged upward, freezing his entire body at a terrifying speed.
Flash-freezing.
The escapee’s expression, halted on the verge of death, froze in place with resentment shadowing his face.
A few dozen seconds like this and revival would be impossible, but Maxi drew a handgun from his waist and aimed it at the escapee’s forehead.
Then, without even a second of hesitation, he fired.
BANG!
Blood that had not yet managed to freeze pattered onto the floor.
***
After leaving the building, Baek Dojun climbed into the vehicle waiting at the entrance.
His attendant, Kim Seyeon, was seated in the driver’s seat, and the moment Baek Dojun got in, she started the engine and drove.
About five minutes passed.
Baek Dojun spoke in a rather flat tone.
“By now, the closing ceremony of the war should be finished.”
“Yes. I received word a little earlier that the closing ceremony ended safely.”
Silence again.
Baek Dojun stroked his neatly shaven chin, and only after a long while did he ask,
“What about Park Oseok?”
“He is dead.”
“Was it Ji Seokhyeon’s work?”
“No. I was told that the promising cadet Lee Eunho, Gwon Chihun, the grandson of the former Dispel Director-General, and the direct-line descendant Do Minyeong played key roles. Among them, they announced that Miss Do Minyeong bore the greatest responsibility.”
“For an incompetent to bear the greatest responsibility….”
Kim Seyeon glanced at Baek Dojun in the rearview mirror.
She was a little startled that he used the word “incompetent” so bluntly toward the Sword Saint’s direct line.
Perhaps her unpredictable superior would say the word “incompetent” even to Do Minyeong’s face.
If the context required it, he would.
With the expression of someone resigned to being unsurprised, Kim Seyeon continued.
“Probationary investigator Ji Seokhyeon reported that he was preoccupied with Catch the Thief. He also added that things concluded thanks to good luck.”
“Anything else noteworthy?”
“The Phantom Thief who appeared in District 27, where the Poisonous Golem was summoned last time. There was a claim that the Phantom Thief, presumed to be the same person, was of great help in resolving this incident as well. It was Miss Do Minyeong’s testimony. Since the Phantom Thief’s appearance was also captured on closed-circuit video, there is a very high probability her claim is true.”
“Mm….”
At the word Phantom Thief, Baek Dojun wore an inexplicable smile.
Kim Seyeon spoke, guessing at his intent.
“Shall we investigate that Phantom Thief as well?”
“No. Crime imitation is illegal, but he has resolved matters twice that the Special Affairs Division could not. Granting a reprieve would not be a bad choice.”
“…I believe you once said there are no exceptions to crime.”
“Ahem. I am saying we are short-staffed and should not waste time on other matters.”
“If that is the case, you could assign that Park Chaeshin fellow who is doing nothing. At the very least, he is quite capable in information warfare.”
“I cannot assign someone whose condition is not fully restored yet.”
Kim Seyeon pressed stubbornly.
“Then what about probationary investigator Ji Seokhyeon? This time the Phantom Thief appeared in the 4th Scholastic District, so entrusting the investigation to probationary investigator Ji Seokhyeon seems reasonable.”
“To him… That would be amusing.”
“Shall I pass along the order?”
Baek Dojun met Kim Seyeon’s eyes in the rearview mirror and shook his head.
“No. Rather, tell him he is to be temporarily excluded from Special Affairs Division investigations. And tell him I was very disappointed by this matter.”
“If you intend to reprimand him like that, it would be better to summon him directly to District 2—”
At that moment, Baek Dojun’s smartphone vibrated.
The caller was Hero Prep’s principal, Kim Shinwoo.
“This is Special Affairs Division Chief Baek Dojun.”
Baek Dojun answered at once, and the call ended in less than a minute.
It seemed only the essential matter had been delivered, without any other words.
“We will have to turn the car around. Let us go straight to Seoul.”
“Pardon?”
“It seems Demonic Being Lee Gangju has been hunted.”
***
The Spring Scholastic War, which had been full of trouble from start to finish, concluded safely with the closing ceremony.
The current time was 7 p.m.
All spectators had left the 4th Scholastic District, and the students returned to their academies to begin their afterparty.
For those who had mingled, sweated together, and displayed their talents with all they had, the academy rankings did not matter much.
The fervent cheering, the blazing roar of the crowd, and the passionate competition had already taken root in their youth.
Of course, Hero Preparatory School won the war, boasting the largest point gap in history.
“The main force behind this overwhelming victory is, of course, Do Minyeong.”
By the time I returned safely to Hero Prep’s dormitory at dawn, the officials of the 4th Scholastic District had already been briefed on the full story.
Lee Eunho, Gwon Chihun, and Do Minyeong apprehended the thief, the Phantom Thief intervened midway, and they dealt with the escapee Park Oseok.
One way or another, the incident was contained.
All victims recovered with no fatalities, and Park Oseok’s corpse was handed over to a superpower research institution under the Bureau.
Also, just as in the original work, Kim Shinwoo hunted Lee Gangju.
That part was classified, and I learned it only a moment ago through the Special Affairs Division’s information lines.
As an aside, Lee Gangju’s corpse was cremated under Kim Shinwoo’s supervision.
Lee Gangju’s death became the spark that set the Demonic Beings in motion in earnest.
Of course, it was not because they sought revenge for their own kind.
They were not the sort to possess that kind of kinship.
“They will probably try, by any means, to obtain what Kim Shinwoo is protecting.”
Because that was their mission.
In any case, after a major incident passed, I enjoyed the brief respite I had been granted.
On the rooftop of a building in Hero Prep.
Looking down at the plaza where the cadets were in the middle of their festival, I swallowed a refreshing gulp of carbonated coffee.
To anyone watching, my back as I leaned on the railing might have looked pitiful, but if I joined that crowd, I would only make things awkward.
Rather than being treated that way, it was better to stand at a distance, watch the characters I had created, and savor the pleasure of being the original author.
For example, I could watch Gwon Chihun deliberately circling near Yu Hyeonjeong, riding on the fame of capturing the thief, or I could watch Lee Eunho trapped so tightly by female cadets that he had no room to place his feet…
Or I could watch Do Minyeong, who had been a voluntary loner, wearing an at-a-loss expression as the cadets began to revere her because of this incident.
“She can make that expression, too….”
As I was enjoying my leisure in my own way, an unexpected voice came from behind me.
“I thought you would be here.”
Startled, I turned around.
Cha Yeri approached as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She soon leaned against the railing beside me and looked down at the plaza.
I asked calmly.
“How did you find this place?”
At some point she had placed a lollipop in her mouth, and only after savoring the taste to her satisfaction did she answer.
“With someone as gloomy as you, I figured you would be hiding in the darkest place, spying on everyone.”
“That is a razor-sharp observation. …So, what do you want?”
“Nothing. I just needed some shade.”
Shade…
She could not have come only to eat candy.
It probably meant she felt uncomfortable mixing with that crowd.
It would have been different if the hundreds of cadets gathered in that plaza were enemies in a game, but they were not.
Just as I was about to withdraw my gaze from Cha Yeri and watch the plaza again, she continued.
“You must have been busy all through the war.”
It was a double-edged question.
A question that suspected me of being the Phantom Thief, and disappointment that I never showed my face at her match.
I answered evenly.
“I never promised I would go.”
“I knew you would not come. I did not expect it, either.”
“……”
Cha Yeri blocked every exit of the conversation.
I tried to add something immediately, but her calm voice came first.
“Did volunteer work suit you more than I expected?”
“…Uh, it was manageable.”
With my answer, silence settled between us.
In that space, a large firework burst.
The sky filled with multicolored stains.
Looking up at it, Cha Yeri said,
“By the way, how does it feel to have your only friend taken away?”
“What are you talking about?”
“With your relationship with Lee Eunho broken now, was the direct-line descendant not your only conversational partner? Since she earned the cadets’ favor through this incident, it looks like you will be walking alone for a while.”
Not for a while.
It looked like I would be treated like air for quite a long time.
For a moment I wondered how she knew my relationship with Do Minyeong had soured, but when I remembered that Gwon Chihun had been there, I nodded to myself in understanding.
“Well, from the start, she was not someone I could dare to speak to freely.”
“Huh? I did not know you were capable of self-objectivity.”
“…I am sorry, but understanding my place is my specialty.”
“You do realize it is ridiculous to claim that in front of me, right?”
“……”
Now that I looked at her, Cha Yeri had a talent for digging into people’s weak points.
Was it a side effect of the setting that she was quick-witted and highly observant?
Cha Yeri bit down on the candy with a crunch.
“Anyway, instead of worrying about a friendship that never had a chance from the start, why do you not worry about your club activity first?”
“Ah, that….”
Worrying about club activity.
Cha Yeri was referring to the message that had arrived from Yun Jeongseop a moment ago.
In short, it said they would disband all club activities that had lost their meaning and purpose.
Naturally, it was a decision made by Principal Kim Shinwoo.
And it was also one of the episodes I had written.
I asked Cha Yeri.
“What do you think? Disbanding the Mystery Club like this.”
“I do not know. If I think about the hassle of joining another club and getting dragged around, chattering here and there, it would be better if it were not disbanded… but with an official notice already issued, do you think our opinion matters?”
“I was just curious what you thought. I figured you would be the first to leave if you had the chance.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“I am not disappointed. If anything, it is what I wanted to hear. It means a majority of the members oppose disbandment.”
“…Are you planning to stop the disbandment?”
I offered a meaningful smile and lifted one shoulder in a small shrug.
At the same time another firework burst, and Cha Yeri, with the light behind her, narrowed her eyes as if irritated.
In that moment, a system message scrolled down before my eyes.
It said that I had successfully completed the main episode, the Spring Scholastic War.
[You have completed the episode.]
[777 Remake Coins have been awarded.]
[Additional compensation has been granted for episode changes.]
[5,000 Remake Coins have been awarded.]
[Your Remake Coins have reached the maximum limit.]
I skimmed the messages quickly and said,
“I told you. A majority.”