Chapter 161
Chapter 161
Still Selfish to the Very End
Perhaps because Narrow Eyes had come in and stirred everything up, I couldn't get my thoughts in order.
It was absurd that I had to go along with him before I even knew it. But I couldn't refuse either. If I made excuses, it would only be the same as admitting I had something to hide.
I just had to think of it as the price for getting a closer look at the movements of the Emergency Disaster Response Unit.
This was the domain of equivalent exchange. There had been virtually no room for negotiation from the very beginning.
It hurt that the arrow on the wheel had landed on the one target I had wanted to avoid the most, but I couldn't keep whining forever.
Besides—
Jin Geon had pretended not to know who it was, but there was probably already someone he was half convinced of. There was no need to ask.
'Sakuya.'
Wasn't she the one with the peculiar circumstance of having mysterious assailants after her in addition to a stalker?
The number of incidents had been so overwhelming that it had even caused discord among the members. There was no way the Emergency Disaster Response Unit, which had dealt with countless Meta-humans, would overlook something like that.
The reason he had glossed over it was probably because he knew I was close to her.
This was simply an extension of an ideological loyalty test.
If it turned out that someone you cared about was a Meta-human, would you be willing to execute them without hesitation?
Since it was a test set by Jin Geon, passing it would undoubtedly lead to a more intimate relationship with him, but sacrificing Sakuya for that would be putting the cart before the horse.
I had to find a way out somehow.
Hadn't I already pinned all the blame on the Broken Precept Monk, Amal Kam, once before? If I could do it once, there was no reason I couldn't do it twice.
I needed to gather information that Jin Geon didn't know yet and seize the initiative.
Where I had to look was obvious.
'Sixteen people.'
The answer had to lie with the assailants who had attacked Sakuya. With each successive incident, the level of threat had continued to escalate. A consistently upward trend. That wasn't something that could be explained by Forced Command alone.
In the end, one of them had even charged in wearing a bomb vest, implying there was someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The Bauer brothers were the prime suspects, but there were still too many things that didn't quite add up to jump to that conclusion.
—Let's assume this.
Suppose the Bauer brothers had been affected by Sakuya's ability at a concert they happened to attend by chance. Suppose that made them develop an obsessive desire to possess her.
Then what methods could they have taken?
The moderate approach would have been persuasion.
The extreme approach would have been kidnapping.
Either way, the objective remained the same: obtaining Sakuya. But recruiting mysterious assailants didn't fit that objective.
These were people who had managed to stay hidden even from the eyes of the Emergency Disaster Response Unit.
Rather than unnecessarily making the incident larger, they could have simply kidnapped her early on and disappeared.
Their methods didn't match their objective.
Why had things turned out this way? Did the two brothers disagree over how to carry out the crime? Were they simply sadists?
Or—
'Is there a third party?'
I had thought there was only one stalker, only to discover there were actually two. There was no reason there couldn't be a third.
Come to think of it, the pressure being exerted on Mystic from the outside stemmed less from affection than from resentment. If there really was someone manipulating even the Bauer brothers like puppets, then the entire sequence of events could be explained.
A flash of inspiration struck my mind, and I tapped my Probe.
"Dobby, investigate the list of people who attended Mystic's performances before the Bauer brothers did. There should be someone who followed them wherever Mystic went."
If my prediction was correct, that person would have gone quiet after making contact with the Bauer brothers. Comparing the changes in their movements should reveal the outline.
My plans going forward would depend on what kind of person this third party was, so I needed to prepare for multiple possibilities.
Whether it would turn out to be a blessing or a disaster could only be known after turning the card over.
For now—
I had to delay things as much as possible.
***
The late-night walk finally came to an end at daybreak.
After returning to Starlight, I immediately changed my clothes. I had even tidied up my hair, so no one would think I had stayed up all night just by looking at me.
I sat down in a corner, agonizing over how to solve the problem before me, when I saw Dylan walking toward me from afar. At first, I thought he was coming over to lecture the laid-back rookie.
But to my surprise, he was wearing a broad smile.
It was almost excessively friendly.
Ever since dark clouds had begun gathering over Mystic's future, Dylan had done nothing but sigh as if exhaling smoke.
What had changed him?
I had nothing but a bad feeling about it.
And those kinds of instincts were never wrong.
"I had no idea our manager had that kind of ability."
"..."
I didn't know what he was talking about, but I knew better than to answer carelessly.
I searched through my memories, trying to figure it out, but nothing came to mind. At Starlight, I wasn't a chaebol heir or a Fighting Dog.
"What do you mean?"
"There's no need to hide it. Connections are a kind of ability too."
The first person who came to mind was Damian, the Chairman of B&B, but knowing the situation, there was no way he would have acted rashly.
Since Dylan had specifically referred to connections, it didn't seem like he was mistaken either. The safest course was to answer naturally.
"Ah, I see. I'm not sure how it was conveyed to the company, but could you tell me?"
"Sure. After all, you're the one who reeled in this big catch for us."
Dylan hummed cheerfully, acting as though it were his own accomplishment.
And when he continued, even I was left speechless.
***
In every era, there were divas.
Not idols manufactured to captivate people's hearts, but icons who had reached the very top through nothing but their own talent.
The person who could call themselves a diva was not simply someone who claimed the title. It was a position that required recognition from both the industry and the public, making that crown more dazzling than any other. Simply wearing it was enough to draw the attention of the entire colony.
They commanded both popularity and reverence, and at times even found themselves at the center of rumors and controversy. Whether you were a fan or not, they were the kind of person who inevitably inspired excitement.
Moreover, the current diva was a consummate professional who had solidified her reign for ten years.
And that very woman had made Mystic an offer.
In other words—
"We're going to be the surprise guests?"
Eliza sprang up as if launched by a spring, spreading both arms wide.
She was the most expressive about it, but the other members also looked stunned. And why wouldn't they? Even I had wondered if I had heard it right the first time.
Mystic might have been enjoying explosive popularity, but they weren't at the point where they could jump straight to a solo concert. The people consuming them as content weren't yet willing to open their wallets for them.
Turning curiosity into genuine support was something only time could accomplish.
In that sense, the diva's proposal was astonishing beyond belief. It was practically the same as handing them the honor of appearing in a stadium capable of holding one hundred thousand people.
"It's all thanks to Ga-on here going out of his way to make it happen for you."
"Ah, thank you very much."
After hearing the explanation, every member bowed. Even Neria, whose neck had always been so stiff. From my perspective, I had merely been pushed into it, but I had no desire to shatter their impression.
Right—
This had been Jin Geon's doing.
As though he wouldn't tolerate any more delays, as though he intended to draw Mystic out from the safety of their agency, he had dangled an irresistible piece of bait.
Naturally, giving me the credit wasn't an act of goodwill either. It was a calculated move.
It was like putting shackles on me so I couldn't step forward and deny it.
As expected—
'So he already knew.'
Jin Geon undoubtedly wanted to witness the moment Sakuya used her ability.
Most likely, he intended to wipe out both her and the Bauer brothers in one sweep.
I glanced toward Sakuya, but with her head lowered, I couldn't see her face.
It was then that Eliza spoke.
"What about the stalker? That still hasn't been resolved."
"You only have to appear briefly before coming back down. The president only told me personally, so there's no way the information will leak. And the level of security won't even be comparable to ours, so the kind of incident you're worried about won't happen."
The security wasn't there for Mystic.
It was there for the diva.
She was unquestionably the number one figure in the industry—a walking fortress. On the day of her concert, talented personnel capable of suppressing even a bombing without incident would be stationed everywhere.
After hearing Dylan's additional explanation, Neria's expression visibly relaxed. But then, as though something had occurred to her, she spoke again.
"But wouldn't we have to take back what we said about suspending our activities? If we immediately jump at the opportunity just because it came along, won't we look ridiculous?"
"That's... true."
Caught off guard by her sharp observation, Dylan awkwardly rubbed his face.
The truth was that there had been almost no consideration for Mystic's feelings. Given the unusual circumstances, he should have asked for their opinion before moving forward.
But it was simply too attractive an offer to reject over nothing more than a stalker or a few mysterious assailants.
The current diva belonged to Marstop.
Anyone who knew how hostile B&B, Mystic's agency, was toward them would realize there was no telling when another offer like this would ever come.
This might very well have been the first and the last.
Besides—
"You're complaining even though the very person who made this contract happen is standing right in front of you?"
"It's not that..."
As Neria took a step back, Dylan nodded.
"Right. I know there are plenty of things bothering you. But you can't stay curled up forever, can you? As you've probably noticed, the fixer the agency hired this time seems quite capable, so there shouldn't be any problem protecting you."
Threats were common in the entertainment industry.
If you kept hesitating, you'd only be the one losing out—
Dylan continued with his long speech.
Rather than comforting them, it was closer to mentally preparing them.
I listened with one ear and let it out the other as I looked over the stadium where the concert would be held.
The day of the decisive battle had been set.
All that remained was thorough preparation.
Whether it was the Bauer brothers or the one behind them, one thing had never changed.
I had to kill them before Jin Geon caught them.
If they revealed the truth about Sakuya, everything would fall apart.
***
After Dylan and Ga-on left,
Sakuya paced around the room in circles before finally speaking while biting her fingernails.
"Hey... do you think we could just refuse being the surprise guests?"
"What?"
Neria frowned as though she had just heard something utterly ridiculous and glared at Sakuya.
"Don't tell me you've still been holding on to what I said last time."
"That's not it."
"What do you mean it's not? You were whining back then, and now that there's actually something to gain, you're acting like this because you don't like everyone changing their attitude."
"I said that's not it."
She had gotten over that a long time ago.
What still bound Sakuya was the burden of her own curse.
She was still inexperienced when it came to controlling her ability.
Just a little longer.
Just a little more training.
It felt like she would eventually be able to master it.
But not now.
If she went on stage in her current state, she would only repeat the mistakes of the past.
Becoming the target of that many people at a concert—
She couldn't bear it.
To begin with, if that happened, Sakuya might not be the only one caught up in the tragedy.
Ga-on probably intended to use this as part of her training, but she simply wasn't confident she could handle it.
There were many factors intertwined in the matter, but Neria only saw one small part of it.
Sakuya's trembling hands were a perfect example.
There was no way to interpret them any differently.
Unable to hide the disgust she felt, Neria spoke coldly.
"So because you don't think you can do it, you're trying to drag everyone else down with you? You're selfish to the very end."