Evidence (3)

After class, I headed for the jewelry shop I'd stopped by not long ago.

We were bound for Cheongdam, so Franc shifted her appearance to match an ordinary girl our age—our school's summer uniform, her hair cut short, her face hidden behind a large white beret and oversized black horn-rimmed glasses. Even so, a man's talent for tracking a beauty was not to be underestimated. Passing men kept stealing glances at her.

"Still, I am glad no uproar has broken out, unlike last time."

Last time had been different. I'd stepped out onto Cheongdam's luxury street without a thought in my head, meaning only to buy my sister something to wear, and every face had turned toward Franc at once. The moment they confirmed I was the one standing beside her, the whispering started. Phones came up. Pictures. Fingers pointed my way while people muttered to whoever stood next to them. It looked bad enough that I slipped into an alley, pressed my bag into Franc's hands, and slicked my hair straight back to change the impression I made.

Then I sent her up into the sky and strolled out of the alley at an easy pace. A crowd came flooding in right behind me.

More than a few dozen people pouring in nearly made me jump out of my skin, but each of them glanced my way, decided I wasn't the one, and kept running deeper into the alley. Crisis dodged.

Somehow a rumor seemed to have spread that an absurdly beautiful blonde goddess followed me wherever I went. People weren't picking Blue Genius out by my face. They were recognizing me by Franc.

"Yeah. My face is just ordinary, so change the hair a little and they can't tell, right? If you hide your looks well enough, getting around shouldn't be any trouble."

"People are fools. Seoha stands right before their eyes, and still they cannot tell..."

Franc didn't seem to like that. She pouted and grumbled under her breath.

Unlike last time, when we'd practically fled inside, we strolled at our leisure into the dazzling sprawl of the jewelry store. The woman who had advised us on gifts before came over with a professional smile and a welcome. A famous luxury house really was something else. There was none of that novel nonsense where a student or a kid walks in and isn't even treated as a customer—only hospitality drilled in to the bone.

"Welcome. Thank you for visiting us again. Would you come this way?"

I followed the manager into the VIP room. On our first visit she had apparently decided we'd come for couple rings and treated me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠almost like a younger brother. Then I'd bought one expensive necklace and commissioned three more, and she'd been so startled she rushed to give me the full VIP treatment.

"Allow me to confirm the items you ordered."

I sat on the plush sofa and waited. She returned with a display case nearly as large as her own torso and set it down in front of me. Inside lay three necklaces, beautifully worked even to my eye.

"Birthstone necklaces: April in the matinee style, July in the princess style, and November."

I'd heard the explanation while buying my sister's. The styles were divided by the length of the chain, or something like that. A matinee rested just above the collarbone. A princess hung a little lower and suited people who often wore suits or blouses. So I'd ordered a princess for Yeongeun, who had to dress formally more often than not, and matinees for Franc and Hwayeon, who went around in comfortable clothes.

April was Hwayeon, July was Yeongeun, and November was Franc. The mood I felt from each of them matched the stone so cleanly it was almost uncanny.

For the record, I'd bought my sister a garnet in a choker. I'd meant to get her a princess, but she barely had a chest, and parking everyone's eyes there would have been mean. A choker ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sat shorter than a matinee and was said to suit someone with a pretty line of neck, so that was what I'd chosen.

Being made to order, the price was monstrous. The ordinary me could have saved a year's allowance and still not managed one—not even a quarter of one. Not anymore. The six million dollars from selling the Elephant Uros's Phase Stone sat untouched in an account under my name.

The byproducts from the hunts I'd run under evaluation had, regrettably, all gone to paying down debt. From what I'd heard, buying the land for my training ground had meant a cash loan of several hundred million dollars, and that had opened a small hole in the finances.

I took out a special platinum card, gold and silver flashing, to settle the bill, and saw the eyes of the woman bringing in the tea widen just a little. The manager kept a neutral face. The other one looked curious about who I was—someone walking out with three expensive necklaces on a platinum card.

The November birthstone, I ought to take out and put on her right now.

"Franc. Come here."

Franc's face had gone red behind the glasses. Terribly shy, terribly pleased, she came to stand in front of me, unable even to meet my eyes, head bowed. I caught her pretty chin, tipped it up a little, and fastened the necklace around that slender, lovely neck. The topaz, glittering as it caught the light, suited her pale skin remarkably well.

The manager brought over a makeup-stand mirror and angled it so Franc could see the necklace at her throat. Franc's face said she loved it—the birthstone resting just below her snow-white collarbones. A faint crack, though, had opened in the professional composure on the manager's face.

Heh heh heh. Even another woman has to admit Franc's looks are a bit of a cheat, doesn't she?

I tucked the wrapped necklaces into the bag and started for the door. Before we even made it out, I heard the clerks open their mouths and whisper.

"That guy... he isn't Blue Genius, is he?"

"Right? That's him, isn't it?! It's Blue Genius!"

"They said he's an Euihan High School student with a blonde girl following him around, so—Senior, Senior! It's really Blue Genius...!"

So they'd finally put it together.

In that instant Franc lifted the beret just a little, and platinum hair spilled from beneath it like a waterfall. She turned toward the four clerks staring blankly at the platinum length swaying all the way to her hips, gave them a bright little smile, and walked out of the store with me.

"You shouldn't tease them."

"I was not teasing. I only thought they had recognized you, so I gave them a little certainty."

Even as she said it, the way she beamed looked thoroughly delighted. The necklace at her throat seemed to glitter more than it had any right to.

We arrived at the Time River Building and found Hwayeon's office. She was buried in paperwork, but she greeted Franc and me with a small smile.

"Welcome back. Nothing of note at school?"

"Yeah. Thanks to the Seon-ara scandal, things feel easier for me."

"Unfortunate for Boss Seon-ara. Lucky for you."

I set the bag on the sofa and, shielding it with my body, started drawing out the necklace box. Franc, who had changed the uniform into her usual thin-strapped dress as she always did, flew over in front of Hwayeon and began spinning around her with a bright smile, peeking this way and that. Hwayeon watched her with a look that asked what on earth she was doing—and the moment her gaze reached Franc's neck, she went still.

"Seoha gave it to me as a gift, you know? Ufufu."

Hearing that, Hwayeon soon wore an envious look, then turned her eyes to me. They went round. She rose from her seat and came toward me, and the gaze fixed on the neatly wrapped rectangular box in my hand—a little longer than my palm—wavered with expectation.

I wanted to say something cool, so I ransacked my head and came up with a few lines that might move a woman. I've put all my love for you in here. Or, Hidden inside is a beautiful light that will make your heart tremble. Phrases I'd seen in books. The moment I tried to actually say them, goosebumps erupted all over me and the words stuck in my throat.

"Here. It's a gift."

She would have been happy if I'd said them, but I was too shy and awkward to get the words out, and while I hesitated the moment passed. In the end I handed Hwayeon the prettily wrapped box with no style whatsoever.

Aigoo, you idiot...

While I was berating myself, Hwayeon took the box in both hands with a face that said even this much made her tremble, closed her eyes, and hugged it tight to her chest.

"Th-thank you."

Well, there'll be plenty of gifts to give from here on. I can do better next time.

"Go on, open it."

I took her hand, moved us to the sofa, and sat. She looked down at the box, then began carefully peeling away the wrapping. Why unwrap it so meticulously, afraid it might tear, afraid it might rip, when she could just yank it open? I didn't get it, so I looked at Franc floating in front of her. Franc only nodded, as if she understood exactly how Hwayeon felt.

She undid the cord with care and lifted away the neatly folded paper, and the necklace inside a clear, spotless crystal case came into view.

"Ah..."

After that brief breath of wonder, Hwayeon opened the case as gingerly as if it might shatter in her grip, then gazed without end at the chain laid inside in overlapping hearts and the teardrop diamond fixed at the center. She stared down at it in a daze for so long that I figured she'd keep looking until sunset if I left her, so I poked her cheek.

"Ah?!"

"Your birthday's in April, isn't it? This is partly to make up for the birthday gift I couldn't get you then. Do you like it?"

"Mm. I like it."

The answer and the behavior didn't match. She only stared at the necklace in a trance and showed no sign of putting it on, so I took the case from her hands.

"Ah?!"

Same reaction as when I'd poked her cheek. I lifted the necklace from the case.

"I'll put it on you. Come here."

"O-okay."

The shy look on her face—those pitch-black brows, faintly softened, and the black eyes trembling softly—struck me as incredibly pretty. I caught the chin of the Hwayeon who had drawn close and lifted it just a little. A smooth neck without a single blemish came into view. I undid the top three buttons of the shirt beneath her suit, and the soft rise of her small breasts seized my gaze, but I quickly remembered what I was supposed to be doing and fastened the necklace around her throat.

The chain, resting just below her collarbones, and the diamond birthstone lying where the swell of those small breasts began—it was genuinely alluring.

Hwayeon bowed her head and stared for a long while at the necklace I'd put on her. Then a slow smile spread across her face. She took my cheeks in both hands and kissed me on the lips.

"Thank you. A gift like this... it's the first I've ever received in my life. Thank you."

Whoa. I've never seen Hwayeon smile that happily.

When we'd first met, she had worn nothing but a cold expression. Little by little she had started showing me embarrassment, the occasional stolen smile, a frown. Lately she had been practicing her smile and offering me a smiling face bit by bit, but a smile this bright—today was the first time I'd seen it. My chest fluttered a little.

Meanwhile Franc brought over a hand mirror the size of a face so Hwayeon could see the necklace at her own throat. Hwayeon stroked it carefully for a long time, turning her neck this way and that as she checked the mirror, then pulled me into her arms again and gave me a deep kiss. The look in her eyes said that if she had her way, she would have me right here—but she was plainly holding back because she was in the middle of work.

Get home and I'll be wrung out like a ketchup packet.

Hwayeon buttoned her shirt again and sat back down to sort through the documents, the smile at her lips refusing to fade. Seeing that, Franc declared it was her turn now, plastered herself against me, and planted an endless stream of smacking little bird-kisses all over my face. Hwayeon watched with a smile, then lowered her eyes to the papers again and spoke.

"It hasn't come to light, but I suspect Japan is behind the Seon-ara scandal."

"...Huh? Japan?"

It had come out of nowhere. I yanked Franc into a tight hug so she couldn't move and turned to look at Hwayeon.

"They don't like that you're drawing attention at home and abroad and building a name for yourself, so it looks as if they set off another major incident to at least cut down your influence domestically. The conglomerate Seon-ara is tied up with has connections to Japan. The scandal traces back to that chaebol side. And it broke right when interest in you had peaked. Weigh all of that, and Japan is the most likely source."

"Hmm. So there's no hard proof. Just a strong suspicion."

"The Madam believes that if we dig, physical evidence will turn up as well. I think the same, of course."

Then it's as good as fact.

"Truly petty bastards."

"This time, that pettiness worked in our favor. You were drawing so much attention that it was hard for you to so much as move. They scattered the public eye just enough that it's become easier for the Madam to act."

"Ah, you mean Yeongeun setting the stage? What kind of stage?"

I'd asked the woman herself and gotten nothing but a cryptic smile, no straight answer, so I'd asked Hwayeon. Hwayeon only smiled coldly and wouldn't tell me either. If I pressed, she would probably talk, but there had to be a reason she wasn't. For now, I would just wait.

I wandered the office playing around with Franc, and through Spatial Perception I watched the building grow busy as ability users and supporters gathered. The scale was considerable. There were ability ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠users I'd never seen before, too.

"Is there a Phase World entry team tomorrow?"

"Yes. Hwarang's First Squad and our Time River First Squad are going in together."

"Is the team reorganization finished?"

"No. It isn't officially complete. They're going in with a temporarily assembled team. The headcount is nearly five times the usual, so the risk of accidents should be lower, and I'm hoping the cohesion grows to match. On top of that, four of Hwarang's B-Class vice-captains, and two of ours—Cha Soyoung and Sophia—have been assigned to the reserves, so the raid side is looking forward to it as well."

She'd said Hwarang had four vice-captains, and all four were B-Class. We had two C-Class.

"Hmm. Feels like we're coming up short. You don't think they'll try to lock in influence by headcount?"

"Hwarang's B-Classes are all Physical Reinforcement users just at the threshold of B-Class, so once elemental and recovery users join them, the balance actually evens out. And the Madam's grip reaches even the lowest-ranking supporters, so there's very little room for that kind of trouble. Cha Soyoung and Sophia have the judgment and the ability to serve as vice-captains themselves."

Then she looked at me with a careful gaze and took issue with my tone.

"It isn't good for you, the one who's going to be boss, to show that you're drawing a line between Time River and Hwarang. Be careful about saying things like that in front of other people."

"Ah, sorry. ...But what do you mean, I'm going to be the boss? I thought you were going to be the boss."

"No. Whether now or in the future, the boss's seat suits you better than it suits me."

"But even next year I'll only be nineteen. My experience and my record don't even compare to yours. Will they really accept someone that young as boss?"

"The inexperience and the thin record that come from being young can be carried by the people under you. What matters is ability, aptitude, and the certainty that the raid team will grow. I fall well short of you in all three. So does Boss Park Jiwoong, of course."

With that, she took out the AFE—the Anti-Field Egg—and switched it on.

"A one-eyed giant's Phase Power averages 1.2 million. If you, who can absorb all of it through the Mana Sieve, take down a one-eyed giant four or five times, you'll reach B-Class. Factor in your A+ aptitude and the rate you're growing, and everyone will accept you as boss."

"And if they don't?"

"They leave the team. A fool who can't read the times and runs his mouth without a sense of the room has no place on a raid team."

I scratched my head at how she spoke of throwing them out without a moment's hesitation.

"But that only holds if the one-eyed giants are there, does it not? Can as many as five truly be found so quickly? Seoha's summer break is only a month."

"Hwarang has been able to hold fifth in the country in part because the Hwarang boss's Phase World takes in the forests and mountain ranges of the one-eyed giants. They have been raiding them for more than ten years, and still that forest holds a number too great to count, along with countless Aberrants, all of them living as an ecosystem. Set up a large camp and draw them out one by one to hunt, and the odds are more than sufficient. It is even possible that on the very first raid he takes five and rises to B-Class."

Whoa... If that happens, I might be the one who reached B-Class in the shortest time in history. Wouldn't that just make me even more famous?

When I voiced that worry, Hwayeon smiled faintly, shut off the AFE, and said,

"Unfortunately, no. There's already someone else who reached B-Class the fastest in history. The record that person set will never be broken."

"Huh? How? How fast did they hit B-Class for you to say that?"

"Someone who became B-Class on the fourteenth day of their first entry, by killing a Crystal Eater."

I had nothing to say to that.

"That person became a B-Class ability user with 4.42 million Phase Power in a single stroke."

"Wow. That person's even more of a cheat than I am."

I was dumbfounded by what she'd said, and Franc and Hwayeon looked even more dumbfounded than I was.

"It is all right in front of us, but please do not say such things before other people."

"Right. You'll only get cursed out for being an insufferable show-off."

"Ehh."

I pouted at my two lovers scolding me, then asked who that lucky person was.

"A lightning-attribute ability user from China named Hua Wingchen. I heard that in his first entry he awakened lightning, slaughtered Lowest-Rank Variants as he went, and explored the area around the starting point without a trace of fear."

"Seriously no fear in him at all. Or—rare attributes are supposed to be incredibly powerful, so was that just the natural thing to do?"

"Heh. Wandering like that, he reached a forest where lightning poured down, and there he ran into a Crystal Eater in the shape of a beetle. The moment he saw it, he fired lightning at it without fear until he brought it down. His aptitude was B-Class as well, so he was able to grow straight to the limit of that aptitude."

"And what was he planning to do if it hadn't been a Crystal Eater, but a high-grade Aberrant?"

"He said he could tell it was special the moment he saw it. Still, it must have been several kinds of luck stacked together."

Hearing that, I suddenly felt hard done by, and I whined at the two of them.

"What? That's pure luck. You both know what I went through to get this ability, and you're still saying that? That's really too much."

I'd survived and gained my ability through luck too, but I'd also crossed the line of death more than a few times. And yet they were picking on me alone.

Hmph.

Maybe because I'd recalled nearly dying in the Phase World, my Phase Power stirred and gathered, trying to open a gate. I spun the Mana Sieve and forcibly dispersed it. I couldn't stop the air around me from rippling a little, though. Only then did Franc and Hwayeon's faces change. They came and sat on either side of me and started soothing me.

"That wasn't what I meant. Yes—that man from China was in an incredibly lucky situation. He survived nine days without any real hardship and gained a powerful lightning attribute."

"That is right! Seoha built his ability himself, overcoming trial and hardship, did he not? Seoha is far too extraordinary to be compared with some merely lucky ability user!"

Seeing the two of them working so hard to match my mood, I didn't even feel like being angry. I raised a hand and gestured that it was fine.

"I know what you mean. Say it in front of other people and I'll get cursed out for being insufferable, right? Tonight I'll hold out and have my fun with only Yeongeun."

I might not be angry, but I could still be spiteful. Franc and Hwayeon grew even more flustered—rubbing my shoulders, kissing my cheek, curling into my arms—doing everything they could to coax me out of the sulk. I gave them no particular reaction, so they met each other's eyes, exchanged a look, and started pouring on the affection even harder.

I was a little hurt that they hadn't acknowledged what I'd been through, but the sight of the two of them fawning over me thawed me out quickly. I knew perfectly well my ability was broken. And favor and disfavor were a hair's breadth apart—they were probably worried I'd become the nation's most hated man and a public punching bag. But watching my lovers panic and smother me to soothe my mood was fun, so I decided to pretend to sulk a little longer.

"I'm truly sorry. I was shortsighted. If it will cool your anger, I'll do anything."

"Me too!"

"Do you really think you were wrong?"

I'd shown no reaction at all to their affection, so when I finally responded, Franc and Hwayeon nodded in a rush, afraid I'd sulk again.

"Good. Then later, you'll each grant me one thing I ask for?"

"Mm. All right."

Hwayeon agreed without much suspicion. Franc looked between me and Hwayeon with an expression that screamed this was bad.

"So Franc only said she was sorry?"

"Ah?! No! Uu, I will do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anything too... hiiing."

"No. I don't want to force you into something you hate. So just..."

I was about to pretend to sulk again when Hwayeon, startled, scolded Franc with a look. Franc, flustered, clung to my arm in a hurry and nodded.

"Aii! I meant to do whatever Seoha wishes as well, you know? Come now, come now. What do you desire? You need only say it!"

Heh heh heh. Perfect.

I shot up from my seat. Franc and Hwayeon looked up at me with startled rabbit eyes. I smiled at the two of them, wicked as I could manage.

"You said you'd grant me anything, one thing each, right? That's a promise? Heh heh. What should I ask for?"

I paced back and forth on purpose with a delighted face, wearing a look of deep consideration. Only then did Hwayeon seem to think something was off. She turned to Franc, who wore an expression of resignation.

"Lady Siha has suffered like this from Seoha so many times. Lady Siha is family, so he would not make a mischievous request of her, but we... Seoha is a pervert! Using this as a pretext, he may force terribly embarrassing, shameful acts upon us..."

"Th-that..."

Hearing Franc, Hwayeon looked up at me with a blank face, as if asking whether it was true.

Franc, don't you think it's rude to say that with the person himself standing right here?

"Franc has her pride as a knight, so should I ask her to live for a year wearing a puppy-ear headband, with a puppy tail plugged into her ass?"

"Y-yes?!"

"I'm a pervert, aren't I? I can force terribly embarrassing, shameful acts, you know?"

"Ugh...!"

Hearing me, Franc couldn't take back what she'd said. She began to despair, regretting why she had said it at all.

"That's what they call tying your own noose. A more embarrassing, more shameful act might still come to me, so let's have Franc think it over a little longer. I've already decided on Hwayeon's, so I'll ask when we have time next?"

"Ah... all right."

Hwayeon glanced at Franc, whose face had gone pale with despair, then clutched the necklace at her own throat and swallowed hard.