A Temporary Return, and Setting Things in Order (3)

Hwayeon and Yeongeun went back to the Blue House to finish the work they'd left undone. An hour later Aunt Hyeryeong arrived, leading Department Head Kim Pyochung of the Business Support Department and a hundred supporters, with dozens of oversized trucks rolling in behind them.

Trucks the size of small buildings came into the garden nose to tail, strung together like a freight train. It was a sight.

The construction foreman looked ready to weep as the lawn they'd gone to such pains to plant was gouged to pieces, but the life-assistance ability users climbing down from the vehicles paid it no mind at all. With Franc's help they unpacked the enormous bundles, then set to work moving Baekcheong's bones and the imugi's hide into the raid team's byproduct warehouse.

They'd even brought in giant refrigerated trucks and started carving up Baekcheong's organs and lean meat to load them aboard. I was watching when Department Head Kim Pyochung split the supporters into two crews — transport and cutting — ordered the transport crew to get the spine onto the road train, and hurried over to the cutting crew, which was making all the noise.

Tugagagagak!

"No good! The bone won't cut! The saw blade's just getting wrecked!"

A big, burly employee had been trying to saw through Baekcheong's rib with a tool that looked like a chainsaw. He stared, dumbfounded, at the silver translucent chain — snapped, and hanging in tatters.

"The hide's the same~ The special diamond cutter's getting mashed flat as rice cake~."

A woman in protective gear from head to toe wore a troubled look as she held up a cutting tool that looked, at a glance, like a tube cutter. The part that ought to have been the blade was crushed shapeless.

"Damn it! What the hell kind of bone and hide is this...! Cut it somehow!"

"Easy for you to say~ Why don't you cut it, Chief~ Won't even scratch the scales~."

"Cutting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it is your job, isn't it! You — swap in a new chain and try again! If you can't trim this and move it, don't any of you expect to go home today!"

The woman who'd been glaring at Department Head Kim Pyochung while he threatened them with their own quitting time muttered, "What even is this, that it won't cut~." Kim Pyochung put on protective gear himself and threw himself into cutting the imugi hide.

Seeing him not stop at barking orders but dive into the work, the supporters snorted and shook their heads — then put everything they had into cutting the bone and hide, by whatever means they could find.

I was about to step in and help the cutting crew, since they couldn't get through either, when Aunt Hyeryeong came over with a few sheets of paper and a solidly built man in a black suit.

"Chairman. I'm back."

"Right. And who's the gentleman beside you?"

I'd never seen him before, and I was staring openly when Aunt Hyeryeong drew a familiar palm-sized box, finished in velvet, from her pocket and held it out to me.

I opened it. Inside was an Authenticator.

"An Authenticator."

"Yes. That was the first matter that needed handling. And Administrator Woo Jo-min? This is Chairman Jung Seoha of our Grand Blue raid team."

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Woo Jo-min, of the Specialized Management Department for Ability User Authenticators."

Is he even human? A man built on a scale to rival Hiarid bowed at the waist, and I found myself bowing along with him.

The moment the brief greetings were done, he brought up a yellow hologram window — an Ability Users Association administrator panel, Aunt Hyeryeong told me — and searched my body for any trace of the Authenticator.

"Hmm. The Authenticator signal has truly vanished completely. Do you by any chance retain even a fragment of it?"

"No. It evaporated completely."

I rolled up my left sleeve, showed him the inside of my forearm, and swept a hand across it. Administrator Woo Jo-min's expression turned serious.

"The Authenticator in your possession, Chairman, is the latest Type II, a material that does not so much as scratch under any ordinary attack. To be told that it evaporated... I find it difficult to believe."

"Are you saying our Chairman is lying, Ad.min.is.tra.tor Woo Jo-min?"

"I am not. When an Authenticator is reissued, we are required, from the standpoint of crime prevention, to collect evidence together with the cause of the Authenticator's destruction..."

"So what you're saying is that you don't trust our Chairman's word, and you suspect it might be abused for a crime. Isn't that right?"

"Ah, th-that is not what I..."

Aunt Hyeryeong, smiling with a chill and clipping his words off sharp, had Administrator Woo Jo-min — bear-sized as he was — flustered and fumbling, and it was a little funny. I was watching him squirm with a smile on my lips when she glanced my way and looked ready to cut into him again, so I raised a hand and stopped her. He let out a small sigh, a man reprieved, and I spoke.

"Administrator Woo Jo-min. What do you make of that bundle over there — the one the size of a small mountain?"

He gave me a blank look, and only then, as if it had just come to him, turned to watch the supporters taking apart the bundles of Baekcheong's byproducts under Department Head Kim Pyochung's direction.

"Those are the byproducts of an imugi. A Transcendental aberrant. I nearly lost my left arm fighting that thing. The Authenticator evaporated along with it."

I held my bared left arm up in front of his eyes. He narrowed them, studied the arm, and nodded.

"Hmm. I will compose the paperwork accordingly. In combat with a Transcendent-grade aberrant... an Authenticator may be processed as destroyed, you see. First, in order to verify your identity regarding the Authenticator's destruction, I will attach video of your voice, Chairman, and of those byproducts. May I ask for your cooperation?"

He was startled at the mention of a Transcendental aberrant's byproducts, and nothing more — he never doubted it. Nodding heavily, he added that should it ever come to light the Authenticator had been used in a crime, this would be submitted as evidence to the IWO Ability User Tribunal, and I would suffer a severe penalty.

I liked that upright manner of his, so I readily told him once more that the Authenticator had evaporated while I fought the aberrant, and we captured Baekcheong's terrifyingly enormous bones on video.

Watching the administrator go, I took out the Authenticator, fitted it to my left forearm as before, and went through the identity verification.

Having had one smashed already, I did wonder if I ought to stick it on my torso the way Hwayeon and Yeongeun did. But body and arm each had their merits and their drawbacks, so I just put it on my forearm.

That seemed to be the end of the reissue business. Aunt Hyeryeong moved cleanly on to the next matter.

"I contacted the Korean Branch Director of the Ability Users Association, Chairman, to say you'd brought a friend again this time."

A friend. She meant Franc, though the word was doing a lot of quiet work. And the branch director — after Hyunwoo hyung, that would be Madam Yoon Haehwa who'd taken the post, wouldn't it?

"When they asked what the rank was, I asked them what they thought it might be, and they gave me a bitter smile. They said they'd come by before long to issue the permit."

"In person?"

"Yes. They don't have a choice. Taming the Dark Matter Slime was never formally reported to the Ability Users Association. They said they'd come and handle both matters while they were at it."

"Who took office as branch director, succeeding former Branch Director Kang Hyunwoo?"

"A B-class sensory ability user named Yoon Haehwa, who held the post of Busan Branch Chief."

So the madam really had become Korea's branch director. I nodded, remembering the soft-featured beauty I'd seen when I went down to Busan to visit Hyunwoo hyung, and said,

"When she comes, I should treat her to a cup of tea. And that lean meat of Baekcheong's — we're going to eat it, so have it stored separately."

"Understood."

Baekcheong's lean meat was being cut into portions of tens of kilograms by a wind-attribute ability user's Wind Cutter, washed by a water-attribute ability user, vacuum-packed, and loaded into the refrigerated truck. When I gave the separate order, Aunt Hyeryeong smiled like a cat and bowed her head.

It's incredible stuff. I'll share a little out as gifts for people close to me, and the family and I will eat the rest. Oh — should I send a bit to the Queen of England and President Putin, too? Just a kilogram or so.

Aunt Hyeryeong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠said there was nothing more I needed to concern myself with, left word that she'd report if anything unusual came up, and walked over to Department Head Kim Pyochung.

Baekcheong's hide, folded up neat, was just beginning to be loaded onto the road train in earnest when three large trailers came in behind the sports car my sister was riding.

She got out, designated where the trailers should park, and said she'd brought clothes — then dragged Franc out of the house.

When Franc, all forty meters of her, walked out of the enormous tent-draped house, the employees who'd been cutting and hauling and loading flinched as one and couldn't stop stealing glances at her.

"What are you doing?! Your hands stopped — your hands! Don't feel like going home today?!!"

Department Head Kim Pyochung caught on at once to who the giant walking out of that enormous house was, and started circulating among the employees, hounding them and tearing into them so they wouldn't pay any attention this way. People got back to their work quickly enough.

"Aigoo~ Nasty little ladybug."

"Kim Chaerin, I heard all of that!!"

"I didn't say anything~!"

Giggles from one side, the sound of him bellowing at the employees, the noise of the work — it all ran together, and then the side of a large trailer opened and neatly folded black clothing came into view. At a glance it didn't look like clothes at all. It looked like folded cloth for some enormous tent.

Franc and my sister took the clothes from the trailer with its side hatch and went into the house together, and my sister brought up several orbs of light to brighten the dark interior.

"Oh. So you can use them like this now."

"That's the extent of your admiration? There aren't many people in Korea who can create and maintain multiple light orbs that big."

"Whoa~~!! Noona, you're seriously incredible! The best! Absolutely busted! Real talk, I concede?!"

Unimpressed by the overacted fuss, she shot me a glare, then urged Franc to try the clothes on in the living room, now blazing with light.

The garment in Franc's hands was an enormous shirt, something like a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠box tee... and the material looked familiar.

Franc, marveling at the huge clothes, turned to my sister and asked.

"This is canvas fabric. Was there cloth of such a size?"

Ah. I remembered. The same texture as the canvas Noona sometimes used when she painted.

"Yes. It is canvas, but I bought cloth specially made for oversized tents and had it cut. How does it feel?"

"I like it. Perhaps because I have grown, it feels like touching silk."

Hearing that the clothes had been made from tent cloth put me in a sour mood. She was going to turn something like that into clothes and have Franc wear them around?

My sister, whose intuition was uncanny, noticed my expression worsen. She pouted and grumbled.

"You think anyone wants to dress Franc in material like that? Even if I wanted ordinary synthetic fiber, patterns come in standard sizes, and a size that can cut clothes Franc can actually wear is not a common thing."

"Seoha. Canvas fabric is made of polyester as well. Polyester ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is a cloth often used for ordinary clothes, so please do not think badly of it."

"Hm. That so."

"I've ordered plenty of clothes, so for now, wear that and make do. It may be a little rough, but Franc's figure and face are so far above the rest that she'll look fine even in just that."

At my sister's praise Franc smiled shyly, thanked her, and took the clothes into the bedroom. I followed her in and watched her change.

The underwear was painfully plain — a small piece of cloth with strings attached. They couldn't use anything like elastic, so this was probably all she could wear. It was the sort of thing that, like a bikini, barely covered a portion of her breasts and her sex, and Franc was terribly embarrassed in it. I stole a look, and the blood rushed to one particular place, throbbing, swelling, starting to grow to ten times its size.

Franc put on a box tee with a V cut at the neck and ordinary pants with a slightly wide leg, and a hat that looked like a beanie besides. Dressed like that, she didn't look like an aberrant at all — just a young lady whose body had grown enormous, standing tall and stiff with... no. Spirit. A lively young lady.

"Don't put that away. Keep hold of it. When we go back in five days, we'll wear that over the top on the way in."

"Ah. It would certainly be difficult to have armor fashioned within five days, so that would be better."

Franc had been about to take the snakeskin tunic she'd been using as clothes out with her, but at my words she folded it neatly and set it in a corner of the bedroom. Until scale armor made just for Franc is finished, she'll have to wear that in the meantime.

My sister said she'd finish what she was doing and come back, and left with the empty trailers in tow. Department Head Kim Pyochung gave up on cutting Baekcheong's bones in the end, loaded them whole, and hauled them off.

The house went silent in an instant. Just me and Franc, alone... Darky was here too, so was it three? As the three of us sat in the quiet, everything I'd been through in the Phase World this time began to stream past like a revolving lantern.

A revolving lantern. The phrase left a bad taste. Anyway — what I'd been through in the Phase World this time had given me a great deal to think about.

"I got too arrogant."

"Arrogant... were you?"

"Yeah. Deep down, I think I'd let my guard down. Figured nothing could be my match unless it was a Four Divine Beast like Langue Dran."

I murmured it from where I lay in the valley of Franc's breasts, gathered and cinched by the bra, and she smiled as if that were only to be expected.

"It came crashing in from a full fifteen kilometers away, in the blink of an eye, did it not? Setting that aside, your judgment was without fault. Please do not blame yourself so."

I gave a small smile at the way she looked out for me. But the Phase World was a place where one mistake could get you killed, and there, of all places, I couldn't allow it — still less when I thought of the weight of the lives I carried. To go around that loose while I was supposed to be thinking of revenge... If I'd truly meant to take revenge, being wound tight still wouldn't have been enough, and yet I'd let the string of my tension go slack, as if Franc and Darky and I had come out for a picnic. It was the sort of stupidity I wouldn't have had the right to grumble about, even if I'd dropped dead in a heap.

"Thanks."

Even so, I was grateful for the heart in her comforting me, so I thanked her, and she answered with a lovely smile that hadn't a speck of self-interest in it. I watched that dazzling smile, and then my eyes went to the beanie on her head, and I decided to act on a thought I'd had before.

"Franc. Just a moment."

"Seoha?"

"Stay still for a second."

I climbed up onto the head of Franc, who was blinking those large, lovely eyes and holding still, and took off the beanie-like hat she wore. What came into view was a scalp where the hair was growing in slowly, like a lawn of gold.

I studied that pretty head for a moment — not a blemish on it — and called Healing Touch up in my hand.

Blue motes of light, sparkling like the Milky Way, spilled beautifully from my palm. Like that, I stroked Franc's scalp — diligently, thoroughly. And yet there didn't seem to be any effect you could see at a glance.

Does it even work?

Just in case, I fired off Healing Wave at stage five as well.

Nothing like her hair dramatically growing came of it. Maybe hair wasn't judged to be part of the body. Because it had grown, and come out beyond the body... that seemed to be why.

Swallowing the disappointment, I jumped down onto Franc's chest, and she raised a hand to feel her head.

"It feels strangely ticklish. Does Healing Wave have an effect on hair as well?"

Huh? If it tickles, that means there is an effect, doesn't it?

Better to be honest than to give her hope for nothing, so I told her I couldn't be sure either. Franc smiled, soft and easy, and said it was all right — then gathered her arms and made a valley of her breasts.

I leapt into the space she'd made.

"I'll massage you whenever there's a spare moment. If there's a reaction, I don't think it means there's no effect at all."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

I was lolling about with Darky in the valley of Franc's breasts, soft as a top-grade waterbed, when I sensed Miho and Hiarid flying this way in a flustered rush from the direction of the penthouse. They must have heard from Sophia that I was back — their faces were radiant.