The Saint's Unintended Discovery

Adele was in a state of considerable excitement. Her trip with Sehwa had been incredibly fun. She wanted to go again—next time with Jihyeok and her sisters. At the moment, she had just parted ways with Sehwa after a warm embrace at the airport. She had deliberately told Jihyeok a different arrival time. She wanted to surprise him.

She imagined popping out in front of him while he was hard at work in the lab with a cheerful ta-da! What kind of reaction would he show? At the very least, he would surely hug her so tightly it felt like her body might break, or cover her entire face with delighted kisses.

Carrying her large bag, Adele walked toward the taxi stand with a spring in her step, beaming with joy. Then she suddenly tilted her head.

“Huh…?”

She felt a familiar, ominous energy. It was malice. There was malice present at Gimpo Airport.

Glancing around, she moved to a secluded area. Then she focused her mind. This was a place with heavy foot traffic. There were many cameras too, so she couldn’t fully release her power. Just enough to be faint. Just enough to continuously detect the malice.

Woooong—!

A nearly invisible, transparent light bloomed from Adele’s body before vanishing in an instant. Her eyes darted around as she scanned her surroundings.

‘No one saw…’

There was no one! People were hurrying along as if nothing had happened. As expected, she was a truly cool-headed Beast Slayer! After praising herself, Adele spotted a faint black trail of malice and began following it. The trail led deeper into the airport.

This malice was definitely not being emitted by a monster. She was certain. She had felt this exact unpleasant energy once before—back when she and Silvia first arrived on Earth. It was the unique, repulsive aura that came from humans corrupted by malice.

Besides, if a monster had appeared, the airport couldn’t possibly be this peaceful. Retracing her steps, Adele swallowed hard when the trail of malice led all the way to a corner women’s restroom.

She fidgeted with her Device, disguised as a watch. Purification was the priority, but if the situation truly called for it, she would transform. She didn’t want her identity exposed, but Jihyeok would take care of it, so it would be fine.

“Hoo…! Hoo!”

She placed a hand over her chest and took deep breaths, then entered the restroom fully prepared to transform at any moment.

“Yes, Director. I understand.”

A beautiful voice came softly from the farthest stall. The malice was leading exactly in that direction… and there was no one else in the restroom. Was she on the phone right now? If so, this might give them a clue related to Tyrat.

Thinking that, Adele crept up to the stall and pricked up her ears.

“Manager? It’s fine even if there isn’t one. No one recognizes me anyway.”

Her voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper, but the silent restroom allowed Adele to barely make it out. No need for a manager, and no one recognizes her? She seemed to be an entertainer. Not a very famous one.

“Yes… right now? I’m at the airport. I already printed my boarding pass at the kiosk. Yes… understood. Thank you.”

Just from the conversation, she didn’t sound like someone corrupted by malice at all. That fact made Adele’s skin crawl even more. The corrupted human she had encountered at the Grand Canyon had staggered around like a zombie. But this woman was speaking completely normally.

It was terrifying to think there might be more people like this. At the same time, she felt relieved. If she hadn’t possessed holy power, she would have walked right past without noticing.

Sending a prayer of gratitude toward Rosario, Adele quickly slipped into the adjacent stall once the call seemed to end and quietly channeled her power.

Wooooong—!

Condensed golden radiance flowed beneath the stall and affected the corrupted person. The filthy malice was being erased. The fallen heart was being purified, returning to its original state. She could feel it.

“Ah…!”

A short exclamation followed. It was the voice of someone freed from something. The unpleasant malice that had filled the space was gone, leaving behind a refreshing feeling. No doubt about it.

Having completed the purification, Adele smiled brightly.

‘Jihyeok will praise me, right?’

Imagining his reaction to her heroic tale, Adele giggled as she left the stall and pretended to wash her hands. She wanted to conduct the interrogation naturally. Asking too bluntly might get her reported, but fortunately, she already knew a bit of information about this woman. She could use that to draw out more details.

A moment later, the stall door opened, and a very pretty woman walked toward the sink with a bright expression. Seizing the opportunity, Adele began her act.

Looking at the woman’s face through the mirror, Adele asked, “Um…? Excuse me… aren’t you that person?”

“Pardon…? That person…?”

The woman looked surprised. Adele pretended to think hard before saying, “You’re an actress, right? I think I saw you in a drama… or was it a movie?”

At those words, the corners of the woman’s mouth lifted awkwardly. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seemed both happy that someone recognized her and a little embarrassed. After washing her hands, she pulled out a paper towel and asked, “Which drama did you see me in?”

Adele inwardly flinched at the question but kept a calm face. She only needed the name. Then she could search for it on a portal site.

“Well… I don’t remember exactly. I think it was a romance drama…”

“Romance? One distributed by TVI?”

“Yes! That’s the one!”

“I only had a minor role. You recognized me well.”

“I’m good at remembering faces.”

Adele laughed with a “Hehe” and scratched the back of her head. While she was wondering what to do next, the woman extended her hand.

“I’m Jihye. Lee Jihye.”

Adele quickly took the offered hand and smiled sweetly. “Please give me an autograph! And take a photo with me too!”

Jackpot! Her detective play had been a huge success! Now she just had to tell Jihyeok so he could investigate this person!

“Jihyeok! Jihyeok!”

Was I dreaming right now? Why was I hearing Adele’s voice? I thought she wasn’t supposed to arrive for quite a while longer.

I had been trying to catch some sleep in the doctor’s break room inside the lab. When I opened my eyes, the face of the person I had missed so dearly was right in front of me.

“Adele…? How did you get here…? Did I oversleep…?”

“No! I came first without telling you! I wanted to surprise you! But that’s not important—listen to me!”

Adele tugged at both my arms with a grunt. Rubbing my eyes as I sat up on the bed, I gave her a puzzled look when I saw her sparkling eyes.

“What’s going on all of a sudden? Why are you like this?”

“I solved a case!”

“A case?”

“Here, look at this first!”

Adele rummaged through her phone and showed me a photo from her gallery. It was a picture of Adele and another woman. The moment I saw it, my eyes widened.

‘This is…’

The woman smiling beside Adele was Lee Jihye. The WW Entertainment actress I had fed my malice-infused blood to turn her into a puppet for the safehouse. Why was this woman with Adele?

A sense of unease bloomed inside me. Could it be… had she been purified?

Stay calm. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Stay calm. First, I needed to hear the full story.

“She’s pretty. Is she an actress?”

“Yes! Her name is Lee Jihye, and she’s an actress with WW Entertainment! She’s not that famous though.”

“Then why are you so worked up…”

“I’ll tell you everything from the beginning, so pay attention! When I got off at the airport today…”

With a bright smile, Adele began explaining the entire situation. And the more her story continued, the more my face hardened.

The situation was simple. By pure coincidence, Adele had discovered Jihye and purified her. That was it. Jihye had probably been on her way to Jeju Island for a shoot when Adele caught her.

‘It’s not that serious of an incident…’

Adele didn’t know that I had a partnership with WW Entertainment. Of course she didn’t. She probably hadn’t even had a proper conversation with the purified Jihye. She had just taken a photo, gotten an autograph, and exchanged a few words. It wasn’t something that needed to be taken seriously. I could simply cut off the tail.

But the fact that this had happened at all irritated me.

I looked down at Adele, who was grinning like a puppy eagerly waiting for praise. Adele… my Adele… who told you to do something no one asked for? Hm? Can’t you just stop using that damn holy power already? Now I’ll have to warn Boyeong to be extra careful too.

I stroked her bright golden hair and said, “You did well. I’m proud of you. But it was a dangerous thing to do. From now on, if something like this happens, contact me first no matter what and explain the situation.”

When I spoke in a rather stern, scolding tone, Adele’s face fell and she lowered her head slightly.

“I thought I could be helpful… and it wasn’t that dangerous…”

She quickly became downcast, fidgeting with her fingers. It was adorable.

“You were a big help. Now I’ll have to investigate WW Entertainment.”

“Right…? I did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠well, didn’t I?”

“Yes. You did very well. Still, promise me. From now on, you’ll discuss things with me before taking action.”

“I promise… I won’t try to do anything alone again.”

Her slightly pouty tone made a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chuckle escape me. I held her tightly for a long time, savoring the joy of our reunion, then asked, “Did you buy me a present?”

“Yes… but I’m not giving it to you right now.”

“Why not?”

“Later… tomorrow night…”

Tonight? Did she buy some fancy oil or something?

“Alright.”

“I’ve been tense the whole time, so I’m tired. Can I sleep here for a bit?”

“Of course. While you’re sleeping, I’ll look into this Lee Jihye person.”

“Wake me up when the investigation is done.”

“Yes.”

Adele took off her indoor slippers and climbed onto the bed. I covered her with a blanket and gave her a gentle smile, then stepped outside and sat down in front of the situation board. After that, I pressed firmly on both my temples.

One of the safehouses that only I knew about—one that even Sehwa and Marcela didn’t know—had disappeared. It wasn’t a huge loss since I hadn’t invested that much effort into it, but it had definitely raised my alertness. Even if I had nearly taken control of the Earth, I couldn’t let my guard down.

I slipped out of the lab and called Boyeong.

“Yes, Director.”

“Tell Marcela to wrap up your affairs and help you switch agencies. Finish everything by the day after tomorrow. And focus on raising Stella. Don’t even think about wandering around.”

“Understood.”

After hanging up and turning to go back inside, my phone buzzed.

It was a text from an unknown number.

Yuria… It looked like she had gotten another burner phone to avoid the doctor’s eyes. I immediately dialed her number.

“Hello.”

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, Jihyeok. I’ll get straight to the point. The doctor is currently running around investigating every incident. She stopped by Syria and is now in the United States.”

“She went to Syria herself?”

“Yes. And she asked a lot of questions about you and Sehwa. Whether your personalities seemed to have changed suddenly, if you had any contact with monsters… things like that. I answered carefully, but then she said something strange.”

“What did she say?”

“That Tyrat seems to have sneaked onto Earth and is influencing many people… that both Sehwa and you, and even the doctor herself, appear to have fallen for his schemes…”

She hadn’t equated me with Tyrat yet, but she had figured out quite a lot.

“I see. What is the doctor doing in America right now?”

“She’s looking into everything from the beginning of the cluster bomb incident until you were imprisoned. All the guards who worked there at the time are dead, so she’s having a hard time… but she confirmed that one is still alive. She plans to meet him tomorrow.”

One person? It had to be the guard named Sinclair. Back then, he had kept me company, and in return, I had shown him mercy. I had told him not to show up at the place where he would receive the money, to keep his mouth shut and live quietly.

“Is the guard’s name Sinclair?”

“That’s right.”

Hah… she had dug this far? If Sinclair ran his mouth, the doctor would learn that I had quite the enjoyable time in prison. I had pretended to be broken to amplify her hatred toward humans, but that would be exposed. In the end, she would suspect me even more.

Even if Sinclair remembered my warning deep in his heart and said nothing, she would notice something odd. He was probably living large right now with the money Marcela had given him. She might not be able to trace the source, but the doctor’s abilities would be more than enough to figure out his previous financial situation. And if my name came up, a mere guard like Sinclair who wasn’t an actor wouldn’t be able to control his expression… The perceptive doctor would definitely pick up on something from his face.

“What should I do?”

“Does the doctor trust you?”

“She trusts me completely.”

“If you feel like you can’t dig any deeper or if you sense anything suspicious, just bring her in. I’ll leave it to your judgment.”

“Understood. What about Sinclair?”

“If his acting is decent and the doctor hasn’t found anything, leave him be. I’ll use him as a pawn. But if the doctor starts suspecting something through conversation? Then…”

“Yes, I’ll kill him.”

“Good. Keep up the good work.”

After ending the call, I gripped my phone so hard it felt like it might shatter. The safehouse was gone, and now the doctor’s movements… I thought my luck had been good lately, but apparently not. A string of absolutely shitty things was happening one after another. How could I not use force in a situation like this?