Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Think Backwards Again (2)
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* * *
‘…Crazy.’
Sernal’s mind was a whirlwind of chaos.
‘Is this for real?’
A chill ran through him, making his whole body tremble.
At the time, since Maeve’s charm hadn’t stabilized yet, he couldn’t confirm if it was the same as the charm that had affected the lizardman.
His head just throbbed.
It ached.
His stomach churned.
‘My mistake.’
Sernal gritted his teeth.
The reason Edinal had sent him to Mestos Hospital from the start was precisely because he was a mage.
To stop the incident before it escalated.
Knowing what could happen if it spiraled out of control, she’d sent him—someone who could grasp and handle more at the scene than anyone else.
“Sernal? You okayyy?”
“Give me a moment, Toon.”
This wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
Sernal needed to report to Edinal as soon as possible that the incident had taken a bizarre turn.
First, he sent her a photo, then tried calling.
[What’s going on, Sermnal? Did you get mad about finding the skeleton’s bones…?]
“Team Leader.”
Sernal’s voice was heavy.
[Yes, Sermnal.]
Edinal’s tone dipped accordingly.
“I found the bones, but while searching, I detected a massive wave of charm spreading everywhere. The one using it was on a bus—I snapped a photo of the bus number with my phone.”
[I’ll request police cooperation right away.]
“Team Leader. One more thing.”
[Tell me, Sermnal.]
“The charm leaking from the bus matched the one that hit the lizardman at Mestos Hospital. We need to verify this immediately.”
[I’ll request cooperation from the hospital too, so calm down and catch your breath.]
“I’m heading straight to the Resident Center.”
[Got it.]
Sernal hung up and wiped the sweat from his brow.
He looked at Toon slowly, his gaze unusually icy, making Toon flinch.
“Are you mad at meee?”
“No. The case is just… twisted a bit. Sorry, but I need to head back to the center right now.”
* * *
“…I’ve requested cooperation from both the hospital and the police. You can head out anytime… No.”
Edinal stood from her seat. Sermnal’s usually neat hair was disheveled and unkempt.
“Team Leader. Could you share the info you dug up on Toon? And Toon.”
“Y-Yes…?”
Toon answered, startled. Sermnal’s gaze was still cold.
“Sorry, but could you check if the person who chased you out is here?”
“Sernal. How about a sip of water and a breather first?”
“Info first. No time to waste.”
Edinal furrowed her brow but handed over the documents to Toon. They weren’t classified anyway, and she’d planned to show them to him—mostly just photos.
“You can manage a sip now, right?”
Edinal poured water and passed Sermnal a paper cup. Irritation made a drop splash onto her finger.
Sernal dipped his head slightly and took the cup.
As the water slid down his throat, the sharp edge in his chest finally eased.
‘Right. The case might not be as big as I thought.’
Sernal forcibly pushed back the wave of fatigue.
He exhaled shortly and spoke.
“Toon’s here too, so I figured I’d ask while I was at it.”
“Hold on, Sermnal.”
Sernal looked up at Edinal’s weighty words.
“Calm down.”
“I am calm.”
“You don’t look it, Sermnal. What you’re handling right now isn’t a case.”
“…Oh.”
Sernal belatedly realized where he was and flashed an awkward smile.
“Just habit. If I don’t hurry, things go really wrong.”
“I get you’re worried about Toon, but how about prioritizing the urgent case first? The charm thing is the priority, right?”
“This is fine. I’m used to it. Now, tell me about the bus.”
Edinal hesitated under Sermnal’s straight, unyielding gaze—like a bold, thick line.
Her eyes held so many thoughts, impossible to read.
After staring at him quietly, Edinal spoke again.
“Sernal.”
“…Yes?”
Sernal halted the thoughts swirling in his mind.
Habits were like that. They wouldn’t fade, just hardened like calluses.
Even as Sermnal, the memories from his Rinell days clung—of groveling, clinging desperately and pathetically to become a mage.
That ingrained misery still lived in his body, making him agonize over every scrap of info, latching onto every possibility in sight.
This anxiety that started with ‘If I just relax a little’ might have callused over too.
“Relax. This is Complaints Division.”
Edinal’s voice rang soft.
But Sermnal couldn’t. He had no desire to let go of that sharp tension.
“…Fine, I’ll ease up a bit.”
Sernal adjusted his glasses and took another sip.
Edinal shook her head at his still-rigid form.
‘This stubborn fool.’
No choice.
She’d have to play along with the stubborn guy.
“The bus…”
“This is the guyyy!”
Toon’s sudden shout startled Edinal and Sermnal.
“Really?”
Toon nodded furiously, face scrunched to hold back tears as Sermnal spoke.
“Yeahhh! This is the one who kicked me outtt!”
Sernal hadn’t expected to find them so fast, but he reached for the documents in Toon’s hand.
But had Toon’s emotional wound run deeper than thought? His hand trembled holding the papers, his languid voice speeding up.
“I didn’t do anythingyy!”
“Hold on, Toon. Calm down.”
Sernal tried to soothe Toon, who was growing unstable.
“It’s trueee! I was just in the treeee! Someone was about to fall, so I tried to help—that’s allll!”
Toon’s childlike form melted, floral patterns darkening on his body.
“I’m not baddd!”
Like a dam bursting, he shrieked, his body stretching toward the ceiling.
‘Too excited.’
Sernal rummaged in his bag and tossed a powder more effective than Complaints Division spray.
Puff.
“I’m not ba—…”
Hit by the powder, Toon shrank back to his plump mantou-slime shape.
Toon blinked dazedly.
“Toon. Feeling better?”
Sernal still clutched the powder pouch.
With anxiety and anger cut short, Toon slowly looked down at the slightly melted documents.
“…Sorryyy.”
Tears welled in Toon’s reformed eyes.
“Sorryyy.”
“Toon. Eat this and stop crying.”
While Edinal stepped away to grab snacks Toon had liked that morning, Sermnal took the documents from Toon.
Species: Werewolf.
Civil servant rank: Grade 5. Respectable high in the 12-grade system.
A senior official, no doubt.
‘This guy chased out Toon? Why…?’
Sernal couldn’t fathom it.
He couldn’t predict any reason a senior official would bother evicting Toon.
‘Suspicious.’
His instincts screamed. This was no light matter.
Sernal asked Toon calmly.
“So this guy misunderstood you trying to help someone and chased you out?”
“I didn’t do anythinggg. Someone just collapsed suddenlyyy. He called me a murderer.”
Toon clutched the snacks Edinal handed him, tears flowing from the injustice.
Real tears, pooling on the floor like soft liquid.
Toon was wronged.
He’d only asked if they were okay.
His finger had barely brushed them.
“I got scared and ran, but when I came back, there was a chair there. He smashed the tree I lived innn. Now he says don’t come back if I don’t wanna be a murderer.”
‘What the…’
Sernal was speechless at this abuse escalating to property theft.
No one could seize personal property.
Yet this werewolf official had framed Toon and stolen his home.
“I lost my hommmme. That tree was mineee. The land’s really mineee. Dad gave it to meee.”
Tears exploded like grief overflowing, unstoppable.
Losing land from parents would hit especially hard.
Slimes were fiercely attached to their young anyway.
But no one was with Toon.
“Toon.”
Sernal looked at him.
“No one can take your land just like that.”
“…But he keeps chasing me awaaay. Keeps saying don’t come if I don’t wanna be a murderer.”
“His chasing you out doesn’t add up from the start.”
A senior official—every action carried heavy penalties.
“There might be a misunderstanding.”
Sernal gauged the case’s direction.
Edinal, Terisha, even Ilang hadn’t known Toon lived in that tree near the center.
Toon must’ve stayed quietly, out of sight.
Spotting a random slime in a tree—what would anyone think?
They’d view it wrong, like when searching for Toon’s home before.
Some damn slime infesting it.
“Team Leader. I want to meet this guy. I need to. As soon as possible.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Edinal’s firm refusal sharpened Sermnal’s eyes.
Wasn’t resolving complaints his job?
Edinal glanced at the documents Sermnal handed her, her eyes narrowing.
“You’ve got no fear, huh, Sermnal? Most quake at the rank.”
“What, you think iron rice bowl’s iron for nothing?”
A languid tone slipped from Sermnal’s lips, but his gaze brimmed with confidence.
“They can’t fire me easily from above. You know why.”
Sernal pointed to his earring—one reason among many.
Mages who wanted civil servant jobs were rare.
Skilled ones like him, even rarer. As if they wouldn’t know.
“I know. Still, don’t pick fights. Trust me—I’ve got the info you want.”
Edinal grinned confidently.
“You, Team Leader?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
Curiosity flickered in Sermnal’s eyes.
Even Edinal was capable, but how’d she know this much?
“’Cause I heard it.”
“Rumors?”
“No. From the guy who saw it firsthand. Just remembered. Oh, don’t ask who. Big trouble.”
“Not curious. Spill the info I want.”
Sernal cut straight.
Whoever Edinal meant wasn’t important.
Obviously another senior official.
Higher than this werewolf.
“Said he turned full wolf though the moon wasn’t even up. Caused a scene, but probably no rumors.”
“Silenced with power, huh.”
“Yep. Anyway, not the point. There’s a force that forcibly awakens werewolf power. You know it.”
Edinal’s lips curled.
“Vampire enchantment?”
Her sharp fangs gleamed like a vampire baring their charm—as Sermnal replied, even Toon stopped crying to stare.
“And succubus charm.”
“Which one?”
Sernal’s lips quirked too.
That statement linked the lizardman and Toon cases—deepening scent filled the air.
“As you guessed, the latter.”
Sernal was certain from Edinal’s answer.
The case had changed.
Charm incidents at different times. Just separate charm-related cases? Truly no connection?
Something intriguing was afoot.
One way to confirm.
“Which hospital treated that werewolf?”
“Happy coincidence—Mestos. You know the charm treatment process, right, Sermnal?”
“Yes.”
Two ways to purge charm.
A mage manually cycling mana to extract it.
Or drawing blood to force mana circulation.
Usually the latter—cost-effective, and preserved sample in case of reinfection.
Charm lingered in blood, treatable and storable.
“You mean the blood sample the hospital’s holding?”
“Right. Compare to the lizardman’s blood? He’s getting treated there anyway.”
“Even if unrelated, we gotta catch the succubus spreading charm from that bus.”
“Reason?”
Edinal pulled out her phone, asking slyly.
“Rare, but when mana control fails and racial power runs wild, it’s called ability overload or mana surge incident.”
“Heard of it.”
“No sane person spreads charm on a moving bus.”
“Why does it happen?”
“Cause unknown. Symptoms vary. Fancy term, but just theory. Hospital’ll reveal all.”
Bzzz.
Edinal’s phone buzzed.
“Perfect timing—police are with me at the hospital?”
Edinal looked up from her phone, grinning.
Contact received.
Sernal figured it was time to move, glancing at Toon.
“Toon, stay put here. No crying.”
“Where you goinggg?”
“Toon wiped tears and asked.
“Resolve the complaint.”
Sernal pulled a handkerchief from his bag and handed it to Toon.
With a complainant involved, it wasn’t just police business anymore.
“Team Leader. Take care of Toon.”