Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Awkward (3)
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* * *
"Ah, Senior!"
Namwoo finally snapped out of it and looked at the incubus.
"Oh. Our little rookie caught the perp? Good job, kid!"
The incubus grinned widely, patted Namwoo's shoulder, and glared down at the criminal.
His icy gaze sharpened like it could pierce right through, making his horns—sharp as ram's horns—look even deadlier.
"You thought you could get away? You're right in the palm of my hand."
The incubus raised his thick work boot as if to crush the criminal's fingers, but stopped dead at Namwoo's words.
"Senior."
"What? Spit it out. Hard to keep my cool here."
"Just to check... the name Seonal..."
"Seonal? That son of a—wait, why bring up that name now?"
The incubus hurriedly looked at Namwoo and lowered his foot—right onto the criminal's wrist.
"Aaaagh!"
"Shut it!"
At the criminal's scream, the incubus twisted his innate seductive powers as an incubus and knocked him out cold.
"Go on."
"Well, that guy caught this one..."
"Gruff-looking dude, hair almost white?"
"Yeah! That's him! He had his civil servant badge around his neck..."
"Which department?"
"Non-Human Complaints..."
"That bastard... I wondered where he bolted to. Of all places, he went there? No wonder we couldn't find him—perfect fit."
The incubus snorted, grinding his teeth quietly.
"No, why call him a bastard? He seemed so nice. Caught the perp for us, didn't grill us on what we did wrong like some people, even taught us to hide our badges."
"Because that bastard used to be elite in our Special Task Force!"
The incubus snapped irritably.
"Ah, thinking about it pisses me off all over again! Because of that guy... Damn it!"
As the torrent of curses began, Namwoo quietly pondered while pulling out his phone to make a report—just in case the fire spread his way.
'...He's really cursing someone else for once?'
* * *
"...So the Special Task Force helped catch the perp. Very brief collaboration. That's how it went down."
"Special Task Force, huh. What are the odds."
Irang bit her lip briefly at Seonal's explanation.
They rarely crossed paths like this. The Special Task Force operated more in the shadows than most civil servants.
Calming her surprise, she glanced ahead, then something she needed to tell Seonal specifically came to mind, so she turned back to him.
"Seonal."
"Yeah?"
"Complaints sometimes collaborates with Special Task Force. Did you hear from the chief?"
"Didn't hear, but I know."
"I've only done it a few times myself, but something tells me it'll be different for you. You'll get called in a lot. If they request collaboration, push other complainers forward and flat-out refuse."
"Why?"
"Well... Complaints—no, incident handling is different. They deal with such brutal major crimes, it's not that they don't get it, but they're rough. Different field, I guess."
"Ah, I know that already."
"You do?"
"Remember asking where I was before transferring?"
Irang felt a twinge of unease at his words.
"Special Task Force."
"...."
Screech.
The taxi pulled up right on cue.
"Let's get out. We're here."
Seonal smiled brightly.
Irang's eyes slowly widened.
She covered her mouth, then urgently called after Seonal as he opened the taxi door.
"S-Se-Seonal?"
"I know."
"N-No, that's not... I wasn't badmouthing..."
"Yeah, I know."
"So, absolutely..."
"Not getting out?"
Seeing those languid eyes, Irang reflexively hopped out of the taxi.
She stared at the taxi rumbling away, feeling strangely wistful, then at Seonal's back as he walked ahead.
'I must look like I just trashed his old department.'
She'd tried so hard not to slip up, to draw a proper line.
Suddenly, all she wanted was to head back to Complaints.
'Get it together.'
Staring at her elongated shadow, Irang steadied herself.
No matter how she looked, Seonal didn't seem mad.
Better to apologize properly than blurt out a half-hearted one.
"Irang."
"...Yeah."
She swallowed dryly after answering.
"Don't overthink it. Just listen to me. You can badmouth Special Task Force in front of me. No lingering attachments there. I'm in Complaints now..."
"Then why are you heading that way?"
Irang couldn't hold back and spoke up, eyeing his direction.
Seonal stopped and looked around.
They'd gotten out near a construction site building apartments.
A partition to muffle noise bore the name 'Hanul' like a pattern.
Apartments flanked both sides, and noise-reduction magic was active.
But more than that, what caught Seonal's eye was the mana flow.
Mana clustered thickly, as if strictly following safety regs during construction.
"Isn't it this way?"
At his question, Irang looked puzzled.
"That's not the main gate."
"Aren't we going in the back?"
There'd been a pile-up of complainers that morning.
The front gate would be swarmed like today's visitors, protesting yesterday's mess.
"People will be mobbed at the entrance. It'll be chaos, total disorder."
"That's why we're going there."
Irang spoke with such confidence that Seonal listened closely.
She had way more experience in Complaints, no matter what anyone said.
"A few loudmouths maybe, but that's where complainers and new arrivals will flock. Gotta show folks how fast Complaints moves. Right?"
"...Why?"
Seonal asked.
It felt off from what he'd done, unfamiliar.
Why show off at all?
"Complaints is way more visible than you think, Seonal. Opposite of Special Task Force. Easier negotiations this way, higher odds."
"Got the vibe. Let's do it."
Seonal agreed readily.
He was still the student here, after all—better to observe from behind.
Seonal walked to the main gate with Irang.
A banner immediately grabbed his eye.
Stop apartment construction destroying mountains and local economy!
Halt construction strangling surrounding apartments!
'Something went down before, huh?'
Seonal frowned slightly at the banners strung between trees.
Economic logic only muddied things further the more you poked it.
He had no intention of digging into the deep history between residents and the company.
What mattered now was yesterday's cause and effect, and digging deeper into the site manager's statements to citizens.
Was the non-human discrimination limited to citizens?
'Don't touch the company conflict lightly.'
It screamed sensitive.
That's why he'd suggested the back gate.
'She must have her reasons.'
Unlike team ops in Special Task Force, Complaints mostly soloed, so he didn't know her full skill set.
Perfect chance to see, since he was curious.
As they neared with Irang, the sounds of standoff reached them.
'...Already wanna head back.'
The racket made Seonal slow a bit, fatigue washing over him.
"...No. Look, no entry except personnel—can't you read? And I've said it a million times: nothing collapsed! Cut it out! It was just a minor slip-up!"
The construction rep blocked the crowd, looking distressed.
"Yesterday's disaster, and you say no collapse? That's why we wanna check! Makes no sense blocking us! Someone die in there?"
The crowd desperately pushed to enter.
It looked like an accident mid-illegal build.
Seonal glanced up at the apartments under construction—no sense of collapse.
Instead, his lip curled faintly.
'Been wondering why the mana's so thick...'
"Excuse us."
Irang strode boldly into the midst, raising her voice.
Flower scent bloomed around her like petals unfurling.
Using some spell, the grass in her hand crumbled to ash.
Whatever the scent, the crowd turned to her as if commanded.
'...Stimulating smell to grab attention, huh.'
Seonal pushed up his slipping glasses.
"From Non-Human Complaints Resolution Special Division. Mind stepping aside?"
Irang held up her badge like ID, declaring confidently.
At "Complaints," faces shifted variably.
Annoyance for some, hope for others, expectation for a few.
Watching expressions flicker felt oddly third-person to Seonal, intriguing.
'And convenient.'
Seonal tamped down his rising smirk, noting the best part.
"Could someone direct me to the person in charge?"
Irang addressed the construction staff politely.
The staffer couldn't hide his reluctance upon seeing the badge.
Irresistible authority had arrived.
"Whew! Civil servant sir! About time! These cops show up saying they can't do squat. Now a real civil servant's here."
'Cops already called?'
Seonal perked his ears at the crowd's chatter, glancing at Irang.
Cops couldn't touch it here, obviously.
No victims? Internal construction matter—why interfere?
"Civil servants, perfect timing! Quick, arrest these punks! No manners, demanding entry we won't allow—total bullshit! God, wanna smack 'em upside the head!"
"We're the victims! Construction noise rattling our whole place—we can't live like this! Fix it now!"
As the crowd eyed them like saviors, Seonal looked to Irang.
How would she handle it?
"Sorry, but Complaints doesn't handle personal matters. We're here for something else—please step aside."
Irang smiled. But it wasn't soft; more like quiet menace.
Best to avoid clashes, Seonal thought—but this worked too. Pretty good.
"Hang on. How can you do this? Civil servants help citizens!"
"Right! Know how many complaints I've filed?"
"Thought you were here for complaints—what the...? Know my taxes?"
Refused, the crowd's eyes turned to irritation, anger rippling.
Irang didn't budge. Still smiling.
"We're currently handling a citizen complaint. Please cooperate."
"So you ignore us..."
"This is official duty. Appreciate your understanding for swift execution."
Subtly invoking obstruction of duty, a few who knew backed off.
One or two move, others follow blindly—path cleared fast for Seonal and Irang.
"Let's go, Seonal."
Irang smiled confidently.
* * *
'Awkward.'
Irang fiddled with her thigh.
She'd been shown in, but now silence blanketed the room.
The noisy outside earlier felt better, honestly.
"Irang."
Seonal checked around, then spoke.
Just in case, he cast a spell—her eyes widened slightly.
Colors filled the space.
"Blocks sound leaks."
"Why... cast a spell suddenly?"
"Listen closely."
"Yeah."
"This apartment's gonna collapse soon."
"...Pardon?"
"Structurally, the core frame—the skeleton's buckled, held by forced magic. That noise I heard yesterday? Probably columns sinking from the failed frame."
"W-Wait. More details, please."
Irang had seen workers hauling materials on the way here—her smile vanished.
If magic failed and frame or columns gave, massive casualties.
"Need proper checks, but at a glance, doesn't look like they propped yesterday's or today's collapse."
"So the frame failed before yesterday?"
"Yep. No clue what passed between company and Magic Association, but they magicked the frame, reset columns, pushed reconstruction."
"How'd you know?"
Irang's jaw nearly dropped.
Magic users, man—she felt it anew.
"Manas too concentrated. Not Magic Association turf—suspicious as hell."
Seonal lightly rubbed his chin with his thumb.
"Irang. My honest take—wanna hear?"
"Yes."
"Chief sent us both."
"Right."
"He predicted this far. Gotta say... impressive guy."
"Very likely."
Irang nodded, piecing thoughts carefully.
Guessing what he meant.
"So... you're saying we go to headquarters?"
"Exactly. Better contact chief."
"But it's here—handle on-site?"
"Obvious dead end."
"How?"
"Tell managers it'll collapse? Deny it. Can't demand they drop magic knowing it'll fall. In this mess, HQ might resolve faster."
His words flowed so smoothly, Irang felt like he'd seen the future.
If he foresaw outside drama, likely true.
"Negotiate with the head, always."
Seonal glanced back lazily.
The site manager sauntered in now, suit pristine—infuriating nonchalance.
Even Magic Association rushed at "civil servant," but this guy's arrogance screamed.
Seonal dropped the spell.
"Whew, long trip."
The manager plopped down, mimicking friendly grin with chattering jaw.
Skeleton race.
'Different voice from the recording.'
Seonal recalled the audio from the centaur complainer.
'Duh, manager wouldn't show personally.'
Still, not bottom rung—some rank.
"No idea why such esteemed visitors grace us, but just minor internal hiccup."
'Wow, asshole from the jump.'
Clear intent to bury it—Seonal smiled brightly at the manager.