Forced Quarantine
"Emilia, did you just say quarantine?"
Emilia heard my cold question and silently took my hand. Her expression barely changed, but the girl gazed at me steadily with eyes mixed with apology and worry before answering.
"Yeah... It's an order that came straight down from the higher-ups after seeing the test results."
"Haa, this fast already...?"
I clenched my fist without thinking.
Quarantine...?
A girl with no power at all, no hostility toward humans, and they were going to quarantine her? Leah was just a kid who loved pudding and had the cutest smile. And now they wanted to rip her away from her guardian and force her into isolation?
When they were taking my money to stick by her side all the time, where was this? Are they messing with me right now?
"Hoo..."
But at the same time, I found myself understanding the guild's decision. Ghost stories were the ones that had inflicted massive wounds on our world. The number of people they'd killed was beyond counting.
No wonder there's that stat saying 30% of the world's population vanished. Talking about how dangerous they are just gives me a sore mouth for nothing.
Buildings collapsing was routine. Cities grinding to a halt, entire countries shaking—that was commonplace in the early days. Things were somewhat under control now, but those first three months after "Day Zero" had been pure hell.
Even a superpower like America was rumored to have crumbled.
So the guild quarantining Leah was a perfectly rational and justified measure. With previously undetected ghost story energy showing up, caution was only natural.
Yeah, logically speaking, that's right.
······
So why was I boiling with anger like this? Was it because of the guild's attitude, just tossing a form at me like a checkmark and calling it a day? Or was I disappointed in Emilia and the research team for not giving me even a heads-up before quarantine?
No, that's not why I'm mad.
Squeeze—
"Mm? Si-hyun~ Why are there suddenly so many humans here?"
Leah, blissfully unaware of what was happening, grabbed my hand with an innocent smile. That was why... because Leah had become so precious to me, that's why I was pissed.
And maybe, just maybe, the ghost story energy detected in Leah was my fault. Because I'd pushed too hard to recover her memories, causing some kind of rebound.
For now... regrets won't change anything. I need to do what I can.
I relaxed my tightly clenched fist and met Leah's eyes.
"Leah, they say you missed something during today's checkup, so could you go to the lab with these people for a bit?"
"Muu...? Si-hyun's not coming too?"
Her purple eyes wavered slightly. I quickly racked my brain for a decent excuse.
"Ah, your pudding's all gone, right? I'm gonna run to the mart and grab more. You can hold out till then, yeah?"
"Mum! This body can wait just fine, so don't worry!"
—Squish.
I stroked Leah's cheek a few times, like she was pudding itself, as she beamed and held out her hand prettily.
"I'll be right back, Leah."
"Mum! Come back safe!"
Clank.
After leaving the waiting room, I got moving immediately.
You think I'd just sit still for this?
First, I needed to see Uncle Do-jin. Only someone at master level could make a call like this. But before that, one stop.
"Gotta hit the training hall first."
The central conference room on the top floor of Dawn's Light Guild's main building. Normally, it would be packed with the guild master, vice-master, defense chief, external liaison officer, and other department heads. But today, with the emergency summons, over half the seats were empty.
In the middle of the massive room sat a long, dark oval table, surrounded by a few key figures sitting in silence. They'd just heard about the ghost story energy detected in Leah and had immediately ordered quarantine.
"Why the long faces, everyone? Didn't we make a rational, cool-headed judgment?"
Clap clap— Chris, master of Eternal Guardians Guild, drew all eyes with his applause.
"This was already decided, wasn't it? At the last meeting, we didn't fully settle on how to handle the Noblesse, but the Monster Countermeasure Headquarters definitely said they'd take appropriate action if issues arose."
"That's right. Director Seo Ji-hoon even gave me the manual personally for any anomalies. And that's exactly what the quarantine is."
The ponytail woman in a black suit chimed in agreement with Chris. She was Kang Eun-byeol, attending as Director Seo Ji-hoon's proxy aide.
Eun-byeol flipped through her documents and continued.
"Honestly, I'm not thrilled with quarantine either. If ghost story energy was detected... shouldn't the procedure be disposal from the start?"
Disposal. Her words, treating Leah like a lab rat, made several people uncomfortable.
"Disposal? That's a bit much, don't you think?"
One of them was Elissa Hayes, attending as Eden's representative.
"Leah matches a human girl 99.9%. And she has no powers at all. Are you saying we should just kill a kid like that?"
"But ghost story energy was detected, wasn't it? What more reason do you need?"
"Ghost story energy shows up in awakeners like me too. We wield ghost story powers, after all. Jumping to conclusions is dangerous. Leah could be an innocent human."
"······."
Eun-byeol paused, tapping the table, as Chris jumped back in.
"Honestly, disposal does seem excessive. In that case, hand the Noblesse over to us. America's... very interested in a girl claiming to be mengmang-grade."
Lick— Chris smacked his lips slightly as he spoke, eyeing the documents with a predatory gleam like a giant snake eyeing prey.
"It rubs me the wrong way that the UK and Korea get to monopolize such a valuable research subject."
"Haa, Master Chris. I thought that matter was already settled with my sister..."
"Situations change. Speaking of... is Master Victoria not coming today?"
"Emergency meetings aren't mandatory."
Chris looked slightly disappointed at the news that Victoria wasn't coming.
"That's... a shame."
"Chasing a woman who says no isn't gentlemanly, Master Chris."
"Huhu, duly noted, Miss Elissa."
Elissa turned from Chris to the other attendees.
"Anyway, for now, quarantine and re-testing are priority. We'll observe for about two weeks."
—Tap tap.
She fiddled with her device a few times, pulling up more screens, and continued her explanation.
"As you can see, we'll put Leah in an isolation room with special glass walls for observation. No one approaches her except research staff on contact duty. We don't know what side effects there might be. However—"
"However...?"
"For Leah's mental stability, her 'guardian' can have visits through the glass wall. If she gets anxious, she might not cooperate with us."
"Hm... fair point. Speaking of, who was the guardian again? Some regular staffer, right?"
"Ah, the guardian is—"
As Elissa started to say the guardian's name—
—Clank.
A man slowly entered through the conference room door, announcing himself.
"Yoon Si-hyeon. And for the record, that's me."
Thirty minutes after Si-hyeon appeared in the conference room.
"So, happy it went your way?"
"Eh, whatever."
Si-hyeon was walking to the research building after his meeting with Do-jin.
"Haa... kid, even so, barging into the conference room like that?"
"You were there, Uncle. And I'm staff too, so what's the big deal?"
"If you'd just shown up normally, I wouldn't have been so shocked."
Tap tap.
Do-jin poked the wooden sword in Si-hyeon's hand.
"Who wouldn't jump seeing you show up armed?"
"No way, with all those awakeners packed in there, you think I'd threaten anyone? It was just a statement of dissatisfaction."
Si-hyeon slung the sword over his shoulder with a casual grin. Do-jin felt a slight chill watching him.
Because if you really wanted to, you could flatten them before they even activate their powers, kid.
Actually, Do-jin had been surprised by how rationally and logically Si-hyeon had argued for Leah's treatment. After months bonding with her, he'd worried Si-hyeon might flip out at the quarantine news.
You know causing a scene would just complicate things more.
Thirty minutes ago, Si-hyeon had appeared in the conference room and made these demands:
—
"I won't argue against quarantine. But if no changes in the ghost story energy from Leah over two weeks, and she shows no ability to use power, lift the quarantine then."
—
"Since post-quarantine handling isn't decided yet, as her guardian, I'm proposing this first."
Si-hyeon didn't oppose quarantine. He judged it was already done and irreversible. Instead, by proactively suggesting post-quarantine terms, he'd steered the undecided aftermath in his favor.
He'd gotten a firm "We'll do that."
"But kid, why'd you point the sword at Master Chris at the end? My heart dropped."
"Oh, that?"
Si-hyeon answered Do-jin's question with perfect calm, like it was obvious.
"That guy's got shifty eyes. That's a cliché for someone shady behind the scenes."
"What...?"
"And the way he looked at Leah's data rubbed me wrong. That's all."
"Joking around even now?"
"Haha, anyway, I'm off to see Leah. Visits are daily, right?"
"Yeah, but take care of yourself too. It'll wear you out going every day."
Si-hyeon waved off the worry and hurried toward the isolation room.
Dawn's Light Research Building: A-7 Special Isolation Room
It felt like a space somewhere between a hospital and a lab. Cold LED lights flickered slowly on the ceiling, and the walls were lined with ghost story energy meters and biometric analyzers.
Over half the isolation room was blocked by thick, transparent special glass walls. The space beyond was completely cut off from the outside.
There— like a small, silent prison, stood just a bed and a mini-fridge.
"······."
Si-hyeon couldn't say a word. Just looking made his heart ache.
"Nom nom, Si-hyun! You bought lots of pudding?"
Leah sat on the bed, eating pudding with a bright smile.
She didn't seem to fully grasp what was happening to her yet.
"Of course I did. But Leah, did you hear why you have to be in there?"
"Mum, they said this body finally got recognized as a powerful ghost story! So this body has to stay alone for a bit, the weed-head told me."
Probably Emilia, the closest to Leah, had explained it well.
—Pat pat pat.
Leah hopped off the bed and approached the glass wall where Si-hyeon stood.
"Can't touch Si-hyun, that's awful... but this body is happy to finally be recognized as a ghost story! So this body will endure!"
"Don't worry too much, Leah. I'll visit every single day."
"Ooh...! Really?"
"Obviously! I promised, didn't I? I'd always stay by your side."
Leah beamed at Si-hyeon's words.
"Mum! Come every day, Si-hyun!"
Seeing Leah more cheerful than expected eased Si-hyeon's mind. But worry flooded in too.
This overly quiet, lonely space. How long could a small, pure girl like Leah last here? The stark white lights, cold glass walls, total isolation from the outside— everything branded her a "dangerous entity."
—Tap.
Si-hyeon slowly placed his hand on the glass. A chill, opposite of warm body heat, seeped into his fingertips.
Just two weeks... hold on for two weeks, Leah.
His fingers slid slowly down the cold glass, yearning for the unreachable warmth beyond.
And on the other side—
"Ehehe... Can't touch, but seeing Si-hyun like this is a relief!"
The girl laughed, oblivious, feeling distant like a flower in a glass case. Her smile was brighter than anyone's, and that made it hurt even more.