The Shadow Deal
Zenos, the supreme commander of Castalnus—he despised being called a boss—let out a low grunt. The unpleasant news that had just reached him was the cause.
—Gwangrang’s pursuit team was sent after Omantis. He’s dead.
—Yes. Omantis’s head was delivered to the Public Security Bureau. We searched the area, but his subordinates’ bodies haven’t been found yet.
—Then the one who handed over Omantis’s head and collected the bounty must be the culprit.
—Well, about that…
The subordinate hesitated before speaking.
—The culprit submitted Omantis’s head anonymously to the Bureau. Tracking him through that route will be difficult.
—Where was Omantis last seen?
—He visited some kind of counseling office or resolution office before he died.
—Counseling office or resolution office? Speak clearly.
—It seems to be both.
—Then bring me the owner of that counseling office or whatever it is. A few fingernails pulled out should loosen his tongue.
Zenos spoke of kidnapping and torture as if they were nothing. As the supreme commander of Castalnus, such things—kidnapping, torture, murder—were hardly significant to him.
“They’re preparing retaliation, as expected.”
“Well, probably.”
Erisa and I stood on the other side of the wall, listening to every word of their conversation.
This was one of the reasons I had decided to actively help Gwangrang. I had killed Omantis. He had been a high-ranking member of Castalnus—quite a big shot, apparently. I was certain they would attempt retaliation against me.
Once retaliation began, it would likely disrupt the Counseling Office’s operations. I intended to apply pressure on Castalnus first, before that happened.
I had learned the location of Castalnus’s hideout through Zigmarr. In the light, he operated a coupon service; in the shadows, he worked as a cleaner and information broker. Dealing with Zigmarr could yield almost any information.
‘I had to pay a premium for it, though.’
Even while calling me “comrade” and acting friendly, he collected every coin owed. This piece of information had cost quite a sum.
‘Not that it was my money anyway.’
I planned to bill Justin for the expenses later.
—Whoever killed Omantis must be quite skilled. We should gather two or three executives…
Listening to Zenos’s voice through the wall, I waited for the right moment, then tapped Erisa’s shoulder.
“Erisa. Now.”
“Yes.”
Erisa nodded and raised her hand. A small sphere of white light formed in her palm—slightly smaller than a baseball, yet its power would far exceed its size. She hurled it at the wall.
BOOM—!
A deafening explosion tore through the air. Beyond the collapsed wall, the Castalnus members and Zenos came into view. They stopped mid-conversation and stared at us, their faces and eyes filled with clear shock.
“What the hell—!”
Castalnus was a sizable criminal organization in the underworld, but not large enough to be called a hidden mastermind or great evil. The individual combat strength of its members matched that assessment. I didn’t even need to use Call of the Dawn.
A member charged at me with a club. I drove my fist into his jaw.
CRACK!
The light punch shattered his jaw. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, body limp, jaw twisted at an unnatural angle. He looked dead at a glance, but he probably wasn’t. Even if he was, it wouldn’t matter.
The other members hesitated and backed away. They had realized a simple charge wouldn’t work. Erisa’s presence also couldn’t be ignored. As a mage of considerable skill, her mere existence overwhelmed most opponents.
“Who are you?”
“Kain, of Kain’s Mental Health Counseling and Resolution Office.”
Zenos’s eyes widened. Beyond that, he showed no other sign of agitation. He seemed to be trying to control his emotional signals.
Displaying open surprise in front of his subordinates would damage his authority, and he clearly didn’t want to appear rattled before me. Still, I caught the subtle emotional cues.
In contrast, I concealed every one of my own.
Ordinary people cannot hide even the smallest emotional signals no matter how hard they try. When lying, they might control their tone and expression to appear truthful, but they cannot regulate pupil contraction, dilation, or eye tremors. Just like Zenos.
I could. I had received the necessary training.
Of course, training alone wasn’t enough.
With all emotional signals erased from my expression, gestures, gaze, and tone, I looked at Zenos and spoke.
“Mr. Zenos. Let’s have a conversation.”
I pulled over a chair that had been in front of Zenos and sat down, facing him directly. His subordinates—the Castalnus members—surrounded me. Though it looked like an encirclement, it posed no real threat.
“I came here because I want something from you, Mr. Zenos. And I’m sure you want something from me as well. We’ll take turns stating our demands and granting them one by one. What do you say?”
Zenos had no choice but to accept.
He glanced between Erisa and me, then nodded reluctantly. He was desperately trying to hide his fear and shock, but the trembling in his eyes betrayed him clearly.
“Very well. Let’s each make one demand. I’ll hear yours first, Mr. Zenos.”
“…I want to know how you found this location.”
“I have a capable information broker. I purchased the information from him. I can’t say more than that.”
Zenos nodded. Now it was my turn.
“Stop pursuing Gwangrang. And don’t even think about retaliating against me.”
“So you came here because of Gwangrang?”
“Not only because of her.”
“I wonder what gives you the confidence to do this. What if I try something dirty?”
Zenos’s brow furrowed.
I spoke while keeping my emotional signals completely hidden.
“You still haven’t found the bodies, have you?”
“Bodies? Whose?”
“Omantis’s subordinates. Where do you think their corpses went?”
In truth, even I didn’t know where Omantis’s subordinates’ bodies had gone. I had left their disposal entirely to Zigmarr.
“You’re not the only ones who can play dirty.”
Those words were, in a way, a bluff—but to Zenos, they wouldn’t seem like mere bravado. To him, I must have appeared quite terrifying.
Fear stems from ignorance, after all. To Zenos, I was now an unfathomable existence.
Besides, it wasn’t entirely a bluff. I could play dirty if I wanted to.
The anxiety in Zenos’s eyes grew sharper than before. He was shaken enough that hiding his emotional signals had become difficult.
The silence stretched. Zenos stared at me, trying to read me. It wouldn’t be easy.
Finally, he averted his gaze and gave a crooked nod.
“…I promise. I won’t pursue Gwangrang anymore. Nor will I retaliate against you.”
“Thank you.”
I stood up. Together with Erisa, I left Castalnus’s hideout. The members who had surrounded me stepped aside at Zenos’s command.
Once we reached the street, fatigue washed over me.
‘Is this counseling or crime-solving?’
My former clients in my previous life… modern people, let’s say.
The anxiety of modern people often stems from vague worries or concerns. There’s no concrete substance to it. That’s why medication alone often brings quick relief. Or a simple change—quitting a job, starting exercise—can cure it just as fast.
‘This place is a little different.’
In this fantasy world I had reincarnated into, magic had advanced certain fields considerably. Yet perceptions of life, morality, and ethics remained at a pre-modern level. Occasionally, horrific incidents straight out of the medieval era still occurred.
Perhaps because of that, the anxiety of people here had substance. More often than not, it came from being chased by someone or facing real death threats, leading to anxiety disorders—much like how Gwangrang’s anxiety stemmed from Castalnus’s relentless pursuit.
For this reason, anxiety disorders here sometimes didn’t respond well to medication and counseling alone. In such cases, one had to step in directly and eliminate the source of the anxiety.
‘I could just prescribe medicine and counsel while ignoring the rest… but that wouldn’t sit right with me.’
Still, it was exhausting work. Since I had chosen this path, I had no right to complain freely.
As I rubbed my face to shake off the fatigue, Erisa, who had been following behind, tugged lightly at my collar.
“Mr. Kain.”
“Hm?”
“It seems time to replenish the calories needed for brain activity.”
“You’re hungry?”
Now that she mentioned it, I hadn’t eaten in quite a while either. I had been busy counseling Gwangrang and handling the matters tied to her.
There was a decent restaurant nearby that served meat, bread, and soup. The menu was simple, but the food was good.
Erisa ate quietly as always, with small movements, but her pupils had dilated noticeably—she seemed to enjoy the meal.
She stared at me as if she had a question.
“Sir.”
“Yes?”
“Why did you spare him, though?”
She meant Zenos. He was certainly a villain who deserved death. But I had no need to dirty my own hands.
“That part isn’t my responsibility.”
“……?”
Leaving the puzzled Erisa behind, I paid and returned to the Counseling Office.
* * *
“Huuu… haa… Huuu… haa…!”
After Kain and Erisa left, Zenos spent a long time catching his breath on the spot. It was fortunate that fresh air came in through the hole in the wall. Without it, he might have lost consciousness.
His subordinates stared at their leader in confusion. They couldn’t understand why Zenos was reacting this way.
“Supreme Commander! What’s wrong?”
“Huuu… haa…”
Only after several deep breaths could Zenos finally calm down. When he lifted his head, his face was drenched in cold sweat. Droplets clung to his chin before falling. In contrast, his parched lips looked pale.
The subordinates vaguely assumed his fear came from Erisa. Even to their untrained eyes, she was clearly a powerful mage.
Contrary to their expectations, Zenos’s terror originated from Kain.
‘Nothing… I couldn’t read anything. He’s not human. What the hell is he…?’
To lead an organization, something mattered more than strength: the ability to read the flow. Zenos was quite good at it. He had expanded his business by reading the flow of money and eliminated traitors by reading the flow of rebellion.
Usually, he could discern someone’s true intentions just by looking at their eyes and expression. He had easily rooted out external spies who had infiltrated Castalnus.
But from the man named Kain, he could read no emotion at all.
Kain had threatened him, yet there was no killing intent or anger. Nor did he seem relaxed. He didn’t appear stronger than Zenos, but he didn’t seem weaker either. Nothing could be measured. Meanwhile, Kain had read Zenos’s every intention.
It hadn’t felt like talking to a person. It was as if he had been conversing with some unknown being possessing dozens of eyes.
Disgusting. Yes—terrifyingly disgusting and horrifying.
Zenos trembled as he caught his breath for a long while. He never wanted to face Kain again.
“Recall all of Gwangrang’s pursuit teams. And tell them not to even stick their heads near that counseling office or whatever the hell it is.”
* * *
“How did you do it?”
Two days later, Gwangrang came to me and asked that question. According to her, Castalnus’s pursuit had suddenly stopped. Even the petty retaliation from other criminal organizations had ceased.
Zenos had kept his promise well. Gwangrang asked several times what kind of conversation could achieve this, but I didn’t give her a detailed answer.
“I resolved it through dialogue.”
“So you mean a physical conversation?”
“No, an actual conversation.”
“That doesn’t make sense…”
Even afterward, Gwangrang pressed me several more times, but I only deflected. Before long, she gave up on getting an answer.
“Anyway… now I can sleep peacefully. Both Naikle and I.”
“Yes. That’s what matters.”
Now it was time to return Gwangrang to Ms. Naikle. Since Gwangrang didn’t lash out indiscriminately, there was no need to use the restraint chair.
“Ms. Gwangrang, I’ll administer Lullaby of the Mist now. Take a deep breath in, then exhale.”
I laid Gwangrang on the bed and injected the sedative. She quickly fell asleep. Her swollen body gradually shrank until she finally became Ms. Naikle. The awakened Ms. Naikle looked at me with half-lidded eyes.
“Where… am I?”
“I’ve finished speaking with Ms. Gwangrang.”
I explained everything that had happened with Gwangrang. How Ms. Naikle had nearly been assaulted by her father, how Gwangrang’s personality had awakened and killed him, and how that had led to her entanglement with Castalnus. How Gwangrang’s actions had, in truth, been to protect Ms. Naikle.
“That can’t be true. Gwangrang must have lied…”
“As you know, Ms. Naikle, if it had been a lie, I would have noticed.”
During our first meeting, I had read the mana flow in her body and detected lies. If Gwangrang had lied, I would have detected that too.
I played the final recording of Gwangrang’s voice. Ms. Naikle broke into a cold sweat, her body trembling violently as she muttered incomprehensible words. Eventually, her face went blank, as if she had resigned herself.
“Father… tried to… So that’s why Father died. No—Gwangrang killed him. And after that, Castalnus… Ah…”
With the new information, the pieces that had felt mismatched began to fall into place. Ms. Naikle had no choice but to believe me.
“Ms. Naikle, are you all right?”
“……Yes. No, no. Yes…”
Ms. Naikle now knew the truth. The anxiety of having her body taken over by Gwangrang might have disappeared, but she had learned that her father had tried to assault her—and that it was her other personality who had killed him.
She looked devastated.
“When it becomes too difficult to bear, this medicine should help.”
I prescribed her Clear Mind Elixir, effective for reducing depressive symptoms.
Even I had been shocked by the revelation; for Ms. Naikle herself, the impact must have been unimaginable. If she had been weak-willed, she might have gone mad.
“……Sir.”
“Yes, please speak.”
Ms. Naikle’s eyes were red. She tried to hold back, but the tears finally spilled over. Once they started, they wouldn’t stop. She didn’t wipe them away. Instead, she clenched her teeth.
“How can the world be like this?”
I couldn’t answer that question. To Ms. Naikle, the world must have suddenly turned vicious and cruel. Things she once overlooked would now seem horrific. Empty words wouldn’t comfort her.
I took Ms. Naikle’s trembling hand.
“If it becomes too hard, come find me. Sometimes just talking to someone can make things better. I showed you how to use the recorder earlier, right? Using that to talk with Ms. Gwangrang might help too.”
“……Yes. Thank you, sir.”
Ms. Naikle left the Counseling Office with heavy steps. She was a capable investigator for the Public Security Bureau, and Gwangrang was the protagonist of an urban legend who judged evildoers. Yet in reality, Gwangrang had only been struggling to protect herself, and Ms. Naikle was nothing more than a victim of the world.
Her retreating figure looked strangely small. But she would surely get better.
By steadily taking Clear Mind Elixir, talking with Gwangrang through the recorder, occasionally counseling with me, and letting time pass, Ms. Naikle’s condition would improve. Definitely.
* * *
Two weeks passed.
“Sir, have you seen this?”
“Hm?”
Erisa suddenly handed me a newspaper that morning. The front page bore large headlines:
「Public Security Investigator Naikle Welfor Wipes Out Castalnus, Lumière’s Thorn in the Side」
「Is Gwangrang’s Resurrection? ‘Judgment’ Resumes」
There was even a column debating which of the two—Naikle Welfor or Gwangrang—was more heroic. I couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing they were essentially the same person.
“That Naikle Welfor here is the same person who visited about two weeks ago, right?”
“Probably. It’s not a common name.”
I began reading the newspaper from where I sat. Now I understood why Ms. Naikle and Gwangrang had stopped visiting the Counseling Office.
Previously, Gwangrang’s “judgments” had been independent actions—and not truly judgments at all. The killings she committed while evading Castalnus had merely appeared as judgments. But now, the “judgments” carried real meaning. Gwangrang was eliminating not only Castalnus but other criminal organizations as well.
As a result, the scale of criminal organizations in Lumière had shrunk, and even minor crime rates had dropped sharply. Moreover, these judgments no longer seemed to be Gwangrang’s solo actions. Unlike before, they were highly systematic.
Since Ms. Naikle and Gwangrang could now communicate through the recorder, this was the result of combining Ms. Naikle’s investigative information network with Gwangrang’s combat prowess.
The Ms. Naikle who had asked how the world could be this way had looked on the verge of collapse. I had expected her recovery to take a long time. Yet she was stronger than I thought.
The woman who had once despaired now changed the world herself—by day as investigator Naikle Welfor, by night as Gwangrang. Therefore, neither she nor Gwangrang needed to visit the Counseling Office anymore.
I read through all the articles and columns about them. A laugh escaped me.
“……Good for them.”
Just then, someone knocked on the Counseling Office door. I already knew who it was.
“Welcome, Chief Justin.”
“It’s been a while. About two weeks?”
Chief Justin hung his coat and hat on the rack, then plopped down across from me. Smiling brightly, he looked at me and spoke.
“Heard the news? That friend I introduced last time—Naikle Welfor—got her spirits up thanks to you and wiped out Castalnus. It’s all thanks to Counselor Kain.”
“That’s not my doing. Ms. Naikle is simply capable.”
“No, it really is thanks to you. By the way, that building next door—you had your eye on it for expanding the Counseling Office, right?”
“Yes.”
Chief Justin had said he would help me purchase the neighboring building at a low price once Ms. Naikle’s problem was resolved. It had been a form of counseling fee, offering priority purchase rights…
I had plenty to say about that.
“The day before yesterday, I heard the building was already sold to someone else. What do you plan to do?”
“I bought it.”
“……Pardon?”
“The person who bought the building was me.”
As I blinked in bewilderment, Chief Justin continued calmly.
“I bought it the day before yesterday, and yesterday I transferred the title to your name.”
“That means…”
“Yes, it’s already your building. Use it to expand the Counseling Office or as living quarters—whatever you like.”
I was dumbfounded.
“……Is this allowed?”
“There are no legal issues, so use it freely. I told you I’d help you properly. And this is a small personal gift from me to you.”
Thud. Chief Justin placed a heavy bag on the counseling desk. Inside were stacks of cash and various rare medicinal herbs. He had called it small, but it was anything but. The herbs alone were worth nearly a Public Security investigator’s monthly salary.
When I stared at the bag without taking it, Chief Justin tilted his head.
“What’s wrong? Not going to take it? Should I take it back?”
“Chief Justin.”
“Hm? Why are you glaring at me like that? Scary.”
Looking at Chief Justin still feigning ignorance, I sighed.
“You knew, didn’t you? That Ms. Naikle is Gwangrang, and that Gwangrang killed Ms. Naikle’s father.”
That had been the sense of incongruity I felt after hearing Gwangrang’s story. Chief Justin was competent and highly observant. He must have immediately realized that Gwangrang was the one who killed Ms. Naikle’s father.
Knowing all that, he hadn’t arrested her. Instead, he had taken her in and let her work as a Public Security investigator. If he knew she was Gwangrang, he could have captured her, yet he allowed her to roam the city carrying out “judgments.” In other words, he had turned a blind eye to her vigilante actions.
“……You really are capable.”
Chief Justin smiled.
“It was harder not to know. Whenever Investigator Naikle took unauthorized leave or vacation, Gwangrang’s judgments would begin without fail.”
“Is it really all right to overlook her vigilante actions like that?”
“Gwangrang’s existence benefits the kingdom. As you can see in the newspaper you’re reading, crime rates have dropped sharply thanks to her. Minor offenses especially have decreased by nearly seventy percent.”
Chief Justin continued with his usual sly smile.
“More importantly, it’s no longer just overlooking.”
“……What do you mean?”
“The Public Security Bureau has hired Gwangrang as an unofficial investigator. Her ‘judgments’ now occur under the Bureau’s supervision. Officially, we’re chasing Gwangrang, but in reality, we’re cooperating.”
I blinked in surprise.
“So that’s the situation. No wonder the judgments seemed unusually systematic.”
“Besides, using Gwangrang lets us get involved in matters the Bureau can’t handle directly. There was no reason not to use her.”
“I see. Just like how you entrusted Ms. Naikle to me as part of your plan, Chief.”
Chief Justin didn’t know my full background. But through my actions so far, he knew I had connections with unofficial informants like Zigmarr and sometimes possessed better information than the Bureau itself.
That was why he had entrusted Ms. Naikle to me. He had predicted that helping her would inevitably lead to conflict with Castalnus.
‘And he probably predicted I would discover Castalnus’s hideout through unofficial channels like Zigmarr.’
In fact, I had located their hideout—unknown even to the Bureau—through Zigmarr and “conversed” with their leader, Zenos. The Bureau must have tracked my movements to find the hideout, allowing them to wipe out Castalnus in one stroke.
Chief Justin smiled faintly.
“It’s true I used you to catch Castalnus. But you knew and played along, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes.”
I hadn’t known from the beginning. Midway through, something had felt off, and by the time I went to Castalnus’s hideout, I had figured out his entire intention. That was why I hadn’t dealt with Zenos myself.
I had known Chief Justin was using me, yet I played along because there was no harm in it.
“You really are capable. Want to join the Bureau? A good position just opened up…”
“As I said last time, no.”
I refused flatly. Chief Justin gave a bitter smile, looking disappointed.
“Anyway, I’m sorry for using you. That’s why I brought such a generous bribe. Forgive me.”
Chief Justin gestured at the bag with a mischievous look. I smiled with only one corner of my mouth.
“Turning a blind eye to crime and accepting bribes—impressive, Chief.”
“Don’t be sarcastic. Sometimes flexibility is needed over strict principles. I just greased the wheels—for the sake of utility and justice.”
“Is this acceptable for someone who might become the next Bureau Chief?”
“Hm? What did we just talk about, Counselor Kain?”
Chief Justin stood up, feigning innocence as always.
“Well then, I’ll be going. There’s still much to do for utility and justice.”
“Come by for counseling sometime soon. You look like you could really use it, Chief.”
“You sure know how to joke, Counselor Kain. I’m more normal than anyone. If I’m not normal, then who is?”
I stared at Chief Justin’s retreating figure. Without looking back, he left the Counseling Office with light steps.
“Whew…”
……He really was consistent to the end.