A Walk
A Walk
The day after returning home.
As the bluish light of dawn began to push back the darkness beyond the bedroom window, I rose to go out.
"Mmm......"
Claire, who had been using my arm as a pillow moments before, mumbled and reached out like a small animal searching for its mother. She grabbed the pillow my head had rested on and pulled it into her arms.
At first, she couldn't sleep unless she was utterly exhausted. Now, she doesn't hesitate to seek out my warmth and curl up against me—at least, when we're in bed. She still stiffens the moment she feels another person's gaze on her.
"Hmm......"
I wondered if she could even breathe with her face buried like that. I carefully brushed the hair from Claire's face, then left the bedroom.
In the early morning, while everyone was asleep, the mansion's corridors were perfectly still.
'If it were always like this, I'd want for nothing.'
But in just three hours, the mansion would be noisy again with the chattering of children and the Fairy. A regrettable fact.
-Tail, the tail......
-Ah, noo... come here... mo, money, my money......
-Mmm......
As I passed Baek Ha-na's bedroom, the children's sleep-talk drifted through the door. They were rowdy even in their dreams.
·
·
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"Haha, good morning."
"Coffee."
"...Yes."
I went to Jaden's office and sat in his chair.
"It's Gold Prim."
"......"
They were definitely the same instant sticks, but the aroma was subtly different from the ones Claire and Baek Ha-na made for me.
"...Should I make another one?"
The smell and taste were both slightly off. I doubt the product was defective...... It was probably this guy's lack of skill.
"Forget it. Just sit down."
"Ah, yes."
He sat in the chair next to mine and glanced at me cautiously before speaking.
"First, everyone you ordered us to protect is safe. The reports also say no suspicious contacts approached them."
"Maintain the status quo."
"Understood. And here's Professor Lee Hyeok's report."
He took out a document he had prepared and handed it to me.
A report consisting of a single thin sheet of paper.
The contents, accordingly, were summarized very concisely.
"Every staff member under surveillance has come to work without missing a single day. In their spare time, they investigated old, abandoned buildings or secluded places students don't visit."
If I caught them and chewed their hearts out, I could learn their objective quickly. But that would only weed out the small fry. What I want isn't the ubiquitous pawns, but to capture and rip apart the source that creates them. For that, I need to wait a little longer.
More importantly, they have another use beyond being bait. For that reason, I should not touch them myself.
"Tell them they can stop the surveillance."
"Yes. Should we put our own people on them, then?"
"No. Leave them be."
"Understood."
As long as I don't leave the academy, monitoring their every move is effortless. Barring any special variables, I won't be leaving the academy until winter, so there's no need to waste manpower.
"And the government made a request. They want you, Professor, to undergo a formal ranking assessment by the Association. Naturally, I flatly refused, telling them not to bother you."
"Push it onto the Chairman when he returns. All he does is go into rifts and haul out random junk... Might as well use him for something."
"H-haha... random junk... Yes. Understood. And this."
He pulled a smartphone from his pocket and handed it to me.
"The thing you asked for."
"Took you long enough."
"...It would have been easier if it were a discontinued model. That thing is still a prototype; only 100 units were released worldwide. Honestly, it was a bit of a headache to acquire."
A device limited to 100 units worldwide.
When Lee Ye-sol casually got one for me, I thought it was just some ordinary model. I should be a bit more careful with it from now on.
'...If this one breaks, I'd better tell Claire.'
I'm not concerned about the rarity or value of a 100-unit limited release. The reason I resolved to be careful is that Claire uses the same model as the phone now in my hand. That's all.
Tap, tap-tap-tap.
Before registering new contacts, I entered Kim Seong-won's number.
-Sssip...... This is Finance Department Head Kim Seong-won.
He answered before the second ring this time, too. His hoarse voice suggested my call had just woken him up. In a way, he's remarkably determined.
"Seems I interrupted your sleep."
-Ah, not at all......!! Sleep? I just finished breakfast and was digesting for a moment.
He seemed to be trying to clear his throat by speaking up, but it didn't help at all.
"Cut the nonsense. You handled the tasks I gave you."
-Of course. I've grouped the new students you flagged together in the dorm. I also finished investigating their activities from after they graduated from specialized schools up until they took the entrance exam.
"Anything to report separately?"
-I noted it in the report, but I found a commonality: one week before the entrance exam, they all received an email from someone using the alias 'DS'.
"Contents?"
-The people helping us said they needed a little more time. But even with time, they mentioned they might not be able to fully recover the email's contents.
"Got it. Send the data to Jaden. And if you want to live long, don't wander around aimlessly for a while."
-By aimless wandering... do you mean......?
"The head of Academic Affairs told me. You run off to the sea at every opportunity. If you don't want to become fish food, stay within Seoul."
-......Yes.
"Anything else?"
-No!!
With that answer, I slipped the smartphone into my pocket.
"Have you eaten?"
"No."
"Then shall we go out for a simple meal? Or the student cafeteria?"
"Forget it. I have somewhere to go. Eat alone. More importantly, is your master still out of contact?"
"Yeeah. I couldn't spare the time to look into it properly, but it seems no one knows where that old man went."
"Got it."
I set down my empty teacup and stood up.
"You remember what I said before."
"Yes. I remember you saying that if anyone asks about you, I shouldn't hide anything and tell them everything. Ah, I forgot to mention. Professor Yoon Do-sik asked when he can return to work. He says he's got a lot of backed-up research."
"When you have the time."
"Today... is a bit tight, so I'll have to have him come in starting tomorrow."
I nodded, meaning he should handle it.
"Then I'll see you at the meeting."
Leaving his greeting behind, I exited the main building and headed for the Street of Light.
Like the silent corridors of the mansion, the academy was deeply quiet in the early morning.
'Next year, the silence might be for a different reason.'
I felt the still-cold winter wind as I neared the Street of Light.
"Ah, Professor!!"
A familiar voice made me turn my head. I saw Na Yeon-ju pulling a suitcase behind her.
"So you decided to start living here today."
"That's right!! The older sisters told me to come quickly, and I have fun playing with them, so I packed as soon as I got back yesterday!!"
"I see."
She trotted over to me, smiling brightly with pure joy. I patted her head a couple of times.
"Uh, uhm......?"
Na Yeon-ju, who had been beaming, froze stiff, her eyes wide open.
"It's almost time for breakfast. Follow me."
"......Y-yes..."
In an instant, Na Yeon-ju became meek.
'I should use this occasionally.'
Because of those other memories, she had been as difficult to scold as Baek Ha-na. I was quite satisfied to have found a usable method.
**
"Fufu, I heard you gave Lord Vuar a sound thrashing."
Lee Ye-sol spoke the moment I entered the temple.
"Go eat first."
"Ah, o-oh, yesssir......"
Na Yeon-ju, who had been trailing behind me, nodded and naturally slipped in among the other children eating behind Lee Ye-sol.
"If you keep charming people everywhere, the Executor might get sad."
"...Seems you've gotten quite comfortable around me."
"Fufu, how could that be."
He gave his characteristic sly smile and sat down nearby.
"My apologies, but I wasn't able to find any notable traces."
"Forget that part. It's a matter time will resolve anyway."
The trash hiding in the underworld.
They will reveal themselves to the world soon enough, maybe even next month. And once they show themselves, catching them isn't that difficult for me.
"Recently, reports of missing children aged 10 to 14 have surged across Europe. The details are compiled in the report I will submit to the Executor."
If it wasn't included in the vanished memories, it looked like a potential variable.
"Otherwise, I have nothing else noteworthy to report."
"Got it."
I had heard all I needed, so I turned to leave without hesitation.
"Are you going already?"
"I just stopped by as part of my walk. I have no further business."
The sideways glances from the children while they ate were a little bothersome. It was best to return to the mansion.
"Then, would you send Maria and Idni over for a bit? Lord Vuar was looking for them, and since Yeon-ju just arrived..."
"Very well."
As when I entered, I left the temple quietly.