Battle for the Torch
Three days since the negotiations wrapped up.
I was sprawled across my bed, scrolling through my phone.
"Hmm..."
That logistics center manager fellow seemed to have done quite well for himself.
Then again, why would anyone turn down a chance to dump responsibility squarely on the Association and shake them down for money at the same time?
Public opinion had largely swung toward blaming the Association's handling of the incident, while people either deliberately looked away from Nightfall's existence or simply couldn't be bothered to care.
When you tallied it all up: supply line secured, the explosion executed exactly as scheduled, and the responsible party was a hero.
Perfect. Where else would you find a cleaner setup than this?
From where I was standing, that was fine by me.
Going into self-restraint wasn't some special punishment or demotion — just a mandatory time-out.
She'd rest for a few days and come back. And the moment Valkyrie smashed a few villains like she always did, the public would be showering her with praise again.
...Though her first impression of me was beyond salvage, admittedly.
Nothing to be done about that.
I'd made peace with it before I ever set foot in this organization.
For now, I should be thinking about what I was going to do while the protagonist was on suspension.
The biggest goal at the moment was... the Director.
I had to find the Director of Nightfall.
If this game was ever going to reach its ending, Nightfall absolutely had to grow.
And for that, we needed the Director.
The one currently holding the director's seat was Ilwolgeom — Lee Sejin.
She exercised the real authority and handled field command, but...
She couldn't fully replace the Director.
The problem was that the figure known as the Director of Nightfall had never once appeared in the game's main story.
No appearance cutscene, no battle scene — not a single illustration, not one line of voice acting.
Just a few lines of text popping up here and there. Mentioned in passing, nothing more.
Beyond that, there was simply no information at all.
Knock, knock.
Just as my thoughts were reaching saturation, a knock sounded at the door.
"......."
As far as I knew, only one person knocked on my door like that: Lee Sejin.
What now, another crisis...
Suppressing a feeling that was half worry, half annoyance, I opened the door.
There stood the familiar woman in the black suit, wearing a smile that looked vaguely apologetic.
Ugh, I hate that expression...
"What is it?"
"Looks like we have one more mission tomorrow."
"I'm sorry, what?"
I stared at Lee Sejin with a blank look.
"You're kidding, right? I only finished my last mission three days ago. And now you're sending me out again?"
Seriously, does that make any sense...
It went without saying that preparing a single mission for a villain organization took time.
Hadn't the last operation taken a solid two weeks just to execute?
And now I was supposed to go tomorrow?
"I know, but the thing is, um..."
As she hesitated, Selene poked her head out from behind her.
"I said I wanted to go along..."
"......"
Bang.
I closed the door without another word.
Not doing it! Go away!
"Ah, wait, Closer. Just... just hear me out first...!"
Selene's characteristically drawling voice drifted through the door.
"Closer just has to go and retrieve the item! I'll handle all the annoying stuff...!!"
BANG BANG!
Selene pounded on the door with tremendous force, committing noise pollution with every blow.
With an irritated sigh, I sealed the door shut with telekinesis, and the impact traveled straight back up through my fingertips.
Argh, she's annoyingly strong...
"I just came back from a mission, remember? Ring a bell?"
"I remember that, but..."
Her voice trailed off at the end. Something was bothering her.
"More importantly, why is someone who hates going out so much suddenly throwing a fit about going on a mission?"
"Sejin says I need to build a track record..."
"......."
An extremely pragmatic reason.
I let out a short breath and pressed my palm harder against the door.
"Go alone. I'm not going."
I already had plenty on my mind lately, and now this.
Frankly, I could barely afford the time to rest alone as it was.
"Sejin says she gets anxious leaving me alone."
"Because she thinks I'll blow everything up?"
"Yes."
The answer came without a flicker of hesitation.
Gripping my throbbing head, I pressed my palm against the door even harder.
"So you're telling me to tag along and clean up your messes?"
"Come on, it's called accompaniment. Accompaniment."
"Who'd believe that? One look at you and I can tell something's going to go wrong."
"That's exactly why the two of us are going! Ah, don't worry. I'll handle all the annoying violent confrontations myself, so Closer just needs to retrieve the item..."
"...."
Every single word of her so-called persuasion was a sight to behold.
Without responding, I channeled a little more power into my telekinesis.
"If you don't open this door, I'm breaking it down!"
Before the words had even landed, Lee Sejin's voice cut in from behind her.
"Break it and you'll end up exactly like that door, so I'd think twice if I were you."
"Ughhhh...."
"......"
What a complete disaster.
"Fine, explain it to me properly. I'll at least listen."
In the end, I had no choice but to let them into my room.
It wasn't as if I could spend an entire day shouting through a door.
The moment I opened it, Selene darted inside and claimed a spot on the bed, with Lee Sejin following behind in her usual unhurried stride.
Lee Sejin spoke first.
"You remember the documents you brought back last time?"
"Ah, the ones from the logistics center manager?"
She nodded as I cast my mind back.
"While I was organizing them, something odd turned up. One villain organization had been making deals with the Association. More precisely... they received something."
My brow furrowed slightly.
"So you need to go verify it."
"Yes. There's evidence the Association used them for dirty cleanup work — keeping their own hands clean — and what exactly they handed over in exchange is unclear. The objective is confirming what it is. And if necessary, seizing it."
Summing it up: a villain organization hostile to us had received something in return for handling the Association's filthy business.
The goal was to find out what that something was, and take it by force if needed.
"So what exactly did they receive?"
Lee Sejin fell silent for a moment before speaking quietly.
"A torch."
"A torch?"
"To put it precisely, it's something like an ability amplification agent. Some people call it kindling. I don't know the details myself — the intel hasn't fully reached our side either."
A torch. Kindling. An ability amplifier.
Frankly speaking... it was a deeply unsettling combination.
I could look past a simple doping agent, but amplifying superpowers themselves?
Forget the technical questions — the real problem was that something like that had fallen into hostile hands.
In this world, superpowers were, by default, devastating weapons.
There was a reason espers used to be called living bombs back in the day.
"But why would the Association hand something like that over?"
The words slipped out of me before I realized I was muttering to myself.
It simply didn't add up.
Whatever the interests involved, the moment something like that leaked to villains, the ones who'd eventually reap the blowback were the Association themselves.
Perhaps because that thought had escaped my lips, Lee Sejin gave a small shrug.
"I don't pretend to understand how the Association thinks, but... my guess is they'll erect some plausible justification, squeeze out whatever data they can, and then cut ties cleanly."
"So we're the ones doing the cutting."
"Technically... we're just relieving them of the item in their hand."
"....."
Oh, come on... Now that I'd heard everything, there was no way I could refuse.
It was too uncomfortable to ignore.
Naturally, even having played the game didn't mean I knew every dark corner of this world.
What I'd played was, after all, the hero protagonist's point of view.
Meaning... I knew very little about what happened beneath the surface, behind the scenes.
While one side shouted about justice, deals like this were no doubt changing hands on the other.
"Alright, fine. So... what's the plan?"
"Ah, I'll explain that part...!"
Selene, who had been tearing into a bag of snacks on the bed, piped up.
She looked remarkably confident.
Oh? Maybe she actually has a decent plan for once?
"I'll just charge in and sweep them all away, and Closer grabs the item. Done!"
"....."
Don't say another word.
After Selene left, only Lee Sejin and I remained in the room.
"....."
"......."
An awkward silence settled between us.
She glanced aside at a cold cup of coffee for a moment, then cautiously lifted her head again.
What now — did she have something to say?
"Closer... you've never been on a mission with Selene before, have you?"
"No. I've only been an executive for two months, after all."
Though I had seen her fight once or twice.
In the game, granted.
Lee Sejin hesitated briefly before continuing slowly.
"Honestly... it's not that I don't trust Selene."
"Then what's the issue?"
"Selene has handled most of her missions alone. She prefers working solo, and frankly, it's been more efficient that way. But this time, I'm a little uneasy."
"Because of the ability amplifier?"
"Yes. The risk is just too high. If even one leaks out... it becomes a serious headache."
Having watched her fight, I could understand where she was coming from.
The moment the Butcher entered a battle, she turned the field into exactly what her name promised — a slaughterhouse. And more often than not, the damage went far beyond anything that could be smoothed over afterward.
"So you're sending me along as her watchdog."
"Watchdog? Please, none of those scary words. There's a much softer term for it — accompaniment."
"Right. I'll go. Never mind that I've only been off duty for three days."
"Ahem..."
Lee Sejin cleared her throat in embarrassment and added, almost defensively:
"Come on... if I really thought you were unreliable, I'd have just sent Selene alone. It's because I trust you! That's why I'm delegating, okay? Trust."
"Any chance I could return that trust?"
"None of that. We're fellow executives now."
Well... I supposed I did have to go.
And I was curious what this "torch" actually was.
"Fine. I'll do it. On one condition, though."
"A condition?"
Lee Sejin blinked, visibly caught off guard.
"Dragging out an executive who hasn't had a single week off and sending her on a field mission into hostile territory — if there's nothing in it for me, that's just plain exploitation, isn't it?"
"Fair enough. When you put it that way, you're right."
It wasn't that it sounded right — it just was right.
"So how about some extra vacation days, plus a raise—"
"No, not that kind of thing."
I raised a hand casually.
"Just connect me with a broker. There's something I want to arrange personally."
Lee Sejin froze for a beat, then studied my face carefully.
"For what?"
"You'll find out later."
"Nothing shady, right? There've been a lot of strange spy types around lately..."
"Nothing like that."
She crossed her arms and mulled it over for a while.
And then, after a moment—
"Alright. It's your business, Closer... as long as it doesn't harm the organization, I won't pry any further."
"Great. Thanks."
With that settled, I rose from my seat.
Better get ready for tomorrow, I guess...
And so, the next day.
"Okayyy... let's get going~"
And so I set out, accompanied by Selene and her exhaustingly enthusiastic battle cry.
