Chapter 104
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Forced Interrogation (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Anyway, I managed to collect about twenty bodies.’
From Jake's group that Joo Tae-ho had killed to the villain corpses gathered by the others, it all added up to around twenty in total.
In other words, I now had twenty minions I could use however I pleased, so my mood wasn't half bad.
‘As for those guys glaring at me over there, I can just ignore them.’
There was no reason for me to care about what they thought in the first place.
So even after collecting all the bodies, I ignored their stares and spoke to Joo Tae-ho.
"Now that the deal's done, shall we get going?"
"Didn't you come out here for some business?"
Joo Tae-ho seemed to think I had no idea the villains had attacked while I was holed up in the villa.
Assuming I had come out for some specific errand, I vaguely gestured at the people around us.
"I do have business, but today doesn't feel like the day."
Joo Tae-ho glanced around and nodded as if he understood.
"You're right, it's not the day. Still, thanks for the help."
"I only moved because it benefited me too."
"I know. So, where are you headed? If it's back to that first place, mind if I tag along?"
By "that first place," Joo Tae-ho meant the bamboo grove.
Since I'd said I came from there, he was probably asking if I planned to head back and enter the villa from there.
‘But considering the skill stones, it might be better to set a separate location.’
From today on, people needing treatment would bring skill stones.
Deciding it was wise to fix a time and place, I shook my head.
"Not a good spot if we're thinking about the people who need treatment."
Besides, the bamboo grove was near Joo Tae-ho's house.
He clearly wouldn't want crowds gathering there.
"Then where do you plan to do the treatments?"
"Hmm. Some empty space would do just fine."
A few people stirred, looking like they wanted to offer a spot when I mentioned needing empty space.
They were probably from the Hero Association and guilds that had come to assist this time.
"Conveniently, there's a perfect spot. Let me show you."
Joo Tae-ho beat them to it, offering to guide me there himself.
The others who had been about to step forward pulled back, looking disappointed.
"Fine by me, but... is it okay to just leave this place like it is?"
I asked Joo Tae-ho, who had been talking like he wanted to leave the area since earlier.
There were no casualties since I'd revived them, but buildings everywhere lay in ruins.
When I asked if it was alright for him to step away while he needed to handle the cleanup, Joo Tae-ho replied nonchalantly.
"This kind of thing is what my underlings are for."
"......"
His response made me think that the bossy attitude Kang Ju-young occasionally showed was something she'd picked up entirely from Joo Tae-ho.
"Besides, what would a guy who only knows how to swing a sword understand about this stuff?"
As Joo Tae-ho said that and slowly started to move away, someone spoke up.
"Healer. When should we come with the skill stones?"
"Every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. As for the rest..."
The location could be relayed by having Joo Tae-ho tell the others in advance.
As I glanced at him with that in mind, Joo Tae-ho nodded in understanding and spoke on my behalf.
"I'll let everyone know. The healer said Sunday, so come then."
"Yes, understood."
After that, Joo Tae-ho led me to a building a short distance from the Hero Officer Academy entrance.
I'd seen it a few times as a cadet but didn't know what it was, so I asked.
"What building is this?"
"Oh, it's where cadets store items they've ordered temporarily. But it never really got much use."
I recalled that we could order necessities using points.
This was the storage spot for those orders, but apparently, it wasn't utilized much.
-Most cadets don't have enough points to order stuff like that. Plus, there are exams like the uninhabited island survival where using points makes things easier on the body.
In short, they didn't accumulate enough points for luxuries.
"So it's basically a warehouse."
"If you want, I can have it cleaned up nice."
Joo Tae-ho offered to tidy it up, but the warehouse was already completely empty.
A quick sweep would suffice, so I shook my head and turned down his offer.
"I'm not planning to stay here anyway."
"Still, wouldn't hurt to set it up properly. I can even bring in some hospital beds if you like."
"I've got plenty of stuff in my sub-space. I can just pull it out."
"Sounds like your sub-space is pretty spacious."
I nodded instead of answering and decided it was time to head out.
"See you next time then."
"Heading back to the villa? I'd love to check it out sometime."
"I've got my own people there, and villains too. Might be tricky."
"Villains, huh..."
Joo Tae-ho's expression stiffened slightly at the mention of villains, as if he suspected I might be up to no good, but he nodded.
"Using villain bodies for... no, never mind."
He started to ask what I planned to do with the villains but shook his head as if it was nothing.
I didn't catch exactly what he'd said, but it probably wasn't anything good anyway.
"Alright then. Sunday at 10 a.m., got it. I'll come by."
Joo Tae-ho left after that, saying nothing more and just promising to meet on Sunday.
I looked around the warehouse space, wondering if I should tidy up, but since there was time until Sunday, I put it off.
‘Guess I should head back too.’
By the way, my current appearance was another clone disguised as the healer.
The original healer was still at the villa, so I used spatial transfer to return to my actual location.
Pop―
"Lee Seojun, I'll send you to the uninhabited island too."
-The uninhabited island? I'd personally love to see the villa. Could you send me there instead?
"......"
What was there to see at the villa?
I thought about it but sent him there as requested.
Of course, spatial transfer wouldn't work to enter the villa directly, so I opened the door and let him in.
‘That aside, I've handled everything at the Hero Officer Academy.’
All I'd done was revive the dead, but that settled it for now.
Still, the villain attack was something even I and Lee Seojun hadn't anticipated, so I mulled it over.
"Lee Seojun. What do you think about this attack?"
-This attack? Probably looking for the healer.
"The healer?"
-Yes. Among the villains Joo Tae-ho killed was a woman named Lydia. She has an innate ability called [Memory Observation].
Lee Seojun explained more about this Memory Observation innate ability.
-It's an innate ability that lets you see the past of a location. If she used that to track the healer, it explains why they went to the bamboo grove.
Lee Seojun speculated they'd targeted the healer simply because she'd been spotted there.
Moreover, hearing about an innate ability that could view the past of places left me inwardly surprised.
"If it shows the past, it's specialized for gathering information."
-Exactly. If Lydia wanted to, she could uncover pretty much anything.
"Personally, way better than Monster Queen Lorella's innate ability."
-But it's not combat-related.
As Lee Seojun said, in a world where gates popped up constantly, combat abilities were bound to be the focus.
-If you want to know about the attack, why not revive those guys and ask?
"Right."
No matter how much Lee Seojun and I speculated, it was just guesswork.
The surest way was to revive them and ask, so I stood and headed to the villa's basement.
-The villa even has a basement. What's this place for?
"Just an empty space."
With my sub-space, there was no need to store things underground.
Sure enough, I entered the literally empty basement and pulled out the corpses Joo Tae-ho had killed.
‘I'll save the man for later.’
Starting with the women, I brought out three bodies, and Lee Seojun named them one by one.
-Della, Lydia, Lorella.
"Lydia has [Memory Observation]. Lorella has [Monster Domination]. What's Della's innate ability?"
-[Toxin Collection]. She gathers all kinds of poisons and uses them. Can even mix them together.
"Not particularly special."
That was easy for me to say, since most poisons didn't affect me.
Lee Seojun shook his head, disagreeing.
-It's dangerous. Della's poisons can intoxicate even monsters. Without a detoxification ability, humans are helpless.
"Did Joo Tae-ho have a detoxification ability?"
-No. He probably wasn't affected by poison in the first place. No matter how strong the poison, it does nothing if it doesn't take hold.
I still thought it wasn't anything special and decided to start with Della.
‘Clean cut, as expected.’
Della had been neatly sliced from her left shoulder to her right chest.
Before reviving her, I opened my sub-space again and pulled out a full-body restraint device.
-What's that?
"Restraint device."
It looked vaguely like a bed at a glance, but its actual purpose was far removed.
It forced the target face-down with their hips raised, restraining wrists, ankles, and waist completely.
-......You carry stuff like this around?
"Not my taste."
With that, I stripped Della of her clothes and used Complete Revival.
Flash!―
Her bisected body rejoined seamlessly, as if it had never been cut.
After reviving Della, I lifted her onto the device, secured her, and finished with the last step.
‘Seal.’
I used my card ability Seal to lock away Della's strength and magic power.
Even if she regained consciousness, escape was impossible now.
"Ugh, urgh."
Della soon stirred back to awareness but couldn't move with her whole body restrained.
"Wh-what? Why am I......?"
I spoke to Della, who had revived and regained her senses but couldn't even turn her head due to the restraints.
"You're awake."