Rose and Thorn
Cheon Geomhwa wore a jet-black outfit that one might expect from a secret villain's lair in a movie, with an array of lethal tools dangling from her body everywhere.
*Screeech!*
With a sound like metal bending, the iron flower petals that had sprouted from the floor separated one by one and began to float around Cheon Geomhwa.
This was the effect of her ability, 'Steel Bloom'.
Steel Bloom was an ability that allowed her to bloom metal flower buds from her own body and manipulate them at will.
Even metal that hadn't come from her body could be controlled if it touched the petals.
That was why Cheon Geomhwa's moniker was the Steel Witch — it stemmed from her ability to freely handle metals.
"Hunter Battalion. Hand over the corpse of Perfume. This is the last warning."
If Cheon Geomhwa willed it, those hundreds of steel petals would be fired like bullets at once.
Haa...
How did things end up like this?
What I wanted was the thrilling academy life with Siu and Sia...
She should have run away ignoring whatever Baba Yaga was saying.
This was all because of that fake loli witch.
[Tiss… That dead human head… do you think about it?]
What if I showed Perfume's head in front of Cheon Geomhwa and said, "Perfume? Ah… is this it?"
If Cheon Geomhwa, who was fiercely loyal to her comrades, her eyes would roll back and she'd put aside everything else to kill me first.
She could witness a steel flower show where the human body was used as an oasis instead of a human body right there.
Unfortunately, since the target was my body, I couldn't see the overall picture of the work and evaluate it.
[Tiss… D-don't tell me you're thinking of fighting?]
Shan was trembling with a haggard face as if the color itself had disappeared.
Since she had avoided duels to the death as much as possible, receiving such glaring killing intent aimed at killing her directly was probably the first time.
Honestly, fighting that thing right now was foolish.
What benefit was there for me?
Moreover, it was breaking the promise I made with Shan.
I wasn't a hero under the Management Bureau, nor was I a real test subject, and by bad luck, I was just an examinee helping the test because I caught Baba Yaga's eye.
Right now, this situation was purely a disaster that just dropped on me, not work or business for me.
Cheon Geomhwa's hunter rank was A+.
That was the standard when she was active before retiring from the Management Bureau.
There was no mention of her strength dropping after retirement or any injuries.
Would I go mad and fight a monster like a retired hunter with a body that hadn't even entered school yet?
"Uwaaa… W-what is this all about?"
In Levi's trembling voice from behind, a crazy but sure idea popped into my mind.
Would it work against Cheon Geomhwa whose eyes were rolled back?
Embarrassing and I didn't want to.
But this time the reason was different.
Unlike the villain act where I was half-playing with a goon, this time it was a desperate act of survival to avoid a useless fight.
Clink.
Instead of taking an attack stance, I took off the mask I was wearing and threw it on the floor.
At the same time, I stood in front of Levi and spread my arms wide.
As if to protect one examinee.
She flinched.
"A child…?"
Cheon Geomhwa froze in place when she saw my action.
Cheon Geomhwa, the vice president of Evergarden, was the one who followed Rose's orders.
Just as Mary cherished Dorothy, Cheon Geomhwa cherished her younger sister Rose terribly.
If Cheon Geomhwa had committed such a crazy act as attacking the academy entrance exam, then the reason was probably for the sake of the president.
And, my appearance at the moment was a small girl who looked like Rose, the one who needed to be protected.
"I'll return Perfume's body. But this child, the examinee, has done nothing wrong. I'll take care of it, so can you just send this examinee away?"
"Eh…?"
The small girl with a body smaller than Levi's by one head was holding back tears that seemed like they might fall at any moment, speaking with arms spread and a trembling voice.
Levi was shaken by the sight, and Cheon Geomhwa was even more shaken.
Then, with that, Levi said with gratitude, "Thank you! If you're alive, I'll definitely repay this favor!"
With that, Levi ran out of the building desperately, saying "live, live, save me!"
Since she didn't know anything and couldn't bring herself to kill the examinee who was just taking the test, Cheon Geomhwa focused her gaze on me instead of the fleeing Levi.
In Cheon Geomhwa's eyes, I could read 'hesitation'.
Right now, my face was using the disguise ability.
Not my original image, but a appearance similar to Rose, whom Cheon Geomhwa cherished terribly.
I moved Cheon Geomhwa to the next building where Perfume's body was.
Sniff sniff.
I focused my sense of smell as much as possible on Shan's words.
Indeed, there was a faint but alien smell.
Prick.
Who would have thought that pain would be detected by the sense of smell.
At the same time as the stinging pain in the nose, I felt a strange familiarity.
Familiar?
Is it normal that smelling the smell causes pain? At least, it's not my common sense before coming to this world.
"Is it still far?"
"Y-yes."
With shoulders shrunk in fear, she spoke, making Cheon Geomhwa's face even more wrinkled.
Apology and guilt.
It was honest that the sight of her feeling such emotions while committing ruthless acts like using Geas Scroll to attack the academy was a bit brazen, but it was also understandable.
The Cheon Geomhwa I knew was a person close to a saint.
No matter how strong the resolve, her nature couldn't change overnight.
And since the situation was probing the remaining good, perhaps soft part of her, I wanted her to suffer as much as possible.
"Perfume…."
While Cheon Geomhwa was staring at the headless Perfume's body,
I dropped the head of Perfume softly to a place not too far away, silencing the sound and naturally.
At least, I avoided being turned into a 'flower vase' while cursing Perfume's killer.
Shan's body was also soaked with sweat and limp.
Even in this state, would Cheon Geomhwa try to kill me?
Probably not, the possibility was higher.
Smell. Smell.
The smell coming from Cheon Geomhwa's body had been bothering me since earlier.
Blood and medicine smell, and the familiar pain smell.
Relationship with New Order.
Suddenly, a scenario came to mind in my head.
It might be a level that was exaggerated or even delusional.
But if this was true, at least I could prevent Cheon Geomhwa and Rose from being completely estranged.
"T-the head is over there."
"Yeah…."
As befitting the vice president of a company, she took out the expensive dimensional pocket used as inventory in games and collected Perfume's head and body.
Cheon Geomhwa mourned Perfume's death sincerely.
Since she had led the attack on the test site, the sense of responsibility for Perfume's death, who was a loyal subordinate who followed without asking anything, would be heavy.
After collecting the body, Cheon Geomhwa looked down at me with bloodshot eyes and asked in a beast-like growling voice.
"Tell me, who killed Perfume?"
If I raised my hand and said "Here! " it would be straight to the flower vase, right?
Swallow.
"If you find out… will you avenge her?"
"Of course."
At Shan's words, I flinched too.
It was really fortunate that Cheon Geomhwa couldn't hear it.
"Probably not someone like me who is working part-time, but one of the active-level experts."
"Part-time?"
I grabbed the fake bomb necklace around my neck and threw it away as it was.
In an instant, Cheon Geomhwa's petals wrapped around the fake bomb necklace, but no explosion occurred.
"Fake bomb necklace?"
When I used the infiltration method they had used, Cheon Geomhwa showed a confused expression.
"Hunter Battalion… No?"
There was no Levi-like examinee.
Anyway, the eyes that saw and the ears that heard were only Cheon Geomhwa's.
Since the truth couldn't be confirmed anyway, I would just say whatever came to mind.
Let her think hard until her head explodes.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Tiss, a poacher from Area 7 and the manager of Dandelion Orphanage. And…"
I released the disguise of hair, ears, and tail.
The flowing long white hair, the fluffy triangular ears standing straight, and the fluffy tail were revealed.
"I am White Ghost's disciple."
Hey, why is Shan surprised?
I had the appearance of a different race with the same number of White Ghost, with white hair like White Ghost's eyes.
Moreover, I learned and could use the Silent Killing left by White Ghost.
If I willed it, I could deceive everyone except White Ghost herself.
Of course, Cheon Geomhwa wouldn't be scared hearing White Ghost's name.
But, at least, Cheon Geomhwa couldn't be safe as much as the weight of the name 'Hero who killed Abaddon'.
Attacking the academy was equivalent to being chased by the Management Bureau for life.
If I tried to subdue or persuade such a determined person clumsily, I would be turned into a flower vase.
The only way I could shake Cheon Geomhwa the most right now was this method.
"Liar…"
Cheon Geomhwa's voice trying to spit out "Liar" was cleanly cut like a knife.
"Has this proven it?"
"Hah, I didn't think I'd see the legendary Silent Killing Method… So why are you suddenly revealing your identity now?
Cheon Geomhwa, who was slightly surprised, heightened her vigilance.
Sorry, White Ghost.
I'll sell your name a little.
"My master told me that if it's related to Abaddon, I should resolve it without distinguishing between enemy, ally, or neutral."
In other words, I turned it around a bit to say that you, Cheon Geomhwa, are in a very messed up situation related to Abaddon right now.
"The smell of detox medicine, precious person's blood that is not their own, and strong analgesic like morphine. It must be to endure tremendous pain. Most of the day sleeping while drugged, but even when awake, you have to fight against the pain. Is my guess correct?"
"You… How do you know…?"
"It's Abaddon's poison. I don't know who got it or how, but… that precious person of yours was affected by the poison."
From Cheon Geomhwa's reaction, I had some certainty.
The strong aura I felt, Lionel was approaching here.
Even if the distance was long, 5 minutes. Within that, I had to confuse Cheon Geomhwa.
"Do you know how to detox? If you know, tell me right now!"
Cheon Geomhwa's blade petals cajoled me as if they would crush me immediately, but now I wasn't afraid anymore.
The cards were now on my side.
I shook my head with a sorry face.
Actually, I knew.
But the detox method was so difficult and complicated that I couldn't tell her with words now.
Even if there was, I had no intention of telling her honestly from the beginning.
Cheon Geomhwa was seriously conflicted about whether to kidnap me now and dig for more information.
"I heard that Abaddon's extreme poison causes terrible pain enough to make you want to end your life. However, it never kills the target. Remember that."
"That… No… How do you know…"
From here on, it was all guesswork.
But it would roughly fit.
The person who used the extreme poison was probably Belzebuth of New Order.
I don't know what method she used, but since Belzebuth was Abaddon's descendant, she probably got Abaddon's poison and used it on Rose.
Because she had been interfering with Belzebuth and New Order's growth for the past two years, she seemed to have changed her course.
Not by recruiting new people, but by swallowing the existing large company to become a big company.
I don't know the process, but it seemed she succeeded in infiltrating Cheon Geomhwa into the academy using Rose's life as a pretext.
I thought she would choose this method after I reduced my forces.
Now fighting Cheon Geomhwa was like falling into her trap.
So, instead of fighting, I would shake as much as I could when I could.
"The person who says they'll give you medicine is most likely the one who used the poison."
With that one line, I planted suspicion of Belzebuth in Cheon Geomhwa's chest.
This way, at least I could prevent her from being absorbed into New Order along with the company without any resistance.
Uwaaaah!!
Lionel's roar was heard up close.
Cheon Geomhwa started running out of the ruined city, holding me under her arm to get more information.
"Anything is fine. Tell me everything you know about the extreme poison. Hurry!"
It was the eye of someone who had seen a lot in games.
Yeah, Cheon Geomhwa's eyes to save Rose were similar to Mary's eyes who went mad after losing Dorothy in the original game.
"Remember this. Abaddon's extreme poison is painful enough to make you want to die, but it never kills people."
"So…!"
"Before finding a treatment method, find a way to escape the pain. Whether it's early or sleeping, anything is fine."
In an instant, we reached the boundary of the ruined city.
If I went like this, it was the barrier surrounding Area 3.
The straight path ended here.
As expected, Cheon Geomhwa dropped me off there.
Unlike the first time, there was almost no killing intent.
"If you need a place to rely on, go to the poacher Mary in Area 7. If you say Tiss sent you, they'll know."
Instead of answering my words, Cheon Geomhwa disappeared by scattering steel flower petals.