Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Off to England
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England, London Heathrow International Airport.
A private jet pulls onto the runway.
An elderly man who had been watching it moves his feet.
"Welcome home, miss."
Alfred, the head butler of the Capels family.
To Louise, he was the next closest person after her family.
"It's been a while, Alfred."
"I'm truly sorry to have made you return home so suddenly like this."
"I've heard the story. Father collapsed, right?"
Alfred glances around briefly before suggesting they move somewhere private.
They put enough distance that the nearby airport staff couldn't hear.
With their ears out of range, Alfred relays the situation.
"As you've heard, the Count participated in a battle against monsters not long ago."
"Father retired a long time ago. Why would someone like that make such a decision?"
"The situation on the front lines wasn't good at all. Several heroes fell in battle, and there were many injuries. In the end, the Count, unable to stand by after hearing about it, stepped up to provide support."
Noblesse oblige. Nobles have their duties.
To uphold the honor of the venerable Capels family, the Count went out himself.
Yes, Louise could understand that much.
The problem came next. The part about the Count being injured.
"Father's position is the same as mine. Controlling enemies from the rear and sniping them at critical moments with magic bullets to finish them off. That's why he knows better than anyone how important positioning is. How could he get injured?"
"You're right, miss. The Count made no mistakes whatsoever. Even after retirement, his marksmanship and senses remain as sharp as ever."
"Then the active heroes holding the front line must have had issues?"
Louise spoke with firm conviction. But Alfred shook his head.
"Not at all?"
"Yes, miss. The heroes also perfectly fulfilled their duties. Protecting those in the rear while holding the vanguard. There were no mistakes there either."
"Then how in the world..."
Suddenly, Louise intuited a new possibility.
It couldn't be. It shouldn't be. But right now, that was all that remained.
"If Father and the other heroes all performed perfectly without any mistakes, then there's only one possibility left, isn't there, Alfred?"
"..."
"The monster got stronger. And very suddenly, at that."
It's best to hear the details directly from the Count.
Alfred helps Louise into the arrived vehicle and taps on the door.
Soon, the limousine leaves the airport and heads into central London.
"..."
Her homeland after so long. But something felt off.
The city hung heavy. A deathly aura emanated from the people.
The whole way to the hospital, Louise peered out the window.
In the distance, she saw buildings burned and partially collapsed.
It seemed like something much bigger than expected had happened.
"We've arrived, miss."
"Thank you."
As she steps out, waiting guards greet her.
In front of the VIP room on the top floor, Louise straightens her clothes.
-Knock knock
"I'm coming in."
As she opens the door and enters, a familiar face welcomes her warmly.
"You're here, my daughter."
"Father."
Count Kalael. The former hero 'Magic Bullet', now retired.
A man who had been quietly spending his days stepped back onto the battlefield.
And ended up collapsed, forced to stay in the hospital like this.
"You can't imagine how shocked I was when I heard the news."
"I'm sorry. It seems I overdid it, forgetting that my body isn't what it used to be."
"It's not something that happens just from overdoing it."
At Louise's words, Count Kalael glances at the caregiver.
The caregiver, understanding the hint, leaves the room, and the Count speaks again.
"As you can see, normally, a hero with healing abilities would take care of it. Everyone thought that."
"But?"
"The external wounds healed, but the internals didn't at all—that's the doctors' assessment. The monsters' power, and even the level of damage they inflict, is incomparably stronger than before."
He says he originally had no intention of joining the monster subjugation himself.
But when he heard that several dispatched heroes had fallen.
And even then, it wasn't resolved, and they requested reinforcements.
The Count willingly picked up the gun he had kept stored away and headed to the scene.
"It was definitely a Ferocious-rank monster. The junior heroes dispatched should have handled it easily. But as we fought, I sensed something off. It was much stronger and faster than other Ferocious-ranks. And cunning, too."
"Not a misjudged rank?"
"Heroes with detection abilities confirmed it multiple times."
Detection abilities had never been wrong about monster ranks before.
And the veteran hero Count confirmed it was Ferocious-rank as well.
"But two A-rank heroes fell, and even you were injured, Father. And even after healing abilities were used, the internal wounds remain... that means it's even stronger..."
When something happens, there's always a causal link somewhere.
She had to find it. Only then could she understand the reason and the solution.
"Any peculiarities? The heroes didn't engage the monsters right away, did they?"
"No. It started with a report. Monsters suddenly appeared, killed some people, and dragged others away. By the time the police arrived, there were only bloodstains and a few personal items. They were probably eaten whole."
After that, the dispatched heroes clashed with the monsters—that was the situation up to then.
Listening quietly, Louise realized her thoughts aligned with her father's.
"No similar cases in other countries."
"It's too much to say Britain was the first site of change."
"Then the reason must be those people."
"Eating people wouldn't make them stronger, so whatever they ate with them is the issue."
"You already knew all this, so you've reported your thoughts?"
"We're waiting for word now."
And shortly after, an attendant knocks and enters.
"Pardon the intrusion, Count. Ah, miss. You've returned home."
"Just visiting briefly. You have something for Father—deliver it quickly."
"Thank you. This is a dispatch from the Hero Bureau that just came in, Count."
"Thank you."
"I'll step out."
The attendant leaves the room. The Count checks the documents briefly.
Then he sighs deeply and turns to Louise.
"Not all, but identities of two victims have been confirmed."
"Who?"
"Internal staff from the Union UK Branch who vanished suddenly a month ago. According to associates, the two were handling some research, and when the global Union investigation started due to the 'Smiling Man', they urgently incinerated materials and disappeared."
"They went into hiding afterward and unluckily got caught by monsters."
But what connection does that have with the monsters getting stronger?
As Louise shows confusion, the Count continues.
"Louise Capels, my daughter."
"Yes, Father."
"The Hero Bureau added that they found a clue about why they fled. Given my condition, I want you to go in my stead. Investigate what happened on our Capels family's behalf."
Among England's noble families, the Capels had produced heroes for generations.
The prestige they held in Britain's hero world was undoubtedly immense.
Not quite on the level of Korea's Jin family, but their influence was certain.
"Understood, Father."
"But always be cautious. The atmosphere in London has been tense since that incident. Don't forget it's our duty to ease His Majesty's worries."
"I'll keep it in mind."
England, Hero Bureau.
"Welcome, Cadet Louise Capels."
"Thank you for the warm reception. But..."
The person sitting beside her clearly wasn't from the Hero Bureau.
From the aura, Louise identified the stranger instantly.
"What brings the Secret Intelligence Bureau here?"
"We conducted a joint investigation with the Hero Bureau. The Union was doing far more outrageous things internally than we imagined."
If the Secret Intelligence Bureau was stepping in, it had to be serious.
But how serious? Louise voiced her doubt.
The intelligence agent then explained the situation.
"You know the truth about the Union has spread worldwide, and most members have reflected and confessed their crimes."
"Yes. Even the leader is under investigation now."
"But not everyone. Some who couldn't accept it fled with the data and results from experiments they were conducting inside the Union."
Absurd. Wasn't it fact that they did wrong?
It wasn't about accepting or not—they should naturally repent.
"Among them, the secret research at our UK Branch involved creating a kind of drug through amplification and enhancement abilities."
"A drug?"
"You could call it a doping agent, metaphorically. The effect is extremely short-lived, but it supposedly helps in battle even briefly. However, it was so unstable that progress was stalled. Then, with the major investigation starting, they fled with key data and some completed reagents."
No way. As Louise trails off, the agent nods.
"Likely, a monster ate a fleeing Union staff member carrying these reagents, absorbing them too."
"But you said the duration is extremely short. Besides, amplification or enhancement abilities don't work that way."
"That's true for objects or people. But... we've never seen it against monsters before. With zero data, we're speculating, but the possibility is high."
Good heavens. Louise couldn't help but be appalled.
Monsters made fiercer by heroes' abilities.
Could there be anything more ironic in the world?
"Heroes are searching full force for this monster now, but even traces are hard to find. We're hoping the reagent effect wears off, but we've also requested support from France and Germany in case it doesn't."
"They won't have much spare capacity either."
"...Unfortunately, that's the case right now."
England was in such dire straits that it set aside pride for aid.
"It'd be great if that Smiling Man from Korea were in England too."
That's why such nonsense slips out.
Louise gave a wry smile at the agent's words.