Talking Back to Adults Means You're an Idiot
I pressed my forehead to the soul-bound card again and focused.
The body that had been lying limp until now twitched, just a little.
"Hngh…!"
Good. I've split the soul in half. This way I can keep the body moving while still controlling her through the card.
After dismissing the field, I hoisted Seol-ah—wrapped snugly in waterproof tarp—over my shoulder and headed outside. I'd fully intended to rendezvous with the police, but Han Yumi looked uneasy about that plan.
"Um, are we really okay going like this?"
"From what I've heard, Locust has moles inside the police and the Association as well. Judging by the full response, it probably doesn't reach the upper ranks—but there's still a chance someone will help Seol-ah escape."
"Then doesn't that mean we especially shouldn't hand her over?"
"It's the opposite."
"The opposite?"
Plenty of people had seen us arrive here to rescue the kids. If we simply vanished, the police would naturally start hunting us, and that trail would lead straight to the fact that we'd taken Seol-ah with us. At that point, we'd look like we'd aided a Locust suspect.
"What if we hand her over to the police ourselves?"
We were the ones who'd beaten her. Only Yumi and I knew Seol-ah's full circumstances.
With brainwashing victims like Manbok stacking up left and right, what if we walked her out and said, We took her down, but she seems to have been brainwashed too, and handed her over?
"Then Locust's people will free Baek Seol-ah for us all on their own!?"
"Exactly. Once she slips the net as a brainwashing victim, she'll head straight back to Locust. And from there, she'll work for us as a double agent."
Even if her true nature got exposed later, we could just shrug and say, We honestly thought she was a victim. End of story.
"She mentioned working part-time in Dongdaemun, right? Let's claim we already knew her. If we testify that she was always a hard worker, they'll swallow it whole."
"You don't have… other motives for this, do you?"
"…What?"
"I mean, she's young and pretty. And you can do whatever you want with her, so…"
I could roughly guess what Yumi was fretting over, but I straightened up and met her eyes coldly instead.
"I have zero romantic interest in her."
"Why not? She's that beautiful."
"My tastes are a little peculiar. Looks aside, she does nothing for me. That's why handing her over to Centauros didn't even register. Let me flip the question: if I'd actually been interested, would I have done something like this?"
I gave the soul-bearing card a little shake. A woman carved full of tags, thoroughly corrupted in Centauros's hands.
The odds of betrayal converged on zero percent. And since I held her life in a physical sense, I could dispose of her myself in the worst case.
"Bluntly speaking—if I'd felt even a shred of selfish desire, I would've sampled her before my partner did. Before her lower hole got wrecked into unusable mush. Right?"
"Ah… well…"
Instead of more words, I gently pulled Yumi into a light embrace, just enough to convey a hint of my actual preferences.
"Ahn…"
Only then did she drop the pointless jealousy and apologize for having doubted me.
"The fact that schemes like using even a girl like her come to you so naturally makes me wonder if you're a villain, Lee Baek."
"Hardly. I never lay a finger on people who are just trying to live honest lives. What I hate are the bastards who stab those people in the back. That's why I can be this ruthless."
"Your standards are very clear…"
With the misunderstanding cleared, we rejoined everyone outside and delivered the false testimony exactly as planned.
Naturally, Seol-ah's custody was temporarily transferred to them, and we received firm assurances that once everything settled she could return to ordinary life.
That whole storm passed, a little more time went by, and now—
The Locust grand assault had shaken all of New Seoul. Until now they'd been content with small-scale ambushes and card thefts, but this time the scale was entirely different—an open, mass brainwashing of children. Naturally the mayor himself issued a statement and promised thorough measures to keep the peace.
"New Seoul's mayor. He's got real guts to match that mohawk. After something like this I figured they'd cancel every festival and event for starters."
"Even with hair like that, he dotes on the kids more than anyone. He actually goes around the shops in person asking how the children are doing."
Just in case it needs saying: this is not a politician I know. Different world, completely different person. More to the point, I'd never seen a politician with a mohawk before.
I half-listened to the fiery mohawk mayor's speech while wiping the dampness from my hands. I'd gotten used to the counter work by now, and lately I'd even started learning the simple dishes the shop put out. Think of it like a PC-café part-timer who moves beyond ringing people up and sweeping floors into actual cooking.
"Right. What about Seol-ah?"
Once we'd caught our breath, Yumi asked as if the thought had just struck her.
"One moment."
I pulled out the golden card again and focused. Instantly the inner voice of a woman who wasn't even here came through.
— — —
"She's still under investigation, but… she kept such a low public profile that neither the police nor the Association seem to know anything about the alias 'Nunbora.' And just as expected, a Locust mole inside the police has already made contact and is helping her with the paperwork. From the way she talks, she could walk free any day now—so things seem to be going smoothly."
"So there really were Locust moles in the police."
"Actually works in our favor. It's proof they still have no idea she turned."
Despite everything that had happened, she was being held without incident. No repeat of the Beyond Battle meltdown—just calm, measured responses that had completely sold the detective in charge. I wanted to see her myself and check how she was holding up, but she said she'd come find us once she was released, so for now I was leaving her be.
After that I steered clear of Locust talk as much as possible, shared only what was necessary, and closed the subject. It was nearly lunchtime, so I flipped the "Out for Meal" sign onto the counter, headed up to the third floor, and switched to everyday updates over food. Most of it was about Taeyang, of course.
For the record, Yumi sat beside me instead of across the table.
"Oh, right—I heard Manbok and Taeyang have gotten really close. Manbok even joined the club our kid started. They're all entering the preliminaries together and aiming for the championship."
"Is it a prestigious tournament?"
"Yes. Clear the preliminaries and you can enter the City Battle I mentioned before. Battlers who place in the winner's bracket there are recognized as full professionals and earn the right to compete on the world stage."
Ahh. So the world-tournament arc?
Huh.
I made the appropriate impressed noises, but none of it had anything to do with me. More interesting was the unexpected proposal that landed while Yumi was smacking her lips over the braised hairtail she'd cooked.
"While we're at it, why don't you enter the preliminaries too, Lee Baek?"
"…Huh?"
Why?
"If you want any Beyond Battle-related certifications later, you need some kind of competitive record. From what I've seen, you'd breeze through the prelims."
"Ahh. I see. But with a deck like mine…"
"Then let's build you a new one. Our shop handles Beyond cards, after all. Or you could go to the Abandoned Card Protection Center and adopt a deck."
"Abandoned… what now?"
"Abandoned decks. Poor decks that were born from someone's heart only to be discarded by their owners. The Protection Center shelters them and finds them new partners."
"Ahh~."
So basically the card version of a dog shelter?
Why does this world always hit me with something new the second I start getting comfortable?
"Alright—maybe I'll just do the preliminaries."
"Given the Locust situation, I'll register you under an alias so you don't stand out. The main tournament lets people dress up for the atmosphere, so we can have fun with a look."
It was a little embarrassing, but also sounded entertaining enough that I laughed, and Yumi laughed right back about needing to lock down a concept first. Between new clothes and a backup deck we ended up scheduling another date, and the conversation blossomed into silly small talk. Today, for instance, we went deep on food preferences.
Peaceful and good. How nice it would be if this atmosphere lasted forever.
I was leisurely savoring coffee for dessert when I suddenly heard someone coming up to the third floor.
First and second floors were the shop. Third floor was home, so only a handful of people would come this far.
"Mom~!"
Auntie, we're home!
Naturally the first voices I heard were Taeyang's and his partner Princess's.
Judging by the footsteps, Saetbyeol, Chaerin, and Manbok were with them—plus one more.
Looks like she's finally here.
Indeed.
At the sound of bags hitting the floor I turned toward the living room, and the kids greeted the adults with bright smiles.
As expected, the usual trio plus Manbok—and with them, a kid I was "meeting" for the first time who was openly glaring daggers our way.
"Heeh…"
Yumi welcomed everyone and asked who the child beside them was.
Taeyang jabbed a thumb back at her and grinned wide.
"This is the friend who transferred into our class today. Name's Rina. She came from overseas!!"
"Hehe. I'm Rina. Looking forward to hanging with both of you from now on~!"
"Hey. You can't talk like that. They're adults—use proper honorifics."
"I don't know any of that stuff. I don't take orders from people weaker than me!!"
The "girl" who introduced herself as Rina puffed out her chest.
Her long hair was a shade of reddish-brown a little deeper than Taeyang's, wild and untamed. Her eyes glowed lion-yellow, and her teeth were serrated. Slightly tanned skin completed the look of a full-blown wild child.
Even her clothes—tank top and shorts no girl her age should be wearing—broadcast that she had zero intention of listening to any adult lecture.
So this is "Han River"?
Yes. Assuming Seol-ah wasn't lying.
Truth was, this kid had been among the brainwashed that night.
More precisely, we'd later learned through Seol-ah that the entire brainwashing incident itself had been an operation to disguise Han River—Rina—as a brainwashing victim so she could get close to Taeyang.
Maybe it's just me, but with an alias like "Han River," I expected her to be… bluer?
The alias just means the district she's in charge of, so it probably has nothing to do with her personal image.
At first I doubted whether this little brat could really be a branch manager, but her attitude quickly confirmed it.
She kept twitching her cheeks while looking our way, flashing those serrated teeth, practically broadcasting the thought: Hah! Idiots who don't even know they're being played!
Looks like Seol-ah wasn't lying to us. Look at that face. She clearly has no idea her own subordinate officer already turned on her.
Seeing her like this, she's actually pretty cute. Doesn't look like the kind of bad kid who'd cause that huge mess.
She is a bad kid. At least right now.
Well, she was the true culprit behind the whole thing.
I suddenly flashed a smile and locked eyes with Han River—no, Rina.
I knew exactly how to handle characters like this. Clear as looking at my own palm.
"Wh-what!? You wanna go!? Just so you know, I'm crazy strong! I could take down an old man like you in one hit!!"
"That's not what that look was about."
"Then what?"
"I bought a chocolate cake earlier. —Want some?"
"I want some!!"
Yep. Just an ordinary idiot.
All that wariness for nothing.