The Investigator's Dilemma
“Just write down everything you saw and know from there.”
The Management Bureau was located right in the heart of Seoul. I was guided to a private room even within the building. It resembled a reception room more than an interrogation chamber.
“Even if it’s what I know, I already told that person everything earlier.”
“Then just write that down.”
The Bureau staff member spoke indifferently and pressed a button on the remote. A breaking news report was playing on the television screen. It was about how the second Rift Eruption had been successfully repelled. There was no mention of the 4★ disaster, the Storm Dragon Tempestra, in the news. The government was clearly suppressing any information leaks.
I glanced at the TV for a moment before writing the incident report. It was called a report, but it was closer to a simple statement. [Catastrophic damage has been occurring in provincial small towns. The estimated death toll alone is expected to approach several thousand…] [The central government regarding this…]
The moment the topic of the provinces came up, the Bureau staff turned off the TV. I shrugged and handed over the report. The staff member then left the room and called for the man I had seen earlier—Jo Geon-uk.
“Finished?”
“Yes.”
Jo Geon-uk took the report and began examining it. I quietly shifted my gaze toward the Bureau window behind him. On the rooftop of the opposite building stood Selene, her hood pulled low. She mouthed the words, ‘If there is any problem, call for me at any time.’
Selene’s stealth skill boasted considerable performance, but it too had a cooldown like in the game. In the end, she couldn’t follow me all the way into the Bureau building and was waiting on the opposite rooftop instead. Of course, the chances of them harming me were practically nonexistent.
“Hmm.”
Jo Geon-uk seemed to have finished scanning the entire report. “So, that Awakened named Han Tae-geon tried to kill you, Juyeon-ssi?”
“Yes.”
“No evidence, of course. And since the person involved is dead, we can’t hear their side either.”
“That’s right.”
“And in that situation, the Storm Dragon Tempestra appeared, bit Han Tae-geon to death, and flew away?”
“Yes.”
Jo Geon-uk let out a deep sigh. His expression was complicated. He was probably debating whether to believe this absurd story or not. But I hadn’t told a single lie. Everything was fact, so I felt no guilt. Seeing my expression, Jo Geon-uk added with a resigned tone.
“Then, Nam Juyeon-ssi, what about the severed arm at the scene?”
At some point, Jo Geon-uk had started addressing me with honorifics. I shrugged and replied, “The dragon probably cut it off.”
“…”
After a brief staring contest, Jo Geon-uk looked away first. He roughly stuffed my report into a file and tossed it onto the opposite table. Then, sinking into his chair, he spoke.
“Fine. Anyway, there’s no way to verify your testimony, and the appearance of a 4★ dragon is an undeniable fact, so we have no choice but to believe it.”
Jo Geon-uk shrugged and changed the subject. “Do you remember the nest in Cheonan?”
It was an unexpected topic. Yet it was also one that made me feel somewhat uneasy.
“You mean the nest that supposedly disappeared recently?”
“Yes. We’re assuming it naturally dissipated, but no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t make sense. Other nests are still intact, yet only Cheonan’s largest nest vanished.”
“Ahaha…”
Standing before the very person who had destroyed the nest, Jo Geon-uk leaned forward and asked, “So, why did you go there on the day the nest disappeared?”
“…”
So the checkpoint incident had been a mistake after all. I frowned. “I just thought there might be something worth obtaining, so I went to check.”
“Did you obtain anything?”
“Well, a 1★ disaster or two. It was a Rock Cleaner, and after synthesizing it, I got this golem. Lucky, right?”
After my straightforward explanation, Jo Geon-uk didn’t press further. Instead, he nodded and said, “I see. Nam Juyeon-ssi, I have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
“Why don’t you join the Management Bureau?”
“The Bureau?”
“Possessing a 2★ disaster meets the qualification requirements. I also obtained a 2★ disaster and secured a fairly high position in the Bureau. They’re planning to introduce a ranking system soon, and Bureau-affiliated Awakened will start at B-class by default. You might rank even higher. The support is generous too. They’ll even provide a safe base.”
Jo Geon-uk seemed intent on persuading me to stay with the Bureau. As the TV broadcast earlier had shown, unlike the provinces, Seoul had successfully defended against the eruption. They were trying to recruit any Awakened who could serve as combat power.
However, I didn’t find the Bureau affiliation particularly appealing. After all, I already had the Abyss, a base of the highest defensive level. More importantly, if I joined them, I wouldn’t be able to stay with Selene. The drawbacks outweighed the benefits.
“No thanks. That kind of thing doesn’t suit me.”
“That’s a shame.”
“Yes. Can I leave now?”
“Hey, see him out.”
Jo Geon-uk had a staff member escort me outside. Until I left the room, his gaze remained fixed on me.
*
“Something’s strange about this.”
“What’s strange?”
At the staff member’s question, Jo Geon-uk frowned and scanned the report. There wasn’t much substance to it. Circumstantially, there was no choice but to believe it. Yet his instincts were telling him otherwise.
“For now, assign someone to tail that Awakened named Nam Juyeon.”
“Monitoring civilians without permission is illegal.”
“Is he a civilian? He’s an Awakened now. He belongs to the state.”
“…Haa.”
The staff member shook his head, but Jo Geon-uk had his own conviction. He fiddled with his police ID card, now reduced to a scrap of paper, in his pocket.
*
Welcome back to your base, Ruler ‘Actor’.
Events that occurred at the base while you were away:
4★ Hellfire Watchdog has completed disaster synthesis.
Reward: 30 Exp / 1★ Forest Imp
[…]
I manipulated the status window and ordered the Hellfire Watchdog to begin a new disaster synthesis. I needed to pour in 1★ disasters to obtain 2★ ones, and the success rate was higher when assigning the task to higher-ranked disasters. So far, I’d only gotten duds though.
“…You’ve worked hard.”
Selene was waiting for me on the throne in the center of the Abyss. Feeling awkward, I sat down.
“Was there any trouble? Did they attempt to harm you, my lord?”
“Of course not. If they had, you wouldn’t have stayed still either.”
She probably would have drawn her sword immediately and reduced the building to rubble.
“…Thank you. I will strive even harder from now on.”
Selene seemed to interpret this as an expression of trust—a compliment—and her shoulders trembled slightly.
“Selene.”
Without correcting her, I continued. “It seems Mirien doesn’t intend to oppose me after all. What do you think?”
It was a conversation we hadn’t been able to finish because of Jo Geon-uk’s arrival. The 5★ disaster, the Storm of the North Sea Mirien, seemed to want to protect me just like Selene. Otherwise, there would be no reason to send the 4★ Storm Dragon Tempestra to circle around me.
When Selene met my gaze, she reluctantly nodded. “Yes. Mirien… was saved by you, my lord, so it’s only natural.”
“Saved…? What do you mean?”
“You may not remember such a trivial matter, my lord, but just as you granted me an Elixir, you also bestowed a new life upon that woman, Mirien.”
“…Ah.”
Only then did I understand. Every 5★ character in Disaster Order started with a flaw. Just as Selene’s body had been ruined by burns, Mirien possessed the debuff of an empty heart. It was a dedicated quest requiring a 5★ item, as well as an enhancement quest. I had lost so many 4★ disasters on expeditions trying to obtain it. Just thinking about those losses made my blood boil.
The item’s name was…
“…The Moon Heart That Beats.”
“Yes. You gifted that precious treasure to that woman. In the end, that magic puppet owes you her life, so she is merely repaying the favor.”
“…Then, wouldn’t it be fine to bring her in?”
I tilted my head. After all, Mirien had been saved by me. Even now, after being fired from my base, she still considered me her master and sought to protect me. It would be better to bring her into the Abyss to bolster our forces.
“My lord, may I offer a word of caution?”
But Selene’s thoughts were different. “You must never bring that woman Mirien here. Only ruin awaits her on the path ahead.”
“…Ruin?”
At my question, Selene turned her head. Gazing at her reflection in a puddle within the Abyss, she gave a bitter smile.
“What happens when an ignorant omnipotence obtains human emotions?”
“What do you mean?”
“Mirien is such an existence. Born that way, she does not understand human emotions. Yet after meeting you, my lord, she came to comprehend a fragment of new emotion.”
I furrowed my brow, unable to understand, but Selene continued without pause.
“That is what a storm is. It destroys everything, swallows everything, and only then does it stop.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Storm of the North Sea, Mirien. She is a mage to the core. If she cannot have something, she will kill to claim it.”
“…”
“Even if that something is you, my lord.”
Selene’s expression was utterly serious.