Two Households
Some time later.
“As expected, it was the right decision to remove that bothersome obstacle, My Lord.”
That was Selene’s reaction upon hearing that I had kidnapped Jo Geon-uk. We were currently in the Abyss. The timing was just as the issues surrounding the Tower Eruption incident and the appearance of the 5★ disaster, the Scorched Saint Selene, in Jung-gu were beginning to die down.
Thanks to this incident, I suffered almost no backlash. Yu Junseo had been loudly claiming that he had nearly cleared the tower, mixing in more than half exaggeration. The lightning-shaped scar on the body of the Scorched Saint Selene, who had appeared in Jung-gu, also played a part. The self-proclaimed expert non-Awakened panelists seemed to interpret it as a wound sustained from a fierce battle with me.
Anyway, thanks to the Awakened Association Director’s godlike media play and my reputation as an S-class Awakened, and above all because Selene had not caused any casualties, the Tower of Rebellion Eruption incident did not escalate into a major issue. On the contrary, some quarters were even praising it as a miracle that the Association’s Awakened had risked their lives to stop a 5★ disaster. For the Association, things could not have gone better. It was a win-win situation.
Of course, the Association was not the only one who benefited.
Owned Disasters: 50/50
Owned EXP: 7010 Exp
I had also reaped a decent harvest of disasters and experience points. Because Selene had collected so many disasters, the accumulated EXP was truly enormous. I heard that more than half of the Association’s Awakened had lost their disasters and become penniless. In any case, things had resolved smoothly, and Selene, who had healed the wounds from her battle with Mirien, was now asking me for a full account.
“My Lord, while it is most welcome that the current situation is progressing smoothly, there is still one thing I am curious about.”
“I think I know what it is. Go ahead and ask.”
“So… what exactly happened with Mirien?”
Selene asked cautiously. I had not yet told her about Mirien’s whereabouts after kidnapping Jo Geon-uk.
“…Hmm. It’s a bit complicated to explain…”
Her expression as she asked the question carried a strange sense of anticipation. I could not tell what emotion was behind it, but I answered as gently as possible.
“We cleared up the misunderstandings through conversation.”
“My Lord, where is that woman? She does not appear to be in the Abyss, so it seems she has not come under your command…”
“Well, she’s somewhere.”
“Did you not just say the misunderstandings were cleared up?”
As she spoke, Selene blinked as if something had occurred to her.
“I see…”
“Huh? What’s with that look?”
“I cannot help but be impressed by Your Lordship’s foresight.”
I frowned at Selene’s flattery. What on earth was this woman saying? Before I could ask, Selene continued with a sly smile.
“To think you would order that magic puppet to commit suicide. It is truly an excellent decision. Removing that ungrateful woman would be beneficial in the long run…”
“Hold on, Selene. There’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t kill Mirien.”
“…You did not?”
“No. I sent her back to the tower for now. There’s a lot to sort out, after all.”
I was known to the world as the S-class Awakened Nam Juyeon before I was the Ruler Actor. I had to give interviews to reporters about the failed conquest of the Tower of Rebellion and the eruption, and I needed to coordinate stories with Yu Junseo. I also had to find the whereabouts of the missing Awakened, including Seo Ye-rin, by talking with Kang Se-na. There was also the matter of Jo Geon-uk. In the end, I had no time to catch up with Mirien at leisure, so I had sent her back to the tower for now.
“Ah…”
At my explanation, Selene’s expression visibly turned disappointed.
‘It’s actually because of you.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly. The ash-gray-haired saint standing before me bore a large share of responsibility for why I had not brought Mirien into the Abyss. If they so much as made eye contact they would start fighting, and putting them in the same base would lead to a terrible catastrophe. For now, I needed to keep them apart.
“Then, once things are settled, do you plan to visit the tower again?”
“That’s right. It’ll become my second base.”
“…A second base?”
I nodded.
“If the Abyss is a base where the disasters of the S-class Awakened Nam Juyeon are gathered, then the Tower of Rebellion will be a place to carry out more secret and covert plans. My second identity.”
“The Actor who is the lord of the Tower of Rebellion, not the Actor who is the master of the Abyss.”
“…”
At my words, Selene’s eyebrows quietly lowered.
“So it is two households after all.”
“…Selene, what did you just say?”
“No. It was nothing.”
Selene’s expression was the same as usual, but the unsettling atmosphere I felt from her was overwhelming.
*
The Scorched Saint Selene offered infinite loyalty to the Ruler Actor. That was the resolve she had made when she first entered the rift, and it remained the same even now, after leaving the rift and serving Actor in a new dimension. Everything Selene did was for Actor’s sake; she was even prepared to cast her own life aside without hesitation. Until the moment of her death, and even after death, she wished to remain as a vassal supporting Actor’s grand plans. The bloody battle with the Storm of the North Sea Mirien had also stemmed entirely from her loyalty, and she had even felt relief at her lord’s words that things had ended well. Since things had gone according to her lord’s will, Selene too had to be satisfied.
‘Why is that?’
Yes. It was clearly a good outcome. That woman Mirien would live her entire life carrying guilt toward Actor. It remained to be seen, but for the time being she would not cause trouble for her lord. Yet for some reason, Selene’s heart was not at ease. Was there some overlooked risk factor? Or did that woman Mirien still have some hidden scheme?
‘This is strange.’
Selene felt that her own condition was truly odd. The sight of her lord showing such a human side, smiling as he spoke of Mirien… She knew she should regard it as a meaningful scene that demonstrated her lord’s popularity and kind nature. So why was anger rising within her? It was not apostasy. Selene was a believer who served the one true god, Actor. She would never, ever betray him. Then what was this unpleasant emotion welling up in her chest?
Selene decided to define this indescribable emotion not as love, like Mirien, but simply as a physiological repulsion born from her own hatred of Mirien. She had no choice but to do so.
*
It seemed Mirien had been keeping the kidnapped Awakened locked in the basement of the tower. Now that we had reconciled peacefully, retrieving the kidnapped Awakened in secret was as easy as pie.
“Th-this many…”
Kang Se-na looked at the dozen or so Awakened I had rescued with a surprised expression. Since it was impossible to manage all these people, when I asked Mirien, she had thrown the Awakened outside the tower like trash.
“How did you find them? No, more importantly, how did you realize that Ye-rin was in the basement of that tower?”
I could not exactly say that the kidnapper herself had told me. I shrugged and stroked the head of the Storm Dragon Tempestra. The giant wyvern was quick on the uptake. It performed an aerial somersault, showing off its elegant form.
“There was a way.”
“Ah. As expected of a 4★ disaster… S-class really is different…”
The world of Disaster Order was truly convenient. If I roughly summoned a disaster and gave an explanation, people would accept it.
“…I won’t forget this, ever. I’ll repay this favor somehow.”
Kang Se-na kept expressing her gratitude, but for some reason, a surging sense of guilt raised its head. It grew even stronger after hearing what she said next.
“Ah, now that I think about it, it seems there were more missing persons in this chaos.”
“Missing persons? I thought there were no casualties.”
“Yes. There were no casualties. Whether the Scorched Saint showed mercy or whether the rainy weather made it difficult for her…”
Kang Se-na trailed off before continuing with a bitter smile.
“Investigator Jo Geon-uk has gone missing.”
“…”
“It seems he left his post without permission. They say he stole a motorcycle and was heading northwest. Maybe he had some strange hunch…”
Kang Se-na showed no particular sadness at Jo Geon-uk’s disappearance. He had not been a well-liked superior to begin with. Still, I wondered what expression she would make if she realized that the person who had kidnapped her superior was standing right in front of her.
“…That’s unfortunate.”
“Well, I suppose I should at least say it’s unfortunate.”
At my indifferent response, Kang Se-na nodded with a wide grin, as if she had expected it.
*
After this incident, security around the tower in Yeouido became even stricter than before. Not only police forces but also Awakened dispatched from the Association were watching to see if anyone tried to enter, so going in through the main entrance would be suicide.
Perhaps because of that, Mirien had created a new route into the tower.
“My Lord, did we really have to use this place as the entrance? It is clear that Mirien is looking down on you. At the very least, should we not lay down a carpet here?”
A sewer pipe. Selene seemed quite displeased that I was walking through this musty-smelling passage, but I did not mind.
“Come on, calm down. You remember what I ordered, right?”
At my words, Selene reluctantly nodded.
“…Yes. I will never fight with that woman.”
“Remember that even arguing counts as fighting.”
“I have committed that to memory as well.”
After obtaining Selene’s firm assurance, I placed my hand on the magic circle on the nearby wall. Then, like something out of a movie, a mechanism activated and my vision flipped.
“…Actor.”
Having apparently finished her treatment, Mirien, looking neat and tidy, was staring at me.
“This guy, you came to torture him, right? I’ve got everything ready.”
As if boasting, she pointed at the Awakened Jo Geon-uk, who was bound all over and breathing heavily, and smiled brightly. The instruments placed beside Mirien were all sharp blades, some even glowing red-hot.
“…Mirien.”
“Yeah.”
“Go outside with Selene and hold hands.”
As expected, disasters were disasters.