Two Households (3)
Disaster Order is an idle, collection-type game. Therefore, there were countless disasters that players had to collect. In total, there were over three hundred disasters, among which forty were 4★ disasters and seven were 5★ disasters. I had collected every single one except for three of the 5★ disasters. And now that reality had become the Disaster Order system, the four 5★ disasters I possessed, along with the remaining three hundred, had taken root in this world.
Even now, if you turned on the news, you could easily see disasters with faces I knew committing massive slaughters across the globe. I quit the game, and the world ended up like this. I felt a tiny bit of guilt, but that didn't mean there was any way to fix it. It's not like I could fly to the other side of the world right now and stop them. More than anything, the problems right in front of me were already a mountain.
"Asteria and Karne. We need to track those two."
Just like the disasters appearing on the news, Asteria and Karne were both somewhere in the world. They would know I was alive in this world too. Asteria and Karne were the third and fourth 5★ disasters I had acquired. Since Selene and Mirien were the first and second, the time I'd spent with the other two was relatively short, but that didn't mean I'd neglected them. If anything, because I'd obtained them later, my base had grown enough to give them full support. I hadn't held back at all.
After all, Mirien, who had only received an artificial heart, had gone and committed murder saying she wanted to be of help to me. The other two wouldn't be any different.
Anyway, both of them are probably up to no good. I should at least figure out what they're doing and where.
Even tracking them, which would have been difficult with just Selene, wasn't impossible now that Mirien was here. Unlike Selene, who specialized in one-versus-many combat, Mirien had been raised as a typical damage-support type. In particular, her tracking skill was powerful enough to cover an entire continent.
"Mirien, can you find those two?"
"...Hmm. Well, it shouldn't be impossible...."
"I'm counting on you."
Mirien looked reluctant. But the moment I said I was counting on her, her expression flipped completely and she nodded. Selene preferred giving orders with authority, while Mirien liked being coaxed and spoiled.
"If I activate the tracking spell from the top of the tower... I think I can find them within seven days and nights...."
Mirien glanced at me as she spoke.
"But Actor, I have one request."
"What is it?"
"Even if I'm on the rooftop, you have to come see me at least once a day. Even if it's just for a moment, show your face."
Mirien's request wasn't surprising. Even though I'd taken her under my command, she'd caused so much trouble that I needed to check periodically whether she was up to anything. However, her request seemed extremely displeasing to Selene, who was listening.
Selene, her face twisted, stepped forward.
"What right does that magic brat have to order My Lord around? Stop thinking nonsense and focus on the task you've been given."
"Who are you to give me orders?"
Mirien put on a fierce expression, and a chilly atmosphere flowed between them. The difference in personality and disposition between Mirien and Selene was like heaven and earth. That was exactly why I hadn't placed the two of them in the same base.
"You two were getting along just fine earlier. Don't tell me you lied to me?"
At my added remark, Mirien and Selene finally looked away.
"Anyway, Mirien, I'll come see you once a day like you asked. If that's too hard, then once every two days. Don't worry."
"Okay!"
"And Selene, I have something else to do with you. Don't even think about getting in Mirien's way."
"My Lord, I had no intention of interfering with that woman."
"Good. Then listen to what I have to say."
I clapped my hands to settle the situation. From now on, I planned to gather information about Asteria and Karne. Rather than asking Mirien, it would be better to ask Selene, who had been at our base the longest.
"Selene, do you remember what Asteria's personality was like?"
"That woman...."
"Don't say she's vicious or that she's black-hearted. Be as objective as possible."
I cut her off before she could speak. Selene pouted and reluctantly began.
"...Asteria is a mysterious woman."
"Mysterious?"
"...She never shows her emotions strongly. She doesn't rage, nor does she rejoice. No matter what happens, she remains detached. In my view... she is close to a god. She seems to look down on all living things as beneath her. As if gazing at insects from the distant cosmos."
"...The cosmos?"
"Yes. Even the moments when she reveals emotion, it's so mysterious and imposing that you can't tell if it's real."
The Queen Who Swallowed the Stars, Asteria. I remembered some of her background setting. A queen of an ancient kingdom. Hated by the universe and imprisoned for eternity, Asteria awakened her unique power, "Color," walked out of her prison, and revived her kingdom. Her new kingdom prospered by breaking stars and committing the blasphemy of devouring their power. Eventually, the world, unable to withstand that power, guided Asteria into a rift world.
What a terrifying setting.
Compared to Selene, who had only burned one continent, or Mirien, who had used hundreds of thousands as test subjects, the scale was on another level. It was probably because the Queen Who Swallowed the Stars, Asteria, was a 5★ character added in an update. Adult circumstances, I suppose.
"However, My Lord, there is one thing you should know."
"What?"
"The way Asteria looks at you is closer to affection than indifference. That woman seems to see you not as someone she must serve, but as her own subject she must protect."
"...Selene, that means she's the complete opposite of you."
"Indeed."
Well, her title was Queen, so she would naturally take ruling and reigning for granted. She seemed like a difficult person to deal with.
"Then what about Karne?"
The Mother of Ill Omens, Karne. She was a half-human, half-beast demon who used various summons including crows—a versatile concept character. I remembered favoring her because she pulled her weight in any party composition. As expected of a 5★ disaster, Karne's background setting was also horrifically brutal. If I recalled correctly, she had spread a plague and harvested more than half the life on the entire planet.
"Karne, you mean?"
"Yeah. Know anything about her?"
"...That whore—"
"Selene, stop with the insults."
"That woman... is the complete opposite of Asteria."
"The complete opposite?"
At my question, Selene nodded and raised her head. Her gaze turned toward the stairs leading to the top floor of the tower.
"Karne's personality is similar to Mirien's, I would say."
"...She has a crush on me?"
"Similar, yet different. To Karne, My Lord appears to be... a child she must care for."
Selene glanced at me and carefully opened her mouth.
"...Maternal love."
"...."
Neither of them seemed normal.
*
"Ah, Dragon King! You've finally arrived!"
"Can't you stop using that title?"
"There are reporters. Smile."
Association Director Yu Junseo smiled warmly, draped an arm around my shoulder, and grinned brightly at the camera. Left with no choice, I stood beside him and forced an awkward smile. The current location was Seoul City Hall, right next to the Association building.
"Isn't it ridiculous that we're receiving a presidential commendation?"
I had come all the way to Seoul City Hall to receive an award. The Blue House had been half-destroyed by the earthquake Selene caused, so the President's residence had been moved to Seoul City Hall.
"...Ah, right. Do you know we're being called the Twin Kings now? Dragon King and Flame King."
Yu Junseo whispered in a voice low enough that the reporters wouldn't hear. That "Dragon King" nonsense was driving me insane, but the media had already started calling me that. At this point, I'd given up. At least the disastrous title "Maestro" hadn't stuck.
"Don't take it too badly. I told you I'd make it up to you properly once this is over, didn't I?"
For some reason, ever since that day, the way Yu Junseo looked at me had changed. It was because the act Selene and I had put on to drive him away had been too effective. I'd even backed up his lie to protect his reputation. To Yu Junseo, I must have seemed like some noble hero.
"So, I've been thinking about what I, as Association Director, can do for the Dragon King."
Even after the award ceremony ended, Yu Junseo kept talking to me without reading the room.
"After this incident, there are opinions inside that it might be better for an S-class Awakened to take the Director position. Nam Juyeon, how about becoming the Awakened Association Director...."
"Not interested."
"...I figured you wouldn't be. Hmm. That's a shame. Yeah. Everyone will be disappointed."
Despite his words, the corners of Yu Junseo's mouth were twitching. He seemed overjoyed at the prospect of remaining Director. There was no bigger opportunist than him. Kang Se-na had said something about knowing one's place. In reality, that was true.
"Th-then... what do you need? Equipment support? Or we could attach troops when you raid nests.... Ah, was that something we were already doing...?"
His prepared lines seemed to have run out, and Yu Junseo's voice grew smaller. I sighed and said,
"Just clear out the crowds near my original house."
"...Ah, r-right. Of course. Yeah. How about moving to a better place while you're at it? The Association people won't bother you either. I'll assign bodyguards nearby. Ah, they won't be the annoying kind, so don't worry."
When I nodded, understanding that he meant providing a penthouse, Yu Junseo finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Anyway, thank you so much for last time. I almost became a traitor to the Korean Peninsula."
Yu Junseo smiled like an ordinary citizen and shook his head.
While I was giving half-hearted replies to his trivial conversation, Yu Junseo suddenly stopped talking. When I looked at him, he was studying my expression.
"What, do you have more to say?"
"No, it's just... I have one favor to ask of you."
"If you're going to tell me to participate in some pointless event, I'll expose the truth right now."
"N-no, it's not that!"
Yu Junseo flinched and got to the point.
"...A few days ago, I got a report from Kang Se-na. She said the reason you declared you'd clear the tower was to rescue the missing people?"
"Well, something like that."
"Then, could you find one more person?"
I roughly guessed why Yu Junseo was saying this.
"Are you talking about Jo Geon-uk?"
"Ah, y-yeah. So you already heard. That's right. That guy Jo Geon-uk suddenly disappeared, and the situation is... rather suspicious. Plus, he's not the type to vanish without a word. Honestly, his position in the Association isn't low either, and he's one of only twenty A-class Awakened in Korea...."
"You're asking me to find him?"
"Mm! That's right. In fact, Nam Juyeon, you're the most outstanding Awakened in Korea. Since you even figured out there were missing people in the tower, I thought maybe you could find out where Jo Geon-uk is too."
"...."
Listening to Yu Junseo, an idea occurred to me.
"Yes. I'll definitely track down Jo Geon-uk."
A way to manipulate the Association to my liking. And a way to erase any suspicion regarding Actor.