Chapter 64
Kim Hyun-yun’s ashes drifted toward O Jinmin. No one else seemed to notice; all eyes were on Kim Hyun-yun as he vanished, but I could see it.
What is this supposed to mean?
Part of the ash was heading straight for O Jinmin.
Sssss—! The scattered particles seeped into O Jinmin’s body.
Meanwhile, O Jinmin looked at Kim Hyun-yun with the same stunned expression Ye Jiram wore.
And then.
■ A fragment of Sand has seeped into O Jinmin’s Shadow Star(S).
The Shadow Star was O Jinmin’s past life, and something had seeped into it?
...A fragment of Sand?
No way.
Was that Kim Hyun-yun’s power?
Had the rampaging superhuman who’d just disappeared somehow seeped his power into O Jinmin?
How?
Had he used some kind of skill? I was still wondering when—
■ O Jinmin: Shadow Star(S)
“...!”
O Jinmin’s past life had changed. A faint smile even touched the corner of his mouth. It was definitely a smile. And because I’d seen it, maybe his gaze was about to turn toward me.
I immediately turned my head away.
Fortunately, our eyes didn’t meet.
...What the hell?
If I wasn’t imagining things, Kim Hyun-yun’s power seemed to have gone to O Jinmin. Could something like that even happen? Had he stolen a past life?
What did he do?
I had no idea. But one thing was certain.
He did something.
I could tell O Jinmin had done something to Kim Hyun-yun.
That much was clear.
That man.
I didn’t know whether he was a terrorist or not, but I could tell he was an unsettling sort of person.
* * *
Inside the vehicle taking us back, Ye Jiram sat in silence with her earphones in.
I, on the other hand, was still busy replaying what had just happened.
With the rampaging superhuman subdued, the incident had been resolved, and the collapsing building would be handled by demolition specialists who were being dispatched to deal with it.
There had been plenty of injuries and deaths in the process, too. The damage caused by the superhuman’s rampage had been immense.
It had gone relatively smoothly, which was why it also made me realize just how dangerous a rampaging superhuman could be.
...Irene.
I thought of Irene, who had been acting as the commander. Had she sent us out because she wanted us to experience something like this firsthand? I wasn’t sure.
At first, I didn’t think this was the idea.
I’d thought she was telling me to go check it out and report back on O Jinmin or something like that.
What was her intention?
I still couldn’t figure out what Irene had been thinking.
Then.
“Jinwoo.”
O Jinmin spoke to me.
“Yes…?”
“Are you all right? You’ve looked off ever since.”
“Ah….”
Of course I looked off. I had too much on my mind.
“It’s nothing. I was just a little shaken by what happened.”
“That’s understandable. It’s your first time seeing a rampaging superhuman up close, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then being startled is only natural.”
His tone was gentle. I’d felt it before, but he was very good at seeming like a decent person.
If I hadn’t had Hero’s Super-sensory, and if I hadn’t spotted something strange with the Eye of Enlightenment...
I might have believed him.
It would have been easy to let everything pass.
“Don’t worry too much. It might sound odd to say you’ll get used to it, but that’s the truth of it.”
“...Get used to it?”
“Even if you don’t work as a knight, once you start acting as a high-grade superhuman, it’s something you’ll eventually have to face.”
“....”
High-grade superhuman.
Superhumans of B-class and above were called high-grade, and even if they weren’t part of the Association, there were laws requiring them to answer the call in emergencies.
Because of that, if the knights weren’t in a position to move out and subdue a rampaging superhuman, high-grade superhumans nearby were sometimes dispatched instead.
It seemed like O Jinmin was talking about the things I’d have to experience then.
“In that sense, the way you reacted earlier, Jinwoo, was perhaps only natural. I hope you won’t be too hard on yourself.”
“....”
He thought I was feeling down because I’d failed to do my job properly.
“Thank you for the encouragement.”
I thanked him first. Then—
“Jinwoo.”
“Yes.”
“If it’s not too rude, may I ask why you wanted to become a knight?”
“Huh?”
It was such a sudden question that I blinked.
“Why do you ask...?”
“Ah, it’s just... I feel some kind of kinship with you. I thought I’d ask just in case. If I’ve overstepped, I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable.”
He even waved his hands as he spoke. Just as I was wondering why he was asking something like this—
Korka’s Illusion activates.
A mental curse attempts to invade.
The curse is too weak and fails to enter.
The system appeared. A mental curse?
No way.
Was O Jinmin trying to do something to me? Through that conversation?
“...It’s not rude, exactly, but it’s not something I talk about. Sorry.”
I turned him down. The instant he heard that, O Jinmin’s expression changed slightly. He looked surprised.
“Ah, I see.... No, that was thoughtless of me. I’m sorry.”
There was no mistake. His expression had shifted in a heartbeat, but this guy had clearly sensed that something was off.
A curse.
I understood now that he had been trying to do something to me through conversation.
After that, he didn’t speak again, and we arrived at headquarters in an awkward silence.
* * *
-Knight Ye Jiram, Lee Jinwoo, and Kim Jincheol have been confirmed.
In the late afternoon, with the sun already low but the hour not yet too late, we arrived at the Knights Division headquarters and moved off to find Irene.
Still unaccustomed to being addressed that way, I went upstairs.
We reached the place we’d arrived at during the day. As I opened the door and stepped inside—
“Commander~ We’re back from wor—”
Ye Jiram started to speak as she came in, then shut her mouth on the spot. At her reaction, I leaned my head to the side.
“Why’d you stop—”
Despite the words, I stopped too. The problem was the person inside. Setting Irene’s usual drowsy indifference aside, there was someone else standing there.
The figure wore the uniform of the 1st Knight Division and was facing Irene.
“Jinwoo.”
“....”
It was Yu Jin. He grinned at me, his handsome face especially striking for it.
“Wow.”
O Jinmin let out an admiring sound. That was his reaction after seeing Yu Jin.
“You’re late. I heard you’d been sent out on a mission. Did everything go smoothly?”
“...Uh.”
“You must’ve had a hard time. I’d actually been waiting to see you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You.”
Why me? I was still wondering when—
“...You’re here...?”
Irene spoke in a voice that sounded oddly sleepy.
“...Come in.”
At her words, Ye Jiram, O Jinmin, and I entered the room.
Standing there with tense expressions, we watched Irene.
“...Yu Jin....”
“Yes, Irene.”
“...For now... go back....”
Irene said, looking at Yu Jin.
“It’s late at night already. Let’s... talk about the rest tomorrow.”
“...Understood.”
Yu Jin nodded, looking regretful. Then he turned around and tapped my shoulder twice.
“See you later. I’m heading out first.”
“...Sure.”
It’s not like I particularly wanted to see him later, but I couldn’t say that, so I kept my mouth shut.
After Yu Jin left, Irene looked at me.
“...Good work.”
“Here’s the report.”
Ye Jiram handed the report she’d been carrying to Irene. For some reason, her expression didn’t look very good.
“Mm....”
Taking the report, Irene nodded.
“...Rest....”
“You’re just telling us to go?”
“...Do you have anything else to say...?”
“No. A rest sounds great.”
Ye Jiram shrugged and headed out. O Jinmin bowed to Irene and followed after her.
I was about to leave as well when—
“...Lee Jinwoo.”
Irene called me back.
“Yes. I... no, Commander.”
Remembering Ye Jiram’s words, I corrected myself.
“...That makes me feel bad.”
“Pardon?”
Irene’s face creased.
“...Call me the way you were calling me. It makes me feel bad.”
“....”
What did she mean, it made her feel bad? It was ridiculous, but I couldn’t refuse.
“Understood, Irene. Is something wrong?”
“...How was it?”
I wondered what she meant. The answer didn’t take long. I assumed she was asking about the rampaging superhuman.
“...The matter was resolved, just as the report said. Although this was my first time handling a case like that, so I made a few mistakes....”
“Not that.”
“...Not that?”
Then what? As I looked at her in confusion, she spoke again.
“...Kim Jincheol.”
Irene brought up Kim Jincheol—no, O Jinmin.
“How was he?”
“....”
Her voice was suddenly sharper. Her golden eyes glimmered faintly.
At that resolute air, I swallowed dryly.
How was he?
“...Strange.”
That was the answer I chose after careful thought.
“...Strange?”
“Yes. Something about him is strange.”
“Hmm....”
She gave a soft snort. Irene’s expression changed. That face—
Hero’s Super-sensory activates.
Satisfaction?
It felt like she was satisfied with something.
“...Not bad....”
“Pardon...?”
“...Go now.... Come see me again tomorrow.”
“...Understood.”
I only managed to leave after being dismissed.
“...Sshhhh....”
Once I was alone, I finally let out the breath I’d been holding—
“Hey.”
“Ghk!?”
Before I could even finish exhaling, an arm appeared and hooked around my neck.
“Our baby’s got a deep sigh, huh?”
It was Ye Jiram.
“...Deputy Commander...?”
“You’re tired and all that, right?”
“...Yes.”
Wasn’t that obvious? I tried to make my exhaustion clear, but—
“Nice. That means it’s a good time for a can of beer. Let’s go.”
“Huh? Wait, no—!”
“Follow me. Why do you talk so much, you damn man?”
And just like that, I was dragged off somewhere.
* * *
Outside the 6th Knight Division headquarters.
Under the streetlamp, a young man with a cigarette between his lips watched something in silence.
-Come on. We’re close enough anyway.
-No, I’d really like to get some rest...!
Lee Jinwoo was being dragged away by the Black Night Witch, Ye Jiram.
Watching that, Yu Jin exhaled a thin stream of smoke.
“What is this?”
What exactly was she doing?
Ye Jiram had been repeating pointless behavior more and more lately. Had the leash on her gotten loose somehow?
More than that, the fact that she was entangled with Lee Jinwoo was deeply irritating to Yu Jin.
Same with Jin Yeonhui.
And Ye Jiram too.
They kept getting tangled up with Lee Jinwoo. Jin Yeonhui made some sense, but...
Ye Jiram...
There was no need for that. Why was she doing this?
“Tch.”
He clicked his tongue once and kept his eyes on Lee Jinwoo.
“....”
The gaze he fixed on him was icy.
“What is it?”
The most incomprehensible thing of all was Lee Jinwoo. Not Jin Yeonhui, not Ye Jiram—Lee Jinwoo.
“Where did it start going wrong?”
Normally, he wouldn’t have had to care this much.
He wouldn’t have had any reason to see him here, and they shouldn’t have had any particular connection.
“Why?”
Why are you here?
Why?
...Did something change from your past life?
Had it changed from what he knew?
His past life.
Not the SS-class past life Yu Jin possessed, but the life before that. More precisely—
Did something change when I regressed?
The life before regression.
The things that had changed since then kept getting under his skin.
And quite a lot, at that.