The Investigation Site

Wednesday. My third day in the hospital.

When Baek A-young came by for her once-a-day check on my condition, I told her I wanted to go out.

"Go out? Is something going on?"

Baek A-young tilted her head at me, and I laid out the reason I'd prepared in advance.

"I heard they're still cleaning up after the mixer party attack. They haven't even finished questioning everyone involved... In a way, I'm one of the parties concerned, so I figured I ought to go help with the investigation."

"Ah...."

I also needed to see Mun Su-rin... stop by the dorm, and there were plenty of other people I had to meet.

Baek A-young looked me over, considering, then slowly spoke.

"Honestly, walking around in your current condition won't put any strain on your body. You're past that stage. The problem is you don't have any way to protect yourself... You'll be okay, though, right?"

"Su-rin noona will be there, and Min Yeji too, so I should be fine, don't you think?"

"Hmm. Well, those two are reliable enough... Darling, why are they all women, though?"

"...."

Under Baek A-young's gaze, I turned my head away.

It's an eroge world, so of course they're all women. What was I supposed to do about that.

The problem is that this is a world where every capable person happens to be a woman. It is definitely not my problem.

"Haa. Still, no overnight stays. I wouldn't be able to respond immediately if something dangerous happened."

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of myself."

I let the corner of my mouth lift slightly. The way she said I couldn't stay out overnight was so transparent it was adorable.

"Don't look at me like that. It's genuinely because it's dangerous, okay?"

Baek A-young glared at me, her face faintly flushed.

What do you mean, it'll be fine. I can tell just by looking at your face.

"Pfft... Got it."

"Y-you terrible man...."

Thwack! Thwack!

I'd accidentally failed to hold back a laugh, and Baek A-young bit down on her lip and started hitting me.

"Ah, hang on. A-young. Darling. That hurts. I'm a patient."

I took her fists against my chest and wrapped both arms around her.

"Thank you, darling."

"Nngh... Darling...."

Fortunately, she didn't keep swinging even after I'd pulled her into my arms.

The third day of Lee Ho-yeon's hospitalization. Wednesday. Inside a bright, elegant room in a vast mansion.

"Mmm...."

Elise lay on her bed, turning it over in her mind.

She'd been thinking of going to visit Lee Ho-yeon, but now that she was actually about to go, she had no reason. Of course, she could just say she'd come because they were friends. That was normal for ordinary friends. But Elise wasn't that kind of person. If she had to put a label on it, she considered her relationship with Lee Ho-yeon a business arrangement.

"When I think about it, I don't really need to go.... But I still want to check on his condition...."

Elise kept circling through the same pointless deliberations.

Knock, knock—

A knock sounded at the door. That measured rhythm could only be Sebas Chan.

"Miss. May I come in?"

"Yes, come in."

Elise got up from the bed and sat in a chair. Sebas Chan approached, dipped his head slightly, and spoke.

"The Guild Leader has granted me leave. He said the young miss requested it...."

Elise clenched a fist inwardly at Sebas Chan's words. All those times she'd called her father and put on the charm had finally paid off.

Wait. But is Lee Ho-yeon even in any condition to give massages?

From what she'd heard, his injuries had been severe. Of course, when she'd asked Scarlet, Scarlet had said it wasn't that bad — but he still wouldn't be in any shape to give a massage.

"Hmm. How long were you planning to take?"

"I've been given a week. If the young miss would prefer I take less, I have no objection."

"It's fine. Really. Even a month would be fine."

A week. If anything, that was too short. There was no telling how long Lee Ho-yeon would need to recover.

"...Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"I'm just saying it because you've worked hard. Hurry up and go on your vacation. You've finished handing things over to Scarlet, right?"

Sebas Chan looked faintly hurt, but that didn't matter to Elise. She just wanted him to leave on vacation already.

"Yes. Scarlet has personal assignments as well, so she won't be able to stay glued to your side the way I have... but I've spoken with her as thoroughly as I can, so please don't worry."

"Okay. Thank you."

It was genuinely stifling, the way her family overprotected her when she was already twenty. She didn't even need a bodyguard.

"Then I shall take my leave."

Sebas Chan dipped his head just as he had when he entered, and left. For the next week, Scarlet would be serving as her secretary.

Ding—

The moment Sebas Chan left, a message arrived from Scarlet.

She'd already given Scarlet her instructions. Don't come to me. Keep doing what you were doing.

"I'm actually free."

Elise licked her lips once, then activated her smartwatch. There was a video Scarlet had reported to her. A brand-new video, a full two hours long. The star was that same beauty from the last one.

Installing a camera in the hospital room had been the right call after all. How long would she be able to enjoy this one?

Gulp.

Elise slowly brought her hand down between her legs.

I stepped outside the hospital for the first time in days. I'd had to go through one more examination before leaving, and I could only go out after filling out a day-pass that required me back before nightfall — but I was more than satisfied.

I'd already contacted Mun Su-rin. An investigation headquarters had been set up at the party venue, and the questioning was still underway there. The fact that they were still investigating days after the attack told me just how massive this incident had been. They were probably being thorough because high-ranking VIPs had gotten caught up in it.

I'll help with the investigation and see Su-rin noona while I'm at it... stop by the dorm, meet Lucy and Rumi... I won't be able to see Professor Lim Sol, though.

I wasn't sure I'd have time for all of it, but I'd made a plan anyway.

When I arrived at the party venue, I could see people bustling about.

"Su-rin noona!"

I walked over to Mun Su-rin, who was waiting for me up ahead. That shimmering platinum blonde was impossible to miss.

"Ho-yeon! Are you okay? How's your body?"

Mun Su-rin's eyes went wide as she came over and looked me up and down. She was just like a real older sister who hadn't seen me in ages.

"Of course I'm fine. I came to help you out."

"Thank you. Honestly, I was all over the party venue that night, so I had a lot of testimony to give. Now that you're here, things should get a little easier."

Mun Su-rin smiled brightly, clearly glad to see me.

"Just leave it to me. Only me."

I walked into the investigation office with a look of complete confidence.

Three hours later, I dragged myself out of the interrogation room with every last ounce of strength wrung out of me.

"Noona. I'm dying...."

"Aww, you worked hard. Drink this, at least."

Mun Su-rin held out a drink with the easy familiarity of someone who knew exactly how I felt.

"Thank you...."

Gulp, gulp.

The hydration helped a little. There had been a lot of casualties among the high-ranking guests, that much was true — but more than that, this was the first time Pandemic had mobilized this many Fiends. That was probably why it had been classified as such a massive incident. The number of personnel they'd thrown at it was staggering, which was why I'd been completely drained by the time they were done questioning me. Especially the barrier. They just would not stop asking about the barrier. I'd barely managed to wriggle out of it by leaning on the genius-mage persona.

Why wasn't an incident this big in the original?

It was definitely a butterfly effect... but I couldn't pin down exactly where it had started.

Click-click!

There were plenty of reporters still wandering the party venue, snapping photos wherever they went.

"Still pretty noisy, I see. The reporters being here says as much."

The fact that reporters who lived and died by view counts were still taking pictures here meant public interest hadn't faded.

"The first day was even worse than this. Half reporters, half investigators."

"Ah...."

Just thinking about it made me dizzy. Having been hounded by reporters myself, I could relate.

"Just rest for a bit. I'm staying because I have some personal investigating to do, so I'll go take care of that."

"Yes, yes. Go ahead."

Mun Su-rin stepped away for a moment, and someone approached me as I sat resting on a bench.

"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon.... Hello."

A familiar cat-eyed woman sat down beside me.

"Ah, Ms. Min Yeji. Hello."

"Haa. I can't even count how many times we've done this first-meeting greeting."

"I know, right. I was actually planning to come find you this time, so things worked out well thanks to you. Thank you, Ms. Min Yeji."

Min Yeji was here too. Well, the combat personnel would have a lot to be questioned about, so of course they'd been around for a while. She probably hadn't been here the whole time — more like coming and going for questioning.

"If you're grateful, how about reconsidering the guild?"

"Uh... that's a bit...."

I declined with the most polite smile I could manage. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't juggle seeing women and doing guild work on top of that.

"You could at least hear the terms. You're so cut-and-dry, Cadet Ho-yeon."

Min Yeji treated me with the ease of an old friend.

She's more playfully clingy than she looks.

For a team leader of the Iron Blood Guild, she was surprisingly lighthearted. But she had a point. What good was gratitude if it was just words?

"Uh... then I suppose I could at least hear the terms. Or we could try approaching it some other way besides joining the guild."

Joining a guild wasn't the only answer. A mutually beneficial partnership could work just as well.

"Shall we? Then...."

While Min Yeji and I talked business, people gradually started gathering around us. We'd roughly wrapped up the conversation, and I was about to hear conditions that didn't involve joining the guild, when people started speaking up.

"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon. Hear the Noblesse Guild's terms as well. We won't lose to the Iron Blood Guild."

"Excuse me? He's negotiating with the Iron Blood Guild right now!"

Min Yeji snapped at the man who'd cut in.

"Give our Fighter Guild a chance too!"

"These sons of— I mean, do these people have no professional courtesy?!"

"Don't fight. Ms. Yeji. Just a second. Ah...."

How old were these lunatics, acting like this in front of a cadet. There were too many people watching for me to drop a string of curses, so I quietly waited for Min Yeji to put them in their place.

Meanwhile, at the same time, a man was coming out of questioning at the party venue.

"Haa... those fucking bastards. They dumped everything on me and ran."

The guild leader of the Buyer Guild. Park Min-gyu. He was so used to cleaning up after important people that he'd ended up handling the grunt work here too. As a result, Park Min-gyu had been stuck getting grilled by investigators for days. He hadn't even been able to take care of guild business.

He was heading outside for a smoke when he saw a crowd of people spilling out from one side.

"Ugh, that crazy bitch. Someone needs to take her down a peg. She tried to kill a guy just for interfering with a recruitment."

"No kidding. Lee Ho-yeon better not fall for that face."

Eavesdropping on their conversation, Park Min-gyu frowned.

What? Lee Ho-yeon?

There was no reason for people to be crowding around like that at an investigation site. Curious, Park Min-gyu headed in that direction. Over there, Min Yeji and Lee Ho-yeon were talking. A moment later, Min Yeji bowed her head and walked off the other way.

Having watched the whole thing, Park Min-gyu put it together.

They're trying to recruit Lee Ho-yeon!

Lee Ho-yeon, the genius mage who was the hottest name right now. If Lee Ho-yeon joined the Buyer Guild... they could take off overnight. But Park Min-gyu immediately dropped the thought. Even the Iron Blood Guild had bowed their heads like that. He had no bargaining chip to put on the table.

...Wait.

No — thinking about it more carefully, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he did have one. The temptation no man in his twenties could resist: lust. The Buyer Guild had Nam Da-eun, bound by a slave contract.

Nam Da-eun would be his soon enough anyway. Since she was his, he couldn't give away her first time. But after he'd enjoyed her enough... he could lend her to Lee Ho-yeon. They were in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same year, so Ho-yeon would already know that beautiful face well enough.

He couldn't say it in a public place with social appearances to maintain, but right now, with no one around, it was worth a little probe.

Come to think of it, that bastard is the reason Nam Da-eun lost first place. Heh. If he comes to the Buyer Guild, I'll let him hold her as a reward.

Park Min-gyu confirmed that Min Yeji was completely gone, then approached Lee Ho-yeon. Lee Ho-yeon was stretching, looking tired.

"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon. Hello. We met once at the last party, didn't we?"

"...Hello. You're Park Min-gyu of the Buyer Guild, if I remember correctly."

"Yes... so you remember."

It's because of Nam Da-eun. Has to be.

There was no other reason a mere mid-tier guild leader's face would stick in this kid's memory except Nam Da-eun. An unfounded confidence that this negotiation might actually work began to well up in Park Min-gyu. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lifted the corner of his mouth into a kindly smile and kept talking to Lee Ho-yeon.

And Lee Ho-yeon, playing along with the conversation, was barely managing to keep his expression under control.

...Why the hell is this bastard talking to me?

Lee Ho-yeon was thrown, but he didn't let it show as he dealt with Park Min-gyu.