Chapter 16
Translator: True Detective
Mystic Management Bureau (3)
There were two meanings to the Sound Transmission I sent to Kang Yuna while getting off the bus a little while ago.
One was that I knew of the Bureau's existence and was aware of the fact that this current situation was a board set up by the Bureau. It was to convey that fact.
The other was an expression that, rather than blindly getting into a scuffle, I wanted to have a setting where we could talk as moderately as possible.
We both wouldn't want to make things huge anyway, right? If we clashed greatly in a place full of civilians, it would become troublesome for each other.
'It's not like I attacked or ignored the Bureau side's person first, but I specifically picked her out and sent a signal.'
The Bureau might also notice that I have no particular hostility and make a move accordingly.
I can't be sure if things will truly flow that way, but there is meaning in the fact that at least the possibility has arisen.
'The key is that I don't know when the Bureau will approach me.'
Honestly speaking, this part doesn't matter in the slightest. Because it was a point I could roughly expect.
'Since it's an organization that moves with the purpose of concealing mysteries, they won't contact me openly in a place where everyone else is watching.'
It was highly probable that they would sneakily approach me in a secluded place inside the resort, or come directly to my room at a late hour.
'Seeing that they assigned the guest rooms as one person per room instead of two, the latter possibility is probably higher.'
Swallowing those thoughts inwardly, I put the food I had gathered on my plate into my mouth. True to a high-end resort, there was plenty of both entertainment and food.
Belittling the thoughts I had agonizing over the Bureau until just a moment ago, my body was now busy enjoying the resort harder than anyone else in the club who came along.
'Since I decided to meet with the Bureau directly anyway.'
It would be a shame in its own way if I couldn't enjoy anything and just worried after coming all the way here. Since I came to a resort I wouldn't even dare to dream of normally due to the price on the Bureau's dime, whether it turns out good or bad, I have to get my money's worth.
From small-scale facilities like an arcade and screen baseball to large-scale facilities like an indoor water park. Enjoying them excitedly with the stamina tempered by training in martial arts, I filled my belly with various foods at the food court whenever I got hungry.
Just how much time had passed spent enjoying such a luxurious vacation?
"Phew..."
The sun that had hung high in the sky fell, dyeing the blue sky pitch black, and the resort's facilities closed one by one past their operating hours.
When everyone, left with nothing to play with, grabbed their hungry bellies and ran to the buffet, I stealthily slipped out of the procession and moved my steps toward the guest rooms.
Having enjoyed enough and eaten plenty of food, it was to create a situation to contact the Bureau now.
'They'll come on their own if I wait a bit.'
Opening the guest room door and entering, I sat on the chair in front of the table placed by the window and looked outside. I felt refreshed at the cool panoramic view that clearly showed the resort's outdoor facilities and even the mountains beyond.
However, even while enjoying the scenery, I extended my Qi Sense to search the surroundings. Since I didn't know when the Bureau would come visiting either, I declined the idea of being surprised by an unexpected visit while spaced out looking at the scenery.
Had it been about 10 minutes since I looked at the scenery alone in the quiet room like that?
—Knock, knock, knock.
As the Qi Sense that had spread to the hallway caught someone's presence, someone soon knocked on my guest room door with a calm rhythm.
'They're here.'
Looking at the scenery, I turned my body at that sound and looked at the door. The visitor's presence caught by my Qi Sense was the presence of Kang Yuna, who had claimed to be a guide in the morning.
—Clack!
Instead of moving my steps to open the door, I reached out my hand and turned the doorknob with Void Grasping. Facing her as the door opened, I almost let out a chuckle without realizing it.
Should I say it was an expression surprised to see a door open by itself without being touched? For a person from an organization that encounters all sorts of mysteries, it was quite a human reaction.
"I've been waiting. Please come in."
Unexpectedly, Kang Yuna came looking for me alone without accompanying anyone else. I don't know if she was the only person dispatched in the first place, or if she just volunteered to visit me alone, but...
Still, seeing that armed personnel didn't swarm in, it seemed the Bureau didn't harbor great hostility toward me.
"Unfortunately, all I have to drink is the water basically stocked in the guest room refrigerator. If you are fine with even this, let's drink while we talk."
Kang Yuna approached with a stiff gait as if tense and sat on the chair opposite me. I gave her a slight smile and unfolded Void Grasping again.
The refrigerator under the shelf opened and a bottle of mineral water flew over, and two cups placed on the shelf also flew over along with the water bottle.
A cup was placed in front of each of us. The water bottle that flew in front of the table opened its cap and poured water into the cups by itself.
I conducted that entire process with Void Grasping. Having simply finished the preparations without moving a single finger, I took a sip of the water in my cup first.
'Because she might suspect that I put medicine or something in the water. If I show myself drinking it directly first, the mood will lighten up a bit.'
Having lightly wetted my throat, I let out a short sigh. Because, actually, it was the same for me that this setting was tense.
Still, to grab the initiative in the conversation, I had to open my mouth first to start the talk.
Didn't I even show off a flashy performance with Void Grasping? From now on, I needed to lead the atmosphere, hoping the hypothesis I came up with when getting off the bus was correct.
"Would it be fine to call you Ms. Kang Yuna?" "Yes. You may call me that."
To the light question, Kang Yuna nodded and answered. To the conversation that started smoothly, I casually threw the next question.
"Would it be safe to assume that your coming here means the Bureau has the intention to converse with me?"
I bluntly spat out the word 'Bureau'. At the straightforward question, Kang Yuna's pupils wavered for a moment, but soon she nodded once more, affirming.
"That is correct."
I, who had been inwardly worrying about what to do if it was a situation where I had to wage an all-out war with the Bureau, swallowed a sigh of relief.
"Then, let's simply introduce ourselves to each other first. In the introduction we shared on the bus this morning, one way or another, we were both hiding a lot of things, weren't we?"
Saying so, I immediately continued my words.
"I am called Kim Sihyeon. An ordinary college student who's been getting swept up in troublesome things here and there lately." "I am Kang Yuna. I am in charge of the HR Department of the Korean branch of the Mystic Management Bureau."
HR Head of the Korean branch, huh.
If so, it means the Bureau is not an organization existing only in Korea, but an organization operating internationally in various countries.
Furthermore, Kang Yuna right in front of my eyes is a person holding a quite major position as HR Head even within the Korean branch of such a Bureau.
'If the Bureau is an international organization, I would've been caught eventually even if I fled overseas. Still, for a person like this to come looking for me directly means the Bureau also wants a conversation rather than a direct clash.'
The moment my tension was about to loosen slightly from a sense of relief, Kang Yuna, who had corrected her surprised expression to a blunt one, asked me.
"Mr. Kim Sihyeon. You mentioned you have been getting swept up in troublesome things here and there recently, but could you perhaps tell me what those 'troublesome things' are?"
After agonizing briefly for a few seconds, my gaze met Kang Yuna's. I was anxious about whether it was truly okay to say everything, but for now, it didn't seem good to hide too much either.
"I had a scuffle with monsters at the Mount Geumjeong Forked Path, and from then on, I was attacked by some mage recently." "Mount Geumjeong Forked Path, Yeongshin Elementary School, Monkey Dream, and the murder of Marcel Lacrima. About this much."
As expected, they knew everything?
Seeing Kang Yuna filter out the list of incidents I had experienced just from a rough range specification, I felt like cold sweat would flow for no reason.
It was then.
"First of all, before getting to the main point, we will provide you with a reward on the Bureau's level for your hard work." "A reward, you mean?" "Yes. Since you have resolved several mystic disasters that caused severe danger, it was decided internally within the Bureau to provide you with a reward accordingly."
Kang Yuna, having brought up the topic of a reward, took out her mobile phone from her pocket. She tapped the screen with her finger as if sending a message somewhere, and soon put the phone away again.
—Vooom!
And the phone I had put in my pocket vibrated. As I was rolling my eyes wondering if it was okay to check this right now, Kang Yuna, who showed a soft smile by raising the corners of her mouth, parted her lips.
"Please check."
It is not polite to look into a phone with a person right in front of you, but if the other party gave permission, it is fine to look at it briefly and put it away.
With the thought of quickly looking and putting it away, I took the phone out of my pocket and checked the identity of the sudden notification.
And, having checked the contents of the notification, I swallowed an empty breath for a moment.
"...What is this?" "It is the reward I mentioned a little while ago."
The identity of the notification was a deposit alert from my banking app. It wasn't a very rare notification, but the deposit amount shown in the alert was extraordinary.
Like someone possessed, I tapped the notification and launched the banking app. Unlocking it by entering the pattern and waiting a moment, I saw the balance of my account recorded in the banking app.
Even at a glance, there are many zeros. To the extent that I never thought such a number of digits would be stamped on my account balance in my life.
"...5.6 billion won?" "It is an amount that can be used right away, with its source and tax issues cleanly handled."
I was so surprised that words didn't come out well. Since she called it a reward, I wondered if she was going to give me some kind of certificate of merit, but I never even imagined they would suddenly deposit 5.6 billion won into my account.
To begin with, I only just learned that the Bureau knew my account. Since they figured out my identity, they would have found out something like a bank account without difficulty, but still, experiencing it directly is a separate story, isn't it?
As I was smacking my lips with a surprised expression, Kang Yuna, who had kept her mouth shut for a moment, continued in a low voice.
"There is no need to feel burdened. Because it is all a justly calculated amount." "Even so..."
There is no goodwill without a price. It is one of the truths of life I learned painfully while living. Thrusting an amount like this into my hands definitely has a purpose.
After all, it's a world where bastards existed who even tried to rip off the subsidy I received from the country when I became independent from the orphanage. To think there is someone who can hand over such a huge sum of money out of pure goodwill hiding behind the pretext of a reward.
That can't be possible. There's no way such a person exists.
"Thanks to Mr. Kim Sihyeon resolving three mystic disasters that continuously required large budgets, the Bureau's budget has become quite ample. There was also the bounty placed on Marcel Lacrima's head. We merely handed over a portion of the saved budget and Marcel Lacrima's bounty."
It should be like that, but listening to Kang Yuna's words, it felt like this amount the Bureau deposited was truly just a reward for the things I have resolved up to now.
"Ah, and we are currently searching for the whereabouts of the grimoire Cults of the Ghouls that Marcel Lacrima possessed, but do you happen to know anything?"
Smacking my lips at the amount that still didn't feel real, I unfolded Void Grasping with a bewildered sensation and pulled out the Cults of the Ghouls that was buried among my luggage.
"As expected, Mr. Kim Sihyeon possessed it."
Perhaps because it was a dangerous item, I felt a needless prick of conscience and hurriedly continued.
"I tried destroying it using various methods, but so far I haven't found a way to destroy it. Since it's not an item I can just throw away anywhere, I retrieved it and kept it as a temporary measure."
Since 'ah' is different from 'eo', if I make the slightest mistake, wouldn't it be a situation prone to the misunderstanding that I snatched the grimoire and was planning something suspicious?
Perhaps noticing my desperation, Kang Yuna chuckled and received the grimoire that approached her via Void Grasping.
"I understand. I never thought Mr. Kim Sihyeon would commit evil acts with the grimoire, either. Rather, I think it's a relief that you were holding it." "Is that so?" "Yes. Because if that wasn't the case, there might have been a setback in the retrieval, or it might have fallen into the hands of another mage and caused a terrible incident."
She was saying that as a result, they were able to retrieve the Cults of the Ghouls like this, so it's rather a good thing. I could feel relieved at Kang Yuna's words.
"Then, from here is the main point the Bureau side sent me to share with Mr. Kim Sihyeon."
It's here. Instantly thinking that, I gulped down my saliva.
In a moment, the atmosphere in the room became quite serious, and amidst an atmosphere where tension flowed tautly, Kang Yuna parted her lips.
"Mr. Kim Sihyeon, do you have any intention of working together with our Mystic Management Bureau?"