Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Kang Ha-neul's Secret (3)
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Muttering an awkward goodbye to Kang Ha-neul, I boarded the bus heading home and sank into thought.
My mind was a tangled mess—far too complicated.
How did Kang Ha-neul know about Ryu Tae-hyun and the talisman? If she did know, just how much did she know? What was her true identity? Could she possibly be connected to the Dawn Legion? A whirlwind of thoughts raced through my head.
Right. Kang Ha-neul was a minor villain in the original story, even if just a side character.
No matter how much her personality had changed in this world, her core nature might still be the same. Maybe the Pleasure Heavenly Demon had added a backstory linking her to the Dawn Legion to make the character more useful.
……No.
The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
It was possible. But I didn't want to believe it.
"……Hey, what do you think? This look—I customized the preset myself with tons of care. Pretty, right? Cute, huh? Stands out, doesn't it?"
"……You're the one who saved my life. Of course I'm worried about you."
"Anyway, thanks for saving me. Sigh, seriously. This isn't the kind of line you drop in a moment like this……."
"Oh, and you don't have to speak so formally to me! You're four years older than I am! Just call me Ha-neul casually. I-I'll call you O-Oppa comfortably too……."
All the various sides of Kang Ha-neul she'd shown me, all those emotions, flashed through my mind in quick succession. Each one felt like a weight crushing my chest.
Kang Ha-neul was on my side. She wasn't the enemy.
I wanted to believe that, but what she'd shown me today was more than enough to make me doubt her.
……In that case, all I could do was prepare for the worst.
"Fuck……."
After agonizing over it for a while, I spat out a curse and pulled out my smartphone to call Iliana Faust.
-Oh! Ahn Su-ho customer-nim! What brin’s you callin’?
A distinctly foreign-accented Korean came through the phone. I got straight to the point.
"Iliana. I want to commission an investigation on Kang Ha-neul."
-Oh shi…….
I heard her gulp on the other end, like she was startled.
"What's wrong?"
-Oh. Ah, nothin’! OK. Investigation on Kang Ha-neul student! What kind you want?
"Just look into everything about her in general. What kind of person she is. Her background and origins. And…… if she's hiding anything from others."
-Got it! But, Ahn Su-ho customer-nim, you still haven’t paid for last commission. Please pay previous fee first.
"Fine. You wanted internal Security Force info, right? I'll provide whatever I can access."
-No. No. What I want is info Ahn Su-ho customer-nim already knows.
‘Info I already know?’
Surprised by the unexpected response, I voiced my doubt, and Iliana replied in a small voice.
-Last time double-dungeon incident, info on Ahn Su-ho customer-nim’s exploits. Not statement censored by Min Chae-ryeong Team Leader—real story from customer-nim’s own mouth. That’s what I want.
"How did you……."
Know that? I barely swallowed the words that rose to my throat.
As Iliana said, my actions during the double-dungeon incident had been censored by Min Chae-ryeong. During the investigation, Kang Ha-neul had stated that I'd fought Wilhelm on even terms before escaping (conveniently omitting any mention of my own abilities), but the official report that went up omitted the entire encounter with Wilhelm.
She'd done it without a word to me, but I was grateful. Just surviving an encounter with an Overrank dungeon boss would draw flies from all directions; if word got out that I'd actually fought the thing, it'd be even more of a headache.
Somehow, Iliana had figured out that Min Chae-ryeong had censored the statement. It was unbelievable on its own, but considering her abilities, it was just barely plausible.
But the important part was…….
"Why do you want that info?"
Why was Iliana bringing up payment for the previous commission just to ask about my actions—more precisely, my combat capabilities?
It felt like she had some ulterior motive, but she responded with a deliberately cool tone.
-Ahn Su-ho customer-nim. Know what principle I prioritize most as detective? Secret-keeping principle.
The secret-keeping principle.
Iliana Faust never revealed client information under any circumstances. That was her so-called secret-keeping principle.
In other words…….
‘Someone commissioned her to investigate me. Then who?’
Min Chae-ryeong came to mind first, but probably not her. She already knew about my actions from Kang Ha-neul's statement.
-So? You gonna pay?
Part of me wanted to ask who the client was, but she wouldn't tell me anyway—it'd just damage our trust.
‘Fine. Just hinting that someone's digging into me is thanks enough.’
At least I knew someone was sniffing around.
"Alright. I'll pay up."
-Got it! Sendin’ questionnaire with few questions to this number! Answer as detailed as possible, with all sincerity!
"Will do. And you're taking my commission, right?"
-Yes! Kang Ha-neul student investigation! Firmly accepted! Contact soon!
With that, the call ended. Exhausted from the conversation, I leaned back against the bus seat and let out a deep sigh.
‘Thought things were easing up a bit, but now it's all tangled up again like crazy.’
Midterms were approaching, and with the original story events piling up, my head felt ready to explode.
‘……Iliana's investigative skills are reliable, but even she might struggle with this one.’
If Kang Ha-neul was Dawn Legion, she might slip through Iliana's network.
‘Then what do I do…….’
I stared out the window at the endless Sokcho cityscape flowing by, lost in thought.
But those thoughts didn't last long.
***
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Kang Ha-neul's in the Dawn Legion?"
Ji Ye-won, who was lounging at home on her day off, echoed the question with a baffled look. She scratched her tousled hair while standing in the doorway, then spoke with a grumpy expression.
"Mm. Not really a conversation for the doorstep—come in first?"
The frosty cross earrings I'd given her dangled prettily from her ears. Ji Ye-won plopped down on the bed as she let me in, and I sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her.
"Before you answer, let me ask first. Why are you suddenly suspecting she's in the Dawn Legion?"
"Well……."
I explained what had happened in the DVD room earlier. How Kang Ha-neul had some inexplicable ability, and how she'd lied about its origin by borrowing the circumstances of Ryu Tae-hyun obtaining his talisman.
Ji Ye-won listened, murmuring agreements like "I see" and "Ah, got it," seeming convinced enough. Once I finished, she spoke up.
"I don't know if Kang Ha-neul's in the Dawn Legion. Even as members, we don't all know each other. But in my opinion, the chances of her being one are next to zero."
"Any basis for that?"
"I've never seen her while I was in the Dawn Legion."
It sounded contradictory to what she'd just said, but Ji Ye-won's reasoning held water.
"You remember I was the Dawn Legion spy planted at Greenhouse Academy, right?"
"Yeah."
"The Dawn Legion has spies embedded in all sorts of organizations. And they're all intelligence agents rigorously trained from childhood in training facilities. So if Kang Ha-neul were one, she'd have crossed paths with me at least once or twice during spy training. We're almost the same age."
"What if she's not a spy, just a regular member?"
"No way that's possible."
It seemed like a natural question to me, but she shot it down flat.
"They wouldn't carelessly plant an untrained regular member in a key spot like Greenhouse Academy. Security's already tight—what if they got caught? Right?"
"What if she joined the Dawn Legion after already being a Greenhouse student?"
"Unlikely, but if so, they'd have pulled her out and made her drop out immediately."
"Drop out…… huh."
Her words made me furrow my brow involuntarily. Kang Ha-neul really had tried to drop out early in the semester.
‘But she changed her mind after I talked her out of it. If she were Dawn Legion, she probably would've pushed through with the dropout no matter what I said. Still, that's just Ji Ye-won's personal take. Maybe there's some other reason we don't know…….’
One thought led to another, tangling my mind further. As I sat there groaning silently, Ji Ye-won added softly.
"Plus, even aside from that, I don't think she's Dawn Legion."
"Why's that?"
"Just a woman's intuition?"
……What the hell does that mean?
I gave her an incredulous look.
"The Dawn Legion's goal is to dismantle this broken society and build a new order centered on superhumans."
She hugged one knee to her chest as she explained.
"Joining them means you're full of resentment toward the current society. You can spot that type right away in their eyes. Like, 'Ah, this one's life is so damn rough and miserable they wanna smash everything, destroy it all, flip the world upside down.' That vibe?"
But she didn't get that vibe from Kang Ha-neul at all.
She narrowed her eyes at me as she added that.
"……And above all, she likes you."
She said it grudgingly, shooting me a sidelong glance.
"You saw it that day too—she likes you as a man. Women are emotional creatures; it's hard to hide feelings around someone you like without it showing. So tell me, from your perspective, did she seem desperate to hide something from you?"
"……No."
I'd sensed a bit of that when we met today, but that was just for today.
Kang Ha-neul had always been open and honest with me up until now. I wasn't using mind-reading or anything, and sure, how could I know for sure if she was hiding something? But at the very least, I could feel the sincerity and truthfulness in how she treated me.
If not, I wouldn't have stopped seeing her as just a novel character and started viewing her as a real person.
"I don't know how she found out about Ryu Tae-hyun's stuff. Probably some secret neither of us knows. Maybe she lied to cover that secret."
Kang Ha-neul has her own circumstances.
So don't grill her too hard—give her some space and wait. Give her time to sort out her thoughts. It might take a while, but she'll tell you the truth eventually. That's the kind of girl she is.
She smiled faintly as she said that, then suddenly bit her lip hard. A heavy sigh escaped her.
"Haa. But why am I saying nice things about her?"
Ji Ye-won nudged my knee with her toe.
"You're funny too. You know she's my rival, and you still come consult me about her? What's going through your head?"
"Less a consultation, more just wanting your opinion……."
"Same difference. Now my rare day off feels all gloomy. Ugh. Tsk."
She pouted and grumbled, but she didn't really seem upset.
"Well, I did her dirty too, so call it even."
She meant what happened at the drinking party last time. Knowing full well she liked me, I'd let her get drunk and slept with her anyway—that was pretty shitty of me.
"Sorry. Didn't think about your feelings."
"It's fine. Anyway, just ask Kang Ha-neul straight up later. It's probably not as bad as you think."
"Yeah. Thanks."
"What're thanks between us?"
I returned her mischievous smile with a faint one of my own. Nothing was really resolved, but talking it out with her had eased the tangle in my head a bit.
"Sorry for bothering you while you were resting. I'll head out now. Get some proper rest."
"No. Hang on a sec. Actually, I had something to tell you too."
What could that be? Before I could wonder, she continued.
"The mission Min Chae-ryeong assigned me—just got the detailed schedule a bit ago."