Cartel
“What…?”
The ringleader rolled his eyes, scanning the area for any recording equipment. The instant he confirmed there was none, he slapped me across the face.
Whack!
Judging by the speed and ease of it, he’d clearly done this plenty of times before. An immediate, almost natural reaction.
But I had already spat the curse and rewritten the memories of everyone nearby in the same breath.
Elaine and the protesters, who had no idea what had just happened, all cried out in shock.
“H-Hyung!”
“Kitae!”
“What the hell are you doing?! Pecia, are you okay?”
The ringleader’s eyes bulged as he roared back.
“Shut up! Didn’t you hear what this bitch just said? You picked the wrong person, little girl. Never gotten hit before just ’cause you’re a girl, huh?”
He jabbed a finger against my forehead. The protesters grew even more flustered and started trying to pull him back.
“Just calm down for a second.”
“We haven’t even said anything yet…!”
“That’s right, Kitae. I didn’t hear a thing either.”
“This is a problem. Why are you suddenly acting like this…!”
The ringleader roughly shook them off.
“Let go of me already! Have you all gone deaf as a group?! That fucking bitch just called me a son of a bitch!”
The protesters stared at one another in pure bewilderment.
From the frantic way their eyes darted around, I could practically hear the silent exchange: Is this part of the plan right now?I don’t know.
“This won’t do.”
Elaine, still glaring at the ringleader, pulled out her smartphone.
I thought she was about to call the police, but when the screen lit up with the name “Father,” I stopped her with my right hand.
“Pecia?”
I told her,
“Let’s borrow the power of public authority first. Asymmetric force comes after that. We should get in the habit of solving things with our own strength whenever we can.”
Obviously, if a magic noble house stepped in, this ringleader would be reduced to powder. But the moment that kind of overwhelming power got involved, debating right and wrong became completely pointless.
It just turned into a “do as you’re told” situation.
What I wanted was to drag this out as long as possible and force them to acknowledge it at the very end—not to crush them boringly with raw power.
When I enlarged the phone screen as if I were about to dial, a few of the protesters hurried to stop me.
“Ah, um, student. We’re sorry. We’ll apologize for him.”
“We’re just on edge because of the Joell family. Ugh, if only those people had compensated properly!”
“Exactly. Why should our pretty little students have to suffer here for no reason? Did you get hurt badly? Let me see.”
Whether it was because I looked young or because they simply saw me as a complete idiot, they launched straight into gaslighting.
Honestly, the people who fall for this kind of worthless coddling are part of the problem too. They keep taking it, so these types get to act this disgusting.
I ignored the protesters and dialed 112.
A few of them stared blankly at the ringleader. He snorted as if the whole thing were laughable.
“Call them. Go ahead and call. It’ll only mess up your own life.”
I know, you bastard. You’ve got connections.
Some people might say: Come on, this isn’t China. Does public authority really cover for thugs like these?
But things like this happen more often than you’d think. Either the area is isolated enough that everyone’s calling each other “brother,” or there are black-money ties involved.
Take it from someone who almost ended up sealed in a drum for mouthing off. You can trust me on this.
In the first place, you need something solid to lean on before you can act this extreme. Thugs aren’t just dumb brutes who only know how to swing fists.
Screech—
A short while later a single police car pulled up, and two officers stepped out.
The one who looked like the senior partner went straight to the protesters. The junior came to me.
“First, name and contact of the person who filed the report.”
“Pecia von Chiffonside. The contact is the number I just called from—do you need it?”
“We do. Could you also present your ID?”
“Huh?”
The situation unfolded exactly as I had expected.
The responding officers started grilling me on my personal details before they even heard the full story.
Whether I was originally Korean-born, whether I was a foreigner, where I was staying… Elaine finally spoke up in disbelief.
“Excuse me, could you tell us your affiliation and name? What kind of police interrogates the victim?”
The officer sighed while scribbling in his notebook.
“It’s not an interrogation. It’s a preliminary measure to prevent false reports.”
“So just tell us your name. Show us your name tag.”
“Personal information checks are something the police do to citizens~.”
He covered his name tag with his hand.
Normally he was supposed to show it. He clearly had zero intention of cooperating.
Meanwhile his senior was chatting and laughing with the ringleader.
If anything, the senior seemed to be the one slightly deferring… It looked like this ringleader held a fairly high position in that underworld.
The junior officer tapped his pen against the notebook and summarized.
“Alright—so Student Pecia used foul language, and Mr. Park Kitae slapped Student Pecia’s cheek for it. Is that correct?”
Elaine answered, frustration clear in her voice.
“No. She never cursed. Pecia was just hit one-sidedly.”
The officer turned to the ringleader.
“Is that true?”
The ringleader let out a deflating laugh and replied in a pained tone.
“Of course not. …Hey, student, I think you’re doing this because of the bug leg I threw earlier. I’m sorry about that.”
“…What?”
“But you can’t demand money over it.”
“Ha!”
Elaine let out a short, exasperated sigh.
The officer looked at the ringleader.
“A bug?”
“Well, earlier while we were protesting we got a little excited, and it fell near that blonde friend over there.”
“Aha—. A bug leg fell next to the student. And then?”
“Then she came over yelling ‘son of a bitch’ this and that, demanding hospital fees. So I apologized first. But I said I couldn’t give money—she wasn’t hurt. And then it turned into this.”
“A retaliatory false report?”
“That’s right.”
With just a few sentences the ringleader turned us into a two-person self-harm blackmail duo.
The officer went through the motions of confirmation, but of course the protesters behind him all gave false testimony favorable to their leader.
The apologetic attitude from earlier had vanished completely; now they raised their voices and called us scammers.
The officer spoke to us as if delivering a quiet lecture.
“Are you kids really going to file this report? You could end up charged with false accusation. Think carefully.”
“You…!”
I grabbed Elaine’s arm before she could explode again and steadied her. I spoke with my eyes.
Watch carefully.
Because from here on out, it was a fight between professionals.
Elaine exhaled as if swallowing her anger. The officer, thinking he had the upper hand, continued.
“Of course I understand your side. You might really have been hit. But there’s no evidence, right? With no evidence, what can the police arrest anyone for? What are we supposed to do? Right?”
“There is evidence, though?”
“Then submit it. We’ll analyze it at the station.”
I pretended to dig diligently through my pockets, then flipped him the bird right in his face.
“You fucking retarded pig cop bastard.”
The officer’s eyes bulged.
I followed up by slapping him across the cheek, then spat on his chest. I’d aimed for his face, but the height difference was too big, so it landed a little below his neck.
Still, the chest felt a bit lacking, so I spread it wide with my hand, smearing it thoroughly.
“……!!!”
A normal officer would have frozen out of sheer absurdity.
But this guy was clearly a thug through and through.
He flew into a rage on the spot and, without another word, twisted my arm behind my back.
“You are under emergency arrest for assault and obstruction of official duties as a flagrant offender! You have the right to appoint a lawyer……”
I obediently accepted the handcuffs while diligently casting hypnosis on everyone around us.
This time it wasn’t simple deletion—it was proper, full-scale manipulation. Quite a few citizens had already gathered after hearing the commotion, so it burned a fair amount of mana.
Hypnosis — Great Success
“P-Pecia!”
I offered the flustered Elaine a bitter smile by way of apology.
“Sorry, Elaine. Go ahead without me.”
“…….”
In her hypnotized gaze, I was now “purely” the wronged party.
I had only spoken out of curiosity about the protest, gotten hit unfairly, and then been arrested in reverse.
Of course, the surrounding citizens saw it the exact same way.
Elaine’s blue eyes began to freeze over with cold, quiet rage.
Not long after I was taken in, my guardian Kang Jiye was called over.
The moment she saw the handcuffs locking my arms, she flinched, then her cheeks began to tremble.
“…Are you okay?”
“Yes…”
She strode straight over and simply snapped the handcuffs with raw force. Crack! Then she pulled me into a hug and started checking every inch of me for injuries.
I gave a bitter smile at her flustered fussing.
I’m gonna get scolded again.
Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to deceive Kang Jiye with hypnosis. How could I betray someone who worried about me like this? Believe it or not, I have lines I don’t cross either.
“Um, Auntie. I have something I need to tell you separately.”
“No. I roughly heard on the way over.”
“No, it’s that—”
“Hold on a second.”
Kang Jiye patted my shoulder and turned a burning glare on the officers.
They had already checked her ID and gone completely pale.
They would have known from the ID that I lived at Hyesung Aquaville, but they still hadn’t realized who actually owned that house. They were right in the middle of entering personal details.
“Where are those officers? Bring them here.”
At her commanding tone the officers smacked their lips.
“Well, um…”
Just then a pot-bellied man who looked like the station chief came hurrying down from upstairs and offered an awkward smile.
“Oh my. It seems there was a misunderstanding on our part. You can take her home now, Hunter Kang. Yes, yes.”
“Taking her home isn’t the issue—why did you arrest her in the first place! And since when do you call me Hunter Kang?”
Crunch!
Kang Jiye’s roar made the entire station feel like it was about to sink. Whether she couldn’t fully control her emotions or a little mana had mixed in, every low-level ability user among the police grimaced as one.
“…I’m sorry.”
The chief pressed his temple against a sudden headache and apologized. Even so, neither the earlier officer nor his senior appeared.
Whether they had some incredible connection or it was simply a matter of pride, I couldn’t tell.
Kang Jiye seemed to notice the same thing; her eyes blazed hotter.
“Your apology is enough. Bring those officers here right now. I’ll hear it from them directly.”
“Hunter Ka… Ms. Kang Jiye.”
“Don’t you dare start with ‘it’s difficult.’ I won’t listen.”
“But doing this is truly difficult. You know that.”
“Shall I show you what ‘truly difficult’ actually looks like?”
“…….”
The chief chewed his lip.
In truth, the Hunter Administration and the police weren’t exactly superior and subordinate.
The Administration simply handled ability users the police couldn’t manage on their own.
They cooperated closely, but their domains remained strictly separate.
So of course the chief’s pride was wounded. Kang Jiye’s current actions were clear overreach of authority.
But in practical terms the Hunter Administration sat far higher, so he couldn’t openly push back.
I tugged on Kang Jiye’s sleeve.
“Auntie.”
“Hm?”
“Um… when those people get here. Instead of punishment, there’s something I want.”
“……?”
A few days later, at the Joell Estate.
“Family Head. The protesters have completely withdrawn. All their demands have been nullified.”
“……?”
At the secretary’s report, the Joell Family Head blinked like a toad.
It was a report that simply made no sense on first hearing.
“Withdrew? What about the negotiations?”
“There were no negotiations either.”
They had been under continuous protest terrorism as a form of external pressure.
Regardless of the actual rights and wrongs of the situation, public opinion kept getting whipped up by plausible-sounding rhetoric, and the Family Head had been forced to clutch his head every single time.
This time as well, the protesters had dragged in Adriel’s unrelated atrocities and used them as extra leverage.
Because of that, he had been about to sit at the negotiation table without even getting a proper chance to explain himself.
Why would a hunter noble family fall for such a shallow scheme?
Paradoxically, it was because he was a hunter down to the bone. If there was suspicion, prepare thoroughly and explain. Even if hit with underhanded tactics, counter with pure principle and rules out of sheer pride.
An upright-man mindset that absolutely refused to let power or mana enter the arena of dialogue.
Although he hadn’t managed a proper counterattack for a while thanks to his worthless son… even so, he had believed that one day he would show the world the Joell family’s uprightness.
Protesters withdrawing. Has the world finally gone back to normal…?
No. That couldn’t be.
There were still far too many forces that wanted the Joell family to collapse.
They weren’t the type to let an opportunity like this slip by.
As the Family Head tilted his head, the female secretary quietly held out a tablet. For some reason a faint smile was playing at the corners of her mouth.
“See for yourself. You’ll understand.”
“What is this… a live debate?”
The secretary nodded.
Looking into the tablet, the Joell Family Head furrowed his brow and asked,
“This… this Cashak, Cashakppang? What is this?”
It was a debate format the Family Head had never heard of.
The secretary answered,
“It’s a game term. It means the losing side loses everything.”