Thank You, Pecia
Attention, residents of Hyesung Aquaville. Regarding the gate break that occurred within the complex today……
Right after the emergency response team left, a proper announcement finally started coming through from the apartment management office.
In the end, the reason today's disaster had happened was the security company's negligence on the job. They never fixed the broken mana detection device and just patrolled roughly by eye—that was the cause.
The gate hadn't even appeared in the underground parking garage. It was tucked in a corner of the flower bed by the front building, a place that would have been easy to spot with even a little attention.
Apparently a delivery driver had even seen it a few days earlier. He never imagined a gate that spawned somewhere like that would just be left alone, so he ignored it and went on his way.
They're finished. The security company.
The number one reason people crowded into cities and apartment complexes was safety. You only had to manage a relatively small plot of land.
Even if population density meant difficult gates might appear, situations where a break happened because no one found the gate at all were rare.
The security company had somehow managed to pull off that difficult feat.
So things around here were going to get noisy for a while. A new security company would be selected, patrols would be tightened, and the voices of the residents who'd been hurt would rise in bitter complaint.
"Really? I can really eat as much as I want!?"
"Of course. It's a reward for waiting so patiently, my girl."
Meanwhile, none of that mattered to Yena. She was just thrilled.
Kang Jiye had promised unlimited snacks for the next week. Tonight's dinner alone was pepperoni pizza, Yena's favorite. On top of that, Mom was holding her close and bouncing her in her arms. The little mutt who'd been moping about depression as late as this afternoon was beaming with a huge smile after just half a day.
Ironic. The people who were laughing back then are probably in hell right about now.
It was as if somewhere in the world, a law of conservation of happiness existed.
"……She's sleeping well."
With her belly full and round, Yena had drifted off into a deep sleep before anyone noticed. Kang Jiye sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking Yena's hair, then spoke to me.
"Pecia."
"Yes?"
"Want to step out on the balcony and get some air for a bit?"
Does she have something to say?
I just nodded for now. With Yena—the only magical witness—asleep, there wasn't really any conversation topic I needed to be careful about.
"Whoa. Feels nice."
The balcony of this Aquaville apartment was large. Being the frontmost building, the view opened wide and clear. Looking up at the night sky with its thin crescent moon—or was it a new moon?—it had a quiet kind of charm.
I was holding brilliant starlight in my eyes when, without warning, my wrist was yanked.
Thud—
My face buried itself in her chest.
"……!?"
"Hah……."
Kang Jiye, who had suddenly pulled me into a hug, heaved a deep breath that made her chest rise and fall. It was a sigh thick with relief.
"Thank you."
"Y-yes?"
"The second I got the emergency call, I rewound the CCTV footage. I saw you running with Yena in your arms."
"Ah……!"
"Looking at it, you seemed pretty shaken yourself. I still don't know how you managed to take care of Yena first in the middle of all that. It couldn't have been easy."
I flinched. There was no telling how much of the CCTV she'd actually watched.
Th-that went way beyond what a normal person can do.
The speed I'd run at was probably faster than my full sprint back when I was an adult man. It was the first time in my life I'd experienced the background whipping past like that. And I'd been holding Yena the whole time. That wasn't something a girl in the late 150-centimeter range should have been able to pull off.
Whether she knew what I was worrying about or not, Kang Jiye let me go from the hug and this time took hold of both my shoulders.
"As one child's mother, I don't know how to thank you enough. When I rewound that footage and saw Yena coming out to the playground, how terrified I was…… And when I confirmed she was safe, how grateful I was to the heavens. You really have no idea."
I answered out of courtesy first.
"Well, I think Yena would have made it even without me? She was incredibly calm."
Kang Jiye shook her head.
"Ghouls go after the weak ones first. Against some other powerful magical beast maybe, but against ghouls, she would have died for sure."
She was right. The ones that latched onto us alone had been four. As the holder of an A-class hunter license, Kang Jiye looked at magical beast matters with cold clarity.
"You don't have to be humble. Pecia saved Yena without a second of hesitation. That wasn't something just anyone could do. Not even an adult."
"……."
The reply caught in my throat for a moment. Because picking Yena up and running hadn't come from any particularly kind heart.
I had a condition where my body reacted automatically whenever people around me were in danger. A kind of reflexive chronic disease, you could say. Like when I saved Chiai. Even then, I hadn't thrown myself forward because she was someone precious to me. If someone had frozen time right then and given me a chance to think, I might never have jumped into the road.
Earlier I even imagined abandoning Yena.
Anyway, receiving this much gratitude was embarrassing. Maybe that was why, before I knew it, I blurted something out.
"Actually, I also thought about running away alone."
"Hm?"
"……B-because I was scared. And midway through, my stamina started giving out."
"……."
Kang Jiye's expression went blank as she looked at me steadily. A fear that I'd disappointed her flickered up, but I didn't make excuses or take the words back. If her expectations of me grew from here, the disappointment later would only grow larger. Better to let her see what I really was at this point.
Then, all of a sudden, Kang Jiye's eyes seemed to blaze—and she slapped both my cheeks with a sharp smack!
When my eyes went round, Kang Jiye grinned.
"Yeah. Now you actually seem like a girl."
"What?"
"Talk like that in everyday life too. All this time, with that middle-aged-man way of speaking and that sullen face, I was worried you might have depression."
"I-I smiled a lot, though?"
"You think I can't tell a manufactured smile from a real one?"
"……!"
Kang Jiye kneaded my cheeks up and down.
"Take some pride. You're a child who has every right to be thanked, and every right to be loved."
"Mmff……!"
"Think about it. In a situation like that, perfectly thinking only of someone else and moving—is that even human? That's a superhuman. Anyone being chased by monsters gets scared and has all kinds of thoughts. What matters is that you never gave up on Yena until the end."
"……."
"Am I wrong?"
I looked at her quietly, then shook my head. The discomfort in my chest hadn't completely gone away. But her words were fair. In the end, I had saved Yena, and she was sleeping soundly in her own bed right now. Somehow, the tangled feelings seemed to settle a little.
Kang Jiye spoke again.
"So tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"Tell me what you want. With that cowardly personality of yours, how hard must it have been taking care of my daughter on top of everything. As a mother, of course I should repay you."
"Nothing particular comes to mind……."
"Anything is fine. I just want to lighten the weight on my heart a little. For the record, keeping the secret is off the table."
When she put it that way, I couldn't help thinking about it. Honestly, just being treated like an eldest daughter all this time already felt like it more than balanced out what happened today.
What I want. What I want…… Wait?
Hold on. What secret?
Goosebumps ran down my spine. I looked up at Kang Jiye on reflex, and she was watching me with a pitying little smile.
"Did you really think I wouldn't notice after you showed physical abilities like that?"
"……!"
"I was a bit late because I stopped midway to doctor the video records. Almost got completely exposed to the Hunter Administration."
"Whaa?"
My mouth fell open on its own. I'd thought she'd just let it slide since she hadn't said anything until now—but she'd known the whole time. And she'd even manipulated the footage behind the scenes?
What do I do.
Cold sweat ran down. In Gate Apocalypse, magical beasts and humans both used mana, but the nature of it was completely different. If I got dragged to an institution and examined, big trouble was only a matter of time. And she was the Deputy Director of the Incheon Branch. Professional as she was, her sense of duty had to be considerable.
"Th-that……."
Right then, Kang Jiye firmly gripped my trembling shoulders.
"Calm down. I told you I manipulated the records. We're accomplices now—what am I going to do to you? So don't worry."
I opened and closed my mouth a few times before I finally managed to speak.
"Why go that far."
"Isn't it obvious?"
Kang Jiye tilted her head.
"You saved Yena. You saved the daughter of this Kang Jiye, who lives looking only at her little girl."
"Ah……?"
"Even if I'm a pathetic mother raising a daughter without a father, I have no intention of becoming a fool who forgets a favor. If I interrogated you here or sold you out, how could I ever hold my head up in front of Yena?"
I thought she probably could, actually. Public and private should be kept separate. Even in this situation, like the socially stunted loser I was, rebuttals bubbled up—but I just shut my mouth. If she actually changed her mind, that would be a real problem.
I answered in a crawling voice.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you. You must have felt awful."
"There you go again."
Kang Jiye clicked her tongue and pulled me into another hug.
"……Feel awful? You risked that enormous secret getting out just to save my daughter. If anything, I'm even more grateful."
"……."
At this point, a hollow little laugh slipped out of me too. I'd expected at least a word of caution.
"Your mindset is incredibly positive."
"So you don't like it? Should I go report you right now?"
"N-no! I like it!"
When I reflexively wrapped my arms around Kang Jiye's back, she chuckled and asked again.
"So the gift? What should I give you?"
"……."
Yeah, what would be good. If this were a game, it would have been the kind of mission that handed out a decent magic scroll. But I still hadn't properly investigated my own physical traits yet.
I pulled away from Kang Jiye's arms and said,
"Could I think about it a little and tell you later?"
Kang Jiye nodded.
"Then do that."
Just then, the clouds draped across the night sky parted, and the moonlight revealed itself fully. We both looked up at the same time. A moment later, Kang Jiye's right hand brushed my left cheek.
"Pecia."
"Yes?"
"From now on, you can think of this place as your home. You don't need to fear your secret being found out, and you don't need to feel burdened by any kindness I show you. Got it?"
It was a plain declaration, but I could read the sincerity behind it. Eyes like a mother looking at her daughter. I fidgeted with my fingers and only nodded. It was still an unfamiliar kind of gaze.
"Low-grade magic scrolls and enhancement stones?"
A few days later, I told her what I wanted. Kang Jiye read through the list I held out and tilted her head.
"You don't even need to ask for these. They're common. Is this really all right?"
"Yes. Instead, I'd be grateful if you could get as many as possible."
"……."
Kang Jiye looked at me for a long moment, then opened her mouth.
"Hey. I've been trying not to ask as much as I can, but can you tell me where and how you use the scrolls? I'm just curious as a hunter—nothing else."
They weren't particularly useful unless you were at the stage of just starting to learn mana. On top of that, there was a limit to how many magics any one person could learn. I shrugged.
Showing her directly would be easier to understand.
"One Pair."
Flash!
Five trump cards appeared in my right hand. I lightly tossed them toward Kang Jiye. Her hands moved on reflex.
Papapapapat!
"……?"
Kang Jiye looked at the cards caught in her hands and her eyes went wide.
"Manifestation magic?"
I nodded.
"A kind of that, yes."
"No, what kind of manifestation magic is this unnecessarily elaborate? First time I've seen one with the patterns included."