Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Se-kyung Walker (3)
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Seeing the woman bouncing around like a white rabbit, waving both hands frantically, Theresia tilted her head.
“Julia?”
Hearing her name called, Julia finally noticed Theresia standing next to Yuri and flinched.
But as if she’d never shown such a reaction, she flashed a grin.
“Hey, Theresia?”
“…….”
Theresia said nothing.
She just gave her a slightly uncomfortable look.
Tearing her gaze away from the silent Theresia, Julia turned to Yuri with a petulant whine.
“How long do I have to stand out here? Let me in already!”
Yuri firmly waved her off at the demand.
“That’s gonna be tough. It’s not great to talk here… Let’s go somewhere else.”
Even though it was just at the basic construction stage now, he couldn’t show this space to someone he didn’t trust.
“I’ll be right back.”
Leaving those words with the group, Yuri kicked off the palisade and landed beside Julia.
“Follow me.”
He beckoned briefly to Julia and started walking ahead.
She glanced longingly at the palisade once, then hurried after him.
Arin watched the two walk away, then asked Theresia.
“Who is she?”
“…Julia Sing.”
“Sing? Sing…?!”
Theresia’s answer made Arin’s eyes widen instantly.
“No way, that Sing? The one from the Silver Ring current family?”
Theresia nodded silently at Arin’s reaction.
Arin let out a low whistle.
“Wow… Yori really is something. Even has a sage from Silver Ring. Judging by her insignia, she’s from the 49th Cohort, right? What’s she like?”
“We’re not close, so I don’t know much…….”
“Tessha-senpai doesn’t have many close friends to begin with.”
“…Why are you starting to sound more like Yori every day?”
“Just curse me out instead. Anyway, what about this Julia person? You really know nothing at all?”
“She’s smart.”
“…Well, she’s from the current family, so of course she is.”
“And dangerous.”
“……?”
“You can never tell what she’s thinking.”
Theresia had known her for quite some time, but this was the first time Arin had heard her evaluate someone like that, so Arin looked surprised.
Then she realized Theresia had been wearing a stiff expression since earlier.
Glancing in the direction where Yuri and Julia had disappeared, Arin asked carefully.
“Worried?”
“Huh?”
“About Yori going off with that Julia person.”
At the question, Theresia’s face grew even more grim.
She shot Arin a look of disbelief.
“Why would I worry about Yori?”
“You said that Julia person is dangerous, so naturally…….”
“If we’re talking danger, Yori’s dozens, hundreds of times more dangerous than Julia. If anything, I’d worry about Julia, who went with him.”
“Oh? Yeah, you’re right.”
Arin was momentarily speechless, realizing it was true.
Yori was more dangerous than anyone she’d ever seen, even if she couldn’t claim to have lived a long life.
Arin scratched her cheek awkwardly and voiced another question.
“But then why do you look so upset?”
Theresia stared in the direction Yori had gone and spoke.
“…She used formal speech.”
“……?”
“She used informal speech with me right from the first meeting…….”
“…….”
“She’s never once treated me like a senior…….”
Theresia looked a bit pouty.
Seeing her side profile radiating resentment, Arin thought.
‘…She’s gotten weird too.’
She’d seemed perfectly normal when they first met, hadn’t she?
How did this happen?
‘It’s all that guy’s fault.’
It had to be Yori’s bizarre mental world rubbing off on the people around him.
She was 100% sure!
‘I need to stay sharp too!’
Arin clenched her fists tight.
* * *
Yuri led Julia far from the fortress.
He spread out his Demonic Web to confirm no one was around, then turned back.
There was Julia, who had been trotting after him.
“Took you long enough, huh? You said it’d be a while, and it really was.”
He’d given her the commission in early March.
But now it was already mid-March.
Julia shrugged at Yuri’s words.
“This is fast for me. I put in special effort.”
“Just making conversation. I figured it’d take time anyway. But how’d you know I live there? Were you spying?”
Julia had come straight there, clearly certain that’s where he was.
At Yuri’s sharp gaze, Julia beamed.
“Hmm… spying? Well, it’s true that Bluebird has tabs on most cadets’ residences. But you? No need to spy. You stick out like a sore thumb.”
“……?”
“There’s no way Bluebird would overlook that bizarre wooden structure in the northern sector, right? Digging into it naturally led to you.”
Julia shrugged with an ‘I did nothing wrong’ face.
Then she gave Yuri an intrigued look.
“The thing about investigating the Bone Clan… that’s because of the wooden structure too, right? What are you planning to do with it?”
Yuri showed no reaction to her probing tone.
He just shrugged lightly.
“You don’t need to know that part. So, the info?”
At Yuri’s urging, Julia pulled a paper from her pocket.
As he reached for it, she whisked it away behind her back.
His eyes naturally narrowed at that.
“What’s this about?”
“You didn’t forget the commission fee, right?”
“…No.”
As if he could forget.
It had been that shocking.
Yuri nodded, and Julia grinned as she handed over the paper.
“Promise! You have to get her personal signature!”
“Yeah, yeah, got it.”
Muttering dismissively, Yuri snatched the paper and checked it immediately.
It had one person’s details written briefly.
* * *
Name: Se-kyung Walker
Affiliation: Facility Management Team, dispatched.
Age: Estimated 70-90.
Notes: Arrived at Cradle 5 years ago; 5 years left on dispatch.
* * *
Short, but it had everything Yuri wanted.
Staring at it, he murmured the name on the paper.
“Se-kyung Walker…….”
“An ancient Eastern-style name. First time seeing one?”
“No, I’ve seen a few, though not many.”
Over long years, the ancient East had greatly influenced the continent.
Occasionally, people with Eastern-style names appeared.
As Yuri acknowledged it, Julia added more info.
“There are a lot of Bone Clan with Eastern-style names. Good to know. Anything else you’re curious about?”
Yuri replied right away, as if he’d been waiting.
“Yeah, plenty.”
“Plenty?”
“First off, is this really the person I asked about? Age estimated 70-90? She looked mid-50s at most to me.”
“The Bone Clan’s average lifespan is double a normal human’s. If she looked mid-50s to you, then yeah, that info’s probably spot on.”
“Huh. Then what’s this dispatch thing?”
“Oh, that? I learned it while investigating. Seems Cradle and the Bone Clan have an agreement. The Bone Clan dispatches clan members for technical support.”
“Hooh?”
“Once dispatched, they can’t return home until their 10-year term is up.”
“Dispatch, but they can’t go back? Sounds less like dispatch and more like punishment.”
“Sharp insight?”
“……?”
“Actually, all the Bone Clan dispatched to Cradle are convicts.”
“Real prisoners?”
“Not heinous criminals, mind you. More like minor offenders. Though technically, yeah, prisoners.”
Julia nodded emphatically.
She looked at Yuri.
“Enough Q&A on the commission? Anything else?”
“Nope.”
“Satisfied with it?”
“If this is legit info on the person I’m looking for?”
If it checked out, Bluebird’s intel network was seriously impressive.
Seeing Yuri’s still-skeptical expression, Julia exuded confidence.
“You can trust Bluebird’s info. We cross-verified it multiple times.”
“Alright, I’ll buy it.”
“So, commission complete?”
“Yep.”
“Then thank you for your business, customer! Come back anytime you need more!”
“Will do.”
“Oh! Once that wooden structure’s done, let me check it out!”
“No.”
“…Can’t you at least pretend to think about it before refusing? Makes the one who asked feel awkward.”
“No need to think about it.”
“So firm.”
“It’s my charm.”
“Guess so.”
As Julia grinned and turned to leave.
“Ah!”
She suddenly stopped and turned back.
“But how do you plan to lure that Bone Clan member? They’re super insular by nature. Won’t be easy.”
“With words?”
“Words? With their one-track mindset, they might not even meet you.”
At Julia’s question, the corner of Yuri’s mouth quirked up.
“I’ll make her want to meet me. She’ll probably come looking first.”
“……?”
With that, Yuri left Julia behind, her head swimming with question marks.
* * *
Back from meeting Julia, Yuri brushed off the curious Arin peeking around.
Holed up in the hideout, he laid out 12 sheets of paper on the table.
12 lecture request forms.
Yuri smiled contentedly.
‘The day has finally come for these to shine.’
Who’d have thought the 10,000-point trash would see such use.
Good thing he hadn’t thrown them out.
Then he pulled out one more sheet.
[Irrefusable Lecture Request Form]
A whopping 10 million-point scrap.
He planned to use it for this.
So he grew cautious.
‘Can’t use the irrefusable one right away.’
If Bluebird’s info was wrong, he’d lose 10 million points.
First, he needed the 12 regular ones.
To verify if the info was real.
‘Given that Bone Clan’s personality, keep poking and she’ll react eventually.’
Once confirmed, then the irrefusable one.
Smiling, Yuri filled out a lecture request.
* * *
▶Lecture Request Form
-Applicant: Yuri Holland / Cradle 50th Cohort
-Respondent: Se-kyung Walker / Facility Management Team, dispatched.
* * *
As he filled it out, Yuri paused at ‘Lecture Request Reason’.
‘What to put here?’
How to phrase it to instantly piss off the reader?
After pondering, he wrote a short line.
* * *
-Lecture Request Reason:
Bored.
* * *
‘One down.’
He finished the simple form and submitted it that night.
The next day.
* * *
Lecture request rejected.
* * *
…A paper with that message arrived via black ticket.
Yuri scratched his cheek.
“…Too mild a prod?”
At least some cursing in the reply would let him confirm the handwriting.
Now he had one thing left to do.
‘Let’s crank up the provocation.’
Grinning, he started filling out the remaining 11 forms.
Each one piling up on the table, the request reasons growing more inflammatory.
Scratch-scratch-.
Was the pen nib dancing over the paper with unusual glee, or was it just his imagination?
Finishing the 12th form’s reason, Yuri’s face gleamed with satisfaction.
“This oughta do it.”
Smiling warmly, he folded 11 forms and tucked them away.
“Hmm~.”
Humming a tune, he submitted them every 8 hours.
Over 4 days total.
The dawn after the 11th submission.
Still no reaction, Yuri pondered.
‘Hmm… Wrong info after all? Or still not enough?’
As he considered sending more.
KABOOOOOM-!
A massive explosion rocked the ground.
“Wh-what?!”
“Hun-gry!”
The group bolted out, hastily armed from sound sleep.
That’s when they saw it.
One side of their painstakingly built palisade completely demolished.
And beyond the wreckage.
“You bastard spawn of a mangy mutt! Get out here NOW!”
A dwarf jumping mad with venom in her eyes.
* * *