The Eve of Spring
"So… I can just head back like this…?"
Mina asked hesitantly, still struggling to process the situation. The man seemed to ponder for a moment before turning to Seok-jun.
"What do you think?"
"Wouldn’t it be better to ask the person herself?"
"I’m asking because it looks like you two know each other pretty well, doesn’t it?"
"No matter how much I’ve got one foot in the door, business is business."
"You really are an inflexible bastard."
Mina tilted her head in confusion at their bickering. The man turned back to her.
"If it’s all right with you, I’d like to request an additional job. Would that be acceptable?"
"An additional request?"
Hadn’t this job ended with defeating the Freeze Golem?
"I’ll explain the details inside."
He led the group toward a gray van parked between two police cars. The vehicle had a peculiar design—its windows were completely covered with the same material as the exterior, making it impossible to see inside from out. The interior seats were arranged facing each other along the walls. While Mina was curiously looking around, she overheard the conversation between the man and Seok-jun.
"You don’t sense anything, do you?"
"There’s nothing nearby."
When Mina glanced at them after catching the exchange, the two men were speaking with the woman who had remained sullen the entire time, now helping her into the van.
"Given the nature of the request, you understand."
"Um, is it okay if I bring the dog with me?"
"Krrng."
Mina suddenly noticed Pommi, who still refused to leave her arms even after they had separated from Yeeun.
"Yeah, sure. A dog’s fine."
The man answered as if it were no big deal, but Mina caught Seok-jun staring at Pommi for an unusually long time. Remembering how sensitive he was to mana, she subtly raised her index finger in an angle only he could see. Fortunately, he seemed to understand her request and pretended not to notice as he climbed into the van with them.
"What the—! If I had been the one carrying a dog, you would’ve said something!"
"Hey, is your situation the same as hers?"
The woman, who had stayed silent until now, finally spoke up with clear displeasure. The man looked at her with an expression that said he was staring at something pathetic. She flinched and quickly turned her head away. Just then, someone approached and spoke to the man.
"We found it. This one is definitely the cause."
"Damn it, that makes things even more complicated."
He flipped through the photos he was handed and slipped a few into his coat.
"Let’s wrap this up roughly for now. I need to hear the circumstances. I’ll return them right away."
"Understood."
After finishing the exchange, the man climbed into the van and closed the door. A small light flickered on from the ceiling. It was far too bright for a vehicle lamp, and Mina frowned for a second before the man spoke again.
"We met briefly before, but allow me to introduce myself properly."
What he showed them was an official government ID. The name Lee Hyun-seok was printed beside his photo. Come to think of it, she hadn’t gotten a good look at the woman earlier because her face had been a mess. When Mina glanced at her now, the woman merely turned her head away in clear dissatisfaction.
"The reason an investigation team was formed this time is because of the recent disappearance cases."
"Huh? But isn’t this a ski resort? Don’t things like that happen often here?"
Thanks to Seok-jun’s earlier explanation, she had understood why no one had known about the Freeze Golem until now.
"Normally the situation here is handled at the patrol and hospital level, but this case is different."
Hyun-seok explained that while most missing persons were usually tourists, this time an entire family from a nearby village had vanished.
"From the village? Then why are you investigating at the ski resort?"
"Witnesses said the villagers had all gone to the ski resort for fun."
That was why no one had even realized they were missing, which delayed the investigation.
"The car was actually discovered on one of the roads leading to the ski resort."
When Hyun-seok pointed with what looked like a remote, a monitor installed at the back of the van flickered to life. It showed a car parked on the shoulder of the road. It must have been abandoned for quite some time; thick snow covered most of it, and only after some had been brushed away could one barely tell it was a vehicle.
"The strange part is that the family who supposedly went to enjoy the ski resort never actually arrived."
There were no records of them on the resort’s CCTV or check-in logs, and their car had been left like that on the roadside.
"Could they have encountered the Golem on the way?"
Mina asked hopefully, but Seok-jun shook his head.
"If that were the case, it would be even stranger for the car to be parked so neatly."
"Ah!"
That was true. If they had run into a monster like a Golem on the road, unless the family included an Awakened, the logical thing would have been to flee in the car. If they had been chased and caught, the vehicle should have shown at least some dents or been overturned.
"The fact that it’s parked so obediently on the shoulder is also suspicious. How many people would bother to pull over neatly out of the way even if they were abandoning the car to run?"
"Does that mean someone harmed the family?"
Mina asked with a sinking feeling, but Hyun-seok scratched his head in clear frustration.
"That’s not it either."
What he pulled from his coat were several items with faint traces of blood. They had been frozen inside ice as if merged with the Golem, but they clearly didn’t belong to ski gear or wallets—shreds of clothing and bloodstains.
"From that Golem?"
"Yes. They belong to the family. We’ll need DNA results to be certain, but it’s almost definite."
At that moment, Mina finally understood what this additional request entailed.
"So I’m supposed to investigate this?"
"To be precise, along with the guy next to you."
"With Seok-jun?"
She turned to look at him, and he spoke up.
"I’ll explain the rest if you accept the request."
Mina thought for a moment after hearing him.
"Since this isn’t a simple subjugation request, there won’t be any penalties if you decline, so please don’t feel pres—"
"The compensation is solid, right?"
She cut off Hyun-seok mid-sentence. Surprised eyes turned toward her.
"Yes? Yes, of course. Though I doubt it will match the pay for a Gate subjugation."
"That’s fine with me."
She had already made up her mind. And so she accepted the request and stepped out of the van.
"Are you really sure about this? I think it might end up being a waste of your time, Miss Mina."
Of course, Seok-jun was still with her.
"I don’t really see it as a waste of time?"
Even if the pay was meager compared to Gate subjugation rewards, this was about uncovering why an entire family had died. Who could guarantee that something similar wouldn’t happen again? After seeing such suspicious circumstances, she wouldn’t be satisfied unless they investigated thoroughly.
Though I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any personal motive mixed in.
The man was someone she wanted to meet but could barely even contact, let alone see properly. The fact that they had run into each other like this was only because she had accepted a request she normally wouldn’t have taken. She didn’t want to throw away this rare chance to satisfy her curiosity.
"This is my first time doing something like this, so I’ll be counting on you. Seok-jun?"
"Hah."
When Mina flashed him a bright smile, he eventually let out a chuckle of his own. At that moment, she felt a stinging gaze from somewhere. When she glanced over, the woman who had just gotten out of the van was puffing her cheeks and staring in their direction. Mina wondered why she was acting like that, but decided the current matter was more important and asked Seok-jun,
"By the way, why one week?"
The time they had been given to resolve the request was exactly seven days. For some reason, Hyun-seok had emphasized that point. He had said that even if they produced no results after that, they would still receive the base pay, but they must withdraw without fail.
"I don’t know the exact circumstances either, but I can make a guess."
"What is it?"
"The reason this place was turned into a ski resort was largely due to pressure from the local residents and the city council."
When she asked out of curiosity, he gave a more detailed answer than expected.
"Eh, for tourism revenue?"
"Exactly."
There were countless benefits to be gained from it. Building a ski resort in a place where snow never melted all year round was practically a guaranteed tourist attraction.
"Apparently, the construction of this ski resort was pushed through quite forcefully."
"That makes sense. The weather might be influenced by Otherworldliness, yet they built a ski resort here."
Otherworldliness referred to the contamination of land, air, or objects by the mana leaking from Gates. However, there had been almost no detailed research on what long-term effects it might cause. Building a ski resort in a place still affected by it would have been impossible without considerable pressure. Perhaps the reason accidents at this ski resort weren’t widely known wasn’t solely the resort’s own problem.
"That’s why the higher-ups probably don’t want this incident to blow up. The police can’t exactly claim to have no connection to the city council either."
"Whoa, my head’s already starting to hurt."
"That’s how these things usually go, isn’t it?"
They were only investigating because the cause of death for the family sacrificed to the Golem was suspicious, yet there was even a time limit. It was already giving her a headache.
"By the way, where are we supposed to stay?"
"I’m not sure about after today, but for tonight we’ll be staying at the resort."
We’re not sharing a room, right?
Mina shook her head vigorously at the sudden lewd thought, then remembered something she had completely forgotten.
"Ah! That’s right!"
"What is it?"
"I left all my luggage up there!"
Earlier, when the Freeze Golem had suddenly appeared and rolled down the slope, she had left her bag behind to fight it, using Lee Jun as a snowboard to slide down. She had only managed to grab Pommi.
What if someone opens it?!
Of course her clothes and underwear were inside. If someone found it and checked the contents, it would be the worst.
While Mina was stomping her feet in distress, Seok-jun pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked up the slope.
"Is your luggage a black carry-on case, by any chance?"
"Yes? Did you find it?!"
"It looks like you won’t need to go get it yourself."
Mina looked where he was staring. Thanks to her enhanced physical abilities, she could see fairly far even without binoculars. What came into view was—
"Ahaha! Ice Bear! Faster!"
Lee Jun, who had somehow already gone back up, was sliding down with her bag strapped to his back alongside Yeeun.
"…Just what exactly does that person do?"
"He makes for a pretty decent snowboard substitute."
"Have you ridden him too, Seok-jun?!"