Chapter 143: Public Authority. It is Mighty.
Chapter 143: Public Authority. It is Mighty.
After finishing the negotiations and dumping the remaining paperwork onto The Society, I returned to the sewers.
Slosh.
I was greeted by the sight of pale black sewage flowing slowly.
It didn't seem to have changed much, but a few things stood out.
First, it was actually flowing at a steady pace.
In a normal sewer, that would be a given, but it was a first for the sewers of Nanjido.
On top of that, the stench hitting my nostrils was far more bearable than before.
“It’s actually livable now.”
A place needs to be at least this decent for people to stay.
Of course, it was still a filthy environment for children to grow up in, but…
They would be moving to a better place soon anyway.
An orphanage built by The Society.
A school operated by The Society.
They were a bunch of collective lunatics who couldn't get anything right, but since they were crazy people filled with good intentions, they would take good care of the kids.
This was the end of my help for Dam and Yeon.
From here on, it was up to them.
With that thought, I headed toward the shelter where I had stayed for the past few weeks.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of my boots echoed lightly through the sewer.
How long had I been walking to that rhythmic sound?
“A-bin! Send it again, but a little weaker! That one hurt a bit.”
“Okay, ugh! …How about this?”
“A little stronger this time!”
I heard bright voices.
The laughter of my disciples and the children drifted from beyond the gray cloth.
Unlike the past, where every emotion was swallowed by the sticky sewer air, a bright energy pierced through the stench.
Hearing those voices, a thought crossed my mind.
Wasn't this enough?
I had come to Nanjido, seen some filthy things, and hadn't gained as much as I’d hoped for the effort.
But wasn't it enough that these children could finally feel such a bright atmosphere?
That was the thought.
It had been a long time since I felt this way.
Driving out the darkness and reclaiming the light.
It was a funny story, wasn't it?
A tale that could only be crafted because this place was a literal dump.
Neither a complete victory nor a complete defeat.
A small victory that allowed the trash to exist while securing their right to survive.
Come to think of it, I used to fight for things like that a long time ago.
The right to human survival. The future of humanity.
To secure a single inch of land where humans could live against the Otherworldly armies.
It was ironic.
To feel that sensation again only after coming to a wasteland like Nanjido.
After letting those emotions wash away with the water, I pulled back the cloth.
“I’m back.”
‘What’s 18 + 36?’
“Master, you’re back!”
Two reactions rushed toward me.
Han A-bin, who had misdirected her telepathy.
And Baek Si-hyun, who came running to welcome my return.
Whoosh.
The "Wild Boar" and my hand collided.
Thud.
With a flick of my hand, the Wild Boar that had been charging at me was sent tumbling into the corner of the room.
“You, stay over there. And it’s 54.”
I then answered Han A-bin’s question.
“…I sent that by mistake.”
Embarrassed by her blunder, Han A-bin turned bright red, but it was a good sign.
“Training seems to be going well.”
“Yes… It was hard at first, but it started working once I synced up with Yeon.”
“I. Like. Accepting. It. A-bin told me. It’s good.”
Yeon also spoke up in her clumsy manner.
“Right. You both did well.”
In response, I instinctively reached out my hand to praise her, but…
Ah. Right. I shouldn't.
I pulled my hand back.
Even if she was a beast-kin, she was someone who disliked me.
There was no need to go out of my way to pet her…
“Why? Isn't it praise? You can do it.”
Instead, she leaned her head into my hand.
A fluffy sensation surged through my palm.
It wasn't the texture of human hair that flowed in a single direction, but the sensation of stiff yet fine, soft animal fur.
As that sensation touched my hand, I moved my fingers in response.
“…I thought you hated me?”
I asked the question, naturally curious about this bizarre situation.
“Mmm…”
Despite my question, Yeon simply closed her eyes and let out a low purr from her throat.
Was that sound coming from her thinking of an answer, or was it just animal instinct?
“It’s nice to see you two getting along.”
“Yeon’s fur is really soft, isn't it!”
My disciples chimed in as they watched the scene, but really, I couldn't understand this situation.
A beast-kin Mutant who was baring her claws at me just a few days ago was now practically begging for headpats? What was going on?
As I stroked Yeon’s fur a few more times…
“It’s probably because the atmosphere around here has become much more relaxed.”
I heard the voice of The Kid, Dam.
“What do you mean by that?”
I turned my head toward the source of the voice and asked.
“Um… I’m not sure how to put it… It feels like something that was weighing us down is gone? Like a weight has been lifted.”
I saw Dam leaning against The Wall, drinking water as he answered.
‘A weight has been lifted,’ huh.
Was it because of that thing that appeared in the Black Slime well?
According to Baek Si-hyun and Han A-bin, the residents of Nanjido couldn't even leave the area.
In truth, Nanjido might have been on the verge of being swallowed by the Otherworld.
The residents were likely going mad bit by bit without even realizing it.
A beast-kin Mutant with sharp senses would have perceived that.
The pieces fit together well enough.
With that thought, I turned back to my disciples.
“Are you two feeling alright? Anything bothering you?”
“Nope!”
“Like we told you before, we didn't even really get into a proper fight…”
They had only encountered the Black Marauder, Yumil.
Still, I kept questioning them.
“Are you sure nothing is strange? No bugs flying in the corners of your vision? No faces appearing in the corners of the room and whispering? No black voices suddenly whispering to you? No black candies?”
These were all hallucinations and auditory illusions I frequently experienced.
Except for the candy.
“Nothing!”
Baek Si-hyun answered my question with her usual vigor.
Right, you’d probably be the same even if you fell into a Hole.
“Um… I did hear some voices. Oh! But I’m fine now.”
Then, Han A-bin said something slightly concerning.
“What kind of voices?”
“Oh, it was nothing. Things like ‘Master actually likes Magical Girls’ or ‘That form is actually his type.’ It was total nonsense. I knew right away it was a hallucination.”
…Huh? What?
“Haha, that really is nonsense.”
I let out a dry laugh.
Hahahaha.
“Right? Master seems to really hate that form, so who would believe such a thing?”
“Right… exactly…”
I laughed.
And then I laughed again.
While vowing that I would somehow drag Happiness Drop, Lisa Dahlgren, out and beat her to death.
* * *
“Well, we’ll come by again later!”
“Take care!”
“Next time you come, please bring some food!”
“Big sisters! Come again!”
“Thank you!”
My disciples and the children were exchanging farewells, but I silently watched.
I knew that if it was just a formal goodbye, it was better not to do it at all.
Because there was always a chance we might never see them again.
Remaining in someone else's heart isn't exactly a fun thing.
As my disciples finished their goodbyes and left first, and the children were quietly waving their hands…
I stepped away from my disciples and spoke quietly to Dam.
“…Thanks for the pager.”
“No. I’m the one who’s grateful. I didn't think you’d actually solve everything…”
Well. I probably received more from you.
In the final moment, the thing that turned everything back was the single message you sent.
That thing that looked exactly like me had said it.
Everything depends on choice.
What would have happened if I had given the pager to Baek Si-hyun or Han A-bin instead?
Would they have been terrified in that chaos and called me for help?
I didn't voice those thoughts.
Instead, I reached into my coat, pulled out a small object, and handed it to Dam.
“Take it.”
I spoke bluntly as I held it out. Dam reached out and took the object I offered, but…
“…What is this?”
Dam asked back with an awkward smile.
I had expected that reaction.
What I had handed him was the iron-colored Nut Ring I had taken from him once before.
Originally, I was going to take it to The Society to commission an investigation, but the situation had changed.
“Take that and ask your school administrator. They’ll probably tell you about your parents.”
“…Huh? My parents? Wait. School? We don't have anything like…”
Dam stammered in response to my words, but…
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
I simply turned around and answered.
“Ah… um… I don't really get it, but…”
I heard his voice from behind my back as I walked away.
“Thank you!”
And so, we left Nanjido.
* * *
“Uwaaa, home. Finally home…”
“Si-hyun, calm down… I understand how you feel, but…”
As soon as the house came into view, my two disciples started moving toward it.
Their appearance was exceptionally bizarre; they didn't look like they were in their right minds.
To be specific: hunched backs, protruding turtle necks, frizzy hair, and arms dangling limply toward the ground.
It was the look of dying people, far removed from the posture a Hero should maintain.
I knew exactly why they were like that. I had gone through it with them.
As soon as we got out of Nanjido, we were abducted by the Management Bureau and subjected to forced cleaning until the smell was gone.
But the ingrained stench didn't come out in one go, so we had to be laundered every two hours.
If that were all, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but the thing that really exhausted us was something else.
The endless interrogation process by the Bureau.
During the time between cleanings, we had to be interrogated about the events in Nanjido and write reports.
I have plenty of stamina and have been through this many times, so I just breezed through it, but for my disciples, who were experiencing this for the first time, it must have been a grueling ordeal.
Still, thanks to those long interrogations and reports, I was able to find out the Bureau’s stance on this incident, so it wasn't a bad day.
What was it again? They claimed they dropped a nuke because of a sudden massive surge of Otherworldly Power.
They observed a monster on the rooftop of Nanjido that didn't seem to belong to this world, but it vanished along with the nuke like an illusion, leaving no Otherworldly Power behind. So, they were just going to classify it as top secret and move on.
It seemed the extraterritoriality of Nanjido was going to be maintained somehow.
They also seemed intent on quietly overlooking the failure to eliminate the primary targets, the Umbra Rat and Octomundus.
In a way, wasn't it a relief?
What would have happened if they had succeeded?
Even if the official Umbra Rat and Octomundus were eliminated by the nuke and The Hole didn't open, the deaths of so many Otherworldly beings would have leaked a massive amount of power.
Nanjido wasn't a Contaminated Zone, so it usually wouldn't have been a problem, but there just happened to be a Hole there that the Bureau hadn't identified.
They probably controlled the media as usual, but how were they going to hide a mushroom cloud?
Along with the nuclear cloud, a Hole would have opened, and an Otherworld Erosion alert would have been issued across all of Seoul.
A perfect scenario.
Congratulations on the downfall of the Management Bureau.
Declaration of the abandonment of Seoul.
That was enough idle thought.
“You look pathetic. Straighten your backs.”
Even if the investigation was long enough to gather that much information, allowing that bizarre posture was a different matter.
“Senior, how are you so energetic…?”
“It’s because he’s the Master…”
Idiots.
I gave up on matching the pace of these fools crawling on the ground like zombies and headed for the house alone.
At this rate, they wouldn't even be able to open the door properly.
And so, I arrived at the front door.
I flipped up the cover of the Auto-lock.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
I punched in the passcode.
Chime.
The door opened.
Plop.
Something fell in front of me.
A thick bundle of papers.
An item stamped with the Management Bureau’s mark.
…No. Is it that time already?
Hoping to deny it, I hurriedly bent down to check the envelope, but the words written on the front didn't change.
[Notice of Mobilization Training]
That was it.
That time had finally come.