Chapter 356: Cleaning Up the Geneva Incident
Chapter 356: Cleaning Up the Geneva Incident
After that, nothing particularly special happened.
As the Black Oil vanished, just as the Messiah had said, people reappeared right where they had been, completely unharmed.
At the same time, the Management Bureau personnel, who had gathered to respond to the Public Enemy Designation, stormed in.
It was somewhat amusing to see them rush in heavily armed, only to be bewildered by the peaceful state of the Geneva Branch. Regardless, they had entered out of genuine concern for the situation inside.
I stood up, my body weary from taking down a Public Enemy, and greeted them amicably.
After receiving a brief briefing on the situation, they quickly fanned out through the Geneva Branch to begin the cleanup in our stead.
While there was no physical damage, the psychological trauma was very real.
There was the stress of having been forced to maintain a daily routine while cut off from the outside world for weeks.
The stress stemming from the Public Enemy Designation itself.
And the pain of being thrust back into reality after having conformed to—rather than rejected—one's Desired World.
Those wounds would likely alter the psyches of many.
Perhaps, for the first time in a long while, unlimited Memory Erasure might be authorized for those who request it.
“Well then, everyone, I shall see you at tomorrow’s presentation. I’ve come up with an intriguing theory based on the false world shown by the Public Enemy.”
“Ah, me as well. Let’s have a thorough discussion about that later.”
…Of course, even in the midst of this, there were bound to be lunatics obsessed with their research.
They didn't care about the shock of their Desired World vanishing; the theories they gained from it were more important. I’ll never truly understand what goes on inside a researcher's head.
“Hmm. Do you know what 92 plus 45 is?”
As we were disbanding, Magic Weaver tossed a strange question my way.
“137.”
When I answered normally, he muttered some nonsense.
“Hmm. It seems you are still within the Public Enemy’s range.”
There was a brief incident where I slammed a hammer into the back of his head to let him sleep peacefully, but regardless, this Public Enemy—the third one—was settled.
I knew it was over because even as I watched Gaji, the Terminal Tentacle, dancing a strange little wiggle off to the side, no warning bells rang in my head identifying it as my Adversary.
…Wait, why is that thing still here?
“Why haven't you disappeared?”
“What? Mean?”
…Give me a break.
“The Root is dead, and the Messiah is sealed, so you should go back too.”
“No world. To go. Here. New home.”
“We have a new roommate, poyo.”
I don't need one….
I said that, but I felt uneasy about handing this bizarre creature over to anyone else, so I didn't have much choice.
In the end, one way or another, I was gaining a roommate.
Or rather, a room-tentacle.
I wasn't sure how the Management Bureau would handle it, but based on their track record, they’d probably slap a bunch of control devices on it and dump it on us.
It was standard procedure to handle Otherworldly lifeforms that a Hero interacted with during a story that way, provided they weren't highly dangerous.
Of course, since it was a part of a massive foe like a Public Enemy, the situation might be slightly different.
Anyway, the fate of the tentacle would depend on how the Bureau acted later.
What remained was the current state of my disciples.
To be honest, I felt a few unsettling elements regarding the two of them.
In Baek Si-hyun’s case:
I didn't know what kind of world she had seen, but she was in a state of extreme excitement.
“Hahahaha! Filth must be purged! Take this! Photon Beam!”
She was flying through the air atop a weapon she had summoned, scattering attacks in every direction.
As for Han A-bin:
She was radiating a gloomy aura.
“Cyan… Yes. If I just catch it like that, everything will be solved… Hehehe….”
She was whispering curses directed at someone in a voice filled with desperate malice.
“What on earth did they see?”
“Who knows, poyo.”
Looking at the state of my disciples, it seemed their karma was deeper than I thought.
Should I ask them what kind of world they saw to end up like that?
Seeing as they hadn't told me yet, it seemed like a fairly sensitive, private matter.
What did that old geezer, the Heavenly Demon Sword God, do in times like this?
I looked back at the past to find an answer on how to act as a master, but the only memory that surfaced was him chasing me with a wooden sword, saying:
‘Find the way to clear your mind within the Martial Arts.’
That Old Man was really something….
After muttering that to myself, I sighed.
“Sigh…. Kids. Let’s go rest.”
As I uttered those words that no one was listening to, I moved.
Thud.
I quickly kicked off the ground and leaped.
Whack. Whack.
I struck both disciples on the back of the neck.
“Gack!”
“….”
Baek Si-hyun let out a shriek, while Han A-bin collapsed silently.
The result—them being peacefully unconscious—was the same.
“…Wasn't there a less dangerous way to do that, poyo?”
As Un-ho said, knocking someone out by hitting their neck was an unstable method with a high probability of causing brain damage or failing altogether.
However.
“Oh, this? It’s a new Form I developed recently.”
“…Did you do something weird again, poyo?”
“Well, I felt a bit uneasy trying to do it with pure strength last time.”
So I made a new one.
Though, I wasn't sure if this should be considered a 'Form' in the way martial artists used the term.
Usually, a Form involves moving the mana inside oneself.
But this Form worked by forcibly manipulating The Enemy’s mana at the point of contact to knock them out.
After awakening to the sensation of manipulating others' mana with the Black Marauder, I became able to interfere with others' mana even in my normal state, albeit minutely. This Form was the result.
Of course, manipulating someone else's mana wasn't easy, so it could only be used against those with a massive skill gap or people who were out of their minds like these two.
Anyway.
“Let’s go sleep for today, kids.”
This master of yours is exhausted.
“The white-collar bastards from the Bureau are going to swarm us tomorrow with questions, so we need to rest today.”
After saying those words that no one heard or asked for, I dragged the two of them toward the hotel.
With a dancing tentacle riding on top of them as a bonus.
* * *
The next day, after a deep sleep in the hotel room.
As expected, the Management Bureau officials bombarded us with countless questions.
What kind of enemy was it? What happened? How was it defeated?
They were polite, and the atmosphere was comfortable, with them telling me I could take my time if I was tired.
But as always, the sheer volume of questions—as if they would force me to remember if I claimed I didn't—remained the same.
“Is that so? To think the first and second of the Four Heavenly Kings were both Public Enemies. Under these circumstances, it’s best to assume the third and fourth are Public Enemies as well.”
“Ah, this was the third one. The second one appeared on my way here, so I took care of it….”
“That incident is not in the Bureau’s records?”
“Ah, I was going to write a report, but things kept happening.”
“May I ask exactly when you encountered it?”
“What day did I rent the car? The time axis here is a bit warped, so I don't remember exactly. It was either that day or the next. Yes.”
“I’ve just confirmed it, but the travel time was quite long, and it seems you had plenty of time to write a report even after arriving. Do you have anything to say about this?”
“…I don't, do I?”
I had a feeling this was happening because I hadn't mentioned the second one earlier.
Anyway, on top of the second issue, there was the third.
And the independent actions I took while dealing with the third.
And the reason why I went to meet the Yellow King despite a Public Enemy appearing.
The last point in particular involved the top-secret matter of the Yellow King, so unlike before, a high-ranking official came and grilled me relentlessly, dropping the soft tone entirely.
By the time it was all over, I was slumped in my chair, holding a paper cup of warm coffee, my soul practically escaping through my open mouth.
“Ughhhhhh.”
How many hours did we talk?
This is killing me, seriously.
To make matters worse, the interrogation disguised as a conversation wasn't even over; the fact that I had to do this again tomorrow made it even harder.
I wanted to do something to change my mood, but I didn't have any hobbies I could do in a short break, and my disciples had vanished to undergo similar torture. All that was left was to vent my soul into the empty air.
Will tomorrow be better?
Since I spilled everything about the second and third ones, maybe it will be.
On the first day, the command center knew nothing, so they picked me clean without distinguishing between useful and useless information. Now that the first day's interrogation was over, they should have a big picture of this Public Enemy, so tomorrow should be easier.
Probably.
Even if the big picture is drawn, there’s a chance they’ll push me mentally to dig out anything suspicious.
Probably.
I always think this, but this is too much.
They’re interrogating me like I’m some criminal just because I was a bit late with a report. Even a prosecutor in court wouldn't be this intense.
Anyway, just as I was venting my frustrations about the Management Bureau command's bizarre fetish for information gathering.
“Is this seat taken?”
I heard a familiar voice and turned my gaze in that direction.
“Ah, please, have a seat.”
Recognizing the person, I immediately moved over to make room for Macbeth on the wooden bench.
“Thank you.”
Once I made space, Macbeth sat down beside me.
For a moment, the two of us stared blankly at the sky without speaking.
Perhaps it was because I had spent weeks looking at a sky of bizarre colors.
The blue sky felt strangely awkward.
By the time a single white cloud drifting in that awkward blue sky had moved a little.
“I’m sorry.”
Macbeth’s apology broke the silence and reached my ears.
“For what?”
“For the various incidents at the Geneva Branch. The witch hunt, and the reversal of fortune and causality. And for not being able to tell you about the Public Enemy Designation.”
…Huh?
Wait, I just heard something scary.
“Could you tell me more about that?”
“I came here to do just that. Let’s see. I should start with the witch hunt and the causality reversal.”
Because of his shocking words, my soul, which had gone on a trip, snapped back into my body.
How long did I sit there, tapping my foot and urging him to speak, unable to wait for him to choose his words?
“The Council knew you were coming. And they knew you would speak about opening up magic studies.”
Of course they did.
I wanted to retort, but I kept my mouth shut and listened.
“However, rather than discussing the pros and cons of the topic, the majority of the members voiced their dissatisfaction with you, the one who made the proposal. Consequently, they devised a plan to test you.”
Hurry. Next.
“The Council came up with several scenarios to test you. The witch hunt, and a large-scale manipulation of fortune using my power. I heard you were looking for the culprit behind the bad luck, but you wouldn't have been able to find them. It was a Great Magic involving over a hundred subjects in its activation.”
Wait, so the Public Enemy didn't do that?
Are you mages out of your minds?
“We didn't expect a Public Enemy to be summoned because of it, though. Perhaps the causality manipulation was influenced by that enemy as well. We’ll never be able to confirm that now, though.”
“Sigh.”
A sigh escaped me.
What a complete mess.
After taking a moment to compose myself to accept this shocking truth.
“And what about the Public Enemy Designation?”
“That’s a normal story. From the beginning, information that allowed us to deduce the Desire or the Fruit was sent down. Of course, as is always the case with Public Enemy designations, it was a bit indirect.”
“Didn't you guys figure it out?”
I had slipped into informal speech before I knew it, but given the situation, Macbeth didn't seem to mind.
“Since the information wasn't precise, it’s true that we were the ones who figured it out. That’s why we provided you with information about the Desire, but we didn't mention the Fruit.”
“…Why?”
Really, I could do nothing but sigh.
There must be a reason.
“Isn't it obvious? We fell under the Public Enemy’s influence far too easily. ‘Only we can do this. This is something that cannot be handled by outsiders who haven't heard of the Public Enemy.’ Such thoughts dominated those of us inside, and not a single person could open their mouth to you.”
His sentence was tinged with bitterness.
Hearing that, a new emotion welled up within me.
So it was because of the Public Enemy.
Well, then there’s nothing to be done.
Macbeth seemed to blame himself for not being able to shake off the Public Enemy’s influence.
But that was just a retrospective argument.
There are countless enemies who use mental manipulation, and while some shake it off, those who don't aren't to be blamed.
The ones at fault are those who cast the spell, not the victims who suffer from it.
So, I spoke.
“It all ended well, so let’s just move on.”
I said that and poured the cold coffee into my still-open mouth.
And once again, silence settled over us.
A bit more time passed.
By the time the clouds covered the sun.
“The Mage Council has agreed to your proposal. It will take some time, but they will soon release an elementary curriculum for magic studies.”
Well, that’s good news.
But seeing as The Council’s opinion was gathered like that….
“I guess I passed the test.”
“Yes. According to them, ‘He’s still a total bastard, but he’s our total bastard.’”
“…Magic Weaver said that, didn't he?”
“Yes, he asked me to relay that to you.”
Macbeth laughed as he said it. I laughed along with him.
Of course, I’m still going to go wreck Magic Weaver later.