Chapter 376: Stories in the Shadows
Chapter 376: Stories in the Shadows
After that, nothing particularly noteworthy happened.
On the surface, the Management Bureau proceeded as usual, investigating the incident and providing care for the victims. Since the battle had been a simple affair—a Giant Monster emerged from The Sea and was swiftly dispatched by a Hero—and the victims had suffered no major harm other than drifting at sea for a day or two, the investigation was concluded much faster than the monster's scale would have suggested.
However, one issue did come up during the questioning.
It was the matter of the monster’s carcass disposal.
The logic was that if such a massive creature died, its corpse would inevitably cause problems. Had I not considered that before sinking the ship?
Instead of smashing its head straight down, couldn't I have struck it from the side to protect the vessel?
Questions like that.
To which I gave my usual response.
"I was in a hurry, so I didn't think about it."
"Ah, yes. I see."
Despite my incredibly flimsy answer, the interrogator didn't show much of a reaction.
Well, it was only natural.
It might have been different if this were a public hearing following a massive casualty event, but with zero victims, this was just a routine Q&A conducted by the Bureau according to protocol. The interrogator had no real motivation to dig deeper.
Furthermore, when the other Heroes were questioned about the situation, they reportedly defended me, saying things like, "It was an unavoidable natural disaster." Thus, the issue naturally fizzled out.
Of course, those Heroes probably had no idea who had actually unleashed that attack.
Unless it’s a public hearing or a trial, interrogations and interviews for information gathering are conducted one-on-one.
At any rate, officially, the incident ended there.
Yes. Officially.
* * *
Three days had passed since we set foot on American soil.
Although the case was officially closed, we were still lounging around the hotel room provided by the Bureau to prevent any unforeseen complications.
As we were idling away the time...
"...Master."
Baek Si-hyun’s voice echoed through the room, a muffled mumble as she buried her face in the bed, drained of all energy.
"What?"
I replied listlessly, my eyes fixed on the television.
"...I'm bored. I want to go out. I want to go shopping. I want to buy uranium."
Raising her head from the bed, Baek Si-hyun stared out the window.
She sounded utterly miserable, as if it were a grave injustice that she couldn't do anything despite so many interesting things being right before her eyes.
...Wait, uranium?
Can you even buy that?
Even if you could, is it legal to bring it back home?
...Well, regardless of that, had Baek Si-hyun ever been this lifeless?
To think that this girl, who usually had so much energy she seemed like a fool, could be so deflated.
It seemed Baek Si-hyun was like a shark; if she wasn't constantly moving, her energy levels plummeted.
But what could I do?
Our confinement to the hotel was strictly according to the Management Bureau’s regulations.
"Give it up. You're better off reading a book or watching a movie. We'll probably be stuck here for another three or four days."
This was one thing I couldn't help her with.
Rules are rules, after all.
"...But whyyyyy?"
Perhaps she hadn't expected me to be so firm. Baek Si-hyun let out a groan, her voice even more dejected.
I racked my brain, trying to squeeze out a forgotten memory to explain it to her.
"Uh... let's see. There was this one incident where the victims looked fine on the surface, so they were sent home. But a few days later, they mutated... or was it that they exploded? Anyway... it was a total catastrophe. Because of that, a rule was made that allows them to detain those involved for up to a week in specific cases..."
I was pretty sure that was it.
My memory was a bit hazy, so there were plenty of holes in my explanation.
As I was stammering through it, wondering myself if I had it right...
"It was the London Biological Disaster. After two B-Rank humanoid monsters covered in tumors were eliminated, the victims underwent a brief physical exam. No issues were found, so they were sent home. Five days later, those victims mutated into the same monsters, causing widespread contamination."
Han A-bin, who had been watching TV with me, supplemented my explanation in a clear, concise voice.
Ah, right. That was it.
Hearing her say it brought it all back.
Since I wasn't personally involved in that case, I couldn't recall it immediately.
If an entity is defeated before its powers are fully understood in an uncontrolled environment, everyone involved—including the victims—is temporarily detained for a thorough examination.
As I was piecing my memories back together...
"The actual number of victims wasn't that high. The time from contamination to mutation was long, and the range of the contaminant was narrow. It was even treatable in the early to mid-stages, and infection could be easily detected with a single thorough exam. That's why the incident was so shocking."
Han A-bin continued to provide additional information, and once she finished...
"So, Si-hyun, just stay put. We can't risk you going out and infecting people."
She walked over to the bed and gently consoled the sulking Baek Si-hyun.
Perhaps it was because the reasoning was so sound and delivered so softly.
"...Fine."
Baek Si-hyun replied with uncharacteristic politeness. She sat up on the bed and began tapping away at her laptop.
...Is that going to be okay?
Seeing Baek Si-hyun on a computer always gave me an ominous feeling, but if I told her not to do that either, she might actually lose it from boredom.
While I was worrying, Han A-bin, having calmed Si-hyun down, quietly returned to her seat and went back to watching the news.
"Thanks, A-bin."
"It was nothing."
We exchanged a brief nod.
The room was filled only with the sound of the news and the clicking of the keyboard.
Amidst those monotonous sounds, my thoughts drifted back to what Han A-bin had just said.
Prevention of biological disasters.
She was right.
An unidentified monster suddenly appeared and was defeated, and those involved were detained to prevent any potential incidents. That was the official record of the entire event.
On the surface, at least.
The Bureau had already finished the thorough examinations of the victims. They had confirmed that there were no abnormalities in anyone's body.
This was certain information I had obtained by pulling some strings with Hyun-seok.
In the first place, the current Management Bureau possessed the technology to quickly identify any issues that could lead to such a disaster.
Even if they couldn't figure it out immediately, the Bureau had the capability to grasp the situation within two to three days.
So, why were we still being detained on the third day?
It was because the Bureau knew everything.
GM. The shadow of the sealed O-Rank had revealed itself.
The media didn't seem to have noticed the connection between GM and the nautilus yet, but the Bureau had already identified exactly what kind of entity the monster from the Atlantic was.
The spirits had also warned about the nautilus through the Bureau’s own spirits, and my testimony had already confirmed it was the same kind of entity as the Giant Nautilus that appeared during the GM incident.
Therefore, this operation, which had "officially" ended, was still ongoing behind the scenes.
Not only had they quickly secured parts of the carcass for research, but spirits wandering the world or living as civilians were being urgently summoned to be deployed to the Atlantic.
The detention of those involved was part of the same context.
Even though they already knew there were no biological issues with anyone...
Thanks to the trauma of GM's flesh monsters, the Bureau was using the regulations to their fullest extent to drag out the examinations as long as possible.
The biological exams were over, but they were likely performing large-scale privacy invasions that would make headlines if they ever got out—things like precognition, predicting the subjects' lifespans, and precision detection of behavioral changes.
Of course, none of that worked on me.
Snap.
I flicked my finger, and the resulting shockwave knocked down a black gnat flying through the air.
Naturally, it wasn't a gnat. It was a Bureau Surveillance Device.
Several had been destroyed already. Either the operator refused to give up, or The System was automated, sending new units to fill the gaps.
Either way, the person in charge probably wanted to curse me out.
But what were they going to do?
This kind of surveillance wasn't supposed to be known to the public anyway.
No matter how many devices I smashed, no one could openly complain to me, and I wouldn't be condemned for it.
So, I would focus on protecting my privacy and that of my disciples.
Hahaha. Why should I care if the Bureau’s workload increases?
I had been taking out my boredom on the faceless Bureau employees for a while when...
"The news is noisy again today."
A-bin spoke up, staring blankly at the TV.
I followed her gaze to the screen.
A news guest was passionately spouting conspiracy theories about the recent incident.
—"Does this make any sense? A monster of that size appears, and there are zero victims? It wasn't even caught by the Bureau’s vaunted incident precognition. Furthermore, they won't reveal the Hero who defeated it, nor will they release the combat records. There is definitely something going on here."
—"The Bureau has even been detaining the victims in a hotel for three days now. There's clearly something they're hiding. They must have seen something they weren't supposed to see. For example... a treaty-violating weapon created by the Bureau... perhaps?"
—"Ah, yes, I know. It sounds far-fetched. But isn't the Bureau being too quiet? Usually, there'd be all sorts of talk, but for them to be this silent, there must be something..."
I felt a bit sorry for the self-proclaimed expert passionately spreading his delusions, but...
"Nonsense."
I flatly dismissed his words.
"Huh? Doesn't he have a point, in his own way?"
Surprisingly, Han A-bin had fallen for the conspiracy theory and said something strange.
"...What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Seriously. I didn't expect A-bin to be swayed by such low-level agitation.
"Well... we were there, so we know it's not true, but it's a fact that the information control is too extreme compared to the scale of the incident. I think it's natural for people to have those kinds of opinions."
Han A-bin stated her opinion clearly.
It was an interesting point, but there was a problem.
"A-bin, let me ask you one thing."
"Yes."
"Have you ever seen the Bureau clearly state anything regarding the progress of an incident? Aside from the near O-Rank Black Marauder incident or actual O-Rank crises."
"Doesn't that happen quite often? A Hero who defeated an enemy appears on a broadcast and talks about who did what and how they defeated... oh, wait... the Hero?"
Han A-bin realized something was off.
Quick as always. I thought I'd have to go back and forth a few more times.
"Unless it's an exceptionally grave matter, the Bureau only provides simple results, A-bin. Those stories come from the Heroes themselves or from external corporations associated with the Bureau. Because of that, there's a widespread misunderstanding that those are the Bureau’s official opinions, but the Bureau itself always remains silent."
Because Heroes constantly blabbed about who defeated whom or how the battle went to boost their own fame, people mistakenly believed the Bureau was releasing that information. The Bureau’s basic stance was always silence.
"...But why?"
A-bin asked, finding it strange.
Normally, I would have given her a sincere answer, but...
"Find out for yourself. It won't mean anything if I'm the one to tell you."
I said that and closed my mouth.
If Han A-bin aspired to be part of the command structure, she would have to realize it on her own someday.
The difference in perception regarding Heroes between the Bureau and everyone else.
A Hero’s personal information must be protected.
This stance of the Bureau had never changed.
This time was no different.
The most important person in this incident was me.
I had no intention of revealing myself to the world, nor did I care about medals or anything of the sort.
The US was making a fuss about wanting to give a medal to the person who protected its citizens.
But I wasn't interested.