Chapter 95: An Ordinary Story.
Chapter 95: An Ordinary Story.
“Put it on the company tab.”
“Impossible. Pay for it yourself.”
“That’s going to be a problem. Pay out of your own pocket.”
Hyun-seok glanced at the application I held out, then turned his head back to his computer monitor.
“Hey, are you really doing this to me? I had no choice; I was saving someone.”
“Officially, the one who saved that person wasn't you, but your disciple. If you want to process it as an expense, have your disciple submit a proper justification report.”
Ah, I don't want to do that.
As it is, Han A-bin was suddenly dragged off to a news agency. She went to do an interview as the Hero who saved a child in a situation no one knew about.
I did tell her to keep her mouth shut, but…
* * *
“The moment you open your mouth and say I did it, be prepared for a full-course wrestling session.”
“I like that, Master! After it happened a few times, I realized the blood rushing to my head actually feels pretty good.”
I should probably worry that Si-hyun’s brain might be broken.
“What about you, A-bin?”
“…I don’t mind keeping quiet, but why do you hate it so much?”
Is this a continuation of yesterday’s question?
“…None of your business.”
* * *
“With an action of this scale, wouldn't it be fine for your name to be known? I told you this last time, but it’s been fifteen years. It’s about time you broke that stubborn streak, Lee Ha-ram.”
“I don’t want to.”
I’m going to live quietly. I’ll work hard as a Hero until just before the story ends, and once it’s over, I’ll hole up somewhere and live as a recluse while eating up my pension.
I nodded to myself, feeling satisfied with the mindset I hadn't thought about in a while.
However, if there was one thing that had changed compared to the old days, it was that the goal of establishing justice had been added to the list.
In the worst-case scenario, I could even stop the story with only the final boss remaining…
“Then you just have to pay the money, Lee Ha-ram.”
The cold voice of Park Hyun-seok, the Korea Branch Manager, cut through my expanding thoughts about future plans.
“I don’t have any money. Last month’s salary is already gone.”
“Then reduce your donations. Nearly 95% of your salary goes to donations and anonymous aid. There’s a limit to everything. No other Hero would go that far.”
What does it matter if I’m forced to take money I don't deserve and decide to donate it?
“I don’t want to do that either. So just lend me some money…”
“No.”
Damn it.
“It’s not like I’m asking for a salary advance. You said that wasn't allowed because of fairness issues.”
“Do you realize that with the amount you’ve already borrowed, you won't be able to pay it back in your lifetime unless you do something about those donations?”
“Is that so?”
Then what should I do…
If I can’t borrow money and there’s nothing in my bank account…
“Give me something lucrative among the urgent tasks.”
“There are no such things. Go be penniless and starve for a bit.”
Yeah, right. I won't die even if I starve.
And there’s no way the Management Bureau is out of work. Isn't this place always gloomy and dark?
“Give me a job. Not an assassination type, something with high pay that won't get me exposed to the media. I don't care about the difficulty.”
“In that case, there’s even less.”
“Just give me anything. Oh, and by 'anything,' I mean something that doesn't go against my general ethics and pride…”
I sounded a bit like Baek Si-hyun or the Librarian, but it was a necessary barrier to set just in case.
“Do you really hate stepping forward that much?”
“Yes.”
Hearing that, Hyun-seok let out a quiet sigh, pulled a document from his drawer, and tossed it to me.
It was just two or three pages stapled together—a document that didn't look important at all.
The thin papers fluttered through the air, and I stood up to snatch them.
—Document regarding the re-investigation of the Czechoslovakia Containment Zone.
—Pending: Execution impossible due to lack of suitable personnel. Potential for hundreds of thousands of casualties upon failure. Maintain surveillance system.
Despite the flimsy appearance of the document, the content written there was staggering.
“…This.”
“It’s been a while since this plan was drafted. I knew you were the right person for it, but I didn't think you’d actually go, so I left the request aside.”
Since I didn't have very good memories of that place, it was natural for Hyun-seok to think that way. However, because I felt responsible for that zone, I would have set out regardless of the pay if he had presented this.
“Why did you let this rot? If you had presented this under the authority of the Management Bureau, I would have gone without a word.”
Something was suspicious. Even just looking at the listed reward, the amount was substantial. Because it had been pending for so long, additional compensation had been tacked on.
For someone like me who was strapped for cash, it was a request that made my eyes spin. Even though the situation fit so perfectly, was there a reason for Hyun-seok and the Bureau to hide this?
“…I didn't think the current you would go out of your way to jump into danger.”
“Why me?”
“Before you had disciples, you didn't seem interested in doing anything actively. That’s why I didn't think you’d accept this request.”
Ah, I suppose that might have been true back then.
I wouldn't have had the motivation to go all the way there.
“I don't think that matters much; I’m active enough now, aren't I?”
“That’s why. That’s why I had no intention of showing this to you. Given your personality, I didn't think you’d grow attached to your disciples, but you’ve become closer to them than I imagined. Statistically, when someone gains something to protect, they tend to soften—moving in a direction where they don't take risks…”
So, did he suggest it now because a money-related problem finally cropped up?
“So, if you don't want to go, you don't have to. I’ll look for another request.”
Tsk.
I couldn't help but click my tongue the moment I heard that.
It was a trap. A trap designed to exploit my personality.
Since Hyun-seok knew me well, he must have known I would obviously accept this.
“This is a well-crafted trap, dangling meat in front of someone desperate for money. And adding those smooth words on top of it.”
“Think whatever you like. If you hate it that much, you can just unfreeze all your hidden achievements and go public. By a rough estimate, your salary would jump several times over.”
Haven't I told you several times that I don't want that? Well, it was a good attempt.
I tossed the document back onto the Korea Branch Manager’s desk.
“Is that a refusal?”
“No, just fix the reward written there.”
“Are you dissatisfied even with this amount?”
Of course I’m dissatisfied. Do you think I can work for that kind of pay?
“Cut it by 90%. Does it make sense to give this much to just two Heroes?”
“I can’t believe those are the words of a man struggling for money.”
There’s a limit to talking nonsense.
“I can see the pen marks where you scratched over the document.”
Hyun-seok must have roughly edited it with a pen. And the difference would likely have come out of Hyun-seok’s own pocket.
“…I don't know what you’re talking about.”
Hyun-seok’s expression remained unchanged, but I could sense various signs.
A slight tremor in his voice, a change in his heartbeat, and the twitching of his muscles.
I couldn't distinguish whether it was a lie as precisely as Un-ho could, but the mere fact that his emotions had shifted was enough to confirm my suspicion.
“It’s no use trying to fix your expression. With your skills, you can process the payment even with this reward, right? Do it that way.”
“…Understood. But you said 'two people.' Who are you planning to go with?”
Isn't it obvious?
“If it’s the Czechoslovakia incident, there’s only one person. Naturally…”
It’s Oxymoron.
Creeak.
I opened the door—which let out a creaking sound unbefitting the office of the head of the Management Bureau—and headed toward her.
* * *
“I don't want to go.”
Uh, I didn't expect this.
“No, look, there’s a request, and the pay is decent? Wouldn't it be more rewarding to go save people than to mess around with some unknown lump of meat?”
Hearing my words, she glanced at the copy of the document and continued.
“A request with no clear instructions on what to do, just to go and check the situation? That’s not my style.”
Having said her piece, Oxymoron began to carve into the lump of meat again, as if she truly had no interest in my proposal.
As if a scalpel couldn't cut through it, the steel wire of a wire saw dug into the meat with a squelching sound.
How grotesque. Is that a monster corpse? It looks like it’s still alive.
I observed the twitching meat for a moment, but since there was nothing I could understand with my knowledge, I withdrew my interest and spoke.
“Don't be like that. We don't know when it might break, right? We have to save the people there too…”
Did my words offend her?
“Are you doubting my Operating Room right now? My skills?”
Oxymoron pointed the wire saw, which was covered in bits of meat, toward me and shouted loudly.
“If there were a problem with the Operating Room, I wouldn't have chosen that method in the first place.”
One step. Then another.
With the bright lights at her back, Oxymoron approached me with the wire saw. As the saw, covered in grotesque meat, drew closer, the nauseating smell of blood stung my nose, and the excessively bright reflections hurt my eyes.
This is actually scary.
“Answer me. You’re the one who said it was okay to use that method, Uncle…”
Pushed back by Oxymoron’s fierce momentum, I found myself backed into a corner of the laboratory.
Holding the saw like a mad scientist, Oxymoron blocked my path with such intensity that it was hard to even speak. I focused mana into my brain, making my consciousness rotate rapidly.
I didn't expect things to go this way.
I thought she would obviously follow me, so I hadn't prepared for this kind of reaction. The answer I came up with after deep deliberation was:
“Is that so? I just thought it wouldn't be bad to go check on the status. It’s been nearly twenty years, so wouldn't the situation have changed somewhat? If the condition is good, we might even be able to treat them.”
I spoke as I usually did. As if nothing were wrong. Levelly.
“If it were that easy to treat, I wouldn't be going through all this trouble…”
I know. I know what kind of trouble you went through and with what heart you created that end.
“It’s been twenty years, Oxymoron. You’re not The Child you were back then.”
“…”
Did those words have some persuasive power? Oxymoron dropped her terrifying aura, stepped back slightly, and began to sink into thought.
How much time passed? She bit her hand so hard that the leather glove covering it began to tear before she finally spoke.
“As I thought. It’s still difficult. I can’t even imagine myself treating them.”
“To make the image clear, isn't it important to see the patient at least once?”
“It’s a waste of time to go with that kind of mindset. I’d rather do more experiments. Well, but maybe seeing them once would be okay… Go get a new mission for that. Purpose: treatment, seal release possible. Discretionary authority granted.”
“Hey. That’s a completely different mission.”
The mission I have right now is just to check the situation, with no discretionary authority.
“Then I can’t go. It’s a shame we can’t go together.”
Damn it. Things have gone completely sideways.
Even if I go alone, it’s not my area of expertise, so I won't know what’s happening.
If the report is a mess, there’s a high probability Hyun-seok will stiffen his face and say this won't work. If I come back with a report like that after leaving so confidently, I won't be able to show my face.
“Oxymoron. I’m begging you. There’s no one else to go with but you. What am I supposed to do if I go alone?”
“That’s your problem, Uncle. Not mine. Why didn't you ask me like that normally?”
I’m screwed. Nothing for it; should I ask Hyun-seok to change the request?
I don't know how many weeks the approval would take, or if it would even be granted, but for now, that seems to be the only way.
Just as I slumped my shoulders and prepared to leave the lab.
“…Wait a minute? You’re going alone, Uncle?”
“Because there’s no one else to go with.”
“What about Calavera?”
“Why would I go with him? It wouldn't be any help even if I dragged him along.”
Even now, more than twenty years later, the memory is vivid. The sight of that damn guy who was absolutely no help. Since he was practically incompetent because he had no soul, all he had left was talking nonsense.
“Then that means I’m the only one you’re relying on, Uncle?”
I heard Oxymoron’s voice, which sounded strangely happy, and I answered.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll go.”
“Huh?”
“If it’s just the two of us without Calavera, I have to go! You should have said that from the start.”
Pow!
The lump of meat exploded under Oxymoron’s sudden punch. Leaving the ruined laboratory behind, Oxymoron grabbed my hand and started running.
“Let’s go apply for the request quickly, Uncle!”
What on earth just happened?