Chapter 89: Abyss (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 89: Abyss (2)
A man anxiously watched his wristwatch. Tick, tick. The second hand seemed unusually busy today. Fuck. There’s no time.
Anxious agitation was written all over his face. He whipped his head around, his sharp glare digging into his subordinates' spines.
"You bastards! Hurry! Pack faster!"
Two subordinates were crouched in front of a safe. Beside them were three suitcases stuffed to the brim, packed like overflowing bowls of rice. The cases seemed to protest they couldn't take another bite, paper edges poking out from the seams.
"B-Boss. We haven't even packed half of it yet."
They had been packing frantically for five minutes. Though they worked diligently, they were nowhere near their goal. There was a mountain of stuff left to pack. Every single sheet of paper was invaluable. They had to grab all of these—the very culmination of their organization—and bolt.
But their boss rejected their mindset, showering them with reproaches instead.
"Forget about the money! Leave it! Is money what matters right now?!"
"N-No, Boss... Shouldn't we at least take the bankbooks? If the transaction records between us and that Prime Minister bastard get out... even headquarters will... Whoa!"
The subordinate was hoisted off his feet. Glaring eyes, filled with raw, terror-stricken fury, hovered inches from his face.
"Listen to me very carefully."
The boss gripped the man's collar tight as he gave his warning.
"If we don't get this out in time, we're all—!"
Right then, a loud thud struck the three men's ears. Their eyes turned instinctively toward the door. A suffocating silence fell over the room.
Thud...!
In an instant, the rafters shook once more. Everyone's face turned pale. The boss looked worst of all, drained of all color.
"She's... here."
"Who... is, Boss?"
The moment the boss let go, the subordinate slammed his rear onto the floor, clutching his throat and coughing. The boss drew a gun and aimed it squarely at the door.
"That bitch. That bitch is here!"
"Holy shit. Who the hell is 'that bitch'—"
Crunch!
Spikes sprouted from the door. To be precise, steel blades burst straight through it. Wait, isn't that an iron door?
Screeeeech.
"Ughhh!"
The subordinates covered their ears. A noise twice as terrible as fingernails on a chalkboard attacked their eardrums. Forcing their eyes open, they saw the blades literally tearing through the iron door.
"Ugh, ah, aaagh!"
The boss spat wildly as he repeatedly yanked the trigger, firing blindly.
Smoke curled from the bullet marks on the iron door. Outside, all went quiet. The boss's gun hand wavered, then slowly lowered.
"D-Did she die?"
Naturally, one of the subordinates had to go and say that line.
"Hey, you dumb motherf—!"
With a deafening boom, the heavy door blew inward off its hinges. Dust rolled through the newly opened space. Amidst the haze, a crimson glow gleamed.
"...In the name of Auditore."
A woman's voice gave a calm declaration.
"I shall eliminate all enemies of the Heavenly Sword."
"Aaaaagh...!"
An ear-splitting scream echoed.
Almost simultaneously, she lunged through the dust veil. A flash of blades and gunshots clashed loudly, but it wasn't long before the gunfire fell silent.
She looked down at the men dying with their noses buried in pools of their own blood. Her eyes were completely devoid of light. The boss forced his head around to look up at her.
"P-Please, mercy..."
Slash! Blood sprayed in a brilliant arc. In the next moment, drenched in blood, she stood motionless in place.
Rustle.
She pulled out a notebook and drew neat slash lines through a four-letter organizational name.
Her.
Chloe stared quietly at her notebook for a moment, then walked away.
Episode. Abyss
Since being discharged, my days had been peaceful. It had been a whole week without a single incident or accident.
That was only true for me, mind you.
The world outside was in absolute chaos. First of all, the Prime Minister was confined under house arrest. Since he was beloved by the entire nation, the ripples of shock were immense.
The media took to it like fish in water. They unleashed a relentless barrage of wild headlines, exposing everything to the public as if eager to paint the Prime Minister as a traitor to the whole world.
There was considerable pushback, too. But every time, the Joaquin Graduate School, led by Ryozo, countered with concrete evidence. As photos leaked one after another and ledger entries stacked up, those who had been holding back neutral judgment completely lost their composure.
As the saying goes, betrayal hurts most from someone you trusted. Naturally, the Prime Minister was expelled from the Do You Know Club, destined to be immortalized in history textbooks in the worst possible way. The final nail in the coffin was hammered in by his partner-in-crime.
—"The Ministry of Strategy and Finance expresses deep regret. Until the situation is fully resolved, our ministry will handle the duties of the Prime Minister's Office... We sincerely apologize to the public for causing such concern..."
The minister with the notoriously sly face held a press briefing.
We are currently assessing the situation. Once the facts are clear, we will disclose everything without reservation. Above all, we swear to prioritize the safety of the public.
He poured out a flood of thoroughly bureaucratic blather. After claiming he felt a deep sense of responsibility, the minister bowed deeply amidst a storm of camera flashes. Was he crying? Mind you, it probably wasn't a pang of conscience, just irritated eyes. I don't believe in face-reading, but I do trust first impressions.
In any case, the reason why I alone could lounge around lazily while South Korea was turning upside down was, unsurprisingly, thanks to Ryozo's consideration.
"No way."
Ryozo tried relentlessly to isolate me from this mess. When I gently probed the topic, she snapped at me with unprecedented sharpness.
"Didn't my mom tell you? Don't go anywhere for a while and just stay still. It's always the patients who ignore their doctor's orders who end up suffering chronic ailments later. So please, can we just stay put, okay?"
"..."
She was treating me like a fragile invalid. From Ryozo's perspective, I could somewhat understand.
A few days ago, I happened to catch my mother-in-law, Cynthia of God, pulling Ryozo aside to whisper something to her, wearing a dead serious expression.
How I found out is a complicated story, but to summarize, Choi Seol-ah spilled it. I had some separate business with her, so I gave her a bit of "re-education" after a long time, and she tearfully confessed everything.
The outline of what she said was roughly this:
"...From what I've seen, I think Son-in-Law Kang is pushed to a severe mental breaking point. Whatever you do, you need to keep him far away from the front lines..."
Ryozo, who already sensed I was teetering on the edge, didn't brush off Cynthia of God's warning. And so, guaranteed only minimal freedom, I lived the life of a recuperating invalid.
'...I'm so restless.'
Whenever I was bored, I'd pop into the graduate school. But doing that once or twice was the limit. Students gathered like a swarm of bees, completely disrupting classes.
Causing any more trouble for the faculty I had painstakingly recruited was unacceptable. So these days, I was keeping my graduate school visits to a minimum. Which meant I had nothing to do.
"...That is truly a luxury problem."
Speed Weapon glared at me, his eyes overflowing with envy and jealousy.
Weapon had been visiting Joaquin Academy frequently lately. The Hero Association was searching for the Villain Syndicate's stronghold, and naturally, the organization with the closest working relationship among their allies was Joaquin Academy.
However, Ryozo must have laid down the law with Weapon too, because he refused to share a single piece of information. Apparently, he found Ryozo scarier than me. Well, I'd probably feel the same if I were him.
Hadn't I experienced it secondhand last time?
With no way to learn about the current status, I roped Weapon into killing time with me. There was no coercion involved. ...Probably?
"I don't know. I'm a field guy. This is agonizing."
I slumped lazily over the cafe table. Weapon set his coffee cup down with a thud.
"Chief. Us Association employees always carry a resignation letter in our chest pockets. Ah, wait—not a resignation letter. A death notification letter, written with the kanji for 'death.'"
"Is that because you guys get deployed to the Demon Realm so often?"
"Well, we get separate death benefits for that."
...Aren't you glossing over something pretty depressing there, Weapon?
"It's because of death from overwork. People drop dead on the job quite often. Everyone even voluntarily gives up their vacation days to work. Even if people scream that they want a break, what can you do? When higher-ups command, you jump."
"Isn't the workload way too extreme?"
"It sure is."
Weapon nodded heavily.
"And all of that is for your sake, Chief."
"...Me? For my sake?"
"Knowing how much you've been suffering, the Association staff are voluntarily surrendering their vacations to do this. Honestly, take away our sense of duty, and we Association employees are nothing. It's not like we have money or anything."
Mmm.
"'Contributing to society alongside the Heavenly Sword.' They live with that pride."
"That's embarrassing."
"What I'm trying to say is: rest up while you can."
"..."
"Ryozo is telling you to rest out of consideration for you. If you don't rest now, you're practically giving the finger to all those staff members working night and day, you know? That's irresponsible. If you grumble just because you can't move around a bit, how do you think that makes them feel?"
Ouch. That hit a nerve.
'This guy is beating me up with words.'
I thought Weapon was unconditionally on my side. His words cut surprisingly deep. But I didn't take it as a rebuke; it was just concern and anxiety speaking.
"Yeah, yeah. I get it."
"Phew... Ryozo and Abel really have their hands full with you."
"Having those two treat me like a troublemaker is more than enough."
"Fair enough."
Weapon backed off. Sucking up the rest of his coffee until his cheeks caved in, he stood up.
"Do you have somewhere to be? Where are you off to?"
"The Academy Principal's office. It's about time."
"Looks like she's pretty busy lately. Aside from the Association, people from various organizations have been coming to see Ryozo."
"Well, that's because... Never mind."
"Ah, come on. What is it?"
Stopping mid-sentence is the absolute worst way to tease someone. Weapon hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
"I shouldn't say. Or you can just ask her yourself. Anyway, I'm heading out. Get plenty of rest while you can—rest enough for my share, too."
"Will do."
I parted ways with Weapon. Left alone in the empty cafe, I chewed on my straw.
What should I do? Maybe take another walk around the academy grounds? Or head outside for a change?
'No.'
It's not like I'm waiting on my deathbed. Time to stop killing time.
I gave a firm nod of determination, then headed toward the graduate school admin office. Choi Seol-ah was probably slacking off in there.
At that exact moment—
Ring.
My pocket vibrated. A phone call. The caller ID read Nox Auditore. What was this guy up to after being quiet for so long?
'Usually, when he calls out of nowhere like this, it's to borrow money.'
Though the Auditore family was richer than me anyway. As I've said repeatedly, the imperial family's money isn't my money. It's a public fund, after all.
I stared at the familiar number displayed on screen for a moment before answering.
"Yeah, what's up?"
—Kang Geomma...
His voice was heavily subdued. Instinctively, I shifted the smartphone to my other ear. I spoke solemnly.
"What happened?"
—Chloe... Chloe is...
Nox muttered his sister's name repeatedly.
"Calm down. What happened?"
—...A wanted notice has been issued for Chloe.
Out of nowhere, I was left speechless. A wanted notice? Pirate bounty posters from manga immediately flashed in my mind.
Let's stay calm, Kang Geomma. Hear him out first. I asked back in a cool tone.
"Who issued the wanted notice?"
—...
Silence dragged on for a long time. Thinking the call might have been dropped, I checked the screen, but the timer was still ticking.
"Nox?"
—Thirty-eight countries.
"Thirty—"
—Every single OECD nation issued a wanted notice on her...
Good grief.
Chloe, when the hell did you become the King of the Pirates?