Found Him
Ari stood tall and confident. “If you’re going to attack, then come at me. Otherwise, take me to someone high up who can handle the immigrant procedures. I’d rather establish my identity openly than live in hiding. And do it quickly—like you did back at the cave entrance.”
Not a single person stepped forward to challenge her. The hunters and soldiers who had rushed to the scene were only there to stall for time until the S-rank hunters arrived, putting their own lives on the line.
Urgent communications flew back and forth amid the tense standoff. Ari, however, remained perfectly at ease. With calm movements, she retrieved another drink from the vending machine. Click. Thud. She then pulled the card from the reader and handed it back to the visibly tense Han Ji-hyeon. It was partly because she wanted to try the variety of beverages, but also a subtle way of showing she could behave like a civilized person without smashing the machine.
Whether her intent came across or not, orders soon came down from above. They would buy her time, but she needed to move to the designated location. A man in black clothing stepped forward to relay the message. Ari gave a small nod.
“I’ll ride in that one. And I refuse to be restrained.”
She pointed at the black vehicles surrounding them. For some reason, the truck didn’t appeal to her.
“……Understood.”
They had no choice in the matter. The vehicle carrying Ari—and Han Ji-hyeon, who had been dragged along—sped down the road, flanked by escort cars front and back, with a helicopter trailing overhead.
‘Looks like we’re heading toward the outskirts.’
Ari gazed leisurely out the window for a moment before turning her head.
“Can I borrow that for a bit?”
She asked while looking at the object Han Ji-hyeon was clutching tightly.
“Y-Yes!”
With trembling hands, Han Ji-hyeon passed over the smartphone. Ari stared at the screen and tilted her head.
‘Huh. There aren’t any buttons at the bottom.’
How was she supposed to operate it? She distinctly remembered needing to press buttons to return to the home screen or go back. Was this the gap of twenty years?
“Hmm.”
She spun the palm-sized device around, then tapped randomly on the screen. Click.
‘Oops, that was a mistake.’
After blinking a few times, she looked at Han Ji-hyeon.
“How do you use this?”
“Oh, well…….”
‘She really doesn’t know how to operate it! I had a feeling.’
Han Ji-hyeon hid her thoughts and asked politely, “What exactly are you curious about?”
“Just what’s been happening in the world.”
“I-In that case, I could tell you about it…….”
So please don’t break it and give it back.
“I also want to experience modern conveniences.”
“……Ugh.”
Han Ji-hyeon let out a small involuntary groan, then quickly came up with a solution.
“I-I’ll demonstrate first! Once you learn the basics, you’ll pick it up right away.”
By then we’ll have arrived at the destination! She thought it was a perfect plan. Glancing nervously at Ari, she waited for a response.
“Learning, huh. Very well. I’ll leave it to you.”
Ari nodded without issue. As she did, her long side hair fell forward, and she naturally tucked it behind her ear with her fingertips. The motion revealed her delicate, pretty face and graceful neckline, giving off an innocent air. Han Ji-hyeon, who had momentarily relaxed, found herself staring blankly at that face.
‘She’s really so beautiful…….’
It felt unreal, like looking at a magazine spread.
……But she couldn’t let her guard down. The beauty in front of her was a dungeon boss who had just escaped.
‘Get it together, Han Ji-hyeon!’
The moment she repeated the mantra, their eyes met. Ari’s bright golden eyes seemed to ask why she wasn’t explaining already. Han Ji-hyeon plastered on a sociable smile.
“You use it by touching and sliding like this……”
They fiddled with the smartphone for a while. Just as Han Ji-hyeon was desperately hoping they would arrive soon, Ari suddenly clapped her palms on her thighs.
“Oh, right. Can you show me all the famous incidents from about twenty years ago?”
“Yes!”
“Ah, only the ones that happened in this country. Not foreign ones.”
Following the request, Han Ji-hyeon operated the phone. Ari quietly traced her lips with her fingertips, her eyes scanning the screen as if searching for something specific among the events Han Ji-hyeon was selectively showing.
Eventually—
“This one. It’s a fire, right?”
“Uh…… Yes, that’s right. There was an arson incident in a remote park. Several people died in the blaze.”
“Was the culprit caught?”
“Just a moment.”
Tap tap tap.
“Ah, so that’s what this case was.”
“Hmm?”
“There’s a famous S-rank mage named Na Beomin. He has a criminal record. This is…… Gah.”
Han Ji-hyeon suddenly stopped mid-explanation while looking at the photo. Ari, however, quietly smiled to herself.
‘Found him.’
The arsonist who had caused the fire that killed her in her past life. She had wondered if it might have been an unfortunate accident, but—
‘Na Beomin. So this guy did it.’
Ari pushed Han Ji-hyeon’s finger aside, tapped on Na Beomin’s photo to enlarge it, and stared at it intently, committing the face to memory. He looked like a textbook psychopath from the start. There was also a vague sense of familiarity……
Soon after, Ari returned the smartphone, saying she was done, and turned to look out the window. A tall concrete wall topped with coiled barbed wire came into view, along with clusters of buildings beyond it. After passing through strict security checks, the vehicle drove along the internal road and stopped in front of one of the buildings.
Ari stepped out and looked up at the large structure, tilting her head. She was genuinely surprised.
‘I thought they might take me to some special isolation zone or bunker.’
It looked more like a security facility or research institute. Either way, as long as they processed things properly, it didn’t matter where she met people or who she dealt with.
Following the guide, she entered the building, passed through several heavy iron doors after complicated procedures, and finally arrived at a spacious room. It was a modern reception area with neatly arranged sofas and tables. The interior itself was ordinary, except for one entire wall that was a mirror.
Ari leaned back comfortably on the long sofa.
“Ji-hyeon, could you keep me company until someone arrives? It’s boring being alone in a place like this.”
“……Yes.”
Han Ji-hyeon, who had been about to leave with the guide, returned with a dejected expression and sat down across from her, knees neatly together. Clank. The door closed.
“……”
“Ahem.”
Perhaps because someone important was coming, Han Ji-hyeon looked extremely tense. It was almost pitiful to watch. There had been fairies like that among her sisters—ones who got so nervous on the goddess’s visit day that they couldn’t enjoy the hunt properly. Recalling old memories, Ari shifted slightly to the side on the sofa and patted the cushion beside her.
Tap tap.
“Want to sit next to me?”
Han Ji-hyeon was the human who had willingly brought her drinks. It had been a long time since Ari had met someone who showed proper respect toward a fairy. She figured she could afford to be a little considerate. After all, she was the one who had kept her here in the first place.
“Um, I’m fine—”
“I want to learn more about the phone while we wait.”
“……R-Right.”
Han Ji-hyeon sat down stiffly, as if her joints were broken, using the excuse Ari had kindly provided. Ari leaned in and whispered near her ear.
“Nothing bad will happen.”
“Th-Thank you.”
No need for thanks. She was a very polite woman. Sitting next to a superior probably meant watching her words, running errands, and possibly getting scolded. Feeling a bit guilty, Ari decided she would shield her from any trouble while they sat there.
‘After all, I’m the villain today.’
When the negotiator arrived, she planned to get everything she wanted, even if it meant rewriting the rules. If possible, she wanted to start her new healing life in her home country.
Meanwhile, Han Ji-hyeon was thinking—
‘M-My heart feels like it’s going to explode…….’
Thump thump. Thump thump.
She sat beside the boss, far more nervous than when her parents had discovered her internet search history.
* * *
Around the same time, at the Ilhyeon Guild.
“Really? Got it, got it.”
After finishing his call with Na Beomin, Kang Cheol-ung immediately dialed another number.
“Team Leader? I’m on my way now. I’ll be there soon. My condition? Haha! Have you ever seen me stuck in a hospital bed for long?”
He stayed in close contact with the administration team leader. The driver, having heard the location, stepped on the accelerator and headed toward the destination. Kang Cheol-ung’s calls continued without pause.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like we’re ambushing some prepared mage, and she’s sitting quietly in an interrogation room. I’ll help you out.”
— Just in case, we should send support……
“You handle that however you see fit.”
The massive muscles on his forearm bulged as he held the smartphone.
“I’ll make sure to figure out exactly what kind of person this boss is.”