Cracking the Mercenary with Intoxication Sorcery
I succeeded in prying open the mercenary's mouth through interrogation using the Intoxication Spell. As expected, he was an assassin sent by another executive to kill me. I even heard directly from him which diocese's executive had put him up to it. Regarding this incident, I plan to hold that person directly accountable at the upcoming executive meeting.
After extracting all the information I wanted, I sent the mercenary home safely. I didn't forget to wipe his memory with the Memory Crush spell. Unfortunately, he got addicted to the Intoxication Spell during the interrogation, so he'll probably never lead a normal life again—but that's not my problem. For someone who tried to slice my ankle, this is merciful enough.
The next morning, I arrived at the student council room.
"6:50..."
The meeting was set to start at 7:00. I'd come a full ten minutes early. My head felt heavy, probably because I hadn't slept properly after interrogating the mercenary the night before. I slumped over the desk in the student council room, hoping to catch a quick nap. Just ten minutes until 7:00—that was the plan.
Tap tap.
The moment I closed my eyes and darkness came, someone woke me. Rubbing my messy hair, I lifted my head to find Kim Jin-seo staring at me as I slept.
"Sleep well. You must've been tired."
"..."
Before responding, I checked the time first. 7:05. Even though the meeting had started five minutes ago, the room was empty except for me and Kim Jin-seo. A cool morning breeze rustled the curtains.
Suddenly, I recalled Kim Jin-seo smiling at me under the swaying moonlight. The only difference was that it had been night then, and now it was morning.
"Where are the others?"
"Doesn't seem like anyone's here yet. Just us two."
"Just us two."
The words felt oddly intimate, so I repeated them. Kim Jin-seo looked at me and smiled faintly. Her smile always had this mysterious, enigmatic quality—clear and bright, yet somehow otherworldly, never quite everyday.
"The gym instructor woke up."
"The gym instructor? ...Oh, him."
"Yeah. The one I was with."
She was talking about the man who'd been pinned under collapsing gym debris, on the verge of death. I'd wondered if we could even save him during the rescue. Fortunately, he'd survived, and apparently, he'd regained consciousness just yesterday.
"That's good."
"But he damaged his nerves, so he can't move his legs."
"..."
I regretted my hasty words and glanced at her. She cast her eyes downward with a faint smile. It was that empty, emotionless smile she used to wear habitually when we'd first met—a smile devoid of meaning. The mystery that had lingered moments ago vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there.
"If I'd just done a little better back then..."
Her smile faded. Straightened lips now held only self-blame, despair, regret.
"...I keep thinking the outcome might've been different."
"What."
I let out a scoffing laugh, and she looked at me with mild surprise. I continued.
"What more could you have done there?"
"..."
"You did everything you could."
Amid the chaos, Kim Jin-seo had steadfastly drawn healing circles and blessings to treat the instructor. The fact that he survived at all was entirely thanks to her. The one who should regret not doing better wasn't her—it was me. If I'd moved faster, or better yet, if I'd smashed every last taxidermy doll left in the Satanist hideout before leaving. There would've been no explosion, no fire, no reason for the gym instructor to end up disabled.
Maybe rushing off to save Kang Ji-a on pure emotion, without any preparation, had been the first mistake.
[You did what you could too. You dove into the flames, ruining your body with the Intoxication Spell.]
Legba's faint voice echoed suddenly. Maybe because Kim Jin-seo was right there, it was quieter than usual. I shook my head slightly instead of answering.
"Did enough" was just a pathetic rationalization for me. No matter how hard I tried, even if I threw my life into it, if the best outcome didn't happen, it was a failure.
We weren't on the same level. Our responsibilities—and roles—were different from the start.
[Obsessive much? Maybe see a doctor.]
Legba sneered. I ignored him and looked at Kim Jin-seo. She was combing her hair with her fingers, gazing at me with an odd expression.
"Thanks."
She said. I seemed to hear "thanks" from her a lot. Though I couldn't recall doing anything worthy of her gratitude. It felt a bit off.
Hiding my unease with a smile, I spoke.
"Your dad already told me."
"...Then hearing it twice is fine."
She shot back curtly, looking a touch offended.
"But seriously, where are the others?"
I glanced around, changing the subject. It was nearly 7:10, and no one else had shown up. Something felt wrong. She smiled faintly and replied.
"Guess everyone's running late."
"Is this normal?"
"Not this late. Usually not."
Kim Jin-seo pulled a chair over and sat right next to me. Propping her elbow on the desk and resting her chin in her hand, she looked at me sideways and continued.
"Hope no one else shows up."
"...Don't tease."
I averted my gaze. Her face was too close. A soft, cool scent tickled my nose—probably from her hair.
"Look at me."
"No."
"Why dodge? Embarrassed?"
"I said don't tease."
Saying that, I turned to face her. She was even closer now. Kim Jin-seo stared at me blankly, mouth half-open in surprise, eyes wide.
Silence stretched. Soon, her face visibly flushed.
"Ah..."
Crash!
Then, the cupboard door in the corner burst open, spilling blankets and clothes in a mess. A person tumbled out onto the pile.
"...Hey! I didn't mean to eavesdrop, it just kinda happened... Um. D-did I interrupt? Should I go?"
It was the Temperance Holy Mark holder who'd popped out—Han Su-ryeon, I think. She hastily shoved the bedding back into the cupboard and jumped to her feet.
"Y'know, executives aren't supposed to date! Uh, total secret, yeah. To the grave! I'll take it to the grave. Promise."
"...Misunderstanding."
"Ah, haha. Right. Obviously. Anyway, I gotta go, something came up—"
Bang!
"—Ow!"
The door flew open. Han Su-ryeon, rushing out, smacked her forehead against it and sprawled on the floor. Kang Dae-man was the one who'd opened it.
"Can't believe it! I thought I'd be first. This stains the name of Diligence."
He plopped down in an empty seat, muttering. He looked even bulkier than the first time I'd seen him. His defined muscles bulged under his clothes.
Han Su-ryeon rubbed her forehead where she'd fallen, then scowled and shot up.
"...Hey! I almost cracked my skull because of you!"
"Ah, sorry. You're so small, I didn't see you."
"I'm not small! You're just a huge bear!"
"I'll take that as a compliment! Still a ways off from wrestling bears, though. Gotta train harder."
Han Su-ryeon and Kang Dae-man bickered for a while longer. After his second apology, she seemed to cool off, sighing as she sat down.
In the brief silence, Kang Dae-man looked around and spoke.
"Anyway, why's everyone here so early? Meeting's at 7:20, right?"
"7:20?"
I echoed questioningly and glanced at Kim Jin-seo. She ducked her head, hiding her flushed face behind her hair, and peeked at me cautiously.
"...Sorry."
She murmured an apology, looking ashamed, eyes downcast.
*
Finally, the real meeting time of 7:20 arrived. Seong Ha-yeon and Yeo Min-seo arrived right on time. Yeo Min-seo especially—in she strode exactly at 7:20, kicking off the meeting immediately. She might be clueless about other things, but her punctuality was razor-sharp.
"All here? Except Humility?"
Yeo Min-seo scanned the room. Everyone was present minus the Humility Holy Mark. She slammed down her stack of documents and suddenly clapped at the air.
"Good news. Do Seon-woo reelected as Charity Holy Mark. Applause!"
Clap clap clap.
Han Su-ryeon and Kang Dae-man joined in, followed by Seong Ha-yeon and Kim Jin-seo. The cheers lasted about three seconds.
As the clapping died, Yeo Min-seo picked up her papers again.
"Keep this meeting short. First up: we need a planning proposal. For the religious short essay contest."
Thud.
She tossed a thick stack in front of me.
"So, Do Seon-woo—you just got congratulated, you're on it. Have it done by next week."
"Right off the bat—"
"Handover and hands-on training, whatever."
Handover and hands-on. What a joke, I thought. It was basically busywork.
"Next."
Without waiting for my response, she moved on—like my opinion didn't matter.
Yeo Min-seo alternated between her papers and the window outside.
"This one's really important... That fucking Humility prick!"
"Eek! S-sorry."
She spat curses irritably, startling Seong Ha-yeon into a weird squeak. Yeo Min-seo crumpled her papers in a trembling fist.
"...Can't proceed without Humility. He said he'd be here. Kang Dae-man, any word from that asshole?"
"Uh... Says he's arriving soon!"
"Yeah? Let me see."
Kang Dae-man showed her his phone screen. It looked tiny in his massive hand. Yeo Min-seo's face hardened as she glanced over.
"Said 'soon' ten minutes ago and still not here? He's insane?"
"Don't yell at me. Not my fault."
"Fine. Not yours. It's that Humility fucker's fault. All his fault..."
As she sighed heavily to calm down—
Bang!
The door flew open. Someone strolled in. Sharp, upturned eyes, skin tanned to a subtle brown, bleached-yellow hair looking dry and frizzy. Solid, defined muscles everywhere. He sauntered across casually and plopped into the head seat at the round table like he owned it.
"Ah... Overslept a bit."
He muttered listlessly, hand on his forehead as if nursing a headache. Every executive stared at him, dumbfounded.
"...Why stare like that? I'm, uh, Humility. Humility Holy Mark. Ma Yu-hyeon. Don't know me? You do."
Ma Yu-hyeon. Grandson of the Romanica Pope. A name no cleric could ignore—and as Voodoo Cult Leader, I especially couldn't.
Because of his two "talents."
"Humility Holy Mark finally graces us. Five minutes late, no apology."
Yeo Min-seo broke the silence. Grandson or not, her tone didn't change.
Ma Yu-hyeon fixed his signature slit-eyed stare on her briefly.
"Uh... Overslept, like I said?"
"Overslept... You think we come early 'cause we hate sleeping in? Using that as an excuse? All the agenda items delayed 'cause of you—"
"Whoa, why so mad? Making me look bad. You ugly bitch."
Ma Yu-hyeon grinned goofily, looking half-witted and dumb, casually hurling the insult.
Yeo Min-seo gaped at him. Tension crackled between them. A fight felt imminent. They'd barely met a minute ago.
Soon, divine power flowed from Yeo Min-seo's fingertips. Han Su-ryeon jumped up to watch.
"Hey, hey! No fighting here—!"
Before she could intervene, Yeo Min-seo completed her blessing circle. Seemed like a physical enhancement one. She meant to beat Ma Yu-hyeon with it.
"...Huh?"
Then, Yeo Min-seo stared blankly at her arm, murmuring in confusion. The blessing light, meant for her, had veered off course—straight to Ma Yu-hyeon.
Brilliant light swirled around his thick forearm. He shot up, striding silently toward her.
"What the fuck. Why...!"
Yeo Min-seo backed away, hastily drawing another circle. Another physical blessing. But again, the light swerved, absorbing into him.
Her face stiffened in panic. Ma Yu-hyeon gripped her throat lightly with his glowing, thick arm.
"Fiery girls aren't bad. Kinda like it..."
More terrifying than a death threat. Panic twisted into fear on Yeo Min-seo's face. First time I'd seen her like that. Her body trembled faintly.
Silence hung. Then Ma Yu-hyeon released her throat, flashing an innocent grin around the room.
"Just kidding~ Kidding. No fighting, right?"
"...How."
She forced her shaking body still and spoke. He waved his finger airily; the blessing light around his arm danced accordingly.
"Dunno how. Just could since birth."
He could control divine power flows. Just like I controlled voodoo mana flows.
His first talent.
Ignoring her slack-jawed stare, he continued.
"Why so tense? Introductions? You said Purity Holy Mark reelected?"
"...Charity. Purity's me."
"Ah, right. Charity changed."
His slit eyes slid to Seong Ha-yeon. A sticky, unsettling gaze.
"Oh, Seong Ha-yeon? You're prettier now. Remember me?"
"...No."
"Aw~ C'mon. We played lots as kids. Slept in the same bed too."
"W-what nonsense—!"
"Ah, wrong girl. Whatever."
Seong Ha-yeon and Ma Yu-hyeon knew each other. She didn't seem to like him—maybe even hated him.
"Anyway, who's the new kid..."
He calmed the fuming Seong Ha-yeon vaguely, scanning the room. His sharp eyes licked over each executive: Kang Dae-man, Han Su-ryeon, Kim Jin-seo, Yeo Min-seo, and me.
I ducked my head to avoid his gaze.
Suddenly, a distant memory surfaced. Days after my father, the second Voodoo Cult Leader, died and the Holy War ended. Romanica zealots, the "Leviathan," raided homes, arresting Voodooists. They herded them into pre-dug pits, set them ablaze. The black, acrid smoke blotted out the stars—hence "The Night Without Stars."
"Saw your face at the inauguration, I think. Uh..."
Ma Yu-hyeon, just ten then, was key in purging Voodooists. With his sharp instincts, he picked them out. No clue how. As Pope's grandson, he could distinguish Romanica faithful from heretics by sight alone... Or so I guessed.
After, he earned the moniker "Heretic Detector."
"There you are."
His second talent. I felt his piercing gaze lock on me unmistakably.