Veiled Peace 2
[Photo]
Can you see the photo? Holy Church priests and knights in front of the greenhouse, uprooting mandrakes and doing purification work? But right next to them, Atonement Slice delivery bikes lined up waiting lol Red Skull delivery guys hauling pizza boxes, and the knights receiving them like they're holy relics. They didn't kneel, though. What the hell is this? Aren't they supposed to be enemies? Why's the vibe so chummy?
Gwacheon, Eden Farm.
"Uwahahaha! You got played! Serves you right!"
Dokki rolled on the ground clutching his belly. In front of him sat Kim Sil-jang, covered head to toe in soot, staring off into space with a blank expression.
"Kim Sil-jang, Kim Sil-jang. Who told you to step up? 'Sense'? Pfft. Was that your idea of sense? Blowing up Adel-noona's lab?"
Dokki snickered about how the Red Skull crew's rep had shot back up. Kim Sil-jang couldn't even muster a retort and just gazed at the distant mountains.
...Heh. Screwed up big time.
The core he'd chucked into the trash like garbage had exploded, blasting the hideout's roof sky-high—and taking Kim Sil-jang's career prospects with it. Now all he could do was quietly haul pizza boxes under Adel's piercing glare.
"Hey! Kim Sil-jang! You gonna move those cheese ball boxes or what? Move it!"
Adel's command rang out.
"Yes, sir! On it! Won't happen again!"
Kim Sil-jang bolted like a raw recruit under strict discipline.
With a huff, Adel switched to her capitalist smile, rearming herself.
"Delivery's here~ Thanks for your hard work~"
Adel approached the Holy Church knights with the smile of a saint. Behind her, the crew hauled mountains of pizza boxes and side dishes.
"Oho! It's here!"
The 1st Battalion commander of the Estel Knights gulped hard in welcome. He tried for a solemn face, but the pepperoni scent assaulting his nose disarmed him instantly.
"Long trip—must've been tough."
"Nah, what're you talking about? Just doing the obvious."
"By the Saintess's order, we'll thoroughly analyze these wicked foods."
"Oh! The boss threw in extra cheese balls as a service."
Adel winked and popped open a cheese ball box. The savory aroma hit, and the exhausted priests and knights' eyes lit up.
"Ch-cheese balls too???"
"Boss... truly grateful. How can we repay this grace..."
"Come on, eat before it cools. The cheese hardens and gets gross."
Adel smoothly took charge. While the Holy Church folks got lost in their "analysis" feast of pizza and cheese balls, she slipped back.
"I'll tidy up around here then. Where're the trash bags...?"
"Over there, probably."
The 1st Battalion commander mumbled around a mouthful of pizza, eyes on the cheese balls.
Pretending to pick up trash, Adel wandered the farm's corners. She held tongs, but faint purple mana threaded from her fingertips like spider silk.
One here.
She dropped a tiny mana stone shard in a corner of the purified mandrake field.
One at the entrance too.
Her eyes darted sharply: Holy Church barriers, blind spots in surveillance, temporary warehouse stacked with purified mandrakes.
"Heh heh heh... Everyone's too busy stuffing their faces, huh?"
Adel hummed cheerfully. Her meticulous prep for Lee Han's orders was going too smoothly.
-Adel. While they're distracted, plant the "eyes." I'll come collect them later.
"Perfect. This sector's under my watch now."
Adel set the final surveillance spell and sauntered back for the empty pizza boxes like nothing happened.
"1st Battalion commander~ I'll grab the empties~"
"Thanks for the feast! Same time tomorrow!"
"Sure thing~ Anytime."
Holy Church and villain org. Their bizarre symbiosis was ripening.
A week had passed in the Saintess's office.
"It's over... Finally over!"
Isha von Estel cried out in. In her hand was the confiscated latest-model smartphone.
A week of digital detox. No short-form vids, no gallery. And her self-imposed detox: no pizza. Double detox to break her pizza addiction.
The hellish training period had ended.
"Well done, Saintess."
Priest Yohan smiled warmly.
"While you endured, the Eden Farm purification went smoothly. All the mandrake poison is gone—now they're just valuable herbs."
"Yeah. Thanks to you keeping an eye on it, Yohan."
Isha half-replied, frantically unlocking her phone. Her fingers flew to the Atonement Slice order app.
Wait for me, pepperoni. I'm coming.
"...Huh?"
Isha's face froze at the unwelcome sight. A popup on the app screen.
Emergency Closure Notice
Dear valued customers,
Due to preemptive response to a certain customer's excessive orders exceeding daily production limits, we've front-loaded materials, leading to supply issues for the time being.
Thus, Atonement Slice will temporarily suspend operations starting today. We'll return as soon as supplies stabilize.
Thank you for your understanding.
Atonement Slice Official
"Closure...?"
The smartphone slipped from Isha's hand.
"No way... My lifetime sub? My VIP perks?"
She'd endured a week. Survived on brown rice and greens for that dopamine hit.
Bankrupt? Now?
"Saintess! Congratulations!"
The 1st Battalion commander burst in. His face beamed like a triumphant general.
"Operation success! Our relentless 'eat 'em bankrupt' plan worked! They've waved the white flag!"
"......"
"Intel says they couldn't handle material costs—bankrupt! We choked their funds dry! Hahaha!"
The commander boomed with laughter. Yohan nodded along.
"Truly, Saintess's strategy is brilliant. Crushing foes with economics, not force. Gotta admit this op nailed it."
"......"
Everyone praised Isha in unison. All acclaim for her cunning plan.
But inside, Isha burned.
No... That's not it...
I just wanted pizza.
"Saintess? What's wrong? Not happy?"
"N-no... I am. Suuuper... happy."
Isha forced a smile. Tears she couldn't hold back streamed down.
"Ugh... Tears of joy. Our hearts swell too."
"Honestly... it was blissful torture. That pizza was good."
The knights smacked their lips, lost in memory. Isha clenched her fists.
Lee Han... Just you wait. You did this on purpose, right? Closed on the day my detox ends? Right?
Her eyes blazed with love-hate.
This was blatant provocation.
"Boss. Closing for real?"
Black Rose asked worriedly. I lounged on the sofa, tossing popcorn into my mouth.
"Just pretending. Gotta make 'em drop their guard."
Atonement Slice's shutdown was smokescreen to divert Holy Church eyes. While the Saintess and knights toasted victory, their vigilance would be at its slackest.
"Time to grab the real prize."
Purified mandrakes. Top-grade mana boosters, detoxed over a week by Holy Church sweat.
No way I'd hand them over. The elder made 'em; I smashed him. Spoils are mine.
"Everyone ready?"
Adel, Black Rose, Dokki, and Kim Sil-jang answered in sync.
"Ready!"
"Just to be sure—you're not thinking what I think you are."
"Huh?"
I clarified for the hopeful crew.
"You're sitting this out."
"Huh?"
Dokki's eyes bulged.
"Bro, what? We can go! We'll pull our weight!"
"This one's solo. Has to be my lone job."
I drew the line firm. Messing with Holy Church stuff wasn't petty theft. Invading a national—no, religious—sanctum. Tail gets caught, Atonement Slice vaporizes.
"Make alibis."
"Alibis?"
"Yeah. Tonight, you're partying at a Gangnam club. Loud, flashy. Witnesses everywhere."
I tossed Black Rose a fat cash stack.
"Rose. You lead. Post proof on SNS, Insta live too. Title it 'Last bash before the pizza joint croaks' for extra effect."
"Ah... Got it, my king."
Black Rose smiled.
Gwacheon, Eden Farm temporary warehouse. Guards were tight: Holy Church knights on 24/7 rotation, detection barriers everywhere.
Holes everywhere.
I saw them. Cracks from Adel's pre-planted devices.
—Whirrr
A barrier shimmered faintly. Adel's mana stone activated, scrambling detection.
I slipped through like a shadow.
Inside, neat boxes held pristine white purified mandrakes. No more human faces screaming. Pure mana orbs glowing softly.
"Thanks for the hard work, Saintess. I'll repay the debt handsomely."
I opened sub-space and triggered Adel's spell.
Wide-Area Collection Mode: ON
—Shooooosh!
Boxes dissolved into light, vanishing. No alarms.
"Dine and dash complete."
I turned without regret.
Next morning, Holy Church was chaos.
"Th-they're gone!"
"What?!"
Priest Yohan shrieked.
"The mandrakes... all the purified ones! Nothing passed through overnight—not even an ant!"
"What nonsense! Surveillance? Barrier logs?!"
"Nothing... absolutely nothing. Like they evaporated..."
Isha's face hardened at the report.
Evaporated?
Impossible without inside help or perfect barrier knowledge.
One name flashed in her mind.
"Lee Han..."
Her fists trembled.
"That thieving bastard... He actually did it!"
Fuming, she yanked out her emergency flip phone. Speed dial 1.
—Riiiing
Signal connected; familiar voice soon.
-Yeah. What.
Sleepy, annoyed drawl. His nonchalance flipped her lid.
"Where are you."
-Figuring that out's your job, no?
She ground her teeth.
"Why take them?"
-Why? They were mine to begin with.
"...What?"
-Yeah, sure, Holy Church sweated for it. But we baked and delivered pizzas non-stop. Cheese balls on the house too—
"Hey!!!"
-Ow, ears. No need to yell.
"That's outright theft! State property seizure!"
-C'mon, don't be so uptight. Busy—hanging up.
Click. Line dead.
Isha stared blankly at the flip phone.
"Lee Han..."
Rage boiled anew inside her.