The Distorted Balance
In a single night, the drug organization was rounded up.
The takedown had been a little rough, but not a single person had died. A day was all it took for every last one of them to be hauled in by the police and start confessing their crimes.
There was just one regretful point...
"Apparently, from what they're saying, this organization has been operating for quite a long time."
Meaning they'd only caught the tail — not the main body.
I gave a light nod of agreement.
"Ah, so it was like that after all?"
"Pardon?"
"I dug around and found this inside."
Usually it was Hyewon's job to pull something out, but this time I was the one doing the revealing.
"A USB drive?"
"Their ledgers. There were paper documents too, but I left those at home."
"......???"
A look that said, What on earth are you talking about?
Nothing particularly strange about it.
"I've just seen a lot of this kind of thing."
Living as an A-Class awakener, I'd taken every kind of request under the sun. Along the way, you end up learning things whether you want to or not. One of those things was a particular flaw of the police as an organization: they make a big show of catching minor crimes while leaving the major ones untouched.
"Cases that are too much to handle, they just grab a few tails and call it done, or thrash around trying to bury the whole thing."
One of the many flaws of a country with such a small piece of land. Someone's crime never ends as simply that person's crime. When the tangled web of people behind them all band together to bury it, the reality is that it gets buried. Having watched that play out more times than I can count, there was no way I'd just hand something this important over to the police with my brain switched off.
"Look into it carefully. I took a quick glance, and there are some pretty interesting people mixed up in this."
"Interesting people meaning..."
"Not quite fatal, but enough to make them give up an arm?"
"............"
It was clear who that remark was aimed at.
Hyewon quietly nodded and took the USB.
"Thank you. I'll make proper use of this opportunity."
"Yeah. I'm counting on you."
I wasn't asking for much. Just enough to dodge the eldest son's gaze. Just enough for Nature to move freely. If we could draw that much attention away, I'd be satisfied.
A few days later.
"The Hero Party has declared a raid."
"....?"
My wish had come true in a rather strange way.
Recently, a few incidents had occurred.
Take, for example, a special sex crime case involving hypnosis. And the one who captured that villain was none other than an awakener employed by Yoo Hyewon of the Yuseong Group. In other words, it became Yoo Hyewon's achievement.
That was equivalent to dropping a stone onto the still surface of the confrontation between the eldest son and the youngest. Having lost the military power of the NTR Party and without even a proper business of her own, the second daughter's unpleasant signs of rebellion — the two factions naturally began to suspect as much. And right then, of all times, she'd set up something called a "Spirit Idol" group, so they couldn't help but keep her in check...
"With Oppa taking down the drug organization this time, it seems that spark turned into certainty."
"....???"
Yoo Hyewon, who had seemed to have temporarily withdrawn from the succession struggle, had in fact been building her reputation behind the scenes — that was the conclusion the two factions reached. And so the Hero Party declared a raid. That was Hyewon's explanation.
"Unlike that guy, the Hero side only has one method available to them."
They were in completely different fields when it came to competing. And the options for checking us with something else were limited. So the only thing they could put forward was a subjugation declaration — a raid. The idea was to lead with what they did best and gather people's attention once more.
And the fact that the youngest — that the Hero Party had moved — meant...
"That guy has lifted his check on us."
"....Hmm?"
The eldest son could no longer focus his checks solely on the second daughter.
"No. More than just lifting the check — he even called saying he'd support us."
He was actively encouraging our success. Trying somehow to disperse attention. Assuming the pie grew larger for everyone, opposing us was far easier than opposing the Hero.
"Wait a second. That means...."
"Don't worry. Of course I refused. No matter how stupid I might be, you think I'd take that disgusting hand?"
"No, no. That's not what I—"
—He lifted the check?
So from now on, we can operate normally?
...Ssssss.
I felt uneasy. A subtle unease I couldn't quite put into words. It was like having a fuse stuck up my ass with a flame slowly crawling toward it from the tip.
"So, about that."
This time it was Hyewon who opened her bag. Out came a familiar tablet — and the schedules packed densely inside it.
"You've rested well enough so far, haven't you?"
"Hyewon."
"Everything we couldn't do until now. Everything we fell short on. We need to make it all up."
"Yoo Hyewon."
"We got lucky. Would you believe it's right in the middle of university festival season? We're going to seize this chance and spread Nature's name far and wide!"
".........."
Her eyes had spun out of control. Normally she'd restrain herself to some degree, but maybe because of everything she'd been through — and because she saw this as a chance for a counterattack — she was like this.
I made a loud breathing sound and slowly let out a yawn.
"!,....Why... are you like that? Is something wrong?"
"Hyewon. Didn't I tell you before."
That the Spirit Contractor type doesn't have what it takes to do idol work.
"But the debut stage went just fine, didn't it?"
"Studying sixteen hours a day is easy enough."
But the moment you slap on the words every single day and consistently, the difficulty shoots through the roof in an instant.
"Mental fortitude is especially important for Spirit Contractors. And you think the kids can handle this schedule?"
"...Yes. I think it's possible."
"?"
Possible?
"Possible" is a word I use while looking at Hecate.
?
"Alright, fine. Why do you think that? Let's hear it."
"...This is data I gathered separately. About the stress awakeners feel when entering dungeons and the resulting drop in combat power."
A graph sloping downward overall. But a few differences were visible.
"One is the case where they never rested and pushed through the raid. Another is where they took rests here and there. And another is the graph when conditions were optimized as much as possible — proper sleep, music, good food, and so on."
There were differences in how steeply they declined. Naturally, the never-rested case dropped the fastest. Next was the intermittent rest case. The one that maintained normal levels for about a month was the optimized conditions case.
"I'm not asking for much. Just one month. Until the university festival period is over."
I'll arrange the conditions myself. I'll even remodel a vehicle separately to fit. I'll do everything I can so that the scenario Oppa is worried about never happens.
"So.... just this once. Just this one time — could I ask this of you?"
"...Honestly, I want to tell you to cut the bullshit and end this right here."
It wasn't that she hadn't thought it through at all. She'd clearly done her research and put thought into it. And on top of that, Hyewon had shown the best effort she was capable of.
So what could I do?
"Let me say this up front — this graph looks like it was made for people who are already accustomed to the dungeon environment. Doing something you're used to versus experiencing something completely new — the gap in what you feel is different."
I warned her.
"I don't know about Yeonhwa, but Sujin is a complete civilian. You think she can hold up?"
I cautioned her.
"And the Nature kids are only just now managing one person's share as Spirit Contractors — they aren't truly carrying a full person's weight. Their communion with the spirits is still lacking, and they don't even communicate well. Even if they pull it off once, keeping it going might be hard."
I laid out the worst-case scenario.
And even so—
"You still think they can do it?"
".....Yes."
If she truly believed they could.
"I have no idea~~"
What else could I do? I was, after all, just the hired help. Listening to the employer was the established order of things, for now.
However.
"If the kids collapse, that's not on me, right?"
"Yes. I'll do my utmost to take care of them."
"And I'll quit as producer too."
"........"
I set conditions.
"If you're thinking something soft like 'we've got me as insurance, so it'll work out somehow' — cancel the schedule right now and go home."
"..........Yes."
Having gone this far, at least she wouldn't treat it carelessly.
I sent Hyewon off to relay the message to the Nature kids as well, then slowly leaned back against the chair and lay there.
"Wonder how this'll turn out."
They probably wouldn't last. Even with mid-course adjustments, I could see a hundred percent chance of them breaking down. But she probably wouldn't break her stubbornness without experiencing it firsthand.
...I doubt it, but still.
What if they collapsed right before a stage? If. If by any chance that kind of thing happened...
".............."
Without a word, I pressed a hand between my legs.
You're going to be a good, pretty boy, right?
"Hey now."
I never called for you.
A good child is nice, but a good and pretty child is even better!
"I'd rather become cool if possible..."
The pretty side is a hundred times better!
"That's just your personal bias, isn't it?"
I could feel Seiren thrashing her tail in excitement, clearly recalling the academy days. Ah, stop. Please. One dark history is enough.
And she said she'd handle it well herself.
Even if they do it, there's no particular reason for me to go.
"Hecate can go instead."
What are you suddenly talking about, im?
"You said you wanted to do idol work."
That's correct, eum.
Right. This is the important part.
"I can cover for one person...."
As long as the unprecedented situation of two people going down doesn't happen.
As a side note.
Exactly three weeks later.
"I'm sorry, Instructor...."
"I... I can't take any more...!!"
"Aha~♬"
Harin down! Sujin down!
The cross-dressing I'd done at the academy — now it looked like I'd be showing it off nationwide, on stage.
...I felt a pure, simple desire to die, just a little.