The Promise
"Bro, those crews still around?"
As you'd expect from a former tracker, Clock-out Man's curiosity went straight for the ground.
"That was ages ago. And if they were still around, you'd be the one who knew."
"Well."
"Gwanghwamun, Dongdaemun, and Dongnimmun—the Independence Gate crew I hit. All of those outfits are gone now, but the settlements that carried their line on are still standing."
"Oh, stubborn in a different way? If they managed to put up settlements, they were pretty successful raiders, right?"
"They didn't think of themselves as raiders. What was it they called themselves—men of honor? Common thugs?"
"Gangsters like that show up in every age."
The settlements had been founded a long time ago. A good many of the members from those days were already gone from the world.
"So which settlement is Gwanghwa-gate these days?"
"That one's the exception."
"Huh?"
"They never built a settlement."
The Gwanghwamun crew's short march home. The road back was light, because nearly everything they'd carried on the way out had been food. Now the weight was less than half.
"Boss, we could take that for you."
Me. The first of us to be made a slave.
"No. It's the first time, so I'll do it myself."
The boss took the slave's education into his own hands. Calling it education was generous. For now there was nothing grand about it—only walking apart at the very rear, letting his lecture sink in.
"It's not as if we've ever assigned anyone a slave of their own. Once we're back, you'll start on the odd jobs. The work nobody wants. Cleaning, that sort of thing. You look like you can handle yourself, so when we need a training partner you'll have to step in. And—"
The usual talk.
"That's about the size of it. Any questions?"
"You needed a slave?"
"Pfft!"
One of the crew walking ahead glanced back.
"Ahem. Nothing to see."
The boss flapped a hand at his men.
"Anyway. What am I supposed to do about the way you talk."
"Do I have to do the 'master' thing?"
"Wha—? No, you don't have to go that far, but you are a slave, so I was wondering if maybe you ought to speak a little more respectfully..."
Hm.
"Even if you meet a stranger, you never use honorifics. You hear me?"
Nothing for it, then.
"Forget it. Form isn't what matters. Talk however you like. So long as you act the slave, that's enough."
The kindness itself was what made it suspicious.
"So you really were that hard up for a slave."
"It's more than that, see. You're a kid who's going to go far. Killing you outright would be a waste... Letting talent like this die would be a grievous loss to all mankind, you might say."
"Mmm."
"Well, and it doesn't hurt to have a slave around!"
That one sounded more convincing.
"Truth is, I can't comfortably use the Dongdaemun or Dongnimmun men as slaves. Trust them with what? All they ever think about is knifing us in the back. Even the one dragged in with you was caught snatching our goods."
"From the way they told it, they seemed awfully wronged."
"Hah. You believe that? Those guys are provoking us on purpose."
"Provoking you?"
The boss laid it out. Dongdaemun and Dongnimmun were in a loose alliance, straining every nerve to drive Gwanghwamun off. Off this very ground.
"We will never give this land up. Do you have any idea what it took us to get this far...!"
Land they'd won the hard way, hauling taxes to the government. Gwanghwamun had been sinking roots here long before anyone else—the groundwork for a settlement. They'd staked the claim first. Then the army showed up late, pushing in with talk of building a forward base.
"Thugs, the lot of them. Nothing but."
A foundation was already laid, so simply pulling out was impossible. All-out war with government troops, on the other hand, would have been suicide. What Gwanghwamun chose was guerrilla war.
"We didn't pick this spot for nothing. We know this ground better than they do—sniping included. And luckily for us, that unit wasn't exactly a first-rate bunch."
The army had no need to grind itself down in a war of attrition either. They could always look for another site. But they couldn't leave empty-handed.
"So we negotiated."
The result was the present arrangement: Gwanghwamun would pay the tax and take the land.
"Pure daylight robbery, I'm telling you. Those are the real raiders."
In exchange, the army agreed to watch their backs until the settlement stood. That much had been fine.
"Lately the Dongdaemun and Dongnimmun bastards have been nothing but trouble."
Spoilers had arrived. It rankled them that a man could pay a little coin and raise a settlement under the government's wing, and people had shown up who meant to shove Gwanghwamun aside and take the deal for themselves.
"They keep picking fights, but that's all it amounts to. I hear you worked over seven of the Dongnimmun boys yourself?"
"A man's got to eat—"
The boss ground both palms into my cheeks.
"Th-there—"
"You did damn well!"
"Guh."
"While you were at it, you should've killed the lot of them. Next time, you kill them. Understood?"
Mind you, everything so far was nothing but the boss's side of it. There was no telling how much of it was true.
Even so—
"Anything else you want to ask?"
If I had my way, I'd rather all of it were true.
We hadn't gone all that far before it was mealtime again.
"Food! It's food time! Food!"
The boss lost his mind.
"Bring the food!"
I learned later that this was the boss at an ordinary meal. Last time he'd been holding himself in, on account of me and the rest of the merchandise.
"What are you doing? Eat."
"Yeah."
"Eat up! Eat up! Leave a scrap and you'll regret it!"
"Mm."
He'd said he lived for moments like this. By the time I'd cleared about half my food, the boss had already finished his entire share—and his share had been twice mine.
"By the way, you really have no idea what your Core ability is?"
"Mmph—cough."
"Finish eating, then talk. Chew it properly. You'll choke."
I was chewing as properly as a man could, and the boss, grown bored, kept on.
"There was a reason I believed every word you said last time."
So it was about that.
"You still don't know how to use your ability properly? Have you even figured out what it is?"
"Something like that."
"I see. That can happen."
"You believe me?"
"When did you use the Core?"
"It hasn't even been two months."
"I see."
"...You believe that, too?"
He'd believed me every time I opened my mouth.
"If I'm to repay you for speaking straight—my ability is full of flaws."
Along with words I hadn't understood.
"You already know this, but my Core ability tells me whether someone has ever used an Ability Core."
"That's a hell of an ability. I've never even heard of anything like it."
"Same here. I've never heard of another ability user like me."
"You can tell just by touching them?"
"That's right. Using it is simple as anything."
"Incredible... With something like that, couldn't you make a name as a hunter?"
He picked up a piece of meat from in front of him and pushed it into my mouth.
"Mmph."
"What's the use of a mouth that sits idle?"
He meant listen.
"I applied. Hunter trainee. They wouldn't take me."
"Mm?"
"Like I told you before, my ability has a fatal flaw."
That flaw was why he'd been able to trust me.
"My power only works on someone who used an Ability Core less than a hundred days ago."
"Ah."
Now it made sense.
"You still don't know how to use your ability properly? Have you even figured out what it is?"
Someone who had only just used an Ability Core could easily be in that state. It happened often enough.
"It hasn't even been two months."
And I'd even told him, straight out, when I'd used it. Through his own ability, the boss could confirm I'd been honest. So that was why he'd believed me.
"...Suddenly I've lost my appetite. You eat plenty."
After he'd already cleaned his own plate.
So the boss had wanted to be a hunter. It was a serious flaw, no question. The restriction was far too tight.
"Why are you eating like that?"
"I've kind of lost my appetite too—"
"You dare?"
I had cause.
"He won't stop staring."
He was some distance off, but I could feel it—a look like it was boring into me. The one who'd faced me in the duel. His older brother had taken a bad wound.
"Well, that can't be helped. It isn't something I can do for you."
"I didn't ask you to."
Uncomfortable.
He'd stay like that from here on, too.
"Bad blood belongs to the people in it. Even if the end of it is revenge, that's their own responsibility. See to it yourselves. It isn't a matter for anyone else to stick their nose into."
I knew that.
"Count yourself lucky that guy's brother didn't die. Recovery will take a long time, but it shouldn't get much in the way of living."
"Mmm..."
"Honestly, if you look at that incident alone, the proper thing would be for you to offer up your life, but—"
"Mmm."
"As I said, I think highly of you for not killing your opponent, and for showing mercy. But if you run into the Dongnimmun bastards again, that time you kill them. Understood?"
"Mm."
"What's with that reaction?"
"What's the difference? That man's brother, or Dongnimmun—a life is a life all the same... mmph!"
Another piece of meat jammed in.
"Why are you stating the obvious? An arm bends inward. You look after your own."
Ah. Right.
"My pack?"
"Don't worry. It's stored at the hideout. Your P210 is there too, just as it was."
Thank god.
"Well. A slave's property is his master's property, no?"
"..."
"I'll make a special allowance and permit private property."
Was I supposed to be grateful for that?
"Anyway, the rest is all survival gear, but one strange thing caught my eye."
"Hm?"
"There was a broken mirror."
"That's survival gear too."
"Eh?"
"I'm practicing my acting."
"Aha? Pfft—!"
"Why are you laughing?"
He was smacking his own leg, barely keeping the laugh from leaking out.
Am I that funny?
"Kkh—! This is a real masterpiece. Pfft!"
"Of what?"
Only after his thigh had gone red did the boss finally get hold of himself.
"Hoo... Right. Acting matters. It's a skill that can carry you through a crisis even when you haven't got a thing to your name. You're the first I've seen who goes so far as to hone it in front of a mirror, mind you."
"In the old world there were people called actors, who did it for a living. They say they always kept a mirror beside them when they practiced."
"I follow. You really are something else."
Even now, over there, the man was still staring at me.
"Son Jeonggu. You are going to be a great man."
If that meant turning out like the Old Man, I'd pass.
"I mean it. I'll stake my word on it. Land yourself a decent Core ability, and the one who walks into the Geofront someday might be standing right in front of me."
"..."
"You know what the Geofront is, don't you? Just recently, one hunter finally—"
"I'm not interested in that place."
"Ah?"
"Boss! It's about time we headed out!"
"Right. Get ready."
The one glaring at me didn't take his eyes off me until the very last moment.
"Once we're back at the hideout, I'll help you find out what your ability is. That's my field."
"...Really?"
"I told you what my ability is. I've met plenty of people like you."
Fair enough.
"It's a theory of my own, but I suspect the kind of Core ability a person gets has something to do with their nature."
"Their nature?"
"Well. It's still an unfinished theory."
Nature.
My nature...?
"Oh, and one more thing."
"Hm?"
The last words the boss left me with then. At the time, I couldn't tell exactly what he meant.
Did that mean he hoped I'd leave someday?
Or—
"Until that day comes, you will be raised as my right hand."
—that he never wanted to let me go.