Chapter 148
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Interrogation and Cherries
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"I will arrest you for murder!"
"That guy was the first to insult the armament I made, calling it crappy……!"
"Excuses are unnecessary! Off to the Abyss with you!"
Just like that, I was summarily judged and thrown into the "Abyss," the prison where only the most heinous criminals are locked away…….
"To summarize."
……such things naturally did not happen.
"To treat Cadet Yeom Seong-ha's injuries, Cadet Lee Se-hun cast a curse that proved helpful, but the process caused intense pain and vomiting blood—which I happened to witness at that exact moment."
"That's correct."
After confirming through the medical staff that Yeom Seong-ha had no issues, Ha Seon-woo couldn't help but crack a wry smile upon hearing the full story.
"The timing was artistically perfect."
"That's exactly what I'm saying……."
Ha Seon-woo stepped forward and unlocked the loosely fastened handcuffs around the self-deprecatingly smiling Lee Se-hun's wrists.
"If that was unpleasant, I apologize. It's just procedure during the investigation……."
"It's fine. You were only doing your job."
"Thank you for understanding."
Ha Seon-woo politely bowed his head in greeting before straightening up and reintroducing himself properly.
"While I'm at it, let me greet you again. I'm Ha Seon-woo, an investigator with the Hero Association's Special Affairs Division."
"……."
Lee Se-hun took a fresh look at the neatly introducing investigator.
Dark blue long hair tied back in a ponytail, deep blue eyes, and a impeccably tailored black suit. His soft features gave him more the vibe of a model than an investigator.
On first glance, he seemed incredibly approachable. But Lee Se-hun knew better than anyone that it was a trap.
'Never thought I'd run into him here…….'
Before his regression, during the days he was framed and on the run, an S-rank hero from the Association had hounded him relentlessly.
That was the future of the man standing before him—the Special Affairs Division's team leader, Ha Seon-woo.
'This guy had zero flexibility back then. Is it really okay?'
Of course, there was a time gap compared to the team leader he remembered, so they weren't exactly the same person.
But freaks like the Three Dogs were twisted from the core.
The pre-regression Ha Seon-woo hadn't been remotely normal either, so past or not, he couldn't let his guard down.
'And his background is no joke, either.'
As Lee Se-hun sank into thought recalling memories of Ha Seon-woo—
"Cadet Lee Se-hun?"
With no response, Ha Seon-woo gave him a puzzled look.
"Ah, sorry. Some lingering aftereffects from the injury……."
Lee Se-hun snapped out of it and offered a natural excuse, prompting an "oh no" expression from Ha Seon-woo.
"My apologies. Come to think of it, your injuries were severe……."
Worried something might go wrong during questioning, Ha Seon-woo urgently scanned Lee Se-hun's body—only for his expression to turn peculiar.
According to Babel's report, he should have been bedridden for months, yet he looked perfectly fine—like he could go for a flight without issue.
'And his physical abilities are even stronger than reported.'
They'd said his consciousness had only just returned a few days ago. How could he have changed this much? In the face of this incomprehensible situation, Ha Seon-woo's eyes narrowed.
'No way… are the Ascensionists hiding something?'
Sensing something fishy, Ha Seon-woo eyed Lee Se-hun again. Ripples began to stir in his deep blue irises—
"Investigator."
Lee Se-hun called out calmly.
"Ah, yes. Go ahead."
"If there's no other business, may I go? I have a checkup scheduled soon……."
Ha Seon-woo hesitated at Lee Se-hun's awkward request before nodding.
"Very well. I only came for Cadet Yeom Seong-ha today anyway……."
"Then I'll take my leave."
Lee Se-hun rose, bowed his head, and exited the room. Ha Seon-woo watched his retreating figure with an odd expression.
'Did he notice the skill activation……?'
Slipping away at that precise moment when he'd been about to probe. After a moment's contemplation, Ha Seon-woo shook his head.
'No, unlikely.'
Regardless of anything else, detecting his unique skill 'Heavenly Eye' was no easy feat.
His own Special Affairs colleagues knew about it yet still got caught every time without fail.
'No matter how talented, he's still just a first-year.'
Not something achievable through raw skill or experience alone. Shaking off the needless suspicion, Ha Seon-woo mulled over Lee Se-hun's condition.
'If he's at that level, I could meet him soon.'
He planned to see Lee Se-hun right after finishing with Yeom Seong-ha, so he waited in the room.
About two hours later, with no sign of the room's occupant returning, Ha Seon-woo furrowed his brow.
'When the hell is he coming back?'
He'd said it was just a quick checkup. Why the delay?
Unable to wait any longer, Ha Seon-woo stood to head to the nurses' station—
"Phew, finally discharged… Huh?"
The door opened as nurses entered.
"Why is the investigator here……."
They looked baffled, as if they'd spotted someone they shouldn't. Sensing something amiss, Ha Seon-woo quickly asked:
"Where is Cadet Yeom Seong-ha?"
"Pardon? He completed discharge procedures ages ago and headed home to recover……."
"……."
Ha Seon-woo stared blankly at the nurse's words.
He hadn't made a proper cooperation request amid the chaos, but surely they'd have caught on with an investigator present.
A headache brewing, Ha Seon-woo rubbed his temples and asked the nurses:
"Did he say anything about me?"
"About the investigator…… Ah."
The nurse seemed to recall something, then glanced warily.
"Well……."
"It's for the investigation. Please."
He'd been blatantly ignored at this point—what was there to get mad about?
The nurse pondered briefly before cautiously speaking.
"During his checkup earlier, he said something annoying came up and to hurry with the discharge……."
"……."
[Think of a payment amount by the time I get back.] - Yeom Seong-ha
Lee Se-hun smirked at the message on his phone.
'This guy's dodging the investigation by bolting.'
Depending on the situation, getting nabbed by a Special Affairs investigator usually meant being held for days.
Yeom Seong-ha would've been stuck in the ward, so he'd clearly slipped away before the cooperation request.
'Picked the wrong opponent this time, though.'
Any other investigator might've substituted or postponed, but the Ha Seon-woo he knew would chase him straight to his family home.
Pre-regression, the tenacious bastard had followed him into one of the Six Great Demonic Realms, the Forest of Emptiness, just to shake a pursuer.
'In his prime years, if anything, he'll be even more dogged.'
Chuckling inwardly at Yeom Seong-ha's impending doom, Lee Se-hun returned to his room.
"Hm?"
He spotted a familiar silver-haired silhouette.
"……."
Louise Valente, holding a black plastic bag in one hand, stared down at the bed.
Her back hid the view, but her mood clearly wasn't great.
'No sign of Erika, either.'
Had they crossed paths while he was gone and gotten into it?
Approaching the oblivious Louise, Lee Se-hun spoke up.
"What are you staring at so intently?"
"Eek……!?"
She jolted, whipping around with wide eyes.
Her reaction was as guilty as if caught red-handed stealing. Puzzled, Lee Se-hun glanced toward the bed.
"Hmm……."
A mountain of gift boxes piled beside it, and a single sheet of paper neatly placed atop the blanket.
Inside was an intricate tangle of markings that looked like doodles at first glance. Upon closer inspection, Lee Se-hun's eyes narrowed.
'A spell diagram?'
Though densely intertwined and hard to parse, the structure was unmistakably a spell diagram—one tied to the Inoue clan's sorcery, no less.
The ominous complexity drew his attention, and he read the note at the bottom.
[This should help if you figure it out. Something came up—heading out first.]
'Erika left this behind.'
Her handwriting, familiar from Barrier Composition lectures. Eyeing the contents, Lee Se-hun looked intrigued.
He'd been curious how she'd react to his adapted Ren sorcery, but to think she'd toss him homework like this.
'Not random… probably tied to bonds.'
Cracking this cryptic spell diagram could reveal the "standard" by which she judged him.
Having grasped the situation, Lee Se-hun pocketed the paper and turned to the flustered Louise.
"I-I wasn't snooping! It was right there on the bed, so I just glanced……."
"……."
"For real! Do I look like the type to mess with other people's stuff?!"
Silent stare. Louise huffed indignantly in her defense. Lee Se-hun kept eyeing her before finally smirking.
"Yeah, figured as much."
"Huh?"
"I can tell at a glance if it's been touched. You think I couldn't?"
He casually flopped onto the bed. Louise blinked blankly before realizing she'd been teased, her face flushing beet red.
"You…… you bastard……."
Why does this guy have to mess with me every damn time? Were we sworn enemies in a past life or something? Louise seriously pondered how many punches to throw.
She'd concluded "hit first, think later" and raised her fist—
"So, what'd you think of that spell diagram?"
Lee Se-hun smoothly changed the subject.
"……What about it."
"Straight up—how'd it feel? For me, nothing really clicked."
He recognized Inoue clan sorcery, but he couldn't grasp its activation or the embedded mental image.
'The first step is crucial in this stuff.'
Overthinking alone could lead astray; best to consult someone more gifted.
"Feels like you're just dodging……."
Grumbling curtly, Louise paused before sharing her impression.
"To me, it felt like an unfinished novel."
"Unfinished novel?"
"Like, it seems headed for a solid ending, but then the last line hits: 'But I didn't know. This was the happiest moment of all.' Something like that?"
An oddly abstract take for a spell diagram.
Even she found her own vague explanation baffling and waved it off.
"Forget it. Pretend I said nothing. Evaluations like that aren't helpful anyway……."
"Nah, that's exactly the kind of insight I need."
"What?"
Lee Se-hun explained matter-of-factly to her baffled stare.
"With cryptic diagrams like that, your raw first impression is closest to the truth. Overanalyze, and you drift further away."
"Why further?"
Shouldn't pondering bring you closer? At Louise's question, Lee Se-hun continued.
"Simple—think of paints mixed together."
You can distinguish colors at first, but the more they blend, the harder to separate originals.
Same went for the mental image at a spell's core.
"Interpreting without clear direction warps it toward your own mental image bit by bit. Not bad, but it diverges from the source."
"So… my initial vibe was closest to the creator's mental image?"
"Spot on."
Those without talent wouldn't even register it, but Louise—with her gift for word magic and mental images—was reliable.
"……Makes it one creepy-ass sorcery, then. Seems harmless but gives off bad vibes."
"Pretty ambiguous all around."
It could veer mundane—less than happy but steady—or plunge into total despair.
Lee Se-hun mulled the messy image from various angles before pausing.
'Enough for now.'
This level pointed to Inoue secret arts.
Rushing risked tangling it worse; better to unravel step by step.
Sorting his thoughts on Erika's "homework," Lee Se-hun eyed the awkwardly standing Louise.
"So, what's with the plastic bag?"
"Huh? Oh, uh……."
She glanced awkwardly at the black bag in her hand.
"Didn't wanna show up empty-handed, so I grabbed some fruit……."
She muttered, sneaking peeks at Erika's lavish gift pile by the bed.
He couldn't see inside, but the packaging screamed luxury—leagues beyond hers.
'Of all the timing, right after that girl…….'
Grumbling inwardly, Louise subconsciously tried hiding the bag behind her back—
Snatch!
Lee Se-hun swiftly yoinked it.
"Hey, hey!"
"Huh, cherries."
Louise lunged desperately to reclaim it, but he deftly evaded while popping one in his mouth.
Jason cherries—the ones he'd force-fed her endlessly during word magic training. At the familiar taste, Lee Se-hun smirked her way.
"These are good. Thanks."
"……."
A guileless expression of gratitude, no more.
Louise, who'd fretted over stacking up to Erika's gifts, stared blankly before smirking back.
'Yeah… that's this guy for you.'
A total pain who teased and bragged at every chance, yet always considerate in moments that mattered.
Realizing her worries were pointless, Louise settled comfortably into a chair, her face relaxing.
'If he was always like this, it'd be great…….'
Lee Se-hun kept eagerly munching away undeterred. She extended her right hand.
"Gimme some. Been a while."
She hadn't liked them much after all that training nausea, but nostalgia hit today.
Lee Se-hun glanced over.
"Nah."
"……You little—"
The warm mood crumbled in no time flat.
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