Digging for Clues (2)
"So, what do you think, Chairman?"
On the top floor of Hermes, inside the chairman's office, Kim Jian was lost in thought.
It was all because of the massive firestorm of issues that had erupted recently.
"So... you're saying this post was definitely uploaded before the article was published?"
"Yes, sir."
"And... there were no signs of the post being edited?"
"Correct."
The subject of his interest was none other than the rumors surrounding Baek Sowol.
Baek Sowol had deliberately laid the groundwork beforehand to raise her own stock, leaking her connection to Han Yeseo to draw attention.
Thanks to that, she was pulling massive amounts of aggro from all directions.
Normally, guild masters or chairmen of mid-sized corporations rarely lurked on online forums. They simply didn't have the time.
There was a reason Jeong Suhyun was treated as such an oddball.
However, this matter had become such a hot topic that it had ended up being reported directly to Jian.
"Publishing an article takes time. Is there a chance it was leaked during that window?"
"There was an embargo in place, and it's highly unlikely any journalist would be that reckless. We haven't actively tracked it, but if we wanted to, we could trace anything on the internet. Journalists wouldn't take that risk for such little gain. Considering what the Iron Blood Guild Master said, they really did meet, and the connection is real."
"Then what about the eyewitness accounts floating around about a masked person accompanying her?"
"There are no contradictions. Eyewitness accounts of seeing them nearby keep popping up."
Jian tapped his temple, organizing the situation in his mind.
"Binghwa must have a rough idea of their appearance. They would have checked the CCTV. Since the assassin registered at the gate and walked right in, Binghwa has a justification."
"Yes. But according to our sources, they vanished into a CCTV blind spot. It seems they couldn't confirm anything. Right now, only Miss Han Yeseo knows the truth."
"Miss Han Yeseo...? Does she have any intention of speaking?"
"It doesn't seem so. Of course, that might change depending on how Binghwa acts."
"Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but given her recent disciplinary action, I'm not sure how Binghwa will handle this."
"To begin with, she should have received a harsher punishment, but because of mitigating circumstances, it ended with just a public disclosure of her information, didn't it? If she were unlucky, she could have faced jail time."
"To be precise, public opinion was split down the middle. That's why they shifted the responsibility to the guild. Now, public opinion will tilt even further. She almost died because of that information disclosure."
"People will start saying the punishment was too harsh."
"Isn't it her own karma? Even with mitigating circumstances, she shouldn't have crossed the line. If she had stopped at verbal abuse, her information would never have been disclosed. She's still young, so she probably didn't know how to handle failure."
Jian clicked his tongue, looking at Yeseo's article. To his eyes, Yeseo was still just a child.
She had climbed to the incredibly high position of an S-rank at the young age of twenty-two. Even with her immense talent, because she had achieved great success so early, she didn't know how to properly handle an emergency.
"Well, I suppose that applies to me as well."
"No one would think that, Chairman. Haven't you experienced plenty of failures yourself?"
"Well, thank you for saying so, Balak."
A brief moment of banter passed between the chairman and his bodyguard.
"It's out of our hands now. Both Iron Blood and Binghwa will be trying to find this wizard. Let's ignore this for a while and focus more on magic beast research."
"I will report it as such."
There was nothing Hermes could do at this stage. The other party had to make the first move.
There was no reason, justification, or practical benefit to seek them out first.
When the time was right, they would appear naturally.
Or perhaps they would cross paths by chance. Kim Jian decided to simply wait for the future.
Han Yeseo had left a message. They had gotten quite close since their last encounter.
Close enough to make casual plans like this.
Going to a cafe with Yeseo Nuna... Hmm...
Sowol was still not used to calling her "Unni." "Nuna" felt much more natural. But Baek Sowol was a girl now, and she had no intention of denying it.
Calling her Unni was the right thing to do.
Sowol had hesitated for a moment.
From a wizard's perspective, it would be far more productive to spend that time mastering magic. That was the logical choice.
Since they had saved each other's lives, declining wouldn't ruin their relationship.
But... was there any real reason to refuse?
While there was no compelling reason to agree, there was also no major reason to decline.
So she accepted.
And before she knew it, the day of their appointment had arrived.
"Hmm..."
What should she wear?
Setting aside the fact that she didn't know what kind of clothes Baek Sowol used to like, she didn't even know what girls wore when they hung out together.
Last time, they weren't hanging out, so she could just throw on whatever. But this time, they were strictly hanging out. She couldn't afford to look weird.
She could just wear something extremely feminine, but...
How on earth am I supposed to coordinate this...?
The problem was she had no idea how to match these damn clothes.
If she tried to put something together and it looked bizarre, she would stand out even more. What she considered feminine might be totally different from what actual girls considered feminine.
She honestly just wanted to wear a suit.
Back when she was a guy, she never had to worry about this.
The reality of having become a woman hit her hard. No matter how much she tried to ignore it, it was impossible. She really didn't want to experience it this way, though.
"Let's just throw something on and get it over with. It's not like she knows my usual style anyway."
And she could always just say her tastes had changed. Even in the real world, plenty of hipsters insisted on wearing bizarre outfits.
She had seen more than a few handsome, fit celebrities who were terrible dressers. It was a common enough phenomenon.
Let's go with this.
"Hmm, this looks pretty good. Since my body is basically a perfect clothes hanger, even my own taste looks decent on me."
With that, she headed to the cafe to wait for Han Yeseo.
"Over here!"
Yeseo had chosen the same cafe they met at last time.
Same appearance, same atmosphere, same weather.
As Sowol waited, Yeseo appeared. It was a peaceful day. Everything was identical to before.
Except for Yeseo's expression.
Uh... why is she looking at me like that?
"Sowol...?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"Uh... those clothes... why...? Are you entering a gate today...?"
Hmm. Why?
Isn't this perfectly fine?
"What's wrong? Is there an issue?"
"No, it's just... um... how do I even put this...?"
"I thought I dressed quite nicely."
"You what?"
Honestly, wasn't it pretty? It was practically the pinnacle of human engineering.
"Look at this. This sturdy yet elastic pulp, and this top that blends blue and purple—colors that are incredibly hard to find in nature."
"And these pants, which maximize functionality while successfully maintaining durability! Every single piece is a masterpiece of modern technology, embodying the great laws of physics."
Isn't this cool?
"..."
Yeseo seemed so impressed by her explanation that she couldn't even offer a rebuttal.
After a few minutes, her tightly shut lips finally parted.
"Sowol."
"Yes, Unni."
"If you walk around wearing that right now, people are going to think you're crazy."
"Most extraordinary people are a bit crazy, so I'll take that as a compliment."
"No, normally you're supposed to say you're not crazy! Anyway, that looks seriously bizarre, okay?"
Hmm. It's a nice outfit, though. Why is she like this?
Maybe it doesn't look very girly, but don't quite a few girls dress like this?
She had seen plenty of women who dressed like men.
"So, Sowol. I absolutely cannot stand by and watch you walk around in those clothes..."
"But why, Unni...? Honestly, don't you think it looks pretty decent?"
Wasn't this a decent outfit?
"Follow me. Let's get you dressed properly first."
Apparently, it was not decent. Han Yeseo was an S-rank hunter. She was far stronger than Sowol.
Sowol was quietly dragged away.
The moment Han Yeseo saw Baek Sowol, she nearly lost her mind.
What on earth was that outfit? Was that really a human being?
No matter how you look at it, that's crossing the line!
The problem wasn't that she had dressed casually.
The problem was that it was painfully obvious she had tried to dress up.
Since Sowol genuinely believed she looked cool, Yeseo could only stare in utter disbelief.
Even guys hanging out together wouldn't dress like that. And yet, Baek Sowol did.
This was even more shocking than the fact that Sowol was a wizard.
...Not that Yeseo knew men all that well, but any normal human being would think the same.
I should have realized it last time when she showed up in a hoodie and sweatpants!
Back then, Yeseo had assumed Sowol was either traumatized or had some deep, tragic backstory.
But that wasn't it at all!
Sowol didn't seem to have any mental issues. In fact, she looked healthier than Yeseo herself.
Which only made it more mind-boggling.
Are all wizards like this?
Yeseo recalled what her Guild Master had said: Wizards are mostly eccentrics, so take at least half of what they do with a grain of salt.
He was right.
Her behavior was the very definition of eccentric.
Yeseo had already felt a lingering anxiety when Sowol chose to hide her identity despite being able to easily join one of the Big Four guilds and live a comfortable life.
"So, Sowol. I absolutely cannot stand by and watch you walk around in those clothes..."
"But why, Unni...? Honestly, don't you think it looks pretty decent?"
This exchange said it all. It wasn't just a matter of convenience; her aesthetic sense was fundamentally warped.
But unlike other things, fashion sense could be taught.
If she didn't know, Yeseo could just force the knowledge into her, or tell her exactly which pieces to pair together.
"Follow me. I'm going to fix you up properly today."
She dragged Sowol away immediately.
