The Blacksmith Hides His Identity
EP 4 The Blacksmith Hides His Identity
Interrogation room. Detective Han Ga-in tapped the desk. “You wanted revenge. Is that the reason?”
Yoo Jin-ah nodded, trembling. “Hermes… because of Hermes, my life fell apart… I even got divorced…”
“You got divorced because you were incompetent. Why blame someone else? And what does that restaurant have to do with Hermes?”
“Song Hye-na met the producer there. So I thought the owner was the producer…”
“Hah. What if it was just someone you met at a place you liked?”
“…That’s… well…”
Detective Han Ga-in let out a hollow laugh. “So you didn’t even bother confirming whether that person was actually the target of your grudge. You just went there to kill them outright? Someone who might have had nothing to do with your problems? What were you going to do if they really were a complete stranger?”
Yoo Jin-ah lowered her head. “I… didn’t think that far.” Her vision had narrowed; she had simply charged in.
“And there’s an unusual amount of money moving in and out of your account. Four hundred million won. That’s not the kind of money people just hand over casually. Who’s giving you orders? Is this related to that too?”
“That… I don’t… remember.”
Detective Han Ga-in laughed in disbelief. “No. You remember everything else up to this point, don’t you? You recall every other detail, but conveniently nothing about this? Does that make any sense?”
Yoo Jin-ah clutched her head and slumped over the desk. “…I really… can’t remember…”
“If you don’t cooperate with the investigation, you’ll be sentenced to death immediately. Do you understand? You’re currently detained on suspicion of attempted murder of a man.”
“I-I didn’t know. I never imagined he was a man…! Please. P-please spare me! Please save me!”
Beyond the one-way mirror, I watched the scene unfold. When I first heard the words “attempted murder,” I could barely breathe. But seeing her pathetic state now, I felt strangely calm. It was like watching a fearsome beast die from a shotgun blast.
Secretary Yoo Hyun-ah sighed. “We’ve been interrogating her for twenty-four hours, and this is the result. The memory loss is likely genuine. Some high-ranking mages use spells that erase only their own memories in certain situations. She probably had a failsafe prepared in case she was caught by the police or anyone else.”
“I see.”
“…We’ll make an example of her and punish her severely.”
“Understood.”
“…Aren’t you angry? If you wish, you may administer the punishment yourself.”
I scratched my cheek. This might be a situation where getting angry would be normal. Maybe I should even be trembling. I had been earlier.
“It’s just… how should I put it? I thought, ‘So this is how it turns out after all.’”
“Pardon?”
I had always believed that women were inherently violent and abusive. That was the life I had lived in the inner city. Then one day, women from the outside appeared and said, “That’s not true at all,” and “Everyone loves you.” In that moment, my world collapsed in ruins. The world I had known was the complete opposite of the common sense the outside women spoke of. I felt like I had gone mad. Lately, I had even wondered if I was just suffering from unnecessary paranoia and demonizing the world’s women for no reason.
‘But I was wrong.’
Whether inside or outside, it was the same. Evil people existed like this. So watching Yoo Jin-ah tremble beyond the mirror, I felt a strange sense of relief. Her existence proved perfectly that I wasn’t suffering from paranoia.
“…It feels like my faith has grown a little stronger.”
Yoo Hyun-ah covered her mouth. ‘…What’s wrong with him?’
*****
Secretary Yoo Hyun-ah was in agony. Yoo Ji-tae, the man she was personally protecting, had already suffered terribly in the Femi District. Now she had placed him in another painful situation. Yet even on the way to the police station, Yoo Ji-tae hadn’t gotten angry at all. His expression remained completely blank, with a hint of detached amusement.
‘He’s forcing himself to endure.’
That consideration stabbed painfully at Yoo Hyun-ah’s heart. It felt as though he expected nothing from someone like her. She desperately racked her brain. How could she make up for this disgrace? She kept hesitating internally, suffering as she listed Yoo Jin-ah’s crimes and promised severe punishment, trying to appease Yoo Ji-tae.
But Yoo Ji-tae remained calm. So, with a trembling heart, she spoke.
“…Aren’t you angry? If you wish, you may administer the punishment yourself.”
Get angry. Scold me. Hit me if you want. That was what she was begging for.
But Yoo Ji-tae exceeded even her imagination. He smiled.
“It’s just… how should I put it? I thought, ‘So this is how it turns out after all.’”
Yoo Hyun-ah stared at him blankly. He said he wasn’t angry. He even showed trust in her. Yoo Hyun-ah pressed her lips shut.
‘He trusted me.’
Yet she shook her head doubtfully. ‘No. That can’t be right.’ There was no way he wouldn’t blame her in this situation. It was a misunderstanding. Just as Yoo Hyun-ah was about to ask again, Yoo Ji-tae added,
“It feels like my faith has grown a little stronger.”
Yoo Hyun-ah covered her mouth. ‘Even in a situation where his life was targeted, he……’
Yoo Hyun-ah’s heart raced. It was the first time she had received unlimited trust from a man. She wanted to live up to that trust.
“I will find the mastermind no matter what it takes. I stake everything on it.”
Even if the mastermind was a Deity Realm mage, it didn’t matter. She would meet his expectations no matter what.
Just as Yoo Hyun-ah made that resolution…
“The mastermind is Wolgeuk Seonggun.”
“What? You knew?”
“…I heard she was someone important. She didn’t directly threaten me, so I planned to stay quiet if possible. But in the end, it came to this. I’m reflecting on it.”
Yoo Hyun-ah made a troubled face. “You should have told me something like that earlier. It’s dangerous…”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to live quietly if I could.”
Anyway, the authorities began to move. Yoo Jin-ah, who had casually confessed her backer while making threats, had done them a favor.
EP 4 The Blacksmith Hides His Identity
When arresting a criminal, there are two things that must be observed: protecting the victim’s safety and conducting a discreet investigation. Yoo Hyun-ah, whose top priority was my personal safety, made this suggestion.
“Yoo Ji-tae. We’ve prepared a safe house with bodyguards assigned. Let’s go there. We’ll protect you thoroughly until the situation is resolved.”
I rejected the proposal. “That won’t work.”
“What? But it’s dangerous as things stand…”
“If I do that, she’ll run.”
“Pardon?”
Wolgeuk Seonggun was at ease. ‘I’ve taken measures with Yoo Jin-ah’s memories, so my identity won’t be exposed.’ However, if a mere attempted murderer like Yoo Jin-ah was arrested and I moved to a police safe house while the government began to act, Wolgeuk Seonggun would think, ‘She might have obtained clues about the mastermind from Yoo Jin-ah.’
In that case, Wolgeuk Seonggun would immediately hide in the shadows and target me covertly. Then I might have to spend my life hiding, constantly fearing her attacks. I refused that.
Here, I needed to make Wolgeuk Seonggun misunderstand the situation. The police had simply treated Yoo Jin-ah as an impulsive attempted murderer and obtained no clues about the mastermind. By making her believe that, I would lower her guard and strangle her in one go.
“If she finds out I’m hiding, she’ll become wary and flee somewhere. I refuse to live my life constantly feeling like someone is chasing me. I’d rather act like nothing’s wrong, make the enemy drop their guard, and strike.”
I was offering myself as bait. Yoo Hyun-ah understood my meaning, broke into a cold sweat, and reluctantly nodded.
“…Then at least let us assign plainclothes bodyguards. If we don’t do at least that much…”
“Understood. Please do so.”
Well, this was the result. The restaurant was operating normally. Of course, over twenty Condensing Realm peak bodyguards were hidden throughout the shopping district, even on the surrounding streets. The moment the enemy appeared, they would be subdued before they could even see my face.
I received a message in the kitchen.
Thank goodness. It seemed Wolgeuk Seonggun had no idea that Yoo Jin-ah had been blabbing her name around. If she had known, she would have disappeared the moment Yoo Jin-ah was arrested. It was because she absolutely trusted the memory-erasure measure she had placed on Yoo Jin-ah’s brain. If caught by the police or anyone else, the memories would automatically be erased. But she had never imagined Yoo Jin-ah would go around saying her name in everyday situations.
‘No… maybe she thought it would be enough to prevent her from being called as a witness in court.’
After taking the stand, she could claim, “I don’t know. That strange woman was just using my name.” And if the witness who would have to testify about her name had already had their memories erased and couldn’t testify…
‘How terrifying.’
‘…If the opponent wasn’t a man, that measure would have worked in almost every situation.’
Thinking about it, it roughly fit. Men and women weren’t equal. If I had been a woman, neither Secretary Yoo Hyun-ah nor the police would have moved this quickly.
‘Wolgeuk Seonggun is acting this way because she thinks I’m a woman.’
I organized my thoughts while cooking in the kitchen. I turned on the store’s CCTV via my phone. There were eleven people in the restaurant. Seven Condensing Realm peak bodyguards. Han Ye-jin and Lee Se-rin. And two customers.
One was in her mid-twenties, the other in her late teens. Their appearances were ordinary. Both wore caps of a famous baseball team. The adult had long red hair reaching her waist and boldly exposed her cleavage. She wore leather pants and was eating pasta while scrolling on her phone. How to describe it… flashy.
The girl’s side was ordinary. A white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her outfit was plain—a blouse with a cardigan over it and a long A-line skirt—and she kept drinking cider.
‘Who is she waiting for?’
She might be someone sent by Wolgeuk Seonggun. I turned on the listening device the police had installed that morning. I didn’t usually have a hobby of eavesdropping, but this time was special.
-“That damn Hermes bastard.”
-“If he shows up, I’ll finish him off right away.”
My heart nearly dropped. But as I continued listening, something felt off for hired killers.
-“My Nobel Prize… ugh…”
‘Nobel Prize?’
-“Master. But are you sure Hermes will come here?”
-“Yes. There are records of him meeting Song Hye-na here several times. This is probably a place he frequents. Well, if the food is this good, it’s only natural. If we keep staking it out, there’s a chance he’ll come back to meet Song Hye-na again. Even if not, if we secretly check the store’s CCTV, we can identify who met Song Hye-na.”
-“Isn’t secretly doing that a crime?”
-“Shut up. Is that important right now? We’re on the verge of discovering Hermes’s identity.”
The red-haired woman chewed on her straw.
-“And if you’re my disciple, you should produce some results. Isn’t helping your master what a disciple does?”
-“I don’t know. Personally, I wish you’d give up. It’s obvious that someone like Master won’t even be able to touch Hermes and will just get beaten.”
-“…Damn girl. If it weren’t for your spirit studies research, someone like you would have been expelled long ago.”
-“Master. Isn’t your self-evaluation a bit too high…?”
-“Grrr. You rotten elf bitch. Didn’t you see on the way here? This is a world where Condensing Realm peaks are scattered all over the streets! Do you think a Refined Realm like you can do anything without me?”
Only then did I realize. Just as I had distorted people’s perception through Kynee, those two had also created items to hide their identities.
“…Well, at least they don’t seem to know I’m here.”
In fact, Llywelyn’s prediction was spot on. Next week, Song Hye-na had made plans to meet here to express her gratitude. If Llywelyn had come here without knowing she was present, she would have been discovered immediately.
Llywelyn was a Heaven and Earth Realm peak expert. To her, I was less than an insect.
‘……Well. Still, it’s fortunate.’
If she didn’t meet Song Hye-na, Llywelyn wouldn’t be able to find me either.
‘The problem is already solved.’
Wolgeuk Seonggun was also the type to move discreetly. Someone like her wouldn’t move immediately the day after Yoo Jin-ah was arrested, would she?
‘This is the end.’
Leaning against the wall in the kitchen, I let out a sigh of relief.
*****
Rooftop of Wolgeuk General Hospital. Wolgeuk Seonggun, dressed in a white coat, leaned against the railing and gazed at the distant restaurant. About three kilometers in a straight line. For a human, seeing a building at that distance was impossible. But Wolgeuk Seonggun was Sacred Lotus Realm. A mage who had transcended human limits. Her eyes examined the interior of the restaurant as if it were right in front of her.
‘The spell I placed on Yoo Jin-ah has activated. That means she’s been arrested by the police.’
‘Yoo Jin-ah. You were trash as a devoted wife, but you were excellent as a fishing rod.’
Wolgeuk Seonggun’s eyes observed the experts deployed around the restaurant.
‘All of them are Condensing Realm peaks. They’re hiding their mana quite well, but…’
“It seems you’ve neglected stealth training while focusing on combat training? But judging by the quality and quantity of ability users, this is definitely not a force a mere restaurant owner could deploy…”
Wolgeuk Seonggun’s lips curled upward.
“I never expected such a quick response. I never imagined that Hermes would be running a restaurant in a place like that. That was my blind spot.”
Wolgeuk Seonggun stretched and waved her hand. Women on the street stood up. She had been collecting the corpses of ability users. Sometimes she used them as medicine, sometimes she disassembled them as materials for profit. But she had set aside the most excellent ones separately. They had a different purpose.
“This is the collection I’m proud of. Now, will you survive?”
Zombie arts were originally not magic but a punishment. It was a punishment that made one neither alive nor dead, straying from the grace of Nzambi, the supreme god of Vodou who governed life and death. But anything could be put to good use. Wolgeuk Seonggun had applied zombie arts to create ability user corpse soldiers and spare bodies. Of course, it was impossible for a woman’s soul to enter a man’s body or a man’s soul to enter a woman’s body. That was why she had tried to change Song Hye-na’s body into a man’s to use as a spare body for her husband.
“…This is the result of recklessly climbing to a higher realm. Dwell on your sins diligently.”
The zombies slowly walked toward the restaurant.
“Thirteen Condensing Realm peaks and forty-eight Refined Realm peaks. Let’s see how far a Refined Realm like you can last.”
*****
Wi Seol-ah, a Condensing Realm peak bodyguard standing at the first-floor entrance of the restaurant, saw a woman walking toward her carrying a delivery box. Her unsteady gait and poor complexion didn’t look normal. There was a possibility someone was watching from outside. Wi Seol-ah led the delivery woman into the corridor inside the shopping district and blocked her path.
“Wait a moment.”
The delivery woman stood still despite Wi Seol-ah’s restraint, only staring straight ahead.
‘Something’s wrong.’
“What’s in that delivery? Show me.”
“……”
Silence. Wi Seol-ah grabbed the delivery woman by the collar and pushed her against the wall.
“I asked what’s inside. Answer me, you crazy bitch.”
The delivery woman opened her mouth. Her tongue inside was black.
“Despair.”
“What—”
Wi Seol-ah’s words were cut off. It was because the delivery box had exploded.
BOOM!!!
The entire shopping district building shook from the impact of the explosion.