-Busy, Busy Hero Life
* * *
While we waited for Yu Jaeseon to arrive, we loaded the desk we had brought out into the car. It was fairly large, but once we folded down the back seats, we somehow managed to fit it in.
The new car had somehow ended up looking like a moving truck, but the desk was more than worth taking back and examining.
In this world, where mages held firm power, magic tools were not common items.
And what was more, it hadn’t come from a different race like the dwarves. It had likely been made by a black mage.
“That’s done. Let’s rest for a bit.”
“Yes. But are you really just going to let the Biohackers go?”
King and his subordinates were just getting into their cars and leaving the closed-off zone.
Gil looked in their direction and asked me.
“We got all the statements we needed, and they aren’t black mages, so there’s no reason I personally have to catch them. For now, I’m going to let them leave. If there are any police officers who want to make them pay for the crimes they committed, they can catch them on their own.”
“Ah……”
“What, do you wish I’d caught them and locked them up? Is it because of X?”
Gil had a personal grudge against X for what he had suffered, so I thought it might not sit well with him to let them escape like this.
But Gil shook his head.
“No. You already taught X a lesson earlier, Mage-nim. That’s enough. But they won’t capture the zombies again or anything, will they?”
As expected, what Gil was worried about was the zombies.
“They won’t be able to. I told King I’d be watching.”
“The boss’s name is King?”
“That’s what he said. You can tell how self-absorbed he is just from the name, right? He seemed fairly smart and greedy, but he took the wrong path.”
Feeling something anew, I looked at Gil.
He had lived in difficult circumstances, but Gil had chosen a completely different path from King.
Gil, who had never once tried to harm others or take what belonged to them for his own gain.
Gil, who had walked the right road.
King might not know it, but Gil was the one with a name that suited him.
“Go rest in the car. There’s nothing to do until Team Leader Yu Jaeseon gets here.”
“I’m fine.”
We stood leaning against the car, looking out over the closed-off zone.
Once King’s group left, silence settled over the area. It was only natural, since every living creature besides the two of us was frozen solid.
Only now did it really feel like a closed-off zone.
After enjoying the silence of the ruins for a short while, I called Jang Pildu.
When I told him I had resolved the request, Jang Pildu shouted in an excited voice.
[Really? So it’s over now? Thank you so much! I’ll never forget this favor!]
“My ears are going to fall off. Speak a little quieter.”
[Ah, sorry. But seriously, thank you! You really are a hero!]
His voice quickly grew loud again. Just from hearing him, I could clearly picture him bowing over and over in thanks on the other end of the phone.
To be honest, I had gained more of what I needed than I had solved Jang Pildu’s problem, but either way, I supposed I could accept a few words of thanks.
I was simply listening to Jang Pildu continue chattering away when I suddenly heard the sound of a car approaching this way.
“Let’s talk again later. There’s still some cleanup left here.”
[Uh, sure. Mage-nim, thank you so much for this!]
Yu Jaeseon’s car came into view. It didn’t wander around, but headed straight toward where we were.
Behind it, several more Bureau vehicles were coming in, and I could see a large truck as well.
The truck had probably been brought to transport the goblins and orcs, and it looked large enough. Though they would have to be packed tightly into the cargo bed.
“Mage-nim! Gil!”
Yu Jaeseon got out of the car and approached us with a broad smile.
“Welcome.”
“I thought you would take at least a day to rest properly, but in the meantime you’ve achieved such distinguished results. A hero really is different.”
“Not you too, Team Leader. Are you going to keep going on about heroes as well? I’m already dying from having to play the hero.”
“You’ll have to get used to it.”
We faced each other and laughed for a moment.
I had already given him a brief explanation of the situation over the phone.
The surprise attack on the Biohackers’ headquarters was one thing, but what we were glad about was that King’s statement had produced testimony that could pressure the schemers we were pursuing.
“Please take a look inside first.”
Our hearts were already racing ahead, but we had to clear up the scene first, so I guided Yu Jaeseon to the abandoned building.
Yu Jaeseon led the Bureau staff through the Biohackers’ headquarters building and the laboratory building one by one, giving them instructions on what needed to be done.
Once I dispelled the freezing magic first, the staff took all the goblins and orcs to the truck.
Since they were being thawed out right after having been frozen solid, none of them resisted in any meaningful way. They hadn’t even fully regained their senses yet.
The computers and machines in the laboratory were examined closely by a mage and several members of the technical team before being taken to the Bureau.
The remaining investigation and cleanup were being handled skillfully by the Bureau staff. They were experts who had always done this kind of work.
“Let’s go up to King’s office.”
Yu Jaeseon and I, just the two of us, headed to King’s room.
We needed to take the computers and documents in King’s office as well, but more than that, it was so we could have a quiet conversation between the two of us.
After all the goblins who had packed the room left, the room somehow felt empty.
The crude and flashy decorations were still there, but something about it looked hollow.
That was only natural, since I had even taken the desk away, but more than anything, it seemed to be because King, who had occupied that spot, was gone.
“He was quite a cheeky bastard. King, I mean.”
“I see. I’ll likely have occasion to meet him myself soon. We’ll have to summon him as a witness for various incidents.”
“Would you like to listen to the recording first?”
I asked, taking out my phone.
“No. I’ll listen to the details carefully later. What you told me is enough for now. But please send me the recording file right away.”
“Understood.”
While I was sending the recording file, Yu Jaeseon continued speaking.
“We need to hurry with catching the schemers. Before another terror attack occurs. And I interrogated An Seokju, and it seems we’ll have to move quickly on the Vanaheim side as well.”
“Did An Seokju spill something?”
“He wasn’t being cooperative. But while trying to sneer at us, he accidentally let some information slip.”
“What did he say?”
“It was about the Golden Apple. He said that once it was released, no one would be able to stop it, and that the time was not far off. He said when that time came, the world would fall into Chairman Kim Seonho’s hands.”
Yu Jaeseon and I shared the same sense of urgency about stopping the release of the Golden Apple, but it wasn’t simple.
It would not be easy to prove there was a problem with the product itself.
Vanaheim was a leading major corporation, and it would thoroughly package its clinical trial results with papers, expert opinions, and the like.
Of course, if I exposed to the world the test subjects I had sealed beneath Chairman Kim Seonho’s mansion, the problem could become simple.
I had signed a confidentiality agreement, but if I broke it for the public interest, I should be able to avoid legal trouble.
Moreover, as long as I held the position of a hero, the public would side with me.
This must have been precisely the kind of problem the Director of the Bureau had molded me into a hero to solve.
“Then did An Seokju show loyalty toward Chairman Kim Seonho? Didn’t you say Kim Seonho was instead denying An Seokju?”
“It was less that he showed loyalty and more that he sounded as if he were cursing everyone. Kim Seonho and Vanaheim, the government and the Bureau alike. It’s understandable. Chairman Kim Seonho has consistently played dumb about An Seokju.”
A split between them was advantageous for us.
I could only hope An Seokju would quickly explode with a sense of betrayal toward Kim Seonho and leak their secrets.
“Did you summon Kim Seonho for questioning as well?”
“Because the Incheon terror attack happened, I wasn’t able to summon him for questioning myself. A subordinate did it in my place, but apparently they only got a formal statement out of him. He’s insisting he didn’t know An Seokju was a black mage.”
“We need to pressure Vanaheim from all sides. There were the illegal experiments conducted on Ren, the test subjects I sealed away, and now the matter involving the Biohackers as well.”
“That’s right. Before it’s too late, we must reveal Vanaheim’s true nature and stop the release of the Golden Apple.”
To do that, Loki’s testimony, which had served as the link connecting Vanaheim, the government, and the schemers within the Hall, was essential. The problem was that Loki’s current whereabouts were unclear.
“If only we catch Loki, we’ll be able to prove everything about the schemers all at once. Even their relationship with the Magic Tower. But ever since the Amoeba terror attack, he hasn’t shown himself. Who knows where he’s hiding.”
My mouth felt bitter for no reason.
I couldn’t help thinking I should have caught Loki and wrung him dry sooner.
“We’ll have to put Loki on the wanted list. For now, let’s deal with the enemies we can definitely reach. As soon as I return to the Bureau, I’ll arrest Department Head Han Huiyeong.”
“I’ll handle General Affairs Committee Member Kang Yonghun of the Hall. There’s something I’ve been wanting to pay him back for personally.”
“Good. Just cutting off the upper lines in the Bureau and the Hall will be a great help.”
“Then let’s move right away.”
We gathered up whatever computers and documents we could from King’s office and left the room.
From there, I parted ways with Yu Jaeseon and headed home, when my phone rang.
Since I was driving, I told Gil to take out my phone and check it. He said it was an unsaved number.
I considered not answering, but told him to pick up for now.
“Hello. This is Mage Oudin’s phone. Mage-nim is currently unable to take calls, so if you tell me who you are, I will have him contact you later.”
As I listened to Gil speak, I laughed without realizing it.
I had thought he had no social skills whatsoever, but he was speaking cleanly, as if he were a proper manager.
Who had taught him such basic manners?
But then, instead of hanging up right away, he held on to the phone for quite a while, listening and saying yes, yes.
“Who is it?”
I asked, curious, but Gil did not answer and focused on the call.
“Understood. Then I will relay that to Mage-nim.”
At last, Gil hung up. His eyes widened as he looked at my face and practically shouted.
“It was Representative Freyja’s aide! They said to be sure to tell you they want to have a televised discussion with you, Mage-nim. Wow! You’re going to appear on television together with Representative Freyja?”
Hearing that brought back the news scene I had watched last night.
Right. That had happened. So they really were requesting a discussion after all.
I had forgotten to ask Yu Jaeseon whether the Bureau had arranged it.
“Call Yu Jaeseon.”
“Yes? Yes.”
We spoke with Yu Jaeseon on speakerphone. I asked him bluntly.
“Was the televised discussion with Representative Freyja arranged by the Bureau?”
[Ah! I saw it on the news yesterday too, but that isn’t something we were involved in. But you’ll do it, won’t you? It’s a chance to raise your value as a hero even further. I know you’re busy, but please.]
For some reason, Yu Jaeseon’s smiling face floated before my eyes. I had thought he was a serious person, but these days, it felt like Yu Jaeseon kept smiling.
I answered that I understood and hung up.
Good grief. Truly, it was a busy, busy life as a hero.