-The Spy’s Misjudgment
The matter concerning Gil that we had been worried about was eventually resolved with the help and understanding of many people.
Above all, thanks to Cheon Dan-bi and Ren controlling the scene to some extent, it hadn’t escalated into a major rampage. I had tied up the loose ends and gotten Gil out of there, and thanks to the Administration Bureau mages’ understanding, the aftermath passed as if nothing had happened.
‘That guy sure is blessed. He has a lot of good people around him.’
The only thing left was the crowd’s reaction at the scene. The zombies certainly wouldn’t try to make an issue of it, and the counter-protesters seemed to have been unable to see Gil properly because they were suffering from sound magic.
Perhaps some of them had seen him, but they likely hadn’t had the leisure to take photos or videos.
They might try to sway public opinion online, but it was doubtful how much influence their words would carry.
In any case, people would trust the announcement of the credible Administration Bureau more. If the Administration Bureau concluded that it had been legitimate magic, it wouldn’t be a problem for the public.
“Then shall we return to the meeting we were having?”
Yoo Jae-seon said this, looking around the people in the meeting room.
“Good! We need to hurry up and draw up an investigation plan.”
Thor answered in a booming voice and then winked at me with one eye.
I didn’t know why he was doing that, but I just brushed it off as a sign of friendship.
More importantly, there was something I needed to address.
“Wait a moment. What happened with the Golden Apple sample distribution?”
“For that matter, we managed to block it urgently for now. Administration Bureau mages were dispatched to Gangnam and stopped the distribution. There was resistance, but since we filed for an injunction with the court and had it approved, even Banaheim couldn’t do anything about it.”
“It was handled quickly?”
“We had documents gathered in advance. The court also cooperated swiftly.”
“That’s good.”
I thought they had moved incredibly quickly, having resolved it while I was away. But it wasn’t completely resolved with just that.
As expected, Yoo Jae-seon added:
“Still, there was nothing we could do about people who had already received the samples. It seems quite a lot has already spread. They handed them out for free on streets with heavy foot traffic. People who tried them are posting online. They’re heaping praise on the Golden Apple.”
The feared event was occurring. Rumors were already spreading.
That was likely exactly what Banaheim had been aiming for. There was no advertisement as reliable as word of mouth.
Moreover, they must have distributed samples with very good immediate effects for the sake of that word of mouth. Perhaps that made it even more dangerous.
“This isn’t good. Is there any way to control the posts spreading online?”
“We can’t do that. It’s a free country. It’s impossible to shut people’s mouths. Rather, the only way is for the Administration Bureau to hurry and complete its investigation to block the Golden Apple’s launch.”
Yoo Jae-seon was right.
No matter how just the cause, they couldn’t shut people’s mouths.
But Thor presented a new direction here.
“We can’t block rumors, but we can divert the current elsewhere. We need to wage a promotional war. We need to spread posts from our side as much as they’re spreading from theirs. That is, if the Golden Apple really is problematic.”
“It really is a problem. We don’t know what side effects will occur.”
“Really? If you say so, then it must be.”
Thor nodded at me, but I was surprised that he harbored doubts.
“What, don’t tell me you’re interested in the Golden Apple too? You want to try it?”
“No. It’s not that. But hearing from people who tried it, they say it really makes your vitality surge. Banaheim is originally a famous bio company, after all. Hearing that it’s a product made by such a company…….”
Seeing even Thor tempted, it was truly a problem.
It meant that people instinctively felt favorable toward and took interest in products that boosted vitality that much.
“Get a hold of yourself. Didn’t you hear about Ren, who appeared on the broadcast with me? She said she experienced side effects herself. Also, I witnessed bizarre test subjects at Chairman Kim Seon-ho’s house.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll believe you. I’m not saying I want to try it.”
“Anyway, seeing you talk like that, I really think we need to wage a promotional war.”
Yoo Jae-seon, who had been quietly watching Thor and me go back and forth, interjected around then.
“As Mage Thor said, the fact that Banaheim is a famous bio company is the problem. Even when Mage Odin targeted Banaheim on broadcast, pros and cons were divided online. It means even a hero premium can’t completely overshadow the halo of a major corporation.”
“But weren’t those comments written by Banaheim as well?”
“That’s right. Banaheim has a department dedicated to public opinion. They must have been the ones trying to manipulate it. So even more, as Mage Thor said, we need to wage a promotional war.”
While providing logical grounds, Yoo Jae-seon smoothly united Thor’s and my opinions into one.
“Blocking the Golden Apple’s launch is important, but so is the promotional war.”
“We need to catch Chairman Kim Seon-ho quickly.”
The others added a word each.
“To apprehend Chairman Kim Seon-ho, Mage Odin, you’ll need to write a detailed statement. About the illegal test subjects at the mansion. We need legal procedures for a raid and seizure as well.”
“Understood. I’ll do that.”
What made things complicated was that Banaheim wasn’t a group that committed indiscriminate terror like the Magic Tower. Rather, because it was a prestigious major corporation, the Administration Bureau couldn’t attack recklessly. They not only had to follow legal procedures at every step but also prepare for lawsuits from the other side. Even though Banaheim was releasing experimental pigeons on the streets and scattering dangerous product samples everywhere.
A sigh escaped me.
“In any case, we need to respond quickly to Banaheim as well.”
“For now, the Administration Bureau is responding with full force, so don’t worry. Team Leader An Guk-tae is handling it.”
“I see. Then shall we focus our full efforts on responding to the Magic Tower?”
The meeting had become disorganized dealing with two sudden situations, but more than anything, preventing the Magic Tower’s terror was the most important.
They had blocked the sandstorm and sand worms, and the series of terrors that followed, but they didn’t know when new terror would strike.
Even just the sandstorm had been tremendously powerful. If they hadn’t stopped it quickly, people’s daily lives and society would have come to a complete halt.
“That’s right. Stopping the Magic Tower is the most important matter.”
“Let’s finish setting up the plan.”
We returned to the Magic Tower investigation team’s meeting.
* * *
Around that time, in another meeting room facing the wall of the meeting room where the Magic Tower investigation team was gathered, a mage was quietly leaving the room.
*Phew…… My magical power is lacking, so I can’t do this anymore.*
Until now, he had used magic to expand his hearing to eavesdrop on the investigation team’s meeting room.
The Administration Bureau building was fundamentally thorough in its security, and each meeting room had anti-eavesdropping magic cast on it, but it wasn’t a problem for him. Because he was the very mage who had cast that anti-eavesdropping magic. He had prepared a method to secretly eavesdrop by bypassing security in advance.
However, he wasn’t blessed with abundant magical power, so there was a limit to how long he could maintain the magic. Trying to bypass security while simultaneously maintaining stealth magic and hearing expansion magic—the magical power consumption was enormous.
*This should be enough. It’s a meeting to respond to Banaheim’s Golden Apple launch.*
The order given to him was to find out this special team’s meeting topic.
He hadn’t been able to eavesdrop on the entire meeting, but he thought there was no problem since he had found out the topic. It was better to stop midway than to deplete all his magical power and get caught eavesdropping.
The moment he felt his magical power running out and stopped eavesdropping was right before the investigation team returned to their original topic—the Magic Tower investigation.
But he had no way of knowing that.
He thought he had completed his mission.
He was also the one who had informed the Magic Tower about this special team’s meeting that morning. It was a suspicious team that wasn’t an internal Administration Bureau meeting, and included Odin, Han Do-su, and unfamiliar foreign mages.
When he delivered the news, he had received a direct order from Sir Samir. He was told to find out what the meeting was about.
*I thought it was something extremely important, but it doesn’t seem like much.*
Having left the meeting room, he passed through the hallway, took the elevator down, exited the building, and walked into a back alley. He positioned himself in a cramped space between buildings where no one passed by, looked around, and took out a communication device.
It was a communication device that the Magic Tower had specially made and given to him. They said it was something with absolutely no risk of being traced. Of course, he had inspected it himself. Because he was a security specialist.
He could be assured about the communication, but he was always careful to check if anyone was watching.
“I found out the meeting’s topic.”
[Speak.]
A deep, dark voice like the black abyss. Samir himself was receiving the call.
Just hearing that voice made his whole body tremble. Though he had done nothing wrong, he suffered from uncontrollable fear.
He cut to the chase and began his report.
“They were discussing countermeasures against Banaheim’s Golden Apple launch. Earlier, Golden Apple samples were distributed in Gangnam. They discussed handling that matter and how to block the launch going forward.”
[That’s all?]
At the sharp, raised questioning, he suddenly felt breathless. It felt like a bolt of fire would strike down if he made even the slightest mistake. So all the more, he couldn’t say that he had stopped midway because his magical power was insufficient.
“Yes. That’s all. Ah! Before that, they briefly talked about the zombie protest that happened today, but that’s the Administration Bureau’s routine business.”
[Then why hold a meeting calling Odin and external mages?]
“That’s right. I don’t know that well either…… I think they probably consider the Golden Apple launch quite a serious problem.”
His body trembled as he answered. Somehow he felt this wasn’t the answer Samir wanted.
[How absurd.]
“Pardon?”
He reflexively asked back, but the communication had already been cut.
He let out a deep sigh as he put away the communication device.
Playing the spy wasn’t easy. Not so much the work itself being difficult, but dealing with the leader was excruciating. Though he had only encountered his voice, Sir Samir’s atmosphere was so dark that it was as if his head were entirely filled with black tar.
He was afraid. Black mages were truly people one wouldn’t want to associate with if possible.
But money was the issue. Enormous medical costs were required for his daughter’s rare disease.
People think all mages earn tremendous money, but Administration Bureau mages were no different from civil servants.
After Manager Han Hee-yeong’s faction had been caught on charges of colluding with black mages, he had instead managed to find new connections. The Magic Tower had approached him and offered a large sum of money. He eagerly took that hand.
*It’s okay. Fear is just a feeling. What’s important is money. This world will fall into the Magic Tower’s grasp anyway. I’ve chosen the right side.*
He tried hard to console himself.
After taking a deep breath and shaking off his pounding fear and guilt, he entered the Administration Bureau building.