Chapter 587: Reunion after a Long Time, And… (4)
It was hard to get up due to the feeling that my fatigue was constantly acc.u.mulating, but I had no choice.
Immediately after noticing Lee Jihye’s expression, which was slightly worse than mine, I had to force my body up slowly.
While I was away, she had clearly struggled to take care of every matter. I felt like there was irritation in her voice even when she was just speaking about ordinary topics.
Considering that her way of speaking was different from usual, it seemed that her stress had piled up due to the heavy workload.
“I’m saying that there are people who cause accidents and people who fix them. Jung Hayan’s really annoying. She’s the only one having fun in this situation. Of course, thanks to her, we sent the demon contractors to h.e.l.l, but… She’s still annoying.”
“I guess the damage has been bigger than I thought.”
“I’m telling you, I don’t think District 5 will be alright. It didn’t just crack. It completely collapsed. Although some parts are still intact, I think we’ll still have to repair everything. If you actually see it, you’ll probably be shocked as well.”
“I saw how big the explosion was before I fainted. I didn’t know how much the damage was going to be, but… Have you started the recovery process?”
“No. There’s no way I can start. The district has been completely designated as off-limits. I wanted to start it right away, but who would’ve thought things that shouldn’t be found would be found? Unless I get permission, I don’t think I’ll be able to touch the repair work. You never know, right? What they found was fabricated information, but if it gets into the hands of the workers, they’ll start spreading rumors…”
‘You’re pretty good at handling things, Jihye.’
“No matter how much control you have over Benignore Net, you can’t stop word of mouth. You have to prevent it before it can even start.”
“What about the personnel organizing this?”
“They are all trustworthy people. You can rest a.s.sured. Just take a look. I don’t know how systematically they worked, but their fabrication skills are out of this world.”
“Maybe they would have just kept preparing for it. Wouldn’t it be obvious?”
At this, Lee Jihye handed me a doc.u.ment with a smile.
‘This one is also really thick-skinned.’
Although I responded just for her to not be embarra.s.sed, it was surprising that she could say those words so casually. As I took the doc.u.ments with a smile of my own, I realized that the reactionary b.a.s.t.a.r.ds were struggling.
‘They tried, at least.’
I didn’t know how they conducted background research about me, but I found some very detailed information.
Some of the paragraphs were missing, almost as if they got lost in the midst of it. However, none caused me significant difficulty in understanding the contents.
In a sense, the information came from the tutorial to the present, and they had a terrifying amount of details. It was even filled with knowledge about what kind of person others around me were. I felt an unidentified tenacity and anger beyond malice and hostility.
The scariest thing about it was that I didn’t know they were collecting such kind of information.
‘I guess I’ve become a lot softer too.’
I thought I was behaving carefully in my own way, but I guess it hadn’t been enough.
The potion that was released during Ito Souta’s incident, the Laios demon summoning incident, the undead summoning that erupted during the war with the Republic, the 27th Corps raid, other major events, and small incidents were all listed in detail.
“Each part has hundreds of subdoc.u.ments. The important ones have even more than that. Most of them are just theories, and they don’t have enough evidence to support the situation. Still, even though some parts were forcibly put together, it’s undeniable that the reactionary b.a.s.t.a.r.ds were thorough with it.”
“I think so, too.”
“The G.o.ddess’s Mirror to the G.o.ddess’s Hand Mirror, media manipulation and incitement, Crack Museum, and unfair trade or market price manipulation related to the distribution of potions. Even the black market. I was a little surprised by it. Even your network was written into a few books… Their evaluation of me is also impressive. They made me more trashy than you are. What did I do to deserve that… Of course, it doesn’t mean it bothers me, but their evaluation is too harsh. Since they’re stupid, they probably made a mistake.”
‘What the h.e.l.l is she talking about?’
“It’s already the 5th day, but more are still being discovered. If only the government building hadn’t collapsed, it wouldn’t have been necessary to suffer like this…”
“It already happened. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
“So, how about this one? I want to hear your thoughts on this.”
“Certainly, as you said, their fabrication skills are extraordinary. That’s it, though. Who’d even believe this?”
They wouldn’t have been able to use their fabricated information regardless.
If it was used at Benignore Net, it was obvious that they would be caught. Even if they used the media, there was no one brave enough to go so far as to take such doc.u.ments out to the world.
All they could’ve done would have been to use it for education to give legitimacy to their actions.
It seemed that I could tell how the reactionaries and the group with them were so perfectly brainwashed. Seeing that their recruitment was done in a restricted place, how could one prevent being brainwashed?
‘I have to pay attention around District 5.’
There was no plague as worse as their brainwashing methods. Considering that their movements were limited, the plague might not have spread that far, but the possibility of it infiltrating other places couldn’t be completely ruled out.
99 out of 100 wouldn’t be shaken, but it was better to completely eradicate the possibility to prevent even the last one from being turned into an enemy.
“Where’s Mikhail?”
“He’s right downstairs. Are you heading there right now?”
“Yes, I think it would be better to do that… I’ll get ready for a second… still, I have to dress properly. You didn’t do anything to him, right?”
“I vented out a little bit of anger. Actually, the work hasn’t been done yet. The Blue Guild wanted to interrogate him, but they remained silent because I used your name against them. Anyway, prepare quickly. I’ll go ahead.”
“Wait. Just in case, please contact Hyejin and Park Li-ahn.”
“Do you need an escort?”
“It’s just that I need to show them what’s about to happen. Oh, and… Have you found a magic circle or evidence that they might have used to summon demons in District 5?”
“Not yet. I think we’ll find one soon. They were probably living in an underground cave like rats… That place was also completely buried until yesterday. You know what I mean, right?”
“Yes, I understand the gist of it.”
In other words, it seemed that there weren’t enough people to work on it.
If it were simply demolition, it might have been possible to finish the job within five days, but District 5 was a big piece of evidence itself.
Of course, people had to dig around it with care. Hence, it naturally took longer.
That was the reason the committee was holding on to the scene and keeping it off-limits, reasoning out using some bullsh*t that the demon’s magical power was still mixed in the atmosphere.
‘I was a little worried, but it looks like they’ve got it under control.’
The tasks wouldn’t have been easy to do since I was out of commission.
Anyway, after washing my face, I put on an outfit and went outside. Lee Jihye immediately urged me to make haste.
She had been waiting for me with Cho Hyejin outside as if she had contacted her in advance.
Cho Hyejin, who had many things to do as it was, seemed to have a reluctant expression, but she was most likely be aware of the necessity of escorting me.
“Didn’t the Guild Master say that you wouldn’t need an escort?” Why are you taking me? It seemed like you’ve been expecting me, too.”
“The reason is not important. It’ll be good for you too.”
“That’s true, but…”
“After that, let’s play chess. We can put off today’s work…”
“You’re not the only one that’s busy.”
“I get that you two are close, but we have to move quickly. We have a lot to do today.”
“What do you mean we’re close?”
‘No, what am I to you then if you deny that? I’ll feel hurt.’
I didn’t know if it was a joke or she was being serious. Regardless, I saw her quietly speaking to Lee Jihye. Thinking about it, I realized that that was the first time I had seen Lee Jihye and Cho Hyejin together.
I didn’t know how Cho Hyejin, who had the same stubbornness as Castle Rock’s walls, would treat her, but for some reason, it felt like they could never get closer to each other.
It felt as if the awkward air around them was strangling me as they looked at each other in an unfriendly manner. I wanted to say, ‘I hope you two become closer,’ but I didn’t want to take the lead and stress myself out, considering they wouldn’t be b.u.mping into each other that frequently anyway.
“The Guild Master told me to pay attention to your safety… What about calling Hayan?”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Cho Hyejin, who had suddenly become quiet. Of course, if the place I was going to were really dangerous, I would have taken Jung Hayan, but there was no need.
I wasn’t meeting the demon contractors. I was about to meet Mikhail, who was no different from an ordinary person. Even I couldn’t understand why I needed to be careful of a guy who couldn’t move properly because his whole body was bound.
I even felt like I wanted to leave Cho Hyejin behind.
As I continued to walk while lost in thoughts, my vision became darker and darker.
I entered the prison, which was directly managed and supervised by the Protection Management Committee. It had been a while since I last visited the place. The environment I pa.s.sed that looked relatively neat began to change as I entered the room.
I heard screams intermittently, and the smell became increasingly disgusting. Cho Hyejin slightly frowned, but she didn’t say anything.
Eventually, after pa.s.sing five large doors, the face I wanted to see finally came into my eyes.
‘You traitorous b.a.s.t.a.r.d.’
He was commonly known as “helper” Mikhail.
He was a war criminal who backed the demon contractors and tried to poison the light of the continent. Right before me was the great charlatan that supported the continent’s enemies with the blood of the continent’s people.
He committed all sorts of illegal activities and led the workers to the edge of the cliff. All the things he’d done were enough for him to win the t.i.tle of human trash.
n.o.body could deny that he was a criminal.
‘The b.a.s.t.a.r.d looks surprisingly good. “
I realized that he was sleeping when I saw his head tilting while tied to a chair, but he soon looked at me quietly when he noticed my presence. Mikhail looked like he had given up, but he didn’t look guilty even when he was about to die.
He still seemed to think that his choice wasn’t wrong.
“Well… Long time no see.”
“Long time… no see, Chairman.”
“I don’t know what to say to comfort you… It’s a shame that the situation is like this, isn’t it? You know why I’m here. Well, let me ask this at least once before we get to the main point.”
“…”
“Why did you betray us?”
“…”
“Why did you turn your back on the continent? Why did you throw the opportunity to have a good life with your own hands? It’s a bit embarra.s.sing to say this myself, but I trusted you in my own way. That’s why I put you on the executive board and gave you a chance. Yet you betrayed my trust and expectations.”
“…”
“Even so, my heart is soft. You don’t even know how hurt I was when a poisoned tea was served to me. So tell me. What did you betray us for?”
“Belief.”
“What?”
“It’s for belief.”
“…”
“…”
“Have you ever heard of something like this?”
“…”
“Have you heard that there is nothing scarier than a person who doesn’t know anything else but their belief?”