INV 49

Upon arriving at the headquarters, investigators accompanied by armored guardian warriors were waiting for the Haetae Department.

Even on the way there, he had been sensing “eyes” staring so intently it felt unpleasant. Fortunately, since no one was injured, they only arrested Gwak Deukcheon, the person in charge; however, they seemed to have assigned watchers to ensure the primary culprits who caused the accident could not escape. Listening to the hushed murmurs, it seemed the seniors found the surveillance incredibly bothersome, but…

“Ha. Where do they get off assigning that level of trash to watch us? Do they think we’re that easy?”

“So, they think we’ve been living easy lives lately, huh?”

…Isn’t the reason they find it bothersome a bit strange?

Still, Kwon Yihyeon was adapting step by step. He began to find it acceptable by telling himself that if Chacha, who steals other people’s flashback scenes, exists in this world, then surely people like this would exist too. By thinking of both sides as a species on a different dimension from himself, it seemed easier to understand even these kinds of facets.

‘Right. Let’s think of them as a warrior race. Mindless, spinal-reflex, fist-launching monsters who think they must fight the moment they’re challenged. Something like that.’

In any case, although the seniors would strongly disagree, a person of common sense like Kwon Yihyeon felt that this was a situation where the context should be clearly investigated.

After all, to those who didn’t know the circumstances, it was as if an explosion of unknown cause had occurred in the city center.

It would be truly horrific to see how the higher-ups would react if they found out all of this started from a ridiculous misunderstanding about needing to save the Team Leader…

Nevertheless, Kwon Yihyeon intended to actively cooperate with the investigation. Strictly speaking, even though he was just an intern who got swept up while having coffee time with his boss.

‘But you’re killing my motivation like this?’

Judging by the fact that the investigators didn’t take out handcuffs, it was clear that instructions had been given to treat him as a witness. Considering that the sentiments of the Republic of Korea and the Underworld were similar, this could be seen as evidence that he wasn’t being treated as a criminal. However, the investigators leading Kwon Yihyeon away were consistent in a strangely unique attitude, and such a sight was enough to provoke a fresh impression in Kwon Yihyeon.

‘These people… they’re dragging me around as if I’m a human-shaped lump of meat.’

If he had to elaborate, he could say it resembled the way one handles a mannequin. He felt as if they were almost control freaks, disapproving of every single movement he made by his own will and making him move exactly as they ordered.

He endured it until then. He could endure it. It was partly because Chacha had caused trouble just yesterday. He thought it was only natural for the atmosphere of the investigative agency to be grim since incidents had broken out two days in a row.

Even while trapped for over an hour in an interrogation room where not even a light was turned on, Kwon Yihyeon tried his best to understand them. Maybe they were so busy investigating the seniors that they pushed the least important witness to the back and then forgot about him. He tried to think of it in a positive light. However, seeing that the first words of the investigator who returned after leaving Kwon Yihyeon in the dark for an hour were not an apology, but rather verbal abuse like, “Tch, his spirit hasn’t even broken. What an unpleasant fellow.”

“Ha. Where do they get off with that level of…”

He even began to think that the seniors might have been right.

‘What’s with the confidence of these bastards? What kind of confidence makes them act up against me without cherishing their own lives?’

Kwon Yihyeon sincerely hoped such thoughts were just an excess of self-consciousness. But as the groom of Jae Angshin, Kwon Yihyeon had a duty to protect himself so that Chacha wouldn’t run wild. While Kwon Yihyeon hid his complicated inner feelings behind a calm complexion and agonized over his response.

An unseasonable high-pressure interrogation began.

“Intern Kwon, what was the motive for causing the explosion today around 2:00 p.m.?”

“Excuse me, but that wasn’t something I committed…”

“Only answer the questions. Since when have you been planning this incident?”

Ah. This is driving me crazy.

Because the investigator turned on the fluorescent light upon entering, Kwon Yihyeon could face the mirrored wall if he turned his head to the side. Scanning the glass wall that was obviously a magic mirror, Kwon Yihyeon gave a subtle smile.

‘I don’t live like this because I’m a nice person, Mister Investigator…’

Kwon Yihyeon hoped, as a favor, that they wouldn’t test his patience any further. The investigator, who couldn’t read Kwon Yihyeon’s inner thoughts and disliked his seemingly slippery eye-smile, rested a baseball bat covered in talismans against his neck and tilted his head, but Kwon Yihyeon maintained a neat composure. It was because if he showed even a hint of discomfort from now on, the voice only he could hear might step out of the shadow and take action.

─Hey, why don’t I just give him a beating? As long as I don’t kill him, it’ll be fine.

That is… Chacha’s voice.

After openly revealing yesterday that he was watching him, he started calling out to him regularly starting today.

Kwon Yihyeon was troubled over what to do about the stalker, but then realized he wasn’t the only one troubled by this being and gave up. Since the whole world was troubled because of Jae Angshin, it would be funny if only the groom felt at ease.

With the mindset of a pioneer sacrificing himself on behalf of humanity, Kwon Yihyeon calmly responded to the disaster.

‘…Stop with that violent mindset that everything is fine as long as you don’t kill them. That’s not my style.’

─Dear me. You certainly have a talent for living a tiring life.

‘The one making my life tiring is you…’

Anger surged. Kwon Yihyeon forced himself to swallow the desire to snap back and laughed hollowly, and then the investigator suddenly slammed the table. Thump!

“Is this investigation a joke to you?”

“…”

No, I’m just desperate to keep you alive…

Kwon Yihyeon, who had endured with effort, was about to answer when the absurd remarks continued. An exquisite verbal abuse that didn’t provoke Chacha, but grated intensely on Kwon Yihyeon’s nerves.

It was a comment aimed at the Haetae Department.

“I knew we shouldn’t have created that kind of department anyway. A department where they just throw in pieces of trash. I told them that the trash wouldn’t stop at just stinking among themselves, but would become a plague that eats away at the Underworld…”

Chacha, who stole a glance at Kwon Yihyeon as he narrowed his eyes, wore a mischievous expression. A voice filled with a gentle laugh babbled about how he should have given in when he was being seduced, but Kwon Yihyeon lost even the desire to give a proper answer.

He could understand the start of the one-on-one interrogation. But everything after that was a mess. In a society this modernized, even if this was the Underworld, there should be a right to remain silent or a right to hire a lawyer… but Kwon Yihyeon was given no such explanation. Even with his limited knowledge of the law, he could tell this was not a normal situation.

In the first place, it couldn’t be normal for stinging murderous intent to be shot from beyond the magic mirror.

‘Treating a person like trash to their face, too…’

─It’s not a common occurrence. So shouldn’t you pay them back with an uncommon response?

Ah. I was almost tempted…

‘Still… please wait. I have an idea.’

─Hmm. You’re still telling me to endure? I can endure it since we haven’t hit the threshold yet, but once the limit is reached, it’ll be no use even if you try to stop me…

‘I didn’t mean it like that, Mister Priest. You seem to be misunderstanding, but I’m not just a nice person either.’

Kwon Yihyeon was not restrained. That meant he could stand up.

As Kwon Yihyeon stood up and walked toward the investigator, the fluorescent light brushed the crown of his head due to the low ceiling. The investigator grumbled while gulping down water, then belatedly freaked out at the shadow suddenly looming before his eyes and tried to press the call button under the table, but Kwon Yihyeon’s shoe heel was faster. His ankle-length Oxford shoes, lifted to knee height, kicked the table.

However, the table did not flip, and the investigator burst into laughter, knowing that the table and floor were fixed together with solder. If he had pressed the call button then instead of laughing, his fate might have changed.

‘Jae Angshin is eating sweet potatoes.’

The groom, who had to select what to feed his bride, now had his eyes rolling.

‘If the Mister Priest gets his throat clogged while eating sweet potatoes, that’s the end.’

Before Jae Angshin descends, demanding cider to wash it down.

‘So, before that, I have to take the head of the enemy general…!’

Chacha, who had been eavesdropping on Kwon Yihyeon’s surface thoughts, had a moment of doubling over with laughter, but let’s set aside the trivialities.

That was right. Kwon Yihyeon knew better than anyone that he had to defend himself to stay in Jae Angshin’s good graces. In other words, it meant he had to balance the ratio of “sweet potatoes” and “cider” that would hit his life. Up until now, he had only been fed sweet potatoes. So from now on, the cider must follow!

‘Sprite shower…!’

Kwon Yihyeon naturally snatched the bat from the laughing investigator and struck the investigator’s head.

Kkung!

The laws of the afterworld? Why should I care?

‘I am protecting world peace.’

The eyes burdened with an absolute mission flashed gold for a moment.

─It’s stupid, but it’s damn cool.

It was a moment when a majesty that could only be described that way echoed far and wide.