Identity (9)

As I was sitting quietly at a table in the corner of the office drinking green tea, I saw a group of hunters in uniforms enter through the door.

I was about to pay attention to them when I heard a voice from the seat next to me, so I just kept my ears open.

“Anyway, it’s fortunate.”

“What is?”

“That she left quietly.”

“Jekyll isn’t such a bad kid.”

“Didn’t she proudly declare herself a villain and disappear?”

That’s true.

“I didn’t expect her to barge into the Association like this.”

“You were surprised.”

“I wasn’t surprised, um.”

Erica in the next seat put the paper cup to her mouth, took a sip, and then put it down again.

“Seeing a face I’ve only seen on wanted posters like that, it’s a bit…”

“That’s just how she is.”

Erica made a sour expression.

I organized my thoughts for a moment.

“Weren’t you around during the government rebellion?”

Erica tilted her head.

“I joined the Association early so I started working in the field quickly, but at that time I was probably in a different region.”

“Then you wouldn’t have known.”

“Known what?”

“That Jekyll was that kind of kid.”

Erica seemed to think for a moment.

“Even if I was in Seoul, I probably wouldn’t have been interested. It’s not something I particularly wanted to know about.”

Well, that’s right.

That’s true.

There’s no need to particularly care about a criminal’s personality.

“Was it like that back then?”

The unintentional sentence started to slightly uncover the past.

“It must have been chaotic.”

“That too, but.”

Erica hesitated for a moment. In that momentary gap, the conversation between the Director and the Union mixed in.

“Back then, I was, how should I say, I only had the thought that I needed to protect my only family…”

“Ah, your younger sister?”

“Yes.”

I was about to close my eyes but straightened my upper body to shake off the drowsiness.

“Not knowing when and where monsters might appear, and if an incident occurred, I was in a position where I had to pick up a sword anyway.”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

Erica looked at me for a moment and then made a slightly sulky expression.

“So, anyway, those were somewhat tiring days. …Why did I end up talking about this?”

“I’m happy that you answered my question so readily.”

“I wasn’t trying to complain.”

“Yeah. I know. But you can if you want.”

When Erica blinked, I added an explanation.

“I’d like it if you tied me up and whispered your voice to me all day. To the point of getting a mental illness.”

“Isn’t that expression too extreme?”

She glanced at me slightly, so I smiled. Is that gaze contempt? Or is she just scolding me?

“It means you can use me anytime. Like for satisfying your desires.”

“…You always say strange things.”

“I like that gaze of yours too.”

“……”

Erica blushed.

I was about to tease her more but my throat was dry, so I put the paper cup to my mouth and heard a conversation from over there.

“Given that bitch’s personality, she’ll act soon. While spouting nonsense like ‘It’s a bomb attack!'”

“Has the personnel deployment been done?”

“We struggled a bit to pull up people even though the situation isn’t good. We’ll manage somehow up to Hwado-eup in Namyangju. Especially if it’s against the magic lineage.”

“We’ll send support up to the connected Hopyeong-dong.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

After a moment of silence, the Director clicked his tongue.

“I know the situation isn’t good. But with your personnel, there shouldn’t be a problem. Aren’t they those amazing top-tier veterans?”

“You’re usually busy belittling us, but now I don’t know why you’re praising us.”

“Does it look like I’m praising you?”

The man turned his gaze away as if uninterested and then opened his mouth again.

“Well, Jekyll’s situation won’t be favorable either. At most, she’s recycling remnant personnel.”

The man stroked his chin.

“The problem is Jekyll.”

The Director’s face hardened.

“We’ll do what we can.”

After finishing lunch half-heartedly, I sprawled out in the office.

The Association building itself was noisier than usual. There’s a chill in the air, as if they’re preparing to go out to the field.

“Aureli.”

The Director met my gaze as I was sprawled out at the corner table, then turned his head and gestured to someone.

“What is it?”

“Erica says she has something to say.”

Soon after, Erica sat down in the chair hesitantly.

“Actually, it’s a bit awkward to say this in this situation, but I’m counting on you.”

The Director left after saying that.

Erica sat demurely, fidgeting with her fingers, then met my eyes and quickly avoided them again.

I tilted my head without realizing it.

“Um, ahem! So, we’re going out to the field now.”

“Ah, to stop the group?”

“Yes.”

Although it wasn’t explicitly mentioned, it seems to have been conveyed somehow.

“I’ll go too.”

“Really?”

After a silence, Erica briefly met my eyes, then moved her lips.

“I feel this usually too, but I think you’re pretty.”

“Who?”

“You.”

I twisted my hair.

“That’s sudden. Why the compliment on my face?”

“You usually come at me suddenly too.”

“Not as suddenly as this.”

“Anyway!”

Erica cleared her throat a few times and then put on a calm face.

“In my opinion, you need to maintain that pretty face.”

“I’m not particularly pretty.”

“Don’t argue. If I say you’re pretty, you’re pretty.”

After thinking about her intention roughly, I smiled slightly.

I nodded slightly.

“Okay, if you say so, I guess that’s how it is.”

“Where was I? …Right. You need to maintain it.”

It’s a compliment that seems a bit off… but well, compared to the past when I was despised, I felt that this kind of feeling isn’t bad.

“Okay. What should I do?”

“Since we’re in the hunter position.”

I was about to say “Me too?” but stopped.

“We need to prove that the appearance of doing work is pretty too.”

“So that’s the conclusion.”

You know.

It’s too awkward.

The way you keep glancing at me during the conversation too.

But just, because your effort looks cute. I was smiling without saying anything.

“Well, yeah. That’s right. Because we need to maintain it.”

“So today, you need to come work with me.”

“Who with you?”

“You.”

“What about me?”

“…You’re pretty.”

Silence fell and Erica blushed.

Then she buried her face in the table.

“This isn’t it…”

“You usually handle me well, but you’re too awkward now.”

Erica raised her face abruptly.

“But it’s the first time I’ve called someone pretty!”

“As I said, you can just act like usual.”

I showed her a gesture of waving my finger in the air as she glared at me with a face full of complaints.

“Show the confidence you had when restraining me during the hostage situation.”

“…If you do that kind of thing, there won’t be any more time with me in the future.”

“That’s a punishment beyond imagination.”

She still seemed unable to grasp it, so I decided to give another example.

“Imagine I’m feeling depressed.”

When Erica was silent for a moment, I continued.

“Not smiling much, walking weakly on the street and then collapsing with a thud.”

“You can’t.”

I hesitated slightly when I met her pupils that looked entranced, which she never usually shows.

“…You can’t do that.”

“I don’t like it. I’ll keep doing it.”

Erica put on an expressionless face.

A hand approached. I felt a slightly cold sensation on my cheek.

“You can’t do that.”

“…Why?”

“Because you’re pretty.”

My heart skipped a beat slightly.

“I don’t want to.”

“Repeat after me.”

“……”

“I am pretty.”

“…Pretty.”

“That’s right.”

Her hand with force applied caressed my cheek and then moved to my hair.

I flinched at the ticklish sensation, and this time my shoulder was grabbed.

“Stay still.”

“…Okay.”

The expressionless face is nice too.

As I was obediently entrusting my body like that, she cleared her throat a few times and removed her hand.

“…It was acting, but I think I got too immersed.”

“I prefer this side though?”

“It’s become weird. It’s diverged too much from the original purpose.”

“It was about persuading me, right? Using your beauty as a weapon.”

The heartbeat that I usually don’t feel was intense, so it definitely had an effect.

“…That’s true. Ah, what is this.”

Erica creaked as if broken.

“Did I get found out……”

Not having anything to say, I smiled slightly.

Erica looked at me like that and seemed to retrace her memories for a moment, then opened her eyes wide as if she had almost missed something.

“Wait, do you prefer the expressionless face?”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head seeing her glaring at me again.

“…Then what about earlier?”

“The awkwardness at first?”

“Yes.”

“Of course that was cute too.”

I spoke hurriedly.

“It’s not what you’re thinking. I like any side of you. I like it when you’re a bit broken, and I like it when you’re cold like this too.”

You know.

But I don’t know why I’m explaining this to you.

As if proving my love…

She still seemed unconvinced.

“It’s true. There’s not a single part I dislike. Believe me.”

“I’m not sure.”

I became slightly depressed.

“Hehe. I’m sorry for teasing you.”

“It’s okay if you enjoyed it…”

Really.

“Anyway, this is difficult. I didn’t know it would be this hard. Telling someone they’re pretty, cute.”

“You don’t particularly need to, you know. Not for you right now.”

Silence fell.

“I need to.”

“In what way?”

“An opportunity to convey emotions honestly.”

I decided not to think about what that meant.

As I was about to leave the office after seeing Erica leave first, I ran into the Director.

“How did it go?”

“Ah, it was my defeat. I didn’t know Erica could be used as a weapon.”

“How so?”

“It was powerful. It was the first time in a while my heart beat like that. Using beauty as a weapon, I couldn’t escape.”

Actually, it’s not because of her beauty.

I was already on my knees to her kindness and gentleness.

“Erica is diligent in everything after all.”

I organized my thoughts for a moment.

“Is it Uijeongbu? From what I heard you talking about earlier, it seemed like there was an attack team for Namyangju.”

“The group eradication is there, and Jekyll will be in Uijeongbu. Because you’re at the Association, and the Association is in Uijeongbu.”

When the Director fell silent, I just smiled slightly.

“I don’t think much of Jekyll’s words, so don’t be too accommodating. We were friends, after all.”

“…That’s right. I wasn’t particularly wary of you.”

“Ahaha. I believe you.”

Even at that moment, what the Director was concerned about wasn’t Jekyll’s side.

It’s bitter, but it can’t be helped.

I don’t particularly have faith in this person either.

To the extent that if the plan goes awry, I would even ruthlessly use this black-haired woman.