Ch.12The Saint Who Became a Sack of Barley

# Interrogation

It was a term Aila had heard before.

While she had never conducted an interrogation herself, she had seen plenty of inquisitors, specialists in the field.

Could there be some misunderstanding?

Aila racked her brain.

She couldn’t recall doing anything wrong that would warrant an interrogation in a place like this.

“Excuse me, the reason I need to be interrogated…”

The words died in her throat as Aila’s mouth snapped shut.

The man before her was emanating a terrifying killing intent.

Unlike the murderous aura that monsters gave off, this was different—a clear, deliberate intent to kill.

It had been so long since she’d felt such hostility that Aila momentarily faltered.

“I’m sorry, but my position doesn’t allow me to let you speak freely. Only answer the questions I ask.”

“……”

Could I win if we fought?

Aila did some mental calculations.

Though she didn’t know what was happening, one thing was certain:

The man standing before her was being incredibly rude.

She could understand it to some extent.

There might be circumstances she wasn’t aware of, so she wasn’t planning to get angry about his rudeness right away.

But still.

Couldn’t they at least have a conversation first?

Even Aila couldn’t tolerate being treated like a criminal without explanation.

“Aila, estimated birth date July 4, 2011. White hair reaching the shoulders, golden eyes… correct? No need to answer verbally. Don’t open your mouth, just nod.”

“……”

Aila nodded with slightly smoldering eyes.

Her anger was building steadily.

The man ignored her heated gaze and continued.

“Shows strong attachment to a knife she always carries. Lacks certain common knowledge. Based on speech patterns and vocabulary used in conversations, appears to be a foreigner. Record of engagement with an orca-class Kraken. Destination: Seoul, objective: a person.”

The man listed the information in a businesslike tone.

These were details Aila was familiar with.

“This is what’s written in the report from the 14th Naval Base in Busan. Is it correct?”

Aila nodded.

So that’s why they seemed to be hiding something back then.

Couldn’t they have just asked all these questions on the spot instead of causing this hassle?

She felt uneasy.

Like she was being made a fool of.

It definitely wasn’t pleasant.

“What’s your purpose? Why did you come to this country?”

“…I told you from the beginning, I’m looking for someone.”

She tried to speak in the calmest voice possible, but couldn’t completely hide her irritation.

For five years, the only people she’d met were colleagues she’d already become completely comfortable with, so it was a bit difficult to maintain appropriate emotional distance with ordinary people.

Thanks to the social skills she’d built over 22 years, she could maintain basic courtesy, but the five-year gap was too significant.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“I never asked you to believe me. I’m simply stating the facts.”

“……”

The man stared silently into Aila’s eyes.

Then he reached into his pocket and placed a small orb on the table.

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

“What is this…?”

It wasn’t an ordinary marble.

Black and without luster, reflecting nothing, the orb remained perfectly still where it had been placed.

A marble that didn’t roll.

This alone was enough to indicate it was no ordinary object.

“S-class artifact, ‘Eye of Truth.'”

The man tapped the fixed orb with his finger.

The orb glowed slightly and floated into the air, then a black membrane spread out in all directions from it.

“With this, you can no longer tell lies. Well, you can try, but you’ll experience pain close to death.”

“……”

Aila blinked.

Her expression was full of disbelief.

“If you don’t believe me, why not test it?”

“…Do you really need to go this far? Am I that untrustworthy?”

“Of course.”

“How should I put this… you’re being very rude.”

“The rude one is you, barging into someone else’s country as you please.”

The man frowned.

It was the first emotional response he’d shown.

“The dungeon in Cheongju, you closed it, didn’t you?”

“…What?”

She couldn’t hide her surprise at the sudden question.

Dungeon?

All the gates on the way from Busan to Seoul had been closed, but…

Being asked specifically about Cheongju made it impossible to give a proper answer.

Where even is Cheongju?

No, before that, shouldn’t they be grateful if gates were closed?

It made no sense.

Aila kept her mouth shut.

Taking her silence as confirmation, the man continued.

“It seems you’ve cleared several other dungeons as well. What were you after? Was it artifacts like that sword?”

“No, wait. I don’t understand. Can I ask just one question?”

“I’m the one asking quest–“

“Just be quiet and listen for a moment. Why are you talking as if closing dungeons is wrong? Shouldn’t you be happy about it?”

“…So this is what they meant by ‘lacks common knowledge’?”

The man rubbed his forehead.

“That–“

Just as the man was about to speak, there was a loud crash.

BANG!!!

It sounded like the door was being destroyed.

No, the door really was destroyed.

A chair came into view.

Along with the person holding it.

Someone familiar.

“Whew~ So everyone’s here?”

“Ms. Seon-a?”

“…Kang Seon-a.”

“What are you looking at, asshole?”

As always, Kang Seon-a spoke with her crude manner.

The chair she was carrying was dented.

From the looks of it, she had smashed the door with that chair….

“Ugh.”

The chair made a creaking sound as it unfolded.

Kang Seon-a placed it next to Aila’s chair and plopped down.

The man’s expression grew increasingly cold.

“How did you get here?”

“How? Where else would you be but here? Shit… so many people standing guard on the way…”

Now that she wasn’t backlit, Aila could see that her clothes were covered in blood.

“Why are you here?”

“Why else?”

Kang Seon-a stretched her legs and propped them up on the desk.

“I came to help our cute new recruit.”

“…You’re insane. Do you know how many charges are against that woman right now?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care either. I only know one thing. She’s our company’s valuable… employee.”

“So what?”

“When an employee is in trouble, a CEO can’t just sit back, can she?”

“Get out now. If you’re going to spout such nonsense.”

“Nonsense? That’s harsh… Seongho, was our friendship only worth this much?”

“Shut up.”

A coldly forged blade of words.

“Shut that mouth.”

That blade flew toward Kang Seon-a.

The man, Seongho, was sending her a gaze that burned with cold intensity.

“……”

Suddenly sidelined, Aila glanced furtively toward the exit.

“You know what? You’re putting too much weight on your shoulders. Was that Association Chairman title so precious to you?”

“…You have the nerve to say that after abandoning everything and running away irresponsibly?”

“When you put it that way, I have nothing to say~!”

They were lost in their own world, having their own conversation.

Aila carefully rose from her seat.

“To begin with, what wrong could such a harmless-looking kid have possibly committed?”

Aila quickly sat back down.

“Aren’t you guys also trying to put a collar on this clueless kid and use her for your own benefit?”

“Um, Ms. Seon-a.”

“Just sit tight, leave this to your boss.”

No, that’s not it.

Just now, didn’t you say “you guys ‘too'”?

That means you’re planning to do the same thing, doesn’t it?

Aila looked at Kang Seon-a with cold eyes.

Feeling her gaze, Kang Seon-a winked at Aila before turning her head back.

“Take it easy with that dirty business. If you keep doing that, he won’t be able to sleep comfortably either.”

Kang Seon-a took out a cigarette from her coat pocket, held it between her fingers, and lit it with a lighter.

“For his sake at least—“

Just as she was bringing the lit cigarette with its glowing red tip to her mouth.

The man flicked his finger.

Thud.

The cigarette rolled across the table.

“…Huh.”

Kang Seon-a looked at her right hand.

Between her index and middle fingers was something.

A cigarette filter with just a tiny bit of tobacco left.

Looking down, she saw “what used to be a cigarette” still burning as it rolled on the table.

“This is a non-smoking area.”

Seongho was cold.

“…That was my last one.”

And Kang Seon-a,

“Even my parents don’t touch my smokes.”

was hot.

Between the chill and the heat, Aila quietly rose from her seat.

“Do you want to die?”

“Get out now.”

Killing intent filled the room.

“Want to fight? You never beat me once when we were active. I was S-class, you were A-class back then.”

“It’s been over three years since I retired. Do you think you can win? If what I just cut wasn’t your cigarette but your neck, could you have blocked it?”

“……”

“And now I’m S+ class.”

“Wow, good for you. So, should I be scared?”

“…Die.”

Seongho was about to swing his arm again when he was stopped by a man who came from behind.

“S-stop, Chairman!”

People entered through the shattered door.

“…I told you not to interfere, didn’t I? How did you get in here?”

“W-well, that child over there…”

“Child?”

The two turned their heads.

At the end of their gaze, they saw white.

Aila was waving her hand.

The man who had grabbed Seongho’s hand continued explaining.

“She said there might be a fight… and asked us to stop it…”

“Pf, HAHAHAHAHA!! Ha, AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

Kang Seon-a clutched her stomach and collapsed on the desk, laughing.

“Ha, haha… wait, I can’t stop laughing….”

“…Shut up.”

“Still want to fight? Are you confident you can fight without involving your subordinates? I’m not.”

“…Crazy bitch.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

The two sat back down.

Seongho spoke.

“What are you doing? Sit down too.”

“…You’re not going to fight anymore, right?”

“Pfft….”

“Shut up…. No, not unless she starts it.”

Aila nodded and sat back down.

As soon as she sat, Kang Seon-a spoke up.

“I’ll take responsibility for this kid.”

“You?”

“Yeah.”

Gazes were exchanged.

Of course, Aila’s will wasn’t considered.

“Um….”

“Stay quiet. I’ll handle everything.”

“……”

Why am I even here?

If it’s going to be like this, they could just talk between themselves….

Oh right, I was brought here against my will.

I forgot.

Aila sighed.

“Specifically, how do you plan to take responsibility?”

“I’m sure you have various reasons for doing this, but… the biggest one is that you suspect she might be a foreign spy, right?”

“Similar, but different. That thing can’t be controlled. Uncontrollable strength is no different from a natural disaster. The most recent record is from two days ago, when it appeared on Jeju Island.”

“I understand the unclear identity. But how dangerous could such a small girl be…?”

“On Jeju Island, she helped contain an A-class dungeon, in Busan she engaged with an orca-class Kraken, and in Cheongju… an A-class regular dungeon, she handled it alone. This is all according to the records, but isn’t this enough to establish her danger level?”

Hearing this, Kang Seon-a silently turned to look at Aila.

“You’re lying.”

“It’s the truth.”

“No, I thought she seemed strong when I first saw her, but… that much?”

“At least A-class. That’s the conclusion our association has reached.”

“…Shit, that’s problematic.”

Kang Seon-a muttered quietly.

“Hey, let’s do this.”

“What?”

“Leave her to me. I’ll control her.”

“Can you manage that?”

“Fuck, I can catch Krakens too, you bastard!”

“…That’s not what I meant….”

“Ahem! Anyway, there’s no loss for you either. If she’s dangerous because she can’t be controlled, as you say, isn’t this enough?”

“…What do you want?”

“You catch on quick. Just two things.”

“What are they?”

“Identity. And a hunter license.”

“I understand the former, but is the latter really necessary? She could apply tomorrow and get one anyway.”

“There’s a condition.”

“Condition?”

“C-class.”

Seongho tilted his head slightly.

Pointing at Aila, Kang Seon-a spoke clearly and confidently.

“Let’s make her a C-class hunter.”