Ch.123To That Place! (3)

#123

“Yes, Mr. Dexter. What is it?”

As Himena’s clear voice came through the phone speaker, Dexter scratched his head vigorously and said:

“Yes, um. Among the people who have reservations for planetary entry, is there someone named Aisha?”

“Just a moment. Aisha… yes, what’s her last name?”

“Gabi.”

“Aisha Gabi… yes, she’s here. It says she’s coming with a bodyguard named Id-Yara from planet Yogsothoth?”

“Is that so? Huh, it’s really her. Do you happen to know what spaceship they’re arriving on?”

“…It says a private vessel from Tenpenny Corporation? Is a friend coming to visit?”

Dexter paused briefly before answering.

“Well, friend is one way to put it. I suppose so. I’ll tell you more later. Oh, what about Director Makoa’s information?”

“Ah, that… let me see… Yes. I’ve almost finished it. I’ll give it to you directly on my way home.”

“Understood. I’ll be waiting in front of City Hall as soon as I’m done here.”

“Okay, see you then. Oh, and can I have dinner with Jessie too?”

“Of course. I’ll let Jessie know in advance.”

“Great! Muah muah. See you later.”

After ending the call with Himena, Dexter was left with nothing but questions now that Aisha’s arrival was confirmed.

‘Why on earth would she come here?’

It would have been more understandable if Eliya herself had decided to come to Earth.

But why would Aisha, the daughter of his former employer at Preston Express, come here?

Dexter first met Aisha three years ago.

Until then, Dexter had preferred working without holidays as standard practice, favoring multiple short-distance transports over long-distance ones.

Originally the head of security for Tenpenny Corporation, Dexter wasn’t particularly short on money, so he preferred short-distance transports between nearby planets rather than long-distance ones that required working alone for extended periods.

‘That’s how I ended up having dinner at Mr. Preston’s house after work, drinking together, and playing with his daughter.’

After living this way for several years, he naturally became close with Preston, the second-generation owner of Preston Express, and his family.

‘I guess Aisha did spend a lot of time alone since she didn’t have a mother… but still. What reason could she possibly have to come here?’

Dexter thought about it more but couldn’t come up with any plausible reason why Aisha would come to see him.

‘Of course… I did disappear without saying anything.’

Dexter certainly had nothing to say in his defense about fleeing to Earth on his newly purchased spaceship without a word.

‘But surely she’s not looking for me because of that. She’s only nine years old.’

Dexter dismissed this theory as the least likely possibility, put his phone back in his pocket, and headed back to Medium Security Facility Building 2.

* * *

“The Director will see you now.”

The secretary seated at the desk gestured toward the director’s office door.

“Ah, yes.”

As Dexter and Himena, both dressed in black suits provided by the OSA, entered the director’s office, the robust Director Makoa was intently focused on his monitor, wearing semi-rimless glasses.

When the two stood in front of Director Makoa’s desk, he glanced briefly at them, removed his glasses, and exclaimed:

“Welcome! Have a seat!”

Director Makoa gestured to the chairs with one hand, his voice as boisterous as ever.

“Thank you.”

“Well, you young folks must be tired of small talk about the weather and extraterrestrial politics! I heard from the Policy Chief that you have a request for me. Let’s hear it!”

Director Makoa’s attitude had the straightforward quality that Dexter had expected.

“The reason for our visit is to request your consideration for establishing a Special Investigation Unit.”

The formal-looking Himena placed the authorization form for the Special Investigation Unit on the director’s desk as she spoke.

“A Special Investigation Unit!”

Director Makoa exclaimed in a hearty voice, as if finding the idea very intriguing.

After quickly reading the summary of the Special Investigation Unit’s authority and duties on the single-page document, Director Makoa nodded and put the authorization form down on his desk.

“The concept is excellent!”

Seeing Director Makoa’s confident smile, Himena thought this was a positive response to their request and said with a bright smile:

“Yes, thank you. Perhaps you could sign the authorization…”

“But I have a few questions! Surely not difficult ones for the two agents who will form the core of this Special Investigation Unit!”

“Questions… sir?”

“Yes! I’ll ask a few very light questions!”

With those words and a rough laugh, Director Makoa slapped his palm down on the authorization form on his desk and stared directly at Himena.

“It says here, ‘Based on Honorary Agent Hughes’ years of experience in space, the unit aims to handle cases requiring special investigation.'”

“That’s correct.”

“Then what is Agent Libero’s role?”

Dexter looked at Himena, who had been singled out by Director Makoa.

‘This is more like a pressure interview.’

Dexter could see that Himena’s hands were trembling slightly.

“Thanks to the excellent senior agents at OSA, I’ve learned a great deal, but I still lack both experience and expertise.”

“Hmm!”

Director Makoa nodded as he listened to Himena’s words.

“I’m working to gain experience alongside Honorary Agent Hughes, who served as head of security for Tenpenny Corporation, one of the most renowned companies in our galaxy, and I’m striving to develop professional skills to follow in the footsteps of the senior agents.”

The answers coming from Himena’s mouth showed no sign of trembling.

“However, while Honorary Agent Hughes excels in investigation and response capabilities, he has some deficiencies regarding domestic policies and laws, so I, as a rookie agent, aim to supplement those deficiencies.”

“Hmm.”

Director Makoa nodded and then turned to Dexter.

“What about you!”

“I’d like to ask what aspect you’re referring to.”

“I hear your investigation and response capabilities are excellent. I’d like to see them for myself.”

“…You mean demonstrate my investigation and response capabilities here?”

“Yes, and there’s one ability I’m particularly curious about!”

Director Makoa stood up, loosened his tie, and began unbuttoning his shirt cuffs.

“That would be your response capability!”

Dexter had been wondering what this was about, but he understood which “response capability” the director meant when he saw what Director Makoa did next. The director rolled up his sleeves and took out two pairs of fighting gloves from his desk drawer.

Looking at Director Makoa, who was now handing him a pair of fighting gloves, Dexter took them and said in a deep voice:

“From the looks of it, Director, you seem to have interpreted my response capability in a different sense.”

“Ha! You’ve been hiding yourself, haven’t you!”

With those words from the director, Dexter’s instincts tingled.

“I see you know something.”

“When one becomes the director of OSA, one naturally comes to know things that perhaps shouldn’t be known!”

Dexter, who had certainly done nothing that would get him in trouble with the OSA, understood that the director’s words referred to his combat abilities.

‘It seems the director wants to test my fighting skills.’

Obviously, he couldn’t refuse.

“I never dreamed I’d be having a conversation with fists in the OSA director’s office.”

“Hahaha, neither did I!”

“Wait, are you saying that Director Makoa and Dexter are going to fight here…?”

“Yes. Here, hold my jacket for a moment.”

Dexter took off his jacket and handed it to Himena.

‘I thought this private meeting would involve some persuasion through words, but it seems I’ll have to do it with my fists instead.’

Like Director Makoa, Dexter loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves, thinking carefully as he put on the fighting gloves.

‘If I take even one wrong hit, this shirt won’t stay intact.’

Seeing Director Makoa take a defensive stance in front of him, Dexter adopted a similar stance with his fists extended forward.

“On the planet where that monster attacked our agent, I heard that when senior and junior officers duel, the senior gives the junior three attacks first. Is that true!”

Somehow, Director Makoa even knew about the tradition of yielding three moves to a junior in a duel.

Dexter, impressed by the director’s extensive knowledge, replied:

“That’s correct.”

“Is that so! Then come at me!”

Director Makoa beckoned to Dexter with a slight gesture.

“Of course, I don’t have any formal techniques!”

In an instant, Dexter’s lower body became lighter as he strode toward Director Makoa, his upper body following. His right fist cut through the air diagonally, aiming for Director Makoa’s unguarded chin.

“……!”

The attack was faster and fiercer than expected.

Director Makoa stumbled backward, trying to avoid Dexter’s fist.

As if anticipating this, Dexter’s left fist followed up, targeting the director’s side to completely break his already compromised stance.

But the thick-bodied Director Makoa nimbly twisted his body, completely evading Dexter’s left fist.

‘He dodged that?’

‘What a beast-like attack!’

Dexter thought that the director was much more agile than his appearance suggested, while Director Makoa was focused on Dexter’s fists.

‘My instincts were right!’

To Director Makoa, Dexter was a man who awakened his competitive spirit after being away from fieldwork for a long time.

“Now two moves left!”

Director Makoa grinned and beckoned to Dexter again with the same stance as before.

Once again approaching with quick footwork, Dexter began targeting Director Makoa’s head and lower side with his fists. Launching attacks at the upper and lower areas with similar speed as before, Dexter’s actions were met by Director Makoa, who dodged the punches with a smoothness and flexibility that seemed impossible for a body so full of muscle.

This was a different style of martial arts than the Twin Bird Demon Technique.

Dexter, who had expected sluggish defenses based on the director’s build, changed his thinking.

‘I thought he’d rely on strength and endurance rather than speed and flexibility.’

Dexter gritted his teeth, impressed by Director Makoa who had shattered his preconceptions.

“…Now you have just one move left, Honorary Agent Hughes! Since Agent Libero has placed her trust in you, shouldn’t you show her something impressive!”

“…When you put it that way, I suppose I have no choice.”

After finishing his words, Dexter shot forward again.

However, this movement was different from his previous two attacks.

If before he had approached with quick steps, this time it was like a sprinter exploding from the starting blocks.

Moving forward almost like teleportation, Dexter’s sudden action caused Director Makoa to show a surprised expression as he raised his guard and tried to step back slightly.

At the same time, Dexter twisted his body to the right to maximize the power of his right fist, and aimed for Director Makoa’s raised guard.

-Thwack.

Despite Director Makoa’s efforts to maintain his guard, the unexpected force caused his raised hands to drop.

Dexter then brought his downward right fist back up, targeting Director Makoa’s chin and face.

“……!”

Director Makoa saw Dexter’s right fist, which had struck down his hands, now rising back up with ferocious power. He bent his waist backward to avoid Dexter’s fist coming toward his face.

Now serious though still without a smile, Director Makoa deflected Dexter’s fist and shouted:

“Your three moves are over, so now it’s my turn!”

“Let’s do it!”

With that, Director Makoa clenched his fist and began thrusting it toward Dexter, with an extraordinary force behind the punch.

Dexter was startled by the fierce energy he felt from Director Makoa’s fist.

‘It’s like the energy I felt from Grandmaster Cheonma’s subordinate!’

Among Cheonma’s subordinates, there was one who favored a fighting style called “Meteor Single Fist.”

It was named so because each punch seemed to carry the force of a meteor falling from the sky.

While it wasn’t quite at the level of the internal energy-filled Meteor Single Fist of that subordinate, it still carried enough force to potentially destroy someone like Dexter.

As Director Makoa’s fist approached Dexter’s solar plexus, Dexter pushed it away with his right hand and swung his left fist to target the director’s chin.

Just as Dexter had pushed away Director Makoa’s fist, the director deflected Dexter’s punch and shouted:

“You really like targeting the chin, don’t you!”

“One hit there ends it for anyone!”

The exchange of blows between Director Makoa and Dexter continued.

Himena, who had been keeping her distance, watched with clenched fists, sweating profusely out of concern that one of them might get seriously injured.

This back-and-forth continued for about 6 minutes.

In boxing terms, it was equivalent to about 2 rounds without a break.

Dexter was panting with a flushed face, impressed by Director Makoa’s skills, which showed no sign of his being over fifty years old.

‘This is crazy. Did he earn his director’s badge through fistfights?’

Director Makoa’s issue was that, due to his age, he lacked the stamina to block Dexter’s attacks and counter them.

‘If I were just ten years younger, I could have gained the upper hand!’

If Director Makoa had the experience of a senior, Dexter had the techniques and physical strength honed in actual combat.

Both Director Makoa and Dexter realized that if they dragged this out any longer, they would end up remembering each other in an undignified state.

‘I’ll settle this with the next blow.’

‘Before my stamina drops further, I’ll show this young man all of my skill!’

The two men caught their breath and assumed guard positions similar to when they started, with one fist slightly extended forward.

Dexter and Director Makoa’s eyes gleamed.

“Yaaah!”

“Huaaah!”

With a shout, Dexter thrust his heavy fist forward.

And Director Makoa’s fist also moved straight ahead.

Like missiles, their fists flew toward each other’s chins, and like a scene from an action movie, they both landed counter punches on each other.

“…A cross counter?!”

That was what Himena, who was watching the scene, exclaimed.

“No, not a cross counter…”

Thud.

Director Makoa fell, while Dexter remained standing with his fist extended, breathing heavily.

“Fortunately… my reach was longer.”

Dexter said with a grin toward Himena.

With slightly longer arms, Dexter had struck Director Makoa’s chin before taking a punch himself, securing his victory.