Ch.151Episode 8 – Say Hello To My Little Friend

The fitness center door opened.

The terrorist aiming a revolver scanned the interior through the open door, while his companion with a rifle hesitantly followed him inside, looking around cautiously.

“Is he here?”

“No. He’s not.”

“Ah, damn. I’m on edge… Let’s rest for a bit.”

Seemingly relieved by his colleague’s response, the terrorist put down his rifle and slumped onto a piece of exercise equipment.

The terrorist glanced at his companion who was wiping away cold sweat with a sigh, then holstered his revolver.

“Hey.”

“Yeah, what?”

“That detective the doctor talked about. Do we really need to bring him back alive?”

“What are you saying?”

“I mean, he killed our guys. Judging by everyone’s reactions, they won’t let him off easy. I’m wondering if we should even bother keeping him alive if he’s going to die anyway.”

The terrorist with his hand on his holster let his words trail off.

The terrorist sitting on the equipment, gripping his rifle, looked at his companion once before standing up, leaving the rifle leaning against the wall.

“I get how you feel. But this was the doctor’s decision. When have we ever lost out by following his orders?”

“True, we haven’t…”

“Remember when those adventurers tried to rip us off with those potions? The doctor stopped them. And when you injured your leg and it was about to be amputated from infection? The doctor healed it. And Morian, who always came back injured? He fixed him up without even leaving scars, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I know, but… Haa. I don’t know.”

“If this job goes well, we won’t have to worry about dying anymore. You can live with your wife and kids. You have citizenship, right?”

“I do, but my wife and children don’t. They’re from the lawless zone.”

“Once this is over, they’ll get citizenship too. Your kids can go to school, get medical care, everything will be solved. You know that, right?”

“Haaa…”

The terrorist nodded.

“If we can just negotiate with the government, everything will work out. The doctor didn’t even need to come, but he’s here to help us. Let’s trust him.”

“I trust the doctor. It’s that merchant I don’t trust. Where does he even find such ominous items to sell…”

“It might be a bit concerning, but the effects are undeniable, right? Let’s not worry too much. By the way, is there any water here?”

“There’s a water dispenser over there.”

Following his colleague’s gesture, the terrorist spotted the water dispenser and smiled brightly. He walked toward it, leaving his rifle behind.

“Nice. This reminds me of when I almost died drinking from that stream. The water’s so clean here.”

“That’s Avas for you. It’s the capital, after all. The Empire still has wells in the countryside.”

“We have wells too, you know. Aren’t you going to drink?”

“Not interested.”

The terrorist washed his face with water from the dispenser and filled his leather canteen.

I approached from behind, putting a blood-soaked towel in my pocket and wrapping a fresh one around my blade.

As he drank, the terrorist spoke.

“Yevgeni, are you really not going to drink? It’s clean water, you should have some while you can…”

I grabbed the terrorist’s neck and kicked the back of his knee. The terrorist immediately collapsed as his joint gave way.

I quickly gripped his jaw, twisted it to the left, and swiftly stabbed the knife into the inside of his collarbone at an angle.

Then I twisted it.

“Kuh…!”

A brief death cry echoed through the fitness center. The blade that had penetrated his collarbone precisely cut through his neck, severing his windpipe.

The terrorist’s arm, which had tried to grab my head, went limp.

I pulled out the knife that had cut his windpipe, covered his neck with the towel that had absorbed the blood, and moved both bodies to a secluded spot where they wouldn’t be discovered.

And so the fitness center, which had been bustling with three people moments ago, fell silent once more.

As if nothing had happened at all.

Episode 8 – Say Hello To My Little Friend

A few minutes earlier.

We had set up position in a store located on an upper floor. It offered an excellent view of the atrium hall, the first floor, and all the lower levels.

With four customers present, one might expect staff to come out and greet us warmly, but unfortunately, the employees were absent. They were probably either captured by the terrorists or hiding somewhere.

I examined each member of our group seated around the table.

Lucia was burning incense to mask our scent. Francesca was sitting with her legs crossed, drinking a beverage with her sword leaning nearby. Camilla was fidgeting with the pistol I had given her. Anxiety issues, perhaps.

“Why do you keep nervously playing with that gun? What if it accidentally goes off and hits someone?”

“Ah, no. That’s not what I’m…”

Camilla hastily removed her hands from the gun and stammered. She started to make an excuse but, perhaps acknowledging her anxiety, stopped and slightly bowed her head.

Francesca, who had been quietly observing, placed a hand on her neck as if tired and spoke.

“Sir Knight, what do you plan to do now…?”

“We need to find a way out.”

“Hmm…”

Francesca took a sip of her drink and made a questioning sound.

“The terrorists have taken over the department store. A black curtain, presumably dark magic, is blocking passage to the outside. How can we get out…?”

“…”

“Do you perhaps have a plan in mind?”

“I do have some ideas.”

Two, to be precise.

I placed my hand on my notepad and leaned forward.

“There are about two ways to get outside. To be more precise, these aren’t exactly methods of escape, but rather options you can choose to help us escape.”

“Would you mind telling us what those options are?”

In response to Francesca’s question, I held up my fingers one by one.

“First, get help from outside to find an escape route. Second, neutralize some kind of cargo that must be somewhere in the department store and escape on our own.”

“…”

“The former assumes there’s still a working communication channel, while the latter assumes the cargo is indeed connected to dark magic.”

Swish, someone quietly raised their hand. It was Lucia.

“What do you mean by a working communication channel? Right now, not only mobile phones but even public phones aren’t working.”

I didn’t need to answer that. I rewound the recorder and pressed play.

With a static noise, the sound of the tape rewinding could be heard. After a moment, the conversation between two terrorists played.

[…who took the radio.]

[Um… the guys in the broadcasting room have one, we have one… Ah! We also gave two to the guys who went outside earlier.]

“What is this?”

“It’s the terrorists’ conversation.”

“Do radios normally work like this…?”

While Lucia and Francesca tilted their heads in confusion, I showed them the radio I had seized.

“Communications can be broadly categorized into three types: simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex. Simplex means you can only receive transmissions from the other party.”

In other words, like a radio. You can listen to broadcasts sent from the station, but you can’t send transmissions back to the station.

“Most common radios use half-duplex communication. With half-duplex, one person can’t interrupt while another is speaking. This is commonly used by the military and police. Full-duplex communication, on the other hand, allows you to interrupt and speak while the other person is talking. It’s similar to a mobile phone.”

I waved the radio I had taken from the terrorist.

“This is a full-duplex radio. It’s manufactured by an Avas company for adventurers and hunters entering the lawless zones. According to domestic law, civilian communication equipment that can be brought into lawless zones must use full-duplex methods.”

“It sounds expensive just hearing about it.”

“What can we do, Holy Maiden? We can’t skimp on the price of our lives and end up paying with our travel money…?”

Lucia examined the radio while stroking her chin with her finger, and Francesca chuckled as she responded to her muttering.

“The terrorists’ conversation mentioned a broadcasting room. Given that there are only four radios and they seem to be in short supply compared to the number of terrorists, I believe many of them are unfamiliar with using radios. Also, despite having personnel who speak Avas language, they communicate in Kiyen, suggesting the terrorists are either from the Empire or from lawless zones close to the Empire. But that’s not what’s important right now.”

What’s important is the broadcasting room.

“The terrorist I spoke with said they were negotiating with the government. I suspect there might still be working communication equipment in this broadcasting room.”

Of course, I could also tell from the conversation that the terrorists were divided into at least two groups, each with radios, but I didn’t elaborate on that.

At this point, Camilla, who had been quietly listening, joined the conversation.

“…Can we trust that terrorist?”

“Of course not. But if someone talks a lot, that’s a different story.”

Information officers love talkative people the most. They flap their tongues non-stop and end up spilling information without even realizing it. Whether it’s lies or truth doesn’t matter.

The key is that the other person continuously leaks information. That’s what’s most important.

“The terrorist mentioned he studied emergency medicine at Sejonov University. As the Holy Maiden and Administrator know, in the Empire, different classes use different languages. They have different accents and vocabulary.”

This is similar to England.

Normally, Camilla would have interjected here to say it’s exactly like England, but perhaps conscious of Lucia and Francesca, she didn’t.

“Though he seemed to have had a hard life and used words and accents common in lower classes, people tend to revert to their natural speech patterns when excited. When explaining the motives behind the terrorism, his speech clearly showed middle-class accents.”

“Ah, yes. His speech pattern did change slightly.”

“The terrorist with the middle-class accent spoke foreign languages fluently. Since Avas language isn’t taught in the regular curriculum of Kiyen Empire academies, he probably learned it in university. Knowing the military medical service term to be 3 years suggests he served about 20 years ago, as the current term has been reduced by half a year. I may not know about medical schools, but the terrorist I spoke with likely has at least a bachelor’s degree.”

“So, there really is a means to contact the outside world in this broadcasting room?”

“Yes, that seems to be the case.”

“Where is it?”

Camilla asked, her blue eyes sparkling.

“According to Avas fire and building codes, multi-use facilities like department stores must have a control room for safety management. That’s probably what they’re referring to. But I’m not sure about the exact location of the control room.”

“You really don’t know? That’s the most important part!”

“This building was constructed before the code was revised… I’m not a lawyer, how would I know old regulations…?”

“Gaaah!”

Camilla let out a strange cry and started banging her head on the table. She seemed to have lost it a bit. Finally gone crazy, I suppose.

I slipped my hand between Camilla’s forehead and the table, then turned to Lucia and Francesca.

“What will you two do? Will you look for the control room, or search for the cargo?”

“Can’t we do both? Do we really have to choose just one…?”

“I’m sorry, Holy Maiden, but one of Avas government’s anti-terrorism principles is to cut off communications, magic, electricity, water, and gas. If terrorism becomes prolonged, being isolated makes terrorists less likely to take extreme measures. The government might keep the control room communications alive, but we have no way of knowing the command’s intentions. Above all, it’s dangerous for us to split up here.”

While Lucia nodded with a bitter smile, Francesca leaned back in her chair, gently swinging her legs.

“What about just holding out? The terrorists are far fewer than the hostages, and one of them is injured so they can’t move easily. The government won’t let terrorists occupy the department store forever.”

I shook my head at her suggestion.

“The probability of terrorists finding us before the counter-terrorism unit enters is overwhelmingly high. Moreover, the government won’t deploy force until they understand the department store’s internal structure and determine the scale of the terrorist operation and the location of hostages.”

“Why not?”

“If terrorism breaks out in the middle of the capital, all kinds of journalists will gather. What happens if hostages die because they recklessly sent in counter-terrorism units?”

“Ah, I see. Political reasons.”

Francesca nodded in agreement, just like Lucia. In truth, even if Lucia, Francesca, or Camilla were taken hostage, it would be a disaster for the government. They’d be criticized whether the rescue failed or succeeded—if it succeeded, they’d be asked why they couldn’t prevent terrorism in the heart of the capital.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister are probably more terrified than we are, trapped in this department store. That’s likely the case.

Since the government probably hasn’t even assessed the situation yet, we need to find our own way out.

As I continued thinking about the plan I had formulated, I threw out a question, grasping at straws. They say two heads are better than one, right? You never know.

“Do the Holy Maiden or Administrator have any good ideas?”

Of course, the answers didn’t surprise me.

“No… I’m a mage, so…”

“I don’t have any particular solutions either…”

These useless people. I’m the fool for expecting anything. I should never do group projects with them in the future.

I sighed deeply and lowered my head.

“Haaa… Then let’s do this. We’ll split into two groups. I’ll look for the cargo, and you all will search for the control room.”

“…Will that work?”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

As long as we all head to Seoul, it doesn’t matter which route we take. As long as we get out, that’s all that matters.

“Fortunately, we have someone here who can help.”

Thud, I placed my hand on Camilla’s shoulder as she was banging her head. With a start! Camilla flinched and slowly raised her head. She had a dazed expression.

“Me…?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, really…”

*

“First and second floor search complete. No unusual findings, and no one has been discovered so far.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, Doctor. Nothing is visible.”

The middle-aged former doctor looked at the terrorist with a perplexed expression. The well-built terrorist avoided the middle-aged man’s gaze and bowed his head deeply.

“Are you certain you checked thoroughly?”

“I’m sorry, Doctor. But there really was nothing.”

“No… I’m not doubting you, Marco.”

The doctor patted the shoulder of the terrorist called Marco. The terrorist couldn’t meet the doctor’s eyes despite his gesture.

“How many have returned? It doesn’t seem like everyone is back.”

“Most have returned. Yevgeni and Muhammad haven’t come back yet.”

“I see. Yevgeni and Muhammad… I was wondering why I didn’t see their faces.”

The doctor nodded and stroked his full beard, lost in thought.

Yevgeni from the Empire was a young man with excellent shooting skills who would go hunting far away, and Muhammad, who had come to earn money in a foreign land only to be deported for illegal residence, was a young man with excellent physical strength. Since Muhammad knew the Kiyen language, the two got along well and could communicate.

The doctor remembered Muhammad, who often dined at Yevgeni’s house, and began to speak.

“Where were those two supposed to go?”

“They said they would go to the farthest point and come back… but Doctor, you know Yevgeni’s personality. He always goes farther than he says.”

“That’s right. He would sometimes stay out all night.”

“They’ll be fine. Yevgeni and Muhammad are talented enough to survive wherever they’re thrown.”

The doctor nodded in agreement with Marco’s words.

The terrorists who had returned from searching the first and second floors gathered again to plan the search of the remaining floors. Due to the absence of two members, the plan was changed to search only the third floor, but there was no major issue.

As Marco was discussing the structure of the department store with the doctor to create a detailed plan…

From far away, near the main entrance, someone shouted loudly.

“Hey, Marco! Lucas! Come out right now!”

“What is it, Bisar? You’re not calling us for something strange again, are you?”

“I found a suspicious person here!”

“…A person?”

As Marco muttered and was about to move, the doctor hurriedly ran toward the entrance first.

He pushed through the crowd that had gathered like clouds and found the terrorist called Bisar.

“Who is it? Could it be that detective?”

“No, Doctor! It’s not a man, it’s a woman!”

“…What? What do you mean?”

The doctor stared blankly at the person Bisar had brought. Red hair, blue eyes. A girl who was sweating profusely and uncomfortably glancing around as if uneasy.

The middle-aged doctor and the terrorists stared at the girl their comrade had found. No one dared to speak.

In the suffocating silence, one terrorist asked a question in awkward Kiyen.

“…Bisar. Girl. Where did you find?”

“She was just wandering around by herself? I found her hiding behind a planter.”

“Very stupid choice. Girl with mental problems. Doctor. Please examine her.”

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary…”

While the confused terrorists surrounded the girl and whispered among themselves, someone shouted “Oh!” It was the fox beastkin.

The terrorists all turned their heads toward Morian. The fox beastkin, groaning with tightly wrapped bandages, pushed himself up with his arms.

“I know that girl! I saw her earlier!”

“…Morian. What kind of way is that to refer to a person? Please use polite language.”

“That’s not what’s important, Doctor! She was with that black-haired bastard!”

“Black-haired…? You mean someone with black hair?”

“Franz, the guy carrying the gun!”

At the fox beastkin’s words, the terrorists’ gazes changed slightly.

The terrorists looked at the girl with suspicious eyes. Some noticed the ominous atmosphere and looked around, while others fidgeted with their guns.

The doctor told Marco to go support Morian and spoke to the girl in a relatively gentle tone.

“Are you from Avas?”

“……”

“You don’t understand Avas language. Where are you from? Do you perhaps speak Kiyen?”

“……”

The girl didn’t answer. Surrounded by piercing gazes, she nervously glanced around.

The doctor tried to communicate with the girl using various foreign languages, but when he received no response, he could only sigh.

“My… Perhaps she cannot speak. Or maybe she cannot hear.”

“Doctor, are you saying she’s disabled?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s from a foreign country I’m not familiar with. But that detective seemed to be from Avas… Why was she with him?”

After trying various methods, the doctor turned toward the fox beastkin. The fox beastkin was hopping around with the support of a terrorist.

“Morian. Does this woman perhaps not speak?”

“I don’t know. But she didn’t say anything when she was with that guy.”

“Hmm…”

“She seemed to have trouble understanding things too. The kid’s slow. She didn’t even join the fight. Just stood there blankly and then ran away.”

After hearing Morian’s explanation, the doctor stroked his chin. After thinking for a while, he spoke.

“Tell me more about that man. The man who was with this girl.”

“He was tall… had a black head… brown eyes. He was wearing a suit and didn’t have anything except a shotgun and a knife.”

“Knife…? What kind of knife?”

“I don’t know. Just a really long knife.”

“There’s no reason for a police officer to carry a knife. Hmm… Do you remember how long the blade was?”

“Well… about this long?”

The beastkin spread his index finger and thumb. It was about 15 cm in length.

A police officer carrying a knife with a 15 cm blade.

Something’s off.

“Was the man not carrying a gun? Whether he was on duty or on leave, if he was a police officer, he might have been carrying a gun.”

“…Gun? Ah, come to think of it, that woman did have a gun. It was a pistol.”

“The girl…?”

The doctor turned to look at the girl. She was still anxiously looking around.

After examining the girl, the doctor questioned Bisar, the terrorist who had brought her.

“Did this young lady have a gun?”

“No, Doctor. I’ve never seen a gun. If she had one, she would have shot already.”

“……”

That was certainly true. The fact that the gun she had was gone meant she either lost it or gave it to someone.

But the girl seemed too young to be a police officer. She might be a college student, but she didn’t look like a police officer at all.

The doctor shifted his gaze away from the girl. Suspicion remained, but there was only circumstantial evidence.

While the doctor was lost in thought, Marco, who had brought Morian over, quietly asked him.

“What should we do, Doctor?”

“……”

“…Doctor?”

Something’s off.

There was no evidence, but he couldn’t shake the feeling. Sensing something strange as he mulled over the situation, the doctor questioned Morian.

“…Morian.”

“Yes, Doctor. What is it?”

“Do you perhaps remember what the pistol looked like? The one this girl was supposedly carrying.”

“The pistol…”

The beastkin’s ears twitched as he rolled his eyes to the right. His ears dangled, and his tail swung widely from side to side once.

“I’m not sure about other details, but it was extremely small. Definitely not a revolver.”

“…Small, you say? How small?”

“Well, small enough to fit in one hand? Even when she was holding it, it was very small. It looked just like a toy.”

The beastkin pointed at the girl as he spoke. The doctor lifted the girl’s hand to check how big her palm was.

As he examined the girl’s hand, the doctor muttered so quietly that no one could hear.

“…Hey.”

“Doctor, what’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

“Pardon?”

“…He’s not a police officer.”

The doctor said.

He hastily put down the girl’s hand and addressed the group.

“Avas police use large pistols designed for adult men. There’s no way it would look like a toy when this girl held it.”

“What? Are you saying he’s not a police officer?”

“He’s not a police officer… If not a police officer, then who…”

At that moment.

An ear-splitting explosion rang out. The sudden noise momentarily deafened everyone. A loud bang hit their eardrums, followed by a ringing sound as surrounding sounds faded.

No sound could be heard. It felt as if everything around had suddenly become silent.

The doctor lay face down on the floor, dazedly shaking his head. In his increasingly distant hearing, he could hear far-off screams.

After crawling around for a while, the doctor could faintly hear a “click-click” sound.

He raised his head to look straight ahead.

Not even 15 meters away,

Behind a certain store,

A man stood holding a gun.