Ch.194Chapter 8. Ability User Maker (4)

At that moment, at a research facility on Sejong Island.

“Haaah!”

With a battle cry, a white-haired girl thrust her fist forward.

The girl opposite her deflected the punch with her arm, absorbing the attack.

Both girls’ attacks were infused with mana, and whenever their mana collided, explosions of red and black light erupted.

“Impressive.”

S-rank hero, Princess Bari Tae Yi-rin, clicked her tongue as she watched the two girls spar from the judge’s seat.

Their combat was merely at the level of E-rank ability users scuffling with each other, but what mattered was that these girls had once transformed into demons before losing their abilities.

“Student Do-eun, Student Ye-in? Stop for a moment.”

“Huff, huff.”

The two girls ceased their attacks against each other.

Both had flushed faces and were drenched in sweat, but the fire in their eyes remained undiminished.

“Both of you, let me check something here.”

Princess Bari asked permission from the two girls, then examined the glowing emblems on their chests.

“Student Do-eun has the Spade Queen, Student Ye-in has the Clover Ace… what does this mean?”

“We don’t really know.”

“Yes. We don’t know.”

The two girls knew nothing.

“We just made a contract with that person, the Dark Charisma. He asked what we would do if we could regain our powers.”

“What would you do…?”

“Yes. And I answered that I would use my power in more meaningful and significant ways.”

“We would use our powers wherever they’re needed. Even if we only became physical enhancement-type ability users, that strength and speed would surely be helpful somewhere.”

“Like quickly rescuing people during fires.”

“Or pulling people out of cars or moving entire vehicles during chain collisions.”

Textbook answers.

These are actually examples listed in elementary school social studies textbooks under “How Abilities Can Help in Daily Life,” complete with illustrations.

“That’s an admirable mindset. Excellent. Both of you.”

Princess Bari felt both impressed and somewhat melancholic that such textbook responses came from these two girls.

“When I was your age, I whined about not wanting to do what others told me to. I’m a bit envious of your attitude. Ah, I’m not saying anything strange. I’m being sincere. I’m a selfish woman.”

She herself became an S-rank at 17, but even considering her background, these girls were already trying to live for others at just 15.

“Still, I’d like you to live a bit more for yourselves. That’s what I think.”

“Thank you for your words. We’ll take care of ourselves sufficiently.”

“We won’t be living as five-minute standby responders, but we won’t live like pushovers either.”

The two girls nodded firmly at each other.

“We’ll make sure to receive treatment befitting our abilities.”

“If we’re not given proper treatment and are asked to do more than what we’re compensated for, we’ll confidently demand more or ask for corrections.”

“We’re people who can help others, not machines or robots that follow orders to fight and die when commanded from above.”

“……”

Tae Yi-rin became genuinely interested in their assertive responses.

“Did the Dark Charisma tell you all that?”

“Yes.”

“He gave us a new life. A chance to live a new life.”

The two girls showed something like a desperate longing.

“We are….”

“……”

The girls tried to say something, but the emblems on their chests glowed.

As if suppressing or calming something.

“…Interesting. I’d like to meet that person too. I’m curious what he would say to me.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Tae Yi-rin felt a bit spiteful for no reason.

“I wonder what kind of life he’s lived, to speak of justice so matter-of-factly.”

* * *

“How is it that there’s always a woman in your room whenever I come, teacher?”

“You’re the one who taught us spatial movement, right? Thanks to you, we can easily come here now.”

“Ugh. Maybe I shouldn’t have taught you…”

“Don’t be like that, Ymir. Good things should be shared, right? Ahaha!”

“Am I something to be eaten?”

Although the Jamminfuff Girl plan was put on hold, Ymir had become quite friendly with Qiongqi and Taowu.

The catalyst was, of course, spatial movement.

As Qiongqi and Taowu learned spatial movement, they could freely use my home as coordinates and come and go as they pleased.

“Ymir. Did you know? After Dark Charisma appeared, talk about Platinum Sun completely disappeared.”

“Oh, really? I thought it was strange that the search results dropped when I ego-searched.”

“Ahaha! That’s true, but we’re all keeping an eye on things. Not just the tavern owners under Qiongqi, but the hitmen and hit girls under my command are also moving.”

“You’re not killing anyone, right?”

“Just unfortunate accidents where they injure their fingers and can’t use a keyboard for about two weeks?”

“That’s a bit of an unfortunate accident.”

Both Qiongqi and Taowu helped Ymir.

They also learned why I wanted to recruit Ymir into the Syndicate, and they were subtly trying to get her onto their own teams.

“Taowu. Stop trying to outbid me for Ymir.”

“It’s not like Ymir is set to go to anyone yet, isn’t that too much? I’m a director, and you’re just a department head.”

“I’m a department head at director level with an independent team.”

“A team with only one department head? Ymir, come work with me, okay?”

“I haven’t even decided to join the company yet…”

“Have you forgotten our blood oath as Jamminfuff Girl? Under Department Head Do…”

“Stop saying nonsense. That never happened.”

I smacked Taowu on the head once.

“If Ymir becomes an employee of our company, I’ll personally be her mentor and teach her everything from A to Z.”

“Already taking care of her.”

“Of course. I was the first to suggest recruiting her. You guys find someone else.”

“But the people Department Head Do has his eye on are all exceptional.”

“That’s why I’m telling you not to think about taking them away.”

“You’re already drinking the celebratory soup before the rice cake is even made.”

“What did you say?”

“Ah. Korean language issue. Sorry. Hehehe. Anyway, thank you. For continuing to take care of me.”

“It’s nothing. This much is basic.”

After having a light meal and discussing Ymir’s situation.

“Where were we? We were talking about Student Do-eun. The ability revivalists starting from E-rank.”

We had a casual conversation about abilities.

“Ymir, how much do you know about the difference between E-rank ability users and S-rank ability users?”

“…Honestly, I’m not sure.”

Ymir couldn’t easily answer Taowu’s question.

“The difference is so huge. One can summon creatures behind their back-“

“Not creatures! Gods!”

“Stop it.”

I approached behind Taowu and pressed her cheeks with my hands, making her squirm.

“I’m just telling the truth!”

“Only do that when you’re maintaining your concept.”

“Can I do it freely then?”

“I’ll properly play along, beyond just letting you do it.”

Concept is important.

Acting like that naturally in everyday life is the behavior of a madman, and I’m not a madman—I’m just an ordinary person pretending to be one.

“Ymir. Being an E-rank ability user, meaning being able to use mana, means becoming a being with superior physical abilities. Right?”

“Yes. The professors at the academy always say that. You are physically superior people, so you need to be careful even when opening bottle caps. They say in their time, orange juice came in glass bottles.”

“It was like that back then. Though such things aren’t distributed now, let’s use pasta sauce bottles as an example. Can an ordinary person break a glass bottle with just grip strength? Not by throwing it, but by squeezing it with their hands.”

“No way. Apart from being dangerous, it’s glass.”

“Right. But an E-rank ability user can do it. With the power of mana.”

It’s not impossible, though they might get a bit injured.

“The Syndicate wants to utilize these abilities throughout society. Public safety, security, and even national defense.”

“…So filling police, firefighters, and soldiers with ability users?”

“In addition to what those people already do, filling those fields with ability users. Unlike the current Hero Association.”

I turned on the villain report button on my Taeguk Watch.

“Teacher, if you press that…!”

“Yes. It rings loudly. Whether it attracts the villain’s attention or not, the important thing is to alert others that there’s a villain here. The Syndicate will start by changing systems like this.”

“If a B-rank villain appears, nearby C-ranks buy time until a B-rank in the vicinity arrives to handle it. The current Hero Association has a similar approach, but the Syndicate will move more organizationally and systematically. And at its foundation…”

“Heroes laundered by the Sephiroth Knights will risk their lives?”

“Not quite risking their lives, but doing their best within their capabilities.”

This applies not only to those reborn as heroes through the Goblin’s Club and the Syndicate’s mental education but also to those who lost their abilities and got a second chance to live as ability users.

“They will do their best in their respective positions. Not just standing by with cameras when villains rampage or ignoring the situation until someone stronger arrives, but showing appropriate action.”

“Like evacuating people or trying to persuade the villain?”

“Yes. Doing their best within their capabilities. Not sacrificing their lives.”

Everyone will faithfully fulfill their given roles.

Except for two people.

The two that Qiongqi and Taowu had switched out in advance.

“Student Yoo Do-eun came under Qiongqi’s command, and that student… Jo Ye-in? She went to America with her parents. The Syndicate provided identity laundering.”

“Then… the two on the broadcast now are… those people?”

“Yes.”

Two white-haired girls appeared on the broadcast.

The two girls were practicing martial arts using magical power in front of S-rank Princess Bari.

“Such unfortunate children. Kids who were tempted by demons and almost went down the wrong path.”

Non-ability users who became ability users through deals with the Sephiroth Knights.

People who were switched with the original two, intending to enter Sejong Island as Zenros.

“Substitutes prepared by Pandemonium. …They were non-ability users who volunteered to be human test subjects, tempted by the promise of being granted abilities.”

“It couldn’t have been easy to find such people in Korea.”

“They’re mixed-race, mixed-race.”

“…Pardon?”

“Korean fathers and foreign mothers.”

The two girls had different nationalities, but they shared the fact that they weren’t born as ability users, though their parents wished they had been.

“Children born to Korean men traveling abroad. Pandemonium cleverly exploited their desire to come to Korea and become ability users.”

And through contracts with the Syndicate, they became our people.

“The Syndicate made them ability users, and the Syndicate only asks one thing of them. Don’t become bad people.”

“And if they do become bad people…?”

“Their abilities will be taken away. If they become villains or demons who kill people, then their lives will be taken along with their abilities. In this way, our Syndicate is placing people all over the world. Reviving abilities or strengthening weakened ones.”

“That’s amazing.”

“It is amazing. Thanks to that power, we can operate so comfortably now.”

For example.

“Ymir. What do you think is the background that allows the Syndicate to operate like this in Korea?”

“……No way, could it be?”

“Haven’t you ever thought about it?”

I displayed a photo.

“Why do you think the strongest S-rank hero hasn’t appeared despite all this chaos?”

S-rank hero.

Korea’s strongest, number one hero.

Lord of Radiant Wings.

“He’s on our side?”

That’s how it is.