Crack

Crack

I put the now-quiet seed of denial in my pocket and turned my gaze.

If you only look at this thing’s cute appearance and way of speaking, there might be those who think I’m being excessive.

‘But I’m not kind-hearted enough to forgive someone who’s openly trying to betray me.’

This level of treatment should be appropriate.

With such thoughts, I looked around to see if there was anything else to check.

‘I don’t see anything particularly useful.’

It seems they only brought the minimum amount of items, probably considering this place as a temporary base rather than their main base.

I looked around such things and slowly made my way out using magic to burst them open.

*

I thought that if I told Espin about what I had experienced earlier, it might help in understanding why the Heaven God Cult had made such a big move, so I called Espin out and told him.

As soon as Espin heard the story, he looked at me with a somewhat strange expression and continued speaking.

“… You’re saying that the Heaven God Cult set a trap, kidnapped informants, and then brainwashed them to extract information in reverse?”

I nodded at those words, and at first, Espin seemed not to believe it.

But when I showed him the Heaven God Cult members I had captured… to be precise, the human worm soup-like thing compressed in a box, he quickly nodded.

“Y-Yes, that seems to be correct.”

Am I mistaken in thinking that he showed a momentary expression of shock?

I looked at Espin like that, crossed my legs, and calmly said.

“Don’t expect reason from them. They are the kind who will do anything for their purpose.”

“……”

At those words, Espin alternately looked at the Heaven God Cult members in the box and me, and his lips moved as if he had something to say.

But perhaps deciding it wasn’t a good idea, he tightly closed his mouth and just kept nodding.

As I watched Espin like that, I thought it was somewhat bland and turned my head.

Espin sighs and tells me.

“… Anyway, if the informants have turned, there might be some among our informants who have turned as well.”

“I suppose so.”

“Of course, there’s probably mental protection magic in place, so such cases are likely to be rare… but it would be good to look into it.”

As I listened to those words, I informed Espin of one fact he was overlooking.

“I’m telling you this because you seem to be misunderstanding something. Why do you think there are no Heaven God Cult members in the Inspection Department?”

“… What?”

“Given that everyone from the Public Security Department to high-ranking nobles and senior administrators are involved, do you think there wouldn’t be such people in the Inspection Department?”

At those words, Espin’s expression turned sour, as if he was quite displeased with the criticism of the organization he belonged to.

However, as if he couldn’t deny it when thinking rationally, he quickly composed himself and nodded.

I slowly continued speaking to Espin.

“Even if it’s not the Inspection Department itself, it could be a ‘mind-related magician’ who has been dispatched to support the Inspection Department.”

“A mind-related magician…? Do you mean the magician who casts mental protection spells that you mentioned earlier?”

When I nodded, Espin’s expression turned serious, as if something had clicked, and he fell into deep thought.

I left Espin alone to think it through, and after some time had passed, I slowly presented my suspicion.

“If someone from the Heaven God Cult has infiltrated the Inspection Department over a long period, it’s highly likely that most inspectors have already fallen into a trap.”

Hearing this, Espin responded in a flustered manner.

“It’s not me.”

“Maybe not now. If it’s set up as a trigger, it might not have activated yet.”

Faced with a situation worthy of suspicion, Espin seemed to be struggling with complex thoughts and remained silent, pressing his lips together.

Of course, all of this is mere ‘speculation,’ so we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

‘If it’s the Heaven God Cult, they’re certainly capable of doing something like this and more.’

Somehow feeling that they might have already done so, I spoke to Espin.

“It would be best to have our family’s magicians conduct an examination. Of course, it’s your choice whether to accept it or not, but don’t make a decision you’ll regret.”

At those words, Espin clenched his fist as if he wanted to deny my suspicion altogether.

But as if he had suddenly become stubborn, he spoke to me in a tone suggesting it couldn’t possibly be true.

“Well, why not? It’s not like they’ll find anything anyway.”

There’s absolutely no problem, he says as he stands up.

He speaks to me with a confident voice.

“If, as you say, there’s something wrong with my mental magic, then like your nickname, I’ll also become your dog…”

“Stop.”

I quickly stopped Espin from bringing up the curse and dark history created by Delia.

If the number of guys willing to become my dogs increases like this, it would be difficult to handle anymore.

‘To be honest, even now… it’s already unmanageable.’

It seems to have started as a provocative joke by Delia.

Now that there are some guys who are doing this role somewhat seriously, I sincerely declined such a burdensome proposal.

Espin makes a strangely displeased expression and says to me.

“Oh really? So now you’re being picky about your dogs? Are you saying someone like me isn’t even worth considering?”

It’s somewhat troublesome.

As I was holding my throbbing head, wondering how to deal with this,

Someone crawled out from under the reception room desk and shouted.

“… No, no more!”

Judging by the voice, it seems to be Rumi.

I thought it was strangely quiet despite Espin’s arrival, and turned my gaze.

‘By the way, how did she manage to hide until now?’

The most problematic thing in the current situation was the fact that neither of us noticed ‘Rumi was hiding’ despite her presence.

‘If we were ordinary people, it would have been a simple happening, but.’

I may be like that, but in Espin’s case, as an inspector, security and investigation are the top priorities.

It’s bound to be somewhat embarrassing to show signs of not knowing that Rumi was hiding.

While I’m actually holding my aching head as I watch Espin’s hardened expression, Rumi hurriedly speaks.

“Last time… you even brought in a cat. Now you’re saying you’ll bring in a new dog, I don’t like having too many competitors…!”

At the mention of a cat, Espin looks at me with an expression demanding an explanation.

I avoid answering as I don’t particularly want to respond, and Espin speaks to me with a complicated expression in many ways.

“Would it have been better to say cat instead of dog?”

It’s utterly confusing.

I gesture that I don’t want to hear any more of this and tell Espin.

“For now, I’ll introduce you to the magicians, so take them with you… and let’s pretend there was no bet.”

“Alright, sure.”

Espin, seeming to think that any further joking would be inappropriate, nods and quickly ends the topic.

As if by agreement, we both stand up from our seats, say our goodbyes, and leave.

I can feel Rumi hurriedly approaching and following closely behind me.

After confirming Rumi’s presence, I speak briefly while holding back a sigh.

“Do you have something to say?”

At that, Rumi shakes her head and hastily replies.

“No, it’s not that. I just wanted to go this way…”

I’m not sure how to react to that.

I stare blankly at Rumi for a moment before turning my head and heading towards the laboratory.

‘It seems like her personality has changed.’

She used to keep her distance from things she liked, observing from afar.

But at some point, she started approaching without restraint, and now she’s openly clinging to me and showing her affection.

‘At this point, it’s impossible to pretend not to notice anymore.’

I had somewhat realized that she had feelings for me.

But because of the fact that Deren had tried to rape Rumi, and because this body isn’t mine, I had been gritting my teeth and ignoring it.

‘Even though I pushed her away, Rumi kept clinging to me.’

It became increasingly difficult to resist.

I sighed, thinking that I, too, am a man and it’s hard to handle such things.

‘No matter how much I immerse myself in research and magic, there’s a limit to how much I can endure.’

I was afraid that I might really lose control and cross the line later.

I looked back at Rumi, who was giggling and following me closely.

I decided to have a conversation about this later, but for now, I chose to continue pretending not to notice.

‘… I haven’t made a definite decision yet, after all.’

When a way to return to Earth appears.

The dilemma of whether to return to Earth or stay here.

‘Rationally speaking, staying here would be a hundred times better.’

But as time passed, Earth kept coming to mind strangely.

My firm resolve to continue living here was slowly crumbling.

Feeling this change in my mindset, I judged it was too early to make any decisions now.

When something is decided in the future.

I decided to respond to the feelings of Rumi, Sien, and Delia, but for now, I decided to postpone it.