Episode 216. The Rune Clan (3)

First, we got out of the orphanage.

Because we couldn’t proceed with things at the orphanage.

“I need a quiet place, do you happen to know of one?”

“Follow me. I have a hideout for my Korean branch.”

I escaped to the outskirts, surrounded by Rebecca’s Rune Barrier.

On the way, I kept observing the Rune Barrier, but my own barrier was still the same.

‘Why can’t I analyze it even when I look?’

Unlike other magic, Rebecca’s Rune Barrier couldn’t be analyzed.

More accurately, even if I analyzed it and tried to execute it exactly the same, I wouldn’t get the same result.

I don’t know the principle, but it seems like there’s something immense there.

“Speaking of which, what about Suhyun?”

A survivor of the Rune Clan.

If Cheon Su-hyun, who is at the Sunshine Orphanage, is left as he is, he’ll live the life of an ordinary person.

“I have to bring him. Even if he didn’t receive any education, he’s of the Rune Clan. After slowly building rapport, I’ll adopt him. And… I want to make him one of the Rune Clan.”

I could feel genuine affection for the Rune Clan in Rebecca’s words.

The word ‘education’ bothered me.

“What kind of education is that? Is it a special education unique to the Rune Clan?”

Perhaps that special Rune Barrier is also part of that education.

“Hmm, to put it simply, it’s living within the Rune Barrier from childhood. There’s a special educational method of the Rune Clan that forcibly makes the nature of one’s magic identical to the Rune Barrier.”

“Oh…”

“If you concentrate on the Rune Barrier continuously for several years, your magic circuit completely changes. That’s when you become a true member of the Rune Clan.”

So the Rune Barrier I used was half-baked.

No wonder it was so easily broken through.

“Come inside.”

Rebecca went into a desolate building in a corner of the city.

After passing through a dark passageway that looked like bats might emerge from, a rather bright living space appeared.

“This room has a bed and a bathroom. Follow me.”

Rebecca started taking off her outer clothes, trying to enter the room.

She was thinking of doing it right away, even starting now.

“Wait a moment. Rebecca-ssi. Just a moment.”

“… Weren’t you supposed to be helping me make a baby?”

Rebecca sent me a disappointed look, clutching her outer clothes.

“There’s something I need to check first. Let’s go into the room for now.”

Frowning Rebecca was a little scary, but I managed to lead her into the inner part of the room somehow.

I seated Rebecca at the table in the room, which looked like a witch’s laboratory, and took a seat across from her.

“Hmm… First of all, you were affiliated with Pandemic, weren’t you, Rebecca-ssi? Because of that, there’s something I need to check.”

“… Still, I didn’t kill anyone.”

Rebecca seemed slightly nervous.

I hadn’t intended to ask if she had killed people.

“It’s not that. The boss of Pandemic, Maestro, has mind control magic. I need to check if you, Rebecca-ssi, might have fallen victim to it.”

This is the reason why I didn’t immediately accept Rebecca.

Maestro’s mind control.

I cannot trust someone who cannot be certainly on my side.

Hearing my words, Rebecca seemed relieved and let out a laugh.

“Aha, what was that all about? Don’t worry. I know about Maestro’s mind control too.”

“Huh? Really?”

You know about mind control?

“Yeah. I activate my Rune Barrier every time I meet Maestro. So that’s not a problem.”

“… Maestro’s magic is quite strong. You never know, Rebecca-ssi.”

“My Rune Barrier is strong too. I can block it perfectly. To the extent that even Maestro wouldn’t notice I haven’t fallen victim to mind control.”

“…”

Seeing Rebecca’s confident demeanor, I tilted my head slightly.

It was because it differed from the facts I knew.

‘Surely Rebecca must have been strongly affected by mind control.’

In the original work, Rebecca clearly falls victim to Maestro’s mind control.

Because a scene appears where the mind control wears off right before her death.

Obviously, the current Rebecca wouldn’t know that fact, so I was speaking euphemistically.

But seeing her so confident like that is a bit confusing.

‘Is it possible she hasn’t fallen victim to mind control yet?’

Maestro usually applies mind control upon first meeting, so the possibility of that is slim, but…

At that moment, I recalled what Rebecca had just said.

‘I’ve never killed anyone.’

“Rebecca-ssi. You said you’ve never gone on missions to kill people, right?”

“Yes. Of course. I only provide minimal help. In exchange for helping Pandemic investigate the Rune Clan.”

“…”

Rebecca said that, but…

‘No.’

That’s impossible.

Because Rebecca’s Rune Barrier was definitely present during the Association’s social party terrorist attack.

Although Rebecca didn’t directly kill anyone, there were definitely victims during that incident.

“…”

I checked Rebecca’s face.

Her face showed no trace of shame.

“… Rebecca-ssi. Follow along.”

“Huh? Follow along with what?”

“Just follow exactly what I say. And… brace yourself.”

“Brace myself? No, I told you I didn’t fall victim to mind control or anything.”

Right before she died in the original work.

I remember the scene where she was shedding tears and regretting her past.

Rebecca, eventually subdued by the protagonist and heroines, only had her mind control wear off right before her death.

– It was like this from the beginning… Sigh… Why did I become like this?

Because she was an antagonist popular thanks to her looks, the production team specially created an ending scene for her.

– I didn’t want to kill anyone. I just… just wanted my clan back…. Maestro….

Back then, I was playing the game, so I had no choice but to kill Rebecca, but it’s different now.

Rebecca seemed a little displeased, but she obediently followed my words.

“Follow exactly.”

“Follow exactly…”

“No, not that, starting now.”

“… I was just trying to lighten the mood. Don’t be angry.”

Sigh.

I wonder if this person could understand what I’m thinking.

I slowly recited Maestro’s mind control incantation that I had seen in the original work.

When Maestro speaks, the mind control begins, but when another person speaks it, an extreme pain comes, triggering the return of memories from when mind control was applied.

After discovering this, strategizing against Pandemic became easier.

“… Tu Arma Maestro.”

“Tu Arma Maestro.”

Rebecca, who spoke the incantation, didn’t seem to be in bad condition.

Could it be? Did she really not fall victim to mind control?

“… Are you okay?”

“Yeah, what is this? Of course, I’m f- Huh?”

Thump-

Strength drained from Rebecca’s body as she rolled off the chair she was sitting on.

“Rebecca-ssi?!”

“J-just a moment… Wh-why am I? How come… Gasp Ugh. Gag!“

“…”

Watching Rebecca vomit everything from her stomach, I averted my eyes.

Severe headaches arose due to the overwhelming memories, and she remembered all the crimes she had committed.

It would be rude to watch that.

“Gag, Ugh… Cough. Cough.“

“Clean.”

When Rebecca’s condition improved slightly.

With my signal, I approached Rebecca, passing over the now-clean floor.

“Rebecca-ssi. Are you okay?”

“… I thought I had blocked it.”

With a pale face, Rebecca muttered.

“That’s Maestro’s scary aspect. You can’t afford even the slightest opening. For now, let’s find a way to release the mind control together.”

This trigger can only tell whether mind control was applied or not.

Releasing the mind control requires other complex methods.

“No. It’s okay now that I understand.”

Hoo.

Taking a deep breath, Rebecca closed her eyes and summoned her magic power.

Soon, magic power condensed near Rebecca’s heart.

It was a dot so small it was barely visible.

The magic power, continuously gathering into a tiny dot, suddenly began to expand.

The magic power that swept through her entire body without any gaps changed into a sphere outside Rebecca’s body, and black magic powers were thickly smeared onto the sphere surrounding her.

That sinister magic power.

I immediately realized its identity.

“No way, is that….”

“It’s Maestro’s magic power. I don’t know when it burrowed inside me… but now that I’ve noticed it, I can remove it with my Rune Barrier.”

Rebecca gathered the black magic powers in the air, compressing them with kwaduduk- kkuduk- sounds.

Plop-

And when she put it into a beaker placed nearby, the magic power smoothly disappeared.

“… Sigh. I boasted, but I just showed a disgraceful sight. I’m sorry that as a mother-to-be, I’m this kind of person.”

“It’s alright.”

I’ve somehow become a mother-to-be.

“A-and… it wasn’t true. That I didn’t kill people. I’m sorry for lying.”

“… It’s alright.”

Actually, it’s a problematic act both morally and legally… but I’m not exactly living uprightly myself.

Just as I have to win over the heroines, Rebecca had to find the Rune Clan.

For her, that was as precious as her life.

Still, the fortunate thing is that I cut off this mind control beforehand.

In the latter half of the original work, Rebecca becomes a terrifying antagonist who kills people without hesitation.

Releasing her before she was mind-controlled that deeply is certainly encouraging.

“Don’t be too discouraged. It’s not your fault, Rebecca-ssi.”

“But… Sigh. What should I do?”

Rebecca still seems unable to believe what she did.

‘As expected, she’s a good person at heart.’

The fact that she didn’t try to force me as soon as she knew I wasn’t of the Rune Clan… it seems true that she’s a good person.

‘Fortunately, I met her early.’

If we had met after she had done more terrible things, she might not have been able to recover from the guilt of her actions.

“Let’s go volunteer together later. Or I can introduce you to a good counselor. The important thing is the revival of the Rune Clan, isn’t it? Right?”

“… Mm-hmm.”

The reason Rebecca, who looks like a decadent witch but is gentle at heart, joined the evil organization called Pandemic.

Is the revival of the Rune Clan.

Rebecca’s eyes widened in surprise, perhaps because I mentioned the ‘revival of the Rune Clan’ myself.

“Then… are we going to do it right away? Since we’ve confirmed everything?”

“That’s fine too… but I want the true revival of the Rune Clan. You do too, right, Rebecca?”

“Of course. I can stake my life on it.”

“Then please teach me about the Rune Barrier.”

“The Rune Barrier? What does that have to do with anything?”

“What do you mean, ‘what does it have to do with it?’ The higher my Rune Barrier level gets, won’t the child inherit that talent too?”

Of course, I don’t know if it will actually happen.

But it’s better than not doing it.

Besides, improving my Rune Barrier skill is also a good thing.

“… Is that so? But giving birth to even one person quickly is….”

“No. What if a child is born who can’t properly use the Rune Barrier? I don’t want that situation to occur.”

“That… Sigh. Okay, I’ll do as you say.”

Rebecca didn’t seem pleased, but seeing my gaze, she eventually nodded her head.

Since I’m the one providing the sperm, well… what choice do I have?