episode_0014

#8

To summarize my plan briefly, this was it.

Operation to deceive with a fake refrigerator.

As you all know, I am a witch who learned alchemy from Eugene.

Of course, I can also use other magics that witches generally use (such as teleportation, perception-obstructing magic, avoidance magic, etc.), but my specialty, like Eugene’s, was alchemy.

Alchemy is basically the magic of making things.

So, what I was saying was that it was possible to make a refrigerator.

Of course, it would cost a lot of pension costs to perfectly imitate the detailed functions, but at least it was not difficult to imitate the appearance.

Anyone who has heard this far may have guessed what I am trying to portray.

That is, a fake trap is created that exactly mimics the appearance of the refrigerator in the kitchen.

And the moment the refrigerator thief interferes with it. (Not just opening the door, but also messing with the inside.)

Binds the target. To be exact, it gives a kind of paralyzing effect, preventing movement.

Well… a high-level Awakened person could probably cut off my magic and run away, but at that point, I honestly think it’s time to give up.

How can you stop a pathetic, helpless, high-ranking Awakened Hunter who wants to raid the refrigerator in a goshiwon?

Of course, there was a big problem here.

That’s right, it was the existence of an existing refrigerator.

The refrigerator was one of the bulkiest appliances, and there were three of them in the kitchen.

Of course, I could get the cooperation of my client, who is the owner of a goshiwon, to put the refrigerator away for a while, but wouldn’t my commission be reduced if I made him go through all that trouble?

That can never happen.

I thought about using teleportation to move the refrigerator temporarily, but I passed on it because the food might spoil in the meantime.

What you need in times like this is a chameleon curtain.

It was also a masterpiece that I created while I was rolling around like a dog under my teacher.

The purpose is simple.

A font that makes a pre-set space image visible.

That was the chameleon curtain.

Here, you can set the image of the goshiwon kitchen including the refrigerator!

If you just adjust the three-dimensional angle of the spatial image well, you might be able to fool people.

I made a plan, got a box the size of a refrigerator, and used mystical materials and mysteries to transform it into the perfect refrigerator shape.

Haha. Even I can see that it’s well-decorated.

Anyone can tell that this is a refrigerator.

And inside, paralyzing magic was linked, so that it would automatically shoot flesh at anyone it came into contact with.

After nearly an hour of labor, the trap was set up.

One concern was that the culprit, not the culprit, was the resident of the goshiwon who tampered with the trap refrigerator, but the client, Seungjun Kim, asked for the guests’ understanding in advance and received a reply that the refrigerator would not be used for about two days.

Now all that’s left is for the culprit to fall into the trap… .

Will things work out well?

I took a chair and hid myself next to the existing refrigerator, inside the curtain, waiting for the culprit to appear.

Thump thump.

The sound of my heartbeat was so loud.

It felt so loud that I thought a thief outside the tent might hear my heartbeat and run away.

But I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Everything I’ve ever dealt with has been a monster, and it’s always been with the Master.

Of course, that prickly woman had threatened to not blink an eye even if you were in danger of death, but she and I both knew that was a lie. If it was really a dangerous situation, she would have helped me without hesitation.

But not anymore.

From now on, I had to face everything on my own.

Even the opponent is a villain who is presumed to be an Awakened One, not a monster.

I have never fought with anyone.

Of course, when I was a boy, I had fights with my friends, but this was different from those childish fights.

Fighting with the Awakened.

I couldn’t help but worry about whether I could do well.

What should I do if I encounter an unexpectedly strong enemy?

Can I win against a Hunter-class high-ranking Awakened?

Even if the culprit appears, wouldn’t it be right to run away?

If you show such a vicious appearance, you will never be able to ask for a commission from the Hunter Gallery again, but isn’t it more important to survive even if you live like a beggar?

My mind was complicated, so all sorts of random thoughts kept coming to my mind.

Let’s calm down… He’s just a thief. How great of a guy can he be?

After completing the request and earning 100,000 won, think about buying some delicious food.

Sweet food. Sweet snack.

Chocolate! Candy! Jelly! Tanghulu!!

Churp… It looks delicious.

Just thinking about food makes me feel all relaxed.

That was when.

The trap set in the refrigerator went off.

What? There’s no one inside yet?

Anyway, the culprit was caught.

Because I can feel the paralyzing magic clearly going in.

I went back through the magic I had installed and tracked its location.

I went down the stairs… downstairs. Even lower. I headed to the convenience store.

It wasn’t hard to guess who the culprit was.

Because the part-timer who was watching the convenience store counter stood still.

Even when customers are waiting to pay.

A customer was irritated at the sight of a part-time worker not coming out from inside the counter despite waiting in front of the checkout counter.

“Excuse me. What are you doing? Can’t you see that I’m trying to calculate??”

But the part-timer, who had been paralyzed for 10 minutes, remained motionless, and the customer threw the item down and walked out, swearing in annoyance.

Only me and the refrigerator thief were left at the convenience store. I glanced at the CCTV guarding the convenience store and then spoke to the culprit.

“I’m surprised. I never thought they’d steal the refrigerator stuff here.”

“… … !”

What I could feel, however faintly, was magic.

He was not a high-ranking Awakener.

Even if you give it a high rating, it’s only level 5.

At least not to the point where they could tell I was a witch.

If it was at that level from the beginning, I think my magic would have been easily solved.

Anyway, I continued talking to her who was standing still like a doll.

“I got a request that food keeps being stolen from the Gosiwon refrigerator. I’m an awakened person who came out to solve it. But guess what? I never thought they’d do something like this at a convenience store.”

Parrr. I can see the pupils trembling.

It was a sign that the paralysis was slowly being lifted.

“A crime using this ability… Congratulations. You became a villain? By the way, I’m not that kid. Don’t even think about evading the truth. He looks like this, but he’s actually quite old.”

“Okay, wait a minute… Wait a minute.”

Crimes committed using this ability, even if they are minor, are treated as serious crimes.

It was also a human effort to maintain the safety net of society.

It is said that throughout history, there have been many cases of crimes committed with supernatural powers, and many countries have fallen because they were not properly punished.

Because of this, most countries, regardless of whether they are in the East or the West, have responded strongly to crimes involving supernatural powers, trying to prevent the birth of villains.

The part-time worker’s face, which had been pictured as a bleak future, turned pale.

Then, urgently and desperately, she pleaded with me.

“I, really. No. If I go to jail, my brother will starve to death. Please. Just let me go once.”

“… … .”

“My parents aren’t here either. They were all killed by the monsters. I’m the only one left. I’m the head of the household.”

But, that doesn’t mean I can let her go.

It could be a lie… .

“But that doesn’t justify a crime. And how do I know if it’s a lie or not… .”

“It’s true. I’ll give you my home address. Check it out. My younger brother and I live alone… .”

Her circumstances were pitiful as she poured out her story so desperately.

Sujin, who lost her parents at a young age and had to take care of her younger sibling, said that just paying the increasingly expensive rent consumed most of her meager salary, and that she used her abilities to steal food from the goshiwon refrigerator to make up for the shortfall in food expenses.

I turned away from her desperate gaze.

Anyway, this is a problem that is out of my hands.

Now that I’ve told the client that it seems to be the work of a villain, I can’t go back on my words.

“There’s nothing I can do. A principle is a principle.”

“… … .”

They say that when faced with an irreversible reality, there are more people who deny it than those who simply accept it.

What will she do now that she has become a supernatural criminal?

Are you going to come at me to eliminate the witness?

Or should we just obediently accept reality?

Her head dropped.

The tears of the woman who was weeping silently fell onto the table.

“First…, meet the client and explain the situation. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do.”

The aftertaste was so bitter.

The cold wall of a society more vicious than a witch was this high.

#9

He took her to the client, Mr. Seungjun Kim.

Anyway, there was nothing I could decide. If you wanted leniency, it would have been right to ask them, not me.

However, as the person who arrested her, I could only tell Seungjun about the moderate attitude and remorse she showed toward me.

As a result, Seungjun ignored the matter after hearing her difficult circumstances.

Although he seemed cold on the outside, he was surprisingly kind on the inside. When they heard about his pitiful story, he showed his generous side by not asking for compensation but instead giving them the goshiwon room he was running for a cheap price.

Instead, on the condition that Soojin take care of the general affairs.

Well, even if she’s a 5th grader, she’s still an awakened person. If she’s guarding the dormitory as the general affairs manager, then he, as the owner, will feel quite at ease.

You don’t have to worry about your refrigerator being stolen like before.

But at this point, honestly, I’m a little jealous.

I don’t have a home, so I’m sleeping in a tent on the mountain… .

I didn’t expect it to turn out this well.

Why does the 100,000 won I received as a bonus (the 20,000 won I received as a deposit was considered a bonus) seem so small?

It must be a huge amount of money.

Anyway, now that the work is done, I should go back to my cozy accommodations.

“Okay, just a moment!”

“??”

The person who caught me as I was leaving was Soojin. She was gasping for breath.

I waited a moment for her to catch her breath, and she bowed deeply and thanked me.

“Thank you for helping me.”

“I don’t think I helped you in any way. Seungjun helped Soojin, so shouldn’t I be grateful to him?”

“Oh, yes! I already said hello to the boss. But, uh… .”

“Jinhaneul.”

“Yes. Because Mr. Sky helped me too. From the side. And… , Mr. Sky came looking for me and that’s how this happened.”

“Um… . Yes. Well. Anyway, take care.”

“I… !”

“Yes?”

“If it’s okay with you, would you like to have a meal?”

“Rice”

what.

Are you plotting now?

Do I have a face that women surprisingly like?

I scratched my head and answered her.

“Are you buying it?”

“Of course.”

“Like.”

Free food is always welcome!

But then I found out that I wasn’t eating alone with her. I was eating with her younger brother.

Maybe he wanted to introduce me to my younger brother.

Have you perhaps mistaken me for a high-ranking Awakened person?

Are you trying to make some connections?

When she said we could order as much food as we wanted, I briefly considered ordering five dishes each, but since we were both living in a situation where we didn’t have much, I thought that wouldn’t work, so I ordered a large portion of Jajangmyeon.

While the food is cooking.

I observed the boy sitting across from me, who was Soojin’s younger brother.

White hair, red eyes.

Are you an albino?

He’s pretty. With that face, he’s a boy?

Huh… Heh… .