episode_0099

Among the culprits behind the Shipnaha incident, there were quite a few who dared to run away.

Like dogs and pigs, they are so greedy that they set things on fire and are unable to handle the accidents that occur as a result, and are worse than Geumsu, who ran away to save me.

Some fled to other countries as soon as the incident occurred, while others hid in places with few people.

I went out in person to catch them.

I wanted to kill it with my own hands, and I thought I would catch it myself in case I missed it.

Just the thought of one of them succeeding in escaping and living somewhere with their head held high and whining made me grit my teeth.

I can’t bear to see that.

Therefore, I went around directly in cooperation with the association.

I also wanted to go back to the poetry cradle right away.

It was because I felt anxious in a corner of my heart as I thought about leaving Lee Ha-yul alone.

He was a child who seemed likely to get into some kind of accident if left alone.

That was the feeling.

Reason was confident that it would be safe inside the city cradle.

Even though he has been stuck in the city’s cradle for decades and doesn’t even show his face, there is a president. Likewise, there are vice-chancellors who rarely leave the city cradle, and there are other defense heroes and facilities.

Therefore, I kept moving, telling myself that it would be okay in the city cradle.

Actually, Atra didn’t really think that they could solve it all in one weekend. There were dozens of people who escaped, and they were scattered like insects.

Even if we mobilized the gate and went around, it would have been difficult to catch them all in less than two days.

Still, I planned to finish it as quickly as possible and go to the city cradle.

Atra moved as fast as possible.

“…23 people including The Race Blair. All arrests have been completed.”

And I caught it all over the weekend.

The time the sun rises on Monday. It was a close call, but all I did was run away like a cockroach.

“……”

After thinking, Atra looked around.

Inside the underground shelter, where traces of money had been spread, personnel from the association were moving around busily, searching for criminal data.

The guy who was on the list prepared by the association was beaten and taken away long ago. They have already made him an invalid, and he will be executed after receiving just enough treatment to prevent him from dying.

It’s a good thing.

It was finished faster than expected. No one was missed.

Now, as soon as it’s a weekday, Lee Ha-yul’s major lecture can be given.

‘…I don’t know.’

The result was good. But Atra couldn’t be happier.

I walked around non-stop over the weekend. It is true that effort was definitely put in.

However, the work cannot be completed this quickly.

No matter how strong she was, she was alone with only two hands and feet, and even with the members of the association, she couldn’t travel around the world right away.

“This concludes the arrest. Thanks to Clyde’s help, we were able to proceed smoothly.”

“I’m done with pretending.”

“If you omit pretense, you will later get caught in a controversy over your attitude. If that happens, my job evaluation will go downhill.”

A doll approached Atra, who was standing blankly.

Maxwell is an eccentric man who sticks to his casual suit even at the scene of an accident like this.

He spoke after organizing the details of the scene using a hologram projected by a smartwatch.

“As I said, all criminals on the tracking list have been arrested. We will send you other minor details as soon as they are processed.”

“Okay, good job.”

Atra looked at Maxwell with complicated eyes as he spoke while receiving a report delivered via hologram.

Maxwell.

He is a superhuman belonging to the Association’s Disaster Management Department, and as appropriate for that department, he is in charge of preventing and responding to incidents and accidents caused by dungeons, and controlling damage.

I do not know the detailed positions within the Disaster Management Department. I don’t even know what my job is there.

However, I know that Maxwell is a guy who listens to instructions directly from the state assemblyman or the president of the association and acts accordingly.

When we met at the front, Maxwell was working under the instructions of a state legislator.

At the time when he requested Atra’s cooperation in the interior, Maxwell was also receiving instructions from the state assemblyman.

– By higher-ups, do you mean the people around you?

– no. They are higher than him.

Now, it is an order from above.

I glanced at the members of the association who were busily moving around with him in mind.

The Sifnaha incident… or a major accident called a disaster. It is natural that a lot of manpower is invested in chasing down the main culprit that caused the accident.

…Even taking that into account, the sincerity that went into tracking down the main culprit was extraordinary.

Just looking at the observation magic tools in the hands of a few people, it was like that.

The number of manpower mobilized was large and the quality was good. In addition, there were a large number of observation magic tools mobilized and their performance was higher than standard.

This was based on the information received in advance and the thought of directly catching the main culprit who escaped, but there would have been no problem even if the manpower was reduced to half.

Rather than causing a problem, it would have been easily caught.

These days, the construction of dungeons around the world is unusual, so it is too much effort to complain about the mountain of work and lack of manpower.

“Oh, if you don’t mind, could you please tell Cadet Lee Ha-yul?”

“Tell me.”

“There is compensation processing and delivery information for this accident. If you contact me when you have some spare time, just let them know that the association will come see you.”

“I was told to contact you when I was discharged.”

“Ah, that new guy handled it well. My boss is embarrassed for no reason.”

Lee Ha-yul made a great contribution in the Shipnaha incident.

From the moment the incident occurred, he ran around without stopping, rescuing numerous people, and defeated the alpha entity alone, breaking down the outer wall of the dungeon and helping the external rescue team enter easily.

The cause of the incident originated from the dirty and ugly collusion in the area.

Even so, since the association in charge of maintaining world order also has some responsibility, it must provide some compensation to Lee Ha-yul, even if it is only conscious of the public’s attention.

…I know that, but his attitude is just strange.

Normally, when Lee Ha-yul regained consciousness, he would have come to the healing room to hear the on-site statement, but instead of coming, he personally handled the discharge procedures there.

He just left, saying that he would contact me when he has time, and even now, in case he forgot, he is saying that if he contacts me again, he will see me on the other side.

His attitude was cautious and he treated him as if he were a very precious person.

Excessive effort was also put into apprehending escaped criminals.

The media did not raise any issues that might be problematic, and they struck down swift and powerful legal action against bullshit that seemed like beans sprouting in a drought.

The reason is… because Maxwell and the association received instructions from the association presidents.

Association president. Or association presidents.

Because the Tower of Space and Attunement gave direct instructions.

‘……’

Atra didn’t know much about Lee Ha-yul.

I know the basic personal information, but I didn’t search for anything more because I didn’t want to give it away.

Therefore, I did not properly understand the current situation.

It is certain that he is protected by the owner of the growth tower due to his special admission status.

Through this response, I realized that I was receiving a strange treatment from the tower owner of space and coordination.

I don’t know why.

Beyond that, Atra knew very little about Lee Ha-yul.

I wonder why he is protected by the tower owners.

I didn’t hear why he didn’t run away during the incident and saved the person.

I didn’t know why I was suffering from nightmares every time I went to sleep.

Most of this was because Atra did not want to know about Lee Ha-yul and did not ask.

“…Tsk.”

Atra bit her lip.

I felt like it was pointless. I shook him off and turned around.

It’s time to go back to the poetry cradle.

* * *

It was early morning on Monday when we just arrived at the city cradle.

How did you manage to keep the time right?

Atra sighed in relief and headed towards his residence.

As it is early morning and the sun has long since set, it is time for most people to sleep.

That would be the same for Lee Ha-yul. The child is probably lying in bed sleeping by now.

“……”

When I imagined that scene, strangely enough, I didn’t feel that good.

For some reason, I would be displeased if he fell asleep because it was comfortable lying in my bed, not in my arms.

The moment his thoughts reached that point, Atra violently shook his head.

‘I guess I’m more tired than I thought…’

How tired do you have to be to come up with such ridiculous thoughts?

I need to close my eyes even for a moment.

Atra quickened his pace.

.

.

.

The next day came.

After lunch, it was time for major lectures.

The lecture always started with a sparring.

It was like that today too.

First, I checked Lee Ha-yul’s physical condition and asked briefly how she was doing.

Strangely enough, there was an artifact hanging around Lee Ha-yul’s neck.

From what I heard, it appears to be an artifact with the functions of image expression and imprinting.

I was already looking for a similar artifact, but it saved me the trouble of finding it.

[Yes, I received it as a gift from Elia]

“…Gift?”

…I felt something strange, but I tried to get over it.

I postponed anything else to say for a while and started sparring to warm up.

This was the case when Lee Ha-yul was at a physical level lower than that of the average person, and even now, even though he has achieved a lot of growth, he still spars.

A sparring conducted with bare hands and no weapons.

In it, Atra was experiencing Lee Ha-yul’s shocking growth.

The simple growth in physical ability and magical power was astounding, but what was even more surprising was the skill.

Every time you stretch out your hand, you are shot down. Even hand gestures that cause confusion by giving some variables are eliminated.

Easily defeat fights that you may not have been able to respond to in the past.

Attacks that previously would have been allowed in one or two places are now being carried out without any hesitation.

It was as if the level of analysis of the fight had changed to another level. As if going along with it, his body movements also changed.

Even simple close combat was like this. Atra knew that simple fighting was not the only skill Lee Ha-yul possessed.

The magic I’m not using right now and the artifact I’m hanging on my back.

And an ability that is presumed to be a copy of a unique ability that is not known to the outside world.

There are many hidden ones. My current movements are not at full power either.

Atra raised the level as always.

‘……’

I felt uneasy during the process.

It was a purified expression.

Atra felt very uncomfortable.

…block the attack and let it go.

In the process, Lee Ha-yul’s slightly distorted facial expression changed in great detail to Atra’s developed eyes.

I felt like my body was going to freeze. I felt frustrated, as if there was a strong pressure on my chest.

Finally, the moment came when Lee Ha-yul’s defense opened.

Attack through that gap. A fist wrapped in strength dug into the gap.

A fist rushing through the air.

It’s a hit.

My judgment and intuition based on my experience so far spoke.

It’s a hit.

own attack.

To Lee Ha-yul.

You’ll get punched in the face. You will be contorted in pain. Blood will flow.

Sifnaha, on the way to the underground shelter, a puddle of blood…

dead body.

“……!!”

pop! A gust of wind blew. Dust flew from the floor, and hair flew wildly.

The arm that had punched stopped abruptly.

The fist that stopped was trembling.

The bewilderment on Lee Ha-yul’s face shows that he doesn’t know why he stopped.

My arms are shaking. Atra couldn’t believe that fact.

The force is being dispersed by tremors. Even if you throw your fist in this state, it won’t produce even half of its original power.

Hands shaking during an attack. It is a habit I was conscious of and improved upon even before graduating from the academy.

now?

I couldn’t stop shaking.

“…I’m sorry. I will proceed again.”

Atra said, trying to control her trembling voice.

Lee Ha-yul pursed his lips for a moment, then took a stance with determination.

The sparring continued.

Atra gritted his teeth.

This is ridiculous. I’ve done well so far. Even now, I am convinced that teaching like this is the fastest and surest way to grow.

“Mo…”

There is nothing bad about the Lee Ha-yul being strong. All that’s flowing now is sweat and a little blood.

If you don’t shed it now, you will have to shed your life and future in the face of a real threat later.

“Can’t…”

In this accident, Lee Ha-yul faced a threat. If Lee Ha-yul had been a little weaker, if heavenly fortune had not followed… he would have died.

“No, I can’t do it…”

There were many opportunities to land a successful hit during the sparring.

There has never been a single hit.

Atra couldn’t control her trembling voice and hugged Lee Ha-yul tightly.

[?]

[safety]

[It’s warm]

[Soft]

[Cozy]

[good]

Lee Ha-yul, who was suddenly hugged, opened her mouth.

It was a familiar embrace. It’s a soft and warm embrace that I’ve always been held in recently.

It burrowed into Atra’s arms like a habit.

The wings of the sky hanging behind his back fluttered.