episode_0278

Ashe and Mer left, and only Rahel and Olivia from Europe remained in the 7th Squad’s captain’s office.

“Hmm, this coffee is really delicious. Did you brew it yourself?”

“Yes, that’s right. These days, the squad members practice whenever they get the chance to make delicious coffee, and it seems the practice has paid off.”

“Amazing. I also have a few barista friends, and it’s comparable to theirs. No, I think it’s even better.”

Olivia, sipping the freshly brewed coffee from Club, said with admiration.

Blonde, alluring hair, sapphire-like blue eyes, and beautiful, captivating red lips.

Rahel was also an incredibly beautiful and charming woman beyond compare, but Olivia also possessed a beauty that was in no way inferior to Rahel’s.

Her blessed figure, a perk allowed to Westerners, seemed to make most women feel inferior and inadequate just by being near her in many ways.

More than anything, Rahel always made sure to wear her thick uniform and kept her makeup to a minimum, showcasing her natural beauty.

Olivia, on the other hand, fully understood her own beauty and weapons as a woman, and from her attire to every gesture, she delicately used those weapons.

Using her weapons as a woman, she could captivate anyone, whether male or female.

That was one of Olivia Queenheart’s unique mind-manipulation techniques.

“It’s been a long time. Was it about 5 years? I’ve heard news a few times. Now you’re a High Commander…” Rahel said.

Olivia smiled and nodded at Rahel’s words.

“Yes, that’s right. But please call me by my name, not my title. Just like before.”

The hero association of Europe.

The official name of this association, which was established much earlier than the American one, is [International Union of Supernatural].

It is abbreviated as IUS.

It’s a fairly grandiose name, but considering the past, it’s not entirely so.

Currently, it mainly handles matters in Europe, but in the past, before hero organizational systems were established in other countries, it often dispatched talent to other countries, including the United States.

Now, there are talks about changing the name… but that’s not something Rahel needs to worry about.

“By the way, I’m sorry for disturbing the meeting when there are other captains.”

“It’s okay. We’ve finished discussing what we needed to.”

Rahel, sitting across from Olivia, said while sipping her coffee.

In the past, Olivia and Rahel had been dispatched to each other’s countries.

In Rahel’s case, the domestic hero association was still underdeveloped, so she was dispatched by the senior IUS to learn something.

In Olivia’s case, she came to encourage the Korean Hero Association to join the IUS.

…After that, for some reason, she ended up spending almost a year longer in Korea.

Her fluent Korean was also acquired during that time.

Anyway.

When the two were dispatched to each other’s countries, they had many opportunities to interact for some reason.

When Rahel was dispatched to England, where the IUS headquarters was located, Olivia was the one in charge of her management and supervision.

Also, when Olivia came to Korea, Rahel helped her because the 7th Squad’s jurisdiction included the area where she was active.

Looking back, she had an unusually large number of connections with her, but Rahel regarded it as mere coincidence.

“Still, I didn’t expect you to come without contacting me.”

“I know. I came suddenly. Something came up.”

Olivia smiled and continued.

“I heard there’s something I’m ‘looking for’ in this country… I plan to stay here for a while until I find it.”

“Ah… If you need any help, please feel free to tell me. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“Thank you for just saying that.”

“By the way,” Olivia said, changing the subject.

“Captain Rahel, I want to ask… do you know much about an organization called [Abyss]?”

Olivia asked, sipping her coffee.

It was a simple, ordinary question, but Rahel felt something like a thorn in that question.

She didn’t know what it was.

Furthermore, she wondered why she was asking about such a small organization in this country.

But since it wasn’t something she needed to hide, Rahel readily answered her question.

She explained what she knew about the organization [Abyss], what its members were like.

In addition, she briefly explained their main activities, etc… limited to what was publicly available and not confidential.

Olivia listened to the story calmly.

And when Rahel finished, she asked, “Is that all?”

“…That’s all that isn’t confidential. If you get permission from the higher-ups, you can receive the information.”

“Oh my, we’re friends. We’re heroes who protect the general public together, can’t you just tell me?”

“I’m sorry. That’s the principle.”

Olivia made an openly disappointed face at Rahel’s inflexible words.

“…Olivia-nim, why are you concerned about such a villain organization?”

“Hmm. I heard they might have what I’m looking for.”

“Is that so…?”

What on earth was it that a villain organization in this small land held?

Rahel was curious, but Olivia didn’t seem to have any intention of telling her.

Instead, Olivia asked Rahel again.

With a mischievous smile on her face.

“And one more thing… This is a really hard thing to say.”

“I suspect that organization is colluding with the hero side. Captain Rahel, do you have any idea?”

Olivia said, taking something out of her bag.

It was a tablet PC, and she turned it on and showed a screen.

[Internal Audit Dispatch Request]

It was written in English, but the contents translated as above.

After checking the contents, it seemed that the Korean Hero Association had requested an audit from the IUS.

It wasn’t uncommon for them to request cooperation and assistance from these organizations, which had a wide pool of talent and various know-how and technologies… but entrusting an internal audit to an external organization was unheard of.

Olivia showed it and then put the tablet back into her bag with a smile.

“Anyway, that’s it. It’s a villain organization I was already interested in, and if that organization might be colluding with heroes somewhere… I had to come to this country in a hurry.”

“……Olivia-nim, are you suspecting me and my squad?”

“Of course not. I’m sorry if it sounded that way. There’s no way I’d suspect Captain Rahel, whom I respect. I swear to God, I’ve never had such thoughts.”

Olivia said.

Until now, she had a friendly and kind face.

But her atmosphere, which had changed at some point, felt like a snake preparing to devour anyone who approached.

“Well, that’s it. Anyway, I’ve been granted access to even the top-secret information regarding this matter… I’ll prepare the data later, and I want to hear Captain Rahel’s story first.”

“Can you continue the story you were telling me a little while ago?”

“I want to hear more details about the villain organization [Abyss].”

“…Okay. Don’t worry.”

“I swear to God, I won’t abuse the information I hear from you.”

Olivia smiled and drank the coffee she was given.

***

Rahel felt uneasy, but she couldn’t refuse Olivia’s request and did as she wished.

Regarding the villain organization [Abyss], she conveyed as much detailed information as she knew… and handed her the data that was neatly organized enough to be taken out and shown right away.

Even though it was just conveying the parts that came to mind right away, Rahel’s explanation was very detailed, and this alone took an hour.

And when she finished conveying all the information, Olivia finally got up from her seat, saying it was enough.

“I’m planning to stay at a nearby hotel while I’m here. I have work at the headquarters tomorrow and the day after tomorrow… I’ll come here in 3 days.”

Olivia said so in fluent Korean.

With the last words that if there was any additional data to convey, to prepare it by then, she finally left the captain’s office.

Whew…

After she left, Rahel relaxed her body with a sigh.

During the time she spent with Olivia, she had been nervous in many ways, unlike her usual self.

‘Olivia-nim is still the same.’

‘Strangely uncomfortable, that person.’

In the past, when Rahel was dispatched to England.

And when Olivia came to Korea after that.

Back then, she was like that too.

On the outside, she pretended to be very affable and gentle, but if you let your guard down, you never knew where knives and thorns might fly in from.

Furthermore, Rahel often felt an inexplicable hostility from her, which also caused her to feel troubled in many ways.

‘Did I do something wrong…?’

Even when she thought about it, there was nothing she could think of, so Rahel had nothing to say.

More than that, the problem was the [Audit Request] from earlier.

To think that the headquarters would arbitrarily create and send something like that without even notifying the captains.

‘……Probably, it’s the Supreme Commander’s order.’

In the [Hero Association], there are thirteen squads, and there is a ‘Supreme Commander’ who oversees all of them, including all the members of the headquarters and other personnel.

The Supreme Commander, who is sometimes said to ‘see the future’, rarely engages in external activities… but occasionally, they had a sudden side, such as issuing unexpected administrative orders.

But the reason why they couldn’t complain about that fact was because they knew that there was a reason to match that sudden order.

The Supreme Commander’s decision always had some meaning.

Captain Rahel had also seen the process and results of that countless times with her own eyes.

‘So——this audit request also has that much meaning.’

‘Clearly, there’s a hero who’s colluding with a villain organization.’

‘They must be planning to expose them this time.’

That was a rather alarming matter, but it wasn’t a big concern.

First of all, Rahel herself didn’t collude with villains.

Also, Rahel didn’t have the slightest doubt that the members of the 7th Squad would do such a thing.

They all had strong personalities and different personalities, but at least she knew that they were noble warriors of justice.

So, there was no way they could collude with villains… and since she also had no intention of colluding, there was no problem.

All Rahel had to do was support Olivia as much as possible and cooperate in finding the colluder.

There’s nothing to worry about, there’s nothing to worry about….