Chapter 112

Priya, who had been playing with Kim’s face, asked.
“Hey, what’s your brother doing?”
“You idiot, where do you think you’re my brother, it’s you, mister.”
“You look younger than Manoj…….”
“That’s because Manoj looks old. He says he’s presbyopic.”
Kim chuckled at Assam’s comment.
I was out of the room for a while, but it would have been disheartening to hear. To hear that the child I had raised as my own son had presbyopia.
Yes, like a biological son.
Manoj is the adoptive father of twins. He didn’t officially adopt them, so technically he’s not even a parent, but at least the three of them consider each other family.
It’s both common and rare. Orphans are common in Polaris, not just in Kabarati. On the other hand, it is very rare for a character to raise an orphan as their own child.
Uncle, by the way.
“If you’re 28, what are you doing these days?”
“It’s you. You’re so old.”
“He’s 15 years older than me and Assam.”
So what, you’re 13?
“Let’s see, according to Polaris… 2031?
It reminds me of my memories in Korea, where we used to joke around with each other when we met up with our friends. It’s shocking to hear it from the kids these days.
They say that people in their 30s live younger nowadays… but this isn’t Polaris. Besides, she’s a teenager, so I don’t have the conscience to listen to my brother.
“But who are you, I’ve never seen you around here before?”
“I guess I’m not alone.”
Glad you found us.
In the sewers, bodies emerge at every opportunity. Causes of death are usually asa, soldiers. But they don’t write them down. A few unhelpful rats can’t hurt.
Manoj and the twins pick up and sell the “identities” of the dead.
It’s a city off-limits to outsiders, but it’s in demand. Even if you’re not unhappy with your life, you can probably think of at least one thing you’d like to do.
“I’m glad we had a smooth ride.
Early hours compared to the game. Due to her lack of experience, she was sloppy in getting the order. If they were unlucky, the twins could have been taken by Mithril by the time Kim arrived.
It was a pain in the ass.
“Whoa, that’s it, I’m done.”
“That was faster than I thought. I’d like to check it out.”
“Here, water.”
Priya puts a bucket of wastewater in front of me. I didn’t expect to see a working mirror. The light bulb was flickering every three seconds, and a mirror would be a joke.
I held my face up to the surface of the water.
“…Oh, that’s interesting. What a strange thing.”
“Hehe. They seemed uncomfortable with it, I don’t know.”
“Really?”
“I’ve never done it myself, I’m a little scared of something….”
No way.
It was more than mysterious, it was unnerving. The hair color was the same, the voice was the same, but the face was different. The color of his skin and the shape of his brow. Above his eyebrows, a tiny scar of Chapter remains.
“It’s still noticeable, but so what.
I’m not planning on approaching Mithril and befriending her; I’m not going to go around in circles. Priya’s [makeup] has clear limits anyway.
“A couple of days, maybe, and then it’ll be back to normal. Another day, and it’ll be completely unraveled. …Maybe!”
It’s not just a matter of duration. No hair dye on hand, no voice modulation. The conditions are not favorable for perfect impersonation.
I don’t even want to get to that level.
“We just need to be able to blend into the street.
As long as you don’t feel like an outsider, like you did a moment ago, you’re fine.
Mithril is only human. No one can be on guard 24/7. There are moments in her life when she walks the streets at night, defenseless, enjoying the quiet.
Aim for that.
“But I’m going to need his cooperation to do that.
Kim Yi Hyun glanced at Assam. At first glance, he looked like a bad boy. However, her cheeks don’t rise, and her body is too thin.
“Why, why, don’t you like to be called sir?”
“If you didn’t like it, you would have said so, not like that.”
I thought about it for a moment.
“That’s a dangerous thing to do.
Not for Kim, but for Assam. In a tent, away from prying eyes, it’s much better than messing with Spello’s appearance. If Manoj were to hear, he’d kick her out.
But what if you’re adamant about your decision?
It’s easy to incite kids.
“I’m going to get some fresh air to adjust.”
“Oh, yeah. Bye!”
Kim rose to his feet. Before exiting the tent, he glanced at Assam and said quietly, “I’m going to go.
“Assam, I need to talk to you about something serious.”
“Huh? Guys?”
“Yes, a man’s conversation.”
I said, my voice full of sarcasm. Asam’s eyes widened. That’s it, a clean line. He patted her lightly on the shoulder and stepped outside.
And wait 10 seconds.
“……What are you talking about?”
Easy, 13-year-old.
* * *
There’s no rule that says you can’t get out of the sewers because you’re poor. It’s just that their homes have been foreclosed on, or never existed in the first place, and they are persecuted on the streets.
You don’t get arrested for walking down a deserted alleyway with few passersby. There are plenty of poor people who don’t go into the sewers and live on the streets.
A pause in the walk. As soon as Kim stopped walking, Assam suddenly stepped forward.
“So what is it, now tell me, is Priya not supposed to hear?”
As I said before, it’s very friendly.
To Assam, Kim is a suspicious stranger. How could he be so wary at first, and then so willing to follow her?
“Hagiya was always more on the wild side.
I accepted and sat down on the shady ground, tapping my palm on the seat next to me, and Asam squirmed in his seat.
“You asked me earlier, what am I?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“I wasn’t sure if it was okay to say this, but huh.”
Asam’s face stiffened in response to my serious expression. The reaction was immediate, so it was easy to set the tone.
He opened his mouth as if confessing the secret of his birth.
“I am, in fact, an agent of the Shran Empire.”
“What, what! Shiran…!”
“Shhh. Be quiet.”
Kim looked around in a panic. No one was looking this way. Not surprising, since they’d already checked it out so thoroughly.
“…ah. That’s ridiculous.”
“Do you really think so?”
He slips his hands into his baggy sleeves. The old clothes Manoz had given him before his face was fixed. It was stained and tattered, more befitting of the poor than a conventional T-shirt.
Next thing I know, I have [Ivory] in my hand.
“Huh, huh!”
Not an old revolver, but a modern automatic pistol. And Assam was a boy of the age to be fascinated by BB guns. I could see the thoughts running through his head.
“……What, listen to this half-jokingly.”
I removed the pistol, pretending to hide it again. Needless to say, intense stares were directed at the missing gun.
“You’re probably wondering why I traveled all the way from a faraway country, but that’s for me to say.”
“Moo, what do you mean, no, what do you mean…?”
“You can say whatever you’re comfortable saying.”
“Oh, okay.”
He’s visibly nervous. It was worth it to spell it out.
“The guys who’ve taken over Kabarati now. The Ramaz is an organization I’ve been after for a while. They used to operate out of Atlanta, and they just showed up in Banjar. They’ve made my life difficult.”
Even when you’re talking bullshit, you need to mix in some truth. When the actual name came up, Assam seemed to be convinced.
“And I finally got my chance. They don’t know I’ve infiltrated yet.”
“…coworkers or no coworkers?”
“The city is heavily defended.”
“Then you’re on your own, and they’re not….”
Assam dropped his head as he spoke. He recalled a few months ago. The day the Ramaz invaded the city. He hadn’t seen it, but the screams and binges still rang in his ears.
“I’m very scared. You won’t be able to do anything by yourself.”
“Maybe.”
Width.
Kim’s hand rested on Assam’s head.
“But I can’t help it. In Atlanta, they slaughtered civilians. They shot people in the back as they screamed for help. Even if they’re hiding their true colors now, how long will they keep it up?”
“…….”
“That’s when you become the most dangerous.”
It wasn’t just another unfounded prediction.
And if the workers get out of hand? Execute a poor man or two to make an example of them. Grease the rusty cogs with the blood of the poor.
“Kids like you don’t deserve to die like that. And neither should your father.”
“……Why are you telling me such a secret?”
“Even if you say it’s for work, I got you in trouble.”
I smiled once, and then said something else.
“If I fail… you must defend your family with your own hands, Assam.”
That’s the end of the conversation.
Kim dusted herself off and got up. I said, “Let’s go back,” and counted as we walked ahead.
It took just 7 seconds.
“Tongue, brother!”
A naked call. And then the words from memory flowed.
“I can help.”
Seriously, he’s pure.
* * *
11:14 PM, downtown Kavarati.
The door of the nondescript building swung open. A long shadow fell on the pavement, and a man stepped out into the street. He dabbed at his neck with a rag, and a trickle of blood came out.
“Sin, oops, shrug…….”
A gurgling sound echoed outward. A groan of pain that would have sounded pitiful, even grotesque, to a passerby. But Mithril-no, Haphael-didn’t mind a bit.
Mission accomplished.
As he started to walk away, the deputy hurried after him. The lieutenant glanced at Hafael, then back at the still groaning building.
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it, I’ll do it, I’ll do it. Please, just once, have mercy….”
One of the “quarters” assigned to Kabarati citizens. The house was soon occupied by Ramaz soldiers. The natives stayed in a set facility and performed set tasks.
And sometimes punished.
The punishment the natives fear almost as much as the death penalty is demotion. If you make enough mistakes and are deemed useless, you lose your status as a “worker.
If they’re not working, you don’t need to feed them.
They are evicted from their quarters and deprived of their right to meals. Ridicule and persecution from former coworkers is a bonus.
We just had one less worker, more rats, and that was it.
“There’s trash everywhere. No, I’d rather it be trash, because you can see things that you can’t use, and you can’t use them.”
The man who had just been demoted was a cargo inspector.
The commotion on the loading dock had long since reached Hafael’s ears. There was a puff of smoke, and word that a beast hauler and a soldier were being held in the cargo hold.
It’s as strange as it is absurd. The citizens have grown accustomed to Ramaz. They had allowed him too much breathing room. Sooner or later, a proper example would have to be set.
And aside from the anger, there was something else that bothered me.
“Where do you think the intruder came from?”
“It’s unlikely that it’s a foreign agent… somewhere.”
This is Kabarathi, unless you’re Timorta. Far from the border, just before Naraka. Few nations would send agents into a lawless region with no government and no army.
“Right. If Naraka’s resources are your goal, there’s no reason to infiltrate here.”
I wouldn’t say it’s out of the question, but it does lend credence to another hypothesis.
“Do you consider yourself a chaser of ……?”
“Not a sure thing. It’s just something to keep in mind.”
Banzar was an isolated land, for better or worse. Even without the threat of a Legion battalion storming in, it’s hard to keep track of developments here.
We got one big nugget of information from Timorta.
“How did I get killed in Bastitera?
I was half frozen when I heard it. He didn’t know the details. But the fact that his godmother had tried and failed shocked him.
At the same time, I was relieved.
“I’m glad I got out early.
It’s not my favorite phrase, but I can’t help but think about it. The Legion is in bad luck. Everything we do is futile, and it’s easy to laugh at ourselves.
“Maybe this is an overreaction.”
“Is that so?”
“Think about it, they’ve been damaged beyond imagination. The organization itself must be creaking. Can they afford to send precious manpower to deal with a traitor?”
A regular bottle doesn’t mean much. Banzar is notoriously badly policed. It’s too much of a burden to send troops. That’s why they’ve fled here.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let her get away with it, so….”
Hafael thought as he reined in his horse. I had a pretty good idea who was coming.
“It must be Edwin.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard from you, and I knew you personally.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a stuffy guy.”
“How do you think we should respond?”
“Kill with intent, but don’t kill just in case.”
The contradictory instructions were instantly understood by the lieutenant. Don’t touch him, but be prepared to be punished if you do.
It doesn’t matter if it’s absurd.
“We’ll have to talk to him, I’m sure he’s not without complaints.”
“Yes, it would be a great boost to have him on board.”
We walked down the street, chatting.
Passersby are rarely seen. Mornings in the desert are early, and soldiers patrol at night. If you don’t want to attract attention, it’s best to stay in the hostel and sleep.
That’s why it’s so easy to get caught.
“I’m being followed.”
“Do you want me to grab it?”
“No, look at the situation.”
We need to make sure we catch every single rat. The words were whispered, and Hafael kept up his pace, not even glancing behind him.
It’s getting closer and closer, blatantly chasing you.
Unlike the sewers, the road we’re traveling through has a simple structure. A wide boulevard, then a curve in the middle, then another curve.
By the time I got to the third alley.
“…….”
A man chased Hafael and the deputy into the trail. But they were nowhere to be seen. They had vanished like a mirage on a summer night.
Then The Shadow leapt from the stair railing of a two-story building.
Thump!
The falling mass of flesh crushed the man. His elbows pressed into his spine as if to crush it. Hafael’s skin was pockmarked with minerals.
The deputy wasn’t having any of it. Cloaked behind a stall, he faked it and pointed his gun.
“He’s not following me, let’s take a look around.”
Hafael grabbed the subdued man by the hair and lifted him up forcibly. He took a moment to examine the face, then frowned.
“Drat, drat, drat! Kuck! Loud…….”
“What the fuck is this?”
Puck, puck!
He punched the sleeping man repeatedly in the cheek. Without much force, the man’s skin ripped open. The sharp mineral slid in and out of his cheek, splattering blood.
“Ugh, kuck, what, what, what, what!”
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Why, whoops, come on, Nika, why would I…!”
“That seems like a very unreasonable response. Are you going to defend it by saying you were sleepwalking, huh?”
Only when half my face was covered in blood did the hand stop. The nameless man wrapped his arms around my cheeks, his whole body shaking. He made no sign of trying to get up, just gasping for air.
The deputy then approached and lowered the muzzle of his gun. exactly in the direction of where the man’s head was located.
“Do you want me to handle it?”
“No, take him to the camp. Find out who did this.”
“I see.”
“Everybody’s an asshole.”
Hafael blew out a long breath. The mineral covering his body began to dissipate without a trace. It took less than five seconds for the skin on his entire body to return to its original state.
When his back was turned, he saw it.
In the immediate vicinity. Approximately 10 meters away.
Under an abandoned tent, a gun pops out of nowhere.