Chapter 140

Chapter 140

The moment skin touches skin.
An image washed over Anima’s mind in waves: a film of Kim’s time in Korea. She became an audience member, watching Kim’s past.
It’s mentally taxing. No matter how much you’ve gotten used to it, it’s not easy to watch the past go by so quickly. Not to mention the throbbing headache that comes with it, and the distraction from the ‘now’.
This means you can’t manage facial expressions.
“─You have a bad complexion.”
The hand was removed with a voice.
“Ah…….”
Her mind floundered in a myriad of memory fragments before snapping back to reality. It had been less than ten seconds, to be sure. And yet, the look in Anima’s eyes as she looked at Kim had changed drastically.
Shock and awe.
Greed for talent.
Or the emptiness of learning the truth about Polaris. The repulsion toward the foreign object, or monster, that is Kim Yi Hyun was not unnoticed. It was the reaction she had expected.
“Psychometry is psychometry.
Spells have their limits, after all. Unless they’re enhanced by leaps and bounds through life-sapping human experimentation, like the cadres of the Legion.
You can’t dig into a person’s life with a handshake for a few seconds, and even if you could, it’s incredibly dangerous. Your mind would be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, or your brain would die.
Anima’s glimpse into the past is limited to one week.
That’s not nearly long enough to figure out Kim’s secret.
However.
It was enough to get a sense of the kind of human being Kim is.
Anima’s week was a unique experience.
A scene in which a fake terrorist attack is simulated and put into action.
There were no heroes in Bastila, only villains.
It was not what he expected, and Anima was surprised. He watched as Kim put the gloves back on, then raised his gaze. The look on his face was nothing short of proud.
“Is there a problem?”
In reality, Kim was confident. She had planned for zero casualties from the start, and none of them were injured as planned. In the end, she had accomplished her goal of raising awareness of the dangers of the Legion.
They say a thief can make my feet tingle, but Kim was pretty darned brave.
“…No, hmm. It’s nothing.”
Anima quickly regained control of her emotions. At least by Albatross standards, Kim didn’t deserve to be cut down. If there had been an innocent victim, it would have been a different story.
This is a what-if scenario.
As far as Anima was concerned, Kim Yi-hyun was just an idiot. A maniac with incredible abilities and behavior. But there was no denying that he had a sense of justice, even if it was a bit radical.
“In a way, they’re just like us, just in a different way.
What a waste. It would have been great to have him as a colleague.
But I had to admit that it was too much. Even as a coworker, Kim is a disruptive person. At the same time, Albatross is not a good environment for him to excel in.
An occasional collaborative relationship would be ideal.
Anima pulled a small pouch from her bosom and held it out.
“It’s not a gift, but you can take this.”
It was similar to the amulets commonly found in Japan. As Kim examined it, Anima explained its purpose.
“Think of us as communicators. We don’t have a home base, but we have many temporary locations. Open the pocket and the contents will lead you to a nearby base.”
“That’s interesting, we don’t have anything like that on our side of the world, so it’s going to be a hassle for you to contact us, is that okay?”
“Sure, sure. I’ll go to Kilikia myself.”
A verbal promise with no contract. It’s a shallow and unassuming alliance. But Anima understood the power of these small promises.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m not done with my security detail yet.”
“Oh, I’ve taken up too much of your time, I’ll see you next time.”
After saying goodbye for the last time, Kim left. Anima watched his back with her eyes. When he was far enough away, he burst into a fit of laughter he’d been holding back the entire time.
“Haha. Not a normal human being.”
This meeting alone was worth the trip to Lucerne.
* * *
I had to spend my days unconnected to the situation on the continent. Transportation was a problem. He needed to get back to Kilikia first, as his guard duties weren’t over and he needed to pick up the people he’d left behind.
I can’t say it was all in vain.
I was hoping for a break.
“Here’s the kicker.
There’s a lot to decide. About the Wraps and the Dustborn. About the Emperor and Shiran. About the Albatross you’ve just acquired and the one you’ve always had in your possession.
And Legion.
“Four more times, or three?
The day is coming when Legion will collapse.
To use a chess analogy, the main board is already a mop. All the bishops and knights are dead, and there’s only one rook left. Even the pawns are half gone.
Even worse, unlike chess, Meng Zhu is immobile. He is a puppet whose only contact with the world is through a few loyal followers. He is a god to his fanatical followers, but he is also a man of limited means.
We know where you’re hiding.
“It’s more dangerous to touch it now.
There is a bomb on the continent. There is no way to defuse it. It’s a ticking time bomb with a hidden timer that will eventually go off and devastate the entire continent.
And the Legion’s blindfold is the spark that ignites it. Rash contact will only backfire. I can only calmly follow the prescribed sequence.
“I guess I’ll have to get rid of the godmother first.
The Legion is no longer a threat as long as you take care of the Godmother. From then on, you’ll need to prepare for the storms that lie ahead. Luckily, unlike games, we have more than three years to prepare.
“It’s your growth from here on out, so it’s not the time to do anything.
I intend to actively interfere. The reason for the trip to Naraka is to facilitate the next episode. The equipment should be ready in the two weeks Tamtam said it would take.
And one more thing.
“Chelsea. I have a decision for you.”
“Ha ha. What else?”
Chelsea yawned open-mouthed and rubbed her eyes. Bryce was behind the wheel this time, but that didn’t make it a third shift. It just meant that Kim had let go of the wheel altogether.
The backseat reflection in the rearview mirror was the same the whole time. Asterique leaning on Kim’s shoulder and drooling. She’s so used to it now, she doesn’t even care…….
He seemed to be mulling something over, then spoke up.
“Listen seriously, this is important.”
Chelsea’s eyes snapped open at the low voice. A momentary sense of foreboding pushed aside her drowsiness. She swallowed dryly as she studied her employer’s expression in the room mirror.
“Come on, you can’t tell me this is important….”
Chelsea saw Asterique’s eyes squint in the mirror. She was pretending to sleep, she knew it. She could just imagine what he was thinking.
Chelsea, however, had something else on their minds.
“Ah, ah, ah, ah, no, no, I don’t want to.”
“What? You haven’t told me yet.”
“You’re trying to fire me…!”
I cringed at the thought of my wallet.
“I’m broke, and if I get kicked out, I’ll starve.”
“Why are you broke, I thought you won some at the end with the chips I gave you.”
“It was a frog, because it would be funny to say I had my own image and just lost it….”
“Was that the original image?”
“What the hell… Hmmm, hmmm!”
I suppressed my reaction. Now was not the time for ego.
“아무튼 우리 막 그 정도로 나쁜 사이 아니잖아요. 네? 앞으로 진짜진짜 잘할게요. 소처럼 일할 테니까는, 음머어어……!”
“I never thought that owl would get so ugly.”
I glanced over at Bryce, who was shaking his head in the passenger seat. There was a time and a place for pranks, and then there was a time and a place for no pranks, and he was a damned fool.
But it was Chelsea who were really clueless.
The words that followed melted away my resentment.
“He didn’t say anything about firing me.”
“Isn’t ……?”
“Why would I fire you? You’re worrying about all the wrong things.”
Phew, a sigh of relief escaped me.
“Mr. Surprise, what is it then, a salary negotiation?”
“All you have in your head is money.”
Kim asked, tongue firmly in cheek.
“What would you do if you could have a spell.”
“Uh, what? What does that mean?”
“Literally. I have a special drug that I brought back from Naraka.”
I didn’t sugarcoat it, I told them the truth.
“It was made by the Legion. It’s probably a human life, the result of a lot of human testing, and it’s a human drug to begin with, and Edwin vouched for it, so it’s probably safe.”
I thought it was a necessary step. Perhaps more than most people from good backgrounds, Kim considered Chelsea a friend. She wanted her to think it through and make her own choice.
Chelsea’s face in the mirror was grim.
“You want me to use that…?”
“You decide. It’s due by the time you get to the lab.”
Lasley’s spell is both unusual and useful. Kim had three candidates in mind. Chelsea and Ghost. The third was Turkam. All of them have one thing in common: they’re incompetent.
No single human can have multiple spells. Therefore, the candidates are limited. Professors, of course, don’t have spells, but… it’s a bit of a stretch to say they’re completely incompetent.
‘The professor doesn’t even get to fight in the first place.’
Chelsea was the most efficient agent he could find, and while there are better ones out there, there was no better option right now.
They say you can’t poop on a good thing.
“You can say no if you don’t want to. I’m not going to penalize you.”
“…….”
“But it will definitely help.”
It’s me, it’s you.
After adding that last bit, Kim was silent.
Silence descends on the car. The only sound was the gentle hum of the engine. Unlike a moment ago, Chelsea’s eyelids refused to close in the silence.
* * *
First, we return to Kilikia to finalize our security detail. Dustborn’s position was now much stronger than before. The generous pay from the Council was a bonus.
It’s been a bit of a detour from our initial plan. The original idea was to have chapters in different countries and use them as a network of contacts and safe houses.
But only one city was actually established. The organization was growing faster than expected and earning more money, so even if they opened another branch, Kilikia would be their home base.
“Maybe things are actually better now.
It’s hard to find people as reliable as Bryce, and it’s annoying to take care of them when something happens, like the other day.
The Legion has already proven that Kilikia is a good place to base itself. I’m not worried about Bryce running the company.
“I’d say Kilikia and Bastitera are the places where I’d feel comfortable.
Either way, it’s a great base. I’ve been living in a lab for a while now… but there’s no guarantee it’ll be around forever. You never know what could happen in a twisted scenario.
“Before I leave, I’m going to ask Bryce to do a few things for me….
Next up, Edwin had an update. The outcome of the talks and the decision to sell Lashley’s factor to Chelsea. It was a form of notification, but not a conflict.
“Do whatever you want. It’s not really a matter for me to make concessions on, is it?”
“Because I owe it to you.”
“But it’s also ridiculous for me to claim ownership.”
By the way-” Edwin nodded.
“If it’s Chelsea, yes, they could use it.”
Naturally, Edwin knew what spell Lazuli had, but he was curious to get inside Kim’s head. Maybe she had some information, too.
Naturally, there were doubts about his ability to fit in with Chelsea. But before I had a chance to clear up my doubts, Kim brought up a new topic.
“I think I’m going to start getting ready for it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Legion, of course.”
Yi Hyun Kim looked at the computerized calendar in his office. Today’s date was August 15th. It had been seven months since the case in Bastitera had been closed.
It is unclear when the Legion will begin to be active again. We also don’t know the whereabouts of the Godmother, so we can’t go on the offensive here. However, we do know where the next episode will take place.
The challenge is how to explain and convince them.
You don’t have to play the prophet and unlock game lore.
“If they move, where do you think they’re going to target?”
One of the main reasons we brought Edwin here is to use him for things like this. Information leaked by a traitor to the Legion. No one will be able to dismiss it as archery.
At the same time, it was a final crossroads for Edwin.
If we tell the truth here, there’s no turning back.
“…….”
They exchanged a wordless glance.
After a moment of silence, Edwin replied.
“The most likely one would be Ishirad.”
The nation of academia, also known as the Ivory Tower.
The answer was exactly what Kim expected.
The next chapter starts with Ishirad.