ALL NOVEL Chapter 163
I stayed up all night on the border between dreams and reality. Maybe it’s the effect of the medicine, but everything felt hazy. Even the memory of a voice I heard in my dream was becoming blurry.
“It looks better than I expected.”
And the moment the sun rose, an unexpected figure came to visit me.
“Branch Chief?”
The chief of the Cradle and my superior, as well as one of the few people who knew my true identity. A handsome man with a scruffy beard, Mok Jinwoo of the Information Bureau waved at me from the other side of the partition.
“Hey, I told you to call me hyung.”
“…What are you wearing?”
He was dressed in a strange, bulky protective suit. It looked a lot like what astronauts wore in the books I had read—something that existed before humanity lost the sky.
“There’s still a possibility of biological contamination, you see. I only got permission to visit as the branch chief of the Information Bureau.”
“Biological… contamination?”
“Well, it just means there’s a possibility. No need to worry too much. From what I know, the quarantine will be lifted soon.”
Now that I thought about it, the hospital room did look sealed off, as if it were a quarantine area.
I glanced down in response to his gesture. Thick bandages were wrapped around my abdomen. A large wound still oozing a bit of blood, and an agonizing pain that persisted despite being administered painkillers.
Memories began to flood back. The nightmare city lit by orange smog, nuns, people with vacant expressions, monsters that looked like aliens with dozens of tentacles…
“…Where am I? And how long has it been since I collapsed?”
“This is the Cradle Intensive Care Unit. It’s only been three days since you collapsed.”
At that moment, a familiar face flashed in my mind.
“Um, Branch Chief. Is the girl I was with…?”
“Oh, there’s no need to worry about her. She only has minor cuts and bruises. She’ll recover in a few days. Unlike you, there’s no risk of biological contamination.”
“Is that so…”
His nonchalant attitude eased my mind a bit. Thankfully, nothing serious seemed to have happened to her.
But now that I thought about it, a question arose. I still felt the lingering sensation of drool on my lips and the roughness of my tongue.
Given that, it’s clear that Peanut must have visited me. Where the heck could that little pest have gotten in here, a place this thoroughly sealed off?
She had been quite the elusive cat ever since the day disaster fell upon our village. Even on my birthday, she sneaked out of the room I had locked and joined us.
Considering that cats are naturally nimble and Peanut is particularly small among them… Did she somehow squeeze through?
I honestly have no idea…
“Right. So just worry about yourself,” Mok Jinwoo said, shaking his head and shivering slightly.
“Kid, do you know how surprised I was to hear what happened? It seems you have a knack for causing incidents wherever you go, and they’re not small ones, either. Jinryeong, and now this…”
I felt a bit indignant about his assessment. I didn’t cause the incidents. I was more like a victim caught up in them.
“If those girls find out about this, I can only imagine how much they’ll fuss over me… my head…”
He pressed his forehead as if he had a headache. By ‘those girls,’ did he mean my sisters? It seems he got a tip-off to be careful with me. They’ve always had a tendency to protect me too much…
“Um… I’ll talk to them.”
“Yeah, I’d appreciate that. But…”
“Huh?”
Mok Jinwoo suddenly changed his expression and stared at me. There was a discomforting slyness in his smile.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re rather impressive. Huh?”
His smirk grew even wider.
“Even if we disregard the Jeokhwa lady, I never thought the White Light and the Paecheon could extend their tentacles to you.”
“…What?”
“You’re way better than Jae-hyeok. Seriously? This is something he wouldn’t even dare think of. To try and seduce the rival faction’s lady… especially with a fiancée…”
His unexpected words left me dumbfounded. Tentacles? Seduce? Who’s doing what to whom…?
“You managed to establish three households without getting caught by the principal. You really have some guts, huh? Jae-hyeok didn’t push you into the Cradle for no reason.”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Come on, don’t play dumb with me. I saw the Jeokhwa lady’s affectionate gaze toward you firsthand. Do you know who carried you and rushed you to the capital? It was none other than Lady Baek Seoyeon.”
Mok Jinwoo didn’t seem inclined to stop talking.
“Not only that. I heard she willingly offered to donate her blood to you. They said you woke up after three days, right? You might as well consider her a lifesaver.”
His animated voice began to blur into a distant hum. A heavy silence enveloped me, as if I had sunk to the bottom of a deep pond.
So that gaze I saw back then… wasn’t just my imagination.
If that’s the case, then she really…
“…”
This bizarre situation was too absurd.
Mok Jinwoo doesn’t know our past. I haven’t told anyone, even my sisters.
Probably no one in this world knows. She wouldn’t have blabbed about her ‘nightmare’ to anyone.
Mok Jinwoo seems to think I’ve been working some angle to win her favor… but I never tried to do such a thing, even for a moment.
But an affectionate gaze, and blood donation…
A little kid from an outskirts village against a member of the five prominent families.
Could their values really be that far apart…?
“…That’s not what you think.”
“Sure, that’s what you’d say. But it has to appear that way on the surface. I mean, considering the enmity between Black Lotus and Paecheon…”
“I’m really not…”
“I get it. There’s no need to worry. I’ll be in control of everything that happens after coming to the capital. There won’t be any leaks, so just enjoy yourself from now on. You poor brat…”
His enjoyment was apparent, oblivious to what concerns might lie beneath my surface.
This guy doesn’t seem to care to hear me out…
“Well, even so, it’s already widely known that the daughter of Paecheon was the first to respond to your urgent call for help. So it would be wise to do some official face-saving.”
“Face-saving…?”
“Yeah. No matter how much of a rivalry it is, it’s important to maintain appearances. It’s better to avoid giving anyone a chance to nitpick, right?”
“…”
Now that I think about it, she had given me a defensive magical tool as an apology for the Jeokhwa incident.
Although I ultimately decided to leave it after thinking it over… Does that mean I have to show some of that now?
“…Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Just thinking about it made my mood sink. I really didn’t want to think about it right now.
“More importantly, what brings you here, really?”
I redirected the conversation. It wasn’t like I had no guesses.
City No. 1, one of the seven major cities directly connected to the capital. I later heard that about 70% of the Republic’s industrial capacity was concentrated in that place.
To find unknown monsters lurking in the underground of such a place would indeed turn everything upside down.
And now, only two people could testify about the whole incident.
This wasn’t just a simple visit, but a matter he needed to deal with as the branch chief of the Information Bureau.
“…Currently, City No. 1 has virtually lost all functionality as an industrial city.”
Mok Jinwoo replied with a somewhat serious tone.
“Well, thanks to you, we were able to narrowly avoid the worst outcome. You really did make a huge contribution. I believe the standing of Black Lotus will be further solidified due to this incident. But those two seem more worried about your well-being than anything else…”
He glanced towards the ward visible through the window.
“In fact, I heard the daughter of Baekgwang already provided a report before I got here. However, it contained many details that were hard to believe. So I came to do… cross-verification.”
“…What that girl said was probably mostly accurate.”
I tried to explain everything that happened to Mok Jinwoo as thoroughly as I could.
The part that piqued his interest the most turned out to be the story about the nun.
“She could regenerate even if her limbs were severed, and she could move even with her heart pierced. She had an unknown power…”
His voice lost all its playfulness. I observed him as he sank into thought.
But soon I felt a strange sense of discomfort wash over me.
All those events in City No. 1.
If I hadn’t experienced them firsthand and had only heard about them from someone else, I wouldn’t have believed it easily either.
But from the expression on his face, I couldn’t sense any fear or doubt about the unknown enemy.
It felt more like he was contemplating a familiar foe he had clearly encountered before.
Maybe it was just my misconception…
“…”
And there were parts I hadn’t yet told Mok Jinwoo. Upon reconsidering the woman’s words, there were suspicious points here and there.
She asked about my actions and my relationship with the opponent.
Though it was the first time I’d heard that title, the way she described my movements clearly derived from the predictions my superior had taught me.
And the overwhelmingly cordial sensation I felt then. The moment she was startled by my power. Not to mention, she had definitely mentioned the term “Polaris” in my dream.
The answer was clear. That woman clearly knew the nature of the unknown power embedded within me. Just like my superior does.
“…Could it be that the principal has gone south…”
Mok Jinwoo was still deep in thought. He’s close friends with my superior, there to assist me in every way imaginable, and a member of the Information Bureau that oversees almost all of the Republic’s secrets.
A sudden doubt crossed my mind. Could he also know the nature of my powers? Otherwise…
“…”
My superior had promised to reveal the truth when I graduated from the Cradle, but I couldn’t just sit here waiting indefinitely for that point to arrive.
I had no idea how many more people like him might exist.
“…Branch Chief.”
“Huh?”
After a long moment of contemplation, I finally spoke.
He might be able to answer my questions.
It was worth a try.
“Do you… happen to have heard anything regarding my powers?”
“…And what if I did?”
His unexpectedly calm reply caught me off guard. And I could tell for certain that someone of his caliber in the Information Bureau would find it easy to brush off such questions.
But the way he countered with a question indicated that he had already considered this situation to some extent.
Or perhaps he had received a prior tip-off.
“That woman, well, that being knew about my powers. I haven’t told anyone except for my superior and my sisters.”
“…”
He appeared lost in deep thought. After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“Hah… I didn’t expect something like this to happen… If so, it’s just as that guy said…”
His tone was unusually heavy.
“Don’t tell Jae-hyeok about this. It was merely an offhand remark he made out of concern for you that led him to give me a heads-up.”
“I don’t specifically blame him. I genuinely trust you, Branch Chief.”
“What? Hehe, you’ve grown so much…”
He slightly widened his eyes and let out a meaningless chuckle. Just then, a crackling announcement came from the ceiling’s speaker.
Crackle… Branch Chief Mok… your visiting time will soon end… please proceed with the departure protocol…
“Tsk, already…?”
He clicked his tongue and glanced at the ceiling.
“Remember when you asked me what a witch was?”
Just as he was turning to prepare to leave, he brought up the sudden topic.
“Have you solved all your curiosities?”
“…Pretty much. I read the material that Mu-young brought me.”
“Really? What did you think?”
“I didn’t find it all that significant. Isn’t it just a given that there are more women among powerful criminals? After all, women often have stronger magical abilities than men. But is it necessary to call it witchcraft?”
“That’s probably how you feel. There’s a chance what you read was scrapped and heavily vetted material…”
He said as he left the isolation room.
“It’s difficult here… when your body fully recovers, come visit the branch office of the Information Bureau. Then I will tell you everything you’re curious about.”
He couldn’t resist slipping in one last teasing comment.
“Just bear with it a little longer. The quarantine will be lifted soon. You must be having quite the struggle in between those fiery ladies… Hehe.”
*
Just as he said, the quarantine was lifted without much hassle just one day later.
It was originally a precautionary measure, and the quarantine period had already concluded by the time I lost consciousness.
And on the morning the quarantine was lifted.
Bang!
The door slammed open with a rough sound. As I turned my head, I saw the familiar figure of a certain female student.
With striking red particles in her eyes, she looked unusually haggard.
“Senior?”
“…”
There was no response. Yeon Minha merely glared at me with a chilly gaze.
I could feel a prickling sensation on my skin. It was clear she was extremely furious right now.
What on earth has that girl so irritated this time?
Isn’t this a bit too much? To think that I fell into that monster hole while investigating the Jeokhwa matter on top of everything else.
It wasn’t like I was expecting a medal, but I still felt a bit disappointed.
“Senior. It’s been a while…”
Thud, thud, thud.
Yeon Minha ignored my words and approached with heavy steps. Even as she approached, she showed no signs of stopping.
Whump!
“Senior?”
With that, she buried her head into my chest, almost headbutting me.
“…Oof.”
And then she muttered something under her breath, repeatedly pounding me with her small fists.
Thump, thump, thump.
Those punches had no strength whatsoever. In fact, she looked like she was trembling severely.
Thump, thump.
“Die. Just die.”
“Senior?”
Thump, thump.
“Die. Just die. If you’re going to worry me like this… just… just…”
I suppose she wasn’t really angry after all.
“Die. I don’t want to see you again. Just die…”
“…”
I could tell that no words I said would reach her right now.
I raised my hand and gently rubbed her back, hoping to convey some warmth.
A bit of heat to ease the chill.
*
Outside the hospital room.
A girl with black hair stood against the wall of the hallway.
“…Ugh.”
The sight of a man tenderly caressing the female student in his arms, as though she were a precious artwork.
Seeing this, the girl shrank back in sheer discomfort.
She clutched at her chest, where a sharp pain was surging.
Ultimately, the girl staggered away, her steps toward the exit unsteady.
And what remained in her place was unmistakably the scent of forget-me-not.