“...And that’s what happened.”
“Yes. Thank you, Inspector.”
Jeongpal finished his statement. He was speaking to the local police officers who had rushed over after receiving a report from the hospital. However, they couldn’t immediately take custody of the culprit.
“So the suspect is currently being interrogated by the Immigration Office?”
Jeongpal nodded.
“If you need official paperwork from the Immigration Office, I can pass the request to the agent...”
The officer jolted and shook his head, waving his hands so vigorously he practically generated a breeze.
“N-No! Haha. We aren’t that inflexible.”
They gave a brief bow and backed away in a hurry, terrified he might actually act on his offer.
“Inspector? Do you have a moment?”
Turning his head, Jeongpal saw Choi Panseok’s bodyguard.
The assemblyman had regained consciousness a little later than Jeongpal, but an orc was still an orc, even in old age, and he had thrown off the paralysis. While Jeongpal gave his statement, Choi Panseok had been checking on his daughter in her hospital room.
“He’d like to speak with you briefly.”
“Sure, let’s go.”
Choi Panseok was staring down at his daughter with a look of deep sorrow.
The child he thought was dead had miraculously returned to life, only to instantly face the threat of kidnapping. They had barely managed to stop it, but now she was unconscious again due to magic.
His emotions must have been on a roller coaster all day. His heart burning to ashes, followed by a fleeting moment of relief, and then his insides rotting away once more in a relentless cycle.
The bodyguard quietly closed the door from the outside. Without turning his head, the assemblyman spoke.
“Have you finished your statement?”
“Yes.”
He continued to gaze at his daughter with sorrowful eyes for another second before finally turning around.
“I apologize for my discourtesy.”
Jeongpal panicked as the assemblyman bowed deeply. He hurriedly waved his hands.
“Assemblyman, you don’t need to do this!”
“No, my thanks are long overdue.”
“You should be thanking my bro—I mean, the agent.”
“I will properly thank him when he returns from his interrogation. But I owe you a great debt as well, Inspector.”
It was an incredibly polite demeanor, unbefitting a powerful four-term assemblyman and the representative of the ruling party’s orc assemblymen faction. It clearly showed just how much he cherished his daughter.
After a few more exchanges of greetings and humble deflections, the assemblyman bowed his head one last time.
“I have no talent for chanting spells, but I can at least recognize a Teleport magic circle. If you hadn’t stepped up then, my daughter would have been kidnapped. Thank you, Inspector Park Jeongpal.”
They hadn’t formally introduced themselves, but Jeongpal wasn’t particularly surprised. The man might have seen his name tag, or a subordinate might have informed him.
“Even if they had escaped... the agent would have tracked them down somehow.”
Hearing that, the assemblyman thought to himself, What a truly humble orc. To his knowledge, tracking down a mage who had already escaped through spatial displacement was virtually impossible.
Naturally, his favorable impression of the detective went up.
“By the way, are you a Supernatural Ability User, Inspector?”
“Oh, heavens, no.”
Curiosity sparkled in the assemblyman’s eyes.
“Then how?”
The image of Jeongpal remaining perfectly fine while the paralysis magic spread was vivid in his mind.
“You must have quite an impressive artifact equipped.”
Even the assemblyman’s protective talisman, an item advertised as providing perfect defense against poison-type magic, had been utterly useless.
Choi Panseok fully intended to lodge a severe complaint with the Witch Cooperative once this whole affair was settled.
“Ah, about that. To be honest, I didn’t know either.”
“...?”
Jeongpal scratched the back of his head.
“It seems my bro... ah, the agent did something without telling me.”
“You mean Agent Ye Minjun?”
Jeongpal realized his slip of the tongue again.
“Yes, the agent. I guess he took pity on me since I handle rough jobs too, even if not to his extent. It looks like he cast some sort of spell on me without saying a word.”
Jeongpal remembered what had happened at the Evergreen Bookstore not long ago. The potted plant Minjun had left there possessed a powerful barrier spell that neither Lakefield nor Dong-cheol knew about, which had allowed them to chase off a rampaging hooligan dragon.
I guess that kind of magic can be cast on people too? Jeongpal thought simply. Adding himself to the list of people who needed to thank Minjun once the interrogation was over, the orc spoke.
“It’d be nice if he gave me a heads-up, but given his personality, he’s not very good at doing that...”
He smiled awkwardly. The assemblyman, who had been observing Jeongpal closely, spoke up.
“Are the two of you close enough to call each other brothers?”
“Yes... well... haha.”
The assemblyman quietly chewed on those words.
Minjun was a man acknowledged as a friend by the Red Dragon, the ruling party’s most powerful sponsor.
And this agent considered Jeongpal important enough to personally cast a powerful spell on him?
As an orc, and as a detective, it would be hard to find a more powerful connection.
The assemblyman didn’t hide his interest in Jeongpal.
“I did a little digging while we were waiting. You belong to the Gurye Police Station, yes? Then your jurisdiction would be roughly around here.”
He listed off a few neighborhood names.
All of them were in the orc community.
To say Jeongpal was familiar with those areas would be an understatement. He could draw a map of every nook and cranny of those alleys with his eyes closed. Furthermore, he knew the people living there—especially the orcs—so well that, with only slight exaggeration, he could tell you how many spoons were in their houses.
Hearing his response, the assemblyman wore an extremely satisfied expression.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I could hear you all the way outside the door.”
The assemblyman confessed that he had overheard the conversation between Jeongpal and the agent. Jeongpal blushed.
“Honestly, I was deeply impressed. Do you have any specific plans for after you retire?”
“As you heard, my first goal is just to hold out until retirement age. I haven’t really thought about what comes after.”
However, Choi Panseok knew a way for him to exert a far more powerful and positive influence than simply holding out within the police force.
He has good judgment and a sense of racial duty. He has solid roots in the orc community and connections in the Immigration Office... These conditions are perfect. Plus, now that Kim Kwang-woo is dead and his faction wiped out, having no ties to them is actually a plus.
He quietly handed over his business card.
“It seems this isn’t a conversation we can have here at length. Please, take this.”
“Ah? Yes, sure!”
Flustered, Jeongpal accepted it. Knowing full well it was empty, he still instinctively brushed a hand against his own breast pocket.
“I don’t have a business card or anything...”
“It’s fine. I know how to contact you. Let’s have a meal together sometime soon.”
“Ah, yes. It would be an honor. Please do call me.”
Even as he answered, Jeongpal figured it was just empty politeness.
He knew he had made a good impression, but he didn’t think a full-blown assemblyman would have the free time to grab a meal with a lowly police officer.
Or maybe he wants me to help with his election campaign since I have a wide network in the orc community.
Was he going to ask him to mass-text everyone he knew, hand out pamphlets in front of the station, or dance on a campaign truck?
Come to think of it, there are by-elections coming up soon. But if I went around doing that, I’d violate the code of ethics for civil servants. Ah, he’s a smart guy, there’s no way he doesn’t know something even I know.
Jeongpal accepted the business card without thinking too deeply about it, fully expecting not to hear from him anytime soon.
That was when the hospital room door opened again.
“Agent!”
“Ah, bro. Are you done?”
As Minjun walked in, a burning stench mixed with the metallic scent of blood wafted into the room. It was strong enough to hit even the dull noses of the two orcs. The assemblyman looked curiously at the Frying Pan clutched in Minjun’s hand, but he had a more pressing question.
“Agent, who exactly was that man?”
Minjun explained the results of his interrogation, omitting the overly sensitive details out of consideration for Jeongpal.
Upon hearing the summary, the assemblyman’s face went pale before boiling over with rage.
“Kwak Do-chul, that worthless son of a bitch!”
His eyes blazed with fury. Thick veins bulged on his forehead. He spewed pure rage at the revelation that the mastermind behind the assassination request was none other than his son-in-law. Even though the man was already dead, Choi Panseok looked ready to dig up his corpse and execute him a second time.
Strictly speaking, the assemblyman himself was guilty of instigating murder, but Minjun decided not to argue right and wrong right now. He wasn’t here to uphold judicial justice. Even if indicted, Choi Panseok would undoubtedly wriggle his way out by claiming the hitmen had blackmailed him. After all, he had placed the request without knowing who he was really dealing with.
Rather than wasting energy on that, Minjun cast his gaze toward an empty spot in the room. In the corner of the hospital room, Yumtus was hiding in a state of invisibility. The two orcs hadn’t noticed his presence at all. It was a precaution Minjun had arranged just in case.
The agent’s face contorted as he exchanged telepathy with the priest.
You can’t wake her?!
Yumtus replied, sounding entirely at a loss.
[As you know, a recovery spell works by stimulating and drastically activating the target’s life force. However, this woman has already expended a massive amount of life force during the previous treatment.]
I know that. But you predicted she’d recover enough to wake up after this much time passed, didn’t you?
She had drained far more life force than anticipated. Realizing he couldn’t interrogate her right away, Minjun gave Yumtus an order.
Stay here and keep guarding this woman.
[It shall be done.]
He then turned to Jeongpal.
“The troll found dead—the police dug into his background, right?”
Now that they knew he was also part of the hitman organization, the police would have searched his shop and residence.
Jeongpal recounted his phone call with the Team 2 leader. Perhaps because he had already been thoroughly reamed out by Kim Chul-su, the team leader had spilled everything without resistance this time.
“They said it was clean. Suspiciously so. They probably sent someone to clear the place out first.”
“Damn it!”
At this rate, they were essentially back to square one. Their leads to track down the hitman organization had vanished.
I guess I’ll have to wait for Choi Seona to wake up.
In the meantime, he decided he would toss the troll’s residence himself. The police might not have found anything, but things could be different if he investigated.
Even so, Minjun was starting to feel the stifling frustration of hitting a brick wall. He knew how the Sword had ended up here, but he still had absolutely zero clues regarding the most crucial information.
Just where the hell was that Sword?
I need a breakthrough.
If he didn’t find any clues at the troll’s residence either, what then?
There’s no other way for now. I’ll just have to start tearing the place apart.
Deciding that simply leaving Yumtus behind wasn’t enough, he cast a communication spell to reach out to his old friend.
But he soon realized the recipient wasn’t at Jenkinson Tower. He changed the destination and fired the spell toward the Lair, but he wasn’t there either.
Where did he go?
Left with no choice, Minjun picked up his phone. Blair answered almost immediately.
“Yes, Agent.”
“I can’t get in touch with the chairman.”
Astonishment painted the faces of the assemblyman and Jeongpal. It was highly unlikely that the ‘chairman’ he mentioned was referring to anyone other than Jenkinson.
“Ah, actually... he has some pressing matters at the moment.”
“I need an escort detail sent over here.”
Upon hearing those follow-up words, the assemblyman sent another look of deep gratitude.
To think he would go this far for his daughter!
The person on the other end of the line even seemed to be a close employee of Chairman Jenkinson.
In truth, Minjun’s motivation was purely his obsessive refusal to lose a vital piece of evidence, but looking strictly at the results, it was a great boon for the father and daughter.
After relaying his request, Minjun asked an offhand question. He was genuinely curious. Jenkinson was a severe workaholic who rarely stepped foot outside the path between his Lair and his company. The Balaur Council schedule hadn’t even been set yet, so where on earth did he go?
Blair replied.
“He went to the Committee Earth Representative Office. He’s probably in a situation where all magical communication is completely blocked.”
Minjun’s eyebrows twitched.
“The Earth Representative Office? Why there?”
“A welcoming party for a newly appointed Committee official is scheduled for tonight, Korean time. He went over early to attend.”
It was completely unexpected news.
“That seat has been vacant for ages. They filled it just like that?”
It seemed he had truly spent way too much time shut in his room.
To think he had missed such massive news!
Minjun asked,
“So, who is it?”
The moment Blair answered.
“...!”
Minjun’s body froze solid like a plaster statue.
*
After Minjun and Jeongpal’s visit during lunchtime, Cathy resumed her duties as usual.
With the Frying Pan getting involved in her boss’s affairs, her mind was an absolute mess. She figured it would be better to bury herself in her work to regain some peace of mind.
She had stopped by the Immigration Office and picked up a few cases that Minjun would normally have shown interest in. Once she organized the paperwork, it formed a mountain on her desk. Lately, her boss hadn’t wanted to do any work at all—this from a man who always complained about working but would act like a madman once he actually started.
Is he really planning to retire like this?
Minjun was born in 1945, the year of liberation. In human terms, he was quite old. While the lifespan of quarter elves was hard to estimate, there was no denying he had been around for a long time. Perhaps he was simply exhausted from decades of continuous labor.
Furthermore, he wasn’t hurting for money. If anything, he probably had more wealth than he knew what to do with. He lived an exceptionally frugal life compared to what he earned.
If Mr. Minjun retires, what happens to me?
His outing with Jeongpal today also seemed entirely unrelated to Immigration Office matters.
Things like this were happening more frequently lately. Cathy was definitely his secretary, but the number of cases he handled without going through her or sharing any information was steadily increasing.
Does he not need me anymore?
Spiraling into deep thoughts only made her depressed, so she decided to focus on what she could do right now.
Her boss was distracted at the moment, but there was no telling when he might suddenly return to work. It was her job to have everything prepared for when that happened—to wait for the day he returned to his usual self.
She was just spreading the prepared documents across her desk and sticking on post-its and index tabs for easy reading.
Ding-dong!
Is he back already?
A bright smile blossomed on Cathy’s face, only to wither away just as fast.
There was no way he would ring the doorbell. My mind’s so chaotic that my judgment is slipping. Scolding herself, she opened the office door.
“How can I help you?”
A woman with a petite frame was standing at the door. The stranger looked slightly taken aback upon seeing Cathy but soon smiled brightly.
“Is Agent Ye Minjun here?”
Cathy shook her head.
“He’s not in at the moment. Do you have an appointment?”
“No, I just dropped by.”
How does she know this place? Cathy wondered, though she maintained a stiff, professional tone.
“I apologize, but the agent rarely takes outside requests. Furthermore, dropping in without an appointment makes it almost impossible to fit you into his schedule...”
“Ah, you misunderstand. That’s not it.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not here to make a request. I just came to see his face.”
Cathy narrowed her eyes.
“...Are you an acquaintance of Mr. Minjun’s?”
She knew his narrow circle of friends like the back of her hand. If it was an acquaintance Cathy didn’t know, it meant it was someone from a very long time ago.
Like Oh Manseok, whom he knew from his teaching days.
“Yes, I’ve known him for a long time.”
The visitor nodded as she answered, and Cathy instantly adjusted the woman’s estimated age upward by about forty years in her head.
Her ears aren’t pointy, so she must be a quarter elf.
“He might not return today.”
“Ah, really?”
The woman wore a look of blatant disappointment.
“...I wanted to surprise him.”
Because she looked so utterly crestfallen, Cathy hesitated before adding.
“Then I’ll give him a call. Would you like to come in and wait?”
At that, the woman’s face brightened as if she had never been gloomy.
“Yes, thank you.”
After guiding the visitor to the sofa, Cathy prepared some tea. As she boiled the water, she asked,
“He’s not answering. I’ll try again in about ten minutes. By the way, did you used to work with Mr. Minjun?”
The short-haired woman looked slightly flustered for a moment, but quickly erased the expression with a laugh. It was an oddly stable, serene smile.
And then, she answered Cathy.
“...Yes, we were together. We worked together, too.”
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