TRPM 362

chapter 362

“The organization’s subordinates have all been wiped out?”

“Yes. That’s what I heard. Haven’t you two heard anything?”

When I got home and asked Yeon Mirae and Sophia that, both of them shook their heads, seemingly unaware.

“Hm? You too, Sophia?”
“Yes. I haven’t heard anything either.”

For her, Richard’s subordinate, not to know… strange.

No, thinking about it, it was odd from the start that the note had been delivered by an Association staffer assigned to Kim Eun-yeon, not Sophia.

Not that I was suspicious of the staff member himself. But it was possible someone had tricked or used him.

“The staffer said he got the note directly from President Richard.”
“Should I contact him?”

At my mutter, Sophia pulled out her smartphone and asked.

“While you’re at it, ask if it was really President Richard who supervised the hair-loss medicine auction.”
“Yes, understood.”

Sophia immediately called Richard.

As she did, Yeon Mirae turned to me.

“Was the auction supervised by President Richard?”
“Yeah, that’s what I heard.”
“…That’s strange.”

I looked at her, wondering what she meant. She explained.

“That auction was held in Korea.”
“…Really?”

It wasn’t odd for the Association to host an auction in any country, but still…

“And if President Richard had really come to Korea, unless it was for some private matter, the Association here would have been informed.”

Of course. Hosting an Association-run auction was an official matter. Which meant, if Richard really had supervised it, Mirae would definitely have known.

“(President Richard? There’s something I’d like to ask. About the remnants of the organization including Core Earth… Yes… Yes. One more thing—have you been to Korea recently? … I see. I’ll pass that on.)”

Meanwhile, Sophia finished her call and looked at us.

“The president confirmed that the organization’s subordinate branches were indeed wiped out.”
“…So the note I received wasn’t fake?”
“No…”

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“The president also said he hasn’t been to Korea for the past few months.”
“……”
“……”

Which meant…

“The note you received was fake. And the person who hosted the auction wasn’t the president, but an impersonator.”
“Mirae.”
“Yes. I’ll report this to the police, Night Eagle Guild, and Iron Blood Guild. Someone impersonated President Richard.”

Not just anyone—but the president of the World Awakeners’ Association. And at an official event, no less. This couldn’t be ignored.

“The president also said he’ll personally investigate. He might even come to Korea if necessary.”
“…Tell him to hold off for now.”

Bringing him to Korea when we didn’t even know the impersonator’s goal seemed dangerous. The whole scheme could have been designed just to lure him here.

“And since the impersonator handed me a note, it was only a matter of time before the ruse was exposed anyway.”

Chances were, the plan had been set up with that in mind from the start.

“…The president said he’ll stay in the U.S. for now. But if the impersonator remains uncaught for too long, political reasons may force him to visit Korea…”
“That can’t be helped.”

As the world’s Association president, he couldn’t sit idly by while someone impersonated him.

“Still, I do have some suspicions about who the impersonator might be.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Think about the note.”

The impersonator had deliberately given me information that the organization’s Mars branch had been destroyed.

Which meant—they knew Richard had been hunting down the organization’s remnants, including Core Earth.

“There’s only one group that would know that much—the organization itself.”
“…True. The president’s raids on them aren’t public knowledge.”

Sophia nodded at my words, but Mirae still looked doubtful.

“Then couldn’t it be Oracle or a cultist? If it’s Oracle, they’d at least know their old organization’s branches were being destroyed…”
“When did those raids start again?”
“Well… right after the zombie virus incident in Chicago… Oh.”

Exactly. Right after that, Oracle left the organization.

Oracle could have learned about the raids somehow, but it felt unnatural to think they’d go so far as to impersonate Richard. Especially since, not long ago, a grand sorcerer had brazenly entered Korea openly—there’d be no need for a disguise.

Though we still didn’t know the impersonator’s motive…

“Anyway. The impersonator is most likely tied to the organization.”
“They’ve been quiet for so long… what are they thinking?”
“Whatever it is, they must be desperate. With their branches all destroyed, they’re basically paralyzed.”

And I had another guess.

“Didn’t Sophia once tell me the organization feared me? That they’d pull out of Korea entirely?”

For such a group to risk impersonating Richard here—there had to be a reason. For example…

“They probably believe their top target, Oracle, is in Korea.”

The world had felt that enormous ritual, which was confirmed to have been cast by the organization. Its target was almost certainly Oracle.

And at that exact time, the Heavenly Demon had entered Korea with cultists—accompanied by two unidentified figures.

A young woman and an old man.

Most thought them mere attendants or interpreters. But Mirae had said the old man was the grand sorcerer. Which meant…

“The young woman was Oracle. When the ritual was cast, Oracle was in Korea.”

So naturally, the organization would think Oracle was still hiding here.

“I see.”
“?”
“?”

At that point, I began to grasp their intent.

“You’ve figured something out?”
“Not for sure, but… the organization has a few enemies they’re desperate to eliminate. And this scheme looks like their attempt to deal with all of them at once.”

First—Oracle, the traitor. Choosing Korea as the stage made sense if she was the target.

Second—President Richard, who’d been chasing them for years. His impersonation already marked him as a target.

And third—

“The one they fear. Me.”

By impersonating Richard in Korea, then ensuring I got that note, they’d made me a target too.

“They’re trying to gather the three of us here and wipe us out in one stroke.”
“Wipe you out… how?”
“…That’s the question.”

Even with their advanced tech, it was hard to believe they had a way to kill both me and Richard.

Maybe Oracle, still growing, was vulnerable. But if they’d had a sure-kill method against us, they would’ve used it already.

An orbital strike from space would be troublesome, sure, since we’d have no way to counter—but that was about it.

“They must think they’ve found a way. But I can’t imagine what it could be…”
“…Let’s focus on finding the impersonator first. Then worry about that.”

Sophia’s calm words pulled me back from my spiraling thoughts.

Impersonating celebrities wasn’t rare. Usually it was to scam money or steal personal data.

But to openly impersonate someone at an official event—this was unprecedented.

“So that Richard was fake…”
“I didn’t suspect a thing.”
“Damn it…!”
“……”

Even Korea’s Association president Shin Chae-geon, Night Eagle Guild’s leader, Legioness Guild’s Yu Won-hun, and Iron Blood Guild’s Ji Hyung-man—men who had met Richard in person—failed to notice the fraud at the auction.

“……”

Which, yes, meant they’d all participated in that hair-loss medicine auction. Best not to dwell on that. Their glances at one another’s scalps were enough.

What mattered was that even these strong leaders hadn’t seen through the impersonator.

“So they weren’t using magic or sorcery to disguise themselves…”
“Of course not. At an Association auction, any magical disguise would have been exposed instantly by the mana response.”

Nor was it some other kind of artificial disguise.

“If it had been a physical disguise, their expressions would’ve looked unnatural. But the Richard we saw moved naturally.”

And his expression barely changed throughout the auction, which fit too.

“In other words, the impersonator either didn’t disguise himself at all—or made only the slightest alterations. Which means his real face must look extremely similar to Richard’s.”

At those words from Shin Chae-geon, who specialized in hunting criminals, everyone nodded.

“……”
“……”
“……”

But we all knew there was more to it than appearances.

No matter how closely someone looked like Richard, or acted like him, there was one thing they couldn’t fake—

“…That impersonator was a Grand Mage, wasn’t he?”

I asked the attendees to confirm.

“……”
“…Yes.”
“…At least, that’s how it felt to me.”

They all nodded. And that was the biggest problem.

The main reason everyone at the auction believed the impersonator was Richard—was that he was a Grand Mage, just like the real Richard.

Which meant—

‘…How is that possible?’