CTMP 07

Chapter 07

“…And so, Investigator Lee Yooji received a commendation along with a reward bonus.”

The next morning.

Instead of getting scolded for being uselessly captured by the criminal and turned into a hostage, I was greeted with good news.

Strictly speaking, bringing Lulu into the building during work hours had also been against protocol.

On top of that, during yesterday’s questioning with Team 1’s leader, I had answered like this:

‘Why did you bring a detection dog into the building?’

‘Because I realized I forgot to bring dog food…’

‘Then couldn’t you have just brought the dog food?’

‘…Oh. You’re right?’

‘……?’

The expression Ikseong had at that moment.

He adored Lulu that much, yet looked at me with that much contempt!

I want to go back to being the me who was getting petted by you yesterday!

‘For now… just leave.’

Considering how absentminded I acted around Lulu, it was easy to imagine what kind of image Ikseong now had of me in his head.

But it’s not like I could tell them I brought in the detection dog because I thought there might be a bomb inside the building!

‘Still, if you think about it, the real absurd thing is that explosives were brought into the Hunsudae building in the first place.’

This was serious enough to shake the very foundation of the organization.

‘This morning I heard the security guard got fired…’

Naturally.

Because of that, upper management apparently decided to go with the story that Team 5, which handled safety management, discovered the explosives during a routine search, rather than saying some clueless rookie who couldn’t even remember dog food accidentally found them.

And naturally, this reward money was also a way to keep my mouth shut.

Deposit

+50,000,000 won

…Which was an awful lot of money just to buy silence.

T-They’re giving me this much?

Come to think of it, hunters in Hunsudae earned a surprisingly large amount from reward bonuses rather than their salaries.

But since all Hunsudae operations were classified, I’d never known the exact amounts before. And now I found out it was this much!

For the time being, I’d use this money to pay off debts, cover interest, and survive.

I still had the 500 million won I received as compensation for解除ing the abnormal status effect, but thinking about it, suddenly paying off my bank debt with that money would definitely make people suspicious.

‘My job is literally a government employee…!’

Even winning a local raffle could make civil servants subject to scrutiny. If 500 million won suddenly dropped from the sky, a tax investigation would come immediately!

I was already planning to make use of that 500 million through some “shadow routes” I knew.

“Man~ I’m jealous, rookie. Back in my day, I made quite a bit through reward bonuses too.”

Byeon Gudo chimed in from beside me.

“Are reward bonuses normally this high?”

“More or less? Honestly, that amount isn’t even considered that huge. The criminal you caught this time was classified as D-rank, after all.”

Then just how much incentive money was Team 1 taking home for capturing A-rank and B-rank criminals?

‘Our Ikseong… turns out he’s greedier for money than I thought?’

No, wait.

If the bonuses were this large, then annual salaries could vary enormously depending on individual performance.

‘…So that’s why rookies never lasted long here.’

Because the base salary was too low.

I had just uncovered one cause behind the horror stories about being a rookie in Team 5.

“So, can I look forward to your future performance? That kick you showed yesterday was no joke. You said you were an athlete in high school, right?”

“Ah. Yes.”

Before awakening, I really thought I’d keep succeeding as a taekwondo athlete.

“Then do you know our team leader too? Our team leader also—”

Just as Byeon Gudo was about to say something, Pi Sowon cut in.

“The rookie’s item supplies have arrived. Come pick them up.”

What about the team leader?

I recalled Team Leader Pi’s incredible shooting skills from yesterday.

‘He seems skilled enough to compete with even the major guilds. So why does he have such poor performance results?’

Hunsudae Team 5.

A thoroughly mysterious team.

‘Still, maybe that’s not bad for me right now.’

I was, after all, a hunter with an EX-rank skill.

‘And it’s an extremely suspicious ability called “Extra Possessor”…’

If I ended up under a highly capable team leader like Kwon Ikseong, my skill might be exposed immediately.

But quitting Hunsudae wasn’t an option either, because that strange “abnormal status” from yesterday still bothered me.

If my title as an “Extra” kept dragging me into criminal incidents and accidents, then it was better to belong to an organization that could legally punish criminals.

I walked over to Pi Sowon.

He placed a pair of handcuffs and a smartwatch in front of me.

Items I was familiar with.

‘…Finally…!’

This was the first proper handover I’d received.

The handcuffs were magic restraints that blocked the use of mana.

The smartwatch transmitted investigators’ locations in real time and included a call function.

“You must respond to calls 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you don’t answer, investigators might think something happened to you and break through your bedroom window to find you.”

Hearing it put that way made it sound a little like shackles…

Still, I smiled brightly while putting on the smartwatch.

“Yes.”

“…Why are you so cheerful? Most people hate it.”

Keeping my smile, I answered Pi Sowon’s question.

“…Because it’s cool.”

I always wanted to do something like this. Something cool. Like a ranger.

When I raised my wrist and grinned, Pi Sowon’s expression turned strange.

It was similar to the look Kwon Ikseong gave me in the interrogation room.

Pi Sowon blanked out for a moment, then leaned against the desk and looked at me.

“You.”

“…Yes?”

“Don’t work too hard.”

“What do you mean—”

“And don’t call me your partner.”

Pi Sowon’s sleepy-looking eyes narrowed.

Like a warning.

I’d never even called him partner before. What was his problem all of a sudden?

That was when it happened.

The smartwatch on my wrist suddenly buzzed loudly.

Not from my wrist, but right beside my ear.

‘…So this really is a magic item.’

At the same time, the other team members also looked down at their wrists.

“We’ve got a dispatch.”

Pi Sowon pressed a button on the smartwatch and immediately started a short call.

The magic item allowed direct communication without earbuds.

“Yes. We’re heading out now.”

After answering briefly, Pi Sowon met my eyes and flinched.

Well, that made sense…

Because right now, I was a little excited.

I finally felt like a real investigator!

Looking at me, Pi Sowon muttered quietly—

“…You kind of look like Lulu whenever someone says it’s time for a walk…”

I pretended not to hear him.

Sighing, Pi Sowon spoke to Byeon Gudo and Ma Deokho.

“This dispatch will be me and the rookie.”

Like the owner of a dog that absolutely hated going on walks.

I want to partner with Ikseong instead of you too, you know…!

And a short while later.

When we arrived at the scene, all excitement had drained from my face as I stared at the blood-soaked classroom.

The horribly murdered corpse of a student in school uniform.

And another boy in the same uniform, covered head to toe in blood.

And…

Me and Team Leader Pi watching it all.

Pi Team Leader smiled faintly at me as I struggled to suppress my nausea.

“So? Still having fun?”

Our team leader was definitely a psychopath.

But more importantly—

The boy drenched in blood.

The name tag pinned to the chest of the one who looked, to anyone, like the perpetrator of this murder case.

Kang Wolyeon

That bastard’s a named villain from the novel!