TRPM 109

chapter 109

And if there are wise people, there must also be foolish ones.

If the world’s people were divided in that way, the so-called Regressor belonged to the incompetent and foolish category.

At the same time, he was the kind of person who deluded himself into thinking he was capable and wise.

“Did you think we would believe everything you said just because you claim to be a Regressor? Even if you truly were one, approaching Yeon Mirae to figure out how she became strong doesn’t give you the right to call her a fraud.”

Jihyeongman glared at the self-proclaimed Regressor as he said this.

To slander Yeon Mirae—of all people—was not a simple insult.

Yeon Mirae, as widely known, wasn’t just an ordinary Aura Master; she occasionally gave special lectures.

Lectures so advanced that anyone attending could significantly improve their skills.

And this man had the audacity to call her a scammer?

“You might as well have committed suicide.”

He had made an enemy of everyone who had benefited from Yeon Mirae’s lectures, and those who sought to attend them.

The self-proclaimed Regressor’s face turned pale at Jihyeongman’s words.

He had boldly claimed to be a Regressor, but apparently hadn’t thought at all about the consequences that would follow.

Seeing his expression, Jihyeongman spoke to those watching outside the interrogation room.

“That’s enough. We have nothing more to deal with regarding this fellow. Let’s handle this lightly as defamation and obstruction of business.”

Jihyeongman said this and stood up.

“W-wait…!”

Naturally, the self-proclaimed Regressor, realizing what was happening, grabbed him.

It was obvious that if he left now, he would become a criminal.

“What… what is this?”

“I-I haven’t done anything that bad… have I?”

Bang!

“Eek?!”

“… You say you haven’t done anything wrong?”

Jihyeongman pounded the desk as he addressed the still-dazed Regressor.

“I’ll explain it step by step so even you can understand.”

First.

“The moment you called Yeon Mirae a fraud, defamation was established. Doing it in a quiet place would have been bad enough, but you did it in front of reporters. As a result, your words even made it into the news, tarnishing her reputation.”

Second.

“You came to our Cheolhyeol Guild and caused a disturbance, in front of multiple guests. That constitutes obstruction of business, so you’re guilty of that as well.”

At the time, we were even preparing to hand over a criminal we had caught to the police.

“If you had even tried to throw a punch, you would have added obstruction of official duties as well.”

Consider yourself lucky it ended with defamation and obstruction of business.

Jihyeongman said this as he left the interrogation room.

Seeing the police officers entering the room in rotation, Jihyeongman noticed the executives watching him.

“… Why?”

“Nothing, just wondering.”

Among those executives, of course, was Yeon Mirae.

“Because of that guy, I had to worry so much…”

Unlike the other executives who looked at Jihyeongman with admiration, Yeon Mirae sighed deeply.

Jihyeongman approached her, tapped her shoulder, and said:

“First time dealing with this type of criminal?”

“Excuse me?”

“Those stupid criminals who act without thinking.”

“Now that you mention it…”

Yeon Mirae nodded.

All the criminals she had caught with Artist, i.e., Han Geonwoo, or handled as part of Cheolhyeol Guild, had been either clever or highly organized.

“Actually, we usually don’t assign fools like that to you. Usually, even lower-ranked members can handle them.”

No need to use an ox-cleaving knife to kill a chicken.

Thus, when Jihyeongman assigned work to Yeon Mirae, he only gave her tasks that could be handled by someone of her strength and skill.

Naturally, Yeon Mirae had always faced competent or wise opponents—or both.

“Handling fools like him was confusing for you, huh?”

“… Yes.”

Dealing with capable or wise individuals was easier.

Even if she couldn’t empathize with their thoughts, she could at least understand them.

But trying to comprehend the thinking of an incompetent fool like the self-proclaimed Regressor gave her a headache.

“Please, don’t assign people like that to me in the future. Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.”

“Of course.”

Jihyeongman said this and suggested to the Cheolhyeol Guild executives that they leave work for the day.

Returning to headquarters in a bad mood or holding a dinner would have been impossible after the self-proclaimed Regressor incident.

When Yeon Mirae returned home late, I heard about what happened at the police station and thought to myself:

“… Nothing serious.”

He wasn’t a real Regressor, nor a mentally ill person who truly believed he was one…

Just a man pretending to be a Regressor to approach Yeon Mirae.

Knowing this, I expected the news about him to die down quickly.

But I was wrong.

Fortunately, the news didn’t cover the self-proclaimed Regressor anymore…

“… But that’s just the news…”

Online, discussions about the self-proclaimed Regressor were rampant.

Just like before, when debates arose about the identity of the Artist.

I was glad fewer people were speculating about the Artist’s identity, but as discussions about the Regressor increased, naturally, mentions of Yeon Mirae—accused of calling the Regressor a scammer—also increased.

And many of those posts seemed to defend the self-proclaimed Regressor while trying to discredit Yeon Mirae.

“… It’s like…”

Someone seemed to be using this opportunity to tarnish her reputation.

“… Is this manipulation of public opinion?”

“Huh? Public opinion manipulation?”

Muttering this while scrolling through various posts online, I noticed Lee Dumin sitting next to me.

His seat wasn’t usually next to mine, but he had taken advantage of a break when the usual occupant was gone.

“Who told you to sit in someone else’s seat?!”

Pow!

“Gah?!”

By the way, the usual occupant was Ryu Ayoung.

Ayoung had previously knocked Dumin away with a perfect kick during an exchange match.

“… You’re actually an Aura user, aren’t you? Or maybe a physically strong psychic.”

I knew she was a different type of psychic, but seeing her now, I wondered if I had underestimated her.

Especially since I hadn’t seen her kick like that before… her appearance was unfamiliar.

“… Or maybe she’s been kicking without me noticing all along?”

Anyway.

“Ugh… talk first, then hit me.”

Even after receiving a perfect kick, Dumin just rubbed the spot and got up as if nothing happened.

He was probably stronger than Ayoung, so even a clean kick wouldn’t have hurt him much.

“Who said you could sit in someone else’s seat?”

“Why, would it wear out if I sit?”

“It does wear out?!”

“What are you saying, shorty!”

“Better to be tall than short!”

Dumin and Ayoung then started a childish argument, leaving embarrassment to the listener.

Sigh…

I lightly flicked both of their heads.

“Gah?!”

“Eek?!”

That should keep them quiet for a while.

Although I said “flicked,” I actually used my internal energy to shake their brains slightly, leaving no aftereffects.

“Isn’t shaking the brain more dangerous than hitting?”

Hearing this, Ryu Amin, Ayoung’s twin, asked incredulously.

It didn’t seem like she expected an answer, so I didn’t respond.

“But what about Haeun? She went to the bathroom and now she’s not in class.”

“Haeun went to see Teacher Alex.”

Teacher Alex.

He had been the one to resolve the recent animal rampage using his familiar, Fafnir, but surprisingly few knew about his role.

Few had seen Alex riding on Fafnir.

Moreover, with news flooded by claims about Kim Baekrang revealing the Artist’s identity (me), stories about Alex and Fafnir were quickly overshadowed.

“… But Haeun knows.”

Even though I didn’t tell her, Haeun recognized that Alex now had a familiar, Fafnir, immediately after the incident.

She often talks to Alex about her familiar, Sarang, and Alex’s Fafnir whenever she gets the chance.

Ryu Amin didn’t know this detail, but seeing Haeun’s recent closeness to Alex, he didn’t question it.

“So, what have you been doing?”

“I’ve been checking posts about the Regressor chaos recently.”

“Oh, that?”

Ryu Amin, noticing the boards were filled with Regressor posts, sat beside me with a sigh.

“Even the ‘implemented psychics’ are going crazy. Some say regression is theoretically possible, others say it’s impossible… The group chat is full of it. Ayoung and I can’t understand most of it, so we don’t even join in.”

“……”

That chat… I believe it includes not just Koreans but foreigners too.

Apparently, the Regressor discussion isn’t limited to Korea.

Perhaps I should check foreign forums as well.

As I scrolled down, I saw it:

‘Another post, exactly the same as before.’

I had noticed identical posts earlier.

This wasn’t the first time.

Someone—or some group—was copying and pasting the same post repeatedly, stirring discussion about the Regressor and Yeon Mirae.

‘Obviously, it’s a group, not an individual.’

If it were an individual, I wouldn’t have found multiple identical posts despite checking various boards.

Given the volume of posts, this is clearly mass public opinion manipulation.

‘But who? And for what purpose?’

The target seems to be Yeon Mirae, but I don’t know what organization is behind this or their goal.

… I’m not knowledgeable about hacking either, so tracing the poster is difficult.

‘No… maybe there’s a way.’

I started thinking about a method to track the people behind all these posts.