TRPM 143

chapter 143

The teachers were talking amongst themselves about me having defeated the Orc Lord, but the kids who didn’t know about that took me around the Media Art Center, showing me various places.

‘I guess being young actually helps in times like this.’

I had adapted to a child’s body, but perhaps because I still had the memories of being an adult, I strongly wanted to grow up quickly. Still, in a way, being able to pass responsibility onto the adults around me wasn’t so bad.

‘… Not that I intend to become a minor who’s exempt from the law.’

I hadn’t really broken any laws, had I? I had sensed that dungeon monsters had crossed the gate, gone there, dealt with them alongside the other Awakened, and then entered the dungeon to conquer it. By that measure, I hadn’t committed a crime—I had just fulfilled my duty as an Awakened.

… Ah, well, there was one law I had technically broken.

‘I pilfered one of the dungeon conquest rewards.’

Normally, when I cleared a dungeon, the system would convert the reward into points rather than give physical items or artifacts. But this time, it gave me a physical reward. Of course, the other Cheolhyeol guild members got their proper, albeit small, rewards too, so they didn’t say anything even though they knew I had obtained mine.

‘After all, without me, that dungeon would have been impossible to clear.’

So, the reward I received from this dungeon was…

‘Could it be because I used thread made from Orc skin in this dungeon…?’

It was thread. Its basic material was unknown, but it was so thin that even I had to exert considerable strength to break a single strand. I hadn’t tested it, but I figured it would be resistant to water and fire as well.

‘Did they really bring the silkworm thread straight out of a martial arts novel…?’

The possibility was high. In fact, for the Awakened system, producing such thread would likely be simple.

‘Between the branch of the World Tree I got when making a doll, the eternal steel, the growth-type subspace artifact from clearing the Wyvern dungeon and the Orc Lord dungeon, and the Harmonizing Divine Sword that grew with me, recently settled with accumulated points…’

Compared to the items I’d received so far, this silkworm thread seemed a bit underwhelming.

‘No, wait. If even I have to put in effort to break a single strand…’

Could this not be ordinary silkworm thread…?

I thought this as I fiddled with the thread in my pocket. If it had magic or a spell on it, I could analyze and figure it out—but it didn’t seem to.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter what this thread actually is.’

The system wouldn’t give me anything harmful, after all.

“Everyone, gather up! Free time’s almost over!”

Lost in such thoughts and being dragged along by the kids, I saw the teachers rounding up the students.

“I wish we could play longer…”
“We didn’t get to see everything, and it’s already over?”
“I know it’s time to go back to the dorms and unpack, but…”

The kids were disappointed, showing that there were plenty of things to see here. Honestly, I was partly dragged along but still had fun. I even thought that if I had known this place was like this, I would have cleared the Orc Lord’s dungeon a little faster.

‘If I had completely destroyed the dungeon, I wouldn’t have had to kill all the Orcs one by one, and the conquest would have ended immediately.’

Not that I intended to do that.

“Shall we play board games when we get to the dorm?”
“You brought board games?”
“Yes, cards too.”

… Where did the kids who were just lamenting go?

In an instant, they had shifted the topic to what they would do in the dorm.

“Come to our room and play together.”
“As long as it’s not bedtime, we can hang out together, right?”
“Yeah, yeah…”

I nodded along half-heartedly, and followed the teachers’ instructions onto the bus. I had originally planned to do some breathing exercises and take a nap upon arriving at the dorm, but that wouldn’t be possible. Then it happened.

“…!”
“Huh? Gunwoo, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, really.”

Even if the kids hadn’t asked to play with me, it seemed impossible to rest immediately after arriving at the dorm. For the record, it wasn’t my main body. Something had happened to the doll currently in the U.S.

This occurred around the time I was clearing the Orc Lord’s dungeon.

“Everyone, take a short break! The client who asked us to handle this is coming personally!”

Morris Reynolds, leader of the Albatross PMC, said this to his subordinates upon arriving at the airfield. I came to know the name Morris Reynolds simply because, while the subordinates were dozing or chatting in the vehicles, he mentioned it to someone who seemed like his closest aide. It could be an alias, but for now, I kept it as Morris. That wasn’t the important part…

‘…A client.’

As I killed Orcs with the thread, I thought about the client’s identity. Judging from the situation, the Albatross PMC’s assignment had been to infiltrate the World Awakened Association and steal or destroy the data of vengeful Awakened. The footage of the Oracle’s organization recruiting vengeful Awakened seemed to have been a unilateral action by Albatross PMC, so I let that slide.

‘For what purpose did they request the data of vengeful Awakened?’

Even if the client wasn’t exactly innocent, their motive was unclear. When the Albatross PMC member disguised as a vengeful Awakened underwent inspection, I saw the data the inspector recorded. Only basic personal information and confirmed abilities were logged. Perhaps the machine recorded more internally, but that simple check couldn’t yield much.

‘With that kind of machine, all they could record would be DNA, iris scans, or fingerprints.’

… Maybe that was extremely important info, though? Regardless, the machine wasn’t precise—it was hastily made. After all, it couldn’t even identify the Albatross PMC member disguised as a vengeful Awakened. I doubted it secretly recorded anything extraordinary.

Anyway…

‘This client is definitely suspicious.’

I waited for the client to arrive at the airfield while thinking that. And when my main body got on the bus with the kids, I realized who the client was.

“(You’ve arrived.)”
“(Yes. You’ve done well, as always. Sorry for repeatedly giving you such tasks.)”
“……”

I momentarily wondered if something was wrong with my doll’s eyes or ears. The client was someone I had met in my pre-regression life—someone I knew.

‘That person…’

My main body froze in shock. That this person had hired the Albatross PMC was unexpected.

“(Considering the association was practically attacked, it’s impressive you escaped.)”
“(The perpetrators had already fled without a trace. We wrapped up the brief countermeasure meeting, so it’s fine.)”

The president of the World Awakened Association: Richard.

“……”

It was hard to believe that this person was the client, but recalling the events during the Albatross PMC’s infiltration, it made sense that only he could have orchestrated it. First, the way the scammer had tricked the inspection device.

[At that moment, a change was felt in the scammer’s body.]
[… Aura had settled in the heart.]
[It was as if they were claiming to generate aura directly from their heart.]

At the time, I thought it was simply a reckless move to risk their life. But…

‘The scammer must have practiced allowing aura to settle in their heart beforehand.’

This meant that unless one knew the method of inspecting vengeful Awakened in advance, such preparation was impossible. If it were just a display of ability, such preparation wouldn’t be necessary. Information about the inspection method had to have leaked from the inside.

Then, when Albatross PMC was in danger and I intervened:

[When I revealed my presence earlier, the strong figures in the association would have sensed it, so it was inevitable.]

Looking back, it was strange that the strong figures didn’t act. But if the president was behind Albatross PMC, it explained why—they prevented the strong from acting to ensure Albatross PMC’s escape.

‘… So the president and the strong figures in the association are all in cahoots?’

I thought that as I listened to the conversation between Morris and President Richard.

“(Before discussing the matter in detail, tell me: do you know anything about the suddenly appearing strong figure the guards mentioned?)”
“(We don’t. Thanks to that figure, we escaped, but we only know they weren’t hostile toward us.)”
“(Not hostile….)”

Could this be about me from the start?

“(We might be able to ask for a favor from such a being, but we can’t use them freely.)”
“(Asking is impossible. We don’t even know their identity.)”

Richard said:

“(Although we don’t know their identity for sure, there’s a way to ask for a favor.)”

Then he turned toward the direction of my doll and looked straight at it.

“(Could you reveal your identity?)”
“(President?)”

Sigh… So someone at the president’s level can see through such concealment.

‘I guess that makes sense.’

Richard was one of the world’s top candidates, along with Russia’s Sir Sergey and others. I took out the perception-blocking mask I always used with my subspace artifact and revealed myself.

“(What?!)”
“(Since when?!)”

The Albatross PMC members nearby kept their distance, wary. They never imagined someone could be hiding so close.

“(A strange mask that forcibly redirects gaze… I’ve heard of it. The most famous person in East Asia recently.)”
“……”
“Can’t speak English? Then I’ll speak Korean.”

Artist.

“… English is fine.”

I sighed and said so.