TRPM 277

chapter 277

My doll began patrolling around the school, checking to see if there were any suspicious people.

It wasn’t an easy task.

For one, I didn’t even know what the broker looked like, and there was no guarantee that the broker would even be near the school right now.

“Maybe the thieves met the broker not near the school, but near the PC café…”

I should have asked them where and when they met the broker before the police caught them. Thinking that, I continued patrolling the area with the doll, and soon, I spotted familiar faces.

“The Mutant Team?”

The awakened members of the Ironblood Guild, whose human bodies had been partially altered by monster genes, were patrolling near our school.

“It makes sense they’re patrolling near the school since that’s their assigned area, but…”

Usually, they patrolled the downtown areas crowded with shops rather than near schools. The fact that they were near the school meant…

“Did the police share information with them?”

If the people caught by the police testified that they had met the broker near the school, it would make sense for the Mutant Team, having received that info, to patrol the area.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, as I spotted the Mutant Team, I also detected someone acting suspiciously.

“They’re trying to avoid the Mutant Team.”

The person was moving with their face hidden, almost as if to openly signal that they were suspicious. Watching that, I tilted my head.

“Could it… be that person is the broker…?”

I had just assumed that this person couldn’t possibly be the broker.

“Because their ability is weak?”

That was part of it. A broker should know how to hide themselves and usually has experience in related matters. Yet this person seemed tense and hesitant, as if it was their first time doing something like this. Suspicious, yes, but it was hard to see them as the broker.

But that wasn’t the main reason I didn’t suspect them. The decisive reason was…

“That person is an Association employee.”

They didn’t seem to be Korean, so likely not part of the Korean Association. But I could sense the presence of a standard collapsible baton for self-defense carried by Association staff.

In other words, they were from a foreign Association. Why would an Association employee steal a notebook…?

“…Wait a second.”

Even if it were an ordinary notebook, that would be one thing—but the notebooks of Kim Eun-yeon and Lee Ha-eun were different. Kim Eun-yeon’s notebook contained alchemy-related information, while Lee Ha-eun’s contained details on magic circles.

This meant that if the Association employee was truly after something, it was likely one or both of those notebooks, not just any notebook. Of course, this was assuming the Association employee was indeed the problematic broker.

“Tsk…”

I clicked my tongue and sent my doll toward the suspicious Association employee.

“Wait.”
“(Gah?! Artist?!)”

The employee was startled when my doll blocked their path and instinctively took a step back. Immediately, everyone’s attention focused on them…

“Artist?”
“Who’s that person?”

Naturally, the Mutant Team, who had been patrolling nearby, also noticed and approached.

“(Ugh…!)”

The employee, realizing they had been discovered, seemed to decide to run, crouching low as they started to move.

But escape was impossible. Not only am I unusually strong, but the Mutant Team weren’t just awakened—they had also had monster genes inserted, giving them even greater strength.

“A non-awakened person couldn’t escape from us.”

There was no need for me to act.

Boom!

“(Ugh?!)”

An Orc Mutant quickly blocked the path of the Association employee, who collided with the mutant’s strong body and fell to the ground.

Falling, the employee mumbled in broken Korean:

“Wh-why… are you… doing this…”

He sounded aggrieved, perhaps thinking he could talk his way out for the moment.

“(Why is an American Association employee here?)”

Someone from the Mutant Team recognized him. Just like Yeon Mirae sometimes traveled abroad, the Mutant Team occasionally went overseas too, so it made sense if someone there had visited the U.S. Association and remembered him.

The employee’s expression stiffened, as if resigned.

“…It seems he’s not used to this kind of situation.”

So he gave up as soon as his identity was exposed.

Click!

“(If I tell the truth, will my punishment be lighter?)”

The employee asked as the Mutant Team cuffed him. They nodded.

“(You didn’t commit a major crime like murder, you just stole notebooks from students. If you explain properly, your sentence should be reduced.)”
“(Phew….)”

I still doubted if he was the broker, but the Mutant Team, having likely heard the broker’s description from the police, seemed convinced that he was indeed the one after the students’ notebooks.

“(Will you tell us now? Why did you have the students steal the notebooks?)”
“(…Actually, I was told to do it by someone else.)”
“(Someone else?)”
“(Yes….)”

He revealed the name of the person who instructed him, and it was a fairly famous individual—specifically, a well-known alchemist.

“One of the alchemists who visited Kim Eun-yeon last week.”

From that, it was possible to guess their real purpose.

“(To hide their true objective, they told me to steal all first-year students’ notebooks… but the real goal was probably Kim Eun-yeon’s notebook.)”

The alchemists who visited Kim Eun-yeon last week were obsessed with money and fame, intent on taking her creations. The alchemist the Association employee mentioned was one of them.

They tried to steal Kim Eun-yeon’s notebook? The goal is obvious.

“(I didn’t want to, but as a low-level employee, I had no choice but to follow the alchemist’s orders. That’s why I came to Korea to take the notebooks from the students.)”

He sighed, and he didn’t seem to be lying. That alchemist could easily command someone to do that.

“…What a hassle.”

And even with his testimony, it would be hard to punish him. Even with evidence, punishing him would be difficult. Alchemists, rare production-type Awakened, are directly protected by their country or Association. Unless they commit severe crimes like murder, they’re rarely properly punished.

“At most, probably just a fine.”

I sighed internally and recalled my doll. Unpleasant as it was, there wasn’t much I could do against an American alchemist. This incident would likely end with measures to prevent recurrence and protect Kim Eun-yeon.

“……”

Lately, too many things end in uncomfortable conclusions.

It’s not surprising. Unlike before, now that my identity as the Artist is publicly known, my activities are inevitably restricted. But I don’t regret revealing myself to save Chloe Greenwood. I never actively hid my identity completely before anyway.

That evening.

I watched the news while having dinner.

[Yesterday at around 1 PM, the Korean Awakened Association issued an official statement regarding the operation to eliminate Awakened Supremacists. The Association stated that the operation was carried out after thorough preliminary investigation, and that it was a large-scale joint operation involving the Night Eagle Guild, Legiones Guild, Cleaner Guild, and Ironblood Guild.]

My mother, watching the news, asked:

“Is it true…?”
“Huh?”
“That there was an operation against the Awakened Supremacists yesterday?”
“Oh, you didn’t see it, Mom?”

The operation had been streamed live on the Association’s official website, but not on TV.

“Of course. Since it was an Awakened battle, who knows what kind of violent scenes could appear? They wouldn’t show that on TV.”

Children could be watching during a weekend afternoon, and they couldn’t show scenes of Awakeneds fighting and getting hurt or killed. Anyway, my mother hadn’t watched the stream online.

“So Awakened Supremacists are still around, huh.”
“They tend to appear every once in a while.”

Still, this operation likely reduced their numbers, and any remaining Supremacists would hide their identity to survive.

“What about Awakened Discriminationists?”
“……”

I paused eating and looked at her.

“They also appeared occasionally in the past, but nowadays, dungeons are increasing. There are hardly any criminals in Korea, so Discriminationists won’t have much power.”

Awakened Discriminationists—or Anti-Awakened—believe Awakeneds should be controlled. While Supremacists claim Awakeneds deserve greater benefits, Discriminationists argue they should be treated as potential criminals and confined, sometimes even proposing explosive collars for all Awakeneds.

“They’ve consistently appeared since the early Black Mist incidents.”

Their numbers increase when Awakened crimes are frequent but threats from the Black Mist are minimal. In this current timeline, despite some butterfly effects I caused, there’s no reason for them to appear.

[Next news: surprisingly, many people agreed with the petition to reduce Awakened privileges. Experts note that some may have agreed casually, but there are concerns this could encourage the sudden appearance of Awakened Discriminationists…]

“……”
“……”

Looks like Awakened Discriminationists have appeared.