TRPM 333

chapter 333

I spent all of yesterday tracking where the Grand Sorcerer went, and I was left speechless.

At first, he went to a dessert shop and ate a parfait, then he went to an amusement park to enjoy the rides. After that, he went to a PC café to play Korean online games, and then to a hotel to sleep.

And today…

“…He said he plans to go to the museum.”

As I watched the Grand Sorcerer while having breakfast, I sensed him muttering that he would go to the museum as he left the hotel. He knew I was observing him, so he told me in advance where he intended to go.

“Looking at him, he really does seem like a tourist.”

I finished the dishes while thinking that. My mother had said she needed to go to Shinse-gyo early today, so she left the dishwashing to me.

“Here, these are the materials I prepared. I’ve also arranged a meeting with the Commissioner of Police through the Ironblood Guild.”
“Good, thanks for your effort.”

As I took off my rubber gloves, Sophia handed me materials containing evidence suggesting there might be an awakened supremacist inside the police force. I had intended to handle the meeting with the Commissioner myself, but Sophia seemed to have already taken care of that.

“She’s competent,” I thought.

I skimmed through the documents and asked Sophia,

“When and where?”
“At 2 p.m. today, in the Commissioner’s office. He has other appointments in the morning.”

2 p.m., huh. Then I could have lunch before heading out. I glanced at Sophia for a moment. Whenever she came to our house, she never came alone.

“Where’s Yeon Mirae? Why did you come alone?”

Yeon Mirae and Sophia usually come together… more precisely, Sophia lives at Mirae’s place. So whenever she came to our house, she would come with Mirae. Why wasn’t she here now?

“One of the dungeons the Ironblood Guild is tackling today is too dangerous for regular guild members. So Aura Master Yeon Mirae has been dispatched.”
“Hmm… it seems like Mirae has been dispatched more often over the past month, or am I imagining it?”

Mirae’s task is to handle dungeons too dangerous for regular guild members. Previously, this would happen once every two weeks at most, but in the past month, she had been dispatched six times. Including today, that makes seven.

“That’s only natural, isn’t it? Since the Ironblood Guild has shifted from a criminal-focused guild to a dungeon-specialized guild.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”

The previous Ironblood Guild did patrols and maintained local security, though they weren’t completely inactive in dungeon raids. But Oliver, the awakened who tamed a kangaroo in Australia, took over security maintenance with the Night Eagle Guild, allowing Ironblood to focus solely on dungeon raids. Naturally, the number of dungeons they tackle increased, and so did the frequency of dangerous dungeons.

“So you’re going to Ironblood Guild alone today?”
“No. My task today is to be the Artist’s personal secretary.”
“…Hmm?”
“When the meeting with the Commissioner happens, I’ll accompany the Artist and assist him.”

Jihyungman, the guild leader, just instructed her to do so.

“You said the Artist would probably just hand over the materials and leave.”
“……”

That was my initial plan. I thought I’d just explain my business, hand over the documents, and let the police handle the rest.

“Guild Leader Jihyungman intends not only to root out awakened supremacists within the police but also all connected supremacists. Therefore, he decided that collaboration between Ironblood, the police, Night Eagle, and Legiones Guild is necessary.”
“So it’s not just about passing information, but also about coordinating the elimination of awakened supremacists.”
“Yes. The detailed tasks were entrusted to me.”

…It seems Jihyungman trusts Sophia more than I expected. Strictly speaking, Sophia isn’t formally part of Ironblood, but she’s one of the most competent office staff there, so it makes sense.

“But was this decided overnight? Jihyungman alone can’t set guild policy.”

Though he has the loudest voice, if collaboration with other guilds is planned, a meeting with the executives would have been necessary. But yesterday was the weekend, so regular guild members wouldn’t have come in. How did it happen?

“It’s nothing. Meetings regarding awakened supremacists have been ongoing for some time.”

Like those lawmakers who tried to manipulate copyright law?

“Copyright? Oh, that.”

I had completely forgotten since Jihyungman said he would handle the association.

“What happened?”
“Most of the parties involved were arrested. They couldn’t be punished just for trying to pass copyright law, but their backgrounds were shady.”
“People like that still exist?”

I wondered if a purge was necessary.

“…Please don’t. Even in the past, maybe, but doing that now would make the Artist look like a tyrant. His image damaged by the game could become permanent.”

Sophia sighed and returned to the original topic.

“Thanks to most of them being arrested, the law-making effort regarding copyright fizzled out.”

But there was one exception…

“There’s a legislator who was involved but not punished.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He didn’t try to exploit the new law for profit; he sincerely believed the law was needed.”

He was also an honest and popular figure, so they couldn’t punish him.

“However, that incident made us suspicious that this legislator might be an awakened supremacist.”
“An awakened supremacist legislator…”

It’s plausible. Legislators are older, so he would have experienced the time before I became an Artist, when awakened criminals ran rampant. If his family suffered from awakened criminals, that would be even more fitting.

‘I don’t need to think about that.’

This is something Sophia, Jihyungman, and the police would handle better than me. They would have completed the background check on the legislator.

“Let’s leave that aside and think about something else.”
“Something else? Is there a problem?”
“It’s a problem if it’s a problem. It’s a dilemma that all humanity faces.”
“A dilemma…”

Sophia tensed up at my words. I noticed and asked,

“What should we have for lunch?”
“……”

Her tension melted at my words, and she seemed a bit weak, but I was serious.

“…Let’s just eat at a nearby restaurant.”
“Shall we?”

In the morning, I watched Sophia’s training at the usual vacant lot, then, as she suggested, we had lunch at a nearby restaurant. After that, we took the subway to the Police Headquarters.

‘If I were alone, I’d just run or fly there, but Sophia is with me now.’

I could have flown holding Sophia, but there was no need. We arrived at the headquarters and took the elevator to the Commissioner’s floor. Naturally, civilians aren’t usually allowed inside, but perhaps they were informed in advance and didn’t stop us.

“…Does the Korean Police not check for belongings or disguises upon entry?”

Sophia asked, curious. Was she concerned about security?

“Even if I had disguised myself, the sensors would have detected it. As for belongings…”

They normally check with metal detectors and magic detectors. But they didn’t do so for me, likely because if I intended to hide something, nothing could stop me. Sophia nodded in understanding.

“Right, in the organization on Mars, they strictly check ordinary members but just confirm the identity of elites and executives.”

No sooner had she said that than the elevator doors opened. We reached the Commissioner’s floor and knocked on the office door.

Knock knock.
“Come in.”

We entered at his permission.

“Tsk… a little late.”
“Hmm?”
“Uh…?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears. Sophia behind me also looked shocked. The person we met yesterday… the Grand Sorcerer, was in the Commissioner’s office.

“Sorry. The Grand Sorcerer said he wanted to meet the Artist, so…”
“…Commissioner.”

Could it be that he doesn’t know? That the Grand Sorcerer is allied with Oracle?

“I know what you’re thinking, but what can we do? We cannot arrest the Grand Sorcerer.”

Fortunately, the Commissioner knew the Grand Sorcerer wasn’t an enemy. But…

“The Grand Sorcerer isn’t exactly a criminal. If he broke the law, I’d attempt to arrest him immediately, but by that logic, I should have first arrested the cultists who recently came to Korea. And he wouldn’t be easy to capture.”

For lack of justification, and even if there was one, it would be difficult to arrest him. So the Commissioner abandoned the idea.

“……”

Hearing that, I glared at the Grand Sorcerer, questioning why he had come to the police headquarters.

“Tsk… now that the sightseeing is over, he plans to get some work done.”
“What does that have to do with the police?”

Even if it’s the Grand Sorcerer’s task, what comes to mind is what Oracle entrusted him… recruiting talent. The necromancer who would later resurrect Woo Ji-min. But why come to the police headquarters to recruit him?

“Tsk… the friend Oracle sent is, at this point, a police officer.”
“……”

Before the reset, I didn’t know what the necromancer did, but still… a necromancer with a previous career as a police officer seems completely mismatched.