TRPM 421

chapter 421

According to my thoughts, even if the child conducting the hostage situation isn’t being coerced and is acting entirely of their own will, we first need to know who’s behind it.

Above all…

“This bomb, as confirmed, can detonate not only from a strong impact but also via manual or remote detonation. Remote detonation can be blocked with jamming, but preventing impact triggers and manual detonation will be a bit difficult.”

“What about using a tranquilizer to incapacitate the child and then entering?”

“If the police intervene and the child drops the bomb before it can be retrieved, it would be a catastrophe. There’s also a high chance the bomb could be jolted during a forced retrieval from the child’s hands, causing the fuse to activate and detonate.”

“…That’s a difficult situation.”

Hearing the police, I understood why they had no choice but to maintain a standoff.

Usually, bombs meant for dungeon destruction have multiple safety mechanisms, so a mere shake or collision wouldn’t trigger them. But for some reason, the bomb the child had must have had all its safeties disabled.

‘I thought those safeties couldn’t be disabled by just anyone…’

So that child brought a bomb with disabled safeties into the apartment. That’s truly a dangerous situation.

“Excuse me, officer, can’t magic be used to freeze the bomb?”

“No, that won’t work. Even freezing it involves magic energy, which could increase the risk of explosion.”

“Then what about an awakened person with stealth abilities sneaking in?”

“That’s why we requested cooperation from the Night Eagle Guild, but they said they’re busy with another case and don’t have available personnel to send here.”

…Busy because of another case?

‘Ah…so that’s it.’

Only then did I understand the purpose of whoever gave the bomb to the child. In short, it was a distraction.

‘Not just here, but probably at multiple locations to draw police and crime-specialized guilds’ attention elsewhere.’

Of course, the upper echelons of the police and crime-specialized guilds like Night Eagle would have noticed this. I just didn’t, because I assumed this was the only incident.

‘If they diverted the police and guild’s attention like this, that means the real mastermind has a separate goal.’

Thinking that way, I recalled the organization based on Mars.

…Could it really be them? But thanks to Richard’s Association’s major suppression, their influence on Earth must have been nearly eradicated.

‘No, that’s not it. They’re not the only organization operating in the shadows.’

These days, whenever a major incident occurs, that Martian organization is often suspected, but they aren’t the only criminal organization in existence. And among the crime organizations that were fairly well-known before my regression, there were quite a few that distracted from the real target in exactly this manner.

‘Quite a few.’

Yes, many.

Creating fake incidents to divert attention and conceal the real target wasn’t uncommon. Any reasonably sized criminal organization did something like this. Especially for the police, fake incidents can’t be ignored, so even knowing about them, they’re forced to respond.

“This situation seems more serious than I thought.”

Elena, hearing about incidents elsewhere, seemed to have roughly grasped the situation.

“Hmm? Huh?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Ihaeun and Eliot had no clue.

“Ha ha. The two of you are still young, so you don’t need to understand.”

“Hey, we’re the same age as you.”

“It’s fine. You just might not know.”

“You really…”

Elena gently nudged Eliot and then asked me,

“Now, regarding this standoff, can you handle it, Geonwoo?”

She asked it as a question, but she was confident that I could resolve the hostage situation.

“Of course.”

And I met her expectation.

‘I have plenty of methods.’

I could stabilize the bomb with void-manipulation so it wouldn’t explode, erect a barrier if it did detonate, or even slice the space to toss it into a rift or another dimension.

“If possible, could you keep the bomb intact? That way, we can trace how it got into the child’s hands. Right, officer?”

“Ah, yes… That would certainly help the investigation…”

The officer, explaining to us, spoke politely to Elena. He had addressed me formally earlier because of my fame as an artist, but now he was doing the same to Elena…

‘He’s naturally impressed.’

It was hard to describe—perhaps it was the aura of royalty—he automatically used formal speech.

Watching him, I asked,

“Can I get permission to enter?”

Right now, the police were in a standoff with the child holding the bomb. It would be illegal for a civilian like me to enter without permission.

‘…In the past, I didn’t care about that and went in anyway.’

Let’s not dwell on the past. Anyway, to enter and prevent the bomb from detonating, I needed the field commander’s permission.

“Yes, I’ll contact them.”

The officer in front of me contacted the person in charge via radio, stating my identity and asking if I could enter the building.

[…You can subdue without harm?]

“Yes, that’s what they said.”

[Good. Then guide him here.]

“Yes!”

The field commander easily granted permission. It felt almost too casual, but it also showed the level of trust placed in someone known as “Artist.”

“This way, Artist.”

Following the officer, I entered the building. I won’t detail how I subdued the child or caught the bomb with void-manipulation before handing it to the police bomb squad—they were easily restrained and didn’t even sense the manipulation.

“…Phew! Thank you for your cooperation.”

After the incident was roughly resolved, the field commander removed his helmet and said this to me. I thought to myself, Where have I seen him before?

“Ha ha, familiar face, right? I was part of the Special Investigation Team until earlier this year.”

Special Investigation Team? Ah… This was probably the one I occasionally used to communicate with police before revealing my identity as Artist. No wonder he looked familiar. I didn’t recall formally introducing ourselves, so I didn’t know his name.

“After the Special Investigation Team was disbanded, you were assigned to the SWAT unit?”

I asked, seeing his equipment—geared for counter-terror operations rather than ordinary policing.

“Yes. Those of us from the Special Investigation Team had a history of showing up poorly to our superiors, but at the same time, all of us were highly skilled.”

He spoke as if every member of the former team was now in SWAT… which made sense given their talent.

“Anyway, we’ll wrap up here and move on to another location.”

“Thank you for your efforts.”

Though this hostage situation was resolved, incidents at other locations were still ongoing. Watching the child, who had been restrained and had the bomb taken, I noticed…

“……”

I could see the futility in the child’s eyes. It was natural—they had lost the opportunity to carry out their plan because of me.

‘Wait a second.’

What was this child’s real goal? Weren’t they seeking revenge against the guild master responsible for arriving late to the monster’s appearance, which led to their parents’ death?

“…Strange.”

Elena, who had quietly come to my side, murmured. She seemed to have similar thoughts.

“Strange…”

“Strange.”

…and Ihaeun and Eliot also muttered the same.

Seeing them, I thought,

‘…They probably don’t know why it’s strange; they’re just echoing us because it sounds plausible.’

Elena laughed and asked Ihaeun,

“What do you think is strange, Haeun?”

“Huh? Um… So…?”

Caught—they were just repeating. But after a moment, Ihaeun came to a conclusion.

“Ah! Right! What exactly did that child want? If it was just revenge, detonating the bomb there would have been enough.”

Eliot seemed to realize something too and cautiously said,

“…Right. Judging by how they held such a dangerous bomb, I don’t think they were afraid for their own life.”

It seemed the purpose was just to conduct a hostage situation to buy time…

“……”

“……”

Hearing their words, Elena and I fell silent for a moment. There was much to think about.

‘The mastermind… That is, the person behind this incident made many people, including that child, commit crimes—all on the same day. This is no coincidence.’

Then, did the mastermind brainwash them to control their actions?

No. If that were the case, all the dispatched police, including me, would have noticed immediately.

Or was it, as the police speculated, coercion?

Even if others could be coerced, the child—who had already lost everything, including their family—could not be threatened.

‘But there is a way to manipulate that child.’

Gaslighting. Using that method, the mastermind could influence the child, especially an orphan who had lost all adult guidance.

No, in the first place…

‘If the child lost their parents due to a monster incident—and that was orchestrated by the mastermind?’

It’s possible.

[…Was the guild master late, causing the child to lose their parents?]

[It seems the arrival was indeed delayed, but it wasn’t because the guild master procrastinated. The location where the guild master was and the dungeon where the monster appeared were just too far apart.]

That’s what the officer said earlier. But thinking again, it’s odd. The distance between the guild master and the dungeon? Was there no awakened person closer?

‘…Maybe they deliberately ordered someone far away to respond?’

If this is true… the mastermind behind this incident is someone from the Association.