TRPM 69

chapter 69

The reason I discovered the Oracle… or more precisely, the reason I was monitoring Incheon International Airport, wasn’t anything special.

Lately, a lot of people had been entering Korea.

And if many people are coming into Korea, it’s just as likely that some of them might carry dangerous or subversive intentions.

“So, I was monitoring the airport just in case…”

For reference, illegal entry usually happens by sea or land. But sending a ship is risky—the sea is covered in black fog—and overland routes are basically blocked by North Korea. For that reason, entering Korea illegally is quite difficult.

Other island nations like Japan or the UK face similar difficulties for the same reason, but let’s set that aside for now…

“Anyway, it’s unlikely terrorists would boldly enter Korea through the airport.”

Due to Korea’s geography, illegal entry is hard, so anyone coming in would have to go through official immigration procedures. And of course, it’s not easy for terrorists to enter officially, so I thought the probability was low.

“I never imagined that terrorists would actually appear at the airport… or that among them, the Oracle would be there.”

In truth, noticing them was largely coincidental.

They really looked like ordinary tourists at first glance. It was only because the Oracle was among them—and due to the distortion of space-time around her—that I noticed their presence.

By observing the people drawn around that distortion, even using the utmost concentration, I could detect hidden traces of magic or cursed artifacts.

“I don’t know why the Oracle came to Korea personally, but if she hadn’t, I probably would’ve just let it go.”

Of course, there was a chance that they weren’t the Oracle and her subordinates but merely innocent space-time users and their friends… yet the fact that they hid magical traces and artifacts strongly suggested subversive intentions, so I decided to keep watch.

“Are they entering under the pretense of traveling as a group?”

I thought that as I watched the terrorists pass through immigration.

Whether they were using proper passports or sophisticated forgeries, the immigration officers didn’t seem to notice anything unusual—the process wasn’t long.

(“Everyone through?”)
(“Yes, now let’s go to the reserved hotel and unpack.”)

They talked among themselves like ordinary tourists and headed to their hotel. Once they arrived…

(“Go.”)
(“Yes.”)

They slipped out of the hotel and began dispersing individually. Unlike at the airport, they were disguising themselves properly.

“…Tch, it’s going to be difficult if they scatter like this.”

Even seeing them in disguise, it was hard for me to be certain about their appearances. They had unremarkable faces, meaning if I lost sight of them, it could take time to track them again.

Especially those I had already missed—they began blending into crowds, making them almost impossible to identify all at once. Spotting them among countless people on the streets would be extremely difficult. Tracking them all individually? Practically impossible.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be easy.”

I considered ambushing them at the hotel, but even I wasn’t confident I could quietly take them out. They likely had defenses I didn’t know of, and if they escaped while I tried to breach those defenses, I wouldn’t be able to track them. That would just alert them that someone was targeting them. So I abandoned the idea of an attack.

“But that’s fine. Even this alone is a sufficient yield.”

Even just confirming the Oracle’s face was enough.

It might not have been her true face, but I remembered the aura she carried. Even if she appears with a different face next time, I would recognize her instantly. And… tracking where each of them went individually should be possible.

Satisfied with that, I retrieved my doll. My doll wasn’t just for surveillance—it was also for my work as an artist.

For now, there’s a special investigation team assigned to track the wanted artist.

Calling it a “special investigation team” is almost a misnomer. Tracking the artist directly is practically impossible, so the team monitors the Chulhyeol Guild, which seems connected to the artist, and studies patterns among criminals the artist has dealt with… yet they achieve almost nothing.

It’s also a place where sidelined police officers gather.

Of course. Even if the artist is officially wanted, he’s largely seen as a hero, so naturally, the special investigation team is viewed unfavorably.

“Ugh, damn it…”
“I shouldn’t even be here…”

The officers in the special investigation team sighed collectively.

This isn’t about them being victims of internal political strife. Corrupt officers, especially those who feared the artist, have all fled overseas. Those relegated to the special investigation team did so because they literally caused problems—they were sidelined as punishment.

“No, a criminal could die during an apprehension… sure, it’s my fault…”
“There were civilian casualties… but who could’ve expected civilians in a restricted area…”

Of course, these incidents weren’t intentional. If they had intentionally killed criminals or harmed civilians, the consequences would’ve been far worse than relegation. The higher-ups understood their circumstances, but still had to issue a formal punishment. A period of reflection.

The work of this sidelined special investigation team is simple: gather information on artist-related incidents and organize it each morning.

“Anyone have a report?”
“Yes, last night, an individual believed to be the artist destroyed a criminal organization and summoned the local precinct officers.”
“Destroyed? Say it more politely.”
“Well, we’re among ourselves. Anyway, the precinct judged it too big to handle alone and reported to the police station immediately. As usual, the evidence was sent to us. That’s all.”

The officer handing over the report passed the evidence with photos to everyone. Another officer looked at the list of those caught this time and asked:

“Who are these people?”
“Not exactly sure, but the field reports suggest human trafficking and monster trafficking.”
“Again?”
“Yes, again.”
“Wow… how many people here are involved in kidnappings on this small piece of land…?”

Other officers nodded in agreement. Lately, the artist has caught many involved in human or monster trafficking. The artist seems to have tracked trafficking routes to eliminate those involved.

“On the other hand, doesn’t this mean our police had no clue such trafficking was happening?”
“Even more ridiculous—many of the kidnapped were awakened individuals, some presumed dead in dungeons.”
“And even with the artist openly in Korea, these people trafficked others brazenly.”

The special investigation team’s expressions darkened. Their meeting records would later be reported up the chain, prompting the upper police to form a trafficking investigation team…

“…This won’t work.”
“What do you mean?”
“…Even if our police form a trafficking team, I doubt trafficking will decrease.”

They hadn’t even realized the scale of the trafficking…

“…We need to contact the artist.”

The team’s expressions stiffened at this.

Soon…

“Are you insane?”
“Sure, the artist has noticed trafficking and eliminated criminals before us, so we might gain information if we meet him… but…”
“We’re supposedly here to arrest him, and yet, how would he agree to meet us?”

The team split in opinion: a minority thought meeting could be beneficial; the majority thought it impossible.

The reason:

“We’ve studied the artist for a long time. He’s not entirely virtuous.”

While the artist only targets criminals, his methods are harsh. Minor criminals might simply be subdued, but otherwise, many end up dead.

“Especially in the White Wolf Guild incident…”

Though the public believed the White Wolf Guild joined the Chulhyeol Guild under their leader Kim Baekrang’s internal restructuring, the police knew the truth: the artist retaliated against the White Wolf Guild, which had spies in Chulhyeol Guild, and top members became incapacitated. The guild survived only by subordinating to Chulhyeol.

“While he didn’t kill them, retaliating against anyone meddling with his operations… this suggests he could retaliate against us, so caution is necessary.”

Some team members who initially thought contacting the artist was a good idea hesitated. The team leader addressed them:

“You guys.”

All eyes turned to him.

“Scared?”

Some laughed nervously, some sighed, some glared in anger.

“Such provocation deserves a response.”
“Ah, I’ll have to write a report.”
“Using a cheat for this? Fine. Let’s do it!”

And so, the special investigation team decided to contact the artist to obtain information on human trafficking.

“…But how do we contact the artist? We don’t even know where he lives.”
“…Ah.”

And there they hit an impasse.