Chapter 3

Did you sleep well?

“While I was gone, this industry turned into a den of thugs too.”

The chief’s lips twitched, but his gaze stopped on the sword floating beside Baek Seorin.

“Why? Why don’t you try what you did earlier? Like you did to the transporter.”

“Ah... Th-That...”

The chief’s face grew paler by the second.

When Baek Seorin lightly waved her hand, the sword slowly moved toward him.

One step.

The chief backed away by the same amount.

Another step.

“W-Wait...”

As the chief retreated, he stepped on a stone lying on the ground.

“Uh, uhh—!”

Flailing his arms, the chief fell flat on his backside.

It was an unsightly display with no dignity whatsoever.

The sword slowly descended, then changed direction right in front of the chief’s eyes.

“S-Save—”

Just as the sword was about to hover right in front of the chief’s neck.

“We’ve contacted Association headquarters. We’ll escort both of you inside first.”

“... Lucky you. I’m fine, so treat this transporter first. Looks like he hurt his side.”

As Baek Seorin looked at the Association employee and pointed at me, a rescue worker who had been standing nearby immediately approached.

Her expression was so calm it was hard to believe she had just been holding a sword to someone’s neck.

She no longer seemed to care about the chief at all.

“Wait a moment.”

I stopped the rescue worker approaching with a stretcher. I first unclipped the temporary entry pass hanging from my waist and held it out to the Association employee.

“Yoon Jaemin. I entered today as support personnel. Please register this first.”

“... Is that important right now?”

“It is. There needs to be a record of what role I entered under.”

They had tried to declare me dead, and when I came back alive and well, they tried to accuse me of unauthorized separation.

With Baek Seorin standing beside me right now. I needed to make sure the records were clear first.

After handing over the entry pass, I also untied the sack of magic stones hanging at my side.

When I set it on the ground, hard objects clattered against one another inside.

“I brought these back too.”

The Association employee accepted the sack.

“We’ll check it later.”

“Check it now.”

At Baek Seorin’s words, the employee immediately bowed his head.

“Understood.”

He carried the sack and ran into the tent.

A little while later, the employee came back out and spoke.

“Confirmed. There are no issues.”

“Good. You recorded it properly too, right?”

“Yes. Transporter Yoon Jaemin. It has been fully recorded in the system as well.”

“Good.”

Baek Seorin nodded in satisfaction, and the rescue worker who had been watching cautiously from the side approached.

“You need to receive treatment now. Are you able to walk?”

“Yes.”

My side throbbed, but it wasn’t bad enough that I couldn’t walk.

Inside the tent was a makeshift treatment area divided by white partitions.

While the rescue worker pulled aside my torn work clothes and cleaned the wound on my side, people continued moving back and forth outside.

My stomach flinched every time the disinfectant touched me.

“It isn’t deep, but the abrasion covers a wide area. You also have bruising around your ribs. You’ll need to go to a hospital.”

“Will the expenses be filed as an accident?”

The rescue worker paused for a moment.

“The Association investigator who’ll be arriving shortly will determine that.”

It felt like the bill afterward might hurt more than the treatment.

But since there was no way to know right now. I just said I understood.

As the last bandage was being wrapped around me. An Association investigator wearing a gray vest arrived.

He sent the chief outside the partition and first requested the site access records.

Next, he placed a machine for verifying Awakened people on the portable table.

When Baek Seorin placed her palm on it, red light spread beneath the glass panel, and beside an old identification photo appeared her name and a notice that her mana waveform matched.

The upper right corner of the screen also displayed today’s date.

Her eyes stopped there.

“This date. Is it correct?”

The investigator lowered his voice.

“Yes. Hunter Baek Seorin. Seven years have passed since your last record.”

Baek Seorin’s fingers pressed against the edge of the terminal.

The thin plastic panel creaked.

She looked at the screen once more, then removed her hand.

“Is that it?”

“Yes. Additional examinations will be conducted at the hospital.”

“Hmm. Are you going to question that transporter too?”

“Yes. If that would make you uncomfortable, we can question him separately later.”

“No. Just do it. He’s injured right now, so don’t push him too hard.”

“... Understood.”

The investigator pulled over a folding chair and sat beside the cot.

I stated that I had been carrying supplies at the very rear of the main force when I heard the evacuation order, and that while heading back out, I had been blocked by the collapsed passage.

After confirming the location twice, the investigator moved on to the radio communications.

“Before I ask my questions, may I first confirm the facts?”

“Yes. I received a radio call asking for confirmation that I was alive and tried to answer, but the chief cut off communications at that moment.”

“Did you hear why?”

“He said there was no point checking on someone who was probably dead anyway because it was bad luck.”

He probably just died in there.

Hurry up and write the report so we can go home.

I repeated only the exact sentences I had heard.

I did not add that it had been deliberate.

Perhaps he had overheard, because the chief’s voice came from outside.

“That is a one-sided claim. Do you have any idea how urgent the situation was?”

“Mr. Yoon Jaemin is giving his statement right now. We’ll call you again later, so please remain quiet for now.”

A little while later, the gate records and audio files submitted by the company appeared on the screen.

Eleven entered. Ten returned.

When the time at which it was reported that one person remained inside the gate was matched against the radio log, only that section was cut off midway through.

[Everyone has exited.]

After a burst of static, the withdrawal report immediately followed.

[—Confirmation complete. We’ll prepare to withdraw.]

The investigator replayed it once more to verify, but the result was the same.

“Is there an original file other than this?”

“That is the original. As you know, the interior of a gate is unstable. Even radios powered by magic stones can cut out in the middle.”

The chief answered from outside the partition.

“Then how were you certain that Mr. Yoon Jaemin was dead? There was a possibility that communication had failed because the signal cut out. Aren’t there Association regulations specifying a minimum number of communication attempts precisely for cases like this?”

A brief silence followed.

“Given the circumstances at the time, we determined that there would be no further response.”

“So you’re saying you also skipped the communication procedures stated in the regulations?”

The investigator’s hand stopped.

Beyond the partition, only the quiet sound of the chief swallowing could be heard.

It was still impossible to know whether someone had tampered with the file or whether it had been lost because of an impact to the equipment.

But now that the chief had already said this much, the company could no longer avoid responsibility.

“No matter how I look at it, I can only conclude that the company’s response was inadequate.”

“Th-That’s...”

“We’ll register this incident as company negligence. The company will be required to cover not only the medical expenses but also compensation for damages.”

“N-No— Eek?!”

The moment the chief tried to object, the shadow of Baek Seorin’s sword pressing against the back of his neck was clearly visible through the partition.

Pretending not to notice, the investigator held out another document.

“This is the accident confirmation form the company prepared in advance.”

At the bottom of the page were my name and a signature line.

The wording written above them caught my eye.

‘Unauthorized separation and loss of issued equipment.’

Looking through the clauses, it said that all equipment and supply losses incurred during this gate operation would be made my responsibility.

“I can’t sign this.”

“Of course not. The Association will personally verify the items actually returned and review them separately from the accident investigation. We’ll issue recommendations afterward as well.”

The investigator drew a thick line across the accident confirmation form.

“This document has no validity.”

Only after hearing that did some of the tension leave my shoulders.

“Then what about today’s pay?”

The investigator’s pen stopped.

“...Your pay?”

“I did enter the gate.”

It might have seemed strange to ask about my daily pay first when I had returned alive after being presumed dead and was even about to receive compensation.

Still, money was a separate matter.

“There is a work record, so you are entitled to payment. We’ll process it separately from the compensation.”

“Please record that too.”

The investigator added another item to the registration screen.

At that moment, the chief spoke again from outside the partition.

“Wait a minute. Company negligence? Are you doing this just based on what that man said?”

The investigator sighed and stood up.

“The site supervisor will be removed from duty until the investigation is complete. The Association will also confiscate the issued equipment and radio records.”

“Under what authority—”

“We’re following the regulations. The same regulations you skipped earlier.”

Instead of an answer, the shadow of a sword moved once across the partition.

As the investigator sat back down, he turned toward Baek Seorin.

“I apologize for changing what I said earlier, but I need to confirm a few things with you as well, Hunter Baek Seorin. Where did you first meet Mr. Yoon Jaemin?”

“Deeper inside than the collapse point. I was holding an iron door shut, and that transporter found me by himself.”

“What was Mr. Yoon Jaemin’s condition at the time?”

“His side was injured. His complexion didn’t look very good either.”

Baek Seorin glanced at me once.

“And he was terrible at running.”

... I don’t think that needed to be in the statement.

I didn’t say it out loud.

Because the person in question was none other than Baek Seorin.

“Is it correct that Hunter Baek Seorin carried Mr. Yoon Jaemin when you returned?”

“From halfway.”

“Then should we record Hunter Baek Seorin as the rescuer?”

“No.”

Baek Seorin pointed a finger at me as she spoke.

“I’m not the one who saved him. That transporter brought me out.”

The moment the investigator nodded and entered my name in the rescuer field, blue text appeared before my eyes.

[Safe Transfer of Rescue Target Confirmed.]

[Rescue Mission Complete]

[Rescue Target: Baek Seorin]

The window had remained silent even when we passed through the return portal.

But when my name was officially registered as the rescuer, it finally reacted.

[Acquiring Ability Fragment.]

[Original Ability: Sword Control]

[Compatibility Conversion: Remote Pull]

Remote Pull.

I read the words floating before my eyes.

[Ability Fragment - Baek Seorin: Remote Pull (F)]

[You can pull one inanimate object within your field of vision toward you.]

The original Sword Control was an ability that allowed her to freely manipulate multiple swords, and now, as a degraded version of it, I could pull distant objects toward me.

For someone who had been a porter, this actually seemed far more useful.

Of course, that didn’t mean I planned to keep working as a porter.

I had Awakened now, after all.

“That concludes everything. Now we just need your signature here.”

On the screen the investigator held out, it read: Two surviving returnees. Rescuer: Yoon Jaemin.

I checked the contents and signed.

“Welcome back. Hunter Baek Seorin. Mr. Yoon Jaemin.”

After the investigation ended, Baek Seorin was called to the neighboring tent for additional examinations.

I remained alone in the treatment area while waiting to be transported to the hospital.

“Hmm...”

The notification window had disappeared, but a strange sensation remained at the fingertips of my right hand.

Looking at the ballpoint pen lying at the edge of the folding table, I reached out my hand.

When I thought about pulling it toward me, I felt weight catch on my fingertips.

It felt similar to pulling on a rope tied around a load.

The ballpoint pen rolled across the table.

“Oh.”

When I applied a little more force, the pen went over the edge of the table and floated into the air.

It couldn’t come straight toward me and wobbled from side to side.

Even so, it slowly approached my hand.

Just before it touched my fingers, my temple throbbed.

My hand trembled and the force cut out, making the pen fall to the floor with a click.

I thought about trying one more time, but my fingertips kept trembling.

If using it on just one object this small did this to me, maybe using it repeatedly was impossible.

At that moment, the partition opened and another employee entered.

“Mr. Yoon Jaemin. We’ll transport you to the hospital now.”

I put my backpack on again and went outside the tent.

In front of the ambulance, Baek Seorin was standing with Association employees while wrapped in a thermal blanket.

I was about to walk past when I remembered the pendant in my backpack pocket.

“Hunter Baek Seorin.”

When she turned around, I took out the pendant with the red necklace cord and held it out.

“This. You should have it.”

As soon as Baek Seorin took the pendant, she opened the cover.

Her red eyes stopped on the faded photograph.

“Did you see what was inside?”

A chill instantly ran down my spine.

The way her red eyes looked at me overlapped with how she had pressured the chief earlier.

“... I didn’t look.”

Even after I answered, Baek Seorin stared at me for a while.

I needlessly avoided her gaze and added.

“It’s precious to you, isn’t it?”

“...”

Baek Seorin ran her thumb once along the edge of the pendant and closed the cover.

“...Thank you.”

Just as I was wondering how I was supposed to respond.

“Mr. Yoon Jaemin!”

An employee happened to call me again.

“I-I’ll be going, Hunter Baek Seorin. Thank you!”

I quickly bowed my head and headed toward the ambulance.

By the time the hospital had disinfected my wounds again and finished the X-rays and detailed examinations, it was well past midnight.

As soon as I got home, I collapsed onto the bed without even properly taking off my clothes.

It had been an eventful day in many ways.

I had met an S-rank Hunter who had disappeared seven years ago inside a collapsed gate, escaped the gate alive, and even gained an ability I hadn’t had before.

That was enough.

I had never planned on living some grand life in the first place.

Now I had an ability too.

From now on, if possible, I wanted to live quietly and for a long time.

My goal was to make a decent living without getting hurt.

More than anything, I had no intention of getting any further involved with Baek Seorin.

She was the youngest S-rank Hunter, returning after seven years.

It was obvious that all kinds of attention would be focused on her for quite some time, and if I unnecessarily stayed around someone like that, there was a high chance I would get dragged into all sorts of troublesome matters too.

I had returned the pendant, and the paperwork was finished.

So this was the end.

“Yoon Jaemin. It’s all smooth sailing from here.”

I reassured myself and closed my eyes.

And the next morning.

Bzzzt—.

My phone began to vibrate.

It wasn’t until it buzzed several times that I opened my eyes.

An unfamiliar number was displayed on the screen.

“Hello...”

I answered the phone in a hoarse voice.

Then a familiar voice came through the receiver.

“Did you sleep well?”

It was Baek Seorin.

My sleepiness vanished in an instant.

“H-Hello—!!”

“Transporter. You’re lively this early in the morning.”

... How did she get my number?