50
Eunjeong opened the door to the children’s quarters.
“Hello, kids~”
Eunjeong greeted them in a bright voice. The children glanced at her from where they were lying or sitting. Sometimes they would nod or return the greeting, and sometimes they wouldn’t.
The children showed little reaction to Eunjeong’s greeting and instead looked at the child Seoyeon was holding.
“…You’re here?”
Seoyeon greeted them in a quiet, gentle voice. Not good? Eunjeong mouthed. Seoyeon smiled, wrinkling her nose slightly. It meant things weren’t good.
After arriving at the Center, the children, like all espers, had chips implanted in their wrists that could monitor their guiding levels. This made it easier to determine when they needed guiding.
The children who had endured abnormal conditions for a long time seemed to have strained their bodies, as their readings were somewhat unstable.
Eunjeong looked at the darkness seeping from the body of the child in Seoyeon’s arms.
That child’s grade was C. It was an unusual ability that could enlarge darkness, form zones to temporarily block an enemy’s vision, or create a different spacetime, but the grade wasn’t high.
Moreover, the child didn’t know how to control their ability, so they kept using it unconsciously. When darkness leaked out like that, the guiding level would drop sharply. That’s why Seoyeon had to keep infusing guiding while holding the child. It was like pouring water into a bottomless pot.
Eunjeong was worried about the children, but she was also concerned about Seoyeon. Eunjeong was an A-class guide with good skills and capabilities, but it seemed like she was constantly pushing herself too hard.
The two stayed in the children’s room until all the children’s guiding stabilized and they fell asleep. There was a button by each child’s bedside that could sound an alarm in case of emergency. After checking that the buttons and alarms were working properly, the two finally left the room.
“I’ll sleep in here tonight.”
Seoyeon said. She was smiling, but she looked too tired.
“Will you be alright?”
“Yeah, you go back. If you stay inside too, I’ll feel more drained.”
Eunjeong couldn’t say anything in response to Seoyeon’s words and just nodded. Seoyeon said she would accompany Eunjeong to get some fresh air and headed to the first floor.
“Seoyeon.”
Eunjeong called out to Seoyeon. After hesitating for a moment, Eunjeong asked the question she had been holding onto.
“…Aren’t you anxious?”
“Hm? About what?”
“The children. Their levels are so unstable. They’re still young, so they can’t control their abilities. There’s also the risk of them going berserk.”
I shouldn’t have said that. Eunjeong clenched her fists. She felt like Seoyeon would figure out that she wanted to test her, using the children as an excuse.
While caring for the children with Seoyeon, Eunjeong had been constantly plagued by her past. So she sometimes suffered from the delusion that Seoyeon might become afraid of her at some point—a ‘monster’ as they called it.
But she couldn’t ask Seoyeon to stop caring for the children just because it might be dangerous.
“…Well, I think I can prevent it.”
“…Huh?”
“Going berserk, I mean. I think I can prevent it if I manage them well.”
Seoyeon’s face as she said this was both kind and firm.
“…I see.”
Seoyeon is really a warm and strong person. Eunjeong thought. At the same time, Seoyeon’s words settled at the edge of her mind.
The words ‘manage’ and ‘prevent.’ Those were the words of a guide. Sometimes Eunjeong thought that Seoyeon felt very much like a ‘guide.’
Seoyeon was an incomparable friend, but in the face of berserk incidents, they would be placed in completely different positions. For Eunjeong, it was a risk where precious people or she herself might die, a sad event, while for Seoyeon, it was something to be prevented and handled.
In the end, their goal was the same, but having grown up witnessing the differences in perspective between guides and espers during the process, Eunjeong felt a bit hurt. And she felt sorry again for Seoyeon who had chosen her.
“…Thank you.”
Eunjeong expressed her gratitude. As always, Seoyeon saw Eunjeong off with a kind smile.
***
Minjae turned around at the conference room door and looked at Jihwan.
“Is this right…”
“Pardon?”
Troubled. Minjae muttered as he looked at Jihwan. Jihwan looked at Minjae with a puzzled expression. Minjae was on his way to meet the woman he had rescued under the pretext of apprehension during the protest.
On the day of the protest, while Minjae was briefly away, the woman had disappeared from the tent. Minjae thought he had only revealed that he was pursuing The Crow.
However, that evening, the woman came to the Center holding a limp child. Overcome with anxiety, the woman said she had gone to the medical center where her child was and found her son abandoned alone.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too late, and they were both safely rescued. However, the child became part of the Center’s facilities.
The woman quietly watched as Minjae treated the injured child, then said she would do whatever she could, so he should tell her if he needed anything. Minjae told her to visit frequently until the child adjusted and arranged accommodation near the Center for her.
And now, Jihwan, who had watched all of this from the side, insisted that he should also greet the child’s mother.
“Anyway, since you were also part of the stakeout and all that, you can come in with me…”
“Yes!”
“But don’t say anything. That’s a real order.”
“Yes!”
“And you must never divulge what happens in here. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Jihwan nodded enthusiastically. Sighing, Minjae opened the door and went inside.
Hello. The woman stood up at Minjae’s polite greeting, returned the greeting, and sat down. Jihwan greeted her with a smile and sat down next to Minjae.
Minjae took out the recorder he had brought and placed it on the table.
“Where did you live, ma’am?”
“In xx-dong.”
The place the woman mentioned was far from where Minjae had been staking out.
“Then where was the place you went for religious activities?”
“In xxx-dong.”
That place wasn’t where Minjae had gone either. This confirmed it. The Crow has branches in various locations.
“…It’s not just a religious organization.”
The woman began her story. She said that at first, they lured people into religious activities by saying that psychological counseling for children would improve their condition. Then they would connect them to a trustworthy medical center sponsored by their believers.
Parents, filled with hope that their children could be cured, would continue to engage in religious activities with their children.
At the medical center, they prescribed strange medicine and provided outpatient psychological therapy for a while, during which the children seemed to show signs of improvement in their symptoms.
They must be secretly prescribing guiding medication. Minjae thought.
The woman said that after that, they said they would run some tests on her child, but then his condition became serious, and she was forced to hospitalize him. What followed was a predictable sequence.
“I-I don’t think it’s just one place. I once peeked at the chart the so-called doctor was holding, and there were four different zones.”
The woman racked her memory and told everything she could recall. Four places. That was useful information.
“Can you tell me where the medical center is located?”
“Yes, the last time I went, the doctor there said something about the contract period ending and they would be relocating… but I can tell you!”
Minjae noted down the information the woman provided.
“…May I use what you’ve just told me as victim testimony in the future?”
“Yes, I consent.”
After the recording was done and while Minjae was checking if it had recorded properly, the woman, who had been staring at him, spoke up.
“Sir, may I ask you something?”
“Yes? Yes, you may ask.”
The woman hesitated for a moment. It seemed like she was choosing her question.
“The Center… the educational environment, that is… is it good… no.”
The woman took a moment to gather herself.
“Is the food good?”
Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes. It was a question filled with too many meanings. Minjae couldn’t find the words to answer for a moment.
“Yes, of course. The food here is really delicious.”
Jihwan answered with a smile.
“…Really?”
The woman smiled, looking somewhat relieved.
“Yes. Please visit often, mother. If we meet while you’re coming and going, please say hello to me too.”
Jihwan spoke with the friendly tone of a teacher in charge of children.
“…Thank you.”
The woman wiped her tears while smiling.
***
It had been a week since the children were rescued. Minjae was thinking that there hadn’t been any significant reaction. And as if to mock that thought, news bulletins began to pour in.
[A missing person report has been filed for a man believed to be the leader of the pseudo-religious group The Crow. This man’s alias is ‘Crow,’ and he claimed to be the incarnation of the crow that delivers God’s message. The photo submitted with the missing person report matches the face in the photos distributed for previous religious activities.]
[The police said that the person who filed the report claimed to be a believer. The believer who filed the report requested an investigation, claiming that the Hero Center attempted to assassinate their leader, who is a good believer and subject of the divine.]
[The prosecution stated that they will conduct an investigation based on the reporter’s statement, but will not follow just one side’s position, keeping in mind the possibility of the leader’s escape.]
[Breaking news. People claiming to execute the prophecies of the religious group The Crow have come out to the streets and occupied the roads. Cars on the main roads are congested, and citizens in vehicles are also being threatened.]
Missing? Minjae stared at the man in the news screen.
I thought they would come back with threats or terrorism in a different way, but they’re running away. This will make it difficult to identify their true nature and to rescue other children whose whereabouts are still unknown.
Let’s go to the lobby. At Minjae’s words, Jihwan extended his arms.
Sirens announcing an emergency spread through the Center’s corridor. Espers with quick mobilization who were prioritized for rescue operations flooded into the corridors and lobby.
Landing in the lobby with Jihwan, Minjae checked the watch on his wrist and spoke.
“Emergency situation. The cult leader is presumed to be on the run. Believers are causing a disturbance on the streets, and traffic conditions are poor. Teams 2 through 5 will move to the locations I’ve sent. Team 6 will stay behind, prioritizing the safety of civilians within the Center.”
“Yes!”
“Team 1 will come with me separately. That’s all.”
The espers orderly left the lobby and took their positions by team. Starting with Team 2, they checked their positions in order, then took off with the flight espers assigned to each team.
After confirming that all teams had departed, Minjae addressed Team 1, who were looking at him.
“Our priority is to capture that leader alive. Move separately to the positions I’ve sent, but be alert so you can converge immediately when I contact you.”
“Yes.”
Eunjeong and Hoyoung flew up. Minjae also flew up with Jihwan.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
