[48]
The Thorns Order members couldn’t possibly be in their right minds.
Throwing bombs in Orum City and distributing drugs in Northern Light was by no means a safe choice.
‘Unless they’re in a situation where they need to turn both Baekyah and the Esper Alliance against them.’
The fact that these guys, who had been quiet immediately after losing Rosenhauser, were now moving meant they had found a new objective.
With the increased possibility that Thorns Order and the mayor of Babel City had joined hands, they would likely be looking in the same direction.
But what if the mayor, who was doing dirty work just like them, received all the praise alone?
Even as allies, wouldn’t that be irritating?
‘This is why cooperation without trust is dangerous.’
Easy to disrupt from the outside.
Yuri glanced at Anong on the screen.
This tired-looking authority figure was a connection his dog had brought when he had left home.
It was difficult to describe the time Chris was away as “good.”
But having formed a connection with the future leader of Northern Light was certainly fortunate.
“It’s about time Northern Light entered the picture.”
Though Yuri had initiated this, it would be problematic if he had to finish it himself.
Despite it being for the purpose of overthrowing Rosenhauser, Yuri was still a mafioso.
If he were to condemn the mayor of Babel City, it would only be seen as organized crime interfering with public authority.
That’s why the Esper Alliance was needed at this point.
-So you want them to present an award of merit to the mayor, and when the scandal breaks, use it as an excuse to launch an investigation?
“I like how quick you are to understand.”
Yuri confirmed.
Honestly, he didn’t care how it was done.
-I’ll see what I can do.
Anong finally answered.
-Is there any other support you need?
“Not really.”
Yuri shook his head.
-Of course. Since Baekyah’s master is moving personally… If you need additional help, please contact me through Chris anytime.
At those words, Yuri raised the corner of his mouth for the first time.
It was a faint sneer.
“…It’s better for us to keep contact to a minimum.”
Thinking about how Chris had appeared as a Northern Light agent still irritated him.
It was especially annoying how this person called the Alliance Leader was subtly flaunting familiarity.
This was something Yuri would never voice.
-Well.
Anong shrugged.
-I feel the same way. But I don’t think it’s ethical to push someone into a dangerous area and then wash my hands of them, especially when we’re not even close.
“Anong…”
Chris called her name with a slightly touched expression.
“Thank you for your concern. Northern Light must be in quite a state of turmoil right now.”
-It’s fine.
Anong smiled, showing her teeth.
-We’re in the middle of pest control.
***
CRASH!
An elongated tree branch broke through the window.
“Ahh!”
“Did you think you couldn’t be found by hiding?”
Sitting on the branch that entered was a woman.
The intricately intertwined branches forming a chair-like structure returned to their original position when she jumped down.
The Thorns Order members, aware that these plants had been surrounding their building, gasped in shock.
“The-The Alliance Leader! How did you find this place?”
It wasn’t difficult to recognize that the person controlling plant life like animals was the S-class Esper, Anong.
Some had already begun to flee.
But ivy climbing up from the floor wrapped around their ankles and brought them down.
Though someone had started a fire and the leaves began to burn, the vines didn’t release their prey.
“ARGH! ARGH! ARGHHHH!”
Someone screamed, burnt by the fire their comrade had set.
“A-Anong! How could you set a fire!”
“I didn’t start it!”
Northern Light Espers who followed her in suppressed the fire and subdued the Thorns Order members, binding them tightly.
The last person trying to escape by opening the door was terrified to find the handle wouldn’t budge.
Through the small window on the door, the shadow of tree roots spreading like an octopus’s tentacles was visible.
“Everyone should know I can use plants that are already rooted.”
Anong clicked her tongue.
“I don’t know what gave them the confidence to escalate matters this much in the Summer Continent.”
Everything around was her army.
No matter how far they ran, she could always find them by attaching something like dandelion seeds or devil’s needles.
‘I wasn’t always this capable.’
Inspired in many ways by watching Chris, she had developed her abilities and gained techniques she didn’t have before.
Besides, when she didn’t feel like playing the role of Alliance Leader, there was nothing more fun than messing around with plants using her ability.
“I don’t understand why they act so stupidly.”
Anong smiled eerily.
Her eyes were completely green.
As if she had become part of the vegetation she controlled.
“How dare you round people up like insects! I’m shocked that the mighty Northern Light executes its operations this way!”
A Thorns Order member who hadn’t lost his spirit shouted.
Anong’s gaze turned to him.
“That’s a good one. You should have been born an insect instead.”
Anong looked down at him with a complicated expression.
“There are so many beneficial insects. Yet you were born human.”
He had seen many looks of contempt before, but this kind of pitying gaze was uniquely baffling.
“No, Anong. Lady Anong!”
A man cornered and surrounded by plants cried out.
“Please, spare me. I-I don’t want to die…!”
Anong threw a sharp glance at him.
To be honest, it was largely because of him that she found this hideout.
He had framed his dead roommate for drug distribution before disappearing.
It was fortunate she had stuck a devil’s needle on him when she found it strange that he claimed to have shared a room yet knew nothing.
By tracking this Esper’s movements, Anong found the Thorns Order branch hidden in the Summer Continent.
“Why would someone claiming to be from Northern Light join hands with Thorns Order?”
Though she knew it was a meaningless question, she couldn’t help but ask.
She wanted to understand.
“I-I just thought if I belonged to Northern Light, I could receive guiding freely!”
The terrified Esper gasped.
“But that wasn’t the case! Now you want to put leashes on us as if we’re wild beasts! ‘You can’t meet a Guide too late at night. You can’t meet them if they don’t want to. You can’t meet them because you already met days ago!'”
Even considering his unstable state, his rambling was difficult to understand.
“When I say I need guiding, huh? What if I go on a rampage!”
The Esper’s face was wet with tears.
“I just. Wanted to feel safe. Wanted to feel alive. Is it wrong to use guiding drugs because you prevent us from meeting Guides? It’s not like I broke into the Guide building¹)!”
Northern Light is a group of Espers gathered under the banner of serving humanity.
Even before Rosenhauser’s scandal broke, Anong had strived to move in the right direction. She believed others thought the same.
But when it came down to it, she found many Espers had gathered simply to exploit Guides more conveniently.
The Esper before her was no different.
That’s why he had been led around by someone like Rosenhauser, with the reins handed over.
“Why don’t we, who serve humanity, have someone who serves just us? Why must we live for others? When no one lives for me!”
“How foolish.”
Anong bit her lip.
“When you don’t even care for yourself. Why do you expect others to take care of you?”
A vine slowly extended, grabbed the Esper’s face, and lifted him.
His tear-stained face contorted.
“There’s no end to that kind of reasoning. If Guides exist to support Espers who serve humanity. Then who should support the Guides, and how?”
“…”
“You breathe air purified by plants! Have you ever watered a tree you passed by? Given it sunlight?”
Anong growled.
“Quit making absurd excuses. Throwing tantrums because your need for compensation isn’t met is something you should have outgrown before adolescence.”
As she stepped back, the man who had crumpled pathetically was forced upright.
“If you pick up trash while walking, it’s because you’re a good person. Not because someone pins a medal on that precious chest of yours. And when you help someone on the street, you might not even receive thanks.”
Despite Anong’s words, there was no sign of the Esper’s eyes wavering.
But he didn’t dare meet her gaze.
“You feel wronged for being born a gifted Esper, serving others like a dog, and receiving nothing in return? Then why are you being dragged around by Thorns Order with a leash around your neck, addicted to drugs that only poison you?”
Rosenhauser and his subordinates treated humans as public resources just because they were Guides.
To them, Espers were just slightly more useful livestock.
Why couldn’t he see that?
“Realize this contradiction as soon as possible. Before it truly becomes irreversible.”
Anong took a step back.
Normally, her colleagues would have teased, “Ooh, the Leader’s giving a speech!” or “Wow, the position really makes the person.” But they remained silent.
Turning to check, she saw them standing at attention, hands behind their backs.
For a moment, Anong swallowed the emotions threatening to well up.
Through relentless work, she had driven out Rosenhauser’s remnants and done her best to purify Northern Light.
Though she felt much disillusionment with humanity, it made her appreciate others’ goodwill more clearly.
Anong composed her expression and smiled brightly.
“Let’s go back.”
¹) A residential building exclusively for Guides within the Northern Light headquarters.
