WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 39: Bombs Aren't Art
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* * *
“...You worked hard. No one got hurt, right?”
Haeryeon comforted the returning team members.
She had expected something to happen with a festival underway, but the situation had been more serious than anticipated.
To choose that place to test a new weapon.
‘Was I too complacent...?’
Whenever word spread that a major figure like the Poison King had been caught, the crime rate in that area plummeted, if only temporarily.
It had always been that way.
Villains bowed to the strong and trampled the weak.
‘...A new major player has appeared.’
A Villain significant enough to stand alongside the Poison King.
‘And Hyeonyul happened to be there.’
How startled must Hyeonyul have been?
He had gone out to have fun, only to get caught up in an incident like that.
They had called him catnip for Villains, but she had not expected this much.
Haeryeon steadied her throbbing head.
“No one was hurt. We’re just tired.”
Sinu answered.
His face was filled with exhaustion, just as he said.
“That makes sense. You were hounded by new weapons, Villains, and even people all day long.”
“Team Leader, we got filmed a lot today. Will that be okay?”
Jihwan asked.
Black Eagle rarely appeared before the public as it had today.
Considering the scale of the festival, they had made a public appearance on this mission to deter Villains.
Even though they had kept things under control, plenty of people had pointed their phones at them.
Why would there not be people using powers to film them secretly?
It had even taken a great deal of Shura magic to stop them, leaving the team even more exhausted.
Jihwan understood that they found Black Eagle fascinating, but did they really have to interfere with them like that?
He could not understand it.
“We’ve naturally clamped down on the press, and no one will be talking about today on social media or personal broadcasts. Also, you know you need to stop by the Magic Engineering Lab to change the magic in your smartwatches, right?”
The magic that reduced recognition made them appear different from their real selves.
Even if they had been filmed, all they had to do was change their appearance.
“I know.”
Haeryeon smiled at Jihwan’s answer.
“Don’t worry, Jihwan. People who refused our recommendation to delete their videos and photos because of their view counts, people spreading all kinds of rumors, and so on... they’ll all be sued. Don’t forget that we’re protected by Imperial law.”
“It’s just been so long since something like this happened. I was worried they might start saying stupid things again. I get really angry when our team members get hurt.”
Jihwan openly frowned.
Black Eagle was famous, and it received plenty of criticism as well.
In fact, many Black Eagle agents had taken their own lives after enduring countless malicious attacks.
That was why separate laws had been created to protect Black Eagle.
“What... That’s why you looked upset the whole way back? You should’ve said so earlier. I don’t know about anything else, but I’ve been insulted plenty, so I’m fine. Villains have even threatened me in every way imaginable.”
Nayun looked at Jihwan warmly.
She had been specially recruited after reporting more Villains than anyone else.
She was not the type to blink at most things.
“Right. We don’t die from getting insulted once or twice. With such a dependable Team Leader here, what is there to worry about?”
Sinu lightly patted Jihwan’s back.
Jihwan was the most vulnerable when it came to things like this.
He truly loved Black Eagle.
The more you loved something, the more it hurt.
“I’m fine with this much too. I’m glad everyone else is okay, but... something is bothering me.”
After saying that, Jihwan looked over at his team members.
“I think everyone feels the same way I do.”
The corners of Jihwan’s eyes slowly rose.
“...We do feel the same. Those pieces of trash. The second Hyeonyul went out to have fun, they found him like ghosts. I... made someone who was having fun work.”
Sinu despaired as he spoke.
“Right. That’s the problem.”
Haeryeon sighed.
Sinu had told her about Hyeonyul’s involvement.
By the time she heard, Hyeonyul had already stepped in. As absurd as it was, she had to respect what had happened at the scene.
“I’m going to cancel Hyeonyul’s vacation and record it as a workday instead. Everyone is fine with that, right?”
Haeryeon looked at the team.
She did not know how angry Hyeonyul might be by now, but she wanted to make it up to him somehow.
“Of course.”
The answers that followed Nayun’s were the same.
He had handled the most important task. What else could it be but work?
“Good. I’ll tell Hyeonyul myself. Then only Sinu stays. The rest of you can go home.”
Haeryeon spoke with a bright smile.
“Team Leader.”
Nayun spoke up.
“Yes?”
“There’s something I saw that I think I should tell you about.”
“What did you see?”
“There was an area of the festival where the lights suddenly went out.”
“The lights went out?”
“Yes. Isn’t that strange? The lights came back soon enough, but at a proselytizing booth, there was nothing but the words ‘Free Giveaway.’ No people, no items. Yet one person was standing there.”
It was far too strange.
What kind of power had been used? What had been there? Questions kept coming to mind.
“...Could that person have done it? Who were they?”
Nayun’s expression turned grave.
‘It wasn’t the Villain Jihwan saw, was it?’
Haeryeon considered it carefully.
From a Villain’s perspective, they needed to call Black Eagle in to keep them occupied while stopping the opposing Villain from accomplishing their goal.
“How many new weapons did Hyeonyul destroy at the festival?”
“Six in total.”
Sinu answered Haeryeon’s question.
“Okay. I’ll look into this.”
Haeryeon spoke brightly.
If they interrogated the Villains they had caught and the number of weapons did not match, it would be clear that someone had intervened.
“Let’s go home now.”
If nothing else, one had to be cheerful about going home.
* * *
‘...There’s nothing.’
The moment Hyeonyul woke up, he checked online news articles first.
There was not a single article about an incident at the festival.
‘Did Black Eagle block everything?’
He checked social media and other sites as well, but all anyone said was that the festival had been pretty or fun.
Black Eagle had made such a commotion, yet there was not a single article.
‘As expected, it must be because the Empire is behind Black Eagle.’
Hyeonyul narrowed his eyes.
He had already known it, but seeing it through something he had experienced made him realize anew just how powerful the Empire was, and how foolish the Villains were to dream of bringing it down.
‘...What is the Empire thinking?’
He was the first former Villain to become a member of Black Eagle.
The Empire hated Villains more than anyone. He had expected it to try something against him, but it remained quiet.
If the Empire had the power to block information from so many people, it would be easy enough to bury one person like him.
Hyeonyul stared blankly at his phone.
‘Did someone use their power?’
Few people could wield that kind of power.
There were only a handful of such people in the Empire: nobles.
It was said that noble status was merely ceremonial in this place without a class system, but even five-year-old children knew that a small number of nobles controlled the wealth.
‘Either way, it wouldn’t hurt to keep my guard up.’
The Empire could not possibly be on his side.
He was a stain on the Empire, a reminder of its failure to stop Villains.
His past as an experimental subject could be used in many ways. They could make a nearly third-rate documentary to appeal to people’s emotions, or use him to make Villains look even worse.
Hyeonyul put those thoughts aside and rose from his seat.
His working hours changed starting today.
From 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
‘Let’s go look at houses.’
He had told Haeryeon that he wanted to find a home, and he had received some welcome news as well.
<We canceled the vacation day from the festival and changed it to a workday. The whole team knows and agreed, so I hope you don’t feel burdened by it.>
Destroying the new weapons had not even been particularly difficult, yet it counted as work.
They would help with his housing and hospital bills too.
Where else could he find a job this good?
He might never find one again.
‘I need to make sure I don’t have to find one again. That way...’
Bzzzzz.
He received a call.
Team Leader Oh Haeryeon.
After looking around, Hyeonyul answered.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
<I’m sorry to call before work. This may be overstepping, but I thought you might be planning to look for a home starting today.>
“Yes. I have time before work, so I was planning to look around.”
<Then may I send someone to help you?>
“Someone?”
<I know someone. Looking for a home can be overwhelming, and there are a lot of fake listings to worry about. If you’re finding a place anyway, wouldn’t it be nice to find one that’s good and clean?>
“That... is true.”
He had found his current home before he became an adult.
There had been something illegal involved, but it had only happened while the landlord made various accommodations for a minor with nowhere else to go.
A minor needed a guardian.
All Hyeonyul could do was threaten Yujong, the Night Rat, into blocking information related to him.
Neither his landlord nor Jeongmin could be dragged into trouble because of him.
<What kind of place do you want? Even a rough idea is fine. It’ll make things easier for you too.>
“A two-bedroom, perhaps...”
<No, Hyeonyul. Be a little more ambitious.>
“Anything larger than my current place will do.”
<Then the maximum allowed, eighteen pyeong, would be best. Right? Somewhere with plenty of sunlight, close to a grocery store and other shops, good transportation, and no hills. I’ll tell them all the good things.>
In short, Haeryeon wanted to find him somewhere nice.
“...Is that really okay?”
<Why wouldn’t it be? I’ll pass that along.>
“Really...?”
<Of course.>
Hyeonyul blankly stared ahead while holding his phone.
‘How did this happen...?’
He could not understand it.
All the Villains who had recruited him had been nothing but smooth talk. They had never acted on their words.
Housing had been the same.
They had not even cared how he lived.
Hyeonyul was confused.
‘Is this their way of telling me I’m doing well? Or that I should do better?’
Or perhaps it was a reward for meeting their expectations.
Suspicion slowly crept in.
<Oh, nothing happened yesterday, right? Like the Poison King coming to find you again?>
“No.”
Would that happen after he had warned Yujong once more?
By now, he was probably searching for where the Red Witch and the Poison King had obtained information about him.
<Then that’s good. See you later. If you think you might be tired, it’s fine to get some sleep before coming in.>
“Team Leader.”
<Yes?>
“I noticed there were no news articles about the incident at the festival yesterday.”
<Ah, I can see why that would surprise you. It’s nothing special. We only acted according to the government guidelines for protecting Black Eagle. We’re civil servants too, after all.>
“Am I protected too?”
<Of course. You’re Black Eagle too, Hyeonyul.>
‘Does that mean they’ll protect me as long as I wear the Black Eagle disguise?’
Then what would happen if he took off that disguise?
That was what Hyeonyul was most curious about, but he did not ask.
“Thank you for telling me.”
<It’s nothing. See you later.>
“Understood.”
Hyeonyul lowered his phone and stared ahead with a stiff expression.
What would they do with him, a successful experimental subject, if he were not Black Eagle?
<...Black Eagle won’t give you what you want. That place isn’t as righteous as you think.>
Suddenly, the Poison King’s unpleasant words echoed in his mind.
* * *
The process of finding a home was incredibly simple.
He rode in the car with the person Haeryeon had sent, looked at a home and inspected it, then got back in the car to visit another home. He repeated this several times.
The repeated process was not tiresome.
Every house made him feel as if he had stepped into a world he could never reach, so it did not feel real.
Then he found a place he liked.
No matter where he looked, he did not think he would find anywhere he liked more than this place.
Knock knock.
Hyeonyul knocked on the door and waited a moment.
It was a little nicer than the home he currently lived in.
The moment the old woman opened the door, Hyeonyul bowed.
She was his landlord.
“Ma’am. I’ll be moving to another place soon. Things may be hectic then, so I came by in advance.”
“I told you to stay as long as you wanted and leave whenever you wanted. You came all the way here just to tell me that?”
The old woman answered brusquely.
“Yes. That’s only right.”
Hyeonyul smiled faintly at her words.
She had given him somewhere to stay during his hardest time.
It was right that he said goodbye.
“What a fool. Have you eaten?”
“I have work soon.”
The old woman looked at Hyeonyul.
“You’ve grown so much.”
“I grew up thanks to you.”
“Once you leave here, don’t come back. You’re all grown up now, so I won’t take you in even if you cry your eyes out.”
“I won’t.”
“Wait a moment.”
The old woman went inside.
No matter how long it took, Hyeonyul planned to wait.
He had grown by the years that had passed, and the old woman’s hair had become a little whiter.
“Take it.”
Her voice was as matter-of-fact as ever.
Hyeonyul took the black plastic bag she held out to him.
“Please stay healthy, ma’am.”
“Fine.”
After answering, the old woman immediately went back inside. Hyeonyul turned away, holding the plastic bag.
His relationship with his landlord was neither deep nor shallow.
She had never come to see him or contacted him after renting him the home.
Even when he was late on rent, she had said nothing.
Hyeonyul looked inside the plastic bag.
It was full of the same snacks that had been in one corner of the room when he first moved in.
Hyeonyul let out a quiet laugh.
Would anyone believe him if he said that Jeongmin and these snacks were why he had not gone astray, despite how terrible the world had been to him?
Hyeonyul entered the alley and quietly disappeared.
* * *
“...Damn it, why won’t this break?”
The man controlling a game character on his phone frowned deeply.
Tap tap.
“Doggy.”
Hyeonyul naturally called for Yujong.
“...Y-Yes!”
Yujong sprang up so urgently that he dropped his phone.
The moment Yujong learned that Hyeonyul was Mad Dog, he had become extremely tense.
Yujong even resented him for coming so soon.
“Have you found where Ahsan is?”
Hyeonyul asked quietly.
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