WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 41: Bombs Aren't Art (3)
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Grit.
The man clenched his teeth.
Internal informant.
His head burned at those words.
He had gone out to greet the reinforcements.
The instant he saw they were from Team Three, just as he was about to introduce himself, his insides started to boil.
As far as he knew, no one in Team Three could disarm bombs.
Once it seemed likely that this was their newcomer, resentment surged up.
Wasn't all of this because of that bastard?
Even if the internal informant had been there before, nothing had happened until that bastard showed up.
Even if it had been bound to happen someday, why now?
Why did something like this have to happen to his team?
Did that bastard know how horribly everyone looked at him and his team now?
“If you have nothing else to say, we'll move on to the mission. Are there any other bombs besides the ones marked on the map?”
Even at Hyeonyul's question, the man did not answer. He merely stared at him, swallowing down his rising anger.
“Answer me.”
When Hyeonyul pressed him, the man squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
For now, he had to focus on the mission.
“...No.”
“Are you certain?”
“I am.”
“Check again. There could be additional bombs.”
“We already checked several times before you arrived.”
“Who checked?”
“My teammates did.”
“Were they mages?”
At Hyeonyul's words and look, the man clenched his fists.
He had felt like Hyeonyul was looking down on him from the start.
“Why? Are you surprised that my teammates are mages who can't even disarm bombs?”
The sarcastic remark nearly made Hyeonyul laugh.
He already knew there were additional magical bombs, yet the man kept saying there were none. It sounded like he was calling himself incompetent.
“This is a mission. You should set aside your personal feelings.”
Hyeonyul reminded him of the basics.
No emotion and no fact could come before the mission.
If they failed the mission, would that not be admitting their own incompetence?
That man might be fine with it, but Hyeonyul was not.
“You asked even after I told you over and over that we'd checked and there were none.”
Hyeonyul was dumbfounded at the man's words.
What childish nonsense was that?
“I have to ask as many times as necessary. Disarming the bombs is the core of this mission. We cannot leave even one behind.”
“Are you a mage?”
“No.”
“And yet you came. I guess they teach things like that over there?”
Over there.
Had they taught him that when he was a Villain too?
The words dripped with mockery.
“Yes. They do.”
Hyeonyul answered without hesitation.
The man was the one taken aback.
He was admitting it so readily.
“Since you understand, contact your teammates and check again. Don't neglect the mission because you're blinded by your pathetic pride.”
Hyeonyul turned away.
If there was a bomb squad inside, some of them had to remain outside as well.
Team Five might have mages, but they would not be as specialized as a bomb disposal team.
It would be much better to go to them and ask for cooperation.
‘Team Five was only sent to protect the bomb disposal team.’
Hyeonyul swiftly finished assessing the situation.
The bomb disposal team was what mattered.
‘At least they'll be more reasonable than that bastard.’
“...Pathetic pride? Our team became internal informants overnight... Is that pathetic?”
The man's voice reached him.
But Hyeonyul did not respond and kept looking ahead.
No matter what that team asks you to do, don't do it. Just get rid of the bombs.
It was time to follow Haeryeon's words.
Nothing he said would help anyway.
“Why do we... have to end up like this? We did nothing but catch Villains for the sake of others. Why... why is our team leader an internal informant?”
People were coming toward him.
They looked quite urgent.
‘Is there a time limit, contrary to the mission details?’
Watching them, Hyeonyul made a guess.
Perhaps they were not ordinary bombs after all, but timed bombs.
“If only you, no, if only you hadn't shown up, this never would've happened! You're a Villain... Do you think becoming Black Eagle now means your sins will be forgiven? How many people have died because of bastards like you? How many people have shed tears because of you...!”
Yes.
It was all that bastard's fault.
Ever since their leader had been exposed as an internal informant, he had given up his days off and worked longer than usual to clear up the misunderstanding.
He had grown afraid of people's stares, and he could barely sleep.
Could there be a more terrible day than this?
Waking up tomorrow had never been this painful or frightening.
“Hey!”
The man grabbed Hyeonyul by the collar.
“Why are you ignoring me? Can't you hear what I'm saying...?”
At Hyeonyul's chilling gaze, the man shut his mouth.
He was going to die.
The thought passed through his mind, and his entire body froze.
Was that even a person?
Could that possibly be a person?
Even his breath stopped beneath the crushing fear.
What was that thing?
“What do you think you're doing?!”
At the shout, the Team Five man flinched.
People rushed over.
The moment they saw “Team Three” on Hyeonyul's clothes, they understood the situation.
Team Five's leader was an internal informant, and Team Three's newcomer was the catalyst that had exposed it.
That man was likely the rumored Team Three newcomer.
It was understandable that Team Five might be sensitive.
But this was not acceptable.
“Have you lost your mind?”
Arrows of criticism and condemnation flew toward the Team Five man.
Was this the time to fight when the bombs could explode at any moment?
“What are you doing to someone who came here as reinforcements?”
The people immediately separated Hyeonyul and the man.
“Are you all right?”
As he heard the question, Hyeonyul saw the words “Bomb Disposal Team” written on their clothes.
They belonged to Black Eagle, but they were different.
He raised his gaze and met their eyes.
Unlike others, no emotion could be seen in them.
“Thank you.”
Only then did Hyeonyul greet them and bow his head.
“We know this isn't something we should interfere with, but we'll step in this time. We'll apologize later.”
A woman from the bomb disposal team spoke.
Before Hyeonyul could ask what she meant, she approached the Team Five man.
“Could you patrol the outer perimeter, Team Five?”
“...Do you know what you're saying right now?”
Faced with the woman's words and the looks pouring down on him, the Team Five man responded in disbelief.
Was she not saying he would be excluded from the mission?
“I know very well. Let me put it more directly. You're interfering with the mission.”
“...”
The Team Five man was about to say something, but even his clenched fist loosened.
As more and more pairs of eyes turned cold, he came to his senses.
‘...I made a mistake.’
He lowered his gaze as well.
“...I'm sorry.”
The Team Five man apologized.
“If you don't want to see this place explode, would you leave?”
The woman spoke again, and after hesitating, the Team Five man looked at Hyeonyul.
“...Yes. I'll come apologize later.”
The Team Five man bowed his head and left.
As Hyeonyul watched, the woman approached and spoke.
“If our stepping in like that offended you, I apologize.”
“No. Thank you.”
“...Um, that person has seemed out of their mind for a while now. We should have told him to stop and go back sooner, but we were late doing that too.”
“It's all right.”
“I hope you won't take it to heart. We're grateful just that you've come to help us like this.”
The woman smiled.
Just having someone with knowledge of bombs here was incredibly reassuring.
“You looked urgent. Are these timed bombs?”
At Hyeonyul's question, the woman shook her head.
“No, they aren't. But the delay has us worried about the students trapped inside, and we were glad to see reinforcements. Reinforcements are rare.”
“Then have you checked for additional bombs?”
“We've completed a second inspection. We were checking carefully because we don't know what might be a bomb.”
“If I tell you there are additional bombs, will you believe...?”
“Where are they?”
Nothing but endless seriousness filled the woman's eyes.
“Tell us where the additional bombs are. Now!”
Her voice rose steadily.
At the word bomb, other members of the bomb disposal team came closer.
“Is that true?”
“Where are they? We won't ask how you know. Just tell us.”
“We're Black Eagle. Everyone has at least one strange power, right? You must know through something like that, so please tell us!”
Hyeonyul's eyes widened at their pleading words.
This was not what he had expected.
He had thought they would not believe him, but their eyes had practically gone wild instead.
As they gradually closed in around him, Hyeonyul stepped back.
“Everyone, hold on.”
A man from the bomb disposal team spoke.
As if accustomed to this, everyone covered their mouths and stepped back.
“You can tell us now.”
The man spoke with an amiable expression.
It seemed he might even ask whether Hyeonyul wanted tea.
“...You believe me?”
Hyeonyul asked, scarcely believing it.
“Of course we do. Our fields may be different, but we're both Black Eagle, aren't we?”
“We can't do anything with the ones inside. We've already failed twice. The formulas are too complicated. We have to succeed next time, so the pressure is getting to us.”
Some laughed, while others seriously voiced their true feelings.
It was strange.
The reaction the Team Five man had shown earlier should have been the normal one.
For now, Hyeonyul set the thought aside, took out the map, marked the locations one by one, and shared them.
“These are the locations I found.”
The moment they received the locations, the bomb disposal team touched their wireless earpieces and silently moved their lips.
Watching them move with perfect coordination, Hyeonyul considered what to do next.
The Bomb Maniac might be watching this side too.
Having played such a prank, they would naturally be curious about how things unfolded.
“I'll check elsewhere for a moment.”
“All right.”
When he heard the reply, Hyeonyul quickly moved away.
He entered between buildings where no one could see him and covered one eye.
There were countless buildings.
Checking them would take time.
He moved his eye through the darkness, checked them one by one, and marked them on the map.
Heh heh.
Then he heard laughter.
Just as Hyeonyul drew his dagger, something was thrown from deeper inside.
Before he could swing the dagger, he stopped and caught it.
It was a person.
Team Five.
It was the man from earlier.
He was unconscious, with bombs wrapped around his body, yet there were no signs of a fight.
And this had happened in such a short time.
‘He was watching us? From where?’
Hyeonyul's eyes moved.
It was eerily quiet.
Hyeonyul set the Team Five man down and looked toward where he had fallen from.
‘...A superpower.’
A faint trace was visible, like a long streak had been carved through the air.
Superpowers were the hardest abilities to detect.
‘They must be hiding somewhere nearby.’
Perhaps it was an ability that made their body transparent like a chameleon.
Hyeonyul walked quietly forward.
His eyes gradually darkened.
When the wind blew, a ripple appeared in the empty air.
‘There.’
Hyeonyul did not miss that moment.
He took a step.
He vanished from that spot, wrapped in black smoke, and his dagger emerged from the air first.
Thwack!
“...Aaaagh!”
A scream burst out.
The Villain revealed themself.
Their shoulder had been pierced.
When light flickered in both their eyes, Hyeonyul ruthlessly cut their throat.
Hyeonyul looked down at the fallen enemy.
They were probably a disposable pawn anyway.
‘How many more are there?’
Hyeonyul thought for a moment.
<...Did you know?>
A voice came from the limp corpse.
<The most beautiful art is an explosion.>
The moment the words ended, the sharp scent of gunpowder filled the air.
Black smoke spread from Hyeonyul's body.
Booooom!
The corpse exploded with a violent roar.
When Hyeonyul walked out through the thick smoke, even the smoke seeped into the darkness.
‘...That stings.’
Hyeonyul covered his mouth.
Just because darkness devoured anything did not mean he was unharmed.
His insides burned.
When he looked at his hand, it was stained with blood.
‘Doctor's going to give me an earful.’
But what else could he do?
This hurt less than letting his body explode.
<That was too simple, wasn't it? Now the clock will start ticking.>
A voice came from behind him.
Hyeonyul vanished from the spot.
Earlier, he had seen bombs wrapped around the Team Five man's body.
<I'll give you thirty minutes. Tick-tock.>
Hyeonyul grabbed only one of the many bombs wrapped around the Team Five man's body.
Only one beep sounded.
There was no time to disarm it.
Just as he threw it upward, people came running over.
Booooom!
It exploded in midair.
Hyeonyul looked up, but nothing fell to the ground.
He could only feel several powers blocking the debris.
Hyeonyul lowered his gaze.
Those were their powers.
“Are you all right?”
“Are you sure you're all right? You're... bleeding.”
People stood there, looking at him as they asked.
Why were they saying things like that?
Swallowing the small question, Hyeonyul looked ahead.
Someone ran over and spoke.
“...We have thirty minutes.”
A despairing voice rang out.
The thirty minutes the Bomb Maniac had mentioned.
That time would now begin to pass.
“It's all right.”
Hyeonyul rose to his feet.
There was one more person he had to kill.
The Bomb Maniac.
“We can disarm them within the time limit.”
Hyeonyul was not lying.
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