WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 42: Bombs Aren't Art (4)
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* * *
“However, we need to divide the work.”
Since there were still magic bombs he had not inspected, Hyeonyul set a condition.
There was not enough time for him to handle everything alone.
Someone other than him had to disarm the magic bombs already found.
“How do you disarm the bombs?”
Hyeonyul looked at the bomb disposal team as he asked.
They had already failed.
The police had sent support as well, but they had failed too.
Was their method wrong?
“Since we can’t get inside from the outside, we fix cameras on the magic bombs and share the footage on tablets.”
“And what do you do after receiving the footage?”
“Um... We put our heads together and examine the magic formulas. We have to remove the part that says ‘explodes.’”
As expected of experts, their method was not wrong.
It seemed they simply could not read the formulas properly.
Just as handwriting could be messy or elegant, each mage had their own way of writing formulas.
“I understand. Show me the screen, and I’ll mark it.”
At Hyeonyul’s words, someone from the bomb disposal team immediately ran off.
‘...They believe me that easily?’
Hyeonyul watched them warily.
He had been wondering how he should persuade them.
“Isn’t asking whether you can do it or not too childish? Black Eagle sent support because you can do it, and someone from Team Three came to help us because you can.”
The man from the bomb disposal team spoke.
He was the one who had quieted the team earlier.
“We have to trust you.”
The man handed over the tablet his colleague had brought.
Seeing his broad grin, Hyeonyul found it absurd instead.
What kind of nonsense was that?
They would only use him anyway.
It was not as if he had been stabbed in the back only once or twice.
He could feel every arrow pointed at him.
‘...What if you fail a mission? Um, I can’t imagine that happening to you, Hyeonyul, but it probably wouldn’t be without consequences... Though I’ve never seen it happen. It can’t happen.’
Haeryeon had seemed to trail off, but he knew the price of failure would be considerable.
Hyeonyul took the tablet without a word.
The stage was set. All he had to do was show them what he could do.
“Use this pen to draw on the screen and show us which part to erase.”
The man explained as he handed him the pen.
“Thank you.”
Holding the pen, Hyeonyul looked at the screen.
A magic formula covered the desk.
It had been packed in so tightly that it filled the entire tabletop.
There were useless formulas meant as misdirection, but Hyeonyul accurately circled the part that meant “explodes.”
“Please check it.”
At Hyeonyul’s words, the man raised his voice.
“Check it.”
A hand appeared on the screen.
Judging by the power gathered at its fingertips, it was magic.
It precisely erased the part Hyeonyul had circled.
Once the core formula was gone, the bomb hardened and lost its light.
It had been disarmed.
Hyeonyul looked at the man, who listened to something through his wireless earpiece and smiled.
“It’s disarmed!”
Countless cheers erupted in that brief moment.
Hyeonyul slightly frowned.
It was so loud that his ears felt ready to burst.
“You did it! You really disarmed it!”
The man was so overjoyed that he looked ready to hug Hyeonyul.
“Yes. Give me the next one.”
Hyeonyul held out his hand.
They had seen him do it, so they would give him the next one.
“...Ah.”
The man closed his mouth.
He seemed to have only just realized how excited he had become.
He pointed at the screen and flipped to the next page.
“You can switch them like this.”
“Understood.”
After replying, Hyeonyul moved his hand.
He found each formula, circled it, and moved on, leaving marks on every magic bomb they had discovered.
Hyeonyul immediately stood up.
“I’ll find and disarm the magic bombs that have not been discovered yet.”
He needed to quickly repeat the process of finding them and erasing their formulas.
Working alone was easier.
“...Pardon?”
“I’m leaving.”
“Wait! We should go together...”
“There may be another attack like before. Tell them to inspect the area more closely.”
Hyeonyul turned around.
There was nothing more to say.
Once Hyeonyul disappeared, the man absentmindedly touched his hair.
There had been many rumors about Team Three’s rookie.
The recent surge of rumors had died down, but all sorts of stories still lingered, enough to make his ears hurt.
‘Is he running away like that because of the rumors?’
It was understandable.
The rumors were quite malicious. Some said the Villains had deliberately planted him there. Others claimed he was actually a major Villain.
The man raised an eyebrow while holding the tablet.
‘...Blood?’
Blood had dripped beneath the tablet.
Only then did the man start in alarm.
* * *
Hyeonyul appeared in an outer area where the CCTV could not see him.
As he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, he took medicine and a syringe from the shadows.
Once the bleeding started, it rarely stopped.
He knew he needed to take his medicine quickly, but he did not want to use a syringe in front of everyone.
Even though they would obviously know, he did not like the feeling of having his weakness exposed.
As Hyeonyul injected his abdomen, one of his eyes crumbled away.
Nothing but black remained there.
He had to keep searching even while injecting the medicine.
More than eight minutes had already passed.
Hyeonyul roughly shoved the medicine into his mouth and chewed.
Crunch.
His other eye melted into the darkness as well, swimming through the university buildings.
He did not forget to travel through the shadows so he would not appear on CCTV.
As soon as he found one, he avoided the cameras and swallowed the formula.
One by one, the number kept increasing.
He did not forget to check the time in between.
Eighteen minutes.
Thirteen minutes.
Six minutes.
As the time steadily ran out, Hyeonyul found the students.
‘...Why are they there?’
Had they not heard there were bombs?
Surely not.
Hyeonyul moved his eye.
There was an entrance in the direction the students were heading.
‘A condition has been set. If anyone inside exits to the outside, it will explode.’
They must have been warned since that condition had been set. Were they ignoring it?
Three minutes.
‘We can’t delay any longer.’
There was not much time left.
But there was a saying that student safety came first.
‘Not every student in the building has evacuated. Student safety comes first.’
People he had never cared about in his life were holding him back.
What was he supposed to do in a situation like this?
What should he prioritize?
Unable to make a decision, Hyeonyul felt confused.
His thoughts could not keep up.
Would other people be unable to judge properly in a situation like this too?
Or was it only him?
“...Found you!”
A voice seeped into his ears, and Hyeonyul felt a chill.
He had not heard any footsteps despite them getting this close.
“Why are you all the way out here...”
The man who had given him the tablet swallowed the rest of his sentence and ran over faster.
Hyeonyul’s complexion was poor.
He had not even realized where he was bleeding.
“Are you all right?”
At the man’s repeated question, Hyeonyul quickly regained his composure.
“The students are trying to leave the building.”
“Which building are they in?”
“Over there.”
When Hyeonyul pointed, the man swiftly turned his head.
The moment he saw the building, he touched his smartwatch.
In the meantime, Hyeonyul covered his eye and quickly searched for the magic bomb.
There was clearly a trace of mana in that building.
“...Ha. Thank goodness. We have a team member there. I’ll tell them to stop the students immediately...”
“There is a magic bomb inside the beam projector in Engineering Lab Three on the second floor.”
“Wait a moment!”
The man stopped fiddling with something and glanced at Hyeonyul.
“That must have been a difficult situation for you.”
Hyeonyul did not reply.
What sort of idle talk was he trying to make at a time like this?
Time was passing.
“Students first or disarming the bomb first. That’s a really difficult choice, especially when you’re already anxious, right? You held on well.”
The man praised Hyeonyul.
He was a rookie.
It was still too early for him, and he lacked the experience to face a situation like this.
“There is no time for this. I have not found all the magic bombs yet.”
“They said they found an additional bomb. I came to tell you.”
“That may not be all of them.”
“They said there were fifty in total, and the one you just mentioned was exactly the fiftieth.”
“Who said there were fifty?”
“The unconscious man woke up and told us. He said he had heard there were fifty magic bombs in total. He probably heard it from the Bomb Maniac.”
‘...Does that bastard think this is a game?’
Hyeonyul’s neck tensed.
If he had not saved the Team Five man, they would have missed that hint.
‘But is it really true?’
As Hyeonyul remained suspicious, the man held out the tablet and pen.
“Let’s finish this. You’ve earned that right.”
Hyeonyul looked at the shaking screen.
There was no sound.
The ceiling was visible, and soon the beam projector came into view.
Hyeonyul moved the pen.
As if following his instructions, a hand erased the section he had circled.
Clap clap clap clap.
As if it had been prepared in advance, applause sounded through speakers all around them.
It sounded far too innocent.
<Congratulations. I hope you enjoy my art like this again next time, Black Eagle agents.>
“...”
Hyeonyul’s gaze darkened.
‘...Art?’
His mind turned cold.
His livelihood was on the line.
Only after joining Black Eagle had he been able to receive medical support and get a new home.
Even so, he still had considerable debt left, and the interest was still burdensome.
He had only just been able to breathe.
He had only just stopped going hungry.
And this bastard was talking about art.
“...Don’t take what you just heard to heart.”
The man spoke with an awkward smile.
“Does he do that every time?”
“Not every time, but sometimes. He seems to enjoy playing with us. Still, unlike other Villains, he tells us the number or type of bombs. In some ways, he can be better than the others.”
Hyeonyul quietly smiled as he listened.
‘...Ah. If he dies, he won’t be able to play games like this anymore, will he?’
The only good Villain was a dead Villain.
The Red Witch and the Bomb Maniac would become good Villains when they died too.
“Anyway, you worked hard.”
The man bowed to Hyeonyul.
Not only had he come as support, he had found more than half of the fifty magic bombs on his own.
He was so perfect that it was hard to believe he was a rookie.
Where had someone like him been until now?
The man wished he had begged his team leader to recruit him sooner.
“We’ll handle the rest, so you can go back first.”
The man smiled brightly.
“Ah, and don’t forget to see a doctor.”
There did not appear to be any serious injuries, but one could never be too careful.
He had been caught in an explosion.
“Would you like us to take you...”
“There is something I would like to ask.”
Hyeonyul interrupted the man.
“Go ahead.”
“How complicated was the situation from earlier?”
When both things were important, which should come first?
“It’s very complicated. I’m nearly in my fourth year, and I still find it difficult. And I always regret it afterward. There is no right answer. You can only believe that you made the right choice.”
“Is that so...?”
Only then did Hyeonyul let out a breath.
It was difficult even for ordinary people.
Perhaps it was natural that he could not make a choice.
“I’m Pyo Yujin from the bomb disposal team.”
“I’m Seo Hyeonyul from Team Three.”
“I look forward to working with you again next time.”
Yujin gave a deep bow before hurriedly running off elsewhere.
Hyeonyul operated his smartwatch where he stood.
The mission was over.
He had to call an eagle.
“Do you have something to say?”
Hyeonyul raised his head and looked ahead.
It was the Team Five man.
Had he followed Pyo Yujin here to pick another fight?
Hyeonyul did not want to deal with him now either.
His insides throbbed.
“...I’m sorry.”
“...?”
Hyeonyul was startled by the sudden apology.
Had he heard wrong?
“I... did something insane. Not only did I interfere with the mission, I did things I never should have done. I’ll return and accept disciplinary action.”
“What are you doing?”
What was he trying to pull?
Hyeonyul looked around.
There was no one here but them.
There was no audience for him to sway.
“I resented you because I thought our team fell apart after you exposed our leader as an internal informant. Instead of thanking you, I spouted nonsense. I hope my words did not hurt you.”
The man continued apologizing.
“...And thank you for saving my life.”
When he came to, he had been told that the rookie had saved him.
Hyeonyul could have left him there to die.
“Yes. You worked hard.”
Hyeonyul did not say anything else.
He did not know what to say, and he did not want to speak with him.
Hyeonyul turned away.
The eagle he had called arrived.
He was carried away by the eagle.
The Team Five man watched Hyeonyul leave.
That rookie had endured more blame and abuse alone than Team Five had received.
Yet he had lost his mind after receiving it for only a few days.
He felt ashamed.
* * *
“...Didn’t I tell you not to eat just anything?”
Jeongmin smacked Hyeonyul’s forearm.
Smack.
Despite the sound, Hyeonyul simply stared at Jeongmin.
It did not hurt at all.
“It was not just anything. I absorbed it when the bomb exploded. If I had not...”
“That is eating just anything!”
Jeongmin raised his voice.
Hyeonyul studied Jeongmin’s expression.
“Stop looking at my face and lie down.”
“I am lying down.”
“Your arm.”
At Jeongmin’s instruction, Hyeonyul rolled up his sleeve.
“I’m going crazy. I really am.”
Hyeonyul’s body was abnormal.
There were many parts of it that were difficult to explain with medicine.
Simply put, an unknown force was imitating his limbs, organs, and more.
The medicine he continually took, the injections he needed, and the IV drip all helped maintain that force.
Hyeonyul also absorbed things with that unknown force.
For example, if it was just before a bomb exploded, he was fine.
But after the bomb had exploded, it affected him.
There was a subtle difference.
Jeongmin had thought Hyeonyul would handle things properly on his own, but at least not today.
He needed to be scolded.
Knock knock.
Jeongmin sighed at the sound of knocking.
“Who is it?”
Jeongmin briefly got up.
When he opened the door, a woman with dark purple wavy hair stood there.
“Hello. I’m Ye Juhyeon, the leader of Team Seven. Is someone from Team Three here for treatment?”
Juhyeon lowered the phone in her hand and looked at Jeongmin.
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