WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 67: Extra Pay (2)
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* * *
“...Is that possible?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? We may not have manpower... but we do have power, information, and the means to track them down if we want to.”
Ah.
Only then did Hyeonyul realize what he had forgotten.
They were Black Eagle.
Black Eagle, openly backed by the Empire.
Tracking them down did not seem impossible after all.
There was only one concern.
‘...Can I trust them?’
Hyeonyul was guarded about that.
It was hard to trust them.
Wouldn’t they turn their backs on him the moment they learned what he truly was?
“Besides, I agree with you, Hyeonyul. That drug... It was truly horrifying.”
“You saw it?”
At Hyeonyul’s question, Nayun let out a long breath and nodded.
“Is that why you had me stay in the car?”
“...Yes. I didn’t want you to see it.”
“I’m fine. I’ve seen plenty.”
“You say you’re fine, Hyeonyul, but I don’t think it’s something anyone could call fine. Not just me. Anyone would think so.”
They had conducted drug experiments underground.
It was truly horrifying.
There was nothing else to say.
From the stairs onward, the place had been a sea of blood, filled with corpses that had rotted because no one had disposed of them properly.
Among those rotting corpses were people injected with drugs, breathing like corpses themselves.
After seeing that, how could she bring Hyeonyul in there?
She knew he would say he was fine, but she still could not bring him.
A faint crease formed between Hyeonyul’s brows.
She had not known at first, but she now understood that expression appeared whenever he could not understand something.
“I’m saying this because I’m worried about you, Hyeonyul. I don’t want you to suffer.”
Nayun spoke more directly, but Hyeonyul’s expression did not change.
“Dr. Jeongmin probably told you the same thing.”
Only when she mentioned Jeongmin did Hyeonyul nod.
‘Is Dr. Jeongmin someone almost like a god to Hyeonyul?’
Nayun smiled.
“You can show me next time. I’m really fine. I don’t want to be excluded from missions like this.”
‘...This isn’t about excluding you from a mission.’
Nayun could not bring herself to say the words lingering on her tongue.
The moment she said anything, she felt like she would get angry.
She knew it would not be anger directed at Hyeonyul, so she held it in.
“I’ll contact the Team Lead for a moment.”
“Understood.”
After receiving his answer, Nayun turned away.
Hyeonyul was an experimental subject.
He was a victim of the horrifying scene she had seen, the same scene every member of Black Eagle had seen.
Anger surged toward the Villains who had turned a perfectly healthy person into that, and her eyes stung at the same time.
Was this personal guilt?
Or was it the burden of failing to save him as a member of Black Eagle?
Whatever it was, Nayun drew in a breath as she realized she had accepted Hyeonyul as a teammate.
‘I’ll protect Hyeonyul.’
Whether Hyeonyul had intended it or not, he had protected them.
Then it was only right that they protect Hyeonyul.
‘Everyone must feel the same way.’
Nayun trusted her teammates.
* * *
Bang!
Someone slammed down a fist.
The situation was going wrong in every possible way.
“Didn’t you say the Poison King had been caught?”
“...Yes. That is certainly what I heard.”
“Then why are the Poison King’s forces still alive? Fuck, do you know how many of our operations have been wiped out?”
The Poison King, who had controlled the area near the capital, was gone.
Hearing that had filled him with joy.
Had they been the only ones?
No.
Every Villain with a force, large or small, must have felt the same way.
You had to move quickly if you wanted to claim anything for yourself.
They had rushed in, only to get beaten down just as quickly and watch their own forces get taken from them. There was no way he could endure that without getting angry.
The man rose from his seat, walked over to his subordinate, and slapped the subordinate across the face.
“Talk, you bastard!”
The moment he crooked a finger, the tie around the subordinate’s neck tightened around their throat.
“...S-sorry. Ghk! I’m sorry.”
“If that bastard Poison King was caught by those eagle pricks, then who’s leading the Poison King’s forces?”
The man raised his voice.
There were too many things he could not understand.
Who would dare lead the Poison King’s forces?
He had no idea how gutsy that person had to be.
“...I-I don’t know.”
“What did you say?”
“They... Ghk! They call them... Rabbit Mask.”
“What? Rabbit what?”
The man narrowed his eyes, released the force strangling the subordinate’s neck, and looked at them.
One of the man’s eyes was covered by an eyepatch.
“...Cough, cough.”
“Talk.”
The man grabbed the subordinate by the hair.
“Rabbit Mask!”
“Rabbit Mask?”
“Pwahahaha!”
The man burst out laughing.
“This is driving me insane.”
“Hahaha... ha.”
The subordinate started laughing along with him, as did the other subordinates standing around the room like dolls.
“...Hey.”
Then a cold voice rang out.
Gulp.
The subordinate swallowed dryly and looked at the man.
The moment they met that cold smile, something pierced their ears.
Unable even to scream, the subordinate collapsed as blood streamed from both sides of their head.
“Find out properly who took the Poison King’s place.”
After giving the order, the man returned to his seat.
Some of the subordinates dragged away the corpse as though accustomed to it.
If they did not find out properly, they would be the ones to die.
The trail of blood grew longer.
* * *
“...How does a five-day mission end in one day? Do you know how surprised I was when I heard yesterday?”
Jeongmin looked at the reclining Hyeonyul in amazement.
He had spent the whole time praying because the mission was supposed to take five days, so he could not stop smiling at this unexpected return.
“It was merely a coincidence.”
“You’re happy, right?”
“I am.”
“You’re that happy, so how did you endure being over there?”
“Back then, I thought I had to endure it. If I didn’t, I would have died.”
He had not had the money for treatment right away.
That place was the only one that paid enough to cover that cost.
“That’s true.”
Jeongmin fell silent for a moment before naturally changing the subject.
“I think about this every day lately. I wish Black Eagle had posted its opening sooner. I left that shitty hospital, and life is this comfortable now, so imagine how much better it must be for you.”
Jeongmin looked as though he might start dancing with his shoulders at any moment.
“I checked several times in case I had missed it, but I had missed it.”
“Not because you were wondering whether you should go or not?”
“I did not think very deeply about coming to Black Eagle. What I considered carefully was the need to meet the conditions. Thanks to Shin Daeho, those conditions were met very easily.”
Hyeonyul recalled the look in Shin Daeho’s eyes at the end of his life.
After being surprised, he had seemed to smile faintly.
Why had he smiled?
“You’re doing well now, right?”
Jeongmin pushed up his glasses and narrowed his eyes.
Doing well.
It was tolerable.
He had decided not to be fooled anymore by Hyeonyul’s words.
“Yes.”
“I mean it. You lied last time too.”
“I have not done anything that went against the lessons you taught me.”
The words that always followed after Hyeonyul said he was fine were the same.
“I have not done anything that went against the lessons you taught me, not last time or this time.”
It was exactly as expected.
Hyeonyul mentioned those words again.
“Not that.”
“I am doing well.”
“Not that either, Hyeonyul.”
At Jeongmin’s words, Hyeonyul gently closed and opened his eyes.
Jeongmin remained on guard, wondering whether the same words would come out again.
“It is strange.”
“...Strange?”
“Yes. It is strange. Yesterday, they told me to stay in the car because it was cold, which excluded me from the mission, but it did not feel that unpleasant. Still, I did not like the fact that I could be excluded at any time. As you know, cold is nothing to me...”
Hyeonyul stopped before he could finish.
Jeongmin was smiling.
“Why are you smiling? Is what I said funny? What part was funny?”
Hyeonyul sat up and asked.
Had his efforts paid off?
“...Hyeonyul. Honestly, have some conscience. You know you’re not very good with words.”
“...I am working on that.”
Hyeonyul lay back down and frowned.
“I know. I know you’re trying hard.”
“What was funny?”
“I just thought you really are doing well.”
Jeongmin grinned.
He had seen the teammates himself and seen how they treated Hyeonyul, but hearing it directly from Hyeonyul finally put him at ease.
“That is what I have been saying all along. Did I say it strangely?”
“No. You said it well. You’re just so good at lying that I doubted you.”
“...I have only done it a little.”
Hyeonyul thought it over for a while, then simply turned his head away.
There was nothing he could say in response.
“Pfft.”
Jeongmin burst out laughing.
* * *
“...What? Hyeonyul, you came in too?”
Sinu was startled the moment Hyeonyul entered the room.
Hyeonyul, whom he had thought would never come, had come.
“Yes. I need to make money.”
Hyeonyul answered calmly and took a seat.
“That’s true. When else would you get a double-pay event?”
Sinu nodded as though he understood.
Who disliked money?
“And just between us, work is a little easier around this time.”
Sinu lowered his voice.
Haeryeon had not arrived yet, but this was something they needed to say carefully.
“Everyone will probably come, right?”
The door flew open, and Sinu immediately leaned back in his chair and tightly shut his mouth.
Haeryeon might scold him if she knew.
“Baek Sinu. I can hear your whole voice from outside.”
Nayun entered carrying a paper bag filled with coffee and desserts.
“Don’t be ridiculous. What’s that?”
Sinu spoke indifferently, turning his gaze toward the bag.
“I ran into the Team Lead on the way over, and she said we should eat.”
Hyeonyul stood up reflexively and took the items from Nayun while she spoke.
After handing everything over without thinking, she looked at Hyeonyul as though wondering what he was doing.
Hyeonyul smoothly laid out the coffee and desserts.
After neatly arranging them, he returned to his seat.
‘...Fast.’
Sinu and Nayun thought the same thing.
How were they supposed to say this?
Let’s not say anything.
Nayun and Sinu exchanged looks, then Sinu casually asked,
“What kind of mission do you think will come down?”
“It sounded like a support mission. That’s why she gave us this. Like, we should eat while waiting, then rush out when the support mission comes in.”
As Nayun answered, she looked at Hyeonyul and immediately asked,
“Is there something you’re curious about? ...Ah, you went before, right? To support the disarming of a magic bomb.”
“Yes. I did.”
“Magic bombs, aren’t they difficult?”
“You need to be able to read magic formulas. Then you meet the conditions to disarm them.”
Hyeonyul stopped speaking and looked toward the door.
“That’s the difficult part.”
Jihwan hurried over and took a seat.
Seeing the food, he asked happily,
“Did the Team Lead buy this?”
“That’s right. She told us to eat while we waited. Jihwan, how difficult is it?”
Nayun’s answer carried her curiosity.
She had never thought about it much before, but now that she had a teammate who could disarm bombs, she was curious.
“Very few mages can disarm magic bombs, right? You can think of it as connected to the reason why.”
“...No wonder.”
Nayun nodded as though she had finally realized something.
“Why? Did you hear something on the way here?”
Sinu, who had been drinking coffee, casually asked at Nayun’s expression.
“I did. Apparently, the bomb disposal team wants our Hyeonyul so badly. They say they’ll make an offer to the Team Lead soon.”
“...Ha.”
A sigh was heard.
It was not Haeryeon.
At the entirely different voice, everyone in Team Three looked toward the door.
It was Team Two’s Team Lead, Dojin.
Dojin looked at Hyeonyul.
“I did not expect to gain another competitor.”
“Team Lead Dojin. You still haven’t given up on Hyeonyul?”
When Nayun narrowed her eyes and asked, Dojin cleared his throat.
He casually held out some knitting yarn as he spoke.
When Hyeonyul reacted, Dojin put the yarn away and spoke confidently.
“I came to request support.”
“From Hyeonyul?”
As Nayun looked at him even more intently, Dojin came closer.
“We have a mission assigned to us, and I thought you would be perfect for it. Will you come?”
“Has the Team Lead approved it too?”
Sinu asked warily.
It was quite rare for a Team Lead to come and make a request like this.
Did it really have to be done this way?
From their perspective, Dojin was a wicked Team Lead trying to steal their precious new recruit.
“Of course.”
“Wait, Team Lead.”
Jihwan hurriedly spoke up.
When Dojin looked at him, Jihwan pointed to the dessert.
“Hyung, can Hyeonyul eat the dessert before we go? He needs to be full to do a mission well.”
“...That much is fine.”
When Dojin looked at Hyeonyul, Hyeonyul had a surprised expression.
He did not need to eat dessert.
‘...Why do I need to eat it?’
He was confused instead.
But no answer came.
Everyone seemed to want it.
He gripped the fork heavily.
Eating was important for now.
‘Let’s eat.’
* * *
“I apologize if this was sudden.”
Dojin spoke while continuing to hold out knitting yarn.
“It is all right.”
“I heard you are well versed in drugs.”
“I do not know whether I am well versed in them. I know a few things.”
“I know you told us about several companies presumed to be Villains. I heard you made the judgment from their logos or symbols. Is that true?”
“It is.”
Hyeonyul looked at the knitting yarn.
As his gaze kept going to it, Dojin oddly puffed out his chest and continued.
“While investigating based on that, drugs turned up. The mission began about an hour ago, and there may be more drugs, but we do not know where they are.”
“Are we tracking them?”
“Something like that.”
“Understood.”
Hyeonyul answered simply.
Tracking was one of the things he had done before.
Dojin stopped at the place where the eagles waited and shook the yarn.
“I tried it once to win your favor, but it was fun.”
Dojin casually held out a poorly made piece.
Anyone could tell he had only just started.
He had really learned to make it.
“...This is the first time I have seen someone go this far.”
Many people had tried to win his favor.
But this was the first time anyone had tried doing something he actually liked with him.
It was surprising.
“I am sincere. Of course, even if you do not join our team, I hope you will still want to remain on good terms with me.”
“Why?”
“Have you forgotten that I said I liked you from the beginning?”
“I did not know you were sincere.”
“I am sincere about everything. Ah, I need to say this too.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Dojin bowed his head.
“Thank you for protecting my children.”
Was he talking about the incident where the Poison King spread poison?
Hyeonyul looked at Dojin.
A faint crease formed between his brows.
The people in Black Eagle did not let him think simple thoughts.
They made him think more.
“...I will consider your offer from earlier.”
Hyeonyul answered belatedly, smiling faintly.
It seemed like a fairly good offer among the recruitment offers he had received.
Hyeonyul walked to where the eagle waited, covered his mouth with one hand, and held out the other.
The eagle flew over and snatched Hyeonyul by the arm.
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