WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 86: A Cup of Tea, a Slice of Cake (3)
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* * *
Nayun’s eyes were special.
She said she had only taken a quick look, but it had not been quick at all.
She could see farther and in greater detail than others, so she saw things differently from them.
“What did you see?”
Holding his cup, Jihwan held his breath again.
“There was a factory. Lots of people, people working, roads connected to it, cars coming and going, and there were streetlights along the road too. But something was off.”
“Hmm.”
Nayun seemed to consider it for a moment before putting a forkful of cake into her mouth.
“What was different?”
Jihwan could not help asking.
From the description, it sounded like an ordinary factory.
Since Nayun had specifically mentioned the streetlights, it did not seem abandoned either.
“The people’s expressions were strange. I guess they looked terrified, or like something was chasing them. Honestly, working is hard for everyone, right? But it wasn’t that usual ‘what a shitty day’ feeling.”
“If that is the case, it is certainly suspicious.”
Hyeonyul nodded in agreement.
Who went to work because they liked their company?
People worked for money.
“You mean... they liked their company? It wasn’t something like that?”
Jihwan asked, unable to believe it.
Such rare creatures did exist, but they were not the majority.
“There is absolutely no such thing as ‘I like my company.’ It bothered me so much that I asked the Managers about the location. Apparently, they suspect it’s a place run by Villains. Based on the information you found, Hyeonyul.”
“The information I found?”
He had provided so much information that he was not sure which part had led to that conclusion.
“You said you could tell whether a place was run by Villains from its logo. I told them about the logo there.”
“Ah. That?”
Hyeonyul answered calmly, and Nayun looked as though something had just occurred to her.
“Hyeonyul.”
“Yes.”
“The people who passed along your information were kicked out. They’ll never be able to gain a foothold here again. It’ll be the same even if they try to go somewhere else. I made sure of that.”
She said it lightly, but it was not something to take lightly.
“Did you inform the Team Lead?”
“That’s right. I’m our team’s information specialist, after all. The Team Lead is the same.”
When Nayun smiled, Hyeonyul watched her as though observing her.
“Isn’t it amazing?”
Jihwan suddenly asked.
“To be honest, it is.”
“Nayun really knows a lot of people. I was shocked when I found out too. Even now, it amazes me how she can get close to so many people so quickly.”
“I love that kind of compliment, Jihwan. Since you’re such a good boy, have some more.”
Giggling, Nayun offered him another slice of cake.
Jihwan proudly raised his fork.
“Anyway, I’ll find out who the former Black Eagle agent who took your information was and let you know soon.”
“...Can you do that?”
“Sometimes I think I must’ve been born in the wrong era. I might’ve made quite a name for myself as an information dealer.”
“It’s not too late even now.”
Hyeonyul sincerely meant it.
Yujong had made a name for himself as an information broker too.
Nayun simply did not have people working for her, but if she did, she might be able to build something truly enormous.
“Thank you. Really.”
Nayun laughed loudly.
She looked pleased.
“Maybe I was wrong, though.”
“That won’t be the case.”
Jihwan quietly cut in.
“...That’s true, but there might unexpectedly be no information there after all. Do you want to go?”
Nayun asked with a tense expression.
This was the important part.
It was not even work hours yet.
Since it was something Hyeonyul disliked, she was being especially careful.
“Yes.”
Contrary to all her concerns, Hyeonyul answered without hesitation.
‘...Ah. He wants this even more desperately than I thought.’
Nayun felt strangely downcast.
Of course, she knew Hyeonyul would be desperate. But Hyeonyul, who liked going home so much and hated working overtime enough to compress five days of work into one, was willing to work outside work hours.
That was how desperate he was.
All she knew was what Jihwan had occasionally said about being experimented on.
Even that alone was terrible.
Though it had happened long ago, Jihwan still could not escape those memories.
Then what about Hyeonyul?
Nayun glanced at Jihwan.
He was looking at Hyeonyul encouragingly.
“I was blessed with a lifetime’s worth of luck. I hoped someone else would receive that luck too. That’s why I became a Black Eagle agent.”
Had Jihwan now chosen Hyeonyul as someone who would receive that luck?
“Then let’s go.”
There was only one thing Nayun could say for him now.
As Hyeonyul immediately tried to rise from his seat, Nayun continued.
“But you have to finish everything before we go. You can’t leave any behind.”
“Understood.”
Hyeonyul sat back down and picked up his fork.
That was also correct.
* * *
“...Around here?”
After making a door, Jihwan poked his head through it and asked.
“Oh, yes. Around here. We’ll know the exact place once we go farther in.”
After checking the other side, Nayun entered through the door without hesitation.
She turned and beckoned Hyeonyul over.
Hyeonyul could not take his eyes off Jihwan’s power.
He had seen it before, but seeing it again, it truly seemed like magic.
‘It is magic, but how does it work?’
The magical formula was incredibly intricate.
It was so complex that he could not replicate it even if someone told him to.
“Hyeonyul?”
“This power is impressive.”
Hyeonyul spoke sincerely.
Jihwan, who had been waiting ahead of them, looked at Hyeonyul in surprise.
He had never expected praise like that.
He could not speak.
Unlike others, Hyeonyul could see magic formulas.
“Wow, Jihwan.”
When Nayun teased him, he turned his head away.
Normally, he could have brushed it off with a sly remark, but with Nayun joining in, he was genuinely breaking into a sweat.
“My mind just... works that way. That’s why I can do it.”
“I know not just anyone can do it. Some of the mages I’ve seen had teleportation magic, but nothing to this extent.”
Hyeonyul was satisfied with its solidity, sturdiness, and comfort.
‘I’d like to use this instead of an eagle.’
It was quite good.
Hyeonyul walked out through the door.
The air changed.
Many factories stood away from the city center, and this place was no exception.
It was not mountainous terrain.
It stood on the outskirts of the city, far enough out that buildings could be seen in the distance.
Roads led to it, and as Nayun had said, there were even streetlights nearby.
Hyeonyul smelled the air.
“No one has used this place recently. They chose a good location.”
When Hyeonyul turned to say so, Nayun immediately looked at Jihwan.
“Wow, Jihwan. You’re doing very well today.”
“Is today some special day? I’m getting far too many compliments.”
“What kind of day should I compliment you on?”
When Hyeonyul asked, Jihwan immediately shook his head.
“No! It’s just an expression. It means things are going really well, but it’s also confusing and a little overwhelming. Something exactly like that.”
A slight furrow formed between Hyeonyul’s brows.
He did not understand.
“So... um. It means the situation is complicated.”
“Why is it complicated? I only stated the facts.”
“You must be happy, Jihwan. Hyeonyul praised you. Jihwan, you’re going to fly today. Praised Jihwan. Amazing Jihwan.”
Seizing the chance, Nayun began teasing Jihwan, and he looked flustered.
“Let’s go already! Hurry!”
Jihwan urged them desperately.
Nayun walked ahead with an excited laugh.
She was thoroughly satisfied.
She felt full without even eating.
‘Noona is like Sinu hyung.’
Thinking that, Jihwan walked alongside Hyeonyul.
After they had walked for some time, Nayun stopped.
“Can you see it over there?”
“It’s rather large.”
Jihwan narrowed his eyes.
He had roughly expected the scale after hearing it was a factory, but it was larger than he had thought.
He had to look from left to right for quite a while.
“...Should we call Sinu hyung?”
“Don’t worry. I already called him.”
“...What? Didn’t you tell me not to call Sinu hyung earlier?”
“I did, but then I remembered how large the factory was.”
“Then how is he coming?”
“He’ll probably ride an eagle.”
Nayun showed them her phone.
[Team Lead! I’m going to do some work!]
[But I don’t want to work!!!!]
She had sent an emoji of a cat banging its head.
“It’s always better to be fast.”
“Is Baek Sinu necessary because of the factory’s size?”
Hyeonyul suddenly asked.
Certainly, four people were better than three.
“That too, but we need to solve this quickly, right?”
“Why?”
“Because we haven’t started work yet.”
At Nayun’s words, Hyeonyul realized his mistake.
Having been with them, he had almost mistaken this for work hours.
His precious time was passing.
There were six or seven hours until work.
“...I’ll do it.”
Even if it was large, he could clear it all out within an hour.
They needed to resolve this quickly.
“No, Hyeonyul. Stay still. You’re hurt right now.”
“I’m fine.”
“This is what Baek Sinu is for. Jihwan is here too, right? Baek Sinu is fine when Jihwan is with him.”
“Sinu hyung will hear you.”
Jihwan whispered.
Hyeonyul turned around.
“He’s already arrived. I saw the eagle coming earlier.”
When Nayun smiled, Hyeonyul saw Sinu trudging over.
He still looked half-asleep, as though he had not fully woken up.
“...You’re all really diligent. How are you not still asleep at this hour?”
“Yawn.”
Sinu let out a huge yawn and rubbed his shoulder.
“So, was it good, eating something delicious without me?”
“It was the best.”
As Nayun happily answered, Sinu looked dumbfounded.
His gaze moved to Jihwan.
When Jihwan gave an awkward laugh, Sinu looked at Hyeonyul.
His gaze was different from when he looked at Nayun and Jihwan.
“...Right. What fault is it of yours? No matter what, Nayun or Jihwan must have dragged you along.”
Hyeonyul only blinked silently.
Should he say that was true?
“I know already, so you don’t have to say anything. You ate something good, so that’s enough. Let me see.”
Sinu looked at Hyeonyul’s forehead.
There was a bandage on it.
“You’ll be angry, but don’t kill anyone, Hyeonyul.”
“I know.”
“I’ll handle this quietly.”
When Sinu smiled at Jihwan, Jihwan nodded.
“No. Neither of you.”
Nayun immediately stopped Sinu.
If those two joined forces, they would cause more than just trouble.
“I won’t kill anyone. I only mean I’ll lightly deal with their Achilles tendons.”
“Get a grip, Baek Sinu. Hyeonyul is listening.”
As Nayun’s eyes sharpened, Sinu raised both hands.
Honestly, he wondered whether she should be more worried about Hyeonyul than him.
“I get it. So what do we need to do?”
“There’s a good chance this is the drug supplier Hyeonyul was looking for.”
“...Ah.”
Sinu’s eyes changed at Nayun’s explanation.
“So we just tie up the legs of everything over there?”
“Something like that.”
Nayun nodded.
“Jihwan.”
“Of course, I was already prepared.”
Jihwan confidently held out his hand.
A three-dimensional image of the factory appeared on his palm.
It was the same magic Hyeonyul had seen during the previous mission.
Red lights suddenly appeared across it.
‘...Ah.’
Only then did Hyeonyul understand why Nayun said Sinu and Jihwan worked well together.
Sinu could summon swords across space.
Jihwan could manipulate space.
Then what would happen if Sinu only needed to know their locations?
“You don’t need to do anything, Hyeonyul.”
A gentle wind seemed to gather around Sinu.
Snap.
The moment Sinu snapped his fingers, Hyeonyul looked toward the factory.
He saw a disturbance.
Was it a wave of power? He distinctly felt something.
“...Are there no limits to summoning swords?”
“Let’s say it lasts as long as I can endure it.”
How was that different from saying there were no limits?
If it was unlimited, how could anyone fight him?
Hyeonyul could not picture it.
“Let’s go now.”
As Sinu confidently stepped forward, Nayun casually took a gun from the bag she was carrying and fired.
Bang!
“...That startled me!”
Startled, Sinu jumped and rubbed his ear.
“There was someone outside the building. This is a tranquilizer gun.”
Nayun raised the corner of her lips.
Its range was remarkably long for the size of its barrel.
“Let’s go now.”
When Nayun smiled, Sinu followed with an unhappy expression.
“You could’ve told me.”
“I did tell you. Quit chattering and follow me.”
Sinu started to say something, then stopped.
How could he win against her with words?
Yawning, he followed behind.
* * *
The moment he entered the factory, Hyeonyul’s lips curved upward.
Swords were aimed at everyone’s necks like ticking time bombs.
Was that not an extremely efficient ability?
He could already see several people who had died while trying to resist.
This was a place run by Villains, but most of the people here might be Villains, or they might not be.
Setting everything else aside, one thing was important.
‘...They make drugs here.’
How could they hide a smell this close to a foul stench?
“Let’s ask as much as we want and search the place. Until work starts, that is. We need enough rest before work.”
As if speaking for Hyeonyul’s heart, Sinu made the suggestion.
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