For the next thirty minutes, Choi Yuri rambled on about how she had lived for the past ten years since possessing the Latessai.

To be precise, she rambled at us.

And despite how long-winded her story was, there wasn’t much substance to it.

The first year, she lived as Horima Latessai, serving as the servant of the Valro called Nerom.

But eventually, she couldn’t stand being near him anymore and decided to escape.

Transforming into a monster, she fled through a dungeon and made her way to Seoul.

Afterward, she tested her abilities on various people—including Nam Yein—and then wandered the world. She never stayed in one place too long, always fearing she’d be discovered by Nerom or another Valro.

“No house, no friends. If I stayed anywhere more than a week, my chest would start pounding. What if the Valros were watching? What if Horimas came for me on Nerom’s orders? Sure, I could always transform, but what if someone realized I had transformation powers? That would be the end of me. I’ve spent nights awake just thinking about it.”

“Ah… I see. That must’ve been tough….”

Lee Hanye nodded weakly.

At first, during the first ten minutes, she even teared up, genuinely sympathizing with Yuri’s hardships.

But when Yuri kept repeating the same lines, demanding pity, even Lee Hanye eventually looked worn out.

“That’s enough. We’ve heard plenty.”

I cut in, unable to take it anymore. Yuri’s expression instantly hardened.

“I know you’ve had it rough, but we don’t have time to sit here. Even if you sent Jang Hayun out under hypnosis, if she takes too long to return or report, it’ll make us suspicious. And the longer she’s gone, the more she’ll have to invent.”

“Tch. Fine. I’ll save the rest for later.”

I caught Lee Hanye’s eye twitch at that. Looked like she agreed with me.

“Hanye. How’s the corruption investigation on Gwangcheon?”

“I brought documents.”

She quickly pulled a bundle of papers from her bag.

I read through them carefully.

Her notes were meticulous.

And most recently, the case tied to Meiling.

“As expected. Any investigation leads straight to Meiling’s name.”

I murmured, and Hanye nodded grimly.

“Chen Kai bribed staff to erase her absences and early leaves. He even paid them to leak test answers to Jin Cheongwang’s group.”

“Jin Cheongwang? Who’s that?” Yuri asked.

“He existed. In the original game scenario, Chen Kai had him as a lackey character.”

I didn’t lift my eyes from the papers. Jin Cheongwang was long gone—killed by Chen Kai.

“But isn’t all of this… incriminating for you?” Yuri pressed.

“Incriminating, yes. But rot has to be cut away early. Otherwise, it festers worse later.”

I lowered the papers and looked at Hanye.

“How much of this ties to Im Seongyeon personally?”

“About half. Honestly, that made it easier to track.”

Hanye gave a bitter smile.

“…Hanye. Be honest. Do you have any attachment to Im Seongyeon’s position or reputation?”

“Huh…?”

She blinked at me, then suddenly widened her eyes, realizing my implication.

“Wait—you mean to kill me off as Seongyeon?!”

Wrong idea.

“It’s not me stabbing you—it’s you.”

I tapped the stack of documents.

“You’ll expose Gwangcheon’s corruption yourself. Along with Im Seongyeon’s past misconduct.”

“So it looks like you’ve turned over a new leaf.”

Yuri cut in.

“You’ll face investigation and lose the principal’s seat. But in exchange, you won’t have to keep living as Im Seongyeon.”

“!”

Hanye’s face froze.

“You won’t be punished. I’ll arrange a deal with the mayor. Exposing Gwangcheon’s rot strengthens our side, so he’ll grant you protection. You’ll be safe from Forward’s retaliation. And if Forward falls completely, you’ll be free.”

“…You’re sure this can work?”

“Trust me. The mayor owes me plenty.”

The Weight of Phase Fixation.

The Porter Department Store bombing.

Even the deal with All Around.

And beyond all that, the soul crystal itself. Cheon Jiwon couldn’t afford to dismiss me.

“Honestly… giving up the principal’s seat is what I wanted anyway.”

Hanye sighed.

“I’m tired of playing the ruthless headmistress.”

“Then I’ll hold onto these documents for now.”

“Mm.”

I folded the papers and slipped them into my pocket.

“Yuri. As for Jang Hayun, just remember the conversation in broad strokes. Leave out anything about the mayor.”

“Got it. That woman looked dumb enough not to remember the details anyway.”

“…Right.”

And if Lee Seon chewed us out later, that wasn’t on me. Yuri had jumped in unasked and hypnotized her just to save herself the trouble.

“And Hanye.”

“Yeah?”

“I’d like you to give Yuri a place to stay.”

Yuri’s eyes widened. Hanye’s narrowed.

“There are too many people where I’m staying. My squad, Kim Sang-sik, Jodie, Peacekeepers coming and going. It’s not a good environment for her.”

“Don’t worry,” Yuri cut in, staring at Hanye.

“My hypnosis doesn’t work on possessors. Since it failed on Hong Huicheol, it won’t work on you either. So I can’t brainwash you.”

You idiot.

What she should’ve said was, I never use it on allies, or I swore only to use it on game-world characters.

What came out instead sounded like, If it worked, I would’ve brainwashed you too.

Sure enough, Hanye’s face soured as she looked at me.

“Let’s settle this now. Yuri.”

“What.”

“Use hypnosis on her.”

“What?”

“WHAT?!”

Hanye jumped to her feet, staggering back.

“Her hypnosis doesn’t affect me. If it fails on you too, we’ll know it can’t be used on possessors. That’ll put your mind at ease, won’t it?”

“B-but… what if she hypnotizes me into thinking it failed—”

“The orb glowed green, remember?”

The color had been a bit faint, but still.

“And if she tries anything, I’ll stop her. Trust me.”

“Here comes the hypnosis!”

Yuri grinned slyly and lifted her hand.

Was she a villain or what?

“N-no, wait—!”

“Ho-it!”

She traced the air with her finger.

And then—

[...]

Silence filled the room.

I watched Hanye quietly.

“…Did she just do it?”

Hanye blinked.

“Mm. Looks like my Latessai powers don’t work on possessors after all.”

Choi Yuri’s voice carried a faint note of disappointment.

If it wasn’t just Choi Yuri’s Latessai powers but all Latessai abilities that didn’t work on possessors…

The thought made my heart race.

It was still only a possibility, of course. To verify it, I’d need to meet someone who wasn’t here.

“So, it’s fine if Yuri stays at your place, right?”

“Uh… yeah… I guess so….”

Her answer wasn’t exactly reassuring, but I nodded anyway.

Finally, I could get that nuisance off my hands.

“Then Yuri, you’ll go with Hanye later.”

“Okay.”

Yuri smiled brightly.

Hanye looked like she wanted to sigh but held it back. I pretended not to notice.

“This is strange.”

Jang Hayun spoke while driving.

“I’m sure there was one more person in the house besides you and the principal.”

“Maybe you saw a ghost.”

I kept my tone flat.

Her shoulders trembled.

“S-seriously…?”

I had to bite my tongue not to click it in frustration.

That damn Choi Yuri. Couldn’t she at least cover her tracks properly before leaving?

“Anyway, here we are.”

Hayun pulled into a public parking lot near the Hunter Market.

“Use the disguise set in the glove compartment before you head out.”

I nodded, pulling out a yellow wig, horn-rimmed glasses, and a cap. After putting everything on, the mirror showed no trace of Nam Yein.

“I’ll hang back and keep watch near the store. You go ahead.”

“Understood.”

I stepped out of the car and made my way toward the Hunter Market.

Hayun wasn’t coming inside with me, of course. The fact that the Peacekeepers were protecting me had to remain a secret.

Crossing the busy street, I walked until the familiar sign came into view—Platinum Wings.

Ding-ling.

“Welcome.”

The bell above the door chimed as I entered. Standing behind the counter was Lee Donghyeok, neatly dressed in a suit.

Looks like there’s no part-timer today.

“Are you looking for something specific?”

I glanced around. There were six customers browsing the shelves.

“Is the owner in?”

At my question, Donghyeok tilted his head slightly.

I leaned in closer and lowered my voice.

“I’d like to discuss a delivery.”

As I slipped off my glasses, his eyes widened in recognition before settling into a calm smile.

“In that case, please wait in the room upstairs. I’ll contact the workshop right away.”

I nodded and climbed the stairs.

Inside the room, I removed the disguise and settled onto the sofa.

About ten minutes later, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed on the stairs.

Thud-thud-thud!

The door burst open, and Eleanor stood there, her mouth half open and eyes wide.

“Hey.”

I raised my hand in greeting.

Without a word, she shut the door and strode toward me.

“Huh?”

Then, out of nowhere, she grabbed both my cheeks and pulled hard.

“Wha—hey!”

I jerked my head back, baffled.

“What was that for?”

Her expression was full of irritation.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“…What? I did.”

Back when I had dropped out of Gwangcheon and exposed the Black Hound incident on TBC, Eleanor had reached out.

I had definitely replied, telling her I was fine.

“That was only on the day it happened!” she snapped.

“And after that? Nothing! Not a single word!”

“It wasn’t like I could. The place I’m in now has restricted lines of communication. I could only use one secure channel. Yesterday was the first time I was even able to leave.”

“Then you should’ve contacted me yesterday…. Haaah…”

She exhaled heavily and collapsed into the seat across from me.

“So where are you staying?”

“In a safehouse on the outskirts of the city. Peacekeeper property. They’re the only ones I can contact.”

“And yesterday? Where did you go?”

“All Around. They held a welcome ceremony. After that, I joined a run in one of their exclusive dungeons.”

“You—what? You joined All Around??”

Ah, right. This was the first she’d heard of it.

Eleanor’s face hardened, her glare sharp as a blade.

I could only give her a wry smile.

“And you’re smiling? Really?”

“No. It’s just… I feel bad. I must have worried you a lot.”

“Then apologize! Don’t just smile like an idiot.”

“…You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“…Tch.”

She clicked her tongue, visibly unsatisfied even after I apologized.

“Anyway. The items you left before HAUT—they’re all sold out. You never brought in the next batch.”

“I was going to talk to you about that.”

“What is it?”

“Suspicious people came around the shop a few times.”

“Suspicious?”

“Pretty sure they were Forward’s people.”

“…”

I felt tension creep into my body.

(End of Chapter)