Chapter 47: War on Crime "Did you see that earlier? The way she went flying when I kicked her? I thought she was a damn flying squirrel."
The man who had kicked Somi snickered as he bragged about what had happened.
Punching the air as if proud of his violence, the man flexed his arm to show off his muscles.
"If I just knew a bit more magic, I could've beaten that bastard Takeo to death."
"You're still on about that? How long ago was that?"
"Shit, doesn't it piss you off how that prick acts all high and mighty just because he can use magic?"
"Ugh, forget it. I'm not even going to talk to you. You get a total hard-on the second Takeo's name comes up."
Haruna watched in silence as the men gathered in the filthy hideout babbled.
Though she had been kidnapped, Haruna remained calm. Perhaps because of her docility, the men had let their guard down or assumed she couldn't escape, as they hadn't even bothered to tie her up.
There were quite a few people in the hideout besides her kidnappers.
Women dressed provocatively, men covered in tattoos, and even boys and girls who hadn't yet lost their youthful look—it was a diverse crowd, but it was clear that none of them were good people.
While they chatted amongst themselves, Haruna quietly observed them, identifying who held the most power and who was at the bottom of the food chain.
If there was one thing Yukina didn't know, it was that Haruna was also well-acquainted with the Geukryu Society.
She had watched her sister sacrifice everything for her. While being protected by Yukina, Haruna had played the role of a bright, obedient child who knew nothing, all for her sister's sake.
She might have been young, but she wasn't stupid. She knew how to read her environment and the atmosphere surrounding her.
"I'm going to see the leader, so keep a good eye on her."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't you dare fall asleep again, you shit."
The men who had kidnapped Haruna gave orders to the others and left the hideout.
Once they were gone, the hierarchy shifted again. A few people told a clumsy-looking man to watch Haruna before they scattered.
The clumsy man sat near Haruna, fiddling with his smartphone, until he felt her gaze and turned his head.
Meeting Haruna's eyes, the man flinched as if he were about to hit her, trying to startle her.
"… …"
However, Haruna watched him without moving an inch.
The man looked a bit awkward, and then, as if his pride were wounded, he scowled at her.
"What are you looking at? You want to die?"
"I have something to ask you."
"Shut up and stay still. There's no bathroom and no water."
"Mister, you're going to die soon."
"…You really must want to die."
The man, who couldn't even speak up in front of the others, acted tougher than anyone against a little girl who barely reached his waist.
But Haruna's eyes gazed at him without a single tremor. Faced with an aura unlike that of a normal child, the man's eyes darted around nervously.
"Do you know the Geukryu Society?"
"What? What do you have to do with them? Stop bullshitting me. You were going to say you know someone there, right? Too bad—the Geukryu Society disappeared ages ago."
"Yes. The person who destroyed the Geukryu Society is my guardian."
"… …"
"If you don't believe me, you can search for it. It'll say that the Greyhound mercenaries and Yggdrasil destroyed it. The person connected to both of them is my guardian."
"…D-Don't lie."
The man denied it with a pale face, but Haruna continued in a calm voice.
"Why would I tell a lie that would be exposed so easily? I'm telling you because you don't seem to know."
"… …"
"Shouldn't you talk to your friends about this?"
At Haruna's words, the man hesitated before going over to talk to the others.
After a brief commotion, a woman approached and looked down at Haruna.
"Hey, is that true?"
"Yes, it's true. My guardian's name is Seo Yeon-woo. He's a student at Yggdrasil, but he's also the boss of Greyhound…? Is 'boss' the right word? He's the top disciple of Frey Bratwurdin."
"Shit, this is insane."
The woman didn't seem to doubt Haruna's words; she cursed and frowned deeply.
They might look down on Yggdrasil because of its image as a school, but not Greyhound.
One of the world's top three mercenary groups—the hounds who never let go of a target once they set their sights on it.
They had crushed dozens of organizations, and there wasn't a back-alley thug alive who wouldn't piss themselves when faced with those bloodthirsty hounds.
As the name Greyhound—a name more terrifying to street thugs than the police or the government—was mentioned, the crowd fell into a panic, everyone talking at once.
"It's obviously a lie. What kind of bullshit is she talking?"
"And if it's not? We'll be hunted by the hounds."
"Then what? We're dead whether it's the boss or the hounds."
"There's no way the leader doesn't know. Would he be crazy enough to touch her if she was related to the hounds?"
"Maybe the leader doesn't know either?"
At someone's suggestion, a heavy silence fell over the noisy hideout.
As they stared at each other in silence, one man asked Haruna.
"Can you prove what you're saying is true?"
"He's visited my house before, so I have a picture we took together on my phone. Ah… I don't have my phone right now."
Haruna had never actually met Frey.
However, based on what Yeon-woo had told her and the fact that her phone had been broken during the kidnapping, she was pretending to be close to Frey.
Was it a coincidence?
Just as Haruna finished speaking and the hideout went quiet, the notification sound for a text message rang out from everyone's phones.
Vibrations and ringtones went off simultaneously, but no one in the hideout dared to check their phone, only glancing at one another.
When no one moved, someone finally plucked up the courage to check the message.
Everyone held their breath as they watched the man. Soon, he showed his phone screen to the others and spoke.
"Everyone, check your messages. It's a mobilization order."
"Shit, I thought my heart was going to stop."
The tense crowd let out sighs of relief and cracked jokes as they all checked their messages.
— Click!
At the sound of a camera shutter, everyone stared in silence. The woman who had received their gaze looked flustered.
"Why'd you suddenly take a picture? What are you doing?"
"Huh? No! I didn't take one. The sound… I heard it too, but I was just checking the message."
"Why would a camera sound go off while you're checking a text?!"
"My phone is broken, so it always makes a sound when I take a photo. No, but I really didn't take one!"
As the crowd directed suspicion and blame toward the protesting woman, one man stared blankly at his screen before throwing his phone against the wall.
"What are you doing?!"
"Everyone, smash your phones! It's a malicious app! It's taking pictures of our faces when we check the message!"
Some people moved their phones away at the man's words, but most didn't move, looking as if they couldn't believe it.
"Haven't you watched too many movies? How is that even possible?"
"You dumbass! You're just ignorant!"
While the people were arguing loudly, someone sat down next to Haruna.
At the soft touch on her shoulder, Haruna's expressionless face brightened as she looked up.
"Oppa…? …Who are you?"
"Hello. I am August Bildizar, a teacher at Yggdrasil. You are Miss Haruna, correct?"
Haruna, who had believed Yeon-woo would save her even in this difficult situation, stared blankly at August's face.
"Miss Yukina and Mr. Seo Yeon-woo were very worried about you."
"Shit, who the hell are you?!"
"You can rest easy now. I'll return you to those two."
The thugs shouted threateningly, but August didn't even pay them any mind, looking only at Haruna.
An attack launched by someone was blocked by a transparent barrier. August still showed no interest in them, leisurely pulling a black coin from his pocket.
"By the way, that man always makes things so grand."
"…Are you talking about Yeon-woo Oppa?"
"Yes, that's right. I suppose we weren't trustworthy enough on our own. Ah, more importantly, hold on tight. We're moving."
Haruna gripped his clothes tightly. The coin August flipped caught the light and sparkled as it fell to the ground.
— Ting.
With the brief sound of metal hitting the floor, August and Haruna vanished. In their place, Derek and other teachers appeared.
Though suddenly faced with enemies, no one needed to give an order.
The teachers, who had fought all sorts of battles against demons, monsters, and criminals, began pouring magic onto everyone in the hideout without hesitation.
The area was swept clean by spells forged in real combat. Just one second later, the only people standing in the hideout were the teachers.
Having suppressed everyone in an instant, the teachers practicedly gathered the fallen people to one side and bound them with magic. Derek then called Yeon-woo.
"We've secured Miss Haruna."
— Thank you. Haruna isn't hurt, is she?
"She's safe. How are things on your end?"
— Hmm… it's going well.
"The government will likely make things annoying for you later because of this."
— I did it knowing that. It's fine.
Derek hung up and looked around the cleared hideout.
If Haruna hadn't been involved, this wasn't an opponent that would have required Yggdrasil's intervention.
They were trash eating away at society, but the government's administrative power didn't reach this far because they were too busy dealing with demons and monsters.
However, the more the government ignored them as insignificant, the more this trash would torment the citizens in place of the demons and monsters.
That was why Derek had authorized the plan Yeon-woo proposed. He withdrew, vowing to help if the government pressured the boy.
I sat on the edge of the overpass, looking down at the street.
Whoa—when I saw this in hero movies, I thought it was just for show, but sitting here, the view really is spectacular.
At the news that Haruna had been safely rescued, Yukina finally looked relieved and relaxed her expression.
"You're really okay? Yes, yes. The teachers were good to you? Right, I'll be there soon. I'm so sorry I couldn't be by your side… Yes, thank goodness."
After finishing the call with Haruna with a face that looked ready to cry, Yukina returned to her usual cold expression, radiating murderous intent.
"I'm going to kill those bastards."
"I told you, you can't kill them. You're a normal Yggdrasil student now."
"The evidence is out, so I can kill them now, can't I?"
"Even so, killing them will affect your evaluation. 'Arrest' and 'kill' are not synonyms. Furthermore, since it involves your family, you'll only get a worse evaluation. Just half-kill them. Only half."
Because those who have earned a mage license are essentially walking human weapons, the ethics evaluations at Yggdrasil are quite strict.
Since Haruna was safe, I couldn't let Yukina get a bad evaluation for no reason.
"…You're colder than I am."
"I'm angry too. That's why I pulled a stunt like this."
"Thank you… I'm always receiving your help."
Yukina's face softened slightly as she took my hand, which was resting on the railing.
Below us, the trucks I had ordered were lining up and heading toward City Hall.
Large screens were attached to the back of the trucks, broadcasting the records of everyone involved in the crimes committed by the Union.
From the loud speakers, a voice blared about how the citizens were suffering because the government was leaving these people alone.
Trucks were heading toward the city halls of every city, not just this one.
What? The government is being lukewarm? Then the public just needs to get angry.
This is the K-Truck Protest! Taste the cutting-edge agitation!
Whether there's evidence or not, whether they're hard to catch because of their cell structure or not—once the fire starts spreading, the government has no choice but to move.
These bastards thought the government was a joke because they were living comfortably, didn't they? Let them feel with their own bodies how terrifying the public power of an organization running a country can be.
The information being broadcast from the trucks was all data Trevor had pulled from their phones.
There probably weren't any documents or ledgers.
But these bastards were idiots who were busy bragging about how wicked they were, and they had saved all the crimes they committed on their phones.
Privacy laws? What's that? Where's the evidence that I took it?
The truly terrifying thing about Trevor's magic is that it can't be traced.
In the first place, they wouldn't even realize the information had been stolen.
Besides the trucks, information related to them was being posted indiscriminately on all sorts of online communities, and it was proudly sitting at number one on the real-time trends.
I just saw that data on the internet, got angry, and protested at City Hall. I didn't do anything wrong.
One thing that bothered me was that Trevor's magic was strictly limited to extracting information, so sending the texts to their phones and having them automatically take a selfie when they checked the message was God Sayoshi's handiwork.
If it were traced, it would lead back to God Sayoshi.
It didn't matter since I had informed Derek of the plan, but Trevor's existence had to remain a secret.
Still, as long as Haruna was safe and we could wipe out these Union bastards, it was enough.
Seeing a text, I stood up from my seat.
"Location confirmed. Let's go crush that son of a bitch."
Trevor had sent me the location of Keiji and the guys involved in Haruna's kidnapping.
The government would take care of the other underlings, but I had to catch this guy with my own hands to satisfy my anger.
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