Chapter 34
For Investigation Instructor Yun Jeongseop, the school holidays were as sweet as honey.
While the instructors in charge of clubs were pestered by cadets all day, he could lock himself in his own research lab and immerse himself in his research.
‘Environmental mana above a certain level also affects the mana circulation of each individual…….’
The content of his research was about the curse placed upon him.
However, even after pouring years of effort into it, he had not been able to find a satisfactory answer.
Knowledge that could not be obtained even from the library of Hero Prep, the largest in Seoul…….
People would describe it as ‘non-existent,’ but Yun Jeongseop was dedicating his time with a rather positive attitude.
‘Still, it was a relief that I didn't die.’
Because at that time when the curse seeped in, the luckiest one had been himself.
“…….”
Yun Jeongseop, who was looking at an old book and its exegetical collection as he did on any other day, detected the sound of footsteps coming from outside his research lab.
Although he could not feel the mana, there was only one person in Hero Prep with such an honest gait.
“……Instructor, it’s Lee Eunho.”
Combat cadet Lee Eunho.
And also, a member of the Mystery Club for which he served as an advisor.
Yun Jeongseop knew he would come.
Because this morning, Lee Eunho had cautiously contacted him first.
“Come in.”
Lee Eunho calmly opened the lab door and entered.
However, he did not walk further inside but greeted Yun Jeongseop with his back to the door.
“I hope I wasn't a bother?”
“No.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried I might be taking up your time.”
“It would be neglect of my duties as an instructor if I didn’t have time to spare for the top student of the academy. But more importantly… what was it you wanted to talk about?”
As Yun Jeongseop asked, the expression on Lee Eunho’s face vanished.
An atmosphere that made Yun Jeongseop, who was facing him, swallow dryly for a moment.
“…….”
Soon, Lee Eunho’s answer flowed out softly.
“I’m thinking of leaving the Mystery Club.”
***
We managed to get on the deck of the cargo ship just in time.
If we had delayed even a little, the distance between the ship and the pier would have widened to an impossible leap.
Of course, even now, I had barely made it over by being carried on Gwon Chihun's back.
“Hey, Ji Seokhyeon. Don't you think we should have told the investigators? How are we going to deal with the Ghouls by ourselves.”
“No, it’s a better picture with Dispel fumbling around like this.”
“Why?”
“The opponents are Demonic Beings, meticulous guys who disappeared for over a decade. It wouldn't be strange if they sank the ship as soon as Dispel boarded. It would be better to lose the contents of the container than to have them discovered.”
“I see…….”
The first thing we did after getting on the deck was to hide our bodies in the containers placed all around.
It was clear that guards with skills befitting a large ship would be patrolling the deck.
In terms of Hunter rank, there would probably be about C-rank guards stationed.
One might think it a relatively low rank, but the Hunter rank in this world was determined by achievements rather than skill.
Therefore, unless it was a special case, C-rankers were skilled individuals with at least 10 years of experience.
“By the way, mister, is it okay for you to keep following us? No matter how much I have your back…….”
When Gwon Chihun asked Baek Dojun, who was leaning against the container on the opposite side, he nodded and replied.
“Wouldn't it be easier if I followed you if you have to report to Dispel anyway? Think of it as part of my responsibility for bringing you along.”
How could he be so shameless.
I glared at Baek Dojun for a moment, then lowered my body to avoid a passing sailor.
Gwon Chihun hid his body as well and spoke to me.
“They’re not armed. Does that mean not all the sailors are in on it?”
“Probably, at most the captain or the hunters hired as guards. ……Or maybe no one is.”
“No one?”
“I mean, they might have sneaked in secretly just like us.”
“We can’t move rashly.”
As the sailor who was passing by the deck disappeared, Gwon Chihun opened his mouth again.
“If they have to be careful too, shouldn't we find the container first?”
“That's why we came up here. It won't be easy, though.”
The cargo ship was as complex as the container site.
Although the number of container levels was lower than at the site, the narrow gaps between them made it like a cramped maze.
Without exaggeration, it would be physically difficult to open all the containers before the ship docked.
I organized my thoughts for a moment and then continued.
“Still, I can roughly predict where they would have hidden it.”
“What? How?”
“It's a simple deduction. They would have loaded it in a place where it's at least easy to handle the container. For example, a location where it can be unloaded first when the ship docks, or a location where the container can be stolen by an external helicopter during the voyage.”
“……If we go by those conditions, the search area would be drastically reduced.”
Gwon Chihun showed his motivation by pulling out the pistol from his hip.
“Let's find the container quickly. And then let's contact Dispel.”
I shook my head and stopped him.
“The will is good, but it would be better to move a little later.”
“Why?”
“I mean, let’s use the sunlight outside of Seoul. If the opponents are Ghouls, they won't be able to come up to the deck the moment the cargo ship leaves Seoul.”
“Hey, you…….”
“What.”
“You’re smarter than you look.”
“…….”
We decided to wait for the ship to leave the Han River.
About 10 minutes.
Soon, sunlight streamed in between the containers, and we began our search with the motivated Gwon Chihun in the lead.
While we were conducting our search, Baek Dojun did not say or do anything special.
He just hid in the shadow of a container and secretly contacted someone from time to time.
How long did we move like that?
By the time the sunlight outside of Seoul became scorching, Gwon Chihun slumped down between two narrow containers.
“Damn it! What's the point of narrowing the scope. This ship is meaninglessly huge.”
“You only realize that now?”
“Besides, are the Ghouls even hiding here? No matter how much they can't move easily because of the sunlight.”
Gwon Chihun whined.
I nodded my head vaguely and watched Baek Dojun, who had an inscrutable expression.
What on earth was he thinking…….
The character named Baek Dojun was a kind of reasoning pervert who solved cases based on his own interests.
In my original author's setting, he was an extraordinary individual with the best brain in humanity when it came to establishing thoughts and reasoning.
Therefore, reading his thoughts was next to impossible.
No matter how much of the original author I was, I could only guess at his actions.
For example, a guess that his lack of reaction to our decision meant that this case was not going badly.
I averted my gaze from him.
There was no clear answer to be found by staring at him any longer.
Whatever the case, finding the container was the priority.
“Get up now, will you? There's no time to dawdle.”
“I was about to move again anyway. ……But can we really check all the containers within today? I think we need another clue to narrow down the scope.”
Another clue, that is, a way to transport unauthorized goods without being caught…….
I narrowed my eyes and looked around.
Then, the paints on the containers suddenly caught my eye.
The paints were letters or symbols drawn to distinguish the goods of each guild or company, and as soon as I saw them, I spoke to Gwon Chihun.
“Monsters sometimes appear in the sea, you know.”
“What kind of nonsensical thing are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“No matter how many hunters stay on the ship, the possibility of the ship capsizing cannot be ignored.”
“So what? Ah, don't tell me you can't swim either?”
This bastard…….
“I'm saying, they would have prepared for an unfortunate accident. So that they could find the container even if the cargo ship capsized.”
“……You’re saying they put a mark on the container?”
“Yeah, to be precise, a symbol that sailors or officials wouldn't easily touch. And also, a symbol that would be the first to be salvaged from a shipwreck.”
“……Like Dispel’s shield emblem?”
I nodded my head.
Gwon Chihun shot up to his feet.
“Damn it! Why didn't I think of that?”
“Is there time to blame yourself? We have to move before the ship gets further away from land.”
“But with this much volume, finding Dispel’s container won't be easy either…….”
“That’s no problem. Goods from agencies related to the Bureau of Superpowers are usually treated with top priority. It will probably be the first to be unloaded from the ship as well.”
“That means…….”
“I saw earlier that the unloading location of this ship was the bow. There must be a container with the Dispel emblem printed on it in that vicinity.”
“Conclusion reached. Let's move quickly.”
We headed towards the bow of the ship.
Soon, we found containers with the shield emblem there, and we stopped in front of one container that was the only one without a lock.
As expected, a location cleverly hidden among the other containers.
Gwon Chihun strode up to the container and pulled on the locking bolt, but the door did not budge.
“……It's locked?”
“With magic?”
“Yeah, because there's no lock. ……I can't undo this. It would be a different story if we had brought a support cadet.”
As I approached the entrance myself, I felt a strange flow of mana.
A powerful mana that made me not even dare to try to unlock it rashly.
I probably would not be able to see through it even with my Demonic Eye…….
Containers that transport items like this are sometimes enchanted with special magic.
In this case, it was highly likely that a truly valuable item was hidden inside.
Especially if it was goods handled by a group like Dispel, it was highly likely to be classified information of the Bureau of Superpowers.
It was a bit of a disappointing situation, but in fact, there was no need to open the container in this case.
That was because the hidden condition of this episode had been completed.
I opened my mouth calmly.
“I can open it.”
“What?”
“There’s a separate way to open it. In that sense, give me your gun.”
“Are you an idiot? Do you think this will work with a gun?”
“Just do it, hurry up.”
“Haaah……. Really.”
He loaded the pistol nervously and held it out.
I took it and immediately aimed the muzzle at Baek Dojun, who was nearby.
“……!”
“Hey! Wh-what’s wrong!”
What do you mean, what's wrong.
It was because the time had come to end this absurd farce.
“Don’t you still get it? This person’s identity is a Ghoul.”
“……What?”
At my words, Baek Dojun raised both hands to the side of his head and asked.
“I’d like to ask on what grounds you’re making such a claim.”
I curled one corner of my mouth and answered.
“First, while searching this place, you never once came out of the shadows.”
“……Hmm?”
Of course, it was a lie.
Although he had not been cooperative in the search, he had definitely been in the sunlight.
Gwon Chihun said with a bewildered look.
“W-wait! It’s hard to say he's a Ghoul just based on that.”
“Without even considering the grounds, can't he just come out into the sunlight?”
“That’s true, but……. Why don't you come out. If you're not a Ghoul, prove it.”
Baek Dojun remained motionless, without any reaction.
Instead, he looked at me and smiled a cryptic smile.
As if he would play along with that absurd claim.
Well, I knew he would react this way.
From the beginning, he had been hanging around with us to watch me.
When Baek Dojun remained still, Gwon Chihun quickly narrowed his brow.
“The fact that you're not coming out of the shadows means I can consider you a Ghoul……!”
Gwon Chihun lowered his body as if he would rush at him at any moment.
The moment he kicked off the ground, I secretly used my Demonic Eye.
I also bound his shadow and restricted his mana, and Gwon Chihun lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor.
“…….”
This unexpected action was to protect Gwon Chihun.
Because from now on, I had to talk about important things that he should not hear.
I shifted my gaze to Baek Dojun while maintaining my Demonic Eye.
At that, he smirked.
“Hoh, it was a Demonic Eye. So that’s why…….”
The reason I showed him my Demonic Eye was as a means to hide my dark attribute.
The same context as what I had done to Yun Jeongseop.
Judging by his reaction, he seemed to think that I had knocked out Gwon Chihun with my Demonic Eye, thankfully.
I feigned a calm expression and opened my mouth.
“He will probably only remember that you were a Ghoul.”
“……That means you deliberately acted.”
“I think it will be a decent excuse, don't you?”
“……?”
“Because inside this container, Hong Dahee's family, whom you are trying to smuggle, will be hiding.”