Chapter 10
The moment I entered the office, I ran into trouble.
Vincent was grinning as he watched my flustered face.
'...No.'
Maybe not. He only showed up after I'd run out of strength and given up.
I tried to find a hopeful explanation. If he'd seen my claws, that meant he'd witnessed what happened from the beginning, but then he should have stepped in long ago.
"P-pointed? What are you talking about..."
Crack!
"Oh myyy! This corner's sharp. It's as sharp as someone's claws—sharp, too. Tsk, tsk... Ambassador, I think we need to replace this furniture."
……He was seriously talking out of his ass!
"It was perfectly fine until just now! If Vincent hadn't forcibly ripped it apart, I could've used it for another ten years!"
I snapped back before I knew it, overcome with indignation. Seriously, was it common for people in this world to smash tables just to tease someone?
Then Vincent widened his eyes.
"What's your problem? It was just old and falling apart, but you're getting all worked up for nothing. What? Are you embarrassed because you got beaten by two C-ranks despite having an offensive skill?"
"You...! You...!"
"Now, now, you two, stop it. If you keep this up, we could be here all night. Naraebi, sit here."
Lee Chang-jin pressed a hand down on my shoulder.
Vincent sat across from me, while Lee Chang-jin himself took the center chair between us.
He took a sip of the tea in front of him and looked over at me.
"Naraebi."
'Right. This wasn't the time to bicker.'
The amusement had vanished from his gaze.
I sensed that the real interrogation was about to begin.
I had been caught for murder and rank fraud—two serious crimes—so from here on, I had to defend myself with everything I had.
I swallowed hard, then answered.
"......Yes."
"I'll ask you directly. Who are you?"
"Huh?"
I hadn't expected that question.
At most, I thought he'd ask why I'd killed Kim Young-hak or why I'd hidden my strength. I hadn't expected him to get straight to the heart of the matter so suddenly.
......Who was I? That was a question even I didn't know the answer to.
I hesitated, then opened my mouth.
"W-who I am...? I'm not sure how to answer that."
"It's simple. Tell me clearly and truthfully where you came from, who gave you the name 'Naraebi,' and when you gained your powers."
As he spoke, Lee Chang-jin studied my face intently.
He was determined not to miss even the slightest movement of my facial muscles.
That made me think.
'Lying under a gaze like that is pointless.'
He'd see through me right away if I tried.
That was something I'd learned all too clearly from experience.
After taking a deep breath, I looked him straight in the eye.
"......I came from inside a Gate."
"What?"
"Gah!"
Vincent knocked over the teacup, which had been piping hot just moments before. He fumbled, pulled a napkin from his breast pocket, and wiped it up.
As befitted an A-rank, he hadn't suffered any serious burns, but his mind had clearly gone blank.
"Ah..."
"Wait."
Lee Chang-jin stopped me as I stood to help. Pointing repeatedly downward with his index finger, he said,
"That side's fine. Just continue what you were saying."
"Y-yes, sir."
"Phew-."
The moment I sat back down, he let out a sigh. Lee Chang-jin interlaced his fingers and leaned toward me.
"......What do you mean, a Gate?"
"I mean exactly what I said. I think that one answer has probably made all the remaining questions meaningless."
"Are you saying you're a monster?"
'Monster.'
My lips moved soundlessly once before I shook my head.
"I don't know. I might be, but I don't know anything about myself either."
"......You don't know anything? Then did you choose your own name?"
"Yes."
"Ha... What on earth? What do you think, Vincent?"
Lee Chang-jin turned his head.
Vincent had already composed himself again.
He pointed a finger at me, then casually flicked it upward.
"You. Bring that out again."
"My claws?"
"Yeah."
"All right."
Ding-
[Skill 'Blade Claws' is activated.]
Emerald-green claws about five centimeters long grew out. Lee Chang-jin and Vincent began examining them from every angle.
Vincent spoke first.
"Hmm... They're interesting, but there's nothing much to them. Is it just because I'm so fucking strong that all weaklings look alike to me?"
His mocking tone was obvious. I didn't hesitate to twist my face into a scowl.
‘He's just bragging. …Huh? Mister?’
But before I could even react, Lee Chang-jin was looking at him with a strangely wounded expression.
Vincent flinched under that gaze.
"Oh, that..."
‘Heh heh, that's what you get for not calculating your area-of-effect attack properly.’
"Ahem! Well, you can't really tell just by looking. How about we try the measuring kit? You didn't try it when these first appeared, did you, Ambassador?"
"......Yes. That's right."
"I-I'll go get it! Naraebi, you punk, don't cause trouble—stay put!"
Bonk!
"Ow!"
Ugh, that hurt. I knew I'd get caught in the crossfire like this someday.
Not that hitting me would make his embarrassment go away. Why was he acting like that?
Still, his control over his strength was superb. For an A-rank, gauging my physical capabilities and adjusting his strength accordingly must have been difficult.
And he had used exactly enough force to make it hurt.
'So this is what the assassin class is like?'
I watched the door through which he had vanished, strangely impressed.
"......Naraebi."
At Lee Chang-jin's call, I straightened up and looked back at him.
"Yes?"
"You really don't remember anything from before, do you?"
"That's right."
I mean, the memories belonging to this body.
"......It doesn't seem like you're lying. Then how did you meet Kim Young-hak here?"
"I met him after leaving the Gate. He tried to kill me, so I had no choice but to defend myself."
"I know that without you telling me. I'm asking how you got out of the Gate."
......I was curious about that too.
"I don't know how I got out, either."
"Hmm... All right. Just one more thing."
"Go ahead and ask."
Since I'd already stopped thinking, I decided to answer him honestly.
Besides, without his cooperation, I couldn't live peacefully in this body.
Lee Chang-jin scratched his head once, then spoke.
"Actually, an alternative-service convict went missing at the place where you killed Kim Young-hak. His name was Na Ji-hoon."
'...!'
He was talking about me.
"Apparently, a junior he knew well sent him here, thinking he was doing him a favor... Now that junior seems troubled, realizing it was a mistake. Do you know anything?"
"......Ah."
......So that's what happened.
At first, I had been a little suspicious. I wondered whether he'd sent me to a place like this on purpose to screw me over.
I'd thought I'd never want to go on living if that were true, but apparently it wasn't.
'Ugh.'
A surge of emotion welled up inside me.
Before I even had a chance to hold them back, tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Huh...? Why are you crying? Do you know something?"
...Of course I do.
I know all too well.
......The only person who'd shown me any warmth after I'd hit rock bottom.
I'd thought no one cared about me, but he'd continued to feel responsible for me to the very end.
What was more, that he still felt that way about an undisputed criminal like me... I couldn't help being moved.
'I can't hurt someone like that.'
I clenched my fists and slowly began to speak.
"I met him. We even introduced ourselves."
"Huh? Really?"
Lee Chang-jin asked, looking surprised. Apparently, he'd asked without expecting an answer.
I slowly nodded and answered.
"He probably opened the Gate. He was already on the verge of death after Kim Young-hak beat him, but we were able to talk briefly."
"......So he really is dead."
"Yes."
There was no way to hide his death. They must have already found the blood I'd spilled while he was beating me.
Besides, claiming he'd remained inside the Gate would have been even worse.
I said to Lee Chang-jin, whose face was clouded with concern,
'He had no family, but he remained grateful to Detective Kang Ilhwan until the very end. So you don't need to feel sorry,' I said.
***
'Measuring rank...'
A little while later, Vincent returned with a portable measuring device, and we measured my mana again.
This time, my claws were extended. I was curious about the difference too, so I waited for the result with keen interest.
"Oh, it's showing."
"W-what is it? What did it come out as?"
"Uh... D... no, C. It's C, C!"
Wow. Really?
I was C-rank...
That meant I wasn't completely outclassed among the Hunters, right?!
Of course, since D had flashed briefly, I was technically only just barely C-rank, but still—wasn't that something?
I trembled as I clasped my hands together. It was a reaction born of uncontrollable happiness.
Vincent poked my cheek repeatedly with a displeased expression.
"Even so, you're the weakest in Douglas Kim. Don't start acting cocky just because you've leveled up a little."
"......"
I bit down hard on that finger.
"Urk? You little...! What the hell are you doing!"
"Vincent hit me first. And what's an A-rank like you whining about?"
"It's filthy, that's why! Ugh... Ambassador, could I get a napkin?"
Lee Chang-jin laughed as if he found it amusing and handed over his handkerchief.
'What a fuss over nothing.'
The teacup had been the same. The aristocratic system hadn't even been around that long, so why were they reacting like that?
Honestly, it felt like the whole world had gone insane except for me.
"Anyway, tsk, tsk... Mister. Can I go rest now? It looks like we've more or less finished talking."
"Hmm... Do you remember the story we pieced together?"
“Of course.”
Once the discussion about 'Na Ji-hoon' was over, Lee Chang-jin gave me the script.
The scenario was simple. To put it plainly, I was the 'victim.'
First, Kim Young-hak, who made a habit of exploiting and murdering alternative-service convicts, was actually a pedophile, and he had kidnapped me.
I'd been hit on the head during the kidnapping, lost my memory, and then luckily awakened, allowing me to escape from him.
And in the process, 'Na Ji-hoon' had sacrificed himself trying to protect me.
"Is this right?"
"You're leaving one thing out. What was your rank again?"
"E."
The point was to keep the details as vague as possible.
No matter the circumstances, killing someone meant I had to be investigated, and then it would only be a matter of time before my secret came out.
But if I claimed to be E-rank, I'd be ruled out as a suspect entirely, so I could apparently wrap things up with a simple statement.
For reference, Kim Young-hak's body had already been cremated. Cause of death: 'suicide.'
'The minor details would be buried under the name of Douglas Kim...'
Great!
"Can I go rest now?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because..."
Lee Chang-jin smiled, looking pleased.
"Now you have to catch a plane. A private jet can't just take off whenever it wants, and we're short on time."
"Huh...? Really?"
"That's right. And you have to meet your bodyguard, too. You don't have any luggage to pack, right? Come with me."
“E-eh?”
......A bodyguard?
I scratched my head and followed him.
But just then,
-Ambassador!! Ambassador, there's a huge problem!
A man came running from the end of the hallway. He was an embassy employee I'd barely spoken with before.
He reached us and shouted before Lee Chang-jin even had a chance to speak.
"I-it's a dungeon break! It's a high-ranking one—even among B-ranks! We have to evacuate!"