Chapter 6
......Student Raebi?
I'm an idiot.
......Secretary Kim. Was this student always so quiet?
What? Ah, no—they talked just fine when they were with me...
The ambassador looked puzzled when I didn't open my mouth.
Of course, I wanted nothing more than to play along.
But...
'Sorry. It's not that I won't talk—I can't.'
Ha... Why hadn't I thought of this?
It had been four years, counting by calendar years, since the Gates first appeared. The world had undergone enormous changes.
First, most professions that involved dangerous work or frequent use of force—police officers and firefighters, for example—had been replaced by Hunters.
At the time, some people with good existing track records had been able to undergo 'forced awakening,'
which was a privilege the wealthy had already been enjoying.
It was already common knowledge that Gates had existed on Earth longer than people had been told.
Political and business leaders who had known about the situation in advance had secured 'awakened ability users' and used them to awaken ahead of everyone else.
'Of course, this is only my guess to some extent...'
Common sense told me that it made no sense for Hunter academies to suddenly appear the moment the Gates erupted.
On top of that, the proportion of Awakened among politicians and the wealthy was overwhelmingly high.
Forced awakening cost at least ten billion won per session, and since reawakening was possible if the initial rank was low, the mana levels divided into E through S had effectively become social classes.
......And social class was national power.
Diplomats stationed around the world were the face and pride of their nations, so they had received preferential treatment in the early days of the Awakening.
'And this man standing before me.'
"......Hey, Naraebi. Am I frightening you?"
The South Korean ambassador to Egypt, B-rank Hunter Lee Chang-jin.
I remembered him because he was particularly famous.
He had originally been a detective before undergoing forced awakening, and when a C-rank dungeon break occurred, he had held it back alone for a full twenty minutes.
Even after being driven to the brink of death, he had desperately protected a single Egyptian tourist, becoming a hero.
The incident was reported throughout Egypt, and the Korean government had specially appointed Lee Chang-jin ambassador to facilitate diplomacy with Egypt.
‘In other words, he was absolutely not someone to take lightly.’
I muttered softly.
"...Yes. I'm scared."
"Hmm? Why are you scared? I've never met a kid who was afraid of this old man..."
Of course. The cool and handsome Chain Blade Master Lee Chang-jin. You were a hero to all the schoolkids.
But I'm a monster now. If you find out, you'll tear me to pieces and kill me right there.
"Haa... You can't just send me back to Korea, can you?"
"Hmm... You probably already know the answer, Naraebi, but that's difficult. Besides, one of the administrators overseeing people serving alternative sentences has gone missing, so even if you look like a student, we have to verify your identity."
...!
My mouth fell open.
'....I'm screwed.'
I was really screwed.
That had to be about Kim Young-hak, and things would get complicated if they detected my mana level here.
Besides, judging by the way he spoke, I could tell he was even putting me on the suspect list.
'S-Should I run?'
But... even if I ran, could I actually get away? Against a veteran Hunter who ranked near the top of B-rank?
......Absolutely impossible.
He was a professional. He hadn't survived by moving from one insane battlefield to another for no reason, so I couldn't count on him letting his guard down.
"W-What if I don't say anything...?"
At that, Lee Chang-jin's expression changed. The gentle, soothing manner vanished, and his speech switched back to informal language.
"First, we'll have to test whether you're Awakened. Then we'll ask about your hair and eye color—and find out who you really are."
...G-Genetic testing...!
But the crisis didn't end there.
"But..."
"Yes?"
"...Do you know something about the disappearance, Naraebi?"
"N-No? Why do you ask?"
"Hmm... Usually, young people first ask who went missing, but you panicked first. If not, never mind."
‘This man used to be a detective.’
...He suspects me.
He absolutely suspects me.
I shouldn't have panicked...!
But I was the culprit, and it was my first time killing someone! How was I supposed to act calm?!
Lee Chang-jin continued staring this way.
As a cold pressure that was unmistakably real spread through my entire body, I clasped my trembling hands together.
'Please, calm down, hands...! If you stay calm, you'll survive even after entering a tiger's den...!'
...But a little while later,
what was bound to happen finally did.
"Ambassador, I've brought the test kit."
"Hmm. Give it here. I'll do it myself."
Lee Chang-jin accepted the palm-sized terminal.
N-No...!
'Portable Awakened-person Test Kit'
It had been developed by studying people allergic to mana.
When the substance inside reacted to the subject's mana and decomposed, the degree of decomposition was measured to determine their rank.
Although it had a margin of error, it couldn't hide whether someone was Awakened. Therefore...
I-I'm screwed.
I'm going to die again...!
"M-Mister, I don't want to do this..."
"It won't hurt, and it'll be over in a moment. Come on—put your finger here."
I trembled and resisted, but there was no withstanding a B-rank Hunter's strength.
My hand was dragged toward the terminal despite how hard I tried to resist.
'N-Nooo!!!'
Beep-
[Awakened individual detected.]
***
'Measuring rank...'
The terminal displayed a circular loading screen after determining that I was Awakened.
A detailed measurement seemed to take some time.
'This life is ruined too...'
I merely hung my head and waited for the moment I would be butchered.
But a little while later.
"U...um."
Lee Chang-jin's voice sounded strangely uneasy.
I slowly raised my head and saw him staring at the terminal with his brow slightly furrowed.
The letters E and D kept alternating on the terminal's screen.
He cocked his head and said,
"It means D if the number is high and E if it's low... In that case, you couldn't even hurt a C-rank, let alone..."
His expression was unmistakably flustered. Apparently, he really had marked me as the prime suspect.
'Awakened youths do have high crime rates...'
But I was just as flustered. Even though he had been injured, I had taken out Kim Young-hak in a single blow, which, even accounting for his weakened condition, was something only a high-ranking D-rank Awakened could do.
That was why I had expected at least D, or C at most.
......But right on the border between E and D. In other words,
"So I can be ruled out as a suspect...? Sorry, Naraebi. It's a professional habit, so I hope you understand."
No, your instincts weren't wrong.
Something was wrong...
'Ah!'
Something occurred to me at that moment.
'Status Window!'
Flash!
[Apprentice Pygmy Sculptor Naraebi]
LV.1
-----------------------------
Vitality: 30 (+5)
Intelligence: 150 (+50)
Strength: 30 (+5)
Agility: 50 (+5)
Dominance: 17 (+5)
Remaining stat points: 0
(+5 upon leveling up)
-----------------------------
Status: Insufficient Essence
(Only 30% of your actual stats' power
can be exerted.)
HP:170/170
MP:600/600
-----------------------------
...Y-Yes! Insufficient Essence!
If the 'power' mentioned here meant simple physical strength, that explained it.
My strength would drop, but my speed would stay the same, so taking down the weakened Kim Young-hak wasn't impossible.
'So the debuff was reflected in my mana level...'
The tension left me all at once.
As my anxiety melted away like snow under the sun, relief filled the void it left behind.
Then tears burst out like an avalanche.
"Ngh... sob... hic..."
"Huh? Wh-why are you crying!"
"Y-You keep acting strange, and it's already hard enough not remembering anything... Sniff....sniff....hic!"
"I mean, why did you hide that you were Awakened... No, that's not it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. There, stop crying, okay?"
Lee Chang-jin was flustered and didn't know what to do.
...I'm sorry, mister.
I was just fucking terrified you'd kill me, so I was crying from relief. What I said just now was only an excuse.
Still, if you get down to the cause, I was worried about being killed by you, so it wasn't completely unrelated.
Afterward, Lee Chang-jin patted me comfortingly for a while, then picked me up and carried me to the break room.
"You must be tired, so rest here for now."
"Yes... Thank you."
"There, there."
....
....
Why was he still standing there instead of leaving?
When I stared at him, our eyes met, and Lee Chang-jin hesitated before speaking.
"...But, and I'm really sorry to say this, since you hid the fact that you're Awakened, we have to conduct a few formal checks."
...An investigation?
"Am I going to be questioned again?"
"I'm really sorry... Still, your mana level is so low that there's nothing in particular to worry about."
"......I understand."
I nodded calmly. This much was within the range of what I had expected, anyway.
Lee Chang-jin gave me a bitter smile, then left.
‘….I made it through the crisis.’
I flopped face-first onto the bed. Perhaps the mental stress had been too much, because my eyes slid shut even though I hadn't done anything particularly strenuous.
It was a soft bed with clean bedding—the first I'd had in a long time.
For the first time in ages, I fell into a deep sleep.
After that, I ate and slept at the embassy. Lee Chang-jin kept trying to persuade me to take a genetic test, but I stubbornly refused. Fortunately, he seemed to assume I must have my reasons.
A few days later,
I received a certain offer.
"Adoption...?"
"That's right. There are countless families who want to adopt an Awakened child. I sounded out a few places just in case, and there are already people who want to adopt you."
...Is that a good thing? I didn't have particularly good memories of adoption.
"...What if I don't get adopted?"
"Then your stay here will be prolonged a little. You insist you don't remember anything, and you don't want a genetic test either. Nothing came up from your fingerprints, so there's no way to verify anything right now."
In the end, it meant I could only enter Korea once someone vouched for my identity. If I were adopted, the adoptive family would bear full responsibility, allowing an identity to be created quickly.
In other words, the government could dump the burden on a private citizen.
'It would be a nuisance to keep staying here.'
"I'll think about it positively. But could I see the candidates in advance?"
"Of course. Here's the list."
He handed me a single sheet of A4 paper.
I carefully accepted it and began reading.
But then,
…Oh Hwan-seong.
…Kang Ha-na.
‘Huh?’
'D-Douglas Kim?'
......Why would an S-rank family want me?