“To return to the main point, the reason we have brought Guide Chae Suhyeon here in this manner is due to the civilian casualties.”
The woman continued with a soft smile.
“Of course, the injuries aren’t severe—mostly minor fractures. The number of victims isn’t large, either. If there had been no casualties, we might have handled this internally, but since civilians were hurt, the Association is compelled to take action. You said you have no specific knowledge regarding this power to control monsters?”
Suhyeon nodded slowly.
Unlike the man who had reacted emotionally, the woman nodded back with a gentle, understanding expression.
“Then, where is that monster now?”
Suhyeon faltered at the question.
A sense of foreboding washed over him.
Feeling the warmth in his pocket, he briefly cast his gaze downward.
He had brought the fluffball with him.
He’d wanted to leave it behind, but he brought it just in case.
“…Why do you ask?”
“Because it must be summarily disposed of.”
Suhyeon fell silent at the answer that dropped as if it had been waiting.
The woman gestured with a pleasant face.
“If Guide Chae Suhyeon doesn’t know what kind of power connects him to the monster, then unless there is a special reason, it is only natural to kill it. It is a monster, after all. CCTV footage captured Guide Chae Suhyeon moving with a small, transformed version of it. Fortunately, the Association secured the footage before it could spread, but regardless, we ask for your cooperation.”
Suhyeon blinked.
Unlike the man, the woman was highly rational and was speaking reasonably from the Association’s perspective. Her tone was beyond polite.
Certainly, the fact that the fluffball had saved Suhyeon was incredible.
But to them, the fluffball was merely a monster—a creature that deserved to be subjugated.
Furthermore, since civilians had been injured, it was an existence that naturally had to be eliminated.
However, Suhyeon’s lips parted soundlessly.
From his perspective, the fluffball had rescued him from a nightmare with Shin Seojun that might have gone on forever.
It was a tiny, cute thing that always acted as if it were tamed by him.
Even the rampage in the city had happened because it was fighting Shin Seojun.
While he couldn’t ignore the fact that civilians were hurt, the fluffball had struggled solely to protect him.
Of that much, he was certain.
“Suhyeon. Hand it over quickly and let’s end this.”
Suhyeon’s shoulders jerked, and he looked back at Hajin.
Hajin spoke nonchalantly, as if he only found the fact that they were even sitting here offensive.
Though he had treated the fluffball somewhat leniently yesterday, he seemed remorseless now that the situation might cause trouble for Suhyeon.
“Guide Chae Suhyeon?”
The urging came again.
Suhyeon looked back down toward his pocket.
Inside, he felt the fluffball nuzzling against him, seeking his warmth.
Slowly, Suhyeon pulled the fluffball out of his pocket.
He heard the sound of people around the room catching their breath.
“Kyu-u-u.”
As if the gazes of the crowd meant nothing, the fluffball rolled in Suhyeon’s palm and let out a small cry.
Its white fur wagged peacefully, as if it only cared about him looking at it.
They wanted to kill this.
Even though he had seen the fluffball transform into a giant, Suhyeon still found it hard to believe that this was a monster no different from the ones that came out of Gates.
It was always docile toward him, showing no hostility toward humans.
Suhyeon looked up at the woman. She was staring at the fluffball in his hand.
“…Is it absolutely necessary to kill it?”
Suhyeon finally asked after staring at the fluffball for a long time.
Behind him, he heard Hajin let out a displeased “Suhyeon.”
The woman tilted her head as if she had heard an unexpected question.
“Well, yes. Judging by the monster’s appearance, it seems certain that Guide Chae Suhyeon possesses some kind of power, but as I mentioned, the Association must take measures since civilians have been harmed.”
‘If it wasn’t for this, I might not have come back at all.’
He wanted to say those words, but Suhyeon kept his mouth shut and looked at the fluffball on his hand.
Unaware that it might die in a few moments, the fluffball was only making happy kyu-kyu sounds. Suhyeon’s brow furrowed.
“Is there… no way to avoid killing it?”
“It seems you don’t wish to dispose of it.”
The woman saw right through Suhyeon’s intent.
Suhyeon nodded and looked at her.
“Really—”
Meanwhile, the man who had briefly stepped out and returned began to turn red, looking ready to vent his anger again, but the woman raised a hand and he fell silent.
She stroked her chin as if she hadn’t anticipated this situation.
Someone behind him was laughing, but Suhyeon, focused on the woman, didn’t notice.
Dozens of pairs of eyes went back and forth between the woman and Suhyeon.
“Well… if Guide Chae Suhyeon could certainly control the monster, and if the monster or the Guide’s power proved to be a great asset… we could certainly take it into consideration. But I’m not so sure. The monster has already caused harm to civilians.”
Suhyeon stroked the fluffball’s fur with his thumb.
It chirped happily in response.
To anyone watching, it looked completely docile and tamed.
He couldn’t be sure about controlling it in its monster state since that was an unknown ability… but would this creature ever go against his will?
“Kyu-u—”
The fluffball cried softly as if it had read Suhyeon’s mind.
Suhyeon watched it act cute for a while longer before letting out a faint breath.
“What do you mean by ‘a great asset’?”
The woman, with a smile on her lips, let out a long “hmm” of deliberation.
“Judging by your ability to handle the monster, I think… being helpful to the combat power at Gate sites.”
“What?”
Almost at the same moment Suhyeon blinked, Hajin, who had been watching the situation from behind, let out a fierce question.
“Where? What did you say? The field?”
It wasn’t just Hajin.
Yihan began to growl as well.
The woman, having provoked the two men who had stayed quiet behind Suhyeon until now, merely shrugged while maintaining her gentle smile.
“I said that because, judging by the previous Gate accident, it seems entirely possible. If the Association is to allow the keeping of a monster that caused damage, we need a justification. This is merely a potential reason to permit the keeping of the monster, so please don’t pay it too much mind. Our stance is ultimately that the monster should be killed. We have no desire to send Guide Chae Suhyeon into a dangerous situation.”
The woman laid out reasonable words.
At that, Hajin began to urge Suhyeon.
“Suhyeon, don’t think of anything foolish. Just give that thing to them and let’s go back.”
Suhyeon swallowed hard.
“Kyu-u…”
Feeling something unusual from his gaze, the fluffball made a more dejected sound than before.
Was it his imagination that its bead-like black eyes looked tearful?
The light in Suhyeon’s light brown eyes dimmed.
Could he really live on as if nothing happened after killing this?
This fluffball was the one that risked its life to save him from Shin Seojun.
“…If I were to go to the field, what would I have to do?”
“Suhyeon!”
“Chae Suhyeon!”
Suhyeon asked after much deliberation.
As soon as he finished, Hajin and Yihan called his name sharply, but Suhyeon only looked at the woman.
However, a moment later, he had to blink.
It felt as if the woman had flashed a deep, mysterious smile, as if she had been waiting for this.
When he looked again, there was only the original gentle smile on her face.
She leaned forward, resting her chin on her folded arms.
“You said you didn’t know about the power to handle monsters, but you must have some inkling of it to ask this, right?”
Suhyeon nodded slowly.
“In that case, first, let’s verify with the Espers whether you can control the monster, and then head out to a weak Gate site. Of course, since it’s a Gate site, we will attach as many Espers as possible for your safety. If we determine through those two steps that you can be an asset, we will offer a new proposal to Guide Chae Suhyeon. We’ll assume the monster can be kept—”
“Stop talking nonsense. This isn’t even funny. Did you say you’d push a Guide into the field?”
Before the woman could finish, Hajin stepped forward with a sharp, incredulous laugh.
The woman’s words were one thing, but Suhyeon gripped Hajin’s sleeve.
However, unlike before, Hajin didn’t look back at Suhyeon.
“I only said that if Guide Chae Suhyeon wishes to keep that monster.”
Hajin whipped his head toward Suhyeon.
Had he ever looked at him with such a terrifying expression before?
Suhyeon met the fiercely shimmering blue eyes and bit his lip.
“Suhyeon—”
“It doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me, does it?”
Just as Hajin called Suhyeon’s name, an unfamiliar voice cut in between them.
