Chapter 8: One-Man Army

Dan Ga-yeon (2)

The car carrying Comet and the Chairwoman arrived at a trail below the mountain. The Chairwoman leisurely surveyed the area.

"I was originally planning to organize this area later. But after analyzing the gathered information, I thought it would be valuable. Oh, look at this."

The Chairwoman dug into the soil and pulled out a plant with flowers.

"Isn't it amazing?"

Comet blinked.

"It's amazing that plants I only saw in games are already blooming...?"

"Not that, this flower."

Comet stared at the flower. It was a flower with a slightly unusual pink petal shape. That alone was enough to guess that it was a flower that didn't exist in the original vegetation, but she couldn't tell anything else. In the first place, Comet is a Necromancer.

"Is it rare?"

"It's one of the most famously useless flowers."

A small flame rose from the Chairwoman's hand and burned the flower. It smelled like bitter flowers.

"In other words, it's a flowering weed. However, considering the vegetation, it's worth noting. It's a weed that grows in places where other medicinal herbs should grow."

The Chairwoman roughly pointed to the mountain with her hand.

"Your equipment will come from here."

"I was wondering why you were giving it to me despite your tight budget, but you had something to rely on."

"Hey, don't say things that make the giver feel bad. I'm showing goodwill even though I'm on a tight budget."

The Chairwoman shook her head and walked up the trail. Comet followed, and her aides followed behind.

The Chairwoman stopped from time to time and dug up medicinal herbs. Each time, she explained to Comet what kind of medicinal herb she had dug up. Comet wasn't very interested and only pretended to listen.

"Look at this. After all, a person who has learned Alchemy should be in politics to manage resources. Don't you think?"

The aides, who were only acting as porters, naturally flattered her. Subtly putting down other assemblywoman, it seemed that someone among the surviving assembly had provoked the Chairwoman.

Comet followed the Chairwoman, looking at the scenery, and then, feeling a sense of déjà vu, pondered. Recalling the route she had taken, a familiar trajectory was drawn. It was the route Dan Ga-yeon had taken for her operation. If they kept going like this, they could leave the trail in the middle.

The Chairwoman stopped at the point where Dan Ga-yeon had left, looked at the scenery, and then passed by without saying anything. Comet blinked.

After leaving the trail in the middle and moving to the hiking trail, it was soon to the summit. The Chairwoman collected as many medicinal herbs as she could see, but the Awakened's pace was fast enough. However, some of the aides who were not Awakened were exhausted and fell behind.

The summit of the mountain had its scenery managed, with a part of the city revealed in an appropriate location. Although it cannot be seen during the day, if you come at night, you will see the night view created by the city under the moonlight. Even if it is a faint night view like the remnants of a fading civilization.

The Chairwoman took out her cell phone and held it up to the city as if to take a picture. On the cell phone screen, the scenery of the city and a communication failure mark flickered.

The sound of the shutter was heard, and the Chairwoman stared at the picture she had taken.

"Isn't it funny? That I still can't get a signal."

Her voice was somber.

Comet turned her gaze to the city without answering.

"The National Science and Technology Council has defined the communication paralysis as a communication blockade and researched it, and the results are roughly out. They said they can't solve it. It's magic-related technology, so our current technology can't handle it. Ha! Are they telling me to bring a Magic Ranker from England or something?"

The Chairwoman just seemed to need someone to listen to her.

"I asked the local governments to organize the current situation and send it to me, but some of them sent it roughly. Well, now that their autonomy has increased, they may feel that it's a waste to use personnel for Seoul, which is far away. Is this the government of the Korean Peninsula? It's the Republic of Seoul."

A kicked stone flew down the mountain.

"Comet. Do you know that the ambient Mana concentration is abnormally high?"

"Is it?"

Comet looked up at the sky for no reason.

"I don't feel it."

"I checked to see if Earth was originally like this, but it wasn't. It's abnormal. It's like being near a great magic. It might really be true, not just a metaphor."

"Isn't it the magic that maintains the status window?"

"Magic scholars have calculated it, and it's too much."

The Chairwoman didn't say anything more and put a cigarette in her mouth. Then, she took out a lighter, looked around, and realized there was no trash can, so she put both back in.

"Why don't we take a picture while we're here?"

"I don't carry a cell phone."

"Don't you play games?"

"I don't."

"Then what do you really do?"

The Chairwoman seemed genuinely curious, excluding any ulterior motives. It was the look of someone looking at a young person who was playing and eating during their prime.

"Are you dissatisfied with my unemployed life?"

The Chairwoman shrugged.

They shared a bag of bread that an aide handed them, had a cup of coffee, and then came down from the summit.

The Chairwoman seemed to be going down the same way she came up, but at some point, she walked off the path. Comet wondered how much medicinal herb collecting this Alchemist had to do to be satisfied, but the place she arrived at was not the purpose.

A familiar sight unfolded. There were traces of the Bear Monster rampaging. The Chairwoman calmly looked around and whispered to her aide. Comet pretended to do something else, and when the Chairwoman didn't say anything, she looked at the Monster's corpse and its surroundings.

While Comet went down to make people corpses, Dan Ga-yeon seemed to have had a muddy fight. There were traces of a long sword penetrating the Monster's eyes and piercing its brain. It was gone, whether the Black Squad had recovered it. Comet wrinkled her nose at the smell for a moment and moved away from the corpse.

"Are you happy smelling death?"

"What are you talking about? I'm a soul expert."

The Chairwoman laughed and moved, looking at the ground and following the bloodstains. It seemed that she was determined to find the place where Dan Ga-yeon had fallen.

Before long, they arrived at the place with the red-stained tree roots and the bloodstains left by Dan Ga-yeon. It was as if the scene of that moment was flickering in her eyes. Comet cursed the Healer for a moment. They were interfering with the moment of death while fulfilling their duty; they had no romance.

The Chairwoman looked at the tree roots and let out a hollow laugh.

"It was broken recently. If it hadn't been broken, he would have been fine even if she had fallen here."

"He was punished by heaven."

The Chairwoman glanced at her.

"Do you believe in God?"

"Even if there is no God, couldn't we create an evil god?"

"I'll take that as a joke."

"Of course, it's a joke."

Comet smiled awkwardly. The Chairwoman took out a cigarette from her pocket and then put it back in. She seemed to have stopped because she was in the mountains, as she was about to smoke out of habit.

"The ambient Mana concentration is too high. One of the predictable things is a rift. What do you think will happen if another rift occurs in the multiverse?"

"I don't know. Another high-risk Monster will pop out, and the military will be dispatched."

"The factories aren't running well these days, so we have to save advanced weapons. Fortunately, we have a lot of bullets, so we can at least shoot to our heart's content for the time being. The military will carry out an unsustainable war, and we won't have many options left."

Comet twisted her side hair.

The branches swayed in the wind, and the leaves rustled.

The Chairwoman slowly lowered her head.

"Please. If we lose the means to rely on, protect the citizens."

"...Are you saying that while keeping in mind what the source of Spiritual Power is?"

"Yes."

A heavy answer was heard. Comet watched the Chairwoman with her head bowed and looked around. Bloodstains and blood droplets. How could she refuse when she bowed her head in a place like this? That's why they're politicians.

"Don't expect initial response."

"Who would expect that from a Necromancer?"

The Chairwoman raised her head and laughed.

Comet scratched her cheek.

Good was good.

#

Dan Ga-yeon had been discharged as diagnosed by the doctor, and she could be encountered in the cafeteria the next morning. Comet put side dishes on her tray and headed to the seat next to her. As she pulled out a chair and sat down, Dan Ga-yeon recognized Comet and was startled. It was quite a suspicious reaction.

"Is your soul okay?"

"Yes! Of course."

"You've also received a vacation, so you'll be resting for a while."

"Thaaat's right."

It was a really suspicious answer.

Comet ate as if she hadn't noticed anything, had coffee together, and then parted ways. And then she subtly followed her.

Dan Ga-yeon packed a comfortable bag and left Yeouido, arriving at the convenience store that was the scene of the incident. It was a route that was somewhat as expected. The convenience store was no longer restricted, as the investigation had been closed as ordered by the Chairwoman.

Dan Ga-yeon walked away from the convenience store, looking around the streets, and then stopped, looking at one place. Then she stood in front of that house. When Comet checked to see what she was looking at, she saw a perfectly fine surveillance camera.

Comet approached Dan Ga-yeon, who was about to ring the doorbell.

"Officer Dan."

"Eek!"

"What are you doing?"

"Well, I was just about to go back. It's nice to move around after eating. Haha."

Comet listened to the excuse and then pressed the doorbell firmly.

"It seems like you're sad that the investigation is over, so let's do it together. I'll help you."

Comet smiled brightly.

"Yes? Yes?!"

Dan Ga-yeon couldn't come to her senses until she heard the homeowner's voice.

Instead of Dan Ga-yeon, who couldn't come to her senses, Comet asked the homeowner if she could check the surveillance camera footage. The homeowner was reluctant, but when Dan Ga-yeon, who had roughly come to her senses, proved her committee status, she readily showed it.

Comet blankly watched the video being copied. Dan Ga-yeon put the storage device with the completed copy in her bag and looked at Comet. She seemed confused about what was going on.

"It's a good start."

When their eyes met, Comet smiled brightly for no reason.

Dan Ga-yeon was even more confused.

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