Chapter 6

“Tch, really now. Deputy Commander Park, I didn’t think you were like this—how shameless.”

“Indeed. To make the first move like that.”

“Why haul someone off to the Bureau headquarters just to register them as Awakened? And with the Deputy Commander of Division 2 personally involved, no less.”

“They must see potential and want him for the Special Unit.”

“Snatching up all the talent again. Wasn’t this year’s recruitment already over?”

“They’re still in the assignment stage. Some cautious commanders may be holding back their pledges.”

“With that kind of talent, five years of training at the Magic Tower would’ve made him a master of White Magic… such a waste.”

“Well, let’s see what happens first. It’s not certain that Awakened like him will stay in a unit where he might have to throw his life away.”

I had never seen so many people gathered in front of the Bureau building in my entire life.

And it was the first time I’d seen my own face on the news.

Fortunately, my name wasn’t revealed, and they blurred me out, but I still couldn’t afford to walk around outside carelessly for a while.

The cause of all this was none other than one person.

“Sorry, it was my slip of the tongue…”

Yoo Se-byeol, Deputy Commander of Special Unit Division 3—she really did seem like an Archduke in human form, hiding a demon inside her.

Still, with her fidgeting and offering a sincere apology, I couldn’t bring myself to say what I really thought.

If I did, I’d ruin the good impression I’d built up so far—and lose my chance to reclaim the Star Scar.

“Haha, it’s fine. Public attention like this fades quickly as long as I keep quiet.”

“But now that the Blue Tower knows about you, Hayan, they’ll keep an eye on you. It’s all because of me…”

“Hmm, yes, that part is a little troublesome.”

Truthfully, the Magic Tower’s attention wasn’t so much dangerous as it was annoying. Still, as long as I was an Awakened who used magic, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

It had just come a little earlier than expected.

If anything, I could use this chance to settle the debt I owed Yoo Se-byeol.

“Thanks to you, Deputy Commander, I’ve become a sudden star. At least now I can probably find a job.”

Since I wasn’t registered as an Awakened yet, I might as well finish the process while I was here.

But Yoo Se-byeol’s eyes widened at my words.

“A job!? Wait—you’re thinking of joining another guild?”

“Well… I can’t exactly keep entering Gates alone forever. It’s illegal, after all. So I’m keeping the option open. Do you have something you’d like to say?”

“Then h-how about t-t-t—”

“T?”

She stammered like an Elder Lich with a broken jaw, unable to get the words out.

Finally, she clenched her fists as if making a grand decision.

“What about The Old Gods’ Wound?!”

“No way I could get into a place like that. It’s basically holy ground for swordsmen.”

“…That’s true.”

The Old Gods’ Wound wasn’t bad, but what I needed was a workplace that gave me chances to encounter Archdukes—and reclaim the Star Scar.

If, on top of that, I could finally do the kind of work I’d dreamed of as a real Awakened, all the better.

Somewhere I wouldn’t have to worry about mana stone yields, where skill alone earned respect. Somewhere that only entered the most dangerous Gates, and arrived first during Archduke-level emergencies.

When I listed it all out, there was only one place that fit perfectly…

“Then it has to be t-t-t—!”

“Excuse me. Hayan-nim?”

Just as Yoo Se-byeol was about to spit it out, a Bureau staff member approached and called my name.

He said everything was ready and pointed me to a room.

“You can go in now. Everyone’s waiting.”

“Ah, yes. Understood. I’ll be back, Deputy Commander.”

“R-right…”

I followed the staffer into the room, where five people were sitting in a neat row.

Four men in suits, and one unusually short woman.

They’d said this was just to ask about what happened inside the Gate, but… did it really take this many people?

I wouldn’t know—this was my first time going through something like this.

In the heavy atmosphere, Park Mu-cheol, whom I’d just greeted earlier, finally spoke.

“Hayan. These are the executives of the Ability Management Bureau. They gathered in a hurry for both your registration as an Awakened and to ask you a few questions.”

“I see.”

“First, let me thank you again for rescuing Division 3’s members from the Gate. Things could have ended in disaster.”

“It was nothing. I only did what I had to do.”

Thinking back to the scene outside the Gate, I could more or less guess why things turned out this way.

If I’d just saved the Sword Immortal’s granddaughter from dying, I’d be grateful too.

“I heard during the debriefing that you were from the Black Tower.”

“Ahem. That was only a youthful… indiscretion.”

“Division 3 keeps their mouths shut. Word won’t leak to anyone outside.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

So they hadn’t called me here just to say thanks.

The short-haired woman sitting in the center of the table stepped around toward me.

Or so I thought—she’d actually been standing the whole time.

She was the only one in the room visibly armed.

On her back rested a massive greatsword, easily taller than her.

“Nice to meet you, Awakened Hayan. I’m Ha Yeri, Commander of Special Unit Division 2.”

“Hello. I’m Hayan.”

“Your family name?”

“‘Jeong.’ Jeong Hayan.”

No sooner had I answered than a cold sensation brushed my ear, carried on the wind.

That enormous blade was pointed straight at me—without the slightest tremor.

She was an Upper Level Awakened, one rank higher than Yoo Se-byeol.

Just as my tentacles twitched beneath my collar, she spoke.

“My ability is ‘Little Justice.’ I won’t bore you with the details, but one of its traits is sensing lies.”

“…”

“Right now, you lied to me about your surname. Didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

In Korea, identity and fingerprints had been mandatory from birth. But after the chaos of the Gates, record-keeping had grown sloppy.

I’d tossed out a false name just in case. I hadn’t expected it to be exposed so quickly.

“My real name is Sae Hayan. The surname’s unusual, so I didn’t want to bother mentioning it.”

“…That’s the truth. Then, Awakened Hayan, may I ask you a few questions?”

Ha Yeri returned to the table.

Pointing that massive blade at me had either been part of her ability’s activation—or just her being too lazy to explain it.

Either way, as Park Mu-cheol had hinted, a Black Tower background was never going to look good.

Most people thought black mages were lunatics—trading with demons, summoning Gates, sacrificing everything for magical progress.

I was nothing like them.

I even secretly opened a Channel to ask my Outer God for advice. Rational, logical—that was me.

『What do we do, Mala-nim? I can’t back out of being Black Tower now, but if they catch me lying, I’ll lose all the goodwill I’ve built.』

『Fear not.』

『Right. I just need to answer honestly. After all, I’ve never done anything shameful. Neither of us have.』

『Fear… not.』

…Wait, are you the one who’s scared?

Leaving Mala-nim to slither nervously through my clothes, I focused on Ha Yeri.

I had to stay sharp.

If they discovered my ability was tentacles, I’d be carted off to a lab before I ever got near the Special Unit.

But if she could detect lies, wouldn’t she see straight through me the moment someone asked, “Do you only use magic?”

Just as my tension peaked, her question caught me off guard.

“Hayan, as an Awakened, do you seek wealth and fame?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Answer yes or no. I’m asking if you entered Gates up to now for wealth and fame.”

“Uh… no.”

Back then, it was only to survive.

I couldn’t risk my life chasing wealth or fame.

And after awakening my ability fifteen years ago… my only reason was to find a way back to Earth.

Ha Yeri closed her eyes briefly, then asked her second question.

“Today, many guilds tried to recruit you. Did you reject them all because you have another purpose?”

“Yes.”

That much was true.

Belonging to a guild held no merit for me.

Joining factional squabbles, mining mana stone Gates—those were nightmares I wanted no part of.

Above all, I was here to fight Archdukes and reclaim the Star Scar. Guild politics meant nothing.

“With respect, I’m not considering guild offers. They don’t align with my purpose.”

Murmurs spread across the room at my words.

Park Mu-cheol quieted them, while Ha Yeri drew a deep breath and asked her final question.

“Then does that purpose at least partially align with the hopes of those who still fight? In other words—Awakened Hayan, do you value the reason for living above your own life?”