Chapter: 141. Clean Up (1)
Squish.
Dipping my hand into the sticky sewage, the disgusting sensation etched itself into my hand as it traveled up to my brain, following the opponent.
I knew this would be gross, but it was still revolting.
Instinctively, I almost pulled my hand out, but…
No, I can’t.
The thing I’m looking for is in this slime, so I have to endure. I must endure.
While I was scolding myself and working with enthusiasm, a bizarre voice rang out from behind.
“Haram Hero. Rampage. Caution advised.”
Hearing that, my motivation was crushed.
“Then you do it.”
Feeling irritated, I grasped the lump I had caught in my hand and turned my body towards him.
A round lump stained with black slime.
How many of these are there? This one is probably a bust too.
“Impossible. Contact. Risk of losing rationality.”
“Of course. So just keep quiet and wait. Okay? Behave. They say a nagging sister-in-law is worse than a hitting mother-in-law, right? Right now, the one bothering me is this damned well, but the irritation is directed at that damn rat.”
Moving as if I’d pressed solidly against my heart, that pesky Queph with a green stick attached to it, dragging around a drip IV.
“What are you doing here?”
Since I had nothing to do while confirming if the thing I just pulled up was the real deal, I let my complaints spill out, accompanied by the slime that dripped from my hand.
“Sacrifice. Work. Benefit.”
That wasn’t the meaning.
“Not that. You couldn’t even catch Taejoon Kim. You’re just being dominated without any shame for an O-Rank.”
Yumil endured, but doesn’t he feel embarrassed as an executive?
If that guy had eaten Taejoon Kim when things went south, there wouldn’t be this mess.
“Resistance. You. Caution on verbal abuse.”
Resistance, what?
“Oh, right. I did resist.”
Finally, the last slime dropped, and I turned the object into view to confirm its identity.
A globular shape, small enough to be grasped in my hand.
A pink sphere with seven holes on it.
Its skin stretched with slime inside.
Just the thought of its focus lessened like a rotten fish led to foam in my mouth as slime dripped from its severed throat.
Perhaps it was because it had been stored in the black slime that its form remained intact, allowing me to recognize it at a glance as the object I was looking for. So, I tightly grabbed its head and bent backward.
“Everything’s ruined now.”
With anger, I hurled it at Queph.
“Slime! End! Danger! Domination!”
Queph exaggeratedly ducked, trying to steer clear.
“All the slime’s gone, so take it! You wanted this so badly!”
As I shouted, Queph quietly clasped his hands and held his head.
“Taejoon Kim. Confirmed?”
Queph, who stared at me for a moment, let that question slip from his mouth.
“Yeah.”
I responded to him.
“Human skin. Difficult to discern.”
“That’s right. So just quietly go ahead and extract the memory as per the contract, give the information.”
I had already dipped my hand into that garbage slime for this.
Having said that, I turned my body.
I didn’t like this dreadful place, and that bottomless slime well was even more unappealing, so I needed to leave this place quickly.
But before that…
“Al’shel, are you still over there?”
“Brother. Negotiation. Ongoing.”
“How’s the negotiation?”
“Stuck.”
“Okay.”
I was planning to drop by anyway, so if they were in negotiation, it worked out nicely. The next place to go seemed to be decided.
Having gathered all the necessary information, I waved my hand towards Queph and started climbing the staircase that jutted out from the cliff.
The stairs created by the committee’s involvement quickly distorted space, allowing me to increase the distance from the well rapidly, and once I stepped into the sewer, I held my cellphone in my hand.
After losing this much, shouldn’t I gather all that I could?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Brr brr brr
I made the call, quietly waiting for the other party to pick up.
Brr brr brr
Even after the ringing several more times, the sound echoed loudly in the sewer, making me feel irritable, but knowing the situation my contact was in, I held on for about a minute.
Beep.
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
Finally, the other party answered.
“Marozo Mikhailovich.”
Head of the Sorun branch of the Association.
“What are you talking about… it doesn’t matter. Just listen.”
“David Blumenthal.”
Chancellor of the UN Trusteeship.
“Karen Singh Bowze.”
Administrator of the Central Administration Control.
Silence came from the other side.
An ordinary person wouldn’t have associations coming to mind upon hearing those names, but for them, they surely would know.
“Dig deep and you might find some good stuff. The moment it overlapped with that monster, a name that entered even slightly.
The upper echelons connected with Taejoon Kim.
The details would depend on how much the committee could recover Taejoon Kim’s memories, but just those names alone would be enough weaponry for them.
…Was the commander not neutral?”
Yeah, I said that in that place.
“It’s a repayment for the bombardment.”
Saying that, I immediately hung up. There was no need to get deeply involved.
I detest political games and faction fights.
What I needed was only the voice they presented.
However, providing a bit of strength to a small faction would hardly matter.
Even if I held it, since I could do nothing but violence, it would be useless information.
Ivan would handle it well.
Of course, even without doing anything, the committee would relay information to Yumil and Chung Solim over time…
“Eggs should be divided.”
That’s how it is.
With a rat’s tail trailing behind, I crossed over to Old Man Ri’s place.
As the door was open, I was about to barge in, ready for negotiations.
“Meeting in progress! Please halt!”
A man with a familiar face stood in my way.
“I knew you would come, so it’s Restraint.”
“It’s an important meeting. Related to the future of Nanjido…”
As if I didn’t know that. That’s why I’m trying to barge in.
There are things I need to say.
But, there’s no need to let this guy know that.
Thinking that, the moment I pushed him away to enter…
…“Let him in.”
A deep voice flowed out from the room.
“Come on in?”
With a playful tone, I spoke to the man blocking my way.
He looked torn for a moment, but since Old Man Ri’s words took priority…
“Please go ahead.”
With an annoyed tone, he begrudgingly opened the way.
I know very well what he’s worried about.
He’s surely concerned I might mess everything up.
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything bad on Nanjido.”
I gave him a light tap on the side and passed him by.
…“Now I’m more worried.”
A picturesque scene.
Through the sound of the door closing, I heard that line, but it was surely just my imagination.
More importantly, let’s focus.
The ones I’m about to deal with now are formidable.
Screech. Screech.
The creaking of the wooden hallway and the smoke seeping out between the doors.
This was the third time now, but crossing through this much older corridor, I broke through the smoke into the room.
Immense power from the Otherworld surged through, sending signals.
Beyond the white mist, eyes and power scattered about, the meeting participants restrained each other.
No, it’s different. They’re not restraining each other.
They’re only keeping one person in check.
The only O-Rank in this room.
“So, teachers, let’s just cut to the chase. Can you control that hole, or not?”
I simply glared at the octopus that spoke in a squishy, base manner.
“Up until now, we’ve been safe, so…”
Someone tried to rebut this squishiness, opening their mouth.
“Oh! You mean it’s been safe up till now? That’s awesome! But an 0-Rank has popped out, how is that safe?!”
Hahahahaha!
Laughter erupted from the octopus’s mouth, while the white mist once again fell into silence.
“Is that really the end of it? You’ve been rampaging around such a stable hole, and that’s all you have to say? Then we absolutely have to manage it!”
The speaking octopus seemed to get carried away and sprang forth, not waiting for a reply.
“Yeah, this was indeed caused by the hole’s existence, so we can agree on that, but didn’t you lack the skills? Yet you were restrained by this stable hole, are you out of your mind? Huh? Aren’t you embarrassed? Everyone?”
“You guys are restrained too, you know? Our informant proved that…”
Someone attempted to refute with a tiny voice.
“I wasn’t restrained! Hahaha! Maybe you ate something bad or something! You bugs!”
Ignoring the opposition, Al’shel’s words began to flow into the realm of mockery.
Regardless, the monsters belonging to Nanjido were crushed under the pressure of () rank, unable to speak.
“Even the inception of this incident can be attributed to the fact that no one managed its power, let alone realize it existed. Do you have any excuses?”
A long silence fell.
Did they seriously negotiate like this until I arrived in such a sorry state?
I heard they put Shirin there to manage things, so where on earth is she?
While I thought about this, Al’shirin’s voice echoed in my ear.
“Sel? Didn’t I teach you to be kind to others?”
Her voice was low, likely to prevent others from hearing.
“Sister Shirin, do you really say such things after seeing what those guys are like?”
Al’shel’s voice, tinged with anger, paused for a moment.
‘They must have no idea that the being of the end – the Dominator – was almost to descend upon this world. The ripples were certainly from its avatar.’
‘I know that. But ignorance isn’t a crime, Sel. How would they know?’
Only a voice barely audible to my ears flowed out.
Oh.
Somehow, it’s quite suspicious, but was that being the end’s existence?
No, if it’s called an avatar, would it be a weaker version? Even so, it was still ridiculously powerful…
Well, if anything went wrong, I would have certainly lost.
Still, I’ll postpone that for later.
First, I need to deal with this mess.
Thinking that, as I moved my feet, Al’shel had gotten agitated and started raising her voice above the smoke.
“Now! Do you have something to say, you rat-like people? If you don’t, we’ll… coughs!”
“Shut it, you octopus bastard.”
I twisted Al’shel’s neck to silence that damned mouth.
“Cough cough!”
With Al’shel’s neck twisted, she muttered something incomprehensible as if she didn’t understand the situation, but like I had previously tested on Al’shirin, there seemed to be no significant threat to her life.
Therefore, I tossed this fool aside and spoke to Al’shirin, who remained oddly calm even in this situation.
“This is okay, right?”
“I think you have to be a bit harsher for discipline.”
Surely, Al’shirin wasn’t panicked.
Even her reaction now seemed to indicate she already knew I was here.
As if responding to my thoughts, she said, “Sel tends to not look around when excited. She needs to fix that.”
Al’shirin sighed, starting to mutter to herself.
Just as I was finding it absurd and preparing to respond…
“More importantly, isn’t there something more important, Haram Hero?”
Al’shirin’s narrowed eyes continued, and with that gaze, I felt a strange pressure, and suddenly, she stood up and opened her mouth.
“Unfortunately, our lieutenant has fainted. We have no choice but to welcome a new representative.”
The atmosphere changed in a weird way.
“With the highest contributor to this incident and the hero who considers the monsters most, let’s welcome Haram Lee. Please give a round of applause.”
Thinking it was some kind of joke, I glared at Al’shirin, but she merely smiled, and the conference room was soon filled with an uproar.
– A hero connected with the committee?
– Isn’t that Haram Lee?
– Can we really trust the hero or the association?
– Has the committee teamed up with the association?
What the hell is going on?
What should I even say to explain this?
First… I should clarify that it’s not true…
As I racked my brains to cope with this situation…
Thud.
With a short sound of a staff, everything came to a halt.
My thoughts, the noisy conference.
And as the smoke cleared, his figure was revealed.
“Stop the jokes. Shirin. I know that you have connections with Haram Lee, but he’s surely an unrelated person to the committee.”
The head of Nanjido and the information broker.
Old Man Ri.
“As he said, I am unrelated to the committee, and my participation in this negotiation is only based on connections.”
“But it’s also true that you have ample knowledge about Nanjido and that you’re the hero who resolved this incident. Considering that, it wouldn’t be bad to follow your words.”
Something feels off on this side.
Have I fallen into a trap…?
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