As I descended to the surface, having become a star, Elcia crossed her arms and said to me,
“Master! I just realized I need to go renew my abilities!”
“You’re treated like a foreigner anyway, do you really have to?”
“Since there’s no Forest of Elves, I have to register to make South Korea my residence!”
“Oh, right.”
“But it will be quick! It’s easier because it’s the foreigner application!”
“It’s nice when it’s a pinch.”
Thinking about it, I had some errands to run too.
That’s right.
I had to go to the bank.
I needed to unfreeze my account due to my ability registration.
“Let’s hurry back.”
“Yes!”
Then Hyeji hooked her arm through mine and said,
“I’m going with you.”
“What? Why, Hyeji unni?”
“I’m worried you might screw up.”
“……Tch.”
Elcia clicked her tongue, clearly displeased.
But oddly enough, Elcia’s eyes didn’t seem to dislike Hyeji.
Maybe it was because Hyeji vented all her anger in place of Elcia at the Forest of Elves.
But right now, I felt like I was in a weird situation.
Even in a world that allowed Multi-Partner Policies, walking around with two seemingly cute girls, Hyeji and Elcia, on either side was quite embarrassing.
‘The problem is, opening my mouth makes any compliments about my face vanish.’
[Remember, you even vomited when you opened your mouth.]
‘……I don’t want to remember.’
I suppressed the nightmare that suddenly popped up and voiced my honest thoughts.
“You guys, I’m a bit embarrassed going out like this.”
“Really? Then Shinwoo, I’ll make sure no one recognizes you.”
Since the weather was still chilly, I was clasping my hands in front of me, when Hyeji threw a Defensive Coat over me.
Then Hyeji and Elcia both linked arms with me.
“How’s this, Shinwoo? Now, no one will recognize you, right?”
Hyeji looked satisfied.
I took a relatively objective look at my situation.
I was wrapped in a coat to hide my identity.
Holding my hands together, clasped.
On my left and right were a golden-ranked High Elf and an asymmetrical idiot, both linking arms with me.
“……Hey, if we just added handcuffs, this’d look like a criminal escort mission?”
“Do you need handcuffs? I can put them on you!”
“Hey, wait a sec. Stop.”
– Clank.
Suddenly, Elcia pulled out some handcuffs from who knows where and clamped them onto my hands.
They looked too big, clunky, and quite heavy for regular handcuffs.
More like something prisoners would use during hard labor.
“…What the hell is this?”
“They’re handcuffs that the police use to escort Ability Users!”
“How the hell did you get them?”
“…….I borrowed them.”
Elcia averted her gaze.
But I could ask about that later; getting free was the priority.
“Elcia, hurry up and take them off.”
“Yes! Just a moment!”
Searching everywhere, Elcia suddenly froze.
She started sweating bullets and couldn’t meet my eyes.
Hey.
No way, right?
“Umm… Master?”
“Please tell me it’s not what I think.”
“……I lost the key.”
“Why the hell did you wait until now to say that?”
“I’m sorry. So much has changed.”
“Sigh.”
I lightly tapped Elcia’s head with mine.
Just a warning.
Then Hyeji patted my shoulder, giving me a look that said ‘just trust me’.
“Shinwoo, wait a moment. I’ll summon a cutter.”
“You’re the only one I can count on.”
[Hyeji really is the true heroine.]
‘You’re correct.’
But then Hyeji started sweating bullets as well.
Her hands were shaking, and with a frustrated expression, she mumbled,
“A cutter… what was it again?”
“……”
Having focused on weapons that had firepower, Hyeji forgot the simple task of summoning a cutter.
She looked like a retired soldier who knew how to drive a tank but not a car.
Hyeji regarded me with dejected eyes.
“I’m sorry, Shinwoo… I ended up in this state.”
“……Hyeji, those two genres are worlds apart.”
“What should we do, Master? I mean, I wouldn’t have a problem if you lived like this for life!”
“Me too! I wouldn’t mind if Shinwoo stayed like this forever!”
“Shut it, you two.”
It was still the vacation period.
There weren’t many people at the Academy, so getting help there was unlikely.
As Elcia said earlier, those handcuffs were probably the ones the police used.
After a moment’s deliberation, I came to a conclusion.
“…Let’s go out and head to the police station first.”
“Okay.”
“Yes!”
In the end, I wore the handcuffs, covered my head with the coat, and tried to hide my face.
I was worried someone might see me and misunderstand, so I decided to cover my face instead.
Meanwhile, Hyeji and Elcia remained linked to me.
To anyone watching, we probably looked like criminals.
[You’ll get caught eventually, just consider this a practice run.]
‘Shut up, you idiot.’
As I left the school gate, normally there would be a guard checking IDs, but seeing Hyeji, he hurriedly called for a taxi saying we should quickly take the criminal to jail.
Without a chance to explain myself, we got in the taxi as if we’d been chased out.
The taxi driver glanced at us in the rearview mirror, and without us even stating a destination, he punched in the nearest police station and stepped on the gas.
He already seemed to have concluded that I was a criminal.
As the scenery blurred by, we sat in awkward silence, unable to say anything.
In the midst of this, the taxi window was slightly open, and suddenly some dust got in my eyes, causing my eyes to water.
As I rubbed away my tears, the taxi driver caught a glimpse of me doing it through the rearview mirror and clicked his tongue.
Then, he started talking to himself as if I could hear him.
“Tsk. That criminal bastard is crying like a little kid.”
……?
No, what the hell?
Feeling wronged, the taxi driver spoke very kindly to Hyeji and Elcia instead.
“You two are doing great! Even as Academy students, you’re catching a criminal. I wish my kids could be half as good as you!”
“Hahaha… no.”
“Is that so? It was nothing much!”
“Oh dear, you’re too humble. When will my kids start acting right?”
Instantly, I became a criminal with no conscience, while Hyeji and Elcia became the heroes who caught me.
And since the dust hadn’t cleared from my eyes yet, I continued to rub away tears while rattling the handcuffs.
Seeing this, the taxi driver shot back at me mockingly.
“Good for you, criminal scumbag. Thought you wouldn’t get caught, huh?”
I genuinely wanted to protest, but the taxi driver abruptly hit the brakes due to a red light.
Thanks to that, my body lurched forward, and I lost my chance to say anything, during which the taxi driver began sweet-talking Hyeji and Elcia.
“Don’t you think so, students? Give that criminal a piece of your mind.”
“Uh… Shinwoo… w-why are you crying, you f*cker!”
“When I said stop, I meant stop it way earlier!”
“Did you hear that? Live your life right, you criminal bastard.”
“I swear I’m not a criminal…”
[You’ll eventually turn out to be one, anyway.]
‘Hey, you f*cking bastard.’
It took very little time to reach the police station, but during that short span, the taxi driver insulted me relentlessly.
Still, he kept trying to coax Hyeji and Elcia into saying a few words against me, and reluctantly, they started to insult me.
But there’s a saying that the first time is always hard.
At first, Hyeji and Elcia’s words felt forced and fabricated.
However, the more they spoke, the more emotion-filled punches they landed on me.
“Just wake up, you idiot! That’s how you get caught!”
“Be humble and accept the cuffs! A pathetic guy like you should be tied up for life! By me!”
“Looks like the Academy students are reliable! Hahaha!”
‘Ow, cut it out, you bitches. Please stop.’
[Ha! Die!]
I couldn’t tell whether my tears were still from the dust or some other sadness.
I stopped even trying to wipe my tears and just sat quietly, feeling dead inside.
But every ordeal must come to an end.
The hellish time finally came to a close.
The taxi driver dropped us off at the police station, waved Hyeji and Elcia goodbye, and left without even asking for fare.
It was an added bonus that he spat on my feet as he left.
In front of the police station, I just stood there in a daze.
No thoughts crossed my mind.
I just wanted to get these handcuffs off and return to the Academy as soon as possible.
Hyeji and Elcia exchanged cautious glances before speaking up,
“……”
“…Shinwoo, I’m sorry. I got a bit carried away.”
“…Master, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“……I’m leaving.”
I snapped and announced my departure to the two, quickly shuffling towards the police station.
Just before I pushed the door open, everyone shouted in a panic.
“Uh, uh? Hey! Wait!”
“Hold on! Master, stop!”
[You? Stop! Don’t go!]
But Hyeji and Elcia’s voices didn’t reach my ears.
Everything I heard felt like mere white noise to me.
I was mentally shattered like a candy wrapper torn the wrong way.
Maybe that’s why.
Walking into the police station without considering what would happen was mindless, but I headed there without a thought.
Thus, what happened next was somewhat inevitable.
As I stepped into the police station, all the officers turned to me, guns drawn.
“Hands up! Move and we’ll shoot!”
“Ah.”
It was just then that my brain started to process things slowly.
A criminal boldly enters a police station in broad daylight.
Moreover, with a coat pulled over my head and handcuffs on.
A criminal nonchalantly strolling back into the police station.
In other words, extremely dangerous.
I raised my hands, wanting to remove my coat to prove my innocence.
Just then, one of the young officers, startled by my action, came at me with a baton.
“I told you not to move!”
“Mother.”
– Crack!!!!
The baton smashed against my head and shattered.
All the officers gasped in shock at the sight, and someone yelled urgently,
“An Ability User! Quick, call the Ability Suppression Team!”
“Ah, for f*ck’s sake.”
What a terrible day it was.
*
Hyeji and Elcia, who had followed behind, quickly linked their arms with mine, causing the officers to look at us in confusion.
I definitely looked like a dangerous criminal, yet with two Academy students linking arms, it raised eyebrows.
Just then, the Ability Suppression Team, which had been on standby for 5 minutes, arrived at the police station.
They all wore fierce expressions as if they were about to interrogate who called them in.
However, upon spotting Hyeji escorting a supposedly dangerous criminal, the team froze in place.
Then they all shuffled to a sofa inside the police station, sitting quietly.
[……Everyone knows Hyeji, huh.]
‘They didn’t know about the World Tree, though.’
Which is how I ended up in this scenario.
Then a woman from the Ability Suppression Team timidly approached Hyeji.
“Uh, could you sign here, please!”
She got Hyeji’s autograph on her outfit.
Seeing this, a few others came out to get Hyeji’s signature as well.
With satisfied expressions, members of the Ability Suppression Team said things like,
“The blessing of the War God has been bestowed!”
“Oh, mighty Hyeji!”
“Hyeji noticed me!”
Finally, everyone in the police station let out a sigh of relief once they understood the situation.
They said the handcuffs on my wrists were outdated, and it would take time to find the correct key.
In that moment, the officer who had just hit me cautiously approached to apologize.
“I’m really sorry!”
“It’s okay. I’m not hurt.”
Then the officer, eyes sparkling, asked me,
“Uh, if you don’t mind, could you tell me what kind of Ability User you are?”
“I’m just a physical enhancement Ability User.”
“Oh, so did you just temporarily enhance your head earlier?”
“No.”
“……Huh?”
The officer looked at me, confused.
At that moment, Hyeji summoned a handgun and suddenly shot toward my head.
– Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Ouch.”
“See?”
“……”
The officer’s look shifted from confusion to sheer terror as if confronting a monster, and he quickly retreated to his post.
Another officer carefully approached Hyeji and asked,
“You used your ability without any report; could you please fill out a statement?”
“Uh…..”
He asked Hyeji for a statement.
Thanks to that, she was briefly taken away to write the report before returning.
Just when Hyeji came back, the officer brought several handcuff keys.
After several attempts, with a clack sound, the cuffs finally were removed from my wrists.
As I exited the police station, I looked up at the sky silently and stretched my arms wide.
Ah.
Brother Andy.
So this is what it feels like.
I finally regained my freedom.
