Chapter 247: Real and Fake (1)
After breakfast, I headed to one of the two intact buildings of the Defense Bureau with Yuhyun. More than half of the Defense Bureau had been blown away overnight. This was why people should live virtuously. If they hadn’t oppressed the combat-type guards and had properly served Alpha, would I have even thrown a bomb?
Yuhyun’s rampage was ultimately the fault of those Defense Bureau bastards in Achates. They got exactly what they deserved.
“Director Han!”
Moon Hyunah waved at me with a bright smile. We stepped out onto the terrace, away from the busy flow of people. From there, we had a clear view of the debris removal efforts around the mana hall in the center. The underground mana hall emitted a faint glow. Under the strong sunlight, it appeared more white than blue.
“I already gave them a rough explanation about your relationship.”
Moon Hyunah said while shaking a liquor bottle in broad daylight. Apparently, some of the alcohol here was strong enough to get even SS-ranks drunk. Something about mana hall fermentation or whatever. I should have a drink with Yuhyun before we leave.
“Did you know Alpha’s father is still alive?”
“I saw the records.”
“He was the one you shot with your gun, Director Han.”
At those words, Yuhyun’s expression turned cold. A distinct killing intent seeped out.
“Where is he?”
“Yuhyun, hold on. You can’t do that.”
“Why not? He has nothing to do with me.”
“No matter the reason, he was trying to help you. I don’t want to see you harming someone who shows you goodwill because of me. Besides, I was the one who made you misunderstand in the first place.”
“I am not Alpha.”
“Of course not. But just this once, let it go. He’s someone who died a long time ago anyway.”
And in this world, the chances of Alpha never being saved in the first place were much higher. Though the rebellion had succeeded here… my mouth felt bitter.
“I should meet Mr. Gnosis too. Is he safe?”
“He’s hospitalized due to the healer shortage, but his life isn’t in danger. There are just too many injured people.”
That’s a relief.
At that moment, people approached from beyond the glass door of the terrace. They hesitated as if asking for permission to enter, and Moon Hyunah gestured for them to come in. A man who seemed to be their representative spoke up.
“A broadcast to reassure the citizens of Achates is scheduled soon. Would Alpha be willing to participate? Given the need to improve the treatment of combat-type guards, it would be beneficial for an SS-rank guard to make a public appearance.”
“Well, that makes sense. Help them out, Young Master.”
Moon Hyunah supported the Achates resistance—who were now the new Defense Bureau officials. Yuhyun looked as if he didn’t see why he should bother. He wasn’t Alpha, and this wasn’t even the real world. There was no need for him to help.
“Just lend a hand for a bit. Honestly, you understand this stuff better than they do. You have experience.”
When it came to image management, our world was far ahead of Achates. Here, hierarchy and structure were so rigidly established that there was barely a need for PR. At my words, Yuhyun reluctantly transferred Iryn onto my shoulder.
“Stay with Hunter Moon Hyunah, Hyung.”
“Got it. Don’t worry.”
“How much time is left until the broadcast? And where’s the script?”
“It’s scheduled for thirty minutes from now, but we can adjust it. Here’s the script—it’s not very long.”
Yuhyun skimmed through it with his eyes, then furrowed his brows in dissatisfaction.
“What exactly is the purpose of this broadcast? The Defense Bureau has just been overhauled, yet this script is nothing more than a brief greeting.”
“Excuse me? But combat-type guards rarely made public appearances, so—”
“That makes first impressions even more important. Didn’t that cross your mind? Delay the broadcast if needed and revise the script. What about wardrobe?”
“…Sorry?”
Yuhyun gave the man in front of him a look of utter disappointment. Clearly, they fell far short of his standards. No wonder they were flustered—after all, the Alpha they knew was just a frontline combat soldier who obediently followed orders. But our Yuhyun was a guild leader. This wasn’t his first time managing his image or appearing on broadcasts.
Yuhyun and the people from Achates all left together. Once it was quiet again, Moon Hyunah pulled out drinking glasses from her inventory.
“Want a drink too, Hyung?”
“It’s still morning.”
“You won’t find this stuff back home. Well, maybe later.”
There will be.
Moon Hyunah downed her drink in one go, sighing as if reminiscing.
“Seong Hyunjae said he’s keeping an eye on you, right?”
“Yeah. He keeps sending me weird quests whenever he’s bored.”
“Oh?”
Moon Hyunah glanced around, then suddenly shouted.
“Hey! Seong Hyunjae! Twenty-somethings really do have firmer, cuter skin! Sesung’s guild leader isn’t just pretending to be old—he’s actually old! The difference is huge!”
…It’s not that big of a difference. Even I felt a little wronged. Sure, I was in my twenties now, but originally, I was in my thirties. My skin… well, it was different, but that was mostly because of all the hardship back then. …Maybe Seok Gimyeong was right, and I should start taking care of it.
“Can Seong Hyunjae not come out here? I want to line them up and compare. Can’t I take photos or videos of Sigma? If you compare him with that giant snake, you can definitely see the fresh, youthful contrast. Chief Song should’ve come too!”
“I agree. That’s a shame.”
I wondered how Chief Song would have reacted. I was curious.
“But seriously, what’s the deal between Sigma and Seong Hyunjae? They look way too much alike for it to be a coincidence.”
“They really do look exactly alike, don’t they? Maybe he originally lived in this world and somehow crossed over to ours.”
“That sounds plausible. If he came from another world, that would explain why his past is so unclear.”
“Yeah, it makes perfect—”
A sudden silence fell. Both Moon Hyunah and I shut our mouths at the same time. A strange feeling settled in. No way.
“…No way.”
“No way.”
“Their personalities are still too different. Seong Hyunjae would need at least another hundred years of aging to turn into him.”
“This place is basically a virtual reality made of data, so maybe an error occurred, and Sesung’s guild leader’s information got mixed in. Maybe his data was supposed to merge with Sigma’s body but got rejected, leaving only the appearance and skills behind.”
“Well, I got mixed in with Alpha’s appearance too. Lambda’s original hair color was brown.”
Moon Hyunah ran her fingers through her hair as she spoke. Yeah, Sigma originally just looked a little similar to Seong Hyunjae, but the data must have merged incompletely, making them identical. Same with the skills.
…They said it was possible to extract SS-ranks from destroyed worlds, but surely not. Just in case, I opened the quest window, but the Seong Hyunjae in the system remained quiet. Hmmm.
“I’ll take a drink too.”
I took the glass and downed it in one go. Whoa, that’s strong. But it’s sweet and tastes pretty good.
“You said you had a rough idea of where Yerim and Hunter Noah are, right? Should we leave first thing tomorrow?”
“I’ll arrange a helicopter and a guide for you. The communication equipment in Achates was damaged and is currently being repaired. By tomorrow, it should be operational again, so confirm first before you leave.”
“You sound like you’re not planning to come with us, Hyunah.”
“Well, look at the state of Achates. It wouldn’t be right for me to leave too. Besides, Young Master alone should be enough.”
It seemed she really wasn’t going to join us. Of course, the city was in chaos, but still.
“This world is already gone. You don’t have to care so much. Getting too attached wouldn’t be good either.”
Getting emotionally involved would only make things harder. At my words, Moon Hyunah smiled.
“I know, Hyung. But you don’t have to overthink things like that.”
“Huh?”
“Even if this world is destroyed and just a bunch of data, I’m still here. If I can see it and feel it, then to me, it’s real.”
“But… even if you help Achates now, it won’t actually change anything.”
This was a story that had ended long ago. Nothing we did here would alter the past.
“Sometimes, Hyung, you’re surprisingly stiff.”
Moon Hyunah reached over and roughly ruffled my hair. Ouch. Don’t press so hard.
“How does nothing change? We remember. Even if it’s brief, we’ve lived in this world, been influenced by it, and changed because of it. Are you saying you’ve gained nothing from being here?”
“Well… that’s not true.”
“And honestly, helping them out like this feels good. Seeing the people happy was refreshing.”
She let out a hearty laugh.
“Stop overcomplicating things and just see it simply. Doesn’t it feel a little rewarding? You wrecked things in a spectacular fashion. You even saved your brother.”
“I kind of messed up at the end, though.”
“Mistakes happen. But Young Master looked happy, didn’t he? He’s been looking good lately, but now he actually seems his age. It suits him way better than when he was all stiff.”
“That’s true.”
I looked at the mana hall and the people bustling around it. When Bitera expressed her gratitude, it had felt suffocating, but thinking back now, it wasn’t so bad. Her face had been bright, and the others looked relieved, like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.
“Besides, it’s not like we’re eternal. One day, we’ll be gone too, but the people who come after us will be influenced by what we did and remember us. That’s why I treat this world seriously. To me, at least, it’s real. But of course, you’re free to think however you want. Oh, and!”
Moon Hyunah suddenly changed her expression and looked at me with desperate eyes. What now…?
“Can I have exclusive access to the information from this world? I’ll talk to Yerim and Hunter Noah about it. Young Master will listen to you if you ask him. I think I can convince Sesung’s guild leader too.”
“…Huh? Information?”
“Yes, information! This world is way more advanced when it comes to mana, guards, and hunters. It’s not exactly the same as ours, but there’s a lot of useful stuff. If we use it well, it’ll make Breaker’s independence much easier. Please, Director Han.”
It was true that this world had way more accumulated research data. Just the number of years since awakeners appeared was ten times greater than in our world. Bringing that kind of information back would definitely be useful.
“I don’t know much about it anyway, since I came here in my original body. But I’ll be cheering for your independence.”
“No take-backs later?”
“Of course.”
If Breaker could stand on its own, I’d welcome it.
Moon Hyunah and I helped clean up what remained of Achates Defense Bureau. Well, I mostly just watched. The guards of Lanchea followed Moon Hyunah exceptionally well. It seemed Lambda had been a well-respected person. When I casually asked about any changes in Lambda, the response I got was, “She seems brighter than before.”
“She’s been drinking a lot more, though.”
“She’s also suddenly become really attached to her bike and spear. And when she’s drunk, she even—”
“Izer!”
“Sorry!”
It seemed like she really liked her equipment. Well, it made sense. Her spear was SS-rank, and the bike was a custom-made special item.
Around lunchtime, the broadcast ended, and Yuhyun returned. The atmosphere of the people trailing behind him felt strangely similar to that of Haeyeon Guild. When he left, most of them had looked at him with eyes that said, What would an Alpha who’s only ever been pushed around know? But now, their attitudes had completely changed.
If Alpha had been given the right environment, he could have easily become the core of the Defense Bureau—he was an SS-rank awakener, after all.
“These people are annoying.”
“You won’t be here long anyway. Just put up with it for a little while.”
I told Yuhyun that I’d be leaving the rest to Moon Hyunah and heading out to find Yerim and Noah. Before that, we’d stop by Lanchea to set up the disc. It’d be great if I could convince Sigma to come along with us.
I can’t just leave Solemnise behind, so I’ll probably have to settle for a three or four-day hunting trip at most.
Now, how should I persuade him?
After lunch, the scheduled time arrived, and I headed to Sigma’s room. Yuhyun was worried, but I reassured him, saying I had included a clause that prevented any physical harm. Besides, with two SS-rank guards on my side, he wouldn’t try anything reckless.
“Excuse me, Sigma.”
When I stepped inside, Sigma greeted me with a somewhat sullen expression, dressed in casual clothes. His face, at most, looked like he was in his late twenties or barely thirty. But I had been assuming he was in his mid-to-late thirties all this time. Preconceived notions are a scary thing.
“Relax your face a bit. If you keep looking so stiff, you’ll just seem older than thirty.”
“A C-rank like you must have terrible judgment.”
“Yeah, yeah. My bad.”
I really was sorry for misjudging him. I casually sat down on the sofa, and Sigma raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
“No matter how I look at you, you don’t seem thirty-one.”
“You heard it yesterday, didn’t you? I’m five years older than Alpha. I just look young for my age. Now, please, have a seat, Sigma.”
Still looking unconvinced, Sigma sat down across from me. I took out the contract and spread it on the table. The terms were simple—I’d provide valuable information, and in return, he could ask three questions.
“Hmm… So…”
Originally, I had planned to just bluntly say, You’re not real, and this world is just a doomed simulation. But I found myself hesitating.
If this were Seong Hyunjae, he’d be intrigued even if I flat-out called him a fake. But what about Sigma? He was in his twenties… How old exactly? Still older than Alpha, probably. When I first met him, he had looked utterly bored, but now, his expressions showed much more variety.
“…I’ll take your questions first. Ask me anything.”
His golden eyes studied me for a moment before he finally spoke.
“Who is Seong Hyunjae?”
So he was curious about that. Seeing his face ask that question gave me an odd feeling.
“He looks exactly like you but is a different person.”
Probably. Sigma’s gaze turned colder as he demanded a more detailed explanation.
–TL Notes–
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