NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Yoon Si-woo remembered.
He recalled seeing Scarlet and a bald man entering a shady building.
He also remembered the strange sounds that had faintly drifted from other rooms in that building.
While he had not directly witnessed what the two were doing inside, he was old enough to understand.
However, even in such a situation, Scarlet remained a radiant person.
The fact that she found herself doing such things due to difficult circumstances didn’t diminish her heroism in the slightest.
Yet, what he had heard from her yesterday was far more shocking than that.
Though he didn’t know the finer details, having had some sex education, he understood what it meant when women didn’t receive their so-called “visitor.”
The birth of a new life.
In a normal marital relationship, this would be something to bless.
But when it happened to minors, it was usually called an “accident.”
Especially if it was the result of something they couldn’t openly disclose to others.
It must have been an accident, as it was not something she had intended.
Yoon Si-woo thought back to the conversation he had with her in the hospital.
Despite having lost her arm, she expressed her desire to continue attending the Academy.
She wanted to save people, and more than anything, she aspired to become a hero.
But no matter how much she wanted it, she couldn’t continue at the Academy in her current state.
The training at the Academy was difficult even for the most talented, and there was no way she could endure it in her condition.
She was someone who valued life enough to sacrifice her own arm to protect others.
She wouldn’t have any other choice but to quit the Academy.
He thought fate was truly cruel.
It had taken a parentless child’s arm, and now it seemed intent on stealing her dream of becoming a hero as well.
She, of all people, understood the sorrow of growing up without parents better than anyone else.
So, she wouldn’t even consider leaving her child at a shelter.
The image of her struggling to raise her child alone in difficult circumstances had been haunting him since he heard that from her yesterday.
So even while doing paperwork or patrolling, he found himself absentmindedly pondering how he could help her.
Perhaps she didn’t need a father after all.
As he followed the flow of thought, Lucy interjected with a contemptuous voice.
[Si-woo, you were out of it during yesterday’s spar, and looking at what you’re thinking now is quite the spectacle.]
Her following words were rather biting.
[Just the other day, you were saying you’d become strong enough to protect everyone or be a reliable guy, yet now you’re just pathetic. Instead of showing a cool side, your thoughts are like the worst kind for a man. If I were that child, I’d have all respect for you wiped away.]
Since Lucy rarely spoke like this, Yoon Si-woo felt a bit self-deprecating.
He knew he wasn’t thinking rationally.
But how many could remain composed when they cared for someone in a predicament like this?
[It might not be like you think.]
But given the circumstances, it was clearly so…
Seeing Yoon Si-woo unable to pull himself together, Lucy sighed and said.
[There’s at least one way to roughly confirm if it’s true or not.]
*
During field training, we arrived at the scene of the incident after receiving a radio call.
Citizens were gathering, murmuring amongst themselves at a distance from a shop with shattered windows.
“It seems no one has disturbed the scene. What a relief! phew”
Rhea murmured with a smile before turning to the citizens and shouting loudly.
“We’re from the Public Safety Bureau! We’ll catch the culprit in no time, so you can relax and return to what you were doing! clap clap”
Her manner of declaring there was truly nothing to worry about seemed to reassure the citizens, who quickly dispersed.
In a way, isn’t that a talent of its own?
Once the citizens were gone, Rhea glanced at us with a slight smile.
“I don’t know how many of you will end up working with us, but if you observe the scene closely, you can gather various pieces of information. Then we piece together these bits to form deductions. hum”
Rhea quickly scanned the area, lightly touched the ground, and closed her eyes.
A moment later, she opened her eyes and pointed to the glass shards scattered across the floor.
“Look, the glass shards have fallen outside, right? There are also traces of the explosion inside the store. So, the explosion happened inside. The culprit didn’t smash the door just to create an explosion, which means they must be someone capable of causing an explosion wherever they want. The explosive force doesn’t seem to be very strong, but we’ll need to be cautious in this case. zing
”The children were amazed at Rhea’s deductions, delivered calmly like a detective.
Then, nonchalantly shrugging as if it were no big deal, she continued.
“And over here, you can see some finely shattered glass pieces, which are traces from when the culprit walked on them while fleeing. The person fled in this direction, and the culprit is a brown-haired man wearing a black shirt. So we just need to look for someone like that in this direction. swish”
How did she know that? Is she Sherlock Holmes?
When the children showed curiosity about how she figured out what the culprit looked like, Rhea chuckled mischievously.
“No need to be that curious. The part about the culprit’s appearance isn’t deduction at all; it’s my ability. I can read the memories of objects or places with my abilities. It’s called psychometry, an application of telekinesis. whoosh”
“So that’s not deducing!”
“Don’t worry! The first part was actual deduction; this is just a kind of cross-validation! I wanted to show that even those without abilities, like me, should be able to collect information at the scene. dong dong”
As disappointment spread among the children, Rhea said that and began focusing again to examine the scene.
“Anyway, the reason we’re here isn’t just to gather information, but also to find evidence. No matter how I know what the culprit looks like through my abilities, if we don’t secure evidence that they committed the crime, it could lead to troublesome issues later. Since they seem to have hurt themselves on the broken glass, we should look for glass pieces with blood on them. tap tap”
“Should we help you?”
“Yes, let’s find it quickly so we can go after the culprit, so I’ll appreciate your help. gleam”
At Rhea’s request, everyone’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Thinking I would help too, I lowered my head to search the floor.
Instead of the floor, however, there appeared a glowing magical circle.
As I felt confused, several of the scattered glass shards began to shine and floated into the air.
“It’s a spell to find blood-stained items. We found it, so let’s catch the culprit and take a break… yawn”
Dwight murmured in a tired voice.
Being a descendant of a great magician and also an extreme magic enthusiast, Dwight could use all kinds of spells, but judging by his appearance, it seemed he hadn’t slept well since he was practicing magic yesterday too.
Impressed, Rhea carefully gathered the floating glass shards into a bag she took from her pocket, asking Dwight if tracking with magic was possible, but he responded that it would be impossible.
“In that case, we can just search on foot. Luckily, there are many people around today, so we’ll find them soon. rush rush”
At Rhea’s words, I discreetly glanced at Yoon Si-woo.
There was indeed someone in this group who was good at finding people.
Although he didn’t seem entirely alright, Yoon Si-woo figured it was time for him to act and stepped forward.
“… I think I can track them. Can you give me a piece of glass with blood on it?”
As Rhea took out a small shard from the envelope and handed it to him, Yoon Si-woo accepted it and pulled a dagger out of thin air.
The Sword of Truth.
Fundamentally, it acted as a slightly sensitive lie detector.
But its true power lay in tracking.
With just a drop of a person’s blood or a strand of hair, it could tell where that person was, and even what they were doing, making it an incredibly useful sword.
In the original story, it was mostly used to find heroines who had fallen during battles against monsters.
As a reference, every time Yoon Si-woo used this ability, the heroines learned of their death, resulting in cries of distress that they didn’t want to know such truths.
For a moment, with a shard in one hand and the Sword of Truth in the other, Yoon Si-woo closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them wide.
“I found them. They’re huddled in an alley not far from here, trembling. Do you have a map? I can tell you the location. ding ding”
Upon hearing this, Rhea exclaimed in admiration and took out her phone.
That’s why having good gear is important.
Just having something like that could garner special treatment in the Public Safety Bureau.
As I wished for at least one weapon like that, Yoon Si-woo unexpectedly approached me, offering the Sword of Truth.
What, did he read my mind?
Confused, I looked at him as he hesitated and said.
“… Uh, could you hold this for a moment?”
“… Sure. sigh”
Knowing he wasn’t giving it to me, I felt slightly disappointed.
Why make me hold it when he can handle the sword freely?
I thought about saying something, but seeing he didn’t look too well since yesterday, I decided to let it slide.
Well, to be fair, even if I held the Sword of Truth, I likely wouldn’t be able to use it properly.
They said that holy swords had picky conditions for their wielders.
With his protagonist buff, Yoon Si-woo could handle any sword, which was why he could wield seven holy swords. If I held it, it would probably just be a slightly sturdy dagger.
Still, I figured I wouldn’t often get a chance to hold a holy sword, so there was a flutter of excitement.
With that thought, I took the Sword of Truth from Yoon Si-woo, and it glittered slightly.
Then, Yoon Si-woo stood still for a moment before suddenly turning beet red and lowering his head deeply.
Wow, he must be really off today.
“… Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing! It’s nothing! Give it back—no, you don’t need to! I’ll put it away! whoosh”
When I asked what was wrong, Yoon Si-woo jumped and shook his head, shouting.
The Sword of Truth he had just handed me vanished as if he had put it away.
However, just before it disappeared, a voice echoed in my head saying, “That’s a lie.”
So it seems that just holding it reveals things to you? Fascinating.
But considering it claimed to be a lie, it seemed that Yoon Si-woo was really not alright today.
*
Upon Lucy’s suggestion to let Scarlet hold the Sword of Truth, Yoon Si-woo handed it to her.
As soon as the Sword of Truth sparkled in her hand, Lucy remarked.
[Ho? Si-woo, you don’t seem to need to worry. That girl is probably much more virtuous than you think.]
… What does that mean?
[You possess a special ability allowing you to wield holy swords without any limitations, yet the Sword of Truth is originally a sword that can’t be wielded at all unless certain conditions are met.]
Lucy continued.
[The Sword of Truth is made from the horn of a unicorn.]
A unicorn?
[You don’t know? Also called a unicorn. You must have heard of them at least once or twice! They’re peculiar creatures that only favor pure maidens.]
At that point, a thought brushed through my mind.
Oh, but…
Seeing Yoon Si-woo frozen like an idiot, Lucy chuckled.
[Congratulations, Si-woo. It seems the girl you like is indeed a pure maiden.]
Yoon Si-woo asked again.
No, then everything I’ve seen and heard until now…
[As far as I know, the Sword of Truth wouldn’t be mistaken about a maiden’s purity. From what I can see, she seems to have taken quite a liking to you. It appears she’s a pure girl with no interest in men whatsoever. Quite the opposite of what you thought.]
So all of that was just my misunderstanding?
While I was blushing, Scarlet spoke up.
“… Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
Yoon Si-woo stared at the girl looking at him with a worried face while holding the Sword of Truth.
So up until now, I’ve thought of such a girl like this?
Yoon Si-woo, who snatched up the Sword of Truth that was gleaming in satisfaction in Scarlet’s hand thought,
‘… Should I just end it all?’
He thought.
*
After Yoon Si-woo indicated the location, he appeared dazed, yet somehow our group arrived at the place he had pointed out.
“No, that’s not what I meant. Ugh… groan”
In a narrow alley, a man crouched, trembling and mumbling to himself.
Scratching at his neck to the point of bleeding and groaning, the man looked utterly unstable.
Seeing this, Rhea murmured with a grim expression.
“… Lately, when trying to detain someone, we often come across folks exhibiting extreme anxiety like this guy. Most of the time, if you approach, they tend to cause trouble. I might not get hurt, but there are occasions when they hurt themselves trying to escape, and that worries me. gulp”
“Then we just need to prevent them from going wild.”
As soon as he said that, a magic circle unfolded in the alley, and the mumbling man collapsed to the side with a thud.
Rhea looked at Dwight in surprise.
But Dwight replied calmly, as if he had done nothing wrong.
“Don’t worry, I just put him to sleep. It gets annoying if it takes too long. Let’s apprehend him quickly and get some rest… yawn”
“… Alright, thanks to you, that was easy. Now, should we take him back? sigh”
Rhea said with a slight smile of disbelief, entering the alley and throwing the man over one shoulder.
“By the way, why is my throat so itchy? Did an insect bite me?”
She murmured softly while scratching her neck.
Nobody was around to hear her murmur.