"...It’s been a while, Commander."
Not long after we arrived at the lodging, my group and I were able to meet the Commander with a simplicity so absurd it bordered on the ridiculous.
Is this for real?
Is it normal for the high-ranking figures of this world to be this easy to meet?
I glanced around at my companions, wondering if I was the only one who found this strange.
Then I realized—I wasn’t.
Everyone else looked just as stunned. None of us had expected it to be this easy.
"...Commander?"
"You all seem to have a lot of questions. Why don’t we address those first before we talk?"
The Commander looked at us with a kind expression, as if he already knew what we were thinking.
Was it age? His snow-white hair and beard, the wrinkles etched into his face—they all came together in a way that radiated wisdom rather than frailty.
It was the kind of presence that made you think of experience, of years well-lived.
His gentle demeanor only reinforced that impression.
"...How is it possible to meet you this easily?"
We were all hesitating, unsure if it was even appropriate to ask, when Amelia blurted out the question boldly.
"This is too strange. If you’re the Commander, you must be a key figure here. So why isn’t anyone guarding you?"
She was right. That was exactly what we were all thinking.
This kind old man was the Commander.
A man in a position of authority, someone who led others.
And this was the front line. Powerful beasts were one thing, but this place was also filled with prisoners.
Prisoners who had been forced into service because of a lack of manpower.
Who was it again? Some villain who had killed one of Hayul’s friends—he’d been held here too, if I remembered correctly.
After escaping, he’d gone on to murder civilians. A piece of trash, through and through.
...Though, to be fair, that was thanks to the author’s retcon.
But even without the author’s interference, the logic of the world should hold. And in a place like this, there had to be more than just one or two people like that.
There were bound to be all kinds of troublemakers. So how could there not be someone who’d try to harm the Commander?
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t picture the prisoners meekly obeying this old man’s orders.
If anything, I could imagine them slicing his throat and making a run for it.
"...Ah. I suppose that’s one way to look at it. I didn’t consider that you might not know. My mistake. I apologize."
"It’s fine. It’s not exactly important."
Not important?
As we exchanged confused glances, Hayul chuckled and explained,
"Because he’s the strongest person here. There’s no way some random criminal locked up and sent here could take him down."
"...Stronger than Dad?"
"Of course. He’s far stronger than your father. If I lost to a guy like that, I’d have no face left to show."
The old man stroked his beard and smiled warmly, as if to say, *Yeah, and if I lost to some pervert who reads novels about naked girls, I’d hang myself from shame.*
"If we’re being technical, there are a lot of people who’d have to die for that to happen... No, that’s not what I meant. But why don’t we know this?"
"Hmm?"
"If he’s that strong, word should’ve gotten out. At least in the news or—"
"This is the front line. There are many secrets here that can’t be shared with the public."
"..."
"You still seem to have a lot of questions, but how about you rest first and shake off the fatigue?"
The grandfather, who kept his expression unchanged as he smiled, made us an offer.
Or rather, it was more of a notification than a proposal.
After all, no one here would dare say no in this situation.
…I thought Amelia might be different, but even she wasn’t reckless enough to refuse.
Seeing that everyone seemed to accept, the commander spoke to us without wiping the smile from his face.
"I apologize for calling you students to such a remote place. I promise to finish what we need your help with as quickly as possible."
"…Understood. Thank you."
"Ha-yul will explain the details to you. Go rest in an empty room where no one will disturb you."
"B-but, what about you, Teacher? Aren’t you supposed to be our escort?"
"It’s been a while since I’ve seen this subordinate of mine, so I’d like to have a quick chat. I’ve already arranged someone to take over, so please forgive me."
"Huh? Someone to take over…?"
-BANG!
At that moment, a siren blared outside the building.
"Ah, they’re here."
"B-but…"
"You should go first, Dorothy. I’ll come find you later."
"…Yes."
Hmm, something feels off.
I could only stare at the commander with suspicious eyes.
It’s a cliché that the nicest-looking people are the most rotten inside.
…Not that doubting him would do any good right now.
Nothing had happened yet, after all.
Maybe the author messed with the setting.
For now, I decided to obey his words.
Who knows? Maybe he really was a good person.
Not like the author would answer even if I asked.
"…It’s been a long time. You’ve changed a lot."
"You noticed, huh."
"How could I not? You know my Ability well."
I sighed as I looked at my former subordinate.
How had it come to this?
Where had that innocent, selfless person from before disappeared to? All that remained now was a worn-out veteran hero.
I’d seen this kind of change more than once, but it still pained me every time I witnessed it.
"So you ended up killing him."
"…You knew, didn’t you."
"As I said before, how could I not?"
*‘Damn, that Ability really is overpowered.’*
I could hear the thought as clear as day.
Everyone who stood before me thought the same thing.
It was more inconvenient than I’d expected.
Having your thoughts read was bound to be unpleasant in some ways, but there was nothing I could do about it.
"…So? Are you going to kill me?"
"I’d appreciate it if you stopped saying things like that when you already know what I’m going to say."
"I figured as much. I knew it."
…Arachne, huh.
The world had changed a lot.
I’d been wondering why the number of troublesome incidents had dropped lately. So that was the reason.
I had no intention of blaming Ha-yul for killing him.
I still remembered comforting her back then. If they ever met again, I’d assumed it would end up like this.
"Asking why I let you out would be pointless, wouldn’t it?"
"Indeed. It’s principle, isn’t it?"
"You haven’t changed at all since the old days."
"I’ve changed more than you think. I’m starting to worry about losing my hair."
"That’s a terrible joke. Your hair still looks thick to me."
"Does it now?"
Even though I knew it was flattery, it still put me in a good mood. I let out a hearty laugh.
Talking about old connections was always enjoyable.
…But it was about time to get to the point.
"Hmm, as I said, all I need is a search. You don’t have to do anything else."
"Is just searching enough? What about helping with combat…?"
"Well, that would certainly help, but if the students get hurt, that would be a problem."
If those kids got hurt, he could already picture the chaos—protests, or maybe some controversy spreading online.
There weren’t many people who wanted to mess with them, but that didn’t mean there were none.
Victims of villains released by the system.
Reporters hunting for juicy stories.
Groups that hated superhumans.
To avoid giving those bastards any ammunition, he had to block anything that could cause trouble.
Even if the search specialist had suddenly fallen ill or couldn’t come due to personal reasons, forcing them to bring a student…
He couldn’t afford to give them more reasons to stir up trouble.
"Have the boy handle the search, and let the other students accompany him. Their role can be… something like escort duty. It’s admirable how much you care for your friend."
"…Understood. I’ll pass that along."
"Ah, and one more thing."
"Yes?"
Just as Haeul was about to leave after receiving all the instructions, he hastily added one last detail.
"That boy—Yu Siwoo, was it? Put him and a girl named Arte in the same room."
"Huh? Are you serious?"
"Why would I joke about this? I’m serious."
"…Siwoo is a boy, and Arte is a girl. There are other rooms available, right? You said you were short on manpower…"
"There’s a reason it has to be this way. Please."
"…"
Damn.
She just left without even answering.
He could sense her reluctant acceptance through his ability, so it was just a minor act of defiance, but it still stung a little.
Calling him a perverted old man was going too far.
He was glad she trusted him enough to go along with his absurd request, but the misunderstanding still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"…Puppet, Author, Protagonist, and another world."
Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes.
He really didn’t like his ability.
Everyone envied it, but it forced him to learn secrets he never wanted to know.
"If I hadn’t known, I could’ve just left it alone…"
But he couldn’t just abandon such an unstable kid. Even if he was just a washed-up old man, he was still a superhuman—a hero.
It pained him to watch a child’s heart rot away like that.
"…Still, putting them in the same room might’ve been too much."
No, given their memories, it was probably the right call.
She seemed to find a great deal of psychological comfort in his presence.
"Hah, what a time to be alive."
A girl who clings to someone else’s clothes for comfort and a boy who sneaks into a girl’s locker—was that normal these days?
…No, that couldn’t be right.
He’d just have to accept that they were a match made in heaven.
It wasn’t exactly wrong, either.
Two people marked by a transcendent being—literally a couple blessed by the heavens.