"...Have you calmed down?"
"Thanks to you. Thank you, Inspector."
"I told you, you can just call me by my name."
"I’m more comfortable this way."
She let out a small sigh.
It was a relief that things didn’t get complicated.
If possible, I didn’t want to bother the Author with trivial matters.
The more the Author’s hand touched this world, the more it felt like reality itself was warping—and that made me uneasy.
"...You don’t look happy. Should I handle it?"
"It’s fine. After a warning like that, she won’t come near again."
As an inspector, she could have arrested that woman, but I decided against pushing it that far.
If she tried again, I could deal with her then. There was no need to escalate things unnecessarily.
"Hiring you as an inspector was the right choice."
"Thank you."
I gave Inspector Iha Yu a light compliment for preventing a potential headache.
After the fight with the Webermensch, I decided to always have at least one subordinate with me.
...That damn, stubborn, oversized cat had clung to me relentlessly that day and nearly ruined everything.
That day, I learned the hard way: I needed more people.
What if there had been one more person there?
We could have taken care of it faster, or I could have left it to them and slipped away.
But there hadn’t been. Even though I had subordinates.
Arachne was just a name—an organization in name only. I had thought of myself as its nominal leader.
That was why I hadn’t actively used Laira, Spira, or Inspector Iha Yu.
They were more like live-in maids than actual members of a secret organization.
I had treated them with that kind of half-hearted attitude, and it hadn’t caused any problems.
After all, Arachne itself was just a hastily fabricated organization to patch up the Author’s mistakes and setting errors. There was no need to actively run it like a real group.
I had never felt the need for subordinates before...
...until I saw Yu Siwoo nearly die.
"How’s the public order in this area lately?"
"Excellent. The villains are lying low. Thanks to Arachne."
"...Good to hear."
I had been careless. If I only reacted after things went wrong, I’d be too slow on my own.
It was impossible to prepare in advance—the incidents themselves only happened because Yu Siwoo was meant to resolve them.
The Author created trials for the protagonist, and the protagonist overcame them. That was why the Author loved chaos. The incidents were inevitable.
So if I couldn’t stop them from happening, I needed to minimize the variables.
It wasn’t any different from what I’d been doing all along.
The only change was that I couldn’t handle everything alone anymore, so I had to use the idle hands at my disposal.
Laira wasn’t suitable—if she fought seriously, her berserk state would level the entire area.
Spira was the same. Having her hide near me was dangerous. That tail of hers drew too much attention.
Inspector Iha Yu, with her extensive infiltration experience and abilities perfect for stealth, was the best fit.
Unless something extraordinary happened, she would assist me.
The Association hadn’t objected either. The crimes Arachne suppressed far outnumbered those handled by a single elite inspector.
Villains who used to commit crimes with the mindset of “I’ll just do some prison time if I get caught” started backing off once Arachne began taking lives one by one.
Those with nothing left to lose actually grew bolder, ready to die for bigger schemes—but with petty crimes reduced, the other inspectors, now well-rested, could handle those cases just fine.
"But, Arte-nim. Why are we monitoring him? He’s capable for his age, but is he really worth keeping an eye on…?"
"Because he’s at the center of everything."
"Huh?"
"Incidents always happen around him. We need to be prepared in advance."
"Is that… a prophecy?"
Prophecy, prophecy… Not entirely wrong, I suppose.
I do have a rough idea of what’s going to happen.
If that’s the case, then maybe I’m a prophet delivering the voice of god. Or perhaps just a disciple.
A cult that treats the world like a toy—sounds downright heretical just hearing it.
"…Let’s call it a prophecy. Or destiny."
The world was already in an uproar.
Webermensch, Arachne, the half-destroyed Academy.
Even now, after some time had passed, people still talked about the events around graduation day whenever they walked through the bustling streets.
Today was no different. Everyone was still discussing it.
That’s just how stories work.
To give the protagonist an even greater push, you need an even greater event.
So the world would only get noisier.
It might even face the threat of annihilation.
But I wasn’t worried.
Because this world had a protagonist.
A being loved by an incomprehensible one.
The only one in this puppet show who walks his own path.
I was certain he would save this world, one way or another.
So all I had to do was assist him.
Support him, and keep this world as intact as possible.
Since I couldn’t even be sure I’d ever escape it.
"…Sigh."
The world breaking and falling into chaos was inevitable, but it couldn’t burn all the way to the brink of destruction.
Because I might end up living here for the rest of my life.
Today, too, I watched over Yu Siwoo.
For the world. For myself.
"Myr, Myr… You really are dead."
It felt like time itself had stopped.
How many days had I spent crying nonstop?
If it weren’t for my superhumanly sturdy body, I might have died by now.
…Though even that endurance was reaching its limit.
"I can’t believe it, Myr. In an instant, in a single moment, you…"
I clutched her head, adorned with radiant horns.
There was no response.
The Myr who used to sigh in annoyance and push me away, only to then smile and ruffle my hair as if nothing had happened—she would never do that again.
…I knew. Villains could die at any moment. That Myr and I might never meet again.
I knew. But to die right before getting the one thing I wanted so badly…
That was just too cruel.
"What’s the big deal?! Myr, what’s so important about mixing genes?!"
Wait.
I hesitated, about to hurl the precious orb I’d been clutching to the ground in disgust.
…Mixing genes?
I suddenly looked at Myr’s horns.
She was human. …But she had genes. Genes of another species.
"If I use this…"
I could become one with Myr.
She isn’t dead. She’s with me.
Myr always said she wanted an equal society.
That was why she had chosen to remain an executive rather than declare herself the boss.
That was why she had been the first to use the completed elixir, despite the risk of unknown side effects.
He had fallen for her because of that. He had sworn to spend his life by her side. He had been loyal.
Now was the time to keep that vow.
"...Mire. I’ll make your dream come true."
If one had to pick the most out-of-place among the Twelve Zodiacs, it would undoubtedly be the dragon.
After all, dragons didn’t exist.
All the other executives were based on real animals, but the dragon was not.
...So why had Mire called herself a dragon?
How had she possessed such overwhelming power all on her own?
The answer was simple.
Because she alone had accepted the factor that no one else could.
Because everyone else had died, unable to endure it.
That was what made her special. That was why the elixir had been incomplete.
"Normally, I couldn’t accept it... but if I mix you and me, it’ll work."
He didn’t know how to use the bead.
But he knew instinctively.
He had to swallow it.
"Ugh, ugh... nngh..."
A horrifying sensation filled his stomach.
After forcing himself to swallow the blast furnace, he realized something after a short time.
...He could smell better.
Pain shot through his entire body, but he didn’t care. He had already endured worse.
The scent of earth, sweat, even the stench from Mire’s corpse.
His senses expanded in an instant, far sharper than they had ever been.
Even though his body was so exhausted that it was hard to feel anything at all.
"With this...! With this, it’s possible...!"
The functions and usage of the blast furnace melted into his mind as if seeping in.
With this power, it was possible. Mire had been right after all.
He could make Mire’s dream come true.
A world where everyone was equal, a world where everyone could have mana.
He could do it.
He could make it happen.
He turned his head to look at Mire.
"Mire, you were never wrong. With this power, I can make everyone equal."
He gently stroked her head.
He brought her beautiful, indigo-colored horn to his lips.
Mire had endured the genetic burden all on her own.
The genes of a beast.
"With you by my side, I can do it too, Mire."
"Calm down, calm down... Yu Siwoo..."
Yu Siwoo couldn’t rest at home. The reason was simple.
He had accidentally brought home some threads and forgotten to throw them away, and today, they kept catching his eye.
"I need to throw them away... I need to throw them away..."
Suddenly, he remembered Arte’s bikini from earlier.
...It had been black too.
Among the multicolored threads, the black one stood out the most.
"AAAAAAH!"
Yu Siwoo bolted out to the front yard.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep like this.
He couldn’t throw them away either. If he touched them to do so, strange thoughts would fill his mind.
He needed to work up a sweat.