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Chapter 149

“Your excuses won’t work here! You shall be sent directly to the Abyss!”

Having been caught in the act, Se-Hoon lost everything in a swift trial and was sentenced to imprisonment in the Abyss, a prison for only the most heinous criminals...

“To summarize...”

Of course, such a story didn’t happen.

“...to treat Yeom Sung-Ha’s injury, you cast a helpful spell that somehow led to extreme pain and blood vomiting, which I happened to witness.”

“That’s correct.”

The full story and the medical staff confirming that Sung-Ha was fine made Ha Seon-Woo unknowingly smirk.

“The timing was quite impeccable.”

“That’s what I’m saying...”

Walking over to Se-Hoon, who was laughing self-deprecatingly, Ha Seon-Woo removed the loosely fastened handcuffs on him.

“I apologize if you found this whole process unpleasant. It’s just standard procedure during an investigation...”

“It’s alright. You were just doing your job.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Bowing politely, Seon-Woo reintroduced himself, his posture perfectly straight, “Let me introduce myself again. I am Investigator Ha Seon-Woo from the Heroes Association’s Special Operations Division.”

“...”

Se-Hoon observed the investigator standing before him. With his long, dark blue ponytail and eyes, Seon-Woo gave off a soft impression. In his clean black suit, he resembled a model more than an investigator and appeared particularly kind. However, Se-Hoon knew better than anyone that his looks were a trap.

To think I’d see this guy here...

He vividly remembered being relentlessly pursued while fleeing due to false accusations by an S-rank hero. In the future, that S-rank hero would be the man before him—the future Special Operations Division Team Leader Ha Seon-Woo.

I remember this guy having zero flexibility... did he really just overlook all this?

Of course, the current Ha Seon-Woo was likely very different from his team leader days. But Se-Hoon stayed on guard still. Seon-Woo had never been an ordinary character, and oddballs like him tended to be fundamentally twisted from the inside.

Recalling memories of Ha Seon-Woo, like his impressive background, Se-Hoon got lost in his thoughts. And upon seeing that he wasn’t showing any response, Seon-Woo curiously called out to him.

“Lee Se-Hoon?”

Belatedly gathering himself, Se-Hoon tried his best to sound natural as he said, “Ah, I’m sorry. It seems there are still some aftereffects from my injuries...”

“My apologies. Now that I think about it, I heard your injuries were pretty severe...”

Surprised, Seon-Woo urgently examined Se-Hoon’s condition in case something might have gone wrong during the investigation.

His expression subtly changed. According to the information he received, Se-Hoon’s condition should be severe enough to require months of recovery, yet he appeared perfectly fine.

His physical abilities are stronger than reported.

It was said he had only regained consciousness a few days ago, and yet he had changed this much. Unable to figure it out, Seon-Woo’s eyes narrowed.

Could the Emperor of Ascension be hiding something?

Sensing something suspicious, he looked at Se-Hoon again. But just as a ripple of mana was about to form in his deep blue eyes, he heard Se-Hoon calmly call out to him.

“Investigator.”

“Ah, yes. Go ahead.”

“If you don’t have any other business with me, may I go now? I have an appointment for treatment soon...”

At Se-Hoon’s troubled look, Seon-Woo thought about it and then nodded.

“Alright. I’m here today for Yeom Sung-Ha, after all.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

Standing up, Se-Hoon bowed slightly and left the hospital room, his back followed by Seon-Woo’s eyes.

Did he notice me activating my skill...?

Right as he was about to secretly examine Se-Hoon’s stats, Se-Hoon interrupted him and skillfully slipped away. But after a mere moment of consideration, Seon-Woo shook his head.

That can\'t be possible.

Even with the amount of talent Se-Hoon had, it was impossible to detect the activation of his unique skill, Enhanced Vision. After all, even his colleagues in the Special Operations Division who knew about it fell prey to him every time.

Yes. No matter how talented he is, he\'s still a freshman.

Dismissing the unnecessary thoughts, Seon-Woo focused on Se-Hoon’s condition.

If he’s recovered that much, it might be possible to meet him again soon.

With plans made to meet Se-Hoon after finishing Sung-Ha’s investigation, Seon-Woo patiently waited in the hospital room for Sung-Ha’s return.

But when two hours passed without a sign of the room’s owner, Seon-Woo frowned.

When is he coming back?

Sung-Ha had mentioned it would be a simple check-up, so why was he so late? Not wanting to wait any longer, Seon-Woo stood up and was about to head to the desk when the door opened and nurses walked in.

“Phew. He’s finally discharged... huh?”

Surprised to see the investigator in the room, the nurses puzzledly asked, “Why are you here...?”

Just their reactions allowed Seon-Woo to realize something was wrong. He quickly asked, “Where is the patient?”

“Pardon? If you\'re talking about Yeom Sung-Ha, he completed his discharge procedures and went home to recuperate a while ago...”

“...”

Seon-Woo’s face turned blank.

Even though he was too preoccupied to submit a proper request to the hospital, asking them to cooperate with his investigation, shouldn’t they have realized something was up when an investigator had come?

Feeling a headache brewing, Seon-Woo rubbed his temples and asked the nurses, “Did he say anything about me?”

“If it\'s about you, Investigator... ah.”

Recalling something, the nurse hesitated and cautiously said, “Well...”

“It’s part of the investigation, so please.”

Having been blatantly ignored already, he knew there was no point in getting angrier.

Hesitating again, the nurse squeaked out, “During his check-up, he mentioned that something was troubling him and asked to be discharged quickly...”

“...”

***

Yeom Sung-Ha: Come up with what you want before I return.

Reading the message on his phone, Se-Hoon chuckled.

This guy. He must have run off to avoid the investigation.

Normally, when one was caught by a Special Operations Division investigator, they would be held up for days. And in Sung-Ha’s case, that would mean being stuck in the hospital for even longer. So, he must have fled before any request for cooperation could be made.

But he picked the wrong opponent this time.

While other investigators might have shifted their focus to someone else or postponed the investigation, the Seon-Woo he knew would likely chase Sung-Ha all the way to his home.

Se-Hoon was certain of that since that relentless pursuer had even followed him into the Forest of Void, one of the Six Great Demon Realms, in a bid to capture him.

He\'s probably even more tenacious now, given his young age.

Greatly amused by Sung-Ha’s predicament, he headed back to his hospital room and spotted a familiar silver-haired figure inside.

“Hmm?

”

Standing by his bed with a black plastic bag in hand, Luize was looking down at it.

“...”

He couldn\'t see what she was looking at because her back was blocking the view, but it was clear that she wasn\'t in a good mood.

Erika isn’t here.

Had they met and fought while he was gone? He quietly approached, taking advantage of her having yet to notice him.

“What are you staring at so intently?”

“Ugh...!?”

Startled, Luize flinched and stared at him in stunned silence like she had been caught stealing. Curious about why, he glanced toward the bed.

“Hmm...”

Aside from the pile of gift boxes next to it, there was a piece of paper neatly placed on the blanket. The paper was covered by a complex and tangled pattern that looked like a doodle, but it made Se-Hoon narrow his eyes.

Is that a... spell pattern?

Though the pattern was complex and hard to distinguish, it was undoubtedly a spell related to the Inoue family’s secret magic. Examining it more closely, his eyes then landed on the writing at the bottom of the paper.

“This will help once you are able to understand it. I have to leave because something came up.”

Erika left this.

Recognizing her handwriting from their Barrier Compositions class, he stroked his chin. He had wondered how she would react to his application of Ren’s unique spell, yet he would never have expected her to leave him a homework assignment.

She wouldn\'t have left something random... so it’s likely something that’s indirectly linked to our Relationship.

If he could successfully decipher the intricate pattern, it would probably help him understand Erika\'s criteria for evaluating him.

Having deduced the situation, he picked up the paper with the spell pattern and turned to the flustered Luize.

“I wasn’t snooping! It was just right there on the bed, and I was curious...”

“...”

“Really! Hey, do I look like someone who would mess with other people\'s things?!”

Se-Hoon just continued staring at her, meeting her indignant expression. Moments later, he finally let out a small laugh.

“Of course not.”

“Huh?”

“I can tell who touched it just by looking. Did you think I wouldn’t know how to do even that?” responded Se-Hoon confidently, lounging casually on the bed.

“...”

Taking a moment to process, Luize’s blank stare turned into one of embarrassment, realizing she had been teased, and her face turned bright red.

“You... you jerk...”

Why was he always so eager to tease her? Suspecting they might have been enemies in a past life, Luize seriously considered smacking him a few times.

Deciding to actually do it, she raised her fist, but Se-Hoon changed the subject naturally.

“What did you think of that spell pattern?”

“What?”

“I mean, what was your impression of it? To me, it didn’t really click.”

He had recognized it as an Inoue family secret spell, but he couldn’t grasp how it activated or the synesthetic mindscape contained within.

First impressions are crucial with these things.

So, instead of getting tangled up in it alone, it was faster to ask someone more talented. Putting down her fist, Luize grumbled for a bit before sharing her thoughts with some hesitation.

“It felt like an unfinished novel to me.”

“An unfinished novel?”

“Like, you know how a novel can sometimes seem to wrap up nicely, but then at the very end, it says, ‘But little did they know, this was the happiest moment of their life’?”

Her explanation was peculiar, not what one would typically expect upon seeing a spell pattern. And it seemed she was also aware of that, as she waved both hands dismissively, her expression full of uncertainty.

“Actually, forget about that. It\'s probably not helpful anyway...”

“No, it is.”

“What?”

Seeing her confusion, Se-Hoon calmly explained, “With complicated spell patterns like this, the initial impression is often the closest to the truth. The more you think about it, the further you get from the answer.”

“How come?”

Wouldn’t you get closer to the answer the more you thought about it?

“Simply put, it\'s like mixing paint.”

Before mixing, one could easily distinguish the original colors; but the more they mixed, the harder it became to tell which colors had mixed. The same applied to the synesthetic mindscape that formed the basis of spell patterns.

“If you try to interpret the pattern without a clear direction, you start adjusting your thoughts to match your own synesthetic mindscape. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the interpretation usually ends up different from the original.”

“Hmm... so my initial impression is closest to the synesthetic mindscape of the person who drew this pattern?”

“Exactly.”

Of course, if one didn’t have the talent, their initial impression could be inaccurate. However, with Luize’s exceptional talent in Incantation Magic and dealing with synesthetic mindscapes, hers was definitely reliable enough.

“If that’s the case, that’s a really unsettling pattern. It looks fine on the outside but gives off a creepy vibe.”

“It is a bit ambiguous.”

The synesthetic mindscape he imaged in this spell pattern looked like it could lead to a mundane continuation or even a story of losing everything and falling into despair.

Noting his views on the complex synesthetic mindscape from various angles, Se-Hoon decided to put it aside.

Let’s stop here for now.

It was likely a trademark spell of the Inoue family, meaning trying to solve it all at once would likely lead to much confusion. As such, he felt it was better to just take it step by step.

He turned to Luize, who was awkwardly standing to the side.

“So, what’s in that plastic bag?”

“Huh? Oh, well...”

Glancing at the black plastic bag in her hand, Luize made an embarrassed expression and mumbled in a voice just barely loud enough to hear, “I thought it’d be rude to come empty-handed, so I bought some fruit...”

She sneaked a look at the pile of gifts Erika had brought. Just by looking at the packaging, it was obvious they were expensive and high-quality compared to her simple purchase.

Of all times, I just had to come after her...

Grumbling internally, she tried to subtly hide the bag of fruit behind her back.

Thwack!

Noticing, Se-Hoon snatched the plastic bag from her hand.

“H-hey!”

“Just cherries, huh?”

Avoiding her attempt to snatch it back, he pulled out a cherry from the bag. Popping it into his mouth, he tasted the familiar taste of Jason cherries, which he had eaten to the point of exhaustion while teaching Luize Incantation Magic.

He smiled and sincerely remarked, “It tastes good. Thanks.”

“...”

Seeing him not compare her gift to Erika\'s, Luize’s worried expression softened and changed into a smile.

Right. He’s always been like this.

Though he was usually a jerk who took every opportunity to tease and brag to her, she knew he always showed consideration during moments that mattered. Now much more at ease, she sat down on the chair.

If only he were like this all the time...

After watching Se-Hoon diligently eat some cherries, Luize extended her right hand.

“Give me some too. I haven’t had them in a while.”

She didn’t particularly like them anymore because of her training, but she felt like eating them today, perhaps out of nostalgia.

Turning his head toward Luize, Se-Hoon smirked.

“Nope.”

“...You jerk─”

The warm atmosphere didn’t last long.