NOVPUB“Hey, you there. Wait a moment.”
I called out to one of James’ subordinates while walking down the hallway with Ha-rim.
I originally planned to pass by without saying anything, but as he walked past, the bell on my Cheshire Cat charm trembled slightly. That was enough reason to stop him.
“...What is it?”
Since we rarely ever spoke to each other, his response came off stiff and awkward.
Well, it’s not like I had much to say anyway.
Without another word, I unsheathed my knife and swiftly cut off a small, insect-like Entity that had been crawling on his shoulder.
With a final, sharp screech, the creature dissolved into smoke and was absorbed into me.
“No need to tense up. It was just a lingering Entity of Gloom clinging to you. Haven’t you been feeling a bit off today?”
He stood frozen, unable to answer right away.
Maybe I should have warned him first.
If he had reacted faster, he might have drawn his gun on me.
“Could it be... mental contamination?!”
I saw him about to inject himself with a suspicious substance and immediately stopped him.
It seemed to be some kind of antidote for contamination, but in most fictional works, overusing things like that often led to nasty side effects.
Better safe than sorry.
“Actually, it’s not full contamination. Just removing the source is enough.”
“Ah, I see.”
So, he trusts me?
Well, rather than trusting me, he probably trusts James, who trusts me.
Now then.
“......”
“......”
With nothing more to say, I was about to head to the classroom with Ha-rim.
The kids had called us over for a snack party.
It wouldn’t be right to keep them waiting.
But just as I was about to leave, Ha-rim glanced between me and James’ subordinate before suddenly speaking up.
“You two look super awkward. I read somewhere that asking each other questions is a great way to get closer! And honestly, I’ve been curious for a while. You guys don’t seem like normal soldiers, so why not take this chance to ask them a few things?”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
She seemed fascinated by the mysterious, heavily armed soldiers.
Well, she was the president of the Mystery Exploration Club, after all.
Secrets and hidden truths were right up her alley.
Still...
“That’s not gonna work, Ha-rim.”
“Huh?”
“These guys operate in secrecy. If you start bombarding them with questions, they’ll have no choice but to refuse under orders from their superiors. That’ll just make things awkward for everyone.”
A solid point.
Ha-rim scratched her cheek as if she hadn’t considered that.
“Ah... I see...”
She nodded but quickly fell into thought.
What was she planning now?
I was still staring at her in curiosity when I suddenly noticed James’ subordinate looking at me.
“...What’s the problem?”
“Honestly... I didn’t expect you to be this considerate.”
Adults always seemed surprised whenever kids showed even a little depth of thought.
But even kindergarteners understood the concept of consideration.
If anything, it wasn’t that adults didn’t know—they just forgot.
Feeling a bit embarrassed at being praised for something so obvious, I quickly responded.
“It’s not consideration or anything. I just thought it was irrational to ask something that obviously won’t get an answer.”
Wait... did I just sound like a tsundere?
Gross.
“Then how about joining us for the snack party?”
“...What?”
I couldn’t help but react to Ha-rim’s sudden suggestion.
Did she really want to befriend these guys that badly?
Still, since it was Ha-rim’s idea, I decided to go along with it.
The soldier, on the other hand, hesitated.
“Hmm...”
Of course.
He was out on a mission—there was no way he could casually say, ‘Sure, I’ll have some snacks with you guys~’ without permission from his superiors.
“That’s not really something he can just decide on his ow—”
“There’s no issue with it. Eating snacks won’t interfere with the mission. Just keep your weapons at the ready.”
“—Whoa?! James?! Where did you even come from?!”
James simply shrugged at my question.
“Yes, sir! Understood!”
“Unless it’s top-secret information, I permit a certain level of disclosure. This guy is our ally, so don’t be unnecessarily rigid. Remember, we’re in the field, not inside the agency.”
“Understood, sir.”
What the hell is with this flow?
Everything’s just... moving along so smoothly, like it should happen this way.
James, are you sure you’re allowed to be this lax?
Could it be that he doesn’t actually care about agency secrets at all?
As soon as James gave his approval, we ended up hosting a snack party with his soldiers.
A bunch of armed adults sitting together with five kids.
It was hard to imagine that these guys would enjoy playing around with children.
Even Maria and James didn’t participate, which would only make things more awkward...
But my expectations were completely off.
“The first time I met Ella, she scared the hell out of me!”
“Hey! I already apologized for that!”
“Ella’s mad~”
“I am not mad...”
I smirked.
The innocent banter of the kids made the soldiers smile.
Having been through countless life-threatening experiences, they seemed to appreciate the peaceful atmosphere the children created.
“When the Mothman attacked, Ella jumped in like this and—bam! Took it down in one shot!”
Kyung-min started rattling off my “heroic” exploits.
This kid, really... It’s embarrassing just listening to it.
But still, it meant he liked me that much.
Feeling good, I grinned and teasingly asked the soldiers,
“So, after all this, you guys aren’t planning to lock me up the moment I step outside, right?”
Tada! Surprise! Turns out I’m actually a pretty nice Entity!
James’ soldiers burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha!!!”
“Hehehehehe...”
Their laughter was contagious, and I chuckled along.
“Hahaha!”
“Hehehe...”
We laughed.
“Haha... ha...”
“Hehe...”
...Wait.
We’re still laughing?
“......”
“...?”
Hold on.
Shouldn’t you guys be doing something else right now?
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Hey! At least pretend you’re not going to capture me!”
If you’re going to do it, at least have the decency to lie about it!
I shouted angrily, unable to bear the silence any longer.
At my outburst, they quickly attempted to placate me.
“Ahem... If you cooperate peacefully, the agency will provide ethical guidance—”
“These humans?!”
The sudden shift in their attitude left the kids completely shaken.
“E-Ella’s getting captured?”
“Ella is a good person!”
“Waaah...”
In the blink of an eye, the warm and cheerful atmosphere turned into complete chaos.
Damn it, these lore-obsessed, over-complicated text-spewing bastards! How dare they make Eun-jung cry?!
“This is a misunderstanding. Not all anomalous beings are treated as prisoners or wild beasts. Containment and protection are also part of our protocols.”
Even in the midst of this mess, they refused to back down.
Sighing in frustration, I decided to shift the conversation.
“Fine, fine. If I were to be captured, what classification would I fall under? You must have containment or threat levels, right?”
“I’m not sure how you know about that, but... you would likely be categorized as ‘Unchained.’ That classification is for entities that are either extremely difficult or outright impossible to contain.”
“Unchained, huh...”
Sounds kind of badass. I like it.
“We’ve seen you move freely through mirrors, and we’re aware that you can summon them at will.”
So to them, I probably seem like some kind of portal-wielding superhuman.
But there was something they were mistaken about.
“I don’t think I really qualify as ‘Unchained.’ My ability to summon mirrors has a limited range. If the walls were thick enough—”
“Oh?”
They seemed very interested in that bit of information.
Good, the tension was easing up.
I continued speaking, rambling on without much thought.
“Could you explain in more detail? Numbers, ranges, limits, anything—”
I was about to elaborate... until I noticed him subtly taking notes.
“Hmm, so roughly... 300—Hey, wait! What the hell are you writing down?!”
“...”
Let’s see... D-888 Containment Protocols? 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
I flashed a sweet smile.
“Snack party is officially canceled.”
Inside my head, a sarcastic internet meme chimed in with a "Eh? For real?"
These damn agency goons. So this is how they want to play it?
Fine. There’s no way in hell I’m letting them capture me.
They can keep their bloated, lore-heavy classification garbage to themselves.
“Please, calm down. Wouldn’t you be curious to know what kind of unit we are?”
“Oh? Now that is interesting.”
This time, they were the ones bringing up an intriguing topic.
James must have warned them in advance not to kill the mood too much.
“We’re a special unit led by Agent James—our squad’s nickname is [Four Seasons Stag]. We may not have overwhelming firepower, but we’re versatile enough to adapt to various threats, making us ideal for missions in unfamiliar territories.”
“...Are you sure you should be saying so much while your boss isn’t around?”
“It’s fine. We’re only sharing our nickname, not our official code designation.”
“Hmm...”
“Come on, tell me more. What kind of things do you guys contain?”
If Mary existed, then surely the originals of Jangsanbeom or Slender Man must be out there too.
I wanted to hear a full-on creature urban fantasy story.
“Sorry, but that’s classified.”
Lame.
I sighed, annoyed at yet another conversation dead-end.
“James already told me about Mary’s origin, though... That’s unfair. Fine, then—what kind of person is James to you? Oh, and throw in Maria too.”
Surprisingly, they started talking about Maria first.
Humans usually preferred discussing the less complicated option first.
“Agent Maria? She’s kind and incredibly strong. Despite her gentle nature and youthful appearance, she’s a veteran, often working alongside the commander. However, she’s actually not part of our agency, so we haven’t spent much time with her.”
“Not part of the agency?”
“She’s with a religious order, you could say. Honestly, if everyone in that group were as decent as Maria, their reputation would be much better.”
So... something like a notable external faction, but still in a cooperative relationship.
Interesting.
“And what about James?”
“The commander is one of the few people in this agency that we can genuinely trust.”
That response was way too mechanical.
They had clearly pre-agreed to say it that way.
But since James wasn’t around, one by one, they started revealing their actual thoughts.
“...Honestly, though, he bends orders from the higher-ups so much it stresses me out. It always feels like he’s walking a tightrope.”
“Agreed...”
“He even got a formal warning last time for disobeying orders. That’s why he doesn’t get along with that old doctor higher up. ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Honestly, he acts like he follows regulations, but he’s really just a slacker.”
“Hahaha! A slacker commander!”
Clank!
“...I apologize. Were you enjoying your conversation?”
“C-Commander?!”
“Oh, I was just... listening from behind the door.”
“It’s standard procedure for a superior officer to monitor conversations in case actual classified information gets leaked. Not that it ever would, of course.”
Yeah, sure, buddy.
I knew from the start that they weren’t actually going to spill any real secrets.
James just wanted to mess with them.
“James! They said they’re going to capture Ella! That’s not true, right? Right?!”
James simply let out a chuckle.
“Capture? No, no... it’s called protection.”
“Waaah!”
“What are you saying to the kids?! Hey, don’t cry—it was just a joke! They’re not taking her anywhere!”
“Really?”
“Riiiight~?”
Maria was sweating bullets as she reassured them.
Looks like she really isn’t good at lying to children.
Judging by her reaction, my capture was pretty much guaranteed.
These damn containment freaks. They’re all out of their minds.
“I hope you don’t hate us too much.”
I didn’t understand James’ words.
But I did understand that they weren’t just empty sentiment.
Because the way he was looking at me...
It was the gaze of someone looking at a future ally.
A strange feeling settled in my chest.
