Chapter 169

Chapter 169

I was in the middle of an organizational task, so I was ready to go.

The only problem was that Alessia was working next to me, helping me with the organization.

"So, you're saying that your mentees messed up and you have to leave now."

The ballpoint pen shattered in Alessia's hand with a clatter.

"......Ah, Alessia?"

For some reason, I'm surprised that she's showing more anger than I am, but her expression quickly turns cold and she stands up.

"I'll be ready to leave in a moment, if you'll excuse me."

She's going out, does she mean she's going out with me?

"Why is that......Alessia?"

"What?"

She tilts her head as if she doesn't know what I'm talking about.

"It's obvious, isn't it, to guide the damned youths who summoned you at this hour──"

"No, it's okay, I'm really fine, you should just get some rest!"

If I went with Alessia, it could end up being more than just words.

If anything happened to them at her hands, it would be a disaster so I had to stop her somehow.

"However, I can't leave them alone for bothering you even at this hour."

"Well, it's no big deal, I'll take care of it."

Hearing my words, Alessia strokes her lips and begins to think.

"But those who disrespect you as the maid of the Corleone family......."

"I think you should rest, Alessia, and I'll take care of this.......From the looks of it, it's not too complicated."

It just so happens to be in Bucheon.

Fortunately, it didn't look like things were going to get much more complicated here.

* * *

The police station in charge of the Awakened in southern Gyeonggi-do.

This is where Se-ah had been held in the past, so I didn't have too much trouble finding my way around.

The problem is......that this place is pretty fucked up right now.

"No, sir. I didn't mean to use my real powers, did I?"

"Stop! Get your chief, Bucheon!"

"This is Bucheon, why is Namcheon-dong here?"

"Are you sure he's wearing the right restraints? He's got flames in his hands!"

The scene at the police station was chaotic.

As I look around, I spot some familiar heads and walk over to them.

"A bunch of kids so young, robbing an unattended store, using their powers?"

"No one got hurt, can't you just let it go? We're not going to do it again, okay?"

"Between the three of you, you have triple digit rap sheets. Do you think I'll take your word for it? Ha."

A familiar voice that lingers in my memory.

Han Ji-yeon, the first of the children to spot me, smiles and waves.

"Ah! Big brother!"

She doesn't show any sign of remorse at being caught by the police.

The other children also look bothered or sleepy but not a single one of them looked remorseful.

"Are you the guardian of these children? How the hell are you going to educate them?"

And, of course, the detective who was facing this attitude could not help but become even angrier.

"Why are you here?"

The detective's eyes widened in surprise as he remembered my face.

Judging by his face, he was the same detective I remembered.

"I'm Eugene Han, a mentor for the kids in the 'Gaegwacheonsun' project at the Seoul Hero Academy. Can you tell me more about what happened?"

The detective greeted me with a casual greeting and began to tell the story of the incident.

"Well, it must be that time of year again. The incident itself is uneventful. Three people worked together to loot an unattended store. In the process, an officer on patrol chased them down, and that's how we ended up here."

"There were no injuries or casualties?"

"Yes. Fortunately."

That was very fortunate.

If there had been any casualties, it would have been a difficult situation.

"In that case, I'll take over, thank you for your efforts."

I decided to take over since I was the chaperone, albeit temporarily.

As soon as the other side realized that it was a 'learning curve' period, they cooperated.

In fact, they recognized that it was our job to manage them.

Of course, with such an impressive track record, he didn't forget to add something.

"Huh, I see, then please sign these papers and......the rest."

"Thank you. Everyone, follow me."

After a short bow to the detective, I led the children outside.

The kids don't say a word until they're out of the police station.

It's only when they're finally out the front door that Han Ji-yeon breathes out in frustration.

"Ahhh, really. I finally got out. Thank you so much, brother. By the way, what's that outfit? A suit? Where have you been? You look better than this morning!"

She spoke so lightly that I couldn't tell if the silence was awkward or if she really thought it was nothing.

"Really? The atmosphere is completely different from the daytime. Did you work at a restaurant or something?"

At this, Kim Hyun-soo giggles and accepts the story but I looked down at them in a low, cold voice.

"Was it so hard to not get into trouble? I didn't expect you to get into trouble less than a day after I told you."

The kids flinch at the sudden change in mood.

They felt it instinctively that my reaction was out of character.

"So, why did you do it?"

Of course, I wasn't expecting it.

My conversations with them during the day and their demeanor had already confirmed that they weren't the kind of people who would listen to me.

"Because I needed......money."

It was Ki Min-ho who answered my question.

"Today is the last day, and if we don't pay the activity fee, they'll beat us to death."

"Activity fee?"

"There's a circle we're a part of, and they provide us with room and board......We can't starve to death."

"Ha."

He's trying to play me for a sucker now.

"What about the welfare program? If you're really struggling, they'll help you out."

"That doesn't apply to us, at least not legally, since we have both parents......."

I had a feeling this was a common occurrence.

Lawlessness playing on the wrong side of the law.

Not that it was acceptable.

"So, what do you guys want to do?"

"Well, for starters, we need to raise some money and get out of here, in case these guys are really coming to kill us."

"Actually, they almost killed one of our neighbors over there not too long ago."

"...... That's right."

Well, there was a place to hang out, that's hitting two birds with one stone.

"Follow me."

I led them to my car.

"Get in."

The kids were confused by the sudden appearance of a luxury sedan and only after I opened the back door did they cautiously climb inside.

I get them all in and climb into the passenger seat.

"Where can I take you?"

Han Seo-joon says from the driver's seat.

"Isn't there a warehouse we talked about today? Let's go there."

"Okay."

As things got weirder and weirder, the backseat began to fill with heavy air.

"Uh, hey. The warehouse......?"

"Did you say warehouse? I'll just pretend we're going to a penitentiary."

Well, they got to pay for their misdeeds, right?

Because I thoroughly felt that no matter what the situation, education was necessary.

My philosophy of education is to mix discipline with words, not just words alone.

They don't call it "the sting of the falcon" for nothing.

The car sped off to one of Corleone warehouses in Incheon, a facility that had been lightly converted for human habitation.

"......We're not going somewhere weird, are we?"

"A warehouse? You usually see places like this in movies......."

"You're crazy, don't say scary things!"

The kids panicked at the increasingly sparse crowds.

Finally stopping in front of a warehouse, we got out of the car and opened the back door.

"Get out."

"What? Uh......can't we sit here, it's warm and nice."

In response, Kim Hyun-soo, who is afraid to go out, says something strange.......

"I won't say it again. Get out."

Thankfully, the kids got out the second time.

"What about him, did he arrive?"

"Yes. We got word that he arrived a few minutes ago."

"Good."

As Han Seo-Joon and I tugged on the door of the huge warehouse from both sides, light leaked through the cracks, revealing the inside.

The interior looked like an American storage unit.

They had to wear shoes to get around, but it looked habitable enough.

Then, I saw her sitting alone in what appeared to be a dining room.

"Ah. Hello!"

Snow-white hair and a stiff suit that looked like it was newly tailored and bright red eyes.

"I've been waiting for you. Master."

The person with the longest history of hard group life of anyone I have available to me right now and someone who could work anywhere.

Someone I could trust and most importantly, someone who could protect them from other outside forces.

It was Latte.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here! Are these the children...... you were talking about?"

She looked at the children lined up behind me and smirked.

"Ho-ho. They sure look like they won't listen to me, I'll have a taste for teaching them."

"......Stir, big brother. What about her?"

Han Ji-yeon, who had been keeping her head down in silence, cautiously raised her hand and asked me a question.

"That's a good question. She's a kind of teaching assistant I specially recruited for you."

"A......assistant?"

Each of the children reacted differently to my words.

Maybe it's because of the seemingly vulnerable, low-key way Latte comes to me.

But......I wonder how far that reaction will go?

"I'm Latte. Until recently, I was a long-term prisoner in Niflheim, so I'm the right person to correct you. I also had a run-in with the Villain's Alliance a while back, so if you want to say goodbye to the real world, feel free."

Although she is small in stature and has a cute appearance......she is capable of carrying a cannon with one hand so dealing with them would be a breeze.

"Villain Alliance?"

"You, Niflheim? I heard it's hell there."

"You're lying......."

And again, they showed no sign of being easily convinced.

"Well, you said it yourself......."

Latte replied with a smirk.

Dab─

Ding, ding, ding, ding.

Click, click, click, click.

click-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack

"Shall we begin training everyone?"

The legions of rats that had swarmed around Latte began to close in around them, looking at the children with vicious eyes.

"Heeeeeew! Rats!!! Rats!!! Rats!!!"

"Hey, what the hell is this?"

The children scrambled back, frightened by the sudden appearance of a swarm of rats.

However, the rats had one distinctive feature: they all wore identical red octagonal hats and stood on their two feet with their arms outstretched.

"Say hello. These are your instructors, who will help you in your future lives."

Unperturbed by the sight, Latte smiles and begins to introduce the rats.

"The rat instructors will be accompanying you to school, so I hope you'll get along with them, okay?"

The frightened children began to squirm or burst into emotionless laughter, despite the fact that it was a pure white laugh that didn't show any malice.

Well, they don't know about it now, but they'll probably realize soon enough that they're lucky to have Latte with them, since she provides both education and protection.

"Okay, let's go see that circle or whatever it is."