Trapped in the Idol Universe

“Took it down...!”

“Hondonak, this bastard—big body, loud voice, but turns out he was all bark and no bite.”

The aftermath looked like a bombing zone.

The church building was gone without a trace.

The apartment across the street, thankfully, seemed largely intact. That was thanks to Wonil’s selfless sacrifice.

Once things quieted down, residents began poking their heads out of windows one by one to see what had happened.

Seeing them, Saeon looked uneasy, but there was no way to stop it.

“Backup will arrive soon.”

When Saeon said that, I realized he must have requested support from the Detention Bureau.

There wasn’t a single unit left unused, and with wounded agents, unconscious researchers, and cleanup to handle, they were short-staffed.

Then Roy snapped.

“Send Iro-i to the Awakened Hospital—”

“What?! There’s not a single healer at the Detention Bureau?”

After busting my tail to catch that thing, and now they want to ship me off to the hospital?

Talk about ungrateful!

It hadn’t even been three days since I bet my life on Eunseong and Galbi, and if I ended up there now, they’d lock me in a ward for sure.

“You’re telling me a fiend-hunting squad doesn’t have a single healer?”

“We do, but the hospital would be better—”

“No way. I’ll take treatment here, even if it’s F-rank. I’m not setting foot in that hospital.”

Suit yourself!

Roy flopped onto the ground, and Saeon was at a loss for words.

Not wanting to go to the hospital? Like a child throwing a tantrum...?

“Sigh...”

Saeon pressed his palm to his eyes and sighed. Ever since he went head-to-head with the Minister, I thought he was extraordinary, but now I had a feeling he might be even crazier than I’d guessed.

With this mess to handle, I didn’t need more trouble from a kid.

In a new way, Saeon found himself wishing StarHero would never end.

“There are a lot of eyes on us. Get up.”

“Let them look. I’ll stay right here until the med-team shows up.”

An S-rank like this.

To think the nation and the Detention Bureau’s future rests on shoulders like his—it was lamentable.

“I said get up.”

“Huh? Are you applying for half-pay now?”

Crack.

A vein bulged on Saeon’s forehead. His patience was nearly spent.

“Team Leader! Backup has arrived!”

The med-team, ambulances, and firefighters poured in.

Leaders of each unit approached Saeon to brief him, but when they saw Roy sprawling on the ground, they froze in shock.

Without further explanation, Saeon pointed to a healer.

“Take him. Please treat him on site, don’t send him to the hospital.”

And so Roy was sitting on the edge of an ambulance, receiving treatment.

Below the lab where the test subjects had been was testimony of an experiment, and one team was clearing debris.

Roy watched, his legs dangling, then suddenly looked up at the healer.

“Sis, could you treat that cut on my face, too?”

“We’re only allowed to give first aid on scene. There may be other injured parties.”

“But if I go back like this, my mom’s going to scold me...”

Roy pouted in a pitiful expression—he learned early on that most women can’t resist that look.

Sure enough, the healer covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

“Really? You want it treated?”

She couldn’t bring herself to say no.

“...All right, I’ll do it.”

“Wow! Thanks— you’re the best, sis!”

Roy had charmed the healer and was soon looking good as new.

But he couldn’t head home just yet. There were still things to check.

First, Galbi.

“Sis—”

“Yes?”

“Where are the people we rescued today? Not the cultists, I mean.”

I’d heard the cultists were being prepared for transfer to the Detention Bureau. They’d likely want to move the rescued survivors there too.

I was curious if the woman called F-17 escaped safely, and wanted to check on Galbi.

But this healer didn’t seem to know much.

“I’m not sure. Those arrested on scene are over in that black van.”

It wasn’t the answer I wanted, but since I had business there too, I decided to go.

With the building collapsed, medicine was gone—so I had to ask if they’d hidden any elsewhere.

“Thanks.”

With a nod, Roy dashed toward the van.

“Hey, Agent!”

Wonil, about to close the rear door, froze and turned. He looked a bit flustered.

He’d realized the kid in front of him really was the S-rank Iro-i.

He treated the team leader so casually, and he’d just vaporized that weird creature in an instant. Who else could be S-rank but him...?

But there was no reason for this fierce kid to grab him.

“W-what is it?”

If he was looking for the team leader, he’d have said he was still on scene.

Roy stuck his head into the van.

“I need to see someone. I have something to say.”

“This is dangerous.”

Wonil blocked him with his body. Inside were cultists who’d conducted forbidden research. They had special restraints, but a cornered rat will bite the cat. He meant to refuse.

“Galbi!”

“Not Galbi, sis?”

“No, why’s our Galbi in there?!”

Roy shoved Wonil aside and climbed in.

“Hey, why are you here?”

Galbi sat among the cultists, wrist in special cuffs, clutching the cult’s toxin vial.

“Iro-i...”

Galbi wiped her tears and hung her head. That feeling when you discover your friend you thought had escaped is treated like a cult member?

It drove you mad.

“She isn’t just anyone!”

She’d gone into Chaos Evil’s lair for me—yet this was her reward!

If she wronged anyone, it was only for choosing the wrong friend.

To think they’d lump her in with the cult...

“Get out. Down.”

“I-Iro-i—”

“Can’t you hear me say down?”

Roy grabbed her hand and pulled. Galbi reluctantly stepped out.

But the agents weren’t going to stand by. One in the driver’s seat, ready to go, turned sharply.

“What’s this? Get her out or we’ll subdue you.”

“Subdue? Does the Bureau just arrest anyone they see? Without reason?”

The agent was speechless. The kid threatened to defy being subdued without batting an eye—bold indeed.

Now that I thought about it, why was this kid wandering the scene unsupervised?

The man was a newly dispatched backup and didn’t know the situation.

He looked at Wonil, who was stepping aside—an amusing sight.

“She slipped out.”

Just then—

“What’s going on?”

Saeon, having heard the commotion, approached. He scowled at Roy, then at the sobbing Galbi, and finally at the stunned Wonil.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, this person is Iro-i’s friend...”

Wonil’s answer didn’t satisfy Roy, who jumped in.

“Team Leader, she’s not a cultist. I brought her here—she came only because of me.”

Yet he stomped his foot, outraged that they’d treated her like a criminal without even asking. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Saeon, sensing the situation, told Wonil and the backup to stand down.

“I’ll take responsibility for them. You can go.”

The backup agent opened his mouth to object, but Saeon left before he could speak.

Pressing his temple, Saeon said to Roy,

“I thought I said you could go home once treatment was done.”

“Do you think I’m staying because I want to?”

Roy grumbled as he checked Galbi, who was now back to normal.

“You just treat kids like problems. She’s hurt and you won’t even treat her.”

“I didn’t—”

“Shut up.”

Roy cut off Galbi before she could speak.

Saeon sighed and spoke quietly.

“Then what is it?”

He meant: why aren’t you going home? If you waited there, we’d summon you—first report, first witness, first closer.

I thought I was doing you a favor, but I didn’t expect this.

“Or have you decided to start officially today?”

“No way!”

What a scary question.

“Then go. We’ll take your statement later.”

“No. That’ll be too late.”

But this stubborn kid refused to budge.

“Team Leader, you don’t even know what the cult was researching.”

“I do.”

“Really? How?”

Saeon blinked at that, then recalled the gas-lighting he’d done to Cultist 1 and quickly changed his line of thought. Surely he didn’t know this.

“But you don’t know what that drug looks like. I saw it—aren’t you going to find it?”

As suspicion flared, Galbi, her face streaked with ash and black tears, rummaged in her pocket and held out two brown bottles.

“I...I smuggled these out...?”