[15 minutes ago, a high-rise building overlooking a studio apartment.]
“See? I knew my guess was right.”
Kim Chung-seong, one of the National Intelligence Service’s Black Agents, shoved the remaining half of his hamburger into his mouth while holding a camera.
It was a camera with a long, cannon-like lens—something that only journalists would typically use.
Inside the camera, images from multiple CCTV feeds were captured.
“A person who lives near where it first appeared. Someone whose whereabouts suddenly vanished. A guy who seems like he’d play Granade Impact: Redive. Someone whose credit card usage recently dropped. The only person who traveled from Seoul to Mungyeong on the day Mungyeong was attacked… There’s only one.”
Though the face of the person wasn’t captured, one of the older photos showed a blond-haired, blue-eyed man—none other than the aide of the U.S. president—accompanying a young man.
“How many people are pretending they don’t know while actually knowing? Heh.”
And the most recent photo—
A black limousine.
The tinted windows made it impossible to see inside, but the fact that a limousine was leaving a studio apartment like this…
Anyone in this field would naturally be suspicious.
“What’s the point of sending out five decoy vehicles to throw people off? In the end, the culprit always returns to the scene of the crime.”
[Doesn’t it feel like you’re talking to yourself when you say things like that?]
“I’m talking because you’re there, Belovsky.”
[Oh-ho. White Deer.]
Kim Chung-seong smirked at the voice on the speakerphone.
“So, how much are you paying?”
[Two billion.]
“Two billion won? Damn, that’s quite a lot for just one piece of intel.”
[Two billion rubles.]
“…”
Kim Chung-seong furrowed his brows.
“Wait a second. You guys aren’t planning something weird, are you?”
[We simply want to understand the Master’s ‘preferences.’]
“…”
[Is the Perfect Maid merely cosplaying as a character from a game, or is she truly the miracle that our intelligence agency suspects?]
“A miracle, huh… So, those game nerds seriously believe that’s the real Elaine?”
[That’s our assessment.]
“You really think a game character could be summoned into reality?”
[In a world where Hunters exist, Towers appear, and a System provides support, is that idea really so absurd? Even the U.S. is leaning toward that conclusion.]
“…”
A game character appearing in reality.
Kim Chung-seong still found it hard to believe, but it seemed like the other side was dead serious.
“Before I take that two billion rubles, let me ask you something. Sure, I gave you a lead on a person, and sure, I found out thanks to my old academy buddy who works as a bodyguard under the U.S. president’s secretary… But what makes you so convinced that this is a real game character?”
[We combed through every single birth record in West Virginia and found no trace of her. The U.S. government has suddenly started investing in game companies. And most importantly…]
“Most importantly?”
[Our team’s resident otaku swears that her voice is exactly like the game’s voice actress—down to the way she speaks Korean, as if a Japanese voice actress had suddenly become fluent.]
“…”
[At first, I thought the voice actress might have somehow become an S-rank Hunter, but that wasn’t the case. Anyway, that’s how we arrived at our conclusion, and thanks to the intel you provided, we’ve now cross-verified it. What about your side?]
“Our side…”
Kim Chung-seong let out a bitter chuckle.
“We know, but we don’t want to believe it. Everyone still thinks it’s just an S-rank Hunter from the U.S. messing around with Korea.”
[If the minds of intelligence officers are that rigid, it’s a real problem.]
“Well… to be honest, I don’t really care anymore.”
Kim Chung-seong stood up from his seat.
“I don’t know what you’re planning to do with the Master—who now has the backing of an S-rank Hunter and the U.S. government—but don’t drag me into it. I was just doing my job.”
[You mean, selling information to a foreign country?]
“Oh, come on. Selling? Do you take me for some traitor? A skilled Russian hacker just happened to extract data from my personal laptop—where I had conveniently organized my findings—and somehow, I ended up with two billion rubles in my secret offshore account, as if I had sold it.”
[Let’s just go with that, then. As for this conversation…]
“It’s fine. I’ll erase everything right away, so don’t worry.”
[Understood. Then, evacuate the area immediately.]
Beep.
The call ended.
Kim Chung-seong picked up his camera again, zooming in on the people approaching a studio apartment.
“Heh, anyone would think they’re real NIS agents—huh?”
Among the agents in black suits, some looked like the kind you’d see in movies, while others were disguised in plain clothes.
“Why are the real ones mixed in…? Wait, those guys are the same.”
Some were Russians, and some were unmistakably Koreans, even if they were in disguise.
“This is strange. The Director would’ve raised hell over this. Did they go rogue? Damn, if I go to Moscow later, am I gonna have to deal with these guys again?”
Kim Chung-seong let out a bitter laugh and picked up his phone.
“Hah… My father named me Chung-seong so I would serve my country, but now, I’ve ended up being loyal to another…”
(TLN: It means loyalty.)
Bang!
A gunshot.
At first, he thought someone had turned their speakers up too loud, but the sound wasn’t coming from a speaker.
“What the …?!”
Kim Chung-seong quickly ducked.
At the same time, he used his camera to check the studio apartment.
Thud. Thud.
Sounds of bodies hitting the floor.
A shadow moved.
With each motion, agents collapsed one by one.
The elite agents from NIS, the top operatives KGB had sent—
All being taken down, one after another.
What, what the hell?!
W-what is that sound?!
Are they filming a movie?! Damn, what the—AAARGH!!
Citizens, startled by the gunfire, screamed in confusion.
“Oh, this is bad.”
Had the enemy deliberately done this?
Had they intentionally exposed the situation to civilians to create a distraction?
If so, then the U.S. intelligence agencies—whether it was the CIA or the FBI—would surely face consequences later—
Bang!
“!!”
The window of Kim Chung-seong’s hideout shattered, a bullet lodging itself into the ceiling’s fluorescent light.
Shards of glass rained down behind his head.
For a brief moment, his mind blanked out, but he instinctively threw himself to the side.
Ding.
A message arrived on his phone.
The sender was someone he knew from the field.
Only one line was written.
[Delete it yourself^^]
“…”
Delete what, exactly?
If he didn’t figure that out soon, this smartphone was probably going to explode in his hands.
“This doesn’t seem like an American agent…”
There was no way it could be.
Through the listening device in his ear, Kim Chung-seong could hear the voices of the nearby U.S. intelligence agents—panicked, shouting at each other.
“…Damn it.”
After deleting all the data from his camera, Kim Chung-seong removed the memory chip and dropped it into a beaker filled with a gray liquid.
Fssshhh.
The chip dissolved into nothing.
Another message arrived.
[Good.]
“…”
What the hell just happened?
Kim Chung-seong decided not to think about it.
Thinking meant he’d start processing what had just occurred. And the moment he did that, the person who had just taken down over a dozen agents might very well put a hole in the back of his head.
“They really don’t hold back, huh.”
He lowered his head.
“Damn it… how did they even hack this?”
He let out a dry laugh as he stared at his smartphone, which was now frozen on a blue screen.
“This isn’t just hacking… it’s like they’re flipping me off. Tsk.”
Instead of his phone, he pulled something else from his pocket.
A notebook.
“…Second subordinate, an outstanding hacker. Terminator? RoboCop?”
He was about to jot those down when—
“Ah, forget it. It’s not like I’m getting paid extra for this.”
He tossed the notebook aside and closed his eyes.
“…I wish I could awaken, too.”
As the sound of ambulance sirens blared from below, Kim Chung-seong lost consciousness.
* * *
“I apologize. It seems we’ve been compromised.”
“There’s no need to apologize.”
Patrick, looking flustered, stared at his phone.
Meanwhile, I simply felt relieved at the message that had arrived on mine.
[Mission accomplished ☆]
What was accomplished, exactly?
One: the National Intelligence Service vehicle that had been tailing our limousine.
Two: the foreign intelligence agents snooping around my house.
“Mr. Patrick. Can my belongings at home be moved somewhere secure?”
“…If you mean within Korea, we can relocate them near Pyeongtaek for now.”
“Please do so.”
Patrick hesitated, clearly wanting to ask something.
“Did you… recruit another ability user without informing us?”
I remained silent.
“Oh—apologies if that was inappropriate. But the fact that an unidentified agent appeared at your house and engaged in a gunfight with the ones outside…”
“Yes. I recruited them.”
Technically, I summoned them, but I wasn’t going to spell that out—whether officially or unofficially.
At least not unless I was summoning something as blatant as an aircraft carrier, a massive battle mech, or a super robot.
“They’re highly skilled in intelligence operations, so I’ve entrusted my safety to them. I need to take precautions too—”
Beep.
Another message.
“…Rockefeller?”
The moment I read the name, Patrick’s expression darkened.
“I apologize, Master. It seems there’s been a leak on our end. I assure you, we will take extra precautions to prevent this from happening again.”
“I never expected it wouldn’t happen. I am an Asian in a country run by white people, after all.”
No country was truly safe.
The best I could hope for was a safe home.
Not that I was planning to do much besides staying home, summoning creatures, and playing games.
But I’d rather not have missiles crashing through my window or assassins knocking on my door.
“I want my own independent space. Somewhere secure, where I can have everything on this list while maintaining my privacy.”
I handed Patrick a document—a prearranged list I had discussed with my partners.
The kind of list you’d see in those “Spend 30 points for 10 years of perks” internet memes—except this was real.
“Understood. In addition, we will ensure your safety and information security.”
“Good. Now then… Ah, one moment.”
Another message.
“Elaine?”
[Reporting from Yeosu. The Hunters who entered the Jeju Tower have not returned. It seems I am unable to communicate with them during the raid.]
“Even Ironblood?”
[Yes. Even if they started descending now…]
“Unless they defeated the boss and jumped straight down, it would take them even longer to return. Alright, let’s take advantage of the time and go for the raid ourselves.”
I quickly accessed the Summon Management app.
“Mr. Patrick.”
“Yes, Master?”
“You know the drill—pretend you saw nothing.”
“I’ll prepare a memory-erasing pen if necessary.”
Patrick put on his sunglasses and covered his eyes with one hand.
Click. Click.
A brilliant white light burst from my body.
“It’s been a while, Patrick.”
“…”
Elaine had appeared.
Sitting on my lap.
“Does this seem odd to you?”
“…No.”
Patrick shook his head without hesitation.
“The important thing is that we’re heading for Dokdo now.”
***
Moments later.
A cargo ship, carrying a black limousine, approached an aircraft carrier—
Setting course for Dokdo.
