Haseol opened his eyes.
He was lying in a pure white, soft, pleasantly scented bed.
Still lying down, Haseol looked around.
He found his phone and picked it up.
It was 8:10 a.m.
"After all that chaos, the day hasn't even started yet."
He muttered blankly, then sat up.
"Whether that's fortunate or unfortunate."
Scratching his head, Haseol left the room and went downstairs.
He had gotten up early, met the predecessor, eliminated a Terrorist ghost, retrieved a piece of ability gear, and passed out.
It would not have been strange for the day to be over already, but most people were probably just commuting to begin work.
Only Bisan was in the living room, sitting on the sofa and using a laptop instead of watching television.
"......"
Haseol blankly sat on the bare spot in front of the television where he had sat before, the spot without a sofa.
"Did Rootstream disappear properly?"
He asked Bisan.
"Thanks to what you did, Mr. Haseol, it was resolved cleanly."
"I see."
Haseol nodded.
"The loop did not happen again, right?"
"No. Rootstream simply disappeared."
"Then it makes sense to see the loop as a system that helps supernatural abilities, right?"
"I think that is likely. I do not know why a system that helps supernatural abilities exists in a Rootstream created by a ghost, though."
"If it's on our side, we can find out later."
His expression said that knowing that much was enough.
"I wonder who besides Mr. Haseol could have done it."
"Huh?"
At Bisan's sudden praise, Haseol looked at him in surprise.
"If we had a hundred people try it, would not all one hundred have failed?"
"Uh......"
"If we had ten thousand people try it, perhaps only one of them would succeed."
"......"
At that praise, Haseol looked pleased and yet uncertain.
He looked at Bisan with suspicious eyes.
Seeing that look, Bisan said,
"I meant it sincerely, but you looked as though you wanted me to say the last part, so I did."
"Ahaha, all right."
Haseol brushed off Bisan's words as a joke.
"Where is everyone else?"
"Myun has gone to look into the glove's ability. The others are looking for the ability gear the Bully was seeking in the first Rootstream."
"What about you, Bisan?"
"Browsing the web."
"Vampires kill time on the Internet when they have nothing to do too."
Still looking half asleep, Haseol spoke.
"I am not doing something completely meaningless."
"Then what are you doing?"
"I found something interesting."
"What is it?"
"We eliminated the Rootstream where the Bully was a little while ago, right?"
"We did."
"From that day until now, crimes related to violence have noticeably decreased."
"Uh......"
Haseol looked blank, as though he was unsure whether that was such a remarkable thing.
"How do you know that?"
"The numbers of crimes involving violence or disputes were low enough to seem strange, so someone checked. Apparently, it was the same worldwide."
"Oh......"
"This is it."
Bisan showed Haseol a news article.
"It's foreign news, so I don't know what it says."
"The title is 'The Day Violence Did Not Occur.'"
"Oh."
"As time passes, it has gradually begun to return to normal, but."
"Yes."
"Quite a few people also turned themselves in, so the overall number is still lower than it used to be."
"Oooh......"
Haseol looked fully awake now as he voiced his admiration.
"Doesn't it feel as though we contributed to world peace somehow?"
"I think you may regard it that way."
"Ooooh......"
Haseol smiled with a slightly foolish expression.
"Somehow."
"Yes?"
"It's nice that it does not just feel like we plugged up something that would cause a loss and stopped there."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. There is a clear part where it helps society."
At Haseol's words, Bisan smiled softly.
"Bisan."
"Yes?"
"You're a vampire, aren't you?"
"That is right."
"Then why are you trying to stop the world's destruction?"
"Huhuhuhuhuhut."
Bisan laughed at Haseol's question.
"Is it because vampires are usually villains who want the world to end?"
Smiling, Bisan asked Haseol in return.
"Usually, aren't they? Ah, is that something like racial discrimination?"
"It is not. Most vampires are villains, but vampires do not usually destroy the world, do they?"
"Is that so?"
"Most of them aim to rule the world from behind the scenes."
"Ah~."
"Wouldn't it be troublesome if the world they intended to rule were destroyed?"
"That makes sense."
Haseol nodded as if he understood.
Then he looked at Bisan again.
"Are you going to rule it?"
At Haseol's question, Bisan smiled softly.
"It is a secret from the others."
As he spoke, he leaned close to Haseol.
"Yes."
"Actually, I have tried it."
Bisan whispered to Haseol.
Then he drew back and began typing on his laptop again.
Haseol watched Bisan for a moment, then shuddered as chills ran down his spine.
Click.
The veranda door opened, and someone entered.
"I figured out what this is."
Holding the glove Haseol had brought out of Rootstream, Myun entered the living room.
"What is it?"
"Oh? Haseol is awake?"
"Yes. I'm awake."
"Are you all right? You had a hard time. It was not something an ordinary person could do."
"I think I'm all right."
"Here. You use it."
He immediately tossed the black leather glove to Haseol.
"What was this?"
"A Glove of Obsession."
"Is it valuable?"
"In its own way."
"What Grade would you give it?"
"About E―."
"Does it have any special function?"
"It will unfailingly catch an attack flying toward one place you have set as the target."
"Oh? That's good."
"Regardless of the user's physical ability."
"That sounds like an explanation I am going to dislike. What exactly does it mean?"
"It can catch a bullet coming for the back of your head, but your arm and shoulder may break in the process."
"Ooooooh."
Perhaps imagining that situation, Haseol tossed the glove onto the table as if throwing it away.
"Use it sparingly."
"You're giving it to me?"
"You picked it up. It is yours."
"Oh...... Is it really mine?"
Haseol picked up the glove again and stared at it as though it had become something new.
Owning something that belonged to the supernatural side for the first time seemed moving in more ways than one.
"But is this glove such an important item? Important enough that the ghost wanted to destroy it even by creating a Rootstream?"
"It may have another hidden ability, but I do not know."
"Why was ability gear like this in an abandoned rest area?"
"I do not know that either. We need to learn more."
"There is still a lot we do not know."
Haseol got to his feet.
"Come to think of it, I still do not even know what is around my home."
"Are you going out?"
Bisan asked.
"I should take a walk. Rootstream has not appeared yet, right?"
Haseol spoke as though he had made an enormous resolution.
"There has not been any news yet. It has not been long since we eliminated one."
"Something, something, something that has absolutely nothing to do with the supernatural side."
Even as he stumbled over his words, Haseol continued.
"I need to walk around a street full of ordinary people, eat, drink, and come back."
He spoke in a voice brimming with determination.
Bisan and Myun briefly looked at each other.
"Would you like to go together?"
Bisan closed his laptop and stood up.
"Together?"
"Yes."
"With a vampire?"
"Yes."
"It is daytime."
"I am a True Progenitor, so I am fine."
"I think I just said I wanted to enjoy an ordinary life with absolutely nothing to do with the supernatural side."
"Wouldn't it be troublesome for you to go without an escort?"
"Ah."
Haseol immediately remembered his reality.
"Please take care of me~."
He immediately bowed his head to Bisan.
"Could you show me around this area too?"
"I will."
"Will you buy me food too?"
"I will."
"Yay~."
Haseol smiled happily and raised both hands high.
Then he hardened his expression again.
"I am not doing this because I am genuinely happy. This is the best available option, so I am compromising with reality."
He spoke as though asking Bisan and Myun to understand.
"Hey, Bisan."
Myun called to Bisan while looking at Haseol.
"Yes?"
"If there is a mental hospital nearby, take that guy there sometime."
"If his condition gets worse, I will take him."
As though he understood Myun perfectly, Bisan nodded.
"Ah, um. I have more to do than I thought. Can I take care of it while I am out?"
Haseol asked as he changed into a new white T-shirt and long jeans.
"What do you need to do?"
Standing by Haseol's side, Bisan asked in return.
"This isn't my house."
"That is right."
"I don't have any clothes or belongings here. Ah, I need to terminate the lease on my studio apartment too."
"I will tell Eska about those things. She will take care of them."
"Eska?"
Haseol thought of Eska.
"Yes."
"She seems the furthest from common sense and as though she would have no interest in handling paperwork."
"Of all of us, Eska lives the closest to reality. She will be the best at official business."
"Ah~. Is that so? That's unexpected."
Haseol pulled a cap marked with an hour hand and a minute hand down over his head.
"The predecessor said work would come quickly and in large volumes, so let us eat breakfast quickly and restore our strength."
"Yes. Let us go right away."
Haseol and Bisan left the house together.
The broad yard and the sea visible beyond it.
The open view and cool sea breeze made a refreshing feeling wash over Haseol.
Bisan climbed into a reasonably sized sedan among the cars parked in the yard.
As Haseol breathed in the clear air, he tilted his head to the side.
"Bisan, didn't you fly over the sea? You have a car?"
"It is Shura's car."
"Ah~. Could I drive a car out later too?"
"If you ask, she may give you permission."
Bisan started the car.
"It seems like it would be too personal a matter for me, but did you tell her you needed it for work and get permission?"
"I did not ask permission."
The car pulled away.
"......"
Haseol looked at Bisan, then turned his gaze away.
"I will pretend I did not hear that."
"Please do as you wish."
The car traveled along the coastal road.
Then it turned and entered an area with many shops.
They passed many places that sold seafood, fishing supplies, and vacation goods.
Then they entered an area with the colorful hotels and stylish restaurants distinctive of tourist destinations.
"What do you think of this world, Mr. Haseol?"
Haseol, who had been looking at unfamiliar restaurants, turned to Bisan.
"All of a sudden?"
"I came with you to bring this up."
"Ah."
"Otherwise, since we had the predecessor's words, I would have just told you to stay at home and wait, would I not?"
"What I think of this world...... Um...... Do you mean how a normal person feels after learning that the world has magic and other races?"
Haseol asked, tilting his head.
"That sort of thing."
"I am still too overwhelmed to know."
"Huhuhut. That would be natural. You have not been exposed to this side of the world for long."
"To begin with, I do not even know what exists in the world you are talking about."
"Everything one would expect to find in an urban fantasy exists."
"Vampires, mages, supernatural abilities, things like that?"
"Yes."
"Hmm~."
As though it still did not feel real to him, Haseol leaned back against his seat.
His eyes, which had been looking outside, were no longer interested in the unfamiliar shops.
"The world I have been living in was actually an urban fantasy......"
"In the past, it would have simply been fantasy, perhaps?"
"Ah, would it?"
Haseol looked as though he had not considered that.
"If magic and other races existed in the Middle Ages, people would usually see it as fantasy."
"I suppose they would. Then does it become science fiction in the future?"
Haseol asked as though he found that fascinating.
"I do not think so."
"Why not?"
"Science fiction is a future humanity could someday reach even without supernatural abilities such as magic. Whether supernatural abilities exist has nothing to do with it."
"Oh...... I am starting to see science fiction a little differently."
"Urban fantasy is merely the name of this era."
The car stopped in a parking lot.
Bisan got out first, and Haseol got out too.
It was a quiet parking lot in the morning.
Haseol looked at the people walking along the street.
People whose everyday lives were far removed from fantasy.
"But they hid things related to supernatural abilities well. There are so many security cameras these days that it seems as though using magic would get you exposed right away."
Haseol shared his impression.
"There is a boundary between the urban and the fantasy."
"A boundary?"
"Yes."
Bisan nodded and looked at Haseol.
"Would you like to walk around by yourself for a moment? You can look for a restaurant you like as well."
"I do not mind walking alone, but why?"
"If you walk around, you will be able to understand clearly which side of the boundary you stand on."
At Bisan's words, Haseol stood still and looked at him for a moment.
Various complicated thoughts showed in his eyes, but he seemed to be trying to keep his face as expressionless as possible.
"What if I am still on the urban...... modern side, not the fantasy side?"
After thinking for a long time, Haseol asked.
At Haseol's question, Bisan merely smiled softly and walked away.