“This greasy-looking bastard tried to hit on me just now, you know? Someone he'd never met before, and a teammate he's going to keep seeing at that. Is this guy out of his mind?”
The first day after the team had been assigned.
Han and his team members were traveling in a small cargo truck that puffed out steam, commonly called a delivery truck.
Lara, the youngest member and only woman on the team, pointed in disgust at the man sitting beside her.
Han, seated in the front passenger seat, followed the tip of her finger with his gaze.
“Is that true, Fabian?”
“Ahem. Well....... There was a minor dispute arising from a misunderstanding, but it is nothing you need concern yourself with, Team Leader.”
“Unbelievable. You spat out some vomit-inducing line the second you saw me, and now you're calling it a minor dispute caused by a misunderstanding?”
“I merely thought you looked young. I truly did not realize you were a minor. And I already apologized, did I not?”
“…….”
The two gradually raised their voices.
Han silently watched the team members sitting in the cargo compartment through the rearview mirror and recalled their profiles.
First was the neatly dressed man.
Fabian, who wore his hair tied back, looked like the sort who would be fairly popular with women.
Name : Ross Fabian
Gender : Male
Age : 26
Trait : Former Staff Sergeant of the Covert Mobile Unit
…….
‘The Covert Mobile Unit receives advanced training comparable to the Special Unit. There isn't anywhere better when it comes to handling things quietly.’
Another appealing aspect of the Covert Mobile Unit was that its members moved as silently as shadows and did not make a spectacle of their work.
Han had collaborated with the Covert Mobile Unit in the past, so he had held a favorable impression of them.
“Lara. Compared to your beautiful appearance, your character seems to fall woefully short.”
“What did you say?”
At least, until he met Fabian.
“Enough, both of you.”
Han intervened in the argument.
How had they managed to start snarling at each other from the very first day they met.......?
Han sighed inwardly before asking Lara.
“So you're saying you don't think you can adjust and want me to send you to another team?”
“This greasy bastard is exactly the kind of person I hate. Can't you do something about it?”
“I don't think I can.”
“Oh, come on. Please think about it seriously. Okay?”
Lara leaned close to Han's seat and pleaded earnestly.
There was a window in the metal partition separating the cargo compartment from the seats, allowing him to see her face.
Her long, curly hair framed a youthful face.
Name : Lara
Gender : Female
Age : 17
Trait : Youngest State-Certified Mage (currently Fifth Tier)
…….
‘Fifth Tier at only seventeen years old. She has enough talent to make her future frightening to imagine.’
Han only encountered mages frequently because the Special Unit dealt with Heretical Mages.
In truth, mages themselves were rare.
Those of the Fifth Tier or higher, said to have “achieved enlightenment in a field of magic,” were rarer still.
Of course, Fifth-Tier mages varied greatly from one another, so strictly speaking, saying that all of them had achieved enlightenment was not entirely accurate.
“Team Leader. You're listening, right?”
“I am, but unfortunately, I can't grant that request.”
“What? Why?”
“Team assignments are decided after considering every team member from multiple angles. They aren't something that can be changed on a whim.”
“Hmph.”
Faced with Han's firm response, the thoroughly disappointed Lara returned to sitting on a delivery box.
“It really, really can't be changed?”
“It really, really can't.”
“Haa....... Fine. Then there's nothing I can do. Since I'm so nice, I guess I'll just have to endure it.”
Lara gave up surprisingly easily.
In truth, she had only asked on the off chance it might work, and if it did not, she had been prepared to drop the matter.
A moment later, Lara glanced sideways at Fabian as though looking at an insect.
Fabian himself appeared utterly baffled by the entire situation.
“In all my years, the only woman who has ever looked at me like that was my mother.”
“So what? If you're about to say you fell for me, keep your mouth shut.”
“...Good grief. I meant that I could feel murderous intent. More importantly, let us put an end to this childish argument. I would hate for the team members who have yet to join us to hear about it.”
Fabian mentioned the remaining two members of the team.
They were rookie prison guards who had survived the collapse of Alkant Grand Prison.
They were currently being kept at headquarters to provide firsthand information about what had happened at the scene.
They had already been assigned to the same team, but apparently, it would take more time before they could operate together.
“Hmm. Anyway, now that it finally seems quiet, I suppose I should introduce myself.”
Han had been checking the documents in his hands whenever he had a moment.
Apparently finished reading them, he closed the file.
“What? All of a sudden?”
“I am Captain Han Augustus of the Special Unit's Capital Second Headquarters. Following the recent ‘Alkant Tragedy,’ I was appointed team leader of Team 251. That concludes my introduction, so I will immediately give you a brief briefing on our current mission.”
The mission had been assigned the moment Han entered the conference room to meet his team earlier.
As a result, they had not even had time to exchange proper greetings before immediately getting into the vehicle and setting out.
Caught off guard by Han's rapid, unceremonious progression, Lara muttered, “You've got a more interesting personality than I expected.”
“Our first mission is to apprehend a Second-Tier Heretical Mage, Brock Renner, and secure information about the organization he belongs to.”
Han's briefing could be summarized as follows.
Brock Renner had originally been incarcerated in Alkant.
However, due to the Alkant Tragedy, he had been transported to District 28, where he disappeared from sight until he was spotted yesterday.
He had robbed a jewelry store and was currently believed to be hiding inside a house thought to be his residence.
There was no guarantee that he was still there.
“That is why we need to go there ourselves and confirm it.”
When Han finished speaking, Lara slowly nodded.
Her reaction resembled that of a student who had understood a professor's explanation.
“So that's why we're disguised as delivery workers.”
“If we wore our uniforms, we'd practically be advertising that we're with the Special Unit.”
“Good thing traveling around in a delivery truck isn't unusual.”
She had not said anything before, but apparently, it had been bothering her.
Han spoke while loading rounds into his revolver.
“The target's tier isn't high, but don't let your guard down. He has two murder convictions and twelve assault convictions. We don't know what kind of sudden move he might make.”
“We aren't allowed to kill a criminal who's murdered people twice? Just how lenient are the Republic's laws?”
Lara clicked her tongue in displeasure.
Han privately agreed.
At least the law had been revised after the ‘Alkant Tragedy,’ making summary execution permissible for criminals with a ‘Crime Grade : Mid’ or higher, but not for those below it.
Their current target, Brock Renner, had a Crime Grade of Bottom.
Unless exceptional circumstances arose, the Special Unit operatives were not permitted to kill Renner.
“Anyway, the two of you will wait here. Do not move until I give you separate instructions.”
Han pointed toward the small communicator attached to his collar.
The two nodded in understanding.
He had already explained in sufficient detail how the team members were to respond if an unexpected situation arose.
SCREECH—.
The vehicle arrived at their destination just then.
And with that, Team 251—Han and his team members—began their first mission.
***
DING-DONG—.
Han climbed to the second floor of an old apartment building and rang the bell.
Wearing a Skin Suit, he looked like a delivery worker to anyone who saw him.
The large box he carried only made the disguise more convincing.
DING-DONG—.
“Delivery. Is anyone home?”
When there was no response, Han knocked on the door.
He strained his ears, trying to catch any faint noise from inside.
Then he heard soft footsteps from within.
‘Cautious footsteps. An adult male. Roughly 175 centimeters tall and around 80 kilograms.’
The information Han gathered from the footsteps matched Brock Renner's profile.
Of course, he could not be certain until he verified it himself.
Han pretended not to notice anything and raised his hand to knock once more when a voice came from inside.
“Who is it?”
A low voice.
A relatively aggressive tone.
The flow of mana in the surroundings shifted subtly.
Han realized that the man was preparing to use magic just in case.
Even so, he responded calmly as though he had noticed nothing.
“Delivery. You're Mr. Sink Bern, correct? I need your signature, so could you open the door?”
“......Who did you say?”
“Delivery. I need the recipient's signature, so if you could open the door.......”
“No. Not that.”
CREEEAK—.
The rusted door opened.
It was only a narrow gap, but Han could glimpse the dark interior.
The man was wearing a cheap Skin Suit.
An ordinary person would never have noticed, but Han could see through it easily.
Especially his eyes.
Even a Skin Suit could not conceal the man's hollow, gaunt eyes.
‘A hastily prepared Skin Suit. Those hollow eyes typical of a criminal. Is this Brock Renner after all?’
Han was more than half convinced, but he shook his head inwardly.
‘No. Let's stop suspecting people just because they're wearing Skin Suits.’
It had not been long since he had gotten burned after suspecting Violet, who had also been wearing a Skin Suit, of being a criminal.
Han withheld judgment and decided to extract more information as planned.
Meeting the man's hollow gaze, Han smiled.
The man paid no attention to the smile.
“What did you say the recipient's name was?”
“Mr. Sink Bern....... Ah, is this not Mr. Sink Bern's residence?”
“…….”
The man silently glared at Han from the darkness.
Han put on a bewildered expression, as though wondering whether he had made some mistake.
The man did not lower his suspicious gaze.
And he had good reason not to.
In truth, Sink Bern was the name of one of the criminals who had operated alongside Brock Renner.
More precisely, it was not Sink ‘Bern,’ but Sink ‘Ber.’
However, ‘Sink’ was an extremely common surname in the Republic, while ‘Bern’ was an equally common given name, so it would also be unreasonable to conclude that Han was unquestionably suspicious.
‘It'll make him somewhat suspicious, but there's no helping it. If I hadn't mentioned Sink Bern's name, he wouldn't have opened the door at all.’
If the man did not open the door, Han would have no way to verify his identity in the first place.
A high-ranking mage proficient in detection magic could probably have identified him easily, but unfortunately, Han was not a mage.
Lara, the only mage on the team, specialized in elemental magic.
It was outside her field, so he could not ask her to do it—and it was better not to.
“......Get lost.”
“Oh, it seems the address must have been written incorrectly. This is troublesome.”
“…….”
“Ah, excuse me! I'm sorry, but in that case, could you sign here? It seems the address is wrong, so I need to confirm.......”
SLAM—!
Han had caught the door because he intended to ask the man to sign another document.
But the man shut it as though annoyed, and Han jerked his hand away in surprise.
His hand had nearly been caught in the door.
“He really doesn't want to sign anything.”
Han muttered to himself and picked the box back up.
Then, for the benefit of the man who was undoubtedly listening with his ear against the door and waiting for Han to leave, Han walked away down the corridor.
Tick, tick—.
The wristwatch Han was wearing.
His hand had briefly touched the man's when he caught the door, and because of that, two faint lines had appeared over the minute hand.
The lines represented the amount of magical power possessed by the other person.
And two lines meant a Second-Tier Mage.
Han was now certain that the man was his target, Brock Renner.