Ch. 53 - Don't be afraid.
I Became a Magical Girl In a Harem MangaThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
TN: "If you cut his head off, he dies." People die when they are killed.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
TN: "If you cut his head off, he dies." People die when they are killed.
They said he had the power to defeat me? The villains' words piqued my interest.
Did the captured villain boss challenge me with some kind of plan? Curious, I asked the boss, whom I held hostage.
"Is that true?"
"That's not possible; how can I beat you, heh, heheh...."
But this guy immediately broke out in a sweat, speaking in a scared tone. I don't think he's acting, based on how he sounds.
As I stared at him, wondering what was going on, Park Oh-Jin said from the side.
"Team Leader, this guy doesn't look like much, but he might be telling the truth. We should deal with him right away, just in case."
"Hiiiikk!"
At those words, the boss turned pale and shuddered. No matter how you look at it, it's not an act.
In truth, Park Oh-Jin's words about dealing with him were just a way to probe him. No matter how villainous the opponent was, we shouldn't kill them without justification.
In other words, Park Oh-Jin's plan was to make the terrified villain's boss explain everything to us.
"L-let me explain!"
The villain boss, who didn't want to die, explained everything. After listening, I understood the situation.
This villain boss, Kim Jung-Soo, was a typical con artist. Some scam ordinary people, while others target awakened individuals, mainly villains.
Kim Jung-Soo was one of them.
"Boss, let's give the members of the Awakened Crime Division a taste of their own medicine!"
"If you use that power you've been talking about, Shin Hye-Rim is nothing!"
Even as we were having this conversation, the villains of the Hounds were cheering for Kim Jung-Soo. That's a lot of loyalty.
"Hey, Kim Jung-Soo."
"Y-yes!"
"From now on, repeat after me and tell your gang."
"What? Yes..."
I decided to use Kim Jung-Soo to end this strange confrontation. I muttered something in his ear, and he repeated it to the members of Hound.
"Listen up, my proud men."
"Listen up, my proud men!"
"I will now slit this Shin Hye-Rim's throat."
"...What!?"
"Don't be stupid, just follow along. I'm going to slit your throat for real if you don't."
"I will now slit this Shin Hye-Rim's throat!"
What a strange scene. The subject, already captured and held hostage by me, proudly declares that he's going to take me down.
A normal person would have given Kim Jung-Soo a pitiful look, but not the members of the Hounds.
"As expected of our captain!" they shouted, adding to the excitement.
"Oooooooh!!! He's the best!"
"Hound punch! Hound punch! Hound punch! Hound punch! Hound punch! Hound punch!"
"Kim Jung-Soo, he's a god!"
Even in the midst of all this excitement, Kim Jung-Soo wasn't laughing as enthusiastically as he should have.
I continued whispering words in Kim Jung-Soo's ear, and he repeated them verbatim.
"I-I will give you the front-row seats to my victory! I want you all to come forward right now!"
I used Kim Jung-Soo to lure all the villains out on their own, as I had originally planned. It's easier to handle everything at once and cleanly.
The Hounds were like a cult. The members follow and believe whatever Kim Jung-Soo says. He likely gaslighted them repeatedly.
There are more villainous organizations like this than you might think. I've encountered them many times before.
After a while, all the members of the Hounds gathered in front of us---dozens of them, their eyes shining as they looked at Kim Jung-Soo.
They seemed poised for him to break free from the armlock and launch a counterattack. I glanced around at them and nudged Kim Jung-Soo.
"Are they all out?"
"...Yes, all the members have gathered."
"Really?"
Now that I see the entire Hounds gathered, I no longer have any use for Kim Jung-Soo.
-Crack!
I snapped his neck while still holding him. Kim Jung-Soo, who was standing in my arms, immediately fell to the ground, face down.
"...Huh?"
Someone in the pack made a dumbfounded sound. They hadn't expected their captain to collapse like this.
At least he shouldn't have died; I controlled my power. He's just unconscious for now.
But whatever happened, at this moment, the Hounds had fallen apart.
The excitement from moments ago was gone, and I called out to the frozen Hounds.
"Your leader is down, and now you know what to do."
If you don't want to get beaten up, move your asses.
.
The Hounds were all subdued. Seeing me snap their boss's neck without a fight shattered their resolve, and they obeyed my commands.
"I thought we were going to have a proper battle, but it ended in vain."
Back in the office, Yoo Seo-Eun muttered to herself in disbelief. Something about the Awakened Crime Division wasn't quite what she had envisioned.
"There's a lot of fighting, but it's easier for us to keep it to a minimum. We just need to take out the boss and beat him up for it to end."
This is the phrase we coined in Team 5: 'If you cut his head off, he dies.'
In any villain's organization, the boss is the strongest. It's Team 5's specialty to catch and subdue the boss first.
"I'm going to go straight to the chief with the report."
As soon as I got back to the office, I wrote a quick report and headed to the chief's office.
When I handed the report to the chief, who had already anticipated my arrival, he received it with a sullen expression.
Setting the report aside, he stretched and took a sip of coffee.
"So, you said you wiped out a pack of Hounds or something?"
"Yep. Originally, we were going to take them out by blowing up their lair, but we decided against it and settled on grabbing the boss and threatening the group."
"...I really can't adapt to your team's methods."
The chief scoffed and went back to his work.
"I'll look at the report later. I'm not sure I need to see it anyway, since I've already heard everything from you."
"At least look at it as a formality. Someone put effort into it."
"Yeah, yeah."
The chief nodded and said, "Oh, right," and continued.
"Hye-Rim, your award ceremony is in two weeks, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Since you have accumulated a lot of achievements, if I were to be promoted to department head, I think you would take my position?"
"What a terrible thing to say..."
To be the section chief of the department---it's something I dread.
I can't imagine myself sitting in that chair, surrounded by piles of paperwork all day long. It's a far cry from my goal of taking it easy.
I can already envision the deep, dark circles under the chief's eyes. That could be my future.
"Are you sure you don't want to be the chief?"
"Of course not. Are you going to keep a high-level person like me doing paperwork? It's a clear waste of manpower."
"Dammit. Nothing would make me happier than to see you in this position."
"I've been in the field my whole life; you should be the one who does all this stuff."
"What a terrible thing to say."
Hahaha! The chief and I laughed at each other and spewed vitriol.
Oh, Chief. If you're going to die, die alone!
"Anyway, okay, I'll congratulate you in advance on your award. You can go now."
"Have fun. I'm going back to the office to rest."
"You didn't have to add that last bit."
If I stayed here any longer, he might seriously ask me to become section chief again.
It's like a marching officer asking a soon-to-be retired sergeant, 'Hye-Rim, have you ever thought about becoming a professional sergeant?'
Ugh, my back is sweating. Seriously, I was genuinely scared by what he said.
I thanked him and was about to leave his office when he called me back.
"Oh, by the way, Hye-Rim, did you... Oh, no. I don't need to tell you this."
He swallowed his words and motioned for me to leave again.
"What happened all of a sudden?"
"No, never mind. It's not really important, and you'll find out later anyway."
"......Yes."
Now that he said it, it bothered me more, but I didn't press him further. If it's not important, it's not really my business.
Back in the office, I started building the pyramid with my playing cards as usual. The rest of the team was used to seeing me do this, but Yoo Seo-Eun asked me if it was okay.
"Is it okay to play like this during work hours?"
"It's okay; there's nothing to do anyway. It doesn't matter what I'm doing."
"No, even so..."
Actually, I shouldn't, but no matter what I do, no one bothers me. I'm in a position where I only need to catch criminals.
The rest of the time, no matter what I do, no one says anything.
That's why, when you work, you have to do it well.