“Just now… I heard the word ‘punishment’.”
“Yes?”
“You said we’d be punished.”
“Oh, it’s nothing major—just the usual. If someone’s trying to forcibly break this restriction, wouldn’t that mean something serious has gone wrong?”
Director Ho smiled, lacing his fingers together.
“And as for that ‘punishment’… You’ll be reunited with whatever you hold dearest.”
“……!”
“I’ll make sure to take good care of it.”
“Wait a second! That’s—”
“……”
“You were saying?”
Go Yeongeun-ssi slowly calmed herself, then spoke up again in a steady tone.
“…So, will we be bound by this restriction until the ‘project’ succeeds?”
“No, this is merely a support measure to help you during your assignment!”
He really knew how to twist words.
‘Support’, huh?
“As soon as you bring back the information I asked for regarding the Annihilation-sanctioned Disaster, this auxiliary measure will disappear. And then…”
Director Ho rested his chin on his hand,
Leaning toward us.
“Whoever contributes to the success of this mission… will receive the potion right then and there.”
“……”
Wait a second.
Beside me, I heard Jang Heowoon’s trembling voice.
“P-Potion… you mean…”
“The Wish Ticket.”
“…!!”
“You’ll receive the Wish Ticket as soon as you fulfill your assigned role! Isn’t that amazing?”
Goddamn.
“I worked hard to make it so you wouldn’t have to wait until the project succeeds.”
Suddenly, the timeline to receive the Wish Ticket had been drastically shortened.
This spy work was starting to feel absurdly enticing.
‘If I do well, I could get it unbelievably fast.’
As long as I perform well!
“……”
At the same time, a chill crept down my spine.
‘He revealed that on purpose.’
It was a secondary incentive, meant to make us cling to this like our lives depended on it.
Instead of disclosing everything from the start and letting us make a careful decision, he controlled the information.
‘So now it feels like it’s just within reach.’
I’d thought it before, but his methods were sweat-inducingly elaborate and layered.
‘…And that’s not even all.’
I recalled something Director Ho had said previously—
What he told me when he assigned me to the spy role.
– And since I figured it’d be a bit lonely for you to go in alone, you won’t be infiltrating by yourself.
Just hearing that, it sounded like he was sending others into the bureau for my sake to join me in the infiltration.
But once I agreed and confirmed the details, it turned out to be the opposite.
‘My batchmates had already been deployed to the bureau before I was.’
Director Ho never lied about the facts of a situation.
But he would freely manipulate the framing of intent and interpretation to steer people exactly where he wanted them…
Just look at my peers’ faces.
‘Their eyes are shining.’
The phrase ‘you’ll get the Wish Ticket once this is done’—how sweet that must sound.
But.
“Then, may I ask whether we would all be acknowledged equally?”
“Hm?”
Now’s not the time to miss the details.
“If we ‘contribute’ in the delivery of the documents, will we all receive a Wish Ticket potion?”
“Ah, of course.”
“…Then, will you be the one to determine whether we ‘contributed’ properly, Director?”
“……”
Director Ho locked eyes with me for a brief moment, then smiled again.
“I’ll trust your report, of course!”
Huu.
“Thank you.”
With that, I prevented the situation where Director Ho might deny the group’s joint effort and designate only one MVP to skimp out on distributing the Wish Ticket potion.
“Ah, it’s time.”
Just then, Director Ho glanced at his wristwatch and stood up.
And then, clap! After bringing his hands together once, with a cheerful expression on his face, he spoke to us in a friendly tone.
“Take your time chatting, you three. You won’t get many chances to gather together like this ‘outside’ anymore. I set this up just for that.”
In other words, don’t gather together and raise suspicion.
Still, he left us with at least a sliver of professional courtesy.
And that’s the signal that the senior officer was finally excusing himself, leaving his junior staff to have their meeting.
“Well then, I’ll be off.”
He waved, beamed as he left us with the parting words that he’d try to arrange for more chances to meet in the future.
We hurriedly stood from the table and bowed.
“You didn’t have to stand! But thank you.”
He walked all the way to the counseling room door, and just as he grabbed the doorknob, he turned back as if something had occurred to him.
Our eyes met.
Director Ho gave a subtle nod toward the silver ring on my left hand’s finger.
The silver ring.
My mental protection item.
“That thing. It’s completely worn down, you know.”
“…!”
Srrrk.
“Well then, I’ll see you at the next session.”
The Fox Counseling Office door closed with a soft, courteous sound.
Thuk.
“……”
“……”
Director Ho was completely gone.
And then—
“Haah……”
A heavy sigh filled the waiting room.
It was the sigh of low-ranking staff who’d just faced off with an absolutely insane, far-above-them superior…
‘Still, I guess it helped that it wasn’t a one-on-one meeting.’
And I had the chance to reunite with these guys after a long time.
“Um… It’s been a while, Soleum-ssi.”
I turned to look at my fellow batchmate.
A former member of the Round-Off Team.
The long-haired man greeted me with clear relief and concern in his voice.
“Have you been doing well?”
It’s Jang Heowoon-ssi.