374 – Each One’s Task

The children, blissfully playing without a shred of responsibility.

Just watching them smile brightly brings joy.

That alone is healing in itself.

[If you want healing, go watch ‘Made in Abyss.’]

‘That’s a deadly harmful substance, you crazy b*tch.’

But adults are different from children.

They each have their respective duties.

And they must grapple with the responsibilities that come with their positions.

Therefore, the adults decided to do what they had to, to fulfill their roles.

First, the police were putting handcuffs on the pedo brats they had subdued.

There were so many of them that they didn’t have enough handcuffs, resorting to cable ties for some.

Moreover, there were so many pedos that even one more person was added to the crowd.

“Ugh, this is unjust!”

“Come along.”

It was none other than the kindergarten headmaster.

After waiting endlessly for the pedos to come out, they had come in to check, only to be caught by the police.

“I’m innocent!”

“Really?”

In truth, the kindergarten headmaster might have escaped arrest if luck was on their side.

“Officer, don’t be fooled! That brat is one of our ‘Pe’mily!”

“N-no, I just received a kindergarten subsidy!”

“We’ll see about that.”

If only the Guild Master’s desperate wailing wasn’t there.

Still, in a last-ditch effort to wriggle out, the headmaster made a suggestion to the police just before their hands were tied.

With a twisted face, trying to force a smile.

“P-please, Officer. I’ll give you the entire subsidy I just received, so please let me go just this once.”

“Hmm… for now, let’s see how this goes.”

“Y-yes! I’ll send it right away!”

At the police’s words, the headmaster quickly manipulated their mobile phone to transfer money to the officer.

“I added a little extra to show my sincerity! Check it out!”

“Oh, it has been deposited.”

“Hehe… then…”

The headmaster’s face lit up with hope of being released.

– Clink!

“Come along.”

However, that glow faded paler than the silver bracelet on their wrist.

Even though the background was summer, they felt like they were hit with winter alone.

“Why! I transferred the money!!!”

“I never said you were getting out.”

Then the headmaster threw aside any honorifics and began to plead urgently.

“You fcking bstard! Give me my money back then!”

“No can do.”

“Even a portion! I accidentally hit send for the full amount!”

“Aah, I’ll be sure to make use of it.”

Of course, that plea had no effect whatsoever.

Ignoring the pleading headmaster, the police turned their gaze to the other officers.

Waving the phone with the amount deposited on it.

“I got the office expenses reimbursed!”

“Well done! Now we can get a massage chair!”

At this, the other officers cheered.

But if the police made a mistake, it was that someone else was watching this entire process.

And it just so happened to be me.

“……”

“…..”

“…..”

An awkward silence instantly fell between the police and me.

In this situation where no one could easily open their mouth.

I suddenly flashed a bright smile at them.

As if to say I wouldn’t cause any trouble.

“I didn’t see anything. Did you guys win the lottery or something unexpectedly?”

“Haha. Of course. I was lucky.”

“Truly, a person who understands!”

In response, the police also managed to break a grinning smile a beat too late.

[What in the f*ck makes you consider these police a first-world country!]

‘In this crazy world, I’d say that’s pretty normal.’

Honestly, whether they took the money or not was none of my business.

Of course, I knew that they were public servants and this wasn’t right.

But I figured it would be fine to turn a blind eye to this much.

After all, they had come to help on their day off.

Besides, helping them out wouldn’t do me any harm at all.

It could even be seen as beneficial.

That’s right, because I had something important to ask of the police.

“By the way, would it be okay if I ask you for a favor?”

“Of course. Helping citizens in distress is the role of the police.”

“If so, could I get that document I mentioned before I came here by the end of today?”

It was none other than the official document.

That all the arrested brats were, in fact, pedos.

And that they had been apprehended through proper legal procedures, along with the fact that I had assisted.

[……What part of that is legal? Didn’t you just shoot that guy and this guy?]

‘If you want to avoid a bullet, follow the law.’

Fortunately for me.

“I had already prepared it. Here it is.”

“Thank you.”

I was now able to receive the official document right there and then.

[Now all the evidence is ready, isn’t it?]

‘Nope. It’s still slightly lacking.’

But I still needed a little more evidence.

Recordings or documents ultimately come from people, and if there’s even a hint that I colluded with the police, the association would become suspicious.

Especially that part about ‘being suspected.’

[Who’s crazy enough to forge official documents?]

‘A crazy cat lady.’

[Ah.]

So it was obvious they would start cross-verifying for no reason.

And that would be a hassle, especially in the public institute, where the processing speed is already slow.

And if it takes ages to confirm that it’s legit.

No one would compensate us for the wasted time and the guild registration fees we must pay weekly.

[Isn’t this too much? You’ll be the one losing out.]

‘They think they’re not losing anything here.’

And currently, we had only registered a guild but hadn’t established it yet.

If we wasted unnecessary time here, we’d have no choice but to keep paying for guild registration.

That too an insane amount that increases weekly with compound interest.

[That’s quite a sting. The spicy taste of Korea has me a bit dazed.]

‘Spicy, right?’

So it was much better to secure solid physical evidence.

And that evidence would likely be well-preserved within the guild based on the conversations the pedos had the previous day.

Just in time, Hyeji seemed to catch on to this fact.

“Shinwoo, so you’re going to grab something from the guild?”

“Yeah. Honestly, I’m uneasy with just that.”

“I thought so. Let’s go.”

Meanwhile, Ayeon was making a rather audacious proposal to the police.

She was certainly smiling, but there was something creepy about it.

It seemed she planned to promote her succubus business while helping the police.

“If numbers fall short, I’ll call upon all the succubi.”

“Uh, that’s fine. Even so, with this number…”

“Don’t worry. I can gather everyone under my command, except my mother.”

“D-don’t do that…!”

[The police know everything…the woes of the lower class… culture…]

‘Well, that’s just how it is in any human society.’

Anyway, we decided to part ways with the police from here.

“Then, I appreciate all your help till the end.”

“Wishing you all good results too.”

The police took the criminals to the station.

We headed to the pedophile guild for crucial evidence.

As we moved, Piece subtly asked a question.

[What if there’s a password protecting it?]

‘It’s fine.’

Piece’s concern was certainly valid.

Naturally, the guild isn’t stupid; they wouldn’t leave something like that unprotected.

Plus, since it’s not a public institution, they wouldn’t use basic passwords like 1q2w3e4!, qwer1234!.

But it’s all good.

Didn’t I say before?

We’re here to secure physical evidence.

And we intended to carry through with that.

[Hey, you fcking ignorant bstards!]

‘This is a sure deal.’

We were going to take parts of the computers at the guild.

[You only need to use your head a little! Don’t you know that if your head is slow, your body suffers!]

‘If your body is fit, then your head doesn’t have to struggle.’

[……sigh.]

We then proceeded smoothly to the Guild Association.

“Hyeji, it’d be safter to keep it on your chest than at your side!”

“Then you feel it too, you dog!”

“It hurts! It hurts! My chest is going to rip apart!!!”

Except for when Elcia was whipping someone in between.

Not long after, when we arrived at the guild association, a single receptionist greeted us with an annoyed and irritated expression.

Probably not in a good mood for having to work on a holiday.

“What brings you here?”

“We’re here to present grounds for disqualifying the guild. The target is the ‘Path of Excellence’ guild.”

“What grounds for disqualification? If the report is false, you will be held accountable.”

But the moment my words continued.

“The entire guild is composed of pedophiles.”

“……What?”

Her face began to contort slowly.

As if she had heard something she shouldn’t have heard.

It was so bad that she even dropped the phone she was holding.

“……What?”

“They’re pedo brats, I tell you.”

“J-just a moment! They’re still a major guild…! Is this true?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

No sooner had I said that than we handed over all the needed evidence.

The receptionist hurriedly relayed it to two people in the back.

“Please check this quickly!”

Before long, they connected the computers to the screen and began reviewing the evidence.

During this, two unexpected things occurred contrary to my predictions.

The first was that the computers weren’t password protected.

“Shinwoo, what were they thinking not putting passwords on those?”

“It’s surprising that they went this long without them.”

“Look over there! Some brat even made it their desktop wallpaper!”

“Were they all martial artists? Where did all the decent humans go?”

[They must’ve acted like this because they trusted the oath.]

‘If they really did, then I would’ve been in huge trouble.’

The other unexpected occurrence was one of the individuals reviewing the evidence.

He looked at photos of little girls joyfully smiling at kindergarten and let out an incoherent remark with admiration.

“Oh, looks like a postpartum care center.”

“……What…? Hey, what did you just say…”

And even though everyone around was giving him icy glares, he didn’t catch it, continuing to look at a picture of three little girls welcoming him and dug even deeper.

“This is a picture of a happy family of seven.”

“Take that b*stard away.”

Ultimately, it was inevitable that that employee would be dragged out.

“It’s a misunderstanding! I was just calculating the mothers who gave birth to these kids!”

“Make your excuses at the station.”

[……What kind of f*cktard is working in the Hunter Association?]

‘That’s just a hunter for you.’

Truly, they were all creeps lurking in various parts of society.