Chapter 60 – Interlude (3)
S University, located in Mapo-gu, Seoul, was a university that was classified as a low-ranking university among In-Seoul.
I can’t say I’m very good at studying, but it’s an evaluation that I’m okay with playing.
However, the festival of S University was not particularly different from other universities.
An uncharacteristic festival where most of the tents are preparing for tavern business.
Even the occasional food trucks or cafe trucks didn’t look very reliable.
At least, the works of the art department exhibited in Daehangno occasionally add individuality, but they are far from lacking.
On one side of Daehak-ro, a group of Marines wearing octagonal hats were beating college students.
It was a perfectly normal college festival.
It was a scene that was all too familiar to college students, but not to Tia.
The guy who was following us eagerly was surprised to see the Marine Corps comrades.
“Master, what are they?”
“There are a lot of outsiders coming to the festival, so we mobilize the Marine Corps comrades to help patrol.”
“Patrol? Not kidnapping people?”
“Uh huh. That could be said to be a fair price.”
The labor force of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces is basically free, so if you don’t take care of your share in that way, you can’t survive.
Tia, who was passing through the campus, snooped around the tents of each department and soon became sullen.
Pochas at university festivals tend to be poor unless they are clubs or departments related to cooking.
They bring in freshmen and current students who have no know-how and force them to do business, but if they do well, that is strange.
Besides, no matter how bad the quality is, acquaintances and seniors come and sell it, so it doesn’t get better over time.
“Heeing… All we have is a bar. Even that looks messy.”
“Look for the bakery or the otaku club.”
“What about the otaku club?”
“They still have romance, so there’s a high chance they’ll do something weird.”
Taking my advice, Tia strides across the tent and brings back candy apples.
The festival participants who recognized Alice in that moment started whispering from a distance.
“Oh, it’s Alice Winter. Shall I get your autograph?”
“Wouldn’t it be far better to just run away?”
“That’s right. I heard that when those people come out these days, one of them will be destroyed…”
It seems our reputation has spread in a bad way.
Still, Alice definitely caught people’s attention.
That’s right, if you just keep your mouth shut, it’s a very cute face.
We made our way through the crowds and finally arrived at the stage in the square.
The police, who had already been notified and dispatched to the scene, were waiting for us.
The students are divided into two groups and stare at each other.
Onlookers have already flocked.
‘You said it was an assault case involving Hunter, right?’
This S University was a university with its own traditional Hunter Department.
As soon as the Hunter era began, it was introduced very quickly.
Even at a glance, the group that looked like the Hunter Department immediately recognized us.
“Ah, Alice Winter and Special Investigator…”
“What, the special investigator came directly?”
The police were also visibly taken aback, as if they hadn’t expected us to come in person.
While Lee Seo-woo was informed of the situation by the police, the gang members on the other side were happy to see us.
Each of them wore a name tag as a festival organizer.
As you can see, it was clear that he was a member of the student council.
“What happened?”
“Sir! Those hunters attacked us!”
“What’s the attack! Those bastards are lying now…”
College students screaming at each other when I say a word.
I left the scene to Lee Seo-woo and took a step back.
An expert in field civil complaints, he came back sweating profusely after a while.
“There has always been a quarrel between the Student Council and the Hunter Department, but it seems that the accident eventually broke out during the festival.”
“Did you say assault?”
“Yes. While arguing with each other here, one of the Hunter students used his ability to hit one of the student council members…”
Lee Seo-woo conveyed the student council’s argument and showed an unreliable face.
I approached the complainant and started investigating.
“The person who said he was attacked by a Hunter student, is that correct?”
“Yes! It’s me. That bastard hit me in the stomach with telekinesis!”
“Telekinesis? Can I see the wound?”
All in all, telekinetic power that leaves almost no traces. I got a headache.
The reporter broke the boat on the spot, but there were no significant wounds left.
Even if it was hit with telekinesis, it is said to be at the level of a light shove.
Of course, even so, it is a serious sin for Hunters to use their abilities against ordinary people.
The student who was designated as the perpetrator was already trembling.
In my experience, it’s difficult to go to a formal trial for something like this, but it’s natural to feel restless when you’re pointed out as the perpetrator.
I waved to Lee Seo-woo and he brought a new weapon from our special unit.
Not long ago, Matthew Manuel repaired and sent me a heavy armored combat uniform, and it is a gift sent along with it.
Lee Seo-woo scanned the victim’s abdomen with an electronic device in the form of a long black stick.
“What is this?”
“It’s a portable magic detector. There’s no magic response.”
Originally, it required a slightly larger facility, but the company succeeded in miniaturizing it with its technology.
Of course, the production cost has skyrocketed… But I don’t think I need to worry about that.
In any case, this portable magic power detector barely compares to the larger version.
The victim reacted with anger at Lee Seo-woo’s explanation.
“It’s because you guys came so late!”
“You guys?”
Lee Seo-woo didn’t think it was a big deal, but when I slightly raised his eyebrows, his tone on the other side became more polite.
“Eh, it’s already been more than 50 minutes…”
“Certainly, mana is volatile, and most of it will be gone in 50 minutes. Then, do you have a video of the incident?”
“Here it is.”
Fortunately, it was an open space called the Festival Square, and there were many onlookers, so there was a video filming the incident.
How could I be so grateful for the current trend of holding up a smartphone camera and looking at something when something happens?
With a smile in my heart, I watched the copy of the film held out by one of the onlookers.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“I-I wonder if there’s an autograph…”
“Tiaya, do it.”
“Yes!”
The informant who shook hands with Tia’s tail became quite satisfied.
I took advantage of that gap and asked Blanche.
“Blanche, can you read the video?”
[Of course.]
“Let’s see you sometime.”
The Student Council and the Hunter Department stare at each other in a rather bloody atmosphere.
As they were arguing, the victim of the incident suddenly fell backwards.
However, in my opinion, the movement was very awkward.
‘Is it strange? Didn’t you say you were hit in the stomach?’
Just in time for the festival, the victim was dressed in clothes that showed off her limbs.
Thanks to this, Blanche was able to calmly analyze the movements of her muscles.
[As a result of reading the video, the legs moved much earlier than the stomach. It was never a blow to the abdomen.]
“Then?”
[There is a 95% chance that he fell intentionally, and a 5% chance that he accidentally fell because he was swept away by the atmosphere.]
‘Is it innocent.’
Telekinesis does not leave any traces, so there is a possibility of covering up the sins that are not there.
I explained by showing the video to the students on both sides.
“Now, if you look at it, your legs moved before your stomach, right?
“Oh, no. Look here! You got hit in the stomach here!”
“I was hit in the stomach, but why are my clothes still intact? Magical power can’t be detected, and the video doesn’t match the statement. There are no wounds.
“What? Then we lied…”
“Why does the special investigator who catches the hunters side with the hunters?”
The student council scrambles to raise their voices about what is so unfair.
I replied, suppressing the feeling of wanting to blow a green burst at them.
“I’m not here to be on anyone’s side. If you don’t have anything else to report, I’ll end it here.”
The Hunter Department students who were frightened after seeing us finally let out a sigh of relief.
In particular, the student who was pointed out as the perpetrator had an expression of ten years.
It’s not that hunters can completely control their abilities, but if they’re driven in that way, they may wonder, ‘Isn’t that what I really did?’
However, no matter what the student council said, my answer was already decided.
This is true as long as there is not even a proper damage, let alone clear evidence.
In between. Lee Seo-woo, unable to hear the protest of the student council, asked a sharp question.
“By the way, how did you know that that student was a telekinetic power?”
“Yes?”
“There are so many types of hunter abilities, so why exactly did you insist that that student did the harm?”
“That’s because it looked like it used telekinesis…”
No matter how you look at it, it makes no sense.
It is much more plausible that the student council had identified the other person as the culprit beforehand and committed the crime.
In the end, they got angry unnecessarily and slipped away.
I approached the cheering Hunter Department students and decided to have a little conversation.
“Thank you, Special Investigator.”
“Can’t you sue them for innocence?”
“It’s difficult in reality. It’s not like I was unfairly punished for a false report. It’s enough to claim that I thought it was really beaten.”
“That’s right. But thank you so much. We were really unfair and anxious…”
“By the way, what caused the dispute with the student council?”
The Hunter Department looked at each other’s faces eagerly in response to my question.
“It’s hard to put it all into words.”
“We, the Hunter Department, paid the same tuition and suffered a lot of discrimination. Maybe because the history of the department is short…”
“It’s basic to be excluded from various events, and even interfering with every event within the department…”
“Take it a little shorter.”
“The decisive factor is this.”
The students pointed to the special stage in the square.
As a university festival, it is a stage performance that invites celebrities and bands to enjoy.
By the way, the student council members were creating a barrier in front of it.
“… Are you trying to get a good seat?”
“It’s so much more than that.”
“The front seat is a premium area, so you have to pay extra to get in.”
“Eh?”
Not only Alice but also Tia kicked her tongue at the absurd sound.
However, this is a fairly normal axis compared to the savagery of the festival management committee.
“Still, Inseoul University’s level is a bit different. At least gangsters aren’t involved.”
“How low are your expectations…”
“If you’re done, can you leave quickly?”
“Whoever sees this, come and go… Ugh!”
A student council that wants to drive us away by making uncomfortable tees from afar.
In the end, her Alice her, who couldn’t stand her, was about to explode, but I hurriedly stopped her.
Seo Ji-yu, whose expression was not very good like Alice’s, asked me quietly.
“Chief, are you going to go like this?”
“Why don’t you want to go to work?”
“It’s not like that. Aren’t those kids too disgusting?”
So, do you plan to impose personal sanctions?
When I glared at her Seo Ji-yu with that thought, she hurriedly explained.
“We’ve got a little bit more here. It’s a college festival.”
“What is a festival?”
“The team leader is also really… Embezzlement happens unconditionally at a festival like this. I know it well because I’ve done it myself.”
“…”
I was at a loss for words for a moment at the words of Jiyu Seo, who was so trustworthy.
Alice, who seemed already very angry, took her side of her for some reason and sat down in the audience.
The Hunter Department students who had been watching us from earlier quickly approached us and handed out drinks and snacks.
