After suffering a curse attack, YuHan decided to seek cooperation to prevent anything similar from happening again.
The place he took Alice to was Scavenger, a company specializing in corpse cleanup.
"Alice. You're a Director too, so you should know who this man is. This is NamGung Hyeok, the owner."
NamGung Hyeok was covered from head to toe in a thick black robe and wore a crow-shaped gas mask. Even at a glance, he looked every bit the eccentric.
"Hello...?"
"So, you're Alice. I've actually been rather curious about you. The woman who managed to tame YuHan, of all people."
YuHan immediately bristled.
"I'm the one taming this robot!"
Alice scoffed at that.
"Yeah, yeah~ You're so impressive. Anyway, sir, how did you end up knowing this damn bastard?"
At Alice's question, NamGung Hyeok stroked his chin as he thought back.
"Nothing special. He worked part-time for me for a while. Good grief, what a pair of troublemakers those two were."
"A pair?"
"Ah, there was another part-timer. He was every bit as impossible, just in a completely different way from this one..."
Just then, a man neatly dressed in a suit casually walked in through the open door.
For once, YuHan's eyes were openly filled with irritation and displeasure.
"Pardon my interruption, but I must say, it feels a little unfair to say I'm as incorrigible as YuHan. I always took my work quite seriously, you know.
"Ah, you must be Director Alice, the one I've heard so much about—the woman who's currently taming YuHan. My name is Shin GiDeok. I currently work as a sanctioner."
YuHan looked as though he had given up on correcting every little thing.
Seeing Shin GiDeok's manners and refinement, Alice found herself wishing YuHan had even a fraction of them.
"By the way, YuHan, I see you still like teasing girls. I watched your duel with Yuna C too. Didn't you toy with her a little too much?"
"Hah. What did I even do?"
"...Those mana stickers. Honestly, with your skill, you would've won without those gimmicks anyway, wouldn't you?"
Shin GiDeok's mild, unhurried tone made YuHan frown in displeasure.
He looked like a magician whose trick had just been figured out by an audience member.
"YuHan. As it happens, there's something I'd like to propose." Shin GiDeok turned toward NamGung Hyeok. "Boss, was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
"Well, our business is done, so hurry up and get him out of here."
"Thank you. Then..."
Shin GiDeok took his leave without losing his courtesy or composure for even a moment.
---
"Shin GiDeok C, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
They were standing in a nearly deserted alley outside the building. Just as Alice was about to ask, YuHan motioned for them to leave.
"There's no need to waste your breath on a bastard like him."
"What? Are you jealous because he's better than you?"
"This isn't something to joke about. That bastard is... a vicious serial killer who murders for pleasure. He even murders people who aren't euthanasia targets, then exploits loopholes to have them retroactively registered as euthanasia targets!"
"What?!"
Alice was stunned.
Shin GiDeok himself, however, was smiling as breezily as ever.
"YuHan, calling me vicious is going to give Director Alice the wrong idea! I'm merely a perfectly decent, law-abiding 'murder enthusiast.'"
Alice stared at him in horror.
Never in her life had she heard such a combination of words.
"You enjoy killing people?! That's completely unacceptable!"
"Director Alice, it seems you too are trapped by misconceptions and prejudice. But tell me—how is enjoying murder any different from enjoying music or movies? It isn't wrong. It's simply different."
"But murder harms society—"
"I always respect society and take sustainability into account when I kill. And one day, through entirely lawful means, it is my dream to legalize murder so that everyone can enjoy killing with a smile!
"After that, murderers and non-murderers alike will be able to join hands and frolic together, laughing!"
"You're completely insane...!"
"What, exactly, is insane about that? Aren't you a murderer too, Director Alice?"
"...!!"
Shin GiDeok's question left Alice speechless.
"As a sanctioner, I thought you of all people would understand the value of 'good murder.'"
The blunt reminder that she herself was a murderer left Alice frozen in shock.
YuHan put a hand on Alice's shoulder and urged her away.
"I told you there was no reason to stand here listening to this lunatic's bullshit! ...If that's all you had to say, we're leaving."
"Ah, I almost forgot the main point. YuHan, I hear you've been clashing with Assemblyman Kim JeHyeon lately."
Shin GiDeok had brought up a subject YuHan could not simply walk away from.
"...Choose your next words carefully. Spout any bullshit and I'll kill you."
"Calm down, YuHan. It seems Assemblyman Kim JeHyeon finds this war of attrition with you rather troublesome as well. You must want to bring this business to a close quickly too. Allow me to mediate between the two of you."
Alice was certain YuHan would refuse, but his response surprised her.
"Fine. I'll talk to him."
"Then shall I put you through to him right now?"
Shin GiDeok used his holographic device to place a video call.
Soon, Kim JeHyeon's face filled the screen.
[What is it, Shin GiDeok? Wait... why are those Cheong-Am bastards with you?!]
"Assemblyman, haven't the recent clashes with Thanatics and Cheong-Wa Tower been rather exhausting? As it happens, YuHan seems to have grown tired of the fighting too."
[A settlement?! After all the losses this bastard has caused me—]
As Kim JeHyeon began to lose his temper, YuHan cut in.
"Hmph. All I did was kill a few of your replaceable protesters. Everything else was legitimate self-defense against your attacks."
[Insolent...! Still, you have a point. But after everything that's happened, we can't simply say, 'Let's make peace,' and leave it at that now, can we?]
Shin GiDeok smiled.
"In that case, why not build some goodwill by working together on something that serves both your interests? For example... eliminating Assemblyman Shin ManSu."
At the mention of Assemblyman Shin ManSu, Kim JeHyeon's eyebrow twitched.
[So that's what you had in mind...? Fine. YuHan, if you take care of Assemblyman Shin ManSu, I won't go out of my way to come after you anymore. You'll be properly compensated, of course. Though I'll still need your word that you won't interfere with me afterward.]
"I couldn't care less what you do in this country in the first place. So let's put an end to this old grudge."
[Agreed.]
The call ended.
Still smiling, Shin GiDeok slipped the holographic device back into his inner pocket.
"Actually, I've already prepared a plan and assembled the personnel needed to eliminate Assemblyman Shin ManSu. If you're willing, we can put it into action right now."
"I'm a man who values his time, so let's get on with it."
"...I'll send you the meeting point by message. Then, I'll see you later." Shin GiDeok turned toward Alice. "Director Alice, it was a meaningful encounter."
After saying his goodbyes, Shin GiDeok walked away.
Alice looked at YuHan with despair in her eyes.
"You've seen everything Kim JeHyeon has done! And you're just going to call a truce and let him off?!"
"Obviously. It's in my best interest."
"But that man is going to keep making countless people suffer...!"
"So what? I'm a sanctioner, not some crusader for justice."
"You said you were a good person... So that wasn't true?"
"You really are an idiot for believing that. How could someone who kills people possibly be a good person?"
YuHan turned and walked away, calling back to Alice.
"Don't tell the others. Especially Kim GaEun. She'll obviously come tagging along again for no good reason."
Alice watched him walk away in a daze.
---
About thirty minutes later, YuHan showed up at a plaza near the Shin ManSu Building.
Two others besides Shin GiDeok were already waiting there.
Both were familiar faces.
"Well, look at this. Once again, nothing but people tied to me by old grudges."
"That's because you leave old grudges everywhere you go, you moron..."
The speaker was Yang SuHyeon, a sanctioner known by the alias 'Poison Moth.'
YuHan knew her well by now, but it had been a long time since they had crossed paths like this on the job.
The burly man beside her was Kim YongSu, a Chajang at Seo-AnDang.
A Chajang (次長) is a Korean corporate rank roughly comparable to a Senior Manager.
YuHan's relationship with him was rather strained as well.
Kim YongSu looked toward Shin GiDeok.
"...Mr. Shin. You brought me, Poison Moth, and even YuHan. Planning to start a war or something?"
"Kim Chajang, I merely hired some extra hands as a precaution. If Plan A succeeds, we should be able to avoid unnecessary combat. Of course, everyone will be compensated either way."
"You must have money to burn..."
"I happen to enjoy sharing with others. Besides, one ought to spend generously when there's something to celebrate, wouldn't you agree?
"After all, starting next year, today will be the anniversary of my father Shin ManSu's death!"
Shin GiDeok laughed cheerfully and walked into the building...