This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 296

Chae-rim’s Perspective

Somehow, the thoughts that filled my head vanished as soon as I arrived at the ‘scene’ with the staff.

It couldn’t be helped.

It was truly an unexpected sight, something I had never imagined.

At the same time, it was a scene I had encountered in a photo once before.

That made it all the more bewildering.

After all, back in my rookie hero days, I had only seen it in pictures for educational purposes. I never thought I would see it in real life.

Thanks to this, I realized why the staff I had sent to manage the scene avoided concrete answers and said it would be better to see it for myself.

Perhaps she was reminded of something when she saw this.

Honestly, it wasn’t that strange.

In a way, those who are affiliated with the association receive as rigorous training as the heroes do.

So, unlike this side which would end with a single experience, the other side had probably been trained until they were tired of hearing about ‘that incident,’ and had likely seen photos of the scene many times.

The kind of photos filled with people who looked ‘frozen’ white from head to toe, just like the woman in front of me.

“Um, how should we handle this?”

Given all that, it wasn’t surprising that the staff appeared flustered.

The real issue was… that it was already out of our hands no matter how you looked at it.

After all, how many people had just been using this place moments ago?

At least several dozens.

And among them, how many would have taken ‘that’ as a photo?

Perhaps they were all so shocked that they didn’t think to pull out their mobile phones… but how likely was that?

When a villain appears and you tell people to avoid it, or warn them that a rift might occur and they should evacuate to the nearest shelter, the very first thing they do is whip out their phones to record, just like today’s people do.

So, among the dozens who had just been here, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume at least half of them had that captured in their devices.

“What if we just… collect it all back?”

Thanks to that, the first thought that came to me was…

“…Huh?”

“…No, never mind. Nothing.”

The ‘Did I mishear that?’ tone from the staff next to me made me realize.

It was all meaningless.

Of course, it would be possible if we actually tried to act on it.

Those dispatched to manage the scene wouldn’t be careless, and even if they were, they could collect all the CCTV footage from the shop and compare it all easily.

If that happened, the staff affiliated with the association would have some hard work ahead, but that would be better than the whole association being shaken up.

Even thinking that way, the reason I said it was all meaningless was simple.

Those who took photos wouldn’t have kept them off the internet.

So, I guess it’s safe to say that by now, some communities have probably gone into a frenzy.

If people interested in heroes or those a little older saw that, undoubtedly they would think of that incident.

The incident where almost half of the Korean Hero Association’s power was wiped out.

And if that commotion reached the ears of the reporters looking for any exclusive stories?

A small campfire could very well turn into a forest fire in no time.

Even if it wasn’t to that extent, reporters wouldn’t hesitate to blow things out of proportion.

That’s how they draw people’s interest.

And when that happens?

The one who suffers the most will surely… be Yoonseo.

And if the world’s attention shifts towards Yoonseo?

Then Dogun next to her would also be in the spotlight.

The problem was that there wasn’t much I could do to stop that.

Just like you can’t turn back the clock, you can’t just erase something that has already happened.

The only thing I could actually do was… prepare beforehand to ensure that if something like a forest fire happened, the damage would be minimized.

“For now… let’s put in a request for cooperation with the Japanese Hero Association.”

“Ah, yes! Understood. But what’s the reason for the request…?”

“Something like ‘Those presumed to be Tricky Face were captured in Korea, and we need to verify their identities.’ should suffice.”

“Ah, okay. But what if they don’t respond…?”

“I doubt that’ll happen. They’re likely wanting to scoop up whatever crumbs they can over there.”

Of course, I had no intention of giving away something big… but still, I was willing to at least give a comment saying that the information from the Japanese Hero Association was ‘somewhat’ helpful in capturing those two who had threatened Dogun with a knife earlier.

And on the Japanese Hero Association’s side, given their plummeting credibility due to Tricky Face’s string of murders, they would probably be grateful for even that.

“And also… please prepare for a press conference.”

If chaos was likely to erupt anyway?

Then at least it would make sense to keep that part under control.

That way, those who don’t hesitate to throw people into the depths of despair merely for views would hopefully back off a bit.

“For now, that’s all I need you to do.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Then, I’ll just have a little talk…”

Having set some basic countermeasures, it was time for me to speak with the parties involved.

Even if I had prepared everything on this side, if the people directly involved didn’t agree, then it meant nothing in the end.

So, I swallowed once with a gulp and cautiously made my way to where Dogun and Yoonseo were.

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Dogun’s Perspective

Maybe there was something urgent they needed to handle, as Chae-rim had quickly left with an association staff member and then returned to us right after I experienced Yoonseo’s genuine need to confirm if I was really okay by poking her hand inside my shirt to pat my back.

“Can we… talk for a moment?”

At first?

I thought that was directed at me.

So I nodded right away, but it didn’t take long for me to realize.

The ‘we’ Chae-rim mentioned included both me and Yoonseo.

After confirming Yoonseo’s response, Chae-rim started to walk ahead, as if saying we could follow her.

That’s when I learned what was going on.

Simply put, the backstory, I guess.

And intertwined in that backstory was my recently changing position.

“…That’s the situation you’re in right now, Dogun.”

“Wait, what…?”

To be honest?

I was dumbfounded.

It was particularly ridiculous that the higher-ups in the association were thinking of negotiating with the Another Ones to capture the villains all at once.

After all, even though the association sometimes has its ups and downs, it’s still universally recognized as a symbol of justice; to see its leaders thinking of handing over innocent people to monsters who devour humans for their own gains was shocking.

“Maybe I should expose that…?”

“It won’t matter. They’ll likely never admit it, and even if we manage to gather evidence compelling enough for them to acknowledge it, the association will push their narrative, saying it was an unavoidable choice for the greater good.”

“Ha…”

To think that, aside from man-eating monsters, I’m now being targeted even by the association, which is synonymous with justice…

Was this pitiful or impressive?

While I continued to feel disheartened, Chae-rim began discussing today’s events.

And the moment I heard her calm voice relay everything from start to finish without leaving a single detail out, I finally understood.

I understood why Chae-rim allowed me to go out despite being aware of the risks beforehand.

And comprehending that?

I ultimately had to accept it.

I had been getting too complacent recently.

In fact, that had been somewhat inevitable.

When I returned from the Another Ones’ world, I was on high alert because of Chae-rim’s warnings, knowing something like this could possibly occur, but as time went by without much incident, I began to relax.

Of course, there had been moments when my life was in danger due to small rifts, but from my perspective, that was just a thing of the past.

The hotel incident a few weeks ago?

That felt like it belonged to someone else.

To be fair, while it was true that the hotel I was in was attacked, at the time, I was up in the suite on the top floor, so I was not at the scene.

Moreover, the attack was resolved so quickly.

I found myself gradually becoming complacent without realizing it, and then… something like today transpired.

So from my perspective, I had no choice but to snap back to reality.

I wondered if Chae-rim instinctively felt my perception changing slowly as well.

“Knowing this, you probably felt the same thing today, Dogun. It’s too early to relax.”

Those words slipped from Chae-rim’s mouth.