This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 357

While Yoonseo was having such a conversation with a woman known as the Doctor, quite coincidentally, Chae-rim was also deeply concerned about a similar matter.

The difference lay in the fact that, unlike the Doctor, who appeared to know something, Chae-rim seemed to be diving in from ground zero, giving the impression that she didn’t grasp the overall picture.

“Hmm… No matter how I look at it, I can’t understand this…”

Perhaps being alone with her thoughts left her struggling to come up with any plausible answer.

With a frustrated expression, Chae-rim leaned back against the sofa and gradually shifted her body to the side.

And instead of the sofa, it happened to be Dogun’s thigh that cushioned her head.

Maybe it was the slightly firm yet soft sensation that she found comforting.

“Hm…”

With a sound reminiscent of a cat purring, Chae-rim began to rub her cheek against Dogun’s thigh.

Of course, that action didn’t last long.

After all…

“Hey, you’re squishing my head.”

With that remark, Dogun’s hand, which had stretched out without her noticing, carefully pressed down on Chae-rim’s head.

“Tch…”

Having been enjoying the moment, Chae-rim seemed displeased about the interruption as her lips puffed out in a pout, but she didn’t try to shake off Dogun’s hand.

Instead, she merely leaned her head against it.

“So, what’s this you can’t understand?”

“Oh, this?”

“Is it something important?”

“Well, I’m not sure if it’s important or not. It’s just something that’s been on my mind.”

Something that’s been on her mind.

If it’s from Chae-rim herself, it must be something out of the ordinary.

‘What has happened recently…?’

Thinking back to what she might have heard while going in and out of the Association, nothing particular came to mind.

So, it was just at that moment of pondering and clicking her tongue.

Chae-rim, who was blowing air onto Dogun’s thigh, suddenly looked up at him and spoke.

“Why? Are you worried?”

“Well… a bit?”

“Then do you want to take a look?”

“Uh? Is it really okay?”

Wasn’t it somewhat confidential?

When she asked if it was alright for her to see it, Chae-rim seemed to hesitate for a moment before giving a light shrug.

Then, she held out the papers in her hand towards him.

“Here, maybe it’s related to you.”

Maybe it’s related to him?

What could possibly be written in that document?

Anyway, seeing how Chae-rim was so insistent, he decided to accept what she offered without hesitation.

The document revealed information about several heroes currently operating outside the Seoul area regarding their mission transfers.

“Hmm…?”

Didn’t she say it might be relevant to him?

But after seeing this, he couldn’t help but wonder… what on earth could this possibly have to do with him?

No matter how he looked at it, it seemed just like an ordinary report on personnel transfers.

Of course, he was well aware that it wasn’t common for heroes to have their missions changed to other areas they weren’t already active in…

Yet, even so, there wasn’t anything particularly strange about it.

In fact, it made sense considering that the Seoul area suffered the most in the large-scale rift incident three years ago, now firmly branded as the Third Great Cataclysm.

While he had heard other metropolises like Busan also experienced significant damage, none could compare to the devastation suffered by Seoul.

It was no exaggeration to say that even after three years, the security gaps left by that incident hadn’t been fully addressed.

‘If that was all there was to it, it might be a relief…’

Given the scant personnel, they were now in a position to cover even the increasingly frequent minor rifts that had started erupting intermittently since three years ago, particularly in the last year.

To be honest, it had been quite fortunate that they had managed to hold out without pulling in additional personnel from other regions until now.

This was just speculation, but if he were in charge…?

He probably would have already borrowed surplus staff from other regions.

In any case, considering that aspect, the contents of this document were unusual—therefore, it was strange to find them unexpected.

Why wouldn’t it be odd to borrow people from a place that had some leeway since they were short-staffed?

That was his assumption, but seeing how worried Chae-rim was about this?

She must’ve sensed something unusual, but what could it be?

Just as he was lost in thought…

“Do you want to take a look at the section below instead of where you’re focused?”

“Below?”

When Chae-rim said that, he thought maybe there was something else beneath it, so he glanced down the document and noticed a signature he vaguely recognized from having seen it a few times—one belonging to the Association Chairman.

“Is this perhaps an order from the Chairman?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

So that’s why Chae-rim was so concerned.

Perhaps she was worried the seemingly ordinary document concealed something more devious the Chairman was plotting.

‘Well…’

The chance that this was entirely baseless wasn’t zero. Given the current situation of the Chairman, they were likely scrambling to regain lost momentum, or at least trying to keep pace.

Thus, if they were attempting to orchestrate something through this inconspicuous move, it wouldn’t be strange…

“Hmm… It looks like they are just trying to fill the gaps in staff due to a shortage, doesn’t it?”

“Right? So, I thought at first it wasn’t anything significant.”

“And then?”

Considering it was Chae-rim bringing this up, surely there was something more to it.

“But it was about a day after the list was released, rumors started circulating.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“You know… the heroes listed there.”

“Yeah?”

“It seems like the Chairman has been looking into those individuals.”

The heroes being brought into the Seoul area were being investigated.

“Was it possibly some kind of background check?”

“Something like that?”

A background check… but for what?

Were they worried about potential mishaps once they brought them in?

Perhaps they secretly gathered intel about how they acted normally?

That was indeed a possibility.

Not a far-fetched one either. If any of those brought in caused trouble, each incident could become an excuse to turn against the Chairman’s faction.

Alternatively, it could be a scheme to find some weaknesses to use as leverage to control them.

For whatever reason, given Chae-rim’s status or perhaps the fact that Yoonseo and the Senior were both on this side—most of the heroes capable of considerable strength were now leaning away from the Chairman’s side.

Of course, based solely on their careers as heroes, the Chairman was a legendary figure once hailed as a hero himself. Given his long tenure, many followed him for quite some time, so it was only recently that the balance was beginning to shift…

Still, that was only from their standpoint, and surely from the Chairman’s perspective, it felt like a crisis.

So if he was attempting to bolster his ranks in this manner…?

Just as he reached this train of thought…

“So, out of curiosity, I took some time to look into the heroes listed there.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, but not like doing some dirty background check or anything…”

“So, what happened?”

“I can’t tell if it was intentional or not, but… the heroes listed there all had a few things in common.”

“Commonalities?”

What could possibly be common about them?

When he glanced briefly, it seemed their ages, places of birth, and areas of activity as heroes varied widely.

“Those individuals… they’re victims.”

“Victims?”

“Actually… all the heroes listed there have lost family, friends, or partners to Another Ones.”