By Zephyria 
“How brotherly. My mistake.”
As his mind became muddled, Mu-hae readily backed down. Unlike the drifters he encountered while working as a mercenary, the person in front of him was intelligent.
He wasn’t as rough as them, but he wasn’t easily intimidated either, and above all, this time, he was the one who needed to beg for information.
The man’s expression became subtle at Mu-hae’s remark. The word “brother” didn’t seem entirely unpleasant, but it wasn’t exactly welcome either.
The man silently looked down at the pad and glanced at the time. A metaphorical expression that he didn’t have much time left to give.
He had failed to deceive him, but he had already learned an important fact about Kang Ju-seo. Therefore, it was wise to use the remaining opportunity without betraying Director Gil’s favor any further.
“I want to know about a pseudo-religious group. They revere Blue Energy and consider themselves mysterious explorers of nature.”
“A pseudo-religion… Why would that bastard be curious about that? He’s not even qualified to leave the place he’s staying in anyway.”
“Originally, they only operated in Solar City. But recently, they’ve been gradually expanding their influence, and now they’re reaching out to Goryeo City beyond Bay City.”
He didn’t know much about NPS, but he answered seriously as if he knew their movements inside out. If Director Gil, who had stayed in Central in his youth, knew about it, then his Hyung, who had lived here his whole life, must have heard of it as well.
As expected, the man’s brow furrowed slightly when he mentioned Goryeo City. He seemed to think that Director Gil had become entangled with it.
The man, who took out a cigarette from his pocket again and took a puff, stared blankly at Joo-oh, who was watching the smoke, and turned his head.
“You still can’t let go of that ridiculous thing?”
“It would be more accurate to say that I’m living quietly, but a bad relationship is holding me back.”
“…That’s not a religion. It’s closer to an ideology. No matter how much you block it, everyone can eventually come into contact with it, and eventually it forms a group… Yeah, just like what that bastard was trying to do. Return flight, was it?”
The man took a few more puffs of smoke in a row and then clutched his head as if he was dizzy. As Mu-hae unfolded his crossed legs and leaned forward, the sharp glint in his eyes softened a little.
“That bastard didn’t say anything until the end, but everyone who knows, knows. Get rid of Crystal Blue? He made such a big deal out of such a ridiculous thing that there’s no guarantee that the opposite won’t happen. For quite some time, there have been people who occasionally give Blue the status of a god, a gift, a blessing, and are crazy about sanctifying something that is merely energy. It’s quite a tempting story. The moment you seriously believe that nonsense, you are not a human trapped in a Comfort zone, but a pioneer and survivor chosen by God.”
“Isn’t that mental victory?”
“That’s the most important thing for educated people. When I hear similar news, the title changes every time, so there must be more than one or two groups that have roots but have split off? All the religions authorized here are similar. Hanulnim gave blessings to the peninsula, Halmang foresaw the approaching Aberrants and prepared a place to survive in the blessed land. If you dig into it, only the name of the object of belief has changed, but the subject, the Mother God, is the same.”
It was a difficult story. Nevertheless, Mu-hae’s mind had become so sharp that he no longer avoided complex thoughts and understood them immediately.
NPS is one of the offshoots of an elitist ideology that worships Blue Energy. That’s why they seemed to be organized in small groups.
“However, as soon as it takes on a religious color, it becomes an object of vigilance for the city, so it would have been difficult for them to spread openly in the sun. I don’t know what they say on the outside, but here they’re roughly called the Vegan Society. Ideologically, they’re almost diametrically opposed to the Return flight.”
“Have there been any recent reports of them expanding their power?”
“Well. I don’t need to know the details of the underground. Above all, after ‘that incident,’ Goryeo City is searching for anything related to Blue as if it were an ideology group, so they won’t be able to spread their wings here. So that bastard ended up like that, but conversely, it’s safer afterward… That’s what I thought.”
Mu-hae was met with a look that asked what had happened. A hint of concern was mixed in with the emotion that he still didn’t want to get involved.
“Recently, while working for the Company, I was attacked by an unknown group. They don’t seem to be using Aberrants, but they always appear with Aberrants in lands where Aberrants are rampant.”
“So?”
“I told Director Gil, and he sent me to see Teacher Jung. He thought it was something related to him.”
In fact, he didn’t mention that he was a mercenary who received outsourcing from the Company, or that he had grown up in a slum and had never even crossed the threshold of an academy.
Nevertheless, the man believed Mu-hae’s story well. The carefully crafted appearance had worked, but above all, the fact that there was a lot of omitted information but the words themselves were true had worked well on the other person.
Suddenly, Jin Mu-hae looked at Joo-oh, who was sitting next to him. It felt like something sharp had scratched his insides.
Joo-oh avoids eye contact and shows signs of anxiety when he hastily lies, but otherwise, he always has a confident energy in his eyes.
The problem is that the truth he speaks is usually just an extremely abbreviated version in which the subject, object, and real subject are all missing. Mu-hae felt a stinging sense of déjà vu in this situation.
“I don’t know exactly how the Return flight collapsed. Unless you’re too deeply involved, you’ll receive lenient punishment, so even more so, those who have something left to protect will desperately shut their mouths.”
“……”
“But no matter how advanced their research was, there would have been considerable difficulties in implementing it. Each person would have lost a lot. And if the Vegan Society knew about the Return flight, would they have left them alone?”
So, in the end, would the Return flight have failed even without the betrayal of West Wind?
Were his father, Director Gil, and Teacher Jung people who threw their lives away for something completely hopeless?
Noticing his suspiciously raised eyebrows, the man belatedly added an explanation.
“Well, maybe they would have succeeded even in that difficulty. They saw the possibility, so those brains gathered and worked on it. But they wouldn’t have been able to avoid division. If you weigh the pros and cons, there would have been people who lost more than they gained.”
The man slowly got up and strode to the desk. He took out an analog business card holder from the drawer, flipped through a few pages, and handed over a white paper with a code embedded in it.
“What is that?”
“Religion is ultimately believed only by those who believe in it. No matter what the power relationship is, the total pie is always similar.”
“So, if the Vegan Society… were to find a target, it would be among them.”
“I’m not close to them, but I have an acquaintance who runs a religious ‘business.’ This much compensation will be enough for the debt I owe that bastard.”
As Mu-hae’s Link Watch recognized the code, the man took back the business card and gestured for him to leave.
Before opening the door and leaving, he turned around and spoke casually.
“Is he still holding his head up high?”
“He’s doing okay. But recently… he doesn’t look so good.”
“…Did he want to know about that bastard’s anecdote? There’s nothing special. He was smart and a more promising younger brother than his Hyung. He hadn’t even gone to an advanced academy yet, but he was able to meet the admission requirements for other researchers with his personal research. At that time, he gave me those documents… on that stupid pad. He should take care of himself.”
Click. The door closed, and Mu-hae was left alone with Joo-oh in the quiet hallway.
There must have been a schedule that had been originally planned, but the man never came out of the office.
“Jin Mu-hae. Let’s go.”
Only when Joo-oh pulled his hand did Mu-hae move his feet. Coming face to face with the past of Director Gil, who seemed to be detached from the world, made him feel like his legs were clunking and moving like a doll.
Black shirt, black pants. And a black durumagi.
Mu-hae put on the outfit he had been given the day before and stood still, reflecting his appearance in the mirror.
“He looks like the Grim Reaper.”
The religious profession’s attire is truly gloomy and doesn’t blend in with everyday life. Ironically, it doesn’t look plain because it’s made of good fabric.
“If you’re an apprentice, don’t you go up on the platform?”
“Yeah. We just have to attend to the Clear-Eyed One from the side.”
Joo-oh, who was also wearing similar clothes, fluttered his clothes and spun around in place.
Perhaps it was because he had cut his hair that covered his ears neatly and even put on a hat. Even with his playful expression, he looked surprisingly like a religious person.
“The person who preaches is the Clear-Eyed One. We are the Servers. Right?”
“The believers are brothers and sisters. Remember. Don’t make a mistake.”
“Of course!”
After meeting Director Gil’s family and returning, Mu-hae first contacted the contact information he had received from the man.
The owner of the business card was a leader who ran a fairly large religious facility in a residential area outside of Central.
It wasn’t even a restaurant, but it had branches, and it seemed that it dispatched priests called Clear-Eyed Ones to various places.
Using the man’s name as an excuse, Mu-hae obtained a one-day apprentice priest experience. The place where he would be dispatched, dressed in a uniform, was the Holy Scripture in the Taeul District, which was said to be the largest.
“I am deeply moved. Thank you.”
“Speak more softly. Don’t jump around excitedly.”
“Ah. I am deeply moved.”
The two will become devout servants of the Holy Mother today. A veiled hat, signifying faith and chastity to the Mother God, was gently placed on Mu-hae’s head as well.
Thanks to the outfit that covered half of his face, Joo-oh’s shining face wouldn’t be able to exert its power there. Mu-hae was quite pleased with that fact.