The Civil Servant Who Conceals Her Power Is Too Good at Possession Chapter 7

* * *

 

“…And as a result, Investigator Lee Yuji has been awarded a commendation along with a bounty.”

 

The next morning.

 

Instead of being scolded for uselessly getting caught and taken hostage by a criminal, I received good news.

 

If we were going strictly by the book, me bringing Lulu into the building was something that shouldn’t happen during work hours. 

 

In fact, during yesterday’s questioning with Team 1’s team leader, I answered like this.

 

‘Why did you bring the detection dog into the building?’

 

‘I realized I hadn’t brought any dog food with me….’

 

‘Then couldn’t you have just gone and gotten the food?’

 

‘Oh, you’re right?’

 

‘…?’

 

That expression Ikseong made back then. He doted on Lulu so much, yet he looked at me with that kind of contempt!

 

‘I’d rather go back to being the one receiving your hand on my head yesterday!’

 

‘For now…… please head inside.’

 

Considering how foolish I’d looked while I was with Lulu, I could more or less imagine how my image must be forming in Ikseong’s mind.

 

But it wasn’t as if I could say I brought the detection dog inside because I thought there might be a bomb in the building!

 

‘Still, if you think about it, the fact that explosives were brought into the HIB building in the first place is absurd.’

 

This was serious enough to shake the foundation of the Unit itself.

 

‘I saw this morning that the security guard was dismissed…….’

 

It was only natural.

 

For that reason, it seemed that the higher-ups had decided not to go with the story of an absentminded rookie who couldn’t even remember dog food accidentally discovering explosives, but instead to frame it as Team 5—responsible for safety oversight—discovering the explosives during a routine inspection.

 

And of course, this bounty was meant to keep my mouth shut.

 

Deposit received

 

+50,000,000 won

 

…Even so, that was a lot of money.

 

Th-They’re giving me this much?

 

Come to think of it, the HIB hunters earned quite a tidy sum from these rewards compared to their base salary.

 

All HIB matters were classified, so I never knew exactly how much they received, but to think it was this much!

 

For the time being, I’ll have to use this money to pay off debts, interest, and living expenses.

 

I still had the 500 million won I’d received as a reward for lifting the status effect, but if I suddenly paid off my bank loan with that money, it would definitely draw suspicion.

 

‘My job is a civil servant, of all things……!’

 

A civil servant who gets suspected even for winning a local raffle—if 500 million suddenly dropped from the sky, it’d be the perfect invitation for a tax audit!

 

I was already making plans to channel that 500 million through certain “shadow routes” I happened to know.

 

“Whoa~ I’m jealous, rookie. I used to make a pretty penny on rewards myself back in the day.”

 

Byeon Gudo chimed in beside me.

 

“Are the rewards usually this high?”

 

“More or less. Actually, that’s not even that much. It’s because the culprit you caught was judged D-rank.”

 

Then how much incentive does Team 1 rake in when they’re catching A- and B-rank criminals?

 

‘Our Ikseong… seems greedier than I thought?’

 

No, wait.

 

If this is how much they give per case, then annual income must vary wildly depending on each individual performance record.

 

‘…So that’s why rookies don’t last.’

 

Because the base salary is so low.

 

I had identified one cause behind the ghost stories surrounding Team 5 rookies.

 

“Still, you can look forward to the future, right? I saw your kick yesterday—no joke. Weren’t you an elite athlete in high school?”

 

“Ah. Yes.”

 

Until I awakened, I’d thought I’d continue succeeding as a Taekwondo athlete.

 

“So then, do you know our team leader too? Because our team leader also—”

 

Byeon Gudo was about to say something when Pi Sowon cut him off.

 

“Equipment allocation for the rookie has arrived. Come collect it.”

 

Our team leader also what?

 

I recalled Team Leader Pi’s incredible shooting skills from yesterday.

 

‘She wouldn’t fall behind even in a major guild. Why isn’t she producing results?’

 

Hunter Investigation Unit Team 5. It was a thoroughly puzzling team.

 

‘But it might not be bad for me right now.’

 

After all, I’m currently a hunter possessing an EX-rank skill.

 

‘And that suspicious ability called “Extra Possessor” at that….’

 

In this situation, if I ended up under a capable team leader like Kwon Ikseong, my skill might be exposed in no time.

 

But if I were to quit the HIB, the strange ‘status abnormality’ that happened to me yesterday weighed on my mind.

 

If I was going to keep getting caught up in criminal incidents and accidents because of my ‘Extra’ title, it was better to belong to an agency that could legally punish criminals.

 

I stepped toward Pi Sowon.

 

She placed a pair of handcuffs and a smart watch in front of me.

 

Items I recognized at once.

 

‘…Finally…!’

 

It was the first time I could say I received a proper handover. 

 

The handcuffs were magical restraints that prevented the use of mana.

 

The smart watch transmitted investigators’ locations in real time and included a call function.

 

“You are required to respond to calls 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. If you don’t, we’ll assume something’s happened to you and investigators will smash your bedroom window to get inside.”

 

Hearing it put that way made it sound a little like shackles… but—

 

I slipped on the smart watch and smiled brightly.

 

“Yes.”

 

“…Why are you so cheerful? Most people don’t like it.”

 

To Pi Sowon’s question, I answered with the same smile.

 

“…Because it’s cool.”

 

I wanted to do something like this. Something cool. Like a ranger.

 

When I raised my wrist and grinned, Pi Sowon’s expression turned strange.

 

It looked similar to the expression Kwon Ikseong had shown me in the interrogation room.

 

Pi Sowon stared at me for a moment as if stunned, then leaned back against the desk and said,

 

“You.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

“Don’t try too hard.”

 

“What do you mean…?”

 

“And don’t call me your partner.”

 

Pi Sowon’s languid eyes narrowed.

 

As if giving a warning. 

 

I’ve never even called you that. What’s gotten into her all of a sudden?

 

At that moment, the smart watch on my wrist began buzzing.

 

Not at my wrist—but near my ear.

 

‘…A magic item, I see.’

 

At the same time, the other team members looked down at their wrists.

 

“We’re being deployed.”

 

Pi Sowon pressed the button on her watch and began a brief conversation.

 

The mana item allowed immediate communication without earbuds.

 

“Yes. We’re heading out.”

 

After giving that short response, Pi Sowon met my eyes—and flinched.

 

That was because……

 

I was a little excited right now.

 

I felt like I’d finally become a real investigator!

 

Pi Sowon muttered lowly while looking at me…… 

 

“…You look like Lulu when I say we’re going for a walk….”

 

I pretended not to hear.

 

Pi Sowon let out a sigh and spoke to Byeon Gudo and Ma Deokho. 

 

“I’m taking the rookie on this one.”

 

Like a dog owner dragged along on a walk against her will.

 

Well, I’d rather be partners with Ikseong than you too……!

 

* * *

 

A short while later.

 

When we arrived at the scene, every trace of excitement had drained from my face as I stared at the blood-soaked classroom.

 

A corpse in a school uniform, cruelly killed, and a boy, also in a school uniform, covered in blood across his face and body.

 

And… me and Team Leader Pi standing there, looking at him.

 

Team Leader Pi glanced at me as I fought down the urge to retch and smiled faintly.

 

“How is it? Still enjoying yourself?” 

 

Our team leader really is a psychopath.

 

But the bigger problem was……

 

The boy covered head to toe in blood. 

 

It was the name tag pinned to the chest of that kid, who looked like the perpetrator of this murder to anyone watching.

 

Kang Wolyeon

 

That b*stard—he’s a named villain in the novel!