Chapter 244

Chapter 244

I covered the corpse of the Tarfa prostitute, murdered by Deputy Oh, with a blanket. It was hard to look at, as it reminded me of Lapis.  

'Lapis could have ended up like this if things had gone wrong.'  

I fully realized the gravity of what I had done. I had effectively thrown Lapis into a den of beasts brimming with murderous intent toward extraterrestrials.  

'Lapis grumbled, but she still listened to my request. The reason her words and actions had been so rough while staying at Sonsu Industries was because she had been extremely on edge. She was surrounded by people who might kill her at any moment.'  

A curse slipped out. Stupid Luka. Still running around making foolish decisions.  

'Lapis survived only because the Equessian mercenary was constantly guarding her.'  

If not for the Equessian mercenary, Deputy Oh would have come for Lapis in the dead of night, weapon in hand.  

'Just one man's malice.'  

There was no grand scheme or conspiracy. It was the impulsive act of a man who deeply resented Tarfa.  

"Huu…"  

The cigar smoke filled the room like a dense fog.  

Son Seok-jae took a deep drag of the acrid smoke, as if trying to blacken his lungs completely, then exhaled. He pressed his fingers against his temple, as though his head ached.  

"Deputy Oh, why on earth did you do it? What did I fail to provide for you?"  

Deputy Oh was kneeling, bound. He glared at Son Seok-jae with fierce eyes.  

"B-because you let Tarfa live! That bitch insulted me, and you just let her go!"  

"Well… that was an unavoidable business decision. Surely, you could understand that?"  

For Son Seok-jae, "ambition" took precedence over "hatred." He could suppress his primal instincts of loathing in pursuit of higher desires.  

"You made me a promise!"  

"And that’s why I always brought you along for Tarfa… 'hunts'."  

Son Seok-jae deliberately used the word "hunt" while glancing at me for a reaction. I folded my arms and shrugged.  

'I already knew Son Seok-jae was a vile and ruthless man.'  

Sonsu Industries was a group that committed hate crimes. But they had managed to survive so far by preying exclusively on the weak.  

'They wouldn't have dared touch extraterrestrials who had the power to fight back.'  

A cowardly, cunning strategy. Son Seok-jae was exactly the kind of person I despised.  

'And yet, Son Seok-jae treats me with goodwill. He considers me important.'  

As repulsive as he was, he was still useful.  

'At least in my presence, he refrains from openly displaying his depravity. Because he knows I find it distasteful.'

If Son Seok-jae had killed or tortured an innocent extraterrestrial right in front of me, I wouldn’t have been able to tolerate it.  

‘An uneasy relationship that makes full cooperation difficult.’  

Most relationships in the world are like that. There is no one who aligns with me perfectly. If I cut people off just because they made me uncomfortable, I’d end up with no one around me.  

Of course, by my standards, Son Seok-jae far exceeds the limits of what I consider mere discomfort. At some point, I’ll have to sever ties with him.  

‘That’s for the future. Not now.’  

I stood behind Son Seok-jae, observing the situation. Two employees had their guns aimed at the back of Deputy Oh’s head.  

"Deputy Oh, come with me to Jafa Trading. If you sincerely apologize, I’ll do whatever I can to save your life. I promise."  

Son Seok-jae extended a hand as he made his offer.  

‘That’s the right move for a superior to make.’  

He was taking responsibility for Deputy Oh and trying to deal with the situation himself. Seeing that, the other employees would place even more trust in him. After all, he wasn’t abandoning his subordinate, even in the end.  

"Apologize? Since when? Since when did we grovel before extraterrestrials? You’ve changed, sir! Ever since we got involved in the federal government’s projects, you’ve been different!"  

Deputy Oh howled.  

‘…Well, working under the government means having to negotiate with extraterrestrials more often. It’s not like when we were just a small company that could do whatever it wanted.’  

Sonsu Industries had latched onto a massive wave. It could no longer maintain the same stance as before.  

‘When a group changes, there are always those who fail to keep up and get left behind.’  

Deputy Oh was one of those people.  

"Deputy Oh, you’ve already killed plenty of Tarfa. Isn’t that enough revenge? I even let you personally deal with the Tarfa who ruined your family… wasn’t that enough?"  

I began to understand the strange sense of loyalty within Sonsu Industries. Son Seok-jae had likely managed each of his subordinates in this way—going so far as to assist in their revenge if necessary.  

"Hah… Ha… Haha…"  

Deputy Oh’s shoulders trembled as he let out a laugh. It was chilling. It wasn’t just vengeance—it was something far more vile, far more repulsive. I had seen that desire before.  

There was more than just a thirst for revenge in his eyes.  

"…Ha. Damn it. My mistake. I’m sorry, Deputy Oh."  

Son Seok-jae had realized it too. He had likely encountered this kind of situation more than a few times.  

‘Deputy Oh has tasted the pleasure of killing.’  

At this point, it was no longer about revenge.  

‘He enjoys tormenting and killing the weak Tarfa species. For him, they’re nothing more than sacrificial lambs for his twisted pleasure. And when one of them—Lapis—dared to insult him, he couldn’t stand it.’

A murder that had started as an act of revenge had now become a source of personal pleasure.  

'Maybe Deputy Oh always had the potential to be a serial killer, but it was Son Seok-jae who gave him the opportunity. Without that chance, he might never have realized his sadism or the thrill of killing.'  

I let out a sigh.  

I stepped in and spoke.  

"Hand him over to Jafa Trading. That’ll wrap things up neatly. At least we’ve found the culprit."  

"…That’s true. Jafa Trading is just as dirty as we are. Once Deputy Oh gets tortured over there, he’ll come to realize his mistakes and apologize over and over. It’s the right move and a clever one, no doubt."  

Ash from Son Seok-jae’s cigar was falling onto the back of his hand. He just stared blankly at Deputy Oh, even as the embers scorched his skin.  

Then, he finally furrowed his brow.  

A slight nod.  

With a small jerk of his chin, Son Seok-jae signaled the men holding the guns.  

Deputy Oh closed his eyes. His whole body trembled.  

"Th-thank you, sir."  

"When you get to hell, save me a seat."  

I didn’t interfere with Sonsu Industries' business.  

Bang! Bang!  

The employee pulled the trigger twice in quick succession. Deputy Oh collapsed forward, a bullet lodged in the back of his head.  

Drip. Splatter.  

Blood trickled down his nape, dripping onto the floor.  

Deputy Oh was dead.  

"Thank you for not interfering, Mr. Luka."  

Son Seok-jae dusted off his hands and stood up.  

"I didn’t want to create any more unnecessary conflict. There’s already enough exhausting work as it is."  

I spoke as I left the room. The employees would handle the cleanup.  

"I thought you’d torture Deputy Oh for Miss Lapis’ revenge."  

"I considered it at first. But after seeing how things played out, I lost the will to."  

All that remained was an unbearable sense of unease.  

'Is coexistence between different species even possible?'  

There were too many contradictions.  

"If I may make an excuse, Deputy Oh was originally a victim himself. Like I told you before, his parents' workshop went under because of the Tarfa. He suffered greatly because of that—his past was quite tragic."  

"As I told you last time, that was just losing in competition."  

Son Seok-jae let out a mocking laugh at my words.

"Those Tarfa must have known that their actions would drive nearby human workshops out of business. If they had truly thought about coexistence, they wouldn’t have done it. They simply don’t care about those around them. The Tarfa species is stubborn in strange ways, and at times, their narrow-mindedness is almost baffling."  

I let out a scoff. Even if I understood his point, I had no desire to agree with him.  

"That doesn’t mean I want to defend a sadistic murderer."  

"…Mr. Luka, you also derive pleasure from combat and killing."  

For a moment, I felt a surge of anger. If my self-control had been any weaker, I would have grabbed Son Seok-jae by the collar.  

"I don’t kill innocent, defenseless people for no reason."  

"Killing is killing, no matter how you frame it. Justifications are nothing but excuses. Concepts of morality and good and evil shift with the times. History is full of massacres committed in the name of ‘justice.’ And yet, Mr. Luka, you go around killing based on your own shallow judgments, all while shielding your conscience behind the noble warrior or soldier persona. Isn’t that even more cowardly?"  

If I lashed out at Son Seok-jae now, whether with words or violence, I would only prove him right—I’d be nothing more than a shallow man.  

"Well, that’s a hard point to argue against. Yeah, I seek out people who deserve to die. When I find someone bad enough that I won’t feel even a twinge of guilt tearing them apart, I get excited. For example…"  

"Someone like me, perhaps?"  

Son Seok-jae cut me off, twisting his lips into a smirk. I chuckled.  

"Yeah. Someone like you. I could snap your limbs one by one, and I’d still sleep soundly at night."  

"Haha, exactly. I’m the villain here. Everything I just said was pure sophistry. You, Mr. Luka, are an honorable man."  

Son Seok-jae put on a polite smile and spat out words he clearly didn’t mean. He was mocking me outright—something he never would have dared a few hours ago.  

His sharp attitude was because of Deputy Oh’s death.  

'At least his concern for his subordinates is genuine.'  

Understanding that, I could accept his jabs with composure.  

After parting ways with Son Seok-jae, I returned to Jafa Trading’s headquarters. That night, sleep didn’t come easily.  

*         *         *  

I stayed at Jafa Trading’s headquarters until the procedures for my asylum were completed.  

And finally, the time had come.  

Click.  

I opened the window and watched a delivery drone approach from the distance.  

Whirrrr.  

The drone maintained a steady altitude before extending its storage compartment toward me.  

Inside was my identification card.  

'There’s no turning back now.'

I was now officially a citizen of the Bellato Federation. In my hand was an identification card displaying my name and face. The card shimmered, layered with multiple anti-counterfeiting measures.  

- Did you receive your ID?  

I heard Ismael’s voice through the comms.  

"I just got it."  

- Now it’s time for you to repay me, Mr. Luka.  

"Let’s start with something small."  

I shut the window and sank onto the sofa in my room as I spoke.  

- Something small, you say? I’m not thrilled about it, but I won’t rush. One doesn’t get full from just one bite, after all.  

Ismael let out a low chuckle.  

"Deputy Minister, have you heard of G&G Cybernetics?"  

- Ah, I’ve heard the name.  

"Their CEO is planning to visit Border City soon for business expansion. Am I correct?"  

- Let me confirm.  

It didn’t take long for him to check.  

- That’s correct. How did you know? This information hasn’t been made public yet.  

"I pick things up here and there."  

Ismael’s eyes were probably narrowing at that response. He’d be curious about my sources.  

- And why did you bring up G&G Cybernetics?  

"I’d like you to arrange a private meeting. I can help ensure that negotiations with their CEO lean in the Federation’s favor. If things go well, I’ll provide additional information."  

There was a brief silence. Even I felt a chill run down my spine.  

‘I know this is a selfish proposal. Ismael isn’t the type to trust me just because I claim I can help with negotiations.’  

I couldn’t afford to show hesitation. In this situation, I had to be firm.  

- So this isn’t just about providing information… You’re asking for a secret meeting for your own purposes. Ah, and it seems you have some connection to G&G Cybernetics. The missing co-CEO, Giselle Custoria…  

As expected, Ismael was sharp.  

"I’d rather not discuss that. Giselle and I were… quite close. In any case, you can see from our connection that I can be useful in negotiations."  

- I’ll let this slide, just this once. My patience isn’t as deep as you might think, Mr. Luka.  

"I have no intention of testing your patience, Deputy Minister."  

- I hope so. I’ll send you the details later.  

The call ended.  

There were still many unresolved matters in Border City. Those connected to me were either gravely injured or stuck in difficult situations.  

‘But first, I need to meet Gilda.’  

Of all people, Gilda would know best what Giselle had been up to while I was away.

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