How a legendary returner lives

Yoon Yeong-su, who had been waiting outside, bowed politely when he saw Stuart coming out of Jin Song-i’s office.

“Thank you, Professor.”

“What thank you? If my humble knowledge was of help, that’s enough for me.”

The two men had a connection. Yoon Yeong-su, who graduated from Pennsylvania State University, and Stuart Mill, a professor at Pennsylvania State University.

They first met during a general education class, where Professor Stuart suggested to Yoon Yeong-su that he consider becoming a scholar, which led to their continued relationship.

Yoon Yeong-su believed that their connection made the deciphering of the ancient manuscript possible, but Professor Stuart thought differently.

Even without Yoon Yeong-su, he would have volunteered to decipher the manuscript. The language and records that had never appeared before in the world were fascinating enough for him.

Professor Stuart smiled gently.

“Let’s grab a meal sometime. I’ll head down first, take your time.”

He trudged down the stairs.

After watching his figure for a moment, Yoon Yeong-su opened the door to Jin Song-i’s office.

Jin Song-i, who was reading, looked up. He asked her,

“Did it help, then?”

“Yes, a lot. Do you see this? The translation.”

Next to the original manuscript that Jin Si-hu had given her, there was a stack of A4 paper of similar height. This was the translation that Jin Song-i had been reading until just now.

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes, I’m really relieved. Thanks to the connections of our secretary, we were able to finish the translation faster than expected.”

“I appreciate that, but if it were Professor Stuart, I think he would have been interested beyond his connections. He probably would have volunteered even if it weren’t for me.”

Looking at Jin Song-i, who was smiling, Yoon Yeong-su continued.

“Time’s running out; you need to leave for the U.S. now. The pilot just contacted me and said it’s about time to head out if we want to make it on time.”

Jin Song-i pouted and stuck out her lips.

“But it’s my private jet. Shouldn’t they wait for me?”

“You still need to go. If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late.”

What Jin Song-i hated most was breaking time commitments.

There was no other choice.

Jin Song-i quickly stood up and then paused, startled.

“Are you going too, Secretary?”

“Yes, I need to assist the Master.”

Jin Song-i seemed to think for a moment, then shook her head.

“He’s in Korea.”

“…May I ask why?”

“Please take care of my brother.”

“……”

“I know this is outside work, but who else could I ask other than you, Secretary?”

Jin Song-i was an incredibly busy person. In the years without Jin Si-hu, she had become an icon representing a generation.

There were those who looked up to her, those who wanted to be like her. Jin Song-i wanted to be a source of strength for all of them. That was why she needed to go to the U.S.

An S-grade gate clearance, for which she had been asked to consult.

Of course, it was not just a consultation; strictly speaking, it would be like Jin Song-i clearing the gate herself.

This had been scheduled almost a month ago, and it couldn’t be canceled now. Delaying it further would likely lead to a serious delay. Putting it off now would be irresponsible.

Even if Jin Si-hu had been there, Jin Song-i would have gone to the U.S. She was that kind of person.

Jin Song-i made a pitiful face and said,

“Please. I beg you.”

“……Understood.”

Jin Song-i smiled brightly.

“Then I’ll trust you, Secretary. Thank you.”

As she spoke, she held the translated version of the book that Jin Si-hu had given her.

Jin Song-i left for the U.S., and as Yoon Yeong-su watched the plane flying into the sky, he received a call from the Guild Secretary’s office.

[Secretary, a real estate agent murder case occurred in Yulgeok-dong, Gimcheon.]

A murder case? Gimcheon?

Yoon Yeong-su frowned.

If this was the kind of message that reached the Secretary, it meant that the person involved wasn’t an ordinary one.

The next message answered that question.

[The suspect is Jin Si-hu.]

—

To be honest, Yoon Yeong-su could have left the scene immediately.

But he didn’t.

There were people around.

Fortunately, when he first confronted that so-called 189th Apostle and struck him, there were more people running away than watching, and after that, the Apostle isolated the space, so no one witnessed the scene where Yoon Yeong-su cracked his head open.

Now, the police before him were saying this:

“Jin Si-hu, tell us the truth. You killed the real estate agent Kim Min-jae, didn’t you?”

“Well… I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? There are dozens of witnesses, you know.”

“Excuse me, officer, but you should speak more clearly. Did anyone actually see me kill him?”

“……”

“Apparently, I was there in front of the decapitated body. According to the witnesses, how does that prove that I killed him? I’m really curious. I’d like to know.”

“Wow… Jin Si-hu, you’re more shameless than I thought. Were you looking for a room to work on your art, and the real estate agent got on your nerves, trying to overcharge you, so you killed him out of frustration?”

Yoon Yeong-su couldn’t help but smile.

“Is this how interrogations are done these days? Let’s get this straight. I didn’t kill ‘Kim Min-jae.’ No, more precisely, it was Min-jae hyung. Why would I kill Min-jae hyung? He was someone so close to me.”

“In most murder cases, the killer is usually someone close to the victim. But Min-jae hyung? Were you acquainted with the victim?”

“Of course, we knew each other. We’ve shared countless sweat and blood together. Oh, and this is a real secret, but we even committed some petty theft together for about a year and a half. Not that we were doing anything like raping people or killing the innocent. It was more like modern-day Robin Hood. You know Robin Hood, right?”

As I spoke, the officer’s frown deepened.

He slammed his hand on the desk.

“Are you messing with me? Robin Hood or whatever, you’re telling me you were so close to someone, and you reached out to them under a fake name like ‘Jeong-bin,’ and then met up? Are you saying Jeong-bin gave you an order, and you followed it? Are you being threatened or something?”

I scratched my chin.

“You should become a novelist. Your imagination is way too vivid.”

“It doesn’t matter how much you deny it. The person named Jeong-bin from the Cheongju Gate Safety Management Team—he’s already been called in as a witness.”

The officer checked the time subtly and then continued with a strange smile.

“By the way, Jin Si-hu.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t like making things bigger, do you?”

That was strange.

I immediately asked, “What do you mean?”

“It’s nothing serious, really. But if you don’t want people talking about you, I can help stop it.”

“How?”

“Well, if Jin Si-hu shows a bit of ‘sincerity’…”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence.

The door to the interrogation room suddenly burst open. The officer blinked as he looked at the person entering.

It wasn’t just one person entering.

One, two, three, four, five.

Five people entered in total.

The person at the front smiled and said,

“It’s been a while, Secretary.”

Yoon Yeong-su, the Guild Secretary, and someone trusted by Jin Song-i, sighed softly and replied, “…Yes, it’s been a while.”

“But why so many of you?”

“We’re from the Legal Team of the Salvation Guild. Just to confirm, you didn’t say anything about admitting guilt or anything like that, right?”

“Of course not. I didn’t kill Min-jae hyung.”

“Good. Then let’s go. I’ll buy you a meal.”

Yoon Yeong-su silently stood up.

The officer slammed his hand on the desk again.

“Hey! Who told you to leave…?”

“Inspector Kang Hyun-soo.”

At Yoon Yeong-su’s quiet voice, the officer trailed off.

Yoon Yeong-su continued,

“You’ve locked an innocent person in here based on nothing but uncertain witness statements and no proper evidence… You even put handcuffs on him. Why?”

“Because he’s a prime suspect, of course…”

“No evidence, no clear witness statements saying Jin Si-hu killed him, and you think he’s a prime suspect? Did you think the Salvation Guild was an easy target?”

The officer flinched at Yoon Yeong-su’s assertiveness.

And then, Yoon Yeong-su added,

“Oh, and this officer here was asking me to show some ‘sincerity.’”

“…Sincerity?”

“Yeah. He said he’d help prevent things from getting messy. Well, I never thought I’d see this for real. Is this the part where you make a judicial deal?”

“…It’s not a judicial deal. It’s just corruption.”

Before Inspector Kang Hyun-soo could say anything, Yoon Yeong-su stepped up to him, leaning in and speaking in a low voice.

“I think you thought you could make a big score from this.”

“…You think I’ll let you talk like that?”

“Weren’t you demoted from the Seoul Gwangsu Police for taking bribes? And now you’re doing the same here.”

Yoon Yeong-su’s demeanor changed instantly. His eyes darkened, and an intense killing intent radiated from him, as if he was about to kill.

“Hey, you piece of trash. You think I’ve never seen scum like you? You were expecting some crumbs to fall your way, but you picked the wrong address.”

Yoon Yeong-su took a step back and sighed deeply.

He spoke with his expression, as if saying: *I don’t have time for trash like you.*

“Enough. Talk to our Legal Team. And about this incident, I’ll make sure the Commissioner and everyone involved hears about it.”

Inspector Kang Hyun-soo’s face drained of color. That was it.

Yoon Yeong-su reached out and grabbed the handcuffs on my wrists, snapping them with a loud *crack*.

“The investigation’s over, Jin Si-hu. You’re free to go.”

As we left the room, Yoon Yeong-su paused for a moment and turned to look at Inspector Kang Hyun-soo.

“Oh, one last thing I was going to mention earlier. Min-jae hyung was killed by a dragon. He was a really good person. If you want to make a real case out of something, why not investigate that?”

The four lawyers, along with Inspector Kang Hyun-soo, and Yoon Yeong-su, all stood there, stunned.

But ever since I entered this room, I hadn’t lied once.

I told them the truth.

I killed the 189th Apostle. Min-jae hyung died at the hands of a Titan.

“…Are you… kidding me?”

I shrugged and walked out of the interrogation room.

I asked Yoon Yeong-su, who had been waiting.

“What are you going to buy me for dinner?”

“…What would you like to eat?”

“Samgyeopsal (pork belly) and soju.”

“Let’s go. I’ve already picked a place on the way.”

“Wow, you really know how to get things done.”

“…”