Chapter 69

“Mina, did you move your gaze well?”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Mina answered in a crawling voice, her head deeply bowed.

It seemed like she had shrunk because she got caught peeking into my vision.

I patted Mina’s head, who was watching my reaction, and said,

“I won’t get mad, so don’t worry.”

“R-really?”

“It was a bit absurd to find out why my eyes were stinging…”

I could occasionally feel my eyes stinging, but I never thought it was because Mina was using her ability.

Thanks to that, I was able to utilize her ability this time, so I had no intention of scolding her.

“But how long have you been connected?”

“…”

“What?”

“Almost…every day…”

“Even in the bathroom?”

“I, I closed my eyes then…”

Mina’s face turned as red as a beet.

I was under unexpected surveillance.

I had no intention of scolding her for that, but it was somewhat embarrassing.

Being watched until I fell asleep with my eyes open.

Thinking about it, even in the original work, there was something akin to paranoia, where she would throw a fit if she didn’t check every corner of the city herself.

If that’s been toned down to this extent, it’s kind of cute.

She didn’t do anything harmful to me.

So, I had no intention of blaming Mina for this incident.

After all, it’s time to utilize Mina’s ability in that way now.

“So, focus on the task now. We need to monitor that guy’s every move. Where he’s looking, what he’s doing on his phone, what’s in his house, who he’s meeting.”

We need to find out.

Only then can we locate the hideout and get a connection with Quaker.

With a User on my side who can be Quaker’s eyes, I can relatively outpace Quaker in information gathering, so I need to actively utilize that advantage.

…If only I had a Telepathy User.

Like the hero, Mind.

That’s also why I’m trying to maintain the original work to some extent.

Collaboration with heroes is essential to take down Quaker, and the protagonist’s growth is also necessary.

“Yeah, I’ll work hard…”

“Good, let me know if you need anything.”

“Um, that…knee…”

“Knee?”

Why the knee?

Mina, unusually, stammered and blushed. What on earth is she thinking?

It’s awkward to ask directly, so I leisurely waited for Mina to speak up. It took a few minutes for Mina to properly bring up her request.

“Um, sitting on your…knee…”

“Well…that’s fine.”

I sat on the sofa and patted my knee.

Mina hesitated for a moment, then, though embarrassed, sat on my knee and leaned her back against me.

A pleasant weight.

A scent that tickles the nose as it wafts over.

“How is it? Not uncomfortable?”

“Ah, no. It’s really nice…”

Is that so?

Well then…I fiddled with my phone while keeping Mina on my lap. I had spent a lot of money on satellite network services, so I could surf the web sufficiently even in the office.

But there’s nothing to see.

Watching videos is fun, but it’s a bit bothersome, and if you ask if having a phone means there’s a lot of entertainment like in a virtual world, it’s a bit ambiguous.

Still, I like that someone uploaded videos of heroes fighting.

Since heroes are at the forefront of Users, watching heroes fight is quite helpful in various ways.

It’s a pity there’s no User with the same type of ability as me…

But there were very few Users with abilities in this category to begin with.

There were more telekinetic Users, if anything.

“Boss…”

“What?”

“Um…aren’t you going to do anything?”

“Huh?”

Work, brain.

What did Mina just say?

That I’m not doing anything?

What does she want me to do?

“If it’s the boss…you can be bold…”

“Well, even so, that’s a bit…”

You’re a minor…no, you’re a year older, so not really.

Anyway, it’s a bit awkward with Seolhwa around.

I put down my phone, thinking of Seolhwa, who was probably fiddling with her phone in the room.

“Why? Do you not like me, Boss?”

“No, it’s just that Seolhwa is a bit on my mind.”

“Why?”

I faced the emotions implied in that short sentence.

And, my heart felt as if it was being squeezed.

“Why?”

“…I’m not sure if I’m that good of a partner, even as a white lie.”

“Where else would I find someone as good as you, Boss? If it weren’t for you, I would have…”

“You never know when you might die.”

“People usually don’t know when they’ll die. So, it’s better to act before you regret it.”

Is that so?

In this world, it’s better to be faithful to the present rather than worry about the future.

Maybe I’ve been too concerned about the future.

Mina turned her body and leaned her face against my chest.

Snow-white hair and eyes holding deep darkness.

“I like you, Boss.”

Mina’s white arms wrapped around my neck.

The soft chest pressing against mine and the breath tickling my neck.

Naturally, our faces drew closer.

I closed my eyes.

“Boss, open your eyes.”

If you want.

At Mina’s request, I opened my eyes to see Mina’s pupils. A red dot on a black background.

My eyes sting.

We silently enjoyed this moment.

How long did we spend hugging each other like that?

As the blue sky turned crimson, Mina reported to me in a serious voice.

“Boss, the target has started moving.”

At Mina’s words, who was sitting on my lap with her eyes closed, I woke up my slightly drowsy mind.

“Yeah?”

“He’s leaving the hideout…heading somewhere.”

“Fast? Slow?”

“Slow. It doesn’t seem like he’s being chased.”

Not being chased…huh.

“Keep checking where he’s going.”

“Yes, Boss.”

I fiddled with Mina’s hair, killing time until she could extract meaningful information.

It was about 30 minutes later that Mina, who had been focusing on the task, delivered the next piece of information.

“Boss. He’s talking to someone.”

“Who? A woman? A man?”

“A man. He looks rough. And…he’s making a puzzled expression.”

Could it be someone sent by Quaker?

“Mina, can you switch to the man he’s talking to now?”

“Yes.”

Whoever that man is, he might have more useful information than Park Jung-woo, whom we’ve been observing for nearly half a day, so it’s worth a try.

After all, it’s not that hard to call Park Jung-woo out, so switching the gaze again shouldn’t be difficult.

“I’ve switched. The target’s expression…seems flustered.”

“It’s a pity we can’t tell if he heard something from Quaker or if he got caught.”

“Either way, we just need to get the information.”

“Oppa! Unnie! I’m hungry!”

What a surprise.

It wasn’t just me who was startled; the feeling of Mina flinching was directly transmitted to my body. Seolhwa tilted her head and looked at me.

“What? Why are you sitting on Oppa’s lap?”

“Um, that’s…”

“We’re in the middle of work.”

“Work? You’re working?”

“Using abilities over long distances is tiring, so I’m holding her like this.”

“I see~ I thought you two were sucking and blowing!”

“Were you watching?!”

“Were you watching?!”

At the piercing remark, Mina and I simultaneously asked Seolhwa. Seolhwa answered with a sly smile.

“I’m not sure?”

“Right…”

Should I believe that or not?

I sighed, picked up Mina, put her down beside me, and got up.

“What should we have for dinner…”

“Meat! Meat!”

“I’m not sure if we have any meat left…”

“Boss, I’ll help too.”

“No, you need to keep monitoring.”

“Okay! Oppa and I will prepare, so Unnie, rest!”

Then, let’s make dinner.

Seolhwa and I put on aprons and stood in the kitchen.

————————–

“This is unbelievable. That guy knew the code only we use.”

“Perhaps he’s a special envoy secretly sent by Quaker. But…there’s something unsettling, so I’ll report it. You pretend not to know anything and try to contact him again.”

“Got it. Damn it…”

Jung-woo sighed and nodded.

‘What on earth was that?’

Where did it go wrong?

He scratched his head and blankly stared at the messenger’s retreating figure.

‘As long as it doesn’t hinder the grand plan, it’s fine…but it’s still bothering me.’

A slight mistake could lead to failure.

‘I can’t fail. I must take revenge…for my brother’s sake…’

Revenge for his brother.

For the years he’s spent running towards that goal alone.

He must succeed.

Jung-woo left with a resolute expression.