Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 123 : The Values of the Era (3)

The Values of the Era (3)

"You managed to persuade that old man, huh."

As soon as I got out of the Bureau of Paranormal Phenomena building, a man leaning askew against the wall spoke up.

Eugene Garland.

It was largely thanks to his help that things proceeded so smoothly this time.

If it hadn't been for him, it would have been quite difficult even just to get inside this place.

"It was a business deal with nothing to lose."

There were too many variables to start with.

Alencia was one thing, but it was still difficult to gauge just how much strength I actually possessed.

Beyond simply the information that I was a returnee, the power I had displayed during this incident was by no means insignificant.

"They must've been scared to mess with you."

Eugene gave a wry smile and looked me up and down.

"As if that would be the reason. I'm just an individual, after all."

"Hah."

"To be honest, I was just lucky this time."

At my words, Eugene let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.

"Luck, huh. Can you really call that luck?"

"I meant it sincerely, though."

"Well, let's just say you're right, then."

He definitely seemed to be overestimating my strength a bit.

Of course, the power I possessed wasn't weak by any measure, but this time my particular traits just happened to fit perfectly with the situation.

Above all, without the equipment made by Sarah Walker, it would've been impossible from the start.

"By the way, you won't be able to call yourself the fastest in America anymore."

Eugene said as he glanced at Alencia, who was standing behind me, nervously watching for a chance to speak.

After witnessing Alencia's power right in front of him, his gaze had completely changed from before.

"So, are you going back to Korea now?"

"We'll be moving to Los Angeles as planned first. There are no trains, so we'll have to take a plane."

"I guess the filming isn't over yet."

"That's part of it, but there's also someone I need to meet."

I said that and glanced at Alencia.

Hearing 'Los Angeles', she seemed to realize why I wanted to go there.

'That side must be just as busy right now.'

The man who had once claimed to be a returnee.

But now he was being called 'Alencia's father'.

* * *

In a prison in Los Angeles.

Until recently, it was a place shrouded in silence, widely avoided by people—but now the atmosphere was completely different.

"Was it true that you claimed to be a returnee just to hide Alencia?"

"When did you first meet Sarah Walker?"

"Did you know about your daughter's power beforehand?"

"Please, let us in! This is an important issue! The public has a right to know!"

Crowds of reporters blocked the prison entrance, shouting as the guards looked on wretchedly.

There was a sea of journalists trying to report, along with ordinary people who just wanted to catch a glimpse of James Walker's face.

Thanks to them, the guards at the entrance were having a miserable time.

"Oh, James."

Of course, in contrast to the noisy outside, the inside of the prison was peaceful.

Almost excessively so, from James' perspective.

"I heard the rumors. That stuff about being a returnee was just to hide your daughter, wasn't it?"

"I always believed something was off, seeing a straight-laced guy like you stuck in a shithole like this."

"I thought Alencia was always destined for something big!"

As James quietly ate in the cafeteria, his hands trembled slightly upon hearing the voices around him.

Not long ago, these same people used to mock him—now they were full of praise.

'Not that I intended it that way.'

Of course, he had turned himself in to protect Alencia.

The situation had gotten out of hand much faster than he'd expected.

But initially, all he'd wanted was to use the records his wife left to make some money and run far away with Alencia.

So there was no way to dress up his act of claiming to be a returnee as something noble—he only broke out in a cold sweat.

"Hey, James."

At that moment, a guard tapped his shoulder and gestured.

"You've got a visitor. I'll give you extra time today, so take it slow."

Even the guards were showing him a friendly attitude now.

It was all just so hard to get used to.

"... So, it's Alencia."

"Why are you reacting like that when your daughter's here?"

Alencia grumbled at seeing James pick up the phone as if he were tired.

At his daughter's typical reaction, James cracked a brief smile.

"I heard the news. You really made a mess out there, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about! Do you know how tough it was for me? Manager, tell Dad something!"

Manager?

At the unfamiliar word coming out of Alencia's mouth, James finally noticed the tall man standing behind her.

He'd thought, of course, that a guard or prison officer would be monitoring—but apparently not.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. James Walker. My name is Park Jung-woo, and I'm serving as Alencia's manager."

"... Ah, I see."

James replied with a displeased tone.

He knew about Jung-woo, of course. Not only had he heard about him from his wife, but he'd been keeping up with Alencia's broadcasts the whole time.

'And I've had messages relayed from Leon, too.'

He recalled Leon, who had taken the liberty of relaying information just yesterday.

Normally, it would've been impossible, but with Leon's kind of power, it made sense that he could pass information like that.

Leon had said Jung-woo was the key contributor who helped Alencia take down Titan.

'Yet hardly anything about him is publicized.'

Currently, no news outlet was giving any in-depth attention to 'Park Jung-woo'.

He was merely mentioned as one of the cast helping Alencia shoot a Korean variety show.

James vaguely suspected that this information suppression was being done 'from the top.'

"I apologize for interrupting your precious time with your daughter, but there are a few things I'd like to ask."

"Things to ask...?"

"Have you met anyone named Damian Hertha recently?"

It was not a name he could forget.

After all, this was the man who had come to him directly and spoken.

From what he heard afterwards, no one else had even realized there had been a breach.

"I did. It wasn't for long, maybe about ten minutes?"

"Could you tell me what he said?"

"Our conversation wasn't special. He simply asked if I'd be interested in joining them. And he asked me a few questions about Alencia—that's all."

In other words, they were trying to recruit Alencia to their side?

Jung-woo shook his head.

'No way.'

The Saintess's power was designed, from the beginning, to be for humanity.

If she sided with demons, her power wouldn't manifest at all.

'... Though, just maybe...'

Damian's goal likely hadn't been limited to just Heart of Prometheus.

After all, Alencia had also been at Minerva.

Which meant that what they intended to "deliver" via UnderStellar wasn't only Heart of Prometheus, but Alencia herself.

When Minerva traveled, the Denver Titan and Monster Wave would have consumed everything.

'The proposal to James was likely just to confirm whether Alencia had recognized her own power as a Saintess.'

If he hadn't encountered Jung-woo in the middle, Damian would probably have waited quietly until Minerva reached Los Angeles.

But after learning Jung-woo had contacted Alencia, he must have changed the plan.

'Before I could awaken her power, he intended to take care of the Saintess first.'

If Alencia hadn't fought the Titan, Jung-woo might have been in her place.

In that case, Alencia would have stayed in Denver, and Damian might have targeted that opportunity.

It was just speculation, but it was certainly possible.

"Thank you very much for the information. Well, I'll leave you to your conversation with your daughter..."

"Then, may I ask you one thing, too?"

"Pardon?"

"I hear you're taking Alencia to Korea."

James spoke in a troubled tone.

"I understand why. I know being with you is safest. And that you know more about the Saintess than anyone else in this world."

At his deeply earnest voice, Jung-woo sensed Alencia stiffen beside him.

"But Alencia, like me, is a foolish and reckless daughter in many ways. So, I'd like you to be honest."

James looked at Jung-woo through the transparent glass with a serious gaze.

At the one and only genuine 'returnee' in this world.

"Do you believe Alencia will be able to do well?"

At his worried question, Jung-woo glanced at Alencia.

It seemed the seriousness of his question made her realize anew that they really would be leaving for Korea.

"Of course."

"Truly?"

"That's why I'm by her side."

Just as Alencia once told Jung-woo.

Had he not believed, he wouldn't have sought her out in the first place.

And he would never have made that reckless proposal to raise her up to S-rank in just a month.

"... I see."

Only then did James give a smile of relief.

"Please take good care of Alencia."

With that, Jung-woo turned and left the visitation room.

The last remaining minutes of visitation belonged entirely to the father and daughter.

* * *

During the rest of our stay in America, we managed to finish the remaining filming successfully.

Though the issues surrounding Alencia made things difficult, thanks to Enoch holding up their end of the bargain, there were no significant upheavals.

'Looks like they managed to keep my information under wraps, too.'

If news about me had spread, it would have been much harder to move freely.

If I became too famous, many people would keep an eye on my every move, and information about me would be relayed directly to the demons.

That would be bad. So I established a cooperative relationship with Enoch to have them suppress information relating to me.

'But you'll keep your end of the bargain, too, right?'

'Of course. Thank you for the cooperation, director.'

'How's Korea? There must be people watching you there, too.'

'It's fine. Someone else is handling things in Korea for me.'

'Ah... I see. Tae-yeong Group, perhaps.'

Enoch already knew everything about my activities in Korea.

Now that Alencia would be in Korea as well, it was obvious he would keep an even closer eye on things.

"Thanks to Manager Park, we've wrapped up this shoot with great success."

When everything was finished and we were about to head back to Korea, PD Jung Jun-su patted my shoulder as we waited at the airport.

"I wondered how it would turn out, but thankfully everything went well in the end. Unlike with a certain someone, that is."

He said this while gazing somewhere in the distance.

At the end of his gaze was KDC's PD Heo Seong-man, who looked dazed.

He was just absentmindedly packing his things, making no attempt to control the frantic staff.

'Not surprising. He didn't get anything worthwhile in America.'

They did have footage from Minerva crossing the Red Field, but even that became unusable when Eugene broke the contract.

Eugene's primary goal was to transport Heart of Prometheus; KDC's variety show was just a side profit. But the transport was finished, and Minerva was destroyed.

PD Heo tried belatedly to film with a different concept, but Eugene—annoyed—used Derick's previous blunders as grounds to break the contract.

So all the footage KDC shot in America vanished into thin air.

The loss must be beyond words.

At this point, it wouldn't be strange if KDC held PD Heo accountable for the disaster.

"Come to think of it, didn't Hunter Eugene stop by earlier?"

"Oh, yes. I think he just came to say goodbye since I'm leaving."

When I replied as if it were nothing, PD Jung let out a dry chuckle.

"I'm starting to think you have some kind of power that charms S-rank awakeners. How did you get so close to Hunter Eugene, anyway..."

I'm not sure you could call us close, but considering our first meeting, it's true we're on pretty good terms now. Still, Eugene's reason for finding me today was due to something we hadn't had a chance to discuss yesterday.

'Heading back already?'

'Ah, yes. Now that filming is done, there's no reason to stay any longer.'

The Saintess Alencia, the Demonic Zone in Mexico, James Walker and Damian.

I'd done everything I could in America for now; there was no point staying any longer.

'I see. Will we see each other again in a few months?'

'Huh?'

At the curious nuance in his voice, I looked at him questioningly, and he smirked as though I should have known.

'You haven't forgotten where the next "Odyssey" will be held, have you?'

Odyssey.

The epic written by the ancient Greek poet Homer about legendary heroes.

In modern times, it referred to the "Grand Festival" where S-rank awakeners from around the world gathered.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Tournament Arc next?

Also, successfully captured Alencia-mon.

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】