"Over here! Move quickly!" Guardian Lee Chang-soo, affiliated with the Korean Returnee Association, was leading his team in pursuit of the fleeing criminals.
"Senior, is it even worth chasing them now? We arrived less than five minutes after the incident happened, but it seems like there's still plenty of time for the offenders to escape, given the various abilities possessed by the returnees."
"What are we supposed to do then? Shouldn't we at least catch their trail? This is already the third time!"
The duo of a werewolf and a person in a black mask were no strangers to crime.
They had tracked them before, but at some point, their trail would vanish into thin air, leaving them at a loss.
'Damn it, their range of activities is too vast for us to cover entirely. It seems like they have accomplices helping them escape. This is going to be a tough one.'
As always, it required a significantly larger force to defend than to attack, and the manpower of the Guardians was always lacking.
Nonetheless, they continued to pursue the criminals, hoping to find even a small trace of evidence.
Thud!
A sound of impact echoed from inside the construction site, their destination.
"Senior... this energy..."
"Gah, follow me! Let's go in!"
The sound appeared to be a minor issue, but the eerie sensation emanating from within suggested a chilling malevolence.
Lee Chang-soo immediately entered the construction site.
"What's going on here?"
In one corner, construction workers were sprawled on the ground, while in the center, a masked man and a seemingly ordinary woman were unconscious.
And wedged into one side of the wall, slowly reverting to human form, was a werewolf in a battered state.
Surveying the scene, Lee Chang-soo shouted to his team, "Search the surroundings! The fight must have ended not long ago, so they should still be nearby!"
The situation was clear.
Someone had fought the villains and disappeared.
Seeing that the villains had been subdued, it seemed they had no ill intentions, but that didn't mean they could be ignored.
The remnants of the energy left at the scene were enough to send shivers down one's spine, making it necessary to ascertain their identity if possible.
However, the whereabouts of that someone remained elusive, with no trace to be found.
"Team leader, we have successfully subdued the villains."
One of the team members approached, levitating three individuals restrained with special handcuffs designed for paranormal criminals.
The woman was an unfamiliar figure, but given the circumstances, she must have been an accomplice responsible for the escape.
"If we investigate, everything will come out."
Interrogation through psychic abilities left no room for lies.
Just in case, they requested backup and moved the workers present at the scene to the jurisdictional hospital with a permanent Guardian presence.
Even if the accomplice pretended to be a victim, there was no escape.
"We've caught the culprits, and the worrying issue seems to be resolved...," a new concern arose.
The sinister energy still lingering in the space was concerning.
"We'll have to hope to gain some information from these guys."
Having faced them directly, there must be something they could find out.
***
I summoned Hans again, whom I had unsummoned.
Slowly, I was getting used to facing him directly and managing to contain myself somewhat.
'Hansung-hyun can't do much, but Hans is different. I don't have to reveal myself.'
With a considerable distance from home and no significant risk, there was no reason not to step in.
'That being said, they were stronger than I expected.'
I easily subdued the woman who seemed to be a non-combatant and the masked man who had let his guard down, thinking the gate, which seemed to be an escape route, was open.
However, the resistance from the werewolf was more robust than anticipated.
Fortunately, I managed to knock them down before the Guardians arrived and concealed my appearance through cancel summon, but it was a close call.
'To withstand and resist despite experiencing the fear effect... They've overcome their share of tribulations and returned as returnees, so it's only natural, I guess.'
Of course, not all returnees would be like that.
Compared to those who were initially transported to this world with nothing, recent returnees had some information and many had stable ways to acquire karma and return.
As a result, some returnees were coming back as early as five years, compared to the initial ten years it took during the early stages.
Of course, some chose to stay longer to strengthen their karma.
'Even then, the average return rate of 20% is terrifying. It's even a significant increase compared to the early days.'
Anyway, it was now irrelevant to me.
The Guardian side would recover the precious metals the thugs had stolen and administer the appropriate punishment.
I had considered eliminating them altogether to erase any witnesses, but...
'They don't seem to have committed murder. If I recklessly kill them, Hans will be treated as a villain for no reason. As long as they don't find out that he's not human, it's fine.'
Sometimes, dealing with villains like this didn't seem so bad.
It seemed to help overcome the trauma and alleviate stress.
***
For several days, Heinz collected information in the city with Diana's help.
Diana was a 12-year-old girl I had met when I first entered the city, a local who had been born and raised there.
'She's the perfect candidate as a guide. She seems to know a lot, probably from a tough life.'
In exchange for two silver coins, she agreed to act as my guide in the city every day during my stay.
That was the content of the agreement between Heinz and Diana.
Understanding the urgency of the situation, I paid her the advance in silver coins.
It was a risk I was willing to take, and luckily, Diana had been faithful to the contract so far.
I was surprised to see her sitting and waiting in front of the lodging from dawn on the first day.
After that, we would make appointments for lunch, eat together, and tour the city, making it a daily routine.
'It had been that way until yesterday.'
Yes, until yesterday.
I stood up from the table on the first floor of the lodging, waiting for Diana.
'She didn't seem like someone who would break a promise. She had kept it well until now. What could have happened?'
Well, the help I had received from her so far was rewarding enough.
Just in case, I left a message to the owner of the lodging and headed to the market alone.
The name of this city was 'Ajantu,' a small city located in the western part of the Talya Kingdom on the continent.
They say it's a typical city where people farm, hunt, and gather in the surrounding forest.
'Although the public safety doesn't seem particularly good.'
There weren't many people around, and everyone seemed quite demoralized about something.
Diana didn't say much, but she strictly advised not to wander in the back alleys and to stick to the main streets.
She also suggested leaving the city as soon as possible.
'I guess it's best to leave this city soon. There's another city to the east where I could go...'
With that in mind, I roughly organized my thoughts and stocked up on the necessary supplies for the journey.
"Hey there, sir, can I talk to you for a moment?"
Several burly men with tattoos on their necks were gesturing towards me from the inside of the alley.
I looked back just in case, but there was no one else.
'Why do bad feelings always...'
I approached them obediently as per their request.
Since I was planning to leave soon anyway, I thought I'd resolve the matter quietly if possible, and if not, I'd find another way then.
"...So, you see, we're the ones protecting this area of the marketplace, and because we have many mouths to feed..."
It didn't sound like much once I heard it.
It was just a suggestion to pay them off.
"Ahaha, I see. Here, it's a small amount, but I hope it helps maintain the public safety. It's my small contribution, please accept it graciously."
"Hmm, this young man sure knows how to talk well. Let's put this to good use."
So I just went along with it, greased their palms just enough, and concluded the matter.
In fact, I had prepared a separate purse for moments like these.
'Anyway, it seems the public safety isn't great.'
"Brother, so why was that kid..."
"Why do you think? It's what they told us to do over there. We just follow orders..."
The conversation of the bulky men drifted away, but my attention had already shifted elsewhere.
'To the next city on foot, it'll take about a week to the east. Considering the distance for ordinary folks, it might be a bit shorter for me... Should I look for a horse or carriage?'
If I had come to the other world, I might as well try riding a carriage, shouldn't I?
Lost in these thoughts about the journey, I was looking for a grocery store to stock up on preserved food when I felt I saw a familiar figure.
"...Well, thank you anyway. Please, if you see anything, let me know!"
"Sure, I'll keep that in mind."
After finishing the conversation with the shop owner, I nodded and noticed Diana hurrying in this direction.
Without understanding what was so urgent, she tried to pass by me, but I grabbed her arm.
"Hey! What, what is it? Let go!"
If anyone saw this, they'd think I was the bad guy.
I quickly let go and scowled.
"It's me, Heinz! You didn't show up for our appointment for so long, what are you doing here? Do you know how long I've been waiting?"
"Oh, sir?"
Only then did she notice me, and her eyes widened.
Something seemed to be troubling her, her pupils shaking.
"Oh...! I'm sorry for breaking the promise! I should have come and told you first. I've been so distracted!"
"Yeah, it seems like it. That's fine, but what happened?"
"Ah... my, my younger brother, Aaron... I mean..."
As Diana stammered, her eyes began to well up with tears.
"I brought breakfast in the morning... and I told him to take a quick wash... but, there was no water. So, I went outside..."
With tears streaming down, she continued in a choked voice.
'Um, isn't this a rather dangerous scene?'
A burly young man was bullying a young girl, and she was tearfully crying.
But that young man was me.
I quickly stepped back, feeling alarmed.
Diana was still sobbing, her tears flowing freely.
"W, wait! I get it! I understand, so calm down for now, okay? Yeah, take deep breaths. I'm here to listen, so go ahead."
And, truth be told, I was weak towards the child.
***
I managed to calm down Diana and talk to her again.
"I have a younger brother, his name is Aaron. He was sick until recently..."
She was still rambling, but I could roughly understand her.
Diana had an 8-year-old younger brother.
After losing their parents, the siblings made a living by running errands and doing odd jobs for the residents.
Suddenly, Aaron fell ill and became bedridden.
"I had to take Aaron to the herbalist with the money I borrowed. It was a difficult situation, but then I met you, sir."
Thanks to meeting me, she was able to pay off the overdue debt in time.
"And because of the food you bought me, I made him eat his fill, he has been getting better lately..."
'Come to think of it, whenever I bought food, she wouldn't eat it all and would save some in a cloth.'
I had seen her wrapping bread or meat neatly in a clean cloth, presuming she would eat it later.
If she had told me earlier, I would have provided separate food for him.
But that wasn't important now.
Today, Aaron suddenly disappeared.
"Could he have gone out to play with his friends?"
"That's unlikely! Even when he was sick, Aaron always felt sorry for me and insisted on helping with the housework! He's not the kind of child who would leave without a word and worry me like this!"
Diana vehemently objected and then spoke with a weakening voice.
"...And he doesn't have any friends of the same age to play with..."
I could roughly understand the situation from her words.
Poor orphaned siblings, it seemed that societal attitudes were the same everywhere.
"Then let's go back home for now. Maybe his path crossed ours, so let's go check at home first. If he's not there, I'll help you look for him."
"Uncle...?"
No matter how many times I said I wasn't Uncle, it probably wasn't important to the child right now.
"Well, if you didn't know from the start, you couldn't pretend not to know."
It wasn't as if we were strangers, and I couldn't just turn a blind eye to a child who had been crying because her brother was missing for several days.
How could I, as an adult, ignore that?
Diana, who had been widening her eyes and gaping at my words, soon lowered her head and let tears fall.
"Alright, we don't have time to waste like this! Let's go to your place first."
"Yes!"
Without further delay, we hurried to the siblings' home as expected.
Their living environment was incredibly poor, just as I had anticipated.
It was one of the shabby shacks scattered sparsely in the back alleys.
"Isn't it dangerous to live in a place like this?"
I knew they didn't have much of a choice, but I had asked anyway, partly because we had encountered many suspicious figures that seemed dangerous even on the way here.
How had the powerless siblings managed to stay safe until now?
"It's still okay. We paid the bribe."
Diana pointed with her finger at a mark drawn on the wall of the alley.
It depicted what looked like a shark's head with sharp fangs.
It must have been the symbol of the organization that ruled this place.
'Huh? Where have I seen that drawing before...?'
"Aaron! Aaron, are you there?!"
While I was contemplating, Diana went into the house to look for Aaron, but there was no response.
"What should we do? Aaron still hasn't come back. What if something really happened..."
As Diana, who had calmed down for a moment, started to tear up again, I could recall the sight I had glimpsed earlier.
'The tattoo on the back of the thugs I encountered earlier!'
And immediately, a related memory resurfaced.
-Why do you think? It's what they told us to do over there. We just follow orders...
Those guys were the culprits who took Aaron.