“I came down to help the people here.”
“......What?”
The man.
Claimed that he came down here to help the people of this place.
That he was an ally of humanity.
That was what he insisted.
‘Impossible.’
Of course.
Not only had he survived that Demon Realm,
but he came down here not for himself, but to help others?
There was no way such a human could exist.
Her rational mind rejected that claim with all its strength.
[Truth]
Her skill proved
that not a single part of the man’s words was false.
“Of course, you don’t have to believe me. It would probably be wise of you to doubt me.”
[Lie]
Doubting him
was not wise.
“Maybe I do have some malicious intent I can’t tell you about.”
[Lie]
He had
no malicious intent whatsoever.
“I’m planning to help you entirely on my own terms, though.”
[Truth]
“I warn you, it would be better if you doubted me.”
[Lie]
“There’s always the possibility I’m trying to use you to commit evil.”
[Lie]
The man continued speaking,
and her skill continued discerning the truth of every word.
Despite the thick smell of blood and iron he exuded—
despite the terrifying, murderous aura around him—
he was......
‘He came seeking to save other humans.’
The aura he radiated was ghostlike,
yet there was another word for people who lived with such deeds.
‘A hero.’
And then—
that man who might be either a ghost or a hero
“Since I’ve answered your questions, it’s my turn now.”
was preparing
to throw her the final question.
“Here......”
She stared at his mouth nervously.
And then—
what came out of that mouth was:
“Where is the kitchen?”
“...What?”
To her,
it was something she simply couldn’t understand.
****
The moment the woman, whose job was Shaman, told me where the kitchen was,
the five-question exchange was effectively concluded.
“That seems to wrap up our deal.”
“......”
“It may not have been the interrogation you wanted, but I’d say this was a fairly even exchange of information... So, am I free to go now?”
When I asked that,
the woman who was truly a Shaman looked at me with eyes full of disbelief.
“You...”
With trembling lips, she barely managed to speak.
“You really did come to help us.”
“I said it might not be true.”
“......With no schemes, no hidden intent at all.”
“If that’s how # Nоvеlight # you choose to interpret it, I’m glad, but you know that contract allows lies. You shouldn’t trust me that easily, probably.”
Well, in truth—
I really did come to help them with no other hidden intent.
And I knew she had understood that.
‘Still, a guy who tells you to always be suspicious is more trustworthy than one who demands unconditional trust.’
If I wanted real trust,
this was the better approach.
“......I understand.”
She rose to her feet and spoke.
“If you intend to help us, what should we provide for you?”
“As I said, I’d like to take a look at the kitchen first.”
“......The kitchen.”
At that word,
clarity returned to her dazed eyes.
“The kitchen... the kitchen, huh.”
“Hmm?”
And yet—
even though she already knew everything I said was the truth—
“Does it have to be the kitchen?”
“......?”
She hesitated
when I asked her to show me the kitchen.
‘What now? What else is she suspicious of?’
Even after I’d proven I had no malicious intent, she was still doubtful.
Maybe surviving in this world required that level of caution.
I was almost impressed.
“I trust you. You said you want to help us, so I’d like to cooperate if possible.”
“Then why...?”
“But the kitchen is... a bit difficult.”
With a genuinely apologetic expression, she spoke.
“I’m not the one in charge of the kitchen.”
****
“The interrogation is over.”
“Oh, Iseo ma’am!”
“Good work, Iseo.”
The Gyeonggi Province Survivors’ Association.
Among them, the group known as the Northern Branch.
Two of the three leaders of that branch,
Junggu and Jaeho, welcomed their returning Shaman.
“So what were the results?”
“Well... the situation changed a little, and I failed to obtain a ‘confession.’”
“What?”
“He had the power to reflect curses. I never imagined someone like that could exist...”
At her words,
the two men frowned.
“So you couldn’t uncover that man’s identity?”
“......Not exactly.”
“Hm?”
“Using ‘Truth Identification’... I did learn some things.”
“Oh...!”
Both men knew her ability well.
Even if the spirits who answered her requests were few,
the abilities she could manifest were overwhelming.
“And according to what I saw through detecting lies...”
“And?”
But despite how reliable her gift normally was—
“I concluded that he is someone we can trust.”
The results of this interrogation
were not easy to accept.
“......”
“......”
“Huh?”
The two men thought she would continue with more explanation,
but Han Iseo said nothing further.
“That’s it? Iseo?”
“Yes.”
Since she didn’t elaborate,
the two looked baffled.
“Shouldn’t there be more?”
“That’s right. Something like why that man was inside the Demon Realm in the first place.”
“Well... there wasn’t really any special reason.”
“What do you mean, no reason?”
Despite their pressure,
Han Iseo had little to say.
“He just... said he had been living beyond Monsterland since the Day of Ruin.”
“......”
Silence fell briefly.
“He said he originally lived near that area, and wasn’t there for any special reason. My ability confirmed all of it as true.”
“......”
The men exchanged glances.
A silent check—am I the only one who finds this bizarre?
The moment their eyes met, they both knew:
this was absurd.
“Iseo, do you think that makes sense?”
“Why would someone living peacefully beyond Monsterland suddenly come down here?”
“He said he came because he wanted to help others...”
“...What is that supposed to mean.”
At that,
both men opened their mouths wide in disbelief.
“That’s completely ridiculous.”
“I agree, but my ability confirmed everything. He lived beyond Monsterland, fought monsters constantly, and now that he’s grown stronger, he came down to help others.”
“Hmmm...”
The two men groaned deeply,
then spoke in heavy voices.
“As you know, Iseo...”
“Yes.”
“It’s not convincing.”
“......That’s true.”
Hearing them,
the Shaman, Han Iseo, thought:
‘Even I think it sounds unreal, so of course they doubt it.’
If there had been any other reason, she would have said it.
Then maybe they could’ve accepted it.
‘But the truth really is just: he was beyond Monsterland, fighting monsters, and came only now. That’s literally everything. What else can I even say...’
The problem was that there was nothing else to add.
Believing such an absurd story was itself absurd.
Even she herself—
couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that the man possessed some special power capable of fooling her.
“But still...”
At least the three of them
shared deep mutual trust.
“If you say so, we’ll accept it for now.”
“Junggu...”
“Your ability has never been wrong. Ridiculous or not... we already revealed he wasn’t guilty. Without further evidence, we can’t treat him as a threat.”
Junggu stroked his chin and smiled.
“But still... not just someone who briefly wandered into Monsterland and made it out—he said he lived only inside it?”
The outskirts of Monsterland—
the Demon Realm was made of wide mountain ranges and forests.
If a human had happened to be inside,
and if monsters flooded in on the Day of Ruin, trapping him—
then staying there for a long time without escaping was understandable.
With the sheer number of monsters that gathered,
breaking through to escape would’ve been nearly impossible.
And—
“That he actually escaped in the end—hmm!”
Surprised, Junggu smirked.
“My eyes weren’t wrong after all... At minimum, he’s on my level.”
“You think he’s that strong?”
“Well, maybe even stronger. He keeps refusing, but... I really want to spar with him.”
Junggu nodded with excitement.
“So, how do you think we should treat this man?”
“If possible... I’d like to accept him as a member of our group and assign him work.”
“Hm. As I said, I don’t mind. We’re always short on hands.”
“And he said...”
With a slightly uneasy look,
she glanced at the young man who had been silent until now.
“He asked to use the dining hall.”
“......”
Junggu and Iseo looked toward Gang Jaeho.
Unlike Junggu, who accepted her report readily—
“The dining hall, you say.”
“Yes.”
“Iseo. Forgive me for saying this, but...”
One of the three leaders.
The young man Jaeho frowned.
“How can we trust that man?”
“Jaeho...”
Normally he called her Iseo with affection,
but now his voice was sharp.
“As I said, my ability showed he had no hidden intent...”
“I heard. Sure, maybe your ability showed that. But—there could be powers capable of deceiving your skill.”
“......Do you truly think that’s likely?”
“Even if not that—”
Within the three leaders,
their responsibilities were clearly divided.
All combat-related matters
were handled by Junggu, the strongest warrior.
Overall group policy
was guided by Iseo, who received advice from spirits as a Shaman.
And this young man—
Jaeho—
handled logistics.
“Supplies, resources... and especially food fall under my jurisdiction.”
“...Right.”
He managed all material goods.
“No matter what you say, I cannot allow such a suspicious man inside the dining hall.”
“How is he suspicious? Iseo already verified him.”
“Junggu! What are you talking about?”
He glanced sideways at Iseo.
“All Association groups must have three leaders.”
“......”
“You haven’t forgotten why that rule exists, have you?”
The Gyeonggi Province Survivors’ Association—
they unified survivors rapidly.
But Gyeonggi was vast.
People didn’t all live in one place; four major branches existed—central, east, south, north.
And many smaller groups lived scattered under their influence.
All these groups shared one rule:
‘A group must have at least three leaders.’
The reason was simple.
“Because there are monsters that can control humans... or transform into humans.”
“Yes. If only one person led a group, a monster could replace them or control them. Multiple leaders prevent that.”
Among the monsters that appeared in the world,
some could control humans or mimic them.
For the survival of the group,
giving absolute power to a single leader was far too dangerous.
“So Jaeho... you’re saying...”
“Yes. I’m sorry, Iseo, but—”
Arms crossed, he spoke coldly.
“It’s already absurd enough that someone lived beyond Monsterland all this time. And that this person approached us with no intent?”
“You’ve got the order wrong. We didn’t approach him, we brought him.”
“In any case, that kind of suspicious individual is now inside our group. I find that extremely troubling.”
When she first returned from interrogation,
he greeted her warmly.
Now,
he looked at her entirely differently.
“That you believed such an impossible story and are defending him... that too is suspicious.”
“......”
He didn’t say it directly,
but the meaning was clear:
‘I suspect that you may have been controlled or replaced by the enemy.’
It was unfair to her—
but even she herself
felt the story she told was too unbelievable.
‘Jaeho... is right.’
Frustrating as it was,
his suspicion was logical,
and came from genuine concern for the group.
“We can compromise on other matters. If you want him in the group, fine. Assigning work? If he’s a strong Awakener, then he’ll be in combat roles. If Junggu approves, I won’t interfere.”
He stood up and walked toward the window.
Outside, the world was frozen—
snow piled everywhere except where fires burned.
But the view outside the window he approached
was different.
“But!”
In the extreme cold—
though the land lay frozen—
outside that window
stood a lush orchard.
Trees grown tall, bursting with ripe fruit.
Harvest season seemed close.
“The dining hall and storage are off-limits.”
Jaeho spoke firmly.
“I can’t entrust the food I produce to some suspicious man!”
Gang Jaeho.
The reason he could oversee logistics was simple:
he was the only Awakener in the group
capable of producing food.
