* * *

“First of all, we’ve stopped various villain factions from expanding countless times. We also know that once they reach a certain size, they start trying to infiltrate the Empire rather than grow any larger.”

Hyeonyul nodded at Haeryeon’s words. That was exactly what villains wanted most. Rather than attack the Empire openly, they wanted to burrow in slowly like rats and bring down the pillars holding the country up.

“For example, some villains approach ordinary people in a friendly way, pretending to be companies that make good products. Others set up mobile phone companies or pose as computer parts manufacturers to plant hacking software. Others tamper with food. The list goes on forever, but when most of them are caught, the public is told they went bankrupt. Saying outright that ‘villains’ were responsible could cause unrest.”

‘Sounds familiar.’

Hyeonyul wasn’t surprised, since he already knew all of this. There were plenty of things worse than those examples. Gyms, Pilates studios, clubs, and so on. Villains had their hands in countless places.

“Among them, the ones obsessed with expanding their influence are the villains who imitate religious cults. Ordinary people get brainwashed en masse, then the most fervent believers become villains themselves and get sent to other regions. It repeats endlessly, like an epidemic. To stop it, we already have managers undercover in places suspected of being those kinds of operations.”

“What if they get brainwashed too?” Hyeonyul asked.

He knew they must have thought things through before sending people in, but he couldn’t help being doubtful. If they took hallucinogens along with everyone else and kept hearing the same stories, they would inevitably start accepting those words as truth. That was brainwashing.

“They all have mind-related powers. Reassuring, isn’t it?”

“I understand the situation.”

Haeryeon’s answer made Hyeonyul understand immediately. People with mind-related powers were different from ordinary people. Hallucinogens didn’t work on them, and they did the brainwashing rather than suffer it. Simply put, unlike other people, they had a very thick, solid wall around their minds. It was thicker than everyone else’s, but that didn’t make them invincible.

“They have several branches, and our disruption efforts will happen simultaneously, so they’ll be slow to check us out. Before the managers let you inside, you need to memorize your assigned identities and firmly commit the mission details to memory, starting now.”

When she finished speaking, Haeryeon pointed straight at her smartwatch.

“You can’t take these in, because there might be something like a magic detector inside. They’re heavily loaded. Instead, you’ll go in with smaller objects in their place. Basically, think of it as only your appearance changing.”

Haeryeon glanced at Jihwan, who inevitably knew more about the subject. He was staring blankly without even blinking. Only when Sinu, sitting beside him, poked his side did he snap out of it. When he asked what was happening with his eyes, Sinu explained quietly.

“Why we can’t take the watches.”

“... Oh. The formulas you can put into an object depend on how much room it has to hold magic. The bigger it is, the better. But that also makes it easier to notice, right? These smartwatches contain several spells. They’re intricately packed in, so a magic detector might pick them up. We only need some of those spells right now, so carrying them in smaller objects is a way to make detection less likely. Of course, we won’t get caught.”

Jihwan pointed confidently at himself.

“I can conceal that much.”

“So don’t worry about the other details. Just get your assigned information into your heads quickly. The mission will begin once everyone has memorized it.”

Haeryeon handed out the documents one by one.

Hyeonyul paused when he read what was on his sheet.

Mutism.

“Am I not allowed to speak?”

Haeryeon nodded at his question.

“That’s right. I thought it might be more comfortable for you. They’ll probably ask all sorts of questions, and I thought you might find that unpleasant, Hyeonyul.”

“Yes, this is more comfortable for me too.”

“I’m glad.”

“Team Leader.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t need to be so nervous. Aside from the few things I want, I have no intention of disobeying.”

At that, Haeryeon came over and rested a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s exactly the problem. If you don’t like something, tell me. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know what you dislike? Even if you say no, I’ll make you do it when there’s no other choice, like last time. You don’t have to worry about that.”

She was referring to the incident when the Poison King’s poison had spread.

“... Understood.”

Hyeonyul answered hesitantly, struggling to understand her words. Why did he have to say what he disliked, and why did she want to know? Before Haeryeon could ask anything else, he looked back at the sheet.

‘I have an older brother.’

Hyeonyul raised his head and looked at Sinu. When their eyes met, Hyeonyul’s lips curved upward.

“I’m playing your older brother.”

Sinu pointed at himself. Their cover story was that they had come all this way while seeking treatment for his younger brother’s mutism. Even if it was only temporary, Sinu was happy. He liked it very, very much.

“Team Leader. Don’t just give Sinu the brother role. Let me play his younger brother too.”

“Exactly. You could let me play his older sister.”

Nayun voiced her complaint after Jihwan.

They had all agreed to approach Hyeonyul slowly, yet Sinu alone was charging ahead like he’d gone wild. That traitor. That was the look Nayun gave him.

“Don’t you understand why I divided you up this way?”

Haeryeon pointed at Nayun and Hyeonyul.

“People whose powers can also be used for surveillance.”

Then she pointed at Jihwan and Sinu.

“People who specialize in offense rather than surveillance. I made Nayun and Jihwan coworkers, remember? You understand why I paired you this way now?”

Everyone else could handle situations naturally, but Hyeonyul was different. For one thing, he wasn’t particularly good at communicating with people. Given that, wouldn’t he need time to adjust on his first infiltration mission as a Black Eagle? This time, they had no choice but to accommodate him.

“Oh, I understand. Jealousy blinded me for a moment.”

Nayun made a circle with her thumb and forefinger and nodded. She accepted that the arrangement had been made out of consideration for Hyeonyul.

“That’s a shame.”

Jihwan still sounded disappointed, but soon smiled. He could simply approach Hyeonyul later and pretend not to know him.

“Learn your personalities, habits, and basic circumstances beforehand. They’ll use this information to check whether you’re genuine or not.”

Everyone answered Haeryeon’s reminder and began committing the information to memory.

As the room fell quiet, Hyeonyul pondered in silence.

‘Were there White Sparrows inside the company I used to work for too?’

The Black Eagles’ operations were much more extensive than they appeared on the surface. One by one, he was learning things he hadn’t known. He was only a rookie now, but what would he see of the Black Eagles as he took on increasingly weighty missions? Hyeonyul became intensely curious.

* * *

“... Hyeonyul, don’t be nervous. Sinu might not look dependable, but he does have skills.”

Nayun approached Hyeonyul to help him relax. He seemed somehow stiffer than usual. Infiltration was both a long-term assignment and a demanding one.

“... Hey. Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

Sinu narrowed his eyes.

“Of course it’s a compliment. What else would it be, an insult? Is something wrong with your ears? Or do you just take everything I say the wrong way?”

“Both.”

Sinu snickered, and Nayun let out a helpless laugh too.

“Hyeonyul, whatever you do, don’t turn into that bad-tempered idiot. Jihwan was so sweet when he first joined, but Sinu ruined him.”

“Sis, I’m still sweet around our team.”

When Jihwan beamed, Nayun nodded emphatically. It was so nice to see him smile like that.

“That’s all I need. More than enough. Stay that way. Having two Baek Sinus would be... truly awful.”

Nayun shook her head. Just imagining it was exhausting.

“Then what is Mr. Ye Jihwan like when he isn’t being sweet?”

As Hyeonyul looked at him, Jihwan blinked rapidly in surprise. Then he smiled.

“I was just joking. You’ve seen how I act around other people.”

“I have. I didn’t realize it was a joke.”

“That happens. You learn these things one at a time. Despite how it looks, Sinu and Nayun get along really well.”

“Jihwan!”

“Jihwan, that’s not true. No matter how fond I am of you, that crosses the line, Jihwan!”

Sinu and Nayun protested almost simultaneously, sounding desperate.

“See?”

Jihwan chuckled. They got along very well indeed.

“Bro, I’ll help you to the very end, so you don’t have to be wary of me.”

“...”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

Jihwan couldn’t say his experience was the same, but he had experienced at least a tiny fraction of what Hyeonyul had. Understanding how he felt made Jihwan want to grow closer to him all the more.

“Everyone. It’s almost time, and you’re having the time of your lives, aren’t you?”

Haeryeon’s thunderous reprimand made everyone shut their mouths.

“We were about to go. That was the plan.”

“Nayun’s right.”

Nayun and Sinu immediately backed each other up.

“Do your best. Contact me if anything happens. You come before civilians as far as I’m concerned.”

“Team Leader, don’t worry. We won’t die.”

As Jihwan said that with a smile, Haeryeon hugged them one by one. It looked like a very familiar routine.

When Hyeonyul’s turn came, Haeryeon asked cautiously.

“It’s just a little ritual. You don’t have to if it feels awkward.”

“No. It’s just that I...”

Before Hyeonyul could finish, Haeryeon hugged him.

“I don’t feel that way.”

Dirty. Disgusting. Hearing him say things like that might have been even more unpleasant for her.

“Come back safe.”

Haeryeon waved.

“Of course.”

Sinu waved first and went to mount an eagle, followed by Nayun and Jihwan.

Hyeonyul looked at Haeryeon. Something was different from usual. Perhaps she seemed weighed down.

“We won’t die.”

He had no intention of letting that happen, either. His teammates were essential to carrying out missions efficiently. Having said that, Hyeonyul reached toward the approaching eagle.

Haeryeon burst out laughing. Was he trying to comfort her? If so, she was truly grateful.

Haeryeon gazed at the clearing after everyone had left. The smile that had spread across her face vanished. She hated moments like this most of all. There was no mission anywhere in the world where death was impossible.

Seeing them leave prepared to face death brought back bad memories time and again. One by one, people had gone somewhere so far away she could no longer hear their voices or see their smiles. She hated losing teammates. She wanted no more of them to die on any mission.

She would rather they became cowards. As always, Haeryeon turned away with that thought.

‘... Let’s get to work.’

That was how she could help her teammates.

* * *

“...”

Hyeonyul’s expression was dark. Riding an eagle was always miserable.

“I know you’re suffering, but your expression is actually perfect right now. You look sort of gloomy and empty.”

Sinu spoke quietly. When Hyeonyul directed a murderous stare at him, he turned his head away.

“... Sooo, we’re... The light changed. Hurry, hurry.”

Sinu changed the subject and hurried Hyeonyul along.

As they crossed the street, Hyeonyul looked around. It was just an ordinary part of the city. They were supposed to meet here.

‘Did they say we’d take a car in from the arranged meeting place?’

Their gathering place was the same, but their departure points were different. Nayun and Jihwan would have set off from somewhere else by now.

‘I’ve dealt with the urgent problem on my end too.’

[“While I was trying to predict what the villains would do next, I heard some shocking news too.”]

A few days earlier, Haeryeon had said she’d heard some “shocking news.” Considering she had even mentioned confidentiality, word of the Red Witch’s death must have reached them. Naturally, that information would have circulated among the villains too, so all manner of factions were bound to rush into the void left by the Poison King and the Red Witch.

Force had to be crushed with force. Once they had torn into each other and lost every claw on their hands and feet, the Black Eagles only needed to swoop down and snatch both sides away. Whichever side they were on, villains had to disappear.

‘... I’ll have to take my time finding out what information the Poison King is hiding.’

There was no harm in knowing. He would probably start going on about the Empire again, but Hyeonyul’s goal had never changed, then or now. If anything, it had grown clearer and closer.

Hyeonyul followed Sinu into a building.