# Chapter 127
Raymon was dead. Peace was in chaos for a while after the sudden accident, but it was Ben who managed to suppress that confusion.
As Fenil had planned, Ben was reported to have been on an urgent business trip when Peace was attacked. Despite the chaotic situation, he calmly sorted things out. Thanks to Ben’s efforts, Peace gradually began to stabilize and could regain its original structure.
There were opinions that they should take revenge on ‘Alice,’ but all of Peace’s ability users had already been injured. The prevailing argument was that seeking revenge without preparation would only lead to another crushing defeat.
However, leaving things as they were meant not knowing when ‘Alice’ might attack again. Amid the continued depressed atmosphere, Ben stepped forward as ‘Peace’s representative’ to negotiate with Alice.
The result was successful. Although the contract wasn’t made public, he secured a promise that they would never attack Peace again.
Of course, it was all a well-orchestrated play, but it was natural for Ben’s standing to rise among those who didn’t know the circumstances.
Everyone wanted Ben to become the next director, and living up to those expectations, Ben became the director.
These were the events that had taken place at Peace since Raymon’s death. Only after Ben’s inauguration as director did Kay truly feel that everything was over.
They had successfully rescued Alice, and Haylen had completed his revenge. In truth, it wasn’t something that directly concerned him. The incidents that happened to him were entangled with Haylen, not directly related to Raymon.
But his precious people had suffered because of Raymon. That’s why he felt relief at the fact that Raymon was gone. With this, Haylen could also be more at ease.
Kay looked at him as he was handling the backlog of work. Lately, Haylen had been so busy that he was practically living in his work.
“Boss, are you really okay?”
Even for an S-class ability user, there was no time to recover with excessive work on a body that wasn’t fully healed yet. When Kay asked worriedly, Haylen responded that there was no problem.
“It’s just a minor wound.”
“Still…”
Although he hadn’t examined it closely since the injury, it had looked serious at the time. There was no way it was as trivial as Haylen claimed. Seeing that Kay wasn’t easily convinced, Haylen gave an awkward smile.
“Hmm…”
After seeming to contemplate something briefly, Haylen rose from his chair. As Kay watched him in confusion, Haylen suddenly began to take off his clothes.
“Boss?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected action, Kay hurriedly averted his eyes. Haylen gently called out to him.
“Can you see this?”
“This is…”
His face, which had been glancing sideways, froze instantly. Haylen’s body was covered with scars and wounds. He had expected there would be one or two, but he didn’t know it would be to this extent. The large scar crossing his chest looked dangerous just to think about.
As Kay couldn’t take his eyes off the wounds and scars, Haylen smiled as if it couldn’t be helped.
“I’ve survived this far.”
“…”
“It’s expected when you’re in an organization.”
Kay wasn’t unaware of this. Rather, he knew it better than anyone. That once you kill people, you should always be prepared to die yourself.
“Still… I believed Boss would be an exception.”
But he never thought that the same would apply to Haylen. No, he couldn’t think that way.
“Why?”
“Because… you’re strong.”
It seemed like death would never come to him. That’s how strong Haylen was.
At these words full of almost blind trust, Haylen shook his head. He knew how Kay viewed him. But to live up to his expectations—
“I’m weak.”
He was too weak.
“I hurt you because I was weak.”
If he had been stronger, he wouldn’t have caused Kay pain. But he was weak, and in the end, he gave him an indelible wound.
No matter how powerful an ability one possesses, if they can’t protect the people they care about, they are weak.
His eyes, clearly showing self-loathing, looked down at the floor. It was now a habitual self-hatred.
Kay quietly looked at Haylen. It was true that Haylen, who had always seemed so strong, looked incredibly small at times like this.
If this was why he said he was weak, Kay couldn’t deny it. Kay pondered. Should he pretend not to notice, or should he bring it out into the open?
If he ignored it, Haylen would continue to blame himself. That was what he had wanted. He didn’t want Haylen to wash away his past mistakes as if they were nothing.
But he wasn’t exactly pleased with Haylen continuing to be in this state either. Regardless of his resentment, the pain Haylen had experienced in the past remained cruelly. The idea that someone who had gone through such things should continue to live in unhappiness.
As long as he could predict a future where Haylen would be continuously tormented and gradually break down, he couldn’t just stand by and watch. Kay bent down to meet Haylen’s eyes.
He wanted to alleviate Haylen’s self-blame, even a little.
“I’m the same. So let’s become stronger together.”
“…”
Haylen’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected this. He could immediately understand the meaning of the words. Kay was giving him leeway right now. He was saying that he didn’t have to live his life blaming himself, that it was okay to change.
“That works, doesn’t it?”
He thought it shouldn’t work. He had thought it was an issue he had to carry for the rest of his life.
“…You’re right.”
Haylen didn’t know to what extent Kay was trying to save him.
* * *
Ben had become the director. Logically, he should be busier than anyone else. But why was Ben still here? Tade couldn’t hide his puzzlement.
“…Isn’t it about time you left?”
“Do you think I can do well?”
Ben ignored Tade’s request to leave, as he had always done. Tade no longer had the energy to get annoyed at what had become routine.
“It’s like I’m running a counseling service…”
Tade sighed as he spoke. Even while grumbling, he didn’t disregard Ben’s words.
“Don’t try to do well from the start, just work hard for now.”
It’s natural to have many worries when you’ve just taken on a burdensome position. But the more worries pile up, the more mistakes one tends to make. Of course, saying this wouldn’t immediately make his worries disappear, but still.
“But if I don’t do well—”
“Are you anxious? Afraid people will blame you?”
“…Yes. I’m anxious.”
Ben quietly confirmed Tade’s spot-on words. Until now, mistakes had never been forgiven for him. Even the slightest flaw would be immediately punished. Even without that, he had lived thinking he had to be perfect, overwhelmed by the fear of being abandoned at any moment.
That’s why mistakes were inevitably frightening. The people who had pushed him into hell no longer existed. He knew this intellectually, but it was difficult to escape that fear easily.
Seeing Ben’s expression darken rapidly, Tade realized this wasn’t just a simple worry. This was beyond the level of tension felt from taking on a new position. Tade stared at Ben’s terrified face. His complexion had turned ashen, as if making a mistake would be lethal. But that wasn’t something for him to get involved in.
“So, are you going to keep being anxious?”
Tade spoke as if telling him to snap out of it.
“I can’t stay like this, can I?”
“Of course not. You’re the director now. What are you going to do if you keep being scared?”
At Tade’s firm voice, Ben, who had been fidgeting, lowered his eyes. It was a pitiful sight that immediately brought to mind drooping puppy ears.
Tade felt strongly that if left alone, Ben would just keep digging himself into the ground. After staring at Ben almost glaring, Tade sighed as if conceding defeat.
“Ugh, you’re busy recruiting new personnel right now, aren’t you?”
“Ah, yes. There are many teams to form anew.”
That’s what he had expected. He didn’t know what had happened, but almost everyone with evil energy had died.
“…Want me to help?”
“What?”
“It’s just a one-sided offer of help, so feel free to ignore it.”
He thought he would never help again, but it seemed okay with Ben. Somehow, Ben didn’t seem like the type to exploit others—if anything, he seemed like the one who would be exploited.
“I told you I have an eye for people, right?”
“No way…”
“I’ll check if the people currently here are decent. Since I don’t have the authority to view resumes, I’ll look at them if you need me to.”
He had previously informed him about those with bad energy among the current staff, but since he hadn’t examined everyone, there might still be harmful people remaining. Of course, he might have misjudged, so it would be necessary to check once more.
Although it wouldn’t be as good as seeing them in person, checking resumes could help avoid malicious people to some extent as a preventive measure. But while he naturally trusted his own ability, Ben was different.
He couldn’t blindly trust someone else’s ability, especially not someone he wasn’t that close to. It would be natural not to accept.
“I’d be grateful, but…”
“…Why are you so naive? What if I’m lying?”
It should have been obvious, but why wasn’t Ben showing any doubt? He had underestimated Ben, but he was someone who had lived as an S-class hero for a long time. That means he’s not a fool.
“You know my ability, don’t you?”
“True… So, will you accept my help?”
That question was soon answered. It seemed he was the foolish one. He had focused on Ben being S-class but had forgotten that Ben was a mind control ability user. For a mind control user, detecting lies would be no difficult task.
He could probably identify any suspicions immediately.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Then maybe give me a promotion later.”
Ben knew Tade’s words were a joke, but what he had done so far was already more than enough for a promotion. Ben thought he should find a position suitable for him.
Tade, who was planning to live quietly, didn’t notice Ben’s plans.
