Having only her in his sight was more enjoyable than he had thought. He felt the fragments clinging to him losing their power in this place.

The wind pushed against his back.

“The Vice Chairman is also working with Orca here.”

At the sudden words, Yoon Tae-ha seemed to forget even to blink. The tall grasses that reached up to their calves swayed back and forth beneath them, unable to maintain their balance.

“Really?”

“I wanted to tell you after we got here. It feels like I’ve been followed more lately.”

She nodded.

“Then this mission will also help what you’re trying to do, right?”

“I suppose.”

“That’s, really fortunate.”

And she let out a sigh of relief. After looking at the end of the field for a moment, she approached him. Her expression asked for further explanation.

“Espers hired by the Vice Chairman have been deployed here for some time now.”

“You said he’s cooperating with Orca. Is it such an important matter that he’s sending his own people directly?”

“It could be.”

“What do you think?”

“I think CH and Orca might not have as strong an alliance as we think.”

“They work together, but they don’t trust each other?”

“Isn’t it common here to travel together only to a midway point?”

The contract he had proposed to Yoon Tae-ha was also such a partnership. To be together only until the midway point. A relationship where they implicitly agreed not to talk about anything beyond that.

“Few of the dispatched espers have returned to Korea unscathed. Some seem to have died here. They probably deliberately selected people without families.”

“But they’re still sending them?”

“Yeah.”

Yoon Tae-ha’s expression grew increasingly serious. She seemed genuinely willing to help.

“We’ll end up meeting Orca anyway while doing our work. If we’re lucky, we might even find direct evidence of their collusion.”

The walls of the old fortress city came into Cheon Geon-young’s view. There were holes in places. The contract he had proposed to Yoon Tae-ha was no different from that.

He suspected the Protection Bureau but didn’t suspect Ark. While saying he wanted to join hands, he pretended to completely trust her origins. Until now, he had acted like a fool who never even considered the possibility that Yoon Tae-ha herself might be Orca.

“You need that, don’t you? Later, when you clean up your grandfather’s company.”

She wasn’t a woman who wouldn’t notice that.

‘She’s going along with it, knowing full well.’

The important thing was the reason.

The reason she accepted the messy contract. If she had simply been blinded by money, everything would be easy. The problem was that he had a premonition that her purpose lay somewhere very different.

‘If she’s doing this because she’s curious about who is chasing Orca.’

In that case, her attitude was natural. CH didn’t seem to be her concern. Neither was money. Then the only thing left was Orca.

Was she exploring him because she shared Orca’s goals? Or was she trying to be with him because she was chasing them?

The greatest enemy, or the most useful ally.

In this mission, Cheon Geon-young had to answer the question about her. He couldn’t deny that he had a partially checked answer sheet.

“The Vice Chairman is stronger than you think. He’s said to be hot-tempered and impatient, but that’s why he’s hard to predict. If you act with me, he’ll classify you as an enemy too.”

His voice was heavy, unlike the weather. Yoon Tae-ha approached him.

“Coming to the Green Sea was entirely my will. You just agreed to it.”

“The number of enemies has doubled.”

“There are two of us too. The numbers roughly match.”

Cheon Geon-young was taken aback by her very simple calculation. He rarely hesitated to retort but took time to find his words. The grass that had been swaying like reeds became still. The field became quiet in an instant.

“A one-on-two fight is unfair.”

In the meantime, Yoon Tae-ha pulled his hand and held it. Before Cheon Geon-young could fully realize the warm and soft sensation, the surrounding scenery changed.

Only a moment had passed, but they were now on top of the tree that had been visible in the distance. The branches of the giant tree didn’t budge, as if their weight was nothing. Yoon Tae-ha roughly brushed aside the fallen leaves and sat on a branch.

“Sit down. Secret stories always come out better in places like this.”

Is this woman’s hobby climbing trees? He looked at her, dumbfounded, and she smiled brightly.

“You’ve never sat in a tree before? Should I get you a handkerchief?”

She began to pretend to look for a handkerchief that wasn’t there. The two sat side by side in a space like a child’s hideout.

“You know I was a rebellious child. I climbed trees like this often. I was good at getting over fences with barbed wire too.”

“I’m not good at things like that without teleportation. Were you secretly a prankster?”

“Teachers didn’t like having classes with me.”

“Me neither. I built up a lot of bad karma with people who had ‘teacher’ after their names.”

Similar emotions flickered across their faces and then subsided. Yoon Tae-ha leaned her neck back precariously, as if she might fall, and began to observe the dense leaves and branches above her head.

“Why were you like that back then, Agent Yoon Tae-ha?”

“I had a rather long rebellious phase.”

“I see. Has it calmed down now?”

“Yes. If I went through that much, I should be a human who has calmed down.”

“That’s mature of you.”

“Thank you. But how long do we have to keep talking like this?”

Yoon Tae-ha, who had been kicking her legs in the air, turned her head. The sunlight filtering through the leaves sparkled like starlight beside her.

“From now on, it’s over.”

“Yeah. It’s over now. So don’t worry about me either. Just do what you have to do.”

She was treating the weight of the burden they had to bear together as similar. And that wasn’t fair.

“You’re sick.”

“My guide will recharge me whenever I’m sick. And if you hadn’t been there, I would have lived much more uncomfortably than I do now.”

Each of her words stung his heart.

•

Near the Green Sea, inexplicable communication failures often occurred. The terrain would change overnight, and even rift occurrence alarms wouldn’t work properly. So, even experienced agents couldn’t avoid reconnaissance missions.

Yoon Tae-ha and Cheon Geon-young had visited the vicinity of the fortress city in the first week, and today, in the second week, they visited Lake Acheron beyond the fortress city.

On a day when the sky was particularly blue, the two, who had headed to the lake early in the morning, parked their motorcycles under a tree with large leaves.

A transparent emerald lake stretched out before them like a sea. The sharp mountain peaks surrounding the lake were reflected on the water’s surface. A pair of pure white ducks passed by, scattering the photographically clear reflection of the mountains.

While Yoon Tae-ha looked at the scenery, Cheon Geon-young took out equipment and checked the lake’s stability.

“It’s showing up as potable water.”

“But no one would drink it straight away. They seem to purify it at least three times before using it.”

This wasn’t a lake formed by melting permanent snow. Although it looked clearer and more refreshing than any water on Earth at first glance.

Cheon Geon-young put away the equipment and approached Yoon Tae-ha, who was holding binoculars.

“The place between those mountains over there is the second city. Cocytus.”

She handed him the binoculars, urging him to look at their destination. Cheon Geon-young awkwardly put the binoculars to his eyes.

“Can’t you see it well?”

“Yeah.”

When he seemed unable to find it at once, Yoon Tae-ha grabbed Cheon Geon-young’s wrist and slowly moved it. Her ticklish breath brushed against his shoulder.

“Can you see it?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Look between the mountains. No, Gun-young-ah, you’re looking at the sky right now.”

“I lowered them. Adjust them again for me.”

“Here, focus on this side...”

Feeling slightly frustrated, Yoon Tae-ha wrapped her arms around the man’s shoulder and adjusted the angle. Then she suddenly realized. This man is a good shot, isn’t he? She stepped back with a betrayed expression.

“You actually found it in one go, didn’t you?”

“Even people can make mistakes.”

Judging by his reaction, it was intentional. Cheon Geon-young pretended not to see the woman glaring at him and lifted the binoculars. But before long, Yoon Tae-ha stealthily returned to Cheon Geon-young’s side.

“Can you see it properly now?”

It was cute that she had gotten angry but then approached him because she wanted to confirm if he had seen what she had seen.

“I can see it.”

“The advance team should be there now. There’s a camp. It’s smaller than here, but still better than the third city.”

“So the city the leader mentioned is the third city. Phlegethon.”

“Yeah. It’s a hard place for people to live, I don’t know how they endure it. We need to prepare thoroughly if we’re going to go there.”

“Have you been there yourself?”

“No. I’ve only been to the border between Cocytus and Phlegethon. I was young then.”

The sound of waves lapping against the shore of the lake was refreshing. Yoon Tae-ha, watching the white foam breaking on the black pebbles, stood at a boundary line where the water couldn’t reach. She crouched down there, picked up a stick nearby, and aimlessly rolled the pebbles.

“Do you want to go in?”

“No. I’m just looking.”

“It’s water that’s safe to touch your skin.”

“That’s what they say...”

“I touched it while checking the safety earlier.”

He spread his palm as if to show her.

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Yoon Tae-ha quickly took off her shoes and socks. With a splashing sound, she stepped into the shallow water.

“It’s cold!”

She said that, but she didn’t seem to want to come out.

“The water is incredibly clear.”

Yoon Tae-ha lowered her head like a child and looked for something. The icy cold sensation of the pebbles was felt on the soles of her feet.

Are there any pretty stones?

She bent down so much her back hurt while searching, and then she heard a splashing sound from behind. A man who had taken off his shoes and socks just like her was approaching.

“You came in after all.”

“You were having fun alone, so I wanted to interfere.”

“Don’t think like that. I’m just going to find one pretty pebble.”

She bent down again.

“Did a researcher ask you to bring one?”

“No. I wanted to believe in one superstition too.”

Yoon Tae-ha, who had picked up a smooth oval pebble, tilted her head and held it up to the sunlight. Soon, dissatisfied, she moved to the side and immersed herself in the search again. Her gaze was serious.

Cheon Geon-young carelessly picked a stone from the place where she had been searching and left. His face showed indifference to the shape of the stone.

“What superstition?”

“The story that if you throw a stone picked up from Lake Acheron into the River Lethe, you’ll return home safely. Many people have tried, but no one has succeeded yet.”

Yoon Tae-ha, who had found her second candidate, straightened her back. She patted her aching back and smiled awkwardly when she met Cheon Geon-young’s eyes.

Was that a stupid thing to say?

Cheon Geon-young, who had been staring intently at her, walked into the deeper part of the lake, so much so that she felt embarrassed. His thick thighs maintained his balance without wavering. She shouted in a flustered voice,

“It’s deep there!”

Reaching a place where the water submerged up to his knees, he began to examine the bottom much more carefully than before.

With a serious attitude, as if panning for gold.