Meanwhile, Seohyunwoo—who had simply been standing still—was in a state of utter bewilderment.

“Hyung! Catch him!”

“I already have him...?”

Before he knew it, Seohyunwoo was supporting the unconscious Gwak Hyeol and handing him over to Roy.

“You insolent wretch! Get up! I said get up!”

Roy grabbed Gwak Hyeol by the shoulder and shook him. Yeonwoo and Taeeon, startled, shielded the camera. Protect Roy’s image at all costs. Dongyoil and Gyebokji, arriving just in time, froze at the entrance in confusion.

“What’s going on?”

“Do you know, Hyung?”

“......”

Of course, Seohyunwoo gave no answer—he only reacted to Roy’s voice these past few days.

“Get up! Is now the time to faint?!”

“Roy, calm down.”

“Let go! You told everyone they could trust you, and then you stab me in the back?!”

Taeeon gently pried Gwak Hyeol from Roy’s grip and laid him down in a safe spot. He then greeted the three returning scouts.

“You’re back? Sorry for all the noise.”

“What happened?”

“Well...”

Taeeon looked at the table with an embarrassed expression instead of answering. There lay Gwak-casso’s masterpiece: the ten composite sketches.

“What is that...?”

How flustered they must have been for Seohyunwoo to speak first. He picked up one sheet and studied it, then quietly murmured a name.

“Kim Jo-yeon?”

At once, all eyes focused on Seohyunwoo. Even Roy, who’d been struggling in Yeonwoo’s hold, froze.

“That’s Kim Jo-yeon?”

Seohyunwoo nodded, then pointed at each sketch in turn and named each participant.

“Park In-mul, Lee Act, Lee Seura, Choi Mob, Jo Dang-dang, Yuk Yeon-jo, Kang Jeol-hee, Oh Bae-gyeong, and...”

He pointed to the final, most haphazard drawing.

“Lee Roi.”

Truly Pluton—spying on Roy after every meal, yet capable of identifying him from such garbage doodles. No wonder he became the guild’s flagship at hire. Nobody could deny Seohyunwoo’s miraculous ability. Not knowing how to react, the team only moved their lips. Anna finally asked:

“How did you know?”

Not even Roy seemed to hear, but Seohyunwoo answered calmly.

“Just.”

“Just?”

“The features were clear.”

Among the Orange team participants, Kim Jo-yeon had a beauty mark at the corner of her right eye. What Gwak Hyeol thought was a stray smear was intentional. The team was stunned. Next, on the Blue team’s Park In-mul sketch, four “eyes” were drawn.

“Those are laugh lines—Park In-mul.”

So those “eyes” were laugh lines... Roy, who’d been outraged at the idea of someone having four eyes, was deeply embarrassed. Though Gwak Hyeol’s art fell short {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} of expectations, he’d done his best. Feeling guilty, Roy patted the unconscious Gwak Hyeol’s head a couple of times. If only he’d spoken...

✧

For his dedication to the Red team, Gwak Hyeol was honored by being laid out at the center of the table. The team sat around and began their strategy meeting. It looked like a memorial service, but so what? Someone who did great service to the team deserves respect, not the floor.

“Shall we hear from Yeol-yi Hyung first?”

Dongyoil, who’d scouted north of base camp, reported he’d found the Yellow team’s base camp about 3 km away.

“Yellow team? Lucky you.”

Roy placed a yellow sticker at the approximate spot and smiled knowingly. Why? Because it was too easy. When we couldn’t use the training grounds, we analyzed all opposing teams’ strengths like crazy. We’d drafted rough strategies per team; now we only needed to set priorities. The only question was which team’s queen to eliminate first, not how.

“So we don’t need to worry about the north right now.”

The Yellow team had an A-rank Spatial Distortion Awakener. We assumed they’d hide their camp; indeed, the moment Dongyoil left a marker, the camp vanished from sight.

“They won’t hold out long.”

An A-rank or not, lasting beyond four hours is hard. We’re all amateurs. Their defenses will slip—you strike then.

“Applaud Yeol-yi Hyung for his hard work!”

Clap clap clap clap! Covering 6 km in 10 minutes deserved applause. Next was Seohyunwoo, who’d scouted the eastern ravine.

“I spotted someone suspicious and tagged their shadow.”

His power never ceases to amaze—detaching and reattaching shadows at will. Few have seen the full extent. All that’s known is his mastery of shadows. The guild prefers secrecy; Pluton informants’ abilities usually stay hidden. Yet the mystery only fuels curiosity. When he first joined , public reaction exploded. But showing no skill since, critics emerged: “Why stay if you’re not serious?” “Step down if you won’t try.”

“I know his motives, but the public doesn’t.”

Yet Roy was equally curious. Just as Seohyunwoo nagged him, Roy trod on Seohyunwoo’s toes. He discovered Seohyunwoo could temporarily share sight with his shadow. The more you learn, the more he seems the perfect stalker.

“What color?”

“Blue.”

Team members asked how he knew without seeing the face, but he said nothing. Finally, Dongyosam, who’d gone west to the bear area, returned.

“Sophie! sob”

He cradled his torn stuffed toy, tears streaming.

“Moment of silence?”

Let us bow our heads for Sophie. Roy offered condolences for Dongyosam’s loss. After all, it’s just cloth scraps—a non-living puppet he controlled. Still, maybe a chance to shed that psychopath image?

“One must empathize.”

Roy forced a sad expression.

“Are you okay? Must have been terrifying. What happened over there to cause such horror...?”

He asked about the west, careful not to wound the bereaved.

“Roy, sob. That savage bear pack slaughtered Sophie! Avenge our Sophie!”

“Right. To get revenge, you have to know what you saw.”

Dongyosam grabbed Roy’s hand, wiping his tears.

“Sob, there were so many bears.”

Well, it was a bear habitat. You volunteered to go there...

“The alpha bear bit, tore, and tasted Sophie...!”

Ugh, stop yelling Sophie! Rage rose, but Roy clamped his lips shut. Lee Roi, compose yourself. You must endure.

“Let’s recover Sophie’s remains—”

But Roy’s patience snapped.

“Shut up about ‘remains’! It wasn’t alive! It’s just stuffing!”

“...! How could you—”

“Hand it over! I’ll sew brand-new arms and legs myself!”

In the end, Roy failed the image rehab.

“I knew from the moment you lugged just that one ragged doll around!”

Was that insult or concern? The team watched Roy’s contradictions in confusion. Roy then dumped all the spare stuffed toys he’d brought before Dongyosam.

“Choose!”

“...Huh?”

“What about this one?”

Dongyosam picked a doll, and Roy tore off its limbs.

“Argh!”

“Eek!”

I get why Dongyosam screamed—why did Yeonwoo? Roy grabbed Sophie from Dongyosam’s lap.

“No, Sophie...!”

“Pull the guardian away!”

Anna and Gyebokji each took one of Roy’s arms, pulling him back.

“You brat! Is the queen all that matters? What did you want to do to Sophie! Sophie!”

Regardless of Dongyosam’s cries, Roy threaded a needle. In my past life I was a pro multiple-jobber. I’d done every odd job before debut—including sewing doll eyes. So I’m a master at stitching! Roy plunged the needle into Sophie’s torso.

“Ah! Sophie!”

Dongyosam screamed as if his own arm had been pierced. The team feared he’d faint too. Roy ignored them and began sewing with practiced speed. Rough but precise—like an old artisan. Soon even Dongyosam and the others watched Roy’s hands in a trance.

“What is this? Why are you so good?”

“What can’t I do? There—done?”

Roy tied the final knot and cut the thread. The repair showed, but Sophie’s limbs were fully reattached.

“She looks sturdier.”

Taeeon murmured his impression. Now she could fight bears...? Once a flimsy doll, Sophie was reborn as a fine chimera by this world’s quack doctor.

✧

Reinvigorated by Sophie’s revival, the Red team set priorities from the scouts’ reports.

“Let’s hit the Blue team first.”

If Dongyosam had left Sophie, maybe not—but after he returned with stuffing trailing, our base camp wasn’t entirely safe. The bears might seek revenge, thinking Sophie trespassed.

“But it’s just stuffing, right?”

Anna scoffed that bears wouldn’t chase a rag—but she didn’t know. That doll shared Dongyosam’s sleep, bath, meals, even training—soaked with his scent. Bears’ noses are far keener than ours. If we linger, we’ll end up as bear bait. We must abandon this camp.

“We need a new base camp.”

Except for the Yellow team, which hid the moment we started, there’s only one option.