As they stepped out of their two-storey house, they noticed a few shattered inspectors in green uniforms, each with a single star on the shoulder—the Sentinels of the Academy—wandering in the Singing Street. Among them were also a few Custodians, wearing brown uniforms with one star, serving under the State of Heaven's government.
The Unified Security Directorate (USD) was the main organization responsible for the security and defense of the State of Heaven. The Custodians were the lowest-ranked inspectors appointed by the King of Heaven himself, making them indirectly royal.
The State of Heaven was ruled by Usmania VI Shahe, a strong, wise, and brilliant ruler. He was known as a mastermind—someone who had once won a war against the State of Rage, ruled by Idom Hu Ma, without any loss or disorder, saving both his people and his nation.
The city inspectors' organization was also called the Urban Enforcement Bureau, while the academic inspectors worked under the Academic Integrity Unit (AIU).
The lowest-ranked among the academic inspectors were known as The Sentinels.
And now, here they were— the Singing Street.
The idea of security and defense seemed completely copied by the author from the real world—but it was still quite fun.
As he recalled the information, he carefully watched the inspectors, studying them as if they themselves didn't know why they were there.
'What are they doing here?' he thought.
Then one of the Custodians started walking toward them, and something suddenly clicked in his mind.
'Wait… could they be investigating the street because of the missing private detective from the Attainers?'
The thought sent a chill down his spine. They had been involved in that detective's case—and he knew how terrifying the author had made the USD.
They were in real trouble now.
"Hey, kids, do you know why we're here?" one of the inspectors asked, scratching the back of his head with a confused look.
'Huh?'
'Huh?'
Both Selpe and Ibaan looked at each other, confused. What kind of strange question was that? Obviously, something had happened—why else would the inspectors be here?
Ibaan decided to stay quiet, choosing not to say or even think much at this moment.
Selpe, however, raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't know why you're here?"
"Yes," the inspector replied. "None of us know why we're here. We even contacted the higher-ups—but even they had no idea."
"Uhm… we also don't know what happened or why you're here. Anyway, excuse us—we're getting late for school."
Saying that, Selpe grabbed Ibaan's arm and hurried off, leaving the Custodian standing there, frozen in confusion.
Ibaan was stunned. What was going on? Even the higher-ups didn't know why they were there? Just days ago, the private detective's disappearance had been all over the news—and now these inspectors were wandering around clueless.
The whole thing felt painfully awkward.
He couldn't even think straight, let alone make sense of it.
But after watching Selpe's expression closely, Ibaan felt she truly had no idea what had happened—as if she honestly didn't know anything about the incident.
He tried his best not to think about it, but how could he not? Ignoring it would've felt unnatural. Still, he had no choice but to push the thoughts away; otherwise, his mind would've gone crazy from overthinking.
Soon, they reached the main market of Singing Street and headed toward the metro.
***
""Alright, bye! Don't run into the bullies again," Selpe said, waving her hand like she always did. She left him at the gate and went off with her friends.
'Huh! She really does that every day,' Ibaan thought, shaking his head slightly.
Then he noticed someone walking toward him—a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.
A familiar face. Charlie—the Protagonist.
With his usual bright smile, Charlie said, "Ah! What a nice day. How have you been?"
"Doing great. You?" Ibaan replied.
"I'm first class," Charlie said proudly. Then, scratching the back of his head, he added, "By the way, what's your relationship with Selpe Ma'am?"
'Huh? Selpe Ma'am? Huh? Don't tell me he's fallen for her… Damn, what should I say?'
Ibaan forced a small smile. "Oh, she's my… uh… girlfriend."
Charlie's expression froze for a moment. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "Oh, I see. Well, never mind. We might get vacations soon."
'He likes her? No… he never had a love interest in anyone before… wait—my interference. Yeah, he likes her now.'
"Do you like her?" Ibaan asked, not looking at Charlie and completely ignoring the part about vacations. They kept walking side by side.
Charlie's face turned pale red as he stammered, "N-No! You've got it wrong! She's just… famous and strong, that's all. It's normal for anyone to ask!"
'Ohh!'
"Ohh," Ibaan said aloud, half-smiling.
Just then, they reached near their classroom. Ibaan suddenly stopped, and Charlie, puzzled, stopped too—both noticing a swarm of bees drifting aimlessly in the air nearby.
It was time for Ibaan to bring **Charlie—the Protagonist of this world—**into the Servants of Will, their small gang.
And his plan? Well, Ibaan didn't have the power to command living beings freely, but he could still control smaller ones—creatures with low Chikara.
His idea was to cause a natural-looking event that would merge Charlie's school system with their gang's system. Otherwise, Charlie might grow suspicious—why would the system fuse right after meeting Ibaan and not before? Ibaan didn't even have the ability to delay such a fusion, let alone code or control how it happened.
"Enter his nose for ten seconds," Ibaan whispered.
He ordered one of the bees to fly into Charlie's nose—just enough to cause a little chaos through irritation and confusion. Of course, without any harm. After all, the bees wouldn't hurt him—he was the protagonist, he wasn't dying anytime soon.
As the bees buzzed closer, Ibaan quickly opened the relic and activated an option. The crystal that had once entered his own soul now transferred into Charlie's, fusing with his school's system.
Charlie stumbled a few steps back, covering his nose. He gave a low growl, then sneezed several times as the bees flew away.
Trying to make the moment seem normal, Ibaan walked up and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Ye—cough! Yes, I'm alright," Charlie said, still covering his mouth and staring into thin air.
…
Charlie's expression had darkened.