Retire 450

450 Fragments (2)

Henry Lehmann.

Born in Germany. Moved to the United States as a child with his parents. There are records of him attending college, and he worked part-time at gas stations, supermarkets, and repair shops.

No one knows exactly when he joined a gang. One day, he simply appeared as the boss of a gang operating across the Americas.

His name appeared so abruptly that it took a long time to figure out who he really was. Henry Lehmann had never been caught by the police. Aside from seeming a bit lacking in persistence, he was, surprisingly, a model citizen with no criminal record. He was a citizen.

There are differing opinions about when Lehmann started working for the gang and began to show his talent, but most say it was after college, when he started drifting from job to job.

At that time, Lehmann frequently changed his address and would disappear for a month or two at a time, supposedly traveling.

Setting aside his gang activities, the real mystery for us was when, exactly, Henry Lehmann met Noah Michel and joined her.

The one witness we could ask only shrugged.

‘I met them way, waaaay after that. I really don’t know.’

Not helpful.

Gamble kept apologizing, looking sorry.

‘I didn’t want to dig into that part and make people suspicious. Alex wouldn’t be able to handle that sort of thing anyway…’

It was so understandable I couldn’t blame her.

Still, at least we could tell that the partnership between the two was already established before Hope joined. It wasn’t a total loss.

Later, Gamble shared her own suspicions with me.

‘It’s possible Lehmann didn’t get into that business because of Michel.’

‘Then what?’

‘Maybe he was already involved, and then teamed up with Michel.’

‘Hmm…’

‘Look, when Alex first met them, she didn’t say they were on bad terms. But you know how she is. She was even worse when she was younger—she didn’t understand feelings between people at all.’

‘So they were on bad terms even then, but she just didn’t notice?’

‘Maybe they started as business partners, but if one side looked down on the other, that would be annoying. And what did we think caused the split between Atlas and the Ark?’

‘Atlas’s money was flowing into the Ark with no compensation… Right. If there was a deal and it wasn’t satisfactory, they’d end the contract.’

‘And the side benefiting from it wouldn’t be happy about that, either.’

I looked at the man on the phone screen.

Did he look like Henry Lehmann…? I couldn’t tell. All the photos of him were from his childhood, a few from his college days, and some CCTV footage from his part-time jobs.

“So… is it all right if I ask him?”

I handed Daniel back his phone.

“Can I be there too?”

“Oh, yes! Of course, that’s fine.”

“I’ll ask Taewoo first. I doubt he’ll refuse, but you never know.”

Daniel had no objection to my reasonable request.

---

“Me? I told you, I was so young I barely remember anything…”

Kang Taewoo accepted Daniel’s request with a reluctant look.

He was briefly surprised to hear Daniel wasn’t just a healer, but then muttered something about how anyone connected to my father would have to be at least that much, and nodded.

He’d been influenced by Sunsunji, too. This is why you have to be careful who you make friends with…

“But you might remember something if you see the photos.”

“Well… maybe. Or maybe not.”

Taewoo sounded far from confident.

I patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it. They just want to ask. They said they’d like to ask about the village, too…”

“What if I can’t answer anything?”

“That’s fine.”

The main goal was to confirm Christoph Lehmann, but Daniel said there were a few other things he wanted to check as well.

I reviewed the photos and list of questions Daniel had prepared. I didn’t recognize most of the faces, but surprisingly, there was one I did know.

Not personally, of course.

I’d seen the face when talking with Lee Miseon about Atlas. One of the original members of Atlas Pharmaceuticals. People who had ended up on trial or been kicked out of the company after various incidents.

Christoph Lehmann had no connection to Atlas Pharmaceuticals. If he had, I would have known. Same for his wife, Maria Lehmann.

Damn.

“If you ever want to stop, just say so.”

“I don’t think that’ll happen…”

Taewoo smiled brightly, as if he actually liked that I was worried.

Or maybe he really did.

With a sigh, I ruffled Taewoo’s hair and walked down the hall. He scrambled after me, not even bothering to fix his messy hair.

We arrived at the counseling room.

I’d wondered if a more public place might be better, but in the end, I thought a more formal setting might help. If we treated it like official business, maybe it would be easier to keep things objective.

Would it? I wasn’t sure. But Taewoo had said he was fine with it when I asked, so it should be all right.

“Hello!”

Taewoo greeted Daniel cheerfully as he entered the room. Daniel fumbled to greet him back.

After a few polite words, Daniel hesitated, glancing at me and then at Taewoo, before finally getting to the point.

He’s from an intelligence agency, but why does he seem so timid?

“Here, just look at these photos and tell us if you recognize anyone, or if you think you’ve seen them before.”

“Uh, um… okay.”

“Even if you’re not sure, if anything comes to mind…”

“…I didn’t ask Teacher, but can I ask why you’re looking for these people?”

Clever kid.

Taewoo didn’t look at me, but asked Daniel directly, and Daniel looked to me.

He must have figured he wouldn’t get as much of an explanation from me, so he’d waited until now. I couldn’t help feeling a little put out—what did Taewoo think I was, anyway? Of course I’d have explained if he’d asked! In an age-appropriate way!

But I also understood that wasn’t what Taewoo wanted. Besides, he wasn’t unrelated to all this, and maybe if he knew the background, he’d remember something useful from his childhood.

And Daniel, if he had any sense, would know what he could and couldn’t say to a kid.

“……”

I nodded.

“Well, um, there were rumors that there might have been a bad person in the village where you lived as a child…”

Really?

From where I stood, I could only see the back of Taewoo’s head, but I could easily imagine his expression.

I hadn’t meant for him to treat Taewoo like a ten-year-old.

“A-actually, we’re chasing a criminal, and there’s a chance that person came from your village. We’re just trying to check.”

A slightly better explanation.

“A criminal? Who? Are they here?”

“No… not in these photos. This man is the criminal’s father.”

Daniel pulled out the photo of Christoph Lehmann.

“Mr. Kang, you…”

“I knew something was off about my family from a young age.”

“……”

“I still went to school before we moved, you know? My mom didn’t act weird, either. But then someone died… was it my uncle?”

Taewoo flipped through the photos.

“I definitely remember the atmosphere at home getting worse after that. Then we moved way out to the countryside. We didn’t stay there long… but now that I think about it, maybe I should be grateful. At least it was outside. I still went to school.”

He returned to the first photo. Christoph Lehmann.

“I honestly don’t recognize the face.”

“It’s fine if you don’t remember.”

“But it’s not unfamiliar. Was this person called Chris, by any chance?”

“……!”

Christoph. Chris.

“I remember there was a police officer named Chris who lived next door. He kind of looks like him…”

“What about the other photos?”

“……”

Taewoo glanced at me.

A face full of hesitation. Or maybe worry. Or anxiety.

I didn’t avoid his gaze and put my hand on his back. To let him know I was here.

“This… this woman.”

Taewoo picked out a photo. I’d included a picture of Christoph Lehmann’s wife, Maria Lehmann, just in case, but it wasn’t her.

This woman had her brown hair pinned up and wore black horn-rimmed glasses. I didn’t know where the photo was taken, but she was standing with sunlight streaming through a window behind her, looking at the camera.

Daniel explained that she was a mage. Luise Krüger.

There had been a mage who attacked my father while hiding in a dungeon in the U.S.—Hervé Schneider. He had killed his teacher and fled, hiding in the Atlas cult village where young Taewoo had lived.

Schneider, trying to avoid returning to France where he’d committed his crimes, gave up all sorts of information. Luise Krüger was a name that came up. After killing his teacher, Schneider had contacted her, and she’d introduced him to the Atlas cult village. And found him work.

“I know her.”

“…You do?”

“Yes, I do.”

Luise Krüger’s whereabouts were unknown. Not that she was missing—just that she’d been reclusive, using research as an excuse, for a long time. Not unusual for a mage. Even with Schneider’s testimony, they hadn’t been able to catch her.

“I even saw her when I was at the lab…”

Taewoo looked at me, not Daniel, as he spoke.

“It’s true. My mom said she was a friend. Sometimes I’d see her at the lab… she’d even give me toys.”

A faint look of guilt crossed Taewoo’s face. Did he feel like he was betraying someone who’d been kind to him?

If it were Number Three, maybe, but Taewoo wasn’t that kind of kid.

“It’s a secret from the other kids…”

I ruffled his hair again, like I had in the hallway. To think he’d feel bad for getting toys in secret. If it were Uirok, he’d be bragging about his new toys to everyone.

“Are you sure it’s her?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know her name?”

Taewoo nodded.

Luise Krüger’s career as a mage was straightforward. If anything, she seemed rather plain. Daniel gave a brief explanation of her, but since I knew about Noah Michel, I realized that even if Taewoo hadn’t recognized her, I’d have to dig deeper into this woman.

Mont Saint-Michel was originally a monastery. Before the dungeon appeared, it was a tourist site, but that didn’t change its nature. So the Mont Saint-Michel dungeon was managed by the government of the country where it was located, and the Vatican.

Luise Krüger was a mage hired by a Vatican hunter dispatched to Mont Saint-Michel.

“I called her Aunt Luise. I don’t know her last name. I think she was from Germany…? Definitely Europe.”

“Did she come often?”

“When I was little, yes. But after the other kids started coming, I don’t think I saw her again.”

I’d been racking my brains over how the connection between Noah Michel and Atlas had started, but it turned out to be surprisingly simple.