Chapter 289. World Artifact Expo (2)
Rattle.
Never in his life had he felt so tense at the re sound of a suitcase rolling. Moritake Ito stood stiffly, his trapezius muscles tight with tension, as he waited rigidly for the approaching figure.
At that mont, soone at the airport brought up a topic in a cheerful voice.
"Welco, Mr. Kim Giryeo!"
It was Iori. In a way, she was the only S-rank in Japan who could be described as not being involved in any particular incident.
He had never coveted legendary items.Moreover, he wasn't afraid of pressure from his comrades to the point of turning a blind eye to evil deeds, so he could confidently approach a Korean without hesitation.
"Thank you for coming back to Japan! How many seasons has it been since you've been to Japan?"
"_ _"
"Last ti it was Kyushu, and this ti we et in Tokyo, the nation's capital. I truly apologize and thank you for the raid before."
"_ _"
"We've all heard from the raid mbers about the kindness you showed us, Mr. Kim Giryeo."
On the surface, Iori smiled smoothly like this, but deep down, she felt a bit worried. It was true that the auction, prepared as the highlight of the second day of the event, was on a scale where it wouldn't be surprising for S-ranks from all over the world to flock to it.
"Why would an S-rank awakened being arrive on the first day of the event?"
Could soone that powerful really have co all the way here just for a sightseeing trip in the archipelago? And was te a full 24 hours of their precious S-rank ti on that?
Glance.
Iori glanced at his forr coworker once in the direction of the other and once in front of him.
"And if you happened to co on short notice and didn't have ti to book a place to stay, I've reserved a hotel specifically for distinguished guests like yourself."
To be honest, the only mistake he made during the last Kagoshima Dragon Raid was fainting twice in the dungeon. Even so, Iori took a very humble stance in front of the arriving hunter.
Even without nitpicking who was right or wrong, the man before him was soone who had helped during the crisis in his hotown.
"If you need anything, just let know anyti! Haha, hahaha..."
First of all, it was because he looked scary.
Iori maintained a respectful attitude for a simpler reason than expected. Then, the guest from Korea set down their suitcase beside them and, rummaging through their belongings, finally took out so equipnt they needed to speak.
The Korean at the airport quickly hooked a PIXY wired translator over their ear.
"Thank you for welcoming ."
Then, chanical Japanese ca out from the waist speaker connected to the other person's earset.
"Is it being translated properly?"
"Ah, yes! Of course, Mr. Kim Giryeo."
Just judging by the recent sentences, the conversation seems generally friendly and positive.
"By the way, this is just out of curiosity, but did you co to see the [Triaina] auction that we prepared as well, Mr. Kim Giryeo?"
The mood quickly turned upside down.
At Iori's question about whether he had co to see [Triaina], Kim Giryeo subtly widened his eyes as if hearing about it for the first ti.
"No, I didn't even know sothing like that was here."
The Japanese awakened hunters instantly felt a chill down their spines. In fact, before arriving at the airport, the four S-rank hunters in Japan had been speculating back and forth via ssenger about the reason why that man had entered the country.
[As expected, isn't it because the reward money wasn't enough, and he ca to get mad? www]
[lol, don't say it so easily just because you're not the person involved. We're really serious about this.]
[LOL]
[Anyway, despite transferring over 10 billion yen, why on earth?!]
[If it was paid by just one person, I might understand. But if three S-rankers pooled their money, honestly, that's not such a big amount. (Stamp of a LWE character with a smug expression)]
[Shut up!]
After thinking it over, they began to suspect that Kim Giryeo might have co to imabait to single-handedly confront them out of anger over the insufficient reward money. However, this suspicion lingered beneath the surface as they continued. Especially since the other party showed absolutely no interest in the highlight auction in Tokyo.
"Damn it! As expected, it really was for that reason that he entered the country!"
The Japanese hunters soon beca delusional.
"10 billion yen would have been enough to scrape together all the cash they had..."
The one who was especially shocked was the guild master of Inabari. In today's society, apologies spoken with words alone hold little aning. So, at the very least, to show sincerity in the form of raid reward distribution, he even sold so of his valuable equipnt to raise funds.
But how could they carelessly complain about feeling wronged just because the other party wasn't satisfied with their sincerity?
"Keugh."
On the other side was a top-tier hunter who passed up legendary-grade items and took epic-grade ones instead. It ant they could understand if that person were to set this airport on fire right now.
"Haha. Ha... S, so you didn't co to see the auction...?"
As a result, Iori and Ito suddenly found themselves breaking out in a cold sweat.
At that mont, the man in black, who had silenced the entire airport on his own, thought to himself.
"Fools."
The Alphaurt persona within him expressed its joy in bright colors. It was no different from a person smiling inwardly. That's how effective the hundred billion yen sent by the other country had been.
"Suckers really are a wonderful thing..."
As this made clear, Kim Giryeo no longer held any real resentnt. Coming to Tokyo a day early was truly for sightseeing. Of course, no matter how much money he had received, it wasn't as if he could completely let his guard down around those powerful enough to have nearly killed him.
"Kang Changho is over-- and Esther said she's busy--"
It felt a bit too risky to enter a dangerous space alone. So, after asking, Giryeo had brought along a new bodyguard.
"And seriously, what kind of past-life sins is Jung Haseong paying for that he can't even leave the country freely? Oh my, visiting a neighboring country turns into a political controversy all by itself..."
"Huh?"
Drrrrrrk,
Soone was approaching, pulling a suitcase, heading toward the spot where they were talking.
Long, jet-black hair like ebony wood. The sa PIXY earpiece neatly tucked behind the ear, visible from the side profile. And a suit.
A woman dressed in black appeared, who from a distance could almost be mistaken for a set with the Korean ranker. She soon greeted Iori with a pale complexion.
"Hello, Hunter Iori. I am the official dispatched by the Korea Hunter Association, whom I contacted you about in advance."
"Ah! You're Ms. Woo Yeon?"
"Ha..."
That's right. On this trip, Seonwoo Yeon was the unfortunate victim.
***
A few minutes later. Tokyo event venue.
"Wow, hey. Maybe because the region is different, there are so many items I've never heard of or seen before."
The Korean man admired the items spread out in the hall, montarily impressed. But the woman walking beside him wore a rather displeased expression.
"Hunter Kim Giryeo."
"Yes!"
"Excuse , but why exactly did you call here...?"
Because this wasn't the overseas companion the person himself had wanted.
"Besides, when I saw you talking with the Japanese hunters earlier, every ti they made eye contact with Mr. Kim Giryeo, they kept showing signs of nervousness. What was that about?"
"Ah."
"Did you happen to do sothing when you were in Kagoshima before?"
Seonwoo Yeon fired question after question at her reluctant travel companion. Right now, both of them had turned off their translators and were speaking in Korean.
"Kagoshima? Ah, quite a lot happened there. But no matter how much I think about it, it's not sothing that can be talked about openly in the heart of Japan."
"Oh my god."
"Putting that aside for now, to answer your first question--it's for safety reasons."
"For safety?"
"I asked you to accompany as a kind of insurance."
Sssk.
Giryeo said this as he leaned in during the conversation. It was to whisper quietly so others couldn't hear.
"Think about it. Even Korea feels like a distant place to , so wouldn't a foreign country where I can't even understand the language feel even more dangerous?"
Then, the gentle Earthling's gaze grew even more troubled. She really didn't want to know that this man was an alien. Yet, just when she was about to forget, he'd remind her so vividly like that.
"What's he thinking about bringing up a topic like that out here? Is he daring to answer carelessly and get myself into trouble?"
Seonwoo Yeon felt wronged. Looking back, the way Kang Changho's case was wrapped up was telling. No matter how she looked at it, that man didn't seem powerless--he was just an incredibly strong S-rank hunter. If that's the case, maybe she had piled a monster who didn't even help and ended up suffering unnecessary trouble because of it.
"That's probably just an unnecessary thought."
Just as her feelings grew complicated, the other person continued speaking.
"But why have you looked so upset ever since earlier? Is it because of work after all?"
"Ha..."
"Well, even if expenses are covered, having to write detailed plans and reports must be a real hassle."
"I'm not sure."
"You're here to investigate this event, right, Seonwoo Yeon-ssi? Well, since you're the dispatched official, I was lucky to have soone to bring along like this."
When the civil servant didn't respond, the man with the sambagaen eyes leaned in closer and spoke again.
"Right? Friends? We're friends, aren't we? You're going to help out a lot, right?"
"Y, yes..."
Seonwoo Yeon felt like crying. What cri had she committed to deserve this? Why did she have to travel all the way to a distant land just to be harassed like this?"
"Huh?"
It was at that mont, Kim Giryeo, who had been casually browsing the event hall, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Hunter Seonwoo Yeon, by the way--don't you suddenly feel like having so ice cream?"
It was a completely out-of-the-blue question. Why bring up snacks all of a sudden in an expo hall filled to the brim with magical tools?
"You might end up using [Searcher] for soday, since you're an Awakened. So hey, I'll treat you in advance. My treat."
Ah.
Now that you ntion it, at the end of Kim Giryeo's gaze was a familiar-looking shop. After all, there was no way such a large festival wouldn't have at least one food stall.
"So there's a food court here after all. Judging by the Chinese characters, it's roughly the East Exit."
Giryeo said, pointing to a pastel-toned signboard.
"By the way, that ice cream shop. I've seen a lot in Korea, but is there sothing exactly like it here?"
Seeing him speak with a tone of wonder brought a fresh sense of nostalgia. It hadn't fully sunk in yet, but in monts like this, he definitely felt like an alien.
"Oh, that's... what they call a 'franchise', no matter where you go in the world, they use the sa na..."
There was sothing slightly condescending about it. When Seonwoo Yeon kindly explained it as if teaching a five-year-old child, Giryeo felt a strange sensation. But it wasn't uncomfortable enough to be a real problem.
"Hmm, well anyway, I happened to want sothing cold too, so shall we step inside for a bit?"
"Seonwoo Yeon, please place the order for . I'll pay with my card."
"Ah, yes..."
With ice cream right in front of her, there was really no reason to complain.
"Oh? I'm sure there's a lot of money in my account. Why isn't this paynt being processed?"
"Is this a card that didn't clear overseas rchant paynts?"
"I'm sorry, but what does that an?"
"I'll just swipe my credit card then..."
Beep.
While the alien hesitated behind her, holding his wallet, Seonwoo Yeon inserted the card into the kiosk instead. But this ti, even though the card was fine, the paynt didn't go through.
"...I'm sorry, Broken, Broken!"
Listening to the Japanese clerk's gestures and explanations, it seed the machine's reader was broken from frequent use.
"The PIXY translator isn't cheap, so maybe they didn't provide one even to part-ti workers like that."
In that case, she'll have to pay in person. Seonwoo Yeon put her translator back on and approached the clerk. After all, she had already seen what her companion wanted to order on the kiosk.
"One raspberry sherbet, and..."
The association employee said naturally without much thought.
"My Dad is an alien."
But only after the words ca out did she realize sothing was off. Startled, Seonwoo Yeon instinctively glanced back. Then, what she saw was a person in a suit looking at her with his mouth wide open as if surprised. Giryeo was now practically conveying the sentence, "You too...?" purely through his expression. To suddenly reveal to the clerk that my dad is an alien.
"H, huh? Oh. That."
Seeing this, Seonwoo Yeon was clearly flustered. The governnt official was about to start sweating bullets and scramble to explain herself. Kim Giryeo's face suddenly cald down and she spoke politely.
"Actually, I know. That's the na of the ice cream they sell here."
"_ _"
"Ah! Clerk. Please give a single regular size for mine, and a cone instead of a cup."
Have I ever thought about wanting to beat up an alien in my life? Seonwoo Yeon briefly reflected on her past as she watched the S-rank hunter smoothly place his order. But since she was overwhelmingly the weaker one in terms of rank, there wasn't really any action she could realistically take.
"...I would like a single regular cup, please."
The chaotic snack run finally ca to an end. The association staff and the S-rank hunter killed ti nearby while waiting for the store to prepare their order.
A mont later, Seonwoo Yeon asked in a tired voice.
"But Hunter Kim Giryeo... did you book your return ticket for the last day specifically because of the auction?"
"The last day?"
"I heard the Tokyo auction starts from the second day of the event. I figured there would still be a lot to take care of even after the trades are done."
Kim Giryeo answered flatly.
"Ah, yes. I'll probably stay until then."
"As expected, you really did co to buy artifacts after all."
"[Triaina] wasn't the main purpose, though."
"Yes."
"Seonwoo Yeon, by the way, how did the [Triaina] end up being auctioned off?"
"Hmm?"
"If it has water attribute skills, it would be really useful to handle. I thought that Chinese hunter would just use it for life."
"Yes?"
"The winner of the international winner's tournant, isn't he Chinese? Ah, could it be that this equipnt isn't secondhand but actually dropped fresh from a new dungeon?"
As they continued talking, so strange contradictions started to erge.
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