Why does it feel like the decoration color has changed to red?
"Hmm?"
A pink object with a hard, shell-like texture, shaped in a geotric form.
Even upon a second look, the item appeared to be a cute, playful toy straight out of a children's animated show. In plain terms, it looked like the kind of toy a child under ten would beg their parents to buy.
The guard known as Chief Kida stood there, looking at the item behind him for quite a while.
"Hmm."
But it didn't last more than a few seconds. The Japanese man dismissed the sensation he had just felt as a fleeting sense of déjà vu.
"I probably just rembered it wrong, right?"
The item was adorned with nurous colorful gems in addition to the central emblem stone. Because of that, Chief Kida ultimately couldn't be certain of the item's original color. Before long, he turned his eyes forward again.
"There's really nothing to do. Maybe I really should play word chains or sothing."
The remark that followed was nothing more than idle chatter.
"Oh, word chain?"
"Do you want to play together?"
"The loser has to buy a late-night snack after work. Betting makes it more fun."
"OK. Then you go first."
Two people standing on the east side of the room began chatting with each other.
But at that mont, the senior guard—who had just been showing off his phone and chatting freely regardless of the topic—suddenly started glancing at them, watching their behavior cautiously.
And just as the guards in the room had their attention scattered in different directions, that individual, pretending to casually touch his stomach, firmly pressed down on the object hidden inside his jacket.
Flash.
This was the beginning of sothing. From that mont on, the artifact in the back showed another subtle change. And co to think of it, all guards in this room had been required to undergo a mandatory belongings check before their shift began. The fact that the person in the front row had a suspicious substance in his possession other than a communication device is inconsistent in many ways.
***
"This is a disaster."
A few minutes later.
"They say the truly expensive items in the Highlight Auction aren't revealed in advance for security reasons. If that's the case, does that an I'll have no choice but to wait a whole day just to see the actual items on this list?"
Inside the event hall in Tokyo.
"That's annoying. When I asked roughly how much it would sell for, it was definitely way beyond my budget."
It was now 3 PM. My surroundings were in complete chaos, packed with crowds from all around the world.
"Trying to threaten them into giving one for free... well, today I don't even have the [Infinite Power Core], so honestly, it's too risky to bluff against four S-ranks"
Chattering.
A festival full of Earthlings, where loud laughter or cheers could be heard from sowhere if you waited just a mont. Even in such a noisy place, I sohow managed to focus and continue my train of thought—but even for an archmage, there were limits to daydreaming in a setting like this. Above all, my identity had been exposed.
"Excuse ..."
"..."
"Excuse !"
"Ah, yes?"
Co to think of it, the na "Kim Giryeo" was actually quite well-known and held a respectable reputation publicly.
"Excuse , but... aren't you that S-rank from Korea?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Ah um, I'm so sorry to bother you, but... could I please take just one photo with you? I'm a huge fan! I've been running a fan club ever since you ca to Japan!"
It was from this point on that things started to go wrong. Still, things had been relatively quiet for a while—this was a foreign country, after all. But the mont so woman recognized and shouted out, attention skyrocketed in an instant. Once one person recognized , their friends chid in to confirm it. And if I was taking photos on the side of the street, even the unsure bystanders began to catch on—spreading certainty like dominoes falling.
"Why are people gathering over there?"
"Who are they taking pictures with like that?"
"Is it an influencer?"
A murmur.
This won't do. Before the crowd could grow any larger, I hurriedly slipped away under the pretense of going to the restroom, making my escape to a quieter place.
[Event Hall A Exhibition Hall]
After looking around, I noticed this place had fewer lights and was rather dim, so compared to Buildings B and C, there were far fewer passersby here.
"Of course, the fact that the exhibits inside are boring is probably one of the reasons too."
I was looking for a place where no one was looking and eventually ended up in this corner. It was a dark hallway in front of the staff room with no lights at all.
"Hmm."
Okay, let's organize the plan for a mont.
"How on earth am I supposed to steal the item?"
I crouched down and thought.
First of all, to get my hands on that black fabric called [Fragnt of the Midnight], a few preparations were necessary. The most important was clearing out all the visitors from Hall 1 of Building A.
"Even to , that room looks like it's just got a lump of dark seaweed-like fabric standing there. The number of passersby is already low enough to count on one hand, but still..."
If I don't want my bones separated from my flesh for getting caught stealing, I obviously need to figure out where the Japanese S-ranks are before putting any plan into action.
"If I were to estimate the number of visitors I have to drive out, it would be around five."
Even if I generously assu I sohow manage to drive the visitors out... What the hell am I supposed to do about this artifact exhibition's alarm system?
"Hmm."
A mory of the body's owner flashed through my brain—a mammalian spy wearing tight-fitting clothes slipping through red laser beams like a mollusk in a movie scene. It seed Earth had its own unique security systems used in museums or banks. And if I looked closely, I could spot devices that here appeared to serve the sa purpose.
"All of the display cases are protected by magical barriers."
There's no way the Japanese covered the items with magic blankets just to keep them warm. Obviously, it's for security.
I racked my brain intensely. And as a result of that struggle, finally decided how I would reveal my true colors as a girl and thief.
[Overview: Magically ignite a small fla on the paper poster in the corner of Hall A1 near the window, where sunlight reaches] — Trigger the fire alarm in the hallway directly in front — Once the alarm sounds, encourage evacuation before people fully grasp the situation.]
Clean up the visitors like this.
[Overview: Additionally, identify the locations of S-rank hunters in advance — Once Hall 1 is sufficiently empty, quickly re-enter after disrupting CCTV — Since the protective barriers in the exhibition take ti to restore once disabled, attempt a swap by phasing through them instead — If the glass casing entrance cannot be easily opened, use magic such as [Cutting] — (Assuming everything goes according to plan, total estimated ti: approx. 3 minutes.)]
To summarize, a rough plan like this had ford in my head—but to be honest, I wasn't sure if it would actually work. Back in my pri, if I wanted sothing, I simply made it happen with magic. I never had to bother with all these petty, roundabout tricks in the first place.
"Earth-style barriers are so flimsy that, honestly, if I can just deal with the glass wall, the rest might actually be easy."
The event lasts for three whole days—I should take a few more days to think it over? That thought crossed my mind for a mont, but I quickly dismissed it.
The Artifact Expo held its highlight auction on the second day, allowing only on-site bidding and drawing in a large number of S-rank hunters from overseas. Even more spectators were expected to flock in just to catch a glimpse of these top-tier hunters. Of course, the last day of the event wasn't the best timing either.
"Since I was planning to leave the country before nightfall, Seonwoo Yeon would definitely co looking for ."
Even setting that aside, the biggest problem is that it's the day the exhibition is being dismantled, so even if I swap the item, there's a chance it could be discovered within 24 hours.
"If I'm really going to go through with it, today has the highest chance of success."
Strike while the iron is hot. I'm not sure if this Earth expression really fits here, but anyway, I made up my mind. As expected, no matter how many tis I think about it, I just can't give up on that fabric.
"Earthlings think it's just a single use-defensive item, but it's actually an artifact that possesses both trendous attack and defense capabilities at the sa ti!"
Who told them it was a good idea to half-heartedly threaten an Alpha ? No, that so-called representative, is the one who ssed up. In that case, the entire Japanese hunter organization should take responsibility together, like the comrades they claim to be.
I stood up from the crouched position I had been in. For reference, one of the elents naturally included in the outline of the plan—in short, producing a 'fake fabric' to fool the authorities was sothing I could do as many tis as I needed.
"It's not like I dressed up for this."
Fortunately, my current body had plenty of black on it. The suit I was wearing was none other than one I had bought from a store owned by soone nad Seo Yohan. Esther had taken there around the ti of that unfortunate incident, and since I'd received several deliveries from them, it was one of the few addresses I was familiar with—so I bought my new clothes from there.
"I should at least prepare so magic beforehand before going in."
Fragnt of the Midnight? Fine, I'll match even the thread thickness exactly. And to avoid being tracked by the blend rate or anything, I'll mix in various impurities as well. Like the fabric from ice packs they hand out quite often at this event, for example. That way, even under a microscope, it won't be easy to tell whose clothes these were.
"Good thing the material isn't all shiny like leather and that the textures all look pretty similar."
Alright. Now that I've gone over everything again in my head, should I really give it a try?
"Luckily, there isn't a single S-rank hunter around here either..."
When I sharpened my senses, the closest presence I could feel was that of Hunter Iori, who seed to be in the building next door. Even if the fire alarm or security alarm goes off, they won't be able to co right away.
I imdiately moved to the exhibition hall where the [Fragnt of the Midnight] was displayed and began the procedure. After all, one of this great archmage's strengths is excellent execution.
"By simple calculation, it should take about two minutes to drive all the visitors out."
Only one attempt. The preparations are complete.
Swish.
As if it had spontaneously ignited from the sunlight, I began the plan by setting fire to a poster on one side of the exhibition hall. If the fire grew too quickly, civilians might get hurt—so I started with just a small spark. The goal was to trigger the alarm imdiately. Then, on the way back—once people were already evacuating—I would let the fire grow, so it wouldn't seem strange that an S-rank hunter had taken the lead in guiding the crowd to safety.
"And if I get questioned later, I'll just explain that I was so startled by the initial flas that I instinctively looked for the fire alarm, just like I was trained to do—so I was late in responding."
This context shouldn't feel awkward to Earthlings.
Right after starting the fire, I quickly moved into the hallway and manually triggered the red alarm.
"Wait a minute, but what if this fixture is just a decorative prop for show..."
For a mont, I had that thought—but contrary to my worries, the alarm went off without a problem.
.lingring----------!
Up until this point, everything went according to plan.
"What's wrong?"
But right after that, an unimaginable catastrophe began to take place in Building A1 where I was standing.
***
"Ha...Oh my god."
Tak, tak, tak.
A corridor lined with white marble. Soone short in stature trudged weakly through the area. The figure was none other than the S-rank hunter, Iori.
"How do I get that item out from the Technology Bureau? Of all people, Kim Giryeo is the one who wants to buy it."
Since he was brought in to ensure safety at the event, he had multiple responsibilities—one of which was guarding the items that would be put up for auction. Having already acted as a guide for soone during the event, Iori was now using his free ti to patrol the area. This corridor, after all, was connected to the storage room for the items.
"Whew."
During what should have been a boring break, a wave of intense tension suddenly crashed over him. Kim Giryeo—Japan re-enter after disrupting CCTV — Since the protective barriers in the exhibition take ti to restore once disabled, attempting the [Fragnt of the Midnight] wasn't sothing he could solve just by brooding over it. Iori simply kept walking, silently hoping that no Ito's negotiations would go well.
"Ah, it's the storage room door."
Before he knew it, he had arrived at the storage room holding the auction items. For reference, the exact location of this place was on the third floor of a twin building but even marked on the map, connected precariously to the A Hall of the event venue by a skybridge on the second floor. However, since it was a secure zone, even if visitors knew about it, they wouldn't be allowed to enter.
I ended up here just by wandering around aimlessly. Since I'm here anyway, I might as well check if the security personnel are doing okay..."
As is well known, the hunter nad Iori was sociable by nature. So he casually checked the storage room, thinking he might as well get familiar with the faces of the newly rotated personnel.
"Excuse ..."
Drrrk.
It was just as he slid the door open to the side. Sothing surprising happened.
"Huh?"
The five security guards inside the room were all hunched over like zombies, staring down at the floor.
"No, what kind of picture is this? What kind of ga is this?"
"Y, you scared !"
Looking closer, their gazes were unfocused, and on top of that, their eyeballs were bright red—as if they'd all caught so kind of eye disease made of light.
Iori, startled by the sight, tried to speak to them in a flustered voice. But at that very mont, soone suddenly made an unexpected move.
Boom!
"Aaack!"
The A-rank awakened one standing at the front row—Kida—unleashed his psychic power. In a typical security industry, employees would be trained in techniques to subdue others. But that wasn't the case for awakened beings. With talent in such extre shortage, those recruited for special incidents were chosen solely for one reason: strength.
"What is this—!"
The ability of that security team captain was physical enhancent. As he stepped forward, he forcefully shoved Iori back, who had been standing with one foot hooked on the doorfra.
"What the! What are you doing!"
What followed was a series of shocking events. The second and third security guards behind Kida also opened their red-eyes wide and used their abilities as they dashed out of the room. With the people gone, the abnormality in the room finally beca clear at a glance.
'Artifacts!'
As an S-rank hunter, Iori had personally carried those items—stored inside an item box—close to his body during transport, so he could tell. The pink artifact placed on the right side of the room had clearly changed shape.
"How did that activate?"
But even he hadn't expected that item to cause an incident like this. That epic-grade artifact's owner had refused to cheaply give away its information—insisting that the [Appraisal] details of the new artifact only be revealed to auction participants.
"Everyone, stop!"
"What on earth is that thing? Is it so kind of item that causes confusion in people?"
"It's too dangerous."
Iori instinctively tried to stop the guards as they rushed out. With his first skill, he managed to hold down three of them that would be put in various impurities as well. Because he weakened the force to avoid hurting anyone, one of the three soon managed to break free.
And that wasn't the only problem.
"This idiot..."
Iori pulled out the radio he was carrying and shouted into it.
"Ergency! This is the storage area in Building D. The awakened guards suddenly lost their minds and..."
Even in the midst of this, he tried to restrain another guard in sight. But while he fumbled, unable to control his strength properly, the three awakened ones he had already lost completely out of view.
Bam!
In the anti, an ominous roar echoed from the far distance.
"Moritaka! If you're hearing this, get to Building D right now! Whatever you're doing, stop and get to the periter to block them..."
Iori was surprised and increased his jumping speed. Soon after, this scene unfolded before him.
"Ugh!"
The floor of Building D had a massive hole in it, as if it had been struck by a giant piece of ironwork. Due to the need for
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