Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Tiger's Den (2)
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'What the hell is going on here?'
Blue Tiger was nowhere to be seen, and in his rightful seat sat his daughter, Hyun-ah, stepping in to fill his role.
She wasn't the only one in the room. That said, it wasn't packed with a crowd either.
Though it was labeled a conference room, this was really just a space Blue Tiger used for top-secret talks with his top lieutenants.
Which meant only his innermost circle could enter.
'Looks like everyone's who could come is here.'
I took a moment to scan the seven middle-aged men seated around the spacious room.
Including Chae Tae-won and Jung Hyun-ah's gazes, a total of seventeen eyes were fixed on me.
Ah, one was missing because one of the lieutenants wore a pitch-black eyepatch.
Anyway, they all seemed to be waiting for my response. But what did they expect me to say?
From the left: disbelief, suspicion, discontent, the eyepatched guy's fury in the middle, bewilderment, anxiety, and at the far end, that sleazy grin.
'What the hell is he smirking about?'
I turned my head slightly to glance at Chae Tae-won, the eighth lieutenant of the Blue Tiger crew. His face was a tangled mess of emotions too complex for one word. But the biggest one seemed to be guilt toward me.
'Alright then. I don't know the situation, so I guess I'll have to probe around.'
It felt a bit like that sensation from my first time playing this game. An unprecedented situation, an unencountered event.
I looked back at Jung Hyun-ah.
She was trying to act confident.
She was straining to meet my eyes, but locking gazes with my four-eyed mask was impossible.
Her unsteady gaze, her twitching fingertips, her pale complexion. She was incredibly tense.
"You want me to help?"
"Yes. Please join us and fight on our side. We'll give you the book you mentioned afterward. And we'll provide the maximum compensation you desire."
Ah.
So it was just the boring, predictable development after all?
"I've heard rumors lately about the Three Heads Society. Looks like full-scale war with the Red Heads has finally broken out?"
"Y-Yes. Out of loyalty to the Chairman..."
Jung Hyun-ah trailed off. No one had cut her off or stopped her. She just wasn't used to finishing a sentence like that properly.
Loyalty, huh?
Sure, Blue Tiger and I were solid allies, but what was this, some 1950s gangster flick? What kind of loyalty were they talking about?
"Miss. Do you actually have the book I was promised? No, have you even seen it?"
"D-Dad! I mean, the Chairman..."
The word "Dad" slipped from Hyun-ah's mouth. Realizing it, she stopped mid-sentence and bit her lower lip.
'Not in any shape for a long talk.'
Her posture was awkward, like she'd forced on ill-fitting clothes.
She had the background of the underworld princess, sure, but she was still a high schooler.
The game never specified her exact age, but she didn't look like a freshman—probably a sophomore.
A girl like that was handling duties even adults would struggle with.
Why was this kid stepping up instead of the grown men gathered here, when she was barely a third their age?
"Where's the Chairman? He doesn't seem to be in the building."
"H-How did you...?"
I'd already confirmed before entering the conference room that Blue Tiger's mana wasn't anywhere in the mansion.
Besides, who'd miss it?
"I can tell just from this situation."
Her face flushed red with anger and shame, Hyun-ah mumbled in a low voice.
"Dad, Dad's because of you..."
"Alright! This won't do."
Suddenly, one of the lieutenants cut in. His oily voice grated on my nerves just from hearing it.
It was the guy at the far right, minus Chae Tae-won—the one who'd been flashing that sleazy grin.
'Who the hell is this guy?'
"There seems to have been some misunderstanding. Our young miss is new to this kind of business—"
He glanced toward Hyun-ah as he said it.
A very natural gesture. Every eye in the room turned to her, and she bowed her head with a deflated expression.
"—so she's a bit tense. Please forgive her. I'll speak on her behalf."
He made it sound like he was stepping in for her sake, but no one would buy that.
This was pure theater.
'Well, well? Out in the open like this, establishing the pecking order at a time like this?'
The guy's name was Gu Jin-cheol.
The same bastard who'd been openly smirking and provoking me from earlier.
"As you know, we're in a pretty chaotic situation inside and out these days. Lots of changes, lots of disturbances. We'll apologize for any mix-ups on our end."
"..."
I turned my head to look at Chae Tae-won for a moment. He bowed his head to me with a somber expression.
'Hmm... something's off. Doesn't fit that guy's personality.'
"We don't know exactly what book the Chairman promised, but there was clearly some mix-up. Whether it's really our fault, I'm not sure."
"Fault?"
"W-Well, didn't you say you got some message at first and contacted us?"
"You mean the message delivered through Basilissa?"
"Yes, that one. That wasn't from us."
"Ah."
This was getting interesting.
Who drops two hundred million on a fake message?
"But when we got word that the fixer was coming, we had our debates. You're such a promising, famous figure, after all. Some in our ranks jumped the gun thinking it was an opportunity."
As he spoke, Gu Jin-cheol glanced at a few lieutenants. They looked a bit indignant but didn't push back further.
"But please know our intentions are sincere. Anyway, as I said, we're all busy people here. Let's cut to the chase. We can't give you the book anymore, right? But we can offer ample compensation. So, will you help us?"
No idiot would take those words at face value as a plea for help.
Gu Jin-cheol was straight-up telling me to stop wasting busy people's time and get lost.
"Ah, I get the picture now—"
I'd finally pieced together what had gone down among them.
Thanks to Gu Jin-cheol putting on this trashy show, it was crystal clear.
"—since my deal was with the Chairman, you all don't have to step in for his obligations."
Plus, they couldn't wield his authority in his place either.
"Then?"
Gu Jin-cheol pressed, leaning in like he was goading me. Buddy, ever heard the story of the guy who got smacked for one word too many?
'Come on in deeper. Make me hit you.'
Hoping he'd dig himself in further, I said,
"I'm currently contracted to Basilissa, so if you have a request, please go through her officially for consultation."
With that, I stood from my seat.
"Mr. Shin-hwa...!"
Chae Tae-won stepped forward, opening his mouth. I glanced at his face, then back to Gu Jin-cheol's.
He was still wearing that sleazy grin.
'Jackpot, plan success!' That smug look, like he'd been baiting me to storm out pissed.
This guy was scripted to betray Blue Tiger from the start. But damn, he was being blatant about it.
Scraaaape!
"Wait!"
Hyun-ah shot up from her seat, yelling.
But she couldn't say more.
"Young miss! That's enough!"
Gu Jin-cheol cut in, blocking her.
"This is just embarrassing now. We've had enough accidents and misunderstandings. For the Chairman's honor, you shouldn't push further. And look, we're wasting all these lieutenants' time when every second counts!"
Now he was openly rebuking her.
"Exactly!"
Another lieutenant jumped in.
Like he'd been waiting for this moment, with fanatical enthusiasm.
"Isn't that right? We've just wasted time on nothing!"
Before I could even open my mouth, yet another lieutenant spoke up.
"Young miss, do you really think we can trust that shady wizard?"
Overlooking the inappropriate word choice, their tones were downright rude. Rough voices that almost made you think they were threatening Hyun-ah.
Then another lieutenant chimed in, looking flustered.
"Wait, what are you saying? Isn't this going too far?"
"Yeah, Red Heads aside, we gotta ask about the Chairman! Hey, wizard! The Chairman! Do you know where he is?"
"No, why spill useless crap to an outsider!"
"Kim Shin-hwa here is the most promising fixer right now. He might have a way."
"Don't be stupid! For all we know, the Chairman ended up like that because of him!"
"I agree he's super suspicious."
"I never got why Senior Tae-won brought him in the first place."
"Senior, what did you just say? Stupid?"
"Look at what he's wearing! How can we trust that?"
"He's talking stupid, so I'm calling it stupid, you idiot!"
Note that these are just the complete sentences I could recall.
Excluding Chae Tae-won, the seven mouths were spewing saliva everywhere with 'What!', 'Exactly!', 'Red Heads!', 'Do you know how much!', 'Wizard!', 'Fixer!', 'Grimoire!', 'Chairman!', 'Young miss!', 'This!', 'You idiot?', 'What!?', 'Chairman!', 'Find!' and so on...
By the end, it had devolved to the point where 'Woof woof woof!' or 'Arf arf arf!' would've sufficed.
'God, what am I supposed to do?'
My head was pounding.
What kind of circus was this with me standing right here?
The only reason I hadn't snapped was because Hyun-ah, trapped in the whirlwind of bullshit, was staring at me with a deathly pale face.
"Mr. Kim Shin-hwa..."
Chae Tae-won's quiet voice came from behind me.
"I'm sorry. I thought there might be trouble, but I didn't expect it to get this bad."
I turned to him, and he wore the most apologetic, ashamed, flustered expression he could muster.
"You didn't expect it?"
"I figured there might be some issues, but honestly, I never thought they'd embarrass themselves like this. I'm sorry."
Ah, so he'd believed these gathered lieutenants were responsible adults and dragged me into this. I could blame him, but his straightforward apology made it hard.
"Well, since you're saying that much, I'll accept your apology. So..."
"Woof woof woof woof!"
"Arf arf arf arf!"
Ah, so damn noisy.
"I guess I need to shut them up."
Whether Chae Tae-won and I talked or not, the seven idiots kept spewing colorful insults and nonsense.
First things first—rescue the high school girl from these pathetic grown men's shameful display.
[Sound Wave Refraction]
"？！"
Hyun-ah's head snapped up in surprise. The sudden silence must've startled her. I winked at her—no, mask, she couldn't see. I raised a hand and gave her a light wave.
'And expand the range.'
I extended the Sound Wave Refraction to cover the entire room. Now no sound from in here would leak out.
'They should've noticed a spell like this, but they're too riled up to act their age...'
I sighed at the lieutenants still barking at each other, took a deep breath, and cast.
[Sonic Impact]
"SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!"
KABOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMCRASH!!!!