Unexpected (5)
Unexpected (5)
[ Downtown London ]
Big Ben and the old Houses of Parliament were visible across the Thames.
After a long morning and afternoon, a brief moment of rest had finally come.
The soft clink of a teacup.
Rovel, a senior cleric of the God of Amusement who had presided as judge from the round of 32 all the way to the finals, was savoring a cup of black tea with fresh milk, basking in the warm sunlight inside his private office.
"Mm~ With those Luck bastards—a constant thorn in my side—finally tucking their tails and retreating, I couldn't feel any better."
The followers of the God of Luck always wormed their way into every event like rats, trying to sabotage things. But ever since Ha-na's situation was broadcast to the world a few weeks ago, their damned meddling had dropped off drastically.
To put it in numbers, before, they'd contest ten out of ten events. Now it was down to two out of ten, and even those were half-hearted at best. The drop in stress levels for the dispatched priests and holy knights was immeasurable.
'Hmm~ I do hope the clergy conference opens soon.'
Eight years. No, was it nine now?
Ever since the esteemed Executor had ceased all public activities and gone into seclusion in the small country of Korea, the Luck bastards and other riff-raff who'd been testing the waters had grown utterly brazen.
In public, they still bowed with pleasant smiles, but behind the scenes, they spread every rumor and scheme imaginable—utter scum not even worth chewing up.
In fact, before the clash with the Luck bastards at Arena Academy, there had been constant skirmishes all around the world. But when the God of Luck's faction admitted fault for the disturbance at Arena Academy—or more accurately, when word spread that they'd practically declared defeat and begged for mercy—the endless stream of slander simply vanished like a lie.
And then, the two videos posted a few days ago and yesterday had finally put an end to the esteemed Executor's nine-year seclusion.
Ben Stiller wasn't some rank 51-99 high-ranker. He was a universally acknowledged powerhouse firmly in the top 20, and the Executor had turned him into a wreck without lifting a single finger. That was astonishing skill. No, perhaps it was more accurate to call it miraculous. After all, no one had even managed to identify what ability was used.
Rovel and the other senior clerics knew the truth behind the Executor's seclusion. They also knew how fiercely the Executor had lived in order to carry out the god's will all this time.
The only times they met in person were during general assemblies, but Rovel remembered every meeting: a beautiful face that could have been carved from winter itself, and deep, lake-like eyes that betrayed no emotion whatsoever.
That was why they'd cheered.
The Executor—who always issued businesslike commands in a dry, emotionless voice and whose gaze was as cool as a midwinter wind—had fallen in love!!
The recipient's identity was unknown, but if he'd so thoroughly captivated the esteemed Executor, he had to be a decent man. Above all, their own god, who cherished the Executor dearly, had formally permitted it.
But when Rovel watched the video posted on Neotube yesterday, he was absolutely stunned.
The man's martial prowess might rival their Executor's, but in terms of appearance, Rovel had never once doubted that the Executor was far superior.
But then, as they say, there's always a sky above the sky.
"He was a man worthy enough for the Executor to fall for."
Thanks to yesterday's video, his eyes had been opened, and the last of the rabble who'd been making a final desperate fuss had gone completely silent. All of which had led to this lovely tea time.
Beeeep──!!
Rovel had been about to indulge in this long-awaited moment of leisure when his smartwatch erupted with an obnoxious screech. He hastily set down his teacup and raised his wrist.
[ (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ Emergency!! Emergency!! Mobilize everyone and seal the temple entrance as fast as possible!! ]
[ (」°ロ°)」 Ah, if these children show up, let them through (true) ]
Faced with this sudden divine revelation (?), Rovel let out a deep sigh and had no choice but to rise from his seat.
**
[ Harrods Department Store ]
"Argh...... Just stop overthinking it and buy both!!"
"That would look like I didn't put any thought into it."
"Hrk, hrk!!"
Baek Ha-na was staring holes into the glass display case of handkerchiefs while Idni stood beside her, thumping her own chest in frustration.
"Miss...?"
The store manager, who had been holding her breath and quietly watching from the moment Baek Ha-na entered the shop, carefully approached and spoke.
"Handkerchiefs are also considered consumables, so many customers purchase two as a gift with a spare in mind."
"Hmm......."
Baek Ha-na furrowed her brow at the manager's words. She knew all too well that the person she was giving this to would never actually use her gift and would instead stash it away in a precious spot.
If he'd actually use it, she'd have bought several without a second thought.
Add to that the inconvenient reality that no one seemed to sell high-quality glasses cleaning cloths, and she'd ended up switching to handkerchiefs.
'Black with gold thread...... that looks quite nice too....'
Baek Ha-na groaned as she looked at the handkerchief right next to it—the same pattern embroidered in gold thread on a pure white background.
'White stands out too much... but black might look too gloomy.......'
The longer Baek Ha-na agonized, the more Idni's exasperation mounted.
Click, click.
And unlike the exasperated Idni, Nam Seo-hee was having the time of her life, utterly lost in capturing Baek Ha-na from every possible angle and savoring every second.
"Are you okay?"
"Mm......."
"Big Sis Na-young's too fragile."
-Peep!!
A bit further away, Maria and Na Yeon-ju were looking after Lee Na-young—who was worn out from social aversion and the extended walking—along with the little Fairy.
Vvvvrrr─!!
Maria, who had been casting healing on Lee Na-young's legs, saw her wrist smartwatch flash.
'Is it the Executor?'
No one else came to mind who'd be contacting her right now, so Maria quickly raised her wrist and checked the smartwatch.
[ ヽ(≧Д≦)ノ Special order!! Bring the adorable Wolfie straight to the London branch right now!! ]
[ (；⌣̀_⌣́) I'm counting on Maria. ]
[ (╥_╥) If you're late, I die, and so does Maria's allowance.... ]
Maria blinked. A few times wasn't enough—she even rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. But the message on her smartwatch didn't change.
'No.'
She'd more or less grasped the situation from the message content.
'...Why my allowance?'
Even without that last message, she'd already intended to comply. It was the wish of the god she revered and served, after all. But thanks to that final addendum, a faint flicker of rebellion stirred inside her otherwise blind faith.
'That's what you get for splurging without a plan.......'
Maria let out a sigh tinged with just a hint of feeling. Then she tapped her smartwatch to check the London branch's location.
'It's a bit far.'
Even driving would take 20 minutes.
Judging by the emoticons attached to the message, the situation seemed fairly urgent. The problem was, no matter how pressing things were over there, there was no way to shorten the trip from this end.
'Unless Ha-na runs there herself, I suppose.'
Even that seemed unlikely. For one thing, ability manifestation outside of Rifts was strictly prohibited for unauthorized personnel. Not that there was any reason to resort to that anyway.
"I'll take this one."
"Yesss......!!"
The one silver lining was that her friend's long, long dilemma had finally ended.
"Thank you."
"The honor is all mine."
"......?"
The manager beamed as she clasped Baek Ha-na's hand in both of hers. Baek Ha-na tilted her head, puzzled, then returned to her friends.
"Really glad we made this our last stop."
"Hehe...... sorry."
"Don't you smile at me, you brat! If you weren't my friend, I swear!"
"You can't even last one punch against Ha-na."
"Grrrrk!! Th-that's not the point!!"
Clap, clap.
Maria rose from her seat with a smile, looking at the two friends who, as always, were growling at each other.
"Alright, alright. We've finished all our sightseeing for today, so let's head back to the car."
"Yeah. We can rest a bit and then come back out to see the city at night. Otherwise, that one's gonna short-circuit completely."
Idni poked Lee Na-young's cheek as the latter swayed dizzily, giggling.
"Then let's get moving."
Maria herded the children along with practiced ease.
"Are we heading straight back to the hotel?"
"There's somewhere I need to stop by first."
Once in the passenger seat, Maria glanced at her friends bickering in the back and set the navigation route.
"Could you take us this way?"
"Got it."
True to her reputation as a driving prodigy, Na Yeon-ju moved the vehicle smoothly, following the navigation precisely so the passengers felt no discomfort.
"Hey! Don't eat that yet!!"
-Don't care!! Give it!!
"I said no, okay?!"
-Ha-na! Give it!!
"Wouldn't it be fine for Ha-na?"
"Ha-na's the only one we have! What part of that is fine?!"
"You're such a worrywart."
-Wowywart!!
"Why you little—"
Amid the music streaming from the speakers and lively squabbling, the car made steady progress toward its destination.
"We've arrived!!"
"Already? Huh? Wait, this isn't the hotel."
Idni pressed her forehead against the window and frowned.
"Ugh...... we came all the way here to have fun, so why're we at a temple?"
"Hehe, the rest of you can wait in the car if you like. Ha-na? Sorry, but could you come with me for a moment?"
"Oh? Uh, sure."
"Thanks."
Maria smiled as she got out of the car. Baek Ha-na followed her outside. Nam Seo-hee then naturally got out after them, and the Fairy, who simply wanted to be outside, followed right along.
"Not going!! I'm absolutely not going!!"
"Hehe, then please watch the car!!"
"Hey—no, wait, you?!"
Idni called out urgently as Na Yeon-ju hopped out, but Na Yeon-ju was already chasing after the other Claireters heading toward the temple without a backward glance.
"Hmph. I'm definitely not going. Yup. Absolutely."
Idni glanced sideways at Lee Na-young, who was already collapsed in exhaustion, and muttered.
"I can't just leave this delicate creature here alone, can I? Exactly."
A convenient excuse had presented itself.
Idni leaned back against her seat with an 'oof' and pulled out her phone. She was just about to launch The Guild when—
Screeech.
At the harsh sound, Idni's eyes naturally drifted out the window.
Thunk.
The driver's door of an incredibly luxurious limousine swung open, and a middle-aged man she vaguely recognized jumped out and opened the rear passenger door.
"Whoever their employer is, they've got a nasty tem— pfft?!"
Idni clapped both hands over her mouth and ducked down.
Gulp.
Swallowing hard, Idni cautiously peeked her head out. And then she saw it. The back of her superior, walking with her head bowed as though she'd committed some grave sin.
"Lee Na-young...... you are my lifesaver."
In that moment, Idni resolved to actively assist Lee Na-young from now on—as long as money wasn't involved.