Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: A Special Meeting at Headquarters (2)
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I’ve always had a soft spot for the things guys dream of.
Guns with innovative designs like the F2000, or a grand, magnificent greatsword the size of a person!
Flashy, rampaging monster trucks, or tunnel boring machines that overwhelm you with their sheer size!
Oh, and the cannons of a battleship, rumbling as they spit fire like a thunderclap.
And you can’t forget the giant robots forged from steel alloys.
But it wasn’t just the things you could see.
It was the fighting spirit to uphold one's beliefs and pursue ideals to the very end, even in the face of adversity and hardship.
Or the fiercely burning will to lay down one's own life for a greater cause or for loyalty!
Man, maybe it’s because of this tendency that I still love action comics even after getting older.
My tastes haven’t changed, even if my body has. In a way, maybe this is its own kind of pure devotion?
Sure, some might call such things childish… but so what if they are!
If it makes your heart burn with passion, even for a moment, isn’t that good enough?
“Oh, ooh, ooooh…!”
Anyway, as someone who goes crazy for anything a guy could dream of, I was currently clenching my fists, trembling.
The reason was extremely simple. There was an object before my eyes that made my heart pound!
It was none other than a skyscraper.
A super-tall building that soared so high it seemed to pierce the sky.
However, its appearance was far from that of an ordinary skyscraper.
The building’s exterior walls were stacked in a spiraling ascent, like a spiral staircase.
And I had no idea what kind of architectural method was used, but…
The auxiliary buildings orbiting the skyscraper, like the rings of Saturn, were truly mystical.
*‘Th-this is the real Association Headquarters I’ve only seen in the comics! Seeing it in person… it’s so much cooler!’*
The awe I was feeling now was a bit different from when I met characters from the original story in person.
If I had to make a comparison… it was very similar to what I felt when I first arrived in Nighthaven.
The characters in the comic weren’t drawn realistically; their features were stylized.
So even when I met them in person, my impression was just that they looked very similar to their comic counterparts.
But a building or a landmark like this felt like it had leaped straight out of the pages and into reality.
My chest swelled with the joy of seeing it with my own two eyes.
I’m so glad I’m alive…
With both hands on my chest, I savored the lingering feeling that washed over me like a wave.
Of course, I didn’t stop walking, keeping pace with Raven, who stood beside me.
He glanced at the headquarters, gave a small yawn, and then looked over at me.
“Amazing, isn’t it? I heard they copied the design of a mage tower from another world. But I don’t know if they really needed to replicate those floating rings. Seems like a waste of money, no matter how you look at it.”
“Eh…”
*What are you talking about? That’s the whole point!*
I stared at Raven as if to challenge his utterly ridiculous assertion.
Those unique rings are what give it that distinct other-worldly feel.
Imagine a bare tree without any leaves. How boring would that be?
He really has no eye for aesthetics. No wonder his fashion sense is so terrible.
…is what I desperately wanted to argue.
I never knew not being able to speak my mind could be this agonizing.
The frustration felt twice as heavy as usual.
But while my words couldn’t get through, perhaps my feelings did.
Raven met my gaze and spoke with a mischievous expression.
“You look like you have a complaint… You’re thinking something bad right now, aren’t you? Take off that mask for a second, you little rascal.”
“…Hmph.”
“Don’t know? Come here. I’ll give you a little head massage. Then you’ll remember what impure thoughts you were having!”
“…Gyak!”
Agh, not the head massage!
I raised my hands to cover the top of my head and dashed toward the Association Headquarters.
Raven’s special head massage wasn’t particularly painful or harmful.
But it created such a strange sensation that it made me scream involuntarily.
All I could do was run from Raven with all my might.
Of course, maybe because of the huge difference in our physical abilities,
I didn’t get very far before he caught me.
Still, it seemed the head massage was just a joke.
Raven chuckled and gently set me down on the ground after I’d been dangling from his grasp.
Phew, that was a close one. I almost let out an embarrassing scream in the middle of the street.
Relieved, I wiped my chest and entered the Association Headquarters with Raven.
*‘Whoa, the inside is amazing too. The ceiling is high, and it’s incredibly spacious. It feels like I’ve stepped inside a giant tree.’*
Awe, and then more awe.
I craned my neck, my head whipping around as I frantically took in my surroundings.
Just like its magnificent exterior, the interior view was grand enough to make my heart tremble.
However, perhaps because the inside was bustling with people on various errands,
it was hard to walk straight ahead, and we had to weave through the crowd.
Then, at the exact moment I was jostled by the throng and almost separated from Raven,
he shook his head as if he had no choice and snatched my hand.
“Stick close to me. We’ll be somewhere less crowded soon.”
“Okay…”
There are too many people. It’s exhausting…
With that thought, feeling a bit drained, I clung to Raven’s side like a leech.
It was a clever trick, leaning slightly against him and shifting my center of gravity onto him.
But given his immense strength, it probably wasn’t much of a burden.
Raven didn’t seem to mind and continued to navigate through the crowd until we reached our destination.
We stopped in front of a wide desk that came up to my neck.
It looked like a reception desk, the kind you’d find in a hotel or an office building to greet visitors.
Behind the desk sat a staff member, their eyes covered by a wide cloth.
Just from her nose and lips, I could tell she was a long-haired woman of extraordinary beauty.
“Lord Raven, what brings you here today?”
“Hm? Have we met before?”
“No, this is our first time… However, I have memorized the faces of everyone in the Fixer rankings.”
“That’s… an incredible memory.”
“Hehe, thank you for the compliment.”
*Smile.* The blindfolded receptionist smiled and expressed her thanks.
Personally, I thought it was more impressive that she could recognize his face despite having her eyes covered, rather than her memory, but…
Neither of them seemed to pay it much mind, continuing their conversation with perfect ease.
Was this the mark of a pro, not an amateur? It was a sight that made me gulp.
“I have business on the 62nd floor. Could you issue a permit?”
“May I ask the identity of the person next to you?”
“Yuria Crowley. She’s my younger sister. Here’s her ID.”
“Please wait a moment… Yes, her identity has been confirmed. Here is your permit.”
*Swoosh.* As soon as the receptionist finished speaking, a rectangular piece of paper appeared on the desk.
To describe it, it was like the patient identification wristband you get in an emergency room.
Raven skillfully fastened it to his left wrist with one hand.
Then, he took my hand as I stood there and attached a wristband to it. How kind.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
“The permits must be returned when your business is concluded, so please come back and see me then.”
“Will do.”
“…!”
Bye-bye. See you later.
I gave a wave to the ever-so-kind receptionist.
Then, holding Raven’s hand, I headed deeper into the vast first-floor lobby.
As we walked into a space that was strangely devoid of people,
the surrounding noise vanished in an instant, creating an unsettling silence.
It was a bizarre phenomenon, as if we had stepped into another world with a single stride.
*‘A secret area that can’t even be perceived without a permit… was it? Incredible security.’*
But since I already knew about it from the original story,
I was just busy fidgeting with excitement and looking around curiously.
Raven and I took a private elevator, standing alone in the secret area.
Our destination was the 62nd floor, which Raven had mentioned earlier—the so-called Blue Floor, for authorized personnel only.
It was a high floor, but perhaps the elevator also incorporated the latest technology.
As I blinked blankly while we waited, a *ding* sounded, signaling our arrival.
The elevator doors slid open smoothly, and a strange scent suddenly tickled my nose.
*‘What is this smell? It’s kind of sweet…’*
It was a subtle fragrance that put you in a good mood.
I soon realized the source of the scent was the flowers blooming all over the Blue Floor.
The Association Headquarters, the Blue Floor, and flowers.
When all this circumstantial evidence came together… yep, it could only be one person.
She should be appearing any second now. Just as I was picturing the character from the original story in my head,
a beautiful female voice suddenly drifted from within.
“Ah, you’re here, you’re here. Welcome, Raven, Yuria! This big sis was about to wilt from waiting~”
Peeking out was a beauty with a large, gorgeous flower in her hair.
She was half-naked, her skin mostly exposed, with only the essential parts covered by green leaves.
She was an Alraune, a plant-type metahuman.
And she was Prau, the formidable 8th-ranked, Single-Digit Fixer.