Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: 23. A Night of Flowing Melodies (2)
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“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
“On three, two, one, I'll turn around. Three.”
“……”
“Two.”
“……”
“One.”
Bom turned around.
Then she looked at Yoo Ji-tae's face and burst out laughing. “Eee...!” She covered her mouth and twisted her body in laughter.
Yoo Ji-tae's face had been slightly altered by the Temporary Metamorphosis (A) skill. It was a habitual change he made whenever he had to show his face in public.
He'd changed it without much thought, but what was with this intense reaction?
“Why.”
“No, it's nothing.”
“……”
“What about me, then?”
Bom managed to suppress her laughter and cupped her face with both hands.
The regressor scrutinized the Green Dragon's face.
She had also altered her appearance using Polymorph (S). Black hair. Black eyes. Her features had shifted slightly. Her sullen gaze remained the same, but the dark hair made her look a bit fiercer.
“Not bad.”
The green hair suited her better.
Still, he had a question.
“You said changing your appearance with Polymorph is something you hate.”
“You know about that too?”
“Is it true?”
“Yes. It's unfamiliar and psychologically uncomfortable. Hmm... like wearing high heels that don't fit your foot size and going hiking?”
I see. Yoo Ji-tae nodded roughly and held out his coat to her.
“Put this on.”
Her outfit was too flashy.
* * *
PM 8:20
Japan, Kyoto.
Tall buildings lined the banks of the Kamo River, which cut through the city.
“...That's the place.”
Inside the dragon's subspace formed in midair. Bom gazed into the distance.
The two of them were about 2km away, looking up at the top floor of a massive hotel.
Hario Carlton Kyoto.
The first five-star hotel built on the scorched ruins of Kyoto after the Great War.
“Getting in without ID will be a hassle. The security looks really tight.”
The girl, who had been excited just moments ago, was now serious. Not a trace of playfulness remained.
“Probably.”
“Who are we going to meet?”
Three mines had been selected as major adversaries to the provisional 'X'.
Two Cataclysm-rank, one Disaster-rank.
Among them, the one who needed to be dealt with first was holed up in that hotel.
The bastard was a Cataclysm (崩壞)-rank mine.
And at the same time,
“There's a piano player.”
For a high-rank mine, he was elegantly insane.
“Piano? That's weird. He can't be a hired performer.”
“Nope.”
“A piano player at a social gathering being a mine... Ah, then what about our identities? We can't just barge in.”
She was right.
After the New Epoch, in an era plagued by monsters, five-star hotels were equipped with astonishing defenses against external shocks. If the building took any significant damage, guests would warp to safety shelters.
Of course, he could wipe Kyoto off the map if he wanted. But that would derail the world's course irreversibly.
So, they had to go inside. And kill him quietly.
“No problem.”
“Do you have something prepared?”
“Yeah. Not something I prepared, though.”
A veteran detective from the Superhuman Regional Office Kyoto Branch had the skills but lacked street smarts.
He had gathered intel on a certain mine for two years and even fabricated an identity to infiltrate a 'social gathering'.
Without knowing what kind of monster he was targeting.
“There he is.”
Bom followed Yoo Ji-tae's gaze.
In a back alley, the interior light of a white compact car flicked on. A Japanese man stared tensely at the hotel, his face resolute as if steeling himself.
“If we leave him alone, he'll head into the hotel...”
“He'll probably die.”
“...Yeah. Too dangerous. So how do we get his ID from him?”
Like this.
“Ugh.”
As the man stepped out of the car, Yoo Ji-tae approached, struck the nape of his neck to knock him out, and shoved him back inside. Then he rifled through the man's pockets and took the invitation to the social gathering.
“……”
Bom alternated glances between the fallen man and Yoo Ji-tae, amazed.
With that, the two entered the five-star hotel. A towering, massive front desk. Crowded with people. Even at 100,000 yen a night, it was packed.
He stated his business at the front desk and presented the invitation.
“May I ask who your companion is?”
“My assistant secretary.”
The front desk staff made a call to someone.
Then gave the OK sign.
A young Japanese woman approached them.
“Hello!”
She was a hotelier.
She bowed to Yoo Ji-tae. Then, upon seeing Bom, her eyes widened. She dealt with countless guests daily, including the truly elite, but she'd never seen a woman who exuded such nobility.
Wow...
But she was a professional. She bit her tongue to snap out of it and led them to the top floor.
Today was a VVIP social gathering. Of course. The hotelier imagined the man and woman before her must be high nobility.
The man looked like a soldier for sure. Maybe he'd had an affair with a royal lady's hunting dog? So romantic...!
Entertaining such delusions, she opened the door to the private room.
In contrast to the dim hallway, the room was brilliantly bright and opulent. Statues and masterpieces everywhere. Light cascading from chandeliers. A faint, unknown floral scent teasing the nose.
Tables lined up, dozens of VIPs from various countries eating, chatting, or dancing to the music.
This was the social gathering run by the Cataclysm-rank mine 'Hasegawa'.
“Have a wonderful time.”
The door closed.
“……”
Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar scene, Bom hesitated for a moment. He walked ahead naturally and sat at an empty table.
People's gazes turned to them. Probably because they were new faces.
The attention spread like contagion.
Even the middle-aged man at the head table turned his eyes toward them.
The middle-aged man, host of the gathering, approached and greeted them.
“Thank you for coming.”
Immaculate suit. Gentle demeanor. A sweet fragrance wafting from his body. He looked like a kindly neighborhood grandpa dressed to the nines.
The kind of image that put anyone at ease.
Yet this was the Cataclysm-rank mine.
“I'm Hasegawa.”
The regressor's target.
The middle-aged man extended his hand. Yoo Ji-tae shook it. It was hard and calloused.
“You're the second son of the Gonnosuke family, right?”
The fake identity the detective had obtained. The Gonnosuke clan was a modern ninja family, unknown to the public.
“Pleased to meet you.”
Yoo Ji-tae bowed lightly.
“And the beautiful lady beside you...”
“My apologies for the late greeting.”
Bom spoke up.
“Your assistant secretary, Haru.”
She placed a hand on her chest and bowed. Utterly natural and elegant.
Haru was the Japanese word for 'spring' that she'd looked up on the translator before coming.
“I've heard good things about you, sir. That your beautiful playing captivates everyone's hearts.”
Despite not knowing the full backstory, Bom opened smoothly.
“I'm grateful there are ears willing to listen to this humble player's music.”
“Doesn't the allure begin with your fragrance? Why don't we become a pair of butterflies here tonight?”
Hasegawa's eyes narrowed.
He clearly relished Bom's natural flattery.
Meanwhile, a piercing gaze bored into Yoo Ji-tae and Bom's eyes. The kind that would startle an ordinary person.
But the auras carefully concealed by the regressor and the dragon weren't something even a Cataclysm-rank mine could easily detect.
“May this humble melody engrave itself in your noble hearts.”
Hasegawa placed a hand on his chest with an old-world smile, like a pianist composing an immortal masterpiece.
With that, Hasegawa departed.
“What now...?”
Bom whispered in her usual voice.
What else?
“You're planning to kill him, right...?”
“I'd like to.”
“You're not...?”
“That bastard doesn't die easily.”
Hasegawa was an Undying One (不死者).
There were quite a few like him among high-rank mines.
The regressor had killed Hasegawa by force in his past three regressions. Twice by severing his head, once by total annihilation. The explosion left no trace.
Yet somehow, he always reappeared intact. Every time.
There had to be some immortality defense.
“But it takes a while for him to resurrect.”
“How long?”
“Ten years.”
In truth, Undying One (不死者) was just a label—he wasn't truly unkillable. Nothing was eternally immortal. A thorough search might reveal a way.
But in past lives, he hadn't wasted time on small fry. If Bom hadn't come, he'd have blown up the hotel today and taken Hasegawa's head like before.
“Bom.”
“Yes.”
“You said I'd need you.”
“Of course.”
“What do you think? Any ideas?”
“……”
Bom looked around slowly.
Hmm... she murmured.
“...Kinda getting it.”
Bom asked him.
“How long does the social gathering last?”
“Until tomorrow.”
“Two days, one night?”
“No. Two days. Evenings only.”
Two days. The time given to Bom.
If she couldn't find another way, Yoo Ji-tae would kill Hasegawa the old-fashioned way.
“Then, can I look around a bit?”
Or.
Bom mingled seamlessly into the crowd, exchanging words naturally. Eavesdropping revealed trivial chatter. Weather this, pretty clothes that. But people started flocking to her like moths.
“Shall I show you a magic trick?”
“Ooh, the lady does magic too?”
“Heh. Looking forward to it. No pockets in that dress, though.”
She showed them her hands, palms and backs alternating.
Then slowly twisted her wrist. Snapped her left fingers with a click. Clenched her right fist, as if holding something. As eyes fixed curiously on her right hand.
She slowly opened it. A bit of soil. And atop it, a small, pretty flower bloomed.
“Ooh! A flower!”
“Wow, sleight of hand. Real flower?”
“So pretty!”
Trivial, but they loved it.
“Haru, you're too beautiful...! It was like real magic.”
“Really?”
Bom brushed off the soil, plucked the flower, and tucked it behind the lady's ear.
“What now? Sister's even prettier.”
“Oh my...! Really?”
The lady beamed and turned to her partner.
Smiling, she led Bom to another table. There too, Bom quickly captivated attention and steered the conversation.
She was usually so quiet—no one had expected her to be this sociable.
Some, chatting with Bom, took interest in Yoo Ji-tae and approached.
“Pleased to meet you. Gonnosuke-san. If it's not too forward, would you care for a dance?”
A lady in a glamorous dress extended her hand.
Yoo Ji-tae, hands in pockets, didn't respond.
“Ah... not in the mood. My apologies.”
Some grew uncomfortable at his silence. Still, he ignored them consistently.
“What a rude guy...”
“Eh, ignore him.”
Left alone, the regressor leaned back in his chair.
He leisurely picked up his wine glass. The musicians' music annoyed him, so he tuned it out. The garish lights irked him, so he closed his eyes. Then magnolia scent brushed his nose. So many irritants. He wasn't one for this romance; the space felt unwelcome.
Why was that bastard playing these games here?
For the first time, the regressor pondered it.
He recalled the end of his first regression. When the Gold Dragon died of loneliness, he was missing an ear.
It was near the end of the East Asia Great War. There, a Cataclysm-rank mine had sliced off his ear.
He'd survived purely by luck.
The mine who took his ear.
None other than that old geezer over there, Hasegawa.
Almost laughable. During the Great War, Hasegawa slaughtered thousands and displayed that ear as a trophy. A devil among devils. Yet here he was, mimicking normalcy, gathering people for piano recitals...
— May this humble melody engrave itself in your noble hearts.
What nonsense. Maybe he truly believed himself an artist?
As the regressor mulled this.
The musicians stopped. The emcee spoke from the podium.
“Mr. Hasegawa's performance will now begin.”
By then, Bom had grasped the vibe and quietly returned to Yoo Ji-tae's side. She said nothing. The joy from mingling gone. Lost in thought, her white teeth bit her red lip.
“The first piece is Liszt's La Campanella.”
He bowed.
The immaculate middle-aged man placed hands on the piano.
A quiet yet urgent scale began, and the melody flowed.