Chapter 392: Suspicion Breeds Demons (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 392: Suspicion Breeds Demons (5)
The morning of the secret meeting.
When I woke in the early dawn and left my room, the Saintess was sitting at the large living room table.
Before her was a cup of warm tea giving off a deep floral scent and a book written entirely in English.
She was reading in the bluish light of the breaking dawn.
Rustle.
With every turn of a page densely packed with small English text, she took a sip of tea.
“……”
I was curious.
What kind of face was hidden beneath the veil that completely concealed her from view?
No one knew her age.
People could only guess, based on the fact that her voice had sounded quite young when she became the Saintess ten years ago.
Her true age was likely known only to herself and the Pope.
Ah, and one more person.
Her exclusive lady-in-waiting, who attended to her without a hint of disarray even in the early dawn, might also know.
“You’re up early.”
Her voice cut through my strange thoughts.
“…I believe that’s my line.”
A bodyguard who wakes up later than his employer.
Wasn’t this situation ridiculous?
It wasn’t my fault. She had told me she wakes up at seven in the morning, and I had set my alarm accordingly.
“I just happened to wake up earlier than I expected.”
“Is that so.”
Hmm.
Maybe the Saintess is older than I thought.
You know how they say the older you get, the less you sleep in…
“Please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t wake up early because I’m old.”
“……”
What the.
Did she just read my mind?
“And to add to that, I didn’t read your mind, either. It’s just that, perhaps because my age is unknown, some people occasionally have the same thought. I’m just telling you for your reference.”
“I… see.”
Something felt incredibly suspicious… but since she denied it, I had no choice but to believe her for now.
I went straight to the shower, and after finishing, returned to my room.
Then I took out the suit I had prepared and put it on.
It fit perfectly.
Yet, it offered complete comfort, not restricting my movements in the slightest.
On top of that, its defensive power was comparable to decent plate armor—truly the best of both worlds.
“You can really tell the difference with high-end items.”
I suddenly wondered.
If an A-Tier suit felt this good, what would an S-Tier be like?
“The crafting requirements are strict, but they don’t seem impossible… Should I give it a try?”
There were two conditions for crafting an S-Tier suit.
First, you had to be an S-rank Hunter, befitting the suit's tier. Second, you had to bring back a material that would pique the creator's interest.
They were extremely difficult conditions, but not impossible.
With a little more effort, I felt I could just barely make it to S-rank.
“As for the material… hmm.”
I did have one in mind, but the place to get it was too difficult to tackle rashly.
Well, I could think about that later.
As a bodyguard, you had to be prepared for anything to happen at any time.
And this was the bodyguard of a world-famous figure, the Saintess.
I hoped nothing would happen, but if it did, I would have to stand against an enemy or a powerhouse of a scale that was hard to imagine.
Preparing for the worst-case scenario, I strapped the sword I’d asked the Saintess to procure for me to my waist.
The face in the mirror wasn’t Kim Do-jin, but William Turner.
With this face, no one would say a thing even if I wielded my sword to my heart’s content.
What if someone recognized Son Si-woo’s swordsmanship and started asking questions?
That wasn’t my problem, either.
By the time that happened, I’d be back to my original face.
With all preparations complete, I grabbed the handle of the door leading to the living room.
Time to get to work.
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One in the afternoon.
With the Saintess ready to leave, we headed to the luncheon hall prepared on the hotel's top floor.
The plan was to have lunch with the meeting's participants here before heading straight into the conference.
The area was surrounded by people who looked like they could pack a punch.
Most of them were A-rank Hunters, and even the weakest among them was at the top of B-rank.
“With security like this, any ordinary attacker wouldn’t even leave their bones behind.”
I felt a lot more at ease.
If you added the Saintess’s secret guards stationed throughout the hotel to the people gathered here…
“…Maybe there’s nothing for me to do?”
If anything, my job would probably just be to evacuate the Saintess to a safe location if something happened.
Of course, that didn’t mean I’d let my guard down.
It was more of a relief, thinking that if shit hit the fan, I wouldn’t have to get my ass kicked all by myself.
We passed through the triple and quadruple layers of guards to a large door.
Entering through it, we arrived at the venue for today’s meeting.
“Hmm.”
It was a spacious room.
A massive table sat in the center.
One entire wall was made of glass, but there seemed to be no need to worry about intruders from the outside.
Not only was it protected by defensive magic, but an illusion spell was also cast, making it look like a solid wall from the outside.
And even if someone knew it was a window, there didn't seem to be any viable sniping points.
“Haha! Welcome, Saintess.”
A middle-aged man who had arrived earlier and was sitting at the table stood up to greet her.
The Saintess gave a slight bow to the man waddling toward her.
“It’s been a while, Minister of National Defense. This is the first time we’ve met since the banquet in Japan four years ago, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. I was disappointed we only had time to exchange greetings back then. Today, I can finally put that regret to rest, haha!”
Minister of National Defense, Chen Lao.
A high-ranking official literally in charge of China’s national defense.
A man like that wouldn’t have come all this way just to have lunch with the Saintess…
It was safe to assume China was involved in some way with the meeting that was about to begin.
“Now, let’s have a seat.”
The Saintess sat across from Chen Lao.
I stood against the wall behind her, gradually extending my senses.
I slowly tightened the reins of my tension so I could protect her no matter what happened. Just until they were taut.
“Is His Holiness the Pope showing any signs of improvement?”
“Thanks to your concern, yes.”
“Oh, that is a relief.”
While the two exchanged pleasantries, asking after each other and those around them…
Click.
The closed door opened, and another person appeared.
A middle-aged man in a gray suit, his whitish hair neatly combed back.
“Well now… it’s been a while.”
The man who entered, greeting them with a friendly smile, was a familiar face.
“It’s been a while, Director.”
“It’s been a while, Director-General.”
“Haha, yes.”
Moon Cheol-jun.
The head of the Korean Hunter Association.
I’d run into the man so many times it was sickening, either during major missions or at banquets.
The fact that he showed up here meant their discussion had something to do with Hunters.
Just as they were continuing their small talk…
The final guest appeared.
“Good afternoon.”
A man in his mid-to-late thirties entered, offering a crisp, formal bow.
This was another familiar face.
“I am Tanaka Masayoshi, the new head of the Japanese Hunter Association.”
Tanaka Masayoshi.
Japan’s S-rank Hunter, who commanded the archipelago with a single katana, and the new President of the Japanese Hunter Association.
Looking at his rugged features, which immediately brought the word ‘warrior’ to mind, I had a gut feeling.
Something serious was about to be discussed.
* * *
The four of them gathered around the spacious table.
With Tanaka Masayoshi’s arrival, the sluggish small talk came to an end, and the luncheon finally began.
A flood of dishes, prepared by China’s most famous chefs, was brought out.
The Chinese Minister of National Defense ate voraciously.
The Korean Association Head, cautiously.
The Japanese Association President, slowly.
And finally, the Saintess, with perfect composure.
Time passed as they each savored the meal in their own way.
“Well then… let’s get down to business.”
With that single sentence from the Minister of National Defense, who was rinsing his mouth with tea after the meal, the atmosphere shifted.
At his signal, the other people in the room began to file out one by one.
This made me wonder.
‘…Should I leave too?’
Only one or two people, who were clearly their closest aides, remained standing by each of the main figures.
After a moment’s thought, I decided to read the room and stay.
I reasoned that if I were supposed to leave, either the Saintess or her exclusive lady-in-waiting would have given me a sign.
After the people left and the door was closed again, the Minister of National Defense began to speak.
“I mentioned this once when I requested this meeting, but I will say it again.”
Korea, China, and Japan.
The one who had organized this secret meeting, which also included the Saintess, was none other than China’s Minister of National Defense, Chen Lao.
That made me all the more curious.
‘So the notoriously proud Chinese requested a meeting…’
They were famous for their arrogance even before the Hunter society was established.
They firmly believed the world revolved around them, so what more needed to be said?
The same people who would throw a fit and threaten export and import bans if Korea did anything to slightly displease them.
For people like that to take such a humble stance and request a secret meeting with Korea and Japan—countries they considered beneath them—the matter had to be anything but trivial.
Why had he gathered them here?
“Recently, criminals hiding in China have begun to gather under a single group. No, to be more precise…”
His eyes, trembling subtly as they were consumed by anxiety and fear, pleaded with the others.
“It would be more accurate to say they are being subjugated by a single group.”
It was a truly shocking statement that left them momentarily stunned.