Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Overseas Business Trip
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Shin-ju stared at Bid's monitor with a grave expression.
The monitor displayed a long list of Kai's profiles, both as a singer and as an alien.
Solo idol singer ‘Kai.’
His real name was ‘Ticano Vendett.’
He was from ‘Zydeline,’ the southern polar region of the planet Bluerobic.
Those from the southern polar region generally had dark skin, so on Earth, they were called ‘Dark Elves.’
Shin-ju was lost in thought after hearing that Kai had visited Canyon Fonuel and handed over Tibee-ra's song.
Was it some kind of feint?
Did Kim Cha-yoon know from the beginning that I was involved?
Then what was Aila?
Was it just an act?
Shin-ju recalled her expression.
It didn't seem like she was acting...
Shin-ju pictured Kai's wide, smiling face.
His words kept echoing in his ears.
Shin-ju lifted his head.
He had to take the direct approach and meet him to talk.
Enri and Jekovic were probably investigating Aila's side right now.
"Bid, I have something to take care of. Please take this person in charge to the police station and get their statement."
[Huh? So suddenly? Then where are you going, Shin-ju O_O??]
"I'm going to see Kai. I need to talk to him myself."
Shin-ju arrived at Future Vision, the entertainment agency located in an alley in Hongdae.
He carried a warrant and went to find Niaroseu.
"Hello, Ms. Niaroseu. Where is Kai right now?"
Niaroseu looked up at Shin-ju with a displeased expression.
"Hey, what's the meaning of this, just barging in?"
"We've found evidence that Kai stole Tibee-ra's song and illegally shared it with the distributor, Canyon Fonuel."
Shin-ju placed the warrant on the desk in front of Niaroseu.
"And we have the authority to investigate that case."
Niaroseu silently looked down at the warrant. It was clearly an official warrant from the prosecutor's office.
Her expression turned serious, but her voice remained calm.
"I suppose I have no choice. But Kai isn't here right now."
"Where is he?"
"He's in LA for an overseas concert."
"...When does he return?"
"He'll be back next Tuesday."
"Hmm..."
Shin-ju briefly gazed into the distance and fumbled in his inner pocket.
"Understood. Here's my business card. Please make sure you tell him to contact me as soon as he returns."
Niaroseu took the card, barely glancing at it.
"Yeah, whatever, I get it."
*She's probably not going to pass on the message.*
Shin-ju looked at Niaroseu, thinking how predictable she was.
Now that he thought about it, he wondered how the investigation into Aila was going.
Those two must have stopped by Future Vision first...
"Well then, I'll be on my way."
Shin-ju left Niaroseu's office and called Enri.
"Yes, Shin-ju."
"Yes, Enri. Did you get to meet Aila?"
"Ah, about that..."
Shin-ju, who had been walking, came to a halt.
The slight hesitation told him something had clearly gone wrong.
"They said Aila left for an overseas concert in England."
"Ha!"
Fleeing the country! Those bastards! They've really made up their minds.
He could hear Jekovic complaining about something in a disgruntled voice over the phone.
"What should we do, Shin-ju?"
A smirk twisted Shin-ju's lips.
*Alright, let's see who wins this.*
"What do you mean, what do we do? We go abroad too."
"Ah, an overseas business trip?"
He could hear Jekovic's voice, now even more agitated, chattering away next to Enri.
"That's right. We'll have to put together a trip team. Please contact the U.C.I.D. headquarters in Washington and London.
I'll speak with their respective 'Negoti-aliens' myself. I know them well. I'll start with the US side first."
"Understood, Shin-ju."
Shin-ju hung up.
It's been a while since I had a reason to call my friends overseas.
Though it's not for a good reason.
*Swoosh-*
*Ding-dong-de-ling-*
A strange and mysterious sound effect played.
Sharin entered the Cha-yoon Enterprise headquarters with Dantallion.
The interior design was simple yet sophisticated.
The inside of the globally recognized corporate behemoth was composed of remarkably sleek curves, strongly evoking the feeling of a space station.
The first-floor lobby was staffed by aliens of all shapes and sizes.
There were even quite a few people from her home planet, Bluerobic.
When the SS-Class hero appeared in her free-spirited casual clothes, all the surrounding aliens turned to look at Sharin at least once.
Ignoring their gazes, Sharin spoke to Dantallion, who was walking ahead of her.
"Is this something we really had to come all the way here to discuss?"
"I judged it would be better to show you directly rather than just tell you."
It was a dark room where only the outlines of objects were barely discernible.
"Where are we?"
"The space observation and mapping room."
Dantallion operated a remote control.
The large, dome-like ceiling began to open slowly.
Sharin naturally looked up at the ceiling.
On the ceiling, countless stars and the vast Milky Way began to sparkle, along with coordinates made of green panels.
It felt as if she were floating in the infinite expanse of space.
Dantallion turned to look at Sharin.
"We were the ones who continuously sent signals to the Bluerobic refugee ship."
"Uh-huh, figured as much."
Sharin answered indifferently.
Dantallion pointed to a corner of the ceiling.
A square-shaped blue light could be seen heading toward Earth.
"Just as you came to Earth after receiving the message we sent, Ms. Furen has also received the message and is currently on her way to Earth."
Sharin turned her head in the direction Dantallion was pointing.
Her lips twitched.
"How can I believe that's Furen?"
"I expected you would say that. Please take a look at this for a moment."
Dantallion was now standing in front of a giant screen.
He spread his fingers and manipulated the screen a few times, and someone slowly began to appear.
*Static-fzzzt-*
A black silhouette flickered on the screen.
Sharin's eyes narrowed.
Just as she realized the owner of the silhouette was a Bluerobian with short hair...
A voice with poor audio quality came through.
"Immediately... reception... status... Earth..."
The words kept cutting out.
Sharin pressed her lips together firmly.
That silhouette and voice were definitely Furen's.
"So you sent us a signal like that, even going as far as to steal Tibee-ra's song?"
"It was not our intention to steal it from the beginning."
Dantallion didn't particularly deny it.
If anything, his attitude was one of confidence.
"We went to Ms. Tibee-ra directly and tried to purchase the song officially, but."
"But?"
"Ms. Tibee-ra refused."
"Why?"
"She said she could not participate in the matter, as it could inadvertently draw the clutches of war to Earth."
Dantallion looked up at the ceiling and muttered as if disappointed.
"It seems Ms. Tibee-ra was more concerned about the security of her life on Earth than saving her own people."
Sharin snorted.
"Hmph, that's not it. Tibee-ra was looking at the bigger picture. I would have done the same."
Sharin wore a satisfied expression at her kinswoman's resolute decision.
She had seemed just gentle and delicate in the video, but it turned out she had a backbone when it counted.
"Do you not wish to see Ms. Furen?"
*Ah, look at this guy.*
Sharin stared silently at Dantallion.
"Hey, the conversation keeps getting sidetracked. What was your purpose for bringing me here in the first place?"
Dantallion suddenly knelt on one knee before Sharin, in front of Furen's silhouette.
The cosmic background shimmered from the ceiling.
Sharin's expression twisted at his sudden action.
"...What is this?"
Dantallion looked up at Sharin.
He wore a sincere expression, as if he had made a firm decision.
"I wish to recruit you, Ms. Sharin, as well as Ms. Furen, and Ms. Enri. All three of you, to our company."
"Ha! What...?"
"Join us, and let us create a new future for Earth together."
"We desperately need the power of you three."
Sharin glanced at the ceiling for a moment, then glared back down at Dantallion.
"Hey."
Sharin lowered her voice to a low growl.
"...Are you out of your mind?"
Meanwhile, Shin-ju was sitting in a cafe on the second floor in Hongdae, drinking a vanilla latte and listening to a familiar voice.
"Whoa, it's been a while! How've you been? Is life in America treating you well?"
A somewhat delinquent yet lighthearted voice flowed from the receiver, mixed with bustling background noise.
- *Thanks to you, I'm having a hell of a time. I never should have been assigned here, damn it!*
"Aw, come on. You're the one getting paid way more."
A disgruntled voice erupted from the receiver.
- *Hey! Compared to the work I do, it's not nearly enough! Maybe because it's America, but the scale of the incidents here is no joke. There are so many thick-skulled Dragonkin here, I'm serious!*
"The turf wars are pretty intense, huh?"
The person on the other end let out a laugh as if in disbelief.
- *Intense doesn't even cover it. To humans, their simple assaults are practically blockbuster-level! I'm telling you, it's an endless supply of Hollywood movie material, for real.*
"Well, it's the same for us."
- *You can't say that. All you have in Korea is the 'Wyvern'! We're dealing with 'Titan' class and above!*
"Alright, alright. Anyway, it looks like I'll have to go to the States, so I'll buy you a meal when I get there."
- *Huh? You're coming to America? Why?*
"Well, to be precise, it's still up in the air whether I'm going to the US or the UK."
His voice turned sly, as if he understood.
- *Aha~ Someone skipped town, huh? Right?*
"Yep. One in America, one in the UK."
- *I was wondering why this bastard was calling me. You called to give me work, didn't you.*
Shin-ju grinned and spoke in a lightly teasing tone.
"As sharp as ever, the celebrated hero of America, Mr. Negoti-alien."
- *Hey, hey, cut it out, you punk. To be honest, you should have been the one to get that. I can't sleep because of it!*
Shin-ju muttered, as if reminiscing about that time.
"Well, America always needs a hero. But I don't have the confidence to handle that."
- *Anyway, what about the UK side?*
"Haven't called them yet. You were my first call. And I'm not asking for anything difficult. We'll handle the action anyway, so just find me some information."
- *Like what?*
"Just send me the LA concert information and the personal details of an idol currently performing named Kai. His real name is Ticano Vendett. We'll take it from there."
- *Oh boy~ an idol case? Drugs, or school violence?*
"Neither, for now. It's a bit of a special situation. I'll tell you when I arrive. You can do that for me, right?"
- *It's not hard. Since it's come to this, if you come to the US, I'll assign one of our U.C.I.D. search members to you as a guide.*
"Oh, you'd do that? Well, thank you very much."
Wait.
Shin-ju felt a sense of unease.
He rolled his eyes toward the ceiling as if the answer was just out of reach.
"But a guide member...? Who is it?"
- *...You can look forward to it. They'll definitely be a help.*
Shin-ju's expression grew anxious.
"...Hey... It's not a Dragonkin, is it?"
A low laugh trickled from the receiver.
- *Haha, well now... Who could it be?*