Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: The Saint of Rome (3)
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“…Is there a reason for your suspicion?”
Oh-jin asked, his eyes glinting sharply.
“Have you heard that the Heukseonghoe has been expanding its influence in Italy recently?”
“I have.”
It was likely a different faction from the ‘Owls’ active in Korea.
Still, it was true that the Heukseonghoe was expanding.
“We’ve confirmed that a group believed to be the Heukseonghoe has been seen frequently near Miss Isabella’s residence. The timing also strangely coincides with the attempted assassination.”
“How did you get that information…?”
“I have a reliable source in Italy. They may not be a fighter, but their information network is second to none.”
“I see.”
If the vice guildmaster of the Valhalla Guild was confident enough to boast, the information had to be trustworthy.
“Then are you saying the Heukseonghoe is trying to assassinate Miss Isabella?”
“Well… we don’t have any concrete evidence yet.”
“Hmm.”
Suppressing a low hum, he narrowed his eyes.
‘The Heukseonghoe is after Isabella?’
The first question that came to mind was ‘why’.
“Is there a reason they’re targeting her?”
“That, I’m not sure… Ah!”
Shaking her head, Kim Seon-yeong let out a short cry and clapped her hands.
“Come to think of it, I heard Miss Isabella’s Stigma is incredibly effective against ‘demonic beasts.’”
Did that mean she possessed a power that was their natural enemy?
“I don’t know if possessing a power that counters demonic beasts is reason enough for the Heukseonghoe to be so desperate to kill her, though.”
“……”
It was.
It seemed she didn’t know yet.
The Heukseonghoe… no, the very existence of the ‘Black Stars’ was connected to demonic beasts in some way.
‘If a super rookie receiving global attention possesses a power that’s a natural counter to demonic beasts…’
That was more than enough reason for them to target Isabella.
‘So that’s what he meant when he said she could prevent the disaster two years from now.’
Lee Shin-hyeok had regretted not meeting her on June 30th.
Isabella had recently been the target of an assassination attempt by a group presumed to be the Heukseonghoe.
These two facts led to one conclusion.
‘In the first timeline, Isabella dies on June 30th.’
In that case.
‘I have to save her.’
He had to make sure she didn't fall to the Heukseonghoe’s assassins on that day.
He had to go there himself and prevent her death.
He had to rewrite the pages of a predetermined fate.
“I’d like to thoroughly investigate the Heukseonghoe in Italy too, but… honestly, we just don’t have the resources for it.”
Lee Woo-hyeok said with a sigh.
“Then I’ll go to Italy and investigate.”
“…What? You’ll go yourself, Mr. Oh-jin?”
He nodded.
“But there’s no solid proof yet, and the Heukseonghoe in Italy… their power is much greater compared to the one in Korea.”
He knew.
The one leading the Heukseonghoe in Italy was ranked 3rd among the Executors, wasn’t it?
Considering that even Cheon Do-yoon, the 6th-ranked Executor, wouldn’t dare to challenge him, going there was madness.
‘But.’
If he couldn’t save her.
If the storm of blood that swept through Italy two years from now were to blow his way.
—*Aaaaaaaah!*
—*H-help me!*
The screams that had filled the city echoed in his mind.
Blood-soaked streets.
The rampant death flickered before his eyes.
‘Well, I don’t really care about that part.’
He wasn’t a hero who would sacrifice himself gloriously to save countless people, nor was he a champion embarking on a perilous journey to defeat a demon king.
Just a common con man who deceived and swindled others.
However.
At the very least.
‘What I hold in my hands.’
This handful of warmth.
He would protect it, no matter what it took.
‘And Isabella has her uses.’
A super rookie who reached 6-Star in just one year.
An Awakened with a power that was the ultimate counter to demonic beasts would undoubtedly be a great help in the future.
‘If I can pull her over to my side this time.’
If he could put her in his debt and control her as he pleased.
‘It’s worth the risk.’
The corners of Oh-jin’s mouth twisted into a sly grin.
He ran his tongue over his lips.
‘Thanks, Lee Shin-hyeok.’
If not for him, where else could he have gotten the precise information that she would be attacked by the Heukseonghoe on the 30th?
The regressor was long dead and gone.
But his memories lived on through him, forging a new destiny.
“Still, if the Heukseonghoe is targeting her… I need to go and confirm it myself.”
“Hmm.”
Lee Woo-hyeok hummed, a thoughtful expression on his face.
His eyes were filled with worry that he might needlessly lose the ‘Apostle of the North Star,’ who had such a bright future ahead of him.
“Then I should go with you…”
“Guildmaster. You haven’t forgotten about this, have you?”
Kim Seon-yeong dangled the USB containing information on the Heukseonghoe in front of Lee Woo-hyeok’s eyes.
“This isn’t the time to be worrying about Italy, is it?”
“That’s true, but.”
“You don’t need to worry. I’ll go to Italy alone.”
Oh-jin said in a firm voice.
‘It’ll be a hassle if Lee Woo-hyeok gets involved.’
How could he possibly explain that Isabella would be attacked on the 30th?
He could probably spin a believable lie, but it would be hard to avoid suspicion.
“Ah, then take this, Mr. Oh-jin.”
Kim Seon-yeong handed him a card engraved with a roaring lion.
On the back was a contact number and a name he hadn’t seen before.
“Paolo Lanzoni. It’s the contact information for the source I mentioned earlier. Go find him and show him this card, and he’ll cooperate.”
“Thank you.”
Having an informant who knew Italy inside and out would make the operation much smoother.
“And… Mr. Oh-jin, do you happen to speak Italian?”
“No.”
To be honest, he couldn’t even speak English properly.
It’s not like he learned anything in that shithole of an orphanage.
“Then this should be helpful.”
Kim Seon-yeong went to one side of the room and slid open a drawer.
What she took out was a device that looked like a hearing aid.
It was something Oh-jin was familiar with.
“Is this a translation device?”
One of the miraculous devices created from Starstones.
Since they could be made with relatively cheap Starstones, they were quite widespread even among the general public, not just the Awakened.
Of course, that didn’t mean they were cheap by any means.
They cost tens of millions of won, at least.
“It’s a top-of-the-line translation device. With this, you won’t have any problem listening or speaking.”
“…I feel like I’m receiving too much.”
First an informant, and now a high-end translator.
They were giving him so much that it was almost unsettling.
“Fufu. It’s only natural to provide this level of support when you’re taking on such a dangerous mission. In return, please share any information you gather in Italy with us.”
“Of course.”
The Valhalla Guild was a hunting dog he had raised with his own two hands.
It was only natural to provide information about the prey for the dog to tear apart.
“Then I’ll get ready and leave right away.”
“Do you have to go in such a hurry?”
“It’s better to be early than late.”
They didn’t know, but.
‘There’s not much time.’
There was less than a week until the 30th.
“I’ll contact you when I arrive.”
Oh-jin left the Valhalla Guild and headed home.
* * *
“Huh? Italy? Why Italy all of a sudden?”
Ha-eun, who had been scooping ice cream, widened her eyes.
“I got a request from the Valhalla Guild. I’ll be gone for about a week.”
“Hmm. Italy.”
A bright smile spread across Ha-eun’s lips.
“When we go, can we see the, what’s it called… the Colosseum?”
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“Kahahat! Back when we were in that shithole orphanage, I never dreamed we’d ever travel abroad together!”
She spoke as if they were going on a vacation.
Scooping up a spoonful of ice cream, she held it out toward Oh-jin.
“Here, open wide, the ice cream is coming in!”
She was in high spirits.
But it seemed like she was misunderstanding something.
“Not ‘we.’ I’m going alone.”
“Huh?”
Ha-eun’s expression instantly soured.
“What kind of request is it that you have to go alone?! Of course I’m coming with you!”
Just as he thought.
She had taken it to mean they were going to Italy together.
“It’s a stealth mission, so I have to go alone.”
“I-I can do it too! Stealth!”
“You’re not very good at concealing your presence, Nunna.”
“W-well.”
Ha-eun’s gaze wandered aimlessly.
In truth, stealth wasn’t strictly necessary.
It was just an excuse to leave her behind, since she was bad at hiding her presence.
There was another reason he didn’t want to take her.
‘It’s too dangerous.’
As long as he didn’t know how many of the Heukseonghoe’s Awakened would be involved in the attack on Isabella.
Taking her with him was risky.
‘With Black Heaven, I can just run if things get dicey.’
But she couldn’t do that.
“So… you’re going to leave me behind and go alone?”
“Sorry.”
“Hmph!”
Ha-eun turned her head away with a pout.
*Munch, munch.*
She snatched the ice cream she had offered Oh-jin and stuffed it into her mouth.
Puffing out her cheeks, she petulantly tapped his shin with the tip of her foot.
“Pfft! Let’s go on a real trip later instead, not for work.”
“…You promise?”
“Yeah.”
Perhaps because she knew herself that she had no talent for concealing her presence, she didn’t insist on coming along.
“So when are you leaving?”
“Today.”
“Huh? You’re leaving right now? What about the flight?”
“Why would I take a plane? I can just go through the ‘Sanctuary.’”
“Oh, right.”
Ha-eun clapped her hands as if she’d forgotten.
The ‘Sanctuary,’ the world where the Constellations resided, had entrances scattered all over the globe.
By going through the Sanctuary, one could travel overseas quickly and conveniently, almost like using a portal.
‘I don’t know where the entrance to Italy is, though.’
But Vega was there, so he could just ask her.
“Damn. So you won’t be back for a week?”
“Hehe. Why? Will you be lonely without me?”
“Look at you. Getting cheeky with your Nunna again?”
Ha-eun shot him the middle finger and glared fiercely.
But it was only for a moment.
She turned her head slightly and muttered in a small voice.
“Well… try to call often.”
This feels like being a husband going away on a business trip.
“Puhaha! I will, Nunna.”
“Stop laughing.”
“Puheheheh!”
“This little shit?”
After some light banter with Ha-eun, he packed his things and left the house.
He entered the Sanctuary and looked for the exit leading to Italy.
Fortunately, there was a gate right near Rome, so he was able to arrive at a location not far from the city.
—The time it took to arrive in Rome was a mere hour.
It was an astonishingly short time, making it hard to believe he was in a country that was over 10 hours away by plane.
“It would probably take longer to drive to Busan.”
Oh-jin chuckled and put the translation device he’d received from Kim Seon-yeong in his ear.
The Italian that had sounded like an alien language was now translated into vivid Korean.
“Ah, ah. I wonder if my words are being translated well.”
He had no one to talk to, so he couldn’t confirm that yet.
“Should I find Paolo first?”
He had already contacted Paolo Lanzoni as soon as he arrived.
When he said he was introduced by the Valhalla Guild, Paolo sent him a link with his location.
‘He said he’s near a station called Rebibbia.’
He started walking blindly toward the location on the map.
“This place is…”
The place he arrived at was a large gypsy settlement lined with old apartment buildings.
‘He lives in a place like this?’
Tilting his head, he entered the settlement.
“Shit. Where the hell is he holed up?”
The settlement itself was a confusing maze, and it was his first time here, so finding his way wasn't easy.
As he was wandering around inside the settlement.
“Are you perhaps lost?”
A woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat approached him.
She had blue eyes reminiscent of the sea and a gentle smile that could melt one's heart just by looking at it.
The platinum blonde hair visible under her hat shone with an ethereal beauty.
“You’re…”
He had only seen her in pictures.
But there was no mistaking it.
“Ha.”
Oh-jin’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
‘No fucking way, is this for real?’
There was a limit to coincidence.
The situation was less of a coincidence and more of an absurdity, leaving Oh-jin speechless.
“Oh, my? Do you happen to know me?”
She blushed slightly, a look of mild surprise on her face.
“I thought you wouldn’t, being from the East…”
She took off her hat and extended a hand.
Her golden hair, which flowed down to her shoulders, shone brilliantly.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Isabella Colagrande.”
*Smile.*
The Saint of Rome beamed brightly.