Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: The Saint of Rome (4)
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"Uh..."
Oh-jin stared at her blankly, his mouth agape.
It wasn't because he was captivated by her beautiful appearance or anything like that.
'How on earth?'
The reason he'd frozen was the encounter itself.
It was too coincidental to be called a mere chance meeting.
"Excuse me..."
"Ah. My apologies. I'm Kwon Oh-jin."
He took her awkwardly outstretched hand.
"Kwon Oh-jin...?"
Upon hearing his name, she fell into deep thought before suddenly clapping her hands.
"Noerang! Are you, by any chance, Noerang?"
"Yes, that's what they call me."
To think that even Isabella, an Italian, knew about it.
The title 'Apostle of Polaris' certainly did draw a lot of attention.
"Wow...! I knew I smelled something nice!"
"Pardon?"
A smell?
"Ah, ahh! I-I'm sorry! Please pretend you didn't hear that!"
Isabella blushed and quickly shook her head.
Her vehement reaction only made him more curious.
'A nice smell?'
Did she track me down by scent?
'It's not like she's from the Canes Venatici constellation or something.'
Oh-jin let out a small, dry laugh as he looked at her.
"I don't recall wearing any cologne."
"I-I asked you to forget about it!"
Flustered, Isabella squeezed her eyes shut.
Every time she shook her head, her curly golden hair swayed, reminding him of a fluffy sheep.
"Ahem! I was volunteering for the Romani people in this area. I came over because you looked lost and I wanted to help. I-It's not like I followed a smell or anything!"
So she did follow the smell.
'Though I have no idea what this 'nice smell' is.'
In any case, he had a feeling their meeting wasn't a simple coincidence.
'Come to think of it, I heard Isabella volunteers to treat the homeless.'
A large Romani camp would be the perfect place for them to gather.
'And while she was volunteering, she caught my scent and followed it. That's the story.'
Well.
He still thought it was an unbelievable coincidence, but it was far more convincing than just bumping into each other on the street.
'Regardless.'
A golden opportunity had just rolled into his lap; he couldn't let it slip away.
"Yes, I'm new here and seem to have lost my way. Could you possibly help me?"
"Of course!"
Isabella nodded with a bright smile.
"So, where are you trying to go?"
"Well... that's become a bit of a problem."
Oh-jin scratched his head with a naive expression.
"I originally had the location on a note... but I seem to have lost it."
"Oh, I see."
That was a lie.
The location had been sent as a link, so unless he lost his entire smartphone, there was no way to lose it.
'I need to create as much time with her as possible.'
If only to be able to manipulate her to his liking in the future.
Building a rapport was crucial.
"It was somewhere... around here. I can't quite remember."
Oh-jin opened a map and pointed to a random location.
"Then let's head that way first!"
Isabella gestured for him to follow.
He nodded and followed her.
"Thank you so much for your help."
"Hehe. It's nothing. I've wanted to talk with you too, Mr. Oh-jin."
"With me?"
"Yes! You're the world's first Apostle of Vega, after all. And..."
Isabella gave a bashful smile.
"I saw you take down the Hydra on the broadcast. You fought it on purpose to save the people who couldn't escape because the entrance was blocked, didn't you?"
Ah, so she was watching the broadcast then.
Well, with hundreds of thousands of live viewers, it wouldn't be strange for some foreigners to be among them.
"It's not like I fought it alone."
He feigned modesty with a shrug.
"Hehe. Even so."
Isabella looked at him with sparkling eyes.
'This might be easier than I thought.'
He never imagined that broadcast would be helpful in this way.
"I've heard a lot about you as well, Ms. Isabella."
"About me?"
"Yes. The stories of the Saint of Rome are famous even in Korea."
"Ahh. A-a saint. I'm not anything like that, not at all."
Isabella blushed as if embarrassed.
"Seeing you help a lost person like this, it seems fitting, though."
"Oh, please. Don't say that."
He made small talk with Isabella as they walked toward the location he'd pointed to on the map.
Well, it went without saying.
They never found the destination.
After about thirty more minutes of wandering around.
"I feel like I'm putting you through too much trouble."
"Hehe. Not at all. By the way, are you unable to contact the person you're meeting?"
"Their phone seems to be off."
"Oh dear..."
He shrugged at Isabella, who was looking at him with a worried expression.
"Well, it can't be helped. I'll just go back to my hotel for today and try to meet them tomorrow if I can get in touch."
"That sounds like a good idea."
"Anyway, I feel bad for making you go through all this trouble. Would you like to have a meal with me?"
He casually suggested a meal.
The whole reason for pointing to a random place and wandering around was to find an excuse to eat a meal with her.
'Good thing I didn't bring Ha-eun.'
If Ha-eun found out about this, she would flip out.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about it. I did it because I wanted to."
"Still, I'd feel too guilty to just send you on your way like this."
"Hmm. If you insist... Ah, how about that?"
She pointed to a street vendor selling kebabs.
I heard she was from a rather wealthy family.
So she eats things like that too.
"Sounds good."
He readily agreed, bought two kebabs, and they sat down on a nearby bench.
"Hehe. Being like this, it feels like we're on a date."
Is it because she's Italian?
That was a pretty forward thing to say.
'I almost got flustered.'
He quickly pictured Ha-eun in his mind and gave a slight nod.
"Well... it's not exactly a place for a date, though."
She gave a bitter smile and looked at the Romani camp.
The buildings looked old enough to collapse at any moment, and the people passing by on the street were dressed in shabby clothes.
'It's like the neighborhood I used to live in.'
The only difference was that this place was several times larger.
No matter where you go in the world, the lives of the poor and powerless are miserable.
"Look! Isabella-nunna is with a guy!"
"Huh? It's true!"
Children passing by pointed at them and shouted.
They seemed to know her, calling her 'Nunna' and showing friendly smiles.
"I-It's not like that!"
Isabella shot up from her seat.
"Hahahahaha!!"
"Ooh la la~ Isabella's with a boy~!"
Ooh la la?
How many years has it been since I last heard that?
"Hey, you kids!!"
"Hahahaha!"
The children ran off into the distance.
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Oh-jin."
"It's fine."
"Haa. We should have eaten inside a restaurant after all."
She sighed and nibbled on the kebab in her hand.
"You seem to be popular with the children."
"I come here often to volunteer."
She treats the injured for free, I recall.
"You're very kind."
"..."
For a moment.
Her expression darkened.
"...I'm not."
She clutched her pants and lowered her head.
"Not... kind at all."
If this wasn't kind, then what was?
"...Is this your first time in Italy?"
"Yes."
"In Italy, the Romani... are discriminated against from birth."
"Is that so?"
Is it like the position of Black people decades ago?
"I'm not saying the people who discriminate are unconditionally evil. It's true that the crime rate among the Romani is very high."
She gazed at the old Romani camp with a distant look in her eyes.
"I'm... the same. I pretend not to on the outside, but in a corner of my heart, I end up thinking they're 'different'."
"Is that a bad thing?"
One couldn't say discrimination was good.
But it was also an issue that could never be completely eliminated.
For reasons of different races, different ideologies, different genders.
As long as humans were human, it was impossible for discrimination and conflict to disappear.
One could only strive to reduce it.
In that sense, she was someone who was trying her best.
"Hehe. You can't say it's bad for just that reason. But..."
She continued in a low, sunken voice.
"The truth is... whenever I help them, I can't help but think..."
*Bite.* She bit her lip.
"—'How fortunate.' That I wasn't born Romani, that I possess a powerful Stigma, that I have outstanding talent."
She continued in a suppressed voice, as if rebuking herself.
"The reason I help them... is actually because I want to feel that wicked emotion."
So.
That's why she called herself 'not kind.'
"Hoho. To say such unnecessary things to someone I've just met..."
"Is that not allowed?"
"Pardon?"
"If you help others to feel superior, is that wrong?"
This young lady sure lives a rigid life.
"That's..."
"A good deed done for a reward is still a good deed. Whether that reward is material or psychological."
"But!"
"People praise good deeds done without expecting a reward as true altruism. Why do you think that is?"
The reason is simple.
"Because those people are easier to exploit."
"..."
"The more pure-hearted saints there are who expect no thanks or reward, the more advantageous it is for oneself."
If you lose something.
It means I can gain that much more.
"Helping them because you want to feel superior versus not helping them because you hate feeling that way. In the end, which one actually helps them?"
"...That's."
"It's foolish to only consider the result. But it's even more foolish to only consider the process."
"..."
Isabella's eyes widened.
After a short silence,
"...You're a peculiar person, Mr. Oh-jin."
A smile as bright as sunshine graced her lips.
"I'm not peculiar."
Merely.
I had just eloquently spoken the words she 'most wanted to hear' right now.
"Hehe. No. You're plenty peculiar."
Isabella stood up and patted the dust off her backside.
"I have to get going now, I have something else to attend to. Ah, and this is my business card."
She held out the card with a bright smile.
"Can we talk again later?"
"Of course."
He was planning to ask for her contact information, but she offered it first.
"Well then, see you next time, Mr. Oh-jin."
She gazed at Oh-jin and murmured in a small voice, "Sembra delizioso."
'What was that?'
Was it because her voice was too soft?
The translation didn't come through properly.
'Well, whatever.'
Waving to her receding figure, Oh-jin also stood up.
"Now then."
Shall I go meet Paolo Lanzoni, who must be waiting for me with bated breath?