Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Overhearing the Plot
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“Mm. Tomorrow’s the day. The day those Comet Guild bastards bring the ‘Cup of Life’ they acquired back to Korea. We need to recover it before it’s too late.”
Baek Eun-seong had created Goldwin, a criminal organization in Korea for his personal entertainment.
Tomorrow night, Baek Eun-seong planned to lead them in an attack on another Korean criminal group, the Comet Guild.
All to recover the Cup of Life, a key ingredient for a certain holy relic.
“But how did those Comet guys get the Cup of Life? It’s still amazing no matter how many times I think about it.”
“They stole it from somewhere too, apparently. I don’t know the details. It’s just what I heard through a spy.”
Jin, who had been watching, shot Baek Eun-seong an envious look at his words.
“Wow. So it’s a guild war? That sounds fun.”
“Fun, my ass. They’re mostly C-Rank to B-Grade guys anyway. Whatever.”
“That’s what makes it fun. You can hide among the weaklings and pick them off one by one in secret.”
“Sigh. Anyway, I’m heading out.”
Baek Eun-seong waved his hand. Bert, who had been quietly observing, gave a farewell as well.
“Yeah, alright. You can handle it alone, right?”
At Bert’s question, Baek Eun-seong flashed a confident smile.
“Of course.”
The first day of the long special task force experience came to an end, and we headed out for dinner.
We arrived at a rib joint near the area.
Kang Kyung-chal, along with the other special task force agents, said it was the best place in Incheon and brought us here.
“Alright, eat up comfortably. You all worked hard today.”
I picked up a perfectly cooked piece of meat and popped it into my mouth. The savory juices spread, washing away the day’s fatigue in an instant.
They weren’t exaggerating when they said it was the best in Incheon.
“Mmm, delicious.”
Choi Seo-yoon, sitting across from me, wore a blissful expression.
Yoo Ah-ra seemed to like it too, moving her chopsticks quickly. She flipped the meat in between with surprisingly skilled hands.
When I tried to flip the meat myself, she blocked me with her chopsticks, glaring as if she had her own philosophy about grilling only her own portion.
I set down my chopsticks and picked up the beer bottle in front of Kang Kyung-chal, pouring some into his glass.
“Whoa, even pouring my glass? Haha. Thanks.”
I grinned at Kang Kyung-chal’s words and instinctively looked for my own empty glass in front of me.
“......Ah.”
For a moment, I remembered I was a student.
Of course there’d be no beer glass for me.
Tsk. With a regretful gesture, I returned the beer bottle to its place.
At that moment, I felt an intense gaze from across the table.
Gone was her earlier happy expression—Choi Seo-yoon was staring at me with narrowed eyes. She must have caught the meaning behind my actions.
“W-what.”
“......Nothing.”
Feeling awkwardly embarrassed for no reason, I turned my gaze to Kang Kyung-chal. Pretending not to have noticed something that had been bothering me since earlier, I casually asked.
“Agent Kang, I overheard the agents talking earlier—what’s Goldwin?”
Goldwin was the organization those grave robbers I ran into last time belonged to.
It was also the criminal group Baek Eun-seong, a member of Jaun, managed in Korea.
They didn’t play a huge role in the original story, but they were set to reappear later.
However, based on my pre-regression experiences rather than the original plot, I sensed something suspicious.
“Oh, it’s one of the magic crime guilds operating in Incheon. Actually, it’s not even an official guild, to be precise.”
At the words “magic crime organization,” Yoo Ah-ra stopped her chopsticks. She then lifted her head to look at me and Kang Kyung-chal.
Ignoring her gaze, I said to Kang Kyung-chal.
“They’ve been causing trouble lately, huh? From what I heard, they’re stirring up quite a bit of problems.”
“Yeah. Their movements have been suspicious lately, so we’ve been keeping a close eye on them.”
“Any fights breaking out between crime organizations or anything?”
“Fights between organizations? Nah, nothing like that recently. And they’ve got no reason to risk something so dangerous anyway.”
“......Hmm.”
I nodded.
No reason for guilds to fight each other. Yeah, something was off.
Not because of the original plot, but because of my memories from before regression.
It should be around this time.
The grave robbery incident at the ruins had just ended a few days ago.
The news had reported a clash between two magic crime organizations.
Goldwin Guild versus Comet Guild.
The brawl, which erupted for unknown reasons, ended in Goldwin’s overwhelming victory.
The result: the opposing organization wiped out.
And this was just my guess, but achieving such a decisive outcome meant Jaun was likely involved.
But this part wasn’t covered in the original story.
If Jaun was involved to that extent, there had to be some objective. What could it have been?
“What are you thinking about?”
I snapped back to reality at the voice from across the table.
Lifting my head, I saw Yoo Ah-ra looking at me with meaningful eyes.
“Nothing.”
“......Worried about that Goldwin crime group or whatever?”
“Nah. Why would I care about them.”
At my curt reply, Yoo Ah-ra stared at me before nodding as if giving up.
“Fine. I won’t ask.”
If it’s nothing, then don’t ask.
At that moment, Choi Seo-yoon, sitting next to her, blinked as she looked back and forth between me and Yoo Ah-ra.
“Why do you two always talk about stuff I don’t know?”
After finishing the experience day, we arrived at the wizard hotel provided by the school.
It was 9 p.m.
I sat on the spacious bed at the end of the room.
“This room’s pretty nice.”
The overall vibe was much cleaner and more luxurious than the hotel from the mercenary experience last time.
Especially since last time I shared a twin room with Lee Seo-jun, but this time it was just me.
I relaxed my body and sank fully into the bed.
The soft sensation made me feel like I could fall asleep right away.
“Whoa, pure bliss.”
Worried I might actually doze off, I sat up again. It was still early, and sleeping now would waste time.
“Hmm.”
I opened my smart student notebook and searched for ‘Goldwin.’
［Incheon Magic Crime Organization ‘Goldwin’ Expanding Illegal Operations］
［Special Task Force Incheon Branch: “We Will Crack Down on Crime Groups.”］
Various articles popped up. But nothing particularly helpful.
Disappointed, I set down the smart student notebook and stood up.
Something felt fishy, but with limited info right now, there wasn’t much I could do.
“Still, I can’t just sit around.”
It might be good to check out the location where the Goldwin-Comet clash is supposed to happen.
I roughly knew it from the pre-regression news.
I opened the door and waited for the elevator.
Ding. The doors opened with a sound, and my eyes met those of a woman inside.
“Kim Sun-woo?”
The woman in the elevator was Yoo Ah-ra.
Her hair was slightly damp with sweat, suggesting she’d done some light exercise.
“Worked out?”
“Yeah. Where you headed?”
“Just getting some air.”
At my answer, Yoo Ah-ra nodded and scanned me up and down.
“Got it. See ya.”
“Yeah.”
I parted ways with Yoo Ah-ra and stepped outside the hotel. I walked along, feeling the cool night air.
According to my memory, the clash happened at Jinwonpo Port in Incheon.
I caught a taxi and arrived at Jinwonpo. It wasn’t too far, so it only took 15 minutes.
“Hmm.”
An empty seaside. Almost no lights, giving it an eerie vibe.
Atmospherically, it seemed perfect for a group fight without getting caught.
As I walked slowly, voices came from afar.
“Hello. I’m Lee Cheol-hee, a wizard from Goldwin. The guild master instructed me to take good care of you. Let me know anytime if you need anything.”
Lee Cheol-hee?
That was the name of the grave robber I met at the ruins last time.
“I’m fine. Be casual. I’m Kim Seong-eun.”
I hid far back and eavesdropped on their conversation.
I knew about Lee Cheol-hee, but the man in front of him, Kim Seong-eun, was a stranger.
I used ‘Character Insight’ on the man.
Name: Baek Eun-seong
Age: 35
Race: Human
Status: Calm
Mana Rank: S
Interest Level: 0
What.
I was startled by the name that appeared in Character Insight.
Baek Eun-seong, one of Jaun’s few Korean members.
But Baek Eun-seong’s face wasn’t that one.
His current appearance was a middle-aged face looking over 40, but his real face was handsome, looking in his twenties.
He must be using a magic tool to alter his appearance.
“What’s the Comet Guild’s smuggling time?”
“Probably around 9 p.m. tomorrow night.”
“I see. And we must securely recover the ‘Cup of Life’ they have. It’s quite important to me.”
......Cup of Life?
The Cup of Life was one of the materials for the holy relic ‘Holy Grail.’
The Holy Grail was a mysterious item that could revive even the dead under specific conditions—something magic and science couldn’t explain.
But I felt puzzled.
According to the original story, Jaun already possessed the Cup of Life.
‘Oh, so that’s how it is......’
The situation started to make sense now.
Jaun had been collecting holy relics scattered worldwide for a long time.
Of course, operating under Jaun’s name drew too much scrutiny, so they sometimes used fronts like Goldwin.
The reason the two crime organizations clashed.
The reason Comet Guild was utterly defeated.
All the mysteries unraveled.
Jaun was after the Cup of Life that Comet Guild possessed.
“So the Cup of Life is with guild master Jeong Tae-chan, right?”
“Yes, it’s said to be in Jeong Tae-chan’s possession.”
“I see. Good work. Then get me Jeong Tae-chan’s personal info separately by tomorrow.”
......So what should I do?
I fell into thought.
Tomorrow at 9 p.m.
If I intervened in this fight, could I snatch the Cup of Life?
With Baek Eun-seong involved, attempting to take it would be extremely dangerous.
But if I could snag the Cup of Life, it would surely give me a huge advantage in future events.
‘What to do?’
I pondered seriously.
Then I organized my thoughts.
It was late. And staying hidden here longer risked being spotted by other Goldwin members.
For now, head back to the hotel and think.
The second day of the special task force experience arrived.
For breakfast, Yoo Ah-ra and Choi Seo-yoon headed down to the buffet restaurant on the hotel’s first floor.
They loaded their plates with appetizing food and sat at an empty table.
Yoo Ah-ra took a sip of water and started eating. Then she glanced at Choi Seo-yoon across from her.
Choi Seo-yoon wasn’t eating; she was looking around as if searching for something. Curious, she asked.
“What’s up?”
“Oh, no. I just don’t see senior Kim Sun-woo.”
Choi Seo-yoon kept scanning the surroundings, sounding concerned.
“He’ll come down soon. And that guy’s quirky sometimes, but he actually lives pretty methodically.”
At Yoo Ah-ra’s words, Choi Seo-yoon tilted her head.
Their conversation yesterday aside, these two seemed to share some secret she wasn’t privy to.
Their relationship looked closer than she’d thought.
Her curiosity piqued, she asked directly.
“But senior, how did you and Kim Sun-woo senior get close?”
“Me and Kim Sun-woo?”
“Yeah.”
Yoo Ah-ra looked blankly for a moment, then furrowed her brow.
“......We’re not that close.”
“Come on, plenty of people have seen you two talking a lot.”
“I just don’t talk much with others. That’s probably why it seems that way......”
Yoo Ah-ra trailed off in a small voice.
Choi Seo-yoon somewhat accepted that. Yoo Ah-ra’s poor social skills were somewhat known around school.
But even she had someone she talked to often: Kim Sun-woo.
Come to think of it, it was ironic.
Kim Sun-woo wasn’t particularly sociable either.
Yet around that senior, amazing people like Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra always gathered. Strange.
“How’d you get close to Kim Sun-woo?”
Then Yoo Ah-ra asked back.
“Huh? Oh, um. It just kinda happened.”
She felt embarrassed to say it was because she followed Lee Seo-jun around, so she mumbled vaguely.
“What’s that supposed to mean.”
“Hehe. We just kept running into each other during school activities. And we’re in the same group as Kim Sun-woo senior and the special class, you know.”
“Hmm.”
Yoo Ah-ra nodded.
“Oh? There’s Sun-woo senior.”
Choi Seo-yoon said, turning her gaze toward the restaurant entrance.
Yoo Ah-ra followed her gaze.
Kim Sun-woo looked slightly fatigued around the eyes, like he hadn’t slept much.
Did he stay up all night doing something else? she wondered to herself.
Come to think of it, he said he was going out for air yesterday.
“Hmm......”
Suddenly suspicious, Yoo Ah-ra observed Kim Sun-woo as he loaded food onto his tray.
Oblivious, Kim Sun-woo got his food and looked around.
When Choi Seo-yoon waved at him, he approached.
“Senior, why’d you come down so late?”
“What’s it matter? As long as I eat on time.”
Yoo Ah-ra watched him and asked.
“Didn’t sleep well? You look tired.”