14. The Banquet's Beginning
14. The Banquet's Beginning
The private jet prepared by the Villain Association soared into the sky.
The seats inside the cozy private jet were plush, and there was an ample supply of wine and refreshments.
"Fine, but don't drink too much. It'll be a real problem if you're still drunk when we land."
"It's okay. Magical energy. Circulate. Drunkenness. Disappears."
"...The drunkenness disappears?"
Nod nod!
When Shingen asked again, Kaede nodded her head, twisted off the wine bottle cap with her bare hands, and began chugging from the bottle.
...Is she more of a drinker than I expected?
The very idea that she could blow away a tipsy feeling with a mysterious power called magical energy was fascinating.
The world Shingen had been in did not have an energy called magical energy.
At best, you could say they utilized Qi. No, even that was a one-sided claim...
Organizations like China's Four Perils and the Triad claimed to use an energy called Qi, but there was no proof.
It was essentially a world where one could become stronger solely through physical training and discipline.
"Ooooh."
Gulgak gulgak.
She continued chugging from the bottle, constantly pouring wine down her throat.
As if she herself were a wine barrel, empty bottles began to pile up, and she showed every sign of polishing off all the wine stowed inside the private jet.
"......"
Shingen watched this for a moment, then reclined his seat, lay down, and closed his eyes.
Each lost in their own time, before they knew it, the private jet had landed at an airport on an island in the tropics.
Getting off the jet on time, a landscape blending the airport with the beautiful natural surroundings greeted the pair.
"It's practically at a resort level."
"Good."
Pit-a-pat pit-a-pat.
Kaede followed behind Shingen, moving with quick, short steps.
She seemed uninterested in the surrounding scenery, instead cradling the last remaining bottle of premium wine from the jet in her arms.
Exiting the runway, passing through the airport, and stepping outside, they found a single black limousine waiting.
"Are you Iwamoto Shingen-nim?"
"Yes. I didn't expect you to prepare a limousine too."
"It's basic courtesy when welcoming distinguished guests."
An old man with a white beard, dressed in a black suit, opened the limousine door.
Shingen and Kaede naturally boarded the back seat, and not long after, the limousine departed.
The moment Kaede got into the limousine, she popped the cork and began sipping the wine.
"I've ridden in many different cars, but this is my first time in a limousine."
"Limousine. First time?"
"Limousines made for easy targets. Besides, compared to other cars, they're hard to drive recklessly, so I never favored them."
It was much safer to heavily modify a sedan to its maximum capability and drive around in that.
Of course, even with all that preparation, one slash from a true expert could still slice it in two.
"Me too. First time. Limousine."
"If it's your first, enjoy it to the fullest. You probably won't get to ride in one often."
Opportunities to ride in a limousine would likely be scarce from now on.
He had not the slightest intention of operating limousines within the organization.
The limousine entered a sparsely populated mountain valley.
The weather was clear, but going too deep in felt like a place where one could kill someone without being noticed.
After traveling for quite a while, they arrived at a very large clearing located deep within the mountain valley.
The clearing, neatly shaped into a perfect circle, formed an impeccable circle.
Whoooooooosh.
As the limousine headed for the center of the clearing, the ground began to sink and descend downward.
They modified a bunker to create a space underground.
Well, it is the Villain Association. If they openly exposed a banquet hall, it would be an easy target for bombardment and raids by Awakened ones.
After descending for a long time, a massive underground base appeared.
Just how much had things developed during the ten years Shingen was gone that they could create a space like this?
It's an undeniable fact that humanity has developed rapidly due to the Gates.
He even thought that an underground base of this scale would have been impossible for even the U.S. ten years ago.
Once the limousine reached the bottom of the underground area, the elderly driver got out first and opened the limousine door.
Kaede, who was still sipping sparingly on the last of her wine, got out, followed immediately by Shingen.
"As there is still some time before the banquet begins, I will escort you to the waiting room."
The two followed their guide.
Gulgak gulgak.
"...Ah."
Kaede, realizing the wine bottle she'd been sipping from since getting off the jet was now completely empty, let out a regretful sigh and shook the bottle vigorously, trying to suck up the last remaining drop.
"...Are there drinks available in the waiting room as well?"
"We have everything from wine and champagne to vodka and gaoliangju stocked by type, so feel free to drink to your heart's content."
Upon hearing that alcohol was stocked by type, she immediately discarded the wine bottle she was holding.
"Is your stomach not full yet?"
"Still fine. It's okay."
It's a mystery how her small frame can hold so much liquid.
'Even if Qi is blown away by magical power, isn't this physically impossible?'
Apart from the thought that it would be impossible unless you were cultivating a black hole in your stomach, I decided not to overcomplicate it and just moved on.
"If you need anything, please call for us anytime via the bell inside."
The guide who had escorted us to the waiting room delivered this final message before withdrawing.
Opening the door, a room like a top-tier suite home greeted the two of them.
"...Even fairly capable people would be intimidated."
Judging by the treatment from the Villain Association, wouldn't small-scale organizations be unable to even present their business cards and just shrink away?
"Wow."
Totododododo.
While Shingen muttered to himself, Kaede scampered over with quick steps, opened the refrigerator containing alcohol, and pulled out a bottle of wine.
She immediately started blowing into the bottle's mouthpiece again, and Shingen watched her, spending time sitting in a chair until just before the banquet began.
Just before the banquet began, the guide who had escorted Shingen and Kaede earlier came to find them and guided the two to the banquet hall.
The closer we got to the banquet hall, the clearer the presences felt.
Numerous people had probably already entered the banquet hall and taken their seats.
Standing before the golden doors leading to the banquet hall, they slowly began to open.
[Iwamoto Shingen-nim of the Doksahoe is entering!]
As the name was announced over the speaker at the same time, the gazes of the many people in the banquet hall turned toward Shingen.
Of course, most quickly lost interest, but there were also quite a few who watched for a while before looking away.
'It's not just a banquet... it must be a place for networking.'
With the heads of numerous organizations gathered, how could they just be having fun?
They likely engage in various constructive conversations, cooperating with each other and gaining benefits.
'...Since I don't know who belongs to which organization, I can't even start a conversation.'
Shingen couldn't even talk to anyone since he didn't know anyone.
Kwak...
"Huh?"
The moment I casually picked up a glass of wine, Kaede, who was attached to my side, tugged on my sleeve.
"I. Go alone. Okay?"
It seemed she wanted to wander around by herself.
"Anyway, even if we stay together, there's nothing to do, so it's fine to wander around. Of course, you mustn't cause a commotion."
"Naturally."
As soon as she got permission, she disappeared from sight with wine glasses in both hands.
Since she wasn't the type to die an unnatural death if left alone, I wasn't particularly worried.
Shingen also watched her for a moment before casually going over to a pillar, taking up position, and looking around.
'Maybe because of their background, most of them look vicious.'
A man and woman who look like they've served long sentences are having a constructive conversation.
"We have a newly made drug this time; apparently one dose will kill you dead."
"Oh my, a drug being strong isn't always good. You have to increase addictiveness and dependency for continuous money to come in."
"......"
Is that constructive?
I'm not sure.
Listening to the conversations around me while passing the time, I quickly emptied a glass of wine.
Just as I was killing time without anything happening.
Step step.
The sound of footsteps from far away began gradually getting closer.
Shingen soon realized they were heading toward him and turned his head toward the source of the footsteps.
A woman in a white suit made eye contact with Shingen and, even so, naturally smiled with her eyes as she leaned against the wall with one hand.
Isn't this called a 'wall kabedon' in old terms?
She's even shorter than me, so seeing her do that was also kind of funny.
Her golden, short bobbed hair swayed and moved softly.
Her blue pupils seemed to hold the ocean, even giving off a refreshing feeling.
"What's the matter?"
"My, my. Putting aside formal speech as soon as we meet? You seem younger than me."
"Age isn't rank; what matters is ability."
In this world, the most important thing is ability.
Those who try to assert dominance with other things don't last long.
"Well, ability is what matters. I didn't come here to argue anyway, so let's stop here."
It's very self-centered to start picking a fight first and then decide to end it whenever she wants.
"I heard an interesting story: that the Doksahoe recently changed its leader, replaced its signboard, and overturned its business."
"......"
I wonder why she's so interested in Korea to have dug up that information.
Shingen couldn't understand at all but silently listened to her story.
"As it happens, our business boundaries overlap, and as a senior who started this business first, I have something I'd like to talk about."
The businesses overlap.
Overlapping boundaries means they could threaten each other's pie.
Even so, she wants to start a conversation first.
She clearly has an intention, but Shingen did not refuse.
Rather than getting into a troublesome fight over turf later, having some conversation now seemed the right choice.