Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Saintess and Sage
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"Whew, it's been ages since I've been to Italy."
That was what Hae-jin said as he stepped off the plane at Rome Airport.
Having finished proposing to join his team to Na-ye, the Divine Archer, and Sang, the Archmage, it was now time to meet the remaining two.
The Saintess and the Sage.
For now, Hae-jin had come to Rome Airport first to meet the Saintess of the two.
Because the Saintess was in Vatican City.
Vatican City didn't have an airport, so ordinary people usually had to take a bus from Rome Airport where Hae-jin had arrived and travel for less than an hour to get there.
However, Hae-jin didn't go to catch a bus.
He simply faced the direction of Vatican City and stretched his body.
As he did so, Hae-jin thought of the Saintess.
‘Anna Fascia.’
Saintess Anna Fascia was the daughter of ‘Yohan Fascia,’ the most authoritative cardinal in the current Papal Court.
She had grown in the Trials' Arena and ascended to the position of Saintess, which also propelled her father, Cardinal Yohan Fascia, to become Pope.
"Whew, shall we get going then?"
Whoooong-!
Hae-jin activated Shadow Blink.
Hae-jin, who had teleported roughly to a shadow near Anna's house.
No sooner had he used Shadow Blink to move from Rome Airport to Vatican City than he reacted.
"Ah, over there."
He already knew which way Anna's house was.
He had gotten the information from Joo-hyuk, who had been the Leader.
Hae-jin headed to the residence where Anna lived.
And no sooner had he arrived than he pressed the doorbell.
Bzzz-.
Then a woman's voice came from the intercom.
Of course, it was in Italian, but that was no problem for Hae-jin.
‘Translate.’
It was a convenience skill that allowed people speaking different languages to communicate as if they were using the same one.
Among the skills that Leader Joo-hyuk had possessed, there were many that were surprisingly convenient and versatile.
Hae-jin thought it was amazing.
‘The Leader's abilities are really handy.’
Joo-hyuk had possessed so many skills that it was almost like a cheat key.
Having inherited all of his abilities, there was hardly anything difficult for Hae-jin to do.
On top of that, Hae-jin didn't even need to agonize over what to do.
His future plans were already mostly set.
After obtaining the Rune of Regression, Joo-hyuk had told him to make full use of the money left by that organization boss and gather the existing team members first.
Originally, the plan had been for Hae-jin to grow first using the Regressor's knowledge alongside Joo-hyuk, but by inheriting everything from Joo-hyuk, the preparation period was no longer needed, so the next steps were decided.
[Who is it?]
The voice of the woman asking who it was.
Hae-jin knew that voice belonged to Anna.
So he tossed out Anna's name first to see.
"Anna?"
[Who are you, and how do you know my name?]
"My name is Park Hae-jin. Does that ring a bell?"
[Park Hae-jin?]
"Yes."
[...... Massacre?]
Anna recalled Hae-jin's name from the Trials' Arena.
Moreover, he was currently the talk of the town.
Various Players had been posting about him on the community forums.
Anna reacted with a feeling of disbelief that it might really be him.
In response, Hae-jin told Anna that it was indeed him.
"That's right."
[Wha... why have you come to see me?]
Anna's voice suddenly took on a wary, flustered tone at Hae-jin's introduction.
Hae-jin smirked at her reaction.
In a way, it was a perfectly natural response.
To those who had entered the Trials' Arena and become Players, Hae-jin was an object of terror.
He had killed over four thousand people without hesitation.
How could she not feel burdened by him?
No, describing it as merely burdensome wasn't accurate.
For Anna, Hae-jin's very existence was terrifying.
Upon thinking that way, Hae-jin realized Anna was gripped by fear.
With a wry smile at her reaction, Hae-jin brought up his business.
"I've come with a proposal. Could we talk?"
[You have something to discuss with me?]
"Yes, I do. Open the door for now."
[Why should I trust you?]
A murderer who had massacred a whopping four thousand people.
How could she easily open the door to him?
Hae-jin was aware of Anna's thinking.
But he had no desire to waste time on something like this.
Asking for permission like this was merely his way of showing courtesy to Anna.
If she didn't open the door, he had more than enough ways to get in.
To Anna, who showed no sign of opening it, Hae-jin quietly said.
"Hmm, if you won't open it, I'll come in by force."
[I-I'll call the police!]
"You know the police can't catch me, right?"
[......]
Anna was at a loss for words at Hae-jin's statement.
He was right.
The police couldn't do anything to him.
If the man who had come to see her was truly Park Hae-jin, the number one in the pre-Trials' Arena zone...
No matter how many ordinary people came, they couldn't match him.
Anna herself was proof of that, and just looking at the abilities of the first Trials' Arena survivors around her made it clear.
In the end, Anna had no choice but to let Hae-jin into her house.
Click.
"You were going to open it anyway..."
Hae-jin shook his head as if exasperated by Anna's stubborn refusal to open the door needlessly, then stepped inside.
However.
"Stop right there!"
Had he gone about halfway into the entrance?
Anna's sharp voice rang out, telling him not to come any further.
When he looked up, he saw Anna standing at the entrance, dressed in a pure white dress and holding a shotgun.
She had opened the door due to his threat, but apparently had no intention of letting him inside fully.
Seeing that, Hae-jin looked at Anna with an incredulous expression and said.
"What, you gonna shoot me with that?"
"I could."
"Yeah?"
"Yes!"
"Then shoot."
"Pardon?"
Anna was visibly flustered.
She had no choice but to be.
Who would actually tell her to shoot when she was threatening to do so?
To the flustered Anna, Hae-jin said.
"You think I'd die from that if you shoot? Well, if you're curious, go ahead and try. But keep this in mind: I don't forgive those who turn hostile against me once. If you really shoot, you'll have to deal with the consequences yourself, Anna."
"......"
Threatening her after entering the house from the front porch.
At his words, Anna clamped her mouth shut and thought.
‘Even if Players' abilities are superior... could he survive a shotgun at this range?’
But his attitude was too confident for her to think that.
As if he was certain he wouldn't die even if she fired the shotgun.
And if, as he said... she shot and he really didn't die?
Just imagining it sent chills down Anna's spine.
For someone who had killed over four thousand, killing one more like her would be nothing.
In the end, Anna lowered the shotgun out of preemptive fear.
"Haa, what on earth do you want with me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why go out of your way to come here and talk to me?"
"Because I need you, Anna."
"Huh?"
"I need you. For me."
When Hae-jin said he needed her, Anna's face flushed red.
She couldn't help it.
Anna had been born the daughter of a cardinal.
One who wielded power in the Papal Court nearly equal to the Pope's.
Because of that, no men could easily approach her.
Yet here was a man boldly declaring he needed her upon their first meeting.
For her, it was half bewilderment, half embarrassment.
Seeing Anna not respond, Hae-jin said.
"I've come to propose something to you, but are you going to keep me standing here?"
"Th-that... come in."
As she agonized over how to handle Hae-jin...
It suddenly occurred to her that leaving a guest standing at the front door was rude.
In the end, she relented and allowed Hae-jin into the house.
With Anna's permission, Hae-jin entered.
After sitting facing each other on the living room sofas.
Hae-jin first reassured Anna, who was preemptively scared of him.
Then he made the same deal to her as he had to Na-ye and Sang.
Naturally, Anna agreed to Hae-jin's proposal for the same reason: she had nothing to lose.
If Hae-jin's advice matched reality when she obtained information on the Second Trials' Arena and returned to the real world, they would contact each other again.
After leaving Anna's house, Hae-jin let out a deep sigh.
"Did the Leader repeat this every time he regressed? Impressive, really impressive."
Of course, it was true that Anna had been particularly prickly, but anyway...
Now only one remained.
The Sage.
"Still, once I go to Milan, it's done. Let's go."
With that, Hae-jin moved.
To meet the last member of his existing party in Milan, the Sage.
Panerella Milan branch.
While numerous luxury watch brands were based in Switzerland, Panerella was an Italian luxury watch brand from Florence.
But the place Hae-jin sought wasn't the headquarters, but here, the Milan branch.
Because one of the employees working here was the last member of Hae-jin's existing party, the ‘Sage.’
Upon entering the Milan branch, an employee greeted him.
"Welcome, sir. Do you have a reservation?"
"No."
"Then have you come to purchase a watch right away?"
"Not that either."
"Then what brings you to our store...?"
When he said neither a reservation nor a purchase, the employee kept his smile but showed a puzzled reaction.
To that employee, Hae-jin mentioned one person's name.
"I've come to see Raffaello da Vinci."
"Raffaello?"
"Yes."
"May I ask what your relationship is to Raffaello?"
"Just a distant cousin, something like that."
In truth, a comrade from before the regression, but that was a fact only Hae-jin remembered.
But well, it was true that Hae-jin was older than Raffaello.
Anyway, the employee finally seemed to understand why Hae-jin was here and nodded, but soon looked at him strangely.
Anyone could see Hae-jin was East Asian, so claiming to be Raffaello's cousin must have sounded odd.
But after mumbling for a moment, he seemed to decide it wasn't his business and said.
"Hmm, shall I call Raffaello for you?"
"Yes, I'd like to talk to him briefly... is that okay?"
"Understood. One moment."
The employee said to wait while he called Raffaello and turned his back to Hae-jin, calling his name.
"Raffaello!"
Then the door in the corner opened, and a brown-haired boy in worn overalls came rushing out.
"Yes?"
The young janitor at the Panerella Milan branch.
The Player who would later be called the ‘Sage,’ ‘Raffaello da Vinci.’