Chapter 102
Three S-class hunters appeared on the holographic screen.
From left to right, they were Maksim Smirnov, Alading Miller, and Li Lianzhe.
They had all connected in roughly the same way, but the first one to stand out was Alading Miller.
A Black mage with striking golden eyes.
As the woman who handled more magic than anyone else in the world, she broke into a bright smile the moment she saw Han Jin-hwan.
“Hello, Han.”
“Good to see you, Miller.”
Han Jin-hwan answered with a cheerful smile of his own.
From the way they acted, the two of them seemed to be on good terms.
Then Russia’s Maksim Smirnov appeared.
Maybe because I’d just seen Miller, his pale skin stood out even more than usual.
He was so handsome that it was almost a shame the hologram quality wasn’t better.
If he’d been standing on the street, I was pretty sure every woman passing by would have turned to look at him at least once.
Well, in my opinion, Tae-cheon was a little better-looking.
Maybe I was biased, but beauty was in the eye of the beholder, wasn’t it?
“......”
“Still as taciturn as ever.”
Instead of greeting anyone, Smirnov only dipped his head.
Judging by that, he must have been the type who simply didn’t talk much.
With a nickname like “Tyrant,” I hadn’t expected him to be shy...?
Finally, Li Lianzhe connected.
With his long white eyebrows hanging low enough to cover his eyes, he looked exactly like the kind of Daoist master you’d see in a martial arts film.
So this was the man who wanted to be called a sage or an immortal...
Li Lianzhe laughed heartily and said, “It has been a while, boy.”
“We haven’t seen each other in eight years and you’re still calling me a boy? You old fossil really never change.”
“And your manners remain just as rotten as ever.”
Oh. Interesting.
Li Lianzhe could speak Korean.
And very fluently, too.
There was none of the awkward hesitation you usually heard from foreigners speaking another language, and his pronunciation was precise.
After everyone had exchanged greetings, Han Jin-hwan turned his head.
Not toward me.
Toward Deputy Bae, who was standing on the other side.
“......?”
Deputy Bae tilted her head with a blank look on her face.
She seemed to have no idea why he was looking at her.
Neither did I.
I couldn’t figure out why he was looking at her instead of the three people on the screen.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to translate?”
“Ah... yes! I-I’ll-”
“No need to translate, Han.”
Korean flowed from the holographic screen.
It was smooth, natural Korean, the kind you’d expect from someone who had lived in Korea for years.
Han Jin-hwan asked, looking surprised, “Miller? You learned Korean?”
“No, I learned a new spell.”
“A new spell?”
“A simultaneous interpretation spell. Anyone within my field of view can converse without a translator.”
Could something like that really make sense...?
I didn’t know much about magic.
But I did know this much: what she was describing was anything but simple.
Miller was on a plane right now.
That meant she was very far away.
The farther the distance, the harder it was to affect anything with magic, to the point where it was like trying to pluck the stars from the sky.
And yet she was saying that as long as someone was in her view, she could make the spell work regardless of distance...
...gulp.
I heard a tiny swallow.
It was Deputy Bae.
Her eyes were wide as a startled rabbit’s, and she swallowed hard.
Then, looking flustered by the sound, she clutched at her throat.
“...As expected, that’s impressive. It does make things easier for us.”
“Not at all.”
“You speak Korean well, though.”
“Not really. I have to think it through in my head first, so it’s a bit-”
“How long are you going to keep babbling about useless things?”
Smirnov, who had been silent until then, cut in and interrupted Li Lianzhe.
Li Lianzhe’s white eyebrows twitched.
His head turned slightly.
From his hologram’s angle, Smirnov was probably standing off to the right.
“What an ill-mannered fellow you are...”
“......”
Li Lianzhe and Smirnov stared at each other.
If they’d been standing side by side, I felt like they would’ve been releasing mana already.
They were on separate planes, so they couldn’t exactly do that.
Clap.
Han Jin-hwan clapped to draw their attention.
“Enough. The one who wants to lose his temper here is me.”
“Hm? Is something wrong, boy?”
“This sly old fossil is pretending not to know again. You really don’t know your countries are fighting over who gets to enter first?”
“Hohoho.”
“My, my. Don’t misunderstand, Han. I clearly said I didn’t care about that. In fact, I’d rather enter right away and start studying the place.”
“......”
As expected.
All three of them knew what was going on.
It made sense.
Even if there were a research team present, once S-class hunters were involved, the leaders weren’t the researchers.
They were the hunters.
That was what it meant to be S-class.
Han Jin-hwan said, “Miller. In that case, could the U.S. come in tomorrow or so?”
“Han, I’m sorry. That won’t work.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t have the authority.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
She didn’t have authority, even though she was an S-class hunter?
That didn’t make sense.
It didn’t, but Miller had clearly said, “I don’t have the authority.”
That left only one possibility.
“Senior Han. The one with the final say for the U.S. is Edidat Gwicin.”
“Gwicin?”
“Oh. That’s right. If it’s with Gwicin, then I’d be happy to hand over the decision.”
As she said that, she shrugged.
Her broad shoulders were not the kind you’d normally associate with a mage.
In fact, they looked more like a warrior’s.
She was also over 180 centimeters tall, which made her even taller than me.
A woman with a tall build and broad shoulders. Enviably so.
Miller went on, “I’m planning to enter together with him when he arrives.”
“When is he coming?”
“Do you remember the first date we changed?”
“Uh, the fifteenth?”
“That’s right.”
“...Then let’s do it this way. All three countries enter on the fifteenth.”
Han Jin-hwan made the suggestion.
The moment he finished, Miller agreed.
“I already said that was the plan from the beginning. The two countries just misunderstood and got themselves all fired up.”
“...Fine. And you two?”
Han Jin-hwan looked at Smirnov and Li Lianzhe on either side.
The two of them didn’t answer right away, both looking lost in thought.
Their thinking didn’t last long.
Having a third party mediate and then reluctantly going along with it.
That was enough to give them a justification.
After all, the only reason the entry dates had been changed in the first place was to fight over pride.
“I agree.”
“It makes no difference to me.”
“Good thinking.”
Han Jin-hwan grinned.
Watching from the side, Minister Hwang and Deputy Bae clenched their fists.
Now that the date had been settled, all that was left was the order.
With his smile still in place, Han Jin-hwan asked, “So who goes in first?”
“......”
“......”
“......”
The three of them didn’t answer.
Miller smiled, Li Lianzhe averted his eyes slightly, and Smirnov stared ahead with a blank face.
These people really were something else...
Leaving Li Lianzhe and Smirnov aside, I hadn’t expected Miller to be like this too.
Han Jin-hwan seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he looked at Miller.
When his gaze reached her, she spoke slowly.
“We’ll, well... be entering around 6 p.m. on the fifteenth, so...”
She trailed off at the end.
To me, it sounded like she was saying, “We’ve told you our entry time, so you can figure out the rest yourselves.”
Just moments ago she’d said she didn’t care about any of this, and now...
Well, she was American too. Maybe she wanted to follow the U.S. government’s decision.
Li Lianzhe and Smirnov were probably the same.
“Then Russia enters at seven and China at eight.”
“Who decided that?”
“I did.”
Li Lianzhe and Smirnov looked at each other.
The good news was that neither of them was glaring as though they were about to throw a punch, unlike before.
Miller, having stated her entry time, stepped back like a third party and shook her head.
Han Jin-hwan let out a sigh and said, “Could you at least think about Korea for a second?”
“What are you saying, boy?”
“I’m talking about four S-class hunters all gathering in one place. There’ll be an event too, so try to avoid coming in too late at night. I’m asking you.”
“......”
“......”
The two of them fell back into thought.
Unfortunately, this time it didn’t end quickly like before.
One minute. Five minutes. Their deliberation went on and on.
As Han Jin-hwan waited in silence, the corners of his mouth began to tremble.
The breath he drew in was even longer when he let it out.
Ah, I knew that face.
It was the face of someone who had decided to start a big mess.
Right. The same face Tae-cheon and I had often made.
Before he could cause trouble, I reached out and gripped his shoulder.
“Senior, calm down.”
“......Hm.”
“May I speak?”
When I asked, Han Jin-hwan’s eyes widened a little.
The corners of his mouth, which had been trembling a moment ago, curled into a grin.
He looked like he was expecting something entertaining.
Meanwhile, Minister Hwang and Deputy Bae were both shaking their heads hard.
Of course, Han Jin-hwan didn’t pay them the slightest attention.
He nodded and stepped aside for me.
Then the eyes of the three S-class hunters turned toward me.
Oh...
“...May I make a suggestion?”
“Who are you to make suggestions?”
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
Smirnov challenged me, but Li Lianzhe smiled and gave me permission.
Maybe because I’d seen that smile, I understood why Han Jin-hwan had called him a sly old fossil.
There wasn’t a trace of sincerity in Li Lianzhe’s smile.
He wanted to speak like Smirnov, but instead he gave me his approval with all the politeness of a gentleman.
Was he the type who cared about appearances?
“How about all three countries enter at the same time?”
“Oh?”
“......”
Good.
Their reactions weren’t bad.
Li Lianzhe stroked his long white beard.
“It’s a good idea, but...”
“Is there a problem?”
“I have one question. Would there be any political trouble?”
“Uh...”
Hearing that, I immediately looked at Deputy Bae.
I had no way of knowing whether this suggestion would cause any political issues.
It wasn’t the kind of thing I could judge.
The people who would know best right now were Minister Hwang and Deputy Bae.
And between the two of them, Deputy Bae was the easier one to deal with.
She nodded hard.
Then she started working her smartphone.
“...Yes, it’s fine.”
“Hm. Are you certain? If trouble comes of this, it won’t look good for either of us.”
If he asked for certainty, then it was only right to answer him.
...The problem was that I wasn’t actually certain either.
Then Deputy Bae held up her smartphone to me.
At an angle the hologram couldn’t see.
[There was a case like this in the U.K.]
[The U.S. and China entered at the same time, and two ministers went to greet them.]
Oh. Nice.
“Yes. There’s precedent in the U.K., so it’s certain.”
Li Lianzhe looked at me closely.
I couldn’t see his eyes because of those long brows, but he was definitely scrutinizing me.
“China will agree to your suggestion.”
“Thank you.”
“Hohoho...”
Laughing, Li Lianzhe leaned back against his chair.
With him agreeing, only Smirnov remained.
Smirnov still looked at me with a blank expression.
“Who are you?”
The question came out of nowhere.
Why was who I was important in this situation?
He should answer the question that was asked...
Still, since he’d asked, I supposed I had to answer.
“Baek Do-woon.”
“A name I’ve never heard before. Russia will accept your propos-”
“Wait!”
Miller cut in.
Smirnov frowned, but Miller didn’t even look at him.
She kept her eyes fixed on me.
“Did you just say Baek?”
“Yes. I did.”
“Sorry if I’m wrong. By any chance, are you connected to the White Saint...?”
“...She’s my younger sister.”
“Oh! So you’re her older brother! I’ve seen the magic she uses. It was such a mysterious spell that even I couldn’t fully grasp it.”
Mysterious magic...
As she said, Do-hee’s magic had a lot of strange qualities.
The most famous one was that if she committed murder or caused harm, she suffered a penalty.
Until Do-hee mastered it, I’d never even heard of a spell like that.
“Now that you mention it, you do look somewhat alike...”
What do you mean, alike?
Even as her older brother, I could tell Do-hee was beautiful.
If someone said she looked like me, that would be insulting her.
Li Lianzhe stroked his beard and said, “The White Saint... I’ve heard of her too. Isn’t the guild master she belongs to rather strong?”
“You know Tae-cheon?”
“I heard it from my disciple. He said he was someone he’d like to fight one day.”
“I see...”
“You. Are you Lee Tae-cheon’s friend?”
Smirnov asked.
For some reason, his face had become much more animated than before.
Was it because his expression had changed?
His voice even seemed a little brighter.
“And if I am?”
“...Very well.”
What do you mean, very well?
“If you’re the White Saint’s older brother and the Sky Knight’s close friend... then you’re more than qualified to make a suggestion to me.”
“What...?”
“On behalf of Russia, I, Maksim Danilovich Smirnov, accept your proposal.”
What was wrong with this guy?