Chapter 818: Sihee’s Date (1)

“Hmm….”

Once a year, Vatican City.

It was a place I figured I’d eventually visit someday, given it was Lulusia’s hometown. I just never imagined Lulusia would actually write it into the terms of an investment contract.

Seeing my slightly perplexed expression, unsure how to react, Lulusia cautiously asked in a hesitant voice.

“…Is, is it not okay~?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not a particularly difficult condition.”

“Oh, thank goodness~!”

“But the fact that you’re putting it into the contract terms like this suggests someone in Vatican City wants me to visit. And the way you tried to incur debt with this amount of money earlier.”

“Yes~! …N-no~! I, I just wanted to show Taekyung my hometown~!”

Still, the condition was specific enough to include ‘once a year’. Besides, Lulusia’s personality wasn’t exactly suited for deceiving anyone.

Her expression still hinted she was hiding something, which felt a bit suspicious, but I decided to let it slide for now. As I mentioned before, I was planning to visit Vatican City eventually anyway.

And the conditions, on the surface, didn’t seem too difficult. If I wanted to regularly satisfy my urges, I’d need to meet Lulusia at least five or six times a year, not just once. Thinking that one of those dates would be in Vatican City didn’t sound too bad. With warp gates as a means of transportation, getting from Korea to Vatican City should only take passing through a few gates.

After signing the contract I received from Lulusia, and we each took a copy, a contract with ‘additional conditions’ came back from Sihee.

“Sungchul-ssi, I’ve finished writing mine too.”

“Ah, yes.”

I checked the contract from Sihee to see what additional conditions she had written, and a quiet smile spread across my lips the moment I saw her additions.

「’B’ shall assist ‘A’s friend Geum Nari in resuming her Hunter activities.」

“…It’s a secret from Nari.”

“Of course.”

It made me feel like I caught a glimpse of just how deeply Sihee and Eunbyul cared for each other through their friendship.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After exchanging the contracts with their respective conditions with the two women, Golden Trajectory naturally concluded the day’s schedule and disbanded.

Lulusia, who had mentioned she needed to leave in the afternoon anyway, and Do Yehee, who declared she didn’t want to be bothered by me any further during her rare vacation, both stated their intention to head home.

Of course, it felt like Do Yehee was tactfully excusing herself out of consideration for her younger sister. After all, today’s gathering was essentially an extension of the date I was having with Sihee after a long time, and Lulusia had only intended to drop by briefly while accompanying me on my morning business trip.

…Though, it seems I ended up showing more than just my face during that process.

“See you next time, Sihee~! Taekyung~!”

“Travel safely, Lulusia.”

“You know we have a group meeting tomorrow afternoon, right? I don’t mind you dating, but if you’re late…”

“Even if you don’t care, I’ll handle it myself, okay? Just hurry back already?!”

After seeing them off with that kind of exchange, we returned to the original location, leaving just Sihee and me in the Golden Trajectory waiting room.

“It was quite chaotic just a moment ago, but it’s nice now that it’s quiet.”

“Lately, I haven’t had many chances to see you like this, just the two of us, Sihee-ssi.”

“We’ll probably have some free time again for a while. Thanks to that woman calming down, family matters have been quiet lately, and the analysis of the Three-Headed Basilisk material is almost complete. It took a long time, didn’t it?”

“I see. Were there any results from the material analysis?”

“Well, we managed to mimic offensive magic without mana using components extracted from the Three-Headed Basilisk’s three heads. Though commercialization seems difficult for various reasons.”

It was just a reflexive question, but the answer was surprisingly intriguing.

A way to use offensive magic without mana… If successful, it would be quite a revolutionary discovery in the Hunter world. If it could be commercialized, most Hunters would be able to use magic, which had been the exclusive domain of wizards. Of course, considering the output of monster materials used in typical home appliances, the effect might be minimal, but it could serve as a variable or two in urgent situations.

“That sounds like good news, but why is commercialization difficult?”

“It’s because the sheer quantity of the material is drastically insufficient. The Three-Headed Basilisk that appeared in the abandoned village was a variant, not a typical specimen. If we could hunt the same monster again, we could secure the materials, but the abandoned village that became a dungeon has been completely purified now, hasn’t it? And the original gate buried beneath the poisonous lake was destroyed long ago along with the monster wave.”

“Ah…”

“Honestly, we only saw the potential for offensive magic around the time we were almost out of research material. To consume enough material for commercialization, we’d need to hunt at least five or six variant Three-Headed Basilisks per year. Considering the hunt where we took down the Three-Headed Basilisk back then, it would require at least three or four S-class Hunters, and even if commercialized, the cost wouldn’t be justifiable.”

In the end, it meant that even if developed as an offensive tool, it could only be used as a disposable emergency measure for Hunters from wealthy foundations. Hearing that felt surprisingly anticlimactic. I thought we could just form a hunting party like before if there weren’t enough people to kill the monsters, but the fact that the monsters themselves don’t exist was particularly disappointing.

“Ah, there are some leftover parts besides the ones used for research. Would you like some, Sungchul-ssi?”

“What kind of parts?”

“Things like the Three-Headed Basilisk’s fangs or scales. The fangs could be hollowed out and made into helmets, and the scales could be used for armor. If you’re worried about material processing, I could also introduce you to a skilled Dwarf artisan.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine with both the materials and the artisan.”

I don’t prefer fighting while adorned with cumbersome accessories. Besides, I already had Areum handling Dwarf craftsmanship, so there was no need for another introduction.

“And since you’re offering introductions, could you perhaps show me around the Ariel Foundation building? I’m here now, and I don’t know when I’ll get to visit again.”

“Okay. I was planning on showing you around anyway, Sungchul-ssi. So, where should we start….”

‘…Grrrrumble.’

“……”

“…I guess I’m hungry from being in the dungeon for so long. Shall we get something to eat first, Sihee-ssi?”

“…Yes, let’s.”

I had gone straight into the dungeon after arriving at the Foundation this morning, and even used Belle’s dungeon inside, spending several hours there. By perceived time, we had already passed the usual mealtime long ago. It was almost strange that I was only getting hungry now. Of course, it also meant I was so busy with various things inside the dungeon that I didn’t have time to feel hungry. For the record, that grumbling sound didn’t actually come from my stomach, but for the sake of the young lady’s honor, I decided to just go with it.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Sihee and I headed to one of the restaurants inside the Foundation building. To settle our rather delayed lunch.

Naturally, I knew nothing about the Foundation’s internal structure, so I had to rely entirely on Sihee’s guidance. Honestly, until this morning, I thought the Foundation, like other companies or unions, was a guild housed within a single building. If I wandered around alone, I’d probably just get lost.

Given its status as a global guild, I expected the building itself to be larger than those of companies or unions, considering its economic scale. What I didn’t expect was that they would operate their guild on such a large plot of land within Seoul. Especially in Songpa District, where land prices are ridiculously expensive, to have such a vast area.

‘Actually, it’s probably the other way around – the Foundation’s presence is why Songpa District’s land prices are so high.’

In this world, it’s natural for land prices to soar in ‘Guild Zones’ – areas safe from monster waves simply by the guild’s presence. There were even company guilds and union guilds right next door in Gangdong District.

“Hmm…”

Sihee, pondering where to go for lunch, led me to a handmade burger joint. I vaguely heard it was a brand created by some famous British chef, but I wasn’t interested enough to know the details. From what I heard, the branches outside are famous enough that people queue up to eat there, but the branch within the Foundation was surprisingly quiet.

“I’m sorry, Sungchul-ssi. This is the only place available for a meal right now. Usually, during lunchtime, they only serve simple dishes… But I’ll take you somewhere nicer for dinner.”

“Huh? No, no. Aren’t handmade burger places usually quite expensive? And isn’t a handmade burger itself not exactly a simple dish?”

“Huh? Handmade burger? Commoners… ah, no, do ordinary people call hamburgers ‘handmade burgers’?”

“……What?”

It seemed Sihee needed a bit more time to realize that hamburgers, in the first place, were ‘things like this’.