episode_0406

1:03 p.m., Haegeuneul Hotel’s main banquet hall.

“I never thought a wedding hall would become an auction house overnight.”

Seeing that the banquet hall at the Haeguneul Hotel in Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do was suddenly transformed into an auction house, I-sun Yoon cleared her throat, conscious of her surroundings at a somewhat awkward eye level.

“Lee Seon, you were here. ha. I’ve been looking for it for a while.”

Taeirin, also wearing a black suit, approached Yoon Isun.

There was no significant change in her expression, but she seemed much more comfortable in front of Yoon Iseon.

“Isn’t it easier to find now?”

“It’s easier for me to find it with magic than with my eyes, but the concentration of magic here is too thick right now.”

Tailin pointed at the people filling the banquet hall.

“There is no place other than the World Cup where so many S-level talented people gather together.”

“There are many faces that are rarely seen.”

If I were to list two names, I would call them one by one, and it would take about a minute as there were so many people in tailcoats waiting for the auction to start.

Although there is still an hour left until the auction starts, the talented people are having a close conversation with the executives of the Hero Association and government officials who came from their countries.

“You all came here to buy a real phoenix feather, right?”

“At least we won’t have anything to worry about. Something like stealing a phoenix’s feather in front of everyone. …Actually, there’s something I’m more worried about than that.”

Yun Yi-seon glanced at the people once more.

“…If there is a terrorist attack and people get hurt or die, the whole world may come to a standstill for a moment.”

A place where people who can be called heads of state gather in one place.

In real life, you might wonder who would dare attack a summit, but if you look at movies or novels, wouldn’t the story begin with such a place being attacked?

“There is a story told by someone I know, who said that in the United States there is a system called ‘designated survivor’.”

“Designated Survivor…?”

“When an executive branch official dies, especially when both the president and vice president die, the highest-ranking executive branch official among those who survive takes on the role of acting president.”

“…Why are you talking about that now?”

“I just thought that if there was someone who wished for the destruction of the world, they might target this place like that.”

“But this place is full of people who can defeat the villains who would do it.”

“Right? …I hope it’s rain.”

I wonder why sad premonitions are never wrong, but I just hoped that my worries would end in worries.

“My sister is worried in a different direction. I’m worried that there will be a problem with the phoenix’s feathers.”

“Ah, uh, yes.”

I’m not worried about that part at all.

Yun I-seon wanted to say, but she tried to control her breathing and suppressed the words that were welling up in her chest – normally, they would have filled up to the solar plexus.

“Aren’t you worried? If a strange villain suddenly appeared and stole Phoenix’s feather, there would be real chaos.”

“Hmm…. Is there a villain like that?”

“Why not? There is a union. Those people, going around breaking other villains’ cradles, is clearly a warning not to play tricks on the feathers of the Phoenix they bid on.”

Taeyrin’s eyes turned to a woman with red hair.

“He’s showing himself so openly, but behind the scenes, he’s plotting something…huh?”

Jerk, jerk.

The person whom Tailin had spoken to, pointing with her eyes, the red-haired woman, approached with a grin on her face.

“Hello?”

“…Hello.”

“Baridegi, Taeirin. Right? I am ‘Red Rider’, Hye-ra Yoon.”

“I know.”

Responding in a somewhat stiff voice, Taeirin responded by simply nodding her head at Yoon Hye-ra’s outstretched hand.

“Hehe, I thought you were telling an interesting story, so I came. So, you are talking as if I am a member of the organization and that the organization sent me to act as if it was not doing anything.”

“If Red Rider is the desperate executive ‘Gunggi’, then it is highly likely that it will be a diversionary operation. …Others may not know, but my eyes cannot deceive me.”

“Hehe, it’s snow…”

Yoon Hye-ra shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, even if that is true for you, Baridegi, I came purely to participate in the auction? Actually, I got something more valuable than that.”

“…….”

“Aren’t you curious? What happened when I got the time of a man named Do Ji-hwan?”

The people standing around quietly stopped talking and pricked up their ears.

“If you want, I can tell you.”

“You’re joking too much, Hye-ra Yoon.”

“Oh my, thank you for calling me by my name. Yi-sun Yoon, I wanted to get along with fellow pyromancers, and it just so happened!”

“…Yes.”

Iseon Yoon laughed with an embarrassed smile, but held Hyera Yoon’s outstretched hand and shook it lightly.

“Iseon Yoon, aren’t you curious? What an amazing man Do Ji-hwan is.”

“…Is there any reason to be curious?”

“Isn’t every woman curious? What is it like to be the best man in the world?”

“…How do you know that?”

“Hehehe.”

Yoon Hye-ra laughed lowly and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Okay. What about? Is it because I have so much experience that I can compare Do Ji-hwan with other people, or am I talking like this after having met Do Ji-hwan for the first time like Baek Seol-hee?”

“That’s….”

“It depends on the person who thinks, right? Even if I tell the truth, it depends on the person who accepts it.”

The corners of Yoon Hye-ra’s eyes were curved like a half moon.

However, between the smiling eyes, the red eyes were looking at Taeirin.

“No matter how much you tell the truth, in the end, if there are people who spread untrue things to the world as truth and people who believe in them, the truth will be polluted.”

“That’s….”

“In that sense, at least I came out with my face proud, right? It’s not like I’m wearing any mask. Huhuhu.”

“…Tch.”

Taeyrin clicked her tongue lightly and turned her gaze to the side.

“Uh, um….”

There happened to be a middle-aged man there who came over to try to have a conversation.

“Oh my, the polite vice president of Haeguneul Ilbo. Hello?”

“You know my name. Haha, nice to meet you. I am…”

“Of course I know. Ever since I came to Korea, you have welcomed me so warmly with articles.”

“Haha, I apologize if the enthusiasm of the frontline reporters offended Red Rider.”

“It’s okay. Do you have any questions? Ah, are you here to personally report on Do Ji-hwan’s night? That’s difficult. Instead, you can interview me about other things. Well, since there is still time until the auction, shall we talk slowly?”

“Are you okay? It’s an honor.”

“Hehe. Then.”

Yoon Hye-ra narrowed her eyes at Yoon I-seon and Tae-irin and left.

“…Sister.”

“Yes.”

“That woman, the president of Haeguneul Ilbo, stopped her from approaching us… It must be a mistake, right?”

Taeirin looked at Yoon Hye-ra with a complicated face.

“I feel like that woman’s magic power is definitely that… the magic power I saw from afar in Yangyang.”

“…Even if that were the case, you said it yourself. I came as a Red Rider.”

“…….”

“If it is false, you can go ahead and respond at that time. …if you are hiding your true self with lies.”

Yun I-seon’s gaze was directed at the vice president of Haeguneul Ilbo, and Tae-ilin tilted her head for a moment.

“Why that vice president?”

“You seem to be able to see well with magic, but I guess you don’t feel much when you just look with your eyes.”

“…Senior, I am still higher than your senior.”

“In terms of ability, I am still 3 years older than you. Lend me your ears.”

Whisper quietly.

“…Is this true? Really?”

“Okay then. Sunshade seems like a winner with their technology.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Taeyrin opened her mouth and stared at the back of Vice President Sunshade’s head.

“That….”

“Someone said that. A tower of gold built with lies may fool everyone for a while, but it will eventually be discovered.”

Yi-sun Yoon raised his head to the ceiling.

“They say that in front of the bright sunlight, everything is revealed.”

Time continues to pass.

* * *

1:44, about 16 minutes before the auction starts.

[It’s hard to watch from afar, with Hero Association agents all over the surrounding area. It’s merciless.]

I waited for the auction to begin on the rooftop of a building about 5km away from the Sunshade Hotel.

[But there is nothing uncomfortable about it.]

“…In the first place, you can cover 5km in 1 minute.”

Seong Ji-eun-Chaon, who was different from usual, wearing only a ghost-like white dress on the outside, came next to me and said sarcastically.

“Even without my strength, he has that level of ability.”

[Because one minute is enough time for a demon to easily kill about 100 people. And with your help, you can get there in 10 seconds.]

“…Ymir, he goes in 1 second.”

Chaos answered curtly and pouted the corner of his mouth.

“I want to learn teleportation after this job.”

[Rather than teleporting, just passing through the Earth… No, that would be difficult.]

It would be easy to go from New York to Jamaica through the inner core, but coming to the Korean Peninsula would be difficult.

Especially underground in the East Sea.

[Let’s try to solve it without merging as much as possible. My soul is already 5 years old, so I should go home quickly and rest.]

“…What do you say? Even though I was 17, I only lived 3 more years as a human and 5 more years as a ghost?”

[You want me to call you sister?]

“Nunna and Maman have nothing to do with age, right?”

[…It’s coming soon, so get ready to deal with it.]

Crispy.

[It is an enemy attack.]

The tangerine we had placed on the ground beforehand exploded.

Among the tangerines placed in a circle around us, the one placed to the west exploded.

“As expected. As soon as the auction begins, the villains show their true colors. Aren’t the cradle breaks scary?”

[No one plans to break themselves.]

I picked up the goblin bat.

[And I always have to break those thoughts to come to my senses.]

-Villain approach, villain approach.

Hallabong, with its shell spread on both sides like wings, is chattering above my head.

I just grabbed the goblin bat and anti-material sniper rifle and turned the muzzle in the direction pointed by Hallabong and Jicheonhyang.

[God of this ability. One person is going up today as well.]

Ta-ang.

A bullet was fired.

And I burst out laughing at the sight I saw from afar.

[crazy.]

“As expected.”

The long hot pink ponytail that landed in front of us-

“I thought it would neutralize Soin. If you protect exactly where the sniper is aiming, there is no sniper attack that is easier to deal with. So…”

The man pointed a purple glowing sword at me.

A bright pink magical energy was sparkling on his lower body.

“I wrapped a self-defense device around my balls.”

[Plum inspection.]

A Chinese S-class superpower who was kicked out by Dool.

[Do you have a conscience?]

“Instead of conscience.”

A faint scent of plum blossom rose from the sword of the plum blossom sword.

“Two balls remain unbroken.”