Chapter 70. A Mystery (2/2)

Next morning.

As promised, Seol Jihu met up with Maria. If there was one thing he didn't entirely count on, that would be her attire: she seemingly only wore an oversized white shirt that was probably very, very easy to move around in. And secondly, that she also happened to be an old acquaintance with Chohong. Not in a good way, either.

“Hiya~, so it was true. Just what's gotten into Miss I Love Money that she decided to join in our little mission?”

Those words were the opening volley Chohong fired as soon as she saw Maria. The latter slightly cocked an eyebrow as those sarcasm-laden words pricked her ears, before forming a refreshing smile.

“Oh? I was expecting someone decent since I heard a member of Carpe Diem was joining. Turns out the member was the dumbass braindead bitch famed for her thick-headedness.”

“Your runny mouth is as same as always. I'm curious, will you still be able to yap like a little birdie if I rip that mouth wide open?”

“Well, I'm sure it's not as runny as your famous brainless fart of a head. Don't you wanna crack open that empty head of yours and prove it to the world?”

Thick veins popped up on Chohong's forehead. A threatening grin of a beast, fangs bared and all, formed on her lips.

“See, I told you. She's a bitch. Her mouth is a trash dump.”

“Well, sure, my lips are a bit dirty. But it's not as loose as your other lips.”

“Stop, please stop! Chohong, you too.”

Seol Jihu hurriedly jumped in between the two 'smiling' females and their verbal assault rifles. Chohong had already pulled her mace out while Maria was 'lovingly' caressing a crucifix in her hands. If he left them alone like this, no doubt a scuffle would have broken out.

“Heng.”

“Hmph!”

As they spun their heads away in opposite directions, his shoulders drooped lower and lower. It felt like things were heading the wrong way from the get-go.

His sorrowful state only lasted for a short while, though. When he entered the pub along with two ladies by his sides, Seol Jihu realized that the attention of all the patrons was focused on him in an instant. It was similar to back when he went on dates with Yoo Seonhwa.

Actually, he had to position himself in between two ladies in order to prevent a fight from breaking out. But that also meant that, outwardly at least, he had two beauties in each of his hands. These ladies were blessed with great looks, after all.

'….Hm, hm.'

Seol Jihu couldn't help but stand up a little taller, his shoulders opening up a bit more. Even his expression relaxed greatly. He tried his hardest not to look smug. Of course, he had no idea what the others were really thinking about.

“Look at that guy. Now that is one hell of a weird combination.”

“You're right. He's mixed up with two of the Six Crazies.”

“Yo, hold up. That dude, didn't he show up here with Agnes not too long ago?”

“Yeah, that's right. Three out of Six Crazies? Whoa, man. That friend's sure got a particular taste.”

He wouldn't even have dared to dream that others were sharing such conversations about him right at that moment.

Maria and Chohong settled down around an empty table and, as if they had made a prior arrangement, they began shouting at the same time.

“Li-quor! Li-quor!!”

“Al-co-hol! Al-co-hol! Al-co-hol!”

They were like a pair of newborn chicks yapping noisily for food. Seol Jihu slowly facepalmed.

“…..Order whatever you want.”

“Kyaha! Hey, over here! Bring me all the rum and vodka you got!”

Chohong possessed unparalleled skill when it came to mixing various alcohols. She expertly blended rum and vodka like a pro, before pouring several cups to distribute it all around the table. Obviously, Seol Jihu didn't even touch his, but well, Maria one-shot hers and shivered grandly from pleasure.

“Keo-heuh! Now that will wake you up real good!”

“It's fine if you want to enjoy your drinks, but please don't forget, we're here to scout the rest of our team.”

“No sweat. Mister Leader, step aside and enjoy the show. I'll take care of everything.”

Chohong confidently declared and poured another cup. Seol Jihu could only rest his chin on his hands and watch the two females acting like long-lost bosom buddies.

Quite some time had passed by like that. More and more empty bottles filled up the table, and as Chohong took another manly gulp of her cup, she suddenly stopped moving.

“Hey.”

She sent a signal, and Maria glanced at the entrance. Two men and one woman were entering the pub. Maria leaked out an interested Hnng~ and nodded her head before shrugging her shoulders.

“They aren't complete trash. Do what you want.”

“Okay, cool. Hey, Mikhail!”

Chohong waved her hand, and the man in front of the group waved back, his eyes resembling round dots. He was a lanky fellow with short, neatly trimmed hair.

“You were still alive??”

“You trying to jinx me or something?”

Mikhail smirked and asked the duo behind him to wait for a little while. He walked closer, and Chohong started talking to him.

“How have you been? I heard that you're about to reach Level 4.”

“And that's been killing me lately. I only need a bit of experience, but the problem is money. I mean, the cost of equipment is just too damn ridiculous.”

“Well, yeah, the price jumps up ten times higher and all.”

Chohong grinned and agreed with him.

“That's why I wanted to ask you about something here. Wanna go for a mission with us?”

“A mission?”

Mikail asked back as his gaze scanned the table, only to form a surprised expression.

“Maria? What are you doing here?”

“Obviously, it's for work. It's nothing big, just enough for some pocket money.”

Mikhail whistled, evidently impressed now.

“Sounds good. Okay, let me hear it out first.”

He looked behind him and gestured at his comrades to join them as well. And so, three more people settled around the bottle-filled table.

“Okay, so. What work are we talking about?”

“Don't be hasty. Enjoy a drink on us.”

“I respectfully decline. Hell, I ain't touching anything you mixed even if it's free.”

“Che. It's nothing major, just the monster extermination request from Ramman Village.”

“Ramman Village?”

Mikhail immediately looked disappointed.

“Hey, it really was nothing….”

He then looked at the two women as if he failed to understand something.

“Why are you two stepping up for something this small? Isn't this way too over the top?”

“Argh, why are you talking so much like this? It's simple. You in or out?”

Maria voiced out her annoyance. Mikhail seemed to be pondering something before casting his gaze to his side. The woman he came in with had her arms crossed and her brows furrowed in a tight knot, making her look a bit temperamental. When she shook her head, her black waterfall-like hair danced about a little. Mikhail spoke up next.

“Mm, sorry, but it looks like we'll have to pass.”

“Give it a second thought, okay. The distance is short, right? Think of it as you earning a bit more experience in return for killing a couple of days.”

“Eiii. I already participated in it once before, you know? Besides, killing a few mutants won't do much at our levels, no?”

Chohong licked her lower lip. She sneaked a glance at Seol Jihu, and he opened his mouth after getting her signal.

“That may not strictly be the case this time.”

“Mm?”

Mikhail turned towards him. Chohong made the introduction.

“Sorry about the late intro. This is Seol, the newest Carpe Diem recruit. He’s also the leader of this mission.”

“Seol?”

Mikhail stared absentmindedly for a bit before clapping his hands.

“Ah!! You, from the Arden Valley!! Yeah, you, from the Arden Valley, right?”

“Oh, you heard about that?”

“What do you mean, I heard about it? We were actually there! Hyah, I really didn't expect to run into a celebrity today.”

Mikhail reached out for a handshake, his face brimming with a smile.

“Hiya. It's really nice to meet you. Really. I'm Mikhailov, a Level 3 Sword Runner. And this here is….”

“Veronika. Level 3 Sharp Ranger.”

Veronika finally spoke up. She also seemed a bit more interested now.

“And this guy over here is Gierszal. He's a Level 3 Guard.”

The last guy raised his hand briefly, still refraining from saying anything.

“I still can't forget the sight of you luring away all those bugs, you know? I thought you were a madman at first, but whew, you really surprised me back then.”

Mikhail lightly chuckled and pulled the chair closer.

“Okay, so, what did you mean just now? Something about not being the case?”

Seol Jihu thought about what to say next. Since both Maria and Chohong agreed, then that could only mean this trio had to be rather decently skilled in their professions. In a way, this talk was only possible with those two ladies and their intervention. Now that they got the party started, it was his turn to perform the leader's role.

“By any chance, do you know of the special characteristics of Ramman Village's request?”

“Special characteristics? What are those?”

“First of all, mutants appear.”

“Yeah, we know that.”

“Second, different species appear with each new mission issued.”

“Really? But, they didn't seem all that strong?”

Mikhail tilted his head.

“And third, the scale of the extermination team gets larger and larger with the passing of time.”

“….What do you mean by that?”

Sensing that something strange was afoot, Mikhail's voice became hushed.

“Mister Mikhail, you said you participated in this mission before, yes?”

“Yeah. It was maybe a year or so ago. I can't be 100% sure, but it was around then.”

“Did you realize that the scale and the quality of the team taking on the mission keeps getting higher every year?”

Mikhail kept blinking his eyes.

“Take a look at this.”

Seol Jihu produced a sheet of paper.

“Ignore the kingdom's own subjugation forces and take a closer look at the very first mission issued, all the way to the last mission. As you can see, this mission used to be taken up by Level 1s in the beginning, but then Level 2s started taking it, and before long, it was Level 3s. And this time, the request came to Carpe Diem of all teams.”

Mikhail's eyes narrowed to a slit.

“Wait a second. That means?”

“The mutants that will appear this time will be quite a different breed from what you fought the last time.”

“Hmm…. So, that's how it was. That's why Maria and Chohong is….”

Mikhail rubbed his chin.

“You used the records from the city library, so this can't be all fake. Yeah, I guess I get your point. Oh, I see, that's why the reward on offer kept creeping up by a little every year.”

The other party agreed to his assessment. It was here that Seol Jihu sensed the right time to pull out the final bait had arrived.

“That's not all. If it's possible, I'm planning to expose this mystery once and for all.”

At that precise moment, the light in Mikhail's eyes intensified. He too was an Earthling who had spent a fair amount of time in Haramark. So, he knew what Seol Jihu meant by that.

Solving this mystery was on another scale altogether from simply carrying out the extermination mission. Many, many countless folks failed to solve this mystery, so his fame would get a healthy boost simply from being a part of the team that exposed the truth. In other words, this could easily turn out to be a huge career move. If he said he wasn't tempted, you'd be looking at a liar.

“Oiii. I don't think you're cracking a joke with these two ladies by your side, but I still gotta ask you. Are you sure about this?”

“Actually, no. If I'm honest with you, I can't be 100% certain. However, someone very reputable gave me an important piece of the puzzle, you see.”

“Someone reputable? Who?”

“Ian Denzel.”

That landed the final nail.

“Master Ian did? Really??”

“You'd find out the truth if you ask him directly, so why would I lie to you?”

Mikhail let out a heavy gasp and began chewing on his lips. One could see how much of a dilemma he was in. Veronika lightly ribbed on the side, and Gierszal coughed while fidgeting with the cup.

“There's no need to worry about this. The village is only a half a day's travel away, anyway. At a minimum, you get a little bit of experience points, but if we get really lucky…..”

Seol Jihu deliberately let his words drift away. He was implying that, if they wanted to hear the rest, they should be more straightforward with their opinions next.

“So, how about it?”

He locked his fingers and smiled refreshingly.

“….Well, I'll be. You sure know how to tantalise your audience, don't you.”

Mikhail grumbled.

“If we were only talking about your way with words, then I'd definitely believe that you're a high ranker, dude.”

In the end, he raised his hands up in surrender.

“Okay. Let's go somewhere more private and discuss the more… delicate details, shall we?”

*Early next morning.

The expedition – no, the extermination team, met at Haramark's southern exit. Seol Jihu and Chohong holding hands arrived first and found the two carriage drivers and two porters on standby there.

They waited for a little while longer, and soon enough, Maria showed up wearing the same white Priest garb as she wore back in the Neutral Zone. Veronika and Gierszal, led by Mikhail, arrived soon after.

Four warriors, one Archer, and finally, one Priest. Their average Level was 3.2. Considering that the mission itself was nominally not a tough one, this was a rather good team composition.

A short while later….

Two carriages with three members each energetically left the city's southern exit.