Chapter 327. Transnational Peace Conference (3) (1/2)
I bought dinner ingredients at a grocery store near Shimurin’s workshop. I then used the recipe from a Michelin 3 star restaurant to cook broiled calves and dumplings.
The smell of delicious food began to spread throughout the mansion and Shimurin, who initially claimed to be uninterested, came to the table. Shimurin kept asking, “What’s this? What’s that?” as she popped a bit of every dish into her mouth. Eventually she sat down and ate with us.
“…Mm. Gulp. I see.”
Afraid that Shimurin would steal from her plate, Boss hurriedly swallowed the last dumpling and nodded.
“Yes.”
I had just finished explaining to Boss everything about the Transnational Peace Conference, my reunion with Yoo Yeonha, Rachel, and the others, and the fact that the last major event of my setting, Baal’s Descent, would take place at the Conference.
“Hmmm….”
Nom, nom
Chewing a mouthful of dumplings, Boss fell into deep thought.
Nom, nom
A lot must be crossing her mind right now.
Nom, nom
She’s probably thinking about Bell’s true identity, and his relationship with Yi Yeonjun and Baal….
Tak—
Suddenly, Shimurin put down the fork.
“Mm….”
Shimurin looked at us in turn, then gave a small smile.
“So, your claim that you’re from another world seems to be true. You know about this world’s future, and your magic power is clearly different from ours.”
Boss and I stared at Shimurin in silence.
Neither of us were surprised. We acknowledged the fact that Shimurin was far more knowledgeable than we could imagine. She was, after all, a grand magician.
I suddenly recalled ‘Oh Jaejin’, the Nine Stars member and a 10-star magician. I used Setting Intervention to make pills that could cure his Gift’s side-effect. He took it, then ran away with his wife.
Of course, that didn’t mean I could devalue everything Oh Jaejin had done for humanity. Still, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed about the fact that I had lost the help of someone who probably was as knowledgeable as Shimurin.
“So, how much time does this world have left? Is this world going to end soon?” Shimurin asked.
I hesitated for a moment but soon nodded. I wouldn’t be able to fool her even if I tried. I decided it was a better bet to be honest and just ask for her help.
“Yes, probably.”
“…’Probably’. That’s a tricky word,” Shimurin muttered so as she rose from the chair.
“I said ‘probably’, because it can be stopped,” I remarked earnestly.
Still, Shimurin remained expressionless and glared at me with cold eyes.
“It doesn’t matter to me anyway. Didn’t I tell you that my goal is to migrate to another world?”
“….”
My heart sank.
But I couldn’t say anything.
This world had fallen long ago.
What I was seeing now was nothing more than Baal's reconstruction of the fallen world.
Dimensional Travel was naturally impossible, since Shimurin was, in the end, a mere reflection of the dead.
“…I see.”
In the end, that was all I could say.
Shimurin stared at me for a long time, then turned and went down to the basement.
**
[The Capital of the Republic of Leores]
The next day.
Seraine was roaming the streets of the capital. As the daughter of the President, she liked to study public sentiment up close from time to time. No one recognized her underneath her disguise.
So, she walked with confidence. The streets were full of men traveling in and out of tall brick buildings and women in antique coats. The city was as busy and vibrant as ever.
“Extra! Extra!”
It was then that she heard a boy shouting. He was handing out newspapers to the passersby.
Seraine widened her eyes. She had heard of this phenomenon before. Sometimes, when there’s a newsflash, newspaper companies would print extra copies of newspapers in the evening. She heard it happened sometimes, but this was her first time seeing it in person, and she was amazed.
“Come find out the truth about the monster massacre from 3 days ago~”
The boy shouted, and only then did the passersby finally show interest in the newspaper.
Seraine hesitated for a second before grabbing a copy herself.
She turned her gaze to the front page, and….
[Monster massacre from 3 days ago — The hero who wiped out monsters was an ‘F-rank sharpshooter from the Lorenzio Duchy?]
“…What the.”
Seraine opened her eyes wide and clenched her fists.
The article was about Kim Hajin.
She had gone through so much trouble to keep all of this strictly confidential. How did they find out about Kim Hajin?
[…Three days ago, the people of the Republic witnessed an unforeseen phenomenon. The fifth largest ‘Monster Pathway’ in history appeared in the Republic’s capital city.
However, damage was nonexistent, thanks to the mysterious hero.
At around 8:37 p.m., a rush of magic power gracefully descended from the roof of Lady Seraine’s mansion and wiped out all the monsters on the ground. 30,000 monsters were annihilated in just two hours.
As a result, President Zucri declared the complete subjugation of the pathway at about 11:29 p.m. He, however, declined to comment about the mysterious hero.
But the next day at 7:33 a.m., according to an anonymous source…]
“Dammit…!”
Seraine crumpled the newspaper. But she was too late. Already everyone in the street was reading this article.
—F-rank sharpshooter?
—Seriously? They’re joking, right?
—This is interesting. I’m gonna show it to my son.
The murmur of the people alarmed her.
This was beyond bad.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long until Arunheim hears about Kim Hajin. He came here with the daughter of the Leon clan. And there was only a month left until the Transnational Peace Conference….
Bzzzz—
At that moment, Seraine felt a vibration in her pocket. It came from her portable crystal which she used for long distance communication. Seraine took out the crystal in a hurry and picked up the call.
“Yes, it’s me.”
—Miss, we just received a message from Lorenzio. It’s Airun. She claims to be in charge of the military unit Kim Hajin belongs to. She wishes to speak to her subordinate.
Seraine bit her lower lip. Of course she knew Airun. She was currently the most famous knight in Kruni, and one of the leading candidates for the title of the current era’s Strongest Swordsman.
“Tell her we don’t know.”
—…Pardon?
Even though the Transnational Peace Conference was just around the corner, Seraine was unwilling to give Kim Hajin up.
‘A man who can single-handedly stop a war.’
That was Kim Suho’s description of Kim Hajin.
At first, Seraine was skeptical. But now, after witnessing Kim Hajin’s power in person, she had come to consider Kim Suho’s assessment of Kim Hajin an underestimation.
He was the ultimate weapon, much more valuable than a knight; an army of a single man that could replace hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Seraine also learned from Kim Suho the reason Kim Hajin was so strong. That the source of his strength were his ‘equipment’. More specifically, it was his ‘gun’, a weapon that Kim Hajin invented on his own.
Arunheim probably wouldn’t allow him to carry such a weapon. The Kingdom had strict restrictions on the manufacture of illegal weapons.
“Make up a credible excuse. Tell her that he suddenly disappeared, or better yet, that he’s already left for the Kingdom.”
How dare they label a man of such talent F-rank and wish to get him back?
Talent was like a jewel buried in mud; it belonged to a discerning eye.
—Ah, yes. Okay.
“And please request for correction of the news article and prepare a new ID,” Seraine said with a smile.
**
[Transnational Peace Conference D-26]
“…Listen carefully.”
In the basement of Shimurin’s workshop, I was currently in the middle of an intense lecture.
If I had to name this lecture— it would be something like ‘How to utilize Stigma’s magic power (by Grand Magician Shimurin)’.
“Your Stigma is a mysterious power indeed. It seems to be in touch with the end of the world,” Shimurin muttered as she stared at my Stigma. Her expression soon stiffened, however, and she remarked flatly, “But there’s something wrong with the way you’re using it.”
“Pardon?”
This took me by surprise. I thought I’d been using it pretty well until now.
“The way you use magic power is far from efficient. You use it without control, like you’re borrowing it from the outside, like you’re turning water on a faucet, for example. Just like the absolute majority of people,” Shimurin explained.
She then gathered magic power in her right hand. Her magic power clung together to form a distinct ball. It buzzed and vibrated like it would during an ultimate skill.
Next, she gathered magic power in her left hand.
This time, however, her magic power appeared dim. There was no vibration whatsoever.
“Observe the difference. Both contain the same magic power, but their shapes are different.”
“Mm…. Let me try.”
I gathered magic power in my hand as Shimurin had done.
Then, something strange happened. The amount of my magic power was similar to that of Shimurin, but mine seemed faint and less distinct.
“…Huh?”